Feed My Starving Children

On the weekend, our whole family went with our church to work at Feed My Starving Children, a non-profit organization that sends food to those in need around the world.  Community members are asked to volunteer their time to pack the food and Feed My Starving Children ships it abroad.

We are very fortunate to have a Feed My Starving Children packing facility in our own community.  It is a great opportunity to actually do something meaningful and a reminder of the abundance and blessings we enjoy in the United States.  We have gone and packed food before, but this was the first time that Paige was old enough to come and help too.



orientation before the packing session



Paige and her packing crew

 

Ashley and her packing crew

We were so happy to give a little bit of our time to help feed those in need.  Looking forward to our next visit, which happens to be the morning of Paige's baptism---what a great day that will be.

1st Day of School

It's official school is back in session!

Ashley 7th Grade



Paige 2nd Grade



Paige and her neighbor friend




waiting at the bus stop

 Man, my girls are growing up fast!  For moms like me, on the first day of school, you can either be a "boo-hoo" or "whoo-hoo" mom.  I think I might be a "whoo-boo," a little of both.  Part of me is happy to get back to a structured routine and have a little quiet time to myself during the day, the other part is going to miss the lazy summer days with no homework or responsibility of rushing from one thing to the next.


I am just as anxious as the girls on the first day of school.  I spend the whole day thinking about them and praying that they will come home happy.  It would just break my heart for them to come home sad or upset.  Kids spend most of their day at school, how terrible would it be to send your child to a place they hate day after day?  Fortunately, they both came home happy as can be.  They love school and are glad to be back.  

Ashley, even got a surprise---two of her friends she wasn't expecting were in one of her classes so she is liking that.  She also learned that having lunch at 10:30 am!!!! is not too bad.

As for Paige, so far she loves her teacher.  Her best friend was not in her class this year but they played together at recess and she has already "made new friends in my class."  So I think she will be okay too!

Mom's first day went well too.  I even did great on the second day, but noticed I kept hugging and kissing the girls after they got home...I guess I just missed them!

Now we are preparing for the real storm to hit...HOMEWORK, coupled with soccer and piano for both girls, Young Women's, Activity Days, and Brownies, oh my!   

Back to School Dinner

On the Sunday before school started we had a special "Back-to-School Dinner."  Dave and I talked with the girls about starting school this year and the importance of remembering who they are, the values they stand for, and the blessings they have been given.  Dave then gave both of them a father's blessing.

We had the missionaries as dinner guests and on the menu was: pork soulvaki, salad-on-a-stick, lemon rice, peanut butter blossom cookies, and strawberry lemonade.

Good luck in school Ashley and Paige!  Have a wonderful year and REMEMBER, O' REMEMBER!

Take Your Kids to Work Day

Even though they had been out late the night before at a baseball game, the girls dutifully got up for work early the next morning.

The girls rode the train into the city with Dave for the annual Take Your Kids to Work Day!

This year was extra special because it is the only time the girls will be able to go together.  This was Paige's first year and Ashley's last.  They were both very excited and happy to "go to work."

This year there was a special guest speaker, Melissa Stockwell.  She was in the Army serving in Iraq and lost her leg in a roadside bombing.  After coming home and rehabbing, she has gone on to become a Paraolympic athlete in swimming.  She even brought her assistance dog for the kids to meet.

After a catered breakfast and the guest speaker, the kids did some small group activities and then got to spend some time working with Dave.  They put in about a half day then went to lunch and came home early.

I think they both had a good time, although between you and me, I'm not sure a bunch of corporate accountants are the best people to be planning events and activities for kids.  They try, but seriously, I told Dave I would volunteer my time for free to plan "Take Your Kids to Work Day."  Do you know how much fun it could be?!

MLB Summer Bookends

We started the summer with some Major League Baseball and we ended the summer the same way--at US Cellular Field watching the White Sox.

This time instead of driving into the city, the girls and I took the train and met Dave at his office.  We got our iPods ready and enjoyed the relaxing ride.

Of course, the tricky part of traveling into Chicago at 5pm is that you are going against the traffic.  We hit Union Station which at this time is just a blur of people and trains packed like sardines.  Even trickier is walking across the bridge outside of the station because you are definitely "swimming upstream."  Fortunately, we broke free and made it to Dave's building.


the girls outside Dave's office

From there we headed over to the ballpark.  This experience was much different than the game we went to in June.  The good part, the weather was perfect---72 degrees!  The bad part, the starting pitcher took a line drive to the face in the 2nd and the Sox went on to lose.

Paige's Dance Camp

Paige went to an informal dance camp last week.  It was held by some friends of ours and she heard about it from another friend.  She went for three days and learned two dances.  Even better, there were a bunch of other little girls that she knew taking the classes as well.

I have video of her dance "Party in the USA" but I can't get it to download, dumb Blogger.

Today is Your Special Day

On Ashley's actual birthday we just had some low key family celebrations.  Ashley woke up to find some new furniture for her bedroom, including a desk, bookcase and chair. 

After reorganizing her room, she called a friend and we went to see the movie Smurfs.

After our "cinematic entertainment" I took my girls to the mall for a little back-to-school shopping.  Ashley used some of her birthday money from Grandpa and Grandma Smith to buy a new backpack.

In the evening, after Dave got home from work, we all went to Red Robin for a birthday dinner.  Paige waited all day to give Ashley her present -- Just Dance Summer Party, Wii game!  Ashley was thrilled!  She also got to have her favorite bacon cheeseburger, plus she got an ice cream as the servers came over to sing to her.