This and That on Thursday.

• Faculty work days are over for another year. My presentation went well, covering working with students with disabilities.
• I love the fresh flower selection at Costco. Where else can you get a huge premium bouquet of mixed flowers for under $15.00?
• The kids have been a my in-laws' for a few days. They will be coming back for 2 days before leaving to go camping with my parents on Sunday. I love that they are having fun and getting some good grandparent pampering while I am busy gearing up for the semester.
• My sister-in-law just announced that she is pregnant...this will be their #4 and grandchild #21 for my in-laws. This renewed the "let's have another baby" discussion with my husband. We are continuing in negotiations.........
• I had Chinese for dinner.
• I need to get some scrapbook time, and soon. I picked up some of the new products from American Crafts, KI Memories and Pink Paislee, and I am just dying to create with them.
• I got the cutest striped polo today for Hayden....for 2 dollars. Bargain.
• Huge congratulations to my fellow scrapping friend, Christine, for her selection as a Memory Makers Master for 2009! She does such beautiful work and is so deserving of this recognition. It inspires me to maybe give it a try and apply next year....maybe.
• I am watching "Under the Tuscan Sun".....can't remember the last time I watched a whole TV movie. I'm enjoying the mindless entertainment, to tell you the truth!
• I am reconnecting with homemaking this fall. I just ordered a couple of books on the topic of creating a home. It is important to me that our home reflect us and be welcoming to others.....and a place of refuge and peace. I want to improve on the "serene" and "peaceful" part of the equation, as it can get pretty hectic with our schedules.
• That God shows any favor on this world is amazing! What an awesome God we serve!
• So glad tomorrow is Friday!
  

Back to Work.

I love my job. I love teaching.
But I hate the politics that come with working at a university.
I always have a bit of anxiety when the new academic year begins.
On the way home tonight, I was thinking "maybe I should quit my job and homeschool."
Where that came from, I'm not sure.
Tomorrow, we'll get together and talk about our goals.
We'll debate what it means to teach and to learn.
We'll drink lattes and hear administrators give updates and slip out for extra potty breaks.
Yes, another year is soon begun in the world of college.

Truthfully, I'm anxious about how I will juggle it all.
Being fully available to the kids as they start their new years, Kennedy in 2nd grade and Hayden in kindergarten. I feel the years slipping by so quickly.
Being sensitive to the needs of my students.
Supporting my husband in his crazy football season schedule.
Reestablishing a regular exercise program (this is a MUST priority for this fall).
Getting time for quiet time with God, and for creative work.
I'm quite unsettled, moreso than I remember in year's past.
I appreciate your prayers as we dive in. Prayers that I will continue to live authentically and keep my priorities in line.
And now, I'm off to bed. This lady hasn't seen 6 a.m. in quite a few weeks, so tomorrow could be a really shocking awakening!

Jam-Packed Monday.

We saw flamingos and eagles and even chipmunks.
We saw a baby joey in a mommy wallaby's pouch.
We petted snakes and goats and stingrays and sharks.
We fed birds (and thought of Julie the whole time :)....and a couple of us got pooed on. Yuck.
We ate cotton candy dots (mmmmmm).
We saw lots of lazy animals napping in the hot summer sun.
We sweated, along with the other crowds of people at the zoo.
We watched snakes (but couldn't find the kimodo dragon today).
We ate great burgers for lunch at Red Robin....with yummy parmesan-garlic fries.
We shopped for a {cute} bathing suit.
We played video games.
We splashed at the spray park (and reveled in how refreshing the cool water was).
We swam at the lake.
We soaked up the sun.
We drank slushies and GatorAde and ate snacks.
We talked and laughed.
We climbed on the rope course.
We were tired...but a good kind of tired.
We ate dinner at Culvers.
We talked about animals getting married and having babies....and quickly changed the topic when the kids started asking questions about HOW?
We were tired....even too tired to stop at the scrapbooking store (now that's tired!).

What a fun Monday with good friends. Heather and Daniel, we are glad that you could come down for the day and make some fun memories. We are exhausted and ready to head to bed....back to work in just 2 days. Yikes. Really yikes.

Shopping.

Today was a really fun day spent with Kennedy. She is at such a fun stage right now and is TOTALLY into expressing her individuality in her fashion choices.

When we first arrived at the mall, I suggested going to the Children's Place. She, however, was more drawn to the Limited Too, which is much more "fashion-savvy." She declared that this is her new favorite store. We did find this adorable little dress at the Children's Place, and she wore it for the rest of our shopping day.
Here we are after the mall. We were tired and our arms were full of bags.

She is really into these cute hats this year, and I love them. I was a bit wary about her growing her hair out long, because I really like her in short hair, but her hair style in these hats is nothing short of adorable. And does this girl love her accessories....the more colorful and dangly, the better! She had her eye on those HUGE dangly hoops, but I told her she would have to be LOTS older before those would be appropriate.



Of course, once we arrived at the hotel, we spread everything out on the bed to look at the choices once again. Then, she took all of the outfits into the bathroom and proceeded to give me a fashion show. I must say that Kennedy is very good at putting outfits together in unexpected yet coordinated ways. You go, Girl!
I love this girl's style.

A Shoppin' We Will Go!

Kennedy and I are leaving today for our annual over-night Girls' Back-to-School shopping trip. Growing up, our family would always drive from McBain to Grand Rapids for a weekend of shopping, eating out, hotel swimming, and fun. We would drive from mall to mall every day, making decisions about how to spend our $150.00 that we were each alotted. Usually, Sunday was reserved for going back to stores we had already visited to make final selections and to make returns when we found something we liked better. Looking back, I realize that my dad was a very patient man (Thanks, Dad!).

It is a tradition that I am happy to pass on with my own kids.

A few things have changed....like needing a larger budget......and we leave the boys at home :)

So, the next 2 days will be filled with trying on, fashion hunts, probably a few tears, a bit of the battle of wills, school supplies, swimming, good meals, and mother-daughter time. We will buy pencils and notebooks and crayons (and probably a few other fun office supplies, since we both LOVE office supplies!). We will buy hair bands and outfits and shoes and socks and probably a few little extras if we run into any bargains. I, for one, will be happy if I get 2 things for myself: New underwear (the holes in mine are getting pretty ridiculous!) and some new towels for my master bathroom in chocolate brown, sage and sea blue.

Although the best shopping in the area is right here in Grand Rapids by far, it just doesn't seem the same to stay in your own town to shop. So, we have made Lansing/Okemos our chosen destination.

Off we go!

Science Tuesday {on Thursday}

Throughout the summer, we have been trying to do something "sciency" on Tuesdays. But, for the past few weeks, it seems that we have either been on vacation, out of town, or had some other conflict.

Yesterday, we decided to make volcanoes.....remember those from grade school? My son is into most anything that promises to "explode", so they were all enthusiastic about the promise if making exploding volcanoes.

Instead of going through the whole process of doing paper mache with the newspaper strips and glue paste, we just decided to make ours out of a paper plate, with an old empty play-dough cup taped to the center, all covered with tin foil.
We talked about the scientific method:

BRAIN: Our mind wonders about something; how does it work? What will happen if......?

EYES/EARS: We design an experiment to use our senses to explore.

HYPOTHESIS: If we pour baking soda (a base) together with vinegar (an acid), there will be an explosion (add a little red food coloring for effect!).

As Hayden would say "our ky-pota-sist" was proven! What a fun little science lesson. The kids then created a little science show that they did for Matt when he got home from work.

We give this science activity 5 stars...it is cheap, uses supplies that you already have around the house, works perfectly (we suggest adding red food coloring), and while a bit messy, is very containable and easy to clean up.

Answered Prayer.

Sometimes, we pray about big things. Like failing health. Financial struggle. Peace in our world.

And sometimes, it's the little things that seem really big.

Like lost pet bunnies.

Today, we had a simple yet powerful reminder that God answers prayer. As I posted on my blog last night, when we returned home, one of Kennedy's pet bunnies, Daffodil, had gotten out of her cage. While our backyard is fenced, there were still plenty of holes where a mischievious little bunny could get out. Last night, we prayed that God would keep her safe and bring her home, knowing that it was likely that she was somewhere out in the back field where we may never find her.

This morning, guess who we found nosing around the back yard looking for breakfast?

God knows every hair on our head, and He knows when one falls out. He keeps them numbered.

God watches over every sparrow. Every little one.

God numbers that grains of sand on the beach. And He knows how many millions of grains came home with us in the car last night.

And, yes, He even cares for pet bunnies and answers the earnest prayer of a little 7-year-old-girl who had faith that He would answer.

I am humbled by this lesson today. What do I need to bring to the Lord in prayer, yet may have been lacking the faith to do so?