Photo Dump - August and September

I took a new position this year as PTA president.  And while I love the job, that job combined with Awana commander has just zapped me of energy.  I knew the position would require a lot of physical energy from me.  I just didn't realize how much mental energy it would take.  I come home and just want to sit down and do nothing.  And just when the back to school frenzy has started to die down, I get a nasty head cold, which also drains me of energy.  So for now, I'm just going to do a photo dump of our last month.  Enjoy!

Enjoying our local minor league baseball team with the Cub Scouts.

Julie's reading corner.  She looks so beautiful and grown up in this picture!

Our church sponsors a 5K race every year with a kid's fun run included.
David decided to enter this year.  Here's the starting line.

And he's off...

Finished the race middle of the pack, got the medal and some much needed water
and is ready for the free food!

Our Magic Bands from Disney came in the mail! Yay!!
We are getting super excited about our trip - 19 days to go.

Brace Yourselves

As you can tell from the sporadic posts, it's been a busy summer and a busy start of school.  Those last 2 weeks of summer were packed full.  We tried our hardest to squeeze every drop of summer fun out before the long days of school started.  Our fun included trips to Chattanooga and Atlanta, days spent at the pool and at summer camp, a visit the closest water park, welcoming a new baby cousin into the world, meeting new teachers and the biggest change of them all...

Braces!!

Although my generation didn't get braces until late middle school or high school, the trend these days is to get them as soon as your baby teeth are gone.  Julie lost her last baby tooth a year ago and has been anxiously waiting for the day she would get her braces.  As excited as she was, she didn't anticipate the pain that she would have for the first few days.  Meal times were rough and involved lots of tears.  She was hungry but didn't want to use her teeth to bite into anything.  She didn't believe her mommy that chewing actually made it better until we forced her to chew steak and, surprise, surprise, her teeth felt better.

After about 4 days, she was better and eating was old hat again.  It's hard to see but there are little colored rubber bands around each brace.  Every time she goes to the orthodontist to get them tightened, she gets to pick new colors.  I think she has her colors picked out from now until Easter.  (She started out with orange and white - Go Vols!!)

And just when we were getting over the pain of getting braces, someone else joins in the cry (literally)...

Sorry about the up-the-nose shot.
Its was the only way to get a picture of the appliance.

Turns out David needed hardware too.  The last time he was at the dentist, I had asked about his front teeth.  He has lost all 4 teeth on the top and the middle two have grown back in.  But the ones next to them haven't and they have been out for over a year.  After taking x-rays, the dentist confirmed that there was not room in David's mouth for these to grow back in.  So they sent us to the orthodontist who said that David needed to have his canines pulled right away.  Those wayward front teeth are about to come through the top of his palette, not a place that we want them to poke through.  The thought is that if we pull the canines, the other teeth will come forward to their rightful place to come in.

That leads to another problem.  If his canines are pulled, his mouth could collapse, which means his back teeth would come forward and block out the spaces for all his other teeth.  So, in order to keep his back teeth in the back where they belong, they added that fun thingamagig in his mouth, called a space maintainer.  He calls it a retainer....and he hates it.  He didn't want it and he couldn't eat with it for a couple of days and he cried at every meal.  Like Julie, though, he has learned how to eat with it (although, still very slowly) and seems to be getting used to it.

Of course the pain and problems eating will come right back again when he gets those two teeth pulled at the beginning of September.  Oh, the joys of fixing teeth.

What sort of hardware did you have to wear?  What do you think of the trend of getting braces when kids are still in elementary school?

So it begins...again

It's another new year.  Time to get up early, pack lunches, do homework.  Time to make new friends, learn new things, and persevere through new, uncharted waters.

In other words, it's time for school.

Booksneeze: Unveiling Grace

Unveiling Grace by Lynn K Wilder

(from the Booksneeze website)
A rare insider’s point of view into what it actually means to live as a Mormon--what the lifestyle is like, what its pressures are, and what its culture is like. This is the gripping story of the Michael and Lynn Wilder family - of how an entire family, deeply enmeshed in Mormonism for 30 years, found their way out and found faith in Jesus Christ.

For thirty years, Lynn Wilder and her family lived, loved, and promoted the Mormon Church. Then on a Mormon mission trip to Florida, their son Micah had a revelation: God knew him personally. God loved him. And the Mormon Church did not offer the true gospel.

Micah’s conversion to Christ put the family in a tailspin. They wondered: Have we believed the wrong thing for decades? If we leave Mormonism, what does this mean for our safety, jobs, and relationships? Is Christianity that different from Mormonism anyway?

As Lynn tells her own story of abandoning the deception of Mormonism to receive God’s grace, she gives a rare look into Mormon culture, what it means to grow up Mormon, and why the contrasts between Mormonism and Christianity make all the difference in the world.

Whether readers are in the Mormon Church, curious about Mormonism, or simply looking for a gripping story, Unveiling Grace will strengthen their faith in the true God who loves them no matter what.

My Thoughts

As soon as I read the description of this book I was incredibly interested in reading it.  I don't make a habit of reading about other religions and really didn't know much about the Mormon church except that they send out missionaries that like to go knocking on doors.  In fact that is how Lynn and Michael Wilder found out about the Mormon church.  They were converts as adults then dedicated 30 years to the church.

The first half of the book talks about their conversion into Mormonism, the works they did for their church, their move to Utah and their children's devotion to their chosen faith.  Lynn discusses early questions they had about Mormon doctrines as well as other practices that didn't seem logical to them.  But neither Lynn nor Michael truly questioned their religion until their son, Micah, discovered the true Jesus of the Bible.  While in Florida on his Mormon mission, Micah knocked on the door of a Baptist minister.  He challenged Micah to read the New Testament, something he had never done before.  While reading, Micah was blown away by the Jesus of the Bible, the one who wanted a personal relationship with him.

The second half of the book tells about the Wilders conversion to evangelical Christianity, one member at a time.  Micah's revelation led to his mother reading the New Testament and also meeting the Jesus of the Bible.  One by one Micah's mother, sister, brothers and father come to meet Jesus.

I found this to be a truly incredible story.  As with all memoirs, some of the events in the book aren't written chronologically which I sometimes find frustrating.  But it is a well-written book.  It's engaging and informative.  There are some very handy references at the back of the book including a chart of Mormon beliefs versus what the Bible says and a glossary of Mormon terms.  This book truly highlights the difference between being a Mormon and being a born-again Christian.

I give Unveiling Grace 5 out of 5 stars.

I was provided a complementary copy of Unveiling Grace by the Booksneeze program in exchange for an honest review.  All opinions are my own.  

Affiliate links are used.  If you enjoyed this review, please consider clicking through my link to buy this product.  

Be sure to check out all my book reviews over on y new blog Read Me or Bust.

Sleepover Schmeepover

Last week Julie had her annual sleepover with her friends.  

I remember sleepovers from when I was a girl. 

They were great!  We had pizza and popcorn while we watched a movie.  Later we would set up all our sleeping bags and giggle while we talked and had pillow fights.  We stayed up late and slept in late.  It was fun, relaxing, and casual – really just a time of great memories.

At least that’s what I remember.

Guess what sleepovers are now? Stressful!! I have to make sure Tim can get the pizza since I can’t leave with extra children here. 

Then I have to pick an age appropriate movie that is still one that appeals to everyone.  Not all parents let their kids watch Star Wars and Spiderman.  In fact, not all little girls like sci-fi or superhero movies.  Go figure. 

Then I have to make sure the living room, kitchen, den and bathrooms are cleaned (I wouldn’t want anyone to go home and tell their mothers how cluttered and dirty Julie’s house is – the horror!). 

Instead of pillow fights, it’s silly string, which means I have to convince daddy that… Yes, it is OK to have silly string all over the yard.  No, it won’t kill the grass.  Yes, the rain will wash it away.

Then Tim and I have to stay mainly in our room for the evening instead of hanging out in the den like usual, because no one wants their mom there all the time.  But then I wonder… What if someone needs something?

Cutting the birthday cheesecake

How often should I go check on them?  Should I let David watch the movie with them or is that cramping their style?  Maybe I should have had him spend the night with Grandma…

In the morning, I never know when to fix breakfast, or how much to fix.  Do I let them just eat cereal or do I go all out with bacon and eggs?  What do I do if they don’t like my cooking – force them to eat it or just find them something else to eat?

And then the sleepover is done and I wonder why I am so exhausted.  I’m not the one who stayed up late. 

I’m just the one who did all the worrying…

Why in the world did I do all the worrying? 

So I decided to ask my mom what my childhood sleepovers were like for her.  Surely these fun events were a piece of cake for my mom.  I mean, she let me have a lot of them and she wouldn't have done that if they stressed her out, right?

No sooner was the question out of my mouth, "Mom, what were my childhood sleepovers like for you?"  Then the answer came, "Stressful!! Very stressful!"  Aha!  It's not just me.  So for all those times that I had tons of little girls taking over our house, Mom, I'm very sorry to have caused you stress.  Maybe one day when my daughter is grown with a daughter of her own, I'll hear those same words from her mouth.  Maybe...

What about you?  Are sleepovers stressful to you or are they fun?  Got any great advice for me on how to handle sleepovers?

Check out my latest book reviews over on Read Me or Bust.

Praying God's Word for Your Life by Kathi Lipp

Praying God's Word for Your Life by Kathi Lipp

Praying God’s Word for Your Life gives women the direction and Scripture they need to bring purpose and power to their prayers. The simple strategies Kathi Lipp shares will create in women the habit of praying with renewed boldness, consistency, and expectation. And Kathi’s warm, approachable style will make praying Scripture accessible to new believers and lifelong Christians alike.

My Thoughts:

I always enjoy books by Kathi Lipp (check out my review of The Me Project here).  They are great "self-help" solutions to problems that Christian women face and, more importantly, they are fun to read.  I found Praying God's Word for Your Life to be organized well and very practical.

The book is set up in a way that when you need to pray for a specific situation in your life - worry, parenthood, marriage, feelings of inadequacy - you can easily find the chapter that deals with that.  Within each chapter are Scripture references and samples prayers for that particular situation.  Kathi does a great job of showing how you can turn verses back into prayers to God.

The book is full of real-life examples of how women have incorporated prayer into their daily lives as well as examples of how prayer has changed lives.  The examples are from Kathi's own life as well as from the lives of women who have written to Kathi.  My only complaint with the book was that this was not explained.  I started reading a story about a mom with young children and I was confused because I knew Lipp's children were all adults.  It wasn't until the end of the story (after flipping the page) that I realized this was written by someone else.  I think that could have been explained better beforehand in the book.  But that is a minor complaint, really.

I love that Kathi Lipp provides practical steps within each chapter.  Often, when I read a nonfiction book, I leave the book thinking, "That's great.  Now what do I do with that information?"  Praying God's Word for Your Life tells you what to do.  It gives you a step by step guide.

I thought this was just a wonderful book - easy to read but with very relevant information.  I highly recommend it. (Even though the book is focused toward women, men could get a lot out of it as well.)

I give this book 5 out of 5 stars.

Author Bio:
Kathi Lipp is a busy conference and retreat speaker and the of The Husband Project: 21 Days to Loving Your Man—on Purpose and with a Plan, The Marriage Project: 21 Days to More Love and Laughter, and The Me Project: 21 Days to Living the Life You’ve Always Wanted and The “What’s for Dinner?” Solution. 

She is a frequent guest on Focus on the Family and dozens of other radio programs. Church leaders and women’s ministry directors rely on Kathi to help women move from living out of obligation to enjoying godly passion. She speaks to thousands of women across the US and Canada every year.

Kathi and her husband, Roger, are the parents of four young adults and live in San Jose, California. Find out more about Kathi at www.kathilipp.com.

I was given a complementary copy of this book for review.  All opinions are my own.  Affiliate links are used in this post.  If you enjoyed my book review, please consider clicking through my link to purchase the book.  Also, feel free to see all my book reviews at my blog Read Me or Bust.

Scarves in the Middle of July

It seems to defy seasonal logic, but Julie and I have taken up knitting.  Yes, let's knit a winter scarf in the middle of July.  What can I say, I don't always do things that make sense.

And we're not the only ones in on the action.  David has decided to try as well.

Unfortunately, he just doesn't seem to have the dexterity or the patience to keep at it for longer than a few minutes.  Julie, however, gets the stitches down very easily.  Her problem is that she is not interested in practicing.  She wants to be perfect right away.  Instead of practicing her knit/purl stitches, she tries to jump right into a pattern and gets frustrated when she doesn't get it right the first time.  She is continually pulling out her whole piece and starting over, trying to be perfect.

(Perfectionism is one of those fun little traits that she inherited from me.  Don't you just hate it when you see things in your kids that drive you nuts in yourself?)

So I made this little doohicky.

What is it? Really it's just me practicing my stitches, but just for kicks, we'll say it's the front of a skirt for Julie's American Girl doll.  Only problem is I really didn't keep track of what stitches I used to make it, so I couldn't reproduce it to make a back half, even if I wanted to.

Which I don't.

But it's cute anyway, isn't it?

Maybe by winter time I'll actually finish something like a scarf...maybe.