a FAIR-ly wonderful day!

Today we went to the OC Fair with our sweet friends. The best? Frozen Lemonade and silly pictures of the girls.

Surprises of the day...

It's summer in Southern California...and summer in Southern California means very warm weather...and very warm weather means that the hens don't lay as many eggs. So when I was only getting two eggs a day, instead of the usual five, I didn't think much of it. But as I was heading up the steps from the backyard, something caught my eye. I looked over, and under some flowers was an egg! But not just one egg, but three! Then I noticed something else a bit beyond the eggs. Not another egg...just 16 more eggs! Appears that the hens found a cooler, more comfortable place for laying.



Sometimes we think that God may be pulling back the blessing from our lives for whatever reason. We don't see, though, that He may just be preparing a new blessing for us, a new place. And when He reveals it, oh what a surprise. Oh what a sweet surprise.

She's HOME!!!!!

Katie went to camp for 6 days....6 LONG days! She loved walking in the creek, swimming in the swimming pool (which she said that the water was so cold that her lips turned blue!), and going to Chapel. I'm still amazed that she can be so brave and unafraid to take on new challenges. She has always been full of compassion, especially towards those who are less fortunate, or friendless, or very young. She sees this world through such different lenses...lenses that God is allowing ME to see more of His purpose and His will. Although Katie loves order and justice, she is the one who reminds us that we need to stop and play and laugh and eat popsicles...and gumballs. Katie was gone, but now she is home. And we are now more complete.

Settling back into her routine...read, read, read!

Where do hungry campers go? Pick up Stix!

Ahhh...sister love.

Ally the Fearless

She is not afraid of life. She embraces it, sometimes chasing after it until she catches it with both hands. She is full of life, full of creativity, full of love, and almost full of her mother since we've had a LOT of time together since her big sis is away at camp. But, oh, how sweet the time has been, to just watch her. I can't wait to see where God takes her little toes in this life.

Farmers Market Adventure (by Ally)

I took these pictures. First we looked at everything and then we went shopping. We saw some sweet strawberries, teeny tiny potatoes, and some humongo tomatoes. There was popcorn and roasted peanuts. There was a rock place with a real big rock. We had $14 and we got some small red potatoes, some long green beans, pluots for Dad (two different kinds!), and we got cilantro and whole wheat flat bread (which is good with honey!). I like the Farmers Market because there are so many different shops. We'll go see another Farmers Market tomorrow. Mom wants to buy some strawberries and I want to buy earrings!

Katie the Brave

Katie really is a brave soul. She can get on a bus, ride for 6 hours, be gone for 6 days, and be completely okay with it!

I think that the fact that she doesn't have to comb her hair for almost a week makes it worth it all. Ahhhh....summer camp.

Jumping in feet first

Today the whole lot of us went to Long Beach for a homeschooling convention. Yes, we're jumping in. It was good, informative, and reassuring. So to celebrate this reassurance, we went to Belmont Shores and bought two cupcakes from the Frosted Cupcakery, cut them each into fourths, and then took them down to the beach and celebrated. Ally celebrated a little more than everyone else, as could be seen by the dripping clothes on her body that were moments before quite dry. Yes, you could say that she (and we) are jumping in feet first.

Offerings from the Garden...

or actually from the neighbor's garden! We have been watching too many of these little yellow beauties falling onto the ground. It was time to take action! A pitcher of fresh lemonade and lemon popsicles made by Katie and Ally. YUM!