Rainbow Party

I heard her first cry nine years ago.  My ear was pressed up against the delivery room door.  I was so glad my best friend was getting a girl.  It's been nine years of girly party planning....and this year it was RAINBOW.... because Miss Erin wanted to celebrate God's promises.

There was rainbow nails...

 

And

 rainbow 

sand art...

Rainbow drinks...

And rainbow straws!

There was rainbow fruit kabobs...

And lots of rainbow bubble gum!

And even a rainbow candy bar....

....so everyone could "taste the rainbow!"

Dear special friend

It is your Birthday

It is the day that Jesus sent you to the earth...Yee Haw!

And we rejoice

And we will celebrate

'Cause we love you and were thankful for the

blessing of your birth!

And there was cake....

...Rainbow Cake!

Everyone enjoyed the colorful celebration!

 Happy Birthday, Sweet Erin!  I'm so glad you were born.

I love you, dear friend!

Such a JOY celebrating birthdays with you!

Joy-Making Blog Design

Check out my new blog design! 

I've matured in my blogging skills all thanks to my own personal web designer, 

"Uncle Tim", my awesome brother-in-law. He is so tech savvy!  

I also created this fun little "diddy" for you!  Just click the link to download and print!

 

Click here to download

#1304 in my list of gratitude:  Tech-savvy brother-in-laws!

It's Independence Day!

We celebrated the Fourth with the Cutliffs and the Dances. 

The kids all had a ball playing pool games.  There was lots of laughter!

Micah was especially entertaining!

We were all delighted to see Samuel happy and smiling.

Mr. Andy gave "bull rides" to the kids.

Can you stay on for 8 seconds???

 

We grilled out hamburgers and hot dogs, made homemade ice cream, and Rebecca made our annual flag cake.

And then it was time for Tim's Amazing Fireworks Show!

There was one part that was scary loud.

 

 The sparklers are the coolest part!

Samuel liked them best.

It was the happiest of Fourths!

Deep Cleaning

 The girls and I have been doing a "deep cleaning" in the house today.  

Rebecca and I started long before Caroline rose from the bed....she likes a good morning "sleep-in"!  

When she finally joined the land of the living, she snuck into the kitchen. Rebecca and I continued our duties in other parts of the house.  A while later she announced for us to come to the kitchen.  We arrived to three piping hot plates of eggs and cheese and a little side of blueberries.  Rebecca and I smiled, crinkled our noses, and said,  

"Thanks Caroline.  We ate eggs two hours ago.  But we're ready for some more!"

Both girls spent much of the morning making comments like, 

"Oh!  This feels so good!" and "Wow.  That was disgusting."  and "Dead bug!"

It does feel good to wipe away the hidden dust and scrub the baseboards 

and clean out the crevices of this, that, and the other.

Lately, the Lord has been doing alot of that in my soul.  I don't really like it.  

It is easier to keep the dirt hidden, because His scrubbing is painful.  

It hurts.  It smells.  And it's just not fun.

 Create in me a clean heart, O God, And renew a steadfast spirit within me.  Psalm 51:10

Caroline just called from the other room, 

"Hey mom!  The bathrooms are clean.  I'm gonna fold these clothes and I put a new load in the wash and dryer."

I guess that "sleep-in" did her good.

 

Yard Sale

Earlier this week I started cleaning out kitchen cabinets which led to other things.  Instead of hauling it all up to the attic for our annual springtime yard sale, I decided to go ahead and have one...TODAY.  So, I called my trusty ol' yard sale bud and said, "Hey!  Are you up for a yard sale???"  She said, "Well, ok."  (I love her.)

It was only, like, the HOTTEST day of the summer so far.... somewhere around, oh say. 105 degrees!!!

 But we started early and were in the shade just about the whole time.

Of course, it wouldn't be a yard sale if ALL our kids weren't there.!

We had lots of fun visitors!

This little boy is ready for a baby brother...or sister!

 There were feedings...

...and the WHOLE Thames family came!

Titus just plopped down with a book....

...and these two plopped down with him.

Cely Kay left with a treasure....

 ...and Bethany just took it all in.

Joey found some vintage dress-up for his girls..

...and his dad found a seat.

It was fun having daddy join us this time!

And the day was a success...even if it was the hottest day of the year!