Looking back on August

August was a month filled with new challenges and so many blessings, and we made countless special memories! Here are just a few random pictures.

New 14 year old in the house! Beware!

The birthday meal!!!

Ice Cream. Of course. :)

Up front at church with all the others whose birthdays are in August.

Numerous scavenging trips to thrift stores. Thank God for Goodwill (and reverse cameras to pass the time away!!)

Kate made this scrumptious banana pudding & vanilla wafer thingy that disappeared within seconds of it being placed on our table at church (it never had the chance to participate in the potluck food line). :P 

SOMEONE quietly shut the door while Paul was in his room and made quick use of the scraps of danger tape Jerry brought home from the work sight.

House of girls; ya know, gotta warn them.

This summer, though I have been so bad about posting about it, we had a blast participating in the Arizona Bible Bee for the first time!!! We finished in August and everyone gathered for Celebration Day. Here are just some sneak peak photos of the games at the Hive Meetings we attended.

The girlies with some friends

 Ready to play Water Balloon Battle Ship!

 Introducing our family's team of Bible Bee-rs, complete with a banner Jerry created.

A hilarious Bible quiz with buzzers and all

Hopefully a post about Celebration Day and some more of the festivities will appear soon. Somehow. :P

Drawing, drawing, drawing!- has been the theme around here. Ya gotta be careful nowadays,  when you think you're just sitting on the couch reading. :) 

We think these two are exceptional:

She drew it off a photo and recolored with a smartphone.

Paul drew this one, also off a photo. Isn't it REALLY good?!

And....

For some days, a secret for BB was being put together (in the closet :P) by the older little girls and when it was finally revealed...

She was...um, ecstatic.

A whole doll clothing store was set up...

With cardboard hangers and everything!

She was presented with a stack of Monopoly money and immediately began shopping for her various sizes of baby dolls. 

And that was a really random post of all the things I didn't have time to post about in August. 

Thanks for reading!

Spray Bottles, Dragons, and a Makeshift Choir

Summer days in this baking desert have been very full of work, play, family, and community. So many things to be grateful for!!
I'm grateful for...

• My nephews--Bobbers, Lum, and Beef Stew (or Stewy). Each one of them has touched my life so much in their own little ways. We were so happy to have them live with us, but we're also very glad for them that they have their own little house. ; )
• Being able to help Perry and Tyler move. It was great to be able to see their house and help unpack some things. What a cute little house for a cute little family!
• My chaperoning job. I've gotten to do it five days in the last week or so! ; ) I really enjoy hanging out with the cute happy people and serving them in this way. (And it pays really well too. My "clients" treat me to all sorts of yummy things, and when they went to Prescott I got to go too. Hooray for cool weather!) ;P They are so considerate and inclusive (as any two courting people can be). ;P  It's a joy to be with them!
• The old Jimmy Stewart movie "You Can't Take It With You". Wow! It is so awesomely funny! If you ever want a glimpse of what our life is like--watch that movie! We had a family movie night with that and some yummy microwave popcorn.
• Bible Bee hive meetings. My memorization partner is such a joy! Hi, Hannah!
• The Green Ember by S.D. Smith. Don't let the Beatrix Potter style cover fool you! It's a full-blown, amazingly written adventure! Very good!
• The Restoration Hardware store! *Alice steps into Wonderland* *Angels sing* *Kate goes crazy*
• Singing in a makeshift choir after church. Thank you, Paul and Matthew for setting it up!! It was so much fun. We had a great time singing to the Lord, and it was surprisingly good sounding for a bunch of people who hadn't practiced together before. ; ) One of the newcomers to church actually thought we were a choir which flattered us all immensely. Very good times. ; )
• Krispy Kreme doughnuts. Aimee's generous Man brought us a sampler of them. It was so much fun to test them out. (Thank you, Aimee's Man!)
• The sweet texts we're getting from Perry telling us all the cute things that the babies are doing. We taught Lum part of the cup game while they live here, and he just decided to do part of it today! ; )
• Little friends at church! So many of them came up to greet me and give me hugs or hang on my arm as I was talking to someone older.
• Matching my two littlest sisters at church. We wore red skirts and white shirts. ; ) It was so fun! (Every time Daddy would say, "Where's so and so?" I'd just say, "She's in a red skirt.") ; ) 
• Hilarious family discussions of whether or not the word "both" could mean more than two. Google may have settled the issue. For now... ; )
• Music. I'm loving Josh Groban's instrumental "The Wandering Kind (Prelude)", almost everything by the PianoGuys, and "The Cup Song". Here's the original version of it from the movie.(Please note that these links are on YouTube, so be careful to guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus. Also, "The Cup Song" does unfortunately have a reference to drinking, but what I enjoy about that song is its sound.) Great background music for working in the kitchen or any time the mood needs a little lightening! ; )
• A fresh notebook and about four story ideas! County fair story here I come! Children's picture book second draft here I come! Dragons and chimney sweeps story here I come! Robin Hood, Peter Pan, Queen Susan, and King Arthur all in one story here I come! (I know, the last two story ideas are crazy. I love them.)
• Crazy family spray bottle fights. Wow, enough said there. O.o.
• Our sweet dog Ella. (Lum calls her "Lella".) Love. ; )
• Danny Kaye. We were laughing over our favorite parts in his old movies ridiculously late last night. ; )
• The love of God, so rich and pure, all measureless and strong.

Today what are you grateful for?

Originally posted by Kate at http://thesacramentofliving.blogspot.com/