Beachy

After the first day, toby refused to go in the water again until the last day of our break!  

Here are some more pictures from our beach time, including Friday evening, when we didn't get to the beach until the place was largely deserted!

Chasing seagulls!

And singing to the ocean!!

We were there until the moon came out!

Epic sandcastle/lair/ball drop

Kept getting bigger!

Everybody was boogie boarding by Satruday, including me!

Emma graduated to diving into wave with Scott!  First hanging on his back, then going for it herself - only where she could stand.  I can't say I was ever totally comfortable watching her dive under a wave, but I was very proud!

Mini-break

Scott's been working 6/7 days a week all summer, so we weren't sure we'd get away for a vacation.  With the pool membership the kids have had plenty of fun in the sun, but we wanted to get away just the four of us, no competing issues.

As Scott's building nears completion he felt able to get away Wednesday-Friday.  We decided not to let the kids know there would be a change in our routine!  When Scott came home Tuesday he said we should extend the trip into Saturday, so we added a night at the hotel.

We put the kids to bed as usual, and set up a hint that something fun might be coming for them to find in the morning:

They didn't get it at first, thinking they were pool toys, nor did they pick up that Scott was home on a Wednesday!  Anyway, when we told them we were taking them to the beach for the day they were so excited.  We usually go a few times each summer but this would be our first of the year.

Scott built an underground lair for Tobys turtles!

We buried the kids

We managed to get Toby in the water, he had fun but it would be two more days before he'd try again!

Then friends of ours who were in town stopped by for a quick play date!

At the end of the day we told them we were staying three more days and staying at a hotel.  They were crazy excited!

The hotel was on the bay side of the city, so we had some pretty great views

We also hit the boardwalk for some fun on day one!

I'll post more after I get the laundry done and we are back to normal!

Theology with Toby

Tonight at bedtime we had "theological questions with Toby!"

"does God know every every everything?  Does he know what I like?

Yes.  And he knows things about you that even you don't know.  He put things in your heart that you'll find super fun if you let him show you.

"where is God?"

God is in heaven, and he watches over us.  

"Why did you say he is coming back?"

Jesus is in heaven too, and he's coming back to earth.  But the Holy Spirit lives in your heart if you ask him to, and he's all around us.

"He indivisible (invisible!)?"

Yes.  

"When we go to heaven will we see him?"

I don't know!  That's a really good question!

"Will he make us indivisible?"

Again, I don't know!

"who's in control?  Are we in control or is God in control?

Another good question!  We have the freedom to make our own choices, but sometimes we find it hard to make good choices.  If we ask God, he will help us make the right choices.  Otherwise we can be controlled by sin, the devil uses that to tempt us to make bad choices.

And that concludes "theological questions with Toby" for tonight!

Summer Saturday

Busy day today!

First off Em and I went into the city to get our back to school haircuts!  She was most excited about the shampooing!!

 It's significantly shorter than it was, but it's a definite style, and sooooo easy! I got a curling wand (it tapers at the end, making a tighter girl that will hold) and added some curls for an extra cute look!

And that was just in time for our third annual Backyard Blast!  Every summer the church has 2 or 3 barbecues at someone's home or he church. This was our third year hosting one, and we ended up with over 70 people joining us in our yard for food and fun!  We had the bouncy castle from church, put up the dartboard and had a 5 tables each with 8 chairs, featuring these simple centrepieces I made:

We had a great time and we're thrilled that some of our own friends and neighbors came over too.

Scott worked today, before the barbecue and will also be working again tomorrow (popping home to teach the pre-schoolers at church, then going back)!  Thankfully we have some plans for him to get a break from the grind before summer ends, God-willing.

Health is beautiful

While I was mowing the lawn today (girlpower!) emma came inside, put on her leotard and did the entire T25 cardio workout (alpha level, but who's counting)!! (Verified by Daddy.)

When I came in she told me what she'd done and I was so proud.  Could I have inspired her to do this?

Then she said "do I look skinny now?"  My heart broke.  I rarely use that word (it will never apply to me) so I don't know where she heard it.  I'm not even sure she knows what it means.

Trying to help an overweight child understand why they can't eat as much as they want whenever they want without them thinking it's because of looks is so hard.  I just want her to be healthy, to have self-control and avoid the guilt & shame cycle I've been on for years.

However I don't agree with the new trend of saying that as long as you are happy with your body it's all good.  Obesity is unhealthy, and its implications, especially for children, are far beyond dress size and feeling beautiful.

My grandmother told me that my great grandmother had a very simple pearl of wisdom when it came to losing weight. "Eat less."  I guess that's where I get my bluntness from!  But she was right, if you eat less, eat better, and move around a bit, you should be able to maintain a healthy body, notwithstanding illnesses or conditions.

The reason so many of us gain weight, struggle to lose weight and keep it off, is that we are unable to say no to ourselves, because we don't like being told "no". We have become so boundary less that we struggle to tell others know, but we also struggle to deny ourselves things that we want to, that are not good for us.

Learning how to relate to food, is as much about dealing with our own ability to say no to ourselves, as it is as much about the food we eat.

These days we have a tendency, if our desires do not line up with the word of God, that we question the word of God, and not our desires. But the Bible is fairly clear about the importance of self control. But we're overlooking that because we have decided that anywhere the Bible addresses behavior, it's judgmental.

Many of us need to practice saying no to ourselves, as much as we need help in saying "no" to other people.  And nobody likes to hear "no", to be told that they will not get their own way, and so we often refuse to tell ourselves know. 

Maybe you heard no way too much as a kid, maybe you didn't hear it enough.  I could probably point the finger and a number of reasons why I do not like to hear "no", but the truth is none of that matters, because I understand now, that I am responsible for my actions.

This is a daily battle for many of us, I still struggle with this almost minute by minute, but I know that what I want, is not what I should always have. And I need to be OK with not feeling OK.  At the same time, I'm trying to teach my kids how to say no to themselves. Part of my responsibility as a parent is to teach them how to have self-control, which is funny considering that I struggle myself with it.

But, I'm thankful that God knows what he's doing, and I'm not alone in this. He is right there with me giving me strength, wisdom, and grace.

Take me out to the ballgame

This evening we were fortunate enough to be offered four free tickets and parking for a Phillies game.  We snapped them up and brought the kids to their first game!!

We had great seats!

We had some dinner

And watched the game!

Making memories is what summer is for!

Me and my girl!!

From last Saturday!

Toothy time

I took emma for a follow-up at the orthodontist today.  I've lost track of how long she's had the lower expander in her mouth, but apparently it's really working.

Today she had "spacers" put in.  These are small pieces of rubber/plastic that were wedged between two upper teeth on each side.  Her teeth will move apart and in a week metal rings will replace them, fixed around one tooth on each side.

A week after that (two weeks time) the palate expander apparatus will be attached and we will begin to widen the top too.

Emma is very nervous, and I can't tell her for sure it won't hurt, but the spacers stopped hurting within a couple hours and the dentist said it might take a few days. Emma is holding on to that!

At the appointment they actually told me it would be two weeks between each appointment, putting the day for the expander to go in as the second day of school.

I politely but firmly told them that that was not going to happen.  She is already at a speech disadvantage with new people, under no circumstances will i handicap her the day after starting a new school!!

So, she'll have a week to adapt for eating and speech.  Her therapist will come in that week too, so she will help if necessary.

I'm glad I stood my ground, even offering to remove the spacers if they couldn't work with us!!

Scott promised Toby a new gun if he passed the swim test a while back.  Toby didn't forget!

Scott bought the gun.  

True artist

True to my word, I took emma to a painting class.  She really enjoyed it, we had some good mother daughter time and came home with a really good painting!

Check out this smile!!

What a constructive way too spend $25 and a Sunday afternoon!

Summer nights

After the triumphs with deep water, we hung out until past dusk

And had a lot of fun trying to make the biggest splash with cannonballs of the high dive!

It was a great Saturday, following a great Friday night when we went out to our favourite restaurant with the same friends, and a few others!

Emily, Christina and Kali with me!

Left to right: Grant, Scott (they could pass for the Mitchell brothers from Eastenders!), Christina and Jeremy, Kali, me and Emily (Grant's wife)

I had Emily snap this picture after I grabbed Scott!  He's not one for posing for pictures - not a huge social media fan!!