Summer Comes to an End

Summer is OVER........
I know I haven't blogged in a couple of weeks..... I kept thinking if I don't post the pictures and type about the great times we have had together in the last couple of weeks, then my time with my kids all day long won't come to an end! Not the case as I found out when I had to go to work "officially" TODAY. I say OFFICIALLY because I spent probably 50+ hours up their last week just getting ready for the big day.

I have to be honest I am really dreading leaving the MY kids this year more than usual!

I don't know if it is because of the year we have had with Jaylee being so sick, meeting the Macs and losing Cora, or losing a dear friend, AMBER. All of these things have greatly impacted my life, so I seem to have a heavy heart about going back to work this time...... I tear up just thinking about the moments I am going to miss with the kids..... Yes there are some days I wanted to sell all three of them, but I have learned to cherish EVERY minute and there will be tooooo many minutes away from them. I keep thinking I have to change this attitude QUICKLY because I know I will have 15 bright little faces on Thurs. just waiting to have a successful and fun year with who? ME...... So I WILL once again do it and love it, but hurt in my heart because my own kids are growing up without me 9+ hours a day.

We have had so many things going on in the last two weeks it is hard to post about them all, so I will post pictures and you can decide for yourselves if our lives have calmed down any???????

At Jeff and Amy's in Lawrence: The kids were cooling off in the pool!

Mari and her contagious laugh! what a dolly! They say she is a little drama queen at times, but of course Tia Amie didn't see it! hah ahahaha ....

They loved hugging big Tio Jason!

And yes the two buds had a blast together AGAIN! :)

T-REX: Cool restaurant at the Legends mall: They could even dig for fossils or build a "Dino".

GREAT WOLF LODGE: The kids had a blast here! So much to do, so little time...... There was swimming nonstop, wizard wand scavenger hunts, eating, buying souvenirs, and even staying an extra day because we had sooooo much FUN! GOOD TIMES!

And then comes the REAL FUN????? Bull riding???? yep you guessed it.... the boys thought they needed to ride the big bull! ha

Look at them, they are twins! tooooooo FUNNY!

and then of course little Missyyyyy had to show them up!

Kali and I were too smart, to even try it! :)

And after every day this is the end result! GOOOODDDD TIMEEESSSSS!

Kali's big question???

The Question!
Kali went to church camp this past week and came home a "different" girl..... Still happy, loving and goofy, BUT just a bit more grown up...... The question she asked all week and wanted them to tell her the answer to was: "When will I know I am a "real" Christian?" WOW what a heavy question...... They told her you will just "know"..... in a sense YES I believe that, but there is more to the answer than just that.

She told me their theme for the week was to Come With Me By yourselves to a Quiet place and get some rest.
What a concept for a teenager! Of course she had taken her cell phone, but they asked for them when they got there so they could really concentrate on what was important....... AWESOME..... She text me on the way home and said she had a blast, made lots of new friends and really connected with GOD. AMAZING!

I was so happy for her and almost jealous. What a refreshed feeling!

She asked me what I thought the answer to her BIG QUESTION was, and I had to be honest..... I don't know the answer to that..... I was raised in a Catholic family and we did go to church every Sunday. I went through all the motions of church, got confirmed and even married the first time in the Catholic church. I told her I THOUGHT it is about being a good person, knowing right from wrong, and always trying to be a BETTER person in what we say and do to yourself and others. BUT is that the correct response?

I think I have felt that feeling of being a Christian and it is what gets me through most days and things that happen or have happened in my life..... But are we really "CHRISTIANS" in the sense of what we should be?

We as a family have been searching for that "FEELING" of finding the church that can make us walk out in AWE after the service? Should we put that much pressure on the church or is it our responsibility to make it an AWE moment for ourselves??

She said they had "church chat" with the youth pastor every night, and she couldn't believe how she thought every thing he said was directly spoken to her..... She said I felt so much when he prayed out to us..... She had some sad moments at camp, praying for things she wished she could change in her life..... Like her dad Steve...... Things aren't good with that relationship and she finally sees it for what it is...... That is a hard thing for a little girl to grasp..... I try to stay positive and remind her to pray not only for change but for the life and things that are awesome in her life everyday also. God also wants to hear the good too.......

As I set here I am tearing up and thinking how much she has grown up and how time has flown by. She will leave for college in 5 short years. I am so proud of the person she IS becoming and the questions she is asking herself, it is a beginning to a life lesson that she as well as all of us will CHERISH for a lifetime.......