so many posts, so little time

Hello wonderful people! I may be slightly MIA this week.... here's why:

--We have Vacation Bible School this week from 9 to 12 every morning. The kids are loving it and having so much fun, as am I. I get to be a class helper for Emma's class, which consists of 6 little girls and one lone boy. How fun is that? The only downside to VBS is that it is in Shafter, at our sister church, which means lots of time and gas for driving. And people, it is no easy feat (at least for me) to get me and my two girls ready and out of the house by 8:30 EVERY MORNING. We did good today though, and I'm sure we will survive after all. :)

--On Wednesday night my family arrives here at our house from Colorado (YAY) to stay the night before they head down to LA on Thursday. While I am so very, very happy they are coming and more excited than I can say, this means that I must actually accomplish some serious cleaning. Last week was very busy, and then I painted a room on Saturday, which means not only did I not have time to get to the mess from the week, I added to it. Today I was a little too pooped to accomplish much, so that means in the next two days I must be quite diligent.

--My brother Elijah is being commissioned into the Air Force (he was a part of the ROTC program through college) on Saturday, so we will be driving down south (again!) on Friday. That day will be spent at the beach with the aforementioned family plus my brother's new girlfriend, who just so happens to be a sweet girl that I've known for years and years, and haven't seen in forever. I'm really excited about all that! We'll stay the night Friday, and then attend the ceremony before heading home again.

What a whirlwind of a week it shall be! As you can see, blogging might have to take a bit of a backseat. The funny thing is, I have so many posts I've been wanting to write, and there just never seems to be the right opportunity lately. It is SO BUSY. I love busy-ness though, as long as I can find time for a little relaxation and some of the things I so enjoy-- such as Saturday night when we had a family gathering, which was long-awaited and so fun (I got to see this girl, along with everyone else-- I love our family). Yesterday afternoon gave me a lovely couple hours with Jessica to just chat over tea at Starbucks-- ah, so refreshing. Today, I got to take a nap while my worn-out girls slept too. So, in the midst of all the craziness that is our life recently, and despite being a teensy bit exhausted and feeling slightly overwhelmed and inadequate at times, like I just can't keep up with everything... God is so good, and so gracious. And I am so thankful for each lovely blessing that makes our life exactly what it is!

I shall leave you with a few tidbits.

Here is my exposaroonie photo submission for this week. The challenge was "a different perspective". I tried out lots of different things with this in mind, but I really felt my non-existence of photog knowledge on this challenge. However, this shot struck me because of the beautiful blue sky, and I think I'm pretty pleased with it. Go on over and check out the other entries to vote for your favorite-- there are some amazing pictures!

Speaking of photos: my husband Jeremy, aka my sweet honey-bunches, just got a new camera. It's quite fancy and much beyond me, but he is quite technical and loving it (I just love the pictures it takes, and may even try to experiment a bit). He's using his blog to post some of the many photos he is taking with his new toy, and told me that he would love to receive constructive criticism and photog-ing tips of any kind. Since I know there are quite a few amazing and experienced photographers out there, some who even read this little blog of mine, I thought I would give him a shout-out. Mosey on over and take a peek, tell him what you think if you want! And that goes for anyone, not just you photographers. :)

I took this picture of our Annabellesie-boo to show off the lovely Strawberry Shortcake bandaid she is sporting. (and because her little face surrounded by that curly blond hair is so cute I could eat her up)

She has a tendency to "pick" at anything on her skin-- so whenever she gets even the tiniest of owies we have to put a bandage on it or she will make it bleed again and again, not allowing it to heal. I found this out when I put her down for a nap one day when she had a little bump with a bit of a scab on her head. After she woke up several hours later and I went into her room to get her up I was greeted by a sight no parent likes to see: my daughter's face smeared with dry blood! This happened several other times with that same bump, until I finally realized that SHE was making it bleed by picking her scab off every time. Now, bandaids are a must in every case.

By the way, thank you for the sweet and endearing comments on my last post. I don't ever remember to say it, but I really do love each and every little comment any of you leave for me-- they always brighten my day, whether they are in regards to some deeper thought or something silly like being ugly as an old person. You all make me smile!!