Preschool and stuff....

* Kaitlyn started preschool this week. She is going to the pre-k class at our church preschool while I work there. I am in the infant room, rocking babies in the morning. She loves her class and her teachers. I love the people I work with, the environment, and that I get the rest of the day with my family. I also will get to take our baby with me to work when that time comes. It's a blessing to our family.

* We are headed to Kansas this weekend. We are going to Emporia first to see Jarod's family and meet our new nephew. We are going to have a birthday party for Ethan (his birthday is on Tuesday) which will involve a camo cake, water fights, and homemade ice cream! Then we are headed to KC to see family and friends. It's going to be a great weekend.

*We had an all church picnic this last Sunday. It was held at a local park, and so many people came. We had a potluck style dinner with grilled hamburgers; an egg toss; a pie eating contest; a 3-legged race; and the ministers and elders got pies in their faces to raise money for a missions trip. Here's a picture of all the ministers and elders after getting pie in the face(Jarod is standing up with a black trash bag on):

I love that a church this size does picnics together. It's a lot of work putting it together, but it was so much fun!

* 2 weeks from Friday we find out if we are needing to buy pink or blue baby stuff. I'm excited to know who it is that's in there! I've been feeling pretty good and starting to grow. It's fun to see my belly getting rounder, and I can feel the baby move now too. So thankfully all is going well so far!

My bit.....

So this morning one of my friends put for her status on facebook:

"I think it's sad how "excited" parents are about school starting soon. When did our children switch from blessing to burden??"

This is a friend that I've known for 11 years, and she and her husband are big time advocates for homeschooling as they homeschool their children. So it kind of upset me b/c I hate the rift there is between homeschooling and public schooling. (we will leave private school out b/c they generally are in a category of their own) The assumption with her status is that if you are excited to send your kids away to school then you see you kids as a burden. I don't want to dwell on this b/c it is a sensitive issue that can be divisive and is not a salvation issue. But I do want to say that I wish both sides would support the other and not think more highly of themselves for choosing one or the other. Just b/c you homeschool doesn't mean you are more spiritual or love your children more and on the other side just b/c you choose public school doesn't mean you are more spiritual or love your children more. We are in this together, fighting the good fight, trying to win people to Christ. I wish the big picture would be what we see, the reason we are here: to love God and to love His people. Whatever method you choose to educate your children, you have to be involved, and you still have the responsibility to teach your children about God. I know families on both sides that do an amazing job and have amazing children.

We are excited for school to start. My boys are so excited to go and meet new friends and have new adventures. I am excited for each step of their life, and Jarod and I join them on their journey. We met a lot of great families last year and have had ministry opportunities b/c of that. I grant you that some people do get excited to ship their kids off for the day but not all families are like that. We are enjoying the adventure of raising our kids, and we look forward to what comes this year.

So let's not let this issue be a ruler of spirituality or love for our children. Let's support one another and encourage each other to raise our children to love God above all else. That's my bit that I felt I needed to get out.....

Hot town, summer in the city....

It is sooo hot!!! I am ready for fall! This is the second or third week of 98 or higher degree weather. Today it is 103 and tomorrow is supposed to be 106 with heat index of 112. So needless to say we haven't been doing much during the day. Taking it easy and enjoying the last couple weeks before school starts is all we've been doing- and eating a lot of ice cream.

We did take the kids bowling on Saturday. We had promised them we would as a reward (that they picked) for doing such a great job at school last year. So thanks to kidsbowlfree (Thank you Alisa!) they got to bowl 2 games with just the cost of shoe rental. It was so fun to watch their three different styles, and they loved doing it together. Here's my cuties in their sweet bowling shoes:



In other news, we have started trying to sell Jarod's truck. This is out of choice not out of necessity, so we are willing to wait for the right price. We have two main reasons why we are selling the truck: to have room to travel in with 4 kids come this winter and b/c we are wanting to downsize to another minivan. We have really been feeling God challenging us in how we live- basically how can we live more sacrificially so that we can make a difference in someone else's life. We don't want pride or material things to come in the way. I will maybe write on that more at another time but for now that's all I'm going to say. :-) But if you would like a great truck at a great price, let us know!

Jarod's sister had her baby last week! We are so happy for her and Nathan and can't wait to meet Nate Jr.! Hopefully we will be making the KC run to Emporia and KC here in a few weeks (as long as Jarod can get someone to cover that Sunday leading worship). We would love to see both families and some friends we haven't seen in a long time. We'll keep you updated....