Summer Pictures

okay, after that downer of a post last time, i thought i'd do something more happy and post somes pictures. i know it's been forever since i have, but things have been a little crazy, as always.

b/c it's been so hot and rainy this summer, we've done a lot of indoor crafts and playing in the pool. this first one is of a painting we did with everyone's handprints all over it. it turned out really well, although i don't have a picture of the finished product. sorry. :o(



next, we took a TON of toys out of the girls' room. they weren't playing with half of them and their room was always a mess. so, we decided to start a rotation so all of the toys get played with and there aren't so many in the house. now, our garage on the other hand.....

this is shiloh helping to make biscuits and gravy one morning. we have this a lot. it doesn't take long and it's sooooo good!

another craft. they spent hoooours working on these. i just gave them some sparkly pipe cleaners and a value pack of costume beads. it kept them busy literally all day and they still play with the things they made.

(they were still in their pajamas when i took these, obviously. shiloh's been on a thing lately where she wants to wear our shirts all the time.)


after pool time, waiting for me to come help her get dressed. demon child, anyone...? she sure looks creepy in this picture...

outside again, another day when the weather wasn't actually too bad.


she was trying to come up with a silly face to make, but it wasn't working out....


...then she found one. :)

she's so pretty.

helping rick dish out leftover cheese enchiladas. she really loves to help in the kitchen.


i'm not sure if you can see him, but there's a small frog on that tarp. we found him when we were uncovering the pool one day. we named him jeremiah.

and then moved him to a safer location.

then, when i sat down at the table to crochet while the girls played, i found another one! we named her lilly. i'm not sure how we knew she was a girl, but we knew. she stayed right there the whole time i was outside, like 2 feet from my face. funny.

what we didn't realize at the time, though, was that the frogs were spreading the word that our house was the place to hang out, and, apparently, to lay your eggs. about two days later (and after seeing a TON more frogs on our back deck), hundreds of tadpoles hatched in our pool. we had to clean it out, obviously, but it was craziness.

shiloh and lara, playing in the clown car...


mamaw, when it was still possible for her to come and sit with us...

so, rick shaved his head. and here are a couple of pictures. i'm not sure if there's really any more i can say about this.


shiloh being sweet, wading at the edge of her pool.


on another pool day, snacking outside.


this is phoebe, the stray we found a few weeks ago. she was pregnant and we took her to the humane society, where she was adopted. yay. :)


lump apparently didn't want his picture taken. he doens't look too pleased.
phoebe again. geez, she was so precious...
and here's dallas! he sure is getting gray, isn't he? he's almost 10, so i guess it's about time. he's actually lost some weight, although he could still stand to lose a few pounds. but, couldn't we all...? ;)

my friend, erin's, cake she made for her daughter's birthday. it was the Veggie Tales' "The Pirates Who Don't Do Anything." i thought it turned out so well!

something random to keep the girls' entertained. and it did for an hour or so. i cut out the middle of a paper plate and used a hole punch to punch holes all around the outside. i gave them some of my yarn and let them make whatever design they wanted and then decorate it afterwards. i think they mostly just liked getting to use "mommy's yarn," since they see me use it all the time. they still play with these, too, which i really like to see.


just hanging out, playing with shiloh's leapster.

shiloh at the park.
shiloh and lara, giving me scary smiles.
we stayed for awhile and found a big field area and had a snack picnic under a tree. i brough some embroidering stuff to work on, i let them pack a bag of toys, and we stayed there for almost three hours that day! it was awesome!

shiloh decided to wrap herself up in her blanket, it was so cute.



i though these were so funny. she just took off in the middle of the field, wearing her blanket.
still walking...

yeah, i'm not sure what this is about, but i had to take a picture. that poor panda didn't stand a chance...

showing me how she really feels...

and, lastly, these are pictures of a dress i made for her the other day. it didn't take long at all and it turned out MUCH better than i expected. she needed some church dresses, and i couldn't find a pattern i liked, so i just traced different parts of one that i knew fit her. i wasn't sure it would work out, but i think it did!



shiloh's only requirement was that it could "spin like a princess." she throws a major fit any time i try to put her in a dress that comes at or above her knees. it HAS to spin. :)


she was spinning and ran into the camera. hah.

pondering a leaf...


posing. i actually didn't ask her to do this, she just couldn't sit still. we were getting ready to go inside, and she plopped down and said "take my picture, please!!!" so, i did. :)

my two favorites of the ones i took:


i hadn't intended for that to be a photo shoot, but she was just being so cute, i couldn't help it!

anyhoo, that's it for pictures for now. off to bed. :)

What would you remember...

...if reading the Bible were a crime?

seriously -- here I am, sitting in my downstairs basement area, and without moving, I can count 7 Bibles. SEVEN. That's not even counting the ones that are upstairs that we actually use on a frequent basis. And what do I have to show for it? How much of God's Word can I actually recite?

If someone charged into my house today with a court order to seize and dispose of all of my Bibles, what would I remember? Is his Word actually hidden in my heart or do I leave it on the page?

Thinking about this tonight reminded me of a story I read about a teenager who was executed for reading the Bible, just one of many such atrocities:

Girl
16 or 17 years old
Asia
1970s

The Communist soldiers had discovered their illegal Bible study.

As the pastor was reading from the Bible, men with guns suddenly broke into the home, terrorizing the believers who had gathered there to worship. The Communists shouted insults and threatened to kill the Christians. The leading officer pointed his gun at the pastor's head. "Hand me your Bible," he demanded.

Reluctantly, the pastor handed over his Bible, his prized possession. With a sneer on his face, the guard threw the Word of God on the floor at his feet.

He glared at the small congregation. "We will let you go," he growled, "but first, you must spit on this book of lies. Anyone who refuses will be shot." The believers had no choice but to obey the officer's order.

A soldier pointed his gun at one of the men. "You first."

The man slowly got up and knelt down by the Bible. Reluctantly, he spit on it, praying, "Father, please forgive me." He stood up and walked to the door. The soldiers stood back and allowed him to leave.

"Okay, you!" the soldier said, nudging a woman forward. In tears, she could barely do what the soldier demanded. She spat only a little, but it was enough. She too was allowed to leave.

Quietly, a young girl came forward. Overcome with love for her Lord, she knelt down and picked up the Bible. She wiped off the spit with her dress. "What have they done to Your Word? Please forgive them," she prayed.

The Communist soldier put his pistol to her head. Then he pulled the trigger.

We do NOT face this sort of persecution on a daily basis. And I know that this is something that we've all heard before, but think about it -- if someone confiscated your Bible, made you spit on it upon the threat of death, what would you remember?

Would you remember John 3.16? Maybe Gen. 1.1? Just vague paraphrases of the Christmas story? Scattered themes of sermons and homilies from our pastors and priests?

This has really convicted me and made me feel irresponsible for owning so many Bibles and not reading them and committing them to memory, hiding God's Word in my heart. I feel like a spoiled brat. Maybe I am.

Dear Lexapro,

i miss you. my children miss you. my husband DEFINITELY misses you. please come back.

love, shaina


*sigh* my lexapro prescription ran out over the weekend. the pharmacy called my doctor to renew the prescription and he never called them back. by the time i get it filled, i will have been without it for three days. i'm usually a nervous wreck if i take it in the afternoon instead of first thing in the morning, so this sabbatical has not been fun.

for example, i watched a movie tonight. and actually teared up. and got all emotional and dramatic over it and was despondent, etc etc. i also can't seem to do daily things well. as in, i can't seem to make myself want to do really anything, like.... moving. and i'm SUPER jumpy. noise sensitivity is a huge thing for me, and anyone who has ever visited my home knows that it's not a particularly tranquil place to be, what with kids and dogs and mamaws and a stray cat that wants to live in the only house in the street (ours) that absolutely cannot have it (rick's allergic). now, seriously -- wasn't that random? it didn't have anything to do with anything and yet i ranted about it anyway.

this is dumb. i miss lexapro.