A Sad Goodbye

Our beloved Aunt Jill moved to Atlanta today.  She will be very missed at our house.  We have been blessed to have her living close to us for the last 11 years, so it'll be quite a change to not have her close by anymore.  Thankfully, she'll be traveling here for work at various times, so that'll be nice.  Here are a few pictures of Jill and the girls, and also her beloved dog, Ellie.

Back to Homeschool!

It's back to Homeschool for us!  We had a great first day and are looking forward to what the year holds for us!

Ashlyn is in 2nd grade this year,

And Jaclyn is in 4th grade.

Volleyball Camp with Katelyn

My sister's daughter, Katelyn, got to come spend the week with us a couple weeks ago for Craig's volleyball camp. Of course, my girls loved having her here, and hopefully she got some skill practice out of the deal too!

Merlin's Apprentice and the Deadly Dragon!

My two oldest girls had the privilege of participating in Camp Creamery's theater camp last week, and they had a blast! The play was Merlin's Apprentice and the Deadly Dragon. Ashlyn was one of the royal jesters and Jaclyn was honored to be given a lead role of Merlin's Apprentice, Addawin. Jaclyn worked very hard the whole week and did a super job on Friday night at the play. She had quite a few lines and songs to memorize and they even asked her to do an additional song to help out the little frogs who were struggling. She took it on and seemed to have no trouble at all! We're very proud of both girls and thrilled to see them have so much fun acting and singing.

We were thrilled that my parents, the girls' cousin, Katelyn, and Craig's mom and sister could all come to the performance!

Another School Year Wrap Up!

Wow.  School is over for us.  Doesn't seem like it's time yet...maybe 'cause it was only a high of 70 today!  The girls enjoyed their year at Hillside.  I don't think I've blogged much about it, so I thought I'd just post some pictures of some of the fun end-of-year activities they had.

Science Fair:

School of the Wild:

Hula Dancing and Friends!:

Field Day:



And, summer begins! 

Thank Heaven, She Made It to 7!

I can remember when Ashlyn was 2.  I would pray and pray and pray that God would protect her and just keep her alive!  She was so fast and just ran and jumped off of everything.  There were some days the odds seemed completely against us that she would survive her toddler and preschool years.  Thank goodness God was looking out for her, and here she is now, age 7!  Still full of life and activity, but a little more under control.  :)

We celebrated her birthday in March, so here are some pictures to share:

Celebrating with her friends at Hillside.  She also chose the loud and crazy version of the song.

She wanted a gingerbread man theme for her birthday this year, so we did the best we could to find gingerbread man stuff in March!

We had a great party at home with friends.  Her guests were:  Paige Safly, Erinn and Aimee Varga, Lydia and Elise Hunter and Abigail O'Rear.

Ashlyn is so blessed with creativity.  My hope is that she will some day value the gift that she has and use it for God's glory.   I love to see her writing stories and songs.  All too often I have to tell her to quit making up songs and practice the songs in her book.  I always feel a tinge of guilt for that...I would love to let her create her own songs all the time, but I guess there's good in learning the method too!  Hopefully when there's time for her to create, she will still want to do it.

Here is a song that she is currently writing.  The notes don't perfectly line up with what she's playing, but I still think it's very good!  And, when she plays it, it sounds great!  It's called "Snow Blizzard".

I love you, Ashlyn!

Jaclyn's 9, How Divine!

Jaclyn turned 9 this past February, and this year she finally saved up and contributed toward her very own American Girl Doll.  It was a great birthday, full of celebration both at school and at home, both with many friends.

Her first birthday at Hillside.  They have a tradition where the birthday kid gets to pick how loud and crazy they want their birthday song sung, so Jaclyn chose the craziest type and loved it.

Back at home for a party with friends.

Birthday guests were (top to bottom):  Lydia Cui, McKenzie Logan, Kalin Rotzoll, Aubrey Miller, Lydia Hunter, Ashlyn & Abby Anderson

This girl is growing up fast!  Getting tall and becoming her own little woman.  Experimenting with how her personality will be.  Wanting to be well-liked by all but realizing that not everyone will like you all of the time.  Battling her own wants/desires vs. getting along with friends. Wanting freedom and play time but acknowledging that with age comes more responsibility.  Wow, we're close to embarking on a whole new chapter in our lives...I can feel it.  Love you, Jaclyn.  God has designed you as uniquely His, and I look forward to witnessing your growth and hopefully still influencing you along the way...if you'll let me!