Friday Five-O #18 {Scrumptious Bakery Items, Swimming, and Sweet Love Notes}

Good Morning, Darlings!

I hope this finds you doing well!

I honestly cannot believe how fast the weeks are flying by!

Perhaps it's because I feel like all I do during the week

is run around after a bunch of Little Scribblers! :)

Come on! And I'll tell you more on today's

Saturday I got up early to get my car fixed
(shout out to my Mom who paid for the new brake pads!
THANK YOU!!!!).
After dropping off my car to be repaired,
Mom and I headed to Panera Bread for a SCRUMPTIOUS Breakfast.

I once heard Christian Comedian Chonda Pierce say,
"Some people are so proud of their gym memberships
that they wear a shirt that says: 'I Belong to the Gym'.
I want a shirt that says: 'I Belong to the Bakery.'"
My thoughts exactly! :)

As usual, the weekend passed way to fast for me!
But I was actually somewhat excited for work on Monday.
Monday was the first day my Little Scribblers were allowed to swim! :)

They had LOTS of fun and completely wore themselves out
and took great naps! :)

Tuesday on my lunch break,
I was able to enjoy sitting by the pool WITHOUT
a whole bunch of Little Scribblers running around! :)

I would say that it was a lovely experience working on my tan,
but it's more accurate for me to say that the Sun worked on me
and turned me into a walking tomato.
I'm not kidding...

Wednesday was yet another swim day!

My little darlings just can't seem to get enough!
They are never ready to get out
and ask me every morning if it is a Swim Day.

Thursday is always a Fun Day at the YMCA
because the Peoria Public Library Bookmobile visits us! :)
(Also, it happened to be my Mom's Birthday!
Happy Birthday, Mom!)
Last week, we checked out several books from the Bookmobile.
I told the Little Scribblers that we were going to return them
with Love Notes inside :).

Obviously, I did the lettering,
but then I had the Little Scribblers doodle all over the heart with crayons.
They turned out adorable!
The Librarian on the Bookmobile absolutely LOVED them! :)

How was your week?
I would LOVE to hear all about it!

Thank you so much for visiting today!
I hope you have a great weekend!

Friday Five-O #17 {Dinners Out, Celebrations, and Cookouts!...Yep, It Was Father's Day Weekend!}

Good Morning, Everyone!

I hope this finds you ending a good week

and ready for the weekend! :)

As I'm sure you all know, last weekend was Father's Day Weekend

and that is pretty much what is going to be setting the tone

for this weeks:

Friday night when I got home from work,

I found my mom and my Uncle Bob hanging out on my front porch.

Uncle Bob is one of my mom's older brothers.

He used to be the closest one to her geographically,

residing right across the River in East Peoria.

But he has now moved to Arkansas

and is simply visiting Illinois for the weekend.

After giving me a few moments to get cleaned up from work activities,

the three of us bundled into mom's car and headed to Lorena's Mexican restaurant 

for dinner with yet more family :)

We are just One Cool Family...and that's all there is to it! :)

On Saturday, the Father's Day Festivities 

sort of morphed into multiple birthday celebrations.

And where better to celebrate a birthday than a Steakhouse? :)

Especially a Steakhouse where they sing 

"Happy Birthday to You" with Banjo accompaniment! :)

Sunday after church,

we continued the Father's Day Fun with a family cookout.

After tummies had been filled,

we settled in for the backyard fun!

I think we have a "Natural" on our hands!

Look out, T-Ball! Here he comes!

Monday it was back to work with the Little Scribblers!
And we had a birthday!
One of my little loves was turning the Big 5!

And he (or rather his AWESOME Mom) was nice enough
to bring cupcakes to share with everyone!

Wednesday, I FINALLY got to do a photo shoot
that has been in the works for nearly two months!
Due to weather and scheduling conflicts,
we kept having to reschedule,
but we were FINALLY able to do it that evening...
in 90+ degree heat...ugh!
Nevertheless, I'm very happy with how the shoot turned out!

And, I'm proud to say, we finished in about 25 minutes!
Shortest photo shoot I've ever done! :)

How was your week?
How did you celebrate Father's Day with your family?
I would love to hear you stories!

Thank you so much for visiting today!
Please come back soon!

I Believe in Giving Second Chances {I'm a HOPELESS Romantic!}

Good Evening, Lovelies!
I hope this finds you doing well on this Thursday!

Tonight I'm stopping by to tell you a little bit more about myself.
This is rather a large part of me
and if you've been following my blog for very long at all,
I'm sure you've already picked up on this...
I am a HOPELESS romantic.

In EVERY sense of the word.

I'm into mushy movies, nostalgic novels, and melancholy music.

(See...the fact that I came up with those adjectives

kinda proves my point for me...
by the way, is there a name for matching the first letter of an adjective
to the first letter of the noun????
Just curious...anyway...).

I view the world through rose-colored glasses most of the time.
That's just me I guess.

In some ways this is fine.
It has helped me find the good in bad situations.
For example, my romantic notions
cause me to seek until I find
something worth hoping for and/or believing in
even when it seems there will never be a light at the end of the tunnel.
It's made me appreciate the importance of family
and treasure the little things in life.
Like hugs from my kiddos,
fields covered in dandelions and clovers,
and the glorious vibrancy of autumn.

My romantic notions have DEFINITELY spilled over into my every day life!
Like the fact that I usually give mushy cards for people's birthdays.
Some people think I'm too mushy,
but I think life is short and unpredictable
and that we should say how we feel while we have the chance.
I try to make each child I come into contact feel special.
I try to remember to smile,
because my smile might be the only thing
a person sees that can brighten up their day.
And, yes, this means that I truly believe
that something as small as a smile can effect a person's entire day.

My romantic notions have also impacted my life in more significant ways as well.
They've taught me to CHOOSE to believe in people.
I think people deserve the opportunity to make up for past mistakes.
After all, that's what I want after I mess up and hurt those around me:
a second chance to prove that I can be trusted not to hurt them again.
Along with ole' Abe, I choose to look for the good in people.
I am making the conscious choice to believe that people are worth trusting.

(via)

Having now said that, I don't mean that I'm burying my head in the sand.
We were all born with a sin nature.
We are all naturally self-seeking and self-pleasing.
And there are people in this world who do terrible things.
There are people who intentionally wish to cause harm in other people's lives,
but I would venture to say that in general we as humans are not like that.
As humans we enjoy giving gifts to our children,
we feel better about ourselves when we donate time and/or money to charities,
we appreciate stories of individuals who take time to rescue an injured animals.
As a species, we like doing good things.
And it that aspect of our characters, that I choose to believe in.

I'm not saying its always easy.
At times, it feels straight up impossible.
Particularly after someone has intentionally, repeatedly hurt you.
Jesus dealt with this issue with his disciples in the Book of Matthew.
"...Peter got up the nerve to ask,
'Master, how many times do I forgive a brother or sister who hurts me? Seven?'
Jesus replied, 'Seven? Hardly! Try seventy times seven!'"
(Matthew 18:21-22 The Message)
But does this mean that a woman who has been a victim of spousal abuse
should stay in the marriage and continue to put herself in the position to be abused?
Should a child repeatedly and silently submit himself
to the emotional trauma of verbal bullying?
Should a person keep putting their trust into another person
who keeps hurting them?

I think the answer lies in the remainder of that chapter in Matthew.
After answering Peter, Jesus told him a story:
"The kingdom of God is like a king who decided to square accounts with his servants.
As he got underway, one servant was brought before him
who had run up a debt of a hundred thousand dollars.
He couldn't pay up, so the king ordered the man,
along with his wife, children, and goods,
to be auctioned off at the slave market.
The poor wretch threw himself at the king's feet and begged,
'Give me a chance and I'll pay it all back.'
Touched by his plea, the king let him off, erasing the debt.

The servant was no sooner out of the room
when he came upon one of his fellow servants who owed him ten dollars.
He seized him by the throat and demanded, 'Pay up. Now!'
The poor wretch threw himself down and begged,

'Give me a chance and I'll pay it all back!'

But he wouldn't do it.

He had him arrested and put in jail until the debt was paid.

When the other servants saw this going on,

they were outraged and brought a detailed report to the king.

The king summoned the man and said,

'You evil servant! I forgave your entire debt when you begged me for mercy.

Shouldn't you be compelled to be merciful to your fellow servant who ask for mercy?'

The king was furious and put the screws to the man

until he paid back his entire debt.'"

Jesus concluded the story by saying this:

"And that's exactly what my Father in heaven is going to do

to each one of you who doesn't forgive unconditionally

anyone who asks for mercy."

I could very possibly be completely out of context by saying this
(after all, it is nearly midnight and I'm pretty tired...),
but I think part of the point Jesus was making was this:
We are to forgive and a give a second chance (or a 490th chance) 
to those who show genuine repentance and ask for our forgiveness.
Again, I'm not saying it's easy.
In fact its something that I struggle with on a daily basis.
The carnal nature I was born with doesn't like to forgive and forget.
No! It likes to hold grudges and make people pay for their mistakes.
So when I say I'm CHOOSING to give second chances,
I'm saying that I'm making a real effort
to go against my nature and do what I know to be right.

And I hope you will too...
not only will you greatly benefit from it
(there's nothing quite as freeing as forgiving and being forgiven),
but I will too.
I mess up a lot and am in need of frequent mercy.

Anyway, I hope you have a great day tomorrow!
I don't know about you,
but I'm looking forward to the weekend!
It promises New Beginnings! :)

I Was an Only Child {But I Had an Amazing Big Brother}

Good Morning, Friends and Family!
As I have mentioned before,
I survived the first week of Little Scribblers Summer Camp 2014.
And actually, I think it's safe to call it a successful week! :)
As I stated in this previous post,
our curriculum theme for the week was:
My Family & Me.

By the end of the week, all the talk about family and particularly siblings,
had really got me thinking about my lack thereof.
I do have Melissa, my older half-sister,

but we aren't and probably never will be as close as I would like us to be
(for various reasons for which we are both to blame).
That fact along with the fact that Melissa never lived with me
allows me to truly consider myself as an only child.

I always hated being an only child. 
I also strong disliked not having a dog,
but that's a story for another time.
I will say this however,
lately, my cousin, McKenzie, has been "shopping" for dogs for me...
I'm not sure when she thinks I'm going to be able to be a Puppy Mama,
but she's preparing for the event regardless.
Look at this little guy she picked out...
He is pretty cute! :)

But anyway, I digress...
Siblings...the teammates I never had.
In my mind that is one of the worst fates you can put on a child: 
to make them grow up alone without a sibling or an in-house playmate. 
As I already mentioned, I do have an older sister 
 -- and three cousins that I refer to as my little sisters --
but none of them actually lived with me. 
I would be lying to say that I never noticed a void in my life 
that should have been filled with siblings. 

I never had anyone on my side when Mom and I would argue...
like a sibling.
I never had anyone to blame things on...
like a kid sister.
I never had a shoulder to cry on...
like a big brother.
I was always...alone.
And I didn't like it.

If and when I have children, 

I plan to make sure that they have siblings 

to play with, fight with, team up with, 

argue over bathroom time with, support, love, hate, etc. 

Even if this means I have to adopt a child 

in addition to giving birth to one, 

if it is within my power, I simply will not allow my child to grow up as I did.

That's not to say that being an only child was all bad.
There were some perks:
I was the favorite and there was no one to argue that.
Most of the time, I had Mom's full attention.
And I definitely appreciated the solitude I had as an only child!
But now, as an adult,
I really miss the camaraderie that comes with having adult siblings in your life. 

I've read numerous books (both fictitious and otherwise) on this subject.
Yes, there are cons to having siblings,
but personally, I think the pros outweigh the cons.
Maybe I'm just totally clueless,
but I do think my life would've been significantly different
had I had at least one sibling growing up in the house with me.

Sisters would have been fun,
and I have no doubt that I would adore them as much as (if not more than)
the three GORGEOUS Girls I call my Little Sisters!

But I've always dreamed of having a big brother!
In my mind, a big brother equals a protector.
I guess in a way, I've never really felt protected.
I've felt smothered and overly-sheltered,
but not protected...and there is a difference.
Furthermore, a big brother is someone finds you 
completely annoying while you're growing up
and then turns around and completely adores you later in life.
He's your biggest supporter,
your most compassionate listener,
your most adoring fan,
and the absolute worst nightmare of anyone who dares to hurt you.
(Yes, I know I view the world through rose-colored glasses
and can be nauseatingly nostalgic...
get over it...this is me.)

In a way, I actually did have a big brother.
I think God provided him without me even having to ask 
because He knew I needed him
(yes, I think God does things like that).
No, he wasn't related to me by blood...
in fact he wasn't related to me at all.
He was...just there.
(Listen to me talking about him like he's dead...
HE'S NOT! He's just not a very big part of my life anymore.)
My Big Brother was a listening ear 
and a comforting presence when I needed one most.
He was encouraging and supportive.
He was a teacher and an instructor in righteousness
even when I didn't want him to be.
He was also a giant pain at times.
But that's just how brothers are, isn't it?
And I adored him...and the ground he walked on.

But because he wasn't related to me by blood,
I knew we couldn't be close forever.
Times change, people change, and lives change.
Ours did and I don't regret the change.
But I would be lying if I said I didn't still miss him at times.
Geographically, he's as close as he's ever been.
But emotionally, we are practically worlds apart...
and rightly so.

I really don't know how to end this post.
I have no desire to make anyone feel sorry for me
after reading this post.
I simply wanted to share what was in my heart
after a week of discussing family with my little darlings.
But, honestly, this is kind of how I live my life...
with a foot in each world so to speak.
My life isn't always a bowl of cherries,
sometimes its choking on the pits.
It is a Roller-Coaster Life
and I try to go with it as best as I can.

With that being said,
 I really do appreciate you stopping by today.
I would love for you to visit again soon!
I would also love to hear your stories of your family.
Do you have many siblings?
Did they drive you crazy growing up?
Do you count your family members as blessings or burdens or a little of both?
I would be excited to hear it all! :)

P.S. Just in case you ever get to read this, Big Bro,

I'm still trying to leave my mark on the world

like old Al did :).

I will do my best to not let you or him down.

Little Scribblers Week One Curriculum: My Family & Me (I Survived the First Week of Summer Camp 2014)

Good Evening, Dear Ones!

I hope this finds you doing well!

Well, I survived the first week of Little Scribblers Summer Camp!

WOOHOO!!!!

I'm Exhausted!

But in a good way...I'm tired because I've worked hard to achieve something.

That's a good kind of tired :).

Anyway, I wanted to take a moment 

and share a little bit of my Little Scribblers curriculum with you.

This week's focus was:

My Family & Me

We had A LOT of fun with this theme!

On Monday we discussed the uniqueness of every individual.

We had the kiddos make self-portraits.

They turned out A-MA-AZING! :)

Not that any of them actually look like the artists,

but still...I LOVE them! :)

Tuesday we talked about our Five Senses.

And how they allow us to experience the world around us.

Since it happened to be Judy Garland's Birthday,

we used "Somewhere Over the Rainbow" 

from The Wizard of Oz to illustrate this point.

I popped in our Wizard of Oz dvd 

and we listened to Dorothy sing the song

(that was using our ears).

Then I drew a rainbow on our chalk board

and had the children point out the different colors

(that was using our eyes).

Next, I passed our rainbow colored fruit snacks

and had the children give them a little squeeze

(that was using our touch)

and, of course, I then let the children smell them and then eat them

(that was using our noses and mouths).

Wednesday we went a little off topic.

These are kids we are talking about...

you gotta change things up to keep their interest! :)

Wednesday we celebrated Flag Day (which is actually this coming Saturday)

and we made that our primary focus.

Aren't these flags they made adorable?

And easy too! :)

Thursday, we started focusing more on our families,

particularly our Daddies

(since Father's Day is coming up on Sunday).

They made a GREAT craft that I have absolutely no pictures of...

I know, I know...

How could a Pathological Picture-Taker such as I

allow such a travesty to occur?

Well, I don't really have an answer other than I was too tired to even notice

that I had failed to photograph the crafts.

MY BAD!!!!

Friday we again focused on families as a whole

with an emphasis on our siblings, grandparents, and pets.

The kiddos made Family Trees

that turned out great!

Don't you think so?

How is your summer going thus far?
Are you focusing on FUN all summer
or are you going to try to interject some learning in your kids lives, or both? :)
I would love to hear your stories!

Thanks for visiting today!
I hope you come back real soon!

Blind Trust {Mom Had Some Surgery...}

Have you ever truly believed in something without proof?
It's not the easiest thing to do.
As humans we like to know what we are getting into
before we actually have to get into it.
It's hard to dive into a swimming pool when you are unsure of the depth.
It's hard to cross a rickety bridge when you wonder if it can and will hold your weight.
By far, Blind Trust is easier discussed than practiced.
But I've got a real life story that illustrates the reward of trusting blindly.
It goes something like this...

My mom had surgery on her finger a few weeks ago.

She had been having pain and extreme sensitivity to hot/cold

in the tip of the middle finger of her left hand.

Her orthopedic surgeon, Dr. Jeffrey Garst,

suggested an MRI be taken to see what could be found.
(For those of you who don't know,
MRI stands for Magnetic Resonance Imaging
that creates a high-tech visual look at the inside of the body.)
Dr. Garst had made an educated assumption that there was small tumor
under the fingernail of Mom's third finger.
For some reason, the MRI showed there was nothing abnormal
with Mom's hand.
But strangely enough,

Dr. Garst was certain the tumor was there anyway. 
He asked my mom to trust him and his instincts
and allow him to perform surgery on her finger
to locate and remove the tumor.

Honestly, if it had been me,
I don't know what my answer to him would've been.
Dr. Garst has successfully completed several different surgical procedures
on my mom in the last few years,
but I still don't know if I would be able to allow him
to go "hunting" for a tumor he thinks is there,
but for some reason didn't show up on an MRI.
Interestingly enough though, Mom didn't seem to have an issue with this.

She trusted him and allowed him to remove half of her fingernail.

Before the actual surgery, however,
Dr. Garst gave mom a marker and had her mark on her fingernail
exactly where the worst pain seemed to be coming from.
She indicated along the cuticle line of the right side of her finger.
Once Dr. Garst removed that half of the nail and peeled back the skin,
he was able to see that the tumor really was there
exactly where mom  had indicated
and just as he had predicted.
Why the MRI didn't pick it up, we aren't sure,
but the tumor was there exactly what Dr. Garst said it would be.
Dr. Garst successfully removed the tumor,
and apart from normal post-surgical tenderness,
Mom has been pain-free ever since.

In light of this, I had to ask myself,
"What if Mom had rejected the surgery
because she believed what was on the MRI (what she could see)
versus what her experienced physician told her (what she couldn't see)?"
She would most likely still be in constant pain
and possibly looking for another explanation for her discomfort.
But instead, she blindly trusted her physician
and has since been cured of her pain.
How has she able to do that?
How was she able to trust him without proof?

Well, #1: She was able to trust Dr. Garst
based on her previous experiences with him.
As I previously mentioned, Dr. Garst has performed multiple surgeries
on mom before and they all have had successful outcomes.
#2: Dr. Garst was very open and honest with Mom.
He explained to her that the kind of tumor she had was very rare
and have been known to go undetected on an MRI.
#3: Dr. Garst took time to really listen to his patient.
He encouraged Mom to (a) show him exactly where the pain was,
(b) describe the pain in vivid detail,
and (c) express her thoughts and concerns about the surgery
(which included pros and cons to having the surgery
and/or not having it).

Even with all those reassurances,
in my opinion, it was still a Pretty Big Deal
that she let Dr. Garst hack into her finger
(Wow...that sounded kind of violent...).
But she did it.
She took a breath, said a prayer, and jumped.
And she's better off for it.

Can't the same be said about trusting in God?
Aren't we always better off when we follow His ways
instead of relying on our own devices?
I'm not saying it's easy.
I'm saying its worth it.
Scripture lays it out plainly for us:
"As the heavens are higher than the earth,
so are my ways higher than your ways
and my thoughts than your thoughts."
That's God saying that to us.
He's calling us to completely put our trust in Him,
even when we don't see or truly understand what He is up to.

I can't speak for you,
but I think I'm going to give Blind Trust a try.
I'm choosing to believe what God has stated very clearly in His Word.
I want to see what He can do with this mess of a girl.
And, Lord knows, He's the only One Who can make
this piece of dirt into a vessel fit for His Service.
Somebody hand me a blindfold...:).

Friday Five-O #16 {Aaaannnndddd Summer Camp Starts in 5, 4, 3, 2, 1...}

Good Morning, Dears!

Happy Friday!

I don't know about you,

but I AM READY for the weekend!

I'm exhausted!

 C'mon! I'll tell you all about it on today's:

Last Friday was my final day of preparation

for my Littler Scribblers Summer Camp.

And let me just say,

I worked my booty off!

But I am very proud of how it turned out! :)

Sunday I was scheduled to work in the 2-3 year old class

(I think someone was trying to prepare me for Little Scribblers...).

It was a lovely day and we were able to take the kids outside to play.

Due to all the rain we have been getting around here,

there was a large puddle of water near the playground.

The kids naturally wanted to play in it

so I watched them carefully while they "fished" and threw rocks in.

Believe it or not, none of the kids got wet! :)

Monday was the first day of Little Scribblers Camp!

I had Nine little lovelies to take care of

and I fell head over heels in love with everyone of them!

We had an all-around GREAT day

talking about how special we are as individuals.

It was a perfectly gorgeous day 

and we were able to spend some time outdoors as well!

Most of this week (Sunday - Wednesday),

we have been having special revival services at POP.

Tuesday Night, Maranda and I both "got the memo"

to break out the animal print shoes for the occasion :).

"I've got the eye of the tiger, the fire! And you're gonna hear me ROAR!!!!" ;)

Thursday brought us some grumpy Little Scribblers :(.

I think it mostly had to do with them still adjusting to the new schedule

and it being near the end of the week.

As I already stated, I'M READY FOR THE WEEKEND

so it's understandable that they are too!

Tired or not though,

we made it through Thursday without any big mishaps

and again were able to play outdoors for a while :).

As I've already said, I'm in love with these precious Little People :).

How was your week?
Have you been able to get out and enjoy the lovely Summer weather yet?
I would love to hear you stories!

Thank you so much for visiting today!
Please come back soon!

Friday Five-O #15 (June Is Busting Out All Over!)

Good Morning, Loves!

I hope this finds you doing well!

This week's

finds me BUSY!

Like, busier than usual...

The Start of the YMCA Summer Camp is LITERALLY around the corner

(starts 7am Monday morning!)

and I have been racing around trying to make sure I am prepared.

On top of that,

my extended family had a HUGE Family Reunion last weekend

that I was beyond privileged to be a part of.

But let's begin at the beginning...

Friday was the Final Day of the YMCA Before & After Care Program

at our District #150 Schools

(yes, this included Thomas Jefferson).

It was kind of a bittersweet day...

KIND OF...

The Children were extra loud that day 

so I wasn't in tears at their departures by any means,

but I know will miss their hugs and smiling faces.

You know, when I started at Thomas Jefferson last fall,

I wasn't really happy about it.

I was nervous about how the year would go,

but in general I would say it all went fine.

It had some crazy moments that had me pulling my hair out,

but it had some super sweet moments too!

I can honestly say I'm looking forward to returning there in the Fall.

Saturday was the Grant Family Reunion,

and OH! WHAT FUN WAS HAD BY ALL!

Before I go into the Reunion details,

let me explain the Grant connection to my family.

One of my mother's older brothers, Jim, married a Grant girl, Sherry.

So, technically, I am only related to the Grant Family by marriage,

however, I would be lying if I said I didn't consider them my close family.

Look at that GORGEOUS Car-full of Grants! :)
I will be sharing more photos from this AWESOME weekend soon!

Monday saw the beginning of NUTSO Week
(a.k.a. the final week before Summer Camp begins).
To say that I have been running my legs off this week
is not an exaggeration in the least!
For me, this marks the "Official" beginning of Summer.
As if to accentuate this, these lovelies were COVERING my neighbors front lawn.

Tuesday was a particularly lovely day weather-wise.
Perfect for having children outdoors.
And since we are currently running a School's Out Week at the YMCA,
that worked out for us just perfectly! :)

The Clover seems to be taking over Central Illinois right now! :)
All of these wild flowers having me singing,
"June is BUSTING out all over!" :)

Wednesday night I filled in for another Junior Church in the 5-11 year old class.
In addition to teaching a memory verse,
I got to witness (and, of course, photograph) this Bible Story :).

Can't NOBODY say the Bible Story was boring that night! :).
It totally brought up memories of Bible Stories I heard in the past!

How has your week been?
Have you been busy preparing for your Summer activities?
Any wild flowers growing where you live?

I would love to hear your stories!
Thank you so much for visiting!
Please come back soon!

Five Signs Summer Is On It's Way {Preparing for Summer Camp}

Hey There!
For those of you who don't know,
SUMMER IS ON ITS WAY!
WOOHOO!!!! :)

Don't believe me?
I've got Five Signs Summer Is On It's Way!

Number 1:
My stress level is nearly through the roof
and my emotions are all tied up in knots.

I'm excited for my Little Scribbler's Summer Camp

I will be directing this year
but it seems there are not enough hours in the day
to accomplish everything I need to accomplish.

Also, I know my TJ kiddos are really excited about school being over

but, frankly, I'm gonna miss them
(in some ways, I already do...).

Some of them are going to be coming to camp at the YMCA,

so I will see them just about every day as usual.

But not all of them :(.

And that makes me sad.
And I'm pretty sure I'm not the only one feeling this way...

I don't know what these two are going to do without each other.

Number 2:
I am extremely in-touch with my creative side right now.
In preparation for the beginning of Summer Camp,
I've been working on numerous projects.
Here is one I made particularly for my Little Scribbler's Camp:

I tried it out at Thomas Jefferson for the last few weeks.
As you can see from the below photo,
it was NEEDED! :)

Number 3:
My office at the YMCA looks as if a bomb has gone off in there.
There are boxes upon boxes filled and overflowing with supplies piled everywhere
and my desk is covered in lesson plans and craft ideas.
(No, I did not take a photo...I was too ashamed...
You will just have to take my word for it.)
Furthermore, my car has turned into an extension of my office.
I've have multiple boxes of supplies just hanging out in there
waiting for a storage spot inside the Y to open up.

Number 4:
My bank statement reads something like this:
Debit - Marathon Gas Station
Debit - Amazon.com
Debit - Amazon.com
Debit - Kroger
Debit - Amazon.com
Debit - Hobby Lobby
Debit - Amazon.com
Debit - Amazon.com

I'm not kidding.
I tend to find all kinds of treasures the kiddos HAVE to have on Amazon.
And naturally, they all come out of my own pocket...
Can't NOBODY say I don't give my all to my babies!

Number 5:
(This is probably the most obvious sign...)
It's already HOT.
(I got my first sunburn of the summer today...)
After such a terribly long winter,
I am LOVING all the sunshine,
(and, naturally, the kiddos are too)

however, the stifling humidity is already making me crave the coolness of Autumn.
Am I glad that my Little Scribbler's Camp is going to be primarily indoors this summer!

How are you preparing for your summer?
Do you have any special plans?
How do you handle humidity?
I would love to hear your stories!

I will be bringing you more Summer Camp/Little Scribbler's stories and photos soon!
Stay tuned!