It will never be the same...

10 years ago today has left me jaded.

It's hot

Tonight Carson and I were coloring together. I asked him to pass me the hot pink colored pencil. He looked at me and replied, "Mommy, I can not give you something that is hot. It will burn you."

Carson and Sophia

Carson and Sophia have been friends for a few years. They loved going to the Ocean City boardwalk together this summer.

exciting news...

Carson scored the winning goal Saturday in soccer. This was his first goal of the year. Sorry, I forgot my camera-

Guatemala Mission Trip recap

Guatemala Mission Trip-To God be the Glory

In the early morning hours of 03August, a team of 16 willing volunteers met at the Atlantic City Airport to begin their journey to the wonderful country of Guatemala. For some members of the group this was their first time traveling outside of the US as well as their first mission trip. For others, this would be a return to the place they grew to love during the mission trip there a year ago. For everyone, this represented a step of faith in obedience to the call God has given to serve others in need. Despite the gloomy forecast calling for many rainy days, the weather was dry and beautiful for the entire week which allowed the team to accomplish more work than originally planned. Upon arrival, the team was met by Chris Mooney and Dick Rutgers of Bethel Ministries International as well as a 17th team member, Becca from Kentucky, a long-time friend of mine (who I met through blogging). The team loaded up 2 large vans and headed to the beautiful city of Antigua. The team spent the first few days at the Hermano Pedro orphanage and medical clinic. For everyone, especially those that had never been there before, this proved to be an intense emotional experience as they witnessed firsthand many young children and teenagers suffering from muscular dystrophy, muscular dystrophy, or cerebral palsy. As one team member put it, “this was a game-changer for me.” You see, when you hold a child who can barely move and can only communicate with her eyes, make some guttural noises, and smile, it impacts you in a very deep way. Within minutes of arriving, Chris Mooney placed a child into the arms of each team member. This proved invaluable as it pushed many of us out of our comfort zone and prevented us from giving in to the fear of the unknown. As the day progressed, the team continued to minister to the children as God ministered to the team. By the end of the second day, it was amazingly clear the team members had grown fond of these precious kids/teens and were reluctant to say good-bye.
Subsequent to our visit to the orphanage, over the course of the rest of the week the team moved on to complete the construction of 3 homes in Chimaltenango, distribute food to 12 families, and in Chichicastenango fit/distribute over 50 wheelchairs to adult and children who, prior to receiving a wheelchair, had to be carried from place to place by friends and loved ones.
The week ended with the team giving a monetary gift to Chris and Donna Mooney totaling nearly $3000 which represented excess funds that were raised prior to the trip. The team had identified some specific needs throughout the week and asked that the additional love offering be used to address those needs. These included:
• Food sponsorship for the 3 families for whom we built a home (est. $480 per family= $1440 total)
• Education sponsorship for 2 of the 5 kids from the 3rd home we completed (the mother has AIDS) (est. $25/child or $300/year = $600 total)
• $500 towards a water connection for a family in Tecpan to whom we distributed food and whose father had some significant medical needs.
• 2 tires for the truck used for wheelchair distribution (est. $400)

Overall each member of the team was stretched and tested physically, emotionally, and spiritually and returned home with new understanding and appreciation for how blessed we are to serve such a mighty, loving God.

Mark 10:45:[Soft Break]45 For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many.”

The head cold

is going around our home and its my turn. UGH!

Happy Birthday Best!

Today is my sister's birthday.
This note is from Carson as you call him Handsome...

Best,
Happy Birthday. Do not work to hard on your homework. Make sure you remember your bible verse for tomorrow. Maybe we can go to Pizza Hut for your holiday. I love you too, Best. I have a few lego's to share with you. I will bring them over in 50 seconds. Oh, and thanks for taking me on the ride that goes around in circles really fast last Thursday.

The above is from the lips of Carson to you Best on your special day.
Thanks for being a 'great' sister. Have a wonderful birthday :) I love you!

I love this boy.

fat flat

Tonight at dinner Carson asked Jonathan
Carson: "Is this fat flat?"
Jonathan: "what?"
Carson: pulls a small piece of steak out of his mouth and says again "Is this fat flat?"
Jonathan: "what is fat flat?"
Carson: "you know that chewy stuff?"
Jonathan: "do you mean fat?"
Carson: "No Daddy, Mommy calls it fat flat?"

Try saying Fat flat 10 times. haha!

week two of the private christian school

It's the second full week of Kindergarten and Carson is still loving it- He gets up and dressed in the morning without a fuss. He does his 'homework' when he comes home from school and is eager to keep learning. Carson tells some of the funniest stories about his day. Yesterday he said they were playing the game rocket (rocks), planes (paper), scissors. lol
He went on to tell me about a girl who thinks he is cute but he does not like her because he has a girlfriend. Really?!
There are 5 students in his class 2 boys and 3 girls. Carson is really getting a lot of one on one attention from his teacher. So far I am very pleased with the school.

I am not really feeling

"it" right now...
what is "it"

people
work
cleaning the house (it is clean)
driving
listening to music (which I love)
keeping my friendships going
dealing with drama
people's feelings
people trying to suck the life out of me
lazy people
planning our upcoming trips

I just want to love on my children all day....

wordless wednesday

first day of school photos

Carson did not say much about his first day of school. However he kept talking about everyone in his class (all 5 of them) wishing him a Happy Birthday. Carson thinks when someone says, Happy Birthday to him, he needs to reply Happy Birthday to you too.
At dinner tonight, Carson said a beautiful prayer it went like this-
Dear God,
Thank you for the air and the birds. Thank you for all my toys and please oh please give toys to other kids. God please help baby Cinderella sleep tonight and do not make her sick. Please God, Please God help me with my homework and Thank you for the food.
Amen from Carson

A milestone and a birthday

Carson,

Today is an exciting day for you and a sad day for me as you start Kindergarten. Carson, school is going to go by so quickly. I know it may not seem like it because of all the homework, test, projects and peer pressure; however, I really want you to enjoy school and take one day at a time. I also know there will be life choices that you will face that will not be easy to handle. I pray you will do your best to make the right decisions, seek God for answers and keep the lines of communication open between us. Remember, keep your head up, ask questions, get involved and be polite. Have a great year!

Not only are you starting kindergarten you are turning 5 years old today. Carson, I cannot believe 5 years has gone by already (minus eight months). You are an unbelievable tender-hearted boy. This past year you have matured so much. I am so proud to be your Mommy. I think about you all the time when we are not together. You make me laugh so hard with the things you do and say. You can bring tears to my eyes in a matter of seconds when I just think about you. Carson, I can never express how much you mean to me. I love our little sayings….

I say to you …”Be that..” and you reply “special boy”.

I say to you… “Best Buddies..” and you reply “forever”.

We give each other thumbs up meaning everything is OK.

Happy 5th Birthday sweet baby boy! I love you!

what is starting tomorrow ?

Carson
had a new hair cut
took a shower
finger nails are clipped and clean
clothes are picked out
lunch is packed
book bag is filled with supplies
not really asking to many questions
in bed by 8:00pm asleep by 8:10pm

From the back seat

Tonight as we were driving home from the horse stable Carson was singing... I hoe rock in roll, I hoe rock in roll"
The conversation:
M: Where did you hear that song?
C: Best was playing it in her car
M: Oh really
C: Yea, Best loves I hoe rock in roll
M: carson it's I love rock in roll
C: No, in Best car it's I hoe rock in roll
M: Oh...I see :)

shopping in Delaware

Fun day of shopping...Shauna and I took the Cape May Lewis Ferry to Delaware to shop at the outlets. We 'scored' some really great deals. We enjoyed the day as we had plenty of laughs, told stories and carried tons of shopping bags back to the car.

Jonathan, Carson and Cinderella enjoyed the beautiful day at a birthday party for Caleb. Carson was so excited to tell me about the picklota (pinata) at Caleb's party.