Riding in the Rain!

I told you in yesterday's post about the wonderful 100th Anniversary celebration our town enjoyed on Saturday. By the time the bouncy houses shut down we were all exhausted from being out in the 100 degree heat all day. So it was no surprise that we were crashed in front of the television enjoying the air conditioning. I was laying down reading a book when I heard an odd noise outside....and what do you know...

...it was raining...HARD! 

I kicked all my kids outside and we enjoyed the rain and puddles for a good 45 minutes. What a blessing the rain was! 

Boy did the kids enjoying zooming around in the rain on their bikes...and I enjoyed following them around getting wet too! 

We had rivers of water flowing down the sides of the streets after the rain stopped. In fact there was a river of water flowing down the street right by our garden and DR was happily filling buckets and soaking our garden. What can I say, it was free water!! Way to go Honey!! 

That rainfall was enjoyed and very much appreciated...what a wonderfully unexpected blessing on an already fabulous day! 

Happy Centennial my little SW Kansas town!!!

Sorry if I was MIA last week folks. Boy was it hot in my little town, 109 for quite a few days and I was sick, not conducive to blogging. But Saturday it cooled down to about 100 and thank goodness too because our little town celebrated it's 100th Anniversary! 

My neighbor had his yard decked out with flags! That was a nice sight on the way to the Pancake Breakfast and then again on to the Hamburger Feed for lunch. 

Yap set up his own popsicle stand out in front of the house right along with Yip and his Captain America Shields. I have to say, those two made out all right by the end of the day..I might have to hit them up for a loan :) Boy did those popsicles hit the spot...that's just about all we ate for dinner. 

Of course you can't celebrate a 100 years without a parade (which went right in front of our house and my boys money making spots) and I was at the front handing out bags because all those little kids HAD to have something to put their candy in!! 

I was a bit jealous that I didn't get to be in front of the fire truck during the parade!! Shooting water, that would have been great! 

There were tons of tractors, semis, groups and businesses represented in the parade that I couldn't show them all but I LOVED that this family could claim they had been here for all those 100 years :) 

Then....

...and NOW! 

There were so many things to do during the day! Craft show, fashion through the years exhibit, homemade ice cream and classic car show. There were tons of stuff for kids, all for free!! Carnival games, face painting, story time but the big draw were the bouncy houses complete with a fine mist from a fire truck...thanks guys!! My boys stayed here for at least two hours...ah, what relief from the heat. 

No fear here! 

I didn't get to play in the water like my kids did because....

...I was playing with face paint!! What fun! 

We all stayed up later that night to watch Pirates of the Caribbean until the fireworks started. Yahoo kept saying, "I never seen THAT before!", every time a new rocket would go up. 

It was a great day with all the different activities all over town. But the VERY best part of the day was an unexpected surprise that we took full advantage of....that I'll tell you about tomorrow!! 

Stay tuned! 

Sunday Devotions - An end to bickering

As a prisoner for the Lord, then, I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received. Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love. Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace. There is one body and one Spirit - just as you were called to one hope when you were called - one Lord, one faith, one baptism; one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all. 

Ephesians 4: 1-6 

My twin boys basically have the basement of our house to themselves. Our basement consists of their bedroom, a bathroom and a small living area that is filled with toys, books and art supplies. Last summer I remember being at my wits end trying to keep the basement clean. It seemed like in a matter of mere minutes those two boys of mine could create an enormous mess of Legos, papers, and various art projects spread over every available surface! It drove me crazy! I don't mind a few organized piles here and there in my house but I can't stand stuff all over the floor. I spent a lot of last summer, I hate to admit, nagging and yelling that they clean up the basement. 

This summer however I am much more at peace with their messy basement. I've concluded that the basement is their space and their place to be creative, imaginative and independent. Aren't those qualities I want to instill in my kids anyway? I still can't stand the mess though. It isn't so much that I have given in to defeat. No, I just know that they win this battle but I'll win the war at the end. I just keep my visits to the basement at a minimum but what they don't know is I'll be cleaning their basement the first day they are back in school! I tell you, summer is so much less stressful this summer without all the bickering! 

I think that when we come to Christ our lives change in a similar way. A lot of the "battles" we fought before aren't as important anymore. When we truly come to Christ keeping up with the Jones' isn't as important. Maybe it means that the high salary we worked so hard for wasn't as valuable as we made it out to be. Whatever it is, coming to Christ we are shown that our lives aren't about "me against everyone" but "me with everyone".  By living in Christ we realize that we need to live humbly with others in mind; one Lord, one faith, one baptism; one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all. It isn't about me (singular) but about us (plural). 

Life is a lot easier after I've quit the bickering about a messy basement, because a messy basement was never about us, as a family, but always about me. 

Dear God, Thanks for reminding me through a messy room that life isn't all about me. But about You and your family in Christ. Amen. 

Magic Math Machine

A while ago my sister introduced me to the book Mr. Base Ten Invents Mathematics.  My boys loved it because it was a very concrete method of introducing the concepts of multiplication, division and subtraction that even younger kids could understand. The boys and I have been slowly learning the multiplication table. I made a Magic Math Machine to make doing flashcards a lot more fun. 

 

Start with a box and cut some slits. Mine are about 3 inches by 1/2 inch. 

Then I cut a piece of card stock....

...so that it fit in the box like this.

Then I creased the ends and taped them to the outside. 

On the inside it should look like this, a "rainbow". 

For a little extra support I added a card stock "wall" around my "rainbow". 

Then decorate!!! 

I made some flashcards that were long, about the same length, but skinnier, as the card stock I used for the "rainbow". If the flashcard is the same width as the hole (like the one above) you'll have problems getting it to come out the bottom. 

3x1

...and the card goes in the top...

...and the answer comes out the bottom! 

Voila, the Magic Math Machine!! 

Marker Monday - Chorin' with Connie

We have a friend who lives about 5 miles out of town that raises bucket calves that are born on the feed lots out here. Cowboys can't be bothered with a bunch of newborns on a feed lot so our friend Connie weans them and then sells them at the sale barn. 

 A few times this summer the kids and I have headed out to her place early in the mornings to help chore. 

I grew up on a little 40 acre farm doing chores every morning, summer and winter, and though I grumbled a lot about chores when I was a kid I sure miss them now. I wish my kids were farm kids. 

They enjoy helping and they are good hard workers. And I think it's good for them to get out and see animals up close and messy, not just at the zoo or a county fair. 

I'm sure Connie could get her chores done quicker without us around but she sure is gracious by letting my kids have this great experience. 

Calf #47 is a sucker and my kids love sticking their fingers in his mouth! 

It's good too for them to learn not to act scared of large animals. Most of the time there is more to fear from smaller animals...even cattle. 

I'd call myself an accidental town girl. I love living in the country and I sure miss it, mess and all that it can be. Ah well, who knows what's in my future. Maybe I'll get out to the country again someday. Till then thank goodness for Connie who is willing to share her messy chores with us! 

Week 25 - COLOR

I'm a wee bit later posting my weekly photo than usual, but not behind! 

Still on track, and can you believe it, next week I'll be halfway through this project? This has been so much fun, I think I want to do another 52 week project next year, who's with me? 

Anyway, this week's theme was COLOR and I decided that I wanted to look for one color and how it popped out in a scene. 

Earlier this week when Yip was painting his sign to sell his Captain America Shields I loved how the early morning light was coming through the lattice blocks but the red paint wasn't completely washed out. 

(He's still selling his shields by the way. He's made $15, enough to buy a real Captain America Shield off Amazon.) 

1/100 sec., f10, ISO 1600

I did overexpose this shot so I did tweak the brightness on this one slightly. 

And look, Yip again. It's not often that he's the subject of my photos. Yap and Yahoo are usually my camera hams. 

1/100 sec., f9, ISO 1600

More red. 

They don't mind getting their pictures taken but they don't usually want to sit still for very long or in a certain place to get a picture taken. 

My kids are not good "posers". I wish they were. 

Next week; 

Week 26 - Eat! 

Maybe one of my goals next week is to shoot someone eating other than my own children, hmmm, we'll have to see how that one works out.