Whew, the months are really flying by. We have been thoroughly enjoying our Summer-plenty of time in the water, playdates, and fun mini-vacations. Maybe that is why it has taken me three days to write this post. If I try to sit down during the day the kids' built-in radar pick up and they all harass me mercilessly until I give up. By the time they are all asleep at night, I am too exhausted to do anything besides sit on the couch and mindlessly stare at the TV. The solution? Close the door to the playroom and promise them a treat if I get 15 uninterrupted minutes. The good news is I don't have to pay up. The bad news is it took three days to type a few paragraphs...

Patrick is going through a singing phase; it is so cute. He either sings songs he is familiar with or he will just bust out his own made-up tune whenever the mood strikes him. For example: the other day he had been asking me relentlessly "play with me!!", and I kept telling him, "I will, I will...in a few minutes...". After the hundredth exchange exactly like that, he stared singing "A B C D E F G, I WANT MOMMY TO PLAY WITH ME". How could I deny him after a serened like that?

On another afternoon, Rick took the youngest with him to run a few errands and left the other two home with me. We three were cleaning the boys' room (well okay, I was cleaning and they were playing with everything I put away) and I was hanging a new picture of a guardian angel looking over two little tykes crossing a dangerous bridge (I'm sure you've seen it). I used it as an opportunity to remind them of their own guardian angels and Sarah asked if she could talk to hers. I answered that of course she could anytime she thought to or felt like she had something to say. Her face lit up with understanding and awe. My son is much, much more interested and curious about God, Jesus' life, etc. so to have finally made a breakthrough with my little girl was a monumental occasion for me. Proud of my abilities to evangelize small children with my amazing story-telling technique, I sauntered out of the room with a satisfied smirk. Immediately I heard her whispering, "Please Guardian Angel, bring me candy."

Last week was insanely busy due to our church having VBS. The theme this year was hiking through the wilderness and learning about the seven Sacraments. I was the director of snacks for the program. (To find out why this year was especially difficult-keep reading...or look to the right!) The music was definitely my favorite part, however there is one song which begins: "I'm going on a wilderness adventure/ into the life of Christ..." No matter what, I kept singing, "...into the life of crime..." What kind of sick mind switches "crime" for "Christ"!? To make it worse, every time I did it and noticed I had messed it up AGAIN I would involuntarily giggle. Please, someone tell me I am not condemned for all eternity...?

I was showing Sarah a website with photos of a baby's development in utero (look right). While we were bonding and chatting, we were sharing a bowl of yummy chili from the crock pot. Yes, I am bragging-it was SO good. Right as I took a bite we came to a paragraph which had a cute illustration of a tiny baby with webbed fingers and toes and an over sized, adorable alien head. It's tiny spine was perfectly formed and there was a teensy heart. To compare the size of the developing baby there was another picture off to the side of the sweet little illustration. It was a kidney bean. Yes, kidney bean...as in a major ingredient of chili. As in I was eating a kidney bean that was supposed to represent the precious unborn baby. This is the twisted universe I live in.