And 1 More Because I Lurve Me Some Travis...

Untitled from Kris Seidenkranz on Vimeo.

Fun! I will get to see him in 2 months at my 3rd Annual Beth Moore Event!!! Ahem, Christa! Can I get an AMEN?!?!?!

Day 2?

Wow. Surely I'm tired only because of the getting up earlier thing. I didn't actually do that much today~I did work all day~but really? This tired? I walked the building a few times and helped out in the front office, then I did my job, but seriously. I should NOT be this exhausted.

My husband is leaving me tonight. Not for good. Just a couple hours. Him and Travis are going to see GI Joe, and boy, are my kids ticked. He told them he's checking it out to see if it's suitable for them, since it's PG 13. I promptly went upstairs and put on the jammies. After waking up my 10 minute siesta. :) Back to the movie thing~~it's only fair that he enjoy his huge discount every once in a while. He usually gives it up for me and a girlfriend!

The kids and I are hanging out...watching a little tele before reading some of our book. I wonder why they're not as tired as I am....oh to be a kid again. Today was a great day, praise God! It wasn't even all that busy in the office, which is the whole reason why I went in to help all day. Tomorrow morning I am planning on staying home until I actually have to be there. Laundry, cleaning, vacuuming, and all that fun stuff. We have friends coming over Friday night, and I don't want to wait until the last minute to start on it all.

I love me some friends....I have missed them all while we were gone. I am not sure what we're eating yet~probably hamburgers and hot dogs~but I'm excited. Until then, I have to survive this first week back. I'll be fine, I'm sure. I guess this is what I deserve for not having any sort of schedule this summer. That's okay though, it was totally worth it!

The boys are loving their new teachers. I feel like they got the best ones, and I am very thankful. Jonah is proving to himself {and me!} that he is a big boy, and is holding his own amidst all of his classmates. I am loving being back, too {in spite of the tired thing}, and seeing all my sweet kiddos. I really do love seeing them. They're all so precious. Well, most of them, anyway.

Ok, well, my time is up. The boys are about to be out of the shower, and I need to go spend some quality time with them. Love to all!

My Praise Song

How many names can I use to explain the love of my Jesus,
the life that He gave and so many times will I praise You today.
I lift up my life 'cause You're always the same
And my offering to You I bring

Your Name is Jesus, Your Name is Jesus.
You're the Wonderful, Counselor, my Friend.
You're what I hold on to; I know that You brought me through
All the days of loss, to the cross You knew
I'd need a Savior.

How many songs can I sing to proclaim Your wondrous love and beauty so great?
What would I say if you brought down the rain and everyday
I walk through the pain my heart would still say...

Your Name is Jesus, Your Name is Jesus.
You're the Wonderful, Counselor, my Friend.
You're what I hold on to; I know that You brought me through
All the days of loss, to the cross You knew
I'd need a Savior.

You're what I hold on to; I know that you brought me through
All the days of loss, to the cross You knew
I'd need a Savior.
I'd need a Savior.
I need You, Savior.

~~Among The Thirsty~~

It's That Time...

The backpacks are packed full and ready to go, the lunch boxes are out and cleaned, clothes are all laid out, kids are in bed, and I'm about to be. Tomorrow is back to reality. I have never enjoyed my summer as much as I did this one. Perhaps because I knew that in 2 short months I would be back to working every day. I relished in all the relaxed moments we shared. Shoot, I haven't even worn my watch all summer, if that tells you anything. The battery died back in May and I did not see the point in getting it replaced. Why? Time was all I had at that moment, and I did not care to know the time or the date.

Do you remember being a kid and laying in bed the night before school? I remember not being able to sleep. I never knew who was going to be in my class, and I am pretty sure I had some nervousness somewhere in there. I loved buying school supplies and picking out all my new stuff. This is so not the case for boys, by the way. They could care less. I still love to buy school supplies. I got so much joy out of labeling all their stuff today. Fresh paper and notebooks, new pencils, brand new erasers...I know, I know. I'm a nerd.

I started a new book with Jonah and Noah tonight...I am introducing them to the Junie B. Jones series, the same series of books that Graham and then Drew loved so much their first grade year. Jonah's eyes popped out when I read him the title: "Junie B. Jones and the Stupid, Smelly Bus". He said, "Mom, that is not nice." I know. But it's Junie B. I love me some Junie B. They get a kick out of the countrified accent I use when she speaks.

Speaking of Jonah, say a prayer for him, will ya? He cried tonight over first grade. He said he didn't want to go to first grade. :( That is what an amazing teacher does for you. I am really excited about the sweet lady he has this year~she was Drew's first grade teacher, and I dearly love her. She's a great Christian lady, with kids Graham's and Drew's age. She has tons and tons of sympathy. I hope she reaps it onto Jonah in the morning if he cries as I walk out. The fact that I will be there with him all day did help console him. I'll have to go and peak in on him when I get a chance!

God has blessed us with amazing teachers again this year. I've never had a less than wonderful teacher at this school, and I am extremely grateful to our principal, who takes the time to consider personalities when matching students to teachers. She is phenomenal, and I am so thankful. They are all super excited about their new teachers this year. Especially Graham, who told him when she called, "Roll Tide". I thought the kid {and his dad} was going to keel over.

Well, I need to wind down before I turn in for the night. And I need to get off of here. I will write again tomorrow and let you all know how our first day back went. Thanks for the prayers everyone! Love to all!

HoMe SwEeT hOmE

I have never in my entire life been so glad to see our home. The boys were all excited to be here, too. We had the most amazing trip, but man is it good to be home!!!

We squeezed so much into one week. It was incredible. I feel like we've been gone for two weeks instead of just eight days. Amazing. I'll give you a rundown so you can see for yourself.

We left home on Friday July 31st and arrived in Tampa Saturday at 5:30 pm. Yes, we stopped halfway, in Dothan, AL. Sunday we spent all day at Anna Maria Island. This was one of my favorite things we did. Although I don't like to get in the ocean, I love to look at it and listen to it! Monday we spent 12 hours~~~12 HOURS~~~at Disney's Magic Kingdom. My feet have never been so happy to be propped up, as they were that night! Tuesday, Debi and I went to get pedicures and bummed around Valrico. She took me to her favorite bead shop and introduced me to her friends there. We jammed to Selah the whole way. And Rascal Flatts. Fun times, people, fun times. I love me some Debi. Wednesday we left Debi's and went to my brother Paul's house in Orlando. We left Debi home in bed, I might add. I hated it. I cried most of the way to Orlando, I hated it so bad. She was really sick with a sinus infection and migraine. Once we were at Paul's, we went to a wildlife conservation area near his house and just hung out the rest of the day. Thursday we woke up and went to Hollywood Studios. We liked it even better than the Magic Kingdom. We loved that it was smaller and less crowded, and we loved all the shows. Jonah's favorite was Indiana Jones, the rest of ours was an awesome show called Lights, Motor, Action! See my facebook pics if you're my friend. We spent all day there~YES I SAID ALL DAY, AS IN 12 HOURS AGAIN~and something hideous happened to my legs. Down by my ankles, this horrible rash thing popped up. It's either {because YES it is still there but a little better} severe heat rash or possibly sun poisoning. Hmmm. Either way, it sucks. Looks awful, but at least it doesn't hurt anymore. At first it itched and burned. Now it's just there. Anyway, that is the extent of our week away from home. We spent all yesterday and today traveling. Today we stopped at University of Alabama~ROLL TIDE~which was Todd's favorite part of the whole trip, I might add. We had a great time. The boys spent the rest of their money on Bama souvenirs. We drove straight to Mom's and Bill's and they fed us a delicious home cooked meal. And now we are happy to be back in our own home!!

We are staying home tomorrow, even though it's Sunday. GASP. I hate to miss church again, but we have to go buy school supplies and groceries. I have a small mountain of laundry and our bags and stuff has to be unpacked before Monday. Because THEN it is back to reality. :( I am so sad. But I am so happy that my boys will start school with some great stories of our incredible our summer was. It was perfect in every way. Love to all.

Just Checking In...

to say Hi!!!!! I don't even know what day it is. Seriously. I had to ask Todd. He looked at me like I had grown a second head.

We're havin' so much fun, it should be illegal. Our plans have changed, and we're staying one extra day. Today we're doing Hollywood Studios, formerly Disney MGM. Fun times!!! Tower of Terror, anyone?? Rockin' Roll'R'Coaster???

Actually, we're about to leave right now, so I'm outta here. I miss you all!! Not really, but I felt I needed to say it. I will need a vacation from my vacation next week, but it's back to school/work. Blah.

Until then, our summer is good till the last drop! Love to all!

Heaven On Earth

Is this beautiful or what? I thought
this is a good visual of what Heaven
must look like. Right? Only better.
This, my friends, is Anna Maria Island, in all its glory. Mmmmmm. The boys had an amazing time today at the beach. However, after about 2 hours, Noah looked at me while he was sitting in the sand beside me and said, "Mom, can we go home? There's nothing to do here anymore." ARE YOU KIDDING ME???

So. We came to Debi's and they swam. And ate. And ate and ate and ate. Then swam some more, then bathed, then passed out.


I love this one of them all holding
hands. Cousins!

Well, I must go. We have a big day tomorrow. I know you all miss me, right? Just thought I'd check in and say that we're havin' a blast. Love to all. Goodnight!!