Christmas

This year for Christmas, we traveled to my parents’ home.  We spent the weekend prior to Christmas through Christmas Day at my family's.  My siblings and I all thought it felt a little unusual to be there so much before Christmas day; we weren’t always rushing around to get things done.  This Christmas was relaxing with lots of time for rest and fun, and not nearly as much work.

We did most of our usual traditions with the church Christmas program on Christmas Eve, followed by my parents opening their gifts from church family, and enjoying mom’s eggnog (I think my sister may have actually made it this year).  We stayed up late playing the came of Pit, which was tons of fun.  Some of us were laughing so hard it made us cry and gave us sore stomach muscles.

Bentley entertained herself before the Christmas program by dancing in the front of the church.  Uncle C danced with her for a while.  It was really adorable.

Unfortunately, the late night and several coughing spells through the night made me quite miserable for Christmas Day.  We started the morning with our tradition of my dad reading the Christmas Story from Luke, opening our stockings, then opening our gifts.

This is the pile of presents just before we opened them.  My brother and I were taking pictures so we aren’t in this picture.

During the time we were there, most of my pictures were taken with my iPod rather than the camera.  Once I looked at the pictures on the computer I realized they weren’t nearly as clear as they first appeared, so I won’t be sharing many of those pictures.  Here are just a couple of pictures of the girls during the gift opening:

Bentley loving up the new bedspread for her's and Bria’s bed.  They couldn’t wait for us to put it on their bed when we got home.

The gorilla from Uncle C and Aunt T that is just as big as Bentley.  She had a great time tackling, hugging, and playing with it while we continued to open gifts.  She named him George, after Curious George.  Here at home she carries him everywhere.

Bria really likes this blanket from Uncle N that says “Tractors are for Girls”. 

The girls have really been enjoying their new clothes and toys.  Thank you everyone for all your generosity.  I really appreciate that we emphasize that even though we open presents that Christ is the center of Christmas.  Bria has continued to say since we’ve been home, that Jesus is important, not presents.  I hope that both girls will continue to realized that truth every year when we celebrate Christmas (and all through the year).

Christmas Concerts

The week before Christmas, we had our church Christmas concert and Bria’s school concert.  Both our families came to see both concerts.  It worked out very nicely that they were only one day apart.

David ended up being the only one in the church concert.  Bria, Bentley, and I were still coughing and/or had sore throats the night of the concert.  David has had a cold at least as long as Bria, but he seemed to be doing well enough to sing for the concert. 

For being a small church, with only a small group of singers, they did a wonderful job.  It was enjoyable to sit in the audience and listen to the songs I had practiced for months.  Hopefully, my occasional coughing and sneezing didn’t disrupt the music too much.

The men singing their song.  David is the second one in on the right.

Bria’s concert was the next night.  She had missed the whole week of school prior to the concert because of her cold, which came with a fever.  Finally on the day of her concert, she was doing well enough to go to school.  She was nervous about standing up in front of everyone to sing.  Once she saw her dress, however, she was excited to show it off, and her nerves seemed to settle down.  She did a great job of standing calmly and participating in the singing and actions of her songs.

Bria is at the very left end.

Bria and Bentley before the concert.

We really appreciate the grandparents coming and helping us while we were all sick.  My parents stayed an extra day, and I went to with David to one of his meetings so I could finish up the Christmas shopping.  By the time David’s meeting was done, we were both feeling run down from being sick.  Instead of staying for the date night we had planned, we just headed back home.

The next day we were supposed to go caroling with the church, but we were all too sick to participate.  Even our pastor was sick and couldn’t make it.  Unfortunately, David’s dad also got sick from being at our house.  That week was full of activities and illness.

Sick x4

Yuck! Everyone in our house is sick at the same time.  Since Thanksgiving one girl or the other had pink eye, then David started getting a cold, then both girls got colds, and yesterday it was my turn.  No one has gotten over their colds yet, but I am really hoping that David’s and the girls’ will be done soon. 

Bria has already missed enough school this year from all of the other times she’s been sick (tonsillitis, pink eye, etc.).  David and I are part of our church’s Christmas concert coming up on Sunday, and at this point there is no way we can sing if our throats and voices continue to be this bad.  Please be praying for all of us: that we will all get healthy and be able to make our commitments.

Thanksgiving

A house full of people, noisy kids, games, and lots of food means it is holiday time.  We spent this Thanksgiving with David’s family.  It is always exciting for the cousins to get together and play on the farm.  With the kids getting older, and playing together outside, the adults were actually able to play a few games together (even in the middle of the day).  Sometimes the adults were even able to enjoy naps.

Aunt S, being a teacher, often found ways to “teach” the kids through fun activities.  Even though she was on a break from teaching at school, she was still teaching.  God lead her to the right vocation. 

The kids were playing a tickling game with Aunt S.

We also took part of a day to visit Great-grandma Betty.  We all fit in her apartment, and even had room for one of David’s aunts and one his cousin’s family.  We did our best to take pictures of great-grandma with 10 of her 16 great-grandkids.

The kids cooperated better than expected.

It seems as the kids get older, I am taking fewer pictures.  These are the only pictures I have to share from our four days.  Hopefully, I will do better next year.

We hope that your family had a lot to be thankful for this Thanksgiving.  We are thankful for both of our wonderful families, that all seem to get along, and love and support one another.  God has blessed us greatly!

Daddy, Dance With Me

There are few things quite as precious as a father and daughter dancing, no matter what their ages.  It is extremely precious when it is your own daughter.  “Daddy, dance with me,” is something David hears every night from Bentley for about a week now.  She sweetly comes to David and asks him to dance with her.  If we don’t have any music on she first requests that he turn on music just so they can dance together.  It would be impossible for David to refuse her.  They proceed to dance in the living room, either hand in hand or with Bentley in her Daddy’s arms.  It is the most precious thing.

I haven’t been able to get a video or even pictures yet, but hopefully there will still be many opportunities to.

Round Two

Since about last Thursday, when Bria was finally getting better, Bentley has had a slight fever off and on.  On Saturday she seemed to be doing alright.

We had an obligation at the kid's carnival put on by the local Lions club at the auditorium.  Bria’s class had a booth, and I had a booth for MWA.  My mom came to help with my booth, since she is the local MWA agent.  Not long after we got to the carnival, Bentley was looking more tired than normal.  (Since Thursday, she had been taking all of her naps and falling right to sleep both at nap time and bed time, this is not normal).  The carnival kept the girls up slightly later than normal, maybe 45 minutes.

Sunday morning Bria woke up, which means Bentley was also awake, at about 6:45.  Bentley was tired all morning and just wanted to snuggle during church.  Again, this is not normal.  After lunch, which she hardly touched, she took a 3 hour nap.  When she woke up from her nap, all she wanted to do was lay on the couch next to me.  Uh-Oh!

She had a higher fever now too, but I could tell it wasn’t as high as Bria’s had been.  We spent the rest of Sunday resting on the couch after taking some medicine, and Bentley stripped down to help reduce her fever.  She didn’t seem too bad through the night, so she just had some water but no additional medication.

This morning, however, she had a higher fever and just wanted to lay on the couch.  More medication and more fluids were given, since her fever was nearly 104 degrees.  Hopefully, this won’t develop into tonsillitis.  She has only said that her tummy hurts, nothing else.  Now that the medicine has kicked in, and she has had a ton of cold beverages, she is up and moving around.  She is still pale.  I expect this to last a few days, thankfully, she doesn’t need quite as much attention as Bria did.

Thank you everyone who was praying for Bria.  Now I am asking that you pray for Bentley to be able to fight off whatever this might be.  Also, pray that David and I stay healthy through all of this.

Last Weekend…Majorly Sick

I am not sure what made us so busy the week prior, but I was too busy to get the last post written and posted.  Bria was still fighting a bit of a cold the rest of the week, but it seemed to be better about mid-week.  Then on Friday, she came home from school and said that she wished she hadn’t gone to school that day.  That is not normal for her.  She loves school.  When I asked her why, she said she hadn’t been feeling well, but once she was home she said she was feeling better.

She and Bentley played outside for a while after school.  When they came in, I was helping Bentley with something and Bria laid on the couch with her eyes closed, curled up in a little ball.  I knew at that moment that she was really sick.  She wanted me to sit with her for a while.  As I was sitting with her, I reached over to see if she had a fever.  Her forehead felt like it was on fire.  When I took her temperature it was over 106 degrees.  That is scary.

We tried medication, cold washcloths, a lukewarm bath, and sleep, but couldn’t get the fever down.  By 3 am, her fever still hadn’t come down.  I couldn’t get back to sleep.  So at 4 am, I put some things together, got Bria out of bed, and we headed to the ER (an hour drive).  The ER is not in a big town, so we got in right away, saw the doctor pretty quickly, and started ruling out some possibilities.  Unfortunately, they couldn’t find anything at the time, but said to watch for pneumonia.

Bria and I came back home.  By early afternoon, I made Bria go to bed, she had only dosed off once since about 4:30 am.  After her nap, where she put on a blanket, her fever spiked over 107 degrees.  This causes panic in parents due to all the risks of a high fever.  I quickly got her more medication and another bath.  David called the PA in town and we rushed right into the clinic, which isn’t open on Saturday.  The PA took one look at her tonsils and knew it was tonsillitis (they were largely inflamed).  We got her some antibiotics.

We spent three more days just sitting and resting on the couch.  When I say we, I mean both Bria and I, because she wouldn’t let me leave her side.  The only time I could get anything done was if she was sleeping.  She only sleeps if she is in a bed in a separate room.  By Tuesday, I had to recruit some extra help.

David’s parents happened to be available for a few days, so they came out.  Just the arrival of the grandparents made Bria perk right up.  By Thursday she was back at school, although she had some side effects from her antibiotics.  Now she is back to her normal self.

A Late Post…Two Weeks Ago

The beginning of the weekend, two weeks ago, Bria had her first school field trip.  It just so happened to be on David’s regular Friday off, so he was able to chaperon the kids on their trip to the fire station for fire safety week.  Both David and Bria had a great time.

The picture is a little blurry (it was taken on a cell phone).  Bria wasn’t really very happy to put on the firemen’s uniform.

After the field trip and after a about 30 more minutes of school, we all loaded up in the car and headed to my parents’ house for the weekend.  My sister from the cities was coming back and my other sister who is in college was able to come back (between her golf and music schedules).  It is fun to have the whole family together, especially since it is getting more difficult to make it work.

Whenever we get together in the fall, whether it is early in the fall or not until Thanksgiving, we always take a family picture.  Because we were there early enough in the fall we were all involved in the fall decorating my mom does in the yard (corn stalks, bales, pumpkins, etc.).  Bria and Bentley were excited to help.

Aunt D, Bria, and Bentley with some of the pumpkins they were carrying to the front of the house.  They are standing on the newly poured cement patio that my parents added at the back of the house (outside the recently remodeled and expanded kitchen).

Aunt D and Aunt T figuring out where and how to put up the corn stalks.  Aunt D grew these pumpkins.  A lot of the pumpkins were ripe by August, so they were the deepest orange colored pumpkins I’ve seen.

Uncle C carrying his coffee in one hand and a bale in the other.

Uncle N’s girlfriend became the girls’ new best friend.  The girls wanted her to do everything with them, and they wanted to go everywhere she went.  She is used to having younger siblings around, so I don’t think they bothered her too much.  Here the girls were opening their birthday gifts from Uncle C and Aunt T.  They have already used them a lot.

Bria had a pretty bad cold by Sunday morning, so she and I stayed home from church.  That made Bria really disappointed; she loves going to Sunday School at grandpa and grandma’s church.  In the afternoon it was time for us to head back home so Bria could be ready for school the next day.

Before and After

It has been almost a year since our last indoor painting project.  Shortly after we completed that project we bought paint for the last two rooms of the house that still needed painting, the kitchen and main floor bathroom.  We were finally able to work out a time when I thought I would have time to do it and when David’s mom could be here to help.  A lot of time, hard work, and some change of plans went into getting the projects done, but the results are magnificent.  Everything feels fresh and clean.

 

Here is the Kitchen:

Before.  What a lovely color (with sarcasm).  We do like reds, but this application was not our favorite.

 

After.  The pictures don’t show it, but we had to paint the ceiling too.  That was not a small feat.

 

Now for the Bathroom:

 

Before.  (These pictures were not taken by me, and I don’t have any more recent “before” pictures.)

 

After.  We didn’t originally plan to paint the ceiling, but once we had some paint on the wall the ceiling seemed to really need a fresh coat.

Except for a few ceilings, everything in the house has been painted.  Owning a home is work, but the rewards are worth it.

Birthday Parties

Sunday was the family birthday party for the girls.  Both the grandparents, as well as my brother and a friend, came to celebrate with the girls.  We let the girls decide what they want for their birthday meals, and because Bentley doesn’t quite understand what that means, Bria did most of the choosing.  We had a wonderful meal of hot dogs and macaroni and cheese (from a box).  I decided to also make hamburgers, rainbow jello (I knew Bria would ask where it was if I didn’t), watermelon, and refrigerator pickles.

The theme of the girls’ party was rainbows, that is what they kept mentioning in the days before their birthdays.  It took me a while to decide how to make two different rainbow cakes.  Last year after I had decorated Bentley’s cake with rainbow striped frosting, I was sent a recipe for a rainbow cake that I should try.  At the last minute I did decide to try it.  It was a big success, the girls loved it and everyone else thought it was cool.

These pictures don’t do justice to the cake. 

The other rainbow “cake” was made from cupcakes decorated like a rainbow.

Because the rainbow of this cake was visible the girls both wanted this one as their own.  We put candles on both sides for the girls to each blow out their own.

So excited for the cake.  They ended up eating the other cake once they realized there was a rainbow inside.

The girls also had fun opening their presents.  It is amazing how excited they are about a ream of paper, scissors, stickers, etc.  They both like the clothes they received too, but I haven’t had time to have them try the clothes on.  Bria has worn her new tennis shoes and loves them.  Bria also wore her new necklace for her school pictures.

Thanks to everyone who made the girls’ birthdays a special time.

Homecoming

Last Friday was homecoming for us.  This was Bria’s first year walking through the parade with her class.  The theme for homecoming was Disney/Disney Pixar, and Bria’s class picked the 101 Dalmatians.  Grandma came the day before to help get Bria’s outfit ready—she had fuzzy white fabric to make spots on Bria’s black clothes.  The class was really cute walking down the street in their Dalmatian outfits.

Putting all the spots on.

Walking through the parade.

The kindergarten is toward the beginning of the parade, so when Bria was done she stood with us to watch the rest of the parade.  She especially wanted to see her Daddy’s float.

Their theme was from The Jungle Book.

In the evening, before the big game, the firemen serve a pancake supper, which is where we ate supper.  We then spent the evening at the football game.  Any free time was spent getting ready for the girls’ birthday parties.  It was a full day of activities.

Birthday Girl

On Saturday, Bentley had her 3rd Birthday.  She was so excited to be turning three.  We have been trying to prepare her to answer that she is three when asked how old she is.  She has done very well with it. 

Her birthday wasn’t very exciting because we are having a birthday party for both girls in a week.  The family spent a good portion of the day running errands to get groceries, a new toilet, and plants for a flower garden we started.  Because it was Bentley’s birthday we let her pick where we had lunch.  We knew before she said it, “McDonalds.”  We also let her pick some cupcakes at Walmart so she would actually have cake on her birthday.

After church on Sunday, we had some of our friends from church over to eat lunch and share some cake and ice cream in honor of her birthday.  She hasn’t seemed to mind that she has only gotten one small present and hasn’t had much of a party.

Three candles on her little cupcake.  She had fun blowing them out all by herself.

Alphabet flashcards.  She already knows a few of the letters, but we still need work on most of them.

We love you Bentley!

Potty Training Update

We are done!

Bentley is finally potty trained.  The last two weeks have shown the most improvement, and it all came at once. 

About a week and a half ago Bentley still hadn’t pooped on the potty chair.  I noticed that she needed to go (she was headed to her favorite spot for that activity) so I stopped her and made her sit on the toilet.  She wasn’t able to go, but still refrained from going in her underwear.  The next day she was getting very uncomfortable so I put her on her potty with a stack of books and told her to just sit there and look at the books until she had gone.  It worked!  She sat there for a long time and didn’t even think she had gone, but she had.  When she realized she could do it she started doing it every day.  We only had one accident the very next day.

At about the same time she was dry through the night for a couple of nights in a row.  She hasn’t gone through the night since, and has even gotten up through the night to go potty.  She is now in underwear all day and night. 

I felt like I had to keep reminding her to go so she wouldn’t wet her underwear.  I was okay with that as long as she was staying dry, but in the last couple of days she has even started telling me before she needs to go.

David thinks saying “we are done” is just setting us up for trouble, but even so I think we are done and it is a big accomplishment.  We have been working on it since last October (10 months).  Goodbye diapers!

First Day of School

Wow, summer is already gone. (I know it technically isn’t, but it feels that way when school starts.)

On Monday, Bria started her first day of Kindergarten.  It is hard to believe she is old enough or mature enough to be in school.  There are some days though where she acts older than she actually is and I think she should be in a higher grade. 

Bria was so excited to go.  Then, the day before school she started to get a bit nervous about all of the uncertainties: could she carry her tray at lunch without spilling, will she have any friends there that she knew before, will she get in trouble for talking too much, etc.  I told her it was okay to be a little nervous, but that she shouldn’t worry too much because her teacher and the other helpers would help her if she had any problems.  That only helped a little.

The day came, and Bentley and I walked Bria to school.  We got there early to get all of her supplies labeled and organized.  We stayed with her in her classroom until school started.  She got a little teary before we left, but the teacher was prepared.  For the first day of school the kids had to bring a favorite teddy bear and they needed to name it.  Bria brought a bear that she hadn’t named yet, but decided that morning to name it Mommy so that Mommy would be with her at school all day.  That gave her some comfort, and once I left she did just fine.

Her moment of difficulty caused me a little teariness as well.  It was very hard for me not to call the school to check up on her, to make sure she was doing okay and behaving.  David called to check on me a few times through day, and said he wanted to check up on her too.  (What a loving Dad!)  Finally it was time for Bentley and I to walk back to school to pick Bria up.  On our walk home, Bria couldn’t contain her excitement.  She had had a great day at school.

Bria all ready to leave for school.

Bria at her table in her classroom.  Bentley had to scoot another chair right up next to her and sit with her.

Each morning, Bria has had a hard time with me leaving her at school, but always has a good report about her day when I pick her up.  On Friday (her 4th day of school), she had a much easier time with me leaving.  We will have to see how things go after the weekend break.

Maybe your wondering how Bentley has handled this transition.  I wondered how she would.  It seems that Bentley doesn’t really care that Bria isn’t home.  Bentley is just fine doing something by herself (not being bossed around by a big sister), and spending time watching whatever I am working on.  She doesn’t ask about Bria, not even when she will be coming home.  After her nap in the early afternoon, I wake her up so we can get Bria from school, and she appears to be excited to have her come back home.  When we get home, the first 30 minutes to an hour, the girls seem to fight each other a bit more than normal.  After that, they are off playing together the way they usually do.

This has definitely been a transition for us, and we are still working on getting into a new normal routine.

Rodeo Ready

Last weekend was the annual Frontier Days, which includes a full weekend of rodeos.  Our favorite rodeo to attend is the Ranch Rodeo that is always held on Friday night.  Local ranchers, quite a few that we know, participate in events based on work that they would actually do on the ranch.  Some of the activities, however, are just purely for the entertainment of the audience.  Every year we cheer for the same team, consisting of our good friend and his brothers.  We have a good time hanging out with our friends while watching the teams compete.

This year, David’s parents and his aunt and uncle from California joined us.  They had never been to a ranch rodeo before, so it was a new experience for all of them.  In preparation for all the cowboy activities, grandma brought cowgirl hats for the girls.  They look adorable in them.

Bentley even got to wear her cowboy boots.  Bria has grown out of hers and was very disappointed.  Bria still thinks she is going to do “cattle work” when she grows up.

Camping

At the very end of July, my parents came and got the girls and took them to their place to go camping for a couple of days.  They camp at the river about 20 miles from where they live.  All summer, the girls had been asking when they could go camping with grandpa and grandma.  We were all finally able to make it work.

While camping, the girls went swimming in the river with Uncle N and Aunt D.  They swim with their life jackets on, which makes them feel brave, and they kept begging to be allowed to swim out to the edge of the swim area.  Knowing that the girls would get tired, they were only allowed to go about half way and had to be with an adult. 

When you’re camping, you have to have a fire and roast marshmallows.  Even though that is something we could do here at home it is a lot more fun while camping.  It has been too hot to have a fire in the evening anyway.

After a couple of days with grandpa and grandma, we made the trip to pick them up.  It also gave us a chance to make a quick visit to the chiropractor.

Every time the girls are gone to the grandparents, I try to get as much work done as possible.  David and I also went on a date out of town, where there are more options for entertainment and dining.  We are grateful for the time that we get without the girls, but we do miss them when they are gone.

Getting Caught Up

Near the end of July, we were traveling again.  This time to see my sister and her husband in their new house.  The girls and I traveled with my parents to the Twin Cities; unfortunately, David wasn’t able to go with us. 

They have a cute home and have already done some projects to make it fit their style.  The area they live in feels rural even though it is still in a suburb of the cities.

One of the days we were there, they took us to the park where they go camping.  We did some hiking and swimming there.  It is a beautiful area. 

We saw a couple of fawns run through the trees as we walked through this area.

The park they camp at is near both a river and a lake.  The wooded hills coming down to the river were beautiful.  Bria and Bentley stood on the bank of the river with Aunt T.

Our time there wasn’t long, but it was a lot of fun to be able to stay with them.  Thanks for taking time off work for us to visit you!

A Second Trip

On July 5th, we packed the family up again and headed east to David’s parents.  His sisters were coming with their kids, and we had some errands to run while the grandparents watched the girls.  David spent the weekend with us at his parents then headed home Sunday night to work for the week.  The girls and I stayed at his parents’ for the rest of the week—that was not the original plan, but things change.  We had a great time with the in-laws and even got to visit some old friends.

Some of the cousins posing for a picture.

All the cousins posing—grandma wanted a new picture for her frame.  I’m not sure the kids cooperated well enough to get a good picture.

We spent one whole day at a children’s museum that was not too far from the farm.  The kids had a great time exploring, and didn’t even get to everything.

They had a “river” area outside.

The dinosaurs roared and moved.  Bria was scared, but Bentley loved it.

These blocks were really cool.  The pictures of what you could build with them was amazing.

Aunt H and I decided to help Bria make a more stable house than the one that was already built.  We spent a good hour figuring and constructing.

Outside the museum, grandpa had to take a picture of all of us.

At the farm, the kids enjoyed playing with each other, grandparents, exploring the farm, playing in the pool, and lots more.

Bentley and grandpa working on the conveyor that goes with the trains.

Bria by the pool.  The main way of keeping cool outside.

Two sisters who really love each other, even though they may fight some times.

We came back home on Saturday and are trying to get back into our “normal” routine.  I thought things would slow down when we got back, but it looks like we will be busy for a couple of weeks yet.

Earlier this Month…

At the very beginning of the month, we had a family gathering (really a reunion) for my mom’s side of the family.  I’m not sure how many were there in total, but we all stayed at a hunting lodge not to far from my grandpa’s.  All my aunts, uncles, and cousins were able to make it.  It has been a long time since we have all been together.  Some of my relatives I haven’t seen in at least 5 years, maybe even more.  It was great to see everyone.

The girls were a little nervous to begin with but warmed up to my younger cousins quickly.

All of July has been very hot, so these little pools were one of the ways the kids kept cool.  Once in a while, even the adults could be found standing in the pool to cool off.

We spent plenty of time outside and even played some yard games.

It was too warm some of the days to spend too much time playing games, so some time was spent in town, at the pool and the river, or inside the nicely air conditioned lodge.

Some of my family is from a state where they are not allowed to shoot off fireworks.  What would a gathering around July 4th be without fireworks?  So, on the 3rd we attempted to shoot off some fireworks at my parents’ house (about 40 minutes away), but the wind came up too much, and due to the dry conditions, we ended the night early.  As we were heading back to the lodge at 11pm the car thermometer still showed 90 degrees. 

On the 4th everyone headed back home.  We came home and celebrated with some friends with a picnic at their ranch.

The next day we headed out again.

Swimming Lessons, VBS, and Potty Training

Wow! This summer is flying by and won’t be slowing down for a least a few more weeks.  Here is a quick update since the last post (whenever that was):

Two and a half weeks ago, we found out that swimming lessons for this summer were going to be the last two weeks of June instead of July.  Bria’s time slot was at 5 pm, which usually means it is warmer outside.  However, the second week of swimming lessons would end up conflicting with VBS.  After talking with the lifeguard, we were able to do some make-up lessons in the first week so she could get all of the recommended time in.  That one-on-one time with the instructor was extremely exhausting for Bria since she had to swim the whole time without any breaks.  Also, whenever either of the girls get in a pool, they start shivering almost immediately.  Between being cold and the extra swimming, Bria took naps two days in a row.

This year for Vacation Bible School, I was responsible for the decorations, assisting the kids with their crafts, and helping with the puppets.  Prior to VBS, we also passed out invitations around the community to the kids we have had in our kids program we run during the school year.  We were rewarded with over twice as many kids compared to the past two years.  The kids had a good time and clearly heard the gospel message several times throughout the week.  The theme was focused on learning about the Bible, so the kids had to learn as many books of the Bible as the number of their age for each day.  It amazed me how many books Bria and Bentley were each able to say.

Since the beginning of June, we have been working harder on potty training Bentley.  My mom got us started by getting a little potty that plays music when she goes.  We really started making progress when we reinforced her accomplishments by only giving her a reward when she went potty and her diaper was still dry.  We immediately saw more dry diapers, and she didn’t need to go as often.  She has now been completely dry for most days, and even a couple of nights (although they haven’t been consecutive).  Bentley still doesn’t tell us when she has to poo and won’t do that on the potty, and we have to ask her most of the time if she has to go potty.  We are definitely seeing more progress, about a year after we started.

We have also been spending some extra time at the pool because the girls love it, it wears them out, and I can work on my tan!

I hope to have another post in a couple of weeks from all the activities that are coming up.