Rachel's 1st communion

On Saturday, Rachel will take her first communion.   Dan's parents are flying in tonight and my parents and brother will also join us on Saturday.  I'll post some pics ASAP .  I went threw this with Megan last year and it was a very special time.  Tonight, Rachel and I were having a coloring contest and I drew a picture of the sea with fish in it.  She drew a picture of a cross and some grapes and bread.  The grapes representing the wine.   She wrote the words "blood of Christ" next to the grapes.  I was impressed!  The church has done a good job of explaining it to them.  Before they can take communion they must go threw 6 weeks of classes.  They also have to have attended PRE for a year before taking it.  Megan had to wait until 3rd grade to take first communion because she had not been to PRE.   I know it's a very important part of their life but because I was not raised Catholic (nor am I now), I don't think I truly appreciate this time.   I have talked about converting but I just have not made time for it.  Just like anything else in life...priorities!!!! Ok.. I'll post pics after Saturday.  I also have some more pics of the house.  The framing is moving fairly quickly.  

Update on last post

We've all said it "it's a small world"... I have two stories to share with you about how small our world really is. When I posted the last blog and the pictures I had no idea that the person who I had been working so closely with was from my neck of the woods. Cindy Haddad, maiden name Cindy Edwards went to school at Ripley High School. I told her that I knew I liked her but at the same time I felt some sort of rivalry between us.. HA HA. For those of you who don't know Halls (my alma mater) and Ripley were huge RIVALRYS. I just realized I've already shared my second story with you but I'll share it again. When we were in Aspen, I sat on the bus next to man from Halls (but now lives in Memphis). His parents (Dottie Craddick) own the Dollar Store. He was also staying at the same hotel as us and when we boarded the bus to go back to our hotel, we ask "where are you from". He first said Memphis and then we begin talking more and he mentioned that he grew up "60 miles north of Memphis"....I immediately knew it was Lauderdale county and I ask "Halls or Ripley".

Auction Ends

The online Auction that I have been working on for the last few months closed tonight and we raised over 21,000 dollars!! YEAHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!... It was so fun to watch the last couple of hours. We went from 15,000 to 21,000 in an hour. The parking spot at the Collierville campus went for 900 dollars. A signed Mike Miller jersey went for 600. On Saturday, we set up a table at Springfest and showcased many of the items that you could bid on. Pictured is Cindy Haddad who I worked closely with on the auction. Also pictured is Rachel at her Soccer clinic.

Tennis

Just wanted to celebrate my win from yesterday!! My partner and I won our 3.0 match in a tie-breaker. Last week, I also won my 2.5 singles match!! And in my New Neighbors league, my partner and I have won 4 games and only lost 1. Here are some pictures from my 2.5 team. Enjoy!!! HAPPY TENNIS!!!

Nashville weekend with PIC

The top picture is backstage. What you see is a mat for the gymnasts to stretch and warm up. In the bottom picture, is Dan's high school friend PIC.


Yesterday, Dan and I and some friends drove to Nashville to see Saltimbanco. It's a Cirque du Soleil show. One of Dan's friends from High School is part of the sound team for the show. After the show, we went backstage and got to see the ends and outs of how it is run. Most of the performers are past Olympians or gymnasts. What the acrobats can do with their bodies is absolutely amazing!!! Backstage they had gym equipment set up for the gymnasts to use. It's important that they work out everyday. The crew even has their own chef because it's important that the gymnasts eat healthy to maintain their strong muscles. Dan's friend travels with the show 3/4 of the year. It's definitely not the life Dan and I are used too. A home, a car, school, 9-5 job, dinner at the table, children's activiites. Opposed to flying to different cities each week and a different hotel. Saltimbanco is made up of 95 members. From Sound, Lighting, stage set up, chef, costume seamstress, acrobats, gymnasts, clowns, band members, etc... I was amazed at how many people were involved! Check out other Cirque shows traveling around the USA at http://www.cirquedusoleil.com/en/default.asp

Dying Easter Eggs

Tonight's softball game was canceled because it's so cold outside. Yesterday it was almost 70 and tonight's low could get down to freezing. Brrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr!!!!!!! The girls were excited to not have anywhere to go after-school. I wasn't expecting the game to be canceled when I bought the eggs and the dye kit but it turned out to be a perfect activity.

Camping Trip-2008

When looking for a picture to post with my Summer Blog, I found the photos from last August when the girls and I went camping with my parents in MO. I hope you will enjoy the photos. We had so much fun being so close to NATURE. We canoed, hiked, slept in tents.... in short we ROUGHED it!! The picture of the frogs I took when we hiked to see Blue Spring. If you were above it, one can see 100 feet down. It was very clear. Rachel and I are pictured at Blue Spring in the 2nd photo. We canoed the Current River and near it is a spring called BIG SPRING. The last two photos are of our campsite.

Summer

This picture is of my mother's zinnia's. The butterfly landed just in time for me to snap the photo!!!


I am so looking forward to summer!! Although when I look at my calender and mark off the days we will be gone or when certain activities will take place, my summer will go by so quickly!! I have so much I want to pack into SUMMER! CAMP(Victory Ranch-girls), BEACH, trip to Whisteler (20 group meeting), camping with my parents in MO, Swim meets, VBS, a trip to my mom's to pick strawberries..........hmmmmmmmm what else???? Before I know it, it will be time to start buying school supplies. A couple of weeks ago when we ask Rachel did she want to go to Victory Ranch she told us no. Of course, I wanted to say "oh but why honey-it will be so much fun!" but Dan's response was "Well good, that saves me X amount of dollars". Luckily..she and I had our little one on one and I have convinced her that she does want to go. Plus it helped that Dan's mother sent the girls a notebook of "Fun Activities to do at Camp". Tonight after the girls had their baths..we talked about camp and Megan told Rachel all the activities there were to do. Swimming, rock climbing, horseback riding, zipline, paintball, etc. Megan is so excited about it! The experienced big sister told Rachel everything she would need to pack. Flashlight, towels, toothpaste, toothbrush, letters and stamps... "And mom, last year I should have brought more towels because I used all my towels to dry off after the mud slide".

OH.. the lazy days of summer. Just where did that name come from? My summers are far from LAZY!! Yes.. it's slower than during the school year but we are also on GO for the most part. Swim meets will take up the majority of our Thursday nights. I can gaurantee that the other days will not be quiet either.. swim practice, playdates, trips to the grocery, trips to the zoo, an occassional trip to the library. Let's not forget to continue reading during the summer!!!

I know in July.. I will be saying "When will summer end?" but right now...I'm screaming "When will summer begin!!!!"

BRING IT ON!!!