Here Again, Finally!!!

I really don't know where to start, so I'll just start. We had a wonderful time at camp. It was great to be spiritually refreshed and physically rested as well. The kids had a great time and spent hours and hours in the sand. Jonathan and some other children getting buried in the sand...yuck!!! Jonathan said he had sand fleas in his ears. DaNae, Kallie and Jada at camp. "BFF" !

We made it home from camp, and the next morning I headed to the chruch to begin the decorating for our VBS. Since I lost the day to getting unpacked and laundry caught up, I spent the next several days doing so. My kids thoroughly enjoyed VBS, and it seemed to be a great experience for all.

Also the week immediately following our return from camp, along with VBS, my sister, Cyretha, and her family made the tremendous move to Overland Park, KS. Her husband got a job out there and thus the move ensued. Unfortunately for my sister, he had started his job back in June and was already in KS. She stayed behind to sell their house, etc. So the move in August fell mostly her responsibility, and she is wore out. They made the move safely, and they are now trying to "get settled". Lots of adjustments and emotions, to say the least. Here is a pic of moving day, and one of her and Sammy and Elizabeth.

While we were at camp we found out that we were expecting again...and she would arrive the weekend after we got home from camp. We have made the cutest little addition to our family, and her name is "Sparkle". She was 7 1/2 weeks old when we got her and she is just adorable. She has a personality to match her name, and we are in love. She loves the kids and is doing well with her obedience.
She is a "yellow/white" lab. If bred correctly we should get all white pups. Of course that will be a couple of years from now, but we're enjoying HER as a puppy.
Sparkle promptly got a UTI the day after we got her. So forget trying any of the potty training stuff. It was not an option. She's all better now and doing well.

The next week we spend getting ready for school, buying uniforms, purchasing crayons, glue and hand sanitizer. Jeffrey started first grade Thursday, and is really enjoying it. Jonathan and DaNae started on Friday with a half day. This week was back in full swing. Here's Jeffrey ready for his first day of 1st Grade!!!

Also, Paul's parent flew in last Wednesday and was here for about a week. We put up 1 1/2-2 bushel of corn, rearranged the boys room, went to the state fair, had a picnic in the park on Sunday, just to name a few of the things we did while they were here. They are back home in NY now, but we had a great time, and always enjoy them being here. Makayla and grandpa sure are buddies.

So that's pretty much my last two and half weeks in a nutshell...laundry, VBS, looking at houses (we want to get a place with a little more land and at least another bedroom), helping family move, freezing/canning, company, getting ready for school, going to PTF, school open house, nursing a sick puppy, potty training the puppy, state fair, etc., etc. I'm ready for another 10 day vacation. I feel like Makayla looks. (After we got back from camp, she was so wore out, one day as I was trying to get caught up on laundry, I turned around and she had crawled in the laundry basket, just "chillin".)