Swimming 101

Grace and Ella just finished up two weeks of swimming lessons, and we could not be prouder of all they accomplished. Both of them love the water and had no trouble diving right in.They shared lessons with another pair of sisters, who were 7 and 4, and all of them had so much fun together.

Ella was the class clown, but she's such a good little swimmer that she kept Ms. Carol smiling the whole time.

Ella has no fear. She loves the water and does a great job kicking her little legs and holding her breath. Ms. Carol said she was well on her way, but also commented, "This is the one you're going to have to watch!"

As for Grace, we're predicting she's a future Olympian. Seriously. She's that good. Check out her form.

Her long and lean frame glides through the water so easily. Her light weight helps her float, and her arm movements and kicks are beautiful. From the time they were born, I've prayed that God helps reveal our kids' natural talents so that we can encourage them in those areas. Without hesitation, Travis and I believe swimming is one of Grace's natural talents. She is incredibly calm and relaxed in the water, and it's just amazing to watch.

Because Travis and I could only attend lessons on Fridays, Ms. Carol liked helping Grace show off for us. Here she is swimming across the pool and switching from front to back on her own.

Grace's final test was jumping off the diving board and swimming across the pool. Ms. Carol's pool is really long, and I must admit that I was a little nervous. Grace was not, but she was freezing. I only got these two pictures because I was recording it, too.

And, she did it! I was so happy for her that I almost cried. Ms. Carol said that because she did it, she's officially "pool safe" now. Grace was the only one in her class that did it (yep, the 7-year-old was too scared to try). She was also the only one to get a cookie after every lesson. Ella would have had a perfect record, except that she had an unfortunate poop in the pool incident. Ick!

It was raining intermittently during their last lesson, and then it began pouring at the very end. So, their graduation ceremony was moved to the garage. At that point, they were all cold and tired and only cared about the cookies and water gun gifts from Ms. Carol.

We were so happy with Ms. Carol and can't wait to take lessons again next summer. Both girls are officially floatie and goggle-free now, and we've had tons of fun swimming without all the extra gear. As for Sutton, it was so hard for him to be an observer. He desperately wanted in the pool because he loves water. He'll have to wait until next year, but I'm already predicting success!

Fun on the Fourth

We started our 4th of July with the neighborhood parade and had a blast. This was our second year, and even Sutton joined the fun this time. It was so much cooler than last year, which made it more enjoyable. The girls loved seeing their friends along the parade route.

After a relaxing afternoon, we headed to Rockwall for Papa Jim's annual fish fry. Travis always does a great job as master chef, and the kids have fun playing with family. Sutton was ready for bed at his usual time of 7:30, so he and I headed home, while Travis and the girls stayed to watch the fireworks. Ella did not like the fireworks because they were too loud, but Grace loved them again. They got home LATE because of the awful traffic, but we all had a wonderful day!

This last picture makes me laugh. Sutton loves beer! Anytime he sees a glass bottle, he starts pointing at it and grunting. He crawled over to this cooler, opened it and pulled out a cold one. I think he handed it to Travis and was thinking, "Here. Open this for me, please."

Psalm 119:11

I have hidden Your word in my heart, that I might not sin against You.

For the past couple of months, I've been helping Grace hide God's word in her heart. She has an amazing memory, so I knew before we started this that it would be something she would enjoy. We have both benefited from this exercise, and Ella has even memorized most of these verses, as well.

Here's our list so far:

1. In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. Genesis 1:1

2. When I am afraid, I will trust in You. Psalm 56:3

3. For nothing is impossible with God. Luke 1:37

4. And, lo, I am with you always. Matthew 28:20

5. Children, obey your parents in the Lord. For this is good. Ephesians 6:1

6. Look to the Lord and his strength; seek His face always. Psalm 105:4

7. God is love. 1 John 4:16

After prayers each night, Grace says, "Okay, now we need to do our verses." And she runs down the list. Sometimes, I quiz her and ask, "What does ______ say?" She's almost always correct. I try to help her apply these in everyday situations--Ephesians 6:1 is my favorite :) I am so glad she is learning God's word at a young age.

In God We Trust

Did you know that "In God We Trust" is our national motto? Adopted by the 84th Congress during the Eisenhower administration, few people seem to know this. Unfortunately, we live in a country where God's name is no longer politically correct, where people file lawsuits to have "God" taken off our currency, where they pull their children out of schools when they are forced to recite the Pledge of Allegiance.

While this may be the current sad state of our nation, the undeniable truth is that our nation's history reflects both recognition of and accountability to God. The Declaration of Independence begins with these two sentences:

When in the Course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another, and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature's God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation. We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness.

The fact that God is being taken out of our national culture should concern all of us. Our founding fathers recognized that God endows us with the rights to life, liberty and happiness. What happens when we take God out of the equation? He must be replaced by something. Is our motto now "In We We Trust?" How well is that working? Who are we accountable to? Have we ever needed God more than now?

Today, I urge you to pray for our nation, its leaders, and its citizens. Pray that we turn our focus back to God and that we regain accountability to Him. Pray that we be the nation He desires us to be. And, don't forget to give thanks that on this day we celebrate America's freedom, we are eternally thankful for the freedom to worship.

Happy 4th of July!

Bubblicious

It's amazing how much fun three kids can have with dollar store bubbles and a little Dawn.

Splish Splash

We've come a long way since last summer--both in terms of our metal swimming tub and our old point-and-shoot camera...

Our new and improved pool has already more than paid for itself this summer after countless hours of playtime, and I love the pictures I can take with our Nikon.

The girls love that they can actually swim in the new pool, as well as just splash around.

How precious is our spunky 2-year-old in her goggles?

It warms my heart to see the girls playing so well together. Ella copies everything Gracie does and simply adores her sister. They could do this for hours.

Although Sutton loves the water, he does not love this pool. The water is a tad too cold for him, so he'd much rather watch his sisters act silly and scream like banshees while he enjoys his favorite food--watermelon.

And sometimes, he just gets into everything he can on the patio while looking really cute.

Each day, it's just amazing to watch Ella explore her world (and test her boundaries). She's such a fun little girl.

And Grace is growing up so quickly. She's definitely more cautious when she plays, but she is also goofy and makes us laugh all the time.

I love all the sweet, sweet memories we're making this summer!