A Hope and a Future

growing up

Rebecca has ALWAYS been my "big helper" and I count on her SO often to do various things to help life run smoothly around here. Lately though it seems as though she is really becoming interested in doing more things and helping me out.....I know I need to treasure these times b/c all too soon she probably won't "want" to do these things anymore.

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One day this week she wanted to make lunch...which I was more than happy to allow her to do:) She was able to pretty much do it all on her own too!

I have gotten dreadfully behind on my coupons....kind of got burned out on the whole thing and got about 2 months behind on cutting/organizing/filing them. The other day R was looking for something to do and I suggested cutting coupons. Man she was ALL over that idea (much to my delight as you can imagine!) She has spent every free moment since cutting out my coupons....maybe I'll actually get organized again!

I am SO thankful for all the time that I get to spend with my precious firstborn....grateful for the privilege of educating her at home!

 

 

Birthday bash

Today is my precious first born's SEVENTH birthday!! How can it be that she is already seven? Time is marching on way too fast:) She has had a great two day long birthday celebration complete with a slumber party, cake, and presents!

She chose to have a slumber party with Emma and Cailey last night and they had a blast together. In fact, they finally had to be separated into separate rooms about 10:30 last night because they just could NOT settle down! Here are some pics of all the fun:

 
  
 Making (and then eating) their own pizza

 

Birthday cake:)

 
  
 

Present time! My mom gave her the potato with quarters in it: she said this is something her mother used to do:)

 
 

The "pot game"....candy under the pot as a reward for finding it....they want to play this at EVERY party now!

A HUGE thanks to Heather who was my official party photograper....you saved me friend:)

I'm so thankful for seven years with this precious girl....happy birthday baby! 
  

Book It

When I was in elementary school I really enjoyed being a part of the "Book It" program that Pizza Hut has to encourage reading. Basically you have a goal set for how many books to read in a month and if you meet that goal you get a certificate for a free personal pan pizza! I was so excited to discover that they have a program for homeschooled students! They send you all the stuff and you set the goals and give the certificate out. October was Becca's first month and I set her goal at 60 books. She definitely made her goal and surpassed it even....she recorded reading 77 books! I'm not really surprised since the child reads ALL the time:) She got her pizza today and was SO excited about it! So proud of you my precious girl:)

   

 

Camp Aunt Laura

Heather and I have been planning for months to let the girls spend some time at each other's houses this summer and this past week it was our privilege to host Cailey:) The girls had a blast together and I'm so glad we were able to do it! Here are some pics of their time together:

eating together....coloring time 

 

kid movie with Daddy/Uncle Dennis....pool time at the YMCA (Hannah insisted on being in the "fishure")

 

splash pad at the YMCA....fingernails painted by Mommy/Aunt Laura

 

matchy pj's and time to talk before bed....the trampoline was a fav!

We love you Cailey....you are welcome in our home anytime:)

My little Guppy

                               

Rebecca is taking her first swimming lessons at our local YMCA and she is so excited! She's had two classes so far and is learning a lot. She is loving it and it is fun to watch:)

      

Strawberry patch

Anna and her kids are visiting this weekend while Jason is away and we thought it would be fun to take Emma and Rebecca to the strawberry patch yesterday. They had a great time although unfortunately we happened to catch it on a day when there were not many ripe ones at ALL....we ended up picking just a few out of the field and buying some already picked ones. Most of the ripe ones we did find went into the girl's mouths:) After we picked strawberries we got some ice cream and let them play on the neat playground they had. Then we headed home to rescue Dennis who had been left with four napping toddlers that soon became four awake toddlers!

            

Becca's new Bible

Dennis and I have been talking for awhile about getting Rebecca a "real" Bible. She has two different Bible storybooks but has never had an actual Bible. We decided that her big decision a few weeks ago was a great time to go ahead and get her one. We got her this one (although I feel the need to point out that her cover is a pink one) and she loves it!

It is SO neat to see how excited she is to put things together; to be taking stories that she has heard many times and finding where they are in the Bible. She loves for us to sit with her and show her things and help her figure it all out. She has been memorizing scripture since she was 2 1/2 and she thinks it's the coolest thing to find the verses that she already knows and see them in print.

Every time I see her so excited about reading her Bible I breathe a little prayer "Lord may it ALWAYS be so"!

One day she won't believe that she LIKED doing dishes:)

                                 

Rebecca always loves it when she can help me cook so Tuesday during naptime she and I worked on fixing supper together. When it was time to do the dishes I asked her if she wanted to do them and she said "sure!" So I filled the sink with soapy water and stood there with her while she did the dishes! She actually did a pretty good job and even ended up drying them too. Then that night she helped Dennis do the supper dishes and the next night she helped me do the supper dishes! Here's hoping she continues ENJOYING it for a long, long time:)

A new heart

                                      

For several months now Rebecca has been more and more interested in reading her picture Bible, praying, and has asked lots of spiritual questions. I've sensed for awhile now that her little heart was very close to making a big decision to follow Jesus. On a friend's  recommendation (thanks Nan!) I bought a set of Resurrection Eggs and we have enjoyed talking about each one. Sunday afternoon Rebecca and I sat outside and talked about the last egg and went back over the facts of Jesus life, death, burial, and resurrection. She understands that Jesus died on the cross to pay the price for her sins and knows that because of His great sacrifice she can be forgiven and trust in Jesus as her Savior. We talked about what it means to have Jesus in your heart and I asked her if she wanted to pray and ask Jesus to come into her heart and she did:)

I was thrilled to be a part of the most important decision that Rebecca will EVER make and I'm so proud of her! I pray that God will guide her life and keep her close to Him always....I am CERTAIN He has great plans for her and can't wait to watch her learn and grow!

A new set of wheels

Rebecca has wanted a bike for a long time but we never got her one because we had nowhere for her to ride one at our last house. Living here she does have places to ride and about a week ago her granddaddy surprised her with a bike and she LOVES it! He was so sweet taking time to put the training wheels on it for her and fix the horn. Then we got her a princess helmet and off she went. She is doing great and is so excited to be riding a bike:)