These tennies are made for walkin'....

Sweet Bailey, my niece,  is a walking machine!!!  I can't believe she is almost 15 months old.  She is keeping her mom and dad quite busy!!!

Don't Blink...

Emily and Lauren getting ready for their first soccer practice...

Emily and Lauren still going at it nearly 8 years later!

First Day of School

The girls weren't too excited about having their picture taken today - it was the first day of school.  How quickly things change!  I found Gloria's 'first' first day of school picture - this one is from 2004, when Emily was going into 2nd grade and Gloria was in K4.   

3rd grade and 6th grade - I can't believe it!   The last couple of days have been so hectic - we've all been getting ready not only physically, but mentally as well.  All of the craziness came to a screeching halt at 8 am this morning after we took the girls to school.  All of a sudden I was in a quandary - I didn't know what to do!  Sure, I had a conference call and plenty of work to do, but it just seemed strange in such calm, quiet surroundings after a Summer of trying to balance video conferences with entertaining.  All in all, it was a good day.  Emily loves her teacher.  Gloria said her teacher is too strict.  Everything is perfect.  

Gloria is 8 years old today!

My baby turned 8 today - can't believe it!  These are some of my favorite pictures of her.

Qualities of a Leader

1. Encouraging, says positive things throughout practice and games. 

2. Works hard in games and practice - doesn't give up.

3. Friends with everybody, doesn't leave anybody out.

4. Good attitude, has respect for everybody, isn't mean.

5. They will talk on the field.

This was Emily's homework assignment from her soccer coach last week - they had to come up with Five Qualities of a Good Leader.  They turned in their homework Thursday evening before we left the next day for a tournament in Edmond, OK.  The homework was part of the foundation for picking this years' team captains.  During the tournament this weekend, the girls voted Emily and Kate as team co-captains.  

Emily and Kate talked Saturday night and decided that their first plan of action as co-captains was to institute a team prayer prior to every game.  Consequently, the assistant coach came over to the parents side of the field to offer a pre-game prayer.  Who says 11-year old girls can't make a difference?  I'm really proud of them. 

More Pics from the 'Beat the Heat' Tournament

Once again, our friend Michelle did an awesome job as team photographer on the sidelines - here's a sampling of her handiwork.

Team Captains

Kate and Em high-fiving after a score.

Gloria's 8th Bday Party

Getting Creative...

It seems as if my creative moments come in bursts - I have had the bug lately.  I made this diaper bag as a gift - I have three more to finish...

Getting Creative - Part Two

I found invitations like these on the internet for almost $3 each!  After deciding I could make them myself, I went out and purchased the supplies, spending twice as much as I would have if I had just ordered them off of the internet!

Family Movie Night

We went to Blockbuster this afternoon in search of some good movies for our family movie night this evening.  The girls love popping popcorn, getting out their sleeping bags, and watching movies.  It's rare that you find a great movie that's appropriate for the entire family.  'Ace of Hearts'  wasn't exactly a box office hit.  In fact, I don't even remember hearing about it or seeing any previews or commercials.  It had a dog on the front of the DVD box, so it sold Gloria.  She said, 'it has a dog in it, so it must be good'.   Boy were we in for a surprise - it was great.  I highly recommend it for your next family movie night!

From 1 to 100...

This is a video of people ages 1 to 100 beating a drum - thought this was interesting.  It conjures up many thoughts for me, especially the shortness of our mortal lives.  What do you think of?