...a little Lili laughter~

Lili came in the living room with a piece of paper tonight and asked me to make her a paper airplane. Well, sorry...but I haven't got a clue. I couldn't make a paper airplane with two engines and a room full of engineers!!!!

David was taking a nap...gearing up for his allnight research paper mode. Of course...he makes GREAT paper airplanes. So...Lili was fit to be tied.

So, out of options...I suggested that she go see Poppy (my Dad) and see if he could

make her a paper airplane.

She stopped what she was doing and stared right at me. Then she threw those little arms up in the air and said...with all the seriousness she could muster, "Uh, MOM!!!!! He can't make a paper airplane...he thinks the Moon is made out of cheese!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

I busted out laughing and the poor thing thought I was making fun of her!!! She started crying and it took me a few minutes of consoling to convince her otherwise. Poor baby!!!! I felt so horrible...but it really was HILARIOUS!!!!!!

"And he took the children in his arms, placed his hands on them and blessed them." Mark 10:16

In HIS Mighty Grip...

Words by Aly...

So, we were watching a movie the other night and Aly started fidgeting. She is like me...she has a hard time sitting still and watching a movie ...just watching a movie...nothing else. I end up flipping through a magazine or suring the internet or knitting or something else. Anyway...she ended up with a piece of paper and her colored pencils. She was busy writing something...doing something. After the movie was over, I asked her what she had been writing. I do hope you can see the following picture...it is a bit light, but it is hilarious. The picture examples at the bottom are the best!!!!
I thought she wasn't paying attention to the movie, but these words were all in the movie...so I guess she really was paying attention.
Enjoy~

~In HIS Mighty Grip

The post Thanksgiving update...

I do hope that you and your families had a wonderful Thanksgiving Day...with lots of turkey, pecan pie and wonderful traditions...all wrapped up in many many moments of Thanks to our Father who gave it all to us!!!! We had a day just like that and we made lots of wonderful memories that will last us a long long time!!

I have pictures from the day, but I will have to share them later as they aren't uploaded yet!!

For now I will share some memories from the last couple of weeks... Aly is here with me and she wants to help comment on the photos...so here goes! Oh...by the way...there are more photos and fun on the homeschool blog (link on the right sidebar)

A good friend stopped by with a gift of some yummy fruit and other goodies for us. The girls made short work of it all for lunch the next day!!

We made muffins for breakfast one morning only to discover... that if you tilt your head slightly to the left, you will meet our new friend...the blueberry Muffin Man!!!

Aly decided to write and illustrate a story..I'll let her explain it...

"Super Person" by Aly Swindler

A girl was walking one day...

BOO! Out of nowhere, a skeleton appeared and she screamed "HELP! HELP!"

Super Person appeared and said, "I'm coming!"

Super Person took care of that skeleton for the girl!

Super Person saved the day!! The End~

Could it be??? Daddy's Little Princesses???? Yep!!! It's them!!!

Ahhhhhhhhh...happiness!

Ahhhhhh...craziness!!

eyeball girls to the rescue!!

"Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; His love endures forever" PS 107:1

in HIS Mighty Grip...

Tiger Lili...

So we were zipping through the grocery store this afternoon when Lili pipes up out of nowhere with, "Mamma, what makes YOU such a GREAT teacher?" I wasn't quite sure what the emphasis meant at first so I said, "Well, I don't know...do you think I am a great teacher?" She let out with a resounding "NO!!!" (Okay...now I know what the emphasis meant!!)

"Well, Lili...why do you think that?"

"Because you are a MEAN teacher!"

"What??? I'm not a mean teacher Lili! I do make you do things you don't

want to do sometimes, but that's not being mean."
"Why do you think I'm mean?"

"Cause...you make me do mean stuff...like go to the bathroom!!!!"

Gotta love my little Wombat!!!!

"...I could be bold and order you to do what you ought to do, yet I appeal to you on the basis of love..." Philemon 1:8-9

In HIS Mighty Grip

Fun times!!!

Sunday afternoon our friends Eileen and Joe came over with their kids to spend the afternoon swimming with us . We were having a blast when someone suggested that we should go up to Clark's Fish Camp for dinner. So......Everyone piled out of the pool, got dressed and off we went!! Boy...was that a GREAT idea!! We had so much fun!!! We had never been there before, but we WILL be going back!! Enjoy the pictures~

Sorry for the foggy pics. It was so very muggy outside and I had just stepped out of the air conditioned car. Anyway, I was trying to get a good pic of the girls in front of the place, but Lili wouldn't cooperate.

We tried again, but then she went from "non-cooperative" to "non-compliance". Rather...she started to pout!! I just LOVE it when she pouts!!! NOT

Finally Alyson decided to help by forcing her to smile!! Lili still refused to smile but everyone standing there in the parking lot was smiling and laughing from ear to ear!!! :-)

Aly, Lili, their friends Sarah and Elizabeth posing in front of one might big stuffed cat!!! The whole place is full of 'em!!! (Check out the link for some more pics )

Joe, Eileen and their beautiful daughters Sarah and Elizabeth.

The Swindler Tribe...

Lili had to check out the catfish we were bringing home to Poppi (my dad)

Lili after she got to taste the catfish we were bringing home to Poppi!!

This was the view right over our heads...I kept waiting for Tarzan to swing through!!

The camp is right on the banks of the St. Johns River and this time of year they get a good bit of flooding. This day was no exception. Only a few hours before we arrived, the majority of the place was flooded. They seem to take it all is stride as it is pretty normal for them. When you pull up to the front you literally either go straight on into the water or take a sharp left into the parking lot!

Anyway, thanks Joe and Eileen for the really really fun evening and the

reat company!! We had a ball!!

Oh...that reminds me. Quick Lili story...When we got home it was late and the sky was very clear and we stood in the driveway for a few minutes looking at the most amazing display of stars in the sky. Lots of oooohs and ahhhhhs and finally Lili said, "Mamma...it's darker than chocolate out here!!" I love that little little wombat!!!

Have a great Friday!

In HIS Mighty Grip

Ah...life

Good Morning!! Just wanted stopped by to post a video and a few pictures from this last week. We have been having such fun with school and life this past week...Enjoy!!

There is a big ole vine hanging from a big ole tree in our front yard and Aly finnaly found the courage to swing from it!! Ah...such fun!!

Does it get any better than a messy ice cream bar? I think not!!!

Now thats what I'M talkin about!!!! YUM

I have pictures of me as a child looking through this same rock in front of Marineland. If I can find it I will try to post it sometime. Anyway...I wish you could have seen the behind the scenes of these pictures...I had Lili on my shoulders and was trying like the dickens to hold Aly up basically over my head so they could look through the hold. It was quite funny when I wasn't trying keep from dropping everyone!!

Aly's new preferred place to read. I guess she thinks that more blood to the head makes her brain work better??? Whatever!! She read the whole book just like this.

My Lovely Lili...

Please stop by our Homeschool blog to see more updates from the week. The link is at the top right of this page.

From our home to yours...have a wonderful week!!!

"...and all your children shall be taught of the Lord and great shall be the peace of your children. " Habakkuk 2:2

In HIS Mighty Grip

All the days ordained...

Well, it's coming down to the last few days of summer. Most everyone we know has already started school and we start on Monday. What happened???? I can't believe it is almost over!!

Here are a few pictures of us enjoying these last few days!

The precious baby doing the Chinese Squat . She took the cushion out of the chair for this one...not sure why as her little tushy is not resting on the cushion...just her feet.

A quick game of Hopscotch in the sweltering heat.

Did I say that it was HOT???

Oh...I forgot to tell you that it was HOT!!! Look at those red cheeks!!

We came right in, put on swim suits and retired to the pool for the rest of the afternoon!!

The perfect Play-Doh ice cream cone for those HOT days!!

I'm not sure what this is, but she surely is proud of it!! I just love that smile :-)

Yummy Yummy perfect pink ice cream Play-Doh!

Aly and her funny Play-Doh princess~

A leisurely breakfast~

Yum Yum...my favorite cereal!

Mamma, it's hard to smile with a mouthful of cereal!!

We can't forget to feed Moeshe!

Our playroom ALWAYS looks so nice and clean!!!

Um...maybe NOT!! LOL

Dinner at Ruby Tuesday's...We LOVE Ruby Tuesday's!! The girls ususally eat their weight in salad bar!!

Beware of Chinese Spider-Lili...one never knows where she will show up!!!

I am so thankful for these two amazing children! I pray that God will continue to bless their young lives and draw them closer to HIM. I am so thankful that David and I were given the privilege of walking this journey with them!

"All the days ordained for me were written in your book

before one of them came to be."

Psalms 139:16

In His Mighty Grip~