We Went In Search of....Puffy, White Things!

What you ask? Puffy white things?? Yep. Puffy white things. Yummy puffy white things...and a princess favorite! You will find them all over New Orleans. As that city sadly braces for Hurricane Gustav, this fam set out in mini-van to pay homage to the end of summer by partaking of puffy white things at one of our fav places...the Port Orleans Resort at Disney World. They sell Beignets (been-yays) fresh out of the fryer (they're a rectangular puffed doughnut) then rolled in mounds of powdered sugar...served hot, hot, hot with alot of napkins, napkins, napkins. As the clouds from Gustav swirled over our heads (yes, it reached as far inland as us)...the P.C. played, danced, skipped, and consumed...enjoying every minute! (We'll be careful when we mention one of them fell headlong into the fountain clothed and shoed...but name will be omitted. Use your imagination). We had a marvelous day... and we know if you try puffy white things....you'll soon have an addiction to them too! So we sadly say good-bye to summer....and FYI...it was not Julie who fell in the fountain.:) Keep guessing. Bring on September!!

Very, very excited about where we are going!

One of the best kept secrets at Disney! Shhhhhhh!

Puffy, White things. What else????? MMMMMMMMMMMMMMM!

The P.C. in usual form :)

The boy ran 9 miles this morning. We'll let him have a snooze!

Leap Julie

Katie Mei LUE! Who by the way swears she's 16!

This girl loves Belle!

The one who loves puffy white things the most! (other than the mommy!)

The gang

Surfer chic Eloise.

The mom and her amazing set of little and not so little princesses

Julie gives cartwheel lessons.

Don't you think they're amazing learners?

A,B,C....Back to School are We!

Katie has just finished her first week of 3 year old preschool! Can't believe it! What makes it even better is she has the exact same teachers, class, and schedule that sister Kristin had when she was 3! Last year Katie climbed on my head and turned into a black cloud when left at school.....and this year, this confident, smiley, talking girl walked right in....put her backpack into her cubby, announced what was for lunch, and got out the playdough. We are definitely one of the youngest and by far the smallest in the class....but never fear...Katie will tell you when asked her age..."I sixteen!". (please reference the recent controversy reguarding Chinese gymnasts ages:) Apparently 16 comes early for some in China:)) Thank you Miss Sue and Miss Laurie for a great week in the 3's!! This Mommy is breathing a sigh of relief!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

A Great Day....A Scary Day...

B.F.F. (before Fay's floods:)) we had a family day at Sea World. We had an absolutely marvelous time, and other than being rawther hot...the weather cooperated. I was forced to ride Kraken (just for you Julie!), which I'm usually up for, until I actually get on the thing and then I wonder 'What was I thinking?!!'Kraken is their floorless roller coaster FYI. It starts... I scream, shut my eyes and hold on to my hat and pray for a safe return to my small children. We stayed late to see "Hamu Wocks" (Shamu Rocks) and then what has never, ever happened before....happened. Our little group of 12 hastened from Shamu stadium over to see the new water ski show in another staduim. You've heard the story...'I thought you had her", "No, I thought you had her"...oh....no one has her?? WHAT DO YOU MEAN SHE'S NOT HERE??!!" Yep, you guess it. We lost a child. To make a long story short, in a stadium filled, night time, LOUD theme park show....Leni never made it to our seats. Our group was sitting....watching the show..for quite a few minutes..and suddenly we realized....no Leni was there watching with us. Dad jumps up and runs back to the entrance to retrace our steps. No Leni. We didn't know if she had gone back to Shamu...gone to the Happy Harbour kids area, or what....AND of course, the place was packed. This mommy runs to the ski-show control booth (yes I did) and got offical looking Sea World upper level management to issue all points bulletin for security to look for missing 6 year old. They got on it..... we prayed. A while later (now ski show is still going on...think LOUD music, LOUD boats,LARGE crowd, etc.) a dripping wet from head to toe Leni emerges from the ski lake. Yep. She said she couldn't find us...so she did the next best thing.... went swimming with the entertainment. She wasn't even scared. Just wet. Security was thanked profusely...ski show was now mostly over....and we were ready to take our soggy one safely home. The end. It is now one week later...and Leni is still with us.:) Someone in our group has suggested a leash for next time. Hmmmmm. Thinking about it:)

Would Someone Please Contact Noah...

...and get his blueprints on how to construct an ark? We have not lost power..(many have):):), we have not lost internet :):) but boy, oh boy has it ever rained!! At least a foot or more where we are (and that's a conservative estimate) and 15-18" in surrounding areas. The little pool you see is nasty dirty now..full of leaves and falling debris...but is actually brand new and only used once. It was empty 2 days ago...and has been overflowing. Our lake was really low and needed water but this is nuts! Notice Leni and Mom Jo telling T.S.Fay to GO AWAY!! Of all the hurricanes and storms we've had...this is epic rain. In some counties east of here they've even had alligators floating in neighborhood flood waters!!

UPDATE: Just got back from walking Mom Jo's property. She lives just a few doors down from us. Anyway, her neighbor came out and told us he gauged 10" of rain yesterday alone. Considering he's an engineer, I guess his gauge outdoes my little swimming pool estimate for accuracy. That's alot of rain.

And As The Clock Strikes Midnight....

Last night I stayed up to watch Shawn Johnson win her gold medal. A few minutes after midnight, I made my "rounds" to the girls rooms to make sure everyone was tucked in and secure for the night,(and while Tropical Storm Fay was hammering rain on our roof:)) I came across this scene in Kristin's bed. After a slight deliberation with myself, I did what every memory saving mom would do... Ran downstairs, grabbed the camera, turned on her light, and captured the moment. Now this child is the first one up in the morning, and the last to go to sleep. In between there is not a little activity...but a constant blur of motion-and-NONSTOP-talking. She is the trio's clear leader and they look to her for guidance, support and help. Not to mention she's in the bathroom the most often for 'redirective administration'. :) God's been speaking to me lately about not forgetting the vision he's given us as a family for adoption, the orphan, the persecuted church and defending the cause of the poor and needy both here and abroad. It's so easy to get caught up in the every day business of life that the calls He's given can be buried under the complexities of life. My friend Leslie had some very wise words the other day for me and she probably didn't even realize she had spoken clearly to what I was dealing with... as I was preparing for another year of homeschooling on top of an already crammed schedule. Very simply put, in speaking about herself, she said that she never over books her daily life so that she is able to not let her schedule rule her and keep the attitude that the day is to work..but also be enjoyed for God's glory...In other words, every day you take the time...even if for a moment to 'rest' in loving what God gives you for that day... And enjoying the people that surround you..no matter what the stress level:) That hit me like a ton of bricks...oh yea! These moments are to be enjoyed...and more than that...fully enjoyed! So you will see in the pic a moment this mommy enjoyed...at midnight while the rest of the house was sleeping. And as Psalm 63:5 says, "Father of the fatherless, protector of the widows is God in his holy habitation. God settles the solitary in a home.." Yes He did. Three times in this house.

Every Day Is Bring Your Sister To School Day!

Yes, the Oreo's started school this past week! At the VanLue Academy of Higher(?) Learning.:) I told them if they got up, cleaned their rooms, got dressed ...ALL without 'issues' they could bring some friends to school with them. So they did. All dressed and ready to go! Leni is 6 and in first grade. Kristin is 5 and 'technically' in Kindergarten, but this 40 something mom decided to consolidate tasks and am doing first grade with both girls this year. They had an AH-MAZ-ING :) first week and this mommy knows it was the right choice. Katie will start pre-school again in a week, but let me tell ya....she could do first grade now too!! And did all week! We are studying the days of creation, memorizing scripture, the letters F and B (see the pic of f..f...fish...and f..f..frog...and Eloise is f...fffff...ffffive)....review of numbers and addition...among trips to the library, and preparation for a possible hurricane:) (as of today's writing). We're looking forward to a great year!! Turn your head sideways to see the Genesis pic because the STUPID thingy wouldn't load correctly!! and I'm done trying:)[insert frustration here] Now...a sidenote. You will see Katie repeatedly in the same outfit. A pink longsleeved shirt even though it's August in here in Florida...and her newly crowned favorite 'budderfy' pants which are way, way too short..but otherwise fit. I let her dress herself unless it means leaving the house looking like an unmade bed. And lately this ensemble is all she wants to wear. She's obsessive compulsive in the fashion category...so unless it directly effects our reputation :)...she wears what she wants.

Now, back to tropical storm/hurricane prep. Not that we expect it to be that bad, but it doesn't take much for the power to go out here....and we have a well which means in simple terms...no power...no water. No water...no bathroom. And 6 girls plus one boy are here. (counting Mom Jo)....we have to come up with a plan. A plumbing plan that is.......that's NOT the Beverly Hillbillies..

Steven Curtis Chapman Family on Good Morning America 8/6/08

Yall need to watch this!

Think They're Gonna Love This When....

......they're 16? Yes, blackmail material at it's finest! Cade and Katie are only 10 months apart and currently are almost exactly the same size.... so the cuteness is doubled! Everyone asks me if 'they're all ours' but no one has asked if they're twins :)(heh-heh-heh). Last night they were pre-olympic bath buddies. They are carrying on the most amazing conversations now...each with their own "bent" on language and definitely have their own opinions on how things should be! Notice the cars are all on Cade's side and the teapot on Katie's. It doesn't matter what country you're from...the girl/boy thing is built in!!

Know Whadt?? I Wanna Do Dat!

....after feasting on Chinese food in honor of the opening....We have set ourselves down to enjoy the best of the best. Last night we were in awe of those little Chinese girls flip, spin, twist, and bounce across the floor! Katie was enthralled! Leni said she hated the Olympics and wanted another movie...and Kristin wanted to play Webkinz on the computer...so Katie took to the floor in her own gymnastics show for us! She now wants a "Pink tard (leotard) and she "wanna do dat!! Watchhhhhmom!!!"

Did you see this?

This brings back memories of watching Jason anchor this race at Florida's highschool state swim meets. And it went something like this...This was incredible!! Scroll down and watch the men's 4x100m Relay! You can also see the medal ceremony for the 400IM where Jason's friend Ryan Lochte won the bronze. Pretty cool!

Exclusive Summer Olympics news & widgets at NBC Olympics.com!

Let The Games Begin!

Ni-Hao! Yes, East Meets West tonight at the opening of the Beijing Olympic Games! Guess where we'll be? Yep...glued to the tv for the next few weeks! We were in Beijing just 2 years ago prior to getting Katie Mei, and saw many of the same scenes you'll see on NBC's coverage these next few days. Our son Jason has a friend on this years USA swim team. You can read more about him here. Jason was a competitive swimmer back in his elem/middleschool/highschool days and knows Ryan from there. He and Ryan were team mates when they were both named to the U.S. Swimming Florida Zone team representing Florida in the Atlanta Olympic swim venue way back in the day:) They've gone their separate ways since then, but it's always exciting to see and cheer on one of your own in something as big as the Olympic games. AND we have vested interest in the host country to boot! Let the Games begin!! Xie-xie!

Two Things I Can't Live Without....

...are my oldest daughter!!.. who the day after her recent trip let her mommy take a much needed break for a couple of hours.(did I say MUCH NEEDED??) What did I do? Picked up my #2 cantlivewithout item...my I-pod.. and hit the pavement to listen to the new Sovereign Grace release of Psalms. Powerful truth from scripture put to amazing musical structure! My current favorites are "Out of the Depths" and "The Lord Is". Listen for yourself! Three miles later (I'm actually supposed to be training to run a 1/2 marathon in Dec. in honor of my friend Robbie....another story for another day).... I came home to 3 little princesses dressed first in their Christmas best ??!!) then changed into beautimous tu-tu's with their hair perfectly coiffed into the bestest ballerina buns possible! What would we do without our Julie?? We'd be sad, sad and have very bad hair!! All 3 little girls now have the Psalms CD banked to memory which is making this mom very happy. They have been singing truth to themselves for days now and didn't even know they were memorizing scripture to boot! Gotta love it! Oh and yea...I threw in the ice cream pic because I'm the mom and I can totally do that!!

Worship Conference 2008!

Hello friends! It's Julie. I just got back from the Worship Conference in Maryland. What an amazing time!! I would highly recommend you listen to ALL the messages. They should be available online soon at sovereigngraceministries.org. The topic this year was "Rediscovering the Psalms" and the teaching was unbelievably instructive, convicting, and encouraging. Ultimately I came away with a renewed passion to study God's word and more in love with my Savior! Praise God! Here are some fun pictures from our trip!