Finally time to update!

Wow - I can’t believe I haven’t written since last Friday!! The month of July was just a VERY busy month for us… And now the August calendar seems to be filling up too…

So it’s going to be a pretty quiet 2 weeks here at work - the clergy are on vacation. They seem to be constantly gone during the summer - which means I don’t have much motivation to work hard, so I go places on my lunch break and do other fun things besides work while I’m here! (Don’t tell anyone!) Today I went to Wal-Mart -- it’s my chosen lunch break destination cuz it’s less than 5 minutes away - and today it was a good trip because I found things I need and I had fun! It’s not fun when you go in search of something & leave without finding it, yet STILL spend money on things you just happen to see that you think you need. hah! Anyway, I have been on the search for black dress shoes for Joe & Merin’s wedding, to wear with my nice black bridesmaid dress… And I was supposed to have them by last night, because my mother-in-law & sister-in-law and I went to get our dresses altered… which means you have to be wearing the shoes you plan to wear so the dress is hemmed to the right length… so I took a pair I wasn’t going to wear that had a 2 inch heel on them, hoping they would be similar to a pair I would actually find to wear! Note: my feet have grown since child # 2 and now I’m almost a size 10 (ugh!) so not many of my shoes still fit. Anyway, this shoe thing was a predicament - I don’t want to spend lots of money on a pair cuz I know I will not wear them often, if ever again. Well, today I found a nice plain pair of black pumps for only $7.97 at Wal-Mart!! YEA! And the heel is not skinny like MOST shoes, it is thicker and so I am able to walk in them without feeling like I’m gonna’ fall over or break an ankle (I don’t do well with high heels!) So that was exciting! And then I found a plain ole’ pair of white tennis shoes which I desperately need - mine have holes in them & are falling apart… and I spent $11.97 on those! Quite the deal - less than $20 for 2 pairs of shoes! Yes, I like Wal-Mart... though many people don’t! I also wandered through the baby section and found some awesome deals and bought a few things for my friend & her husband who are expecting their first baby (a boy!) in December. I know, a little early to buy things, but these were amazing deals I couldn’t resist! So it was a fun trip for me!

Anyway, what we’ve been up to since last Friday….. Well, last Saturday night - the party for Chloe went well… and we celebrated my b-day as well. We had yummy cake and we both got really nice presents. Unfortunately, we forgot to take our camera with us, so I can’t share any pic’s from that party until I get some from Chris’ parents’ camera!

Sunday for dinner we got together with the other couples & kids from Church and it was fun. The Dad’s ended up watching the kids upstairs for a while while us ‘Moms’ sat downstairs & chatted about pregnancy & children and such! There is one couple who has twin girls born 2 days after Chloe and they are expecting their 3rd child in October! She is about 30 weeks now but she’s been having contractions since 21 weeks, so she’s on special medication and her activity is limited (which is hard with two 2-year olds!) So we need to keep her in prayer - her name is April. Anyway, the time us ‘Moms’ got to spend talking together was wonderful! It was a needed break and it was fun to share stories about our children who are all so close in age. We ended up talking about so many random things - from viruses, to doctors, to diapers, to teething, & breastfeeding.. you name it! I just wish we could get together more often and talk… I really need a mothers’ support group like that (especially made up of friends from church!)

So anyway, then came Monday - my sister had the day off and we decided to be brave and take the girls to the Zoo, just her and I! It’s free for residents of our county every Monday from 10 to Noon… so we figured if they got cranky & we could only stay an hour, at least we didn't throw away our money or anything -- we had nothing to lose! We ended up staying for almost 2 hours and the girls were great. Maya fell asleep in the stroller so that was nice… and Chloe did not even whine or want anything - all the fun refreshments & food we passed & stuffed animals & toys in the gift shops… she didn’t throw a fit at all - it was amazing! So to reward her we stopped at Wendy’s on the way home and I bought her a kids’ meal. Poor girl didn’t even get a toy with her meal, though! I tell ya… bad day at Wendy’s I guess! heh. (P.S. To see lots of pictures from the Zoo, scroll down to the next 2 entries!)

Tuesday I had a doctor appt. in the afternoon and then in the evening we went & got our dresses fitted to be altered, as I mentioned earlier. So we’ve been going, going, going and it’s been tiring!

I’ve written a novel now so I oughta’ get back to work… Hope you enjoy the pictures I’m posting!