blueberry picking!

last week i decided that it would be fun to go blueberry picking. because i want this blog to be REAL and encouraging to those around me... i will tell you some details about our trip. it began with the normal hype, mom explaining to the kids where we were going and how much fun we were going to have. that was promptly followed by the two year old, "i don't like blueberry picking! i want to stay home!" Glorious day!

once we arrived and saw the friends that they were going to pick with, they got pretty excited. and, as you can see from the picture, it was a really cute place. we went inside this little building and grabbed our buckets. that got caleb really wired... i mean, a boy and a bucket... who could want more!

as we headed to the blueberry plants, my mind raced with the precious moments that loomed with just a few steps... you know how moms think... the kids first time to do this, explaining how to pick them, why some are blue and some are white, who made them, comparing how full buckets are.... and just about the time that i envisioned taking pictures with huge smiles and overflowing buckets - my daughter ran ahead to one of my girlfriends yelling, "miss steph, will you hold my hand." and that was that.... she had nothing to do with me the rest of the time! HA! she showed her mom! humbling... really, humbling!

caleb didn't need his mommy either. he'd pick them, throw them in the bucket, pour out the bucket, pick them up off the ground, crush them in his hand, and do it all over again!

i did manage to catch one moment when allie and hannah were visiting while they picked... it was sweet!

although i don't have pics, it would be unjust for me to end the story there. once we picked plenty of berries, we headed back to the cute house in the above picture for a blueberry muffin snack. it quickly ended after covering the floor with muffin crumbs, spilling maggie's coffee in the entrance, and having the store keeper calmly saying, "could you please ask your children to stay out of the garden area."

thank you, Lord, for simple pleasures:

warm texas weather

blueberries

passionate, opinionated children

lance's day!

i sure do love my husband and hope that father's day was special for him. the kids didn't go to bed until 11 the night before so i'm not sure that they were in the best mood for the day... sorry! the day began with their gift to him. it was a proof book filled with pictures that prooved lots things about him (his walk with Christ, his love for them, how hard he works, etc). then we took him out for a yummy brunch before opening day at the ranch! the pics are from our meal at the diner!

the funniest part of the whole day is that i could not get allie to tell lance happy father's day all day long. around noon, she sees our neighbor and yells, "hey larry! happy father's day!" lance and i exchanged glances and shook our heads. after she woke up from her nap we worked on a little decoration for the dinner table. i put it on the table while she was playing and when she came to sit down... she got sooooo excited and said, "daddy, look, look! it for you... HHHAAAPPPYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY, father's day!" truly, she drug it out... it was hysterical!

(this cute little moment was when she found a hidden picture in her magazine while waiting for our meal!)

family reunion

this past weekend we traveled to graham, tx for our smith family reunion. this includes just about everyone on my dad's side of the family. we've been having these get togethers since i can remember. i'm sure there was a period of time (those teenage years) when this was a topic of complaint, but truly... not many families do this anymore and it really is special. lance, of course, had to stay at camp and miss the fun... he was really missed... almost to the point of me thinking that i'm not as cool without him or something!

here are some highlights:

we (meaning me, the kids, and maggie who is helping me with the kids for 1/2 the summer) arrived early and went straight to the pool. i'm certain that this resort felt about 20 degrees hotter than the rest of the earth! the kids loved swimming, but allie asked endlessly where everyone else was!

my parents finally arrived which brought smiles all the way around. smiles for the kids b/c it was someone else to play with. smiles for my parents who love their grandkids. and smiles for maggie and i who were ready for a break!

allie and caleb got to meet baby jackie, the newest member of the smith family! isn't she precious! it is hard to believe that she just had open heart surgery four months ago!

this picture shows a little bit of what our cabins looked like. the kids had fun running around and rocking in the rocking chairs!
here is a pic of the four of us after a long HOT day! this is just before we got in the car and headed back so that we could spend time with daddy on father's day! details of that in the next entry!

haircuts

it has been a few weeks ago now.... but the kids got some really cute hair cuts. these aren't the best pictures of the kiddos, but they show their cuts really well. allie's is shorter in the back and angled in the front and caleb got his short enough to spike. it was pretty crazy watching someone razor off my baby's hair.

the place was really cool. it was called snip its. each kid was given a fun pass as they arrived and they got to watch a movie and eat dum dums while getting their hair cut. afterwards, they put the fun pass and a piece of their cut hair into a "machine" that spit out a prize.

this is the best their hair has ever looked.... i guess mom doesn't do quiet as good of a job... HA!

time to play catch up!

so camp is in full swing and man, oh, man is it crazy! we began two weeks ago with our training week, followed by this weeks orientation. And then today... campers came. all that to say that the siscos have been really busy. i just realized that i haven't updated our blog in almost three weeks! shame on me!
so, in order to catch everyone up... here is a top five things you may have missed in the past month!

#1 we finally have a back yard. the kids had a great time "helping" us lay sod.

#2 mother's day! daddy did a great job assisting the children in making this a special day. my favorite part was hearing allie cheer in the car when the dj on the radio said that it was mother's day.... "mommy, MOTHER'S DAY!!!! that's for you!!! (laugh, laugh, laugh) MOTHER'S DAY!!!"

#3 just before the chaos began we took the kids to the pool where they sported their new hats and glasses! i gotta say... caleb's sumo sit is lookin' good these days!

#4 grammie and mimi came for visits. i have NO pictures on my camera, but they both went home with LOTS! grammie had fun taking them to the bounce house at sonic and mimi enjoyed watching them splash in the rain puddles with their boots and umbrellas!

#5 the latest = the entire family had a golf cart accident on friday of last week. while mommy and daddy had their backs turned, allie jumped on the gas (taking the cart out of park) and ran herself, her mommy, and her brother into a tree. allie cut her face, caleb had a nice goose egg on his forehead, and mommy suffered from a headache for the remainder of the day. needless to say, we are all a little jumpy around the golf carts now!

that is all for now. please keep pine cove campers and staff in your prayers this summer. we have had the best start to camp in three years and we're hoping to finish just as well!

love you all!

gratitude!

it's a huge word, used rarely, holding tons of emotion...

it is something that i'm feeling alot of today. and it is heavy on my heart to share just a few of the many things that i'm grateful for!

1. my supportive husband who makes me laugh, keeps me grounded, and is a vessel of God's love on a daily basis.

2. allie who has such a passion for life. she is full of energy from the bottom of her toes to the tip of her head and if you're not smiling... she will figure out a way to make it happen.

3. caleb who loves to entertain... from jumping, to dancing, to running full force to give you the largest hug. i'm amazed at what God has done and have no words to express how thankful i am to have watched him grow.

4. our home (which is a complete disaster at the time) is a roof over our heads, a refuge for our family, and a place of ministry for each other and friends.

5. science / technology which because of Lord's guidance has changed soo many lives that are precious to me... caleb, tommy, jackie, and nate.

6. my relationship with christ which He has allowed to blossom into something that i can't be without. i'm hungry to hear from Him. i crave His word. my faith has not always been so personal and intimate, but He is teaching me daily to press close to Him.

thanks for letting me share... now, go on, BE THANKFUL!

welcome the newest sisco....

this is cooper... or coop! we didn't wake up this morning with any intention of adding to our family, but here we are. cooper is very gentle and super layed back... something the siscos kids could stand to learn something about! on the drive home, we prayed over him and thanked the Lord for His providing us with the opportunity to love him! and oh... how allie already loves him...
she's hugged him....

she's run with him....

she's put him in her wagon....

and then, when both were so worn out... they rested together!