Let's Have a Fiesta!

Chantel and I always work on a yearly piñata. This year was our second year. Last year, at 4 ½, she did quite well cutting the tissue paper. I only

let her cut one little strip of tissue paper last year.

This year, she was quite involved, not just getting messy like last year, with the water and flour mixture. (You should see the picnic table we used.) We finished the sticky, messy part in a little over an hour, on Monday. We dried it in the sunshine for 2 days (Tuesday and Wednesday), and today, Thursday, we cut the strips of tissue paper and glued them in place. (Oh yes, Chantel, last year and this year did very well with the glue and attaching the strips in place.)

Now, we let it dry for 3 months. Then, our 4th graders from our Church, our new Sunday School Class, will get to take a wack or two at it. Hopefully, on Sat., Dec. 6th, after we do Christmas Caroling to the neighbors. We always enjoy the opportunity to sing and to deliver the cookies we've baked for them.

Chantel enjoys her part with the piñata and making cookies that still need baking for our neighbors. She will have to wait until 4th grade to take a wack at the famous piñata. It usually takes about 1/2 hour to break it, with a baseball bat!

Swinging with a Friend

When my friend, Mindy, visited with her husband, James, and son, Dean, Chantel enjoyed having a playmate outside for the weekend. The weather was gorgeous and Chantel and Dean enjoyed swinging together. Later, they enjoyed the pool together too, no pictures of that, at our church S.S. Teacher Picnic, we invited them to join us.

Butterflies, Nectar, Pollination!

Here was a very interesting opportunity. Friday, August 22nd, right before my friend and her family from NY came to visit, I spotted this cute little butterfly which loved our purple flowers on our backporch!

My favorite picture is the second one where Chantel is just looking in her unique way at the very beautiful butterfly, a special part of God's creation, around our house.

It was a fun thing to discuss and see as I was in the middle of cleaning for our guests.

We discussed the butterfly was pollinating the flowers (helping them bloom and grow), the butterfly's proboscis (tongue like straw for sipping), nectar- what the butterfly likes to drink! Lots of new vocabulary!!!

Chantel, Rainbow Boots, and Singing in the Rain

Chantel loves to sing in the rain! Today, she really enjoyed using an umbrella and it wasn't even her Hannah Montana one! She just wanted to put her new rainbow boots on and play in the rain. Finally, a rainstorm without thunder or lightning. Those are such bummers, since she can't play outside when they occur! Chantel loved using her new boots. The first day we bought them she wouldn't take them off at all. They looked so cute with shorts, not your usual combination!

Chantel Writes her full name without any help!

Chantel proudly displays her NAME!

On Wednesday, August 27th, 2008, Chantel picked up a tablet and a marker and with no words or letters in front of her, wrote her first name all by herself. I was so very proud of her. Today, Thurs., August 28th, 2008, she was writing her name by herself even better, by saying the spelling to herself and writing her letters as well, mainly all upper case, but it will only improve in Full Day Kindergarten! She was also making a birthday card for Daddy with her name on it. I helped her sound out the word Dad and she wrote that too!

Chantel Loves Black Ballet Leotards Too!

Chantel and I went to Wal-Mart the other day, looking for more ballet items, since they are reasonably priced there. So we picked up several items, the same day we purchased the "Rainbow boots", read the next article to find out more!

Rainbow Boots

The other day, we found out from Chantel's new babysitter that we may need to travel through her front yard to get to the bus at times and will be in need of rain boots. I looked online and everywhere, so we went to Wal-Mart to pick up more ballet items and soon found out that they had some rainboots. Not a huge selection, but these size 13 "Rainbow boots" did the trick. You've probably seen the video and pictures of her using them already in the blog, or will soon.

Ballet Videos

Here is some more Chantel does ballet stuff! She loves to see herself on video on the Blog.

Ballet- We signed up for lessons and got Real Shoes!

Here are some more poses and maybe a video, if it lets me add it, of Chantel doing more ballet in her "real" shoes. They are made of leather and they actually have a stretchy strap. They also cost $20.00. So, they have to be real! They had to be fitted on her by the owner of the Dance Studio, a real ballerina.

We are waiting for the real tights to come in. She's inbetween size, since one size was too short and the other was a little baggy around the ankles.

She and Ralph and I as well, are so excited! We can't wait until his birthday, Sept. 11th, that's her first day of class!

Serving Others- VBS 2008

Our Vacation Bible at Church this year, Souderton Mennonite, was about God's Big Back Yard. It talked about how we can serve our family, friends, neighbors, community, and finally Jesus!

Well, day one, Chantel did help me with laundry. Day two, we made cookies and Chantel typed a card for our Pastor who was not at Bible School this year; it was 5 sentences long! Day 3 we tried to give peppers to our neighbors. Instead we gave some to Aunt Judy, who loves peppers. I said, she is our neighbor, too. Day 4 we walked along our 1.1 mile walk and cleaned up the roadside and the park where Chantel plays on each walk. We cleaned and walked for about an hour.

The picture above shows Chantel after we cleaned up. She was so ready for the pool, so I let her pose next to the bag in her swimsuit. It was a warm afternoon, so I put my feet only in the pool, since I only filled it minutes before! Chantel's next picture shows it wasn't too cold for her!

Hope you enjoyed the pictures and learning a little more about what we learned at VBS this year!

Bicycle Prayer Ministry?

This morning I decided to look up websites about Christian Cyclists.
Most of it was about Sharing the Gospel with others as they ride. There is even a group at a local Mennonite church which hosts rides for serious riders and those who just want fellowship and exercise.
Well, that's just to let you know that my husband, Ralph, while I was still sleeping this morning was riding his bike to work, as he always does when the weather is gorgeous (2,000-3,000 miles per year, it's a 13 mile trip each way). (He's biked over 60,000 miles now.)
On his way to work, he doesn't just enjoy the beautiful scenery, the lovely cool, fall like temperatures, but he thinks about those who live near where his daily ride takes him. If you live near his route, you may unknowingly have been a part of his bicycle prayer ministry.
When he rides near houses of people he knows, he prays for them and their needs. Maybe it all started when we used to walk through our old neighborhood daily and then go home and pray for those houses we walked by on our Prayer Notebook lists.
All Jesus did for others and any ministry He did started with prayer. So why not Walk or Ride your Bike and Pray!
I'm so proud of Ralph finding his own personal ministry. Not to mention he loves it. He saves gas and helps to protect the environment and picks up aluminum cans, (and tabs- which can help Ronald Mc Donald House), which can be recycled for a little extra cash.
You don't have to be part of a big group to make a difference. Start your own ministry for God, right where you are!

Ballet? Chantel wants to be a ballerina.

This is the newest area of interest. Well, it's a very relaxing thing to listen to and watch. Chantel kept saying for Halloween that she wants to be a Ballerina. Well, when she bought her the clothing for it at Wal-Mart, which wasn't overly pricey, she decided she wanted to take ballet, too.

For those who don't know this, first borns don't need to be motivated very much. They are primarily self-motivated! Chantel is a first born! Read Dr. Kevin Leman's, Birth Order book.

So, she came up with this idea herself. I was glad it wasn't me that suggested it. That probably wouldn't have worked anyway.

She kept asking me a few weeks ago when I would call the Ballet places. I chose 3 places to call and only one called back. So on Wednesday night, we will be going to an open house at the http://www.ssdaballet.com/

see it posted on the side of our website on sites to visit. Hopefully you will see her face added to the photos in the years to come. She is very excited and so are we. She is very flexible and can still get her foot to her mouth and can interpret music very well. Any type of music gets her dancing, even Blue Grass (88.9 FM) on Sunday evenings, which Daddy loves. She has one CD right now, the NutCracker, which she uses to dance around the Living room and Kitchen, too, ballet style.

Hope to update you more on this in future additions!

Look What I made for Breakfast!

Here are some of Chantel's July breakfast funny and serious poses.

She told me what she wanted, then she helped me make it.

Wow, I didn't make eggs until I was in 4th grade. I helped her of course and monitored her use of the gas stove top.

Oh yes, she also made, Banana on a Shingle, banana with peanut butter on grain bread, toasted.

Yum!