Heartland Family Adventure

This past week has found us busy with Heartland Family Adventure. It is our church's version of Vacation Bible School with a few little tweaks. It's held in the evening from 6 pm to 8 pm with dinner served at 5:30 pm. It is BYOP (Bring Your Own Parents) and it ends with popsicles on the playground.

Branden and I volunteered to be on the dinner team which meant that we were in the kitchen preparing and serving the meals. McKenna is still too little, so she went to childcare, but Madelynn was able to attend.

After dinner, we went with Madelynn to the auditorium and sang songs and learned our bible verse for the night. We also shared "God-sightings" with other families and put out our "God-lights" (little battery powered tealight candles) to remind us that God is with us always. After that we played games and did a craft centered around our verse for the day. Finally, Madelynn went into the gym for a story and the parents went into the auditorium for a little pep-talk on how to be the best faith-builder for your kids. The church's tongue-in-cheek motto for this was "You can do it, we can help!" (sound familiar?)

It was a lot of fun and I think Madelynn had a good time! We can't wait until next year!

McKenna Mae

So, McKenna is the second child and therefore more devious. But what I didn't realize is that she is very observant.

For example, as soon as warm weather hit, I dug out my flip flops. I practically live in them in the summer. And what goes hand-in-hand with flip flops? Why a toe ring, of course! So McKenna has been watching me put on my shoes and put on my toe ring for a while now.

The other day, I was preoccupied with household chores when I heard an odd clinking sound. Clink, clink, clink. As I investigated, I came upon McKenna looking oh so innocent! But when she walked away, the clinking resumed. I looked down at her feet and there was Branden's wedding ring around her big toe!

hee hee

Summer Trips (40 photos), by Amy Connelly

I'd like to share my Snapfish photos with you. Once you have checked out my photos you can order prints and upload your own photos to share.
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Fall Carnival 2009 (22 photos), by Amy Connelly

I'd like to share my Snapfish photos with you. Once you have checked out my photos you can order prints and upload your own photos to share.
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Easter 2009 (86 photos), by Amy Connelly

I'd like to share my Snapfish photos with you. Once you have checked out my photos you can order prints and upload your own photos to share.
http://www2.snapfish.com/fbshareredirect/p=822261246045021692/l=2483285007/g=36844174/redirectURL=share/otsi=SALBBL/AlbumID=1162073007/a=36844174_36844174/usercomments=I_xqd%20like%20to%20share%20my%20Snapfish%20photos%20with%20you.%20Once%20you%20have%20checked%20out%20my%20photos%20you%20can%20order%20prints%20and%20upload%20your%20own%20photos%20to%20share./counttext=86%20photos/COBRAND_NAME=snapfish

Happy Father's Day Poppa!

Since they don't get to drive all the way down to Ponca to see their Poppa, the girls wanted to make a video so he would know how much they love him!

Enjoy Poppa (they were kind of in a silly mood!) and have a very Happy Father's Day!

We love you - Madelynn and McKenna Mae

Poor Princess Madelynn

This afternoon, we met some friends at Oak Park Mall and played in the kid's area. After a quick ride on the carousel, we decided to go across the street to Chick-Fil-A for lunch.

After the girls had finished their lunch, they went into the play place to run around for a while and the moms sat and visited. I glanced up occasionally and did a head count, and they looked like they were having a great time! I was so super excited that Madelynn was finally breaking out of her shyness to climb around and go down the slides.

It seems like I just glanced away for a second and the next thing I know some guy (a dad of other kids playing in the play place) is carrying Madelynn towards me. She is screaming hysterically and there was blood everywhere. My heart stopped. I think I may have flipped a chair getting up to get her! Ooops.

I took her to the bathroom to assess the damage and try to calm her down. My good friend Jenniffer (who we were there visiting with) helped me out tremendously by keeping McKenna calm and occupied. The wonderful employees of Chick-Fil-A brought me anything they could think of. Paper towels, ice, ice cream for Madelynn (which she didn't end up wanting, but McKenna loved it!) and even a stuffed cow, which is the Chick-Fil-A mascot! After I had her calm enough, we profusely thanked the man that had brought her out. Turns out she tripped running to the platform that you can climb up to go down the slide. She hit the corner of the first step with the bridge of her nose. Ouch. Gives me chills just thinking about it.

Doctor says it will get worse before it gets better, but to keep it iced and make sure she can breathe out of both nostrils. And just through this evening, it has gotten worse! It's swollen to about four times it's normal size and it's a brilliant shade of blue. Keep an eye on Facebook for more up to date pictures!