Joyous Feast!

S Prazdnikom! A blessed and joyous feast of the Elevation of the Precious and Life giving cross!

As thou wast voluntarily crucified for our sake, O Christ God,
so grant mercy to those who are called by Thy name;
make all Orthodox Christians glad by Thy power,
granting them victories over the enemy,
by bestowing on them the invincible trophy,
Thy weapon of peace.

The world cup-small town style

Katherine watched bits of the world cup this year with papa. While it was airing I would occasionally find the two huddled in front of his computer in a world of their own. She has never been the same since.

So, as you can image, when we allowed the girls to choose their sport this year, Katherine chose soccer.

Maybe I should back up and tell you that I am not a sports fan. I've tried and I just can't get into it-especially football, but that's another post.

Anyhow, today was Katherine's first soccer meet. Two hours of joy for her. They practice for a 50 minutes or so, take a 20 minute break, then scrimmage for 50 minutes.

I should confess at this point that as much as I love my girls I was not looking forward to two hours of soccer today. However, I was pleasantly surprised that the time went by pretty quickly. Plus, as all parents can attest, watching your children do things that really bring them joy is beautiful and fun.

I was also entertained by her enthusiasm on the field. You would have thought that she was playing the world cup. Every time her team would score she would pump her fists in the air and do a couple of jumps. I'm sure the other kids were thinking "Who is the new cheerleader?" But I loved watching her and even thought that I might, might become a soccer fan at the end of all this.

Zoe means life

And this one is full of it.

Labor Day Picnic

We had our annual Labor Day picnic at the church yesterday. I love these picnics. We hold three a year: Memorial Day, Pascha and Labor Day. They are such a blessing.

I love getting to meet and talk with new people. Or spending time with folks that I rarely get to see.

I didn't take very many pictures (didn't I say that last time?). However, I always manage to remember to grab the camera for the children's games. They are my favorite.

Is is my imagination, or does it look like Zoe was reveling in the thought of blasting me with that balloon?

Blessed week to you all!

Those saints

Katherine: "Mommy, remember those studies we used to do about the saints? Why don't we do them anymore? I really loved them."

I had intended on incorporating Letters of Grace back into our studies. I guess I didn't do it fast enough.

She

will be the mother of many. Mark my words. I can see it coming.

Every time we have the opportunity to babysit, both Katherine and Thea love taking care of the babies. They love feeding them and changing the diapers. And they both are such good little mothers. But something always happens between the babies and this little girl. There is always some sort of bond that is created that is so sweet. It's the way she holds them. The way she looks into their eyes without looking away. The way she holds their little fingers while feeding them. It's so incredibly beautiful.

After I took this picture of Thea holding baby E.. I said "Are you going to have ten kids or what?" Without missing a beat, and without breaking the gaze with the baby, she answered "Yes mommy, five boys and five girls."

Out and about

We have cabin fever over this way. It's been so hot down here that we spend most of our time indoors. But lately the temps have hovered around the low 90's, instead of around the 105's, and so we thought we'd try getting outside for a bit of nature.

Yesterday, upon the recommendation of a friend, we ventured over to Mineral Wells State Park. The lake is small, but pretty. However, the rock climbing area is really cool. The climb is down into canyons that are beautiful. The girls loved it. Thankfully, there were stairs to go down into the canyons, which enabled us to go down and explore. The girls were troopers, making the whole climb themselves-even Zoe.

We spent a few hours at the park climbing and then swimming. It was a great time. In about a month when the temps drop a little more it will be a perfect trip for the day or for camping.

Unfortunately, I forgot my camera on the canyon hike, however, here are a few pics of the girls cooling off in the lake.