Whew!  I feel like I have a lot to catch up on.  I'll try to be brief.  LOL  I also have some things that have been tugging on my heart - related to beauty - but I'll try to post that on another day. 

We had a good time at the NCHE conference last week.  I went with Eliana, Christopher, Rebecca and a dear friend and her son.  I had expected my girls to go home on Friday, but Rebecca was having such a fun time (I thought she'd be bored), that she wanted to stay.  We all enjoyed our time.  I ended up carrying Eliana most of the time.  It was crowded so I ended up having her in my sling instead of the stroller.  By Sunday I was very sore!

While there, I attended several workshops.  One of the keynote speakers was Jeff Myers who spoke on a variety of subjects including leadership, guy/girl relationships, "passing the baton" of your faith and more.  He was excellent - funny, passionate and informative.  I bought a lot of his tapes and am looking forward to listening to him and sharing it with my family.  I also attended a workshop done my my sweet friend Bonita Lillie on adding "sparkle" to your homeschool.  She gave loads of great ideas of things to do in each subject to get out of the rut and just have fun!

I also tried to purchase most of our needs for school for the upcoming year.  I have most of what I need for my younger children.  Some of my purchases were things that will be beneficial to both Daniel and Eliana - puzzles, activities and games.  I also purchased art supplies, audio CD stories and of course books. 

Monday we celebrated Memorial Day by spending it with family and friends.  We had friends over for lunch, some games outside and then a visit to the pool.  This was Eliana's first time in our pool.  We didn't go at all last year due to the feeding tube.  It was too much at the time.  She loves taking baths and we were sure that this would translate into loving the pool as well.  We were right!  She floated around in her boat for about an hour.  The water was cold - and she didn't complain.  This boat was a hand-me-down from Daniel.  I think she rode in it more in this one day than he did ever ... cumulatively.  He still doesn't like the water.  He did put his feet in this time - more than he usually does.  (And although I have a pic of him doing this - I'm also in it and it's just not going up on the web.  *grin* )

Here's Eliana having fun.  Both Rebecca and Joshua spent a lot of time pulling her around the pool in her boat.  I had planned on doing it - but the water was just too cold for me!

More friends met us at the pool and then came home with us for a cook-out, badmiton and just time to talk and laugh.  It was a beautiful day - filled with laughter and fun.  I'm thankful for the many that have sacrificed so that we can enjoy a day like this - one in which we've made memories to last for a long time.

BTW, here is a photo of our finished (well, painted at least) room.  The other photo I posted was just the primer and the actual color is darker.  I haven't hung things on the wall yet (or even gotten everything off the floor), but I'm really enjoying the color!  I do love color!

Blessings to you friends!

Leslie