Back in the Blogging World!

photo credit :: weheartit.com

Hello, dear readers...

I'm officially back in the blogging world!

Where have I been??

Well, let's just say that August of 2010 was not the greatest month in the world for me.  My husband's dear grandmother passed away, which was exceptionally difficult on our family.  In addition, I underwent sinus surgery.

On the flip side, August marked our eldest son's start of the first grade.  He is off to an amazing year!

Here's to an amazing September!!! 

As always, extending ten thousand ((hugs)) to you,

You Capture ::FUN::

Finger Painting FUN!!!

This is my first time to link up with "You Capture" @ I Should Be Folding Laundry (dot) com...btw - LOVE the name of this site!!! LOL!!!

Anyway...this week's theme is FUN!!

ENJOY!!!

Elijah, my 6-year-old...

...and his masterpiece!! Can you guess what it is?? :)

Aedan, my two-year-old...having a blast!!

Callan, my four-year-old...so intent on her work!

Here are all of their final products!!!

Photo Fridays and Linking Up at FTF!

Here are a few of my favorite things from this week, inspired by FTF (link above)...

Check out my children's face art...

Elijah

Callan

  

Aedan

Other faves from this week:

• Hosting my first giveaway here!
• Elijah's last day of kindergarten!
• Completing TWO scrapbooks in ONE week!
• Only ONE week left until vacay!!! 

Have a great weekend!

Photo Fridays...A Look at Our Wonderful Week!

This was a wonderful, magical week for the McLain family!! Take a look at the photos...

Elijah celebrated his 6th birthday on Monday, May 10th!!

Naomi was thrilled with her big sister's careful arrangement of her toys!

Callan enjoyed decorating her calendar for May...

I did a little homespun decorating of my own...

And my thoughtful husband brought me home flowers on Thursday!

What a rockin' week!!!

**Ladies, please be sure to stop back by here on Monday, May 17th, when I will host my very first giveaway!!**

 

Kindergarten At Last!!!

This is a picture of Elijah in front of his kindergarten classroom!!!

He woke up, got dressed in his uniform, and went downstairs to eat donuts for breakfast.

Daddy took the day off for Elijah's special day, and we drove him to school. We walked him into his classroom where he met his teacher and some of his new friends.

When we departed, he was drawing a picture of what he would like to do in kindergarten.

When did our little baby grow up?

Kindergarten Countdown!

Elijah starts kindergarten in LESS THAN a week now! He starts next Wednesday, August 19th! Last Friday, we attended a back-to-school picnic, where he met his teacher and some new friends. Yesterday was "sign-up day", where he chatted with his principal and met some new people. He is very excited about starting this new chapter in his life.

Go, Elijah!!

We are sooooooooo proud of Elijah! Within the past few days, he has learned to ride his two-wheel bike without the training wheels. He has been working so hard and with such determination, that he puts a training Olympian to shame!
He is working on perfecting his bike-riding technique now...and is so proud of himself!

Elijah, Easter 2009

The Choo-Choo Restaurant

This picture of Elijah was taken this past June at Fritz's Restaurant at Crown Center, otherwise known as "The Choo-Choo Restaurant." The meals are served directly to the tables on trains...a little boy's dream!!!

Summer Camp & Soon-to-Be Kindergartner

Elijah has been attending a summer day camp this week. It is an art camp that meets from 9:00 am until 12:00pm. They have a daily schedule to follow, which is excellent practice for our soon-to-be kindergartner!!! On that note, we cannot believe that our Elijah will be starting kindergarten this fall!!! Where did the time go?? How did he grow up so fast??? I know every parent says that, but it is definitely said for a reason...
I'll have to sign off now, since my eyes are filling up with tears.

A Broken Brain!

A day or two ago, Elijah and Callan were in their room playing, rather than napping. Suddenly, Elijah started crying hard and screaming "MOMMY!! MOMMY!!".
I ran into their room, expecting blood and gore. Instead, Elijah was holding a cup in his hand.
"Mommy," he said, "Callan almost breaked my brain! She threw this cup at my head. It almost breaked my brain!"
While providing comfort, I couldn't help but smile about the nearly broken brain.

Worms

After a thunderstorm overnight, our backyard had plenty of worms in it this morning! And Elijah was esctatic about it!! He immediately "adopted" two little worms and made them a home inside of a bucket. He proudly introduced them to me, and I instinctively (and insensitively) responded, "Gross!".
"Mommy," he replied, "Don't say gross! You'll hurt their feelings."
Of course, my heart melted, and I found myself apologizing to the worms.
Only in motherhood!!!

Unwritten Rule

Okay - isn't there an unwritten rule somewhere that mothers CANNOT, absolutely CANNOT, ever get sick??!! I am sick with an upper respiratory infection and fever, and it's totally wearing me down...especially when I cannot get the kids to listen!!! Help!!!
On a different note, Elijah had his kindergarten screening today and did beautifully. I cannot believe that our first baby will be in kindergarten next year!!!

A Hug Worth Its Weight in Gold

A couple of months ago, our family was on the Plaza here in Kansas City. We were enjoying a nice afternoon, and we noticed a homeless gentleman outside a store as we entered it. As we were leaving, Jeremy handed Elijah a one dollar bill to give the man. Elijah walked up to the gentleman and handed him the dollar bill, along with a big hug. The man smiled, and you could see the happiness in his face. We were so proud of Elijah for expressing such a wonderful sentiment to someone who truly needed a hug!

Ouchie!

Elijah took a spill from his bike the other day and had some "ouchies" on his forehead to show for it. The burning sensation from these scrapes was bothering him, and he was describing this to me and his dad. The description was priceless in four-year-old lingo, as you can imagine! He informed us that his ouchies were "spicy hot" and that he didn't like that. Priceless, huh?

Extrovert Extraordinaire

As many of you know, our sweet Elijah LOVES people. He is a people-person if ever one existed!! If someone walks by our yard and he's outside, he immediately greets them and introduces himself. His way of telling someone they're his friend is by saying, "I love you." He definitely wears his heart on his sleeve!!
The other day, I had taken him to Costco. As we walked through the parking lot, he enthusiastically waved to some people (let's put it this way - anyone who walked or drove by!). I said to him, "Elijah, you just love people, don't you?"
He smiled and said, "Yes, I really do. God just made me that way."
My heart melted, and I gave him a HUGE kiss!!!