THE MORRIS FAMILY

Way back in 1995, while I was in college, I met a girl named Sonja. Wow. I've known her for almost 13 years!! I'm getting old! Anyway, back to the story. I met Sonja's family soon after. They're all pretty much fantastic and her mom is one of the best cooks in the universe. Seriously.

About three years ago Sonja's parents, Lane and Susan, joined the staff of Family Life. In case you aren't familiar with Family Life, it's an organization committed to keeping marriages and families intact. They are known most for the work they do in building marriages, but their site has info for everyone - married, single, parents, etc. Go check out the link.

But the real reason I'm doing this post is to show you Lane and Susan's newly launched website. It is filled with info about them, their ministry, facts about Family Life, and .... PHOTOS!! After all, a bunch of information, no matter how helpful, is pretty boring if there aren't any pictures to look at. Right? So, without further ado, I introduce you to Lane and Susan.

STAR PERFORMER

Want to see Silas and his team perform their camp skit? It's hard to hear most of it, but Silas' line is crystal clear. The story line is something about surfing and includes a shark attack. Silas' line is the very last piece of the skit, but he has a crucial role earlier in the skit also. One he finds pretty funny. I could tell he was impressed with his performance when he told me about it, but seeing the look on his face while he performed was great. He was so amused by the important physical role mid-skit and proud of his line at the end. So, go check out our budding actor in the third video clip. You'll may notice that the photo at the top of the ACCF Kids blog has been updated with this year's camp picture. You'll spot Silas in the front row, under the "s" in "kids".

O - O - O - O - O - O

Odors - I realize that "odor" has a negative conotation, but "scent" or "aroma" don't start with an O and I needed an O word. So, we'll roll with it.

I mentioned yesterday that I love Glade's 2 in 1 Creamy Custard and Blushing Apple candles. They smell so wonderful!! I also love Partylite's Honeydew candles. While I love flowers, I'm not crazy about floral scented things. I just like the real deal when it comes to floral scents. When it comes to candles, I tend to go for scents that are fruity or cozy. What's a cozy scent? It's things like vanilla, spiced pumpkin, apple pie, or almond. What candle scents do you like?

Online Opinions - Remember Mandi? She's the one who was doing all the giveaways I linked you to a while back. About a week ago she asked if I'd be willing to do a guest post on her blog. So, if you head over to Doodles' Place, then you can read my opinion on praying for our kids.

Oral & Open - The Devs loves his mouth. The Devs loves fruit. The Devs loves to show the fruit in his mouth to the camera.

NEW BLOG & A CONTEST

It seems I am constantly giving out recipes from my file. No biggie, as they're all on the computer anyway. However, in an attempt to make the recipes accessible to others without them having to ask for me to e-mail or post them on a forum, I'm going to start a new blog that is only for recipes. While I work on getting it set up, I want you to come up with the name. I've come up with one possible name, but I'm not exactly the most creative person in the universe. So, I want to pick your brains. Here are the rules.

1. From now through midnight at my house (PST) on 8/10/08 you can suggest a name for my recipe blog. Post your suggestions as comments on this post. You can enter as often as you'd like.

2. On 8/11/08 I will pick my three favorite suggestions and let you vote on them.

3. Voting will be open through midnight on 8/17/08.

4. The winner and new blog name will be announced on 8/18/08. Whoever contributed the winning name will be give a Coldstone giftcard. If the winner does not live anywhere remotely close to a Coldstone Creamery, then they will be in my prayers. They will also have the choice to get a gift card in the same amount to a dessert establishment in their area or to have me send their prize to someone else (this would be the most logical option if the winner lives overseas).

5. I will be telling Tim what the one idea I came up with was. If anyone comes up with the same exact name, then I will give them an undetermined (because what if it's so uncreative that 30 other people come up with it and I can't afford to pay my rent because I spent so much money on prizes) prize.

BOOKS I FINISHED - JULY 2008

I finished four books this month!! My approach to parenting books is to leave them closed and use your brain ... unless your brain isn't able to come up with a solution for a specific problem. Well, my brain is maxed on an issue. So, my reading list will reflect that. Again, all the titles are hyperlinked for those who want to see more about the book.


Making Children Mind Without Losing Yours, by Kevin Leman
Kevin Leman is one of my favorite authors. He's a funny, Christian psychologist and his books are always super practical. He can tackle serious topics without weighing you down. This was probably the third time I've read this book. It's a great "pep talk" kind of book. I actually blogged about him once before because he puts into words the way I try to parent. Notice I said "try". It's been a rough time around here lately.

The Explosive Child, by Ross W. Greene, Ph.D.
Good book with step-by-step instructions for dealing with a kid who can't handle frustration. An excellent reminder to make sure that your children are truly heard.

First Service, by Andrea Jaeger
This was going to be my fun read in the midst of practical books, one I scored at Dollar Tree. What a letdown. This book just went on and on and on and on. While I think the program the author has going (an incredible camp in Colorado for kids with cancer) is great and her heart for kids is huge, the book was way too long. I think the book could have been cut in half, then a list supplied in the back of all the people who have contributed to her program and how many times she saw, felt, or heard the light or energy of God. Great program, boring book.

Have a New Kid by Friday, by Kevin Leman
I read this because it pertained to our current parenting struggle and because I love Kevin Leman. The "new kid by Friday" part was a relatively short part of the book. Much of the book was dedicated to him giving advice for specific situations, a handy reference guide in alphabetical order. Making Children Mind has a similar reference guide.

THE CAMPER RETURNS

Silas is back home, though he says "now that I know what it's like there, I want to stay all the time". He's barely stopped talking about camp long enough to breathe or eat. We've heard the cheer for the War Hawks, been taught how to play Zoom, heard about "fancy butter", been told it's hard to use regular ketchup now that he's used to individual packets, learned every detail of how the zip line works, heard about his missing pillow, found out that he "didn't really have time to take a shower", heard about kids can rock a bus, and on and on and on. He ad a blast!!

Here are some of the blog posts he made it into. He was in the background of a few others, but he's pretty visible in these. You can click on the picture in the blog to get a bigger view.

Bucket fill relay - on a back at the end of the movie
Hands full relay - the studly runner in the fourth picture
Backwards day - back of the line in the movie
Skits - the surfer on the right in the fourth picture & walking offstage in the fifth

And a great shot of Jayden, the extra W.

ARI UPDATE

Many of you haved asked through comments here or e-mails about the details of Ari's death. I initially left out the details in an attempt to respect the privacy of her family. I now know that it was on all the local news and Google comes up with two pages of hits when you search for details. All the sites basically say the same thing, so I'll simply link you to the sheriff's press release. Continue praying for their family!