My New Job!!!

Some of you may already know this, but I thought I might go ahead and share it for those of you who do not know. I have been substituting for the Springdale Schools for their School Nurses. I have loved doing this. Since I no longer have kiddos at home any more, this has been perfect for getting me out of the house. I eventually wanted to become a full time school nurse, but I did not realize that the Lord wanted me to become full time so soon. I will become Walker Elementary's full time School Nurse beginning Monday. This is not only good, because we will get some extra spending money (of course, with the economy like it is, we consider this a blessing), but also because this is the school Caroline & Catherine attend. Needless to say, they are soooo excited. I have given them "the talk" though...not to come in my office until the end of the day, not to give me hugs when they see me in the hall, etc. They both agreed to this deal; Catherine said, "That's okay, because I won't need to hug you. I will be just so excited just to see you." Whenever you all think of me, be praying for me, though. I have a lot to learn, and I have a lot of responsibility with those children. I do look forward to starting, because I love all of the children at Walker already.

GIRLS' DAY!!!

Today has been a day for the girls! After a lunch with Kyle to Jason's Deli (our current favorite!), neighborhood friends began coming over. It is now 7 pm & I just took this picture. I found them outside rolling down our hill in the front yard. They have had a ball all day, and I have been able to get all my garage sale pricing taken care of. I am so thankful for such great neighbors. They always get along so well, and they are making awesome memories! That is what I remember most about my childhood...playing with my neighborhood friends.

I also have to post a picture of my new haircut. I just got it cut on Wednesday. This is the 1st time ever my hair has been above my shoulders, and so far, I am really liking it! BTW...I donated 12" of my hair to Locks of Love.

KYLE IS 40!!!!

I know it is hard to believe, but my husband turned 40 on Tuesday. I know you are wondering how he is fairing entering a new decade, but actually, he is doing pretty good. You would be doing well too if you had all your hair and looked as good as him! Of course, I am biased, but you have got to agree! BTW, he is going to be very embarassed when he reads this one. Anyway, I thought I might let you in on a few pics of his surprise party at the bowling alley. He had absolutely no idea what he was getting in to when he entered the bowling alley. Thank you to all who made this party perfect!

THIS ONE IS FOR YOU, REBA!!!

I guess it is time to update everone (especially you, Reba:)) on what has been going on in The McCann Clan recently. I actually have a few extra minutes to post a new blog, and I got Kyle's camera out of his car to have pictures also.

We went to Colorado to visit my family again this summer, and of course, the girls had a blast (me included). I even got to get away for a few days with my older sister & Mom to go to Telluride. We found TomKat's home set back in the aspens...absolutely beautiful...the aspens, that is! We could not see the actual house due to the security gate and the nosy neighbors.

Kyle, Caroline, Catherine & my dad went camping on my dad & mom's land. The girls love being adventurous, so they had a great time. They also are all about being cowgirls whenever they can get by with it.

I also posted a picture of my sister Angela's family. This is for all of my long time friends who have known Angela for as long as you have known me. I had to show off her beautiful little boys. Samuel is 4, Nate will be 3 in December, and Luke just turned 1. They are sweet, well-behaved boys. I will try to get a family pic of Rhonda's family next time.

All I know is summer went by way too fast. This, of course, means these girls are getting older by the minute...very depressing!

A Little Update!!

We are back...we have just been staying a little busy. I am trying to take the girls to the pool as much as possible before school starts again.

We had a great time on our Florida trip. Kyle & I both agree that this was probably the best family trip we have taken. We had an awesome time! We hung out at the beach during the day and went to the revival at night. The girls were troopers, of course. We were usually at the revival from around 6 pm to 11 pm or later every night. We saw several miracles occur and we came back hungry for what the Lord has for us. I prayed for one specific healing in my body. Many of you probably already know that I had not had my period for the last 3 years without the help of birth control. I do not like being on birth control, so I decided just to take Provera (makes you start after 10 days) just to start every 3-6 months. I actually went a solid 1 1/2 years without having a period at all. It was time for me to take Provera last week, but I didn't want to start while I was in Colorado next week. I was just going to take it when I got back. However, a miracle occurred on Saturday morning. I started without any medication. Let me just tell you how excited I was. My body is healed, so I even came back with a miracle. The praise and worship every night was amazing. The time just flew by & the girls were praising the Lord along with everyone else. There has been a lot of criticism about this revival, but Kyle & I felt the presence of the Lord more than we ever have before. We know that this revival is from the Lord. They are constantly giving all the glory to the Lord. What was even extra special was that the girls were able to see the miracles of Jesus occur that we have only heard about in the Bible.

Now I am just going to attach a couple of pictures while in Florida. One is at Clearwater Beach and the other is at the Tampa Zoo.

NO HOUSEBOAT!!! WE ARE GOING TO THE LAKELAND REVIVAL!!!

Well, the title says it all! We are supposed to be heading to Hot Springs on Monday for a retreat on the houseboat for 5 days on Lake Oauchita, but Kyle is now in the process of cancelling those reservations. The Lord has shown us in many ways that He wants us to use this week to go to Lakeland, FL to visit The Florida Outpouring. I don't know if any of you have heard about this, but you can go to God.TV to watch live showings of the revival almost every night. There have been people resurrected from death, healings, and best of all, an overwhelming amount of God's Spirit poured out among the thousands of people that have visited and the millions who watch it over the internet. This is an international revival!!! People all over the world are going to the revival; but, His Spirit is being poured out over the internet to people's homes. Believe me, this has happened to us. The Lord has confirmed through many "divine appointments" that this is what He wants us to do. So, we will be picking up Caroline & Catherine tomorrow in Pine Bluff and then head straight to Florida. They have no idea yet. The Lord has shared several things with Kyle of what we are to do, so we are trying to follow in His footsteps. Please pray for our protection and I will be praying for you while you watch. Be ready to see us changed!!!

Sending The Girls Off

The time has come for us to send our sweet little girls off to Grandparents while we sit at home. Bear in mind that we have done this before, but it was more of a necessity so Mom & Dad could go on a vacation. This time, though, we are still home.
Before they went on their merry way, we brought them to Silver Dollar City in Branson on Saturday. They have finally gotten to the age where they can ride the bigger roller coasters with us. We had the best time we have ever had this time. The biggest ride was PowderKeg. Go to this link to see the ride. http://www.bransonsilverdollarcity.com/rides-attractions/ride_detail.aspx?AttractionID=5 The first time Caroline & Catherine rode PowderKeg, they were scared and not too sure about it. We also rode the WaterBoggin ride and got soaked from head to toe. Our shorts were still wet when we got home Saturday night. Before we left, Kyle & I wanted to ride Powderkeg again. The girls actually liked the ride better the second time. Going to Silver Dollar City before we had to give our girls away for a week was a great send-off.
Sunday after church we drove to Pine Bluff to meet Kyle's parents. They brought the girls down to Louisiana until Friday. I did not want them to go, but I did it for the grandparents. Summers are way too short and I like to spend every day with the girls. Sunday afternoon was hard for Kyle & me after dropping them off. The car was way too quiet. Monday was not that great either without them. Don't get me wrong. Kyle & I are having some good quality time together, but it is always nice to have Caroline & Catherine here to kiss good night & pray together. I may be better today. Sunday & Monday I couldn't think about them not being here too much or tears would start flowing. I am just looking forward to Friday!!!

BTW, I had taken lots of pictures of Silver Dollar City, Father's Day, and saying goodbye to Caroline & Catherine, but the SD card is now messed up. I cannot retreive the pictures. Any advice would be appreciated.

Summer Fun!!

We have been trying to take advantage of every sunny day the Good Lord gives us. He definitely thinks we need rain more than we do. Thankfully, we are still having plenty of sun too. Because we had rain on Monday, we started out the week going to see Kung Fu Panda. The girls liked it, and I have to say it was quite funny; but, it was a rather boy movie. Kung fu is not for girls. We hit the grocery store, and I did laundry the rest of the day.

Tuesday, before swimming, I had the girls help me clean the house. Caroline dusted everything, and Catherine wiped down all five of the vanities & mirrors. Then, we went to the Halderman's house to swim. Caroline & Catherine had a great time with Sage & Gabe. In this picture, they were pretending to have boyfriends (The Jonas Brothers & Troy Bolton, mind you), and they were trying to sit "romantically".
Wednesday, after gymnastics, we headed to our pool at Paradise Valley Golf. Alicia & her three boys joined us. I think everyone had a great time. Today we are heading back to the pool because the Lord is sending his rain again tomorrow. We just returned from riding our bikes. The girls decided they wanted to do the shorter trip this time (about 2 miles). Usually we ride to their school or Sonic, which is 4 miles round trip. They are troopers and love every minute of it.

Catherine's Sleepover

Catherine finally talked me into having a sleepover for her birthday. I kept telling her no because I had done one for Caroline in February for the last two birthdays. But, in the end, I began feeling bad for Catherine, so Friday night was the special night. Keep in mind she is only 6. Most girls are not even allowed to spend the night at this age. We invited 6 girls, all of whom came to celebrate by bowling with us. Only three were able to spend the night. They were all girls from church and were well behaved. Lucky me, all were asleep by 10:30...not too bad. We began with pizza on the back patio followed by playing in the backyard.

I actually gave the girls their party favors before we left to bowl, so they could wear them. All of my friends are so creative in coming up with cute little party favors and I did not get so blessed in this particular area. But, I have to say, this time they turned out pretty cute. While I was in Hobby Lobby trying to come up with some crafty idea, I came across their T-shirts. I thought maybe I could buy T-shirts & let the girls put handprints all over the shirts. That thought did not last long considering these are 6 year olds and I do not want to get out the paint. Then I looked some more and came across these rhinestone iron-on initials. After hitting both local Hobby Lobby's and several stores looking for inexpensive tanks, I found all the initials & shirts. Here is the picture of all the girls wearing their shirts. They loved them and I loved them because they were so easy. I completed 8 shirts in less than 45 minutes and $35. Don't I have something to be proud of?

After getting full bellies, we headed for the bowling alley. This is one of the McCann family's favorite outings, so Catherine wanted it to be part of her party. I think the girls had a really good time. They seemed to have stayed on top of their turns. I hardly had to remind them when it was their turn; they kept up with it themselves. This definitely surprised me. The picture is of the Birthday Bowler.

When we got back home, we had cookie cake and ice cream, then opened presents. They wanted to go back outside to play some more before settling down. (The backyard was a hit because not only do we have the trampoline and the playground from Sam's Club, but last weekend Kyle also added a rope to a high branch of an oak tree. This rope has a foot hold in it and is swung on like being in the jungle. They climb up the climbing wall of the playset, then push off hanging onto the rope. No pictures of this unfortunately. I will catch some later.) Anyway, they wore themselves out and were asleep by 10:30. While I cooked cinnamon rolls in the morning, they were back out there playing. I think they all had a good time, but I am glad to say that it is all over and I SURVIVED another one!!!

Missing Kyle

Well, Kyle left right after Sunday School this morning to catch an airplane to Philadelphia for a work meeting. Sure does make for a long Sunday afternoon being just us girls. Luckily, he will return tomorrow night. I decided I would finally register the girls' webkins online. They have owned several of these animals for almost a year now. They haven't really cared too much about registering them, but I really do not think they understood what they were all about. Actually, I don't think the website impressed them too much since they have to actually earn points in order to spend some. So, the computer didn't last long. Then, Caroline wanted to learn how to make friendship bracelets. You have to understand that Catherine is probably the one with the patience to do this, but Caroline insisted. She decided to make a choker instead of a bracelet...talk about time consuming. So, we began with 6 strands. I taught her how by doing 2 rows, and she actually finished 2 rows too. But, she is done with that--she only has about 1000 rows left---maybe by next year. Now they are back to old faithful---coloring! You can always count on coloring to be there for you.

So, back to the reason I am writing this in the first place...I am missing Kyle. He is usually great entertainment for the girls on Sundays. I usually get a lot of my laundry done while they play outside. So much for laundry today...we mostly need bathing suits this week anyway!!!

Flower Girls

We drove down to Pine Bluff this weekend for a wedding. Kyle & I taught Jarrod Dortch's high school Sunday School class down there, and he moved up to Fayetteville last year. He and his fiance, Caira Daugherty, have been since attending our church (First Assembly of God in Springdale). They asked us if Caroline & Catherine could be in there wedding as their flower girls. This meant so much to us and was such an honor. We drove down there on Friday for the rehearsal and dinner. Saturday morning we got up and went to the salon where all of the bridal party got their hair done. Caroline & Catherine loved this, of course.

After their hair was all beautiful, we made our way to the church for pictures. For the wedding, the girls stood fairly still up on stage. Caira was an absolutely beautiful bride. More pictures after the wedding & then on to the reception. After filling our bellies, we headed back home. It was a quick trip. We drove 4 1/2 hours to Pine Bluff and then back home within 24 hours. It is Wednesday now & it is finally catching up with us today. We are all exausted.

Gymnastics Bragging

These videos are for all of you family members out there who have been missing out on these hard working girls. They have finally mastered back handsprings. These videos were taken back in January, so they have both improved since then and Catherine can actually land one by herself. See what you think! Pretty good for a kindergartener and 1st grader!

Our Trampoline Disaster

We have had our first run-in with the trampoline after three years! We have girls...I thought boys were the only ones that get banged up and bruised. Two weeks ago, Caroline and Catherine were being best buds, as always, playing on the trampoline. "Dead Woman, Dead Woman, on the floor...til I count to 24...1...2...24!" I don't know what they like about this game, especially talking about dead women, but it just about knocked Caroline out. She decided to get outside of the net. (Who needs a net anyway...it does no good!) BTW, Kyle has just finished placing a patio of beautiful concrete pavers right next to the trampoline with a peaceful bistro set and garden around it. So, back to the story, Catherine is trying to tag Caroline blindly (but she always peaks). She gets her, but she tags just a little too hard. Catherine is nothing but muscle; she doesn't know her own strength. Next thing Kyle sees is his baby girl flying off the trampoline face first onto the beautiful patio. You can imagine how scared Kyle was to pick her up expecting to see more blood than he could have handled; but, by the grace of God, she came in with a bruised cheek bone and eye socket. The impact did knock the breath out of her, but she recovered. The only thing she would complain about was her right side hurting and I just kept thinking about her liver. She became nauseated and a couple of hours later began throwing up. We took her to the ER and after several CT scans, the doctors located a couple of lacerations in her liver. We had to stay in the hospital over night to have vital signs monitored to make sure surgery was not needed. Some time during the night, after many prayers, her liver stopped bleeding and we were able to go home. Thankfully, she is now okay and will be able to get back to running, playing, and gymnastics starting Sunday.

Our Piano Princesses

We now can say we have two piano princesses in our home! Caroline and Catherine have been taking piano now for more than 3 months. Even though they missed their first recital due to Caroline's tumble off of the trampoline, they were able to play for their elementary school talent show. And, Kyle & I think they did great! We are so very proud of them. Thankfully, we have gotten through the first couple of months--a little tough to get them in the mode of practicing. Now, they go in there on the piano to practice on their own or with just a little coaxing. Since they have reached the accomplishment of learning some music pieces, they are enjoying playing much more.