I love the last days of summer, trying to pack in the long list of things I wanted to do during the Summer months but was to busy to do earlier on.

This past Saturday we checked two of those things off my list!

The first was a beach day with my friend Nicole, which actually turned into shopping day due to sketchy weather!

We had a blast together having deep conversations over coffee and bagels at Panara Bread and browsing the shops of Downtown Holland!

Thanks for a great afternoon Nicole, we made some great memories I hope I’ll never forget!

After a fun afternoon I went home to the family and we all headed out to a community dinner. There was a petting zoo and old tractors there that Grayden LOVED!

After dinner we went home and waited for our friends to come over for a party we had at our house! We had 5 couples over to play games and after dark we watched a movie outside with a projector aimed at the side of our pole barn! It was a blast!

We played Minute to Win it and each couple got to pick a category and play against each other!

Ryan and Lydia played Sticky Balls!

They had to transfer as many cotton balls as they could in 1 minute  from one bowl to another using only their noses with Vaseline on it!

We went inside for the next game! Eric and Susanne played Defying Gravity.

They had to keep 3 balloons floating in the air for 1 minute!

Mindy and Kyle went next. They played Hanky Panky!

They had 1 minute to empty a whole box of Kleenex using 1 hand!

Phil and Heather went next, they played Mouth to Mouth!

They had 1 minute to pull a playing card out from 2 glass bottles sitting on top of each other mouth to mouth without tipping the bottles over, tricky but Phil succeeded!

Then it was Ryan and Rochelle’s turn! They played Bottoms Up!

Their task  was to tie a pantyhose with a tennis ball in one leg around their waist and spin themselves around to knock 3 empty pop cans off 3 buckets! So funny!

We went last and played Penny  Hose!

We had 1 minute to dig 2 pennies out from the bottom of the legs of pantyhose using only our arms without pulling the legs using your opposite arm!

Then it was time for the movie! We watched the Bounty Hunter!

We had such a good time!

Many of you have asked me where I shop for Grayden and so I thought I’d do a Fashion Friday post all about his clothes! I really shop all over for him, including lots of garage sales in the summer for play clothes. Some of  my favorites are Old Navy, Gap, and TJMaxx/Marshalls!

here are  some of my favorite outfits of his:

garage sale:old navy

shirt:old navy

shorts:old navy

whole outfit old navy (baby gift, thanks sloothaak’s!)

garage sale:old navy

whole outfit: carters (gift, thanks geerlings!)

shirt:Gymboree

jeans:old navy

flip flops:old navy

shirt and pants:old navy

shoes:children's place

shirt:garage sale

pants:carters

shoes:children's place

garage sale:baby Gap

shirt:baby Gap

pants:?

booties:garage sale (robeez)

hat:etsy

sweater:old navy

collared shirt: Yonkers

sweater vest: H&M

collared shirt:old navy

sweater vest:children's place

shoes: pedipeds

shirt:Gymboree

shirt: babiesRus

shorts:old navy (gift, thanks alyssa and jeremy

tux:gift from his birthmom (JCPenney)

shirt:garage sale Gap

pants Children’s Place

whole outfit TJMaxx (included little croc shoes)

shirt:baby Gap

pants:old navy

shoes:carters

whole outfit: Ross

Shirt and Jeans:old navy

shoes:carters

shirt: H&M

shirt:old navy

shorts:baby Gap

shoes:pedipeds

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Shopping for Grayden is always about cheap! I always go straight for the clearance aisles and often buy in the off season for the following year when everything is way cheap! Although I do have to be more careful with that, I tend to overbuy just because its cheap!  I love garage sales and consignment shops! For shopping online I LOVE ebates! Its free to sign up and you get cash back on every online purchase through there site! They send a check to you right in the mail, I just got one last week for $17.00 just for buying things I would have bought anyways!

Oh and Jenn asked what i use to get Grayden’s hair spiky! When he was little I used baby lotion and it worked an smelled great! Now, that he’s older I use just regular gel and hairspray!

Have a great weekend!

Today I am linking up with Lindsay from The Pleated Poppy for ‘what I wore Wednesday”. Lindsay started this as a way to motivate her to put effort into getting dressed everyday! I can SO relate, Robb often comes home after work to see me still wearing my pajamas from the night before! (Please tell me I'm not alone!) So I thought it would be fun to participate this week!

Here’s a few pictures of my outfits from the past week!

Wednesday: play date and errands

dress-old navy

belt-Steve and Barry's

leggings-Wal-Mart

necklace and ring-premier designs

watch I wear all the time-Meijer's

Wednesday night: hot night at post family farms/right to life auction

brown rank- younkers

white tank-Kohl's

jean capris-Maurices

flower pin-handmade by robb’s aunt Shelley

Thursday: hot day at the sidewalk sales downtown

top and belt-papaya

shorts-old navy

beads-charlotte russe

Friday: pool day at Grandma’s house

dress/cover-up-Forever 21

bathing suit-tjmaxx

hat-forever 21

sunglasses-tip toes

Friday night: date night!

shirt-kohl's

skirt and belt-Jcpenney

shoes-forever 21

necklace-kohl's

headband-maurices

Saturday: hot day at the Unity Music Festival

top-Marshalls

gaucho pants that are so old i know i should part with them but they are so comfy-kohl's

necklace-premier designs

Sunday: church

top-kohl's

skirt-gap

necklace-premier designs

shoes-jcpenney

Monday: I stayed in pjs all day doing laundry and then got dressed for work around 4:00!

dress-tjmaxx

leggings-Wal-Mart

necklace-max 10?

Tuesday: grocery shopping and work

top-Rue21

tank-kohl's

jean capris-maurices

Well I can honestly say that I conquered the challenge, not once did robb see me in my pj’s when he came home! :) Now if only I could have the house clean when he gets home too!

Paula asked....What is your parenting style? Do you read any parenting books?

First let me say that this question really intimidates me! I worry so much about being a good parent and pray we can raise Grayden to be a respectful, godly man.
I must say that I think I'm on the right track by praying for God's help but I often fall short. I know there will be many struggles in parenting through the years but with God's help and by reading His Word I know its reachable.
I also think its really important to start young. Proverbs 22: 6 says "Train a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not turn from it." It might sound silly but even at this age when Grayden gives me attitude or disobeys me I gently scold him (and then he cries and I feel so bad! lol) I don't want him acting that way now and I certainly don't want him to act that way when he's older. The Bible is a great resource to us as parents!
As for books, I just recently checked out the book "Shepherding a Child's Heart" from our church library and briefly skimmed it and back to the library it went. To be honest, I feel really self-conscious about my parenting when I read books like that. I just know I could be doing better and shows me that some of my ways are completely wrong. I know that's something I have to work on and when I have a better grasp on that I'd love to check it back out! I hear great things about that one!

I read some things about parenting the other day on a blog I love, Women Living Well, that had some very good points I'd like to share with you!

1. Read great books to your children and introduce them to the best minds in the world.
2. Satan hates children. They are the next generation and he'll do anything to distract them with television, video games etc. Remember to continually prepare your children to serve God.
3. Create a foundation of love in your home. Teach them to obey the greatest commands, to love God and love others. Just as Jesus spent time with the disciples eating, laughing and doing life with them, as parents we must build bridges of love to our children's hearts. Live, laugh and do life together.
4. Establish a foundation of grace in your home. From Genesis to Revelation we see the grace of God revealed. Teach your children to offer God's grace to others - many times this is displayed through good manners.
5. Inspire your children. They were created to do good works. Find their talents and let them be who they are. Fill their hearts and minds with heroes and those who made a mark on this world for Jesus. Stand with your children through trials knowing that this is making them a stronger man or woman of God. Don't always protect them, let God build their character and grow them through their trials.
6. Teach your children scripture and live out a faithful story before them. They will have to be warriors for God one day and they are watching us. What are we role modeling? They need to see our passion for the Lord which gives them a foundation for their faith.
7. Train your children to be self-controlled, to work hard and long hours, to be creative and grow them into maturity. Be intentional about your training. This is a long process. Proverbs 22:6 says "Train up a child in the way he should go and when he is old he will not depart from it." "When he is old" means when he grows a beard. This is a process. And remember - at what age did we become perfect? We are working towards maturity not perfection. Filter television. Be sure to fill their minds with truth.
8. Teach your children to serve others. Train them to take initiative in relationships. If you want to see them as a servant of God, you must incorporate it into their lives. Show them the needs of the world through missions, homeless shelters, serving your neighbors and opening your home. Do not let your children become the future Pharisees of America, teach them to serve.
"Training your children in Godliness is a lifestyle!"

Good stuff huh?
*I'd love to hear your tips or thoughts on this subject if you'd be willing to share!*

Robb and I went on a date on Friday night! I felt like a teenager again, I got all excited and was all dressed and ready to go an hour before he came home! We had such a blast having dinner and playing mini-golf! I won!!

On Saturday Robb, Grayden and I and my sisters Lisa and Mindy and brother in law Kyle all braved the hot weather and headed out to Muskegoen for the Unity Music Festival!

It was a great night! We got there right at Mike’s Chair was finishing up and also heard 33Miles, Mandisa, Matthew West and Jeremy Camp! Great music!

Grayden did super good, he only had a 30 minute nap all day so we knew he was getting tired but he fought til the end and crashed in the car on the way home!

At one point during the concert the lady next to us was raising her hands in praise and Grayden copied her and raised his hands, the lady got a kick out of that so I tried taking his picture but he kept covering his eyes from the bright flash! ha!

I love Summer weekends!