Summer Reading Program

The kids and I have been attending story time at our local library nearly every Wednesday for the past several months. During the summer, the library is hosting a Summer Reading Program. All we had to do was commit to read everyday for two weeks! Easy! We finished our two week Wednesday! Way to go Serna kids!!

Here they are with their certificates of completion.

They each also were able to choose any book from the children's section to put a label in saying they completed the program. (The glances to the right are due to me trying to take pictures while the tv is on....maybe I should have turned off PBS kids!)

Selah chose her current fav, Chicka, Chicka, Boom, Boom - or as she calls it "Boom-Boom book"

Gabe choose a Magic Tree House book. We have already read 2 of these and he is hooked! Great introduction to "chapter books".

They also recieved tickets to the circus and the Museum of Science and Natural History - maybe features in future blog posts?!?! So fun! I love that my kiddos have both developed a love for books and for reading. I hope they continue to love to read throughout their lives.

Memorial Day fun!

We had a great Memorial Day weekend! First we took a ride on the Fort Worth Miniature Train by the zoo.

We ate at the Yucatan Taco Stand for lunch (I really recommend this restaurant to anyone in the Fort Worth area).

Then it was time to go home for naps - but after nap time we had a water balloon fight!!

Next we headed to the pool for about 45 minutes (those balloons just didn't get us wet enough).

Gabe had said all week that he wanted to have a luau. When I went to the store all of the luau decorations were on clearance! Yes!! So we decorated the apartment, grilled some dogs, made some tropical smoothies and wore some leis! The above picture is our feast - Slaw Dogs! This is a favorite of Pop-Pop's family and Byron and I love them now, too! If you haven't had cole-slaw on a hot dog, you just haven't lived!

Happy Memorial Day - and a big thank you to all of our men and women in the armed services who make weekends of fun, family and freedom possible for us!

My little "Fishers-of-men"

Last week the kids and I studied Jesus' command to his disciples, "Follow me and I will make you fishers of men" and what that means to us. We talked about how the disciples left everything to follow Jesus. At the end of the week we made some magnetic fishing poles and the kids had a blast "fishing" off of Gabe's bed! I love cheap and educational fun!!!

Our fish - and an old stinky shoe!
Selah caught one!

Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men. Matthew 4:19

Half-way There!

This week I hit a pregnancy milestone - week 20. This marks the half-way point! I've been carrying this little one for 20 weeks and in 20 more weeks we will meet our little blessing!

Such an exciting time for our family!!

Gabe took this picture for me - my little photographer in training!

Tub Time!!

Just some cute bubble bath pictures -

Potty Training

Selah has been showing signs of potty training readiness for quite awhile now, so last week I bit the bullet. I told her that it is time to use the potty now and put her in her "Tinker Bell" panties. The first few days were crazy - cleaning up puddles, changing panties faster more than I could count - but we also had a lot of successes at the potty. By the 5th day, there were no more puddles and she was doing great (by the way, jelly beans are a great incentive!). We took a trip to Wal-Mart and bought the Elmo panties she has been wanting. We are now only in diapers for naps and night-time!! Yay, Selah!! To comemorate the big milestone, I found a poem to share and a little graphic! Enjoy!

Potty Training 2

Written by Thena Smith

I used to wear a diaper

When I was very little

They were held on with little tabs

And gave me a bulging middle!

I didn't know any better then

And wet them all day through

Until my mommy brought me a little potty chair

And said "This is for you!"

It took a while to like this chair

And to sit there when I had to go

But one day I learned some things

That all the big kids know!

If I sit on my special chair

And do what 's meant to be

It makes life much more fun

For mommy and for me!

I don't have to have saggy pads

Hanging to my knees

And it makes me more comfy

And my Mommy it seems to please.

Yesterday she brought me something elseI thought that I would share --

I haven't had this stuff before

She called it underwear!

Mommy Graphics

The Armor of God

Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the Devil's schemes. Ephesians 6:11

"Our Soldier", Justin McCleskey, made his arrival back to the states Friday evening from Afganistan. We are so proud of him and all of the soldiers fighting for us!

In honor of my cousin's return from Afganistan last week, the kids and I studied Ephesians 6 and the Armor of God. We learned all about the Helmet of Salvation, Breastplate of Righteousness,

Belt of Truth, Sandles of Peace, Sheild of Faith, and Sword of the Spirit and that using this "Armor" we can win against sin! We made these cool "Sheilds of Faith", too.