Wow….we are so emotionally exhausted but we are so grateful to have been selected to participate in the Every 15 Minutes experience. I know that all of us are forever changed as individuals and as a family. The whole experience was so amazingly realistic and each of our hearts have been touched in ways we never would have imagined. I honestly believe that I will remember this educational experience and the emotions that go along with it for the rest of my life.

I commend the students, teachers, rescue workers, SJFD, SJPD, the ambulance people, the trauma team people, the morgue lady, and everyone who was involved in putting this together. Thank you all for everything you do everyday to make such a positive impact on our lives and those around us. God bless.

My heart is heavy tonight the people of Haiti. We spent a few hours in Northern Haiti enjoying the beautiful beach and delicious food when we docked there during our cruise a couple summers ago. Even at that time, we could see the poverty on the periphery of the private owned beach. I can only imagine the devistation the people of the country are feeling.

I stumbled on this blog by Chris Sacca which lists six ways of helping Haiti during this crisis. I know we are all in a tough economy at the moment, but every little bit helps. If nothing else, please pray, God listens.

So. Good.

Best dam experince ever!

Even better than birthday cake

My first Pumpkin Spice Latte of the season. I’m really hoping for Starbucks gift cards for my birthday

But then again, do I really need to put on that extra 5 pounds?! So tasty….

Missing Kaileigh who was home doing homework – my good student girl!

Next time I’m standing sideways so my shadow doesn’t look so wide!

So I finally sucked it up and got an iPhone. Ok, I didn’t really “buy” one, John got a new one and I got his old one. But I have to say I secretely love it. And to prove my love, I’m even using the crappy keyboard to write this post! I already miss the slide out qwerty keyboard on my old phone. I wonder if I can find an app for that.

I can hardly believe how well my green beans are doing! They have grown so much in the short time since I’ve planted them. They look like real little plants now! I’m nervous that I may have planted too many seeds in my small pot. Guess we’ll wait and see what happens.

I’ve now attempted my second batch of fall veggies and planted carrots last night. Now I know I said I planted carrots before, but I didn’t remember how small the seeds were!! All the websites I researched suggested to soak the seeds overnight and plant the next day. So that’s what I did. But when I went to plant them, they just stuck on my fingers so I ended up just kinda flicking them into the pots and then covered all the dirt up. I’m not sure how many plants I’m going to get, and I doubt they will be anywhere even close to properly spaced. This should definitely be interesting!!

Lettuce is up next. Keep your fingers crossed!

Jono and Alanna left for Hot August Nights yesterday and after Bible Camp, I dropped John-John off over at Mimi’s house, so it was just Kaileigh and I for the afternoon and evening.  On our way back home, we stopped at the mall for a movie, shopping and dinner. We saw the new Julie & Julia movie. Cute movie. Kaileigh and I both enjoyed it. After the movie we shopped the mall a bit. I had a 30% off coupon at Aeropostal and they were having a buy 1 get 1 free sale on jeans. So Kaileigh ended up with 2 new pairs of cute jeans and a sweater for school and I saved almost $90! I was so tempted to go back and get a couple more pair of jeans to sell on eBay, but I resisted. I think I’m still regretting it.

After shopping, we had dinner at Buca di Beppo (which I also had a coupon for) and walked out totally stuffed with two plastic bags of leftovers. Ok, one plastic bag of leftovers, and one plastic bag of dessert It was a fun afternoon, one I wish we could do more often.