Preston learn how to tie his shoes and wanted to share what he learned with
  you.

1. First you make and X with your laces. Put the X right in the middle.
2. Make a small tree  by looping the shoe lace right on top of the X.
3. The other lace, also known as the bunny, make it run around the tree.
4. The bunny runs so fast that he slips between the thumb and under his original
  path.
5. Grab the tree and the loop that's coming through on top  of your thumb to make two bunny ears.
6. Pull the ears tight.

Yesterday I intended to send an email to let the teachers and staff in the school district where my children attend school know that they'd be prayed for, to encourage them for the new year, and to thank them for coming back to day #2, but I didn't. I just put it off and I didn't do it.

Today when I wrote the letter to send to them, I hesitated. I wasn't sure how it would be recieved, what people would think, or if it would just add more to their inbox than they cared to recieve. I certainly didn't want people to think that I was "godly" or something more than I am - I just prayed and wanted them to know I was thinking about them. Nothing More. Nothing big, right? I sent the emails at 10:20 and by noon I had 35 responses thanking, encouraging, and affirming the effectiveness of our prayers. As I read each one, my heart grew full and my eyes filled up with tears. I was overwhelmed and very humbled by the responses and they are still coming...

Prayer Changes Things. Prayer Changes Me -

There  is something wonderful and a little terrible about the first day of school. We start the first day with some Green Eggs and Ham and talk about trying new things, because you just might like them. Then we all head out the door to try new things all day long!

We were on the news too
http://www.myfoxlubbock.com/news/local/story/shallowater-prayer-school-back-walk-high-tea/7xXpX5IipUW2a8pF8Trz2g.cspx

Each week we go to visit Papa Fred at his new home as a family. It's good for us to all see him together. We want him to know that he is still a part of our family and we are still thinking about him often.

A few things that help us when we visit:

We talk about why you are visiting. Before we go, we talk about why it is important to see Papa Fred.

We take a gift. We get to choose it and give it to Fred. Simple things such as fresh fruit, new magazines, large print books, chocolates, etc. are usually great items if Mom and Dad don't already have something in mind.

We talk about how to behave respectfully in a nursing home. Mom told us about the nursing home before you went the first time. It's a place where they keep their voices down, walk instead of run, look out for other people in the corridors, and understand that elderly people might not see them or notice them when they are walking around, so the we should be aware to get out of people's way first.

Reember that they are old and don't feel their best. Some residents are sort of cranky and don't like children. We try to think about what it might be like and to try to understand how hard it must be for them.

Take things to do. We like having something to do when it all gets "boring" – which, it will. We take items such as a book to read, a coloring-in book to color, magnetic boards, electronic games, writing book, etc. Anything that we can do quietly in a corner is ideal.

Keep the visits short. It is kinder and easier generally to make more short visits than to make occasional long ones. We don't stay long, but Fred enjoys it.

Let your kids interact the way that they feel is most appropriate. Once your kids have understood the meaning for the visit, and know and respect the ground rules applicable to the visit, give them a little free rein to adjust to the situation themselves and to approach the elderly resident in their own way. Kids have a different perspective on life that many of us lose sight of as middle-aged adults, pursued by our permanent rush. Let the very young and the very old communicate in their own very special way and just sit back and watch.

Meeting the players, talking to them and gettingtheir autographs was so cool! We got free posters for the players to sign and even some awesome Texas Tech Athletics! It was so much fun getting to talk to all of the guys - they were really cool, talking to us and asking us questions and stuff...

Hello, this is clayton! Guess what I did this weekend? I went to Palo Duro Canyon, near Amarillo, TX. I saw the musical drama, Texas the Musical, went horseback riding, and even went mountian biking!

My friend, Stephen, invited me to go with his family to the canyon. They have a trailer that we slept in, watched TV in, ate meals in and even took showers in. It was a great way to go camping. It has been over 100 degrees for over 40 days in a row here in Texas, but in the trailer it felt so good.

Biking and Hiking
We rode our bikes around the camp site mostly, but one day we rode for miles on the China Berry Trail. We saw cactus plants, some trees, and birds. On a different trail, we went hiking and found the most awesome cave. It was really cold inside the cave. The middle part was terribly dark, but you could see all the way - probally 35 feet to the top - through a hole in the cave at one point. The dark parts were the most fun because you didn't know what you were going to run into.

Texas the Musical
Before the play there were activities like live music, digging for gold, and a gift shop too. The Big Texan from Amarillo was serving dinner - big steaks, mashed potatos, green beans and grapes - and it was awesome.

The whole play was full of singing and dancing, telling the story of Texas - how it was built and how the people that first came to Texas survived. The best part was the gun shot, when one of the characters fires into the air to get everyone attention - and boy it did! The man riding the horse up on top of the canyon waving the Texas flag was pretty awesome too!

Horse Back Riding
The last day, we rode horses for about an hour all around the canyon. It was my first time to ride a horse. At first it was really, really slow, then going down hills the horses sort of sped up.

Recomendation
I really enjoyed my trip to the canyon. We had so much fun. I think that everyone should go to Palo Duro Canyon if they can. Stop at the Visitors Center and learn about the canyon, and enjoy all of the things that there are to do.

More Information
www.palodurocanyon.com/
www.texas-show.com/

Tonight was our last swim class and we had so much fun. It was awesome. We all really, really liked our classes.

Preston and Addison were in the same class. Their class was teaching them better swimming skills. They jumped into the water from the edge, swam using big arms and fast legs, and even jumped into the pool from the diving board! Their teacher, Victor, was so nice too.

Clayton's class was full of girls! He was the only boy besides the teacher. But he learned so much - even a little about diving in head first!

His favorite part was going off the diving board! He wants to do the next level class next summer.

Trenton was in a Parent and Me class just to get him comfortable in the water. They played games, sang songs and tried to get the babies to put their faces in the water. Trenton's favorite part was chasing the ball alog the top of the water. The fish that sank to the bottom weren't that cool to him because he didn't want to go under water to get them back. He also really enjoyed playing with the other kids - especially the little girls it seemed like.

More Information
Youth Learn to Swim
http://www.depts.ttu.edu/recsports/youth/index.php