First Day of School!

Sorry this has taken FOREVER for me to update!  Life has been full at the Lantz house these days!  Emma is so excited to be in First Grade at Meehan Elementary and this year Lucy goes to preschool at Immanual Lutheren School.  We are blessed to have wonderful teachers for both of the girls!  We pray for this school year, that the Lord protects & guides the path of our daughters.

Tackling the Two-Wheeler!

Disclaimer...I did a terrible job taking this video, sorry! (wish I knew how to do video editing!)
But, we are so proud of Emma and her new skill...and she is so confident already!  I suppose cycling is in her genes, but I am totally impressed at how quickly she learned (without a skinned knee or elbow)!

Our little sweetie is SIX!

Truly, it's so hard to believe that Emma is 6!  Time flies when you're having fun I guess :-)  What's that saying...everything you need to know you learned in Kindergarten...well, I'm sure she will learn millions of other things, but this passed year Emma has really grown so much!  I treasure her compassionate heart and her relentless curiosity.  I recently have had this song in my head and have made it my prayer for Emma on her birthday...

My Dear Emma,


Be strong in the Lord
And never give up hope
You're going to do great things
I already know
God's got his hand on you
So don't live life in fear
Forgive and forget
But don't forget why you're here
Take your time and pray

And have a beautiful birthday!
 (lyrics by Sidewalk Prophets)

Happy 6th Birthday Emma!

CYT CAMP ROCKS!

Emma had a blast this week at CYT camp!  The theme was Disney on Broadway...at the end of the week, her age group performed 2 songs, I Just Can't Wait to be King from Lion King and It's a Holly Jolly Day with Mary from Mary Poppins.  Alot of special people came to see her performance (some all the way from Pennsylvania! :-)  (Doesn't Emma look so perfect on 80's day at camp?!) :-)

Cheer Camp

Emma absolutely loved her week at cheer camp!  Here she is with some of the girls and the cheer leader counselors.

Good Bye Kindergarten

Well, this year has flown by!  I can hardley believe that Emma just finished Kindergarten.  She has learned so much this year!  We are so thankful for her teacher Mrs. Wisely and Meehan School.  They did not have a graduation, but their last day was "Kindergarten Fun Day", see Emma & Mrs. Wisely with the hula hoops!  FUN indeed! 

But, now it's summer...Emma will be sleeping in, taking piano lessons, Cheer Camp, Harvest Kids Camp, CYT Camp and enjoying the sun with Lucy & friends new and old and we have a 100 freeze pop goal! Ahhh, reminds me of the good old days!

Happy Thanksgiving!

To celebrate Thanksgiving Emma's preschool class made "Thankful Soup" and then had a little program. Mrs. Palmer gave each of the children a pilgrim name. Emma's name was "Humility". They also made cute little turkey centerpieces, placemats, beaded necklaces and pilgrim hats. Here are some pictures.

Hey, I wonder if the pilgrim's used Reddi Whip... :-)

I pray that you all have a wonderful Thanksgiving! We have so much to be thankful for...our families, our jobs, our health and the love of our precious Savior. May the Lord fill you with joy and peace, may you know Him personally and may we all remember to pause and give thanks.

Pause and Give Thanks

Wherever you find yourself today,

Whether filled with joy or wrapped in pain,

Remember to pause a moment and give thanks

For no other event in our history and time,

Can change our lives like the birth of Christ, so Divine.

His love never failing, and His Presence always near

The greatest wonder in Heaven on Christmas did appear.

God’s gift full of grace that brings life, love, and hope,

Can be unwrapped by us all - changing life’s scope.

For when we invite His life into our hearts,

No love is greater than that He imparts.

So wherever you find yourself today,

Remember to pause and give thanks,

For He is the Truth and the Way!

Timothy's Last Day

Timothy was so excited about having an extra hour with Emma when we switched the clocks back for daylight savings! Then, after a nice long night of rest, Timothy came to Church with us.

Timothy has been bonding with our dog Freddie very nicely.

It's been a fun weekend but tomorrow we have to bring Timothy back to preschool. And Emma gets to share with her class all the things they did together.

Timothy's Adventures - Day Two

Timothy became an honorary member of the

Red Flames soccer team!

Timothy had a "smashing" good time watching the

pumpkins fly at the Pumpkin Launch!

Emma thought Timothy looked cute with a little pumpkin on his shell.


Emma took Timothy on a bike ride.


And finally after a busy day, Emma cuddled up with Timothy in the top bunk.

Timothy the Sea Turtle

Today at preschool it was Emma's turn to bring Timothy the Sea Turtle home for the weekend! She was so excited! Timothy gets to hang out with us for the weekend and we have to take pictures and document in the travelling journal what Timothy is up to. So far, he has been busy! He went to out to lunch with Grandma, Papa & Scarecrow Emma. Then, he went trick or treating and got TONS of candy! And right now he is in the top bunk asleep with Emma. Tomorrow, he will go to soccer with Emma and then to the Pumpkin Launch event put on by our Church. Fun Lantz family adventures for Timothy!

Timothy with Cinderella

Timothy and Scarecrow Emma

We found out the hard way that too much candy is not good for a sea turtle.

Scarecrow Day!

In lieu of celebrating Halloween, Emma's preschool does a Fall Harvest Festival. All the kids dress up like scarecrows and parade around town singing songs then they do a program inside the church for the families. I made Emma's scarecrow costume for last year and with the exception of the legs being a bit shorter, it still fit our peanut! Grandma & Papa Witz came to watch their little scarecrow, which Emma thought was really cool.

Soccer Squirt

Emma has been playing soccer through our park district this fall. Her team is the Red Flames. Sometimes she has a blast running the field but other times she would rather sit on the ball or pick grass. But, we think overall she's enjoying being on a team and learning about soccer. Our team is still struggling with picking up the ball with their hands. We have not yet grasped knowing who's goal is who's is either. So to say the least they are so cute to watch. Luckily the coaches have a good attitude and just continue to encourage them and correct them when they try to make a football pass or throw one in to first base.

Got Cheese?!

Here is Emma hamming it up for the camera. Such a nut.

Knock Knock Who's There?

After preschool the other day, we were driving home and Emma told me the funniest joke! She remembered all the words and delivered it with perfect comedic timing. I knew preschool would be money well spent. :-) Here is Emma telling her joke...

Back to School

Emma was so excited to go back to preschool today. She goes to preschool 3 days each week this year at Creative Learners and had a great first day. The top 2 things that she remembered and told us about her day was: "Mrs. Palmer told us all the rules at preschool and I made a picture of my family". We are privileged and excited to help her learn and watch her grow this year.

Hair Style Saga Continues

Because of Emma's excitement of her hair yesterday...the girls both wanted special hair today. Lucy started out great, but that did not last (you may notice her puffy cheeks in her picture, this is a huge piece of bribery bubblegum). Lucy is sporting the faux french braids today. Emma has a headband chain...awwwe...aren't they cute?

Big Girl on a Bike

At the beginning of this summer, Emma did not have the leg strength to turn the pedals of her bike. I can hardly believe how far she has come! Not only can she ride her bike, but she can go fast! Also, a friend of ours from Church had given us a bigger Princess bike with training wheels which we got out today (this is the bike she is riding in this video), because she has already outgrown her 10" bike that she started the season with. Look out Bikejournal leader board...the next generation has started training! Side note: Yes, we have not pulled weeds, watered, mowed or trimmed our lawn in many, many, many weeks. Also, for those of you who have sound...that is Lucy crying in the background because she got herself into the wagon in our garage and then couldn't get out.

Faux French Braids

After a semi-tragic morning of Emma getting her finger pinched in her LPS (Littlest Pet Shop) box, we had a mother daughter moment and Emma said she wanted "special hair" today. So, this is what I came up with. I think it looks so cute on her! I found it on one of those hair blogs that I frequent. I do actually know how to french braid...but Emma does not sit still long enough to get it in tight enough so it's always a flop. But this cutie style can be done quickly, which works very well for us!

Two Peas in a Pod

Best Friends Reese & Emma

We had a way great play date today with Tammy & Reese! Tammy is adorably preggo, only 3 more weeks to go! That baby kicked up a storm today...whew, I couldn't believe how much I saw it moving around. Reese is very excited to be a big sister. Stay tuned to find out if Reese will get a little brother or a little sister. She says "you get what you get and you don't pitch a fit"...very wise for a 4 year old, no wonder Emma has chosen her as a best friend! :-)

Hair Today, Gone Tomorrow

Since we bobbed Emma's hair short, it really compliments her face and personality. But, I do get tired of the same old little pony tail to pull the bangs, that we are trying to grow out, away from her face. So, I have recently been hooked on several little girl hair idea websites. Emma, who is such a girlie girl (with the exception of her bug fascination) has really enjoyed being my guinea pig and trying out some new do's. So, here are some of our successes or attempts I should say.

This is called a knot. We have also done this one parted in the middle with one on each side. For detailed instructions on how to do it, click here.

Here are her corn rows. We call them "twisters". I think if I did this when her hair was wet they would have been tighter. But either way, after a busy windy day at the park, they still looked cute.

For more ideas, check out these blogs: Little Girls Hair and Girly Do's and the one I mentioned above She Does Hair