My husband and I got home last night after a quick kid-free trip to St. Louis to celebrate his cousin’s wedding.

We had a wonderful time relaxing, visiting and even getting in a bit of quick sightseeing. And now we still get to enjoy the day off school and work with our kids. Perfect!

If you’d like to read more, pop on over to my other blog, Mom’s Travel Tales, for a quick overview of our St. Louis trip and a photo of a gorgeous, frosting-free wedding cake.

This summer my children and I began to really enjoy roller skating together. After visiting the roller rink a few times, I even bought a pair of skates for my daughter and a pair for me so we can skate in our neighborhood together while the boys are in school.

Each time I lace up my skates, I can’t help but think back to my fifth grade year… and a few years after that.

My friend Tania attended boarding school in England and brought Rachel, a friend from school, home with her to the States for a school break. Tania’s mom suggested we take Rachel roller skating with us so she could see what American kids do.

“Roller skating?,” I remember thinking. “We don’t roller skate anymore. That’s for little kids.”

We didn’t want to hurt her mom’s feelings, though, so we invited another friend and the four of us were dropped off at Dairy Ashford Roller Rink.

We walked into the dark building and were greeted by the blast of cool air conditioning and loud music.

We rented our skates, hobbled onto the floor and then began to glide to the music, around and around the rink.

Michael Jackson, Lionel Richie, Cyndi Lauper and Kool and the Gang sang to us, among others. The disco ball reflected lights all around as we hokey-pokied, raced and just skated around and around and around. We met kids from other schools and experienced freedom for two hours as we giggled, used our allowances to buy snacks and drinks, and yes, even couple skated with four boys… one of which is now married to another one of my friends by pure coincidence.

Even after Tania and Rachel returned to England, I continued to go roller skating with friends for a few years. I guess I decided roller skating wasn’t just for little kids as I had thought. I would write letters to Tania about the people we met, the speed skating classes I took and the status of the four boys we met that first night. One of them had moved to attend my school the next year and we remained friends for quite some time.

This summer, as I re-entered the rink with my kids, I was greeted with the same carpet-covered walls, ‘No Chewing Gum’ signs and snow-cones  I remembered as a child. Even some of the music was the same, mixed in with more modern stuff and even some Contemporary Christian tunes as well. No, it is not the same roller rink. And yet it is. Are they all like that?

I hope my children enjoy the same sort of safe freedoms there in the years to come as I experienced. I hope they enjoy skating fast with the wind flying through their hair, deciding what toys and snacks to buy with their allowance, singing and dancing to the music while laughing with friends. I don’t know about that couple skating, though. For now my boys couple skate with me and I relish that special skate I take with each.

Ahhhh. Good times at the roller rink.

“Celebrate good times, COME ON!”

What memory are you celebrating this week? Link up and let us know or leave a comment so we can reminisce with you.

Not too long ago I celebrated my birthday with my mom, my sister-in-law (whom some of you know as Toni,  The Happy Housewife), Joy of Five J’s and two other friends.

Between celebration destination number one and celebration destination number two, I apologized profusely for my lack of planning and had to stop to fill the car up with gas.

That turned out to be one of the most hilarious and memorable moments of the night.

As I was pumping the gas, I could hear Michael Jackson’s “Thriller” coming out of the car next to mine. I giggled and did a quick “mummy dance” and thought I was cute and funny.

And then the music stopped and the driver from the car next to us got out.

He stood right in front of his car and stared at me.

“Beat It” blared from his car stereo.

And here is a video that shows what happened next.

Can you hear us shrieking?

Just posting this makes me giggle some more.

Thanks for reminiscing with me!

What about you? What Favorite Memory do you have to share today?

Link up and let us know! Be sure to link directly to your post and link back to this post on your own blog so others can join in the fun.

Tonight we started cooking lessons at our house.

Not that I am a great chef or anything but I am a mom and I can cook some things and I think it is my job to teach my kids how to cook.

Last week I got out the calendar and decided that every Tuesday night would be guest chef night (or cooking school), rotating through the kids for a one one-on-one lesson each week.

Then I got out a cookbook designed for kids and asked each child to pick a dinner they would like to prepare and marked them on the calendar for the right night.

This week my oldest, who is eight, made tacos. He sliced tomatoes, lettuce and avocado. He measured spices and sauteed onions and garlic and browned ground beef. He decided what fruits to include in a fruit salad and he chopped and mixed them himself. He did everything or at least did the majority of each step, with me guiding him along the way.

And then, amazingly, everyone ate tomatoes and lettuce on their tacos in my house for the first time EVER.

And everyone asked for seconds and thirds. And my oldest beamed from the praise and asked when he could make tacos again.

I can’t wait for next Tuesday night when I get to cook with my middle guy. I bet it’ll be just as much fun!

This post is linked to Works for Me Wednesday.

Today begins a new weekly feature on MomsToolbox: Favorite Memories Friday.

Here I invite you to reminisce with me as we share a favorite memory and get all warm and fuzzy about the gifts God has provided.

This week I have my wedding on my mind…

My husband and I just celebrated 11 years of wedded bliss.

I loved our wedding day, every single second of it. Really, I did. I loved seeing so many of my friends from different stages of my life together, being with my family and new family and, of course, I loved marrying my husband, whom I had been hanging on to and praying about for several years. But that’s another story.

One of my very favorite moments from our wedding was just before we cut the cake. We put tiny charms just inside of the cake for each bridesmaid to pull out. A dear family friend collected verses to go with each charm. On the cake table we also had photographs from our own parents’ weddings. That cake table was stunning… and not just because of what was physically on it, but because of what everything represented.

As all of my bridesmaids lined up behind the cake, I was overwhelmed by the beauty of the moment.

Behind them were trees covered in tiny white lights and in front of them candlelight danced off of their champagne dresses onto their smiling, kind faces.

These women are women I truly love. I met each of them at different times in my life… one in elementary school, one was my first friend in high school, some in college, one as she married into my family and some as I got to know my would-be husband. These women knew me and were loyal friends. And they traveled from near and far to celebrate our wedding with us. What a gift!

I couldn’t have asked for more wonderful friends with more beautiful hearts. Standing in front of me I saw incredible women who had laughed with me and had comforted me through tears… or I knew they would in years to come. I saw snippets of my life in each of them and together they represented a story of great blessings, and a blessing just beginning.

Thank you, my sweet friends, for being there for me that day. I really appreciate you taking the time, energy, commitment, and love to be there with me so often in my life and also on my wedding day 11 years ago. I love you.

And that moment is, most definitely, one of my Favorite Memories.

Now, it’s your turn. I’d love to hear about one of your favorite memories. They can be silly or serious… anything G-rated that makes you smile. Please link up your own post below or share in the comments.

As you read this, it is quite possible I am at the airport with my family, armed with chocolate chip cookies, greeting and welcoming the newest member of our family.

You  might have already read a bit about us hosting another foreign exchange student this year and we are all quite excited to meet her.

One of the things we did to get ready was hit the library and pick out a few books not only on Germany, where Shari is from, but also on Texas, where we live.

Looking through the books on Germany we were able to learn a bit more about Shari and her heritage. And now the kids are ready to ask her a lot of questions. We flipped through the Texas book so we could see what impressions she might already have about our state and also remind us of things we take for granted that might be different and interesting to her.

Just by taking a little extra time to flip through these books together, I feel that our family is more prepared to host our newest daughter. We will keep the books out so she, too, can flip through and see what might interest her… what she might want us to show her in person or tell her about and what she sees in the books about Germany that she might want to tell us about.

We also bought a visual German – English dictionary and a more comprehensive language dictionary at the bookstore. And I even downloaded a free translation app on my phone. I know she will speak English, but I little extra help can’t hurt!

I think we are as ready as we are going to be… let the adventure begin!

I have not been a parent of a teen for long and, unlike most parents, I didn’t get to  make way into it day by day. It happened in just one day. And it is about to happen again.

You see, my husband and I were foreign exchange parents last year and are about to be this year, too.

And although I made a  few mistakes, I think I did a few things right, too.

When Emma (our Danish daughter) came to live with us, I presented her with a simple spiral notebook in which I wrote a short welcome note. Then I suggested she write back to me. And the notebook went back and forth until I tucked it into her luggage for her flight home.

I started the journal as a way to communicate about things she might be too shy to say face to face, but wanted to share. I also started it as a way to make her feel welcomed right away and have some type of momento and journal of her thoughts when our time was up.

I loved our little notebook and, to be honest, I was sad to let it go with Emma in June.

It did turn out to be a great way to talk about some things and share our thoughts when we could sit and think them out completely by ourselves. Sure, we shared lots of light notes, but we also had our share of deep thoughts and opinions in there.

I just bought a new notebook for our new daughter who arrives from Germany this week.

And I think I’ll even start one with my almost nine-year-old son.

I can’t wait to get started writing to each of them… and reading what they write back to me.

This post is linked to Works for Me Wednesday.

I just LOVE it when someone is helpful and does something right.

My daughter’s school has just made the change this year to be peanut-free.

This week I received a letter from the school director that not only alerted us to the policy change, but also explained the seriousness of the allergy and gave us links to peanut-free lunch and snack ideas.

I love that she didn’t just demand that we make a change, but that she is helping us to make that change by educating us and giving us excellent respources for options.

Way to go Mrs. B! I really appreciate you going that extra mile!

And I am so thankful that I just have to make a few minor adjustments, as my children do not have any food allergies. I am more than happy to make accommodations so other children and parents can breathe a LOT easier.

And, by the way, here are the links she sent us:

Easy and Delicious Peanut-Free Lunch and Snack ideas from WellSphere

7 Health Peanut-Free School Lunch Ideas from School Lunch Ideas

Nut-free Lunch recipes on Squidoo

Why is my child’s school nut-free? What can she bring? on About.com

And I’ll add a link to Lynn’s Recipe Adventures where Lynn shares all types of wonderful peanut-free and gluten-free recipes.

Anyone else have any great peanut-free lunch or snack ideas or sites to visit? Please do tell!

I always knew that kids love to play with shaving cream. About one year ago I realized what a lifesaver it can be in the shower… and I’m not just talking about for your legs!

When I bring my daughter into the shower with me, I get her clean first and then I squirt a bit of shaving cream on the wall. She LOVES playing with it! It doesn’t take much for this cheap, clean fun.  And the clean up is definitely minimal… no toys cluttering up my shower, just an extra can of shaving cream.

I buy the cheapest shaving cream just for her and just squirt one thing… a sunshine, her initial or a flower and she plays and plays and plays with it until I am finished and then some.

I love not feeling like I have to rush or trying to keep her out of the way and she can’t wait for shower time. This TOTALLY works for me!

Swing by We are THAT Family or more Works for Me Wednesday.

But first, let me know what you think… and how YOU get more time in the shower.

The last time I used a headline like that (leaving out the international part) I heard there were a lot of whispers and confusion. So let’s just get this right out there: No, I am not pregnant. And no, we are not adopting. Well not exactly…

Our family is preparing to welcome a German teenager into our home for the coming school year and we are all looking forward to the adventure.

Last school year we hosted a Danish daughter whose dad had been friends with my husband since high school.

As Emma was preparing to end her American year, a friend of ours asked if we would consider hosting her niece who lives in Germany. So, here we go again!

Our oldest child is about to be nine and attends a fairly small private school affiliated with a church. Our new daughter (like Emma was) is a teenager who will attend a high school that hosts about 4,000 students… this is a big jump for her from her home in Germany and for us from younger kids to big kid and tiny school to massive one!

The last time I think I did an okay job as a mom of a teen.

This time I’d like to do better. And so I’m seeking your advice in a series of posts.

I’m about to write a letter to our new daughter, introducing our family and sharing what life is like in our family.

And so I am procrastinating a bit.

And so today I am seeking input from moms of teens, moms of grown children who once were teens, and other foreign exchange student moms:

If you could write a letter of introduction to your teen, what would you be sure to cover?

And what else do you think I might need to know to help make her transition better and my transition in to the teen years the best it can be?

Please do share… and share this post with your friends who might be able to share. There is no such thing as too much good advice! And I am ready for as much as you are willing to give!