Hello Again

Wow!

It has been several months... way too many months since I have posted anything.

Life has been a little crazy around here... new puppy... new pregnancy (yep Baby #4 due Christmas Eve)... visits from friends.... visits from family.... Summer (summer living at a summer camp doesn't feel like "summer").... school starting... doctors appointments.... and the list could go on and on!

It feels good to be back though.

This space has always felt like a safe space to share life so here goes: this might even have to become a section on the blog...

Real Life ~ We have been potty training for a little while now with good days and not so good days. I thought we were really close and then poor thing had diarrhea for almost 2 weeks (sorry if that is TMI). So here we are are trying to figure out what is messing up her belly and trying to learn that the potty is the only place to go.

This morning sweet girl went potty, put on clothes and went to get her shoes. Next thing I know she comes running down the hall with poop filled underwear in hand yelling she needs to potty. I clean up her legs and throw away poop filled underwear (I know very wasteful) I go to the hall to check for any other messes. So there is poop on the floor in a couple of spots and as I stand I notice something on the hall cabinet door. Yep, more poop! Thank goodness it landed on the cabinet which is smooth unlike the textured walls all over this house. So there is something to be thankful for in the crazy real life from this morning, that the poop from my morning landed on a smooth easy to clean surface.

Hopefully if your morning is filled with "poop" literal or not that it lands on a smooth and easy to clean place, more so than that though, that you would be able to find thanksgiving amongst the crap of the day.

Big Foot

Our boys are really into the show Finding Bigfoot. There have been sightings reported in this area, but where in the woods haven't there been bigfoot sightings.

They get so excited for Sunday night when the new episodes come on. I have even caught them in the back yard practicing their bigfoot calls.

I love the adventure that this gives them, I hope they will always go on adventures together.

N I N E

This little man is 9 today! 
He was 5 when we moved and today he is N I N E. 

His heart is bigger than any one I know. 
He never meets a stranger and has taught me so many things. 

He loves his family in a big way. 
He is smart, fun and so thoughtful. 

Happy Birthday MJ!
We love you!!! 

Ornaments and Science Experiments

I am a mother of boys, and I truly love it. They have helped me to loosen up and explore. My little guy loves to do experiments so when I can I like to work those into our week. Over the summer we did several, his favorite was the exploding bag. We went through a lot of baking soda and vinegar. 

Earlier this week he asked me if we could do an experiment and I had found these Borax crystal growing ornaments. They turned out really cute! The boys were amazed at how the crystals formed overnight. We tried adding food coloring to the jars to color the ornaments but once they were dry the color was gone. 

MJ wanted an M.

We made spirals by wrapping around a pencil. 

The spirals are my favorite because they look like icicles.

Grant made a G. 

It's Beginning To Look A Lot Like Christmas

It has been way too long since I have posted, last time we were busy working in the garden and now we are preparing for Christmas. Last weekend we went on a hunt for our tree. We went with some friends and had so much fun. The kids played in the snow, we hiked to get our tree and had hot chocolate and coffee to warm us up. This was really the best way to start this season, we were blessed by the company of others. 

The tree decorated with white lights and colored lights. Lane thinks most of the ornaments are toys and that the light timer is fun to play with as well. 

Grant enjoying his hot chocolate as we walked. 

MJ always has a sweet smile on his face. 

Lane along for the ride in the back pack carrier. 

Throwing snowballs with friends. 

Micah and I after finding the tree. 

Our Advent Calendar this year.
I found this cute printable here!
I added some cute jingle bells from the dollar store. 

To be honest I haven't added an activity to each envelope yet.
Inside are 2 pieces of paper. One has the Bible verse to read and the other has an activity and a Christmas joke. 

This is the view out of my kitchen window. It is festive with some ornaments strung on fishing line and candles for the holidays.

Hopefully I will post more soon. We will be crafting and baking and if I can remember I'll take a few pictures to share.

Merry Christmas! 

How Does Our Garden Grow ~ Part 2

Its early July and our little garden is just a growing. 

I have been surprised that the hotter it gets outside the better the plants seem to do. 

We have had a little trouble with blossom end rot but hopefully the lime slurry we made today will help with that. 

I am learning a lot, and Grant loves to help me! 

Here are the first veggies from our garden.
2 Zucchini and 1 Yellow Squash
I should probably steam them, but I think I'll make Zucchini bread instead. 

Here is our watermelon. 

This is our little Okra plant.
The only one that made it out of an entire row. 

This is our pole bean, it hasn't gotten much bigger than when I planted it. 

Yellow Squash

Here you can see one pepper plant, squash, zucchini, marigolds and tomatoes. 

Time Flies When You Are Having Fun

Summer is officially here, we have finished up another year of school. 

One of the perks of living at a camp is getting to test out the rides that have been out of use since last summer. Here at Woodleaf we have ridge runner (go cart) track. Last year and this year MJ and Grant had the privilege to test out the cars before campers arrive in just a few days. 

You can really tell how big the boys have gotten over the last year. 

Summer 2014

Getting ready... 2014

2014

2014 

2014

2014

2014

2014

Summer 2015

2015

2015

2015

2015

Oh the difference a year makes. 

It is hard to tell where they are in all of the dust.

Covered in dirt! 

Oh this face makes my heart melt! 

How Does Our Garden Grow - Part 1

We have planted a garden !

We moved an old raised bed into our yard, along with the dirt that was there. 

My neighbor and I tried to use this garden in its old spot but animals ate all of our plants... so here the garden is in our back yard, protected by fence and dog (except Parker likes to hunt lizards and has been in the garden) I'll keep you posted of our success or failure. 

Dirt! 

Grant working hard to rake the dirt smooth. 

The raised bed is full and the white on top is the soil additives that Micah then tilled into the dirt. 

It is hard to see in the picture but we have 4 tomato plants, 2 basil, 2 cilantro, 2 chive, 1 zucchini, 1 yellow squash, 1 red pepper, 1 yellow pepper, 2 pole beans and a row of flowers and a row of okra. In another pot we have a watermelon.

Stay tuned for more garden updates.

Lane's First Birthday

It is hard to believe that Lane is 1! 

I realized that as I worked on Lane's smash cake that the Lord has blessed us beyond what we could ever imagine. We have three wonderful children, this was my 8th year making birthday cakes and I pray for many many more. His blessings are so precious, I pray that our children know how much we love them, but most of all how much more He Loves them. 

The big day was celebrated with our neighbor, Callahan who turned 1 on April 22nd. 

Bekah and I had a great time planning the birthday party and creating special touches for the big day. 

I think Callahan and Lane had a great time at their party! 

Here are a few pictures:

We used Adobe Illustrator (free trial) to create the invitation.
I cropped it to remove our phone numbers, so it looks a little short. 

Made bubbles for a party favor using baby food jars and pipe cleaner.

Used frames to capture a year in pictures.
Bekah made the burlap 1 and a birthday banner that I don't have a picture of. 

Lane loved her BBQ, baked beans and watermelon.

Those blue eyes get me every time. 

Cake! 

She loved the cake! 

Lane would have picked the whole thing up if she could have. 

 

After cake! 

Getting so big! 

 Not sure if you can read the chalk board above Lane, but it was really fun to create it.
I got the weight wrong though... according to her check up on Monday she weighs almost 19 lbs. 

Callahan and Lane played in this box and with blocks.
What more could a baby want!


Thanks to our family and friends who came to help us celebrate!
Thanks to our sweet friend Eryn for  all of the great pictures.