Jammie Ride

Last night we told the children we wanted to go to bed early and had them all get ready for bed. After everyone was quiet and tucked in Paul and I stood at the bottom of the stairs and yelled “Jammie ride! Grab yer partner, last one in the truck is a rotten egg!”

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Squeals rang out upstairs and a herd of children were suddenly stampeding down the hallway. Barefoot and in their P.J.s they piled in the van, everyone with a big smile across their face.

 

We took a beautiful quick sunset trip into town.

 

Did I mention smiles?

 

Ice cream anyone?

 

 

Plenty of baby wipes for sticky little hands and one happy family in the end then back to bed.  ;)

Preparing

We sold 3 of our six goats this weekend, and several other farm animals in preparation for winter. Our hay is put up in the loft and now my men are starting on our wood. We go through 7 cords  of wood each winter, that is a stack 4’ tall and 168’ long! That is a lot of wood to cut and split. Each year the boys are doubling their strength and worth a lot out there! Praise the Lord for those strong bodies as Daddy isn’t getting any younger.

Micah is the loader/stacker. He has big muscles, he says.

 

 

And this is what a cold rainy summer does to a Washingtonian. We had a 75 degree day and I came home to this in the window.

Motherhood Is A Calling

“Live the gospel in the things that no one sees. Sacrifice for your children in places that only they will know about. Put their value ahead of yours. Grow them up in the clean air of gospel living. Your testimony to the gospel in the little details of your life is more valuable to them than you can imagine. If you tell them the gospel, but live to yourself, they will never believe it. Give your life for theirs every day, joyfully. Lay down pettiness. Lay down fussiness. Lay down resentment about the dishes, about the laundry, about how no one knows how hard you work.”

 

Every mother should read this article by Rachek Jankovic. You will not regret taking some of your precious time to read it, it is absolutely a hard hitting wonderfully admonishing message.

The perfect dress

Um…

Don't’ quite know how to title this one. Paul sent me these two pictures from his i-thing last night. I found them in my inbox this morning and he asked if “we have a problem”.

He found Elijah, late last night, in his bedroom sucking his binky(which we had pulled from him three days ago!) and wearing four pairs of his sisters underpants. Um…does he want to be trained or ???

I love the “rats, whats Dad gonna do now?” look on his face.

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Gotta love boys. Now Elijah is running around with my Avent breastpump “shooting” stuffed animals complete with pumping action and sound effects. sigh.

Day of rest…

It’s after week 2, I’m *allowed* to resume full duties as I feel comfortable, I feel as if I am not “grounded” anymore! Doing nail art with my daughter, another gloriously convicting sermon at church, came home to a new litter of puppies and we bought another camera that isn’t charging fast enough to take pictures of my lil Lyddybug and enjoying a day of rest with the family.

Lydia – 2 weeks old

Renee at Little Earthling Photography just finished Lydia’s Part II newborn photo shoot at our home. Visit the link to see a sample of her newest pictures, they are adorable! O.k., I think so.

So our camera dies, wakes from the dead for a pic or two, then dies again. This time…it’s dead. I went 6 days without a picture of my baby so tomorrow we buy a new camera, this is killing me. I can’t believe she is two weeks already. She is doing well other than the cephalohematoma and continued weight loss, but we’ll get there! She held her own today and yesterday at 8lb 5oz so she hasn’t lost in the last 24 hours, that is a blessing. She has gained much more control over her eyes and isn’t as cross-eyed anymore and she is getting her days and nights figured out(whew). LOVEing the newborn baby weeks.

Happy Independence Day!

On July 3, 1776, then-future U.S. President John Adams urged that Americans commemorate and rejoice on this day in the following manner:

 

“The...day [Independence Day]...will be the most memorable epoch in the history of America. I am apt to believe that it will be celebrated by succeeding generations as the great anniversary Festival. It ought to be commemorated, as the Day of Deliverance, by solemn acts of devotion to God Almighty. It ought to be solemnized with pomp and parade, with shows, games, sports, guns, bells, bonfires and illuminations, from one end of this continent to the other, from this time forward forever.”

What a gorgeous day to celebrate!

Grab yer watermelon, put on the Sousa and celebrate in the freedom we have!!