He fought the log and the..

…boy won. Sorry, I had to do it.

Our lives are consumed with firewood right now. We FINALLY got our long overdue, promised load of logs a week ago, then another half load of logs from my father. Daddy cuts rounds, the two oldest boys man log splitters or axes, depending on the size of the logs, and us women folk stack. It is also a full time job for one person(Jess) to keep the food and water coming...and bandaids for me. 

I LOVE FIREWOOD TIME. I’m sorry, did I yell that? O.k., I meant it. It is SO much fun, all of us out there, working together, is there a sweeter time? Nope. 

Even little Elijah ran the log splitter, barefoot and dirty. He was aDORable.

Danny learned patience and temperance while working with his brother who couldn’t hear commands with his big boy ear muffs and the engine.

Jacob, in his own world, a machine himself. He was fantastic and such a help this year on the tractor. It is like an extension of his body and was moving logs like a pro. Daddy was a happy man.

Micah split the small stuff. What muscles you have little man. That is all you gotta say to get the biggest grin EV-er.

Then there’s Gracie. In her Sunday shoes stacking wood. A bit tired and taking a break.

Danny rolled this log to the splitter, it was h.e.a.v.y.

 

That’s my man. With a chainsaw. I like that.

The cutest toddler again.

and again.

…and…he…

won.

You go Dan the Man.

My family rocks.

Oh…did I mention my husband just ordered another truck load? It definitely warms you twice.

New Family Pictures

 

Since I stink at blogging…I thought I’d share our family picture we just took. Life is sweetly consumed with homeschooling, caring for my father in law who is battling stage IV lung cancer and loving family life. God is so patient with us. I find myself at His feet more than ever as our children grow older and He is faithful to supply all our needs according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus. Life…is….good.

Jessica 15, Jacob 14, Daniel 11, Emma 9, Micah 7, Gracie 5, Elijah 3 & Lydia 1

I wish it were this easy to feed my family for a year

Four trips and one hundred and twenty bales of hay put away in the loft for the winter. That, and a few bags of grain, are ALL that are needed to feed our goats and sheep for the next twelve months…now why couldn’t it be that easy to feed my family? I think we may try hay for dinner and see if they like it.

Diddybuns is learning to be as good of a driver as her big sister Jessica. Watch those mirrors and pay attention to Daddy ;)

My camo girl. And Mindy, you are no longer allowed to point out how quickly my little daughter is growing up. No she’s not. I still see a cute little 7 yr old and it will stay that way. Oh dear.

Kayaking Burrows Island

Paul and I got away for an ocean kayaking adventure last night for our anniversary. It’s just one of those things we have always wanted to do…ok….*I* have always wanted to do, and Paul was kind enough to go along with it. He had FUN though.

We left Anacortes Kayak (highly recommend) around 5:30 pm and spent over three hours paddling around Burrows Island in the San Juans.

I could live there on the sea, the sights, the smells, it was experiencing God’s creation with all the senses. We’d *park* in kelp fields to avoid the current and sit and chat. Our guide said that kelp can grown an amazing three feet a day. Kelp is very high in iodine and bubbling over in minerals and good stuff. I hoisted kelp onto our kayak and we tasted it, mmmm, salty.

Gary, our guide, pulled this purple sea star off a barnacle covered, black, rocky shoreline.

I’ve lived here for 36 years and never seen a porpoise, but last night, a small pod of porpoise strolled by about 300ft away.. 

It was so great. Even our guide commented that he doesn’t see this much wildlife on a trip too often, but we knew it was a gift from the Lord of Creation. There was so much to take in.

A stop on Burrows to stretch our legs.

Then we rode off into the sunset, back to the harbor from whence we came. The journey back was eventful with the ebbing tide. The intersecting tidal currents, wakes from the large boats coming back to harbor made for a wet and exciting ride. Thankful for this special time with my hubby of 19 years!

Dirt

 

…Is good.

 

 

 

 

How lucky were we

to get a live band performance for the evening!

Herm, John and Bob VH came over tonight and gave us a special treat!

I guess these guys all played together a couple months back(I missed it). We fell for their family, they fell for ours. These three men are from a family of 11 boys and 2 girls, one of those *girls* is our neighbor.

Neither of them can read a lick of music, everything is by ear. They each play a minimum of two instruments. Jon taught both Jacob and I some new tricks on the guitar.

Herm on Dobro, Jon on acoustic guitar, Jacob on acoustic, Daniel on the fiddle, Micah on spoons and Bob on the bass. Jessie and Ems vocals - Gracie was on tambourine and Elijah was on shaker off camera.

What a blast. These guys have hearts of gold and were so patient and mentoring. Thank you! Catch them at the Lynden Community Center this Friday at 12:30pm,  our kids might be joining them for a few songs.

It was one of those nights I just sat back, watched my kiddos and thanked God for His goodness to our family. Where He’s brought us. My sweet children who love each other, their smiles, their brilliance, their cheerfulness, their talent, their hearts for hymns and singing…it was a wonderful night.

Sweet sleep..

…with a brother is best.

She’s legal….

AAAaaaaaaahhhhh!!! This happened too fast.

I told her to expect to be turned away because we didn’t have enough ID. I told her to expect to flunk the first test. I told her to be patient. I tried to protect her from being disappointed, BUT she passed and in two hours we left with a permit. We prayed before we went in and the Lord just made it so smooth and blessed her with the kind man she leaned over and told me she “hoped she’d get”.

That was the easy part, now giving her the wheel will be cause for much more anxiety…for me. Yay Jess! We are so proud of you!