all out war

I never intended for it to be a battle.
She’d nursed for fifteen minutes
the milk was long gone
she was pretty much asleep
so I figured I’d unhook her and pat her back.
She was
not happy, Parr!
It took a few minutes for it to sink in
that momma was not going to hook her back up.
But then she settled down.
But she wouldn’t stay laying down
so she got a swat.
She very clearly understands what I mean
when I say, “lay down”
~
Things went from bad to worse.
An hour later
she was writhing angrily in my arms.
Where did I get this stubborn, stubborn child??
~
I won.
I held her till she gave in and let sleep overtake her.
She must have been so exhausted;
she’d put up quite a fight!
I held her until her bottom lip went in
and she quit snuffling
and she sighed.
And then I held her more
and cried.
Why does it have to be so hard?

I thought of the Father
How hard it must be for Him.
He gives a simple command
He is disobeyed.
He makes certain we understood the directive.
We do.
And we obey
but only briefly.
And on and on it goes.
And He is sad.
And He wonders,
When will my foolish child understand?
I only want the best for you.
I never intended for this to be war.

pocket diaper insert for pennies

I am really excited to share my first Frugal Friday tip.
I’ve had my suspicions that this would work
but I wasn’t positive.
~
I’ve been dealing with some stink with my diapers
for quite some time.
First
I thought that after I got my new washer
I wasn’t using enough soap
but after stripping my dypes
and boiling my inserts
and increasing my soap
I was still having odor issues.
The only time they weren’t smelly when soiled
was if they’d been dried on the line.
I suspect it has something to do with the sanitizing power of the sun
(there’s a spiritual lesson here…)
I prefer to dry them on the line.
I think diapers flapping in the breeze

are one of life’s sweet pleasures.
But
the weather
doesn’t always cooperate with my washing schedule.
Seems more often than not
lately
diapers have gone in the dryer.
Anyone who’s used them
knows that microfiber inserts take a long time to dry!

So
I bought a package of 25 16x16 micro fiber towels at Sams for $10.88
I had the presence of mind to prewash some
(I planned to return them if they didn’t work for inserts)
although
I didn’t expect them to turn the rest of my diapers
green
Lovely.
I think I’ll wash the rest of them by themselves!

~
All that to say
that
one towel
folded in thirds

makes an
easy to wash
quick to dry
non-bulky, but plenty absorbent
pocket diaper insert
that cost only pennies gotta love it!

weed?!

If Jeremiah happens to tell you

"we have weed at our house"

don't turn us in.

~

'Wii'

makes absolutely no sense to him

so he thinks we must all be saying it wrong

and the correct pronunciation

is 'weed'.

So

there you have it.

We have weed at our house

and we all have a lot of fun when we use it

one hundred things

I’ve read its customary to write
‘100 things about myself’
in honor of one’s one hundredth post.
Um
first of all
that would be really boring
secondly
this blog is for my family
so I figured I’d post about us
And
I doubt I’ll come close to a hundred things
I just don’t have that much time!
So
Off the top of my head:
We enjoy being together
We are a tad competitive
We like good food
meaning food that tastes good
and
is good for you
We also like food that’s not so good for you
like brownies.
We love Jesus
and strive to honor God with our whole lives.
We are into doing things ourselves
consequently
we’re pretty hard workers.
Surprisingly
we all fit just fine in this dinky house
(our stuff, on the other hand….)
We like having lots of pictures
but
we often forget to bring the camera when we go somewhere.
We are hard on furniture
but
I suspect that’s partially cause we don’t have much
If we had more furniture - we’d use each piece less
and it would last longer.
We love blueberries
well, all of us except for T.

We like to all wear red when we go to an amusement park

that way we can find each other easily.
We home school
but
I don’t know that that defines us -
we do much weirder things than that
like
Cloth diaper
Grind our own flour
(and enjoy our homemade burger buns so much,

we can hardly stand to eat store-bought)
Use herbal remedies - most of them home-made
Believe that ‘debt-free is the way to be’
Co-sleep
Garden organically
Drink fresh raw milk
and drive about 2 hours (one way) to purchase it.
We (all those over 5, at least) agree that
Lupron is of the Devil.
We love ice
but
rarely ever have it.
We save all coins
some for our anniversary fund
and
some
for a go-cart.
Needless to say
we’re adding a bit of paper money to these funds as we can, too.
We love going to friends’ houses
and
having friends over
but we don’t do either nearly as often as we’d like.
We like candles, fireworks, books, and babies
but not necessarily in that order.
We enjoy playing games together
some of our favorites are;
Nertz, Tribond, Taboo, Pit, Six Dice & Rolling,

and the Dictionary Game
Some of us like Othello
others like it, but are lousy at it!
Did I mention
we like food?
We like to walk on the train tracks.
We’ve been involved in Outreach Ministry for about 7 years
and dearly love our Team!
Movie-quoting is an acceptable form of communication in this family.
We like ‘living in the country’
but
we haven’t been very successful
as far as ‘self-sufficiency’ goes.
(I hate that term, as if God weren’t part of the equation)
We believe that marriage is one man and one woman
for life
and
that children are a blessing from the Lord.
~
Speaking of
I’ve got a little blessing crawling around here
thinking she needs a snack.
You know how we love our food….

little shoes and lotsa links

I've had a couple people ask about my shoes

well

not my shoes

the shoes I make

~

I was introduced to making-your-own baby shoes

by my blogger friend Lindsey

after following a Frugal Friday link on Crystal's blog.

Needless to say

I was immediately hooked!

Being too cheap to actually buy a pattern

I use the free pattern I found here.

Here's another pattern, too, slightly different shape.

This site has lots of helpful information

and tells how to resize your pattern

(which isn't an exact science, by the way!)

~

I actually haven't made as many shoes as I would have thought

partly

I'm sure

because I've been up to my eyebrows in wedding plans

for quite some time.

But also

because

I'm (sniff) just not very good at it.

Most of the gals I found make really cute shoes in an hour

takes me at least 2 hours per pair

and

I

always mess up

(now - diapers - I can make a diaper in an hour!!)

but I do love

to have my little sweeties

in soft, cute shoes

that cost pennies to make!

~

hmm

maybe I'll just go whip up a pair right now....

wedding slide-show

The quality isn't real great (video, not subject matter :-) but I'm too technologically impaired to know how to fix it...sorry

1 Timothy 1:12

I thank Christ Jesus our Lord, who has given me strength,
that he considered me faithful, appointing me to his service.
~
I happened upon this verse the other day.
Some days
I don’t feel very faithful.
Actually
most days
I feel like I fail
more often than not.
And many days
I try to do things in my own strength
rather than relying on the strength that He has already given me.
~
He has appointed me to his service
again
~
I pray that I will continue to be faithful
and raise these precious children he has so graciously given us

~
All eight of them
~
Thank-you, Lord!!

is it worth it??

Thanks to inspiration from my good friend, Sandy,

I decided to try Walgreens again.
~
Tyler went with me
(a date, you know)
so we were able to use 2 - $10 coupons.
When it's all said and done
I spent $15.76
and got
$68.71 worth of stuff - tax included.
Which
is pretty good, I think.
Not nearly so good as most people write about,
but nothing to sneeze at.
~
Here's where it gets tricky, though.
I spent well over an hour trying to figure out what to buy.
We spent another hour in the store trying to find everything.
Then
another half hour at the register....
feeling my stress levels rising....
We will use everything we bought,
but we certainly didn't need all of it.
so
is it worth it?
at this stage of my life
I honestly don't know.
Right now,
my time is every bit as valuable
as Tyler's hard-earned money.
I'd really like to make it work
but
I've sure got to get faster
and
so do those darned cashiers!

space

we’re shrinking
~
I set the table yesterday evening
for just our family;
we’ve had guests for every sit-down meal since ‘the weddin’.
(‘Set the table’
what an odd phrase!)
Anyways
we had way too much empty space!
So much so
that we could actually
take out the leaf
for the first time in years.
I won’t.
Mostly cause I’m lazy that way
but
our in-house family
would fit comfortably
at a measly
5 foot table.
That sorta makes me sad.
*sigh*

presenting....

Mr & Mrs. Luke H----

All throughout the planning
and re-planning
of the wedding
we kept reminding ourselves of what was important:
that Luke and Lana get legally married
that God was glorified
and that people
(both guests and the bride & groom)
be blessed.
I'm pretty sure all of the above happened.
~
Thank you Lord, for your faithfulness

I want to look at my flower

The flowers are here!

We all pitched in to cut the stems

and get them in water quickly.

Lana had to run to Paul's

to buy another bucket!

We've got about a thousand daisies

200 delicious smelling roses

and 100 belles of Ireland

FUN!

I had to call my sister

(she'll be arranging all these tomorrow)

to tell her our porch looked like a florist shop.

~

The weather was just perfect,

a bit cooler than it's been

and a gentle breeze.

nice!

~

I called the flower company

to find out if there was anything special I needed to do;

I certainly don't want to ruin

several hundred dollars worth of flowers!

In her Columbian accent,

she told me that they were exhausted from their travels

and 72 hours without a drink

and all I really needed to do

was give them water

and let them rest

in an air conditioned room for a few hours

before removing their 'jackets'.

I wondered if

perhaps

I should offer them a ginger ale, too.

the dress

is finished!

not quite the 'way ahead of time'

that I was going for

but

it's done nonetheless.

I'd do a happy dance

but I just don't have the energy

real

I do not consider myself to be a writer.

Oh, I dabble a little….

I once wrote an article for a little women’s magazine.

Never did submit it…..

I write this blog as a gift to my family

Memory stones, if you will.

I try to recount old memories while adding the new ones.

If other people enjoy reading our stories

well, I’m grateful

(although - I do wonder why?!)

Not terribly long ago

after reading one of my posts

Lana said,“That sounded just like Sharon Randall.”

Boy did I get the big head!

~

As her Mother’s Day gift to me this year

Lana bought tickets for us to see

Sharon Randall!

Her column appears in our Monday paper

and Lana and I both enjoy

both

her writing style

and

the content.

She just writes about life

and she does it in such a way

that her readers can really identify with her.

Several years ago

our newspaper subscription expired.

In a stupid move on the part of the SWTR,

Sharon’s column was no longer in our paper.

I couldn’t get a super deal to re-subscribe

(my limit is $1.50 a week, although I prefer $1)

So we just quit taking the paper;

without Sharon Randall on Mondays,

why bother?

~

Tyler asked me before we went

“So what is it about this Sharon Randall?

Is she some big conservative Christian writer?”

I thought a minute.

“She’s real.

She can make me laugh

and

cry.

Sometimes with the same article.

Is she super conservative?

I don’t know.

(she does live in Las Vegas of all places)

But I certainly think she’s a christian

and she's an excellent writer.”

~
We weren’t disappointed!

While we didn’t find Sharon to be an exceptional speaker

we did find her to be exactly as we expected.

Real.

She was gracious and humble.
She looked exactly like her picture.

She was funny.
I think she may have been a little frightened by our mayor.

But mostly

she was real.

Sharon shared something her grandmother always said:

Always be yourself.

Never pretend to be what you aren’t,

or to know what you don’t know.

~

One of the greatest compliments to me

is

“You are real”

(said in a positive tone, of course ;-)

Well,

that

and

“You write like Sharon Randall”

Thanks, Lana!
It was a great evening
and one of my best Mother's Day gifts.

the other dress

It's not nearly as important as THE dress
but still
for some reason
the mother of the bride
is supposed to have some really nice dress.
I kept waiting to shop
'cause
you know
I was going to loose a ton of weight
and be skinny
in like 2 weeks time.
hah
After getting fussed at for my stupidity
I started shopping
and shopping
and
shopping.
Have I ever mentioned I hate to shop?
and I really hate
to shop
for
clothes

for myself!
anyways
I finally found it.
~
my sweet friend Sara

took me yesterday.
After trying on several ugly dresses
I told her I'd save us some time
if I'd just quite trying on dresses
I didn't like.
I mean
what's the chance of
gagging while it's on the hanger
and loving it
once I got it on?!
At some point
she suggested I try petites.
Umm
I'm not that short!
ummm
maybe I am.
~
I wanted something
made of a shimmery fabric
'cause I didn't want any beads
that could scratch my sweet baby.
It is.
I wanted it to be something I could nurse in
without undressing in the bathroom.
It is.
I wanted something somewhat tailored
so I wouldn't look
any fatter than I am.
It is.
and if it wasn't too much of a bother
I wanted it to be comfortable.
It is.
Thank-you Lord for your provision.
I'm sorry I doubted.
oh
and I'm really sorry about not looking sooner.
~
and
thanks for precious friends!!

ahoy, matey

sailing the high seas

at DTC's Family Corporate Day last Saturday.

oddly enough

we were the only family that dressed up

wonder why?!

soothed

I am stressed.
I can not even begin to describe
how stressed I am.

~
I was standing by the sink
straining a batch of
Green Stuff
- as difficult as it is,
life goes on
even when your baby girl
is getting married in two weeks.
And when you are about to run out of green stuff
you have to make more
like it or not -
~
So anyways
I’m standing by the sink

pouring my oil through a strainer
t e n s e
reviewing
and adding to
my list of things to do.
And I hear it.

Water.
Rippling.
Like a fountain in the distance.

It was the swimming pool.
And I could feel myself loosening up.
~
Thanks, my love.
It wasn’t put in for me
And the timing was absolutely horrible
(who puts in a swimming pool
while simultaneously preparing for a wedding?!)
But it helped soothe me
when I was just about to go over the deep end.

sleeping beauty

She doesn’t really cry;
It’s barely even a fuss.
Just enough noise to let me know she’s a tad hungry.
I pull her warm sleepy body over
and kiss her sweet head

and tell her how much I love her.
I probably I shouldn’t.
I’m pretty sure all the ‘sleep experts’ say
to refrain

from kissing your baby in the middle of the night.

And I know they say to never talk to her!
But I can’t help it.
She’s just so yummy.
I usually end up kissing her several times.
Until she reminds
me with a nuzzle and a searching mouth
of why it is I’m awake and kissing her in the first place.
~
I don’t really mind the night nursings
Well
when the baby is waking up every 20 - 40 minutes
all night long
and takes longer to get back to sleep than he sleeps…..
that
gets old pretty fast
But
3-5 times a night
for just a quick
topping-off the tummy?
Doesn’t bother me much at all.
Sure
my sleep is interrupted.
But I’m usually more patient during the night
than I am during the day
when I’ve got a big ole’ list of things to do.
Someday soon
I won’t have any bald heads to smooch on in the middle of the night.
As much as I’d like a good 7 hour stretch of sleep
I’m going miss these
middle of the night
tank-fillings.
Both baby’s
and
mine.

my little satisfied sweetie

~

this is part of an e-mail

Tyler sent me in November of 2004

Jeremiah was almost 1.

He wasn't nearly as good of a sleeper as Lily is.

I'd been pregnant with Josiah

for about 4 months.

When I get tempted to be selfish

and want more sleep

I re-read it

Last night you and Jeremiah melted my heart.

You are so sweet to him.

I was so tired and my body hurt

(I am sure you could say the same thing).

Anyways, I was just laying there listening

to the most wonderful conversation between you both.

Thanks for taking such good care of him and

teaching him to be a loving person.

~

Thank-you, Tyler!

3 on the 3rd

I really struggled with having to have a c-section this time.
With Jeremiah, it wasn’t quite so bad;
I was just so thrilled to actually be having a baby
after years of secondary infertility
that having a cesarean was no big deal.
With Josiah
I was just as excited to be having a baby
but I really did not want him to have to go through
surgery
to get out.
God’s plan is so perfect
and babies benefit when they come the way He designed.
I begged my doctor to let me go naturally.
That was met with an absolute
not up for discussion
NO
If I’d merely had a previous c-section
I’d have argued with her
and insisted on a vbac.
But since I’d had a myomectomy
and had not found a single shred of evidence
that supported a vaginal delivery after uterine surgery
we went with her wisdom.
~
I knew something was up.
Six weeks before Josiah was due
Brandon and I were sitting on the floor in front of the fridge
watching Josiah do some amazing acrobatic stunts
in my belly.
After the show in the kitchen
I noticed Josiah didn’t move nearly as much as before.
I’m not a worrier
but it’s fair to say I was pretty concerned.
I’d lay down and do the kick test often.
He always moved just enough to pass the tests.

I felt like something wasn't

'right'
~
after Dr Lukasek cut me open
She started counting
One… two… three…
The umbilical cord was wrapped around Josiah’s neck
four times.
He very likely would not have survived natural childbirth.

Josiah is an absolute delight.
He’s not a people person like Jeremiah
but still
he makes everyone smile.
He is grateful.
He protects girls.
He likes to sing.
He adores his siblings
and is Papa’s shadow

Josiah

you are a treasure

and I love you to the moon

and back

Happy Birthday

the girl gets around

nothing is safe
anymore

~
yesterday

I found Lily

in the dog crate

and in the bathroom

~

and you can see

she's quite troubled

after

shutting herself in small spaces

NOT

happy birthday, Lana

I woke up thinking
this is the day
Finally!
You’d think
since the first one was 12 ½ weeks early
the second one would at least be a week or so early!
Nope
2 minutes before her due date
was all the early she could muster.
~
I waited an hour or so
just to be sure.
Then I tried calling Tyler
(Army - 'nuff said)
After getting the run-around for about 10 minutes
I finally told the person on the phone,

“I need to talk to Tyler now.

This is his wife. I am in labor.

He needs to call me before he comes home."
I hadn’t wanted to tell anyone;
I knew when they told him
he’d freak out and speed home.
And I didn’t want him to come home
I wanted him to go to the quick-stop

and get me a raspberry filled powdered-sugared donut first!
But
in about 5 minutes
He showed up at the window
(another story entirely)
wondering why on earth I was so calm
and not ready to go…
~
The hospital was about 45 minutes away
in Landstuhl , Germany
We got there early afternoon.
They checked me
said I wasn’t doing much of anything
and we should walk around.
We went to the cafeteria to get something to eat
After all - I never did get my jelly donut!
We got settled in a room early evening.
~
Fast forward to 11 pm
I wasn’t progressing quickly
But I sure was in pain!
The nurse was impatient with me
and told me I better get a grip
'cause that baby wasn’t coming any time soon!
I had a grip!
I was hanging onto Tyler’s sleeve
And apparently, with every contraction
I would twist the sleeve.
Tighter.
Tyler called the nurse in and told her I thought it was time
She grumbled, but took us to the delivery room
She didn’t bother calling the doctor on duty
you know
since I wasn’t having the baby any time soon.
She told Tyler to help get me on the delivery table
He grabbed me from behind
she went to the foot of the bed.
She starts saying, “Stop!”
Tyler wasn’t sure what I was doing,
but he chimed in too, telling me to stop whatever it was.
He was going to just throw me on that table by himself
since the nurse didn’t seem to be helping.
‘No, You stop!”
This time
it’s clear she’s not talking to me, after all,
she’s talking to Tyler!
The doc never even got called
and I sure didn’t make it onto that table!
Just a few minutes later
and there she was
A girl!
Our little princess
Lana Marie
~

She was a dream child,
giving us very little trouble over the years
and
bringing us so much joy
And now, in just 24 days
Poof
She’ll be gone.
How can 20 years go by in the blink of an eye?
I love you,
my beautiful daughter
my friend

my love

In my earliest memory of him
he made me laugh.
We worked together on Fridays.
Usually
I worked days
He worked evenings
but on Fridays
I’d pull a long shift,
working both the lunch and dinner rushes.
I was a waitress in an ugly uniform
He was a cook.
(in an equally ugly uniform)
For whatever reason, I was grouchy
and he made a stupid little potato person to cheer me up.
Oddly enough, it worked.
And

he’s been on my mind
ever since.
~
Happy (belated) Birthday
to the love of my life.

~
Because he is forty, forty things about him
He loves the Lord
He’s an awesome dad
He has a heart for the lost
He’s a good son
He makes delicious sloppy joes
He spurs me on to good works
(although, admittedly, sometimes it irritates me at the time)
He sees the good in people
He’s handsome
He likes a good action movie
He also enjoys a sappy romance
He appreciates my efforts in the kitchen
He’s quick to change when he’s erred
He has great legs
And gorgeous eyes
mmmm
He’s steady
But he can still fly-by-the-seat-of-his-pants
He brings me flowers for no reason
And pays full-price, even though I fuss at him
He’s a hard worker
He’s creative and will figure out the easiest way to get the work done
He’s a good inventor
He reads the same books over and over to the little boys
He loves my parents
As much as he loves his own
He can take a short nap and wake up refreshed
He gives Lily her baths
and tells me what a good girl she was

even though she cried the entire time
He loves a good joke
Sadly
He also loves a stupid joke
He’s honest
And expects everyone else to be, too
He tries hard to speak my love language
Even though it's ‘foreign’ to him
He’s smart
And wise
He makes up wonderful stories for the kids
He will obey God no matter what
He loves a good back massage
But he doesn’t get one nearly as often as he should

He's much nicer than I am
He rarely complains
He is faithful

.
and I am so very grateful
that he is
mine

I love you, Tyler

pictures that make me smile

that I never managed to get posted...

in no particular order...

the boys with Grandpa

yum!

peeked out the window one day to see

Jeremiah

picking flowers for Momma

LilyPie at the park
man, she's grown in 2 months!

Jeremiah & Josiah bought this train
with their Easter $1 from Granny
at the thrift store.
it even had batteries in it!

another view from my window
It made me smile to think that in a few years
they'll be hanging out their own diapers
(made by gramma - with love)
with their own little ones helping.

Happy Birthday, TJ

It had been a long week.
For the past seven days
I’d spent the majority of my time
drugged
slightly inverted in a hospital bed
lying on my left side
trying in vain to stop labor.
Somewhere around 3:00 on the 21st
The nurses decided they weren’t going to stop it.
Like it or not
after only 27 wks and 3 days
the baby was coming.
They moved me to a labor room.
I say room loosely
as it was really just an ‘area’ bordered with red curtains.
Did I mention I was alone?
I was.
All by myself
with some grouchy nurses who checked in once in awhile.
Lying flat on my back strapped to a fetal monitor.
Later that evening
the contractions quit registering on the monitor
So the lovely nurses told me I was no longer having them.
Except, I could still feel them.
and they were hurting!
“It’s just all in your head” they told me.
And so began a lifelong general mistrust for the medical profession.
Around 11 o’clock
I got brave and moved the stupid belt myself
and wouldn’t you know it
it showed I was having contractions again.
And they said, “This baby is comin’!”
I probably smarted off, “I told you!!”
I’m pretty sure I bruised the arms of two of those nurses.
Not because I punched them, mind you,
but because they were kind enough to let me hold on.
And I was squeezing pretty tight.
They told me to wait - Dr Jain was coming.
(that was another pattern that seemed to develop -
waiting for the doctor to have the baby…)
She finally walked in the door
looked me in the eyes
and said, “Now, you can push.”
At 12:02am, April 22nd, 1987
a scrawny little 2 lb 15 oz boy entered the world.
Peeing.
And I was smitten.

We’ve always known God has special plans for this one.
Still aren’t sure what all those plans are
But His hand is clearly on him.
~
We share a love for movies
and a general dislike for musicals.
And food.
(We love food, we don’t dislike it - in case there’s any confusion.)
He’s generous
He’s a good friend
He’s smart
He’s an excellent mechanic
And plumber
He laughs heartily
He loves babies

and they love him
He’s thoughtful
And he’s my favorite 21 year old in the whole world!
I love you, T.
Happy Birthday!!

coming soon to a mailbox near you...

Whew

they're in the mail!

I haven't been so relieved to finish a project

in a long time.

No

that's not quite true;

I was pretty darn relieved when I finally

got those blasted sleeves in the wedding dress last Saturday

~

when she saw them

she knew

those were the sleeves she wanted

very Galadrielish

if you're a LOTR's fan

(which I'm not! But I've been subjected to it enough

to have learned a thing or two...)

I said, "Sure I can do that."

Cause

you know

I can do anything

and she's my daughter and it's what she wants.....

(and I had no clue how tricky they would be to put in!)

grrr

Those sleeves were a bugger!

~

Tyler asked me what else had to be done.

I told him I was taking the rest of the day off

from wedding work!
~

Thanks, everyone, for pitching in

and helping with the invitations.

We make a pretty good team!

blech

I just finished licking 173 envelopes

I think my tongue is swollen

~

we still have a doz or so more invites to do

but we ran out of the vellum

seems our printer

has developed quite an appetite

for vellum

~

I never intended to stay up so late

but I really wanted to finish the job....

I will be happy to get these babies in the mail!

great big thanks

to Eva & Susie for doing the bulk of the addressing for us!

our entire family is gifted with lousy handwriting;

I cheated

the envelopes I addressed, I did on the computer.

I hope that isn't a major faux pas

cause they really do look so much nicer

than if I'd done them by hand!

~

I've been hungry for a few hours

but we had a silly little

no-food-anywhere-near-the-invitations policy

so I couldn't eat

well

that

and I didn't want to take the time to stop....

but now

I'm going to have a piece of honey toast

and crawl into bed

and tomorrow

make that later today

I'll get to mark something else off the list

finally fun

People keep asking,

"Aren't ya'll having so much fun?"

and when they say 'fun'

their nose crinkles up & their voice get higher.

NO

actually

as a matter a fact

we are not having fun!

this is supposed to be FUN??

what part?

but

finally

today

we actually had some fun

with the wedding planning

~

It's been a very productive day.

We completely re-did our Unforgettables' order

(you have to do that when you change wedding locations...)

and even had enough money to get the punch fountains

that Lana really was hoping to have.

(yes, fountains)

We got all of the serving pieces figured out

and most of them ordered or purchased.

We got the invitations printed and cut.

~

Then

we went to Sam's a bought the pool!

We came home to find Lily napping.

Papa said she was a good girl the whole time!

Now, the guys are diggin' away

while Jeremiah makes use of the 'pool'

we currently have

(formerly the chicken brooder - soon to be the goat waterer)

meanwhile
Josiah is sawing logs

Lily is still being a good girl
but
she won't be still!

and
Lana is getting ready for her final concert of the semester

all in all
a good day
and it's not even over yet
Thank-you, Lord!

strawberry girl

just in case there's any confusion

as to what happened to all the strawberries yesterday...

Lily ate them.

And she's not a bit shy about it!
okay

so she didn't eat all of them

but I bet she ate about a half a pound!!

That girl loves strawberries!

And we sure love that girl!!

pancakes

pancakes for dinner

YUM!!

We haven't had pancakes in almost a year

cause

you know

half of the batter

is

milk

~

Somehow

we have an excess of milk.

That doesn't happen real often around here;

usually

we're rationing it.

Josiah is in heaven!

~

I decided to make pancakes for lunch

only

to found out around 11:45

that we had no syrup!

The boys had been so looking forward to pancakes

and I'd already had the flour soaking

so I figured we'd just have them for dinner.

Lana picked up syrup

and

since it was dinner, not lunch,

I had her get some strawberries and cream, too.

(Tyler always says it feels almost like cheating

like

we're having dessert for dinner)

Then

I had Tyler get more strawberries on his way home

cause when I went to get them out of the fridge

there were only SIX left!

~

I suppose

it could have something to do with how long it's been,

but

we all agreed

they were some of the best pancakes we've had

(even though I did forget the eggs...)

loss of words

yet another sign that my baby girl is all growed up

She tossed her words.

all of them

~

One year for language

the kids (Tj & Lana) had to read from a book list

and

make index cards

of every word they came across in their reading

that they didn't know.

Lana, being the 'wordy' one,

took the assignment much more seriously than her brother;

her box of words was precious.

Once, some little person got into her box

and she ended up in tears

because

someone had 'spilled her words'.

(I'm ashamed to admit it, but the rest of us thought it was rather funny.

Not the mess, mind you, but

words

all over the floor.... guess you had to be there)

~

yesterday

she

very reluctantly

threw her words in the trash.

Now

she has nothing left

but an empty box

and

a couple thousand rarely-used words

rolling around in her head.

~

I love you, Baby Girl!