material math

(my favorite kind of math!)

+

=

and

sew fun!

no gifts for Mother's Day

I don't think I'll be getting any gifts for Mother's Day

for the next ten years or so.

Which is just fine by me.

Except,

I do still need that tortilla warmer....
~

Everyone

(especially Tyler!)

was so ridiculously generous.

~

Luke & Lana gave me a stacking cooling rack.

I may have coveted hers

I definitely drooled over it;

they got some of the greatest kitchen gadgets & goodies!

~

Lily & Lexi

(with a whole lotta help from Papa)

gave me an air conditioner.

It should be able to cool off the living room

as well as the dining room

and probably even the kitchen, too,

most of the time.

I can't tell you how nice it will be to not sweat

while nursing a baby!

~

The little boys bought some heavy duty extension cords

from The Papa Store

so we can actually use the A/C.

They also gave me an easy-clean hummingbird feeder

(I really like that easy-clean part!)

When we first began practicing for sitting in church,

we used a hummingbird feeder.

Weird, I know

but effective.

We sat for fairly long periods of time

on either the swing or the picninc table

- still & silent -

so that the hummingbirds would come.

~

The big boys gave me a portable hard drive

so we can safely store all of our pictures.

About 5 or 6 years ago

our computer fried

- literally -

smoke was pouring out of it!

We lost about 2 years of pictures

because we hadn't backed them up.

Everything we own is replaceable

except our photos.

~

TJ installed a new faucet for me in the bathroom.

Any time the old faucet was used

while water was also being used elsewhere

it leaked.

As in

flush the toilet then wash your hands

=

leaky faucet.

Not a big deal for the big people.

We make adjustments.

But the little people?

The little people don't even notice it's leaking.

So

water would run out of the faucet

filling up the right front corner of the counter-top

then just spill onto the floor.

Ugh!!!

no more water leaking

=

happy momma

~

Of course, there was also

the usual flowers

although, this year's were purchased, not hand-picked

but still quite lovely.

And three delicious meals.

and

coffee.

So

you see

I really don't need any gifts for Mother's Day

again

for quite some time.

~

Thank-you all!!

I love you

to the moon

and

back

and

all the way to Uncle Scott & Aunt Jackie's house

a thousand times

note to self

When you plan to eat chips and salsa

make sure

the chips

get on the list

~

maybe the new Dollar & More will make it, after all

must create something

When I finished the quilts Saturday

(Happy Birthday, Lana & Josiah!)
I figured that'd be it for awhile
but already
I am itchin' to sew
~
I have got to get me a fabric stash somehow;

never mind I have nowhere to stash it...

kidspeak

Jeremiah:

"When Lana has her baby

I'm going to be a grandbrother."

makes more sense than 'uncle'

~

Just a bit ago

as we were cleaning up before Papa comes home,

Lily was happily using her little whisk broom & dustpan

(stark naked, except for too-small shoes;

but that's beside the point)

and she said

"I a good daughter."

(I didn't know she knew that word)

Yes, Baby, you are!

another pretty princess

I just couldn't decide which picture I liked best.....
~
I can't believe we have had this precious angel baby
for over 3 months already.

We are so blessed!

pretty princess

Papa and Princess LilyPie are off

to Princess Day

at Chick-fil-A.

As girly as she is

she is not overly fond of bows in her hair

but she loved her ribbon bracelet.

Silly Lily

~

Thanks, Papa for special times!

as I type...

My sis-in-law

(who needs to start a blog so I can keep up with everyone)

is in labor!

She's had 2 c-sections

but after much prayer and research

they decided on a home-birth.

I am so excited
and wish I were there!

I suppose

I should admit I'm slightly envious;

I would have liked to go through labor one more time.

Crazy

I know

~

love and prayers

~

eta:

Mom and baby boy are doing well

following a 16 hour labor and waterbirth

I can hardly wait for all the details

(hint hint :-)

gone batty

Um.

that

is

a lot

of batting.

40 lovely yards of Warm & White cotton batting.

and its mine

all mine.

~

Not having a Joanne's anymore

I don't have access to decently priced quilt batting.

It just goes against every frugal bone in my body

to pay more for something than I have to;

sometimes

a girl has to buy in bulk.

This is some serious bulk!

~

thanks, Love

can you say 'multi-task'?

is this normal?

I am currently listening
to multiple children
screaming
"It's my turn!"
Loudly
~
It seems
there aren't enough vacuum cleaners
to go around.

the potty princess

complete with self-applied eye make-up

you go girl

post...or else

The family is about to disown me;
I haven't posted in a week
and that is clearly unacceptable.
I have been quite busy
but that doesn't seem to be
an adequate excuse for such a long absence.

we got to see the little momma
and her very loving, attentive hubby
three times this week!

Happy 22nd Birthday, T
I love you so much!
Which, of course, you already knew

what with the scrumptious cheesecake and all :-)

my precious doll baby

(we are wondering - will you keep these blue eyes?)

I love to peek in on snuggling sweeties.

Brandon,
thanks for being such a super Bub!!


You sure can light up a room, My Love
Happy Birthday!

The little boys made peanut butter cookies for Papa

(excellent job, Josiah!)

of course

Lily had to help.

That girl is such a servant!

Usually, when she helps make cookies

they tend to disappear off the cookie sheet.

not this time, though

look who can play with toys now

too big!

and tonight

for dinner

a picnic on the bridge

I'm not the sharpest tool in the shed

I tend to get a little distracted when I'm on the phone.

(waiting while family rolls eyes)

Okay

real distracted.

I do dumb things

like

put diapers in the freezer instead of the trashcan

and throw paychecks away.

That sort of thing.
~

I was sewing

(turns out - I prefer stippling over straight-line quilting!)

and talking on the phone with Lana

when I noticed the house was awfully quiet

and I hadn't seen Lily in a few (many?) minutes.

So I went looking.

Being a tiny house

it didn't take long to find her.

I saw a jar of peanut butter outside the bathroom door.

I peeked in.

"Oh, she's cleaning herself up.

She helped herself to some peanut butter."

I said into the phone as I walked out.

A minute later I walked back to the bathroom

where Lily was happily continuing her very wet cleanup job.

And I realized.

She can't reach the sink

and

there is no water in the tub.

EEWWWW

it's official, I think

I think

that

after about 18 years

give or take

I am finally

a

real

seamstress

I regularly use the little thread-cutter.

Surely that makes it official?

~

Lest this new title go to my head

we are also

- the entire family -

officially

hicks.

We went to the

Spinach Festival.

It can't get much more hick than that.

~

and now

the littlest hick & I

are off to sew

because 11:30

is just way to early to go to bed.

What are we sewing?

'Stripes for Josiah'

a quilt

for the soon-to-be-four-year-old

who requested

- many times -

a quilt for his birthday.

A sewed one, not a bought one;

and

he can tell the difference!

big news - or not

Lily

went poop on the toilet!!

~

Lucky for you all

the guys took my camera with them

to the Skillet concert

so

no pictures...

brilliant

I hate to brag
but
I have come up with something brilliant
if I do say so myself

There is no wrong way

to wear this dress!

Isn't that so fun??

I tickle myself far too easily

~

for ridiculously detailed instructions for this dress, click here

I think

it would be a good idea

if

next year

the kids

stay at Gramma & Grampa's house

after Easter

for a day or so

my babies

sweet sisters

best buds

wanna play 'locate Lexi'?
my happy girl

~
The cute couple came to Church with us this morning
~
We had a wonderful Easter
full of
wonder
worship
gratitude
celebration
fun at Gramma & Grampa's
and
way too much sugar
~
HE is risen


He is risen indeed


Hallelujah

a little late-night chat

pure sweetness!

(she doesn't say much after the first minute,
but I don't know how to shorten the video)

got worms?

well

we do!

woohoo

once in a blue moon

Luke and Lana came and woke us up this morning
so we could celebrate Birkat Hachamah with them.

I knew they were coming
but it was a surprise for everyone else.
(well, I did sort of give Tyler a heads-up so he wouldn't
go roaming the house in the morning
in nothing but his skivvies - or less)

I was a little afraid they might try to wake us up with a shofar
but I suppose Lana forgot Paul has one;
otherwise, she would have surely borrowed it.

So, as the sun was just beginning to rise
my family was getting on the roof.
Except the roof was icy
(in April!)
so they quickly hopped in the Suburban
and headed to the cemetery
for a better view
(I stayed home with the girls)

I am so thankful that Lana made this happen for all of us.
When she told me about it,
I thought it was cool
and I love a reason to celebrate

especially a once every 28 year occasion!

But I just wasn't up for doing any planning;
my plate was already full...
~
Lana,
next time, your daughter and her hubby
can be in charge of Birkat Hachamah

every night

Does it ever get easier?

Every night

it's the same.

"I don't want to!"

"Oh, but you must!"

"But I am so tired."

"That's just too bad."

"I really don't want to."

"Enough already!"

"Oh, fine!

have it your way."

~

sigh

I can never win

when I argue with myself

this and that

Life has been moving at warp speed lately
and I haven’t managed to record much of it.
~
A few weeks ago the guys built a real bridge.
Tyler thinks it’s romantic;
I think it’s functional.
But I did agree that if one had time to just be for awhile
it might could be romantic.
‘Might could be’
I actually read that recently
so I am not the only one

who uses such an improper phrase.
~
Lily had a birthday last week;
she is the most amazing two-year old.
One of the things she loves to do is dance,
so for one of her gifts
the boys and I dyed playsilks (with koolaid) for her to dance with.
It didn’t take long at all and they turned out beautifully.
I’ve been trying to think of some other little girl

that would need some of these so we could make them again.
So fun.
~
Tyler and the boys tripled the size of our ‘orchard’ yesterday.
Oh
I can hardly wait for all the yummy fruit!
While out there
they pulled off all the itty bitty baby pears.
Over 341 - from one tree.
I’m glad I didn’t have to do it;
I got a lump in my throat just looking at the pile.
Tyler said that
after looking at all that fruit

on that tiny tree
it wasn’t really all that hard to destroy it.

'When you enter the land and plant any kind of fruit tree,
regard its fruit as forbidden.
For three years you are to consider it forbidden; it must not be eaten.'
Isn’t it amazing that God even gives agrarian advice?!
~
I finished the girls’ Easter dresses.
All three of them!
Lana and I were looking at fabric Thursday.
We were talking about the girls’ dresses
and I told her I was wanting to make a 5 minute skirt for myself, also.
She said, “Do I get one, too?”
“Of course. You little Stinker!”
I was going to surprise her.
I’m glad I didn’t though, ‘cause she really wanted a dress instead.
I told her I only had time for a skirt
so she’d have to help me if I was making a whole dress.
~
She came Friday to cut out the pattern and the dress.
TJ came by for a few hours, too.
And
for a little while
it felt just like old times;
Lana and I making a huge mess creating something
(with me stopping often to nurse a baby…)
TJ taking care of some vehicle thing
and everyone else working and playing all around.
Sometimes
I miss old times.

~
Things won’t be slowing down any this week;
we’ve got church every single night.
Being someone who does not thrive on busyness
- especially when that busyness requires leaving the house -
I’ve not been real thrilled.
I am choosing to change my attitude.
I hope I can remember that come mid-week...

come again?!

There is a downside to kissing owwies.

You'd think I would have discovered this by now.

~

Lily is diaperless;

she has a bit of a rash.

Since it's just the girls at home

she's airing out.

She didn't respond immediately when I told her

to put my camera back on the desk

so she got a little swat.

She frowned then said,

"My bottom hurts.

Kiss

my

bottom"

right now

I’m nursing the baby and she is drifting off to peaceful sleep.
I’d like to keep holding her
she’s snuggling so sweetly
but I think she’ll actually lay down for this nap,

so I best take advantage of it.

Lily and Josiah are on the couch
her reading Henry and Mudge, while he reads Putter & Tabby.
A load of laundry - colors - waiting to be folded
separates them.
Lily is wearing fuchsia pants and shoes
one red, one pink, both for the right foot.
No shirt.

In mismatched jammies
Jeremiah sits opposite me in the heirloom rocker,
leaning against the quilt, also reading Putter and Tabby.

Brandon is out with Bernie.
He chewed through the rope holding the gate shut.
(Bernie, not Brandon)

Tony is at the church

helping to unload the chairs for the new building
which is almost ready.
He’ll need to stop at the co-op on the way home

to buy some chain for the gate.
~
It’s not picture perfect

but it’s wonderfully pleasant.
Soon we’ll be engulfed in the chaos
that comes with a houseful of children and dogs
but I am enjoying this moment.
Right now.
And

I am happy.

look who joined our farm

Monday
I called Tyler.
"Guess what the neighbors just got?!
A Great Pyrenees!"
"Cool," he said.
"Well, I'm glad you think it's cool;
it made me cry." I responded.
(lovingly - of course)
See
we have wanted a Pyr for a couple of years.
Tony and I especially,
but Tyler was completely on board also
after a visit to an Ozark farm where he saw a duo in action.
When I told Lana about it
she said,
"It's almost as if they read your private journal
and everything you want
they get."

They moved here a year and a half after we did
but they have managed to stay several steps ahead of us
farm-wise
the entire time.
Of course, their family unit
consists of 4 adults
(his parents live with them)
3 incomes
and 2 public-schooled children
whereas
we have added 2 babies
and lost two able-bodied adults
and
paid off the place
(on one income, while home-schooling)
in the time that we've lived here.

They are very nice people
and they've been quite generous with us,
but I'd be lying if I said I wasn't a bit envious,
'cause I have been many times.
Tyler is quick to remind me of the above.
But I am not very patient....
~
Meet Bernie

it was raining, his fur will fluff out a ton when he's dry

~
Those same neighbors came over Tuesday evening
to ask if we wanted a Great Pyrenees.
Her parents raise them
(they are quite expensive!)
they also rescue Pyrs.
(not terribly expensive at all)
They had recently acquired Rick (the neighbor's) and Bernie.
Once Penny assured us that Bernie would be perfectly happy
in the goat field
but would easily adjust to guarding our whole property
once it is properly fenced (several years off....)
of course, we said, "yes!!"

When Penny told her folks, "They have eight kids....."

they waived the adoption fees and just gave us the dog!

Thank you, Lord, for giving us all of our needs
and so many of our wants

someday, Chacho... you will wear stretchy pants...

I

think

I'm going

to

die

!!

As I turned to nurse Lexi this morning,

I groaned, or maybe it was more of a moan,

"I feel like my muscles are completely shredded!"

That's when I figured out why my new exercise DVD

is called the

30 Day Shred.

oh

my

gosh!

OWWWW

~

I like my T-tapp, I really do

but

I have faithfully

- every single day -

either walked or 'tapped'

for five weeks

and I have not dropped a pound.

Now

I'm not exercising to lose weight.

I'm doing it because

first of all - I just need to. I'm not getting any younger...

Secondly

I want my little ones to grow up

thinking exercise is a normal part of life.

I messed up on that with my big kids,

because I wasn't there myself.

Tyler's little incentive program hasn't hurt any either.

But

I do have quite a bit of weight to lose,

so I sort of expected that that would be a benefit

of this new discipline of mine.

Since that wasn't happening

I decided it was time for a change.

~

Oh

I've changed alright;

I am going to die!

Maybe I'll just T-tapp instead, today...

my clever crew

Aren't they clever?!
I would've spent ten times as long
and a ton of energy
unloading by the shovelful

happy happy

It makes me so happy

to look out the window

and see freshly tilled dirt!

Although, this

is more accurately what I see.....

(we decided to keep the garden where we originally put it)

Of course,
I'll be even happier
to see
food
growing out there!

* * *

The tiller always make me think of Tony....

We were pretty broke when we moved out here;

the other house hadn't sold yet

so we were still making payments on both properties

and paying double utilities.

After researching tillers,

we really wanted to buy one with rear tines

but those are the expensive kind...

So,

Tony - 13 years old at the time - bought one for us!

Eventually the house sold and we paid him back.

But

when he bought it

it was a gift, he never expected to be paid back.

I can't use the tiller

without thinking of his love for us

and his generosity towards us.

~

I wanted to do some of the tilling yesterday.

I figured it'd be a twofer;

I could also count it as my exercise for the day.

Silly me

I was remembering my tilling with a front-tine tiller days.

Boy, you really have to manhandle those!

Tilling with this tiller

doesn't even qualify as a workout.

~

Thanks, Tony!

And thank-you, Tyler

for making this year

The Year of the Garden.

I love you