Meeting a Challenge...

Aubrey is really showing herself as a leader these days.

I am so proud of the way she jumps into a challenge and meets it head on.

Way to go, Aubs!

4 Days Until the Big Wedding Event

Saying Goodbye...

Yesterday, we said goodbye to our church family.
It was very difficult and emotional.
A few of our closest friends were very difficult to say good bye to.

Just now, literally moments ago, we had to say goodbye to Nate.
Our little sunshine guy.

Saying goodbye is never easy...

...even when you know that God has a great and amazing plan in store for your family.

Bike Accident...

Men Drivers!

5 Days Until the Big Wedding Event

Countdown...

My back is hurting so bad today.

We (Which translates to I)  have been packing like crazy and now I am feeling claustraphobic due to my husband not moving these boxes out to the garage yet.

My kitchen is done except for a few items I absolutely need to cook with while we are still here.  My living room is 90% done.  My family room is 90 % done.  We haven't touched the office area.  The girls are sllllooooowwwlllyy working on their bedrooms.  I have done Brysen's room.  The babies are all packed and ready to go on Monday or Tuesday.  I have begun in our bedroom, but that is a huge job.  Oh and the garage has been sorted.  We have a huge pile of some really nice stuff to sell... if I can find a day to have a yard sale. 

That may be a really big IF........

Don't forget... we leave in a couple of days for our oldest daughter's wedding.

Crazy... That is the only way to explain my life right now.

6 Days Until the Big Wedding Event

Miranda...

Miranda leading a group at vbs...

Miranda is one of those amazing people who is good at so many things.

She plays the guitar like a pro.

She loves Jesus with her whole heart.

She is great with kids.

She is one of those people who can think of a fun activity on the fly...

and the kids love her for it.

It doesn't matter if those kids are her younger siblings or kids at church...

They just love her.

So do I!

7 Days Until the Big Wedding Event

Full...

Full of mischief and adventure...

Full of laughter and jokes...

Full of hugs and kisses...

Sometimes he's just full of it!

8 Days Until the Big Wedding Event

Pure Fun...

That's Brysen.

Laying on top of a balloon.

Why?

He was trying to pop the balloon.

Effective?

Not really.

Fun?

Oh yeah!

With the help of a stick he finally managed to pop that balloon.

The reward?

Fun!

Pure fun.

9 Days Until the Big Wedding Event

Smiling...

Is there anything that warms a parents heart like a big old smile on your child's face?

I love the joy on Ari's face.  She is having so much fun... with a stick!

It reminds me to keep things simple.  They don't need (or really want)  all of those expensive toys and gadgets.  Now, don't get me wrong.  We have a lot of toys around this place.  However, they have more fun with buckets, shovels and dirt than anything else!

Keep smiling, sweetie...

It makes mama's heart sing!

10 Days Until the Big Wedding Event

To a Tee...

Yes...

That is my second born...

Playing the crazy river woman at vbs.

It is funny how many people told me that the part fit her perfectly!

Ha ha...

She did a great job.

...and the part really did fit her to a tee.

Also, I just wanted to say that someone commented recently that they hope they are as excited as I am about their daughters wedding when the time comes...

I hope so too!  I have heard so many horror stories about families that just can't stomach their childs intended.  We are so blessed that we have loved him as long as Cadi has... even longer really!

11 Days Until the Big Wedding Event!

Family Visit...

We had family stop in for a quick visit last night.

It was so nice to stop packing for a bit and just visit.

They left this morning on their way back to California.

..... now I think I don't have any excuses not to pack........

WAIT!  Does the lawn need to be mowed?!


12 Days Until The Big Wedding Event...

Countdown...

13 Days until the big wedding event...

Never Ending Hole...

 Aubrey and friends

... checking out the never ending hole in the tree trunk.

With all of the packing we are having to do... double time... it is nice to see the kids get to just hang out and be kids.  I am sure that when this move is over we will be so tired!  In fact, I am already tired... but it is a good tired.

13 days until the big wedding event...

No Pressure...

My beloveds...

Every single day that passes means we are a day closer to the BIG EVENT!!!

I am starting to bubble over with excitement and joy...

I know, I know...

I should be talking about these two...

but...

I am really excited for US!

We are the ones who are benefitting from this union...

Not only do we get to see our oldest daughter step into a new life...

but we get to officially call Galen our son!

(not that he isn't already, but it will be official... have I said all of this before?  Yes?  Well, I mean it!)

This is so exciting.

I was looking through pictures this morning and was pleasantly surprised at how much of our lives have entertwined with Galen and his family.

My other daughters are doomed...

When they bring home a young man for us to "check out"...

he will have a lot to live up to!

...... but, no pressure.....

14 Days Until the Big Event...

Moving...

Yes, it is true!

We are moving at the end of the month...

We are very excited to get back to the farm...

The kids are jumping for joy!

Now, we just have to pack and pack and pack and............

Summer Days...

Our church just finished up our yearly vacation Bible school (vbs).

The kids had a blast... the wind blew, it sprinkled... and fun was had by all.

They made crafts, sang songs, danced around, learned Bible stories, at yummy food, played games... and so much more!

I hope you are all enjoying your summer vacation as much as we are.

By the way...

15 days until the big event!

Yesterday..

So tired today.  We had a marathon garage cleaning session yesterday... as in, we were out there for 9 hours going through everything... we ended up taking 3 truck loads to the dump.

After that long day, I took 5 of the kids to vbs where they did their thing and I photographed the event.  When I got home, I could hardly see straight... I gladly fell into my bed where I once again couldn't fall asleep right away, but I did manage that within about an hour.

When Brysen woke my up this morning... I told you I was tired... I could hardly open my eyes.  Maybe I will get a nap later... Oh, who's kidding... I can't stand naps! 

Never gonna happen.........

16 days until the big event!

Almost Here...

17 days...

A Bright Spot...

How could you not fall in love with this little face?

He is just a bright spot in an already bright day...

Brysen...

My tough boy...

Keeping it Real...

I pulled up this picture...

To remind me that not all days are filled with

screaming

fighting

pushing

pinching

biting

kicking

fits

crying

(no, I'm not talking about me... mostly)

Some days are full of

smiles

hugs

kisses

helping

sharing

laughing

jumping

running

playing

The best part of all is that every day is full of...

LOVING

A Dream...

I have a dream...

That this lovely young lady will have a scab free face in 3 weeks...

At least I can dream...

Bubble Wrap...

Awwww...

Those crazy, fun filled days when you spent the entire day playing in your bathing suit.

Days when there was no limit to the amount of fun that you could have.

Days when your imagination was the only thing holding you back...

ummmmmm....

Is she swinging with only one hand?

Like...

REALLY high?

And this is Ari, right?

The one who always falls and trips and breaks and bumps...

The one who will be a flower girl in her sisters wedding in just 3 small weeks!?

Is that not one bloody nose...

...but her 3rd...

just today!

I hope this all heals up before the wedding...

As I finished this post, did she just run

full force

into the back fence

and now have 3 very distinct scrapes down her forehead?

And...

does she have another scrape under her eye?

And a bruise on her forehead?

Are her knees now bleeding?

Deep breath

Deep breath

meditation

prayer

Lots and lots of PRAYER...

We may have to wrap her in bubble wrap for the next 3 weeks!

Some Things Never Change...

Do you remember the good old days when a game of "leap frog" (sort of) filled an hour of your day?

You could play over and over...

the fun never ended...

It's good to know that some things never change...

A Lesson From Your Kids...

Summer days......

I know, I know...

I've been hearing it from all kinds of people.

Not just the ones who live in my own neck of the woods...

This is a strange summer.

Burning hot for some...

Freezing for others...

I will tell you that we are finally getting a few days that are at least warm enough to put on shorts...

We've even had a couple where the kids were able to play in the sprinklers.

I wouldn't think of venturing out to the lake right now, though...

Yikes!

That makes me shiver just to think about it!

Around our house, summer is a lazy time.

Don't get me wrong.

We stay busy.

We are a large family.

I don't know any of those who don't stay busy.

Wrangling the schedules of 11 people is difficult, to say the least.

(Not to mention helping to plan a wedding that is 3 weeks away.)

What I do mean, is we try to play it cool.

We don't schedule a lot of extra activities.

We try to get outside and let the kids run and play.

We want them to spend time in the sun and look forward to their beds at night.

Sometimes that means the house gets a little dirty...

(Be quiet husband... I know, I am a clean freak.)

My house does get cluttery.  I can hold on to "stuff"...

If I'm not careful it accumulates and WOW... that can feel really messy to me.

I love days like the one where I captured this photo of Lily...

She had been playing in the sprinklers, swinging on the swings, jumping on the trampoline...

and then she decided to just lay down and check out the

big. white. fluffy. clouds.

that were gently floating by.  She lay like that for about 20 minutes.

We all need to stop and watch the clouds go by sometimes...

I know I do.

In the end... those are the moments we really cherish.

It isn't the doing, doing, doing that are the special times.

It is nice to learn a lesson from your kids.

Superboy...

Is it possible to keep up with a 4 year old boy?

Not completely...

Not with a camera...

He is here, there and everywhere.

He is faster than a speeding a bullet...

Able to leap tall buildings in a single bound...

He truly is Superboy!

He is full of life!

And I love him...

Fairy Princess...

Once upon a time...

There was a fairy princess...

Who was getting older...

She knew what she liked and wasn't afraid to ask for it.

"Soda Pop Cake, Please."

She knew what type of clothes she liked and she wore them well!

She loved to read and her taste in reading was getting older and more difficult.

She had many family members who loved her and showered her with gifts!

She was overjoyed and thankful for each one!

But deep, deep down...

She still held on to a little bit of that fairy princess...

and she wasn't afraid to show that side either!

Happy 11th Birthday, Aubrey!

We LOVE every side of your personality!

Aubrey's birthday was last week and Mama was just a little slow posting the photos!

Shame shame, Mama!

Happy Father's Day...

At last, my love has come along

My lonely days are over

And life is like a song

Oh, yeah, at last

The skies above are blue

My heart was wrapped up in clovers

The night I looked at you

I found a dream that I could speak to

A dream that I can call my own

I found a thrill to rest my cheek to

A thrill that I have never known

Oh, yeah when you smile, you smile

Oh, and then the spell was cast

And here we are in heaven

For you are mine

At last

 

Happy Father's Day!

Just Living Life...

That is me... with most of my peeps...Except my Reno peeps....

But I am hoping to get some really cool pics...

4 tiny little weeks from today...

When my daughter...

ahem...

marries my... (glad to call him) son.

We are finally experiencing some warm weather around here.  Today will be in the 80's!  The sky is amazingly blue.  My kids are soaking up the sun!

We have been so busy!  The good kind of busy, though.  We have been getting things around the old homestead ship shape for the summer season.  It really needed it, too.  After getting back from visiting my daughter, I was just so exhausted that I didn't do much for over a week.  Finally... finally, I felt like getting off of my booty and getting some things ship shape.

We have been running around town getting our wedding ensembles together.  My mother in law is making the dresses and they came for what we all thought was going to be a wonderful time of visiting and finalizing the dresses.......

That isn't what happened!   I felt so sorry for her.  She worked her fingers to the bone trying to make that darned pattern work... finally she came up with a solution, but it meant taking everything home and almost starting from scratch.  Now, we are expecting the dresses in the mail so we can fit them and return them for finishing.

We took the kids to Toy Story 3 last night.  Wow!  I really liked it.  The kids did too.  We had such a good time.  It was later when we got home, though... so off to bed for hubby.  I was a good wife and fed him a bowl of cereal before he went to bed... tee hee hee.

They did the restructuring of their routes on hubbys job... so he starts his "new" route on monday.  He is excited about  it.  He thinks he got a pretty good one.  I know him... and he can make something out of nothing... so it doesn't worry me at all.  He is such a good provider.

My brother was in the hospital over the last couple of days.  Pnuemonia, I guess.  He is still feeling pretty rough, but he is back home... which is now in Mountain Home, Arkansas.  He made the move about two weeks ago... which is, I'm sure, part of the reason he ended up so sick.  He is very excited to have the move over.

So...

That leaves out about ten thousand things that we have done in the last week.  However, it lets you know that I haven't just abandoned you.  I have just been living life......

Nothing Better...

The hubs and me...

Long time love... there is nothing better!

Hallelujah!

I promise that pictures will return tomorrow.

I just have been fighting to regain my footing around here.

I was only gone for 5 days, but it has taken me over a week to get my groove back.

I am feeling more like my old self now, though.

Hallelujah for that!

Get Busy...

So busy...

Catching up on all of the stuff I chose not to do while the weather was really yucky and my wonderful inlaws were in town.

Now, I need to get busy...

Aubrey...

Today is Aubrey's 11th birthday!!!!!

Happy Birthday, beloved!!!!!!!!

A Hard Combination...

That's Galen in the photo...

He may or may not be getting a slight bloggish big head...

you know...

now that he is a superstar on this blog...

 he is making all kinds of demands...

like...

special drinks, flowers everywhere, people to cook and clean for him...

and blogs that name him specifically EVERY SINGLE DAY!!!

Now, before you all freak out and think that my soon to be son in law is going to be offended...

Let me tell you that this young man knows the secret...

I only tease the ones I love!

That is Galen's Dad, David...

He was helping Galen move some really heavy furniture into their apartment.

Beautiful stuff!

Furniture...

A brand new bedroom set...

ummmmmm....

I don't have one of those!

Hey hubs...

What's the deal?  Where is my new bedrom set?

All I have to say about that is...

Galen!  I got to sleep on that bed before you!!  Ha Ha!

Galen is proving to be a very hardworking young man!

I love that.  That makes me feel that my daughter will be okay.  She is a hard worker too... but there is something really special when you know that the young man your daughter chooses is one of those guys that sees how special she is... just the way you see it... and he wants to take care of her and cherish her and he has loved her for what seems like eons... so, I can rest in the knowledge that they have an amazing future ahead of them.

I had so much fun hanging out with Galen...

Yes, the daughter was there too...

but she did work a lot. 

So, the boy... sorry Galen, but for now that is your name around here... it will change in 5 weeks... the boy and I spent a lot of time together and I realized something that I think I knew even when he was about 3...

I REALLY like him!

He is a perfect fit with this family.

He teases me as much as I tease him.

(and that is hard to do!)

He loves my daughter almost as much as I do.

(We can argue about that later Galen!)

He smiles and laughs and makes my daughter an even better person than I already know she is.

He is one of us....

...and that is a hard combination to crack!