Wordless Wednesday: Annual Pumpkin Carving

Our annual tradition:)

All drama:) Anything to get a laugh from his siblings!

And this year was soo awesome with the kids doing ALL the work...

and I did the clean up that was pretty simple since we worked outside!!

The girls worked for almost 2 hours on their pumpkin! They finally rested on their tummies.

The 8th Birthday Party:)

A week ago Chris turned 8:)

My fun-loving, opinionated, creative, busy boy! I'm not sure how the weeks, months and years fly by so quickly when sometimes the days feel long and exhausting. But they do:) And we capture the fun, sweet, silly moments and work through the tough ones;)

This year we told Chris we would host a birthday party for him. He's 8 after all and had never had his own friend birthday party:/ We've had other families over to eat his favorite meal and once had a bunch a friends over for a "going away" playdate that happened to be on Chris' birthday, but he was 2 and was too busy shoving a carrot up his nose.... really, gotta love 2 yr olds:)

Chris came up with some wild ideas and I was floored when Brian agreed to do a "paintball party"!! We priced taking the family paintball-ing but decided it would be cheaper and a lot more fun to do it at the house (and get to keep our stuff)!

So the not-so-secret, very excited Dad began purchasing a couple guns and plenty of ammo... some even on clearance:) And the Momma began planning a menu that would be large group, kid-friendly, low-final prep:) And then they came:)

I worried over whether the rain was going to hold off.

 Or whether the younger kids would run through the house.

 Or where everyone was going to sit!

But don't you know if all worked out! It always does! No need to worry....  I just planned for some "what-ifs" and  watched how everything came together:)

How the afternoon before the party, a man we had hired to cut down some trees not only cut the tree down but then sliced the trunk up into perfect log seats (and log barriers for the boys to hide behind).

 Love God's timing on that, especially since the man's equipment sat in our yard for 2 or 3 weeks and he picked THAT Friday afternoon and he went above and beyond what we asked him! There was NO way Brian would have had the time (and probably didn't have the equipment, either) to complete all that cutting!

And the rain.... it came all BEFORE the party:) The sky looked SOO dark about 30 minutes prior that I was soo worried we were going to be washed out. All 34 of us stuck inside together.... maybe watching Lego movies( if it was Chris' choice)!! But we had a gorgeous morning/afternoon:)

I also had my hands full with the cake!! We are still having to be egg-free (with applesauce) and they just don't hold together right!  I was trying to make a BIG cake (not the casserole dish size) so we could have plenty to share with our friends! So I make a huge sheet cake. But God even allowed a busy mom with the "spiritual gift" of icing a cake to come just in time to help me! And Boy, oh, boy did she work some miracles!! You totally wouldn't have guessed the cake broke into many pieces and had to be put back together... kind of Humpty Dumpty  like (yes, it was bad) :/ Totally wouldn't have known looking at the final creation:)

Kids sure didn't know (or didn't care)!

It was so sweet to have a few of our local friends over to celebrate Chris' 8th birthday! It's so cool to see how everything fit right into place... weather, logs, friends who could make it (last minute I should add), the angels that secretly cleaned up our playroom and the meal that was well received and even fed us the next day when family visited...

 the kids had a blast, the parents got to visit and Chris had a great 8th birthday party:)

More pictures from the day:)

funny to watch my little Lydia expertly load a paintball gun

Brian ready to (take down) play with the kids... Daddy definitely earned some "cool" points!!

Chris proudly wearing his paintball welt (just under his eye to the right)

Lydia and Chris- 14 months and one pound a part (my "twins")

Splattered by paintballs hitting the log barriers

The fierce older sister:)

What do you think.....  maybe our Christmas card pic ? LOL!!

And I see many more paintball battles happening... as soon as it warms up a bit:/

Their 1st CampOut

Grammie returned from Nepal safely:) While it was a little lonely not having my mom just a "phone call away" during a challenging season.

I am soo thankful for her heart and her example. For her courage to go alone to a foreign country where she had a few faithful contacts who lovingly took her in; and who wouldn't... my mom is awesome;)

And for her testimony! She said that she shared the news of Dad's death to some of the people that they had worked with a few years ago. People they promised that they would return to work with... and now it was just my mom they saw!!

So after this amazing journey to Nepal and back. After a quick week or so getting "settled" back at home, WHAT DOES my MOM DO?

Heads down to my house

ready to take some excited kids camping... on their 1st CampOut;)

They didn't go far:)... just the carport... LOL!! The weather called for rain and we were wanting a good and restful 1st experience:)

Decked out in their Nepali headgear, they were all smiles as we tucked them in.

Chris was in his usual bed attire... just the essentials:) LOL!!

Since the tent was loaded with girls, he slept in the backseat of the truck and had his own peek hole into the tent to check-in with Grammie.

And amazingly it was a "silent night"!!

As soon as Nate was awake in the morning, he headed outside to check on the campers;) We could hear them starting to move around and maybe a little face or two peeking around the tent!

They had a blast!!!

They did awesome:) We have some campers on our hands!!

I was laughing at myself though. Even though the kids were just outside, with my mom and I could even hear them settling down for the night...

Brian could peek in on them!

 I was still a little nervous!

 I can count with one hand (and a finger) how many times one of my children haven't been under my care overnight. And 3 of those times it was when I was in the hospital birthing a sibling!

Seeing  my "shy" and "momma" kids to want to start becoming more and more independent...

is a joyful (and terrifying) part of motherhood. And this is just the start.... oh, I know, yikes!

Tiny Talk and Catching Fireflies

Said by Nate has he zoomed past me on the bike, "Me getting so big, me tan ride dis bike all by me self."

And does he ride...

zooming around under our paved carport

on his hand-me-down bike with training wheels:)

He loves it!

And sources have informed me that his oldest sister has been working with him on riding a bike without training wheels...

I'm not sure any of us are ready for that... just yet!!

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During our horrible week and a half I told you I was challenged to "have fun" with the kids. We were stuck at home, tons of laundry, baths, cleaning, most of the time with Brian at work or out-of-town, urgh! I wasn't sure when to "have fun" it seemed the tasks of the day demanded all my time.

Finally, I got it! The kids helped with the kid-jobs so I could  tackle the adult-jobs. When we got most of our list done (since housework never gets totally done) we got to "play". The kids made thankful journals to list things they are thankful for. Nate and I filled water balloons so we could have a water balloon battle:)

And one night after dinner and baths we went back outside to catch fireflies;) I loved hearing the kids voices out in the yard!!







  Only one problem with being outside on a summer evening- mosquitoes!  Although it was kind of cool to see the bats flying around... kind of cool, kind of creepy:) Chris sporting a bite on his forehead

Don't you know when Daddy returned home from his trip one of the first things they talked about doing was catching fireflies one night!! Simple and a good reminder to this momma to "make time for simple fun"!

It's your turn:)

Reluctant Jumper & White Boy

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The kids are still playing Uno... daily!!! I really think they ask to play Uno more than they ask to have something to eat!! It's too funny! And very loud when they play! LOL!!

The funniest thing though is Nate running around (trying to snatch cards) and saying "New-no!! New-no!!!"

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"I don't want to be a white boy anymore" he tells me.



And then it all makes sense why he plays in the woods for hours and comes out "covered" in mud....

 every time he goes outside!

Link up what your kids are saying!! Record and remember these sweet memories;)

Tiny Talk Tuesday & Just a Tad Country?

Our new yard is going to require something more than a push mower.... with 2 acres to mow weekly in the summer, a push mower would be more than a work out;) LOL!!

We've been shopping around for mowers for a few months now. The hubby really was eye-ing a nice zero-turn riding machine... I was eye-ing the price tag. Moving and getting settled into a new home is pricey... yikes! So we feel like anyway we can cut back on those initial costs... the better!!

Brian stopped the other day at a garage sale... when he saw this beauty:)

We got a deal and then he took it to a shop to get it fixed up;) It works and works well for almost 80% less than the new one he was wishing for... NICE savings there;)

While his first buy was a deal, the kids are impressed though with Daddy's latest "must have" yard sale purchase...

a trailer for the mower!
Which they call Big Red Fun!!

They had the best time riding in the trailer! Daddy even took them on a little trip to the river in his two yard sale finds;)

And as much as I want to joke Brian about us turning "country" I have to laugh at myself;) The kids are all clamoring to get into the trailer and I'm sitting their shelling pecans from a neighbor's grove;)

Chris later asked the girls why they liked pecans so much in a dessert I had made from our shelled pecans. The girls weren't sure what to tell him and then he suggested, "Is it because of how they were made?"

I questioned Chris, "How were they made, Chris?"

Chris responded, "By God!"

Of course;)

We are often joked by others about "being country"! How secretly offended I have been by being called "country" or living in the country!!

But I am becoming more and more thankful that we live in an area where we can enjoy the outdoors, the simple things and sweet neighbors:)

Maybe I'm starting to enjoy becoming a "just a tad country"!!

Your turn to join in the sharing of your little ones words;)