Morning Nature Walk

We took advantage of the beautiful fall weather and had a picnic breakfast at a local park. After our tummies were full we took a nature walk around the lovely trail of wildflowers.

The walk was as beautiful as the weather. There is something so wonderful about admiring God's creations with my children. It is fun and exciting to see His work.

Before School

Before school every morning our home is a flurry of activity. Everyone has his or her own chores to do and we work as a team to keep the house in somewhat of a clean state.They are also training to take care of the keeping of their future homes. I love the buzz of activity and the happy singing and laughing that goes along with it.

Psalm 8

O Lord our Lord, how excellent is thy name in all the earth! who has set thy glory above the heavens. Out of the mouth of babes and sucklings has thou ordained strength because of thine enemies, that thou mightest still the enemy and the avenger. When I consider thy heavens, the work of thy fingers, the moon and the stars,k which thou has ordained; what is man, that thou art mindful of him? and the son of man, that thou visitest him? For thou has made him a little lower than the angels, and has crowned him with glory and honour. Thou madest him to have dominion over the works of thy hands; thou has put all things under his feet: all sheep and oxen, yea, and the beasts of the field; the fowl of the air, and the fish of the sea, and whatsoever passeth through the paths of the seas. O Lord our Lord, how excellent is thy name in all the earth!

Helping Dad Grill

Our oldest son is his father's right hand. He is always eager to learn something new. Now Dad has introduced him to the grill. He has an interest in cooking so this was an exciting day for him. He did a good job.

Camping

While the girls were having a slumber party, the guys were camping.  All it takes is a fire, some good food, and some good company. 

A game of cards and good conversation create many happy memories between father and son.

An early morning breakfast and they are ready to head home.

Brotherly Love

Ten years separate my two guys, but they do not slow down the love. My oldest son waited 7 years for a brother.

 He is gentle with him and patient as well. My little guy loves him and wants to do everything that he does. He also loves to wrestle with his big brother. He definitely treats him different from the girls. He wants to play rough with his big brother.

I am truly blessed to have two very fine boys growing into Godly men.

Our Sweet Baby Boy

Our baby is so sweet and full of fun.

 He is also full of surprises. Our curious baby boy decided to sample all of the apples at one time. He took a bite out of every single one of them and lined them up on the table. When I found him, he had a big smile. He had accomplished so much. I had to smile too. He had accomplished quite a bit in a very short time. 

Fair Parade

We spent a wonderful afternoon in our little town watching the Fair Parade. This is an annual event where many people in our county show up.  I am thankful for our little town and that we can still enjoy some of the simple things.

These two are still best friends and were glad to see each other after being apart the night before.

Anxiously waiting for the parade to start.

Friday Night Fun

While the guys camped the girls had a fun night.

We had lots of good things to eat including a special chocolate tray.

We also had a spend-the-night party in the living room. Of course if there is a mattress in the floor, it must be jumped on.

We did have one guy to protect the house.

We ended the night with movies, facials, and pedicures.  We had lots and lots of fun but we were really happy to see our guys the next day.

Waiting

Once upon a time a little girl saved up her money, ordered her doll online, and then she waited.  She waited and she waited for what seemed like a long time.  She waited 6 whole days but it finally arrived... and it had her name on it. 

I think it was worth the wait!

First Day of School

We started school again after a nice, long summer. The children have been ready to start for a few weeks now.  After a lot of prayer and seeking God's direction I was ready to go.  As always, God proves to be faithful.  The changes that we have been made definitely made the day much smoother. Everyone is enjoying learning.  I am blessed to be able to teach my children at home.  God is good to us.

Strawberry Flips

From time to time the children like to look at this old cookbook.

It has many delicious looking recipes and we have tried a few. One of them is raspberry flips. We have changed it to strawberry flips but they are still wonderful. We serve them in our special birthday glasses that Maw-maw picked up at an estate sale. They are a tasty tradition.

The recipe for the strawberry flips is two 10 ounce packages of frozen strawberries thawed, one quart of vanilla ice cream, and three cups of cold milk. Add the strawberries to half of the ice cream and beat smooth. Add milk and blend. Pour into chilled glasses adn top with a scoop of the remaining ice cream. 

Happy Birthday Gracie!

Our sweet little Gracie is 8 now. She could hardly wait for everyone to get up to open her gifts.

For lunch we decorated the dining area in blue (her favorite color) and had a party.  She picked cheeseburgers, homemade fries,strawberry flips, and birthday cake. I think we all enjoyed her selection.

The day she was born was such a wonderful day. Her birth was very easy, much like she is easy going (for the most part). She is such an important part of our family with her sweet giggle and sense of humor and lots of questions.  We love you Gracie!

Love

He loves music...making it and listening to it.

Friendship

My friend and I have maintained our friendship since we were both 12 years old.  Our children now are great friends and it is exciting to see that friendship enter into another generation.  True friends are truely blessings from God.