Top Ten ... no more, no less.

Ah yes, we're ever slowly catching up. :o)

Laundry basket not overflowing. Check.

Clothes and stuffage prepared for consignment. Mostly check.

Finances somewhat caught up. Kind of check.

Kids snuggled. Lots. Triple check.

As is typical, our return from vacation has been a whirlwind. However, things have finally settled enough that I allowed myself a few hours to go through our pictures this evening. What fun! We had a wonderful visit filled with family and fun, and other than missing a few key snapshots (like grandparents with their grandkids or all of the cousins together!), we have a nice collection to remember a great week. (Sorry about those missing photos, Grandma and Grandpa ... guess we'll just have to do it again sometime!!)

Here follows my top ten photos for the week ... the other 60ish or so (selected from the multiple hundreds that were taken) will show up in various forms in upcoming days ...

After many, many hours in a carseat, Matthew loved exploring Grandma and Grandpa's grass!

And he finally warmed up to Great Grandma at our Independence Day family picnic! Peter and Great Grandpa explored tractors together.

We had a fantastic time at SeaBreeze! Thanks Grandma and Grandpa!

Hannah and Peter had a blast with all of the rides designed specially for kids their size. :o)

Hannah thoroughly enjoyed being Post Master at the Children's Museum.

It's always fun watching your team win their game ...And even more so when your cousins can be there with you! :o)

Finally, we enjoyed a long but lovely detour on the Virginia Skyway as we headed home.

And that's ten.

Just enough for tonight.

I am a mommy.

I am a mommy.

A mommy with three wonderfully busy, curious, creative children ...

One of whom is learning to walk ...

And interested in investigating his world ...
And has two older siblings who like creating things ...
Analyzing things ...


Discovering geography with Toby's water ...

("I made the United States, Mommy!!")



Creatively cleaning ...



Making music ...



and flip-flops ...Building "a machine that goes into the woods and kills bad animals and turns them into food" ...or an indoor tent with Daddy ... Reading ...

Learning ...

to write his name!

Designing houses ...Cutting complex shapes ...

and are growing up way too fast!

In the midst of the "ordinary" activities, we've enjoyed fun "summer" activities, like biking ...

Moving dirt ...

and getting wet ...

And then, yes, the little guy again ...

the one with the super sweet personality with a grin to match ... who claps whenever he's excited ...still loves balloons ...

wants to do whatever big brother and sister are doing ...

or be wherever they are ...

and really likes my pantry cupboard.

Yep.

He's the one. :o)

I am a mommy.

And presently in a very busy season of life and enjoying (most) every moment of it.
(Or trying to anyway!)

So, if you wondered if I dropped off the planet, I didn't.

We did drop out of state for a wonderful family vacation which I shall share more about later, but mostly,

I've just been busy enjoying being a mommy.

:o)

This is the day that the Lord has made;
let us rejoice and be glad in it!
Ps. 118:24

And my favorite passage as morning dawns ...

"Be blessed with children ...
as thy days, so shall thy strength be."
Deut. 33:24-25