365Project.2015 | Week 26

Have you realized that June is nearly over? As in ... just two days left?!? It hardly seems possible, but the calendar tells me it's true! 

Day 173. We explored our new library today! :) It's good to have a fresh stock of books (and videos)! :)

 ♥

 Day 174. Abby-girl, Abby-girl, Abby-girl. You, Missy, are keeping all of us on our toes!! ♥

Day 175. To be quite honest, this was a hard week for me in many ways. It was a lonely week. The Lord has blessed us so very much, and we are so thankful for how He has led us to NY. But we said good bye to some very dear friends in SC. Most of the time you can keep pressing forward, but sometimes you just really, really miss those to whom you said good bye. Anyway. I had multiple of those sometimes this week. :)

Anyway, we're still working on finding new friends with whom to have play dates, so in lieu of that, we packed a picnic lunch and had fun at the park. :) Kinda hard to be lonely for too long when you have a crew of four people around you all day long. ♥

 

 

 

 Day 176. These boys crack me up! We had fun building with Lego's together today. :)

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Most of the time, Mommy goes grocery shopping by herself in the evening after Daddy gets home, but this week it worked best to get it done a bit earlier ... this is how we roll. :)

Day 177. Another day that seemed good for an outing. :) We signed up for the library reading program on Monday, but the "official" starting day was Friday, and they had balloon animals for the children who signed up for the program. So, we detoured by the library on our way to another park. :)

 Ha. :) Me thinks we have no arms long enough to capture this bunch! :)

Since the first picture was rather less than successful, Hannah-bug got another one. ;)

 Knowing that giraffes are not solid yellow, Matthew decided to remedy the situation by adding ... stripes. :)

Day 178. A couple weeks ago, I began a "Couch to 5K" running program. It's hard, but I'm glad to be doing it! :) However, a stiff knee made it apparent this week that my old yard sneakers were not going to be sufficient for continuing my training ... so the Lord blessed with a new pair of Asics that just "happened" to be on 50% clearance at the running store! So thankful!! :)

And that's where we be. :) Thanks for visiting.
We have a guest room waiting for anyone
who would like to visit in person. ;)
Yes. I mean you. :)

365Project.2015 | Week 25

Blessed.
I think that's about the best word I could use for summarizing this week.
The Lord has shown Himself strong in so many ways,
and we are thankful for His continued guidance in our lives.

Day 165. A rose bush by our front door is in bloom! Matthew counted 13 blooms later this week!

Day 166. We are so thankful for our big helpers!! We have a small fruit orchard which we finally got trimmed up last weekend. On Monday, Hannah and Peter dragged a huge pile of branches down to the burn pile. Definitely took some team work! :)

 And Matthew was working hard, too, with his trusty Tonka sidekick. :)

Day 167. Our crew loves climbing trees! (Much to Mommy's chagrin at times!!!) I hold my breath and pray and remember that generations upon generations of children have climbed trees and survived. ;)

 And yes, Peter loves being king of his mountain. ;)

 Day 168. Oh my yes. My mobile Abby-girl found the bookshelf. (And a myriad of other things!) :)

 Day 169. A picnic lunch with Daddy made for a fun adventure. Although, getting a crew of six in a single selfie might be the greater adventure. ;)

 Hannah's truck happened to be at the shop ... :)

Day 170. Drum-roll, please! For the first time ever, I found Abby-girl sitting up when I came upstairs to get her Friday morning. :) (She wasn't overly impressed with the delay caused by Mommy sending Hannah to go get the camera to capture the moment, though.) ;)

 The big kids enjoyed spending the night with Nanny & Poppy,

While Mommy and Daddy enjoyed exploring a new running/walking spot :) By the way ... what do you think of our $2 garage sale stroller???? :D So thankful!!

Day 170. The business has been going full-tilt ever since we arrived, but we were glad to be able to squeeze in an evening of food and fellowship at our house with both Nanny and Poppy for the first time since we moved. In honor of Father's Day, Poppy got his favorite dessert ... :)

 After dinner, the boys played softball,

 And the girls played Qwirkle and Spot It. :)

The adults continued our Euchre tournament after the kids went to bed. We won't mention that the ladies won. Quite handily. ;)

Day 171. Happy Father's Day, Daddy!! We love you so very much!!! ♥

 Couldn't resist cropping this sweet smile out of the chaos of the rest of the picture. ;)

And that be our week. Mostly just the normal stuff of life,
punctuated with smiles, love, and a touch of adventure. ♥

365Project.2015 | Week 24

It's official! Abby-girl is crawling! She progressed from scooting backwards on her thighs, to getting up and rocking on her knees, to crawling forward throughout the week! Fun stuff! Let the adventures begin! :)

Day 158. As Abby will testify, moving backwards can lead to some rather awkward situations ...
 ;)

Day 159. It was a good week. Mommy made a concerted effort to spend some more focused time with the kids, and we all had a lot of fun. :) A rousing game of Forbidden Island was one of the first requests. :)

 Hannah was ecstatic to receive a letter from her best friend this week. ♥

 And we were both rather excited to receive our first KnitPicks order! A box of lovely, yarny goodness!!! :)

Unfortunately, Mommy should have watched the video instructing her on how to properly handle a hank of yarn before attempting to do so. Ugh. Epic. Fail. So thankful for my hubby who gave up over an hour of time helping me untangle it.

 

Day 160. Chris left early Tuesday morning for a brief business trip. A full dishwasher was a huge reminder of his absence. I am blessed with a husband who unloads it for me every. single. morning. It's a "small" thing, but it's a huge help for me in my daily routine. So thankful.

 Special activities today continued with some Lego enterprises for the boys ...

 Yarn on the needles for Hannah ...

 And yarn on the hook for Mommy (with her yarn now nicely tamed into a ball ...) :)

 Day 161. So. So. Close. !!!

Day 162. Peter got a new Lego remote control this week and had fun sharing the experience with Abby.

She was suitably impressed. :)

 Hannah was very excited to learn how to sew this week! :)

 A drawstring bag to hold her new knitting project is in the works!

 #heartmelt

Day 163. We loved celebrating Nanny's birthday with her!! ♥ (Poppy left that morning for another business trip ... happily, he left Daddy home this time.) ;)

 ♥

 And it's official! Abby crawled forward for the first time on her knees on Nanny's birthday. :)

Day 164. And while Abby learns to crawl, Mommy is learning to run. I successfully completed Day 1 of Couch to 5K ... :)

My DIY Flipbelt seems like a really good alternative to carrying my phone in my hand. The fact that it was free and took less than ten minutes to make didn't hurt my feelings either. ;) And for my Grandpa, who I'm sure will be wondering why on earth I need my phone to go running ... I have an app on my phone that tells me how long to run and how long to walk. As I progress through the Couch to 5K program, I'll slowly increase my running times and decrease my walking times. :)

 

And somebody was very pleased with herself for finding the Norwex cloth and ...

 Figuring out how to use it! :) We start them young around here! ;) LOL! :) Just kidding. :)

And such be our days. :)
Thanks for visiting! :)