265Project.2016 | Weeks 39-40

It's been a busy couple of weeks .. two weeks ago we were slogging through our last week of school before our "Sabbath week" ... and then Sabbath week flew by in a flurry of activity. We've had some runny noses and coughs here and there, but everyone is on the mend now and we're thankful for it. 

Day 270. Sweet Abby having fun with dominoes. :) I'm not sure the kids have ever actually played a game of Dominoes ... at least not recently. But they've seen a lot of action these last couple weeks regardless. :)

 Day 271. I'm so thankful for my Hannah-bug ... she's such a good big sister. ♥

 

 Day 272. The pudding was 'ummy! :)

 It was too cute to watch Abby reading books to the dollies. ♥

 Day 273. National Coffee Day. A day well worth celebrating. :)

Day 274. It's so fun to be able to capture the kids' perspective on life through ordinary "school" assignments. I love homeschooling. ♥

 Day 275. The job of "Toddler's Favorite Dolly" really needs hazard pay.

 Especially when there's bears about.

 Day 276. Picnic lunch. ♥

 Day 277. Just enjoying a few good books Sunday morning ...

 Day 278. Dominoes! :)

 

 

 Day 279. We thoroughly enjoyed our visit with Great Grandma and Grandpa today! ♥

 Who's the best milkshake maker in the world??? GREAT GRANDPA!!!

 Abby was giggling with Grandma as she ate her milkshake. ♥

 My cousin Sean grew these amazing pumpkins!!!

 And we were blessed to be able to take some home! ♥

And this little bottle felt a little bit like magic as it made what has historically been a rather challenging trip SO. MUCH. EASIER. I diffused Stress Away in the van by putting a few drops on a makeup pad and then sticking it in the vent. Abby, who has NOT been a good traveler, at. all., and generally gets distressed at some point in every car ride exceeding 30 minutes, never fussed once and fell asleep both directions of an hour+ car ride!!! I'm really looking forward to seeing if it will help again on a longer trip we have planned for this week. ♥

 Day 280. It's makes a mama's heart happy to stumble upon her girls enjoying an afternoon siesta together. ♥

 

My Hannah-bug is 11. I'm pretty sure she was 4 just last week, but when I blink she'll be 20. ♥ Love this young lady so much. ♥

And this little lady is a hoot! :)

 Giggles!!! ♥ Catch me if you can, Mama!

Day 281. Thursday was a super crazy busy (but profitable) morning of errands, which included a visit with our friends! We had to get a picture of Matthew and his friend Nathan with their toothless smiles. These two are two peas in a pod! And no, the John Deere shirts were not planned. ;)

 Mommy made the "mistake" of mentioning that Daddy was on his way home. It's a good thing he has a short commute, cause Abby-girl wanted nothing but to wait on the steps for Daddy to pull in the driveway. ♥

Day 282. A Label Maker!!! I've wanted one of these for so very long, and it was one of the first things I purchased with the commissions I earned from new role as a Young Living Lemon Dropper. I had so much fun creating pretty, professional labels for my essential oil roller bottles!!!

 Pretty labels on the front ...

 Clear ingredients list on the back ...

Day 283. Dominoes and Jenga blocks ... Nope. We haven't played Jenga in a while either. But this set includes special messages from dear friends down in SC and I loved seeing all of them again. ♥

 And such were our weeks. Just lots of ordinary, everyday life. A mix of work and play, friends and family. ♥ So thankful for all of it. 

265Project.2016 | Week 35

Yippee!!! ONE. WEEK. Just ONE week!!! I am SO excited about this!!! (Can you tell????) I've been behind for so long. Here's hope for updating more regularly again! It's so much more fun and so much quicker to share just one week at a time! ♥

Day 241. Oh my yes, this cutie-patootie was way too pleased with herself for figuring out how to get in the desk chair and "use" the keyboard and mouse ...

Day 242. Somehow, I suspect that most students would prefer to be sitting like this to do their school work ... #welovehomeschool

Day 243. Tuesday was full to the brim and a little bit crazy and overwhelming ... 
 
Monday evening, we discovered that our fridge was leaking ... so it received a place of honor. Right smack dab in the middle of the kitchen. Lovely, isn't it? And trying to put groceries away while my hubby also occupied that prime real estate while trying to diagnose the problem hadn't worked too well. So I left them. On the counter.

We left that place of crazy to enjoy some fun with our homeschool friends at a park playdate. They did have playground equipment at this park. But really? Who wants to go down a slide when you can splash in the creek??? And though they generated significant amounts of laundry for their mamas, they all had a blast. :)

And then we came back to crazy. ;) And I had office work to do, so I continued to ignore the kitchen. #yikes

My fun really began after Chris left for work (night shift this week...) and the kiddos headed to bed. I had the opportunity to help my friend host an essential oils class! We've been using essential oils for about six months, and they've really been a blessing to our family. It was so fun to be able to share some of what I've been learning with others! ♥

Day 244. Abby-girl loves her Children's Bible. ♥

Day 245. The greedy and ever hungry Mr. PacMan has helped yet another 1st grader successfully navigate the waters of "greater than" and "less than." :)

Day 246. Miss Cutie enjoyed her toast. ♥

Day 247. I am so blessed by my Hannah-bug!!! Seriously. Every mama needs a Hannah-bug. Her sweet, helpful spirit is such a blessing and help to me, especially with Chris working some really crazy hours. ♥

 She had fun being sous chef for the day and made a killer meatloaf and twice-baked potatoes!

And that, my friends, was our week!
I love sharing just one week with you! 

Happy September!

365Project.2016 | June

June has come and gone (and July has very nearly followed suit!) It was filled with fun adventures, even though it looked a bit different than we anticipated ...

Day 151. Have to sneak these into June as I realized that I managed to forget them on the camera while I was doing May. :) We enjoyed celebrating Memorial Day with Grandma and Grandpa! ♥ (It certainly didn't hurt Mommy's feelings at all when Grandpa offered to upgrade our hamburgers to steak!) :)

 

 

 

 

 Day 152. Hannah had fun sneaking bows into Abby's hair! ♥

 We're all loving her curls ... they get especially kinky when the humidity kicks up. :)

 And we've had so much fun getting together for a play date with our friends each Tuesday!

Day 153. So thankful for Peter's eager spirit, always happy to lend a hand with yard work! And really, why bother with a ladder when you can just climb the tree??? :)

 Day 154. Abby and Mommy thoroughly enjoyed rescuing the Phlox from the hedgerow. :)

 

 Day 155. Story time ♥

Day 156. In Abby's opinion, the best days are days with Daddy ... and if they include the tractor, so much the better. ♥

Those eyes, that chin, those hands ... #heartbestill

 ♥

Day 157. This young man had a bit of a rough weekend ... he was playing on the rope swing and knocked his arm against the tree trunk. He tends to bounce back pretty quick from most everything, so when his arm continued to be a complaint throughout all of Sunday, I started getting concerned. A rousing game of Zoofari helped distract for a little bit though. ;)

 And the beautiful double-rainbow delighted us all. :)

Day 158. Continued pain and some mild swelling made Mommy decide that a Dr's visit was in order ...

And Matthew gets the prize for the first broken bone of ANYONE in our family: a buckle fracture on his left wrist. :/ This was definitely not a part of Mommy's plans for the summer. ♥

 

Day 159. Thankfully, one can enjoy time with friends even with a broken wrist. ♥

Day 160. Yay for a bright yellow, lightweight, waterproof cast!! :)

 He definitely enjoyed his full measure of spoiling. ♥

Day 161. Sometimes date night looks like a walk in the woods while the older kids finish up their chores in the house ...

 Day 162. Back on our favorite canal trail!

 Flashback to four years ago ... #growingupsofast

So thankful for this crew! ♥ And personally, I think Matthew handled his broken arm as well as any mama could have hoped for and probably better than any of his siblings would have ... just between you and me. ;)

 ♥

Day 163. Air show!!! We were thoroughly blessed by Grandma and Grandpa gifting tickets for the whole family to attend. ♥ Thanks, G&G!!

 So much to see!

Abby loves airplanes and was in her element! 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We did, however, learn that airplanes can be loud. Very loud. At first Daddy was covering Abby's ears for her, but then she figured out how to do it herself. Fingers in ears was her standard response to the word  "airplane" for about three weeks after the show. :)

 

 

So much fun to be able to enjoy the show with cousins! 

 

Day 164. Peter has been very faithfully caring for the hanging plant the kids bought at Aldi ... and has been rewarded well for his efforts! 

 

Day 165. More loot for Matthew! 

Day 166. Who can resist ice cream cones???

The stroller had been repaired once already. And fell apart. Again. I'll be honest, I almost tossed the whole thing in the trash I was so fed up with it. But a friend encouraged me to try simply making my own seat, since creating is so much more enjoyable than mending. I thoroughly concur with that evaluation, and I decided to give it a go.

I could not have been happier with the results!! ♥ It's simple, sturdy, and cute! What more could you ask for? :)

 Day 167. Abby put it to use the very next morning! :)

And, Hannah got excited when she saw the sewing machine out, and we decided to put together the tote bag for which I had bought her the material as a gift two Christmases ago!! She did such a nice job! ♥

Day 168. I want to remember ... when Abby colors with markers, she always puts the cap back on the marker before choosing her next color. I'm jaded enough to realize that the likelihood of this habit continuing indefinitely is slim to nil, but I love watching her carefulness right now. ♥

 Day 169. We thoroughly enjoyed a fun and special visit with Great Grandma and Grandpa! ♥

 

 

 And Abby was delighted to bring home a doll cradle handmade by Great Grandpa! ♥

 Day 170. Really, a broken wrist did not slow him down. At. All.

It was a rather hot day, but we enjoyed exploring a new park with friends when Daddy had to work on Saturday.

Riding a bicycle tram by the lake was definitely the highlight of the day! :)

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

 And this little lady blessed Mommy with a beautiful picture for framing!! ♥

 Those crinkly eyes, full of giggles! ♥

 Catch me if you can, Mommy!

 Day 172. Some days are for dresses, and some days are for bubbles. Both are special ... ♥

 ♥

 

 Day 173. We loved creating patriotic tie-dye shirts with our friends today! ♥

 

 Sweet Emily ♥

 Her mama and I love seeing our little girls play together. ♥

 Day 174. My silverware helper ...

Day 175. Remember that date-night walk in the woods? We spent much of that walk finalizing plans that had been in the works for nearly a year, and the next day we placed our order for a brand new WoodMaxx chipper. We were all pretty excited!

Day 176. It's really hard to capture the full extent of the mess we were dealing with, but here's a few before pictures from Friday evening ...

 

 

 Day 177. By Saturday afternoon, we had made significant progress!

 

 W.O.W. #sothankful

 Day 178. Daddy tackle! :)

 Day 179. The van inspection turned into an impromptu lunch date at the local diner for Mommy and Abby ...

 Day 180. We've made sure to protect the "Indian Jump" from the chipper. :)

 Day 181. Today's the day! Hard to believe that it was on a full three weeks!

 

 Oh the joy to have his arm back again! :)

Day 182. When watching a tractor harvest the field is an absolutely. essential. part. of. your. morning, regardless of the early-dawn temperatures ...

 You might just find yourself bundled in your sister's hoodie. And her slippers. Just sayin'.

And that, my friends, is June. As the months fly by, I'm so thankful for my camera to help me capture the days ... the moments I'd forget ... and for a blog that gives me reason to go through those pictures. I'll admit that it's getting harder and harder to come back when I keep getting so far behind. But each time I do, the Lord encourages me once again with the blessing of capturing these fleeting days of childhood. ♥ Thanks for sharing our adventures with us. :)