Happy Father's Day (and more!)

Happy Father's Day!
(and Happy Grandpa's Day!)

We love you!

It's been busy around here . . . but that's pretty normal. :o} Going back to work has definitely increased the potential for feeling overwhelmed, but the Lord gives grace day by day. Besides that, what's been going on?

Well, last weekend, with temps nearing (or surpassing!) 100 degrees, Chris and the kids did some yard work while Mommy held down the fort with Matthew and "lunch train."



With the heat, the kids have spent most afternoons inside with books and crafts and such . . .

I thought Hannah's picture of our family was pretty cool! :o) You can tell she already has high hopes for being at least as tall as Mommy . . . from left to right, the letters designate Mommy, Matthew, Daddy, Hannah, and Peter. It's funny . . . I remember as a child drawing my skies just that way--as a blue bit at the top of my picture.

Peter's continuing to do very well with potty training. Not perfect, but doing quite well. As long as we remember to take him every hour or so, he does great, but he's still not going on his own initiative. It'll come.

Matthew's growing like a weed and doing wonderfully! Sweet, content, and lots of smiles! Couldn't ask for more! (And he really likes his "new" mobile we rediscovered in our yard sale efforts . . . )

Just about finished with the last of our "reorg" projects--Chris and the kids spent one evening cataloging our music cds so that we could replace the hard cases with paper ones and shrink the space requirement for storage.

Mommy's glad for the perk-me-up of a new haircut! :o) (This was a self-protrait in the bathroom mirror . . .one of the last of 31 tries!)

And then we've enjoyed caring for friends' dog Toby this weekend . . . Other than that, our "major accomplishments" have involved

• getting everyone dressed (and redressed)
• filling (and refilling) empty tummies
• "cleaning" (and recleaning) major surface areas - very loose definition!
• washing, drying, folding, and putting away many loads of laundry
• crashing into bed exhausted each night

We tend to be very project oriented--we like to cross things off to-do lists. (As if this is any great revelation for those who know us . . . ) The Lord is teaching us a good bit right now about enjoying the blessings He's given us in the form of three precious children and being content to get "just the basics" done (or not done . . . ) and not to let our attitude be soured by the number of things outstanding on other lists. We're learning, but some days we're better learners than others . . . thanks for praying for us! :o)

Fun at the Farm

Have you ever played with baby goats? If not, you should definitely look for an opportunity to do so! :o) Our friends' goats gave birth a few weeks ago, and they are super cute! We had a fun visit last week!

One special thing about this visit was to see how much Hannah has matured in her response to four-footed friends. Watching Peter was a vivid reminder of how dramatic such visits could be with Hannah a few years ago. Here Hannah was trying to encourage Peter to pet the goats. Not happening.

He has this "love-hate" relationship with animals right now--he loves them--loves to read about them, loves to see them, . . . but he gets very timid when he has the opportunity to pet them. (He's still doing better than Hannah was at his age--she would have been in our arms screaming in terror in a similar situation . . . )

Things are much better when someone has the furry friend held captive in a safe position. :o)

He finally decided that swings were a lot more fun--and was doing a great job of pumping all by himself!

And on the other hand, here's Hannah-bug who took to the goats like a duck to water. :o) What a blessing! Actually, it's our friends who are the blessing--they've watched the kids for us multiple times over the years, and their small farm has definitely helped Hannah become comfortable with animals of all sorts. :o)

My new favorite picture of our little lady . . .

As always, both kids enjoyed feeding the chickens . . .

Peter was definitely more comfortable interacting with animals tucked safely behind a fence. :o)

And here's the little guy who slept for nearly our entire visit and thus managed to escape getting his first visit to the farm documented on film. Ah well. :o) Another time . . .

Happy Birthday!

Happy Birthday, Grandma!

We love you! We hope you have a wonderful day!

Oh my.

Tired mommy was glad the kids were having fun playing together outside while she enjoyed a few minutes of quiet nursing the baby . . .

She stepped outside to discover this . . .

Oh my. :o)

A Photo Story

As part of our yard sale endeavours, we cleaned and rearranged the kids' bedroom. In the process, we had fun with the following photo story . . . ;o)

Before:

"Who made this mess?"
"Matthew!!"

"No, YOU!"

Aww, friends again!

After:

Hopefully this weekend we can get some more pictures hung, and that will include the kids' cross-stitched names. As of this last Friday, we finally have pictures hung in our bedroom and it is SO NICE! (We're horribly slow about getting pictures and other special things like coat racks on the walls! . . . our apologies to those who have given them to us!)

We're planning to purchase a set of bunkbeds for Hannah and Peter so that Matthew can take the crib when he outgrows his cradle. In a couple years, the boys will take those, and Hannah will move to her own room downstairs. (Long term plans include two bedrooms downstairs for the kids and the office will be in this room.)

Bubble Fun!

We love the simple fun of blowing bubbles! :o)

I am SO thankful for the time I've been able to have off work to enjoy our little ones . . . they are growing up faster than we could have possibly imagined! Lord willing, some day I'll be able to stay home with them all day, every day. For now though we're thankful for the wonderful care and teaching they receive while I'm at work, and we're very thankful my position is part-time. I return on Wednesday. I'm so thankful to know I'll have His grace and strength for that day.

O So Kissable

Gotta love those chubby cheeks and huge smile!! :o) I could spend all day snuggling if it were possible!

At 7-1/2 weeks, Matthew is a cheerful, content little boy who is growing like a weed! :o) He blesses us with lots of smiles, rarely cries, loves snuggles, and is sleeping well (usually a six hour stretch followed by four hours). What a wonderful joy he has been! :o)

BUSY with a Capital B

It has been BUSY around our house!

We decided last Saturday that it was Time. No more excuses. Peter needed to learn to use the potty. So off with the pull-ups and on with the undies. All I can say is that he was Ready, and he has done fantastic! We've had a few accidents, but overall he has been doing great. (For the record, we tried the same technique at Christmas time and he was not ready. He had as many accidents in three hours as he had in the first three days this time around. While he could have learned, it would have been a much longer, more difficult process.)

However, as well as he has done, I can only say that nursing an infant, potty training a three year old, and keeping a five year old involved is INTENSE. The Lord gave wonderful grace, but I'm glad those first few days are now history. :o)

Last week was also quite wet, . . .
The kids decided the buddies needed to see the storm, so they had a "Buddy Parade."

Thankfully Daddy can provide an outlet for some of the cooped up energy!
We also did lots of indoor activities . . . like crafts,

More potty training . . . (Every 15 minutes, anyone? . . . Chart #2)

Tents . . .

Snuggles . . .

More potty training . . . (Chart #3)

More crafts . . . Hannah was quite excited to be able to buy the glitter glue and writing tablet she had seen at Walmart with her gift card . . . thanks, Uncle Bryan and Aunt Janie!

More potty training . . . (somewhat longer intervals now . . . whew! Chart #4)

And more play time . . .

Along with all of that, we had a yard sale this Saturday, and I managed to not get a single picture. Not one. Ah well. Suffice it to say that it was a LOT of work, but we majorly purged around here! Yeah for 30+ fewer boxes in our store room! We set up the tables down by the creek, and the Lord gave us a great day for it! (If I could have sold the creek, I definitely would have had some buyers.) :o) Some friends from church joined us, and it was a huge help to have four adults for juggling children + yard sale. We didn't sell everything, but we sold enough to make a good dent in our bunk bed fund and the rest of the stuff will bless other families through Miracle Hill. A successful endeavour all around.

Anyway, that has been life in these parts. I start back to work again part-time on Wednesday, so stuff won't be slowing down much at all . . .

Something Very Special

Last Friday evening after putting Hannah and Peter to bed, Chris and I took Matthew downstairs and continued our yard sale preparations. We could hear Hannah singing with the songs on the Patch the Pirate CD they were listening to, but otherwise everything was quiet.

About 10:30 Chris was taking something upstairs and found Hannah sitting at the top. He asked her what she needed, and she very simply said, "Daddy, I have something to tell you. And it's very special . . .

I asked Jesus to come into my heart and save me!"

I didn't know about any of this and was quite puzzled when Chris came and told me I needed to go upstairs because Hannah had something she wanted to tell me. (I was thinking along the lines of a bad dream, bugs, etc.) When I quietly crept in and sat next to her, she asked me if Daddy had told me. I said that Daddy had told me she had something she wanted to tell me, and with a big smile she repeated the same testimony, "I asked Jesus to come into my heart and save me!" I can't even express my exceeding great joy--tears simply rolled down my cheeks! We pray for each of our children daily, but in recent days have been especially burdened for Hannah because we have known she understood the Gospel, but had not made it her own.

Chris asked her why she needed to be saved, and with clear understanding she simply answered, "Because I sin sometimes." How true. As do we all.

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For all have sinned and come short of the glory of God.
Romans 3:23

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For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Romans 6:23

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For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life.
John 3:16

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All of us are sinners, and the penalty of our sin is death--separation from God in Hell. But God in His mercy offers us salvation through His Son Jesus Christ who bore the penalty of our sin through His death on the cross. He was buried and rose again and lives today! He offers to each of us the gift of salvation to those who will accept it . . . that is very special indeed!

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For whosever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.
Romans 10:13

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Hannah wanted to be able to share this wonderful news with our family and friends on our blog, so she asked me to write out the words, and she typed up her testimony on the computer:

We pray that you too know the blessing of salvation! We would have no greater joy than to share this greatest gift with you if you have never received the salvation freely offered by our Savior.

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For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast.
Ephesians 2:8-9

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