A Boy and His Tools

Peter continues to expand his vocabulary with "down," "done," "mine," "mama," "dada," "hi," and "woof-woof" all being regular conversational items. :o) However, right now, without a doubt, his favorite activity is using his tools, with the drill being high on the preference list. :o) (For those who are concerned, it's a very tired battery, and he only has a screw bit--no drill bits!) Chris has given him some screws and styrofoam to screw into. Self-entertainment--it's great! :o)

As is his personality, he is very serious about using his tools. Everything must be properly gathered and set up before launching into action. (And on an amusing note, notice his footwear in these pictures!)

"Mommy, I'm busy. Are pictures really necessary?"

Anything with a screw is a candidate for "fixing." And we are working very hard to enforce the policy of "no tools in the house." Tools stay in the basement, on the porch, or outside. We're wondering how long it's going to be before we're repairing a window or walls from the well-intentioned, but misguided efforts of our young man's hammer!

Somehow I suspect that he'll be changing tires before he's ten!

He'll do his daddy, grandpas, and great-grandpas proud! :o)

Ready, set, . . .

Ready, set . . .

Go!
Ready, set . . .

Go! (or not!) :o)

The Missing Piece

So, what DO you do, when you really, really, really want the "dog" from your sister's puzzle?

You replace it!

Thankfully, he has a patient and gracious sister (most of the time!) :o)

Slowly but Surely

Slowly but surely, organization is returning to our home, and it continued in Chris' workshop last Saturday with a set of drawers . . .

We have had these drawers sitting around filled (or not filled) with various items and stacked on top of each other ever since our first kitchen remodel a couple years ago. They're good solid drawers, so you hate to throw them away, but drawers are meant to be drawers . . . not boxes.

Well, in a project enjoyed by everyone involved, the drawers are now once again . . .

DRAWERS!

Nice work, honey! :o) (And thanks to Grandpa H., it even rolls!)

A New Friend

Mrs. Debbie had her baby yesterday, June 8! :o) A healthy baby girl, Evangeline Constance, who weighed in at 9 lbs. 3 oz! Hannah and I went to visit this evening--we had a great time!

On the way over, Hannah commented that this was "the first time going the 'new way'--we went the 'old way' to see Miss Crystal and baby Nate." (That was back in December, and "new way" vs. "old way" was distinguishing the route from our new house vs. our old house.)


What was special for me was to see some significant signs of maturing between the two visits. :o) Hannah was more interested in what she could give to baby Evangeline than in anything she might get. (Definitely not the case in December!) She ransacked her buddy stash for a special buddy she could give her. She was so excited about it! And we talked about it nearly the whole way to the hospital. :o) "I'm showing God's love by sharing my buddy with Evangeline." Praise the Lord! It's so exciting to see some seeds of budding understanding! :o)

Here we are with baby Evangeline . . . forgot to get pictures of Debbie and Dan! And Evangeline's is holding her new buddy. :o)

Hannah even worked up the gumption to hold her! :o)

"Do we get to ride the alligator, Mommy?" (No, I did not mistype that. The "elevator" has been an "alligator" since she first started talking!)

And here's the lovely fountain at the hospital . . .

And we stopped to get this picture especially for Daddy on the way home as he enjoys seeing the towers on the mountain and the sunset was such a beautiful backdrop.

Before we went, I asked Hannah is she wanted to draw a picture of Mrs. Debbie and baby Evangeline, and she said she didn't know how to draw a baby. (That's when she decided to raid her buddy stash.) However, when we got home, this was the first thing she did:

We now know how to draw a swaddled baby! :o)

Congratulations Mrs. Debbie and Mr. Dan! Evangeline's a cutie! :o)

Happy Birthday, Aunt Barbi!

Happy Birthday, Aunt Barbi!

We love you and hope you've had a wonderful day!

Posing Pretty

I enlisted reinforcements this afternoon to get a spring photo of my munchkins! :o) Anyone who has tried to coordinate multiple children in a photoshoot understands the necessity of having someone jumping around behind you to keep their attention and garner smiles! :o) Thought you might enjoy the results as much as us!

Have a wonderful week!

Lovin' Life!

I scream,

You scream,

We all scream

For ice cream!

And then we clean up . . .

And work it off so we can eat some more! :o)

Undercover Operations

When the garbage disposal sucked the water up the vent and then pushed it back into the sink, and the washing machine wouldn't drain . . . my wonderful husband pulled out his plumber's hat! (I'm so thankful he has so many hats in the closet!)

This was the culprit for the sink! YUCK! 40+ years of GUNK!

Handy dandy tools . . .

To accomplish THIS! (He had to chisel out around the pipe in the concrete.)

And now we have a new washing machine drain . . .

And a new sink drain!

Which means I can once again wash both dishes and laundry! Yeah! (Funny sometimes, what we're thankful for!) :o)

Thanks, Honey! :o)

Happy birthday, Aunt Judy!

Happy Birthday, Aunt Judy!

We love you and hope you have a wonderful day!

Fun Family Time!

We squeezed in some fun time Tuesday evening with the washable finger paints Peter got for his birthday. :o) (And yes, we still wore smocks, even though they're washable!) :o) I went to dafont.com, found a cool font, and printed up the letters of their name--then they painted!

Their personalities (as well as their age/abilities) were so evident in this craft! Peter needed assistance to get color in the right locations and everything was completely smeared together by the time he finished the second letter. :o)

Hannah's paints were completely neat and unmixed even as she finished the last letter of her name! :o)

Appearances must be deceiving since he looks like a little angel . . . :o)

The final product! :o) The goal is to cut out the letters, glue them to poster board, and hang them in their bedroom. :o)

Have fun getting messy!