Full

Today a friend came over and we had a big freezer cook day.  We ended up with about 39 dinners and did it all in about 6 hours.  Our menu included:

2 zippy pork chop dinners
2 pork kabob dinners
2 apple bbq pork loins
3 cheeseburger pizzas
2 meatlover pizzas
22 beef burritos
2 Mongolian beef dinners
2 shepherds pies
2 chicken souvlaki dinners
2 teriyaki chicken dinners
2 chicken noodle soups
2 potato puff casseroles
2 meatloafs
25 slices of pumpkin French toast
2 salsa chicken dinners
25 hamburgers

We recently got a pig done from my parents.  So between the beef, pig and freezer dinners my freezers are full to the brim.  I love our cookdays.  I've been doing them for the last 7 years and I don't think I could live without them.  Thank you Tom and Ruth for watching the boys so I could get all this done. 

Happy Birthday Granny!

Last Thursday Granny celebrated her 89th birthday.  Ruth had organized a little tea party for her.  It was a wonderful time that I'll cherish for a while.

 There are 4 bird residents that the boys had to slip out and see constantly. 

Celebrating Kids!

Our church service yesterday was dedicated to the kids.  The older kids were the greeters, ushers, making announcements and doing the special music.  We had a special musician doing kids songs and various object lessons.  We chose to have Lexi dedicated without knowing they were planning this service but it worked beautifully. 

 The little lady of honor.

 My dad and a nephew were making faces and waving at Connor the whole time.

 Lexi's new trick is tipping over, so between Connor and Lexi the congregation was entertained.

Lexi started fussing a little while Kelly was praying so I popped her soother in.  As quick as I had it in her mouth she spit it out and went right for Kelly's glasses. 

 Some of the boy cousins hanging out

 My dad holding the little lady

 My brother's little boy is 5 months younger than Lexi, but weighs the same.  He is a little tank.

 We had 18 adults and 15 kids here for lunch after.  Of course with 11 of the kids being boys a game of football was in quick order.

 A few dogs to hang out with.  Ewan wasn't quiet sure about the bull dog and stayed by Buddie the whole time he was outside. 

Determined

Determined is a word that describes all my kids right now. 

 Connor is determined to be the fastest kid out there.  He runs everywhere.  If he isn't running he is biking.  Now that he has mastered the 2 wheeler he has to be like his cousins and go over logs and jumps.  He is determined to learn - asking questions and actually remembering the answers I give him.  We seem to be having much more intelligent conversations these days.

 Scoot is determined to keep up with his brother no matter what.  If they are wrestling you hear Kale grunt a little harder and before you know it he is on top of Connor and more often then not has Connor pinned.  Although he feet are his pedals on his balance bike he is determined to go as fast as Connor. 

 Lexi Lynne is now 8 months old and is showing her determination as well.  She is finally sitting up decently enough (nursing pillow propped up behind her) to play with some toys.  So I will fill a little basket of toys for her intentionally putting her favorite toy near the bottom.  She quickly tosses each toy aside until she finds her favorite.  This morning she was sitting on my knee at the computer.  I gave her a toy to play with but she saw something by the computer she wanted.  So I gave her another toy but that one was thrown to the floor and again she was reaching for the thing.  I pull her back and she just squiggled and squirmed and then reached out and got that paper she had been reaching for. 

 She loves food.  I decided to try real food this past week and she loved chicken and ground beef.  But LOVED noodles.  Today she had rice and liked it to.  Another thing she enjoys is avocado and pear mixed together.  She eats it like candy.

She is getting stronger everyday and if left on the carpet, she will roll across the room.  She is very pleased with herself when she does this.  As soon as she sees the camera come out she flashes me her smile.  

My Talented Mom!!

My mom is the most wonderful lady.  She is one of my best friends.  One of the things I cherish about her are her quilts.  Every time I am visiting we always make a trip to her sewing room (a single car garage turned sewing room) to see her new projects.  When we were down on mother's day she gave Tim and I the quilt below for our birthdays!!  Oh my, how I love it.  It is the traditional wedding ring quilt.  Every time I look at it I think of the elderly people in my life and the memories I have with each of them.  I can't put into words how much I love this quilt.  Thank you so much mom!

 As a baby gift each of the kids have gotten a special blanket.  Lexi has had hers for a while now but I finally got around to taking a picture of it.  Each of the little critters on it are embroidered with her sewing machine.  I wish it was a little bigger cuz it is so cozy.  The boys sleep with theirs every night.  I tried tucking Connor in last night without it cuz it was still in the wash.  "But mom I need my soft blanket to sleep".  Even though his feet stick out of the bottom he has to sleep with it every night.  Whenever we snuggle up and read books Kale goes and gets his "Gram blanket" to snuggle with.  They aren't small blankets - it means bringing an extra suitcase whenever we go overnight somewhere. 

 These are all wall hangings that we have around the house that my mom has made.  Pictures really don't do them justice.  They are all so unique and beautiful.  Some may think it odd but the majority of Tim's gifts from my parents have been wall hangings.  He loves them just as much as I do. 

 When the kids get into big kid beds they each get a quilt.  These are the quilts that only daddy can tuck them into.  So if there is a night that daddy isn't home at bed time we fold it down and daddy will cover them up when he gets home.  They get quite cross with me if I try to tuck them into these quilts. 

Thank you mom for peppering our home with love even when you don't live here.  

Our Sweet Girl

 

 Oh my, our little girl isn't so little anymore.  She loves to sit in her high chair or bumbo and eat cherrios.  I think she could pass an hour doing that.  She loves to play with her books.  And as always she is super quick to flash her smile.

She LOVES pears and will eat a whole pear while we eat supper through this meshy thing.  Oh how I love her blue eyes - just like Kale's.  Makes me a little scared for her toddler years!

 Yesterday was a dreary drizzly day here, but the two of headed off for a walk.  When we returned we took the boys quading and exploring.  We played billy goats gruff in a huge culvert and found a birds nest.  We dropped the quad off at the farm and then biked home.  When we got home this is how I found Lexi after I took her off my back.  So sweet!

Snow Never Gets Old...For Kids!!

May 3 we woke up to snow on the ground yet again.  The boys were up at 7 and by 7:30 they were out playing in the snow and puddles.  You can't see it well but Connor is actually wearing shorts!!  Between chores and playing the boys spent almost all day outside.   Connor and I were able to make one more fort.  It finally finished melting yesterday.  I know I am sick of the snow but these boys can't get enough of it.  I am very blessed to have children that create their own fun out of the simple things.

Food for Thought

This morning while the boys were doing chores with Tim and Lexi was down for a nap I took my coffee and Bible outside.  It was such a still, quiet WARM morning.  Instead of reading some scripture I started going through my stash of recipe cards with various verses on them.  I came to this one and it really hit home:

 

"Do not be afraid, do not be discouraged.  Go out to face them tomorrow and the Lord will be with you" 2 Chronicles 20:17

 

In the past month I have really struggled connecting with Kale.  I know that he is just 3 and with that comes a lot of disobedience and trials.  I also know that he will grow out of it and it will pass.  But it is extremely hard to get through some days without doing or saying something I regret later.  This verse reminded me once again that I can't do things on my own and I need to lean on the Lord to help me through it.