On The Water

On Saturday some friends invited us to their water front property. The house use to be the mess hall for a local brick factory that is no more. It has seen better days, but the location on the water is hard to beat. 

When we arrived they were gathering clams and washing them off. Josiah and Benson had never seen such a thing and spent a half and hour waiting for the clams to open up and move and then spit at them. Their laughter was amazing.

  

Our friends had a small racing sailboat and Joey took it out for a spin. He's sailed before but on a MUCH larger boat. This little boat was quick to respond and zipped across the water. At one point we watched as the wind grabbed the little boat and tipped it over. Luckily he is fast and he scrambled up the side and clung to the bottom side of the boat. He could hear out friend who called out instructions and was able to set the boat right. It was a sight to see.

Phoebe loved the beach.

 

 As the sun set we started skipping rocks and roasting marshmallows. It was a warm night and so nice to be down by the water to cool off.

Hopefully we'll get a chance to head back and try out the sailboat again. 

Ah, summer days!

So Far In July

As always time is flying by. Its already approaching the middle of July and I barely feel like we've gotten into summer. We have enjoyed some sunny weather so far this month and its been great.

 

For the 4th of July we traveled down to see my family and stay at their lake side property. As usual I enjoyed our time so much I didn't take very many pictures.

We realized that we hadn't been in the states for the 4th since 2008. In fact our kids didn't really know what fireworks were other than big firework shows that they had seen on TV and at Disney Land. It was fun to introduce them to old school fireworks like sparklers and firework tanks.

It was a good weekend and we're looking forward to the next time we get to head down there again. 

In other July events Isabelle has discovered pockets and loves wondering around the house singing with her hands in her pockets. It is adorable to say the least.

Phoebe has started solids. Its a slow start and I find myself forgetting how to do this whole solids thing. You'd think I'd know after 5 kids, but my brain is pretty much shot. Not to mention all the food we eat in Morocco naturally lends itself to baby food. Not so much here in the states. So far she's enjoyed Squash and some Banana

 

We also took the boys to see Despicable Me 2. I loved getting to hear them laugh at the minions and all their crazy tricks. They enjoyed the movie, but decided the first one was better. I think I'd agree with them. The minions though, are the best part of both movies and I look forward to the rumored "Minion Movie" coming someday.

Silver River of Joy

Who would have thought that a box of cheap tin foil would bring so much joy to a group of boys? Until pinterest came along I NEVER would have considered it bringing much of anything to anybody.

 

A couple of weeks ago I saw something on pinterest about making a river using the hose and tin foil. So I bought some foil and waited for a sunny day. Today was the day. We found a good hill and laid out the foil giving it a few twists and turns. Then we worked on strengthening the sides and making a few rapids. The cousins were over and got in on the action. 

We tried racing cars down the shiny river, because cars should be tried out on everything - all the time, but they were too heavy. So we got nurf gun bullets, small pieces of wood and anything else that might float. They had so much fun racing the sticks and seeing who would get stuck on which rapid. The yard is a bit waterlogged now in that spot, but the grass could use some liquid and its so warm I am sure it will be gone in no time.

The silver river is waiting in the yard over nap time for the next round of excitement. Praise the Lord for sunshine and praise the Lord for tin foil!

Summer-time = Cousin-time

We are blessed to live surrounded by family. Literally, we're surrounded. 3 of Joey's 5 siblings live in the houses "next" door and most of the other neighborhood houses are filled with Joey's cousins, Uncles and their families. Every Friday night our immediate family gathers together for Pizza and chaos. Its one of my favorite days of the week. 

Now remember I said we were blessed, and we really are. While a lot of people don't like their family, or certain members of their family, we all seem to blend together well. Praise the Lord! The most important thing we get along on is Nap time. Nap time is sacred. Don't mess with it. Everyone knows that between the hours of 12:30 and 2ish you don't call, you don't stop by, and if you are forced to, then keep it quiet! 

But as soon as nap time is over then cousin-time begins. This being summer (although the weather didn't quite get the notice) we have an over abundance of cousin-time. There are 16 cousins, counting 2 almost born and when they get together it...is...crazy! I love it. Looking out through the windows and seeing adventure, games and fun being had. Well, it just adds to the blessing!

Sheba has figured out the best way to handle the craziness is to take a nap. I think that is some really good, excellent advice!

The 2009 rug-rats. Too much cuteness! 

A Little of This, A Little of That

One day leads into the next and suddenly its officially summer, and before you know it we're half way through June. Seriously, how does that happen?! 

We've finished up school officially, although we are trying to read a lot to keep in the rhythm of things. Lucky for us there are loads of cool summer reading plans out there, and our Library actually has one! We sure are blessed to have the Library this year.

Father's Day was this last weekend and we celebrated by getting Donuts for our Dad! Nothing says "We Love You!" like a donut covered in chocolate and sprinkles.

We got Dad a few shirts and this amazing chair. Since Joey goes to work all day, I got to use this wonderful chair the other day to enjoy the sun. I'm so glad we got him this great chair ;-)

The girls got all decked out for Father's Day trying their best to look extra cute!

With all this nice weather we've been trying to take a walk each day. Not only do I want to be more active and healthy, but it is a life saver for bored little men. The big boys ride their bikes and William and Isabelle ride in the stroller. Phoebe rides in a carrier and tries to take a nap. Its pretty fun. My favorite part is when William decides he'd like to run along side as I push the stroller. He'll run as fast as he can for quite a while. I love watching him run and being so serious about the whole thing. Too cute!

I am hoping that we'll get in the habit and keep this up once we hit fall and start school again. Hopefully wearing them out will make it easier to pay attention to math :-)

Yesterday during nap time Josiah lost his 3rd tooth. Pretty exciting stuff. The tooth fairy was able to remove the tooth from under the pillow and deposit $1. Inflation is getting hard on the poor tooth fairy! I do love how excited they are to get a dollar under their pillow. I can hear them talking about how the tooth fairy got in their room and why they didn't see her. I LOVE it!

Thursday

Today has been good. Which is weird for this week. We've had lots of good moments, but more meltdowns and freak outs stand out to me. Not all by the kids mind you. No, no. I had my fair share of screaming-like-a banshee-woman-on-crack moments, don't you worry. 

So when I woke up at 5am to feed Phoebe, (who must be growing, cuz she's been sleeping through the night) I couldn't get back to sleep. I tossed and turned. I rested. Then I did something I always wish I would do but never do. I prayed. Prayed for the day, prayed for ideas on how to accomplish the things on the list, prayed for the kids and me and our attitudes. I am not eloquent in general, but at 5 am, not at all. Yet God is SO gracious and He opened up my mind to all sorts of ideas for the kids today. Seriously I presented Him with a problem - upstairs a mess, 2 HUGE piles of Laundry - and then He followed up with a great answer. Well, a set of possible answers depending on the weather - See, He is that good. No doubt about it! 

So when the boys woke up singing, I should not have been surprised, but I was. It was amazing. William my complainer woke up SO HAPPY I couldn't believe it. He laughed with his brothers, they made jokes. It was straight out of the twilight zone. 

Now don't start thinking the day has been perfect. There have been spankings, moments of raised voice, tears and quite a bit of complaining. Yet God met me and met my needs and we had a great, great, great morning.

 

Now if only I can be awake tomorrow and let God have control of my day. What other amazing things might happen?

Our Little "Farm"

We have 2 dogs, a cat, 30 chickens, 7 beef cows and as of last night, two milk cows. Well, one milk cow, Jasmine, and her new calf, who doesn't have a name yet. He was born last night surrounded by most of the neighborhood. All of us bundled up and watching anxiously. My brother-in-law Brent sat by Jasmine's head and comforted her as she labored. Then when it looked like she might delay delivery one more time (she'd already stood up and down a number of times stopping the baby from actually exiting her body) Brent graciously helped the baby be born by pulling him out. It was incredible to watch. The poor thing. She worked hard and was worn out. 

Last Sunday a friend asked me if I ever thought I'd end up here. Living on a "farm". Wearing rubber boots not because they are stylish, but because I'm sloshing through muck and mire. Using the excuse "sorry I'm late, the cows got out" and actually meaning it. Did I ever think this would be a part of my life? And the answer is no, not really. But honestly does any of us ever do anything we expect? I try and pretend like I don't like it, chickens gross me out and cows are stinky, but the truth is  - its kinda fun. And at the end of the day when I can say that the cows didn't get away because I fixed the fence. Well, I feel kinda proud to know that I can swing a hammer and move a cow. 

Years ago our dog Mocha, who is in doggy heaven, was attacked by some animal. We still don't know what. He was covered in scratches and cuts. He required medication, cleaning of wounds and general compassion and care. Up until he got attacked I constantly complained that I didn't like him. He was dirty and smelly and big. He was just a stupid dog. At the vet though when they told me that he might die I bawled my eyes out. Poor Joey he was so confused. I didn't like that stupid dog, but I was crying like it was my aunt dying. The truth is I did like Mocha. He was dirty and smelly and big, but he was a good dog. 

So, the point of this post, beyond showing you pictures of our new baby cow, is to confess to the world (or the 3 of you who read this) that no matter how much I huff and puff about extra work and dirty animals - I like it here on this "farm" and I am excited (yep, I said it) to see what happens next.

William showing me the secret phone tree where you can call for help to fight the bad guys. Could there be a more perfect place to raise these boys?

And girls too. Isn't she the cutest? I just had to add a picture of "Lardy Cakes". Her cheeks are like squishy marshmallows that your kisses just sink into. You can't help yourself you have to give them a pinch followed closely by a snuggle. I dare you to try not to!