Busy days...

 We're having busy days around here!!! Dads were here for 10 days, and now my brother & his family are here for 2 weeks. We've been enjoying having them around... Some projects have been accomplished and the cousins just love playing together!!!!

 In training???

 Mowing lawn...

 I think Sierra looks just like her mom! :-)  It's not often that I get to celebrate my nieces and nephews birthdays so it was a special treat to be able to celebrate Sierra's 3rd birthday soon after they came!

 Playing blocks.

Shelling beans...

"Oceans of rain"

This afternoon we had a brief downpour that gave us a half an inch of rain. There was a huge puddle in the sandbox, and it didn't take long for Weston to discover it... He excitedly told me, "Mommy we're playing in the ocean!" :-)

"I want you!"

(Mommy escapes to the roof for a few minutes of peace and quiet...Weston spies her...)
"Mommy, I want you."
"Yes, Weston, I want you, too, but you stay down there."
"But, but, but, Mommy, I WANT YOU!!!!"

Three Years...

"Those who live in the Lord never see each other for the last time."

Dearly loved and sorely missed...

Today Mom celebrates 3 years in heaven...

Imagine stepping onto a shore and finding it's Heaven.

Imagine taking hold of a hand and finding it's God's hand.

Imagine breathing new air and finding it's celestial.

Imagine feeling invigorated and finding it's immortality.

Imagine passing from storms & tempest to an unknown calm.

Imagine waking up and finding it's HOME.

Some conversations around here...

   Yesterday Bethany was talking to me about the road being really washed out since TS Isaac:
B: "Mommy, if you went to TG today, would you roll the Husky???"
Me: "I certainly hope not, but I wouldn't take any of the children along, because the road is too bad..."
B: "Oh, that would be SO awful if someone came and told us that you died! We wouldn't have a Mommy anymore, and then who would take care of us???"
Me: "Well, Bethany, God knows all of that, and He will always take care of us and supply our needs."
B: "I know! It would be better if the children would always die first, and then the Mommies wouldn't have to worry about who would take care of their children!"

(And I wondered if the Mommies might die then from broken hearts???)

    I served eggplant to the children last night... Michael wondered, "Is this the plant that we put in the ground to get eggs???" (He does know where eggs come from, we have enough chickens around, but maybe the chickens eat eggplant to lay eggs??? :-) )

Our morning's work

Okay, this post has been sitting in my drafts for a week now, I just simply haven't taken the time to finish it up and post it... This was our morning's work after TS Isaac went through and snapped off a bunch of our fir trees...

Yeye and I took the younger children out to clean up the branches, and save the wood...

Here's Yeye, chopping off branches with the machete...

The children had a blast carrying or dragging the limbs and branches up to the house!

Weston: "Children, there's more down there!"

He would tackle the biggest ones, and then when the older ones offered help, he was quick to say, "I can do it!" But he would ask Mommy for help if it was just too heavy!

The children are already asking how soon we can make a fire, and roast marshmallows, and hotdogs!!!