Catch-Up Post

We've had so much going on lately that blogging has fallen by the wayside.  Therefore, a catch-up post in in order!

Of course, I have to include the family Easter picture.

My father-in-law, sister-in-law and all three cousins came for a visit!  While the guys went to the range to shoot a while, we went to The Dizzy Park, ran around and fed the ducks and geese.  What fun! My SIL and I also made Creamsicle Jam together.

My dear Oregon in-laws are coming for their annual visit later this month and we are beyond excited.  We love this special time of year!!  It's often the first hot streak of the year while they are here, but our weather has looked like this lately, so they might get lucky. The forecast is variable, calling for temps from the mid 60's, mid-70's to low 80's for their visit, with low chances of rain, even.

I've been working on our front yard landscaping.  It's been the same for ten years and the plants were getting pretty tired looking.  On a whim, I ripped everything out one morning and began anew.  I'm making a special little spot we're calling "Shady Grove" for the little  girls who love hidden places to read and do schoolwork.  It's coming together nicely and I should be finished this week.  I haven't taken any pictures yet, though.

I am collecting items for a Sidewalk Sale at church to benefit Abbott and a least one other Reece's Rainbow child.  The announcement was in the bulletin last Sunday. Please pray that we raise local awareness of the need and also lot of money to donate!

My Honey and I took our eldest daughter EmBlem and her friend R. to Six Flags last week to celebrate Em's 16th birthday.  We had a great time.  I sure do love roller coaster-ing. Colossus is still my favorite ride, with Ninja a close second, but I rode Scream for the first time and liked it, too.  The girls even rode the bigger rides like Tatsu and X-2.  Brave things!

I am making a cute retro granny square afghan to donate to a giveaway or auction, as the Lord leads.  It's working up fast and I really like how the colors look together.

We had a swarm of bees across the street in a neighbors bush on Easter Sunday afternoon.  We really didn't want them sprayed so we called all the bee collectors in the area.  Only one would come out that day.  He was something else.  He did collect the swarm.  We got to watch the process close up. One of my girls walked up to the swarm barefoot, though, and as we were saying, 'Go put on shoes!" she stepped on a bee in the yard and got stung.  This was her first sting. She is not allergic, so yay! Her remark?  "I thought it would hurt more than that to get stung."

All in all, it's been a great spring!  What have you been up to?

The First One!

After it hung on precariously throughout our Thanksgiving vacation, an hour and a half after getting home, Troubles lost his very first tooth! What an excited six year old we have tonight! More pictures of vacation coming tomorrow...stay tuned.

Baking Day

The Littles and I made Cranberry Bread! We read Cranberry Thanksgiving and we wanted to try Grandmother's secret bread recipe. There was measuring of flour and baking powder....

and zesting of the orange. Cutting in of butter....

and more. Later, after finishing the loaf, there was the washing of dishes....

Finally, after a long bake, there was delicious bread to eat!

We also made a dozen gluten free cupcakes so that Momma could enjoy some seasonal goodness, too. What great Lambies I have! I am so blessed to be able to spend each day with them.

Moosey's Birthday

Today Troubles declared that it was Moosey's birthday. Moosey is now six years old and it's high time for him to have a birthday party! Troubles made invitations with GirlofGod and invited all of his brothers and sisters, along with their favorite stuffed friends. They all brought gifts for Moosey. They sang "Happy Birthday" and cheered for him. Fun was had by all, as Troubles' imagination was fed by loving siblings.

Camping 2011

Looks like a picture postcard, doesn't it? This is where I spent the last four days with my family!

We've camped at this site five times in the last seven years. Whenever we're here, we take a family picture in front of this tree. I'll have to scan past years pics and post them for Grandma.

This is on the trail leading from our campsite. The smaller children hiked here over and over. Many adventures were played near this brook!

I love our forests. We can drive an hour from home and be in a whole different world!

One day, my Honey and I will have a little cabin somewhere up here, breathe fresh air all the time, fish every morning and see views like this from our front porch. I miss it already!

Micropencil

Jack created the smallest, tiniest, winiest micropencil that anyone has ever seen. He was so proud of himself. He used it to do school all day, too.

Humid Friday

It was 102 today. Not too bad; in fact, that's a rather nice temperature for August for us. However, a layer of clouds rolled in this afternoon and things got sticky. What's better for a humid afternoon than a spin in the sprinkler? I'm happy to report that the humidity was forgotten and fun was had by all Littles present.

Brave Trixie!

(Photo taken by EmBlem at Avila Beach, 2011)



My daughter, Trixie. She lives all out. She holds nothing back and loves every minutes of life. I didn't get pictures of today's adventure, because she was on her own. She went with a veterinarian to do bovine pregnancy checks on a dairy.



Yeah. She's learning all about being a vet this year. The first lesson began with a glove....



This is a vet tech student demonstrating with Trixie did today:







Good for you, Dear, for learning all you can about things that interest you. Keep up the good work!

Sneaky Momma

Somewhere between age eleven and twelve my eldest son stopped liking hugs. I still sneak one in once in a while. Could be he doesn't mind as much as he acts like he does.....I see that little grin!

The Crew in Shadowland

Not the best picture, since it was taken at dusk with my phone, but I do love this picture anyway. This was taken at Morro Bay after the baptism. I love spending time with my family! Time goes way too fast even though we are together as much as possible. I can't imagine if they were off at government school being 'socialized' all day. I would not have time to get to know them! May the days be slow and long and the years even longer. Amen.

Brunhilda-Polly

My daughter GirlofGod is multi-talented. She has taught herself to do balloon animals, card tricks and other illusions and is mastering face-painting. She plans to sew herself a clown costume to wear when she performs. She did this work of art on Polly the other day. I think she has a great eye for color and a steady hand! I'll enjoy seeing how far she takes this interest in entertaining!

Baptized!

We went to Avila Beach yesterday with our church for a picnic and baptism. My daughter Polly was among those making a public profession of her saving belief in Jesus Christ.

What a special day it was!

5 Day Club

Most of the Lambies are participating in this year's local 5 Day Club, two as assistants and the rest attending. It's been making for quiet mornings! I love how excited the little ones are to share verses and invite neighbors to come.

Guest of Honor!

Grandpa brought the Lambies that were visiting up north home today! He also stayed on for dinner, sleep and a fishing trip tomorrow. We're so glad to have him visit!

MIL, SIL's and My Honey

My lovely Mother-in-love and her children. Thanks, Mom, for putting the reunion together and making it so we could join in!!

My Folks

On Monday, we began our drive back south. We stopped to visit with my parents and brother and have a BBQ. It's been ten years since I have seen them.



We had a very nice visit. My Honey BBQ'd superbly, as always. My dad walked with us to a nearby antiques mall. I found Vol. 4 and the parents guide to The Book House set I am collecting. Now to find Vols. 1,2 and 3.

I loved seeing everyone, including little nieces I had never met. We plan to make the drive more often. It was do much fun!

COUSINS!

These are all the younger cousins; the children of the adult cousins. They did so good at posing for the pictures!

Cape Kiwanda

This is Cape Kiwanda, on the Oregon coast. This is where we spent much of Saturday. The children climbed this huge hill over and over! I went up it only once, since I was flying the stunt kite or at the tide pools most of the time I was at the beach.

I took this pic at the top of the sand hill. Beautiful!

Fast Friends

My Girlies met their cousin M. at the family reunion. They quickly became friends and spent nearly the entire weekend together!

What a Cutie!

Not a great picture of a picture, but it's my very favorite snapshot of EmBlem! Who couldn't love that sweet little smile?