A Quiet Moment

I'm sitting in front of the fireplace, the house is cleaned and Morgan and Tatum are playing some kind of chase game around the house.  I have 20 minutes before the boys have to be picked up.   I am relishing the down time I have had the last hour to read the headlines of the day and some of my favorite blogs.  I find myself in a pondering mode...

How did I get so lucky to stay home with my kids and raise them?  How is it that Mike and I have such healthy, beautiful, rambunctious children?  How is it that I have this beautiful life?  The answer that always comes is this..... I found Jesus Christ!  He is Real and He did save me!  I know to those who have not experienced a relationship with Him find a declaration like that uncomfortable or even dumb.... I don't care.  I know what I know and I love that I have this knowledge!  Through my relationship with Christ I have all that I have.

So on days when I have a moment to watch the wood burn in the fireplace, and hear my kids running and laughing, knowing they are warm and safe, and knowing that all I have is by His grace...I can't help but smile and feel overwhelming gratitude.

Family Pre Halloween Party

 This is the second year we have gotten together with all the cousins and played for a few days.  We do this to strengthen family relationships and to have FUN!  I can't tell you how much I enjoy being together.

 This year we all meet on a Friday at Thanksgiving Point.  We went to Corn belly's and I think it would have been more fun if there weren't so many people!  Everyone came in on a Friday afternoon and left Sunday afternoon.

 I love this little woman here.  She is a good lady and I am proud to call her my mom.  I love how we can get together and just laugh and laugh.  She is probably one of the funniest people to be silly with.

We were able to sneak away on the second day and go get a pedicure...she had never done one before. By the big smile on her face I think she liked it!  Thanks mom.

 One of the nights us adults went out to dinner.  It was fun to get away from the kids for a minute and just catch up without interruption.

 Uncle Jake had bought Morgan and Bella princess dresses for their birthdays so they were wearing them around.

 This was Saturday and we kicked off the day with a Halloween card game.  You had to act out whatever you drew from the cards.  It was pretty funny and the kids really got a laugh watching the adults act out.

 We got very lucky that the weather was cooperating so we could do all our goofy stuff outside!

 We did have lots of munchies...

 The next activity Jake called "face off".  It is where adults drew kids names and then the adults painted the kids face.  We were trying to see who did the best job.

 The kids got really into this and the adults did some amazing paint jobs!  Such a great activity idea by Jake.

 These kids all play so good together.  I have so much fun when they come.  I know my kids love them and have a blast.

I am so sad this is the only picture  I have of that night!  We did a huge scavenger hunt in the dark again this year.  Jake and I really stepped it up this year compared to last.  Mike pulled the kids and grandparents around on a trailer with the 4-wheeler.  They sat on bales of hay in the trailer (it was small but cute).  We had tikki torches at each station and tried to make it a little scary for them.  I was really concerned about Jake making it too scary.  (He LOVES Halloween and all things scary) But seeing that the kids weren't that scared we may up the game next year.  Everyone, including the adults played a part.  Grandparents stayed with the kids and read the clues, Mike was the driver, Jared was the talking head at one of the stations, and Jake and I were like the grim reapers at each station.

It was such a great time.  I feel that when you try to make family traditions special it strengthens family!  That is the point with all of this. I want our family to know that we all care about each other...... and what better way to do that then by playing, laughing, and spending time together.

This year was a success and I feel our family ties were strengthened.

Left out summer events...

 This was us at a foam fest 5k finish line!  It was awesome.  We got filthy.....and it was lots of fun.  I never thought I would enjoy this kind of thing but it was really great.

 Love this shot.  It would have been much easier to just run the 5k without all the other obstacles to go through. But all that other stuff is what made me want to do it.

Mike and I have been going to a personal trainer gym for 3 months now and I really enjoy it.  I hope we will do lots more of this stuff next summer.

 Here is sweet Elaine.  We were lucky enough to get to have her stay with us for 2 weeks.  She is a good woman.  The kids really enjoyed having Grandma around.

 Here are the sweet, beautiful, little, creatures that Mike and I have brought into this world.  I couldn't be any more proud of my little dirty animals.

 I usually only want to post the cute pictures of my kids, but after reading a dads thoughts on the passing of his son.... said that he is so glad he never erased any pictures.  He said that pictures you thought at the time were not great, over time, become priceless...I don't know why that impacted me, but it did.  I want to remember my kids even when they were being crazy.

Those summer days are gone...now its time to gear up for the cold.

Cole's 1st 4-H Pig

I don't know if I have written about the wonderful 4-H group we are in but they are AMAZING!  I knew when we came here I wanted to get the kids active in this program but getting an invitation to join Pigmania was such a blessing.   There are currently 5 families in this group and we do all sorts of activities but the last two years we have done pigs together as kind of the big project.

If Cole did not want to do it we would not continue but he LOVED it this last year.  This boy doesn't like karate, not soccer, not baseball ....but walking pigs he likes.

 We need to get him better trained on the proper way to show and walk it, but for his first year with very little training, he did amazing.  Especially, since he was afraid of Maroon (that's his pig)  when we got it as a baby.

 

 There were so many huge pigs I was really afraid for him.  But he got out there with all the kids, pigs and people watching and did good.

These picture are from our county fair.  His pig didn't make weight so we took him to state too.

Here is proud daddy!

Here is proud mommy!

Garden 2013

This past summer garden was interesting.  I think I got overwhelmed by how much we did and then kind of checked out.  Next year I will scale it back...  and stay more on top of it!!

We did finally have success with corn!  It was really good. I tried the 3 sisters planting.  Its where you plant corn, squash and beans all together.  The beans grow up the corn, the squash covers the ground and keeps in moisture..plus, the beans replace nitrogen, or something like that back in the ground, where as the corn pulls it out.  I don't get all the science behind it but it worked out really great.  (This was after a pretty good wind storm. )

I learned a very good lesson about bringing corn in the house.  I will share for those who are novice like myself, DO NOT, I repeat, DO NOT let the corn sit for long because worms get brought in with them. In fact, I would suggest never bringing in the corn. If I can somehow do it outside from now on I will!

This year was really good with fruit on our new trees.  The apples tasted really good!

Here we are with our bounty of pumpkins.  We had tons of them this year.  I planted 4 different kinds...we did good.  (Love those little kids there in the shot....I am one lucky momma!)