a meal

beauty in a colorful Spring meal

A person can do nothing better than to eat and drink and find satisfaction in their own toil. This too, I see, is from the hand of God, for without him, who can eat or find enjoyment? 
Ecclesiastes 2:24-25

play

today our family played with a piñata that Peter brought home from school.  It was simply a decorated paper bag filled with goodies, strung up from our second story railing. 

But there was plenty to smile about and beauty to be found.

beauty in play 

and laughter

Today is the day the Lord has made.  Let us rejoice and be glad in it.

Psalm 118:24

reading

beauty in sharing a love for reading

photo cred to Peter

Train up a child in the way he should go,
And when he is old he will not depart from it.
Proverbs 22:6

hello.

today was book character day at  school

can you guess who she is?

down to the blue dress, white apron, and red ribbon at the end of her braids.

okay, i'll tell you...

Laura Ingalls (Wilder)

she's been reading the books with daddy for almost a year

it just seemed fitting.

summer

confession: I honestly wasn't sure what to expect out of this summer.

 I spent most of the school year feeling overwhelmed with life and caring for the kids and house and never got to the point where I really felt settled into a groove - thanks to illness, surgery, sick kids, ER visits, sick kids, tragedy, sick kids...did I mention that our kids were crazy sick this year?

so I was wondering how this summer would feel - all three kids home.  would it be overwhelming?  would we all be sick, again? would there be enough to do?  would I feel like we had too much travel or too little travel? would I spend the whole summer breaking up fights?

as we are now embarking on our third week of summer, I find most of my fears laid aside and am relishing the laziness of each day!  We are all enjoying sleeping in and eating slow breakfasts in our pajamas, nowhere to race off to (except the pool or beach or necessary store run), catching up with family and friends we don't get to see as often during the school year.  and really, being all together is great.

And yes, there are the daily, hourly, sometimes minutely sibling fights to break up or the baby to peel off of biting someone and there have been enormous loads of laundry to do (9 in 24 hours, thanks Matty for taking that on) and often stressful traveling situations that involve high pitched shrieking (not my own).

but I'm happy at the end of the day that we can spend this time together and make these memories...

visiting Great Grandma 

 driving go carts for Father's Day

 playing a lot of Crazy 8s while waiting for food at restaurants

pool time with Grammy

(and Hannah swimming on her own, hurray)

running in cold waves with friends

 just being together

 getting really, really dirty

eating amidst the Redwood trees

singing a lot of "Let it Go"

cousin sleepover at our house

 perfecting the art of roasting a marsmellow

and teaching it to others

enjoying the fruits of our labor

 as it turns out, 

having these three little people all to myself and not having to share them with school

is pretty fun

most of the time. :)

four

Today marks four years as a mom of this boy.

And I am so proud (and humbled).

As a girl who grew up in a family of girls and is, well, quite girly, bringing up a boy has been is a stretching, often frustrating, creatively demanding, mind-blowing experience.

I often look at him and say "Where did you get that idea?"

I have come to love crashing monster trucks into each other, building tall towers just to knock them down, incorporating super heroes in to every aspect of life, contemplating what bad guys eat (namely, no fruit or food their mommy makes just trees and snot, according to Peter), and examining the wonder of a dead bug.

a car we recently built together

This little guy is equal parts strong and sensitive.

Sometimes his tears and need for mommy surprise me.

He did not want to turn four.  

In fact, he was crying a couple of nights ago about it and this morning he declared he was just "almost four".

But he's come around.

Of course blowing out candles,  

opening gigantic presents and a huge frozen yogurt treat with daddy didn't hurt. 

I can't wait to see what challenges and joys this next year brings.

I think they'll be good for both of us.

And he still gives the best neck squeeze hugs around...

light

Rainy, cloudy days produce the most gorgeous light in our family room.

I just had to pick up my camera.

Here's a few moments from the last two days...

Our friends Wilson & Henry came to visit, I tried to get a picture of all four older kids....

and it ended in this.. 

Wilson is pretty smitten with Hannah 

I think she shares his affection. 

Who doesn't love this cute pouty face? 

And her curls are beginning to show 

Cheese!

Toby has the most beautiful amber eyes

Abby's checking him out. 

cooking time!

conversations

I like talking with my kids. 

I love hearing my kids talk to each other. 

Here are a few of the conversations from today.

I enjoyed them and I hope you do too.

Around our kitchen table:

Hannah: Mommy, there's a girl in my class who loves the Seahawks  but she likes the 49ers too.
Peter: Boo Seahawks! Go 49ers!
H: Yea, 49ers should have won.  But the Seahawks won and they went to the Super Bowl.  And they won and the Broncos lost.
P: Boo Seahawks
H: And they got a trophy and rings. Boo....

I sit and listen to this and marvel, how did my children get such accurate knowledge of the NFL happenings this year...oh yes, Matt.

all in their jerseys ready to cheer

watching a 49er game

At bedtime tonight (which by the way, I have found that if I want my daughter to really talk to me - just climb into her bed with her at nighttime and she will talk away...)

H: Mommy, when you were in the hospital having Abby what did they do to you?
Me: What do you mean?
H: How did they get her out? Reagan (her cousin) said they cut open the mommy's tummy...


Me: Sometimes they do if the baby's heart is beating too fast or too slow or if the baby is turned the wrong way.  If the baby is okay then the mommy's stomach just gets really tight and squeezes the baby down.
H: How big is the cut?
Me: (I show her about 4inches or so)
H: (big sigh of relief) Oh, I thought they cut the whole tummy open (she shows me from top to bottom).  My brain can think funny things...

so thankful for this girl

corks

We seem to know a lot of folks who are getting engaged right now.

And of course, we want to celebrate with them!

So there have been some champagne corks laying around our house and leave it to the kids to find them.  (Matt delights in popping them off, but not necessarily in picking them up.)

Peter discovered one and asked if we could paint with it like we did before.
(sidenote, how does this kid remember an art project we did once last Fall?)

This afternoon, Abigail was taking a long nap.
So out came all the paint, corks (I'd saved for the past year), smocks, paper and creativity.
And the kids set to work

 

   

Hannah really got creative this time around with cork painting.

Her serious art/mommy is taking lots of pictures face.

Our dining room table is now covered in drying works of art.

Anyone want one?
(Hannah loves to share.)