in the midst...

just enjoying summer, enjoying our new home, enjoying sunshine, and enjoying the bountiful harvest we have been getting from our garden. we are up to our eyeballs in veggies from our garden, and i'm trying really hard to not complain, but rather, enjoy, the bounty that God has provided for us for the long winter months ahead. Every year, around this time, I think so much about the pioneer women, the load they carried of feeding their families through the winter, by preserving the harvest they had in the late summer. I can't imagine doing that, but I do feel a sense of accomplishment, of satisfaction, looking in my cupboards, knowing that we've been good stewards of what we've been given.. and that always feels like a job well done.

rub-a-dub-dub

The other night I told Levi we were going to take a bath.

I started the water, and went to his room

to get a towel, pj's, and a diaper.

I came back to find this...

Apparantley he decided to not wait for mama...

He LOVES bath time.

Givin' Praise!

I just want to log the things we are praising the Lord now in this season...

-----> our new space. (pics to come soon)
-----> a backyard to play in
-----> being able to walk to the park and our church, and well, pretty much anywhere in SA
-----> a garden that is producing like gangbusters
-----> a small babysitting job for me this fall that will help pay for the sitters we need in the afternoons
-----> mike called today and let me know that his work has let him know he is now eligible for their insurance. do you want to know when our COBRA insurance runs out? do you?????

this next month.
(well it doesn't run out, but the portion the government pays runs out, and we won't be able to afford it anymore)

Praise the Lord for his provision in that.

What are you praising the Lord for today?

toddler bed

it kind of makes us cringe a little doesn't? no more cage like contraption for your kid. no place to set them, knowing they won't disappear. when we moved we decided to make the transition. he has been attempting to climb out of his crib for quite some time. he has yet to be successful, but he has gotten his legs caught a couple of times because of it.


it's been a trip. the first night, he fell out of bed, so we concocted this set up with a HUGE pillow (that i used when i was pregnant) to keep him tucked in. he's sleeping in it really well, the tough part is the going to sleep thing. for the past week, we've been rocking him to sleep, per the transition and what not it's just been easier. the other day, i tried to forgo rocking.

it didn't work.

last night, we let him scream.
we told him we loved him, kissed him, gave him his ni-night, and we left.

and the screaming began.

it lasted for maybe an hour. we could hear him getting out of bed, pitter pattering to the door, screaming, running back to his bed, running back to the door. mike finally went in when all was quiet. he found him sleeping on a blanket on the floor. we're going to go with this plan for a while.

he's down for a nap this morning because he was craaaaannnkky!

the pitter-patter continues, though this time, no screaming.

all in the name of progress, right?

a is for apple

i read a blog at www.homemadebyjill.blogspot.com

she's crafty.
i read it and wish i was crafty, but i'm not...

however...

right now, you can go and print off a VERY cute set of ABC cards for yourself..

for FREE!

you can laminate them, and throw them on a metal ring.
ba-da-boom, ba-da-bing...
craftiness by someone else! :)
(which just happens to be my favorite kind)


super cute, go check it out!

why we do what we do...

last week we spent 4 nights at the church, roughly 4-5 hours each night, decorating for our church's "High Seas Expedition" VBS. It was a long process, one that, at times, gets tiring, overwhelming, and perhaps feels a bit thankless...... but we are reminded so much of why we do what we do when we get emails like this...

"I hope you are having a rockin VBS week. We are off to a great start! Our opening night this year was 40 kids more than ever before!! One family said that they were coming this year for the first time because they heard that the stage was so awesome! Many of the contractors from the addition have been popping their heads in and admiring what is going on... our electrician is sending 3 of his own kids even (that's an assumption based on last name!) God is going to be doing some great things this week in the lives of these kids! "

wow!

Praise the Lord for his ability to work through things like cardboard, carpet tubes, and miles of paper... and just to give you a feel of perspective, this pic was taken from the balcony, and that center mast of the ship stood at 27 ft high.

and here are "after" photos. i took these from our church's facebook site.

it's amazing what lights can do!

this crazy life we lead....

we've been busy.

extremely busy.


since monday night we have been at our church every night decorating for our vacation bible school. it's a huge undertaking, but it's exciting to watch it come together. this year, the theme is "high seas expedition." we've built a ship, 3 huge masts with sails (the middle one is 27 ft tall) waves, and captains quarters, and lots of cargo. we spent mon-thurs from 6-10:30ish at the church, and wefinished around 11 last night.

tonight, we're packing like crazies.

tomorrow we move.

did i mention we're exhausted?

we're exhausted, and very ready to be done with this insane week, but excited to start this next chapter in our lives.

and.. if you want our new address, let me know, and i'll get it to you. :)

double duty

Last week, April took Bella on a walk on a nearby county trail.
She often lets Bella run off her leash, and she is typically very well behaved.

Last week was a different story.

Bella took off in a full sprint for about 300 yards when she saw a deer in the woods she came back when called, only for April to discover she was spurting blood on her little paws.
In her crazy olympic speed run, she ripped the skin off of several of the pads on her feet.

Per a call to their veternarian, Bella was subjected to peroxide, gauze, and finally levi's socks.
She went to the vet the next day, and they said she was doing remarkably well for the amount of skin she ripped off.

She will heal in 10-14 days.

magically delicious

mmmmm. lunch.

for lunch today, i had freshly made coleslaw with cabbage from our garden, as well as our first BIG tomato from the garden, sliced with some salt and oregano...

it's magically delicious!