A Visit With Friends

Our good friend Andrea and her kids, Georgia and Titus, came to visit us in May!  Her husband Dave was out of town for the week and we were so pleased that she asked to spend the time with us.  I continue to miss the moms that did life with me down in California.  While we love the space and freedoms that life in Oregon provides us, the trade off continues to feel great.  We miss being close to so many friends, having a neighborhood park to walk to, and because this season of life can be so chaotic we recognize how precious the sacrifice of time to connect really is.   That's why when Andrea called the day before they were going to leave to say that Titus was throwing up we said come anyway.  We never know when the next chance to spend time together will come so it seemed worth it even though we knew we might end up sick.  

Well, unfortunately we all did end up catching Titus' bug, including Andrea, but thankfully Hazel was spared and although Andrea and I didn't have the energy to hang out quite as much as I would have hoped in the evenings, I'm pretty sure the kids won't even remember that they were sick.  They had a blast playing together and even when they were sick all they could think about was getting back to playing.  I'm positive that they will only remember the fun that they had playing with friends and that makes it all worth it.  The kids were so sad to see them go when the week ended and Georgia prayed most nights that they could stay for 10 days instead of 6.  We definitely love this family and are thankful for more precious memories made!

Friendships Growing

A New Friendship Budding

So Much Playtime!

The Little Boys

It was fun getting to know Titus more this trip.  He was so little the last time we saw them but this time we got to see a bit more of his personality.  He is quite the adventurer and he loved, loved, loved, all the animals.

The Animals

T-Bone

Howie

Our neighbors have two horses that the kids enjoyed saying hello to.

Chickaletta and Little Red

The chickens got out at one point and the kids decided to try to catch them.  At the point that this picture was taken they had already been wrangled back into their pen but the kids still wanted to catch one.

Only Wyatt was successful!

Minnie

Minnie got lots of attention as usual.  Titus especially could not get enough time with her.

Quiet Time

We actually got all of the kids playing in their own rooms or napping most days for about an hour which I though was pretty good considering there were 6 of them.  Quite a few days quiet time quickly turned into this, which never happens, but was evidence of the fact that no one was feeling great even though all they wanted to do was play.

The Little Miss

The Dairy Farm

Someone still isn't feeling 100%.

It started with trying to lasso the lambs and ended with this poor little thing being hogtied and needing Mommy to rescue it.

Earlier in the day Andrea and I were reminiscing about the fun of playing outdoors and remembered hiding in tall grass as kids and making mazes through it.  Then we headed to the dairy and watched our kids doing the same thing, playing hide and seek and making little nests out in the grass.  So fun!

Playing in the cottonseed is always a highlight for kids when they visit the dairy.

 Quad rides are also usually a favorite.

I love this picture.  The look on Georgia's face as Titus tries to climb into the cow pen.  It's a classic big sister of a little brother look.

I think the calf barn was a highlight for Titus.  He really did love all the animals.  I couldn't believe how brave he was even letting Roberts fancy bull chew all over his arm.

Goodbye for now Wallace family.  Hope to see you guys again soon and thanks again for all the wonderful pictures Andrea!!!

April Showers Bring May Flowers and a Kitten

Summer

Once again we are loving the color and beauty that Oregon summers bring.  Our trees are loaded with fruit, our raspberry, blueberry, and blackberry bushes are exploding, and I can't get enough of our beautiful roses.  It stays light until after 9:00 and currently we spend most of the day and evening outside enjoying the weather.  Seriously, nothing beats the summertime!

Minnie

Sadie has been asking for a kitty since last summer and we finally decided to give it a try.  At the beginning of the month Uncle Robert brought over a little barn kitten that Sadie named Minnie.  I like to call her Minnie the mouser in hopes that she'll take care of a lot of the mice around the property, but Sadie is adamantly against that!  So far she has been a great little kitten, very playful and sweet although she possibly gets more love than she'd like.  She has just recently discovered that climbing trees is her best chance at escaping little hands, much to the kids' dismay, but who can blame her for needing a break when the days activities include bike rides, riding in their cars, being swaddled, and so many other creative things they come up with.   Yet, all-in-all she seems to love them because shes always close by and continues to allow them to carry her around for a good portion of the day.

Mothers Day

I'm so thankful that I get to be a mommy to these little ones.  Although there are days when I think I might go crazy if I have to settle one more argument, or talk one more time about obedience, or carry one more tantrum throwing toddler to their room, I can't imagine my days without them.  They bring exceeding amounts of joy and laughter to my life.  They teach me to slow down, to love genuinely, to forgive quickly, and to PLAY, and they challenge me always to grow in selflessness and patience and love.  I most assuredly love these littles more than anything!!!

Picking Strawberries

The kids had fun picking strawberries although really Grammy picked most of the strawberries.  Seriously I don't know what we would do with out her.  I spent most of the outing trying to get Hazel to sleep, Hazel spent the outing being uncooperative, and the kids spent the outing competing over who had the most strawberries.  Oh well!  We shall try again next year.  At least the strawberries were yummy!

The Circus

A small circus came to Jefferson over Memorial Day weekend!  We decided to check it out with Robert and Amy's family and it ended up being just right for our little ones.  It wasn't anything to big but we got to sit in the front row, it had a tiger, acrobats, and a tight rope walker, and the kids were totally amazed!

Cooper Robert

Cooper really is such a clown these days.  He is constantly making us laugh with his silly faces and the things that he says.  He gets SOoo much enjoyment out of making people laugh and we can't help but laugh a lot of the time.  Yesterday, his thing was to throw his blanket over his head and say, "Hey, who turned out the lights?" and today he was out having a water fight and I couldn't stop laughing as Sadie and Wyatt would dump water on him and then I'd watch him laugh, scoop water in his cup, try to throw it but get himself instead, and laugh again!

Miss Hazel

Our Little Nut

Our little nut turned 3 months old in May.  

We have fallen into a pretty good routine during the day which is nice and she sleeps consistently from  8:30 pm - 4:30 am  which is wonderful!!  She loves to smile at all of us when we talk to her and is by far the most ticklish of my kids.  She's easy to get laughing and occasionally even laughs when I'm getting her dressed if I touch her wrong.  She sucks on her tongue and fingers to sooth herself, she demands that Daddy bounce her to sleep most nights, which works since that gives me a moment to read to the bigger kids before bed, and she still leaves in her hair bows much to her mommy's delight.  Sadie always pulled them out so I've been determined to get her use to them while she's little because they're just so stinkin' cute!