Ever wonder what 70 would look like?

Happy Birthday, Joy! 70 looks GREAT on you!

Kate helping Miss Joy blow out the candles, then blow out the candles again, and again, and again... Paw Paw had to throw in his "trick candles" ;). After pumpkin cake, we enjoyed a fun and relaxing game of Quiddler in which I *almost* won. (no need to say who actually won - that's all water under the bridge ;)

Not my favorite day

I overheard the girls talking among themselves this morning:

Olivia - "I wish we didn't have a mom and dad and it was just us kids. You know, just us, and Taylor and Ella and Ali and Caleb."


Kate - "Yeah, that would be fun! I wish our mom went to work and our dad stayed home!"


Olivia - (laughing) "Our mom can't go to work! She's not very strong!!"


Kate - "Yeah, but some moms go to work. The ones that are taller than the dads."


Definitely not the heart warming conversation every mom dreams of overhearing, but really I couldn't help but laugh. How do they think of these things?


In their defense, it has been a rough day. We've been slowly sliiiiding down the path of talking back and not obeying with a happy heart, and I was determined that today would be different. I haven't seen the difference yet, but I'm sure it will come with time :-P. I am very tired of answering to "Mooooooommmmm!" and hearing crying. Oh the crying. I know I am blessed beyond belief, but this has just been one of "those days".


This afternoon we ran out on an emergency run to get my sewing machine fixed. It works well enough to use, but it wasn't feeding my material through properly, and I needed to get it back to perfection before a big sewing day tomorrow. I have been looking for a place up here to replace the sewing center I went to in Murfreesboro. Unfortunately I haven't found one yet. The people I met today treated me like I was stupid. Every question I asked they answered in a demeaning way. I asked the lady what kind of needles she liked best for embroidery and her answer was: "embroidery needles". Wow. Thanks. When I asked the man what was causing my feed dogs to not work properly, his response was "user error". When I asked him what the user error was his answer was "various things". No expounding at all. I had to prompt every reply. When I got packed up to leave, he very snidely commented that if I was so dependant on my machine I should have a backup - as if this idea had never crossed my mind before, and I could pick up a spare for a measly $5.


The day ended with a successful trip to the library. I just love our library. It has a huge children's section that is it's own room entirely. I can set the kids free in there while I shop around. They also have a huge selection of audiobooks - I go through about 2 a week, listening while I sew or do housework. Speaking of housework, that's what I really need to be doing right now. I'll end with a few photos of the girls that we took a couple weeks ago at Olivia's birthday party. I'm sure most of you have already seen them on Facebook, but here they are for those of you who haven't ;).

They're all smiling!!!

Wonder what daddy was doing behind the camera ;)

Trip to MI

Brad's boss lent us his guest house in Michigan for the weekend of our anniversary. It was the first time we had really gotten away since kids, and it was marvelous. Really, marvelous. We loved just being free to do what we wanted when we wanted without worrying about naps or bedtime, and being able to eat junk food for breakfast or lunch if we wanted ;). We had landed with several gift cards to various places, so our first stop was to a super nice outdoor mall on our way up. We went to all of the stores we had gift cards to, and ended up with $200 worth of merchandise for $15 out of pocket - and all kinds of new clothes for our trip :). It was a blast!

Then we headed to Shipshewanna, IN for the day on Friday. It is Amish/Mennonite country, with lots of delightful shops and wonderful eating places. The people were so friendly, and the kids were so cute with their bowl cuts and "plain" attire. We stumbled upon one of the greatest fabric stores, that Brad basically had to drag me out of. We also did the Menno-Hof museum which was most informative, and a buggy ride.

Then we headed up to Diamond Lake that evening to sleep in our cottage. The view was amazing, and so many of the houses surrounding the lake were multi-million dollar homes. It was just like something out of a magazine. Saturday morning it rained, so we took the opportunity to go and see a movie - something we both love, but don't get the chance to do very often with the kiddos. By Saturday afternoon it had cleared off, so we headed back to the lake to do a little jet-skiing. Wow. Neither of us had done that since the we went with Adam and Rosie 5 years ago. It was even better than we remembered - even if I couldn't sit directly down on my rear end the next morning in worship (do I need to say that Brad was driving??)

That evening we drove to South Haven to eat at a nice restaurant and watch the sun set on Lake Michigan. It was the perfect anniversary weekend. I can't believe how fast 7 years has gone!

(This wasn't from our trip ;). Brad took this picture yesterday after I watered the flowers and I thought it turned out so cool I just needed to post it :)

The cousins came to visit

Austin and Zeb came for a visit and brought their guitar and mandolin. They joined with Brad for a little "pick 'n grin" session. They sounded great together playing good 'ol "Rocky Top". Wish we lived closer so they could practice up a little. Believe it or not, bluegrass is one of my favorites.

Livie dancing with PawPaw...

Once Josh got there they broke out Guitar Hero

Things went downhill from there...

Kathryn's Birthday

Was almost 2 months ago, yes, but I couldn't resist posting these photos of some really fun times spent with some really great friends.

Uncle Adam reminding us that yes indeed, Kate is turning 4. But let's not forget, "I'll be 5 on my next birthday. Mom, is it time for my next birthday yet? Because I already know what I want."

The rainbow cake was so.much.fun. If you've ever thought about doing one before, just do it! It was easier and cuter than I ever dreamed it would be. And what a surprise to cut into!

How sad that I did not get one photo of Gramma and Grampa - our gracious hosts for the week. We always have the best time ever, and can't wait to be back!

This is how much fun we had with our company

And now our house is so, so sad and lonely...

Take Me Out to the Ballgame Part II

Kate's party was a huge success. So many of her friends came to celebrate with us (well, and watch the game ;). As soon as we walked into the gate, I ran into my best friend in high school, and finally got to meet her two adorable children. We have lived in the same city for over a year now, and I am very ashamed to say, still have not gotten our kiddos together to play. It was so fun getting to see her family again.
As I'm sure you already know, Kate love, love, loved being the center of attention all night. We've been to several birthday parties lately, so when Kate woke up the morning of her birthday, she said, "Mom, is this going to be my special day, so all the presents will be for me this time?" What can I say, she had to get something from Brad ;).

We got Kate this little t-ball set for her birthday, and Brad took all the kids over to a play area in the ballpark where they took turns hitting. A couple of people not with our party wandered over and offered to pay $1 to hit :).

Miss Lea Anne, Mr. Jon, and Chelsea gave Kate a bag full of dress up clothes. Two of her favorite things in the bag were this veil and some clip on earrings. She only takes them off to sleep.

She didn't really like any of her presents...

And Livie didn't much care for her cake...
Friends at a ballpark with a Costco cake makes for a really great 4th birthday.

Happy Birthday, Kathryn!

It's hard to believe that our "big girl" is FOUR!
We've been borrowing Aunt Heidi's copy of Sleeping Beauty for a while now, and without mentioning anything to the girls (because I really didn't think they would care), I bought a copy for us, and gave Aunt Heidi's back. Kathryn has been telling me for a while now that she would really like to have the Sleeping Beauty movie for her birthday - one she could keep, and that she didn't have to give back to Aunt Heidi. Being the good (aka cheap) mother that I am, instead of telling her that I had already done just that, I kept it a secret, then as she was sleeping last night, wrapped up her copy of Sleeping Beauty and put it in front of her door, so that she would have a package to open first thing on her birthday.

It worked! When she woke up, she came running in with the present:
K: "For me?!?"
M: "Yes! It's your birthday, remember?"
K: "TODAY??? It's June 30th today?!?!"
M: "That's right!"
K: "So, I'm not 3 anymore?!?! I'm 4 now???"
M: "That's right!"
Once she finally settled down from being four, she opened her present and was ecstatic. Really, no one would have known that was the very movie that had been sitting in our entertainment center for the last two months. But she was so curious as to when I got it, and how I had kept it a secret from her:
K: "Did you get it at the store the other day? At Target? Or Wal-Mart?"
M: "No, I ordered it a long time ago. On the computer."
K: "Oh. Then did you pick it up at the store?"
M: "No, when you buy stuff on the computer, they mail it to you."
K: "Ohhhhh! So actually, the mailman gave me this movie for my birthday!"

Tonight we'll be celebrating at the ballgame - assuming it doesn't rain - with family and a few close friends. I'm so thankful for the little "big girl" that God chose to be part of our family. Happy Birthday, Kate! We love you!!

Looking back

I just happened to be flipping through some June photos, and accidentally landed in the June '08 file. I was just in shock at how much these little girls had grown, so quickly. I feel like I should literally be able to watch them sprout if they grow this much in one year.

Speaking of growing up, it has definitely been on Kathryn's mind a lot lately. I must have said, "Kathryn, you are growing up too fast" one too many times, because now she is obsessed with it. It started one day when she was telling me about what she was going to do when she grew up:

K: "... and I'll get married, and we'll live here with you and Dad!"
M: "When you get married, you won't live with Mom and Dad anymore. You'll get a house with your husband, and you'll live there with him, just like Mom and Dad live in their own house."
K (almost in tears): "But I can't live here with you anymore? Will you miss me? Will you be so sad???"
M: "I will be a little sad, but that's what God says to do, and so I'll be happy, too, that you are doing what God says."
K: "Mom? I don't want to grow up. I just want to live here with you."

Ever since then, she will just come over to me at random times throughout the day, give me a big bear hug, and say, "Mom, I don't want to grow up too fast, because I want to live with you. I just love you so much." I have to push back the tears as I tell her that when it's time, she'll be ready. I am so thankful to God for the three little girls He has given us to raise, and I pray we will bring them up to be invaluable servants of His.

A cookie kind of day

It's kind of a sad and lonely day around here today. Our good friend Chelsea called last night saying that she was going to Aunt Hannah's house, and wanted to know if Kathryn would like to tag along. Our little girl? On a trip all by herself?? She was such a big girl packing up her things and putting them in her backpack. Of course, she was ready 3 hours early, but still carried her backpack around with her all morning. When Chelsea got to the house, she went around giving her hugs, and all I could think was, "she'll be a teenager before I can blink". I love my little girls so much, and it's so hard to see them growing up so fast... and remember to let go a little as they do.


Sad doesn't begin to describe what Livie was feeling as Kate pulled away. She was downright depressed. Thankfully, this Mama had something up her sleeve! I had whipped up a batch of sugar cookies and had them chilling in the fridge this morning, ready to be cut into shapes and decorated when we walked back in from waving goodbye.

Success!