Ribbon Cutting

My brother had a ribbon cutting for his business this morning.

CNC Design, LLC

Kitchen, bath and more.

They are in the old post office building.

Neat building with lots of character.
Many hours have gone into restoring it.

Exposed brick and beams.

It was a beautiful day.

And a great turn-out.

Probably 75 people or so.

My only sibling and his super wife.

So exciting!

My brother's business partner cut the ribbon.

Congrats, little brother!

Too Much to Ask

ALL I wanted was one picture

of them ALL looking at me.

Did not happen.

This is what I got.

Kid #1 looking.

Kid #2 looking.

Kids #2 & 3 looking.

Kids #1, 2 & 3 looking.

And I gave up.

Kid #4 could no longer wait.

He had to be on the move.

He loves this helmet.

It is not his.

It's way too big.

But he wears it every time he rides his "motocycle." Safety first.

Tip of the Day

Don't make sun tea in a pickle jar.It tastes like...pickles.

I'm a sun tea jar snob.
I don't like the jars with the little spigget on them.
It just gets moldy and stained.
And drips all over.
So, I got a pickle jar.
And, yes, I washed it.
Threw lots of baking soda in it.
Then let it soak for a long time.
No more smell.
I thought I was safe.
Silly me.

Roadtrip

We headed west for Memorial Day.

Just to do something fun as a family.

After we told the kids about the day trip,

and got them all excited,

we thought we would have much rather stayed home,

worked in the yard, roamed thru the cemetery.

But the kids didn't like that plan.

So off we went this morning.

Our first stop kept getting pushed off.

We wanted to stop for a quick breakfast on the road.

Not a fast-food joint, but not a sit-down diner either.

Finally our garmin showed a donut shop in a little town up ahead.

Probably didn't have to say little.

All the towns are little in the western part of our Kansas.

One thing that we have learned,

the garmin is not always up-to-date or accurate.

The donut shop?

Non-existent.

Didn't look like it had ever been a donut shop.

By this time,

(we had been traveling for over an hour and a half)

Jake and I were desperate for a bathroom.

My excuse: 2 cups of coffee to go, please.

Jake's excuse: he doesn't need one, that's just Jake.

DESPERATE.

A gas station nearby saved the day.

Restrooms, pre-packaged donuts and Nestle chocolate and strawberry milk.

Then a little stop at an ancient park to enjoy the tasty breakfast.

And finally, after that long intro, some pics.

Jobe has serious bed-head.

I forgot to comb his hair before we left.

Kinsley's claim to fame.

Boot Hill in Dodge City.

Helped make Wyatt Earp and Bat Masterson famous.

Before the kids could be deputized, they had to learn to mosey.

Watching the gunfight.

Right before it started Ezra said:

This is going to be good!

It really wasn't, but the kids didn't know the difference.

Finally, a stop in Greensburg.

A town that was nearly completely destroyed by a tornado two years ago.

Also home to the world's largest hand dug well.
The town is rebuilding green.

Behind Jake is the new arts building.

Odd to see a new, modern building, then all around devastation.

Beautiful weather.

No fights.

Great day.

Fingerprint Friday

Sometimes you just have to talk about your kids.
Fingerpring Friday is a perfect day to do that.
Because what greater fingerprint of God is there than kids?
Afterall, we were created in His image.

Gen. 1:27
So God created man in His own image,
in the image of God He created him;
male and female He created them.

Jake loves to smile.
When someone makes a comment to me about Jake,
they almost always talk about how he's always smiling.

Jake is pretty bright.
He just completed third grade yesterday,
but for the past 9 weeks or so had been going to a 4th grade classroom for math.

This is an e-mail I received a day or two ago from that 4th grade teacher:

I just wanted to take a minute to tell you how much I have enjoyed having Jake in our classroom for math. He comes every morning with a big smile and jumps right in. When we do things that he hasn't learned, he stays right with us and picks up concepts at an amazing speed. I love his attitude and the way he is obviously excited about learning. I think he is a very, very special boy and am glad I had a chance to work with him. Keep up the terrific work you do with parenting and loving him. He is a blessing!

Yes, he is!
She made me tear-up.
Love this boy to pieces.Each week pamperingbeki hosts Fingerprint Fridays and uses a song by Steven Curtis Chapman as a springboard. Join in if you can. It's a great way to be reminded of God's goodness.

I can see the fingerprints of god
When I look at you
I can see the fingerprints of God
And I know its true
You're a masterpiece
That all creation quietly applauds
And you're covered with the fingerprints of God
So look around you and see where YOU can see God's fingerprints. Is it in nature? Kids? Animals? Where do you see them?

Baby Love

My new little nephew came for the afternoon today.
Eight weeks old.
Jobe could hold him all day.
After he was born, the three older kids each designed a onesie for him.
He's wearing the one from Brookie.

Ezra asked lots of questions and made lots of observations about his cousin:
He's farting a lot.
He has tiny hands.
Why can't he eat baby food?
Baby Tyson's poo-poo is different than Jobie's.

And one last pic of my baby with the newest baby in the clan.

How could you not hug them, kiss them, stare at them and love them?

Oh My

What do all these things have in common?
Let's just say, it's been a while.
According to a website I visited recently-
by the way, I don't recall why I was looking at this particular site-
you should vacuum your carpet (high traffic areas, anyway) everyday.
But wait, that's not all.
Not just vacuum once a day, but go over each area SEVEN times.
Are you kidding me?
Pretty sure I laughed out loud.
I wonder how often "the experts" recommend you vacuum furniture.
Bet it's more than once every six months.

And now I must apologize to anyone who has been at my house and sat on my couch.
And to my mom who is most likely thinking she raised me better than this.
And if you are one of those who vacuums your carpet everyday, don't even tell me.
I don't want to know.

Soccer Moms

Brookie had a soccer game in the afternoon on Mother's Day.
Her coach brought roses for each girl to give to their mom.

With this group, things are never dull.
These girls have been together for 2 years now.
They began in the "B" division; then this spring moved up to "A".
Today, they won their division with a record of 7-0-1.
They work hard, but they have so much fun.

Now, for the summer, its soccer camps and clinics and a 3 on 3 tourney.
Then, in the fall, we moms will once again enjoy watching our girls play.
It's not so bad being a soccer mom.

Attack of the Dinosaur

This series of pics was taken by Ezra a couple of weeks ago.

Obviously our camera was nothing too special given that I let the four year old handle it...

unsupervised I might add.

I was busy doing something terribly important...

like checking facebook or blogging or dreaming of a vacation...

without the kids...

very, very important.

Buh-Bye

Well, it was inevitable.
Today, our camera decided it no longer wants to take pics.
It's been cranky for a while now.

(the kiddos several weeks ago visiting their new baby cousin)

Taking fuzzy pictures.
Long delays.
Messing up potentially really good pictures.
At least that was always my excuse.
We've talked about getting a new one.
But just didn't want to shell out the money.
Or, more accurately, didn't have the money.
Still don't, but how do you survive without a camera?

So, for the time being, I'm stuck with old pics.
Just thankful it made it through the big birthday party yesterday.

Now, what to buy.
Any suggestions?

La, La, La, La...

La, la, la, la
Elmo's World

birthday breakfast

birthday cake

birthday supper

birthday presents

birthday candle

Elmo says, "Happy second birthday, Jobe!"

I Love Being Mommy

with kiddos this cute,
who wouldn't?
Isaiah 40:11

He tends His flock like a shepherd:

He gathers the lambs in His arms

and carries them close to His heart;

He gently leads those that have young.

this has been a favorite verse of mine for a few years now.

it's an encouragement (and reminder) to me to know that Jesus is gently leading me,

even when i am not so gently leading my children.

thanks kiddos for letting me be your mommy.
i love every moment...
even the difficult ones...
but especially the sweet ones.

Fingerprint Friday

Wednesday night Ryan and I were out in the yard enjoying a gorgeous evening, when we heard some rustling in the tree above us.
We looked up to see baby squirrels. I ran to get the camera and called to the two little boys to come see. The boys quickly lost interest and went back to playing with the recently captured crawdads.
But Ryan and I watched, took pictures and watched some more. There are five here.

After a while Ezra came over and said, "You're still looking at them?"

To which I replied, "Mommy is ____ (insert age here, 29 or younger would be nice, thank you) years old and she has never seen baby squirrels." He was very unimpressed.

Count the six bushy tails. We thought we might have seen as many as eight.

And God said, "Let the land produce living creatures according to their kinds...And it was so. God made the wild animals according to their kinds...And God saw that it was good.

Genesis 1:24-25

Each week pamperingbeki hosts Fingerprint Fridays and uses a song by Steven Curtis Chapman as a springboard. Join in if you can. It's a great way to be reminded of God's goodness.

I can see the fingerprints of god

When I look at you

I can see the fingerprints of God

And I know its true

You're a masterpiece

That all creation quietly applauds

And you're covered with the fingerprints of God

So look around you and see where YOU can see God's fingerprints. Is it in nature? Kids? Animals? Where do you see them?