Project 365: Week 28

Sunday, July 4, 2010

Independence Day

We went to church with Poppy this morning and then out to lunch. The kids can hardly pass Poppy's bright green lawn mower without at least ONE of them feeling the need to hop on. In this case, it was two!!

Looks like two boys ready for life on a homestead to me!!  :)

Monday, July 5, 2010

Picking up Noah after his first day of camp at Family Farm:

I don't know if you can see the fine layer of dirt covering his entire body, but trust me. It's there.

Dirt + Big, Huge Smile  = Wonderful Day.

Tuesday, July 6, 2010

I said I was going to do it, and I did. I can't spend that kind of money on my hair and not be at least somewhat happy with it. It just needed a little tweaking...into a whole new style! (I still think he didn't quite "get" what I was going for. Miss you, Mrs. Jacolyn!) But I am thankful for shortness. Very.

Wednesday, July 8, 2010

I hate making lunches ahead of time. (That's definitely one little extra blessing I get for schooling my kids at home.) But this is my baby (technically "my big ol' eight-year-old boy) going away on a bus each day to spend the whole day!! So I've put a little extra effort into it, decorating his paper sack with stickers, and packing a personal note from me. And, yes, that's my astounding artwork on the envelope! "Day 1" was Noah wearing that t-shirt pictured above on Monday. "Day 2" was Noah petting a black puppy dog, because he fell in love with one that first day and talked nonstop about it. "Day 3" has him with a sand castle, because he had won 3rd place two days in a row on "Sand Castle Building." At the end of the week he got an award calling him the "Sand Castle King"! (I always said he ought to be an architect!)

Thursday, July 9, 2010

Saylor's little friend from Academy (one of two besties pictured here) came over for a few hours today for some serious girl time. They played for a solid three hours upstairs with no "need" for entertainment from me or anyone else! It was kitchen/house/store/baby time, and with just a handful of toys, too!

Friday, July 10, 2010

My man took me out to dinner--to my favorite place!

Saturday, July 11, 2010

We had a nice summer shower, and afterwards the babies went out to play in the mud get some fresh air. This little guy landed on Gabe's arm. He sort of panicked for a second (I guess he forgot about this) until I told him it was just a little baby and showed him how cute it was. After that he was engrossed and was still talking about it at nap time.

Well, it's definitely summer, isn't it? Lawn mowers, hair cuts, camp, friends, and insects. Yep. Summer. I hope you're enjoying yours! I'll be checking on all Sara's "Project 365" peeps to find out.

Doing Battle

Noah is, in a word, a challenge to photograph. There are very few pictures of him at all. He goes off and does his own thing. (He's a very busy boy.) Or he zooms ahead of us when we're going somewhere. Full of energy and fairly easily-distracted, he's almost always on a bike or a scooter or just plain on the move! In fact, I often have to sneak up on him. But then, of course, there's no smile.

And besides, he's usually in no mood for this sort of interruption.

Ironically, as much as he demands attention, he can get really mad when you actually give it to him!

He avoids the camera. Always has.

The few photos I have, I've used already. Sometimes more than once! I'm not sure if he's just camera shy or simply doesn't want to comply. (Or a little of both).

He puts up quite a fight at times.

But what he's still yet to learn is.........

Mommy always wins.

Project 365: Week 27

Sunday, June 27, 2010

Quickly becoming a Sunday night tradition: popcorn for supper. (We add fruit, cheese, carrot sticks, olives, and that sort of thing on the side.)

Monday, June 28, 2010

Atticus Playing with Babies

Tuesday, June 29, 2010

Tonight the Rackleys (minus Benji) came over for the last time. After the kids played for about an hour, we parents went out to eat, leaving Katelyn in charge for a couple of hours. Love these kids!


And then there were presents. Just little tiny somethings for each child. Because. Like I said...we love these kids.



Wednesday, June 30, 2010

I've been losing horrific crazy amounts of hair. And I couldn't stand it anymore. So I got it cut yesterday. I love having my hair short, but I'm not sure I like this style. Just not sure it's me. In fact, I may go back and have it fixed.



Thursday, July 1, 2010

Dental check-ups.



After the dentist, we had to prepare to show our house for the first time. Not fun. But it's nice to have the house mostly clean.

Then.

After dinner we went to say our final goodbyes to the Rackleys. (For those of you who haven't read my post about them, they are going to be missionaries in Africa.) They were finishing up loading the moving truck, so we gave them a little break from the work. There was trampoline-jumping, sliding, hide-and-seek, and lots and lots of hugging. They head out first thing tomorrow morning.



We're going to miss them sooooooo much!!


Friday, July 2, 2010

I need to find a home for all. these. jars.


Today would be a perfect day for it. But I just can't seem to muster the motivation. Yesterday's mad, house-scrubbing mania (before the showing) just about did me in. I'm taking the day off...and doing it pajama-style!


Saturday, July 3, 2010
Celebrating the Fourth

Much swimming (and bubble blowing) at Poppy's house today.





Then we went to see the fireworks on the lake. But just before they were about to start, a storm quite literally bleeeeeeeww in, and we took off running for the car. Somewhat drenched and with several traumatized kids in tow, we watched the fireworks display from inside the vehicle...while we waited for the parking-lot traffic to LET US THROUGH!! Blogger is acting plumb crazy right now, so it's a good thing this week's post is over. Check out all the great "Project 365" blogs at Sara's. (I also have her button in my sidebar.) And Happy Independence Day!!!

Snips, Snails, & Pretty Pigtails

Noah is full of ideas. He's a problem-solver. And he likes to be right in the middle of whatever's going on. Sometimes that tends to drive others crazy. Like when someone's trying to install a dishwasher or move a heavy piece of furniture, for instance. Oh! And he's determined. Determined, that is, when it comes to doing what he's set his mind to. Not usually very determined when I've asked him to solve some math problems or write a story. But certainly very determined when he wants to be the one to uncrate the aforementioned dishwasher. (That kept him busy for quite a while.) Sometimes these qualities are a challenge for the rest of us to understand or accept, but I do have faith that God can use them for good.




Saylor was a gorgeous "Mommy Doll" in McAfee Ballet's production of "The Velveteen Rabbit." She couldn't have been cuter. (It's funny how the little ones get under those bright lights and just totally lose all sense of direction and ability.) And she stole her portion of the show. Literally! Just ask her teacher...




Gabriel is actually becoming a...............(wait for it).................TALKER!! Yes, he is!! Over the past couple of months he has just started jabbering like crazy. There's not much he won't at least TRY to say. Of course, that means there's a lot we can't understand. But he makes every effort to get his point across. He's also forming sentences like "Atticus, come upstairs "; "Daddy home?"; and "Ready go Mimi's house." You just don't understand. That's HUGE!! And so, so beautiful to hear! I'm thankful to be able to finally say that he now has more words than we can keep up with.




Atticus is such a little bright spot in our home. He laughs at all our antics, plays happily in his crib when we need him to, and makes peace when he is playing with something that belongs to someone else. He even calls for his bigger siblings when he wakes up in the morning, because Noah will often be the one who gets him out of his crib and Saylor often goes in there and entertains him while Mommy snoozes a few minutes more. (Shame on me!)

The Recital

In case you were wondering about the real-life colors...let's just say there was pink involved. Heavily.