A Lasting Moment

Lately I've been finding that Trey and Bre have formed a closer bond then they did when they were little. I remember months ago dealing with sibling rivalry and feeling like a refuree all day long. But recently I've been finding the two of them playing together (especially laying on the floor and coloring together while talking about trains or princesses), telling stories together and having adorable reunions of hugs and kisses when they've been seperated for several hours. I've even found that they will sneek into the other siblings bed at night if they are scared and need a secure place to rest. It brings tears to my eyes as a mom and I pray that the friendship they share now will only grow stronger and more caring as they reach those pre teen and teen years.

Clifford

Today Clifford came!!! My kids really enjoy reading all the Clifford books and watching the morning cartoon show. They also LOVE the library. It's normal to find me walking to the car with 10-12 books once or twice a week with my kids. They love to read. So when Clifford the Big Red Dog came to the library it was the makings of a great day for Trey and Bre. They talked non-stop about it on the ride there.

Trey was a little cautious about getting too close to this dog because it just didn't seem quite "right" in his mind. He kept asking questions like, 'why can't you bark?', 'do you have teeth?', 'why aren't you talking like Clifford cartoon does?'

Bre on the other hand couldn't hug Clifford enough and when he left the building she just cried and wanted to know where his dog house is because we should move it onto the farm so he has a nice place to live.

A New Day

Tuesday was Trey's first day of preschool and he was extremelly excited to get there although he still thought the school bus was coming to pick him up just like his big cousin Brady gets picked up. It took a lot of explaining when we loaded up the Subaru and headed to school but he finally caved and realized if he enjoys preschool then next year the bus will pick him up for big, big boy school at Paradise Elementary.


Anyway, Breanne is going to 2yr. old story hour (which we are calling little girl school) so she dug out her backpack to be just like her big brother.



Suprisingly, I wasn't very emotional when we got to school however, when the teacher reached out to take Trey's hand and led him to the toy area with oodles of children that Trey did not know I got a very dazed, deer in the headlights look and just stood there for a few minutes thinking, 'this is it....the beginnning of a new journey'
I'm praying it's a good and enjoyable one.

thinking of you

I want to lift up Jared and Mindi Bruckhart today as they are experiencing sorrow in the death of Jared's father due to a motorcycle accident.
A few of us girls were with Mindi when she got the call and it hit me again how just one minute, one split second can change our lives forever. I pray that God's hand will close around the Bruckhart family and give them comfort during a time of pain and uneasiness.
We love you and our hearts go out to all of you!

There's a First Time for Everything!

Arlan and I took the kids for their first trip to the beach on Sunday. What a ton of fun!!! Our kids loved it. We packed so much activity into our two day stay that by supper time each night I thought they were going to flop into their dinners with exhaustion. But they forced themselves to stay away in case they missed something.

Trey was busy with Mason, Ethan and Dillan. They ran from one end of the wave to the next yelling the entire time. Breanne no sooner got on the beach then made a little friend with another girl playing in the sand. (They tried their hardest to immitate the boys although not getting as "close" to the water)

We also made sandcastles and flew our kites!
The next day we took the kids on a boardwalk bike ride and Trey just talked my ear off the whole time, giving me a narration of all that was going on around us.

We also went mini-golfing thinking it may not be a hit but we were suprised at how precise Trey was with his hits. Breanne was just in it for fun and didn't quite understand that you hit the ball then DON'T TOUCH IT, and hit it again. She picked up everyones ball after they hit it, EVERY.... SINGLE.... TIME! (She's just so "orderly" like her mom. No mess.)

To end and evening on an exciting note we couldn't pass up the boardwalk and all those cute and fun rides.

Trey and Bre went on every ride together. The one time Trey didn't go with her Bre just cried and cried. It's so cute to see my kids getting along so well and becoming close friends.
It was a very fun weekend for our kids and for Arlan and I. It makes me so anxious for the next vacation we can take as a small family!!!

Just One of Those Weeks

Did you ever have one of those weeks where nothing seems to go right? Well, we had one this past week.

Over the weekend our little puppy, Charcoal jumped out of the pick up truck while Arlan was driving and broke her leg. It wouldn't have been a big deal if it hadn't been her knee bone/growth plate so it was either surgery or have a three legged dog. Arlan opted for the surgery since she was so young.

Well now we feel even worse for getting the surgery. Look at the comfortable,high fashion recovery.

A cone for the head, a cast for the leg, no jumping, no running, can't get the bandages wet or soiled. Are you kidding me!!! This is insanity, what did we get ourselves into?

Two days later our little kitty's mommy got hit by a car in front of our house.

The worst part of that was that the mommy cat wasn't ours. We were house-sitting it for a few weeks till my sister-in-law returned. So, we had to make a difficult phone call to a little neice.

Then two days after that Trey feel of our dock at the pond. Head first into some shallow water lined with rocks. Luckily he had no serious head injuries just some deep cuts, scrapes and a bunch of bruises.

So.....maybe next week will be better!!!

Aprons

I've been experimenting more with Apron making thanks to the fabulously creative book called "A is for Apron" and this is the outcome!

Sorry, the lighting was horrible. This apron was fun but difficult to sew but cute, and reversible too!!

I also had some leftover material from my last apron project and made a "Leave it to Beaver" apron so on those crazy days I could slip on this baby and it would take me back to a simpler time/era. (not that I ever remember those days, to young)

My kids love, love, love to do artsy projects. The messier the better and I always cringe when they ask to get those darn finger paints out so I decided to make them painting smocks. Breanne willingly modeled hers while Trey whipped his off at the first suggestion of a photograph.

However, even the prettiest models can turn fiesty on you when your inexperience takes too long to get the perfect shot!

Gotta Love It!!