4th Outtakes!

We tried to get some family pics before heading out to celebrate the 4th of July. Some were good and some are worth saving to laugh about later!

Happy 4th!

We celebrated the 4th of July a little early with my family. These pictures were actually from last Saturday. It has been one busy week since then!

The kids were fascinated by the black snake fireworks Howard bought. They pretty much looked like piles of dog poo when they were done but the kids thought they were cool.

One of Howard's work buddies dropped off these bouncing toys for the kids. They were having fun giving them a try.

And falling off too!

Just hangin' out.

The kids spent time in the pool, sprinkler hose that Peter and Kendal brought over and climbing on the play set.

This little guy got such a big kick out of dragging these around the yard. He kept pulling them around our shed and then would go around again for another loop. Too cute!

He also seems to be quite taken with his cousin. These two smile at each other, study each other and seem to like each other. He was quite insistent with Kendal that he be able to push Evey himself. (Don't worry Aunt Kendal was right outside the shot to take over pretty quickly!)

The best shot I got of all the cousins (and mommies!) together.

Tanner had a great time throwing washers with Uncle Billy. He just doesn't like to share or care if it's your turn so it's not so much fun for the other person...:)

"But I wanna play too!"

Getting ready for fireworks.

Remember this scene from last year? She still doesn't like the sound of fireworks and didn't really enjoy them. She did much better on the actual fourth. 

We all brought fixin's for ice cream sundaes and by the time we had all eaten them we felt like absolute pigs! Too much candy and ice cream. All in all though, we had a really nice time together.

Window Seat Wanderings

Every Wednesday I post about a book I’ve read that I think is worth passing on. I have a personal love for Christian fiction so that is my main focus but you will find other reads sprinkled in here from time to time.

I’d love to hear what you thought of a book I recommended or if you have a new one for me to try. So grab your favorite beverage and get comfortable, let’s get wandering!

One Thousand Gifts by Ann Voskamp

This weeks book has been such a blessing to me! I have followed this woman's blog for a year or more now before the her book came out. She writes in a style that requires you to read slowly and think through what you are reading. I relate to so many of her struggles and frustrations. I was curious what her book was about and excited to find it at my local library. The book couldn't have been more timely for me! I would like my own copy so that I could read it again with more time to ponder some of the stuff I read. It is so full of encouragement and the call to find joy in every moment(and she has lived some hard moments).

Here is the books backcover wording: One Thousand Gifts beckons you to leave the parched ground of pride, fear and white-knuckle control and abandon yourself to the God who overflows your cup. As Ann Voskamp invites you into her own moments of grace, she gently teaches you how to biblically lament loss, turning pain into poetry; intentionally embrace a lifestyle of radical gratitude; and slow down and catch God in the moment.

Not a book merely to read, One Thousand Gifts begs to be embraced as a dynamic, interactive primer inviting you to engage with truths that will serve up the depths of God's joy and transform your life forever.

A dare to live fully right where you are.

    

Awww...

     These two are about as close as you can get these days. Typical siblings they fight and annoy each other constantly when together but can't stand five minutes separated from each other. I love watching them interact together. I also want to pull out my hair from all the refereeing I'm doing! All kidding aside I am sooo grateful to be able to have this time with them. So grateful that they love each other and cheer each other on. 

Tunnels

We pulled out the kids fabric tunnel the other day. So much fun in such a small space. Tanner thought it was the best. Kept giggling and racing right after his big brother.

Tips worth Remembering

I am always on the lookout for simple tips that will help save me money in the long run. I came across two recently that I thought were worth sharing.

I am forever getting grease stains on my clothing from cooking. I've thrown away a few really nice shirts because I couldn't get the stains out. I use aprons as much as possible now but stains do occasionally still find their way onto our clothing (imagine that!).

I read recently how white chalk will remove grease stains from clothing.

I had a nice pair of shorts that had a grease stain on them. I'd washed them, dried them and tried all kinds of treatments and nothing had worked. I figured I had nothing to lose trying the chalk. The crazy thing is it worked! The shorts had already been dried so I thought it was hopeless. I am over the moon about such a simple tip! You simply rub the chalk all over the stain and launder like normal.

My second tip is great if you get ink on your clothing (or in our case most often the kids, who have it somewhere on their shirts). Before you wash the clothing, or whatever else you have an ink stain on, saturate the stain with aerosol hair spray. Be sure to hold a paper towel on the back side of the stain because it will bleed right through to whatever is behind it! The paper towel will absorb the stain and you can launder your clothing like normal. This doesn't work so well on clothing that's been dried but sometimes you can still get the stain to lighten.

If you have any other great tips to share please send them to me and I'll get them posted in the comments. Happy saving!

Working Weekend

So, last weekend was Memorial Day weekend. Ours was a planned work weekend, as we had much tending to do to our flower beds. We've been in our home a while now and had never finished landscaping.

The boys had a blast "helping" daddy play in the dirt. He came up with "jobs" to keep them busy!

This garden has been a pile of dirt for years. Howard kept telling me he was going to build a paver retaining wall to fix the sliding mud and mulch. This year he promised it would get done. It was such a labor of love but I love the final results! He did such a great job and I am so proud of him!

I think it is beautiful. We worked all weekend in 90 degree heat/humidity (it was like soup here) and kept having to stop because of thunderstorms moving through. It took all three days but together we mulched, dug holes, built walls and planted shrubs, trees, plants and flowers.

This juniper tree is going to add some privacy to our back deck. We've had an empty mulch garden for about 3 years. It's nice to have this to fill it out now! We are so happy to be done landscaping and now be able to enjoy our hardwork.