For several days Laura has been collecting raspberries and cherries.  She keeps talking about making a pie.  Pies are one thing I do not like to make.  However, I can usually be talked into it, unless of course, preparing for said pie means sitting for hours pitting drippy red cherries.  In that case, I really don’t enjoy the pie process.  But last year when Laura wanted to make a pie, she and the other children so enjoyed the process that I had to admit it was worth while.  So this year I won’t put up much of a struggle.  But I will be glad when the cherry tree is done bearing its fruit. 

Buy Crocs!

My good friend, Janie, told me that she loves the Crocs she has purchased for their family, so I decided to check them out. Turns out, I like them too! They are super-lightweight, they are non-slip, they come in lots of colors, and they are comfortable. But best of all, they are washable! That is so handy in this big family that includes puddle-jumping children and a pooping dog. We can get shoes washed and dried and back into business in two shakes of a lamb’s tail!

Today I took a photo of the largest and smallest Crocs in our family. The largest belong to ME, and the smallest belong to Little Mike. Aren’t they cute???

So far our family owns the following colors: turquoise, medium blue, hot pink, lime green, white, black, and red, in a grand total of five different sizes. I’m already wishing for a second color for myself, but at $30 apiece, I’ve decided that my one color goes very nicely with just about everything.

Let me know if you decide to try Crocs!

Michael is home! And we had such fun revealing our surprises for him. First, Laura showed off her new hair cut. It looks much like her old one, but it’s just down to her shoulders instead of going to the middle of her back.

The second surprise was that Judah is now walking! While Michael was gone, Judah was inspired to learn to walk, and he did! Now he is walking all over everywhere. He’s still unsteady, but he keeps practicing.

The third surprise is that we had cleaned the house very nicely to welcome Michael home. I am not a good housekeeper, so it was really a true surprise to Michael to have everything looking so nice. Now we’re just trying to keep it looking good.

The fourth surprise was that I installed a shower surround in our bathroom around the clawfoot bathtub. I did it all by myself!!! Last Friday morning I purchased the kit from a local plumbing supply place, and then that afternoon I got all the pieces spread out and figured out. I had to cut some stuff to fit, and I even used plumbers tape to connect the joints! Now when we wash our dishes in the bathtub (while we wait for a kitchen sink) we can admire the fun fishy shower curtain.

We are so glad to have Michael home again. Being apart makes us appreciate each other in ways we had forgotten to appreciate.

On that note, I’ll close this post. We are hurrying off to the pool today!

Love,

Christie

My mother invited all of her in-town children and grandchildren to come over to her house for a “camp-out” this Memorial Day weekend. So we took sleeping bags and a change of clothes and headed over for the fun. There were a few small tents, but the rest of us just slept under the open sky on the deck. We decided that it’s a great way to camp, with private bathrooms inside and not much packing and preparation necessary. It was unseasonably warm this weekend, and we spent a lot of time inside in the air conditioning. But the weather cooled down nicely so we could enjoy roasting hot dogs and marshmallows over the fire, and we enjoyed sleeping outside. Read the rest of this entry »

Wednesday wasn’t really a very exciting day in any particular way. It was rather ordinary actually. The weather was beautiful. The children had fun playing outside. And thanks to finding the missing piece to our trampoline, we were able to set it up and the kids have been loving it! Even the baby takes his turn. (What we’d like to know is how on earth someone can misplace a piece to a trampoline??? Somehow we did it.) Read the rest of this entry »

As I was sorting through the pile of paperwork and handouts that came along with our chicks, I noticed a brochure called “Kids in the Kitchen” put out by the American Egg Board. One of the recipes caught my eye, so I asked Luke if he wanted to put it together. He was so tickled to be able to make this recipe, and we thought it turned out quite yummy, so I wanted to share it with you here. The recipe was originally intended to be put together in separate custard cups, but we just used a bigger pan and adjusted the cooking time a bit. Here is how we did it. Read the rest of this entry »

Some people take sick days, but here at our house, we’re having an injury day today. I rigged up a swing for the kids to enjoy on the front porch, and they have been swinging on it almost nonstop all day! But one by one they are getting injured. Read the rest of this entry »

We took the chicks outside to enjoy the sunshine and green grass today.  They think it’s really great!  The chicks are 5 days old today.

Being outside provides nice lighting for photography, so I took photos of the kids with the chicks.  Here are a few of those shots…..

Amelia and Mike are surprisingly gentle with the chicks.  Sometimes the chicks even fall asleep in their hands.

Here you can see their outdoor pen.  Hope you’ve enjoyed your little chickie tour!

Our May Day was so much fun, and the chicks provided great entertainment. One highlight was seeing how they would chase and peck at the pinpoint of a laser light. It was amazing how at even one day old they were so alert and capable of hunting things.

Read the rest of this entry »

What an exciting day yesterday, full of wonder at our fluffy chicks. Each of the children was so anxious to hold the chicks, so we set up a little “chicken house” and finally got them moved into their new home. Now everyone can peer into the box, and little hands can reach in to feel and pet the chicks. Read the rest of this entry »