The birthday that was

... along with Dex.-induced insomnia and medical appointments...

Decorating Dad

I LOVE the expression on my baby's face, seeing the new-to-her bike, complete with bling a la Tato Dru.

Yeh... this photo pretty much sums Ty up right now.

The kids' reaction to their birthday and gifts made Rob think of a quote from the movie The Count of Monte Cristo.  There is the rich friend and the poor friend.  And the girl who completes the love triangle says something like, "You got a pony.  He got a whistle.  And he was so much happier with his whistle."  Thank God this is the case with my babies.

The day was filled with scones, hot dogs (Thank you, Gl.!), pizza, pies, tacos, and spaghetti; birthday undies, a pogo stick, kettle chips galore and jammies; FaceTime calls from People that Love, the Wetzbergs and Tita and Tito.  God is good to us!

Out of my babes' mouth

Upon seeing a bunch of math facts worksheets, Sophie said, "I would work myself into a fit if I had to do all of that!"  (In fact, she will work herself into a fit if I don't find some large-print versions.)

G ran into my room after returning from a family (minus me) bike ride and said, "We just had the most perilous bike ride!"

Happiness

A boy, his bike and mud!

My men!

The three of my men scraped and repainted our old garage.  Shoo!  They worked hard for three straight days.  I'm so proud of the young ones.

The bibliophile lives!

Back in February, I quit reading, except for the Bible.  I thought that there was no point since, well, who knew how long I'd last.  Maybe it was the good news from the scan (Although the same question remains.), maybe I'm feeling starved, I don't know.  For whatever reason, I'm going to begin reading again.  I'm going to start with Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm (I know that should be underlined, but I'm having some trouble with the button and... "Ain't nobody got time fo' dat!").  And then I'll continue with a commentary on Hebrews, a book about ADD and Little Britches.  Oooo.  It feels good.

LF

I have LF.  I'll just leave it at that.

But in response, my dear child said, "I just wish that we could go to the jungle, where there is no news, and be free."  My baby!

Summer fun

For the record: I am not ignoring what's going on.  I'm focusing on my family right now.

My kids have been sleeping in our tent in the backyard; riding their bikes MILES around our block; jumping, jumping, jumping rope; practicing archery (with Ty's homemade bow that totally works!); rambling at the dacha; climbing trees; and eating mint out of the yard.

Thank you, God, for these gifts.  YOU are good.  YOU are ALWAYS good.

An act of love

Somewhere in India, a mother has wrapped a red string around a tree for me.