After dinner "show"

Friday night is our family's movie night. However, lately we've been watching a "show" each evening. And last night was no exception. So after dinner and a game of Clue, we sat around the livingroom eating apple pie and being entertained by this....


Drool and all isn't she just the cutest!?


Esther is smiling and laughing some now, but last night she was bustin' out laughing while playing with her daddy.

Sweet, sweet times.

Last Week...

The 3 older boys went to Boy Scout Camp at Bear Creek Scout Reservation near Kerrville. They had a great time! They earned merit badges and ranks and took the state hunter's education course.

So what did the rest of us do all week besides mope around the house missing them?

..... Phoebe had a sleepover....

Notice the quilt under all those pretty toes? That was my project for last week that I still haven't finished. I finished the quilting yesterday and I'm planning to finish the binding today. We'll see, my days don't always go as planned...

.... and Benjamin had a sleepover...

The girls stayed together the entire time, which took alot of planning and discussing on their part. The boys, however, were all over the house playing with what they wanted, when they wanted and with whoever wanted to play the same thing. Very interesting....

.... absence does make the heart grow fonder!

Summer Fun...

I've always said that if I had to choose between a big house and a big yard, I'd choose a big yard. But sometimes, you don't get to choose. You just have to take what's available because your house sold so quickly that you closed on it on Monday with promises to move on Saturday and don't find a house to rent until Thursday. So you wind up with a smallish house in a subdivision with very small yards.

So, where do your kids play all summer when all that will fit in the back yard is a trampoline?

The street.... of course....

....the ankle is feeling much better... thanks for asking....

...zoom, zoom, just call me Dash...

... our friend who lives in the country and has never ridden a bike on the street. He ended the day with only one bandaid need...

...Redneck Follow the Leader... all it takes is a low rider looking bike, rip sticks, scooters (not shown) and mule tape and of course bandanas to complete the low rider, gangy, redneck look... oh, I mean wet bandanas to keep you cool in the 100 degree weather.

... after only 3 hours of fun in the sun... our friends had to go home...

What a great afternoon!

By the way, just in case you noticed how green and beautiful our neighbor's lawn is and how brown and not beautiful our lawn is, its because they water theirs and we really don't. Just thought you'd like to know that!

Summer's Blessings

We've been missing our garden! For most of our married life we have had a garden. The last few years we have kept our garden going year round and it was amazing how much food a small plot of land can produce.

Since we are renting right now, we don't have a garden, but some dear friends went out of town and asked us to pick their garden while they were gone. Here's some of the pickins. Also, several friends from church have also blessed us with fresh produce over the last few months.

We made 14 quarts of tomatos with onions and garlic and 6 quarts of salsa. We have about 2 gallons of breaded okra and 2 gallons of breaded squash in the freezer. The other night we had stuffed patty pan squash, I used this recipe http://bethany.preciousinfants.com/2008/08/04/stuffed-flying-saucer-or-patty-pan-squash.aspx . We all decided it was a keeper.

I hope your summer is full of blessings.

Fun at "the Spa"

oh, "the Spa" can be so much fun! ...other than the needles and being sick, of course!

At least that's what it looks like to a 7 year old boy who is just a little bit envious that his sister had all the fun. Not only did she get hospital bed rides and get to control the TV remote, but she also had many visitors, many of whom brought small gifts or treats.

Oh, the gloriousness of it all!

I've been informed of every scratch, bruise and insect bite on his little body ove the last week or so. When I ask if he thinks its bad enough to go to the hospital his reply is always the same..."hmmmm, not yet"

All is Right in My World

Everyone is back home!

Thanks so much for praying for Phoebe while she was in "the Spa", aka the hospital. They determined that she had cellulitis which is a bacterial skin infection. She is still on oral antibiotics and her ankle still hurts at times but she is definately better than she was.

Christian is also home now. He had a great time in Minnesota and Canada, the highs were in the 70's and the lows in the 40's. It was a bummer comming home to 100 degree weather. He thinks he might want to live up there. Of course if he ever went there for the winter he might just change his mind!

Have a great week!!

Please Pray

Late Tuesday night Phoebe was admitted to the local hospital, affectionately known to her and Carl as "the spa". She has an infection near her ankle that doesn't have any kind of wound on it. They've been giving her IV antibiotics since she was admitted and the infection is starting to respond. They still don't know exactly what it is, but should know today or tomorrow.


Carl's been staying with her all this time. It breaks my heart not to be up there, esp. at night but the baby has to stay away from her until we know what it is. Although Carl is much more fun than I am! I am definately the worrier. She has the camera so I'll post pictures later of things like the hospital bed ride she gave her brothers.


My children have only been on antibiotics a handful of times in their lives, and when they are on them I give them acidophilis. The antibiotics that they are giving Phoebe are way stronger than amoxil and I want to start her on some probiotics as soon as she gets home. We're out of kefir and I can't find anyone who has extra and its too hot to be shipped from afar. Any ideas on on a tablet probiotic?


If all goes well, she will get to come home tomorrow. Christian also comes home tomorrow. Hopefully by Sunday we will all be home ~ the first time since June 6th ~ and all will be right in my world.

Thanks for your prayers, we'll keep you posted!