A shadow in the sun

Saturday at the fair

Country life includes fair life. During the later part of summer fairs are everywhere. This past week was our county fair. It is not a big fair but rather small and disappointing. Although to be fair I am used to huge large overcrowded fairs that are as big and populated as amusement parks. This is not one of those types of fairs. My boys do not know those fairs and are so excited to go to this one.



We spent the day riding every ride. It took me to the end to get them on the scrambler but I did and they LOVED it. There wind whipped faces smiled as they got spun around.



There were only cows there. But they pet them and feed them.



However, my two little country boys will have their hearts stole any day by farm equipment.



And ice cream! But only from the best ice cream dairy I have came across.

Should I?

We keep hearing over and over, everywhere we tun about these hard economic times. For the most part, as a family, it has not affected me. We live a simple life. We have one income, one car, one low mortgage payment, high taxes but that's life, 2 large personal loans out. Both each others from before we meet, mine is school, and we are SLOWLY paying them down. Our grocery bill is not to out of control. However, that is one I really want to track the total of each month because I do feel it is where I could cut a lot. But it is so jumbled with the rest of my Wal Mart purchases it is hard to keep it straight. And there is the list of the other regular bills everyone has. But bill aside we are okay. We were still able to take 4 long summer vacations. We are still continuing to remodel the house to the tune of thousands of dollars, ugh I always cringe at the register there.

But one thing I really don't like is gas prices. I feel like a bullet hits my bank account every time I fill up. And I do not have a large SUV but a small family Malibu. So it has been on my mind about getting a scooter. Yes a little tiny thing that I could ride to and from work. I work about 15 miles away. And this would slow the trip down immensely since they don't go to fast. But would I save in gas? Would the price I would pay buying the scooter negate all the savings in gas. Would the extra time it would take to get there and back not be worth it. It is unpractical having such a small vehicle with a growing family. But then I would not have to stop and get groceries. All of these things have been going through my mind as the boys and I went ahead a looked at some.

olympic spirit

I saw this and it made me laugh. I hope you enjoy it to. What a gymnist.

The kind of place I live in

Is the kind of place where neighbors are known. You are able to walk the streets of my small town and be wonderfully greeted by the many people sitting on the porch people watching. Compare pedometer stats with other walkers by. On watchers have seen my little ones get first pushed around the streets in their double stroller, then pulled around in their red wagon, and now chased around as they pedal faster on their bikes than I can walk.

There is not a single stop light, grocery store, gas station or bar. There is a state university, the first state park, a post office, a pizza joint, and five churches. We also just added a large fair grown which back up to our fire house, ambulance complex and a really quaint country decor shop.




It is a friendly town where everyone knows your name, your ancestry and your BUSINESS. I don't mind. If you are upstanding there is not bad to say about you. My neighbors drop by anytime as we do to them also.

We all share in each other accomplishments. And we all morn others losses. Earlier this year a solider from our town was killed in Iraq. We all came together but up a large memorial and named the ball field after him. Last year a little girl died that fire department and ambulances drove around the streets in a slow precession with sirens on in morning.

It is a great town a safe town. Where I don't lock my doors and I often forget things in my front lawn. It is where you will open up your door and find baskets of bountiful vegetables. Just left for you. There are so many possibilities of who could have I don't know who did it. Its a great feeling to have so many wonderful people around.



I am thankful for my town. Thankful for where God has brought us and the place he gave mt to raise my children protected, loved and looked out for. It is where you will find us together at home on 14 Fir St.

No floor in the front room

The very front room in our house has been many things since we moved in three years ago. It was a scrap booking room, a storage room, and place for our freezer, a ketch all. We never could really decided what to do with it. Once we started homeschooling the answer became apparent it would be our home school room. We had a lot that needed to be done to this room before we could make it a place to learn.

First we had to empty it out. We actually got that one done a while ago but there was a large restaurant freezer in there. We did not like this freezer. It was to big. We would freeze things and they would get burned before we would get a chance to eat them. But we still wanted a freezer just a smaller one. So we went and and picked up a smaller one that now sits in our laundry room. It is actually to small..oh well. One day while my husband was gone little me manage to get the freezer out of our house and into the front yard with a free sign on it. A few hours later it was gone.

Now the room was completely, absolutely empty. I pulled up the carpet and noticed that there were many spots that had damage on the sub floor. It was going to have to be replaced. So my dear worked hard for days tearing up two layers of the sub floor. They were not easy to get up.



Finally and thanks to my helper it was all up. Then we found out the frame had damage also and would have to be replaced. So now that is the step we are left at. We have no floor. So we are on a hopefully soon to be accomplished mission to build a new floor.

When the river is a bit cold

I wanted to spend a fun day with the boys playing in the creek but when we got there we found the creek to be a bit cold. This far into August I was surprised. We still jumped in and trekked up and down the rocks for a while.


After jumping out we dried off and headed over to Mr. Eds for some candy and swinging on the elephant tire swings.

Me and my beloved

"I am my beloveds and my Beloved is mine." Song of Solomon 6:3




Oh I love that we are each others brought together by God to form our family. Our chances of meeting were so slim. I grew up on the East coast he lived his life on the West Coast. When I was entering kindergarten he was graduating from high school. He set off to explore the world while I was learning to tie my shoes.

I grew up and went off myself to explore, for an adventure, to college. I chose a private Christian college, Pacific Lutheran University, nearly as far from home as I could get at the time. I was living in Washington D.C. this college was just outside of Seattle Washington.

I took a job at a very small Indian casino where he happened to work. From there it was meant to be. We were brought together by chance built a relationship by trial and error, friendship, and LOVE and built a family upon GOD.

For he is great and we can't see the beautiful tapestry he is weaving but I can appreciate and give thanks to Him for tying two knots together and stitching together a family for us.

Sunflower Garden

The sunflowers are growing. It has been a month now since we planted our sunflowers late in the Summer. I dug out a small area on the side of the house that gets a lot of sunlight. I tilled the soil and not knowing what I was doing I sprinkled sunflower mix over it and then watered. My husband walked out and I heard that saying "what are you doing?" Well I want a sunflower garden dear. "Okay well you have toplant the seeds you can't just sprinkle them on top." Humm...so I started pushing the seeds in with my finger. Then a neighbor stopped by and again "what are you doing?" Again I replied I want a sunflower garden. So she told me "you are going to have to protect them rabbits love to eat them." We have rabbits all which are referred to by the kids as Rodger. So I built a cage around them to protect them. I was pretty proud of it.
Later I went to work and was telling someone there about it when he said "you know they have to be planted deep and its too late in the season for this. Everyone is so encouraging. But I stuck with it. And in 1 month I went from this to this!!!

B I N G O

They love the game. All of them DH, my 2 kiddos, My brother, SIL, and niece. Concentrating, looking searching for the numbers and just as you are about to win, not really but I will pretend that we have one at least once in our life :)you hear that familiar 6 words every toddler use to ruin anything "Mommy I have to go potty!" Oh well, at least they are all out of diapers.

Psalm 133:1-3

Psalm 133:1-3
1 Behold, how good and how pleasant it is For brothers to dwell together in unity!
2 It is like the precious oil upon the head, Coming down upon the beard, Even Aaron’s beard, Coming down upon the edge of his robes.
3 It is like the dew of Hermon Coming down upon the mountains of Zion; For there the LORD commanded the blessing—life forever.



I am so thankful for them. For the love and strength they have between each other. For the joy and happiness they have brought in to everyone's life. For watching them play together and seeing their smiles each day.

Singing at church

I forgot it was costume night! But I think it is adorable that Gregory is there singing with Spider man, Batman, a princess, and it is to hard to see but there is a pair of chickens behind him. How fun and how great our church is. So inviting to everyone even superheroes. Even Jesus our true super hero.

Life is better at the beach

It has been a while since I blogged but for good reason... we were at the beach! My family loves the beach. My husband and I have been going every year but have only took the children a few times. However once we took the they have come since. We all would choose to be there any day, together.

They are not scared of the water and for as little as we go Gregory is now our amazing little surfer.


Much time is spent playing in the sand, making angles, burring kids, and well just being silly.



It is hard to be such a cute big boy on the beach. You just need to relax.