A New Look for Fall

I know I haven't updated the blog in a while. Since school started things have been pretty busy around here for me. Trying to keep up with household chores, take care of three kids, and school Megan is more than enough to fill my days - all of them!

I did decide it was time for a new look on the blog, since it is officially fall. It doesn't quite feel like fall here in Arkansas. The days have been cooler but the leaves aren't really changing yet. I love fall and all the beautiful color and aromas that comes with this season! I'm hopefully for a very beautiful fall this year!

Hopefully soon I'll have some time to do some new posts about soccer and pumpkins and other fall activities. Until then enjoy the new look!

Megan - 6 Wonderful Years

Make an on-line slideshow at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Eating Corn

I was changing my son's poopy diaper this morning and I noticed it had some corn in it, which I mentioned to him. So, of course, he asks to see it. I show it him to which he says, "Can I eat that corn, mommy?"

"No, son. You already did!"

What Can An Engineering Degree Get You?

The ability to do THIS:

Cooking and Canning

This past weekend we made a big batch of salsa using tomatoes, yellow peppers, and onions from our garden. Once we finished preparing it, we canned most of it. We are looking forward to enjoying our salsa over the next few months.

We also went blackberry picking this past weekend which I turned into blackberry jam. I canned it as well.

I wish we had more and better pictures of our time at the blackberry farm. Those of you who know Joshua, also know he can be a handful in situations like this. It was all we could do to maintain control of that boy! His white shirt was completely purple by the end of our time there, as well as his hands, arms, and mouth!

We had a good time and are enjoying our homemade jam!

Happy 1st Birthday (+ 1 week) Sofia!!!

If couldn't tell by the title, this post is a week late. Last Friday Sofia turned one! Boy, how time flies. In so many ways this past year has just flown by, in other ways it hasn't. It also has been a wonderful year, as well as one of the hardest for me as a mom. Needless to say, Sofia is a joy to have in our family. Although she has only been a part of it for a year, it truely is hard to remember life before her. She fits into our family so well. Her little personality is coming out more and more each day. One of my favorite things is how she cracks up at her brother and sister. She absolutely adores them and they adore her as well.

This past Sunday (July 5th) my cousin Kristen and I had a party for our two girls together. They were both born the same day, July 3rd. We reserved a room at The Jones Center in Springdale and had a cute little party for the two girls. It was a great day!

(I will post some pictures as soon as I can find where Jaime saved them.)

Backyard Fun

We enjoyed a beautiful day today, working/playing outside. Jaime got some work done in our garden, cleaned up the weeds around the swing set, and did some other misc. things. Joshua and Megan enjoyed the pool, sprinkler, and spraying each other with the hose. Sofia even had fun playing in her pack and play in the backyard.

Our tomato plants are huge and needed to get cages around them. We finally got that done today.

Clearing the swing set of weeds.

This is one way to stay hydrated on a hot summer day!

Fun times!

What a sweetie!

This boy loves the water.

Sofia enjoyed being outside with the rest of us.

Pure exhaustion after a long day of playing.

Our trip to North Carolina

Lori with her two boys, Caleb (4) and Titus (2), and Baby Ruth #3 (due July 20th).


Titus was always playing in this mud puddle. He loves to get dirty!


Megan and Caleb became instant friends.


We couldn't get Sofia off this rocking horse. She loved it!


We were given some free zoo passes and decided to make the trip to Columbia, SC with all the kids. They had a great time. Joshua is still telling his daddy, multiple times a day, that he saw elephants and lions and monkeys at the zoo.


The kids looking at some fish.


Our best attempt to get a group shot of the kids.


Our two two-year-olds. The temper tantrums were frequent!


Our meals together.


Another attempt at a group shot.


Joshua got a summer buzz cut courtesy of Lori.
The before shot.


After. What a cutie!

Thanks Lori, for letting us come visit. We had a wonderful time. Can't wait to see you in the fall!

Hello from NC

Some of you may have been wondering why it seems as though I have fallen off the face of the Earth; why I haven't been answering my phone, why I haven't been returning e-mails, etc. Well... last week, somewhat on the spur of the moment, I decided it would be fun to throw the kiddos in the car and drive almost 1000 miles across the country to Waxhaw, NC. Why Waxhaw, NC? Let me tell you! My dear friend Lori is here. Her and her husband are missionaries in Southeast Asia and are back on furlow. Her husband had to leave for a 10 day training, so I called and asked if I could come over and play! She said "Sure!" and here we are. It has been great to catch up with her and see our kids interact together. I will post pictures of our week together when we get back home... that is, if we make it home. I told her I might need to stay a few more weeks because I'm not looking forward to doing that drive again, so we'll see!

11 Months Old

Today Sofia (and Bekah too!) turns 11 months old. It's so hard to imagine that she has been with us for 11 months already. It feels so fast but also like she has been around forever. It truely is hard to remember what our family was like before she came along. While she has been the most difficult baby of my three, she is little by little out growing most of those difficulties. She definately has a sweet personality which melts my heart and I adore that about her.

Some stats about Sofia:

She has 7 teeth and #8 is just about to break through.

She loves to lay her head on my shoulder while I hold her for a minute before falling asleep.

She still isn't crawling.

She loves to walk, if someone will hold her hands to help her.

She just learned to wave and clap her hands. (See video below)