summer - we love you!

New dirt piles in the back yard to help fix our lawn make for lots of gritty, muddy, wonderful fun for little boys!

 At our fave beach on the lake

 Cousin Lane came to visit.  As usual, kids love him!  Elijah's sitting in the sling for his lift system here. 

 Goodbye, sweet Johanna!  Elijah will miss you very much, and so will the rest of us! 

 Happy birthday to Aunt Twyla!

 Thanks for your help to put up our new, enormous, made-by-daddy swingset.  Dirt piles and a swing, what more could boys ask for? 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

sweet days

 This little guy has me...I am in love with four men now!

Wish I knew how to make our camera behave a little better, but here's our latest attempt at a family photo!

These are some sweet days in my life.  I am sooooo busy sometimes, and I feel like I'll never be totally caught up on housework, but somehow it matters less as God refines me through being a momma!  I still love it when my floors are shiny and the kitchen counters perfectly clutter-free.  I also love little fingerprints on my windows, blocks scattered everywhere, and a little grit on my floor from a wheelchair that's had fun in the dirt.   

Thank you for growing me, Father...for helping me choose what's important and lasting and FUN for my boys. 

water, bikes, and cute babies

 Happy to have Todd's brother and family for a visit!  Sorry Auntie Ruth that we didn't get you in the picture.  Here's the crew going to look at the bees. 

Elijah just got the best toy of his life from our state's Make A Wish program - a Duet bicycle!  This was our maiden voyage.  Elijah was not feeling good, so we didn't get many smiles for the camera, but even being sick we could tell he loved it! 

 Johanna and Elijah

 We love his new bike, too!  This past weekend we all went for a six-mile bike ride.  Elijah smiled a lot, and we LOVED being able to do something fun and outdoorsy and "normal" together as a family!!!  I told Todd that it was one of my best weekends EVER.  Our child's limitations are our limitations as well, so having this bike gives us a fabulous way to have fun in an athletic way.  I felt so free!  My next challenge is to see if I can take all the boys alone on the bike (Luke pulled in a trailer and Zane in a backpack).  If so, the town is ours! 

A major feature of the Duet bike is that the wheelchair detaches from the back wheel, so that once you get to your destination you're not stuck.  We can go anywhere now.  Whoever thought of this idea is a genius!

 Luke makes sure we laugh every day multiple times.

 Oh so kissable!  This baby is a little giggler, but it's so hard to capture on camera.