Family in Town

Last week was a busy one for us. Joshua & his Heather (my brother in law & sister in law) came into town for a visit. We all went to the lake & had a picnic. I swam with the kids quite a bit & Justin worked on honing his fly-fishing skills. Mom & Sarah watched the smaller children who didn't want to go in the water as much.....and of course they brought lots of yummy food. Joshua took the kids out in the raft for a while. It was a pretty nice little day trip.

Later in the week my parents came to visit. The boys were so excited to see them. Gideon introduced himself when he ran outside to greet them (no, it wasn't their first meeting). "Hi! I'm Gideon!" We went to the usual fun hang-outs while they were here: Costco, out for Chinese, the bank.....though, no WalMart this time. Grandpa helped Seth with his math (it's nice having a grandpa with a masters in mathematics!) & played lots of ball in the front yard with the boys. Grandma brought some pretty funny Christian comedian videos & had the boys cracking up......especially during the part when a ventriloquist was performing. Jarod has been walking around the house imitating him (the dummy, not the ventriloquist) for the past couple of days now. It was sad saying goodbye to them, but we're going to see them in a couple of weeks when we go to Vancouver for a family reunion.

My pregnancy seems to be going normally. I think I'm between 6 & 8 wks along now. I haven't gained any weight, but somehow pants are already not buttoning so well. Seems kind of early for that, but I guess this is #6. I started feeling really nauseated yesterday......so YEAH!!! Here I go again! But it I think I am doing well & am pretty healthy. I thank God that He is creating another person inside of me. I feel blessed. I'm getting excited to hold another little one in my arms again. 

A couple more quick things I am thankful for: We are getting much closer to getting caught up w/ the boys' school work (at least the important stuff) & today is my last day for jury duty. I am so happy about that. I never had to even be on a jury. Phew. Not that I don't want to fulfill my civic duty, but, you know....kids, nausea, life, etc...

My Baby's Not a Baby Anymore

Titus is now talking up a storm. While we were camping, he'd say, "Watch this, Mom!" Then he'd throw a rock in the water & ask, "You see dat? You see dat?" Or whenever he'd fall, he'd get up & say, "I'm alright, Mom!" As I type this blog, I am trying to get him to lie down for a nap. I can hear him from his bed crying & calling out, "I sad, Mom! I sad!" (It is quite the guilt trip, by the way.....he's making me sad!) When did my BABY start being able to verbally articulate his emotions to me?! Good grief.

We Love Camping

We just got back from our third camping trip of the Summer & it's only mid-June. Sometimes I wish we could live out there in God's beautiful mountains. I think the boys just belong out there; they fit right in with all the other wild things. They love to hunt for bugs, snakes, frogs, lizards, & they even pick flowers for their mommy. We actually got to do some swimming this time. Justin took a fly-fishing class before we left & spent almost the entire time standing in the river with his new fly fishing pole. The boys & I played in the water & went for lots of walks. We hiked up some pretty steep hills & of course I had to carry Titus when it got really steep. By the time we got to the tops, I felt like I was going to die. (I may be a little out of shape.) We got to the top of one hill. It was flat for quite a ways & completely covered in beautiful yellow flowers. We went exploring & looked over a few different sides of the hill & saw the river wayyyyyyyyy down below. I was a little nervous because it was very dry & hot at the top, & I could see lots of holes in the ground that looked like snakes might live in them. I think they were hiding from the heat however. The dogs were with us & were great guides. They lead us back to camp & helped us find easier trails. They took good care of us. It was fun but tiring. When we got back to camp (and after some lunch) the older boys went fishing with daddy while I took a nap in the tent trailer with the babies. That was fun too. ZZZzzzzzzzz

#6, Here We Come!!!

I just found out on Sunday that I'm expecting baby #6. This caught me a little off-gaurd, but I somehow already love this kid. I can picture a whole new child with his (of course it'll be a boy! What else? :-) own little adorable personality coming to life inside of me. It amazes me every time. God is good.