multi-tasking

moms are famous for their unequaled ability to multi-task.
but don't you love it when you find a product that does the same?
enter cheez-it scrabble edition.

you can give the kids their snack/challenge their spelling/play a game all at the same time.

jack was hungry but displayed the family name

olivia did more playing than eating and came up with quite a spread

# 11

on august 25 we celebrated jack's 11th birthday. he even invited those neighbors and they came and had a wonderful time. we kept things simple--400 water balloons, lots of games and ice cream cake. izze carbonated juice drinks, and thank you treat bags.

they had a great time, and jack had a great birthday. they were all soaked at the end of the day, but hopefully went home tired and worn down from that sugar/water balloon rush!

we love you jack!
happy birthday!

catching up

between caring for a newborn, pulling the last 2 kids out of public school back to homeschool, 2 birthdays, 6 visits from company, teaching sunday school, robin coaching soccer and taking in-laws to doctor appointments, i've neglected updating our scrapbook blog. i'll get to it soon, sometime in the next 3 days, before i leave for the mops convention in nashville on thursday, i'll post a bunch of stuff i don't want to forget about. meanwhile, 3 couples and their families are coming for dinner tonight, i'm taking karis to work for one of the last times (she'll be getting her own car this week, Lord willing) and trying to catch up with the wash (it's clean, just not all folded...). enjoy these taken and edited by olivia herself.

book review

a recent library treasure is this book published by the metropolitan museum of art.

titled, "can you hear it?" it features 13 songs on cd that accompany art pieces and challenge kids and parents alike to hear what the composer was trying to convey in his piece.

we enjoyed this book (and boys will be boys, pete and mike liked the war one best). highly recommended!

the creamery

the creamery has always been a favorite spot to stop for "penny" candy. but last winter the creamery was closed for remodeling, and we were afraid it wouldn't be the same.
when we stopped after the railroad, we were pleasantly surprised to see they kept most of its original charm, and even added a two sided honeycomb, complete with live bees making honey! (bottom right photo).
of course, the candy is now sold by the pound rather than the piece, and it's a bit more expensive than a penny each :)

sunday

helper

strasburg railroad

we've had lots of out of town company lately, and it's been fun taking them to different tourist destinations. when the 3 big kids were little, we would take them to the strasburg railroad (i'm sure ticket prices weren't as high back then, but we had a friend who worked there who kindly gave us tickets so i never noticed...). this day we took karis' friend ashley, but nick wasn't with us since he had spent the night at patrick's.

pete was quietly concerned about the whole thing before we got started.
then when we saw thomas the train engine being repaired, he continuously wondered how he got sick and what they were doing to him (and what happened to his face? it wasn't a painted smile)

karis had the camera and saw this kid. she thought the t-shirt was funny.
(and we'll be homeschooling 4 this year! yay!)

halfway through the train ride, there's a nice, quiet picnic grove that you can get off to have lunch or play on the playground. we always do this, and that's usually a way you can differentiate between locals and tourists. it's not an advertised thing, so tourists rarely know it's an option.

wounds

some are necessary, and visible (like shots at a recent well-child check, above).
and some may not be visible, and we wonder if they are necessary.
jack, almost 11, is our 5th child.
he's very social: friendly, outgoing, talkative, funny.
he takes after his dad in all the best ways.
he has always wanted neighborhood friends, and yet in all the states in which we've lived, there haven't been any his age or gender.
imagine his delight when we moved onto this street. there are 4 boys his age within the range of 6 houses or so.
however.
he didn't anticipate how much it would bother him if the boys were mean, or used bad language.
he's an evangelist at heart, not afraid to ask people if they know Jesus.

last week, as i was mowing our yard, i noticed boys starting to come across the street.
they brought sleeping bags and overnight bags.
boys came from all over the neighborhood and others from his school.
i figured it was a party. and my son had not been invited.
don't mess with the mama bear.

those who know me well, know that i love to mow (or vacuum a pool) because it's a great, uninterrupted time to pray and ponder.
oh, i cried out to the Lord on behalf of my son.
"please don't let him notice, Lord."
and then he came out to scooter. i saw him go down the street, and notice the noise from this friend's backyard.
i watched him as he innocently rode into the driveway and asked if he could play.
my mother heart wanted to stop mowing and distract him.
"go inside and get a snack. play xbox. watch t.v."
my child-of-the-king mind told me to let him go.
i watched. i continued mowing.
he came home within minutes. told it wasn't a party and he should go home.
his best friend, older sister, olivia-13, told him it must be a party.
his sweet mind couldn't comprehend his friends lying to him.
so she went and asked a different boy. he told the truth. it was a sleepover birthday party.

have you ever seen your child's heart hurt and felt yours beat brokenly as well?
this was the scripture i had read that morning in my devotions:

"do not fear what you are about to suffer. behold, the devil is about to cast some of you into prison, that you may be tested, and you will have tribulation ten days. be faithful until death, and i will give you the crown of life." revelation 2:10

did i want to see my son suffer for speaking up about his faith to his friends at such a young age?
no.
but more than that, i DID want to see my son see that there is a God in heaven, who cares SO MUCH about him, that He would have given me that verse to share with him, on the very day that he would need to hear it.
persevere.
there is more to life than what the eye can see.

in wounds and rewards.

home tour-little boys' room

i couldn't resist including pete vacuuming--he's our hardest, happiest worker when it comes to chores. it's a huge room and they don't like their beds being so far apart. what you can't tell from the picture is the ceiling over both beds slants in, so you couldn't do bunk beds, or have a high dresser or bookshelf.


this is their favorite part of their room. the secret hideaway. they especially love the over the door shoe pocket holder that they can stash all their childhood essentials: lego/playmobil people, light sabers and stuffed animals. it's not air conditioned so we keep the door closed these days, but they can't wait for fall, when we can open the windows and that special door.

freezing corn

i love to freeze corn, and lancaster county has the best. we always wait until the butter and sugar corn comes in (note the yellow and white coloring) because it freezes so well. we did 20 dozen or so and it will all have to stay in sue's freezer, since my little 'ol side by side does not have much room. thanks for hosting us at your house snyders! and for shucking all the corn darrell and cody! we girls had so much fun!

summer fun

7 things making me happy

1. verdant green corn fields heavy with corn
2. hanging laundry on the line
3. girls in trees
4. the smell of a newborn in my care
5. watermelon freshly picked from a local field
6. karis and nick returning safely from their mission
7. trips to the library

teenager big!

i brought these zucchini home the other morning and when pete saw them, he said,
"wow. those vegetables are big!"
and pointing to the biggest one, he says,
"this one is teenager big!"

matthew 11:28-30
"come to ME, all you who are weary and burdened, and i will give you rest.
take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for i am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.
for my yoke is easy and my burden is light."

got dirt?

robin power washes the front walk. (there is so. much. work to do on a house that's been vacant for 1.5 years, and not really taken care of before then....)

hands on house-slide show

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facing the sun

egner beach pics part 2