Bit Of This 'N That

This morning's pickins.

A girl and her chicken.

That same girl's dirty feet.

Scene from this summer. Micah sprawled out somewhere reading a book.

Funny face.

Girlfriends.

It's Just Worms

So Ayla has been throwing up off & on since spring break. Turns out the culprit is not food like I was thinking (yea!!), but worms (yuck!!) Anyway, I'm mostly relieved. I was really thinking we'd have to cut out a bunch of foods. Instead we'll just have to take some special drops & do lots of laundry. Then hopefully I won't have to watch my girl be sick on a regular basis!

Counting My Blessings Today

We've had people sick in our house every week for the past 3 weeks. Ayla threw up 2 Sundays in a row. The second time we happened to be at our evening church services. Luckily Craig managed to contain the puke. It all ended up on poor Ayla. There was one teeny tiny spot on the floor that I had to wipe up. Then this past Sunday Craig got sick & even missed work yesterday. He went back today even though he was still very nauseous & felt like passing out this morning. In the night Kaia woke up crying a different kind of cry. I went to her & she was burning up & shivering. Poor little dear, her first fever. I woke up this morning feeling depressed - being surrounded by sick people always has this affect on me for some reason. It makes me mad & sad at the same time. This is something I need to figure out & deal with, because as my hubby often (thankfully) reminds me it's just a part of life. And so. I decided to write 5 things I'm thankful for in order to have a more positive outlook.

1. The beach party we got to go to last night. I was actually able to kayak since there were plenty of people willing to help with the baby. There was good food, fellowship with friends of all ages and a bonfire. It was great fun for me & the kids! I'm thankful for wonderful friends.

2. That the kids' school supplies are mostly bought. There is nothing better than new school supplies. As much as I love summer with a relaxed schedule, I'm chomping at the bit to get more organized soon!

3. I'm typing this while listening to the quiet house. The baby is sleeping & the kids are outside playing with the chickens. How did we keep entertained without chickens?

4. My super-dee-duper comfortable yoga pants. Someone needs to invent a yoga skirt & then I'd be set for life.

5. Being able to write this from home doing the only job I've ever wanted to do!

A First

First hot tub party

Won't it be fun if I can get a similar photo when they are teenagers? I wish I would have been recording video instead of snapping photos. They were so funny when they got in. "Ahh, this feels so good on my back" They were acting like a bunch of geriatric adults. They don't know how good they have it with their fresh, young bodies. I guess none of us ever do. What did I hear someone say the other day? "Old is 10 years older than you happen to be right now" Even that doesn't seem so old anymore.

Trader Joe's Art

A beautiful picture in my eyes.

I just love the way the back of the van looks after our TJ's run. It's so colorful, wholesome & inspiring to me. I'm off to go cook. I will be making potato rolls, salmon quiche & baby food this afternoon.

It's All About Whose Team You're On

Ayla started this whole team mentality at our place. She quickly decides whose team she wants to be on whenever we have company & calls dibs. Only the "cool" people get to be on Ayla's team. Yeah that's right, my five year old is forming cliques already!

Improvements

It was hard to get one good photo in such a small space, but here is the new improved kids' bathroom. I was happy with the results of a few coats of paint. A face lift on the cheap.

I was debating on what to do to our patio so that it gets more use. Then Craig came home with a hot tub that he got for FREE! Can't beat that. Hopefully it will be operational soon......