Saturday Praises...

Long holiday weekends where Saturday gets to feel like Friday with everyone home!

Warm sun, blue skies.

Birthday parties with friends.

Farm parks with feed cones, beautiful black horses, and plenty of hungry ducks and goats to munch on your cones.

Spending the day together.

A certain little newly turned two year old who has developed a few fears, which he refers to as "scaredy".

A strong courageous big brother who although he has his own insecure moments is still Finn's brave big brother.

I love how Dax reached back and held Finn's fingers.


This has to be my favorite! I love those few moments each day when I see true sweetness shine through in my little people!

Having a brave strong Daddy to protect my guy from those ferocious miniature horses too!

Playing outside into the evening with dinner cooking on the grill.

A phone call from my brother in law telling us that my sister in law and little Isobel are home from the hospital. Pictures in the email box of Isobel and her big sisters! They are all beautiful!

More comments on this blog then ever all because of Seeds of God's word! If you haven't entered for the giveaway, go to this post and leave a comment.

I am enjoying jumping over to some of the blogs that you visitors to the blog are coming from! I'm hoping to at least take a peek at each of them! I really am excited you're here. Can you tell?

A quiet movie night complete with snuggles and giggles.

Everyone sleeping, at least for the moment in their own beds! =)

Seeds of Praises ...Praises of Seeds...

I have to start tonight's praises with a little dance of giddiness over the fact that those Seeds Family Worship people came for a visit! Not only a visit but they wanted to share a little something with us too! I'm so excited because I have been loving these songs from the first time I heard them and have been trying to share them with others, but I think I've just become an annoying bug in their ears...now though, it's working, it's really working! I wouldn't be sharing something I wasn't excited about and I am excited that you are excited! I'm also excited that Missy is excited and that she is sending some of her great followers over for a visit. I hope some of you will come back! I am excited that we have hit 18 comments, a record on my little blog.

So, what are those fabulous Seeds people wanting to share? Check this out the are giving us our own little link to a free download from their new 5th CD and a 20% off code to order any CDs on their site! Remember, when you buy a CD they send you a bonus extra copy to plant with someone else. We could totally start our own little bloggy rain shower of family worship music all over blogland! Now if I can just get them to come on up to Illinois for a little family worship fun we'll be in business! =)

If you want a little more insight into this wonderful ministry go visit their website and if you have time for a little fun go check out their YouTube page.

Are you wondering if you're too late to enter the giveaway, you are not! Go to this post and leave me a comment. It looks like this post will actually close on Sunday! We have made it to more than 10 comments! And my niece has a name!

Yes! this leads me to my praises of the evening! My little niece born yesterday at 1:10 pm weighing 7lbs. 15 oz., measuring 21", has a name!! Mike's brother Jeff called tonight and shared that she is officially Isobel Eva. Which which made me giggle a little because Lily was almost Isabella. Dax would have been Annabel, and Finn would have been Eva. Little Isobel caught them all! Still no Quinlan in our family. Maybe she just hasn't made her appearance yet!

My mother and mother in law have both been reading my blog for over a year leaving nary a comment. In one week they have both managed to master this feat! Amazing! Welcome moms! Next they'll be blogging!

Today was a sunny day with no schedule of events. I love days where there is nothing planned. Pajamas stayed till 5 and things even picked up (not that they stayed that way!)

It was a little loud today. Seems Finn's teddy bear learned to play the piano. It's quite amazing to me that a newly turned 2 year old can have the thought process to use the bear's paws when Mama says "Please don't play the piano" so that he could say "Finny no play, bear play".

Spending some time alone with Finn "chatting".

Finn telling me his "big brudter is a big monser" Yes, son, sometimes he is. And sometimes that big monster has a cute little monster for a baby brother!

God time. Hot tea. fleeting seconds of quiet. Esther. Beth Moore. Journaling until you know that God is still right there, just like always.

Four year olds that tell you that you are the best mommy. I love how the timing of this comes right between the "I'm soooo starving" and the tantrum about needing a $60 rocket ship while in Kmart.

Ahhh Kmart. Thank God for friends who don't judge when they here your children throwing tantrums across the aisles, find you looking like you just rolled out of bed, even though it's 7:30 pm and love you anyway. They even understand how you'd rather be somewhere alone maybe even enjoying a drink with an umbrella in it!

Lily being home on time from her friend's house. Even better, summer fun with friends. Oh how I remember looking forward to summer!

Finding musicians that I love visiting my blog. Remember the last time this happened?

My husband. After walking out of the mad zoo that was Kmart and deciding we wanted Mexican from our local restaurant for dinner but no way were we taking our kids out, he devised a plan. We came home, fed the kids, put them in the tub, and then while I read stories and tucked in the troops he went and picked up a little take out. I called my mom for a quick version of our evening chat and he returned home and set the table.

Starting a day in a bit of a funk, progressing to bears loudly playing pianos, children throwing tantrums in public and then ending with a candle lit meal in peaceful quiet talking with a grown up, one I haven't really had much alone time with as of late, this is finding a little joy in my journey. Praise Him for it always being right there if you just take the time to see it.

Two Days of Praises and a Giveaway!

**Update** Giveaway is closed! But you can still download a free song from Seeds here and get a code for 25% off their music! Thanks so much to the Seeds people for sharing this with us!

The Seeds we will be blowing your way in our first Giveaway at the end of this post!



Two beautiful days for playing outside!


My blogger is looking perfectly normal tonight!!

The American Idol Finale. Love seeing the humble good guy pull it off! Or maybe I should say that I love that our country is still choosing the humble guy next store as the kind of person we want our kids to look up to. Yay for Kris! It was quite a show!

Spending time sitting on the floor with the boys taking turns giving me hugs and kisses. I know these days won't last forever. I couldn't help this song running through my head as they decided to do a joint hug and I just held them both and rocked them. The smell of their little boy hair, and the sound of their little boy giggles. I just wanted to bank it in my memories forever, the sound, the smell, the feeling of their squishy, squirmy little tummies. Love.

After school chats with a preteen. I hope they stick around for a long time. I hope they one day turn into late night phone conversations with a grown up daughter.

Late night phone conversations with a grown up mama, a couple of states away.

My little brother and his faith and strength. His fiance, and how much she loves him.

Youth group scavenger hunts. I love these girls. The make me laugh, even sometimes cry, and always roll my eyes =). Have a great summer girls!

Bible study final exams. Oh yes, I liked it! =) My Bible Study homework slackers. I am thankful that they let me lead them, or just let me follow Miss Beth following Jesus and doing all the homework for them. I'm glad we made it to the end of Daniel all in one piece, and I for one feel slightly smarter!

A bubble container that really does not spill! Really! There was no screaming, no one ended up wet, and we still have bubbles left over. Small things are totally worth praising, let me tell ya!

Having my camera out to catch Dax's first fall off his bike!

The helmet and hostas that softened the blow and made for great pictures!

The little brother that went running to "Hep Dax!"



A 2 year old who sees no reason why he can't climb the tallest tree in the yard.

The innocence that makes spiders crawling on cars both intriguing and a bit "scaredy"all at the same time! The sweet anticipation of the end of the school year.



The baby bunnies bouncing in and out under the shed.



A long weekend looming with not to much on the agenda.



A sweet husband who both cooked dinner and did the dishes.



A sweet new baby niece sleeping somewhere out there tonight with her mommy and daddy and two new big sisters waiting for the little one to come home to join them! A healthy, uneventful delivery. I'm still waiting for a name...I'll share more details when I have them!!




The beauty that God laid all around us so that we wouldn't forget He is always near.

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Did Someone Mention A Giveaway??

Oh yes! Oh yes she did!

In honor of my 25oth post, the sweet sweet feel of the warm sun being out for 4 days in a row, Memorial Day weekend, and Most especially my new little baby niece, I am feeling like I should give something away!

What? What should I give? Hmmmm....how bout a seed? It is spring, right?

About a year ago I read this blog post over at It's Almost Naptime and thought, wow, great idea, I'll have to get one of those CD's.

When I say Bible verses set to music you probably think, "oh yeah, exciting" followed by an eye roll. I've been reading Missy's blog long enough to know that she probably wouldn't be playing some sort of headache inducing hokey music for her kids. She just seems a bit more hip than that. It took me until Christmas to order one. We started with Seeds of Purpose, we were hooked.

Since then we and the Seeds Family worship CD's have bonded! We now have 4 of them and listen in the car, in the boys bedroom, and my favorite, at clean up time. We put one of these on right before lunch and we alternate dancing and cleaning up toys. Finn dances his little heart out! It is totally praiseworthy! Dax yells "Dance Mama, Dance" if I keep cleaning during a dance song, he's good, that guy!

Seeds is doing something new with their packaging now. They have a great concept of how planting God's word is like planting seeds. They now send you two copies of each CD when you by one. One to keep and one to share. So we are sharing...with YOU!

Here is how it works! The winner of this little giveaway will receive one brand new Seeds CD (never played, can't guarantee some little hands haven't pried off the tape that once sealed it shut). You may choose between Seeds of Courage, Faith, or Praise. We close this contest when the last of these three things occur Sunday, 10 comments (all from different people!) on this post, and my new niece has a name! So...this could close Sunday, or it could be July, we'll see! =) Until then, you can go here and listen to a few of the songs on the CD! Enjoy!

Finally!! Pictures!!

Here you will find pictures and slide shows to support the past week's worth of posts...about time, isn't it?? Enjoy!

Dax's School Picnic

Posing with the infamous, Bethany...
Finn, Flirting...

Dax, getting a little end of the year love from his very first teacher!

Dax's Birthday Celebration

Treasure Chests...20 hours of sticky goodness. Dax's buddy Max did tell me they were "Super Good" so I guess it was all worth it!

Pirate trinkets and treasures that were immediately tossed and forgotten ~ $6.98

Gifts that will be dirty and lost by next week ~ $67.82

Birthday dinner at the Pizza Ranch buffet, Yee Haw! ~$28.14

Sharing a play doh ice cream cone with your newly turned 4 year old ~ priceless

Carpet cleaning for the living room carpet after play doh cone hits floor....

(all price are vague representations of reality, and may or may not reflect the true cost of items)

Mother's Day, our own traveling circus!

Three Kids, one picture, take 1467...1468...1469....1470, tongues in, mostly looking at camera!

Still tied up...

Today color came back to my blogger dashboard. Later there were a few buttons. Tonight things look almost normal, but not quite. Maybe by tomorrow all the pieces will fit!

I may still have my pictures held in captivity but I can toss out a few praises...

A beautiful day for a school picnic yesterday after being postponed due to rain on Friday. I have some cute pictures I'll add to the posting pile. It'll be a whole album by the time they get up and running!

Dax finally joining his friends to do a little singing and picture taking. I think I might have even seen him dance!

Watching how he interacts with his friends, interesting.

Watching Finn play with the big kids! Let's just say, every time I turned around Finn was flirting with a new girl. Should I be worried? Thank goodness Miss Maggie from the Sullivan Sitcom was an avid Finn minder. He was in great hands with Maggie at his side!

All the simple little conveniences we take for granted. A roof, clothes, water, electricity, food...we could in just a snap have to figure life out without them. I think they are worth a shout out now and then. =)

My Mama's birthday yesterday. I would tell you how old she is, but you'd never believe it, cause she could totally pass for 47.5. I'm proud of the girl! After a year and a half of me blogging she decided to get an account and leave me a comment! Love that lady! Happy Birthday mom, sorry your video gifts have yet to get to you!

Speaking of comments...look at all you amazing commenters who have popped out of the woodwork for a moment. I know there are more, but I am impressed by some new voices. There might be a giveaway yet. I'll just have to mandate that post get enough comments (10 or so) to make it a little challenge. That would be Gleeful! I can only imagine 10 comments!

Speaking of "Glee"ful. Did anyone catch "Glee" after American Idol tonight? I shook my head when I heard the name of the guy who looks like he will be the main character. I've shared with you all my name issues, right? (If I could link you back I would, but that ability is being held for ransom as well.) Yep, Finn. I must say I was thrilled the name went to the main character, well rounded athlete, singer, pretty descent guy, vs the bully, or the complete geeky guy, but I like to fly slightly under the radar with my names.

Speaking of American Idol, it's finals week. I haven't posted much about the show this year for a couple of reasons. First, youtube has not had good access to the videos from the performances. Second, half of the show has been talked over so loudly by my children that I'm not sure I've heard it all well enough to judge. The kids just didn't get into it a much this year. Three, I think for some reason it makes me miss my Dad. Just knowing my parents were out there watching it and it was common ground for he and I to chit chat about was a good thing. I really often wonder who he would like this year. So, who do you like?

This crazy bag of notes my husband has had in a box in the garage forever. It is full of notes from Jr High and High School. Vintage stuff. There are lots from me, and lots from other girls. Enlightening, I say. should I pitch them? Save them? I'm not sure, but the few I've read have made me laugh, or sigh, or remember and pray I get Lily through the next years!

Yard sales with my children. We pretty much just walked and walked today. The sun was shining, the breeze was blowing. We found pretty much nothing we needed and nothing we didn't need cheap enough to buy it anyway. Oh well, we enjoyed ourselves.

It's quiet, it's time for bed. Tomorrow is supposed to be beautiful!

Help?!?

Ok bloggers, did anyone else's "dashboard" just go away? Morph into somesort of boring, barebones, thing with no way to visibly upload pictures or add links or the like? I'm lost with this blank white page with some colored text. Help! It's like I'm Alice in Wonderland and I've dropped into some strange new world! My pictures and I are trapped in this rabbit hole...send help!

Praises, Dax's Birthday Edition...

** yet another disclaimer... This post was far more organized two hours ago when I started putting it together. After hours of picture sorting and trying to finish this it is not in any real order, and half the pictures I meant to put on disappeared and some random ones showed up, so I left them. It's been a good day and I am blessed to have three amazing kids, not to mention their daddy! This middle son, he is something, but most of all he is a beautiful blessing to our family. He inspired me to start choosing joy. These are actual pictures from the day the side bar story was written. Gotta a love a boy who sparks such a journey for his Mama.

Four years ago today we welcomed this beautiful boy into the world. Our world was forever changed! Making it through his birth!

Finding that falling in love with a baby boy is just as easy as falling in love with a baby girl.

Lily making it through the last four years and becoming a pretty great big sister even after being thrown off her only child pedestal after 7 years.

Making it through my pregnancy! Man that guy was not an easy one!

The feeling of being so blessed with a second child after so many losses, and pretty much giving up hope.

People not saying anything too uncomplimentary about us naming him Dax. It has come to totally fit him, but I'm sure there were some with doubts at first!

Dax knowing my Dad. Having had the chance to roll around on the floor with him and hang out with his Papa for a long enough to remember.

The humor that this child brings to our house.

How my heart melts when he says, "I love you, Mama, I really love you"

How he insists on at least two rounds of hugs and kisses before I go anywhere. The way he always asks, "can I give you another hug and kiss?"

The moments that he loves his siblings. The way he is so happy when he can help them. This would come between the hitting, pushing, and yelling, "I hate sharing!"

Those Dax moments. The ones I can't really explain. The ones that set him apart somehow.

His voice. (well, his voice when he is not whining or yelling) It has always been distinctly his.

The things he says that just crack you up.

Hearing all day what a great birthday this is. How much he loved all his presents and how these balloons must have "fallen from the sky".

I love that he still fits on our laps, love to snuggle, and still has some innocence. I was so sad to have to enter the "ugly isle" to look at things he asked for this year. You know the isle, the one with all the ugly boy toys..ick! And I would love for the snuggling to be suspended from bedtime to breakfast, rather than take a brief hiatus and resume at 2 am in our bed. But I know that in a few years sleeping between his mom and dad will be the last thing he wants to do.

His intellect. He thinks outside the box...hang on teachers in the town, I'm sending another out a the box kid your way in a year or so. Funny thing, he is out of the box in a totally different direction than Lily.

Dax's relationship with Finn. I love watching them grow together.

Four years of the chaos that only a little boy could bring.

You have rocked our world, Little Man, and we wouldn't want it any other way!

**PS If you've been just anxiously waiting for pictures promised, I had them almost all uploaded earlier when explorer shut down. I found this a tad frustrating and tossed them by the wayside. Soon, soon, I'll try again. Thank you to those that commented, you made me feel better! And Aunt Lynda, I'll have to send you my garage sale wish list...I know you have great ones there too!