Flying High

I love the laughter that fills the house when Daddy is home, what a joyous sound!

Have a fabulous weekend with your loved ones!

Ready to go?

Nets...check! Boots...check! Buckets...check! Off to catch frogs! We went to Champoeg State Park today to play with the frogs and be near the river. I love walking on the quiet trails, just listening. Listening to my children run and laugh, to the sweet baby blowing bubbles on my back, to the woodpeckers, frogs, and birds, to the river, to the wind- all of it.









Oh I love this picture of Aiden, I just happened to catch him on film as he was making this face. Sweet little kissy cheeks..9 months old already!

We went with my friend and her cutie son Nolan, here are their funny faces. Gotta love those!

What a beautiful day! Our bodies are happy with all the fresh air and sun we soaked in. Now my four sweet babes are sound asleep and tucked in their beds, dreaming about dinosaurs, astronauts, snakes, birds, and frogs. It has been a great week; learning, laughing, catching, running, chasing, and most of all, loving.

Dinosaurs and Astronauts, Oh My!

The rain has returned to water all of the beautiful flowers that will soon arrive. Thankfully, finding indoor activities is always easy around here; we are surrounded by so many great resources. Yesterday we packed a lunch and headed out to OMSI to visit dinosaurs and astronauts. Quite a combination!
















We are enjoying our days of homeschooling. Who knew learning could be so much fun? Today we are enjoying a slower day at home after all of our adventures. The laundry has to get done sometime I suppose and that is an adventure in itself! :-)

Storming the Castle

Today we ventured out to Tilikum for a day of exploring, catching newts and hiking. Another stunning day in Oregon; the sun was out, birds were chirping, an osprey was fishing just overhead, and there wasn't a cloud covering the beautiful blue sky. Perfect.

Off to conquer the world. A boy and his net.

Doesn't he look like a kitten batting at little fish in a bowl? So curious.

Careful patience until the end.

'Quickmud.' Not sand, mud. It swallowed little shoes and stuck to tiny toes and fingers.

Now that is a sign of a fun day!

When everyone was tired, cold and wet, I stripped the kids down and piled them in to a warm car. There was so much laughter on our drive back home, a naked car ride will do that to you. I of course had to be dressed, I was the driver you know. Warm baths, cozy clean clothes, and a day of precious memories exploring.

It doesn't get much better than that!

Your Hands

I can't get enough of this song- Your Hands

This is JJ Heller, a beautiful artist with an amazing voice. She sings and her husband plays the guitar with her. I had the privilege of listening to them sing on Wednesday at George Fox, it was absolutely beautiful. I love her voice and music. Before I went in to the service, I was waiting for a friend, with the kids alone in the lobby. She and her husband came over and said hi to me and the kids and were SO sweet. Very gentle smiles, sweet people. Check out her site here.

Happy Friday to you dear friends!

Ashes, Sunshine, and Snakes

We are absolutely loving this glorious sunshine in the Pacific Northwest, usually during this time of the year we are experiencing a lot of rain and some occasional snow, but, this is Oregon and you never know what weather you are going to get. Love it!

Yesterday, we started our day with an Ash Wednesday service at George Fox. It was beautiful. The service ended with the opportunity to have ashes marked across your forehead (to sum it up- an outward symbol of repentance as we enter into Lent). Before we went, I explained to the kids what Ash Wednesday meant, what it meant to have the ashes on your forehead and if they wanted to do it they could, but did not have to. I was overcome with emotion as I watched my two older boys walk right up to have the ashes put on them, and then afterward to hear in their own words what that meant to them was precious. So much wisdom in these young souls.

After we were done with the service, we went to the Tualatin Wildlife Refuge. What better way to end Ash Wednesday than enveloped in the beauty of God's creation? Or any day for that matter. It was SO beautiful out! We packed a picnic lunch and ate looking out over the river, the clean fresh air filled our lungs and brought color to our cheeks. It was so refreshing!







" We found something!! Mommy come look!!!"
" Snakes!! We found snakes!!!" ".....Oh...that's great...!"


"Ryan, our snakes are friends!"
This is my nervous hurryandtakethatpicturenowsoicanmove smile. I was very close to that snake. Now my eyes are watering, my armpits are burning, I'm sweating, Aiden is squirming, and Anna is asking "Mama are you okay? Do you love snakes?" This is about where I needed a little paper bag to breath in. I tried to keep my cool because I want my kids to enjoy animals of all kinds without taking on the fears of their Mama, but wow, I wanted to run screaming. So after 30 minutes (!!!) or so I said "Okay, let's say goodbye to the snakes, they need to go back to their home..." and we were off on our hike back to the car.....

...with some very worn out and content kiddos. Oh what a day, it was so much fun (snakes included). Another day of living the dream with this precious family of mine. It makes my heart happy!