Birthday Boy!

My sweet boy Ryan is already 6! I can't believe it! Wednesday the 9th was his actual birthday. By his request we had: white chocolate chip pancakes (I gave him a stack of six to eat :) for lunch, quesadillas, and for dinner hot dogs and Root Beer floats.

(bare with me, my camera is going out so all the photos are dark)

This year he wanted a Seattle Seahawks Football Birthday, it was so fun! We set up at a nearby park and had hot wings, carrot sticks, celery sticks, chips, Root Beer, licorice, and cake.

Great friends taking a tough football picture. :)

Playing ball, I love that Anna was out there playing with all the boys. :)

Ohhh, sweet baby Ryan. He still has those cheeks and that precious smile. He is such a fun kid and I love spending my days with him. Happy Birthday, Ryan! I love you! xoxo ~Mama

The 11th Day

Remembering...

Labor Day

Happy Labor Day and hello there! I've been MIA ,but I have returned. So much to catch up on, but lets start with this weekend.

We had a great weekend with friends and family starting with an end of the summer bbq on Saturday night. Our friends made wonderful fillet minon, we brought twice baked potato casserole, another family brought awesome guacamole, chips and salsa, and another family made bananas foster...and great drinks. Mmmm mmm! Between our four families we have eleven kiddos, and they all play well together. What a great end to the summer!

Yesterday Aaron's parents drove in for a one night stop en route to Europe. Germany, France, Italy, Switzerland- amazing, so happy for them. While they were here we celebrated Ryan's birthday (Sept. 9th) I can't believe he will be six already. I made roasted chicken, mashed potatoes, gravy, peas, and apple crisp to celebrate. Sunday chicken dinners are so comforting!
This morning I made french toast with a lemon blueberry sauce and sausage- oh sausage, yum! While we are on the subject of food, let's pause from the weekends happenings for a short story...

During the week I bustle around this little town collecting only the freshest, organic, local, free range meats, cheeses, eggs, raw milk, freshly harvested fruits and vegetables, fairly traded every ones happy healthy and content foods. I make our bread for goodness sake, and try my hardest to avoid fast food (umm, Burgerville, you are not classified as 'fast food.')

Now, I love my in-laws dearly, they love my kids with every inch of their hearts and are teary eyed just watching them play, BUT they like to take them to McDonald's to play and eat when they come and today was no exception. Guess what my soon to be six year old declared as we arrived to the golden arches?

"Mommy, I want McDonald's to be our home!"

Me: *gasp* *horrified expression*

"but...um...I would want it filled with only healthy food.." *careful smile*

Wow...one day...just wait.....(I can't even finish my sentence. Picture the curator of the museum in Night at the Museum. The snooty, greased hair and bow tie guy. Yes, that's him. Insert the awkward expression and trailing words...now.)

Today after lunch :) Aaron enjoyed brewing beer with some great friends while our kiddos rested. I made chicken and dumplings for dinner and we ate some of the scrumptious tomatoes and cucumbers from our garden. I love the harvest months!

Homeschooling starts next week, and after tomorrow we will be all ready for it!

Now, to end this beautiful weekend and wonderful summer, I must go finish off the apple crisp with my handsome husband.

WELCOME FALL! Ohh, how I LOVE the fall! Cozy up tonight!

Coming Soon!

I have been a bad blogger mama lately...hmmm, a great mama and a silent blogger, that sounds better. I have so much to write about: rafting, camping, boating, swimming, playing, gardening, cooking, FOOD and...homeschooling. I know, I am also a fickle mama. We are homeschooling! Yippee!

So many things to look forward to on this quiet little blog.

Coming soon...lots of pictures and updates.

Really soon. :)

Beautiful Bride

Finally! Here are the pictures from Karyn's wedding so many of you have been asking for. She is absolutely gorgeous!

What a stunning picture. Karyn's tattoo says 'Love conquers all' she had it done in France this year.

My beautiful kids! The three girls. My Mama, Karyn and I.
What an amazing day! To see all of the wedding pictures you can visit Karyn's smugmug page here.

Not For Sale

My trip to Nicaragua earlier this year has been on my mind so much lately. The people, hope, happiness, poverty, family. I have such great memories from the trip, but also so many that made me question my purpose, my future and how I am called to serve God and other people. One passion that God stirred in my heart on that trip was to end human trafficking and slavery. That 'stirring' was one of the hardest experiences I have been faced with, seeing the sex trade happening in front of my face left me feeling helpless, hopeless, and at the same time ready for battle. Ready to fight the darkness for the Light, ready to kick down brothel doors and carry precious little ones out.

A few weeks ago my close friend Nicole called (she was also on the trip with me as well as her sister Deana) and said that the three of us had been invited to work at the Global Forum on Human Trafficking put on by the 'Not For Sale' campaign. It is a campaign to re-abolish slavery and end human trafficking. Currently there are more than 27 million slaves in the world today, half of those are children, 80% are women. Learn more about Not For Sale here. Leading experts from around the world will come together to speak on subjects such as:

Innovative Models of Survivor Care
Monitoring Supply Chains
Undermining Trafficking Rings
Transitioning Justice Systems
Enhancing Justice and Refining Prosecution
Philanthropic Engagement in Abolitionist Work

In October, Aaron and I (and Aiden, my sweet nursing babe) will be flying to San Diego for this conference along with our close friends. I am eager to learn more about this campaign, hear about the work abolitionists have already been doing to end human trafficking, and see how our family can be a part of what's to come. I am hoping to bring a part of this back to our church to teach others and motivate the community to do something about slavery. It's happening all around us, here in the U.S, in our own backyards and we can stop it.

I am proud to be a modern day abolitionist. Will you join me?

Life in Pictures

Where oh where does time go during the summer? It seems to fly by! Here are the last two weeks in pictures: fireworks, beach babies, drive-ins, and smores.

Life

is

beautiful.