The Rest of June

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After all those posts about June, you would think I had nothing left to talk about!

But I do!!

Our days are full and wonderful and these memories deserve to by kept.

I read some good books in June!

The Quilt Walk was a read aloud to Tate and Eliza, and the other three I read for myself.


We enjoyed some rhythm school like days in June.

Not as many as we normally do in the summer, but as you can see by my previous posts, this summer is busy!!

Please notice Eliza’s cursive practice page she wrote after we had spent the weekend at our friend’s lake house!


Piano lessons continued in June!

Piano lessons change for six weeks in the summer to a new schedule and some optional summer fun classes.

Tate also had his assessment for Level 6 piano on June 12th and moved up to Level 7 where Eliza already is!

This made the need for a new keyboard, as they both need a place to play the piano at the same time for their 45 minute daily lesson.

We researched, ordered one of of Amazon, and are very please with how it turned out.

We just need to change the height of the stool and it will all be perfect!


Lane’s library job continues on as well!

He is working on Monday and Wednesday mornings, and then he and I worked two Saturday’s in June.

He loves it and we love it!

We spend a lot of time at the library!!

Thankful it is only 5 minutes away from home.


Orthodontic appointments also continue on!

Lane finally got his Invisilign on his teeth on June 21st.

He did great that day and has been very diligent in wearing them and in the care of his teeth!


Every summer and Christmas break I make a list of deep cleaning projects to tackle.

I just cannot get to these things during the regular flow of the school year.

I had a HUGE list for this summer and I am knocking them out a couple of hours at a time!

So far, I have deep cleaned and organized:
the game closet
the master closet
the master bedroom
the storage room
the one side of the garage
the office/school closet
the office pie safe
the kitchen cabinets

That is A LOT!!

It takes time and intention, but I am getting it done.

I should have taken before photos so these after photos would look more impressive, ha, ha!


I also run errands usually every two weeks besides getting grocery.

There are always errands that need done!

My beloved sandals, that I had bought last August on sale to use this summer, started to come apart.

Thankfully I shop at Rogan’s shoes, and they keep your purchases under your phone number in their system.

They do this because they have a buy one get one half off incentive that they keep track of for you.

Well, I took those sandals back, and with my phone number they were able to verify my purchase, and they gave me a brand new pair!

So thankful I was brave enough to ask!!


We all get out and about for some fun too!

While Lane was working one morning, Tate, Eliza and I went and did some thrift shopping.

It was fun!

I had done a little thrift shopping while running errands one day as well and found some of Kayla’s dishes and got them for her for just a few dollars!


Blake and I also took Tate and Eliza on the bike trail one Friday night while the big kids went to play volleyball.

We had a blast and then we headed to the Co-op for some icecream!


I enjoyed a baby shower for one of my dearest friend’s daughters.

It was SO well done!!

So fun to celebrate their baby boy on the way!!


Of course we still LOVE to be outside.

Swimming and playing with the animals are favorite things, but we enjoy just reading outside too!


The bugs have not seemed as bad this year – maybe because it is so dry?

We still need bug spray once in awhile though!

I really was thankful for this tip I learned years ago – so I thought I would share it here.

I put our bug spray in continuous spray water bottles like hair stylists use at their hair salon.

It NEVER gets clogged and gives the BEST coverage of bug spray because of the fine mist it sprays.

Try it!!

It is great!!


We had a visit in June from our Auntie Gail and her Mom, Grandma Dorothy.

It was SO great to see them and spend some time with them!

Grandma Dorothy brought us all new quilts she had made, and also two blankets for Tate and Eliza.

They love them and use them endlessly already!!


Tate got hurt back in June.

Aspen was riding piggyback on his back as they were running at the farm, and he fell.

Aspen was OK!

Tate’s face got a little beat up, poor guy!

It healed up quickly, thankfully!!


Don’t you love when your kiddos know just what you need?

My beautiful daughter, Addie Mae, brought these home for me one June afternoon!


I set some laundry in the boys room early one morning and saw this.

Two guesses which bed is Tate’s.

He is such a GEM!!


Here is what happens when you make fresh salsa.

Actually, that happens with pretty much everything I make, ha, ha!!

I love filling their bellies so much!!!


When we were in Madison for one of Tate’s appointments in June we had noodles for lunch from Noodles and Company.

It was SO VERY SWEET when Tate asked if he could save part of his lunch for Eliza.

Oh my goodness, his heart for other people is going to take him far!!

Eliza enjoyed the rest of those noodles very much!

I did not get a photo soon enough – they were almost gone!


I am cutting hair a lot less these days.

I take the youngest boys to the hair salon I go to now, but I still cut Blake and Chad’s hair.

I have been cutting my guys’ hair for 26 years now!


We had and still have (unfortunately!) a hot water problem.

It has been a dance of sorts since we bought this house, as the water heater is just not big enough for this many people!

That water heater broke in June, so Blake decided to put in a tankless one instead.

It was an investment, but we were thrilled to think about having endless hot water!!!

Can you imagine??

Unfortunately, something is not quite right with it all, and our water pressure is now a trickle if you are trying to use hot water.

We need to figure it out!

While Blake installed that new water heater one Saturday, I boiled water all day long as I worked in the kitchen to be able to wash the dishes.


Tate and I enjoy making some summer drinks on the weekends when everyone is here.

Our favorites have been ice tea and honey ginger lemonade.

I need to make those again!!

They are both so good!


I always make my own toothpaste from simple ingredients.

It is a great whitening toothpaste, if you want to give it a try!

I use it a couple times a week to keep my teeth looking white.


At the end of June Addie and I ended a funeral in Iowa.

It was a very sad reason to see some of our dearest friends who were also there, but we were able to spend about an hour with them.

Hoping to see them again soon!!


This crew had a great time while we were away!

I love when we have dynamics changes and we get to be with just a few or even just one of the kiddos!!


This next photo is just a snapshot in time.

Lane and I looked around one day and mentioned all of the things that we have been able to finish here at Twin Oaks over the last six years.

It has been amazing!!

Furniture for our basement was one of those things.


Have I mentioned our pups lately?

Those goats and chickens are stealing the spotlight I think!!

Well, we still love our Ruby Jane and Sadie Jo as much as ever.

There is also one very cute and slightly persuasive eleven year old begging for another dog – one to call her own.

Hmmm.

How many animals is too many??


Guess what???

It’s SKY TIME!!

Which means this extremely long post is coming to an end!!!!


Can you believe I kept that to only ten photos??

Your welcome.

You guys, it is almost the END OF JULY.

Please someone stop time.

School starts for us in two and a half weeks!!!

I am screaming on the inside.

This summer has flown by.

I looked up the word capacity today.

It means “the maximum amount that can be contained.”

YEP.

That pretty much describes life right now!

But I LOVE IT.

So much.

I hope you are enjoying summer too!!

Here comes August, folks, but my next posts will be about July!

Let’s Talk About Food!

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Food is a big thing around here.

It really is a big thing for everyone to some degree – everyone has to eat!

But I enjoy making food.

Trying new things.

Baking.

Cooking.

Especially when the children are at my side.

It is just a FAVORITE part of our days here!!


I think it was God’s intention for us to enjoy food.

He was SO very creative in giving us such beautiful and delicious food!

I am not talking about the stuff that comes from factories!

I am talking about whole foods – grown and then eaten.


It was when I was newly pregnant with Chad that I learned about the power of food.

That was twenty years ago now!

I still remember the class that I went to back then about healthy eating.

Another homeschool mom taught it.

One of the first things she said was “Food is either medicine or poison for your body!”

She also taught us to only shop the perimeter of the grocery store – the produce department, the meat/dairy department, and finally the frozen food department.

Another thing that stuck with me from that class is that if you cannot pronounce the words in the ingredient list of a package food, you shouldn’t eat it.

It was a GREAT couple of hours that instantly changed the way we ate back then and still eat to this day!


I have always praised the Lord for His timing in that class and my intentional research afterwards to eat healthier.

It was just a few years later that I found out I had celiac disease.

We had already quit going to fast food restaurants, eating packaged foods, and had learned how to read labels before buying things!

How kind is it that God allowed that??

It made the transition to the medical need for gluten-free and whole foods SO MUCH EASIER!


Here is the great thing about celiac disease – ANYTHING you buy in the produce department that is in it’s original state is already gluten-free!

I still enjoy walking into the coop and standing in the middle of all the beauty of the produce.

It is so colorful and beautiful!

We make a lot of our meals with the base of whole foods.

You can make SUCH delicious food with so few ingredients!


God has allowed an incredible amount of healing for my body over these years.

Food truly can be medicine!!

I am humbled that He has trusted me with so much – celiac disease is not a quick fix!!

We have had a lot of fun in our kitchen over the years coming up with delicious favorites that everyone enjoys.

I know that you first experience the food that you eat with your eyes – so how wonderful that whole foods are so beautiful.


We have enjoyed growing our own food as well!

When we lived on the farm we had over an acre of gardens, our own meat chickens, laying hens, fruit trees, and beef cattle.

There is SO much joy in filling your dinner table with the labor of your own hands!

Here at Twin Oaks we have a small garden, and now we have laying hens.

Don’t worry – there is an expansion project swirling around in my head – just don’t tell my hubby yet!


Of course, most of our food has to be shopped for.

That is a BIG JOB.

I could never visit a grocery store ever again and be perfectly happy, ha, ha!

But if I am truly honest, I think some day I will miss the challenge of feeding all of these precious people three times a day.

We do still buy a lot of our food in bulk, but not as much as we used to when we lived on the farm and all the children were at home.

We have our meat chickens raised for us now.

We buy our beef 50 pounds or more at a time.

We buy our honey and maple syrup a gallon at a time.

We buy our main gluten-free flours in 25 pound bags, as well as our rice and oats.

I still head to the grocery store every two weeks to get the things that we need!

I make a menu plan and shop the plan.

I also have a master list of everything that we buy, and I make sure we have it all in stock in our pantry and freezers.

It is a two cart job!!

And I most often make more than one stop as well, because only certain stores carry our gluten-free needs.


So, does this mean that we are rigid and eat perfectly with every single bite?

Oh my goodness, no!

I still LOVE to bake cookies and cakes!

We still eat packaged foods – just ones with better ingredients in them!

We still like to go out and get ice cream!

There are ingredients in some of our dairy-free items that I wish were not there – but we still use them.

I wish we could drink raw milk still and use all the delicious cream from it, but we can’t!

There is always room for improvement in everything, and I do continue to make changes as the Lord leads!

It all is a balance, like everything in life.


I share photos and videos of our life on Instagram stories all day long almost everyday.

A big part of life here is our meals – and cooking and baking them – so I share that too.

I get the most questions and response about my posts about food.

Which I love!!

I have never really studied personality types much – but I just know that I am the one who needs to have a creative outlet in my life daily.

Sometimes hourly!

Isn’t it great that being in the kitchen allows that?

My hubby sure thinks so – because otherwise he knows I would be redecorating the house every three months, ha, ha!

I sure hope that you all enjoy eating too.

And that you see it as an intentional gift from God.

And that you find joy in trying new things, making beautiful food, and feeding people in your life!

What a gift!!!

Bon Appetit, friends!!!

All About the Grands

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It goes with saying that we enjoy our grandchildren very much!

My favorite days are spent with all of us together!!

Ever since Saigey girl was born, we have had many sweet times with them.

I would spend every day at the farm if I could!!

I love being there so much.

Kay has enjoyed coming our way too so that the kiddos can enjoy the pool.

Summer has been a sweet season for sure!

Just look at these beautiful children!!!

Saige has already changed SO much from these photos that were taken back in June!


Right after Saige was born we would try to go to the farm here and there to help with things.

Addie helped Kay get all of the winter clothes gone through and the summer clothes put away.

That is a huge job with six kiddos!!


I bring kiddos home with me here and there too!

One day Ellie got to come home with me all by herself and her excitement just made my day!!


Most Sundays we are together too!

Sundays are the best.

Such a relaxing family day!

Addie painted forty toes on this Sunday!


Pool days are the best too!!

I tell my hubby all the time how thankful I am for that pool!!!

Is there anything better than playing in the sprinkler with your uncle at your NaiNai’s house???

Or kicked back eating your very own bag of chips???

I think not!!


I had dreams.

I have more dreams.

I tend to dream somewhat big – or at least my hubby says so, ha, ha!

My dreams end up being fulfilled beyond anything I could have thought or said.

God is good that way.

I am SO thankful and I am certainly NEVER worthy!


Lord willing, I will have many, many more years of snuggling, playing with, and enjoying our grandchildren!

It is seriously the BEST!!!

Thank you for sharing them with us David and Kayla!!!

WE LOVE YOU ALL SO MUCH!!!

The Hidden Gem

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The last weekend of June was FINALLY here!!!

We had made plans with friends of ours a llloonnnggg time ago to spend the weekend with them at their lake house.

This weekend away included Blake, Lane, Tate, Eliza and myself.

WE WERE SO EXCITED!!!

I also was very excited to have the weekend to spend with our youngest three and give them our FULL attention!

We left on Friday evening after Blake and Lane arrived home from work, drove most of the way there and stayed in a hotel overnight.

The next morning we got up, ate some breakfast out of the snack bag, and headed the rest of the way to Wildwood Lake in Varna, Illinois.


Before we left the hotel, Lane filled his water bottle with a jug of water that a helper had put in our van the night before.

Thankfully Lane smelled it before drinking it – that wasn’t water after all!!

It was vinegar!

We laughed so hard!


We arrived at the lake shortly after nine.

After some big hugs and big hellos we instantly changed into our suits to hit the lake and have some fun!!!

Did we ever have some fun!!!!


Dan and Diane’s son Caleb went knee boarding first to show us how it was done.

Dan asked if anyone else wanted to, and Eliza jumped up and said ME!!

Brave, strong, agile girl!

Caleb jumped in the water with Eliza to give her a quick lesson, and then she was left on her own to get up on that knee board while the boat pulled her along.

It took her two tries before she succeeded – but she did it SO easily and enjoyed it SO much!

Made her mom’s heart swell to bursting!!

I only have a video of her knee boarding – but here is a photo of her lesson with Caleb.


Blake tried to knee board and then tried to ski.

He was so close to making both of those things happen – maybe next time!!

I was so proud of him for trying!

Eventually it was time for lunch, so we headed back to the house for that.


After lunch it was time to take out the huge tube that is named “Mabel” and do some tubing.

The rules were given – while on the tube you speak with your hands so the driver (Dan) knows what you want.

It went something like this – one finger is a snail’s pace, and five fingers you might lose a limb, ha, ha!

We all took turns and it was SO MUCH FUN!!!

Just for future reference – I chose two fingers for Blake and my turn, although we did do three fingers for a little bit.

Blake was the only one who hopped on there by himself and immediately held up both hands of five fingers, crazy man!

We said he needed a t-shirt after it was over that said “I survived the five!”


We spent the rest of the afternoon swimming in the cove by Dan and Diane’s dock.

We meaning everyone but me because I am not so into the whole shivering and turning blue thing, if you know what I mean.

It was hot that day, but the perfect temperature for me because I am always cold!

There were some water guns, sneak attacks, lots of wrestling, and a king of the lily pad game going on.

It did my heart SO GOOD to see the kiddos enjoying everything so much!!!


Next up was some jet skiing!

Blake took out Eliza and then Lane.

They had a blast!!

We had jet skis and an eighteen foot boat when we were first married – so water sports is something we have always loved!


We headed in around dinner time to have a big taco spread.

Then Dan and Diane let us run around the community with the kiddos on the golf cart.

We saw dozens of deer – they were so pretty!

We also saw tons of these wooly aphids – can you believe that is a bug??

God is so creative!!


We ended the evening with smores around the fire and catching fireflies.

Eliza named all of her fireflies before she let them go.

So cute!!


We passed out in bed that night ready for another great time the next day, and the next day did not disappoint!

Breakfast was delicious and soon after that we watched Dan and Diane’s live stream church.

The sermon was POWERFUL.


There are so many things to do at Lake Wildwood.

There was a disc golf course that the guys wanted to try.

We walked to it and enjoyed watching them – it was a beautiful day!!


Diane taught us a new card game that morning called Sevens.

I cannot wait to teach it to my whole crew here – it is best played with a lot of people – and it was super fun!


Once we had lunch (all we did was eat!!), we decided to head to the pool even though it was getting really cloudy, was super breezy and cool.

The kiddos didn’t care!!

They enjoyed swimming very much.

It was a very nice pool and Caleb is a lifeguard there.


I pretty much never wanted to leave.

But we had to since my hubby has a job and all!

We pulled ourselves away in the late afternoon for the long drive home.

First a selfie of us all – except for Caleb who was still at work.


Our ride home was uneventful and sometimes very quiet, ha, ha!

We were TIRED!!!

In the BEST possible way!!


We saw a rainbow on the way home and it was like this hug to my heart after such a wonderful weekend with our trio.

The dynamics of a big family is wonderful in so many ways, but sometimes I feel like these three get lost in the shuffle of life.

Blake and I don’t want that for them!

So a weekend like this one is a treasure for sure.


When I asked Diane what we needed to bring for the weekend and what we could expect, she told me all about their home and their community and everything that is offered there.

I wrote back and said it sounded like “a resort” that we would never want to leave, to which she said “You will see, it is just a hidden gem.”

She was right.

It is a hidden gem indeed.

Not only did we enjoy everything these photos show you, but we enjoyed our hosts most of all.

They encouraged us, challenged us, and spoke into our lives by sharing their own life.

They emulated the most selfless and giving hospitality I have ever seen.

I am still thinking about their words and their example today.

I sure hope that when Blake and I reach the season of life they are in (close to retirement and all of our kiddos grown) that we will not look inward at ourselves, but look outward at others and what we can do to love on them.

Our weekend at The Hidden Gem will not be forgotten.

For SO many reasons.

Memories made, memories tucked deep in our hearts, and now memories kept!

Bless you Dan and Diane and Caleb for ALL you did for us!!!

WE LOVE YOU SO MUCH!!!

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