Team Tate and a MRI

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The day after Father’s Day, team Tate had a very early morning to head to UW Madison for a neurosurgeon check-up for Tate!

Team Tate consisted of Blake and myself – just clarifying that because as I loaded the photos for this post I realize that I only have photos of Tate from that day.

He is cute though!

And I love taking photos of him!

We had zero concerns about Tate’s stability as we headed to this appointment early that Monday morning.

Tate was scheduled for a brain MRI (to check on the VP shunt that is in the left side of his head) and also to see the neurosurgeon.

We had a beautiful morning for a drive!


First up upon arrival we learned that we had to wear masks in the MRI department, but no where else in the hospital.

Once we were in the MRI room, the gals told us to take them off because the magnets of the MRI would probably pull on them.

I was able to be with Tate during his MRI and hold his legs and feet.

I could see his face too.

He did GREAT and it was over before we knew it!


Next we headed upstairs for the appointment with the neurosurgeon.

Not only did he tell us that the MRI was perfect, he told us he did not need to see Tate for TWO YEARS!!!!!!

WHAT?!???

Isn’t that amazing!!!!

We skipped out of that place beaming the whole way!!!


It was still pretty early, so we decided to make a Costco run before lunch.

We didn’t need much, but bought some snack things specifically for a trip we were taking soon.

Then we went to Noodles and Company to get Tate his requested noodles for lunch!

I LOVE watching him eat noodles!

It is like he is just home from China all over again – with that bowl up to his lips and just scooping it in – it is SO cute!


Blake decided to get a coffee for the way home, so Tate got a decaf coffee treat too and then we hit the road to head home.


These appointments at UW Madison are getting easier and easier!!!

It still amazes us how much the Lord has allowed for Tate’s health – and Eliza’s too!

We praise the Lord constantly for their stability and also for the wonderful doctors who take care of them.

We have another UW appointment coming up for Tate in one week – and this one has more weight for our minds, as it is with his orthopedic surgeon.

We would appreciate you praying with us!

For the Lord to see fit to allow us to hear our favorite words again – that Tate is STABLE.

Praise the Lord for our Tate Owen!!

He is a precious gift that we do not deserve!!!

WE LOVE YOU SO MUCH, TATER TOT!!!

A Day of Celebrations!!

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We usually get together to celebrate Father’s Day with lots of good food and some gifts for Blake and David each year.

This year we added a few more celebrations to our Father’s Day celebration – it was Saige’s dedication that day, and we had also missed River’s birthday as well as his other grandma’s birthday – who shares a birthday with him!

We started that day with some photos of the crew at home!!


Church was wonderful, as always, and we stood up front with David and Kay as they had Saige dedicated to the Lord.


Deb, Addie and I made a big taco spread with lots of fresh fruit and two birthday cakes for dessert!

We all had lunch together at the farm and it was SO enjoyable to be all together – especially with David’s parents as we never get to see them enough.

After we ate lunch we enjoyed a birthday celebration for Deb and River!

Then we spent the rest of the day together – which is the BEST way to be – TOGETHER!!


Time for a photo of the love of my life with our seven arrows!

Blake has been trusted with so much – and he is the most patient, kind, loving, wise, and fun Dad to these kiddos.


As always, we had to drag ourselves away from the farm to head back home.

WHAT A GREAT DAY THAT WAS!!!

So thankful for Saige and David and Kay’s commitment to bring her up in the ways of the Lord.

So thankful for Deb and River and the fact that they were born!

So thankful for Blake, David and Greg and the amazing men and wonderful fathers they each are!

So much worth celebrating for sure.

Happy Birthday Deb and River!!!

Happy Father’s Day Blake, David, and Greg!!

WE LOVE YOU ALL SO MUCH!!!

Our Little Backyard Farm

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June brought our little backyard farm closer to completion!

The major construction of our “barn” (as Blake calls it!) was done.

It turned out SO great!!

We still had the inside to finish, so work on that would continue on.

The fencing was also completed, including a beautiful wooden part by the gate.


We took Eliza and Tate on date night on a Friday night early in June to purchase all of the things we needed for the goats and for the hens as well.

We had dinner out first, and finished the evening with ice cream, of course!!

We spent most of the evening at Farm and Fleet, which was a very successful shopping adventure!


On a Sunday, June 11th, I got a surprise text from the wonderful people we were buying our goats from saying, “Would you like a goat delivery this evening?”

I asked my hubby if we could be ready in 30 to 45 minutes, and he said SURE!!

The whole family was here that day (it was Sunday, remember?) – so David (and River!) and Blake jumped into action to get the fenced area secure for the goat babies’ arrival!

We were SO EXICTED!!

It was a beautiful day that day – the perfect day to have our new babies arrive!


Lane, Tate, and Eliza especially have worked SO diligently since our goat babies arrived to earn their trust and friendship!

It has been the SWEETEST thing to see.

They were so scared of us at first!

Now the goats come to us when we arrive at their gate instead of running away.

They like to be held, will eat out of our hands, and bleat at us if we are in the yard not giving them attention.

I LOVE THEM SO MUCH!!!

Lane, Tate and Eliza are usually out at our little red barn in their pjs and muck boots every morning before they do anything else!

They are taking such great care of everything.


Blake continued to work endlessly, it seemed, on the little red barn.

He insulated the inside, covered it with plywood, and painted it.

Then he built the fence and gate system inside the barn to keep the chickens and goats separate.

We do not want the goats to eat all the chicken feed!

It turned out SO AMAZING!


Pretty soon we were ready to go and pick up our hens from Kayla!!

Kayla had ordered new laying hens this spring, and told me I could get ten from her.

They arrived at their farm at the end of May, but they had kept them for us until our building was ready.

They are beautiful hens!

We clipped their wings when we got them home so that they will not be able to fly over the fence once we let them out in the grassy area.

We will keep them in the building for a few weeks at first to teach them where to lay those eggs!

On a Thursday evening we headed over the the farm to get our hens out of their coop and bring them home.

It was SO MUCH FUN that evening and after the hens were all settled I literally leaned into my hubby and cried.

I was so, so happy to have animals again!

Just like the farm!

We have missed farm life so much.


Some of our hens are already laying and we are up to six eggs a day!

It is SO fun to gather eggs and feed and water the hens!

We are also enjoying our goats more than I even could have imagined.

Their personalities are so incredibly cute!

Blake still has work to do on our little red barn as he finishes the door that will allow the hens and goats to go inside and outside.

He just cut the hole for the door this weekend, and the goats jumped right up into our little red barn for the first time with no hesitation!


I thought that last photo was pretty funny – when there is a will there is a way!!

I wonder if she knows she can just get the food from the tray on the sides instead of putting her whole body in the feeder?

Silly hen.

Next time I talk about our animals, Lord willing, our little red barn will be completely finished!

It is close!

We are enjoying our little backyard farm so very much and love sharing the joy of our goats with any visitors we have!

Dreams do come true!!

Thank you, Mr. Blake Moschel, for ALL your hard work to make this happen!!

WE LOVE YOU SO MUCH!!!

The Rest of the Month of May

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My FAVORITE kind of post to make!!

A post about the happenings of just everyday life.

We keep life full, but the things we choose are purposefully thought out.

It’s the little things that add up to BIG things – so we try to make sure the things we are doing and not doing are lining up with the goals we have for our family and children and grandchildren!!!

The three youngest kiddos (and Addie and I!) have chores everyday to keep up with the things of our home.

This is something I am so glad I was taught about as a young Mom many years ago!!

It just takes the stress out of house keeping and makes our home company ready anytime!

Lane, Tate and Eliza are at the age where they know their chores, do them well, and hardly ever have to be checked on anymore.

Don’t you just love how efficient Tate is in this first photo??

Carrying down his clean laundry while also dusting the stairs, ha, ha!


Speaking of keeping up with things around here – the first weekend of May it was finally warm enough to clean up outside and get ready for summer!!

The guys power washed the deck and patios, Tate, Eliza and I cleaned the garage and outside furniture, the guys got the mowers ready, and they also installed a new basketball pole Blake and I had bought on date night!

The bird restaurant finally was taken down as well, which meant it was time to pull the snowflakes off of the sliding glass door windows.

It was a very productive day and SO nice to get ready for the change of seasons!!


School continued on throughout May!

We will also have a couple days a week that it will continue on through the summer.

It just makes starting full-time school in the fall SO MUCH EASIER.


Eliza had a piano assessment in May, passed, and moved up to level seven!

Now she and Tate are at different times for their piano lessons.

Her lesson went from 15 minutes a day, to 45 minutes a day!

Tate is not far behind her – his assessment will be this month.

We are going to need to get an electric keyboard once he moves up, because they both will need their own place to play during that 45 minute lesson a day.

I never really considered what piano lessons would be like in our daily routine, or had an idea in my mind of what we could achieve!

We seriously just jumped in two years ago this month, and have never looked back!

Tate and Eliza have had ZERO frustration in this learning process and have loved their lessons and practice times VERY much!!

How cool is that???

It is exciting to see where this will go and what they will be able to do one day with all the hard work they have put into this!!

After Eliza passed her assessment (first photo), I got the things she needed printed and laminated and she started level seven the next day!


We spend A LOT of time outside!

We wait so long for this weather – who could blame us!!

Twin Oaks is a sweet place to be, inside or out.



The outside of our new building has been finished and our GOATS ARE HERE!!

Back in May, they were still working on the outside of that building.

It turned out PERFECT.

You will have to stayed tuned to June posts for a photo of the building completely finished, roof and all!


We spend a lot of time at our library!

Of course with Lane working there, that makes sense, but we love books and love to read too.

It is a wonderful thing that the children enjoy reading!

I hope they keep that passion all of their lives like I have!


Friday night date night has changed!

Blake and I now have two or three sidekicks with us for date night!

I am not complaining!!

But I do think Blake and I should find another time to look at each other once a week, ha, ha!

We have fun with this younger trio of ours!

And they get to watch the sunset over the river with us!

Don’t worry, we buy them ice cream too!


Hymn Sing is still a once a month blessing.

It has been more hit and miss for most of the families as of late – and I miss the big joyful noise we all could make together!

It is still SO fun to be at our friend’s place once a month – one of my favorite places to be!!

We were in charge of dessert for May – strawberry peach dump cake was a big hit!


I am blessed to spend time with some sweet friends when we can!

One of my absolute besties and I met in town to take a long walk on some trails one Friday morning.

It started to rain right as we headed out, so we went and had coffee instead!

I cannot tell you how important it is to HAVE FRIENDS!!

Here is the best thing – I have friends from SO many seasons of life, places we lived – and we are all still friends!

So thankful!!


We had some appointments in May – as always.

The eye doctor rechecked my eye and all is stable!

I also had a yearly blood test check-up and all was great!

Sadie had a vet check-up too!

Lane has had some orthodontic appointments as well – the photos appear in the order of this list!

I am always glad when I can check all of these things off my list.


I was sad to notice that our large flour crock was cracked on the inside.

I had to throw the whole thing away!

I threw away the other two as well after looking at them closely and seeing how chipped up they were.

We have had them a LONG time and use them daily!


I do not have many more May photos of Miss Saige Grace, but just a few.

Just look at all her hair!

Someone grabbed a photo when Chad got to hold her for the first time too.


I have a cute one of Aspen and Chad too!!

Those grandchildren love their aunts and uncles so much!!


Ready for some food photos??

All those people in all these photos need to be fed, you know!!

Many times a day, ha, ha!

I am feeling inspired in the kitchen again these days – I have some yummy plans for June!!

But look at all this yummy stuff from May –


I have a confession to make.

I take WAY too many photos of the sky!

Is this really a bad thing though??

I think not!!

At least photo storage is now digital, right?

Can you imagine the boxes of printed sky photos I would have?!

I LOVE THE SKY.

It just says “God is with me” every time I look at it!!

Please take time to look at the sky too!


That was 20 photos of the sky in May and I only chose my favorites, ha!

Ok, it might actually be a problem!!

Addie Mae took this last photo below and I love it for SO many reasons.

First of all, everyone else was in shorts, t-shirts, and barefoot that night.

Notice my winter clothing.

I am clearly a pint low of something inside of my body – whatever the stuff is that keeps you warm!

Also, I did not even know that Addie was there!!

She captured a photo of me doing what I love – and I was totally lost in it as well.

Is taking photos of the sky just a mid-westerner thing?

Maybe, maybe not, but I bet the muck boots are!!


THAT WAS A LONG POST!

If there is anyone reading this, you all are crazy!!

Just kidding.

I just can’t leave anything out though, you know?

All of these things are BIG awesome things to me!

It’s the little things that are BIG things!!

I hope you all see the big in the little, and are enjoying the season change too!!

Happy June, everyone!!

SUMMER IS HERE!!!

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