July 4th Weekend

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This summer is flying by, am I right?!!

There are a lot of friends that live here near us that say the same thing – because we have not done a lot of summer like activities because of the weather.

It’s already mid July and we have hardly swam in the pool, have yet to have a camp fire as a whole family, or scheduled our overnight camping in the backyard!

It seems between the weather and the more urgent things on our plates right now, summer is slipping by.

Thankfully there are things like the 4th of July that have us slow down and enjoy a long weekend together!!

We started that weekend all running in different directions.

I had a bridal shower to attend on Saturday morning.

It was SO LOVELY and I heard the BEST devotional I have ever heard at a bridal shower!

I want to remember the encouragement and challenge it was to us ladies forever!!

I came home just in time for another very stormy and rainy afternoon.

BUT – can we just talk about the clouds??

Thank you for putting up with the author of this blog who is obsessed with the sky.

You are so kind!

Rain meant it was time to find a way to enjoy life inside, again.

So we made a cake!

Played games!

And I read aloud to some kiddos while they found something to do while they listened.

It was a very nice afternoon!!

Pretty soon it was time to feed the masses, and by masses I mean three young men and then the rest of us.

They work hard and come home hungry!!

These potatoes were a huge hit – ranch dressing and cheddar cheese potatoes!

Grant grilled some chicken for me in the rain, and we had salads with the potatoes.

I, of course, made a sweet potato for me!

Hi, it’s me.

I don’t get in many photos, do I?

I took this photo to show a friend I was chatting with my new dress.

I’ve had some good finds in very cute dresses this year!!

Monday morning we woke up to almost everyone home.

Throwing you under the bus, Chad, since you were the only one not here, ahem!

Don’t worry though, he came back soon enough to be with us for the afternoon and evening!

I made a BIG breakfast and we enjoyed a leisurely morning!!

What’s that??

It’s been awhile!!!

I made sure the kiddos did their Monday chores even though it was a holiday, well, because there are a lot of bodies in this small house and it is just better that way – trust me!

This is my “tell me you have a dog without telling me you have a dog” photo.

Did you know I chose the “color” of our floors when we finished this house based on the color of our lab, Sadie Jo?

Well, I did!

I know, I know – so smart, right?

After our leisure and chores were done, the guys took us down to Grant’s new house to see the progress!

We had been banned from there for many weeks now as they skim coated the walls and sanded and sanded and sanded them!

I WAS SO EXCITED TO GET TO SEE EVERYTHING!!

The grey looks much darker in these photos than it does in real life – but it was raining all day on the 4th of July.

Of course it was!

Also, that is just sanding dust on that beautifully refinished hardwood floor – it vacuumed right up!

Now we are working on painting all the trim – more on that in another post!

Pretty soon it was time to get ready for our favorites to join us for burgers for dinner!

Thankfully we found out around 5 p.m. that the fireworks were still going to happen since the rain had stopped!

This guy is just a party looking for a place to happen, and I love the joy and laughter he brings to our home SO much.

Addie Mae was home so she made everyone a pretty and delicious 4th of July dessert!

Then we headed to Viroqua for the fireworks.

I’m not sure if they had trouble because it was so wet, or what – but the firework show had a lot of lulls in it.

We would wonder “is that it?” and then more would start!

It was still fun though!!

Can we have a moment about this first photo?

And the size and age of Lane?

Either cry with me over that or say some prayers!!

After the fireworks were over, an elderly woman (who had been sitting near us with her husband) came over to us and said, “I have enjoyed your children and family so much tonight! My family is all grown and gone…please don’t take one day of this time in your lives for granted.”

Cue all the tears!

She was such a sweet lady!!

What a great weekend!!

It was SO fun to be ALL together!!

That is my favorite way to spend ANY day!!

And it’s rare these days!!

Hope you all had a GREAT 4th of July too!

SO thankful to live in AMERICA!!

Until next time….

So Long June

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June was a good month, wasn’t it?

I did not go into summer with any expectations really.

I would say this has been the most laid back summer we have had in a long, long time.

Of course I am just speaking for my trio and myself!

Blake, Grant, Addie and Chad would probably not agree with me!

They are super busy at work, as always, and also have a lot going on outside of work too.

Praise the Lord for my trio!!

I enjoy spending my days with Lane, Tate and Eliza!

We make a good crew!

The Monday after Father’s Day, Kay and her crew came over to swim and have supper with us!

It was certainly the BEST day ever!

And of course I only took these two photos because I clearly lost my mind, ha, ha.

Tuesday always means French toast for breakfast.

Have I ever told you I don’t like to think on my feet?

Hence French toast for breakfast every Tuesday.

My kiddos count on it, you know!

We also saw these two cuties on our way to Kay’s place that day.

They stood there a long time before I finally got them to move so I could drive by!!

Wednesday morning I always make baked oatmeal with fruit in it.

They count on that too!

This particular Wednesday was BEAUTIFUL!

I was outside before the kiddos even got done with their morning chores.

Then I took a special helper with me to run some quick errands in Viroqua.

It is such a joy to have them one-on-one!!

When we got home we headed out to work in our little garden.

It was the perfect temperature to weed and harvest!

I grabbed some kale and we had green smoothies for snack as our reward.

SO, so fun harvesting and eating what we’ve grown!

For lunch we ate those radishes whole – they are delicious!

Even though it was a beautiful day, there was still laundry!

Always laundry here!

Wednesday afternoon I met a girlfriend for coffee, where we talked each other’s ears off for a couple of hours.

It was THE BEST.

She is SO sweet and I left with a wonderful gift.

I came home to some kiddos enjoying that pool of ours.

Just this weekend my hubby was finally home long enough to get that water clear and it looks much better than this photo!

That evening when Blake got home Tate ran up to him saying, “DAD!! Mom let me get a scone at the Co-op this morning and I saved you some!!”

We died laughing when we saw this little bite left with bite marks on all sides.

SO funny!!

We have had some days with a lot of down time, and some days that are super busy.

It’s all been good!

Of course we are still watching cooking shows!!

And of course we bought Blake a crepe pan for Father’s day, because what guy wouldn’t want a crepe pan, ha, ha!

Don’t worry – he got other gifts too – and benefited greatly from the crepe pan!

While they ate those, I ate this!

Friday mornings are still about ALL the errands.

You can get a lot done in a few hours very early in town when not many others are out and about.

When I went to the Pilates Studio to work out that day, I found these notes from my hubby in my workout shoes, of all things!

When I get home on Fridays it is time for the big unload.

My trio is good at this job and we are fast and efficient!!

I buy them a box of gluten-free donuts every Friday for their hard work!!

After that was all done I SO badly wanted to join Ruby Jane right there on that couch.

But there was laundry to do, cleaning to do, and bills that needed paid!

Saturday of last week was slloowww and wonderful.

We were tired, especially my guys who have been working endlessly on Grant’s house!

Some of our salad box – brought to us by our very own garden!!

I bought a daikon radish when I saw it at the grocery store and made a salsa with it for tacos that night.

It wasn’t anything spectacular, but we ate it!

Tate made us a strawberry pie!!

He and I like making dessert for Saturday nights!

I started taking this three times a day for my health, along with doing several other things, and I am seeing great results!

I am not 100 percent, but SO thankful for the progress I’ve made!

I enjoy reading this book every summer – it just gets my thoughts in the right place as I pray over and plan a new school year.

Such a good book!

Speaking of books, I just got this book and it is a wealth of information.

Sunday that week was very restful as we enjoyed lunch at Kays and then time at home on a beautiful day.

I couldn’t believe another week was starting!

We enjoyed a Monday morning in the garden this past week.

Monday evening we had our monthly Women’s gathering at our church.

We watched a video on Biblical Womanhood – it was SO good!

Then we enjoyed snacks, games, and visiting and it was FANTASTIC!!

I am determined to try to get more of our mornings back to a rhythm, and Tuesday we did just that.

Tate and Eliza and their Mama especially enjoy our morning rhythm!

I love when this guy is home!

He usually arrives very dirty from a full day of work and very hungry!!

Here’s what some evenings look like around here – me taking a nap right before I go to bed.

Smile.

Grateful I can rest when I need to though.

Wednesday morning we had dentist appointments!

We took over 170 teeth to the dentist that day, and only one tooth had a very small cavity!

I would say that’s a WIN!!

I feed the kiddos lunch and then usually have something entirely different.

I was in a snack mood this day – who loves guacamole like me??

I decided on Thursday last week that we would do our morning rhythm again.

I was SO surprised at how well our Bible memory review went!

These kiddos have a ton of verses memorized perfectly!

We got our minds moving with some Math problems too.

They always love to be read to!

And even after all these years, I love to read to them!!

Eliza is writing her own story.

She writes and writes and it is just the cutest thing!!

Guess what Friday morning was again this week?

It was CRAZY in town this Friday – and I was still there very early!

I think the holiday weekend had something to do with it!

I managed to get all our grocery and errands done, workout, and be back home by 10:30.

We had a GREAT July 4th weekend – did you all?

That will be up next!!

IT’S JULY!!

Just in case you did not get that memo!

We have a lot of great things on the calendar for this month, including quite a bit of traveling.

We will see what the Lord allows!!

Excited for it ALL!

Happy July, friends!!

Have a happy Tuesday that feels like a Monday!!

Summer Time

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After our big trip to Madison, we started the rest of that week off strong with our morning rhythm!

I really enjoy our morning summer rhythm and so does our trio – Lane, Tate, and Eliza!

We worked on our memory work, a bit of table time school, and of course read aloud.

Monday had not only wore out the Mama of this crew, but also a sweet girl who needs more sleep than the boys do.

At least she picked a good, soft pillow!

Not only were we thankful for the weather on that Tuesday after so much rain, but also thankful that Chad was home Tuesday afternoon!

He borrowed Grant’s mower and mowed the land for us.

When I came out into the main room around 5 a.m. on Wednesday morning and opened the curtains, I was welcomed by the most beautiful sunrise!

I quietly opened the front door to get this first photo and then sat down in the living room to enjoy my quiet and Bible time.

The sky just kept getting better!!

By the time it was at its best, it had filled the whole sky with this pink glow.

I looked at the time stamp on these photos for your all!

The first one is 5:06 a.m., then 5:11 a.m., and then 5:15 a.m.

Gorgeous!!

That was the last of the sun that we saw that day!

The afternoon brought a lot more rain and some storms our way.

Aren’t the clouds SO majestic?!

We filled our day with quiet inside activities, like games, painting, and for me – working in the kitchen!

I had had a doctor’s appointment that morning, and I had a lot on my mind as we try to figure out how to best deal with a new diagnosis.

I am always SO thankful the Lord has given me these kiddos to keep me on my feet and enjoying life!!

How I love to cook and bake for everyone!

Did you know I eat the same thing for breakfast everyday?

It’s always leftovers for me!

Whatever we had the night before.

Fridays always have me leaving home before 6 a.m. to head to get grocery and run all the errands.

It is working well to do it at that time – especially when there is already daylight and warm temperatures!!

The rest of Fridays are for laundry, cleaning, bills, and getting ready for everyone to be home more on the weekends!

That Friday night Blake and I had a DATE NIGHT!!!

I have not been driving back to town for date night as of late – one, because of my health, but two because of gas prices.

I was thankful there were errands that needed done and then Blake and I grabbed some snack foods and sat by the river and talked as we watched the sunset!

He is a FABULOUS date!!

Last Saturday was a not just a big kitchen day, but a HUGE kitchen day.

We had our normal things to take care of for the week ahead, but then I also had food to make for a singing group coming to our church, and also for Father’s Day!

I had the best two helpers while everyone else was either at work or working down at Grant’s house!

We worked hard and then we played hard!!

Lane was back home by that time and the kiddos got to swim while I enjoyed the sunshine from the patio!

Look at our strawberries already, by the way!

The work down at Grant’s place is progressing!

Pretty much his whole house looks like this, ha, ha!

But as I type they are spraying plaster on the walls today!

After that dries for three days, they will be spraying primer, and then paint!

That’s when all the fun begins for the rest of us when we can actually help.

I can’t wait!!

Saturday evening we had our monthly hymn sing at our friend’s home.

It was wonderful!!

Father’s Day was WONDERFUL except that we were missing Kay and her crew!

But we had the best time celebrating Blake!

He loves and cherishes us SO well and we were super happy to love on him!

There was a yummy meal, gifts, and a cake I had made that got rave reviews.

I love this photo of Blake with six of his arrows so much!!

On Father’s Day evening we headed back to church and enjoyed a performance by a singing group that was visiting us.

It was a fun way to end the weekend!

Well, I put all of my signature sky photos earlier in this post!

So I will end with a hope that you all are doing well and enjoying summer too!

Happy Belated Father’s Day to all the father’s out there!!

Until next time….

Team Tate and a Great Report!

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We have quite a few appointments sprinkled throughout our summer, and last week on Monday was Tate’s turn!

This appointment with Tate’s neurosurgeon was scheduled one year ago when Tate last saw this doctor, and was just for a check-up (or check-in depending on how you look at it).

I knew Tate did not need this appointment!

We have zero concern about Tate’s stability right now!

So I had called to see if we could change this in person appointment to a video or telephone call instead.

They told me they would send a message back to the doctor and get back to me.

After several days of not hearing back from them, I called again.

And again, and again, and again.

I would sit on hold for 20 minutes or more each time and never get through to a person!

I went on Tate’s my chart account to see if I could send a scheduling message that way, and it said medical questions only, so I did not.

My trio and I ended up driving to Madison last Monday to go to this appointment!

This is only the second time in eight years that I have done a trip to UW Madison for a medical appointment for Tate or Eliza without Blake.

He had a very busy day at work that day, and we also knew the appointment would probably not be anything he would need to be at.

We arrived to Madison a bit early, so we got out to stretch our legs and do some Father’s Day shopping before our appointment time!

Next we headed to the hospital.

There was a lot of road construction near the hospital, and then they sent us to an over flow parking area down the hill and around a couple of bends.

It was a hairy handful of minutes as we tried to make it to our appointment on time!

But we made it!!

I don’t know who all was parked in the parking garage to make it too full for us, because inside the hospital looked like a ghost town.

Someone came from another area and took us back to a room, but she did not even weigh Tate or check his height.

The doctor came a bit later and talked to us.

He asked me lots of questions and then said “You don’t need me, why are you here??!!”

Sigh.

He also did not touch Tate or even have him stand up!

I told him about my efforts to not waste his time that day and he was very sorry for it all, but obviously has no control over what is going on in this world anymore than we do.

ALL that being said – we are very, very thankful that one of Tate’s most needed surgeons told us we don’t need him right now!!!

That is GREAT news, wouldn’t you say??

After Tate’s appointment we made a day of it, even though now it was pouring buckets of rain.

First up was some lunch at Chipotle – the kiddos wanted to eat in the van.

Then we headed to Costco and my trio helped me stock the pantry and freezers.

Nothing like the good feeling of being stocked back up!!

So, this mama made it to Madison and back, through road construction, to an over flow parking area, and then around the big city and all the way back home in the pouring rain.

As soon as we got home and unloaded, I joined Ruby Jane right there on that couch!!

I was so thankful that I had stuffed the instant pot before our 7:30 a.m. departure that morning and we had pork roasts, potatoes and carrots waiting for us for dinner.

Team Tate will be on the road again this summer to see Tate’s much needed orthopedic surgeon.

This is an appointment we won’t change, as Tate has imaging scheduled that day as well, which is important!

Can I just say that it has been a WHOLE YEAR since Tate has had any imaging done – and that is the longest stretch yet without any pictures of his insides!!!!

Oh how we praise the Lord for all He has done for our Tate Owen!!

STABLE, stable, stable….and we will take it!!!

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