Birthday Ballerina

Cute little ETSY ballerina cupcake picks

"Wrighteous Size cupcakes"

Cupcakes by Wrightberry's Cakes & Cupcakes

Strawberry Italian cream sodas

How was your birthday party, sweetie?

First Day of Summer

Ahhhhhhh, the sun! the sun! streaming through the kitchen window! Welcome!

Hmmm, 1st day of summer, house full of kids, a farm full of eggs....what's for lunch?

lemonade and "heavenly eggs."

(Tori doesn't believe we should give the enemy anything.)

The little girls played and played. Riding double on the tricycle, pulling the wagon around, entertaining each other for hours.

Papa gave a "hayride" all over the place.... up the hill, through the orchard, down the lane. The kids loved it!

It was great having the kids here. The cousins enjoyed each others company so much. There were even some tears when the girlies went home. Bella loved all of the company and hugs too.
Unfortunately, little Joe's visit was cut short. We had to make an E.R. visit with an acute asthma attack and he went home with his Daddy afterwards, to spend time with his parents and the babies.

Kids Here

Last Sunday, we brought Kate's kids home to spend some time with us, and give Chris, Kate, and the twins time to acclimate. The hammock got set up, and was a great spot for relaxing with their DS'.
There was a tractor driving lesson for big brother....

and cuddling with a baby doll, wrapped in one of Nana's crocheted blankets, watching "Curious George" at naptime.

There was jumping, jumping, jumping, on the trampoline by little brother. The camera never seemed to be around at the time; but he loooooooved it. Where DO they get that energy anyway?!

Welcome Home!

This next one cracks me up!

"My what long legs you have, Violet!"

Buster was quite taken back by the whole thing...

and got kinda freaked when one of the babies would cry.

I had warned everybody at the house to put on their crash helmets,

knee pads, and elbows pads, they might just get knocked over...

because I was the only one who hadn't gotten to hold the babies at the hospital!

Birthday Girl

Yes, you are, and

You're going to be great at it!

We'll be celebrating YOUR special day, soon!
xoxo

Answered Prayers

Invasion

We're still cleaning out the front yard. Several years back we tore out our front lawn which had ceased to grow due to cedar trees (which continued to grow) densely shading it. We put in a large flower bed, and turkey grit gravel path, and bistro table area. The flower bed has been a nightmare. It got me thinking about it's correlation with life. Sometimes, our best laid plans, seemingly things that are "OK", can encroach on our lives......little by little. We don't even notice, until they are overwhelming us. They don't know their place and infringe into areas where they don't belong.....
Like this patch of "forget-me-nots" which had jumped the border and were 2 feet into the gravel.
Sometimes bad stuff infiltrates, and before we know it...it's got us bound in it's grip.
Vigilance is needed in weeding out our gardens....and our lives.
It's no secret that the hardest things to clean out are the ones that have been there the longest, and have sunk their roots in deeply.

Bake It and They Will Come

I've made a batch of Martha Stewart's Black and White Cheesecake Squares....in hopes of a birth celebration for the twins. Kate and Chris both love their chocolate! OK little ones......

It's a Jungle Out There!

There is a lot of difference between a Cottage Garden and a Weeds gone Wild garden. Yikes. Who knew all that casual look required a little Miss Marple to work in it....24/7?? It's just not feasible around here. Our life is too fragmented for that. We are busy cleaning out the works, and going for a much cleaner look, with easier upkeep. Larger plants like the hydrangeas and ferns can stay. Flowers are going into pots.

Because....making your way through jungle high blackberry vines, dandelions, dock, and grasses,
is reeeeeally tiring.

Ready and Waiting

Kate's nursery is ready, and waiting for the wee ones. There is a white soft shag rug on the hardwood floors, for little chubby knees to crawl on. Soft gray walls create a calm neutral background to add vintage touches and spots of colored art against.
Kate's old dresser, painted white, is doing double duty as a changing table. The tall white and pine cabinet that used to house art supplies, now houses toiletries and baby clothes. A little dark charcoal sofa was pulled from the former playroom, to accomodate feedings and bedtime stories. The Jenny Lind crib is outfitted with the white, dahlia quilted bumper pad. (There's a second crib in mama and Daddy's room.) My FAVE thing in the room is the DANDELION puff light fixture!!! There are still more colorful touches being worked on, but the bases are covered, and we're ALL so excited to see this little room come alive with little gurgles and coos.