good morning monday

this will be a good week.
I'm declaring it.

A lot of things that have been hanging over are wrapping up.
Our final edits will finish for the family history project.

My son's page long speech by Robert E. Lee to his son will be
delivered by him on Tuesday.  He we have put so much time
into memorizing and working on it.  I feel for him.  This is going
to be hard for him.  He's so nervous, but it's a learning experience
and soon, it will be done.

A quick recap and counting of blessings from this weekend.

A double header Saturday meant lots of baseball.

This lady got a hair cut....a very big hair cut.
None of us are in love with it, but it'll grow.

A visit to the park was in order for some dog walking,
ball catching, and skateboard practicing.

I just love their joy in this picture of weighing things.

Always trips to the grocery store are mingled in.
I can't seem to keep up on any kind of a system so we
stop by more frequently than we should.

And a visit from my parents, partially for fun, partially for work.
I'll be making a cameo with them because we needed more footage on researching your past.

Oh and eggs, we're getting two a day now.  We stored them up for some scrambled goodness after church.

And finally, some easter preparations.  I've been singing this song in my head a lot lately.
And these fun chalk pastels are making me smile.  Happy almost Easter everyone!
I'm so looking forward to the next couple of weeks preparing for the Resurrection.

491. eggs and more eggs

492. fresh air

493. blooming things everywhere

494. diligence and determination

495. learning 

496. finishing things

497. small group 

498. girl time

499. playing catch

500. plans for a real authentic seder coming up!

 (more on that soon)

find your past

I've been mighty quiet here I know.

Part of the reason for that is

I've been burning the midnight oil a bit lately.

Interviewing, writing and producing a series of pieces 

for a company called find my past.

Click on the image above (let the whole video upload before hitting play)

 for a peek at the first installment.

It's so exciting to me to start with nothing and see a project come alive.

The collaborative process with the photographer and editor is so much fun too.

It's going to be shown at a national trade show next week

before 5,000 people.  

And then will be on their website.

The goal is to encourage people of all

ages and stages of life to start documenting their

family tree and using online resources to do so.

This job has inspired me.

And I think there will be some digging into my own

past very soon.

to celebrate him

The festivities began a day early by stealing him away from school 

for lunch at In N Out

Check out their neapolitan shake.  A very rare treat.

And then the morning of his big day, an early game.

And opening presents.

They were kind of heavy on the dead mau 5 neff theme.

Speaking of themes.

As of last year he informed me that he's no longer

into themed birthdays or cute invitations.

So I'm off the hook.

This is both kind of a relief and kind of sad.

But his parties, are still very much fun.

And they have their own flow of activities.

He's kind of got it down pat.

They go something like this...

Running, jumping, and playing around.

Then an airsoft battle.

In between here and dinner my youngest had a birthday party to attend.

So I left Daddy in charge.

And I was mighty

impressed to come home to eight boys who had all

been fed and the kitchen cleaned up already.

After the jacuzzi, it's time for s'mores.

I joke that all I really need to do is to keep a steady supply of food.

Then they watch a movie, 

with an intermission for singing, the cake,

and a family photo op.

Happy Birthday to our big 11-year-old in the house.

So big he's just three inches away from being as tall as me.

And already has surpassed me in shoe size.

Sigh.

My husband said you know

in ten years he'll be 21.

If this ten goes as fast as the last I'm in trouble.

So I just won't think about that.

And instead I'll cherish the right now. 

on this day

eleven years ago I became a mom.
How this boy has changed me, stretched me, grown me, taught me, loved me.
The list is endless.
We have gone through so much together.
And I'm excited to see where this next year takes him.
Takes us as a family.
He graduates from elementary school in just three months.
Crazy I tell you.
This is a slightly altered version of his dedication page
that will appear in the yearbook.

Later today I'll have nine boys running through my muddy rain soaked yard
having airsoft battles, enjoying the jacuzzi, smores and a movie night.

It should be interesting!

Happy Birthday to our favorite son!

egg-citing!!!

WE HAVE EGGS!!!!!!

I screamed with excitement.

Seriously.

This morning I went up to check their food and water.

I changed out the water.

And then I glanced over at one of the nesting areas.

Two eggs!

I ran down to show my husband and the kids.

My husband had already left.

My son thought his Dad probably put them there 

to play a little joke on me.

Which momentarily completely burst my bubble.

So I called.

Nope.

Not a joke.

And again,  I screamed with joy.

From this day in August.

Just two weeks old.

To today... nearly 7 months later.

our very own EGGS!

Praise the Lord.

Really, I know you experienced farmers out there 

probably think I'm over-reacting.

But this is all so new to me.

And the whole process has just been amazing.

God is amazing.

And eggs are amazing.

And I just had to document our first scrambled eggs

from our very own backyard chickens.

In the last six months or so

each of my kids have decided they no longer like eggs.

They've refused to eat them.

Especially my son.

And I kept saying, when we start having our own,

you WILL LIKE THEM again.

And so we split these two eggs four ways this morning.

And each of them declared..they were SO GOOD.

Another praise.

Counting my blessings this morning.

And just so thankful.

Doing a little happy dance here.

And my eight year old said, 

"Mom, you're not excited, you're egg-cited."

Now that's a good one.

And because I'm feeling sentimental...here's a little walk down memory lane

with our little chicks. 

Lucy, Belle & Hannah

Sweet girls.

(If you recall, poor little Charlotte didn't make it

her beak was crossing wrong and despite my

efforts to syringe feed her, she didn't survive)

On Friday we went up to hang this piece of art she made in art class, specifically for the chickens.

And she specifically hunted for a frame from a thrift store just for her art.

And this little lady has no fear when it comes to scooping them up.

I'm just over the moon happy to have them as part of our family.

This verse came to mind, even in the 

lovingkindness of fresh eggs in the morning.

"The LORD's lovingkindnesses indeed never cease,

For His compassions never fail.

They are new every morning;

Great is your faithfulness."

Lamentations 3:22-23

485. eggs!

486. sweet chicks

487. lemonade

488. memorizing

489. new mercies

490. the freedom to vote

a little piece of bliss

That is what this place feels like to me.

Every single time we stop in.

I usually don't have as much time as I wish I could spend.

And as for spending, I don't even buy anything.

It's quite simply a blissful feast for the eyes and senses. 

A journey through the old and new.

The beauty of it all assembled together.

I don't know how to explain it really.

But I just love looking,

soaking it all in.

And I know they enjoy it too. 

So we all peruse, and touch, and read.

It's just plain fun to imagine

the lives and time periods these items touched.

This summer we have plans for a weekly beach outing. 

And let me tell you, there will be many more stops here

 for a little feasting of the eyes on the way home.

470. changes that are exciting

471. pretty skies

472. kite flying

473. simply being with them

474. a schedule

475. summer & fall plans 

476. dinner pulled together 

477. seeing maturity in my children

478. an apology without asking

479. friend's babies

480. playdates

481. birthday parties

482. a slumber party in our future

483. polka dots

484. thank you notes...finally!

Linking to multitude on mondays...counting my gifts.

And to hello monday.

Because that's a lot of blissful hello's up there.

And I'm saying hello to a new week

where I will not let the treadmill of more to do with not enough time

get me down.  I will still stop and meander and take the moment in

despite the running to do list.

We've got a lot on our plate this week.

School, dance classes, language therapy, horseback riding, orthodontist, 

a Tuesday night baseball game,

a speech by Robert E. Lee to his son to help my son memorize,

gymnastics, lots of logging for an upcoming edit for me, 

and a young man in our home has a birthday saturday with a 

game and a celebration with his friends.

Hello to a full week...and somewhere in there I MUST make

meal plans.  I've been failing in this department so badly lately.

And everything has been flying by the seat of my pants when it

comes to feeding my family.  

If anyone has any suggestions, I welcome them!