The first push off from the dock...

Yippeeeeeeee!!! We got a pontoon boat!!!!! Chad's Mom and I have been BEGGING for our husbands to look for boats...really, we would have been ecstatic for them to purchase ANYTHING that would allow us to enjoy some recreation! To our surprise, Chad's Dad announced that he had heard of a pontoon that was being sold locally and before you know it, we were there looking at it, and soon after, it was purchased. We pushed off the dock for our very first time last Friday. We endured a little rain in the beginning, but that didn't stop us. We were determined - and we even enjoyed the rainbow that shown for us when the rain went away!!


To mark our maiden voyage we adults celebrated with a little champagne (we decided it was best to consume it rather than smash it on the side of the boat!! haha). I'm not sure our husbands realized that they would enjoy it as much as they do, but I'm pretty sure this was a good investment!!

Oh, and we fittingly named the pontoon "RECREATION"!!! Have a very happy and safe 4th of July everyone!!

Happy Father's Day!

Happy Father's Day, once again, to all the special Dad's in my family!! We hope you had a fabulous day!!

If there is one thing that I love most about my husband it's that he loves his children more than life itself and would do absolutely anything for them - it's important to me that he knows just how much we love and appreciate him and all he does for us. We are so fortunate that he doesn't travel as much as he used to for work, but there are still busy times to our year (spring/harvest/long work days, etc) and it always makes him feel that he doesn't give the children the amount of time he should. As per Father's Day tradition, the children did an art gift that includes their handprints - but instead of just doing a handmade piece, I took the time to go through past photos and created a collage of pictures that shows him just how much time and love he gives his children and myself! I am truly blessed to have married this wonderful man, and his children are even more blessed to call him "Daddy".

Summer is here!

Wow, so it's been a long time since I've posted so I'm going to throw most of what's happened since my last post in to one!!

1st Communion was held on Mother's Day. I'd say we had the most beautiful girls there, if I do say so myself!!! Thank you to all of the family who shared such a special day with us.

School is now out for the summer!! We haven't enjoyed too much yet because of our early summer ritual of picking rock, but we hope to do lots of fun things. We have craft projects we're going to do, sit by the pool, take a couple day trips, Mom's going to do some golfing, taking a long weekend to the Lakes with some friends of ours, take a long weekend for our family getaway, trip to Arkansas for my Grandma's 90th birthday, etc. The summer always seems to go so quickly, so we're going to try to take full advantage of every moment we have!

Kale's last day of preschool consisted of an outing to Dairy Queen!! It was so fun to be able to go with him and his class!! The girls' last day of school (a week later) consisted of their Irish Relays. A few days earlier the 2nd grade class did a poetry parade - the girls' poems were on Martin Luther King, Jr., and Veterans Day.


The soccer season ended as well! The girls are now gearing up to try out for the travelling soccer team since they are now old enough. Kale took a liking to soccer as well during his 1st season. His first game was a tough one - he was either crying or wouldn't go out on the field - but after a pep talk, I found out that he was upset with himself because he wasn't playing PERFECTLY!! Such big expectations for such a little boy!! He really enjoyed the rest of the season from then on out.


Since then, we've been busy planting 2000+ aronia berry bushes!!! This is a change for us as it is organic farming, but hopefully it will all be worth it in the end. We are always looking for cool new things we could be doing!! SO, we'll enjoy watering all 2000+ of these plants all summer too! (sarcastically!!!)


We just had the girls' dance recital and it was wonderful. I think this was the first time I didn't think about how long it was!! They did great and I'd say it was another great dance year.

Thank you to everyone who (called/sent cards/sent a message on facebook) sent birthday wishes for my birthday! It was a good day! The kids and I picked some rock in the morning then came home and hung out. The kids made me TONS of cards - each filled with so much love and pride, it was absolutely wonderful. I think each of them said "happy birthday" 5 times!! Chad cooked for supper (Pizza Hut!!) and Dad and Ruth brought me a cake a little later in the evening - Nick and Kathy stopped by a little later as well. Thank you again!!

I think that's it - Lord knows you've read enough!!! Have a wonderful summer!

"All I've Dreamed Of"

Imagine an 8 yr old girls excitement to find out that she gets to ride in a limosine...now add another 8 yr old girl and guess what you get??? The loudest screams you've ever heard! One of their friends called Saturday morning (she is also on their soccer team) and asked if they could go for a ride in a limo after their soccer game. Her aunt was going to be going to pick kids up for prom and had offered to take her and some friends for a ride.

So, while the girls went on their ride, Kale went with Dad to the field - which to him is the most exciting thing EVER! When I got the kids all picked up, they were all bragging to each other about their afternoons, as if to one-up the other. All Ana could say was "Kale, it was SO fun...it's all I've ever dreamed of"!!!

Think Spring!!!

FINALLY, the men are planting!!! The weather seemed to take it's own sweet time in allowing it, but they're officially moving now. We have a field that is very sandy so we were one of very few to be out last week so I'm sure that got everyone around really itchy to be out as well!!

I love spring - I love watching the grass turn green, the kids being able to play outside without winter coats, mowing again (yes, I love to mow!!), and I really love watching the birds that were gone all winter appear again. Never really thought I'd be a person that loved watching birds, but I really do!! The kids find amazement in them too - they get so excited when they come to our bird feeders!! And by the pictures below, so does our cat!!!!

Brings back memories

I have been trying to sift through old photos recently because I have a multiple picture picture frame to fill up. All sorts of memories come back to me as I look through them. The picture below probably brings up the majority of the early memories of our married life - oh so joyful and full of love, but oh so many struggles as well. But believe me, all the struggles and sleepless nights were totally worth it!!!

Don't look too closely though - you'll notice there's lots of dust on the little table beside the chair...and look at the Mt. Dew bottles!!! Too funny!!

The little things...

Every morning I sit and push the kids along to get ready for school - usually because they are running behind! This morning, as I was getting the kids' vitamins, Mia announced to me that she wanted the 'red' one. Right at that moment Kale took the only 'red' one out of my hand. I'm sure he did it just to make her mad (yep, Kale would do that!) so I told him he needed to give it back to her. I could have just as easily swapped one of the other ones for another red one but little things like this seem to be a constant battle for the two of them.

Amilia is a child of many hugs, kisses, and strong will - but she is also a child of many hits, pushes, and tattle-tailing on her brother. They truly fight as much as they love - maybe that's why they fight the way they do. They are both very passionate kids and very strong willed. I thank God every day that he gave us Anabelle to help even things out!!!

As most mornings would have played out, Mia would have scolded Kale long after I had already done so (and quiet enough that she would hope I wouldn't hear)...but to my surprise, she did the exact opposite! While Kale was pouting in his chair, Mia took her red vitamin and exchanged it with Kale's orange one - all while thinking I wasn't watching. It's those little things that I've come to find the most precious of moments - and for my strong-willed little girl that was a big deal!! Thank you, Lord, for the little things...