Tis the Season

Is it just me, or did December arrive sooner than expected? (And snow on the ground already, too!) So, we've been scrambling to decorate and bake and memorize lines for church programs. All fun, but scrambling none the less. :)

I let the boys decorate the tree again (with just a few minor adjustments from me, of course). And I skipped some time consuming tasks like stringing popcorn for the tree, and lights on other shelves and windowsills. I really don't miss any of it, and it saved me loads of time. Instead, we spent time on Christmas projects the boys could enjoy, like making green and red paper chains, paper snowflakes and other ornaments, and Christmas themed bulletin boards for school.

Yesterday was almost entirely devoted to getting a Christmas card photo taken. NOT an easy task, I must say! Getting the boys and their dog all bathed, the boys haircuts, clean clothes, and all smiling and looking at Mommy and the camera simultaneously. . . pretty much impossible! However, after MANY clicks, there are a few photos that will work, I think. And while the dog was freshly bathed the boys got to enjoy playing with her in the house for once. All in all, a pretty good day! :)

So far December has been cozy and festive! I'm so excited for the rest of the month spent celebrating the precious birth of Jesus with family and special friends! What a joyous season, indeed!

An October Day in Pictures

July is Flyin' By

I always have good intentions about blogging daily, but then life gets in the way! So here's a glimpse of what we've been up to the last few weeks!

July 4th, we had a family picnic at the Moyer farm. These times are so precious because I'm not sure how many more years we will be able to share these times together! My mind is flooded with so many childhood memories whenever I'm at the farm. The memories are especially poignant when I'm there watching my own children enjoy the farm the way I did at their age! I'm so blessed to have my children know their great grandparents!



We had a church picnic July 5th and the kids wore themselves out for a second day in row! This over-sized ball kept the kids busy for quite a while!














Garrett playing kickball with the kids who live across the street from our church and came over with their mom for the picnic. They seemed to enjoy getting to know the church people better, so hopefully they will visit for a service sometime soon.














Carson playing a little catch with Daddy.














Jeff proving he can still keep up in a game of volleyball! (I believe the married men team soundly beat the teen guys team!)














Carson and Garrett ganging up on Caleb, one of our pastor's sons. :)
















Then we finally got the boys some sand for the sandbox! Don't ask me why there's never any sand left by the end of the summer, but, they are now using the sandbox for what it was intended once again!

Of course, helping Pop Pop mow his yard with the riding mower is high on their list of favorite things to do! :)

And Mom Mom had some new gadgets for blowing bubbles, which was tons of fun, too!

All in all, July has been lots of fun! Whew! I think I'm just about caught up for now. FOR NOW! Ha, I'm sure I'll be falling behind again quickly. It's just the story of my life! :)

Swimming Fun!

We had the opportunity to spend the afternoon at a friends' pool the other day, and the boys had so much fun! I have a feeling their little kiddie pool at home will not provide as much excitement for them from now on! :)

Rain, Rain, Rain

This has become the standard weather scene around here lately! Hmmm, I know I should never complain about too much rain. But. . .

I would certainly enjoy seeing the sun shining brightly on my flowers again sometime soon. And I'm sure my veggie garden would appreciate basking in some warm sunshine for a few hours!

Ahh, well. Maybe tomorrow? :)

A New Year Recommendation

I thought I would just send you over to girltalk for some great insight and encouragement about the new year. There is much food for thought in their short daily posts, why should I try to wax eloquent when I'm in the same boat as many of you wondering how to proceed from here! :)

"New Beginnings..."

I'll be posting some thoughts on the New Year, just like everyone else, I suppose. I haven't collected all those thoughts yet, however. So I'll "keep ya posted" on when that comes together. :)

Yet Another Ice Storm

Today's forecast is calling for, believe it or not, more ice and snow. Possibly an inch of ice! This will be the fourth ice storm already this winter, and it's only the first week of January! But, honestly, I don't mind that terribly much because I don't have to go out in it. Being a stay-at-home mom has its advantages at times. :) Snow, however, would be just a wee bit more fun for little children to play in than ICE! Right after the last ice storm I took the boys outside for half an hour so they could try to chop through some ice with their little shovels. But the wind was blowing so hard that huge ice chunks were dropping from the trees and hitting the ground like shattering glass! It was amazing to see, but dangerous to be anywhere near a tree. Needless to say, 30 minutes of slipping on the ice and being cornered in the back of our tiny yard away from the trees was quite enough! So, I'm hoping the tail end of today's storm produces a bit of snow for the kiddies to at least walk around in with their snow boots!

There is a positive to bad weather for me, though. I either get motivated to tackle a cleaning project in the house, OR I curl up with an extra cup of coffee or two and a good book for a few hours while the boys watch movies in their sleeping bags. I have a feeling that this winter is going to continue to provide opportunities for both these options!

Come to think of it, I have a miniseries to watch on DVD, too! My inlaws got me the A&E version of Pride and Prejudice for Christmas! It's a collector's set with a beautiful book of how it was produced and everything. That may just be what I decide to do today! Hope you all are able to stay warm and cozy wherever you are today, too!

An Autumn Look for My Blog. . .

I was getting bored with the look of my blog, so I found this really neat website with lots of free blogger templates. And believe me, if I figured out how to make this change, anybody can do it!

The weather has been slowly cooling, but not enough to actually start burning the costly gas furnace yet! We though last year's heating bills were ridiculous, I don't even want to imagine what this winter is going to cost us. I'm torn. I want an unseasonably warm winter so we can afford to keep the house reasonably comfortable, and yet I want my boys to have some snow to play in. Last winter was a failure in the snow department.

But Autumn has only just begun, so I must focus on the now instead of the future. We are in the midst of hunting season--archery for buck and doe, shotgun for grouse, etc. (It actually could be rifle for grouse and not shotgun. Apparently there's a difference. Who knew?!!) Anyway, between overtime at work for my hubby, some minor house renovations, and hunting season, it's been a little crazy around our house. Oh, and I hurt my back again, so I can't even help my man out with painting. Very frustrating!

I'm not letting the frustration overtake my excitement for fall, though! I love this time of year! Some of our trees are just starting to change their leaf color and the air has that crisp coolness to it. I love being able to put on my fuzzy socks and settle in under a fleece throw with a good book and a cup of coffee. Or hot apple cider or hot chocolate! Tea would be ok, too. Pretty much any steaming beverage. :)

So, I will probably post some pictures of our renovations when they are completed. But I'm not even going to venture a guess on when that will be. Meanwhile I will be nursing my sore back trying not to feel too guilty about how hard my hubby is having to work these days.

Where did summer go?

So, August is now gone, and summer is officially over. And with the rain and wind of Hurricane Hanna blown northward, I am enjoying the low humidity and perfect temperatures. My boys are very excited to see leaves falling, although I'm pretty sure they're falling early due to previously dry temps. and this past weekend's wind and rain. But, nevertheless, there are leaves to rake into piles for jumping, and that makes Garrett and Carson giggle with excitement.

Another adventure that has them giggling in delight is our camping trip planned for this weekend. This will be their first time, and they are anticipating all sorts of new adventures in the woods for three whole days. They don't even know the half of it. So, I will have camera in tow, following them around for the duration documenting their every new discovery and experience. I, as well, will be experiencing new things, as I've only done this one other time in my life, and it was before children. Needless to say, this will be a new endeavor for all of us. Even Daddy, experienced wilderness outdoorsman that he is!! :)

So, I'll be back next week with lots to share. Enjoy your week, everybody!

So, it's summertime...

I'm just realizing that the date of my last post was May 31st. Somehow I've missed a whole month! But then I thought about how little time I spend indoors in front of a keyboard when it's warm and sunny outside!

So here are a few photos of what me and my boys have been up to...

Some backyard fun...

An evening stroll at a nearby lake...

Beatin' the heat in the river...

Seeing some local wildlife...

Finding a baby birdie that fell out of its nest...

Hope you are enjoying summertime as much as we are!