at the water park

Sisters and friends

The birthday Boy Little man J






Little J's big brother D

Mister L taking a little snack break

The gang is looking for Miss M. I love how Little Mister C led his friend L around by holding hands helping her find her older sister.

And the Winner is...

Little Mister had the honors of drawing a number and the winner is #3 Lisa. Lisa send me a message and let me know when would be a good time to drop the book of to you. Thank you all for entering and hopefully there will be another book soon.

Check out this great give away on one of my favorite blogs Thrifty Decor Chick
I would love to have a silhouette machine of my own the possibility's are endless.

Strawberry fields....

This is a long post with lots of pictures, sorry but I had so much to share with you. Last Friday we joined some friends for some berry picking. When we pull up we are greeted by this sweet little face! That is a great way to start any day.

Little Miss loved picking strawberries. She ask almost everyday if we can go again. She filled up her bucket almost half full. Now we just need her to remember to only pick the red ones :)

Miss M and her beautiful smile .

Her Brother Might J

These two boys not only make each other laugh but everyone around them too. When I told Mighty J that he was good at picking strawberries he replied " I am even better at eating them"

Little Mister was not that in to picking strawberries. He was more interested in walking through the rows with Mighty J

She was so proud of all the strawberries she picked!

So sad the older Miss M escaped my camera! Next time I will have to take two or three pictures of her.
Could not wait to get these beauties home to make freezer jam for the first time ever.


YUMMY!!!! Now it's time to find some freezer jars at garage sales this summer. For now I used these inexpensive ones from the grocery store.

Had enough strawberries left for a few yummy deserts. Along with eating them everyday for breakfast and lunch. YUMMY!!!



We are looking forward to some more berry picking this summer!!!

book review and give away.

My latest book review from Thomas Nelson is the book " Love on a dime" by Cara Lynn James. This book is about a young women who is writing dime store novels under a different name as to keep her high society family away from public embarrassment. Woven into the book is also her own story of choosing between the one she loves and the one that has been chosen for her. She struggles between choosing what she knows she should to keep her and her family in the high society crowd, to what she knows God is calling her to do. I was not sure about this book when I first got it as I tend to like more modern stories, but with in the first few pages I was hooked. This book of romance, mystery, and true love is an easy fun summer read. I would highly recommend grabbing a copy for yourself to read while on vacation, by the pool, or just on warm summer night. I am looking forward to reading more in the serious as they are published.

Want to win a copy? Well just leave me comment below telling me your favorite activity or place to go as a family during the summer. Please comment before Midnight June 25. I will post the winner on Saturday the 26. Good luck.

Happy Birthday

Cousin G had her 6th Birthday at a park this year. The kids enjoyed eating mud and worms for desert and playing at the playground.


a new favorite of mine...

LIttle man D was so hard to get a picture of as he was always on the go. I love the dirt on his face, what a boy!


Happy Birthday Cousin G!

Graduation time

This last weekend my Niece graduated high school!!! I can not believe she is out of high school already.
I am very proud of you Alyssa!!!!

Proud parents...

Cute couple...

Alyssa and Grandma

It's so hard to get good pictures in a crazy building like the one were in. Thanks for letting us join you on such an important day!

Last weekend

So two weeks ago we actually had some sun shine. I was able to work on two projects which I will show you later! The kids had a blast washing daddy's car. Little Miss got to wear her new suit she got for her birthday from her Aunt sissa. I must say I miss the sunshine!



not the best picture but I had to show just how cute the swimsuit is!!!

This last weekend was full of Graduations, grad parties, and a birthday party. I will post more about those tomorrow. I keep hoping for a moving weekend real soon! Still no date set but trust you will know when we find out.

honest grief, honest love

Birthdays are a time of celebration and joy. A chance to offer hope and well wishes for the year to come. A moment to reflect on time gone by. An opportunity to have a party celebrating with friends and family. All in all a very happy time for the most part. So today marks a birthday that I wish we could have a party for, my dad would have been 64 years old . I would have loved to throw him a small family party! As that is where he felt most comfortable or we could all gather in his wood shop because that was his favorite place. I had plans to do something with my kids but sadly they are very sick so it will have to wait. Instead today my mind goes back to the day he passed away 9 years ago this coming December ! I remember the things people said and the looks on their faces. You can tell the ones who know the pain I felt and the ones who are hoping they don't ever have to. So much compassion and support was poured out to our family. To which we will always be thankful for. The one thing I remember people saying the most is it will get easier... i wonder really is that what you meant to say? Maybe my grief and journey is unique, maybe for most people it gets easier. For me it just got different! The empty ache in my heart last just moments rather then days. When I smell fresh wood, or hear a saw buzzing I don't always break down and weep, now I may shed a tear but mostly smile and feel that warmth and love that was so much my dad. I can hear a story of his crazy adventures or hear a repeat of his awful jokes and laugh which I hardly did the first time he told them :)
However I will not lie, there are still days when the ache deep in my heart comes back and I miss him so much! Where I would give anything to ask his advice, hear his voice and fine British accent, have him give me a hug, watch him play with my children, Just see his smile again. When big things come up like stuff with the new house I longed for my dad to be able to see it and give his advice or just his nod of approval.
The point of honest post is not to be a Debby Downer but to take the chance to remind myself to hug my children more, remember what is really most important, to share my faith, to be the daughter my daddy hoped for me and the one my God created me to be. That in the moments of tears and aches so deep with in my heart that I remember I hurt because I was loved and that is life's great blessing to love and be loved. For in life there is but really...
Faith, Hope and Love, but the Greatest of these is Love. 1 Corinthians 13:13

Last days of preschool

LIttle Mister finished up a year of preschool and I must admit I am terrified about next year. For now however we are celebrating this milestone and working the kinks out in our summer daily schedule. So far the biggest thing is I need to go to bed earlier so I can wake up earlier, and the kids need to stop climbing in our bed in the middle of night :)
Here are a few pictures of the last days of school. Due to the outrages amount of rain we have had the kids field day was inside as well the last day picnic. Field day was fun the kids did obstacle corse , beanbag toss, tug of war, and the parachute.

I was allowed on last day of school picture in the rain...

The wonderful teacher Mrs McGuire little mister had all year. There is no way to thank her for her patience and kindness.

Little miss wanted in on the picture taking...

Good bye preschool it's been wonderful while it lasted!

fathers day ideas

So I was asked by a few people if I had any ideas for fathers day gifts. While the kids enjoy a movie I will take some time to show you some ideas I found and some ideas I had written down.

*How about for the guy who likes to BBQ - a dry rub mix in a container with a homemade label. You can find all kinds of recipes on line.
*Martha Stewart has a recipe for BBQ sauce that might be fun to try as well. Check out the cute labels she has too.


*Other ideas from Martha Stewart include book mark
Travel Kit
photo card
DIY cuff links


*How about a new movie or video game and his favorite snacks. I loved this idea I saw on the blog The Idea room


*or how about give the movie or game with some yummy homemade Carmel popcorn. Check out Your homebased mom for lots of different Carmel corn ideas.


* a photo book which you can include quotes from your kids about their dad. Some other things you could add are what they think a dad does at work, what are his favorite things, what do they enjoy doing with him, what kinds of things does he take care of at home, What is the best part of being a dad, what is the worst. I bet you get some great answers. For older kids have them write a letter to dad including favorite memories. The 5x7 books go together pretty fast. If you got to Shutterfly on facebook and click the like button you will receive a code to enter on their site for a FREE photo book. The offer expires June 30

*you could order a FREE 8x10 canvas of a favorite picture from canvas people. You pay 14.99 shipping or you can upgrade the size for more money. Click on the link to find out more. Make sure you check your colors!!!

*Last idea is to plan a fun family day or even one for once a month, Check out the blog 365 things to do in Portland for some fun ideas.

Hope this helps! I am sure there will be more ideas showing up on the web soon as fathers day approaches, If I see some good ones I will post them. If you have any ideas of your own please share your ideas in the comments.

Memorial day

Took the kids to visit their Great Grandpa's grave. Wow the questions little mister had all about war and enemies, being buried, what our new bodies will be like in heaven, and so much more. There was so many people there it was really overwhelming at times to see just how many people served our country in just this area. I am so glad we took the time to go! We even managed to miss the rain.









Daddy telling stories about his Grandpa...



Little Mister finally smiles hearing some very funny stories.

Little Miss liked walking through the mud and listening to her daddy.