Golden Afternoon

In the spring I weeded and raked up a corner of the yard that had once been a shade garden.  The trees that shaded it have been cut back and the area was cleared out.  It's a very large space.  I thought it would just be nice to throw a bunch of seeds down and let nature have it.  I've thought it lovely all summer.  There has been tiny white flowers, yellow flowers, large fox tails, lots of huge "weeds".  The kids helped me scatter zinnia and Mexican sunflower seeds (two of my very favorites).  They have been just beautiful.  Jed and Evangeline have been so proud to watch the seeds they planted grow.  There have been baby deer bedding down in the garden, lots of birds and butterflies too.  We call it our weed garden.  Kyle never learned to love it.  It may become something else next year, but this year I've loved it just as it is. 

Warm Days

We sure do love this orange guy, even though he treats the house like a jungle gym.  It's kind of funny, sometimes we mix up Jed's and Pickles' name when we are yelling at either one of them to not do something that will either bring them harm or make a mess.  For example, when Pickles is about to knock over someone's glass, in a panic we might yell out "Jed" and then correct ourselves.  Or if Jed is about to smack his unsuspecting sister with a toy we might yell out "Pickles!" and then correct ourselves.  Those two are responsible for the most messes around here so it's easy to mix them up I guess.  

 

I took the kids to visit my dad a few weeks ago.  We had a lovely time.  While I was there I took a picture of the plaque National Geographic sent Dad when he retired.  He was in charge of the quality and color of their book covers for the past 10 years or so.  Dad had it buried under a stack of papers in his office area.  I thought it was pretty neat.  

 



My sweet little Evangeline went to Panera with her grandma recently.  She said she asked Grandma if she could get me my favorite cookie for a surprise.  The next day she had this little note clipped to the cookie.  She told me she hide it in her clothes drawer waiting to surprise me.  She is so thoughtful. 

 

What laughs these little paper masks have brought...



 

Ohhhhh, the days when you could just fall asleep anywhere......This is Evangeline's chair.  She can always be found curled up in it. 

Jed Turns 3!

It was a big day that weighed heavy on the heart of this mother.  On top of my little girl have her first day of 4th grade, my little boy turned 3.  The night before his birthday I heard him upstairs in his crib talking and singing.  I went back in to check on him and told him that I was wrapping presents for his birthday.  He asked me, "are there swords in there?"  He is really into knights in addition to super heroes.  I also rocked him and told him about the night he was born.  I really liked the part about peeing in my face the moment they laid him in my arms. 

Jed was still sleeping when I left for work in the morning, so I didn't get to wish him a happy birthday first thing.  Now, this probably doesn't sound like too big of a deal, but to an emotional mother, it's everything.  I did go to Peggy's at lunch and see him though, so that made things a little better.  That evening after Evangeline's piano practice we let him open some presents before dinner. 

 

We had biscuits and gravy per his request, even though he was too excited to eat much of them.  After dinner we opened the rest of the presents and had an ice cream cake.  His gifts included a spin toothbrush with Iron Man on it.  A little wrist watch, a Batman Duplo set and a set of foam swords and shields.  I also found a little knight's tunic. Evangeline got him a squirt bottle fan (he's wanted hers ever since she bought one on our trip to Northern IN earlier in the summer). My mom was there to help us celebrate as well.

 

Multitasking:  Holding up the number 3 while eating cake....

 

We love this little boy so much.  I can't believe he is three!  Watching a person grow and change truly calls so much attention to the quick pace of time.  Jed is such a special guy.  He adds to our lives so richly.  He is a blessing.

Singing Praise!

Oh!  My heart.  Evangeline sang in church again with Kyle this year.  They sang By the Mark, a folk spiritual.  Her version was inspired by Gillian Welsh.  Evangeline has such a soulful voice.  My heart was bursting with all the feels.  These pictures were taken one night the week before she sang in church.  They both had a flawless performance.  I am in awe of both of their abilities to not let nerves shake them.  I certainly do not have that gift.  

 

And this.....this was the icing on the cake.  After the service Jed decided to sing his version of the same song for the people that hadn't filed out of the sanctuary yet.  Jed knew it by heart having listened to Evangeline practice all summer.  The choir director turned on the mic and he sang all three verses.  Oh. My. Word.  Their are no words.....

 

A New School Year

The end of summer break has come and with it brings a new year for our little girl.  Fourth grade!  She was excited to get back in the swing of things.  She missed her friends.  The play date with her best friend, Hannah the Friday before school started really added to the excitement to get back to school.  I'm so happy she loves school.  Her teacher this year is Mrs. Landrus.  I think they are going to be an excellent fit.  I have known her teacher for a number of years.  I had her daughter in class and we have even had her daughter over to play a few times.  It's going to be a good year.

Evangeline picked out her first day of school outfit.  She is very opinionated about what she wears and how she wears her hair, which is great, but can also be the source of some stressful mornings around here.  She has been so responsible so far this school year in the mornings.  She stays focused on her tasks and is ready before me most days.  We will see if it holds up.  :)

 

She always brings her teacher a little surprise on the first day of school.  This year she brought Mrs. Landrus some cute pencils, pens and a notepad.  She also included the sweetest note.  Her first week of school was great.  She was disappointed the weekend came so fast.

 

And look at what my dear sweet mother sent me on my first day of school!  It sure did bring a smile to my face...

 

The Last Little Bit

It's been such an awesome summer.  I don't think there was a whole lot we set out to do that didn't get done (except bread Monday...Evangeline and I had lofty goals of making fresh baked bread every Monday...there's always next summer.  We also didn't get our sleepover with Dad in at the farm.  Gonna have to make that happen soon too.)  I'm going to miss summer vacation so much, but maybe it will be nice to have a little routine again...for a week or so at least.  What I miss most of course is all the time I get to spend with my kids.  The day sure go fast when we are back at school.

 

I may have mentioned this before, but if there is one thing at all that I've done right as a mother it's been the amount of reading I've done with my children.  I think it has everything to do with the children's literature class I took right before getting pregnant with Evangeline where I was reminded of all the various ways reading to children impacts them in such a multitude of positive ways.  We read read read.  Even on our busiest days Kyle and I read to the kids at the very least before bed every night.  Both of the children look forward to being read to, even Evangeline at 9 years old.  Evangeline is always reading.  Yeah, at least I got that right :) 

 

Did I talk about our nook yet?  If I'm repeating myself it's only because I'm so happy with it.  We said goodbye to a kitchen desk and hello to a coat/shoe area.  This has been the summer of organization for me.  I've brought so much order to much needed areas of the house.  

 

In that last week of summer we squeezed in a visit to Dad's house, dentist appointments and a play date with Hannah.  I promised Evangeline all summer that we could have Hannah over to play.  We were so busy, but by golly, I made good on my word on the very last day of summer break...whew!  That was close! 

Hannah stayed for around 5 hours so her mother could do some errands in Terre Haute.  The girls had such a wonderful time together.  They spent most of the day in the play house.  It poured down rain for a good deal of the time and they had so much fun getting "stuck" in the playhouse due to the heavy rain fall.  They came in at one point to pack a basket of lunch to carry back to the little house.  It was precious.  After Hannah left Evangeline told me that they had a dance party, played café with their lunch and took turns serving each other and played lots and lots of board games.  They are the sweetest girls at the sweetest age.