This morning we all went outside for a while. The sun was out so we had to make a run for it. I thought I'd take my camera as we were bolting out the door. You can never have enough pictures of the kids!

Here's little Matthew grinning from ear to ear

What's he trying to say???

My thoughtful boy

Hmmm, still thinking... such a beautiful baby to me.

Hannah pouting all by herself!

Hannah making up with daddy

Raking some of our field

Elisabeth pondering whether she wants the purple one

Climbing up boards... Who needs to learn this in kindergarten
when we can learn how to walk on a balance beam at home???

Elisabeth growing all up. She'll be three in July!

More raking... now get to work!

Pretty girl - we love you Elisabeth

Some Pictures from our Visit to San Diego

On our way to San Diego. I wish the girls always were happy like this on our trip. It was a HARD trip. We felt so bad for the kids when all was said and done.

Hannah all tuckered out!

One of our rest stop stops. I packed salami and cheese for sandwiches, homemade potato salad and brownies and lots more. It was nice to eat some good food at some stops along the way.

Another rest stop stop.
Hannah is looking for a squirrel that kept looking for some handouts from us.

Here we're finally at Dad and Diz's home. I'm so glad Matthew got to visit his father in his home rather than a hospital in his last moments. He appeared a lot healthier than we expected him to look. We were really grateful for that. Matthew kept holding his father's hand sharing how much he loved him. It was really touching. I wanted to cry.

Good picture of father, son, grandson and granddaughter

Daddy and the girls. I made them these pretty skirts to wear at grandma and grandpa's house. Elisabeth's was a bit loose on the waist so she kept having to hike it up.

Mama and her girls

Matthew and his father having some quiet conversation

Here Hannah and Elisabeth are playing outside in the warm weather. Something that doesn't happen too often on the Washington Coast. They had a blast!

Matthew, Diz (their grandma) and the kids.

Hannah playing with the little stones

Matthew sharing his water with our son.
I love the way my husband looks in this picture close up.

Matthew and his brother Nick

Nick Jr. playing tickles with Elisabeth. Nick and Mary have the nicest kids... all about 17-21 years of age. They played, played and played with our kids. They were some of the kindest kids I have ever met... very kind and very considerate.

The Family
Here's about half of the family that was over that day.
Diz and Debbie made the best homemade enchiladas you could ever tear into. They served two generous portions which really made me feel at home. : )

Grandpa holding Hani (Hannah - we call her Hani a lot). From what I understand, he never held his children or grandchildren so this was a real treat to see.

Nick, dad and Matthew

Driving to San Diego

We will be leaving and driving to San Diego May 15th to visit with Matthew's father. He is pretty ill of health and we want to see him before he passes away. We will be gone for a week. Please pray that Matthew's father Mike will hear the words of his son about the Lord and that we will return safely. We also need prayer that the Lord's will be done on a very important matter concerning the rest of our and our children's lives. Thank you so much! We will post lots of pictures upon our return when we have the time. : ) Take care all...

Pictures of Matthew 5 Months

Here's our little Matthew at 5 months old (picture's a few weeks old). He's such a sweetie!

Matthew Sr. and Matthew Jr.

Look at those teethers! I love him so much. He is still such a easygoing, content baby.
I will miss his babyhood. It's been really enjoyable.

Primitive House

The home we are dwelling in was built in the early 1930's. There was a home on this property prior to the home that we live in. We call it primitive house. It was somewhat safe to walk into a few years ago when we bought the home. However, now the floor and ceiling are rotting and we are going to have to bring it down for the safety of our children or anyone else. I took some pictures before we bring the house down.

Primitive House

You can see here why we need to bring it down. The floor is literally caving in.

Some of the old bottles we've found underneath and around the house.

This is the living quarters where the people used to stay or so we've heard.
Later someone turned it into a sauna.

Pretty Things Around Our Home

One of our pretty trees. I wish I knew what it was.

Plum tree blossoms
We had few plums (I believe they are Italian) last year
because we had few bees around to pollinate.

Our bell
I saw this a couple of years ago or so and loved it. My husband bought it for me for a surprise gift. I ring it sometimes when he's down at the barn to let him know dinner's ready.

Pear tree blossoms. The most delicious pears.
You'll have to ask Matthew what kind of pears they are though.

My first garden.
Matthew started up a garden for me a couple of weeks ago. He's so nice to me! We have two kinds of lettuce and some broccoli on the far right. I don't need to water it as we are getting plenty of rain.

Morning Sickness Has it's Advantages

As I've shared on an earlier post, we have a weekly arrangement where we drop off 2 dozen eggs to the owners of Brady's Oysters and they give us a pint of oysters. Well, about a month ago I was feeling very sick (I think it's a boy again - yeah!). The last thing I wanted to smell the aroma of was oysters. So, Matthew started up a tab for the oysters with the people at Brady's. He went in last week and the lady shared, "You know you can get anything here". He was delighted as he was 3 weeks backed up on us not having oysters and got the Spotted Prawns for $20 a pound. We got just over a pound and boy were they delicious. We may pick up the red salmon in a week and some halibut soon thereafter - Oh, I want some halibut. It's my favorite! What a wonderful setup we have with these nice folks. God is good.

Making Whole Grain Cereal

We bought this Grain Mill at a garage sale for $5 last Summer. I use it to grind oats very fine for Matthew's cereal and coarser for us for breads, cereals, etc...

Here I ground up some whole red wheat berries and some oats. It makes for a delicious hot cereal in the mornings. I bought some barley and rye to grind up and add to the mix in a day or two. I love to eat really bad, but I also love to eat good, whole foods.

A Gift from a Fellow Momy's

I love the Momy's site (momys.com). Momys stands for Mothers of Many Young Siblings. Many women correspond on the site that have similar values... many believe in the Lord, many believe in enduring the hardships and supporting one another through bearing children and having as many children as the Lord intends. I've seen women rejoice in birth and share their sorrows in death of their children from 4 weeks pregnant to 12 year olds dying tragically as well as some dying right now. But, many women on this site still have time to have fun and enjoy the lighter side of life. In the craft section of Momys, many women decided to have a drawing for a free gift to share their gifts in the crafts area. I signed up for a few drawings and was surprised to find I had won a homemade skirt for my daughter. I was delighted! This lady took the time out of her day to make a skirt for my little Elisabeth. She has a 3 year old too so her daughter got to model it first (I got a preview). Well, today the little skirt arrived and it is prettier than the pictures. It is full, long and pretty. I love it! And Elisabeth loves it even more. Here are some pictures I took of Elisabeth in the little blessing we received. Thank you Heather! You are so kind.

Full shot of the pretty skirt. Isn't it adorable???

All smiles... Look at my pretty skirt mommy. Hannah likes the fullness of it.

Tippie toe view - (I mean backside view).

Another pretty shot

I love how it drapes. It is so pretty! So what do ya all think Momys? Did she do well or what? Did we get a blessing today or what? Thank you again!!! Now I have a skirt I will have to try to duplicate. : )