A VERY Busy Monday

 Bre had an OB appointment and so I found myself at their home as the kids came out for breakfast! Its a great time of the day to snatch some cuddles. We read, played pirates and mermaids and then an elaborate game with tunnels and tents. 

Smile BIG Annie! 

Jojo is easiest to photograph from this position

Fire in the hole! 

I got home just in time for Arielle and the boys to show up to spend time with Dad.  She sent us a couple of photos to share some of the fun they were having. 

📷by Arielle

📷by Arielle

The best lunches are worn

Michael and I took the girls out to lunch. We opted for Krazy Moose Subs. Yum. Next, we picked up Allie's new college laptop! We give all the kids a "good" laptop when they graduate from high school...of course, by the time they finish college it's obsolete, but we try to give them a solid start. LOL  

Thinking...thinking...

It was fun to watch Allie wrestle with herself while we shopped. She "wanted" to go for the cheapest, but also loved the look of a couple of them...in the end we told her we wanted at LEAST one of the processors...she didn't care about touch screen and we wanted lots of memory....we landed on the perfect one for her...it as 1 TB memory, a better processor than we set as the minimum, Allie likes the look of it, AND it was in stock.  Woot! A win...college begins shortly. 

It was a busy and productive start to what looks to be shaping up to be a busy week. 

Sunday's Excitement

Another amazing announcement...another grandblessing is coming our way!  For THIS child we've prayed, believed, and hoped. This child was spoken of by an airport prophet...and very soon we'll get to HOLD him. 

📷by Larissa 

Sunday afternoon we hosted the family to Jared and Larissa's gender reveal. Wow - y'all - when I was having babies half of them were still revealed with, "It's a boy!" at delivery. LOL Knowing ahead of time does have advantages. 

We've all been waiting, patiently, and one day this week Larissa texted they knew the gender and asked if we could all meet at our place on Sunday. YEP! 

While we were at church, KrUke came in from camping and showered. JaRissa arrived and started baking pizzas....and boom a family gathering happened! Nolan is usually working when everyone else is off - but everyone else was able to make it.  It was great to have Izaak home for the reveal and nice to catch up with him. 

Benny, Liv, Allie, GG, Bella, Annie, Gideon 

Jared is currently helping Stanley Wright with his campaign for State House from District 22. Stanley came out for the gender reveal. He fit right in. At one point we all realized he and Michael had disappeared for quite some time...out in the garage and RV... LOL 

Jared and Stanley 

Krista

After lunch the festivities moved outside - to the very place we had CyRi's wedding almost a year ago exactly. Fun memories we are making here at Wibbly Wobbly Acres. LOL 

A box

The excitement built...only Jared and Larissa knew...we all had our guesses and we all had a 50% chance of being right....the cousin table...or part of the cousins...were heavily pulling for blue.

The sibs table and deck....

JaRissa work the details for those who were joining via Facebook live. 

It's a boy! Noah Michael Warren

Noah - God can be trusted. God keeps His promises. God does what He says he's going to do! A great name. 

Uncle Cy bounces Bella, Gideon, Benny, Annie and Livie while Reno watches on. Reno is a very BIG and extremely lovable mastiff. 

I volunteered to provide a slide show for announcements or during the reception of Cory's licensing service...I'm not sure why he isn't comfortable with the idea! LOL 

Cory entertains Danny and Benny

Aunt Carrie plays a game with Benny and Livie. 

Jared, Larissa, Me, Michael 

📷by Carrie 

Josiah (JoJo - BreZaak's) is tired📷by Carrie 

What a blessing these girls are!!!! 📷by ?

📷by Carrie 

📷by Larissa

It was a great afternoon! Our hearts are full. God knew we'd love these moments with family. We sense this is a season and we are determined to wring every moment we can from this season. 

Mementos of Stories Untold (Snippets)

Here are some photos which I took with great plans of blogging... Life has been so busy if I can capture just the facts, I feel GREAT about it.  

And there are no photos for the hours of curriculum planning, zooms with various colleges as Allie firmed up her fall schedule, Allie registering for fall college classes (she'll be taking 15 hours from 2 different universities - Go Allie!), or all the little projects which keep us so busy this time of year. 

There are, however, a few random photos which show my good intentions. 

This little chickadee loves the birdhouse as much as I did. We were sure a bird had turned the yard decor into his home...and I finally got a photo. I love watching him from the kitchen and nook windows. 

This is how I build self-care into the morning routine...I start green tea steeping when I start Dad's eggs, bacon and potatoes...I've started putting fresh mint leaves into the mix and it's YUMMY.  I get two mugs this size. Note the mug has photos of all the grands, a gift from BreZaak. 

Bella capture Izaak's glasses 

Astronaut Annie -

An old photo I found of Millie in her longing to be running free phase after surgery. LOL  The t-shirts DID work better than the cone. 

I've been harvesting....tried my hand at making Kale chips and Michael ate some. They're pretty good...bit salty. 

Michael took apart my first instant pot and FIXED IT! Yes...actually, he figured it out. He then showed Alex how to solder it as Alex has steady hands. Teamwork at its best. 

We have found it HARD the last few weeks to fit in individual breakfast studies. We've been meeting together through July and now August. This week we grabbed a Saturday lunch as we were determined not to miss a second week in a row. 

Stacia was excited to try air brushing a cake this week...this could open up whole new worlds. LOL 

She made this cute cake for an event on Sunday. 

Stacia, Allie, Michael and Me

One last note...termination dust! The top of our mountain peak has been dusted with snow several mornings lately. At this point it still melts during the day....but winter is coming...and soon...fall will be here...maybe it is here. I still don't know. For SURE this is the RAINY SEASON. 

A Funny

 I received a text from Arielle which cracked me up! 

They've worked hard with Benny from a young age for him to know not to carry on for things at the store, but to save his money and buy them. He does extra chores to earn money.   He often shares his heart with me. "Bachan, I want a fishing pole. I'm working for it." 

📷by Cory 

Let me tell you - this Bachan wanted to run out and buy him a fishing pole. HOWEVER, I KNEW that would sabotage the life lessons they were teaching him. He earned his pole, and that smile was worth the work he had to do. 

Benny is a giver - sometimes he says things like "I'd love to get Honey (Arielle) a pretty hair tie," and he and I run to Whimsey and find one...because I encourage love languages. 

I don't know what prompted this conversation, but Arielle asked Benny what he needs to do when he needs extra money. She expected he would answer, "Ask for extra chores." 

He replied, "Ask Bachan. I don't know why but sometimes that works!" 

::gasp::  ::snort:: I do not EVER remember him asking me for money, and I've never simply given him money but there you have it....Ask Bachan - sometimes it might work. LOL