a boy and a firetruck

dirty river boy

beach brothers

Photoshoot Giveaways!

I'm so excited to see who wins!!! 

Just a PINK day...

The kids were having Kimchi with their scrambled eggs and sausages this morning and we decided to try the fermented beets I made recently...

...it turned the eggs PINK! They loved it! 

I was surprised at how much we enjoyed these beats! They are slightly sweet with a very earthy- almost meaty flavor. I can't wait to see what else it pairs with well!

(Look at how pink the juices are! LOVE the color!)

Later we made PINK homemade ice cream and used our first batch of strawberries from our garden! We mashed them up and added most into the ice cream maker and saved some to put on top! It was REALLY good!

(You can't really see the pink hue of the ice cream here, but it was...you'll just have to trust me.)

Then tonight after dinner we enjoy some PINK watermelon! What a wonderful way to end the day!

Lately...

Lots of playing inside with all the rainy weather:

Hide and seek

"Found you!"

Studying the Bible and memorizing verses for the Bible Bee!

Snuggling

So thankful to the Lord for the sun right now so I can play online for longer than five minutes! =)

SO PROUD!!!!

(Keaton with his Great Grandma in Arizona on our way back home from Mexico)

Today we got Keaton's test scores for the required 3rd grade testing in our state and he did AMAZING!!!!!

I was nervous about his testing as he has never done testing, has a hard time sitting still, all of his quirks (etc!) and us having a "low-key" homeschooling year (with a trip to Mexico too!).

I tried not to think about it too much the month or so before the test (it was last week) and then a week or two before the test we told him about it and practiced sitting at the table for longer periods of time while he worked on school stuff. 

It wasn't until after he took the test that I realized I was going to be nervous about the results because I know with my personality if he didn't do well, I would take it as a personal "failure"...I have been his only teacher and all!

Then I became REALLY nervous!

I feel so much better now knowing that he is right on track for his age and even excelling to a seventh grade reading level! 

All of this of course are results that are according to a test that not all children "fit into" at least not children like Keaton...and that we have survived and are thriving WITHOUT having to put him on medication, just blesses my heart so much and encourages me for all the HARD work we have done with him for the past four years of homeschooling, extreme diet changes and therapy to help his brain.

I could just cry.

God is so good...He is carrying us along this journey with this little boy and it is a blessing to see small glimpses of the fruit of our labor and the Lord working in MIGHTY ways! He is our Great Healer!

PRAISE JESUS!!!

Bible Bee!

So, Keaton is really excited because soon he gets to start preparing for the Bible Bee!

If your kids have memorized verses, do AWANA or anything like that, they may also want to sign up for Bible Bee...there is also the awesome motivation of $260,000 in cash and prizes!

Yes...$260,000!!

Isn't that unbelievable?! I love that this program isn't just trying to get them to spout off as many verses as possible, but it is designed to get the family spending time together, reading the Bible and really studying what it is all about. At the competition (taking place at MANY places all over the country!) they also have to take a written "test" to show how much they understand about the Bible verses. I love it! =)

Go check out the website that explains it all and will send you a packet of verses to get your kids started! There is a $30 sign up fee, but it includes many items and really you can't put a price tag on memorization of The Word! =) There are nearly 4,000 kids ages 7-18 already signed up to get their packets around the first of June! I'm hoping Keaton has a wonderful time...even if he never wins anything, he will defiantly "win" with some awesome promises stored up in his heart.

Let me know if your signing up too!!

www.BibleBee.org

Walk For Life!

Today our family participated in the annual "Walk For Life" to support pregnancy care centers in our area and to save the lives of unborn babies...a passion dear to my heart!
It was an easy two mile walk through town and then some fun events at the end! We started raising funds this week (and had a fun play-date at our house for our friends to bring change for the WFL!) and raised nearly $60! I was shocked considering we just started trying to fund-raise!

 Instead of the cookies they offered afterwards, we enjoyed raisins, apples, cheese and hard boiled eggs that we brought along! =)

 One of Abbi's dearest friends Ja'Ana worked really hard to raise money and ended up being the kid (in her age group) to raise the most money! She was rewarded with an awesome new bike helmet, an iPod Shuffle and iTunes Gift Card!! We were so proud of her!!! Isn't that awesome!!??!!

 Afterwards they had some face painting for the kids...our kids thought it was really fun and got one on each cheek!

 And as the WFL main tent was held in a park, we - of course - had to play afterwards! =)

When we got home today, Keaton found that his caterpillar (we call them "Micah"...I hope my brother doesn't mind...it's the highest form of a complement from a little boy!) had made a cocoon! It might be a bit hard to see...there are two in their and the second caterpillar is right next to the cocoon.

But he wanted me to take a picture. =)

I hope all you mamas out there have a wonderful day tomorrow! 

Happy Mother's Day! =)

For my mom...

Here are the lilacs I was telling you about...

and the strawberry patch I was working on for a couple weeks...isn't that a TON???!!! Maybe you'll be here when they are ready! =)

And the brick entrance I did yesterday...

My favorite time of the day...golden evening sun through the trees...look at how much fun they have been having outside on all that cement! =)

Here are the streamers we put up to celebrate Abbi's success today:

These are the 27 books she finished! It only took three years, but for being a bit dyslexic, it is wonderful -she is so excited!!! And doing so well lately!

The boys having fun playing ball...

From the front door...the deer I was telling you about were just on the left side closer to the trees...

This is the baby Blue Jay's nest, I think there is four...maybe five? You can see three heads here...one dark black one by the trunk and two others near the center of the pic. One on top of another. ADORABLE! =)

When I was taking these pics after we got off the phone, Auston came over and said that these were for me...then he asked me to start taking pictures...

"now like this..."

"and like this..."

"and this..."

and on and on! I had to stop him after awhile! =)

Here are a few pics from this past month:

Keaton with slug slime stuck on his hands...who does that remind you of?!!! LOL!!

Lots of school...

Tim caught Hudson like this...we have to keep the chairs on their side or upside-down to keep Hudson from scooting them around to get stuff (like the phone) off the counters!

Later that night I caught him taking out all my farmers market baggies and getting into their drawer:

He's proud of the mischief and mayhem that he causes! =)

Lots of picnics outside in the lawn:

On a hot day we surprised the kids with homemade ice cream and homemade chocolate fudge for a treat...now they can never say they don't get goodies! lol!

And of course Hudson liked the bananas best!

I just thought these were beautiful and amazing...they are tiny flowers with little "streamers" coming out of the center that gently blow around in the wind. Do you know what they are??

My favorite tree here...I even caught one of the Blue Jays flying off (bottom left corner):

A few park trips and picnics:

Besides the cute kiddo, don't you love all the daisies in the park right now?! =) 

( I love that he brought his "baby" along!)

(Oh! And you can see Abbi's bangs I was telling you about. Still not my favorite, but they are growing on me! Why does she love them so much???!!! =) I think it is foretelling the years ahead of her liking something that I think looks odd! =) lol!)

Hope you enjoy the photo update! Love you!