Westwoods

"Mommy, I think that to God we are so little that we're like His little toys."  {She watched  "Toy Story 2" last night.} I guess she might have a pretty good perspective... When Toria was four, just after she started going to Sunday School, she became very convinced of her hunger one day...  She came to me with flashing blue eyes and got in my face and said..." Mommy, you know the story of that guy that ate the pigs food in the Bible?   THAT'S how hungry I am!" Kids have a way with words for sure...  Now must go clean the windows for the first time in a very long time...

K.  Here's my pretty....  Yesterday  I needed pretty so I came in here to blog about it and afterward it disappeared...  My point was that seeing "pretty" makes me think of the good in life and to thank God for all of it...  Not only the roses but also the bugs on the roses.  Just being thankful for what is...  Because God is... To take a moment and breathe deeply of the goodness of God and all the blessings in your life right now even if there are a few icky things to deal with today... To thank God for the family He's given you and and all the little treasures He's added in the past ten years.  To remember what it is I love and treasure about my marriage.   To worship God for all His goodness to undeserving me...

Before our lives get a little crazy.  We are moving.  We heard the news as we were driving home from the Skrivseth reunion.  Things are a bit of a mess because right before our trip to Wisc. Bruce started eye balling a one acre piece of property just down the road from mom and dad's place.  I figured it was a waste of time since we already own an acre of land around the corner from where we live now.  I found out however, that that in no way slowed my husbands desire for a different piece. So now, we are stuck with our house sold and money tied up in two different one acre pieces.  One is for sale of course, but no ones buying these days.    Except someone just bought our house and third acre....  Hhmmm.  miracles do happen....  OK so bottom line here.  Pray for us.  We need a house to rent, put two children in school, and move in the next couple weeks.  Not to mention all the canning and freezing I've been doing...

Possibly largest cow ever. Her name is Sally Mae or Molly Sue or something like that.... She recides over highway 94. The money was raised in the 70's while Bruce and I were being introduced to the world. The total of dollars to put her here was a huge amount that I can't remember right now... over forty thousand??? That was a lot of money back then. Still is for that matter. Got milk? This was Torias idea for her daddy to pose this way. Notice the leash attatched to Bruce's arm. Snoopy thought the cow rather threatening. He braced his little back legs and barked for that cow to move aside. Imagine the fear in his little dog heart when "Owner" went to drink milk straight for the source as you might say. The last KOA turned out to be the first ever in North America. It was big and crowded. There were activities to do that could "keep a feller busy fer a week". There was a big beautiful pool and hotub area. The whole campsite was along th...

And here is some of the fun we had at the reunion. I got to play ball with Toria and a bunch of little nephews and nieces. We ate lots of yummy food. This chicken was the best! Some of the guys went fishing and they were yummy too that night along with the chicken. I mean the fish, not the guys...Har har!!! :] I think the most fun was visiting with the family. Lots of visiting and coffee and diet coke.

Arla, stop talking, we're posing for this sister picture... Amy, your lips are fine. O.K. Cheesy grins all... Amy, good job. Who did I have run my camera for this? Yes, Arla, you are in the picture. Your head fits too. I'm looking at the sky. I think. Amy's wondering when will this be over? I feel a little giddy with sister silliness. About now someones complaining of looking like a barn? I guess we are in Wisc. Could there be any parallels? I figured out whats wrong, Aprils not with us and we can't get this pose right at all... It was so fun to laugh with Evie again. God, give her the strength to stay in you through this time of upheaval in her family... O.K. that's all for now... I'll try to do a continuation of the reunion later.

My Baby is five. We celebrated at home, just us, with a castle cake which turned out like my cakes always turn out. {which means they hardly look similar to the idea I was after.} Aargh! Oh well, she enjoyed it all as if it did turn out picture perfect. The neighbor girls came down and played with the girls in the front yard for a hour. They are the girls ages and so Toria and Shaunti go out to join them as often as we allow them. I feel sad that my baby is five but also very blessed to be her mommy. I want to write down all my mixed up thoughts on motherhood but right now my brain is dead... So happy Birthday Dear Shaunti! We love you!

O.K. Here's the picture...

The ledge my baby is standing on is magnificent. One miss-step and it would be a sure, sudden death. We took the kids camping in Canook Basin about three weeks ago. I can now look at this picture without my stomach lurching all over the place. When I took the picture, my instincts were screaming for loved ones to please move away from the edge. I'm not afraid of heights. Just extremely, high drop offs. There's a difference right? Bruce recommended that I spend a hour looking over the edge as close as possible. He thought surely then my stomach would relax and then I could truly train myself from worry each time I watched my four year old glibly walk or run along the edge. He's a good man. He's what I need. He just doesn't understand that a hour of standing on the edge of nowhere isn't really my kind of thing. At the time this was not a good moment, but now, three weeks later, it's a good memory. Shaunti turns five this week and that picture with her daddy pu...