Good bye, May!

Last night we went to The Gala again this year.(I felt prettier than I looked, but oh well, I don't care- heehee -no comments, k?) It is a huge fundraising event for those who are able to give to the hospital. There are also some lucky schmucks who cannot give but because those in line ahead of them for tickets, say no, the offer trickles down and that is us! We had fun. A delicious dinner. Visiting with lots of friends. Listening to a professional auctioneer, auction off some aaaamazing things donated, like, wine of the month for a year, several trips, dinner for 10 at a nice restaurant in town, a beautiful bronze sculpture of horses valued at $29, 000! (btw, it only went for a fraction of that, John said now that is the way to get some art!), a wine tasting dinner for 10, I think. It was fun to watch and listen. One thing they did is sell places in a contest to win a diamond ring. Our kind host, Chuck Notbohm, bought the four women at our table a place in the game. My friend, Vicki won! It was especially sweet for her to win because they had their wedding rings confiscated/stolen on their honeymoon and she hasn't had a diamond ring for 14 years of marriage! Now she does! I don't think the ring could have been won by a more excited and grateful girl! Too fun!  

Phoebe is playing T-ball and loving it!! And doing great at it, too! She is the one in orange in the pic. I will try to get some better pics at the next game for ya!

One of the last weeks of school, she had a dress up week and this day was Cartoon/Superhero Day. She is Jerry of Tom and Jerry, it is one of her favs! I think she is one of the cutest mice I have ever seen! (oh! flashing back to Yellowstone vacation and a mouse caper.... squeel! there he is! oh, he's cute, ah! there he is!.....thump)

John grew out his beard. Soon after this pic he trimmed it, I don't know why... I could have made a comment... something like, when you can put it in a ponytail holder, its too long...or something like that. 

Jacob has been a building machine with his Ubersticks! He is really a creative guy!

Another May has come and gone! 

The next will be here before we know it!

Jacob has learned to mow the lawn,

Phoebe is learning a ball player's spit.

Some things we learn are good, 

some things we learn are bad.

So, learn the things you should,

and it will make you glad. 

Rhyming drives Nate crazy,

but we think rhyming is RAD! 

LIVE! LOVE! LAUGH!

xoxo

Can I just say....

I love listening to Jacob singing worship at my shoulder in church, and bless his heart, he is trying to find the notes, but his voice must be getting ready to change or something, so I sing down an octave with him and help him find his place. I was grinning like an idiot over my son and the Son this morning! 

And, I love Phoebe's little underpants that are covered in strawberries! They are last of the fun and/or character underwear. (When Jacob got his first 'big boy' underwear, with Spiderman on them, he went around asking all the grown boys in his life if they wanted to see his Spiderman underwear and asked them who they had on their underwear!) 

I love it when Ellie makes Jacob laugh!

I love it when Nate makes John laugh, too! (And me, he makes me laugh often. :)

I love going for walks with Phoebe. And I love it when she get ahold of the camera and gets some great pics! :)

And I love you! XXOO

Another Happy Mother's Day

                                                                                                                                                     Had another great Mother's Day! I remember my 'first' Mother's Day, I was just a couple of months pregnant with my first. Also got to go to a Mother's Day Tea that year at church. Sweet memories, but LOVE being where I am in motherhood. Sure, I do the pouty lip to John whenever the baby thing comes up, but I actually love the stage we are in. And my babies are awesome. :)

So, see my beautiful delightful breakfast pic above? Pretty, huh? (Thanks, hunny!) And my babies brought me breakfast and treasures in bed. They all sat on the bed with me and jostled for my attention to see what they had for me. Cards and made in school treasures. Then the tradition is to ask for bites from my tray, even though there is the same aplenty in the kitchen, as Daddy tries to tell them over and over again. "Don't eat Mommy's, there is more in the kitchen. Watch out! Don't spill Mommy's juice!" It's quite comical. Then we all got cleaned up and headed to Billings for the day. It was fun! We made an ice cream stop... Mmmmm. One rule in Billings, we don't eat anything we have in Miles City... which, believe me, doesn't narrow down the choices by much at all. HA!

And what I know, is that anything my sweet children love in me or think is lovely about me is only in the places and ways that Christ shines through me, all glory to Him alone. Thank You, my Beloved Savior. 

"I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge" (Ephesians 3:18,19)

"Mommy, I picked these for you!"

 

It has begun, the flowers (and weeds) are blooming and we have cups of them sitting on the counter and they are being refreshed almost every day. 

I LOVE that I get to be the mommy. My babies come to me with their treasures and almost every time they have been outside, they bring a handful of flowers... to me. To me! I get to be the recipient of the beauty they find. I love that. I love that I get to be these amazing creations of God's mommy. I also love that they don't know the flowers they bring are ...(shhh) weeds, and that Daddy is trying to kill them. Who decided to put a flower in the weed catagory anyway?! It is so sweet that they are so surprised a few hours later when the dandelions don't look so pretty anymore and are closed up. "Mommy, why are they dying?" Phoebe asked Daddy if she could plant hers in some dirt so they would live, and when he told her no because they don't have roots, next time she picked a little deeper and brought me flowers with roots! :) 

I think it has been a while since Jacob has brought me dandelions, but he did bring me the sprig laying in front of the jar, it has some beautiful, tiny, pink blossoms on it.  And, another step in the passage of time, (I will not interject the word 'sadly' in there, I refuse to let his growing up into the man God intends to be called a sad thing! *sniff*) Nate doesn't bring me flowers anymore, I don't know when he stopped, maybe this is the first year, or maybe I just finally realized. But that is just fine. He is so amazing, I adore him. And I get to be his mom. :) 

Did I mention that I love that?!

LIFE CHANGES AND GOD IS SO GOOD!!!

Bountifully....

Psalm 119:17 says, "Deal bountifully with Thy servant, that I may live and keep Thy word."

Bountifully~

In my quiet time this a.m., I was talking this bountiful scripture over with my sweet, bountiful Lord, and realizing how I can neither "live" nor "keep His word" without His bountiful dealings with me. And that He has. If bountiful didn't already mean:

liberal in bestowing gifts, favors, or bounties; munificent; generous. abundant; ample.

 (Don't you love it when you look up a word and then you have to look up a word in the definition of the first word that you looked up?! That does happen to other people besides just me, right? Humor me and tell me that has happened to you, please?! HA! I had to look up "munificent" and it means; extremely liberal in giving; very generous. characterized by great generosity: a munificent bequest ....Hm. Anyone know what 'bequest' means? Ah, well, this could go on and on... nevermind. Back to the point...)

You don't need to, nor can you, expand on 'bountiful!' I mean, come on, it is defined by 'munificent!' WOW!

So, further into my morning, His bountiful dealings are all that I can think about. Beautiful bounty all around me...

I pray that I will never lose sight of His bountiful dealings with me. And, Beloved, I pray that you are able to see how He has dealt bountifully with you! 

Love you!
XO

Have a beautiful, bountiful day!