A Little of This and Little of That

It was the precious summer.

Arrival of one very beautiful and amazing Emerald Peace;
lots of lake trips with lawn chairs, life jackets, and an ice chest.

A new grassy spot for
campfire pit, playing Tag, and catching grasshoppers.

And the old old apple trees down by the log cabin - they have been
worth their weight in gold.  Our own "Giving Trees" support leggy
children on spindly bows and produce apples apples and more apples.
Still the trees keep giving and apple cores are common by the wayside.

The log cabin saw some progress too, in the framing up of doors and windows.

Susie had a birthday entering the double digits!!

This year we got her started with some essential oils of her own and
a case to keep them in.  The girl has been reading about their uses and
is fast becoming my resource for which to use for what ailments :-)
She says that cinnamon diluted and applied to the front of the neck works
fabulously as a cure for sore throat!

I'm so glad to have babies and toddlers underfoot - AJ and I agree
that we'll never get tired of having a two-year-old in our home - but this new stretch
of our lives with big kids is being A-MAZING!

These guys are so much fun; they have super ideas and thoughts and are truly witty!
They keep me company and share my foibles and laugh at my mistakes.
I mean, really.  It's the best thing ever to have these guys laughing with (at?) me
over adding 4 cups of chocolate chips to a recipe that was to have only 3/4 cup.
Wow.  It was not really such a bad mistake - if you like a giant cake-shaped
chocolate chip. Haha! (Could be a bit of sleep deprivation sneaking in there)

Also, they pick up some of the load for our family, which gives me time to just be mom.

When there were only 4 under 6, that was the most exhausting season, and not
because there were four, but because they were under six years old.
While dad was at work, I was it.  IT.  I was the sole sandwich-maker, potty taker-to-er,
cup-filler, diaper-fetcher, clothes-changer, tucker-inner, face-washer, shoe-finder...
You name it, I did it.  It wasn't that long ago, but if you ask me how I did it, I couldn't
tell you. It's a blur to me now. Those were the days of true super powers! :-D
No really, I was completely exhausted and tapped out.

What an unforeseen blessing of this large family experience to have such eager, willing,
and capable helpers that rescue me from nervous breakdown every day!
Little number nine has monopolized my arms because of her near-constant tummy
troubles this summer, and I've had the luxury of holding her because of my young
lunch-making Hero's and Heroines (and that is only the tip of the iceberg regarding
their stellar gifts, abilities, and precious service).

I hold Emerald, gently swaying back and forth with her small frame draped over my arm,
and listen in rapt attention to exploits, look (really look) at artwork, watch the peanut
butter being spread or the flour being measured as the cooks chatter away to my open ear,
read some stories to my littler ones, attend my middle ones reading to me.

In so many ways, there is more to occupy my day than ever in my history before.
Despite that, I get to enjoy motherhood in a whole new way.  I am relishing it.

I am relishing it so much.  Inhaling deeply as one would a sweet scented blossom.
How could I have known what those difficult young-mothering days would bloom into?
*(and for the sake of this conversation we'll ignore the difficult old-mothering days, ok? 
I'm sure you've heard of the woman who lived in a shoe... haha!)

All these ages are perfection.  I want to freeze time.  But no, I do want to see these guys
learn new things and grow into fellas strong and manly, and women sweet and graceful.
It's just happening too fast.  I guess the best way to be grateful for the best of this season
is to stop and enjoy these children while they are here.

And that's what I'm trying to do.

This five-year-old boy.  My heart, how I love him.
He is pretty fascinated with drawing birds these days and here are a couple
of his works of art - no kidding.

Two more pieces of my heart here below...

This little lady is picking chicken carcasses for me.  Ugh.  A job I like to avoid.
The other day it hit me - have Olivia do it!  She is such a tactile person and loves to have
her hands in everything (and feet, and head and hair and..) So thank you Olivia!

This pretty thing?  She is my up-and-coming baker/cook.  She wants to cook so badly
but she's up against four other kitchen thieves.  For school this year she's making her
own cookery book with hand copied recipes, and her sisters (or myself) have been taking
turns with her in the kitchen almost daily.

She's the one who tells me: "I can't WAIT to be a mom so I can cook good things
for my family.  I'll make cookies for my husband."
I tell her that's the best :-) Definitely worth looking forward to!

What can I say about this guy. I am proud fit to bust!
I'm just so privileged to know him. I'll be more than content for the rest of my life,
just to be known as Zack's mom.
He blesses me every day.

And if you're wondering if Emerald has a reddish tint to her hair, it sure seems like it!
Kind of fun for a change :-)

Yep.  They're keepers - every one of them!

Nap Interrupted

It is nap time.  Or at least, it's supposed to be.

I thought I'd try to catch up on some rest while my littles napped today
but from the other room I hear Aloria talking about Oatmeal and "Peanut
Butter on your face" to which Bryce responds something back about pickles.

It seems a bad idea for them to fall asleep at 3 in the afternoon, so I choose
to ignore the food conversation in exchange for some quiet time anyway.

The weather report threatens temps above 100 degrees by the end of the week,
but so far the air has been pleasantly cool with rain showers sprinkled here
and there throughout the last week or so.  An hour ago sunshine presided,
and now the ground soaks up another drink and puddles form in the bare spots.

I know I haven't been applying myself to keeping journal,
but life is more important than the record of it, and life happens in abundance here.

Miles passed his 3 month milestone and with it arrived laughter (my favorite!),
finding of his hands, and lots of cooing at those friendly faces that gaze down on him.
He is not a spitter-upper, and though he has had crazy hair like his sister before him,
it decided all at once to lay down. It is getting thin in places lately which means a
haircut is in order before long!  He is absolutely adorable and we can't imagine life
without our Miles.

Last week Ryan came from Colorado to put half a roof on the Log Cabin.
It was a project which wives are better not to watch.  I was there just
enough to deliver iced tea and take some pictures :-)

Did you notice the first hole cut in the log cabin wall?  It will one day graduate to a door
but for now it gives the structure the distinguished look of a glorified chicken coop I think :-D

Also... did you notice who's on the roof?  In some of the more exciting Marvel Hill news
we got our cousin/neighbors back!!  They moved to Nevada for a year and decided
they were ready for Idahome again. We are super glad to have my brother and sis back
in the neighborhood with their crew.

Over the weekend we had long-time friends visit from California with their
family of 9.  These guys have been in our life from the beginning pretty much,
and it was at their wedding that AJ and I "met".  It was a privilege to share time
in fellowship again and to watch all the children play together!

The day these friends left, we dropped AJ off at the airport for some travel and came
home to spend one day spiffing up the guest cabin in preparation for my sister Molly's
arrival.

Molly and Nick are here now with my adorable niece and nephew and while
we've only had one rainy day or two, we're looking forward to a lot more play in the
couple weeks they'll be vacationing with us!

And that's just a little of what needed catching up!

You already know how much we love it here, and that continues to be true.
I've deemed this "The Summer of The Picnic", and we've already had four
or so with plans for the coming weekend.

*Sigh*...

Life is good.  I hope all you friends are enjoying your summery days!