Forever and ever.

Ryder's letter for this week is M. His curriculum focuses on the moon and emphasizes that we are like the moon and Jesus is like the sun; we have no light on our own, but are a reflection of His light. As I was reading some verses to him and explaining this he stopped me and said, "Mom, I need to be the light, I need to have Jesus in my life!"

We held hands and prayed that Jesus would be his heart and with a big smile on his face he told everyone he saw yesterday, "I asked God into my heart forever and ever!"

Forever and ever....with Jesus in his heart. Yeah, it was a great day.

Where does it all come from???

That is the question I asked myself as I looked over my finally folded laundry. Honestly, had it been that long since I had washed? Everyone's respective piles were stacked precariously next to each other and one wrong removal of a shirt or shorts would send the whole lot tumbling! My inner math junkie started to process:

4 kids X 1 set of clothes per day (2) X 1 set of jammies per day (2) X 4 days between washings =

64 pieces of clothing.....Plus underwear and socks....plus mine and Randy's clothes!

Now if I were to go, say, five or six days between loads we'd be looking at around 100 and I only have four kids.

I do not wonder why all I see is laundry, laundry everywhere. Mom, it's no wonder with seven kids our laundry room was NEVER empty of clothes-clean or dirty!

How to burn a gajillion calories:

Let's see if you can guess how I just burned an entire days worth of calories:


A. Went for a super long run and got chased by a pit bull most of the time.

B. Did an entire week's worth of P90X dvds while talking on the phone to my sister.

C. Hit the elliptical machine, lifted weights and finished up with the treadmill.

D. Changed the sheets on the boys' bunk beds.



If you guessed D, you would be correct! Seriously, every time I change the sheets I don't wonder why I only do it like four times a year or unless absolutely necessary (you know, puking and that sort of thing). If the bunk bed didn't fit so well and if the room was a little bigger and if.....

Next time I want to wrestle and burn calories I'll just lay on the floor and let the kids attack me. It would for sure be easier.

As promised....

Sorry for the delay on Ryder's haircut pictures, but these pesky little visitors named fever and green snot came to visit us. They are very ill mannered and must be super neglected by their parents because they don't want to leave. I've tried wiping them away, bribing them away with medication, pumping them with fluids until they are flushed out and only offering green vegetables at every meal. "No, we won't go, we will not go!", is all I keep hearing (in the form of coughs, whining and sniffling, ofcourse).

So, pardon the delay, without further ado.....

Before:

After:

The faces are all Ryder, that boy doesn't quite get the "smile and look at the camera", I must admit I like his way better!

The field.

The trail was long and rugged. Ditches, ruts, rocks and big tire tracks were scattered through the winding path. Daisies, Black Eyed Susans, Queen Anne's Lace and other varieties of wildflowers lined both sides. Our long pants were warm in the sun. The sound of cicadas, crickets and grasshoppers almost drown out the chirping wrens and children's laughter.

Once we arrived at our destination, we were greeted with the sound of engines working hard. In no time, it rose over the horizon, bobbing up and down over the mounds of dirt. The unlit headlights looked like friendly eyes, the exhaust stack puffed a steady stream of smoke, while blonde curls swayed from a little girl sitting on daddy's lap behind the wheel of a tractor.

Next came the green plow with a boy whose smile could not grow any wider. His waving hand was only interrupted when he grabbed a hold of grandpa as a giant dirt clump caused the machine to bounce.

Out of the corner of my eye I spotted a black snake slithering away from the noise and apparent disruption of his day. Just a few moments before, a groundhog had scampered by heading into the deep woods, no doubt looking for food and a cool place to spend the afternoon.

One look around and we could see there was a lot to be done before planting could begin. More water was poured to quench the thirst of hard work and I headed back to the trail with two kids who were giggling even more than before.

Sunshine. Laughter. Happiness. Family. Beauty. Not a bad way to spend the day. Not bad at all.

A few things.

Some things I want to remember that are happening around here:

• Ryder playing around the house singing the theme song for Scooby-Doo at the top of his lungs.
• Ashlynn singing what she refers to as her "rockin' music" as she plays Polly Pockets or while drawing in her sketch book.
• Gage thanking me all the time for simple little things like, "You puttin' the dishes 'way momma? Thanks for that, thanks for that momma!"
  
• Addie learning to walk. She is slowly moving into the more walking than crawling stage, it will be missed....
  

We have started school and things are getting busy......which I suppose is no different than the usual! Ryder and Gage were both in need of haircuts, I'll put some pictures up tomorrow, have a fun day!!

For Nicole, the tale of a mullet:

As I wrote the title I didn't realize the pun, but now I see it, so I suppose it is intended. Anyhoo, my sweet little Addie only seems to be growing hair on the back of her head. Twice now, it has been cautiously buzzed off, once by me when she was about three months and the second time by her Auntie Colie who couldn't stand it any longer (pun again?). Before you think I am crazy, I did the same thing to Ashlynn and the girl has more hair with the most beautiful curls than she knows what to do with. Sooooo, I thought maybe the outcome would be the same. However, it seems the mullet just doesn't want to go, it's in style now anyway, right?





After her bath, I was able to eek out a couple of pig tails. I was laughing so hard I could barely hold the camera still enough to get a couple of pictures. Look closely, you can see them peeking out the sides:





Something tells me come October Auntie Colie will have a buzzer in her hand when we step off the plane......