Baptism

I type this post with a full, happy heart.  My sweet eight year old chose to be baptized this past Saturday.  In our church, children can be baptized when they turn 8 years old.  Eight is typically considered to be the age that children fully understand the concept of good vs. bad choices and are ready to take on the responsibility.  Lucy couldn't have been more ready.  She is a happy, motivated, intelligent (did I mention she is doing 4th grade math and spelling and reading at an even higher level... and she is in 2nd grade?  Okay... done bragging), spiritually sensitive little girl and I couldn't be prouder.

Lucy decided she wanted to be baptized in our lake. We thought that was a great idea... makes us smile to know that the lake has become a special place for her.  We love the weekends that we get to spend out there as a family and it is special just knowing that Andy and Grandpa John grew up enjoying that lake when they were just boys as well.

We had been having some cold weather in the weeks preceding her baptism.... in fact we had frost overnight for over 10 days.  I was a bit concerned that it was going to be too cold outside and that we wouldn't be able to do it out there.

However the weather decided to warm up again, just in time.  It was in the low 70's on Saturday.  We enjoyed sunshine, billowing clouds and warmth.  It really was the perfect day.

It was such a special experience.  I was one proud mama, welling up with tears at a few points throughout the program.  Lucy just glowed as Macie talked to her about Baptism and what a special gift the Holy Ghost is.  She beamed as we sang hymns together and just emanated happiness that morning.  Every time I looked at her.... in her glory... surrounded by family and good friends, making such an important choice, I felt so happy and warm inside.

Lucy's special friend Emma joined us

I encouraged her to write about her experience and in her journal she wrote....'after my baptism I felt warm , and it wasn't because of the towel.'

It really was a great day :)

long daddy

We were over at Macie's house earlier this week for a fun little mommy-son play date.  I was helping Macie over on one side of the yard when Isaac summoned me.

"Mommy, I got the long daddy!"

I heard him say it a few times but nothing really registered.

"MOMMY!" he said rather vehemently.

I turned around to see a rather proud little boy with is pants around his ankles, pointing down at the ground.

"Mommy! I pee-peed on the long daddy!"  Right there. It's DEAD."

I was still a little confused.  He peed on what?  Then I looked down at the stunned and completely soaked Daddy Long Legs in the grass, and knew exactly what he meant.  :)

8 is gr8

Well, she went and did it today.  LuBelle, my big little girl went and turned 8 today!  It is so hard for me to believe!

LuBelle was pretty excited for today to be her birthday, as she just popped out of bed and came downstairs dressed without me even having to ask her twice to wake up.  She brought her class ice cream sandwiches for a birthday treat. (and was so excited that she had found a banana split flavor!) For dinner she requested 'set it and forget it' rotisserie chicken (from Grandpa), mashed potatoes without skins, cantaloupe, and green beans.  For dessert we enjoyed a pink butter cream frosted marble cake.

She opened up her gifts after dinner.  She got a beautiful watercolor picture of herself in her baptism gown, that we had commissioned from our friend Nate.  It is just gorgeous.  I will have not had a chance to take a picture of it yet- and I am still trying to decide upon the perfect frame- but will post one soon.  Her second gift was a scarf.  It was actually my scarf.... and I wanted her to be like 'what?' but instead she was a little miffed when I told her it was actually to be used as a blindfold to get her to her next gift.  She was intrigued and quickly got into the van, and with Cassidy's help had her eyes covered.  We drove to our destination and let her take off her blindfold.  She was so confused.  We walked into the salon and you should have seen the look on her face when I told the lady we were there for Lucy to get her ears pierced.  'YOU SAID IT WOULD HURT! I'm not ready.' She kept saying. She has been asking for months to get her ears pierced... there was no way I was going to let her chicken out!  But two minutes later she was looking at the earring choices and debating upon which ones she wanted, and I could sense the anticipation and excitement.

She ended up choosing a gold pair of hearts.  As she sat there in the chair she got a little pale and she leaned away when the lady simply came at her with the marker to simply mark her ears.  She got braver and held my hands and started tearing up; she took a few deeper breaths but never shed a tear. And before she knew it, it was done and she had earrings!

When we got home that evening, and everyone was in bed, I brought her a special box that I had filled with a few pairs of earrings.  She was so excited.  And it was great.

It is just so hard for me to believe that my babies are getting so old! (and then I remember that my own birthday is next month...)

celebrating 10 years

This morning, Jack woke up, got dressed immediately, came down stairs to his breakfast table and declared 'Hey Mom, DOUBLE DIGITS!' with a smile from ear to ear. Double digits indeed.  My baby, the little boy who made me a mommy, turned 10 today.  That number almost flabbergasts me!

I woke up a little early so I could make him pancakes and bacon for breakfast this morning in celebration.  He was in a rather chipper mood; he is not usually a morning person.  He allowed me many kisses and was rather warm towards me.  I pretended he was still my baby and tried to pick him up as a baby, as we were joking around.  In one embrace, I told him how I just couldn't believe it had been that long, but how I was happy to celebrate being a mom for 10 years.  Without skipping a beat, he gives me a quirky little grin and replies 'you mean my drill Sargent?!' 'You do like to tell me what to do!' We laughed and he gave me another couple hugs but as his ride pulled into the driveway he exclaimed 'Stop! Elise will see you!'  I hadn't heard that from him yet, but I have a feeling this is the beginning of it all...

He brought homemade rice krispie treats in for a treat at school and for his birthday dinner he requested Tomato soup with (BIG) dumplings, bread sticks, and chocolate Minecraft cake.  Grandma and Grandpa, and Abby, Owen, and Symon came over to celebrate with us.  He opened a few gifts and was excited to plan a movie date with Grandma this weekend.  It was a good day.

Happy 10th birthday to my boy who made me the only thing I always knew I wanted to be... a mother.

country roads

Pettibone was such beautiful country.  So different from anything you see in this neck of the woods. There were so many roads and no one on them!  So once in a while, we got to do things a little differently than we usually do.

I took so many photos of all of these natural treasures and am dedicating this post to all the beautiful things you see driving on these country roads.

the old grain mill turned brain company

I also had fun experimenting with sunrises and sunsets.  Because there were no trees to block them and provide shade, it was a whole new creative challenge to try to appropriately capture them.

And a favorite...

The final days in Pettibone

Another activity that we wanted to squeeze in (and by we I mean Andy, Macie, Bree, and the guys) was shooting clay pigeons.  The home that Al and Bree, and Abby and Kaleb stayed in was next door to a big quarry with a great spot to do so.  We brought the kids along and I kept them all far away down in the quarry while the adults headed to the very opposite side up on a hill to do their shooting.

The kids had just a blast climbing and seeing how high they could get, then sliding down on their bums.  They found all different colors and textures and tried to bring a whole bunch home with them. The adults had shooting competitions and probably had just as much fun shooting as the kids had scavenging and climbing.

Friday night the children were filthy   They were covered from head to toe in soot from climbing and sliding down the quarry walls.  The farmhouse bathroom was extremely small. (Think sit down on the potty and wash your hands at the same time small.)  So bathing 6 small-ish children in the bathtub that night would have been quite difficult.  We decided to make things easier and adventurous.  We bathed the children in the lake to expedite the process! At first they were all like 'whaaaaa? Then once they got used to the colder air and water temp., they embraced the experience and had fun.  It felt liberating. Even to me who was standing there completely clothed.  I told Macie I'd consider skinny dipping next time.... She told me she was going to hold me to it... we'll see ;)

Saturday was our last day in Pettibone.  It was cold and rained all day.  Actually it was perfect for us to be able to clean up the house, and organize our things before we packed it all back into the truck and boat for our 11 hour trek back home.  We had just an amazing time.  There were just SO many new fun and educational experiences that the farm provided.

Isaac, Owen, and Deakon got to ride in the BIG tractor with Cody:)

 We seemed to find ourselves heading towards the farmyard, drawn by curiosity, pretty much every day.  We hoped we weren't being nuisance since we were always nosing around, but we were never greeted with anything less than a smile.

Over the 8 days that we inhabited that farmhouse we found ourselves forming a friendship with the Mack Family.  We enjoyed, agreeably, one of the best steaks we'd ever had that rainy Saturday night at a special dinner over at their home in town.  We are very thankful for them and for all they did for us.  They are a special bunch and we genuinely hope that they will someday take us op on our offer to visit Wisconsin.

it was a LONG trip home!