A family of 5, with 3 big little monsters... trying to keep it together, making it one day at a time, all by the Grace of God!
This handsome little boy was suddenly in my kitchen, washing dishes and making a mess and having a blast!
He was so proud that he had used the soap and the scrub brush and put the dishes into the dishwasher and everything! I helped him clean up the mess he made and change his shirt.
I love this kid.
This is a “normal” size coffee cup – 12 oz.
This is NOT a normal size can of chili.
Note the size on the bottom – 6lbs. 12 ozs.
That’s a LOT O’ CHILI.
What do you think about that Aussies? 
I started this post off as a Wordless Wednesday but quickly realized that there was stuff I wanted to say about these crazy creatures pictured below…
My Bestie and I took our kids (my 3 boys and her 1 girl) to Hagg Lake for a picnic and to play in the water sometime this summer. It was late enough in the summer that the water was still warm but not HOT outside. THIS IS WHAT TOOK PLACE:
There was probably 6 inches of sticky, gooey mud on part of the bank of the river where we were at (lucky us, right?). All of the kids gravitated to it like moths to a flame… us moms were helpless to stop it. We just made it clear that they would NOT be getting in the car without getting cleaned off first. Isaac was the only one that hesitated and then was NOT HAPPY when we made him get back into the water to get the mud off him even though he was cold and ready to be DONE!
There is no photographic proof, but the mommies DID enjoy a bit of the mud as well! 
Chris said his good-byes, hugging me then hugging Isaac. We both tell him we love him and just before he walks out the door for school, Isaac says, “Just remember, it isn’t just for anyone, it is for God!”
Gotta love that kid.
(Thanks Mom!)
So Tuesday was the first day of school. No surprise to most of you, right?
Well, Chris started Middle school (Seriously? 6th Grade?) and Jake started 5th Grade with Chris’ teacher from last year!
Most of you know that Jake has been bumped past 4th grade to 5th grade. We are hoping that the behavior problems we saw last year (and a bit the previous years) will be helped with the challenge of 5th grade. That will also be helped by the fact that his teacher this year knows him already!
Of course, Isaac HAD to have his picture taken too! He won’t start pre-school for a couple more weeks, but he was excited for the first day too!
Mandie and Laura getting their nails done by Sarah
Grace and Sarah; Benny and Scott
Chris painting his own nails a bright shade of pink;
Scott painting Nate's toes
Benny and Isaac painting my toenails many different colors;
Sarah painting Nicks toenails green
Benny painting one of my fingernails… I think there were 5 different kids that painted colors on my fingernails. Each fingernail was a different color when they were done!
Almost all of the boy cousins and ALL the girl cousins (I think) had their fingers and toes done by the time the “Nail Technicians” were done! We had beautiful fingernails and toenails!
This double rainbow showed up out of the blue
But when I turned around… this was coming:
----------------------------
Another day (back in May), we went on the roof and spent quite a while watching God have fun with the wind, clouds, thunder, rainbows and sunshine. He sure had fun that day!
These pictures don’t even come close to doing the storms beauty justice, but it gives a little taste.
Hope you enjoyed them as much as I did!
the newest members of our home, Ace and Lily!
2 adorable, spunky, black and white kittens that were brought to me by my neighbor when they were abandoned at her work. We are happy to have them, even if they do create a bit more chaos sometimes!
:)
