There is more to the cinnamon roll story...

What do you do when you have scalded the milk and it is too hot and you want to cool it. Well, first you put it in a cold metal bowl and do this:
And then you do this:
And then you do this some more:

And then you get these which were worth all the trouble. Of course during all that, there was a good movie on the tube.
I cannot admit how many of these I have eaten.

This is the life!

We are so thankful for our pool pass each winter. It is a little taste of paradise we get to sample a few times a week. It is even more fun this year because Micah and Trey are both enjoying the water and all the big kids are good swimmers playing in the deep end without worry. Once again, all photos credits must go to the fabulous Lindsey M. Peterson.



Water has not been Trey's thing. He is doing so well and asks to go "wimming."
Micah, on the other hand, is a water baby. He loves water and has no fear.

Brothers splashing. Great fun.
Trey learned that he could float with only one hand holding on for stability. This is so much fun for me. Seriously, real joy!
Not sure why he was clasping his hands but it was so cute. He was watching the girls on the other side of the hot tub quite intently.
This is the life. What more could I ask for. Next time we will try to get big kid pictures but they don't stay still very long. They play and laugh and jump and play and........

Thanks Mom and Dad Hill!!!

Kings and Potato Heads

Micah and Trey are participating in Squeaky Sneakers at the Town Hall on Wednesdays. I asked if I could get a certificate for being the longest running parent in attendance. Lindsey did this same program about 18 years ago. We had a little break the last few years but now we are back at it. This week they made crowns. King Micah and King Trey.




After the King show, we digressed to the Potato Head parade. A favorite pastime around here.


This one is a favorite for sure. So much personality, it is hardly containable.

Picture Wars

So who owns the picture? The camera owner? The one who took the picture? The computer it gets loaded onto first? The owner of the card reader? Just kidding. All photos in this post by Lindsey Peterson, hands down THE best photographer around.
Micah is exploding in personality these days. He is so expressive. A welcome change from his more introspective days.
I love this picture because I think this is what he will probably look like when he is older. Love the dimple.

Word of the week: Oh-ay

Word of the week: Oh-ay. Everything is okay. It really is.
If you have trouble playing the video, click on the blue post heading above to see the post alone on the page and then it seems to work fine.
Photos by Lindsey Peterson

Explaining the Unexplainable

Have you ever tried to explain the unexplainable? When it is just a feeling, or a sense of right and wrong, or a calling...... We tried. We grew closer to each other as Truth was revealed and proclaimed. Is our life really all that unimaginable? Live every day as it comes. Don't worry about tomorrow for tomorrow has enough trouble of its own. We never know what tomorrow might bring but God does. Cast all your cares upon him. Lay all of your burdens down at his feet. It is already written in his book. I don't understand but am called to trust and obey. Thank you, Jesus, for hope.

Micah-Do and Erika Too.

Erika is sometimes bored, I think. But I will take her kind of bored any day. She is so much fun. This is what 10 year old girls do to little brothers who are willing and able.

Pink seems to be the color of the day. The shower cap is especially pretty.

I think he is catching on....

Hair grows, right? He got kind of a chop job but it was wispy to begin with.

Won't he love these when he's, say, twelve?

The Project Determined to Get Finished!

Isn't she beautiful? Lia, especially note the sheep pants for posterity. My painting outfit was not recorded, thank goodness. Lindsey is a get-it-done gal. I so appreciate her!!! We started in on Friday afternoon and by Monday, we had half the house painted. The wall behind the appliances is red. The "dining room" is honey pot yellow and the fireplace room is beeswax gold. The bathroom tried to be yellow but decided to go green. The hutch also got painted green. I need a decent camera to take better pictures so you can see or you can just come visit and see for yourself (hint Kristel). Frankly, it was easier painting the walls than trying to scrub all the accumulated grime off of them. What does that tell you?

The girls begged to help paint so after Kloey was my shadow for hours and the best go-fer girl ever, we let them paint. At one point Cora had paint on the bottom of her foot, so there were neat little toeprints on the kitchen floor. No problem.
Not sure who had the camera but this is artistic. Must have been Erika. She was supervising.
Here is the finished project. Isn't it lovely? It now resides in the mudroom where we can sit down in style to put on and take off the 10 pair of boots and 25 pair of shoes that live here. (That's 70 shoes if you were wondering....)

Facelift of the Most Important Kind

Sounds very Winnie-The-Pooh-ish. TADA! These are the colors of the kitchen, living room, den, school room, fireplace room, play room, everything else room. We are especially excited about the Bangkok red. We are ready to perk things up around here. We even succumbed to a TV ad for a Point and Paint. THAT's supposed to make my life much easier and probably solve all my problems too! :)

In Mourning

I am in mourning.

Here are the facts:
This car has received its death sentence.
This car seats 8. We have 10 people in our family.
It went to Pennsylvania and Prince Edward Island.
This car has been a faithful friend for 6 years and 140,000 miles.
This is the closest we could come to a truck that Bob would love to have.

Here is the new reality.
This car has 12 seatbelts.
This car is completely utilitarian.
This car is made to haul lots of people around.
Some people will not have to sit within arm's length of certain other people.
This car could probably make it further than any of our other cars at this point.
This is going to work out okay. I'm sure.