Water You Doing?

Baby Boy loves to be outside. He loves it so much that when it is time to come indoors he can throw the biggest fit you have ever seen! Tears flow, legs and arms flail and the wailing begins. He would stay out from morning till night if we let him, and if I didn't have to cook, do dishes, laundry, or school my other kids, an all-day-outdoor-fest would be a daily happening for him. But until he understands boundaries and the dangers of the street, his outside fun will be shorter than he would like. He can't be left alone for even a second. We've gone through this with all our kiddos, and it is so freeing for everyone when the "baby" of the family finally understands the outdoor rules!  It will bring peace to my heart as well when I won't have to watch him like a hawk. He is so happy when we are outdoors. There is such a freedom in is play and the way he explores. 

I love this about him.

Two days ago I was setting up the sprinkler hose in our garden beds and he was right there with me waiting for me to turn on the water. He couldn't wait for the water to start pouring from the hose. He just jumped all around screeching with laughter. He LOVES the water! Mud puddles, pool water, tubbie time, you name it, he loves getting wet. When the hoses were finally spraying he was having the time of his life. Stephen and I just laughed as he raced from one sprayer to another totally getting soaked from head to toe. He was in heaven! As he tried to drink the water he didn't seem to mind the water spraying in his eyes or his nose, but his ears were a different story. When I rocked him to sleep that night we were "talking" about the fun he had in the water. I would ask him what he liked about the sprinklers and all he kept saying was,

 "Mommy water ears funny!"  

I think this is going to be one wet and wild summer for sure with our water baby! 

 Splish Splash....this was more fun than a bath!
Oh, how I love this child. 

Our Family Garden

 We did it!

 Our family garden is planted. 

It was a dream I had last summer and I haven't stopped talking about it since. Stephen wasn't on board the "Garden Train" at first because he felt it would mean more work and our plates already feel full to overflowing. I totally understood where he was coming from, but I felt like this work would bring our family together rather than running us all in 6 different directions. I think I finally convinced him that a garden would be a great choice when I started talking about wanting to raise chickens instead! That kinda sealed the deal for my garden, so plans for our raised beds quickly began!

 We started working on our ideas several months ago when I took the kids on a field trip to our friends' greenhouse. While we were there, everyone got to choose their own veggies and herbs to plant and we were able to leave them there to grow and mature in the warmth of the greenhouse until our garden was built. 

Several weeks ago, my dad, aka "Poppy", along with the help of Joshua, began the construction on the bed frames. Once they were built and in place the order for the dirt was placed. {Honesty, that was the stinky part of this whole project...buying dirt...I had to spend money on DIRT...surely the kids deliver plenty of that each and every day just running in and out of our back door! But, my dad said that purchasing good soil was the key to our entire project, so I listened and wrote the check.} Two days ago the truck arrived with our black gold! The purtiest black dirt I have ever seen was dumped on our driveway and we got right to work. The weather was perfect, and by the end of a hard days work everything was planted and lookin' mighty fine!  

These are just a few snapshots of our planting day with Poppy. The kids had so much fun and I love that they feel such a sense of pride and ownership of our family garden...I just hope it lasts through the long, hot, dog days of summer! Only time will tell.

Lil Mister having some fun running around the workers before his afternoon nap...and if you are wondering, the print on his shirt holds true for our little stunt baby-totally fearless and always on the move!  

   We couldn't have accomplished this project without the endless energy and strength of Joshua. He put in so many hours to make this a success!   

I am not sure how many runs this "dynamic duo" made up and down the hill carrying dirt to fill each bed, but I stopped counting as it made me tired watching them work so hard....hee-hee, I was working hard, too.... I was breaking a sweat from behind the camera lens!

  Poppy took the time to teach his grand-kids how to prepare the roots before placing them deep in the soil. I love my dad and I love watching him with my kids. He is so creative and gifted when it comes to the outdoors. Actually, he is a Master Gardner, so we have been learning a lot about gardening as this project has unfolded. When I was younger he turned our back yard into the most beautiful and peaceful place. It reminded me of a lovely English flower garden. One of my most favorite things to do on a warm summer day was to take a chair outside and sit among the flower beds. It was so restful. There were so many gorgeous flowers always in bloom. My mom usually had a vase filled in the kitchen with a colorful display of his handiwork and I loved making flower wreaths to wear in my hair or share with others. My dad was made to bring order and beauty to this world and I love how he shares this God given gift with us. 

  This just makes my heart happy.... 

  Baby Girl waiting patiently to plant her zucchini  

I loved watching Caleb as he would gently wake up the roots before planting them in their new home...maybe he's the next Master Gardner in our family!

 Last, but not least, we decided to plant several kinds of seeds in the empty spaces of each bed. Just for fun, we planted  pumpkin, summer squash, green beans, peas, and melon seeds.

 Planting some green bean seeds and praying the rabbits don't eat them before we get the fence built....that's project #2 of this dream of mine! 

 Baby Girl making sure Poppy had enough to drink

 I even planted a cute little herb garden! I saw this idea on Pinterest and knew I needed to add a little whimsy to these pots. Aren't these fork labels cute? I just love them!  

Now we water, weed, and wait to see what becomes of all our hard work! Even if we don't end up with a bountiful harvest, the time spent together was worth it all!  
Now that's a dream come true!

Baby Robins Take Flight!

 Early this morning, Stephen was on our deck when he saw all 4 birds out of the nest and perched on the    window ledge. He called us all to come quick, but by the time we got there, "Mr. Dare Devil" had already taken flight.  We knew he would be the first to take off as he has been so feisty these past several days!  I took this first photo yesterday, as he was climbing in and out of the nest and all over the top of his siblings all day long. I am sure he would have taken off yesterday if it wasn't for the terrible storms we had that started late afternoon and lasted through the night. The heavy rain and wind kept the momma right there at the side of the nest making sure they stayed tucked in for one more night!  

 Here are the remaining 3 as they prepare for their take-offs.

 The lilac bush in front of them was the perfect distance for their first flight and landing. Mom and dad were close by in the trees chirping and cheering away. 

 This is bird #1 sitting and waiting for the rest to join him.

 #2 prepared for take-off!

 #3 and #4 needed to climbed back in the nest one last time before they were cleared for take-off!

 We cheered them on as each one spread their wings and flew for the very first time!

 They all landed so close together in the bush. Each time another bird flew in it looked like they all might fall to the ground! Their wings were flapping so violently and I am sure they were all holding onto the branches for dear life. They finally settled in and quieted down which allowed the momma space to bring them each their breakfast.   

 

The empty nest!

I took this last photo yesterday during one of the first storms that blew through our area. Momma was sitting there with her wings spread out sheltering the birds during the storm. She has been an amazing, selfless, servant this past month. Even as each bird continued to venture out further in our yard, I would find her flying to each of them continuing to bring them the their food.  I guess as a momma it is always hard to finally let your children go...I feel this might be true for me, but I am trusting that God will give me all I need to let my babes go when it is their turn to spread their wings and fly from home.

 Boy, I am so grateful my children are not grown and gone from the nest in 4 weeks! That's just nuts! Just thinking about what my kids would be like after 30 days of my parenting is a scary thought!!!{I am so grateful that God's grace covers over all my sins!!! He knew I would need at least 18 years to parent and get it kinda right!} Even though days can sometimes be very long, {and very crazy}I am beginning to see how the years "fly" by. I am so glad we have 18 years to grow roots and wings in the hearts and lives of our kids. These formative years are grace gifts! As we do our best to point our children to Christ, Christ is formed more deeply in us. I have had to press in to Him more and more as I have journeyed on this parenting path and I think that was God's plan all along. 

 Realizing we only have 3 more years until our oldest goes off to college makes me want to put the breaks on life and soak in the gift of each day with my precious ones. I know that God has amazing plans for each one of them and my job today is to keep pointing them to Him. I want them to know his voice intimately so that when the day comes for them to leave our nest they will hear His voice saying, "This is the way; now walk in it!" and they will do so with great confidence! Someday all our "little birds" will finally leave our home and I pray that it will not be a day of sadness, but a day of great rejoicing! Rejoicing in God's faithfulness in the lives of our children. I pray my focus will not be on the empty nest, but on the beauty in the trees! 7 Children who love the Lord and doing what each one was made to do....bringing glory to their Creator!

 This is my prayer.

Feeding Frenzy

 I still can't believe we have been given this gift of watching these birds hatch and grow before our very eyes. It's not everyday you have a bird family sitting on your windowsill...Stephen says I am a bit obsessed and he really wishes I would keep the window closed as he says his office is starting to smell like a zoo!  I keep telling him they will be grown and gone before we know it and so we need to soak up the wonder of it all while we can. silly, guy! And, hey, it's making for some amazing homeschooling material!  

They aren't sleeping as much now and they are beginning to make lots of chirpy noises, especially when their parents are near with the goods. These baby robins eat all day long! I snapped these photos fast and when I looked at what I captured I could believe all the details of their long stretched out necks. 

Today I was certain several of them were going to fall out of the nest as they are standing and wiggling and flapping their wings like crazy. I know these are pre-flight exercises and so do their parents as one of them is always on watch close by while the other is away collecting the next meal.  This morning when I walked into the office to check on them I found another little bird sitting on the sill just looking at the nest. It looked like he was checking out the new neighbors and welcoming them to the hood...so sweet. Can't wait to see what tomorrow holds for our 4 babes.

o.k. maybe I am obsessed....but only a little.   

Our Easter Robin's: Part One

Our Robin Story: Part Two

Our Robin Story: Part Three

Our Robin Story: Part Four  

Stretching Those Wings

We have had lots of rain over this past weekend so we have had some wet little birds. It hasn't seemed to bother them a bit as they are already using their beaks to fluff their wet feathers. Several of them are becoming very strong as they are beginning to flap their wings and move around quite a bit. It has been funny to see them fighting for more space in their nest which is becoming quite crowded. There is one in particular {I think you can figure out which one I am talking about!}who seems to be a bit more bossy and crawls up on his siblings so he can have the best view.  The other three don't seem to mind much-at least they don't right now. These photos were taken yesterday, Saturday April 29th. They are 10 days old.         

Mom and Dad are never far away. They sure keep a very close eye on their 4 quickly growing babes and an even closer eye on us! We are tying our best to give them privacy, but we can't help taking quick peeks now and then as we are enjoying this amazing birds-eye view!

Our Easter Robin Story: Part 1

Our Robin Story: Part 2

Our Robin Story: Part 3