uh oh

Peter's new favorite blanket.  ELDON's blanket!  

The first of many fights to come!

Age 8 is great

God, thank you for my beautiful 8 year old daughter!

Thank you for her capable hands that so eagerly hold her baby brother;

Thank you for her nurturing heart, her willingness to play and teach, 

and her joy in new responsibilities!

Thank you for her growing faith towards You and love for those around her!

May her time at home be a time of sunshine and nourishment for this little flower!

Bless and protect her big heart as it grows, Lord!

Wedding pics

crash

After a great night, we are all pretty exhausted today.  More pictures to follow.

First, my wilted flower girls (and the rest of us) need some water and rest!

flower girls in training

This is the part that made them a quiet for two minutes while they walked down the aisle...

Mommy my legs got sore standing that long!

(seriously! haha!)

Mommy look at my poofy dress!

(she's standing over the vent)

A big day for Seth too!

Biggest Big brother Seth heads off for his first ever sleepover!

flower girls?!

 Seriously Linda Jo, are you sure these are the girls you want to be carrying the flowers in your wedding?

I'm glad they are not allowed to pick out their own outfits!

A smelly friend

He appeared in our driveway.

Nana caught him so the kids could see him. 

Lorraine and Eldon especially loved him.  She dumped him out of the bucket and let him run...  he'd run as fast as he could, right back into her bucket.  All the while, Eldon watched and did a happy dance.

Turtles have quite a smell!

Goodbye little friend!

Smell ya later!

the power of dad words

"I'm so proud of you."

Those words from this man still make me beam like a little girl.

naptime promises

At home they sleep in a room much like a cave.

I put blankets over the windows in the boys' room, and they add the smells. I'm sure any wild animal would feel comfortable to hibernate there.  When we are away from home, and I try to nap them in a bright, cheerful room, well, they just don't seem to want to hibernate.

Goodnight mommy!

Of course we will behave!

pools

Life gives you too many lemons and you are supposed to make lemonade right?

So, life gives us too much energy and too much water...  we fill up the pool!

A big one for the big kids, and a little one for the little kids!  

Yes, Eldon is swimming in his church clothes.  They were dirty already, so why not?

our favorite dads

They pick on the girls and play catch with the boys

They wrestle and tickle and add to the noise

Making moms sigh and plead, “tone it down just a tad,”

This is a song for our favorite dads!

 He plays the guitar at the fire and sings

Of young love and dragons and fun-loving things

Cute songs of “too much” that make my mom mad

Oh how we love our Nana Bump Dad!

 He helps them walk planks; pushes children on swings

He builds coops; tree houses; and can fix anything

He throws balls and plays with the dog when he’s sad

Oh how we love our Larry Bump Dad!

See where Marcus gets that trouble-making grin?
Mommy would never put a two year old up THERE!

He works as his little boys watch with wide eyes

He gives whisker burns,  and super-fast scooter rides

He laughs watching kids learn that whiskey tastes bad

Oh how we love our daddy-dad-dad!

In the dark nights, when the storms bring

Cause for feeling sad

I simply remember my favorite dads

and then I don’t feel so bad!

Scarf N Shout

I'm sorry, but if we really enforced the "no talking with your mouth full" rule, we really would be at each meal for at least two hours.  It would take that long for Cook kids to say what they need to say and eat what they need to eat, if they had to do those things separately.

So I consider this multi-tasking.  

Its still is not very efficient though.

Maybe we should just find a way to make them eat in submissive silence.
If I thought it were possible....  but I most certainly do not.

Twice-baked cupcakes

Emily's recipe for twice-baked cupcakes.

1.  Bake cupcakes according to package directions.  Frost.

2.  Hide cupcakes from ants and children in oven on a plastic plate.

3.  Forget about cupcakes.

4.  Preheat oven for something else later that day.  If you used a plastic plate, you will hear it crackling when cupcakes are ready.  (If you use something oven-proof, you may not remember cupcakes until you smell burning frosting.)
5.  Endure questions from children: "Mommy why did you make the cupcakes hot again?"  "Mommy why do they smell like that?"

6.  Pitch Em.
I would have said Eat Them, but I've been informed that "atomized plastic" (whatever that is) has been known to cause cancer in the state of California. Too bad.  The melted frosting looked pretty yummy.

It is written

If thou givest thy cookies unto the Lord God,

Behold!

He shall multiply them a thousand fold

and He shall cause your pantry to runneth over!

I wonder if just pastor's families get to see this promise fulfilled all the time? :)

Peter puppy

Peter's new nickname:

Peter Puppy

He slobbers, he licks.

He leaves puddles on the carpet.

He chews on people and things.

 Peter puppy sniffed a stack of stinky slippers

A stack of stinky slippers Peter Puppy sniffed

 If Peter puppy sniffed a stack of stinky slippers,

Where’s the stack of stinky slippers Peter puppy sniffed?

C'mon now, say it quickly with me...

Peter puppy sniffed a stack of stinky slippers

A stack of stinky slippers Peter Puppy sniffed!

If Peter puppy sniffed a stack of stinky slippers,

Where’s the stack of stinky slippers Peter puppy sniffed?

Vacation Bible School

  

The one time of year that I humble myself to sing in public.  Ugh.  

At least the little ones aren't as discerning, though I did get one comment!  During the Bible lesson I sang a little verse, and one girl said "That was pretty." Then another girl said, "That was BAD."  

She may have just been in the mood to be contrary.  

Or not. :)

That aside, I had a great time teaching the Bible stories to the littlest ones!

This is also the time of year that I remember how much I appreciate full time teachers!  One week a year and I'm ready for "summer!"

For the kids, it is an enormous fun party.  I'm glad for that.  

Why not celebrate this awesome church family and God's promises and summer and hippos together?

Hippos?  An odd thing to throw in the mix, I agree.  But we had fun with it.

A Jungle Adventure!  You don't even need a jungle to have an adventure with this many kids!

Great job volunteers!  Another successful year!

Kitchen helper

For some reason, my work in the kitchen seems to be taking me twice as long these days....

  

 It might have something to do with my new kitchen buddy.  He's too wiggly to sit on the counter and watch.  He thinks the kitchen is a playground just for him!

Little explorers sleep hard!

Camp Lakeview pics

Lorraine and her cabin mates! 

"Shawnee"

Jelly drop!

Mommy and her Tiny Tykes!

Aggie free-spirit playing by the creek!

Cooling off with my sweaty son.

Aggie's most FAVORITE part.. the SLIP n SLIDE!  whoo hooo!!!!!  

Watching her do this was fun for everyone involved!

winding down to some stories at night

Aggie's chalk drawing of "Aboo!"