Vacation was good... lots of hiking. I didn't get all the pictures i wanted, but i have great memories and we will definitely be visiting the place we went again.
Some of the pictures i did get

Elijah before hiking...

..

and this is what he looked like for most of our hiking...

Matt Climbing things... :)

The older boys went with us also but in all honesty i really didn't take very many pictures! I wish i had, but overall good vacation and very pretty... now for OTHER pictures

Garden!!!! (ignore the weeds... i'll get around to them someday!)

These are the sweet peas

green beans

Radishes

Potatoes

Apple tree!!!

No this is not hiking... this is our backyard and the creek that runs near it...

Roxy kept getting in all my shots... this was the best i could get with her running around

Appaloosa riding around in my pocket!

Video of the kitties! :)

i'll put more videos on later.. my camera battery is worn out right now.

I am blessed beyond measure. Surprisingly some days i have a tendency to forget that. I often feel inadequate and overwhelmed. God gave me these boys and this family and I'm going to continue to strive to love and care for them that's all in my power. Though some days I'm on the edge of loosing my sanity, I'm gently pulled back in by my loving lord and reminded of all the abundant blessings he has given me and the calling he has put on my life. really... is my life that hard? I have a roof over my head, food in my fridge, a warm bed to sleep in at night and I'm surrounded by love. I complain way to much.... i need to be more thankful. Okay there's my spiel.. here's some pictures. :)

getting bigger

Quick

Colonoscopy:
went as well as could be expected
wasn't as bad as i thought
showed only some minor treatable problems


Whoo hooo

:)

Today we went to the WIC office and signed up for WIC. I've been putting it off until now. Yesterday was the last straw with Matt getting a 3 percent pay decrease (company wide). I'm thankful that he still has his job and wasn't laid off, but it's going to be even tighter now. So being on WIC and getting the extra milk, cheese, cereal and eggs are going to be great. Once i can get to the doctors office and get a special note for Elijah, then we will also get help with formula. The only downside is that they don't have options for alternatives for allergen friendly food. But on the upside the provide 40 dollars to get food at the local farmers market! So that should be good!
Going to the office with the kids and getting all of the height, weight, and iron levels was a nightmare! Joshua screamed, kicked, and flipped out in every way imaginable. I felt so terrible for him... he doesn't understand why we are there or what we are doing. It's a new environment and they are poking him and taking him blood. Needless to say i am glad that is over with.
We were planning on doing a semi-kitchen remodel... but now that we got the pay cut and also refinancing the house so we can pay it off sooner... we're going to put that off. Also we are having some major water issues again (or lack thereof) so who knows how much well stuff is going to cost. I'm okay with it because i already have my stainless steal sink and Matt's going to put that in for me anyway... we just aren't going to build cabinets.
Well that's it for now on this end. I just had a smidgen of time while all the children were resting!

I'm so glad that these two can be friends...




One of my favorite times of the day is when the children are napping... so peacefull.


(gotta love the belly)

This little boy has THE bluest eyes...



My sad attempt at getting my boys to sit in a picture together...
(and by the way this is my backyard!)



and an even sader picture...




Maybe one day!

Daniel's shirt says "sometimes craby but always cute." soo true

Hansome cheeky boy