Summer in Pictures....so far.

A salamander I'm "babysitting" we were hanging out.

My lil Mama...what can I say?

My Pops handing down his knowledge to the next generation.

"A" and his salamander.

My Mam and Pap, the kids' great grandparents.

A salamander round up!

"B" at Hebo Lake.

I love to photograph flowers, wish i had my actual camera instead of my phone.

At the carnival.

Snake hunting at Grandma NeeNee's.

My awesome crew at the parade.

At the carnival.

I have the shotgun ready for when the boys come knocking.

Another at the carnival.

Sunday...Sweet Sunday

It has been awhile since my last post as usual it seems but there's something about these long summer days that keeps me busy. Or it could be the four children I have! Summer has got off to a slow start weather wise but that's nothing new in these parts but the summer fun hasn't. The last few weeks we have enjoyed the local town celebration which brought the carnival to town and a parade. Vendors and elephant ears. It also has brought a Dr.s appt for "A" that I have been dreading an appointment with another audiologist to test his hearing which previous tests have shown a fair amount of hearing tests. It went great! Not only is hearing not severe enough to warrant hearing aids it was determined that the loss was as severe as previous tests have shown. Thank God. Prayers do work and this Mama's heart is near bursting with happiness and relief.

A few days ago I got to sneak away without any of the kids and head to the river to do a little steelhead fishing with my Pops. We came home empty handed fish wise but I came away with another great memory of time with my Dad doing something we love to do. There's something about being on the river enjoying the day with him. I was/am a daddy's girl and the fact that at 32 I still enjoy a quiet day with him makes my heart tingle with joy. A day on the river is as good as a day at the spa to me and I love it.

I'm currently enjoying a lazy day on my favorite spot on the front porch while the kids are playing. I have a bazillion chores that need to be caught up on from the busy week that didn't get done but chores will wait. The Hubs and I are getting ready to suprise the kids we are heading down to the coast in awhile to have dinner and enjoy the sunset. I can't wait to see their faces. Uncle David is going with us so it should be a good time Hubs brother never fails to make me laugh and he's my partner when it comes to ganging up on the ubs to get him to stuff he would rather not! How I love that guy. So thankful to have him as a brother and uncle to my children. At 22 he could be out doing the things 22 yr old guys do but yet he loves my kids and always comes to get them to play. How lucky am I?

This post is getting long so I will be back soon hopefully with some pictures to post from the last month. I think I'm going to have to save up and but another camera cuz mine is still lost. I'm a little sad at the lost pictures on the memory card. But who knows with my luck as soon as I buy a new one the old one will turn up.   Enjoy your summer days!!

A Little SUMMER FUN....

Boy have we been busy. Oldest had her last softball game and the boys' have their last game tomorrow, sad to see another year of ball come to an end. Over the weekend we went to the mud drags and watched some racing that's always fun. Yesterday myself, the kids, Hubs, and my Pops went up to Hebo Lake to do some fishing. In typical Oregon fashion it was raining off and on and a little chilly but we are Oregonians and with that comes fun in the rain. We built a fire and threw our lines in the water. The fishing was excellent as was our salamander hunting. My Mammy and Pappy came up to enjoy a picnic with us. What is it about roasting a hot dog on an open flame that makes them taste sooo good?? We had a great time as always, the kids were surprisingly good despite the weather and I couldn't be more pleased with the way they behaved. I'm so blessed. We decided to head home over the mountain and follow the Nestucca River home. Of course Pops and I couldn't resist doing a little steelhead fishing on the way home. Thank goodness I have understanding Hubs who watches me fish for days with unending support. After some fishing and river exploring we haded on home.

Today brought on a Dr.s appt. for "A" at the ENT. It was a disappointing appointment I walked out of there with no more information than when I walked in. Just basically got a come back do a hearing test meet with me in July kinda of thing. FRUSTRATING! I want to fix whatever is wrong with my little guys hearing and it is taking forever it seems. I know in my heart that whatever will be will be but my mama's heart wants everything perfect for my kids.

I will post some pictures of our adventure later they are from my phone as I still haven't located my stupid camera and don't have the finances to buy a new one. Hope everyone is enjoying their summer like we are enjoying ours!

End of School

Here's a few pictures I wanted to post before we became sick. Hope you enjoy. And no I still haven't found my darn camera!!

Last day of school for Oldest.

The kids at the boys end of year celebration..

The Aftermath

The stomach flu came to our house to visit and I am so happy to see it go. With four kids and two adults I have to say it wasn't pretty. So today I am cleaning up the aftermath of the storm. I am no longer caught up on the laundry but I will prevail!! There is nothing worse than seeing your babies ill and not being able to do anything to help them. It's a helpless feeling that I hate. I have to say that it makes me thankful everyday that all of my children were born healthy and have stayed healthy. My biggest fear while pregnant with my boys was that I wasn't going to be able to carry them to term and they would end up in the NICU. I had several scary moments while carrying them that at times I wasn't sure they would make it all. Thank God He seen it for me to have them. After months of beds rest and preterm labor they got here. They came home with me from the hospital and have been going non stop since. To all the parents whose children have life threatening illnesses, babies born to early you are my heroes. You have my love and prayers that your children will grow strong and healthy.  On that note I'm heading back in to do laundry and finish cleaning up the aftermath of our storm.

Sunny Saturday

So today was a beautiful day in Oregon. A day to play outside and explore until your hearts content. My children and I are sick. Stupid stomach flu. I have to say that it sucks. I did manage to make it thru Oldest softball game just to come home directly to bed. Sigh. Updating from my phone so sorry about the bad grammar. Here's to a good nights sleep and in hopes we wake up feeling better. Supposed to be even nicer tomorrow. Night.

Growing Up and Moving On

It's been awhile since I have posted and boy has this Mama been busy. Last week my twins graduated from Presschool and will be moving on to kindergarten in the fall. WOW. Yesterday was oldest's last day of fifth grade she will be moving on to middle school next year. SNIFF. Youngest will be starting "school" next year as well. Where did it all the time go? When did my precious babies grow up? I'm sitting here enjoying the first sunny day we have had in awhile in my favorite chair on my front porch while the three youngest are playing and resorting to their typical shenanigans. Oldest is in bed with a stomach bug. The house is picked up and for the moment I'm enjoying the fruits of my labor over the holiday weekend. Spring Cleaning. My Mom gave me an awesome gift over the weekend by taking all of my backed up laundry to the laundromat and catching it all up for me. SIGH. I'm so blessed. I have had many ups and downs since my  last post some to do with my kids, others to do with my relationship with my husband and some with my extended family. I guess that means we are all just growing up and moving on.
 
On A Side Note:
I'm new to this blogging thing. Please bear with me as I organize myself and my thoughts into a fun something to read.

A Monday Afternoon's Musings

It's Monday afternoon the chores are mostly done, Oldest is at school and the three little's are playing with Hubs, soon it will be time to pick Oldest up from school rush home to make dinner and get ready to head to the ball field for Sari's softball game.  My hubs was one of the unlucky one's of the economy...the mill he worked for for years closed it's doors and on to unemployment he went. It's been different having him home everyday, my scheduled routines of the day are a thing of the past and it's been a huge adjustment. We have less money than we did before and finances have become a sort of struggle while he has been job hunting. I oftentimes find myself frustrated and angry with our situation. Am I ungrateful for all the things the good Lord has provided for me? NO. Do I sometimes forget to look at the blessings He has bestowed upon me? YES. I find myself asking why me? why US? And then I realize how selfish I sound...yes things are more difficult, my marriage has seen it's shares of ups and downs lately but I decided to put my faith in the Lord where it belongs. He will never leave me nor forsake me. And maybe just maybe having Hubs home has been a blessing in ways I haven't allowed myself to see. My kids love that Dad is home more now, Hubs is getting to spend time watching them grow and experience things he would of otherwise missed out on. Yes eventually he will find a job and go back to work and I will have a routine back to my day but we will lose out on making as many memories with him. So now when I find myself bitter and frustrated with the messes left for me when Hubs has the kids or when we sit down to figure out how we are going to juggle this month's bills I will make myself find things to be thankful for. Such as we are not homeless, we are lucky to have the basic necessities of life, food on our table, clean clothes, electricity, so many things other people don't have. But mostly we have each other and a promise to each other that we will stick out the hard times and come out stronger because of them.  The knowledge that our God is an awesome one who never gives us more than we can handle and oftentimes tests the strength of our faith to remind us that through Him all things are possible. Thank You Lord for the lessons.

Pictures of a Spring Day

 Some little gems...



Sunday Sweet Sunday

My close friends and family all know how much I despise SUNDAY. Why? I'm not entirely sure if it's a throwback to when I was in school or a single parent that the day meant an end to one on one time with my daughter, the chores and a long week looming ahead. Now I suppose it's the quietness of Sunday evenings that get to me but I realized again this morning as I do most Sunday mornings that they aren't so bad. My girls stayed at their Papa's last night so this morning I just had my boys at home and what wonderful boys I have. Hubs isn't feeling well so sometime last night he ended up on the couch and the boys decided it was time to wake up mom. Normally I would grumble about being woke up on the one day a week I get to sleep in but in they came with a Scooby Doo DVD in their precious pj's to spend a morning with mom watching cartoons. Does it get any better??? I think not. It's these moments in my life I have come to treasure because I know deep in my heart that someday they will be over. My kids will grow as children tend to do and Sunday mornings with mom won't be cool anymore, they will inadvertently get lives of their own and be gone. I do realize that I have some years before this happens but time goes so fast that each grain is precious to me.  As a mother of four I often am overwhelmed with the demands of motherhood and being a wife and often times forget to stop and take it all in...to smell the roses you could say. The precious buds of love my children give me in kisses and loves and stories that only children can tell. Along with these buds are the thorns too dirty dishes, laundry, the constant arguing, the I'm hungry's, and the messes they make. But this morning made me realize as many mornings do that I'm lucky. And Blessed. Here's to Sundays...Sweet Sweet Sundays.

Me and a BLOG??

"B", Oldest, "A", Youngest - (clockwise from top)

This is my very first "blog" entry, I love to write my feelings down and I love to write about my days with my family so I decided to brave it and go public. Please bear with me as I figure this out. First off I will introduce you to the loves of my life ....I have been married to the Hubs since 2007 we have been together since 2004 we have four kids Oldest Daughter is 11, my twin boys "A" and "B" are 5 1/2 and Youngest Daughter is 3. We are a very outdoorsy kind of family who love living in the Pacific Northwest.  This blog will be about my experiences, lessons, and adventures with them. I hope I can entertain you the way you have all entertained me.  Here's to more blogging ahead!