where i get on a harley and justin critiques root beer

fathers day.
celebrating the man and all of his wonderfulness in our fam.
{ and that is a lot of wonderful }

adding some more rootbeer to justin's collection.
he has become quite the taste tester of this frothy drink
and it cracks me right up to hear his critiques like,
"it ends high on the palette with fruity undertones"
{ say whaa?!  mercy. }

picnic at the park
one extra kiddo.
tons of headcounts.
came with 5, left with 5.
{ praise the Lord. }

goggle boy.
super pool powers.
awesomeness.

{ summer reading }
catching my boys looking at a book together =
price.less.

lego creations these days are getting pretty complex.
and taking over my kitchen.
and living room.
and bathroom.
and piano room.
and sometimes i find them under my pillow at night...
am i being punk'd?

3 to 13 card game in the afternoons.
a DQ treat for the winner of the summer....
{ this is serious }

blueberries.
beth more.
bible.
berry iced tea.

{ bliss }

still trying to figure out if i should
actually send him to first grade in the fall
and share that face with another woman.
{ nope.  don't want to. }

i ask myself if this girl can get any cuter
and then she does.

is there anything left to say?!
don't even touch my breadsticks....
yeah, they're that good.

trying out a new place downtown...
with a nutella latte on the menu?!
they have my vote.

finding rocks and splashing it up in lake michigan.....
it sure is a great way to spend the day
while dad and jon are on the
'man trip 2012'

here's what i'm learning:
chores are easier to do myself.
teaching my kiddos to help takes patience
and time
and more patience.
but in the end it's good for them, and good for me.
#allforthesakeofteachingresponsibility

vacation bible school.

my son randomly singing praise songs in the car....

LOVE it.

happy retirement to my dad,

41 years at harley davidson

woot.woot!

i'm so proud of you, dad!

 { happy friday, everyone! }

random moments and spicy texting

funky sky for the drive home from small group

go fish!

loving me some Deuteronomy!

last days of kindergarten.

teacher should've warned us moms about the

'movin on to 1st grade' song

{sniff, sniff...}

end-of-the-school-year carnival.

FUN

no use crying over spilled milk

'cept i was pretty close when i noticed how far it had traveled....

bubbles rock.

daddy and daughter.

what a pair.

LOVE

can the draaaama

and the yard signs

and the draaaama

please be done?!

pinterest FAIL:

monster cookie pie = monster soupy mess

sonic.

happy hour.

BOOM.

first track meet.

i'm guessing first of many.....

kiddo-sized hurdles....

BRILLIANT

my sister scores some free Brewers tix

we score a double date with a cool couple.

Charity:  'Jon, get out there and win the game'

Jon:  'Charity, you are so wise beyond your years'

is this spicy or what?!

i'm soooo making it again.

beef and all.

{love you, babe!}

memorial day 2012.

dear soldiers, past and present.....

how do we thank you enough for all you do for us ?

{ all that stuff we don't even know about.

that makes sweet family times like this possible }

the bravery.

the sacrifice.

we're so grateful.

we remember you this memorial day

we thank God for you.

happy memorial day to all!

grace and grilling and getting molars

dear JESUS

i want to thank YOU

for a blessed week of gorgeous spring weather

{ is it possible it's going to be even better in heaven?! }

and a blessed week that included BBQ under our rainbow umbrella.

thank You for a husband who 'throws the ball around' with the kids

so i don't have to pretend to know what i'm doing

{ i seem to have missed the gift of accurate throw }

i'm grateful for cherry berry chillers at mcdonald's and

that they're cheaper than chocolate shakes...

{ somehow matthias always talks me into a weekly treat from there }

thank You for a miraculous chunk of time to finally organize

the back entryway and the bigger miracle of it staying that way now

for 2 whole days.

thank You, Lord, that banana cream pie makes caleb so happy

and making it with him makes me just as happy.....

thank You for a daughter who CRACKS me up with her unique headband style

in the midst of a week filled with tantrums that we're

......'working on.' 

(and i'd like to give a little shout out to You for grace at wal-mart with the whole

'no, charity, you can't eat the whole box of

dora the explorer fruit snacks while mommy shops' thing. 

mercy.  so much grace needed) 

oh, my sweet thang....it probably doesn't help that she's getting

her 2 year molars

(love that 'konked out on the couch' pic.  toats presh)

last of all, Jesus, i'd like to thank You

praise YOU

lift Your Name on high......

for all You are up to in our lives

for all You've been teaching us

for all that we believe You've got in store for us

and for those moments

{ oh, those moments even when the laundry surrounds me  }

when Your precious Word comes alive.

and I am taught great things about You.

oh, how I want everyone to know just how

GREAT. YOU. ARE.

to everyone checking in to this here blog

have a great memorial weekend.

make some of these if you get a chance. 

 {i plan to! }

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