Mixed Nuts: Happy 4th of July!

Quotes

"There is no better way to thank God for your sight than by giving a helping hand to someone in the dark." - Helen Keller
When I stand before God at the end of my life, I would hope that I would not have a single bit of talent left, and could say, "I used everything you gave me." ~Erma Bombeck
You may never know how strong you are, until being strong is your only choice.- Unknown
Keep your face to the sunshine and you cannot see a shadow' ~Helen Keller
Promise me you'll always remember: You're braver than you believe, and stronger than you seem, and smarter than you think.
Don't cry because it's over, smile because it happened."- Dr. Seuss
"Life is 10% what happens to you, and 90% how you react to it."
"God doesn't give children with disabilities to strong people: He gives them to ordinary, everyday people, then He helps the parents to grow stronger through the journey. Raising a child with special needs doesn't TAKE a special family, it MAKES a special family."Author Unknown
I have been driven many times to my knees by the overwhelming conviction that I had nowhere else to go – Abraham Lincoln
Be always at war with your vices, at peace with your neighbors, and let each new year find you a better man. ~ Benjamin Franklin
There are only two ways to live your life. One is as though nothing is a miracle. The other is as if everything is a miracle - Albert Einstein
The journey of a 1000 miles starts with a single step
Sometimes in the middle of an ordinary life, love gives you a fairy tale
Where there is great love, there are always miracles - Willa Cather
The Difficult we can do immediately, the impossible takes a little longer
Doing what you like is freedom. Liking what you do is happiness
There are two lasting bequests we can give our children. One is roots. The other is wings.
Be the change you want to see in the world
Don't tell God how big the storm is, tell the storm how big Your God is..........
Everything has beauty, but not everyone sees it
Fall down seven times - get up eight - unknown
Despite our differences, we sink or swim together
Life may not be the party we expected, but while we are here, we might as well dance
"The man who moves a mountain begins by carrying away small stones." -Confucius

Saturday, July 4, 2009

Happy 4th of July!

This day, three years ago, I was watching fireworks from the maternity ward window. July 5th is Finley's birthday! I am glad this year to have an almost three year old, and not labor!!

I did my summer photo shoot yesterday. The kids always get such cute clothes from Easter from my grandma, but it is always too cold at Easter to take the pictures. So, I do it in the summer! The kids cooperated pretty well, and I got some great pictures. It was the first hot, sunny day we have had this week.

This post is just going to be the photo shoot photos. (There will also be more at the bottom!) You are going to feel SO special!! I am going to post tomorrow, and Monday as well to put up all the pictures that we are taking this weekend. Don't you feel special? I knew you would.

This week was pretty busy. Aunt Betty went home on Wednesday. Arlington finished up Bible School on Thursday. She had a really great time. She was there with a lot of her Kindergarten friends, so that helped.

We also got our deck furniture on Thursday. Mat had to rent a Uhaul truck to get it because the table top is 5 1/2 feet by 5 1/2 feet. So it wouldn't fit in our van. It weighs a TON. It was not pleasant to try and get that onto our back porch, but we did it. Well, mostly Mat did it, and I watched. :) No, I helped. a little. It is all together, and I am glad, so we can enjoy it this weekend. We didn't get the umbrella. We will get that next year. I haven't seen one we really like. We waited too long to buy porch furniture. Who would have thought that before June was over, porch furniture would be gone from the stores??

Friday Arlington and I kicked it into high gear, and got the house cleaned. My inlaws and neice and nephew came in for a weekend visit. We had all day to clean, and good thing. We needed it.

We spent this morning at the beach. I will post those pictures tomorrow because I took a lot. Surprise surprise! We were there about 2 hours. Us and about 1 million other people. It was really crowded, but once we actually got the the beach, we had a choice of spots. So we were not crowded sitting on the sand at all. With 5 kids in tow, 10 beach towels, 300 sand toys, and snacks to feed a small army, we settled in.

Arlington and "M" went right to the water. Arlington got in but "M" thought it was a little too cold. I agreed with her - the water was freezing! The little ones (Finley, Cainan and "G") settled on the blanket and started to play in the sand. My nephew "G" did NOT want to step in the sand. I remember Cainan was like that at first too. He didn't love it. Eventually "G' did sit in it, but he never wanted to put his feet down. It was pretty cute.

So we stayed and relaxed, and we didn't lose anyone! I found that quite a feat! I see what it would have been like for my mom-in-law when she was raising 5 kids, and have decided that three is a good number for us!

After the beach we had lunch and stopped quickly for a few groceries, and then came home so the youngest three could take their naps. The girls stayed up late Friday night (all three were in a room together and it was "party" time). So everyone was tired this afternoon.

The kids played outside on the playset and sandbox, and then we had a cookout and fireworks. After dinner we went for ice cream. Finley wanted ice cream to eat for her birthday, so we went to our local ice cream place about 1 mile from our house and ate it there.

Mat bought some fireworks and sparklers for the kids, and they had a blast. It was nice to have a 4th of July party here at home. The kids sat and watched the fireworks and had a great time. We didn't get anything loud or scary, so it worked out great.

Wednesday was my 34th birthday. I had gotten some plants I wanted to plant as my present, but Mat brought me home these flowers:

And then Arlington made me some signs around the house for my birthday. This is me:

Apparently this is how I look to her. Completed crazed. Also, she made our whole crazy family. She made Finley REALLY small because she is the youngest. She made our newest member (the fish) the biggest, which I find funny!

So that is all. Below are more pictures from the photo shoot just because I don't have enough to type to put them all throughout the blog. I will be back tomorrow with pictures from the beach day we had today.
See you tomorrow!