Birthdays!!!

Oh dear, I have been busy, busy, busy!!! I can't wait to share what I've been working on but first I have some belated birthdays to blog about!! Well, we celebrated the birthdays on time but I didn't share about them on time :0)!!

Both birthdays are my August babies. The first birthday of the month was sweet baby Esther's, who is really not much of a baby any more. This sweet pea turned two near the beginning of August!!! In the last year she's turned from a little crawling bundle into a walking, talking independent toddler (although my heart is so happy that my tiny girl is still nursing - I'm not quite ready to let that go and neither is she!!) I'm so happy God placed her into our home - she is such a sweet blessing - and I know God has her path is laid out to bring Him glory!! My sweet little funny face!!

Happy birthday sweetheart - Mommy and Daddy love you soooo much!!!
Our second August birthday was Samuel's. He turned 11 years old - I just can't believe how time is going so fast!!! It's crazy to know that my gentle, kind little man is 11. I just know God has big plans for Sam. He is such a kindhearted, gentle and loving boy!!
He got the pleasure of celebrating his birthday while we were visiting Fort Stevens and the ultimate boy dream of being the powder boy for the Civil War cannon shooting event at the fort on his big day - a birthday I'm sure he will always remember!!!
Waiting for his turn to walk forward with the gunpower (which was real!!)
Doing his very important job!
He had to approach the cannon crew backwards just in case he got shot - the bullet wouldn't hit the gunpowder he was carrying and blow up the whole crew - he'd just take the bullet in the back instead (a comforting thought for all the mothers of powder boys during the Civil War - ugh!!) Anyway - since this was not the real thing this Mama was thrilled he could do this!!

Happy Birthday Sam!! Mom and Daddy love you so much and are so proud of you!! We are sure God is going to use you for His good works!!

So now we are in September and the month is just flying by already!!! I have been so very, very busy!! I can't wait to share what we've been up to!

Blessings,

Christine

Vacation!!

We did indeed camp near a real shipwreck - a ship that grounded here in 1906.

We are home and had a marvelous, restful and relaxing trip. Getting ready for school and laundry sorta kept me away from the computer for a while. We had so much fun and did so many things I can't begin to tell all - so I'll just let some of my many pictures speak for themselves :0)! Our humble house on wheels - a camping delight - if I may say so! I am now a wussie camper and proud of it - not being cold and scared all night long in a tent was awesome!!!!

Beach play - as you can see - we were blessed with unusually wonderful weather for the coast!! (the Oregon coast that is) it was nice enough to even get wet!!
Tide pools
The fabulous Oregon coast rocks!!!


Sam got to be the powder boy for the Civil War re-enactment they had at the fort (on his birthday no-less!!!)
Cannon fire Sunset on the beach
Kite flying on the Washington coast - note the amazingly blue sky - a rarity on this part of the Pacific!!!
The rain came creeping in on our last day - Goodbye coast - we had fun!!
We were indeed blessed with amazing weather, a gorgeous location and fabulous fun!! We were blessed with safety and good health! We came home rested and relaxed and ready to start the new season that is fast approaching.

Blessings,

Christine

Adventures!!

We are off to see what's around the bend. Off to make memories. Off to have some fun and relaxation. Off to rough it - cooking outside, eating outside and for the first time ever for this seasoned camper - NOT sleeping outside!!! Yahoo!! This tent camping family has broken down and is taking along a little "house on wheels"!! The mama of this family has been tent camping since she was a mere babe in arms and is delighted at the prospect of not freezing her toes off all night long.
The story of our humble little trailer will have to wait until our return - but I will say this - all the elbow grease it took to get this temporary home ready makes this trip a well deserved rest!!

So for the next week we will be at the misty, foggy, rainy coast looking for sea shells, flying kites in the brief afternoon sun and warming our toes and fingers by the fire in the evening while we fill our tummy's with golden marshmallows!!

Have a blessed week!!
Love,
Christine

Heat Wave!!

Non-stop pool play,
Clothes on the line (or swim-suits), Long naps on cool sheets, And iced mochas, are how us northern folk here in the Pacific Northwest handle the rare heat wave. We are expecting our third day in a row (and only our 5th day all summer) of temps around 90*. This girl is likin' all the sunshine - although the temps are a bit higher than we're used to!! We only have about 58 sunny days in a year so I'm all for soaking up the sun and warmth when I can!!! Back to clouds and sweatshirts later this week so I'm off to hang out more laundry and water my garden (which is loving this weather). Hope your Monday is a blessed one!!

Blessings,
Christine

Backyard News

First from the Hen House:

We're getting anywhere from 4 to 6 eggs a day!! Yay!! Go chickies!!
We are hoping that soon we'll be averaging 7 to 8 a day but for pullets they're doing great!!
Some days it's more brown eggs:

And on others we get more blue:

And from the garden:

For late planting and a rather dreary summer it's doing better than I expected - a bit small but the last two weeks have seen a huge growth spurt!! Maybe I'll get a harvest after all!! Yay!! Go Garden!!!

In front of my zucchini there are tiny baby cabbage making their way up for a fall harvest.

And that's all for backyard news!!

Blessings,

Christine

Beauty

A few evenings ago a quick glance at the sky assured us there would be a spectacular sunset. So we jumped into the car and left our home nestled in the hillside and drove away from the large trees that surround us. At the top of a neighboring hill look what we found!!!:
Isn't God an amazing artist!!! All for His Glory!!!
Blessings,
Christine

Yarny Fun!!

Every summer I plan to sit in the backyard and watch the kids play in the pool and knit summer into dishcloths to use all winter:

This summer though there has been very little pool play:

This weekend my clothesline was not in use - but my knitting needles and crochet hook were!!

I finished up my wrap:

And I'm pleased with the results!! I think I'll be enjoying it lots the rest of the summer !! :0)
And I started a new project:
For my sister's baby that will be making his or her appearance sometime in early October!! I can't wait to meet the little one - but until then I will be praying for the sweetie with every stitch on this lovely green blankie! And - oh my - the pattern I picked is already giving me fits!! I hope I get the hang of it soon!!

And even though there is not much sun this summer I knitted away this weekend!! There is something so nice about taking out a pile of bright new washcloths on a dreary, dark winter morning with the scent of summer still clinging to them. I get a little burst of joy when I bring those cloths out to tidy up my kitchen!!!

Blessed Monday!!

Christine