Nate and I had a fun treat of spending time with just our oldest three for a few hours one afternoon! We were taking some computer classes in Portland.

Whenever possible we try and slip away for some one-on-one time with whoever seems to be needing it or when we feel like we'd enjoy asking them questions and watching their little minds think and process.

This time was a little different in that we had more than one child and could watch them interact with each other without the littles being there to need any of our attentions!

We sat down to a light dinner at the food court of the mall and watched them go order their own meals...

Todd had to ask several times exactly what the rules were for buying and if he could just order a dessert or did it have to be dinner and then if he could use all the money given and/or could he keep the change.

Nate on the otherhand wanted to make his own meal so went over to Subway and told her that he didn't want one from the menu and if she could just follow his instructions he would like that. He made a great sandwich.

Halley was working in her class so the boys said they should get her a meal and took off together to find something that they knew she would like.

It was HILARIOUS the conversations that went on between the two boys.

Nate M. - "Hey, did you know that worms have 5 hearts?"
Todd - "Oh cool, so if we cut the worms in five pieces then they will start new worms?"

Then they went on to discuss the business they could have of catching worms and then 'dividing' them up to make more worms.



Of course Dad had to look it up on the phone and explained to them that they have 5 parts to their body that make up the workings of a heart, and that actually they are HEARTLESS!

*Laughing*



Halley and I had a few minutes and we found a great shoe store that had boots we liked (we have similar styles). We tried on the models (which are usually our size give-or-take) and came away with boots that will fit us both. I think they are a half size small for me and a half size big for her. My point is, My 9 year old has pretty much the same size feet as me. Pretty soon I'm going to need a lock box for my clothes and shoes if I want to keep them around. Or course then I get to borrow her stuff (hehe).

We LOVE this growing up stage.

We LOVE the way they are allowing the Lord to direct them and work in their lives.

They are moldable and lovable!!!

Fun Run (first day of StayCation, morning)

Last Saturday we started our StayCation off with a run that was put on by the local high school cross country track team. 

Nate taught them a few stretches to get warmed up.

 And they're off...

 This is one of our neighbors and a wonderful babysitter and help to me when I need. She's also on the track team and told us about the race.

 Vance didn't run

 We were expecting to see our children in the middle to the end of the race. After about 21 minutes (it was a 5k, 3.1 miles) I decided to head over to the finish line and wait.

I didn't wait long because here came Nate...they announced that he was their third finisher over all???? He was PUMPED!!!  I was so proud of him for his stamina and persistence. The man their behind him came and chatted with Nate after saying he was behind him the whole way. As soon as he would get close enough to see his shadow creeping up behind him Nate would take off at a sprint for a while to stay ahead. The man encouraged him the whole way...it was fun to see and hear!

 Then right away here came Halley!!!!! She finished 16th overall and was the 5th girl. She's not run much and did amazingly well. She kept going and felt good and accomplished at the end.

 Todd came in right behind Halley at 18th place and was glad he beat all of the other kids he had his eyes on.

 And Andi was the youngest runner out there at age 6.  Halley ran the last bit with her to encourage her to the finish. She said she got confused and took a wrong turn for a bit and then fell down at one point too. BUT she finished and kept on running.

 Trae and Darbi ran a 1/2 mile race. It was the cutest thing, Darbi ran with this other girl for a while just chatting away. The girl decided to walk but Darbi pressed on and made it running the whole way.

Trae ran well and was thrilled to get a ribbon at the end. He was a finisher!!!

 Here's Darbi running down to the finish!

 And the Traeman kicking it for the finish!

Dead Ends

Some of the most meaningful conversations happen for us at a specific time of the day! We discuss and laugh and encourage and discuss some more...

Questions like: "Does God love Satan and why or why not?" AND "What dies at a Dead End?"

It's interesting that a child's perspective of the world (or anything for that matter) is only what we let them see, read, experience, or tell them... the influences that we allow into our homes in the early years of a child's life are what shapes there little minds. You'll have to keep in mind that my children are still young at this point so I'm only speaking from a 10 years experience with having my own children and seeing the fruit of those things that I didn't see were important...)

The reason for saying any of this is to clarify what most of the up and coming blog posts are going to be about. BREAKFAST CONVERSATION!! That is that time of day that we have some of our greatest discussions and reads.

..............

After several weeks of hearing snippets of conversations and catching little feelings from my daughter Andi I realized that we had missed a little concept on road signs and their meanings. She brought up the point to Darbi that she better not go to the dead end street because she will drown.

We spent the rest of breakfast clarifying what a dead end is and how there are dead ends all over life. Its just a warning sign that there is an end to the road and you have to come back out the same way you came in. Just letting you know that if you are looking for a shorter route to another street then this one does NOT go through. Perhaps you have a trailer on the back of the car...you need to make sure that you can get back out before you head down that way.

The RELIEF on her face was priceless! She told several people that day, just making sure that they all knew the TRUE meaning for the sign Dead End!

STAYcation

This year we had crazy plans of renting a huge motorhome and heading south for a 10 day vacation, visit relatives and friends along the way... The whole idea was that we could see people without 'imposing' on them by bringing our own beds with us which would also keep our junk to ourselves... you get the idea!

As time approached and teeth bills (cleanings, cavities, extractions, crowns) piled up we decided on a STAYcation!!!

WHAT TO DO?

We were given some 'free' wood that would make the perfect LITTLE fort for the kids to play in! So Nate worked up the plans based on the lengths of the boards and the sizes of the beams and came up with a workable plan!

~Red Dragon Fly~

So we started off with the first day being filled with lots of extra children. Some friends of our were moving so we borrowed 5 of their children plus one more friend for the day on Saturday.

(if you look closely you'll see 13 kids plus me and Nate in our 11 passenger vehicle)

Then we took (just our seven) to the 3.00 theater to see Cars2 and watch it on the screen 'That was bigger than mom's car'!! It was fun to watch them watch the movie and eat a huge bucket of popcorn! The two little guys fell asleep and we felt like pretty lucky parents each holding one (they never/rarely fall asleep in our arms/laps)!! That was worth it all right there!

Todd and Nate measuring for the foundation

The place where we wanted to put the fort was on quite a slope. So Nate thought that instead of digging down for the foundation that we'd just set the concrete platforms in place, put the posts on them and brace them up and then have a CAT come push the dirt around the posts keeping them upright!

This served three things: 1. it got the dirt all leveled out where we will one day build a 'little' shop. 2. that dirt was pushed around to the back of the house creating a more level place for our backyard, making things a little more user friendly and holding up the posts... 3. It saved hours of digging down and placing the foundation for the 'little' fort!

~DIRT DIRT DIRT~

(above= the girls made a slide out of the little dirt hill and kept themselves busy for several hours)

We had family in the hospital (Not immediate family) and so we got to have their two boys with us for a couple of days! They always fit in to well and didn't feel bad at all running around town with 9 kids under the age of 10! And, of course, we had to make a little stop at Kristpy Kreme's for donuts!

Halley spent and spends HOURS out on that swing. She sings and tells stories and makes up games for the kids! She spends a lot of the time pushing the other kids and teaching Vance how to hold on. His legs aren't quite long enough to latch around but he's getting close!

After that we needed to go and retrieve all of these free boards and wood to start the floor and walls! It has taken two trips and we'll need at least one more to finish it off. If the material is there then why not use it for EVERYTHING possible!!

So, needless to say, it's NEVER going anywhere and could possibly be our bomb shelter in case of a storm... It's sturdy AND WONDERFUL!!!

Each board has a foot long nail into it in several places! It's been a slow process but I'll have to say, that the whole point of building it wasn't just solely to get the kids a fort to play in, it was mainly a project for ALL of us to work on together and take part in building WITH DAD!!!

There is still lots to be done on it but it's looking really fun! Uncle Ti spent hours out there helping cut and put up boards and beams, it goes a lot faster with two sets of muscles!

And of course, SPUT (Sweety Pie Uncle Titus, named by Trae himself) for all the kids to hang on and snuggle with! We can always use extra laps around here!

We did all sorts of fun balancing tricks. This is the fun stage Trae is at right now!

The boys have so creatively taken all the 'extra' boards and made their own fort nearby, it's actually pretty impressive for a first build!

A little bit of Family!

It worked out to snag a few photos of my sister and her family! Her eldest daughter did her own hair and her face (the funny face) makes her look exactly like Carrie (my sister) did when she was that age, cute and hilarious at the same time!