My Life in Phone Photos

Time for another "My Life in Phone Photos!"  I stole the idea a while back from Rachel Anne over at Home Sanctuary.  These are just a few pictures of what's been going on in our lives lately. :)

This is a billboard that I pass by every day on my way home from work.  It always reminds me how awesome our God is. (Even though that's not what it's advertising.)  It is also a prompt for me to say my memory verse for the second half of September out loud.  "For the Lord your God is the God of gods and the Lord of lords, the great, the mighty, and the AWESOME God who does not show partiality nor take a bribe." -Deuteronomy 10:17 NASB

This is a picture of my girl LR.  She drew this self portrait for open house this week.  She loves wolves so that is a wolf on her shirt.  I sure do love that girl!  The first three weeks of school is a whirlwind of activity and we finished it off with open house for my gradeschoolers on Wednesday night.

This is my girl RL after her first meet.  She has joined Cross Country this year.  I'm so proud of her for setting goals and working hard to reach them.  She ran her first practice in the rain this week and was soaked to the bone but still smiling when I picked her up!  Now that's dedication.

Back-tracking to the first day of school.  :)  Every year I make the kids pose for me so I can get another "first day" picture.  Left to right... CD, 1st grade, LR, 3rd grade, BC, 5th grade, JS, 6th grade and RL, 7th grade.  They sure are growing up fast!

BC flying off the diving board during our "Tent City" weekend over Labor Day.  We always have one last bash with the family over labor day weekend.  We BBQ, swim, and play lots of games.  That's JS and BC splashing around below.

CD being his goofy self...lost a couple of teeth over the Summer.  The new ones are finally starting to grow in.  I loved his toothless smile all Summer long though!

So that's us...Coming out of Summer and moving into Fall.  Changing seasons, changing lives...I'm excited to see what God has in store around the bend.

"There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under the heavens" -Ecclesiastes 3:1

Final picture...Summer changing to fall in my little valley. :)
   

Phone Photos and Company Girl Coffee

Well, I figure if Rachel Anne over at Home Sanctuary can take time to post with the week she had, so can I!  I haven't had any major crisis or life changing events this week, just been busy getting kids ready to go back to school and winding down the Summer.  Here are a few pictures from my phone to re-cap our week.  (Please excuse the quality, my phone camera isn't that great.)

Enjoy and have a great weekend!

This is a small section of my grapevines.  They span the entire length of my deck.  Though they are beautiful to look at, I learned this year that the more leaves you have, the less fruit they will produce.  Next year I will prune them as the Summer progresses.  I think that there might be a life lesson in there somewhere.  I'll save that post for another day.

My two youngest kiddos (CD 6, and LR 8) playing on a neighborhood playground that we stopped at while out for a bike ride the other day.

This is my oldest (12) taking a break when we went out for a run this week.  She's joining the 7th Grade Cross-Country Team this year. Although I haven't run in years, I am determined to help her train, and maybe get back in shape myself!

JS, who is going into Middle School (6th grade) this year!  I can hardly believe it.  Where has the time gone?

And that's BC hanging from the monkey bars...he'll be in 5th grade this year, only 11 months younger than his brother.

Some of the scenery from one of our runs this week.  I really do live in a beautiful valley. Too bad my camera can't capture the awesome details of it all.  The sheep, the vineyard, and the surrounding hills...just BREATHTAKING! 

 

 

On Wednesday, I had the unfortunate bad luck of hitting a stray S hook/belt (you know, that is supposed to hold stuff down in the back of a truck) on the highway.  I made it home before my tire went flat though and my husband, who is my hero, put the spare on so I could make it into town the next day to get it checked out.  Turns out we needed a new tire.  Thankfully, we were saving up for two new rear tires anyway.  This just sped up the purchase.  God always seems to provide for us right when we need it. 

Humor Matters

Hello everyone!  Happy Early New Year!  I hope that everyone had a marvelous Christmas.  Our home was filled with family and we had a great time making memories together laughing, opening presents, sharing meals and playing games.  I really enjoy having a nice big home that we can offer up for family events.

Christmas Eve we went to a candle-light service at my in-law's church.  Afterwards we spent time at their home for an informal dinner.  We arrived home at 9:00pm and tucked the kids into bed because we knew it was going to be a long day.  Before doing so, I wanted a picture by the tree with our "best dress" on.  I handed my brother in law the camera and hoped for the best.  Everyone was tired so they kind of just cooperated "for mom."  We got at least one that was decent, but there's one that stands out from the rest as my favorite.  It really shows the light-hearted nature of our family.  We sure do love to laugh!

From our home to yours, wishing you all joy, love and laughter in the year 2012!

~Melissa

Happy Holidays

One more hour left until the kiddos officially hit winter break!  I can't believe Christmas is almost here.  It's certainly been a wild ride in 2011!  I look forward to seeing what 2012 will bring.  One thing that I know for sure.  This year has really brought our family, and extended family closer together.  Between moving and opening a new store, we've really bonded.  In all the chaos of change, we've hung on to what matters most...strong family ties. 



RL-10, LR-7, CD-5, BC-8, JS-9



May your homes be filled with Peace, Love and Joy this Holiday Season!

~Melissa & Family

My Trunk or Treators

We took the kids trunk or treating last night in a safe, well lit, monitored parking lot.  It was at my in-law's ACE, put on by the Milton-Freewater PTA.  I am so glad my kids don't care that their costumes were mostly homemade, and they didn't complain that they didn't get enough candy.  (There were only a little over a dozen cars participating.)  It was fun enough for them that we were all out together having a good time and there were even a couple of games set up for them to play.  When we were done we went inside to store to say hi to their Papa.  I love being in town with family!

*Not pictured here: JS*

BC the Pirate

CD "Bones"

LR the Good Witch

RL the Cat

Our New Home

This morning as I sat on the porch swing of our new deck drinking my coffee I felt thankful.  Thankful for the rich blessings of God.  What started as questions and dreams, became a reality to us.  He has blessed us with a new business, a dwelling place closer to extended family, and a beautiful large sized home that we will grow into over the years.  The waiting was long and the path was not easy, but it was all worth it.   

The unpacking is coming along, and I am beginning to decorate the little nooks and crannies of the house.  With every day it feels more like our own little sanctuary.   In the middle of all my unpacking and getting settled, I came across the perfect verse in my Bible, that then became my memory verse for this half of the month. 

"Trust in the Lord and do good.  Dwell in the land and cultivate faithfulness." -Psalm 37:3

That just about sums up my life right now.  Trust God, do good, and cultivate faithfulness.

Below are a few photos from the upstairs.  It also has a spacious downstairs where we have put an office, a guest bedroom, and RL now has her very own bedroom! :)  Plus there's a kitchen, another living room, and a space for the kids' computers/school work area.  As I said, plenty of room to grow! 

Have a blessed weekend all!

~Melissa

The Entry



Upstairs Living Room



My Kitchen!!

JS and BC's Room



LR and CD's Bedroom



Mother's Day Photos

A couple of years ago I started a tradition where I take photos with my kids on Mother's Day. One day I will put them all together in an album, but for now, I'm just going to post them here. :) What a fantastic Mother's Day I had! I feel so blessed to have five wonderful children.

RL (Almost 10)

JS (Almost 9)

BC (Almost 8)

LR (6 1/2)

CD (4 1/2)

My Lovely Gifts! :)

No Time for Words...

Sorry...I haven't really had time to post lately...we've been having too much fun! :)

Mother's Day Pictures

Last year I started a fun tradition with my kids on Mother's Day. Through the years I am going to take a picture with each of my kids. (For as long as they'll let me, anyway.) That way, I can look back at the photos and see how much they've grown. :) One day, after they're all grown and gone from the house, I want to put the photos all together in a special Mother's Day photo album. Let's see...that's 5 photos every year times x amount of years...well, it's a lot!

Here are this year's photos! (In order, youngest to oldest - CD, 3, LR, 5, BC, 6, JS, 7, RL, 8)