I Am Blessed

Today, we went to McDonald's for lunch. I noticed a few "looks" when we walked in...I'm getting used to it. When we are out, there are always a handful of people that just stare at me, mentally tallying the number of children that I have. Of course, being pregnant just compounds things:) I herded the kids to a booth and left them while I ordered. When I arrived with the food, a man next to us asked me if they were all my kids. "Here we go", I thought to myself. Then, to my surprise, he began telling me how blessed I was and what a joy my kids were going to be to me later in life. He encouraged me to discipline now and raise them right and it would be "awesome" later. I thanked him and made a joke about the cost of feeding them (I had 6 double cheeseburgers, 4 regular cheeseburgers, 3 fries, and whole bunch of ice waters on the tray). He said not to worry and that the Lord would provide:) How very sweet! I am blessed....

Summer Update

I cannot believe how fast the summer is flying by! We are supposed to start school the first week in August. I want to be able to take the entire month of December off when the baby comes. Speaking of baby...it's a girl! We are thinking that we will name her Rebekah Anne. On my way home from my appointment after find out we were adding a girl to the family, I was already thinking of the name Rebekah. Right in front of me at an intersection was a Meybohm sign with Rebecca Wall as the agent. I think it was a sign!

The blueberry bushes at the office produced some yummy blueberries this year. We are going to try and transplant them to our house. They are sooo good! Sarah ate so many that she got a rash all over her:)

This is how we spent July 4th. Mom and dad came over and we went to the pool for the afternoon. We had barbacue for dinner and then the boys and Christian put on our own little fireworks show in the cul de sac. It is the first year that our back neighbor didn't call the police on us! Christian went to the pond and caught some bull frogs for Levi to play with. He had a blast! He chased them all around the yard.

My neighbor was pretending like the frog was talking to Levi. He thought that was hilarious!

Busy!

Where are the lazy days of summer? We have been so busy! Just wanted to post a few random pictures.

Sarah is into everything lately. She loves to get into my makeup bag. She can take the top off of just about anything.

She loves books and always wants to "ree book". I found her sitting in the baby swing looking at a book the other morning.

She also loves to "play" the piano. I hope to start the boys on some lessons soon. Hopefully, someone in the family will love the piano and have some talent!

The Martin boys have been around some this summer. We had an awesome rain storm last week with no thunder. They ran laps and laps around the cul de sac in it.

Tonight, there was a "baseball" game going on. They were using an old piece of wood that fell off of our deck for a bat. Christian wrapped the end in duct tape where they held it. Since VaVa's motor home is parked out front, they wisely chose a tennis ball. Can't you just see a baseball going through one of those windows?

Poor Sarah! She was in the way of the game so I confined her to the "tub". She looks so sad...she wanted to play!

Watermelon

I love summer nights when we eat dinner and then head outside if it is not too hot. My kids love to eat watermelon. We try to eat it outside and then jump in the "hot tub". For those of you who don't know...our hot tub is a black trough from Tractor Supply. It is where the kids take their baths during the summer so that my tubs aren't black.

Sarah had on a cute dress, but I didn't want to stain it with watermelon juice, so she just sported some panties, crocs, and a hair bow:)

Levi REALLY likes watermelon!

Just as we were finishing up, the neighbors sprinklers came on...perfect timing!

Pidge

The boys were watching "Lady and the Tramp". The tramp calls Lady "pidge", short for pidgeon. Aaron asked me what he was calling her and before I could answer, Caleb blurted out "bitch"! I was laughing so hard that I couldn't say anything and he got really emabarrassed kept saying over and over "it's bitch mommy, bitch!"

Miss Attitude

These pictures do not do "the look" justice, but this makes me laugh!

Hickory Hill

We had the best time at a field trip in Edgefield this week. Hickory Hill is a family run dairy farm and the Dorn family graciously let us come to see how they milk the cows and bottle their milk to sell at places like Earth Fare. We had a great turnout!

The family owns 650 acres that have been in the family since the 1760s. They also lease other property to grow some of the feed that they feed the cows. They originally sold timber and grew other crops, but started the dairy business in the 1950s.

We went to see the calves. Some were just a few days old. Sixty days before the cows have their babies, they are brought into a shady pen and get to just eat and sleep and relax until the birth....that's what I'm talkin' about!

Let's just say that the sights and smells of agriculture were all around. My friend Kim, who is due one day before me, was loving the smells as much as me. I just kept saying, "Breathe through your mouth!"

A funny side note, Kim and Christian went to the prom together in high school. How funny is that!

This is where they milk the cows. So high tech. Everything is computerized. It was also sooo clean. He has the cleanest dairy in the state!

Mr. Dorn showing us what the cows eat.

This is where the bottling process happens. He explained to us all about pasteurization and homogenization. I think some of the parents enjoyed this part more than the kids.

And finally, tasting the chocolate milk. Delicious!

After a "picnic" lunch in the hunting lodge, we bought some milk and were on our way. It was a fun day!