Scientifically Proven

I read an article recently that  stated children who were allowed to play outside in the elements tend to have a much stronger immune system.

Girls tend to fall short of this mark when they are pampered, fussed over, and drowned in germ-x, ect... As I reflected on my childhood, it seems my parents choose to let me run barefoot, play outside to my hearts content and still squeeze in bath times! I was a healthy child. I want that for my children as well.

I have a feeling I might have tasted dirt a time or two, just might not have enjoyed it as much as this sweet little man seems to be doing.

He has no problem sinking his toes and fingers into murky mud puddles. He delights in painting his clothes, face, and brother with a pasty goop of questionable substance. This kid has a stout immune system...or at least he is working hard at putting one in place. 

Online yard sale

Well the lack of income and always present bills have forced us to take a fresh approach to survival. As scripture reminds me that God is my ever present help in time of need... we look around for ways to put a meal on the table seeking the Lord in every step we take. THIS WEEK we are cleaning out storage. Items we've held onto for the "future" and yet have sat collecting dust. Toys forgotten and stuffed in the back of a closet or rarely even glanced at. Around our house you can measure the worth of a toy, in the eyes of a child, by taking in to account how times you trip over said toy through the day. A truly loved toy never stays on the shelf long and is always changing locations throughout a day. Well I'm getting off my original focus here... THAT SAID, here is a list of items I've posted to Craig's List.

TAKE A LOOK. PASS IT ON. PURCHASE AT WILL!!!!

POWER TOYS-- JEEP 
SOLD

TV and TV STAND
SOLD

QUEEN HEADBOARD/NIGHTSTAND
SOLD

ROCKING CHAIR
SOLD

KING HEADBOARD
http://huntsville.craigslist.org/fuo/2441629619.html

SLEIGH BED and MATTRESS SET
SOLD

PAPASAN CHAIR
SOLD

On the links that you cannot just click on, simply copy and paste the link and it should work just fine! :)

Experience comes in all sizes

As part of a massive undertaking to rewire our old farmhouse, the boys have offered their assistance to Tim. Unproductive yet worth capturing on film, are my 2 boys getting in the way while Daddy worked on outlets in the boys room...

I'm so thankful Tim is a patient man. He wears the daddy hat so well.

Snip Snip...Chop Chop

It's that time of year again....though you can't tell by the chilly May weather. We plunged forward with our summer hair cuts.  I was amazed and saddened by the change in David. My baby is growing up!

Though Samuel is NOT a fan of hair cuts, he weathered through his as best as he could. Now we are ready for swimming pools and shade tree picnics!

Growing Pains

David is 18 months. He is still my baby, but making great strides in growing up. Today marked the beginning of a new era.

BIG BOY BED

I regretfully move my cuddly boy into his first big boy bed. With the approach of baby sisters' birth it's time to say goodbye to the crib. For now I'll stick with nap time. David is an early riser and I, nor Tim, am ready for our day to start at sunrise!! At the least the crib allows us a little more shut eye in the morning. David was quite excited for the change in routine and only got up once. When I went to put Samuel down for his rest time, I had to snap another picture of my wee babe all snuggled up with his quilt, blanket, and pacifier.

EEEEEEEKKKKK

We live in the country. We have a cat. In 3 years, we've never had a mouse problem. 

UNDERSTAND?

Our wonderful pest control guy-Larry, says the scent of our cat is a good deterrent for the resident field mice. Sounds good to me! Anya is a pretty laid back lady. Occasionally she teases the mice out in the field, but I've rarely seen her lift a paw for much other than a bath, but that doesn't mean she doesn't earn her keep....that good ole cat scent is paying her rent!

UNTIL YESTERDAY!

We also have a real porch. Our house was built in a different era. Back when people went visitin' without calling ahead and sat on the porch to cool down since air conditioning was unheard of. On rainy days, we close a makeshift gate and trap the kids on the porch and let them play to their heart's content! I had things to do yesterday afternoon and so instead of joining the boys, I propped open the storm door and went to work inside. One ear trained on their toddler chatter, of course.

One load of laundry into my tasks I look up to see THE CAT with a LIVE AND ACTIVE mouse in the dining room. She had been outside of this I'm 99.99% sure. She then caught herself a playmate and brought it in MY HOUSE. I reacted with a cool head (of course) screaming for Tim to come quick. This got the cat's attention and she LEFT THE MOUSE and took off for a hiding place from my wrath. The rodent was now free to roam and possibly set up house. 

I BEG TO DIFFER.

Tim, acting the more level headed of the 2, trapped the mouse behind the bookcase. He then acquired mouse catching tools-- broom, dust pan, and long arm pincher. 20 minutes later that small, less than threatening squeaker, was caught and released outside to the amusement of the dogs. 

THE CAT slept outside last night.

A Pictorial of Sorts

Easter swept by with a blink and our time and effort was thrown into weather disaster and relief. Now that life has returned to normal...whatever that is... I'll throw some pictures up of Easter and Mother's Day.

Easter

Mother's Day

The boys "made" mother's day treats for Tim's mom and grandmother. We delivered them AND caught it on camera...a rare happening in our parts. We made hand prints and tied them to a mason jar that displayed roses from our very own flower bush.