Before and After

Patio project...CHECK!
We have been working on our patio, which I know I posted pics of when we were in the middle of the process. Well, we are happy to say we are done, with the patio itself. Here are some pics of the process...

Above was taken before we purchased the house. I wish I had a close up. The previous owner had a beautiful koi pond under the tree. Unfortunately we weren't crazy about having a water source around, for the upkeep and with having kids around. Plus we had to put in a new septic system and it was dug right under the pond...so we took it out. It was a lot of work, with huge boulders, rocks of all sizes, plastic upon plastic liner and tons of frogs!

Here is the back of the house after the addition was done. It stayed like this for almost a year...

In June we started to prepare the area. Scott and I didn't necessarily enjoy the work, but we did enjoy working together on it:)

We had the patio poured. A friend helped Scott stamp it with a roller and colored it with 2 tones and sealed it. Scott and I did the rock walls and landscaping and look forward to planting flowers next spring. We enjoy sitting out side with privacy. This last week, Scott and another friend put in a door there where the big (broken) window is in the corner. Steps are being built this week. More pics to come!

First Days

Our first day of school was last Wednesday. Much anticipation was buzzing around here. This was a big year for us. Reis moved up to the high school, Hudson to the Jr. high and Chapman went to school for the first time to the Intermediate 5/6. Owen is starting 3rd grade and our baby, Davis, is in Kindergarten! Everyone did GREAT and we are so grateful to the Lord for being faithful to our family in this area. The choice of public school was a huge decision for us but we trusted that God moved us here for a reason and His hand would guide every step of the way. The 3 oldest are doing great, love it and have many christian friends, teachers, coaches and even principles! We know God will use this time in our lives as a family as well as others he brings along the way. Its incredible to be in a church where families are "doing it"...not just surviving public schools but thriving in them! Last night was our youth groups fall kick off. There were 43 9th-12 graders and 22 5th/6th graders. That's a lot of impact in the town of Plymouth. We are so excited to see what God does here!

Baptism

This past Sunday was our church's annual baptism. We had 20 total make a public confession of faith. Many have come to know the Lord just recently which of course is so exciting. Others were ready to take their walk a step further. Owen has been talking about getting baptized for almost a year now. We wanted to make sure it was something he was doing for the right reasons and really ready. He was so brave as he gave a testimony of what he was doing. He even choked up a bit when he talked of what Christ had done for him. It was sweet to see his obedient heart. What a privilege now for Scott to have been able to baptize 4 of our 5 boys. We pray it is a commitment that last a lifetime.

Final wedding of the summer

Being in ministry, weddings are usually a regular part of life for us...which I love! The last 6 months we've had 3 couples that we have met with for counseling. For the actual wedding, Scott officiated and I coordinated and helped in the area of decor. Last weekend was the last of the 3. We headed up to MN. with a fun group from our church and had a fun but busy weekend. This wedding was outdoors under a big tent with incredible surroundings.

Ali, the bride did some unique things like had a sno cone machine and each table could roast their own marshmallows. It was a fun time and everything went great!

Being the pastor's wife, I don't always get invited to the bachlorette party;) here is my favorite gift she got...hehe!

One of my jobs for the weekend was to come up with a fun way to display 300 cupcakes. I gathered my cake plates and others and had a cupcake table. It turned out great thanks to my many helping hands!

Have I mentioned I LOVE weddings:)??

July in a nutshell

Well July has been a month of celebration. We have 3 birthday's in our immediate family and 3 others in our extended family! Reis turned 15, Owen 9 and Scott...well, does it matter?

We've had a busy but fun month.

My nephew Jack came for a visit. He stayed at our house for 5 days. He joined right in with all the boys!
Owen and his buddies! Great party day for water games and slip n slide!

Scott has made a commitment to take each of our boys on a 'pre-teen' trip. Just the two of them. Hudson chose to go to an amusement park so even though his birthday was in April, they waited until summer. It was a great time of bonding for them, having fun but also talking about some very important things from purity to making Godly choices in his upcoming teen years. What a great memory for them!

Another part of July has been house projects. I still need to take a picture of the finished patio but we've spent a lot of time and sweat on this area of our home. We have been dreaming of this since we moved in. I'm so thankful for my husband and his hard work.

I love it! Pictures to come!

7 little kittens

Our cats gave birth to 12 (6 each) about 6 weeks ago. The boys have had fun watching them grow but it is time to say goodbye... We have 7 kittens left.
Any takers? How can you resist!

2011 Vacation

This year for our summer vacation, we went to Edisto Beach on the coast of South Carolina. We had a great week relaxing. The boys all got to play some golf and we enjoyed a bit of each day at the beach. After our week we headed a little more south to my cousin and her husband's house in Savannah Ga. Its beautiful there as well. Here is a glimpse of what we did.

Did some sightseeing in Charleston S.C.


Enjoyed a sunset on the beach...nothing like it:)

The boys got creative and took about 12 pics of gumby hanging out:)

It was a great time as a family. A great jump start to our summer!

Really?

There are many times that I ask myself..."is this for real? Do I really live here?"

For years, Scott and I would take the back roads in Indiana to drive by all of those adorable country farmhouses out in amish country. We would dream of one day owning one. This is our first spring in our farmhouse and I am still in awe and denial that it is ours! I took pictures of what I'm talking about. These are the everyday scenes that I get to enjoy. God is so good!

Beautiful sunset and sky out our bedroom french door.

View from our front porch.

Backyard with huge oak trees and even a tire swing

Having fun with flowers and containers

I give God all the glory for what he has given us as a family. Everyday I try to thank him for his unfailing love and mercy. Many days I mess up... big time!

Annual Track and Field Day

This week was our home school group's annual Track and Field Day. We look forward to this every year. Davis has talked about it for months! This year was a big group, all ages

and sizes. A former home school mom leads it every year at a local college and does such a great job. She starts by talking to the kids about how God gives us our

strength, at different times in different measures.

The kids pick their events ahead of time.
Here is Chapman on lap 2 of the 1600 meter.

All 3 boys did the long jump.

It was fun day releasing energy and seeing old friends.

Kittens

If you would have told me that I'd be the owner of 14 cats...I would have laughed and said you were crazy. Well...last August we picked up 2 kittens to have as barn cats. They did their job, we never did see a single mouse in or near our house all winter. They ended up being great cats. Very friendly and low maintenance. We noticed about 3 weeks ago, them waddling as they walk and feeling a little bit heavier than usual. You guessed it, they were both pregnant. The boys were so excited and I was looking forward to the experience with them. This will be their ONLY litter as we will have them fixed ASAP;)

Granger (above) came to our front porch Monday morning...NOT pregnant. After calling friends for advice, we went out looking for the kittens. We searched high and low in the barn. Finally one of the boys went out behind the barn and under an old plastic pond form were 6 tiny kittens. All different colors. Today we moved them all to the barn and they are doing great.
Meanwhile, Boots delivered 6 kittens as well today. I will post more pics to come. She is also out behind the barn and we plan to move her tomorrow. What a fun little day care they will be running out there. Im told they need about 6 weeks to wein off their momma. So let me know if you'd like a FREE kitten!
What a day!

MY Day

Today, Mother's Day, might have seemed pretty ordinary to some. In fact I got some funny looks this morning at church when I answered the question, "so... do you have something special planned for today?". Scott and the boys asked me what I wanted and I had 3 simple requests.

1. A picture BEFORE church with my boys

2. Home cooked meal with my favorite food on the grill

3. Everyone's help getting a couple flower beds ready ?!?

Above is what the side of the barn looked like when we moved in. I started working on it last fall. (This is a picture of the un-done side, I didn't take a before picture of the side we finished.)

Below is the finished product! The boys worked hard finding the perfect rocks for the border and loading and unloading the pea-gravel. I have some plants in but need to get more. I hope to find some great climbing plants to grow on my fence gate (we found in the barn).

We got so much done! My body hurts we worked so hard.

It was a perfect day for me!

Chapman's Documentary

(you'll want to pause the music at the bottom of the blog page)

This is a crazy video so beware! Chapman has hours of video of the most random-est things. Here is the latest. We had an exciting week this week with buying a new (to us) van! Ours has been inching along and it was time! We found a great deal and am so happy with our purchase. Tonight Scott spontaneously gathered all of us to take the ole' Astro van for one last family drive for 2 reasons. 1. Because we plan to stick a For Sale sign on it and park it to sell 2. because it was 7 miles from crossing the 200,000 mile mark. We celebrated that its been such a great vehicle for us. We are praying our new van is just as good to us!

The Proof!

The "happy family"

Reis wanted to look thrilled.

April Showers

Bring May Flowers!

Its been fun to see little surprises pop up in our yard. Being the first spring at the farm, we weren't quite sure what was planted here. We have lots of hopes and dreams for this place as far as landscaping. It's going to take time that's for sure. I thought I'd bring in some beauty by cutting some and putting them in vases. Its smelling up my kitchen!