Sammie Has Her Sharks!

Well, she waited two months and finally...they are here!  She named them: Bala-anna, Lara, Ruby, Spots, and her Algae Eater is named Allie.  Aren't they cute??!!!

Summer Nights

As the summer draws to a close and school is almost ready to start, we got the girls two new video games to keep them from boredom. :p  Here are our girls from a few nights ago, curled up together in Sam's bed with Alex's Tinker Bell blanket enjoying one of them. 

Fishin' Time at the Pond

Last night our girls got a surprise!  Grandma and Grandpa took them out on an unplanned trip to the pond to go fishing.  They loved this!  Grandma emailed me pictures this morning and I had to share...I knew Grandpa must be so proud of the fisher-women he has helped create. :D  Very nice fish ladies.  Thanks again Grandma and Grandpa for a few more wonderful summer memories.

Poetry {written at 4 am}

When Brokenness Calls                     August 20, 2008

When brokenness calls you must answer

There can be no helping in that

No machine or call waiting to take it

Just a click, hello and a chat

When brokenness calls you've no help

No one you can turn to and say

I'm broken right here and back there

I'm in need of some mending today

These are the lies that we speak to ourselves

In our darkness and our despair

But they are merely illusions

For there is one truly who cares

He is soft and kindly offers

To carry and lighten the load

If we'll but share and rejoice in

The gift he so lovingly chose

For you, me and all who would see

It's not costly for any of us

Freely given it lies at our feet by our sides

And it's freedom is always enough

Melancholy is my current mood and so I talk to God to find relief.   Even the most positive of us can go through those moments and life stages that cause us to reflect and need a bit of encouragement and support.  And in these times, I find that only God will do. :)  See, I'm already smiling a bit.  He is so good and His love endures forever.  

Desire

I have to say, I'm not sure why I struggled with reading this so many times except to say that I needed what it shared at this very moment.  It was awesome and I plan on re-reading it often.  Amazingly insightful. 

Desire by John Eldredge  HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!!!

I'm currently reading Waking The Dead and it's just as great.  

Desire, passion, truly living and living more abundantly.  What a great message for all of us!

A Weekend Outing With Grandma and Grandpa

This morning I woke up with a great surprise waiting for me in my mailbox!  :D  Grandma and Grandpa took Sam and Alex for an overnighter Saturday.  They started out garage sale-ing and then on to the pond for fishing.  The girls found frogs, crawfish and splashed their feet around with the minnows!  :D  Alex caught the biggest fish of the day with Grandpa saying it was 20-21 inches!  She is always getting the best catch...chip off the Ole Grandpa if you ask me. :p They were all having such fun that they picked them back up after dropping them off for only an hour on Sunday.  They all headed out to The Almanzo Wilder Farm.   
Here are the pics that Grandma sent me this morning...thank you so much for our alone time together Grandma & Grandpa and for loving your grandchildren so much.  They had such a great weekend with the both of you guys!  Much love.  

Pouring Down

Walking, talking, laughing, life

Although there is always working and strife

A struggle between two always will seem

To keep life from just becoming a dream

Something you do and something you say

To fill up the void of everyday

But in life there is living and joy can abound

If you look with eyes open at love pouring down

Don't spend so much time in the working & strife

But to searching your soul, find honesty in life

What you desire was given to you 

Not dreamed up or conjured up out of the blue

Our dreams are our hopes that there is something more

That we were born with purpose not to be ignored

If your heart is heavy causing you to frown

Just look with eyes open at love pouring down.

For in it you'll find peace, happiness and rest

Doing the things your heart likes the best.

(Spur of the moment poem...after taking a walk around our John Story Trail...and cleaning house.  I find peace in life by doing the simple things.  Wife & Mother...these are my deepest callings in life and I'm so thankful to God for the chance to live them to their fullest.  By: Raechell Conn :p) 

May God bless you in all that you do and say this day. (((HUGS)))

Real Mom's Day at the Beach

Sam, Alex and I joined the Real Mom's group from our church at the beach today.   It was fun to see the different ages and watch them all interact.  Sam hung out with Jackie Eddy's 3 children (Megan, Tad and Luke) for the first hour, looking for clam's and fish eggs in the water.  Then our girls were off and swimming with the big kids who showed up from their school's rec program.  Julie Cardinal and Michelle Avery showed around noon and then the activity really started.  :D  With Asher, Sydney, Jared, Judah, Joshua & Sophie playing in every direction.  I tried to get shots of them in action.  Brittany Groebler showed up with Heather Ramsdell's children and it was so fun to watch the kids play and get to talk with all the moms.  Hope you all enjoy the pics as much as I enjoyed taking them.

Nature Walkin' Time

While mowing the grass, Sammie found three baby frogs.  You can almost make out the face of one between her hands.  The girls set it down for me to take a picture and it hopped away.   Soon finding another frog became the goal of our evening walk.  We spotted dragonflies, bumblebees, yellow butterflies, snails (last picture) and lovely views of the sky and trees, but alas, no more frogs. :D  We laughed all the way home though and so the Nature Walk was a success!