Lovely day for a picnic

Today was yet another beautiful day! We spent the morning getting school done so we could go outside for the afternoon. Here are some pictures from our day.

a sunburn? In February?!

That's right. I have a sunburn - it isn't terrible, but it is there! What a beautiful day! This entire week has been amazingly nice for the first week of February! We spent all day today getting gardens weeded and the dead things from last year taken care of, the area I wanted to reclaim as garden space for my vegetable garden tilled and covered in black plastic, the grass mowed, and general clean up of the yard - just the back yard though, as that was more than enough for a very full day of work!

I would love to show some before and after pictures, but I didn't take any pictures today - too busy and too dirty!

Everyone enjoyed being outside. Justice got to feel the grass, and seems to be the first of my babies to actually like it!

We got everything on my list done today! I just hope and pray my mil is not disappointed or upset by anything we pulled as I do not really know the difference between a week and a plant someone might want to keep!

Another beautiful day!

Today was absolutely beautiful!

I decided after everyone got morning chores done that we NEEDED to be Outside to enjoy it! Everyone had a great time!

While the girls played, I got the blueberry bushes trimmed back...probably not enough, but it is at least a start! They already have buds on them, and I just couldn't get rid of all of them! We can however get between each of the bushes now, and none of the branches are dragging on the ground. I think we are at least close to being able to reach the highest ones, too...like I said, it is a start!

Anna decided she wanted to do some trimming, too! I let her try to free the bell from the vine that had overtaken it...

We used the wagon and walked all the trimming waste to the back of the property. Just as we got there, it started to rain on us! We quickly cleaned up all the tools and toys, got Callie (who had a great time playing outside!), and came in...we turned around at the back door to see the brightest, most amazing double rainbow we could have imagined! We could see both ends of both rainbows, and they were going directly over our property!

We spent more time outside than we intended (I was originally thinking about 1/2 hour so everyone could get their vitamin D)...so hopefully homechurch will be forgiving of the inside of the house :)

Punxsutawney Phil may have seen his shadow a couple days ago (predicting 6 more weeks of winter), but the weather seems to disagree with him! We have been enjoying to sunshine so much! We had nice enough weather to go to the park twice this week! What a blessing to be outdoors in the sunshine, enjoying this world that God has given to us!

Here are some pictures of our day. Highlights of the park trip were Callie playing on the playground by herself! She even walked up a couple of stairs! Justice had his first ride in the swing...and seemed to really enjoy it! Anna got to wear her new cowboy boots and jeans! Ashley enjoyed running and climbing as she played pretend with Brianna. Breezy loved getting to push Justice and Callie in the swing. Bailey liked helping Callie and another 2 year old she met at the park. (Bay later told me she was amazed at how much the other 2 year old could do on her own! Callie has really skewed our idea of 'normal,' lol!) Anna and Callie to got to ride on Mariah, our friend's horse, and Breezy got to ride on Tivo, their pony.





Looking at the pictures, it looks like we all went to the park together - but really, I left Ashley at Choir, and the rest of us walked to the park - then we walked back to choir, traded Ashley for the twins, and went back to the park!

Callie also had a wonderful physical therapy session. We are working more and more on standing balance and more pelvic disassociation (she is getting better and better at both of these!).

All in all, another blessed day!

This is the day the Lord has made

Today has been a good day. I can't help but think no dental appointments has something to do with it, lol!

Here are some of the things the girls have been up to.

Bailey found a quiet place to write and draw.

Anna drew the sunrise she saw this morning.

The littles, playing in the beans.

Callie performing her new accomplishment; climbing up the bunk bed ladder...while this is a huge feat for her to accomplish, it is also a very scary one for me - she is not able to get down! I am afraid she is going to fall one of these times...on the other hand, she is learning to climb at an older age and realizes her limitations. She gets to the top and calls "Help me! I'm stuck! Uh-oh, I'm gonna fall! Please help me!" until someone comes to get her. She is not yet able to get herself onto the top bunk, just up the ladder until she runs out of rungs.

wow - February already?!

February?! How could it possibly be February?! What happen to January? Sigh, time is just going so fast!

We had a great visit with Mom and Dad (Chris' parents) last week. The visit was all too short, and we are all sad that they are on the road again...

Yesterday the twins had a dental appointment to fill a cavity...While they did this:


The 4 littles and I walked to a nearby park to play!



Then we went home and let the twins rest. Neither of them felt like doing much of anything after their appointment. :(

Banana Muffins

We were overrun with over ripe bananas - so we decided to get to it and do some baking! We made 2 loaves of bread, and these banana muffins (which we doubled), which were a big hit with my girls!

Each weekday, I have time in my schedule to do something individually with each of my girls...it is a way for me to connect with each of them, focus on their strengths, and make see if there is anything they would like to talk about. I look forward to these times, and am glad they are set up on a regular basis, otherwise, we tend to not get to them. Today was Bailey's turn, and she choose to bake something with me - the abundance of bananas was a perfect place to start!

Banana Muffins
Ingredients
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 large bananas, mashed
3/4 cup white sugar
1 egg
1/3 cup butter, melted
Directions
1.Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Coat muffin pans with non-stick spray, or use paper liners. Sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt; set aside.
2.Combine bananas, sugar, egg, and melted butter in a large bowl. Fold in flour mixture, and mix until smooth. Scoop into muffin pans.
3.Bake in preheated oven. Bake mini muffins for 10 to 15 minutes, and large muffins for 25 to 30 minutes. Muffins will spring back when lightly tapped.