WISCONSIN OR BUST... but first a very special treat!

The kids and I will be on the road again today...

Will they be holding on for dear life like this poor grasshopper was last week? (right before I got pulled over by a police officer who was kind enough to just give me a warning on my way home from the blue hole)  You should have seen the kids panic when those light came on...

We will be covering 4 states in 12 hours while the daddy of the house keeps the home fires burning... 

But first, before we actually hit the road, we will be picnicing with the Saunder's family from http://www.aplacecalledsimplicity.blogspot.com/   We are sooooo excited!!  Louis and Greg are super excited to be able to see DW and Emma again... and the rest of us can't wait to get to meet their whole crew.  Can I just say what an amazing and much needed surprise it was to make these last minute plans last night... It totally made my day... I have been feeling somewhat burdened lately about some things that I just can't share about at this point... So this is the perfect, fun distraction before the kids and I hit the road...

I can't wait to lay my eyes on their miracle girl Ruby... Well, all of their precious treasures, that is for sure!  You can read her story here http://aplacecalledsimplicity.blogspot.com/search/label/The%20Miracle%20of%20Ruby ... it is downright amazing!   Make sure you read the whole story and scroll down so you can see the amazing work the Lord has done in Ruby's life. 

I will make sure to post from the north woods...

The last of them...

Here are the last of the pics from vacation... Hopie, Anna, with Uncle Dale and Aunt Lisa:)  I was blessed by getting a chance to have a good heart to heart with my sister in law...

Anna with Grandma and Grandpa Hintz... they always take such good care of us while when we are in Texas... The trips down always pass WAY too quickly!  At least this trip Grandma didn't injure herself while playing soccer or jumping on the tramp with the kids... She loves to get in the mix with them...:)

Jojo and Anna after watching the fireworks from the driveway!:)

Caleb and his cousins doing some sparklers:)

Jojo and Daddy relaxing after the fireworks...  We miss him, that daddy of ours... He has been away all this week and it has me so thankful that really he doesn't have to travel much with his job... generally only to things that he really wants to go and do, like mission trips and conferences and such.  I am so glad that he has a heart to continue growing and learning, but we sure do miss him when he is gone.  

Making edible playdough...

 Take 1 1/2 cups nonfat dry milk...

18 oz. natural peanut butter...

 5 T. honey...

1/2 cup powdered sugar...

and mix:)

 Typical Hope... she says," Hey doesn't this look like a baby's buns??"  :)

And Jojo made a caterpillar:)

It tasted so good, we melted chocolate and made peanut butter balls:)  Yummy!

I sort of went off of a recipe that I found on line... but changed up the amounts of the ingredients as we went along...

All of the kids enjoyed playing with it.  I always love how when you bring out the baby toys again or do something with the new younger ones, that the older ones did years and years ago... the older ones still want to participate.  Obviously, it isn't something they would want to do everyday now... but it was fun for the afternoon:) 

Honestly, all of the kids but Levi hung out at the table for over an hour, making things, playing and laughing with each other.  It was great!  

Sweet Summer Memories!

THANKFUL THURSDAYS...

 The older I get, the more thankful I am for SUMMER VACATIONS!!

The older I get the faster they go... It is downright crazy how fast this summer is going... makes me sad...

I know some moms that are ready for their kids to go back to school after the first week of summer...

Even though I home school the kids, I still love summer for the flexibility and freedom that summer allows us!  I love that the kids and I can really pick up at anytime and get away for a bit:)  

The above picture was taken 5 years ago when we took a camping trip to the Grand Canyon... Such sweet family memories were made:)  Some of the craziest, want to poke your eyes out moments on that vacation are the things we laugh hilariously about now!

 

The 4 littles and I at the splash pad a few weeks back:)

Cousin in love...

 One of the main reasons we headed south was to jump on over to Louisiana for Greg to do the baptism for his cousin Ryane's baby Liam... She is Greg's cousin, but I am so blessed to call her one of my dearest friends.  We literally headed over to their place Friday morning and had to leave less than 24 hours later... 

But it was so worth it!!!  Ryane and I stayed up way too late into the night making food, burning pigs in a blanket, laughing and catching up... Love Love Love her and her family so much!!!

Greg did Ryane and Blake's daughter's baptism in his parents yard 2 years ago... so we did the same this go around.  It was so special... just close family and friends and totally private in their gorgeous back yard...

 Louis swinging with Levi...

 This Picture does not do this tree justice... It is hugely wide and totally covered in green fern... BEAUTIFUL... Quite the handiwork of God:)

Ryane and Blake are both pilots... Blake's uncle called to tell him that he was going to fly over and drop cotton candy out of his plane for the kids.  (Can you see the little blue bag to the right of the plane?) How cool was that?  Literally about 10 minutes later there he was flying by REALLY low and sending down the cotton candy... You should have seen the kids running.  It was really fun!

We were so honored to be able to be a part of Liam's special day and to be able to have the quick chance to spend time with them... When you live away from all of your family... these are precious times to be treasured!:)

JUST BECAUSE...

JUST BECAUSE...

 MY HEART STILL LONGS TO KNOW WHAT YOUR FINGERS WOULD FEEL LIKE WRAPPED AROUND MINE...

JUST BECAUSE...

THE PRINT OF THAT PRECIOUS LEFT FOOT WILL FOREVER BE ETCHED ON MINE...

JUST BECAUSE...

 THE EYES OF YOUR SWEET BIG SISTER STILL SHED MISSING TEARS FOR YOU OFTEN...

JUST BECAUSE...

 I STILL LONG TO FEEL THE WEIGHT OF YOU IN MY ARMS AND THE TOUCH OF YOUR SOFT SKIN ON MY LIPS...

JUST BECAUSE...

THIS WHOLE FAMILY STILL TALKS OF YOU DAILY AND MISSES YOU SO SO VERY MUCH...

JUST BECAUSE...

THESE BIG BROTHERS TALK OFTEN ABOUT THEIR SPECIAL DAY WITH YOU...

JUST BECAUSE...

 EACH AND EVERY INCH OF THIS SWEET PRECIOUS BODY WAS LOVINGLY KNIT TOGETHER IN MY WOMB... ONLY TO LIVE IN MY WOMB AND IN ETERNITY

JUST BECAUSE...

THERE ARE STILL MOMENTS AND DAYS WHEN MY HEART BREAKS ALL OVER AGAIN... 

 I AM SO THANKFUL THAT NOW I CAN SMILE AND HAPPILY WONDER WHAT SAMUEL IS EXPERIENCING IN HEAVEN... HIS PRECIOUS SHORT LIFE BRINGS ME JOY NOW!!!  THANK YOU JESUS FOR THAT!!!  BUT OH HOW MY HEART STILL MISSES HIM HERE WITH ME IN THE FLESH... I LONG FOR THE DAY WHEN HE WILL MEET ME UPON MY ARRIVAL INTO HEAVEN AND GET TO SHOW ME AROUND MY SAVIOR'S HOME...   I AM SO THANKFUL HE WAS SPARED THE DIFFICULTIES OF LIFE HERE... IT REALLY IS HARD SOME DAYS!  I DON'T KNOW HOW IT IS POSSIBLE... BUT I MISS HIM JUST AS MUCH AS THE DAY HE LEFT... BUT MY LOVE FOR HIM CONTINUES TO GROW...

LONGING FOR ETERNITY...

In my own bed:)

 Dairy Queen on the way to Texas to celebrate Lou's 15th birthday...

 The eyes say it all:)

 Sparklers on the 4th of July:)

 One Happy little 4th boy... Levi loved the fireworks this year... a big change from last year:):)  And he loved the food... as you can tell:)

The bigger boys with their cousins Maddie and Meaghan... They really enjoyed getting the chance to hang out with them:)  The times are so few and far between that we get to see them...

We are so thankful to have made it home safely...  

All the kids are finally silent... 

Greg is still up working...  

 Just finished unloading the cooler...

Loads of other things that will have to wait till tomorrow to be unloaded and unpacked...

I think when I start the laundry I will just repack and keep the suitcases in the extra bedroom till the kids and I leave next week for a wedding with my side of the family...

G leaves tomorrow for a week away for work..

Our timing has stunk this summer on planning/timing of commitments...

I think the littles will be going on 3+ weeks without daddy in the last month...

 I know it could be so so much worse... 

It is just for some reason this summer... I feel like summer will be over and we won't really have had too much down time with just our family...

 We love getting away to see our family all across the country and it is so cherished... but it really has me cherishing the time we had in Colorado with friends where we just sort of plunked down in one place and explored right around there...

Maybe it is just the shear fact that nowadays with 8 of us... just getting out the door is quite a small feat:)  

I wouldn't have it any other way...

Seasons...I know this one will pass way too quickly and I will be longing for it back:)

I am about to crawl in my own bed... There is something about sleeping in your own bed that just can't be beat:) Ahhh...  More vacation pics soon...