Baby news!

We heard the heartbeat today! It is always such a beautiful and reassuring moment to me... just to know that the baby is well and growing. And it is always amazing how fast those tiny, tiny hearts beat!

The Tulsa State Fair

We had so much fun yesterday at the fair! Bob took the day off work and we went with our homeschool group. (We are learning how great it is to get the homeschool rates and to be able to go during the day when everyone else is at school!) Here are some of our favorite pictures of the day.

We love the Huge sandbox they have every year at the fair. Samuel is a magnet for sand. I think he would have stayed here all day!




Miriam had so much fun with her friend Abby. They got to ride several of the kiddie rides together. Even Samuel and Luke (Abby's little brother) got to ride the race cars with the big girls. Check out the smiles!






Miriam entered two items in the fair - a painting and a nine patch quilt she had been sewing for months. We are so proud of her hard work! She got a rainbow participation ribbon for her painting and a second place ribbon for her quilt.


This picture is Miriam with her friend Nathan. He did the great looking rainbow painting hanging right beside Miriam's apple tree.

Here are Miriam's entries before we turned them in...just so you can get a closer look at her artistry!

What we didn't get pictures of were all the animals we saw. We love the "animal hospital" where all the baby animals are born - pigs, goats, sheep, and chicks. So cute! We also saw a sea lion show which the girls loved - and Samuel slept through. :)

I'll try to be more regular with my posts...I've been really slow this past month...my excuse is first trimester pregnancy! Hopefully I'll be back to my normal self soon. :)

Our Reader

Our girl sat down and read three little books to Papa last night. Yes, she really read them, not just "read" (as in memorized). It was such a sweet moment...just think of all the wonderful books she has ahead of her!



Yes, Samuel wanted in on the fun too! :)

Puddle Jumping

We have been so grateful for rain. Weeks without puddles made us almost forget how much fun they really are! Here are some pictures of the kids splashing to their hearts content. (Does it make you want to join them?!)

Gardening in Oklahoma

This was going to be our year. We expanded our garden. I spent the past year picking up canning jars at garage sales. The kids were old enough to entertain themselves. Our deep freeze had plenty of room. We were all set to garden like crazy and preserve as much as possible...but...we live in Oklahoma. Like much of the heartland, not much has been growing here this summer. I hate to complain really. I know people whose livelihood depends upon the weather. The farm I buy chickens from is dealing with much worse...their chickens are dying, their cattle have nothing to eat so they are having to buy hay...and the price of hay is going up. The u-pick farm we are members of has basically nothing to sell to their members. The kind old gentleman I buy eggs from has hardly any eggs to sell because his chickens can't lay in this heat. So really, my plight is not that bad. For me it is a momentary disappointment. I go to the grocery store instead and come home with food for the family. We still eat, even if the food does come from California.

Here is what happens to pole beans when the temps reaches into the 110's degrees...day after day after day. And no rain...

And here is what happened to our poor kiwi plant. We'll try again next summer.


There have been bright spots...back in May we had our first strawberry crop along with lettuce, spinach, and radishes. Later we harvested 22 heads of garlic, about 15 red onions, a handful of tomatoes, a bowlful of carrots, and lots and lots of basil. They have been little reminders that springtime and harvest will return again.













And finally, our prayers for rain were answered. The rain came. In torrents, with wind and hail. A large limb from our pecan tree fell on top of the playset. But our neighbors came (with power tools!) and by Sunday evening most of the limbs were cleared away.



We were without power for almost 24 hours. When the power came back on Sunday evening we were all glad to have lights and appliances and (most of all) air conditioning again. This morning we woke to sunshine and pleasant temperatures. A friend called and we went to the park. There was shade and a cool breeze. More reminders that God is good. Yes, yes He is.

Dog days of summer

Sometimes all you can do is hang out in the water and eat a popsicle.

Flopsy, Mopsy, and Cottontail...and Peter too

This morning I was poking around in my garden, weeding a bit, worrying over my sun scorched vegetables, when I noticed something squirming under my green bean teepee. My first thought - "eek, mouse!"...but when I looked more closely I saw that it was a baby bunny. Miriam and Samuel came running to see. I saw at least 4, Miriam says she saw 5. They are burrowed down so it is tricky to say exactly how many are in there. Of course, I realize they are tunneling animals, so who knows how many rabbits are really living in my yard right now. The gardener in me knows I must "do something" about this adorable nuisance. The mama in me wants to protect these babies. So we'll see how it goes...at the rate my garden is going there won't be much for them to eat anyway. (We need rain and cooler temps so badly!) Here are the pictures of our rabbit family...


Truly, aren't they just precious?

Update: I just watered my garden...and scared the baby bunnies out of their hole. I don't know where the mama went to - we haven't seen her all day. I am a wee bit worried about these babies out in the dark and alone. And Miriam will be so disappointed if they aren't there tomorrow!

Update II: This morning 3 of the bunnies were curled up together beside the raised garden bed. After reading online, it seems that the mothers are often gone all day, so probably they haven't been abandoned at all. They are also fairly self-sufficient from an early age, so I guess the'll be okay....not sure the same can be said for my garden! :)

Camping

The first weekend in June we went camping with Rachel, Alex, and Mom. I admit that it was my idea to drag us all out in the heat to tent camp. It always sounds like such a good idea...until late afternoon - whew it was hot! Despite that, we had a good time. We celebrated Sam's birthday with cupcakes. (He still walks around the house singing, "birthday boy, birthday boy"! He thinks it still his bday.) It was great to be with family - and maybe next time we'll wait until the fall. :)