Learn by example.

I left Tallis on the living room floor this morning with Molly and went to finish doing my hair. When I returned Molly had gotten her binky and was giving Tallis her first lesson in sharing. I wonder if she was giving her tips on how best to suck ones thumb?

Cousins... Round One!

We had a great visit from the Ward clan this week. The first part of the week was spent in Council with Papa and Grandma, four-wheeler rides and lots of exploring on the way up to Uncle Harold's or up to Coyote Knob. We all went to church on Sunday in Donnelly and from there Papa headed back to work. We got to have alot of cousin time and as an added bonus Lori and Greg rented a house in Tamarack to finish off the visit. Grandma Mary had committed to being a "Donnelly Mom" for vacation bible school at the Bible Church so Madison, Asher, Eli, Sawyer, Sidon, and Maggie hopped the Grandma bus to VBS in the morning and left just the little girls (Ginger, Molly, and Tallis) at home to hang out. It makes quite a spectacle to see all nine kids between the two of us. It was an extremely fun, loud, wild time spent with family that will be good memories to add to that ever growing mountain of them we already have. I will take away from this week a love of how Madison is growing and becoming a beautiful pre-teen with a soft spot for the little ones and the ability to be the leader/director of the bigger ones, Asher and his fear of the 'killer salmon of Goldfork Falls' and tight squeezes from Aunt Miss, Eli and his wild bouncy horse riding at Grandma's and his sad tears at leaving (I'm glad I didn't have to witness it or I would have had tears), Ginger and her 'stinky little toe' and her sweet love of Tallis and her 'Thingy'. It was a good week.



Ginger, Molly, Maggie, Madison, Tallis, Sawyer, Asher, Eli, and Sidon.

Aunt Lori roasting marshmallow with Sawyer.

The Boys.

Tough Papa!

A First Meeting!

Aunt Lori and Uncle Greg and all the cousins came to Idaho this week and met Tallis for the first time. It was a fun week and Tallis thoroughly enjoyed all the attention she received. She gave great smiles and was loved on by everybody.

Busted!!

I left Tallis in the chair the other day and came back to find my baby sucking her thumb. When I asked her what she was doing I was rewarded with this mischievous smile as if to say "I know I've been caught and I don't care!".

Rain Clouds, Playgrounds, and Five Kids.....Oh My!

This playground is down the road from Grandma's House about a mile. What a find, it is in a barely developed subdivision and we had the whole place all to ourselves. If it weren't for the on and off sunshine and rain we would have packed a lunch. Maybe next time. They had a really fun little playset for 2-5 years but Molly lasted there for about 5 minutes and then took on the big playset. The big kids helped her crawl up the stairs and I was impressed and a little scared at her bravery. This is one more thing I will consider a blessing in this adventure we are on.

Before.....And After!

It took going to Grandma's house to have a breakthrough. As you can see from the pictures she was so much happier wearing Grandma's jewelry. We finally had a successful toilet time and all the kids made a HUGE deal over it. There was clapping and cheering and a cookie for her triumph! I hope it is the start of a new trend for her.

Lost in Translation.

We have all had our children ask those thought provoking questions that make you stop and ask the Lord to give you wisdom in answering. Like the time that Sawyer asked me who is right and wrong in a war if both sides are fighting for what they believe?
On the drive home from McCall Sawyer asked a simple question about what power Satan has. I began with trying to explain to him the awesome power and protection we have if we are walking with the Lord. In an effort to make all the kids understand I explained that if Sawyer was walking with Dad and he had an umbrella and he told Sawyer to "stay right by my side and you will not get wet and I will keep you safe" and then Sawyer was to go his own way he would get wet and he would be out from under that umbrella of protection. Well, then Sidon wanted an example that used him. So, Sidon is walking with his Dad in the woods on their way to go and cut a few trees and as Craig is about to start cutting he says to Sidon "stay right behind me and you will be safe" but Sidon, and I said this, says 'trah lah lah lah I'm going to go off on my own and explore' puts himself in danger of being smashed by a tree. You know the drill, now Maggie wants hers. Maggie is with her Daddy in the woods and this time he has a gun and he tells Maggie "put your hand in mine and I will keep you safe from bears because I have the protection we need" and Maggie goes off on her own, she puts herself in danger being away from her Daddy and the protection he provides. Sidon had to add, "Yeah Maggie would get her head chomped off by a bear" to which Maggie gave a worried look. I then explained that, back to Sawyer's question, if we keep ourselves in God's hand and close to Him where there is protection it doesn't allow Satan to have the power over us.
Later that afternoon as Maggie was playing with her dolls I happened to listen in on the conversation her Mom doll was having with her daughter doll. "This one time I was walking through the woods with my Dad and I just said trah lah lah and went away myself and a bear came and chomped off my head and my Dad fell a tree on me! I should have just stayed in the umbrella." I am not sure if she understood what I was getting at but at least she had all aspects of the story there! Regardless it made me laugh.

Pictures from Graduation

I'm still trying to gather pictures but I needed to at least post what I had.

Our very own Staycation and a guest.

There are not enough words for me to express how much I appreciate the parents I have been given. They have taught me what it is to be generous, loving, and open to what the Lord brings and gives. Mom and Dad you are an awesome example of what I hope to be.
Craig has started work in Donnelly cutting full time and that is such a huge blessing. While other workers are camping out up on the job we had the opportunity to be able to use the Donnelly house as a place to land. It saves two and a half hours of driving every day not to mention all the fuel it takes to go back and forth. Another very cool aspect is that it affords us a summer break with new adventures and memories for the kids. Mom drove us around on Sunday and played tour guide to all the walking paths and play grounds in the area. We have water front property to explore and ample FLAT blacktop to learn how to ride that new bike Maggie got for her birthday. I'm excited to enjoy this time as a gift from the Lord.
Now to the guest. On Sunday, the first day we got here, we were asked if we would be willing to have an extra. This guy needs a good place to be and and a meal and a shower in the evening. I do not believe that the Lord places these things on your doorstep by accident. If it had not been for us being up here he wouldn't have been able to stay due to the fact that Mom and Dad are not here. I feel like the Lord had everyone lined up right where he wanted them and it will be neat to see what He brings of it.



The Donnelly House.

Our guest bedroom.

The kids quarters.

It's All About Maggie...On Her Big 4th Birthday!

Oh Maggers, you are my Maggers. You are my special girl that doesn't like to have your nails painted, loves to be called pretty, but hates being called cute. You have gotten to be such a little mama and a sometimes helper of siblings. You are my emotional child and your pendulum has a wide swath. You are in one second the advocate for your siblings and extremely loyal, and in the next poking them in the ear and drawing screams from the backseat. I could never ask for a better Maggie. You are, after all, Maggie Shay Green, the prettiest Maggie I have ever seen! Happy Birthday, we love you 'eternity as much'!
We had the best all day long celebration for Maggie. We got up at 6:30 a.m. and got ready so we could make it to church in Donnelly with Grandma and Papa. After church we ran out to the Donnelly house and Papa blind-folded Maggie and led her out to her very own bike! He was rewarded with sqeals and jumping, which I caught with pictures. Maggie exclaimed, 'That is the best bike I have had in twenty years!', I am still trying to figure out what that means. We then loaded up and went to lunch in McCall. Papa headed out from there and headed back up north to work and Grandma went with us to the grocery store. When Craig got home we had cake and presents from the boys and us. Maggie was thrilled with her paper dolls from Sidon and her coloring pages from Sawyer. It was a great 4th birthday!