Good to be home.......

We've been home for almost a week and I am still feeling it is just good to be here. I love my home and maybe that is silly to say, but it is true. Ryan and I have always thought we would build a new house at some point. Now we aren't so sure. The more time and effort we put into this old house, the more endearing it becomes to us. Don't get me wrong, there are some things about this house that daily irritate me, but the great things about it are really starting to outweigh those frustrating aspects.

I have so many projects that have piled up over the last few weeks. Slowly but surely they are getting done. I made a "master list" of to do's and put it on the fridge. Only one or two are done, but there are some big things on there, so it will take time. Our barn is burning as we speak (#4 on list). We are hoping it is completely gone by the end of the week. The guy tearing it down for us dug a very large pit to bury it in. That is where the fire is at. Ryan and I were out there last night and we very quickly became frightened that one of the kids would fall in. It is very deep with very hot/smoldering rubble. Pretty much the kids will not be outside until it is gone, but even that is hard because one kid in particular doesn't always listen. If a child fell in, they would surely die. I will be happy when this part of the barn removal is done.

Our chicks are coming this week. We have 50 meat birds being shipped tomorrow. We will probably get them Thursday. 6 of these birds will be our 4H fair birds for Leah and Logan. It should be interesting. It will be nice though because it is warm enough (and then some) for the babies to be out in the coop from day one. Yeah! No messy garage for us (at least no more messy than usual).

The rest of the summer should be relatively low key for us. Leah and Logan both have camp next month, plus some of their 4H stuff will be due for judging toward the end of the month. Our local fair is the 7-14 of August and since that is when the chickens will show we will be there most every day. We also have a weekend trip planned for weekend of the 14th. It is our annual family reunion in West Virginia. That will be it for summer though, no where near as crazy as the last few weeks. We have a camping trip planned this fall and Ryan and I would like to take off with the kids at some point for a long weekend. Soccer starts in August though and we can't really miss a game once they start, so that will limit things. Our 3 little ones are old enough to play and I think I am going to try my hand at coaching their team. Yes, I know very little about soccer, but hey, they are just 4 yr olds, right? I have to know more than they do......

Here are a couple recent pics. Asher is just all over the place any more. He got this little ride on toy for his birthday and he was pushing it all over the kitchen like this. I am not sure how he was moving so fast pushing from the side like that.

Look at these yummy berries. These were all picked on Sunday by Anna, Madeline and I. Not a bad haul for just on our property. Plus we have about another pint full that Leah and Logan picked yesterday. We also have lots coming on. I am still planning to pick berries at our local berry place (they have huge, delicious berries) and I will freeze/make jam out of those. Our wild berries though are great for some immediate satisfaction. We pick, we eat! Oh and I had to add the flowers in this pick because they are almost always gracing our counter in the summer. Anna, Gee and Madeline pick them for me all the time. Aren't they beautiful!

Well, before I go, I thought I'd give a friend update.... As of Sunday, their little guy was still hanging on. At that point he had not eaten in over 4 days. I know they know he will not be here much longer. I cannot imagine what they are enduring. Please continue to pray for strength and peace.

Julie