Raindrops keep falling on my head

It finally rained. Take note of the yellow, dead grass.

Whenever it rains, I love to sit on the front porch with the girls and chat.  Only today, with it being the first rain in a long time, the girls had a hard time sitting still. and remaining dry.

So out came the raincoats...


and umbrellas...

and imaginations.

The ran around, splashed, climbed the tree, and rescued moths too wet to fly.


It's the simple things that make a child's day. and melt a mom's heart.

Our bird

This unfortunate young bird made its debut into our lives with a loud *bang*...when he flew straight into our front bay window. hard enough to render him useless for a while.



At least as far as all things birds consider useful. like the ability to fly away from a houseful of girls who want to examine him.


Jet, with his gentle gloved hand, took the shocked bird and placed him up in our front tree. low enough for the girls to see him. high enough to give him the illusion (albeit dazed-and-confused) of being safe.


The bird didn't perk up until Brilliant One (tha'da'be Jet) went inside and got a child's medicine dispenser to act as a bottle.


Doesn't Jet look like he knows what he's doing? I guess it was all those years of raising sheep and all the other animals he had growing up.


The girls loved being able to see a bird up close and personal. Of course, Raegan wasn't satisfied just looking. ;)

And what was Lani doing while the Big Girls were getting a firsthand lesson on birds, you ask?

Chillin' on the sidewalk....


...watching the girls say goodbye to the bird that suddenly got the strength (and wisdom) to fly away.


I love it when God provides little learning opportunities.  Eif it was at the bird's expense :)

*Addendum: Since our little visitor, Charis has decided that she wants to be a birdwatcher when she grows up. AND that she wants to save up for a pet canary...or parakeet...depending on which is cheaper.

Family time

You'd think by the look on their faces that they were getting ready for something rather serious. Like a stick fight. or yard work. or some other torturous activity like that.

But no, those serious faces were due to the fact that they were on a mission....to find the most perfect marshmallow roasting stick possible.

Very serious business, this smore-making stuff.

So there I was innocently taking pictures of my rather stoned-faced girls prepping for a night of crazy family fun, when I turned around and saw this atrocity:



A random fire pit in the middle of the grass. with flames going every which way. and branches hanging overhead.

Rumor has it this nonsensical FirePit location was made by this man:

*faces have been blocked out to protect the stupid innocent

Take note of the water hose in Anonymous's hand. It was due to the fact that Mama Paparazzi had a little sumpin-sumpin to say when the wind started blowing. and the flames started spazzing, coming dangerously close to everything green.

But these brave little girls weren't concerned, standing near by to watch Flaming Family Fun.

Though if you take note, Selah was making sure to keep the precious marshmallows behind her back. Just in case. ;)

But what got me was this...


the fact that inches away was a completely logical and ...hello!....non-green, safe place to have a fire.

When the above Anonymous Fire Starter was first questioned about the obvious lack of intelligence concerning the fire pit locale, he calmly went on to state:

"You can't burn anything over this. Because it's tar...and it'll emit toxic fumes."

Oh. Huh. Okay. I, uh, knew that.

Name and image of the person originally questioning Jet's keen sense of wisdom has been withheld to protect the innocent stupid. *cough cough*


Raegan loved everything about it.


I mean, what's not to love? There's fire (danger), Daddy (favorite person), and snacks (duh!).


I tried to get a picture of them...but they were too busy inhaling to notice me.


though Lani, right behind the girls, was all over hamming it up.


Can't you HEAR the snort by just looking at that picture? ;)

Lani's view of the whole situation:


See how serious Charis is? Eating is even more serious than stick collecting. Really, they were having a good time.


Afterwards the girls ran, high on sugar, to their tire swing.


Daddy and Lani got in on the action for a while.


But when they left, Charis was on her own to push...


or kick.


or whatever it took to get the sucker moving.

It doesn't take much to have a fun family night around here. I mean, we got a resident Pyromaniac. An every-day mommy maniac. A snorting sister. and three rather serious sisters who just like living.

And really, how could you not have fun with that group? ;)

My front porch

I used to feel sorry for the elderly people that I'd see idly sitting on their front porch rocker. watching traffic. or flies. or anything else that moves, as they stare into oblivion. You know, obviously allowing life to pass them by...

These past few weeks have been crazy for me. eye-opening in some ways. thought-provoking in others. hurtful. maddening. challenging. ridiculous. You name it, I'm sure the emotion was present in my household.

And so last night, after the girls were in bed and Jet had gone to 7-11 to get his free Slurpee (hee hee), I did the unthinkable and *gasp* sat on my front porch...ALONE... and thought.

Admittedly, it was a little awkward at first as I did nothing but sit. and think. and stare at the road, wondering if I was becoming one of those geriatric porch fixtures. But honestly...the whole experience was just amazing.

I know. it's the small things in life that give me pleasure. Just tattoo "Low Maintenance" across my forehead. (Oh, hush up, Husband-o-mine)

Being "one with the porch", I just sat and listened to the sound of my own thinking. flushing out my thoughts. trying to grab ahold of God's thoughts on "it all" as well. Ah, the Glory of those 10 minutes!

Seriously, in a house full of little bitties, my thoughts get drowned out all too easily. as well, as His Voice, I'm sure.

And as I sat there, waiting for Jet to return (knowing full well that I'd take that free Slurpee off his hands for him. I'm sacrificial like that), I had to smile.

Because suddenly that old man sitting on his front porch rocker didn't seem so boring. no longer requiring my pity. and most assuredly not letting life pass him by.

He's just learned to actually slow down.

I'm thinking next time I drive by a man/woman who's obviously been sitting on his porch rocker for days an undisclosed amount of time, I'll smile. And hope that I can become more like that.

The birthday celebration continues!

With Selah feeling better, we've been able to get out and do some of the birthday things we've been planning for a while now. And being that Jet worked REALLLLY late last night, he was able to have off at noon today!!

Perfect!

He came home just after the girls had gotten a morning nap and eaten lunch (ie. were content and happy) and took us to the 2:30 showing of Pixar's Up.

Mom met us at the theatre to take Lani with her to an auction. Lovely! And the rest of us went on our merry way... inside to buy tickets, popcorn, and priceless family time.

The only thing that I was worried about, going into the movie, was the insane noise level. Raegan has a thing against high decibels. And as we all know, theatres seem to be geared towards the clinically deaf.

But she acclimated...eventually. having Bucky (her beloved blanket) and snacks helped tremendously.

A great time was had by all!!!

And then off we went to Chic-Fil-A for their annual Cow Appreciation Day, where you dress like a cow and they treat you like a king...giving a free meal to every bovine-doned customer.


My mooing beauties.

Unfortunately, after movie theatre popcorn, we weren't really hungry. but we sacrificed and ate anyway. :)

Hand's down, the day was *amazing*! Alana did so well with my parents...didn't even fuss once. Have I mentioned she loves them? And my older girls got to have special Mommy and Daddy time doing crazy things.

I love days like this. especially when it means making Selah's birthday..which is turning into a Birthday WEEK...into something memorable.

Baby meet Selah...

After we got home from telling the girls we were pregnant, Selah came over, sat on my lap, and began introducing herself (and the family) to the baby in my belly.

It doesn't get more precious than that.

Birthday Dinner

Thankfully, the day after Selah's birthday, we were able to actually *celebrate* by taking her to her restaurant of choice. IHOP.

because she knew they'd give her a free ice cream sundae. That's my girl. :)


My sweet crew all ready to celebrate...

Raegan in all her flair. Selah and that smile she couldn't seem to shake. Lani and those two fingers she's always sucking. And Charis with that sweet sweet spirit that never fails to shine through. Dear God, I love them!

AT THE RESTAURANT:

Once Lani has food in front of her, she's no longer interested in anything or anyone else.


Raegan, on the other hand, is at least always ready to smile. Though if you can tell, she's distracted as well. There was coloring to do!


Charis is still just as precious, regardless of where she is.


and Selah is still the embodiment of beyond excited.


After we ordered, Jet and I knew we had to move fast if we wanted the opportunity to share the news before the food arrived.

It was ironic because just this morning, Charis made the announcement that Lani would probably be our last baby. Apparently, if I wasn't pregnant by now (with Lani being 9 months) then it would just never happen. :)

So when I told them that we were going to have another baby, they were thrilled!



Selah, watching as the wait staff sang her their birthday ditty.


though that huge smile was probably due to this enormous sundae. :)


big enough for three...

though it lasted for, maybe, 3 minutes.

And while the big girls were inhaling the ice cream, Lani looked on...


as sweet natured as can be. and looking more and more like my Dad. crazy.


Having all my little girls at one table...celebrating the birthday of one, celebrating the pending birth of another... *sigh* Does life get any better than this?

Selah's 5th Birthday

My not-so-little Selah Bug turned 5 years old!

But unfortunately, the days leading up to it, she wasn't able to do much outside of this...



She was beyond sick for days. unable to eat or drink. or move. Not quite the way someone wants to spend their special day.

But thankfully, on her birthday, she perked up enough to keep down a few bites of food. which enabled her to actually smile for the first time in DAYS.


She opened the gift from Jet and I


with some help from her very curious sisters

lovin' the Leap Pad and games!

And so did Charis :) (Charis has one as well, with different games)