July

A few photos to recap our July...

Grandpa Rod redid Daddy's pedal tractor.  Oh, how Charlie LOVES it!  Such a treat, and a very special toy for Daddy's little boy.

Enjoying the new window seat.

Getting as much time with the John boys as possible, before they moved to Ankeny.

Church pool party!

Big brother absolutely adores Ruby.

Lots of water and sprinkler time!

She looks sneaky, doesn't she?

Loving sweet corn!

So long, July...

Minnesota

We've had the joy of going to Minnesota twice this summer!  Dallas's parents bought a great home on a lake, about 2.5 hours from here.  It's been a fun way to escape busy life and retreat away for a bit.

Fun on the tube.

Captain Layla.

Jumping off the end of the dock.

Charlie caught the first fish!

Rough life for lil' Miss Ruby.

Daddy caught a fish too.

Charlie and Daddy.  He loves being outside.

Jumping off the boat, again and again and again.

The view from the deck.  Relaxing.

It's been a fun first summer making trips up North.  I foresee lots of sweet memories being made, tons of money spent on bug spray and benadryl, and many hours logged swimming and boating.  Good times!  We are very grateful for Dal's parents' investment in a place for us to have time together.  We are blessed.

Maleah's 6th Birthday!

How can I have a six-year-old already!  Thankfully, turning five seemed like a much bigger jump than turning six.  First grade though?  That sounds much bigger than Kindergarten.  Gah.  Anyway...

It was a lovely day celebrating my sweet pea, Maleah.  She had Asher here for the day, and we did all things fun!  She is so easy going, so she never asks for presents or parties or attention, which I treasure so much about her.  She is grateful, content, and plain ol' happy.  I couldn't be more proud of her if I tried.

We started the morning with birthday doughnuts, of course.  Then it was to the Parkersburg park and her choice for lunch and supper.  We got real crazy and decided we would go lunar bowling.  For kids who are in bed between 6:30-8:00 most nights, staying up for lunar bowling is a BIG deal!

We stopped at Walmart first, and got her birthday present...a new bike!

 After leaving Walmart at 9:00 (that's an adventure in and of itself), we headed to the bowling alley.  It was Sturgis Falls weekend, so we were the absolutely only ones there.  Perfect!!  It was the Wessels kiddos' first time, and quite the big hit.  Fun memories and a great time!

After bowling, we got some Dairy Queen ice cream.  Living large for the birthday girl.  It was a really full, and really fun, day.  

She was thrilled with her great birthday!

Happy Birthday, Maleah!  I just know your sixth year of life is going to be fantastic.  I love so many things about you; how you take care of your little siblings, the way you ask me every day how you can help me, your ability to just be chill, your beautiful singing voice and sweet fingers on the piano, your extremely generous heart, how you love to follow rules (but sometimes it's ok to relax a bit!), your love for the Lord, and our confidence.

I love how well you fit into our family.  You, sweet girl, made me a mommy.  Thanks for giving me grace as I figure out what in the world I am doing as I raise you and the others.  Being a mom is hard, but so very worth it.  You have a beautiful way of teaching me that.  

Happiest of birthdays to YOU!  You are so worth celebrating.

Hello...

We are still here.  Between being busy with adjusting to four children, spending some time away vacationing, and an extremely moody computer, my blogging has been few and far between.  But not for lack of stories, photos, or desire to keep up to date on life.  I love looking back on here, and am vowing right now, to get back into the swing of things. 

Ruby isn't short on attention or stimulation, that's for certain...

More to come.  Soon.

Maleah's Last Day of Kindergarten!

How can we be through our first school year already?  I remember when sending Maleah off to school, thinking..."this is the first of many, many years of this."  Well, that first year just flew by!

I was a week overdue by Maleah's last day, but actually thankful, as it made it possible to go to all the end of the school year activities.  I am totally *that* mom, who loves being involved and a part of what is going on.  I'm also *that* mom who LOVES the last day of school, because it means I get my girl for the summer!

The last day is sports day.  It is like a field day, where they have different competitions, games, relays, etc.  Unfortunately, it was pouring rain, so sports day had to be moved inside.  It was a total bummer, but the kids still had tons of fun.  Parents go watch and help, and they end the school year with chapel all together, and some goodies.  Good times!

Maleah and her best school friend, Abby.  Two peas in a pod.  I was so thankful she quickly became pals with such a sweet little gal.  We love their family, which is definitely a perk.

We debated, contemplated, talked, stewed, seeked advice from her teacher, and on and on about whether we should send Maleah to school last year instead of this year.  She did awesome, and excelled in every area.  On the last day, her teacher said to us, "Maleah absolutely needed to be in Kindergarten this year."  Yay!  So reassuring to hear. 

It was such a great year.  Not one day did she drag her feet to go, she had the world's best teacher ever, and we were overjoyed with the school. 

I cried when she came home the last day.  I was reading through her journal from the year, and felt so proud of her.  I'm not going to lie.  I was really afraid to send her to school.  I liked having her home, I was afraid of all the inconvenience of it, the potentially bad influence of others, all the work, and just the thought of having a child old enough for school put me over the edge.  All of a sudden, time seemed to have gone too quickly.  But to think that the year I was so worried about (don't get me wrong, I was also so excited for her!), turned out to be an absolutely fantastic year, I felt overwhelmed in gratitude.

Kindergarten; check!  How cute is she!

Ruby Joy

Let me introduce to you our newest pride and joy, Ruby...

Ruby Joy was born on June 6, at 4:33 p.m.  She weighed 9 lbs. 9 oz., and was 21.5 inches long.

We went in at 7 o'clock in the morning to be induced.  I was ten days over, and we were finally going to meet our little lady!  They told us it would be a couple hours before they could get to us, so we ventured across the hallway and hung out with our great friends who had baby Kora the day before (perfecto!).  It was such a fun and eventful time for our families to share together. 

About 10:15 or so, they came and got me, and we got settled in.  They did the gel about 10:30, broke my water about 2:30, and Ruby was born at 4:33.  It was hard.  Quick, but hard.  Her size blew us away, and made for my most challenging delivery.  She didn't even look like one of "our" babies at birth.  We couldn't believe it!  She was chubby as could be, her hair was a unique strawberry blonde, and she was sweet as could be.

The kids came to see her about 7:00.  They instantly adored her.

And now, a family of six...so in love.

Blessed.

Goodbye, May...

Well, May came in a flash and left, well, not really in a flash...

It rained, and rained, and rained, and rained.  It rained; as in about 30 inches since April 1.  I think the average rain fall in a year is around 35 inches.  When you are a farmer, this creates a little anxiety.  Throw in a baby due on May 27th, no beans planted, almost no anhydrous on, spraying yet to do, and it makes for some fun times!  We did a lot of sitting around, waiting for the baby.  It was perfect timing!  Dallas was home, Papa is here to help Nana, they can't do much anyway, and....no baby!

Thankfully, I have one heck of a rockstar husband who has been so great at making the last couple weeks fun and laid back.  Their attitudes with the bad weather really has been remarkable.  Believe it or not, I'm comfortable!  And, sleep all night (minus a few bathroom breaks).  I feel like this pregnancy has been a treat, all the way up to the end, and I am very grateful.  Now, don't get me wrong, I really want to meet my baby girl.  Now that she isn't a May birthday, my mom said we should name her Ruby June.  How cute is that!  :)

So, what have we done while waiting for the sun to shine and the baby to come...

We remodeled our kitchen!  Here is Dallas after taking out the floors and office area (to the far left).

New floors - aren't they gorgeous!

My awesome-possum mom and sister came and painted for me!  I am so thankful for their help, and they did a most excellent job, of course!  We added the new rug, and voila - love!

Looking cute...but can I just get one nice picture, pllleease?!

Maleah had her spring school concert.

Breakfast in bed for Daddy.

Stacking cups.

Maleah plays a mean game of checkers.

Growing a big ol' belly, among other things that seem to grow....humph.

We planted flowers!  Twice!  (the entire first batch had a pitiful death).

Collect pine cones for Mommy's decor.

Water, and water, and water, and water...

Hang out with our favorite babysitter ever.  She got a "real" full time job.  Good for her!  Sad for us.

We went weeks (month, actually), without appliances, and then without counters.  But, as Maleah said, it was "easier without the counters anyway.  You just reach in and get your stuff!"

Charlie has farmed, constantly.

We did Ruby's room!  The stellar Abby Charlton came and painted.  LOVE.

Cuteness!!!

We've made strawberry rhubarb pie with our abundance of rhubarb.

Maleah had her first piano recital.  She did great.  Woofta, did it ever bring back memories (and nerves) for me.  Maleah takes piano lessons from my lifelong piano teacher, and her recital was where I played at least 15 or so recitals myself.  So fun!

Maleah and Mrs. Smalley.

And, you grow some more...

It's been busy!  We have also ...

::had a garage sale::
::had a superb weekend with the Scheve clan here::
::had a visit from Jillian::
::I had a mommy day with Jacinda::
::Dallas nearly cut off his finger with a jig saw (while I was on my mommy day), which found us in the ER with stitches x-rays, stitches, no feeling with cutting through a nerve, and actually a.LOT of pain for days::
::been to the hospital twice for false alarms.  with a 4th baby especially, it feels pretty cool to be sent back home (NOT)::

Today is June 3rd, the sun is finally shining, Dallas is spraying, Dad is planting, and I am going to have a baby this week.  God has an awesome sense of humor, doesn't He!

It really has been a good couple of weeks.  It's been busy, with a lot of really great things. While we are obviously anxious for little girl to arrive, the anticipation is so fun.

Maleah came home with her school journal Friday.  I had never read it; didn't even know she had one.  One of the last days in there it read, "My mommy is good at waiting."  It was just the boost I needed this week.  That is my prayer.  So many people wait for so many things, and my desire is to wait well.  There is no timing as well as HIS, and we rest in that.  With farm life and family life, God has always provided more than we could ever dream of.  I feel so blessed.