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.

Summer Organization.

Between nesting, preparing for a garage sale, rearranging rooms, and wanting transition with baby to be as smooth as possible, I have been organizing like crazy for the summer.  We have crafts and activities lined up, a schedule, a menu, and the list goes on.  We won't follow it to a T, but i feel so good having somewhat of a plan in place.  First up, menu...

Breakfast...
M: bagels
T: yogurt with frozen berries
W: oatmeal or cereal
R: smoothie and toast
F: frozen waffles

Morning Snack...                                  Afternoon Snack...
M: strawberries and almonds.              M: cheese and crackers
T: peach and peanut butter balls.          T: vanill wafers and pudding
W: yogurt and granola.                         W: hummus and wheat thin chips
R: applesauce And granola bar             R: Popsicle
F: banana and peanut butter.                 F: popcorn

M: orange and muffin.                          M: celery and peanut butter
T: apple and peanut butter.                   T: animal crackers
W: cereal bar and kiwi.                        W: rice cakes with Nutella
R: mango and peanut butter balls.        R: marshmallows and dark chocolate chips
F: grapes and string cheese.                  F: peanuts And craisins

Lunch...
M: pizza and grapes
T: pancakes with peanut butter and bananas and bacon
W: macaroni and cheese and mixed veggies
R: pb&j sandwich, apples, and carrots
F: cheese quesadilla and peaches

M: cheese ravioli and orange
T: French toast and bacon
W: chicken nuggets, sweet potato fries, and green beans
R: pb, Nutella, and banana sandwich and strawberries
F: hot dog, carrots, and applesauce

Man, does it feel good to have a plan! Grocery shopping will be easy and Dallas can feed the kids without asking me what we have to offer.  Of course I made a cute copy of the menu and hung it in the toy room at our new command center.  Photos to come, as well as schedule and activity lists...

(I love myself some planning, lets just hope I can follow through!).  :)

Rainbow Pancake Skewers.

I've started to try to make Friday night supper FUN.  Whether it's eating with trays, eating food on a stick, or having an ice cream sundae, we are trying to make the night stand out...just because.

One of the favorites has been rainbow pancake skewers.

I made regular pancake mix, and then divided the batter up into the bowls, added food coloring, and cooked them as normal.

Next, I let the kids put them on the skewer in order of the rainbow.  They had a blast!

The fashion queen had to wear a sweatshirt to math.

His strategy was the more the merrier.

Miss follow the rules...exactly one precise rainbow.

Aren't they pretty?

I know FUN suppers aren't necessary, but they are totally worth it.  I love the memories made by such a simple decision to spice things up a bit. 

Minnesota Getaway!

Last week we decided that if we wanted one last hurrah before fieldwork and baby, it was our chance to sneak away.  Good thing we did!  We have been crazily busy. 

We woke up Monday morning, did our normal morning chores, packed our bags, and hit the road.  First stop was for Mommy...

Ahhh....happiness.  They have childcare, endless amounts of home decor and organization, and 4 hot dogs, 2 pieces of pizza, 2 bags, of chips, and 4 pops for $10 even.  Yes please!

We thought we would go somewhere fun toe at after Ikea, but the kids just wanted to get to the hotel.  You would have thought we were far, far away.  They were thrilled!  We pricelined a 3.5 star for $50 and got the Doubletree!  Score!

On no time flat, the fishies were ready for the water.

He is one rock star daddy when it comes to playing with the kids (well, in every area really).

Oh, these two...best friends to worst enemies in a matter of seconds.

We did baths, turned on some cable TV (one of the major scores of not having it at home is that vacation really feels like vacation!), and went to bed early.  Thankfully, our kids do amazingly well at hotels.  A good night sleep was had by all, and they were ready to roll the next morning...back to the pool.  More bath rounds, and Ikea cinnamon rolls in bed for breakfast!

Charlie made tea.  Lots and lots of tea...

This little lazy bum would stay curled up with dozens of pillows all day if we let her.  We get along pretty well.

And then what do you do when you have hours to pass at the hotel before your next destination opens?  Take funny pictures of course...

We headed over to The Mall of America for toddler tuesdays.  Rides are cheapo, and kids eat free at most of the places in the mall.  It was a great time, and as far as they were concerned, as good as Disney World!  They rode for a while, we ate, checked out lego land, rode a few more, and ended at the American Girl Doll Store. 

I was so proud of the kids.  We didn't buy them a thing.  We were only looking and drooling over all the fun things, but the girls will wait until they are seven and get a doll from Papa & Nana.  I could tell they wanted to ask so bad to get some bitty baby items, but they were perfectly happy to browse.  Proud Mama moment.

Carousel is free on Tuesday mornings...score!

Maleah taking her little sister on her first car ride.  Oh boy....

Look out!

The girls watched, and watched, and watched these dolls get their hair done.  Then they came home and got straight to work on their baby dolls.  It was so cute.

Funniest picture ever!  Everybody around us was laughing hysterically at Charlie.  He could not get this look off his face.  He loved it, but the feeling made him cringe and he could not get himself to smile until it would stop, and then right back to this funny face.  Hilarious!!!

After a frozen coffee drink, we hit the road for home.  Before we were out of the city, everybody was out.  That is a sign of a great 24 hours!

It was a super great two days.  It was a really fast trip, but we jam packed it with a good amount of fun and relaxation, took away all the distractions of the to-do lists at home, and had good family time before things change around here. 

I am so thankful I have a husband who recognizes the importance of whisking his family away from the daily grind to focus on nothing but each other.  We came home feeling fueled up and ready for the next six weeks. 

Never forget.

There are things that happen everyday that I think to myself, "I hope I never forget this." 

Don't get me wrong.  There are things I hope I don't remember, too (this week, especially it seems).

But, I want so badly, to bottle up the sweet times and things that make each child unique.  These are things that only I will know when they are 20-something in college.  As their mommy, I get front stage into their lives, and these are just a very few things I hope to always have in my mind...

Every night, Charlie sleeps with "Daddy puppy" and "baby puppy."  He holds onto his daddy puppy every night as he drifts off into dreamland.  So sweet.

Layla has this face whenever she concentrates.  When she colors, cuts, reads, etc., she has this cute little look on her face.  A kids play is their work.

Maleah is a lover.  She leaves me notes every single day like this.  She is so proud when I get happy and love her work.

And she LOVES art.  She draws how she feels all the time.  I find out more from her drawing than I do from her speaking.  Here is our family.  Pretty nice looking, aren't we?! 

I love that there are things that are only for me to know.  May I never forget their sweet qualities that belong to nobody but them.

Menu

Monday: Southwest salad, corn muffins, & fruit.
Tuesday: Marissa teach...Dal and kids pizza.
Wednesday: Honey lemon chicken & sweet potatoes.
Thursday: Pinto beans & beef dish, chips and salsa.
Friday: Rainbow pancakes skewers & fruit.

Small Group Snow Fun!

We have been so blessed with such a wonderful small group.  We meet every Sunday evening, and absolutely treasure our time together.  We have grown together, laughed so hard together, gone on trips together, and experienced heartache together.  I love them.

Yesterday we spiced things up a bit.  We packed up the kids and headed on over to the Clinton's for some serious sledding action.  It was a blast!!

As my sister put it, "Growing up was quite the inconvenience for Dallas."  Totally a kid at heart!

So stinkin' cute!!

Love.

Check out that ramp action!

Cowabunga!

Walking up, lots and lots of walking up.

Not sure who had more fun...the big boys or the little boys.

This seriously cracks me up.  The guys working so hard to haul the thing up, and Charlie sitting in the corner completely relaxed.  He's got the life.

Crazy Layla girl wasn't so crazy.  She wasn't so sure of it at first, but finally went down just a few times.

It was such a fun day as families!  Some days you feel so happy and fortunate.  Yesterday was one of them.