she's heeeeeere!!!

we are thrilled to announce the arrival of our little angel,
SILKEN

7lbs 12oz (my smallest baby!)
she is such a blessing to us!
The birth went well and I felt wonderfully supported by those present and by everyone in our life.
thank you!

back again

look at this! twice in one week! must be that I am waiting on baby and now that everything is "ready" I don't have much to do with myself! ha!
but, it's true. the baby clothes are washed. the tub is ready to be put up. I even have a (mostly) clean house!
today the kids and I made the baby's "birth day" cake. it will be waiting in the freezer for our big celebration for Waterfall's arrival.
just in case you were wondering what a pregnant me looks like ( if you haven't seen me pregnant I must not see you very often, as this is my fifth time in 11 years!) I am putting up a photo - me at 38 weeks



I also wanted to show a little summer fun we have been having....



Cadence pampering me at my Mother Blessing a couple of weeks ago



sprinkler + siblings always = a good time



watermelon on the beach. wonderful.



my beautiful girl in the garden



this is just impressive.


and thats all for now.
cheers!

summer joy

excitmant and anticipation are mounting 'round here as we wait for baby Waterfall's arrival. I am trying to keep us all occupied, so as to keep my own mind off the fact that baby isn't here yet. "isn't here yet" doesn't seem fair, I am just under 2 weeks from my due date,so baby isn't late yet or anything. but really....there isn't much else I can think about.
so many people ask me if it ever gets "old". anyone who has more than one child understands that it can't possibly get old. Every child I have had is a miracle - one to be marveled at. and the more our family grows the more of us there are to marvel! really.
the kids are so consumed by baby. they spent this morning making birthday cards...they are eager to tell me of dreams they have of the baby...this child is truly coming into a lot of love.

I thought I would hate a summer pregnancy, but so far it has been nice. Sleeping is a bit difficult, but I find that at the end of any pregnancy. I am enjoying being out in the sun so much, and staying pretty active. I feel very healthy this time around.


so, here we go again! please if you are reading this keep us in your prayers. and join us in little Zachary's mantra "BABY! Come Out!!!!"

God is so good.

ok, ok, today is the day

alright, enough is enough already! I haveen't posted since january! ha.
I have written posts. several of them...but never pressed the publish button...
it will not happen today.
IT WILL NOT!
so, if you are reading this and there are spelling errors or things just don't make sense it is because as soon as I get enough down to seem like i made some point about something, or shared a little peice of my self i am pressing publish, and that is that!.

how can i even sum up the past 6 months... I admire all of you who are able to post regulary and now have this gorgeous scrapbook/memeory journal of you and your little ones. I aspire to that. but there just seems to be soooo much to do - all the time. when do you do it! (no, seriously, i need some insight...)
I could blame it on the fact that I home school, the pregnancy, the kids - but perhaps I am just not the daily blogger and that is okay.

alright, my spare 5 minutes is up. Zac is awake from his nap and needs me.... this has been an incredibly gorgeous day, after a couple of WAY too hots and WAy too colds - today is prefectly June.


headed out to the garden with my sweet babe....

the wonders of Super Salad

so I did some thinking over the holidays about this blog.
about what I was doing (or not doing with it) and what I really wanted to say.
I type a lot of froo froo junk.
reading back over some posts it's like I was actively avoiding what I really wanted to say.
not always, mind you.
but a lot of the time.
as with real life, I find it hard to really say what I think/believe for fear of offending or upsetting others.
but really, what is the point in a blog if you can't say what you want. isn't that the whole point?
so, I move forward.
I want to share.
what I think
if you don't like it
hmmmmm....
don't read it.

Now, I bet you are expecting me to rant about something really significant today. seeing as I am all fired up and ready to share.
funny thing is, today I want to talk about food.

yummm
yes, food.

it has been on my mind a great deal (usually is, in fact, several times a day!)

real food.
eating good food.
and seeing to it that my children eat good food.

one of our favorite meals is a little something we like to call SUPER SALAD! (not to be confused with soup OR salad.)
the thing that is so appealing about this meal - and let me tell you, everyone in my family gets excited when they hear that it is Super Salad night - is that it is a make your own concoction sort of thing. I have found over the years that the more input that the kids have into what is on their plate, the easier it disappears off the plate.
Here is how it works; all the fixings for salad, and then some, are put out on the table and everyone customizes tier meal. so easy right?!
there are a few "rules" to make sure they understand that an entire bowl of raisins and nothing else does not their dinner make.
so, they must have a variety - this isn't usually too difficult, as they are given so much to choose from - and they need to have some good protein in there.
here is a list of things we usually have out
a variety of lettuce - leaf, romain, ice burg etc.
baby spinach
tomatoes
cucumber
celery
broccoli
green onion
carrots
snow peas
peppers of different colours
zucchini
apples
clementines
strawberries
pineapple
hard boiled eggs
chicken
bacon
homemade croutons
different nuts , walnuts, almonds, pecans
flax seeds and others
rice or couscous
raisins and cranberries

not that we have ALL those things each time we have super salad, but usually most. it is a great meal for using up left overs!

as far as salad dressings, I make a couple of my own and put out what ever is in the fridge, but in fact, most of my kids prefer their salad with no dressing - doesn't really need it when you combined so many wonderful foods!
so there is it.
a salad that I don't have to focus what parts of it my family doesn't eat. a lot of the time when a salad is made and just put in front of them I have to pick out the tomatoes for her or the mushrooms for him or he won't eat it if dressing has been added. Super salad night is always fun. lots of chopping and dishes, but we enjoy trying new combinations and chatting away while we make our bowls. Then all is nice and quiet while we enjoy our salad art.
oh yes. and the name. in a family of super hero obsessed members it helps to have a fun name, we all get healthier and stronger as we eat. ready to save the world!

i wanted to share some christmas moments, memories
as many others are at this time.
coming out the "other side" of christmas day and reflecting on it all
leaves me cherishing the beautiful moments.

christmas 2010 meant for me:
the joy of seeing my brother in law and sister in law safely home from africa on christmas eve
our children opening and enjoying thier stocking treasures on our bed christmas morning
staying up late chatting with my mom and brother
sitting with my sister and watching our toddlers colour together by the fire
and, of course, a renewed love for Jesus.


and there you have it. I found this year to be much more simplifed and way less stressed than past years. I am so grateful for that.

broken glass

nothing changes the pace of my day quite like broken glass.
you know what i mean.
the day is going along swimmingly
everyone is full from lunch and about to run off and play for a few minutes
with full bellies and renewed energy
the children clear the table obediently and you start to daydream about all the things you are needing to do/get done.
the aftenoon will be productive and you -

SMASH!!!!
crack shatter bam tinkle...crunch.......

"NOBODY MOVE!"
"don't worry mom", the five year old at fault looks at you with puppy dog eys, "I know I'm not in trouble, it was an accidnet. I even was thinking that plates can break so i took it from the table extra careful."

unfortunately gorgeous tile in the kitchen = broken dishes

so, the positives.
I didn't yell.(despite my use of capital letters a few lines up)
it made us all start to move a little slower (always a good thing)
my floors got swept, vaccumed, and washed!
I have one less dish to wash.

simplify. right?!?!