Life in Nebraska ....

Keagan picked these and they're his and it's his vase...just so you know!   But I'm the one enjoying them! We got to have Gwen for a little bit this morning.... The water is fun...Mathias just hasn't figured it out yet.  It was HOT out there! Our homemade slip and slide. Miserable and hot. being patient while I take pictures... Later they stood at the window and watched K and Z play in the water some more.  They get along quite well ...I hope they keep it up through the terrific threes.

....be sure you're ready for the tough times ahead.  After telling all blogger world about learning to choose joy and what not, life got nice and interesting and I had to test my endurance.  But the good thing out of it all is that Mathias now has two teeth and probably more but the rest of them I still can't see.   And other good things, are that some of the canning for the summer is done.  And some of the nasty dark dirty corners in my house are cleaner.  Moral of the story: It's hard to remember ones own big talk when the babies are crying and feverish and Tuesdays dishes are still molding on Thursday.  Not Fun.  And now I know why it looks like kids don't get consistent parenting sometimes.  It's because the parent has been up all night and so when they give orders to the child to do something, they're often too tired to follow up on it and find out if there was obedience or a job done correctly.  BUT I did find out too that an 8 yr....

.      A proud man is seldom a grateful man, for he never thinks he gets as much as he deserves."  -Henry Ward Beecher-     I stole that quote right out of Luci's post!  Thanks Luci!   So I've been thinking about Joy.  And what things I allow to steal my joy.  And what I am grateful for.  And how circumstances and the like don't have to overpower true Joy.  But I'm not a writer...so I can't corral those big fantastic thoughts and show you all what I mean.  But some of the Joys I've been enjoying and I just happened upon them.....    1, Weeding the garden with Matt and I was able to hear what was going on in his mind lately.  Never mind the dishes were still not done and the floors needed swept.  I was thankful for that tiny bit of joy and I actually noticed the moment when it was happening!  So often I have to look back and gather my thankfulness back up and enjoy it later....after rem...

We made a figure 8 race track cake for Z's birthday.  He's pretty nice about liking my wanna be tries.  He had a nice birthday with his grandparents and great grandparents over for supper..and Karen.  For his gift he got a tackle box with everything in it that an 8 year old could ever dream of having in it!  To celebrate Independence day we visited Stuhr Museum.  It's an 1890's?  Railroad town.  A living history town.  Three bad boys ended up in Jail...with Gwen to visit them... Zerrick made an escape...gleefully! At the Blacksmith shop...He's telling Matt at what temperature things do what or something..... The blacksmith's coal HOT fire.  A bunch of mischievous boys and one pink smarty girl....  In front of the grain mill. On the wagon ride...about all tired out by then... After our exhausting, hot and good time there we came back home for some fishing at the pond for the boys and a delicious grilled supper ...