Little Farmer Boys and Their Little Farmer Toys

Little farmer boys
and their little farmer toys...



Elijah loves to drive his skid loader in my former flower box, which is now the boys' waist-high dirt box.
I'd say "sandbox", but there is no sand in it--just plain ol' dirt.

(by the way, dirt is so much, well,
dirtier than sand. I'd rather just put some sand in the thing, since I won't be using the area for flowers anymore anyway 'cause the stupid dogs just dig them up but Andrew said dirt makes for a better--smoother--field for them. And hey--I'm all about having smooth fields.)





And not to be outdone, Little Miss Ruby in her pretty new dress from Denise and Ralph, diggin' in the dirt right next to her brothers.

One day, I will think back to these days and really miss the dirty little fingernails and hands and dirt-smeared faces that all happen as a result of playing in the sanddirt box.

And for now, I'm going to smile about all of that.

Happy Birthday Grandpa Wayne

My dad is probably one of THE silliest people I know.
And today is his birthday!!

It has been
one of the great joys in my life
to watch him be Grandpa to our kids.
The above picture is one of my favorites.
Dad and Andrew were being silly at Christmas--
it was taken a few years ago.

The children know that Grandpa will do just
about anything to make them (or Grandma, or just about anyone, really)
smile.

He is the man responsible for teaching Nathaniel
his first sentence.
You'll never guess what it was...
"Mine ga-pa is won-ful"
translation: My Grandpa is wonderful.

He is the consummate tease.
Oh, the banter between Grandpa and grandchild!!!

His "thinning" hair just isn't sufficient to
cover how shiny his head gets
whenever he talks about his grandkids.

My dad LOVES his family;
each and every one of us!!
And we do our best to love him right back.

This is of Grandpa and Ruby when she was
just a couple months old.
Where has the time gone??

Our Other Mighty Hunter

Nathaniel shot

his first turkey this morning!
27 pounds!!!

So proud of both boys;
each getting a turkey on the
first day of their seasons,
their first year out on the hunt.

Our Mighty Hunter

Isaiah shot his first turkey yesterday morning!!
It weighed 22 pounds!

It was enough to make our very sober
even smile a little.

(I wish I had gotten a better picture.)

Oh---and Here's Another One

Some food for thought
from
the Rockstar.

So We're Not the Only Ones

Sometimes the way we live our life can feel a bit isolating.
Not everyone feels the same way that we do regarding children and letting God determine our family's size.

So it can feel downright lonely.
Like we are the only ones who feel this way.

And then I read a post like this one and I think

"So we're NOT the only ones!"

Go ahead and click on over to Courtney's blog.

Smelly Diaper Pails--Be Gone!!

I saw these on sale at Target a couple weeks ago.
Thinking it was worth a try,
I bought them.

Wow, am I impressed!!!
It says it's for use in the baby's room or anywhere
where there is odor.

Well, there is certainly odor in a diaper pail!
I wasn't sure how I was going to use them at first,
whether I would just hang it in the room
or figure out a way to actually hang it in the diaper pail.

I figured out a way to hang it in the pail itself.
See?

'Cause this is my diaper pail:
a regular old
flip-top garbage can.
I line it with a plastic garbage bag, for now.
On my wish list is a specially made liner for diaper pails.
(and I bet you liked that picture of the dirty dipes, too.)

There are virtually no odors
when that sachet is hanging inside it!
Crazy!

Definitely worth those few dollars at Target!