Kaycee's date with mommy.

On Friday, Moppy decided to take Campbell for the day, well, (and the night), but that's another story...So, I got to have mommy mostly to myself (with Calli too). I got to choose what we did for the day. So, I first picked to stop in and see my baby cousin, Hope. She is 3 weeks old today, and I had not gotton to meet her yet. My favorite part was holding her.

Just so cute...Sarah was being a bit shy here, we were hoping for a big hug, but this is what we got. That's totally ok...Mommy and me are not big "huggers" either. :)

Then we went to Central Market in Lancaster. So much fun. We got some YUMMY cookies from Wendy Jo Hess' stand, some YUMMY, fun gummies at Keith and Crystal Weaver's candy stand, some curly willow for mommy at a flower stand, where we toroughly enjoyed talking to the stand owner...what a riot! Then we got a smoothie, and then, we went to the car, and on our way a lady on the corner was making balloons for little kids, so I got a purple flower balloon. Then we went into a flower shop for mommy to get "inspired" by their cute idea's, and it worked!

Then...we went to Little Bo-Tique, and THEN "the bins", and THEN the $ store, to get some balloons for my siblings, and THEN out to lunch at Applebee's, and THEN to Ken's Gardens, and THEN to the library to get a special movie to watch (Tinkerbelle), and THEN to Mam-maw and Pap-paw Bucks, and THEN home. What a day. No wonder I fell asleep on the couch at 6 pm. Thanks for my special day mom. When can we do it again? kaycee.

A weekend with my girls.

Matt and Kaden took off on Thursday afternoon for "The King Cabin" for "Work Weekend". This is a time once a year where all members of the cabin are expected to be in attendance to do fixing, and cleaning, etc. If not, there is a fine. Since our last load of chickens were expected to go out on Thur. night, and Uncle Mark was actually in town, it worked out for Matt and Kaden to go...while Mark kept things to a dull roar here on the farm.

So, the girls and I started our weekend with a trip to the "Hands on House" Children's Museum, in Litiz?, I guess? It came highly recommended by my sister, so we met up with her, and her 2 kiddos, Jaden (3 1/2) and Reese (11 mo).

This little game was talking about germs, and the idea was to see how many you could "zap" in 20 seconds, or something...kept everyone occupied for a good 5 min? :)


One of the first stations, was a face painting station. Aunt Meg first painted Campbell's face to look like a lion. On the second time around, Campbell decided to add some paint of her own. I think she would have been occupied at this station the whole 1 1/2 hours we were there.

Kaycee's favorite things there were "The grocery store" (which is where this picture is taken) and the "big dress up pirate ship." Behind her is a sandwich station where kids can put together different kind of "fake" sandwiches. They could shop around with real shopping baskets, and fill them will real canned goods, and cotton balls, etc, and then check out at a "real" cash register. It was very fun.

Here is Campbell manning the register...someone is trying to pay for their fish. :)

One of the last stations we went to was where you could snap together your own go-cart, and race the little car down the track. They all got into it, even Auntie Meg. :) It's no wonder she loves this place, as she is a teacher, and there were many teaching opportunities here.


An effort to get a picture with the girls...Has Campbell had enough or what? She still wanted to be painting her face. :(

This is running around outside in a little garden they have there, with a sandbox, and climbing apparatus'.

And this is Kaycee posing in a posey...It was a great time. We went there because kids were free after 4 pm on this day. It was kinda crowded....guess that's why...in our recession and all. :)

I think Campbell was way overwhelmed, although she did love the store, well...and the water fountain. Kaden would love it!

Expecting Matt and Kaden home within the hour. Looking forward to the re-adjustment for everyone back to real life. :)

I must say our 2 pre-mature baby goats are still alive and seem to be thriving. I somehow kept Millie alive, AND played with , Horse watered and the other critters happy. Way to go me! And who was wondering why I looked so tired at church this morning? That's a glimpse of why. :)

mis.

Our bathroom...

You will be able to see in the video below the little "cubby" Matt had made for me to put my laundry "stuff" in...I was going to paint over this, but the carpenter, (Matt Ressler) and Matt thought it was pretty cool we used some "throw out" wood from our Maple Grove Mennonite Church sign...pretty cute...

Now below you can check out my own "virtual tour" of our new bathroom. Looks like I will be finished painting in the basement next week, and our carpet will be put in next weekend, so hopefully early next week I can post some pictures of the basement. We are so glad we took the plunge and did these renovations now...Our family is already enjoying both rooms SO MUCH, it's been so worth it already.

Now...the next project is my garden...so these strawberries can find a way thru the weeds to pop out. :)

random shots.

Last Sat. I watched Meg's 2 kids...Jaiden (3) and Reese (11mo)...we had tons of fun. Here's a shot of Kaden with Reese. Then it worked out for Meg and Chris to stay and watch our 4 (yikes) for a couple hours while we went to a banquet close by. So nice to have family near by, to save us some money on babysitting. :)

Reese and Calli played together for almost an hour...I actually got some deskwork done. Yay.

Some friends of Moppy and Poppy, Bill and Mary Pruett, from VA, stopped by and shared lunch with us...on some day last week. They all run together anymore, I can't even remember which day? They don't have any grandchildren of their own yet, and treat mine like their own. They come hands filled with presents everytime we see them. They are so, so sweet, and she has just the nack of finding just the right things that the kids LOVE. Thanks Bill and Mary, it's always a pleasure to catch up with you.

Last Monday, my sister-in-law, Naomi, and her 4 kids came for lunch, and gave Campbell this little princess set as a belated birthday present...So far Kaycee has been using the princess earrings and tiara, but Campbell is in full swing of the lipgloss...something with nailpolish and lip gloss I guess? This morning I found her putting it on Calli...yes, on her forehead and lips. Calli was just licking away. :)

And just a little playtime with Campbell and Calli.

A tribute to my uncle.

Check out this link to view a story, or a number of, about my Uncle, J.Galen Buckwalter.

http://documents.fuller.edu/news/pubs/fullerfocus/2009_Winter/


Galen...as I watched "Rolling" last winter, I cried and cried. This was part of the story of your life I had never heard told by you. I shuddered through the whole thing. Certainly it was very difficult for you, it changed your whole life course, as well as your families...you are remarkable. I am thankful you are alive and so glad you are thriving despite your life circumstances. Thank you for sharing your story so openly and honestly. I am proud to call you my uncle!

We'll make it to "Calli" sometime... Love, mis.

Belly Laughs.

Calli is 5 months old already, and just a happy and content baby. She is so, so smiley most all the time. She also loves to snuggle. She has been such a joy to add to our family, and we are so thankful she is happy and healthy. And here's to more painting. :)

my story.

those of you who know me well, know my story, or my "testimony". i actually listened to this taylor swift song in it's entirety the other day, and was astounded at the parallels it holds to my own life. wow-o. i don't know much about taylor swift, but she hit the nail on the head.

Jesus continually uses me to speak into the lives of young women to help them bypass the mistakes i had made at a younger age. it would be great for young ladies out there to listen to this song, and think about what its saying...

my mistakes help to make me the woman i am today, and isn't it neat to stop and look, and see how Jesus uses us to help others "see". have a spectacular week, and come help me paint if you are bored. :) mis.

All in a Day.

Sunday was a busy, busy day for us. Well, the last week has been very busy, trying to get this renovation project wrapped up, and things painted, etc. I was up until 2:30am, and well...Matt was up helping me until 1 am...cleaning, and dusting, and vacuming, and making cupcakes, and...the list goes on. We dedicated Calli at Maple Grove that morning. We were so blessed to have family come and support us. I guess I take that a little for granted, as several people have commented on how much "family" was there...so thanks guys for showing your love. We love you too. As if that wasn't enough excitement, we then decided to also celebrate Campbell's 2nd Birthday for lunch. It was great fun. These are the Elmo cupcakes I tried to copy...hmmm...

What is she thinking anyway?
And, yes, they were yummy. This is Campbell with my sister, Megan and Chris' little guy,
Jaiden (3).

This is Sarah (3), and Moses (5), 2 of my brother Mark and Heather's 3 (at the time) children.

And Jaiden again, the little cheeseball. :) You can tell we are all really camera shy, right?

Fun afternoon. So lucky to be able to run around outside. The evening ended at 11 pm that night, when I got a phone call from my brother Mark, saying that Heather delivered their 4th child an hour before. How much fun is that?

So, I ran up there this morning to meet the little peanut. I was always so jealous of these girls who first of all look fabulous when they are pregnant, and secondly have tiny babies. :)

This is "Aunt Mi" welcoming precious "Hope Ireland" into our family. She is just so cute! She weighed in at 6 lbs. 10 oz. And this...was all in a day. :)

Signs of Spring and Meet Millie.

I was driving past a greenhouse the other day, and saw a "pansies" sign out, so I had to swing on in and get some. They are still inside, but soon, we'll move them outside. What an awesome sign the Spring is coming, right?

We decided to go out as a family today and get a new puppy. She is very cute, and we named her Millie. She's a chocolate lab. Matt and Kaden are very excited to have another dog to pal around with around the farm. We are in the process of getting a crate for her to help keep her safe around here. :)
Some video footage of little Millie. She's about 7 weeks old. Kaden was out today trying to teach her how to fetch. It didn't go so good, but kept them both occupied for awhile. :)

Happy 2nd Birthday Campbell...

Yep...it was only 2 years ago that I went into labor with Campbell (with the help of some castor oil), at 6:15 a.m. We arrived at the Birth Center at 8:05 a.m., and Campbell Meg was born at 8:35 a.m. in the nice warm water. :)

Campbell, we thank Jesus for your life. We are blessed to have you in our family and love your spunk for life. You are filling your Aunt Meg's shoes for sure...a fiesty sassy girl...You are so independent and want to do everything on your own, "I do it." We love watching you interact with your siblings, especially Calli right now...you are a great big sister, and always wanting to give her kisses and hugs. We hope you will always be great friends! We love you, and cherish your life. I love that Jesus picked me to be your mommy! (even though you are a handful these days) :) Happy Birthday... Love, Mommy & Daddy.

Just a sneak peek at some cupcakes for the family party we're hosting Sunday. Amidst our re-modeling, we are taking some time out to celebrate both Campbell's 2nd Birthday, and Calli's life as well, as she will be dedicated to the Lord on Sunday.

One last video to capture a little of Campbell's Spirit...Opening her present this morning...with the help of the others of course...