kaden's *new* room.

kaden's *new* for him...room.
it used to be the nursery...as pictured down below...

karolina is now in a big girl bed, sharing a room with big sister, kaycee.

[it looks a little bright...i love it in real life...but the picture does make it look a little bit different...the sign above
his bed, i free handed years ago, when he was an infant...idea out of a magazine...
it says KADEN...i am a child of God...and i painted one for each of my children...]

i do hope to order a couple of fun canvases of him...but haven't gotton around to that just yet. :))

[this was one of kaden's art projects this year. i fell in love with it.]

[this is the new armoir i referred to here. isn't it gorgeous?  i love.love.love it!! and it's perfect for this little room,
because it doesn't have a closet. i think maybe 4 or 5 guys fought it into the house...finegeled up the steps...
a mess. but it's here. i love it.]]

[there used to be a wall to the right of this window, that came out to where this little white wall is now. it

created a small cubby area, maybe meant to be a closet?? but with no dowels, or hooks, or shelving, so

ir really didn't serve any purpose...so. matt tore that out, and constructed this cute little white half wall. behind this half wall is a set of steps that goes into our kitchen. also where this little white wall is, there used to be an outdoor, black metal railing...like you see going up patio steps at an older brick house. :) thrilled it's gone. :)))  painting this window was a challenge...i stood on the window sill...scared to death i was going to fall to the kitchen, down those steps. :((( i hate heights. :)  ]

matt also put in a ceiling fan. this is the only upstairs room, (there are 4 bedrooms, and a bath) that has an overhead light on the ceiling...so that was an easy add...and makes a huge difference.

i totally cleaned house as i was re-doing this room.

 pure. simple. bare. that's it...

so, i just finished cleaning out the girls rooms too.
since they cannot seem to manage what we have.
well. then. i decided it is too much.

simplify.

 that is the name of the game.

both of my sister-in-laws have become really good at this.

but that is because they have moved *often*.

they are pro's at cleaning out.
less to move. :)

i am going to paint karolina and kaycee's room now, and then i am done.
for now.
until the next project comes along. :)

i hope to finish mulching this week.

and then I leave for a small beach getaway with some other mommies i know.

for 2 days and 1 night.

yee.haa.

so. the painting of the next room will wait until next week. :)

***************************************

[this is a before picture i found of the nursery...aka. kaden's new room...

all the walls were dark brown paneling, except for the one wall on

the right...

which was papered. it actually came off really easily.

love. when that happens.

[this happens to be the same corner that is now featured on the first picture of this post...]

[ canvas: painted by: aimee weaver found here. ]
[ newborn photography: bjf photography found here. ]

living by virtue.

maple grove mennonite church is the church we call home.
it's the church matt grew up at.
and now our kids are growing up there.

maple grove is trudging thru some heavy waters right now.
heavy waters in determining how we deal with the sin of homosexuality.
it's heavy. it's hard.

here is something that someone sent to matt...and he sent it to me.

we thought it was really very good.

if you take the 14 minutes to stop and to listen.
then take another, and...

tell me what you think of what he has to say :))

and if nothing else. to provoke some thought into your day. :)



the voice.

there are not any reality t.v. shows that have caught my interest...

except for one.

and that is the voice.

i thought this season was exceptional.

and i would like you to know that "my girl' who i picked from the beginning.

WON.

and she's 16 years old.

and shines like the sun.

i loved this performance.
check it out.
so fun.

wasn't she good?

at 16 years old.
with no voice lessons.
sheer. God-given, God-breathed talent.

whoa.

*****************************************************

not many pictures to share yet.

i am re-doing kaden's room.

well. moving him to the *nursery*,

karolina and kaycee to kaden's old room,

and calli to kaycee's old room to share with campbell.

did you follow all of that?

it all started because friends of ours special ordered a fabulous huge armoir for their child's bedroom.

and eeeekkkkkk.

couldn't fit it up their steps.

so. i am the lucky one who is getting it.

which is why the room re-due was spurred on.

at very bad timing...

i could not put a gorgeous piece of furniture in the dark brown paneled nursery.

that was for sure.

i had wanted to re-due the nursery for years, and matt kept telling me no.

well. now was the time.

i just went for it.

and low and behold.

he caught the vision. and even participated. :)

you should see my house. it is crazy.

and in the mix it is VBS week at church.

and i have extra kids here most of all this week.

a totally great start to summer.

but c.r.a.z.y.

did i mention i am still not done mulching?

in case you wanted to know. :)

*********************************************************

love.

i have found the one whom my soul loves.

song of soloman 3:4.

that is the canvas i painted.

pinterest inspired, of course ;))

and have hanging above my bed.

i love it.

i love my man.

and can't wait to hang a picture of us.

that i love.

beside it.

now...just to get a  picture.

 i love. ;)

happy anniversary!!!!

happy anniversary of 13 years.

i cannot believe 13 years have flown by.

year 9 was hard. by far the hardest.

i don't know why...but. yes.

we fought. we won.

and we continue to fight. battle.

 for us.

for our family.

 for our marriage.

 daily.

i am blessed to have a man who stands beside me.

and works.

physically, manually works.

he works hard.

 and i know that is how he shows love to me.

and our family.

in other ways too.

 but his work ethic is crazy.

i know that is part of what i was drawn too.

and now it does drive me crazy.

can't you rest just a minute?? i plead. :))

it is true. i love him today more than any other.
part of my wedding vows i wrote to him said...
"i love you for a million reasons"
and that is so true. more true today, then back then...
but i won't list them all here. :)

i don't know how people say goodbye after any amount of marriage.

but i wonder, at all the people who are married 50 plus years, and death parts them.

be.still.my heart.

i look forward to many, many  more happy years

being the wife, and all that it entails, to mr. matt king.

love you. babe.

i wish today could be a little happier...

our chickens are sick.

very sick.

dying like crazy.

that makes for a very. very. stressful anniversary.
boo.

i guess we will celebrate another day.

cheers.

Buckwalter cookout...

so my brother mark, is a photographer, for jeremy hess photographers.

you can check out their site here.

he always has a camera in his hand.

i cannot imagine how many images their family has, but.

that is besides the point. :)

that means at our Father's Day Cookout.

the camera was out.

here are some of my most favorite images of the day!!

******************************************************************

my apologies...

if you are unable to view these pictures. for some reason, i am able to see them,

but some of you are not??

of course i have no idea why...so if you are unable to see them,

then please try this link right here. :)

you won't get "my captions", so you will have to guess who everyone is. :(((

and if you click on one picture, then it should bring up the big pictures,

and you can click right thru them...

so sorry for the inconvenience...

******************************************************************



[ LOVE it...kaden high fiving uncle chris, and loving judah's smile]

[my dad, richard]



[niece, eden grace]

[my niece, destiny rae...hair to die for. ;) ]

[love every single person's facial expression in this image]

[karolina grace]

[kaden, serving it up.]

[karolina being a ham...really?]

[ i love.love.love this image of karolina grace]

[the 2 lovebirds. :)))
matt definately not cleared yet to play volleyball.
bummer for him.
he loves volleyball. course that's where he re-tore his acl...maybe some flashbacks??  :)]

[my nephew, silas, and kaycee...]

[kaycee agnes]

[love.love.love this of my niece, sarah, and kaycee, with my niece zion, in front.]

[love.love.love this of karolina.]

[like father, like daughter]

[my nephew, judah, and kaden, ready for some action]

[love this of sweet niece, piper, with campbell looking on...'oh my goodness' face. :))]

[my sister, megan, and her daugher, piper...for those of you who don't know meg, she tends to be a bit dramatic.
mark captured this perfectly. :)))]

[my nephew, silas]

[my nephew, judah, with from left to right, my nephew moses, campbell, and sarah, lookin on]

[my mom, debbie, with one of her 18 grandchildren, piper]

[my sister's husband, chris, with their daughter, piper]

[my brother matt, with nephew, silas, with matt's son, noah, and kaycee looking on.]

[kaycee is thinking, really. judah. really?]  :)

i love real life shots.

they capture a lot.
a fun filled day of family.
a generational blessing for sure.

thanks mark...

what love really means.

another song i LOVE...

i wish i knew...

i wish i knew the reason i was gifted 1 son and 4 daughters.

i am overwhelmed with the Lord's goodness and provision to me.

overwhelmed.

i am terrified at the thought of suddenly having to mother these 5 children.

why 1 son and 4 daughers?

what can i possibly do right with these souls?

how can i nurture, love and protect them all?
life was so easy when they were teeny. precious babes.
tiring. but easy for me.

now they are each so different.
the world so upside down.

i know i can only do my best.
and even my best will never be enough.

and that is where my faith comes into play.
which can get deep and raw and emotional.
so i will leave it at that for now. :)

this song spoke VOLUMES to me. in how i am raising my daughters.

purity. honor. kindness. beauty. love. friendship. niceness.

daughters of ~the King~.

did you hear the lines:

[you are beautiful.
everything about you is incredible.
you should have seen me smile the day that i made you.]

oh. be. still. my. heart.

i do not have my self image together now at age 35.

how can i do better with my own daughters?
Lord. give me wisdom.
honor.
words to speak over them.
and tell them everyday
that they are beautiful and precious.

here is to rocking out our first full day of summer.
it's raining here.
blah.
guess i will be checking into my pinterest boards to help make the day more fun. ;))

xo.

what the what?

what the what?

check out this story.
i don't even know what to say.

except what the what?????

maybe i am just a tad bit jealous that she was hiding a real live human being inside her body.
and you couldn't tell from the outside.  :))

what?
crazy.

make sure to watch the video. isn't she gorgeous?

Graduation.

really?

i would love to know when we started graduating kids from every grade.

here i thought it was a special honor for seniors. but that is just not the case.

campbell graduated from kindergarten yesterday.

kaycee graduated from second grade on tuesday.

and well. poor kaden. i don't know why third graders, at octorara,  don't get to graduate?

maybe they do it, so your senior graduation is not such a b.i.g. deal.

just sayin'.



(can you find her?........7th back in line...white sundress)

(campbell with her teacher, mrs. benard)

i am going to take the time to brag on mrs. benard.

so fabulous.

she cried thanking the parents for our hard work this year.

and cried saying goodbye to the kids.

it was kinda precious. :)

she was so very supportive of my decision to pull campbell at lunch time.

i really appreciated that!!

the pictures i took of kaycee, and matt and i, didn't turn out well.

so we will skip them. :)

i thought i was ready to start summer.

however, anytime kaden goes into the sun porch to play lego's with the girls.

there is fighting. commotion. disruption. a headache.

maybe i am not ready. :)



i have so many goals to accomplish this summer.

so. many.

it will be intersting to see how it pans out.

i have new chores.

i have a bored jar.

i have new school work books. and reading books.

new journals.

maybe if i could get some new discipline tactics for my

solid, husky 9 year old, i would be better prepared. :)

alll that being said.

i am excited for a "new normal'.

which probably means more bickering and fighting, but along with that,

comes SUNSHINE and pond fun and campfires and sleepovers and

lightning bugs and beach trips and picnics and flash light tag and

all kinds of fun stuff.

bring it on. summer. bring it on.



wordpress.

so my neice, sarah, started her own blog.

she is 7.

you can find it here.

so. naturally. my kids all wanted a blog.

a blog to call their own.

kaycee LOVES to read and write.

and well. her writing is very, very neat.

she actually has been keeping a written journal for a couple years.

i love to sneek a read.

it's precious.

so, kaycee won.
the chance to try a blog this summer.
if it turns into too much work for her, or me, :)))
than it will be nixed.
just.like.that.


:)

campbell. well. she is just learning to write.

calli. she doesn't even know her whole alphabet yet.

and well. kaden. his writing is a total disaster.

so. he is not allowed to have a blog, until his writing is legible.

and. i am pretty sure that will not be anytime soon. :)

so i am going to try out wordpress with her.

i hear so many good things about their "blogs" if you will,

thought i would give it a try.

see how i can maneuver there. :)

so. here is kaycee's blog.

check it out at your leisure.

:)

http://www.kayceeking.wordpress.com