jUly BirThDay BasHeS.

whew. i must say i am a bit tuckered out.

we had a fabulous last week. lots of reflection and birthday celebrating!

here are a few pictures from the parties we hosted.

Thanks to my brother Mark for giving me a camera tutorial. again. at karolina's party.
most of her pictures i posted. he took. :))

and my firstborn is 10.

Eeeeekkkkk.

So i cried over my "baby" turning 2 yesterday,
so now it's only fair that i cry about my firstborn turning 10 today.

craziness. that's all.

kaden rockwell has been such a delight.
i am not ready for this next stage of parenting.

talking. talking. talking.
which is probably the wrong way to parent,
i hear they pick up on things watching you, way more than anything else.
but i guess it makes me feel better to speak things to him.

maybe he will hear me?
i did hear something on the radio that made me chuckle.
it was on the christian station around here.
that yes, keep talking. even if you don't see your children putting into practice anything that you speak.
they might, by the time they are 21 years old. :)))

so. i am a bit terrified of this next stage of parenting.
so far, kaden has been a pretty easy kid.
by that i mean that when he has made a bad choice, the consequences have been minimal.
i am not ready for huge. real life consequences for bad choices.
this parenting thing. ugh. gives me a bit of a belly ache.

i know. i know.
trust in the Lord...
i do...but it's still not easy.

kaden is way easy going like his dad.
he loves sports. any kind. which has been fun.
he makes friends with just about anyone around, like his dad.
he is starting to chatter a little more, and not be so shy. :)
school is fine. not his "bag" but he is determined, and such a hard worker, which works to his advantage.
he is my cuddle-bug.
way more cuddly than any of the girls. still. :)
he would rather not do his chores right now.
and prefers to walk past something on the floor, rather than pick it up...
which drives his daddy CRAZY. :)
money motivates him right now.
he seems to like country music better than memorizing scripture. :)
he has been taking piano for a year. and i was hoping for one more.
but it's been pretty much a constant fight...so i am not sure what i am going to do about that.
[see. i am tired of fighting already? and he's my first kid. :))]
he loves mowing the yard. but then again. i think he can listen to country music in the earphones.
so that's probably why. :)

kaden rockwell. would have loved to have a little brother.
and i think he would have been a fabulous big brother.
he has adjusted well to his little sisters, and tries to toughen them up a bit too. :)
i like the kid he is, and the little man he is becoming!
i hope i can watch him continue to grow up right before my eyes.
with minimal hurt to my heart. :)

I am pretty much a sleep over cranky.
i don't host them. MUCH.
only with cousins, usually. :)
but we ARE hosting a campout at the pond, with 4 of Kaden's buddies.
i am pretty excited. and he is well. beyond excited. :)
MATT is sleeing with them, in tents, at the pond.
yeee. haaaa. doesn't that sound awesome. :)

We love you Kaden Rockwell.
Happy 10th Birthday!!

my "baby" girl is 2 years old.

today.

karolina grace turned 2 years old.

how can this be?

i know. i know.

i sound like a broken record, ~everytime~ we celebrate a birthday.

blah. blah. blah.

:)

you can check out the day she was born here.

i cried when i looked at the post.

i cannot believe i am here. already.

crying that she is 2. and perhaps crying that she is my last.

i will never snuggle a fresh, newborn baby of my own.
again.

that is sad for me.

before you go telling me i need to get some meds.

i am fine.
 i think.

i am turning a new page of my life.

and still have some friends having babies. that i can steal away.

and snuggle.

thank goodness. :)

so.... karolina grace.

she is love.

i tell the kids all the time,

"what would we do without karolina grace?"

i think partly because it took me so long to decide if we should in fact have "another" baby.

and partly because the time is fleeting so fast.

she is number 5.

she is learning her place.

she is becoming spunky. and throws tantrums.

she wants to do everything he brother and sisters do.

she still loves her nuk and blankee.

she is sleeping in a big girl bed, sharing a room with her sister, kaycee.

and now sleeps past 6:30 a.m. (since the switch, it had been a little dicey). :)

she is talking a little more clearly.

she runs.

she plays kickball.

she loves to use markers.

markers on the walls. on paper. on the walls. :) and on herself.

i have started hiding the markers.

she loves to color.

and climb.

she is kind of a clown.
she likes when we think she is funny. and laugh at her.

she does summersaults.

and likes to talk on the phone.

she is not a good sharer. especially with her cousin piper. :)

she loves to sing.

and loves the idea of the potty.

although rarely uses it. :)

i am blessed beyond measure.

i don't know why i was chosen to be karolina's mom.
but i am sure glad i get to be.

remind me of that in another 10 years.

please. :)))

enjoy.

the prince.

how can i NOT post this.
can you imagine?

precious kate.
gorgeous.
and in the spotlight. not even 24 hours after she gives birth to her first child.

awwww.

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no barley. no beer.

so...we took on a new venture this spring.

hahaha. i say "we"...i really mean matt. :)

he tried a crop of beer barley.

for the first time.

a "trial" per say, for this part of the country.

most beer barley is grown in the mid west, or canada or austrailia...

it actually went really well.

it was loaded up and dropped off at glen mills, in west chester, this morning.

here's a few pictures to document a teeny bit of what went on this morning.

when we combined the barley, we put it in these huge totes.

each tote was averaging 1400 lbs of barley today.

this is mark...the beer barley man...with matt.
they took 8 totes to the mill this morning, and it turns out some of the totes were too heavy
for the skid loader to move...
apparently it was quite a production.
like the skid loader was coming up off the ground, production. :)

so...here they unloaded a tote, into some others, to make them more "moveable" if you will.
so.
they delivered 8 totes this morning. and 9 more this afternoon.
2 totes make 30 barrels of beer...
and a barrel of beer makes 16 cases of beer.

got that figured out?

kaden, and karolina and i were trying to be helpful.

maybe not helpful enough.
as mark and i were talking, we heard a horrible sound...
notice splintered  barn opening below.
oops. forks were too high upon exit. :(

i do talk about God's miracles everyday, in the farming business.
do i not?

seriously.

another "load" off to the mill.

it's been a fun learning experience so far.

we'll see if it was worth "our" time and effort. :))

intensity.

i am feeling it.

intensity.

life is intense. right now. here. for me.

summer is flying by.

it's been fabulous.

but. it's july already.

i can feel it slipping thru my fingers at record pace.

kaden. he made the all-star baseball team.

praise. honor. i think.

and. oh. i forgot. disappointment.

he is playing outfield.

he has never played outfield in his life.

swallow.
is that character building? or defining? or just a blow?
he is used to the action.
short stop. or first. or he loves to play catcher. and is really good at it.
and never given the opportunity on this team.

 

i just keep praying over him.
"you can do all things thru Christ who gives you strength"...
you just be the best little outfielder out there.
i screamed that out the window a week in a half ago,
when i dropped him off at practice. :)

do it with a happy heart.
this is an honor you were chosen.
an honor.
but still with disappointment and tears.
the pressure.
man. he's only 9...
and bored in the outfield. :)

with that comes a crazy. hectic. intense schedule.

they first practiced twice a day.

then. they practiced every day.

now they are playing every night.

in new holland.

whew.

can i catch my breath?
praise the Lord i don't have 3 little boys playing baseball. :)

chickens come today.

we had 6 days off.

and throw in a day and a half we went to the beach.

and. yes.

exhausted. and intense.

throw in some hay baling, some real estate deals. and it is rare that i am seeing my husband.

oh. and i may have a stress fracture in my shin.

i declined the x-ray to confirm,

simply because treatment is the same regardless.

rest. and ice. :)

did i tell you i was running 5 miles/day 4-5 days a week?

i started with 3 miles on the first day.

i knew better. but wanted to prove that i could do it.

so...the second week, i started 5 miles.
some weight came flying off. yee.haa.

but now. i am paying the price for my impatience.

boo.

i did get some awesome anti-inflammatories that are really helping.

i also have a severe case of tendonitis...

i have never had such pain in my leg before.

i could hardly walk on monday.

it was intense. and i don't think i am a cry baby.

and. i have 2 babies that are having birthdays next week.

which means i am trying to organize 2 parties in the back of my head.

and NO ONE has been invited yet.

say what??

oh. and our yard sale went so great last week.

that we are having it again on friday.

LIKE TOMORROW.

7 a.m. in willow street again.

last friday turned into an unforcasted rainy mess.

so. we are trying to make up for that. and we have too much stuff.

that's the bottom line.

so. come out and say hi. if you feel like it.

and have any daughters. up to size 8...

most of our boys stuff sold, but we do have a teeny bit left.

if nothing else you could buy a coke from the kids.
how's that?

:)

HUGE yard sale.

HUGE yard sale TOMORROW and SATURDAY.

Willow Street Pike.

At my sister's house.

We have a lot of everything. :)

It's embarrassing really...

Girls clothing. sizes 6 months to 8.

Boys clothing. sizes 6 to 10.

Mens clothing.

Women's clothing. sizes 6 to 12.

Household.

Toys.

and the kids will have a food stand of course. :)

Come on over. Try to find a deal.