Busy, busy, busy

It's been so long since I've posted that I forgot what my blogger password is. Shame on me. As summer eases itself into our lives, with it comes lots of work. Garden tending, lawn mowing, chicken care, beekeeping, and trying to soak in life when we're not working. Plus there's a very busy toddler to keep track of. Ethan began piano lessons a month ago so that's added to our weekly load too. Thankfully we have completed our school year. I can't believe Ethan will be in 4th grade next year and Elijah most likely starting kindergarten. I'm trying to do some reading instruction with Elijah this summer because he really wants to know how to read.


It's a busy, happy life. Even sweating while I weed the garden gives me a good feeling, knowing we're growing some of our own food and adding to our knowledge and ability to continue to do so in the future. Paul's been collecting all our grass clippings this year and I'm spreading them out in the garden each week to hopefully cut down on the amount of weeks. So far it's helping. And I have nicely tanned arms to boot. Our tomato plants are currently thriving and I'm hoping to get another nice crop. In addition to that, we've got watermelons, peas, cabbage, corn, cantalope, zucchini, yellow squash, pumpkins, three kinds of beans, lettuce, potatoes, broccoli, cucumbers, chives, onions, radishes, carrots, strawberries, and sunflowers. It's (hopefully) going to be a busy harvest time.

Caleb is going on 17 months and a bundle of happiness and energy. In the last month, he's become quite a cuddler. He gives us all hugs repeatedly throughout the day. Whenever he sees his brothers, he will offer a hug. He also kisses when asked and is perfecting his "fish lips" (sucking in his cheeks and puckering his lips). He's mastered the signs for "please" and "milk." Of all my boys I'd say he's the biggest "mama's boy" of them all, loving to be held and cuddled.

There's so much to be thankful for in spite of the busyness. And I'm thankful for blogging despite my current lack of posts. It's nice to be able to capture life in this way. Hopefully I'll have some pictures to post next time.