Happy Father's Day Papa!

In honor of Papa, the kids all decided to dress in Nato's neck ties and have mustaches added to their faces so they could be just like Papa!

Happy Father's Day!

Hey I want to play!

Here is Philip. In the evenings while I pull dinner together, Jacob, Emma, and Benjamin all go out to play. What does Philip do? Don't worry, he is not left out. At least that is how he feels. He spends his time at the window yelling and "playing" with the kids. He will holler and holler at them and then laugh and laugh at all the fun he has with it. It is just cute to see him enjoying himself and feeling a part of the fun!

Jacob is 7!

Jacob's 7th birthday was full of surprises!

He has been DYING to get his own two wheeler and he was not disappointed.

He thought he was not getting a bicycle simply because he couldn't figure out where we were hiding it. I told him it was in my sock drawer the whole time!

He wanted an army theme for his day and we finally settled on a "tank" birthday cake.

This was Nato's idea and luckily we were able to pull it off.

I think the camouflage icing was the trickiest part, but it turn out alright.

7 years! It has been a great 7 years and we look forward to so many more!

We love you Jacob! Happy Birthday!

Emma

Emma has been growing up so fast that I almost don't want to see it. She is now starting to learn how to read and with that comes so much maturity, I just can't believe. She is my little mommy and will do ANYTHING to help me. She loves to help Philip at the table, play house with Benjamin, Lego with Jacob and she is definitely excited to have another baby in the family to take care of.

I took these photos today and I just couldn't believe how beautiful she is becoming.

Being Emma's mommy is more than a treat it is simply a blessing!

Grandma!

Everyone loved having grandma here! I think the kids were all up at the crack of dawn EACH day she was here, just so they could play with her. They read books with her, and colored, and played and played and played. I am not sure how many pretend meals Grandma ate, or made for Emma either, but I know that EVERYONE loved having Grandma here. Many requests were made upon her departure for Grandma to live with us. I told the kids we have to share grandma, but they just don't understand Grandma has other grand kids who need her too. "She is MY grandma," Emma keeps insisting.

Grandma you are missed and we can't wait for your return. We love you and look to see you soon!

Philip's Birthday

Philip is 1! How can it be? Didn't we just come home from the hospital yesterday? I am sure every parent asks this when their baby turns 1 year old.

Philip had a GREAT birthday!

Grandma Irving came for the occasion. (Well that and we just missed her!) We all went and watched the new Pixar movie "Up" and then we came home for a special dinner and cake and ice cream.

Philip's cakes were shaped like two beetle bug cars, at least that was the intent. We originally wanted them to be green and red but the red icing was looking too pink and the poor guy already sleeps in a pink room with Emma. To keep him from being scarred for life we quickly added some yellow and turned the pink car orange.

He really loved the cake, though the ice cream was a little cold for him. I think he enjoyed HIS day.

Happy Birthday little guy!

Blueberries!

It has been three years since I have canned ANYTHING! (Note: Florida is good for fresh beaches, not fresh farmer's markets.) When I learned that there are blueberry farms here I was so excited I couldn't contain myself. I begged a friend to show me where they are and I packed up the kids and we all went and picked blueberries one morning. Jacob did a superb jog picking about 3 quarts himself and I managed to pick a gallon as well. Then I bought some from the farmer himself too (a little more than the price of the Pick Your Own berries, but still a great deal).

Next we came home and got to work. We have made fresh blueberry pie, canned blueberry juice (to be made into syrup for pancakes and such later), blueberry muffins gallore, and filled my freezer. It was so wonderful! Each time I start canning I am excited, somewhere in the middle of the day I am tired and I start to wonder why I do this, but by the end I am so pleased with a days hard work I hardly notice how tired I am. I have decided that I must love it, I would do it again in an instant!