Magic Moments

 My baby turns 5 today! Five is always the saddest birthday for me because it really feels like the little years are being left behind. Since Cade is the youngest, there is an extra sadness about it, but we're spending the day celebrating Cade and being thankful for everything he brings to our family! Cade is our comic relief. He is witty and quick to laugh. This morning our kitty, Chester, wouldn't stop stealing Kit kats from the candy jar. Cade said, "It's because he thinks they are for KATS!" He's quick to play on words and that displays just how smart this little kid is. Yesterday Marme said, "Cade, eat all your lunch so you can be fast and strong." Cade replied, "I don't want to be fast or strong, I want to be agile."  Cade is affectionate like his daddy and each night we lay with him until he falls asleep. He asks that I lay a certain way so he can snuggle in as close as he can get. He came running into our bed after having a bad ...

 One of my most favorite places in the world is Apple Jacks Orchard. We spent Cade's birthday there (more about his birthday when the pictures upload) and it was his very first time at Apple Jacks. It makes me sad that he hasn't been there before since Aiden and Sage have lots of memories and pictures from this orchard, but it was so sweet to be able to spend his birthday at the orchard. Apple Jacks has replaced most of their older varieties of apples with the apples people demand now...Honeycrisp, Zestar, and Sweet Tango. The apple trees were heavy with apples and I don't think I've ever seen the orchard look so beautiful. We went with Grandmommy and Grandpa and we came home with 20 pounds of apples, apple salsa, honey and jelly. I try not to even speak about covid because I hate it so much, but of course covid has effected the orchard as well, so there was no cow train to ride or wagons to pull. They also weren't serving lunch, which was just kind of a bummer. We ...

 School started and the days are running together just like they do in the summer time. Educating three children is no joke and takes me a pretty big chunk of time. Grandmommy and Grandpa are staying through the month of September so I send the boys over to the red cabin and they get to do some school with Grandmommy.  Grandmommy is in charge of the extra curriculum that I want to do but rarely have time to do after all the essentials are finished. It's a special time they have together and I just love it so much. We started slowly last week and I am still modifying our daily checklists. We'll reach our stride soon enough.     First day of school. Cade is doing well with reading and Clementine is a patient (but not necessarily)      willing participant.     Cade can handle the kayak pretty well. He can turn and paddle and cover a small distance. More practice and he'll be more efficient and confident. Last week we made a really fast trip to I...

 We are starting school tomorrow. It'll be a gentle day....we'll probably go for donuts in the morning and then get to know all of our new books and talk about the our schedule. I've never done a "gentle" start before. Usually we hit the books on day 1 and it's initiation by fire. But, this is my first year having three children all with a full load of subjects to get through. Cade will need me for every single thing, so I'm trying to stage the day so I can teach the older two and have them do their assignment while work with Cade and then trade off.  It's really hard to say goodbye to summer. But, it's still August and since we're living at the lake I refuse to believe summer is ending. We'll still have every evening to soak up the warm sun. Aiden starts soccer this week and guitar lessons resume soon for Sage, but I'm going to live in summer mode for as long as I possibly can.

 I can tell summer is ending. This weekend it wasn't quite warm enough to be in the water and no one (cousins, aunts, uncles) knew what to do with themselves. The start of school is looming and no one wants to let go of carefree days. No one knows what to expect going forward either. Public and Private school will both be different for our cousins and who knows what soccer and guitar and church will be like. Today feels like one of the most beautiful days we've had. The air is warm and there is a breeze. The humidity is low and the lake looks so pretty. But, Cade is sick today and so I've been spending all day taking care of him. We took the pontoon out so we could sun ourselves and soak in the Vitamin D, but even that didn't last too long. My poor baby has a fever and he's just not himself. So, we've taken it slow and we're hoping for a fever free day tomorrow.  We've been protected up here at the cabin while everything in the world is wrong, and it...

Cade doesn't care if you're supposed to sleep in on Saturdays. He was in my room at 6:45 AM and the conversation went like this: Cade: Mama, where do dreams happen? Where ARE dreams? Like, dreams on shows are above peoples heads in the air. (I think he was referring to thought bubbles). Me: Cade, dreams happen inside your brain. Cade: Well, ya know when people say, "turn to God?" How do people know which direction to turn so they go towards God? Me: Turning to God means you stop pursuing evil and do what God wants you to do.  We ponder the deep things of life on Saturday mornings, usually while I'm half asleep. The routine is SUPPOSED to be that on Saturdays the kids can't get up before 8 and they can't wake us up. At 8 AM they can go watch TV and eat leftover cold pizza from the night before while watching TV. BUT, it's summer at the cabin so we're kind of on permanent vacation mode. School and routine, both of which are starting shortly, are goin...

 The plan was to have a water balloon fight on the trampoline. But...the water balloons never made it past the front yard.