happy heart

One important lesson we try to teach our kids is obedience...a hard one we as adults are learning too. We have this little saying we use which I got from a book called Wise Words for Moms by Ginger Plowman. "Obey all the way, right away and with a happy heart." Since girls can have such strong/powerful emotions we use the "obey with a happy heart" with Lainey quite a bit. So she found this heart "lei" we got in Hawaii and she calls it her happy heart. Now every heart she sees is called a happy heart. Let's just hope it will sink in one day.

big girl

I love this picture! Lainey was so proud that she could pick up and hold Brody all by herself. She is growing like crazy these days and I see my baby turning into a big girl. 

no training wheels

Ansley has mastered riding her bike this week with no training wheels. I noticed she could ride the boys scooter around and balance perfectly on it. Then I thought to myself, that's the same thing as balancing on a bicycle right? So off the training wheels came and a day later she was all on her own. Such a big girl!

surfer boy

You can take the boy away from Hawaii but you can't take the Hawaii out of the boy. Surfing on the slide in the backyard (yes, I realize is not very safe)...while flashing a shaka!

Chickens - Part 3

Don't worry. My blog will not turn into the chicken blog. This will be my last post on chickens...well maybe one more when they lay their first eggs. We're eagerly awaiting that. But here is our crew...pecking around the yard eating the bugs and clover, their two favorite treats.

 This is Tiger. She is the chicken with nine lives. I nursed her back to health after an attack from a raccoon. I think at times we thought she was a goner but she pulled through and has joined the rest of the brood.

 At times she still thinks she is human and will hop up on our lap (if we're outside) and snuggle a bit. Weird I know. This is Tiger on my lap. No, she is not dead she is sleeping.

 This is Ansley holding the chicks when they were smaller. She asks if we can hatch more because she LOVED these baby chicks and would hold them any chance she could get. Besides Tiger, they're not so easy to hold any more.

 But if you have food they will come up and eat out of your hand. They are funny creatures. I definitely have loved the experience of having them and that my kids have had the experience too. The learning never stops.

 This is Wolf our rooster which has a new home now. He thought it was okay to crow anytime of the day, and quite loudly, so I was nervous our neighbors would start complaining. Now he has a nice home out in the country where he can crow all he wants.

new addition

Meet Brody...our new baby (girl) kitten. We thought she was a boy when we first got her which is why the name is a bit boyish. But since we haven't taken her to a vet yet we are still not certain she is a girl, so Brody it is. 

You see I have this problem when it comes to small, defenseless, weak animals. I feel the need to take them home....especially when they are 'free' and so teeny-tiny. Thankfully I have a chill husband who doesn't mind and I have 4 kids who absolutely LOVE the new addition to our family. And Bella, our other cat, is adjusting.

This Ansley girl is just like me as a little kid. She loves any and every animal that will let her pick it up. Let's just say Brody does not get neglected. I snapped a picture of her snuggling with Brody and than thought the lighting was really good in the room and decided to snap a few more of the other munchkin's...