rain

Last night our dry and thirsty land finally got a drink!!  Thank you Lord!!!

Who knew rain could be so much fun!!!

all in a days work

simply relaxing

Who would have ever imagined that a pillow and laundry basket in the middle of the kitchen would keep this two year old entertained for such a long period of time.

Maybe she just needed a break from the busy week and this was the closest place she could find.

Anyway you slice it...just simply relaxing.  Every girl needs a moment like this every once in a while.

new kitten

Meet Cinderella Snowflake Sophie (Cydney chose Cinderella, but was quickly overruled by her brother and sister.  So Snowflake it is.) Update...her name changed again.  This morning it is Sophie!!

The newest, tiniest, most scared member of the Kirkland Klan.
Bless her heart, she was just thrown into the lions den kids that can't keep their hands off of her.

Cydney is certain that wants to be anywhere BUT a nice quiet place where children can't reach her.  Preferably under the lamp table next to the couch.  The picture above is Snowflake in her quiet solitude before a child came along and snatched her.

Right into little hands that hold much too tight for her liking.  Voices that talk much louder than the home she came from.

summer week 1

It's been a week.  Thankfully it has been summertime and work was one thing I didn't have to worry about this week.  To start our summer, we have had round 2 of Fifths Disease, 2 sessions of basketball camp, 2 rounds of the stomach bug, more than two trips back and forth to basketball camp, football camp, 2 rounds of company staying at our house (one of which I was a horrible hostess because I had the stomach bug) and a birthday party.  Whew!!!  That is definitely a week full.  Thank goodness it is vacation time because I am not sure I could have handled one more thing this week.  We should all be healthy now, camps are almost over, so....LET THE SUMMER BEGIN!!!!

summer top 10

It's here...summertime.  I absolutely love summer.  Not because it means I don't have to get up and go to work, but because I don't have to go to work.  I know that makes absolutely no sense, but it just seems as if life slows down for a brief amount of time.  I love every moment of it.

10.  I love that my yard is usually full of kids playing in the water or doing something fun.  This is one of the greatest things of living in a small town...the kids can go play pretty much anywhere on our side of town and I don't really worry about where they are, who they are with, or what they are doing.

9. I love spending afternoons at the pool.  It makes for a very tired momma and babes, but the time is so worth it.  For as long as I can remember, my two older babes were little fish.  They always loved being in the water.  And could play in for hours on end.  Cydney hasn't taken to water as quickly as the older two, but after today at the pool I have high hopes we will get there.

8.  I love feeling like I have accomplished something during a day.  My house is usually not always clean, but the kids and I do get chores accomplished and it feels good.

7.  Coffee in the old blue rocking chair.  I am sure I have posted before how I love having coffee in our blue recliner.  Robby and I bought it when we first married...16 years ago.  It has rocked all my babies and provided many a good nap for all members of the family.  I love climbing in it first thing of a morning and rocking while enjoying a cup of coffee.

6. Sleeping In.  I am a huge fan of sleeping in (and then moving to the rocking chair).  Thankfully my kids are sleepers too and we do enjoy late mornings through the summer.  Sleeping in actually makes me feel really lazy!!!

5. House cleaning and organizing.  No, I don't love the actual process of cleaning my house, but the end product when it all looks nice, neat, and freshly organized is such a wonderful feeling.  It makes me feel like I have really accomplished something!!

4.  Cookouts & hanging out on our patio.  I love, love, love sitting on our back porch of an evening and watching the kids play in the yard.  We have a huge yard that is great for water games, football games, or just about whatever games the kids want to play.  The evenings have been so windy lately (and don't look promising in the next week), but I still love back porch time.

3.  Staying up late.  My true ME is a night owl.  If I could choose, I would stay up late and sleep in, but that rarely happens because of work.  In the summer, I do enjoy staying up late of an evening.  It is one of the few quiet moments in my day.  Robby and the kids are sleeping while I get a few things accomplished...catch up here on my blog, read a book, watch Grey's Anatomy from many weeks past, or just whatever I choose.

2. Vacation time...As much as I love being home (because we really aren't home all that much during the school year), I do love traveling and going on vacations with my family.  It's always a fun time for our family to spend time together.  This summer we will be traveling to Disney World in Orlando, then on to Marco Island for Florida Cattleman's Convention.  Calleigh, Cydney and I will go straight to Hampton, VA for the AAU National Tourney while the boys fly home.  They we will all meet back at a family reunion.  All in all...the us girls will spend 18 nights away from home IN A ROW!!!  I have never been gone this long in my life. It scares me a little!!

The number one thing I love about summer is just being able to hang out with my kids.  Things are more relaxed and we can just chill and have fun!!!

Hope your summer is amazing!!!  Be blessed..

thankful for the harvest

It’s harvest time in our neck of the woods.  As the harvest time grows near, we are always in high anticipation for our crops.  This year I find myself with a bit higher expectations due to the incredible moisture we had during the winter months.  As the spring rolls around and our expectations are high, we always fear what weather may come our way.  It is not unusual for spring and summer to bring heavy rains and hail....even tornadoes from time to time.

The Lord has shown his favor on us this year...we have had rain when we needed moisture, and held off dangerous storms that would ruin our crops.  For this...we are extremely grateful!!

This week we ventured out to the wheat fields for one last peek before the fields are harvested.  

Thank you Lord for the harvest!!!

around the corner

When the weather begins to warm up and we drag out our capris and flip flops....it has this mind altering effect on me.  I no longer want to be sitting in classroom full of antsy kids.  I want to be at the pool or playing golf with my family.  Although very busy, summer time is such a fun time for us.  We sleep in, hang out, and do lots and lots of swimming.  I am not sure how all this swimming will be with Cydney this year...she isn't afraid of much of anything and the cool water may just be what draws her attention.  I guess we will wait and see.

Warmer weather and summer approaching also calls for the dreaded swimsuit.  Swimsuits are deeply depressing to me.  I hate the way I look in a swimsuit.  Not sure why.  I know that I am super blessed to have had three kids and look the way I do, but I just hate swimsuits.  They show every bulge and wrinkle on this body.  I like it better when my clothes cover all the bulges and cellulite.  Out of sight, out of mind!!!!

I knew this year with Cydney loving water and our cruise in July, I would have to have a swimsuit that would be good for lots of activity.  But, I HATE SWIMSUIT SHOPPING!!!  I think because we see all these skimpy little swimsuits and realistically know that this body is never going to go into it. I don't know...just not fun.  This year, I did all my swimsuit shopping on line.  I would rather do all my shopping on line, but swimsuits...questionable.  It's hard to know if it will fit or not.  But I decided to go for it!!!  It came in this past week....and I love it!!! Actually, so much I bought another one.  EEKKK...don't tell Robby!!  I really did need it....I am swimsuit poor.  All I had was either maternity or too big!!  Finding a swimsuit I love boosted my spirits a little for pool time!!!

Here's a sneak peak....

How do you feel about swimsuits???