Mid-week Likes & Links

We made one of my mom's favorite desserts!

The boys (especially Carter) have really wanted to get good at using a yo-yo.  But, we haven't had much luck.  However, a friend just sent them these, and they are amazing!  They're much easier to use, and the boys love them!

We had a butterfly garden last year around this time, and I'm debating getting another or buying the ladybug land.  Anyone tried it?

Carter also has been dying to see a little volcano action.

I love this easy little sleeper.

A friend told me about these books, and they're awesome for the kids to learn about their letters, counting, matching, and more!

We got this tiny little pack and play for the office, and I love it!

I love a good crock pot meal, especially on Mondays.  I really want to try these!

What do I love most of all this week?  Rain!!!  It's been raining slowly for two days and has been the biggest blessing!

The Best Rice Krispie Treat

I know I've blogged about this before, but it's worth mentioning again.  We've found the perfect rice krispie treat recipe.  It has extra marshmallows, and just enough salt to make them stand out above the rest.  Really, you must try them.  

Since getting her special little bakeware, Sophie wants to bake all the time.  She'll talk to my gramma and ask if she'd like to come over for "take" (cake). She'll make mini muffin brownies and offer them to her speech teachers.  

On this day she wanted to make rice krispie treats for her brothers and dad after a long morning of checking cows.  

So we did.

And she thought that things would be much better with as many marshmallows as she could stuff into the measuring cup.

Maybe just a few more...

Isn't licking the spoon always the best part?!

They were well-received...as are most sweet things around here.  

The Beauty in the Everyday

I took these photos a month or so ago for a different project and forgot to ever post them here.  They tell the story of some of our chores.  So, the thought of doing chores seems so mundane to most, but I've since realized that what may seem ordinary for us is far less for others.  And, in realizing that, I've also realized how much I take for granted the beauty we're surrounded by...mainly in the form of animals and the simplicity of His creation.  So, here we are doing a bit of our daily grind...sometimes with and sometimes without the kids.  On this particular evening, they helped with it all.

John Paul got stuck in the fence.

 We fed the chickens.

On our way to feed the cows in the pasture...

Checking the windmill.

How cool is it that they turned to look at me at the same time?!

Finally, loading hay for the next day.

And, there you have it!  The evening's work.

We are in a place both literally and figuratively that is sometimes a bit crazy and even juxtaposed. We live in a place surrounded by no noise minus the distant hum of a train or the cows bellowing for their babies, yet there is almost never a moment of silence inside.  We don't have many distractions in the form of stores or restaurants or even activities, yet I constantly feel distracted from one daily task to the next.  I yearn for a home and life that is peaceful, a place where our children can feel safe, yet in these young years, it can often feel a bit chaotic.  

Even with the daily frustrations and the constantly wanting to be more, I wouldn't want to be any other place.  In living or in life.  I don't always give the best example of being joyful in the day-to-day.  I'm often a bit too wrapped around the axel to do so.  But, I was reminded this week that I'm exactly where I need to be...on a ranch, in a home with six little ones who need my attention almost every minute...in being a mom.  It won't be peaceful on the outside often.  But, in the inside, yes. Because of the choice to make it so.  

Sunday School

Right now, when our kiddos are still pretty young, we've decided it's just easier and better for us to do their Sunday school at home.  I found a series we're loving thus far called Faith and Life.

We do it on Sundays...ideally right after breakfast, but sometimes later, and it takes a little less than thirty minutes with the four older ones.

We've learned that God is love, Heaven is home, and He can do everything and is everywhere.

Every week there is a short lesson and activity.  In addition there are about three ideas to do throughout the week.  It's been perfect for us.

And, I've quickly learned that they are listening and absorbing even when it doesn't feel like it.

One Sunday they were cutting up as I was trying to teach, and I was trying so hard to keep my cool.  I asked each of them to tell me something they were thankful God made.  Carter quickly remarked, "Laughter!" to which the crowd went wild, and I had to chuckle, too.

See???

The evening after we learned about God being everywhere, as we were eating our hamburgers, John Paul yelled, "OH NO!"  What, John Paul? "I just ate God!  You said He was everywhere."  Oh my, we're in for a ride.

Sometimes things do not go exactly as planned, but it is neat to see them learning so much about our faith and enjoying it, even when I get a bit ruler-like.  Ha!