This Week's Happenings...

This week has been glorious! I didn't have any commitments, other than taking care of the boys during the day, and then Justin, when he arrived home. It's been a long week for him. He's been out of the house by 4 or 5 am. Arrival time in the pm has been varied, but mostly by 7ish. Tonight he still isn't home, and it's 10:15 pm. He's helping the girls on a project. :)
I've spent most of my time playing w/ the boys, reading books, and working consistently w/ them on a "quiet time". The latter is being necessitated by William's inability to sit for any period of time in public. To avoid confrontations, in public, I've decided to buckle down and "practice" here at home. We've been listening to Chip Ingram's tape series: "House or Home" for about an hour every morning. It's been excellent and encouraging. Today, William was singing "Dada, dada" softly during the tape. I think he thought that manly voice was Justin's. :) We'll see how it goes during church on Sunday. I remember this age from about 10-18 months was the hardest w/ Samuel. He's pretty much a breeze now, since we did that early work. I think I'm a bit tougher, and know to expect more from William. He definitely understands a lot! :) (Probably more than he even lets on!) I'm working on the sitting still thing 1st, and we'll tackle the "be quiet" thing later.
My housecleaning schedule is in effect again, now that I have a few more hours to spare every week. I was on this website: www.thefamilyhomestead.com this past week. I've been thinking about my need to be a good home-manager. That site has the recipe I use for laundry soap, but also contains a lot of other great information! I've decided to be more organized w/ my meal planning, menus, and grocery shopping.
Oh, here comes my honey. Better go for now!


Today, the boys and I went to a park to hike on some paved trails. I was only able to snap a few picture, before my batteries ran out. Highlight: we saw a snake in the lake, only a few feet from us. The boys enjoyed stomping in the puddles and throwing rocks into the lake. They could've done that for hours! William liked watching from the sidelines(the stroller) and loved sliding down the slides at the playground.

William was 11 months old on June 2nd and is officially walking around now! (Samuel was at least 13 months, before he walked) He has to keep up w/ Samuel! Unfortunately, my batteries are down...I want to get some more pictures of him motoring around...it's too funny!

The cat that adopted us, affectionately named "Coffee Cat" by Samuel, came to their rescue and proceeded to beat up the evening find. Don't think the snake died, but "C.C." definitely was there to defend.

Justin and Samuel discovered a snake, during one of their evening excursions this week.

Playtime was moved indoors, while some thunderstorms moved through. Bonus for my waist high laundry pile!

Samuel donning Daddy's sombrero. He definitely earned brownie points w/ his mother-in-law, who kindly cares about all of our skin. (esp. the guys, since they're out working in the sun and heat every day) He subtracted $7 from his blow money this week, but added about 7 years to his life, by making that purchase, you know. :) :)

"Let's go out and ride bikes"--all Samuel wants to do! Playing outside is easier on the house staying tidy, but makes me tired. We've gone from chilly weather, to hot, humid weather! Nap time has been essential and beneficial for all 4 of us. :)