some everyday

my sister sent me an email saying she missed seeing posts on here.  sometimes i feel like social media just makes me lonely.  i really long to connect with people in real life, you know in real conversation instead of just liking their pictures on facebook and leaving the occasional blog comment.  i don't even have a smart phone, but i feel like this article is right on the money.  but my family is spread all over the planet, my brother and sister-in-law just had a baby in India, friends have moved away, and time is so so short.  and plus, i like to go back and look at pictures of the kiddos as they grow, even if over half the photos on my camera are blurry unidentifiable ones the kids took.  here are a few poorly photographed moments of the dog days of summer.  sometimes we get a taste of fall in the morning and we so look forward to being outside more when it cools down a bit.

the other day, g went to play with a friend and mar and i had some sweet time while littlest bro napped.  we will soon be saying goodbye to the orange kitchen.  my house is slowly becoming all cool colors.  my brain needs rest from the bold colors for now.

this is my sweetest little niece caroline. we can't wait to meet her at Christmas.  isn't she the most precious little bean?

 

typical morning

shenanigans

this is our precious new neighbor all the way from south africa.  miles adores him, though i'm not sure if x is crying or smiling in this photo

a butterfly the kids "rescued."  look at its poor tattered wings.  this is typical of our outdoor adventure.  some creatures is always being rehabbed, or hurried to the grave...whatever you want to call it.

oh this sweet boy.  he is having a really hard time lately.  i love him to pieces, but my hair is going gray i think and he has trouble with sleep these days.  he says the cutest things though and gives the best cuddles.

fun daddy had the idea to catch fireflies and keep them in a jar for a night light.  the kids felt sorry for them and let them go, but had so much joy in the catching.

a picky eater, but LOVES smoothies!

so big and handsome

graham started soccer with some friends from church and my dad came to his first game

these shorties were so cute.  g really got the hang of it by the end of the game and had the happiest look on his face.  he scored a goal and my dad says "had a taste of blood."  it was a good feeling, you could tell.

cheering on big bro

elvin princess

g asks to go creeking every day.  we do it a lot, especially if adam is off for some weird chunk of time in the middle of the day

the boys got bunkbeds and we enjoyed the boxes

i'll have to take a picture of the actual assembled product later.  poor g is sleeping so much better now that he is no longer sharing with night-acrobat miles

it is wild around here

reading is becoming easier for mar and every once in a while she snuggles up her brothers and reads to them. 

this is one of those elaborate rainy summer games with all the pillows and chairs...a nest/trap or something?

we are so ready for residency to be done, but meanwhile i'm thankful for a husband who spends the narrow margins with us...even if it means mowing the lawn like this.

we've started back to our co-op and it has been good for us to get back into that groove.  today marit gave a presentation about rescuing a hummingbird off our neighbor's porch.  the story spilled out rapidly and she had the hiccups the whole time.  it was so cute.  graham gives his presentations while holding onto some part of me.  today he talked about lizards (surprise, surprise) and held his reptile book in front of his face the whole time. 

that's all for now.  we are fine and we probably miss you so don't be a stranger!