Brain Dump {Picture Dump}

So I just gotta blog. Our life has been crazy but so good! We are just incredibly blessed to have our life so full of awesome friends and family. The social activities can get a bit overwhelming at times, in fact we said "no" to 5 things this week, which feels pretty huge to me. The only event that I'm deeply sad about missing is the annual homeschool convention. It just does not seem right to skip it. I'm remembering the past 4 years of getting away for 2 days with my man and soaking up time together plus being totally inspired by speakers at the convention and getting to browse and order our curriculum for next year. But it's okay, it's okay, it's okay....

We have had an incredibly wet, cool and late spring. Knowing that when the weather does clear, my man will hit the fields like a mad man, and family time will be non-existant. So we took off one evening last week to go fishing w/ the kids. The fish weren't biting, I didn't want to go in the first place, and it started to rain just before we wrapped it up. But in spite of all that, it was one of those rare and priceless evenings that I'll remember for a long time. I sat on my bucket and fished and relaxed and watched a beautiful sunset, and messed w/ my camera. The kids were relaxed and hardly tangled any lines, which is a huge improvement from the good old days. We all came home happy and tired.

Here's another picture I just have to post: Annika, still in her pj's, finishing school on the very last day, behind the rocker- with Brooke supervising. It's a classic.

We planted garden and I had a fabulous little helper.

We have been practically living outside on these glorious days! And my farmer husband finally got in the fields this week. After a very intense week of us seeing almost nothing of him, he can cross planting crops off of his to-do list!!!!!!!!!!!!! I prayed a lot of prayers for safety, protection and 'hold the rain back, God' this week. And God answered every one of those prayers.

I enjoyed a very special Mother's Day with my 4 blessings and wonderful man! My favorite memory was each of them sharing something they appreciated about me before we ate Sunday lunch. Can you tell that Words of Affirmation are my love language?

I've been thinking...

Will I ever get mature enough in my Christian life that painful comments will just roll off of me?

Why do I feel the need to explain myself when I'm misunderstood?

How can every thing I do truly be a reflection of Christ's love in me?

If I've been given so much grace, why is it so hard to extend it to others?

Why am I so lazy in my spiritual life yet love to work hard physically?

How can I better embrace and support my husband's job/calling?

How can I respect those who have a differing opinion than me, yet still use tactful words to challenge them to think for themselves?

and on a lighter note....

Why can't we have spring 9 months out of the year?

Do we really only have 13 more weeks of summer vacation?

Why don't my raspberries mulch themselves?:)

Good-bye. My raspberries are calling my name.