peace

at the peace gardens ::

chilly day

almost the only ones there

running through the sprinklers

hoodies & cardigans

sitting and resting

wrestling in the grass

waiting for the bells to chime

playing I-spy

loading mama with hoodies & cardigans

collecting dandelions & clovers

bringing flowers to mama

lots of giggles

finding our favorite flowers

flowers reminding us of our old home

watching the gardeners work

little girls resisting the urge to pick pretty flowers

chasing each other through the paths

gate keepers

piggy back rides

making funny faces

looking for coins for the wishing pond

watching fountains

everyone faster than mama

baby kicking

playing follow the leader

walking the cracks

walking 3 miles

lunch at the park

being in Canada for the first time

loving our time together

...on the side of the road

You know those little moments,
that come and go so swiftly
...but you know you never want to forget.

This was one of those moments,
that i'm blogging so i'll never forget.



We had made a quick stop on the side of a country road
...somewhere in northern Minnesota.

Dad had to get something from the camper.
I thought all 3 of the littles were asleep,
when I heard Eliza perk up and say...
"Mom, I need to unbuckle. I see a little yellow flower that I have to get for you. please!"
I hopped out and opened the back door to let her out...
she ran over to the flower, plucked it from the ground and brought it right back over to me.
"It's for you mama, it's beautiful and it smells like sunshine"




Eliza,
I love how you find little bits of beauty everywhere we go,
I pray you never loose that vision
because there is indeed beauty everywhere you will go.
But if your eyes and heart aren't trained to find the beauty in all that is ordinary
...life can become dull.
Keep looking for beauty my dear,
even on the side of the road.

True or False

We just got home, a few days ago, from a 5 day 900 mile trip.

Today is our one and only ultrasound. We are all going.

Eliza wants to see if the baby has girl or boy pajamas on.

We are not finding out the gender.

I fell off my no-sugar diet.

I am completely caught up on laundry.

I accidentally washed Ozzie's caterpillar in the washing machine.

I use apple cider vinegar as deodorant.

The boys were gone for 8 days at camp.

Grandpa & Grandma are moving to town.

I'm thinking about shutting down my facebook.

Ozzie and the girls caught 33 frogs in the farm yard yesterday.

Paul and I photographed a tribal adoption this past weekend.

We have 9 kittens now and we are keeping them all.

The girls sing "I love you" songs to the kittens... daily.

We ate at Burger King over the weekend & ended up throwing half the food away. yuck.

We were questioned by Border Patrol if our children were indeed all our children.

Dad was so excited to get his big boys back he arrived to pick them up 2 hours early and they were just waking up.

All 3 of the big boys have decided they want to be baptized.

I have never been baptized.

Half of my family doesn't like potatoes.

I am addicted to raw kale salad right now.

Ozzie says he is going to be a race car driver when he is "old enough"

All 3 of the boys commented that my belly was bigger when they came back from camp.

The girls think washing dishes is fun.

Ozzie left his collection of die cast tractors at the campground and we went back to get them.

I'll be back tonight or tomorrow with a baby update and belly pictures.

Everything is I wrote is True.

See you soon friends!

{boondocking} in the middle of nowhere

you know how I said we were .boondocking.

I wasn't using the term lightly

...we weren't parking in our driveway.

We're really really out in the .middle.of.nowhere.

about 2 miles from the farm as the bird flies

8 miles by gravel road

and .9 miles from the road into the middle of a field.

as much as I love being connected...

to power, water, internet, ect.

I think I love being disconnected even more

the peace.

undisturbed beauty.

darkness of night.

rustle of the wild grass in the wind.

it rained and poured .hard. one night

everyone except me slept through it
...the wind was so fierce I .thought. we might blow over.
.but we didn't.

we ventured out the day after the rain

...we flung mud and muddy water all over the van.

There was giggling and hollering as we bumped along flinging mud.

.fun times.

Living .in.and.out. of the camper since January

...has taught me a lot.

less {really} is more.

We become so desensitized to how truly easy our lives are...

Running water.

hot water.

electricity.

air conditioning.

internet.

...pondering how that has changed my views on life...

.coming.and.going.

We just got home from a week at family camp.

A good time was had by all...

the Girls and Ozzie romped around with endless energy

while the big boys were busy with friends and classes

...hence the lack of pictures of the big boys.

And mom and dad relaxed...

you know the best you can with 6 kids. {grin}

.LOVES.

the beautiful surroundings

wind rustling in the trees

laying in bed and hearing everyone say "goodnight..." x's 8

the simplicity of a tiny home

sitting under the awning watching the little ones play

using baskets for a game of kick ball

 

playing store and hearing Nolia say "i'll share my money with anyone who needs it"

the bigs taking the littles to the playground while I made dinner

hearing the boys tell about all their new friends

going to sleep at sunset and rising with the sun

 '

not doing laundry for 5 days {grin}

going to look at dirt bikes and boats

letting the kids be free

laying on a blanket watching the clouds

time with friends

beautiful sunshine

dad building an awesome tent the littles with blankets & chairs

day time naps

'

pulling 4 kids up the hill on my bike... huff-puff

watching the big boys race off on their bikes to get to class

the smell of the grill cooking

Ozzie cooking cookies in the gravel

hearing giggles from morning till night

lazy pig-tales

Nolia and her funny faces

watching the girls be brave on the playground 

 '

the big boys going to a waterpark with friends

ice cream treats

cool evening breezes

watching the girls play train on the slide

'

endless smiles

learning new games

launching homemade rockets

watching Ozzie introduce us to his new friend Kennedy

'

dancing and singing to the music

the kids being worn out by the end of the day

messy hair and dirty finger nails

being without camera in hand most of the time

...and now we are home

but still in the camper for a week or two or three.

We'll be boondocking in the country,

while we do some home renovations.

Road Trip :: Rewind

We may have been off-grid a lot

and off of the computer a lot

but my camera was still in my hands a lot

and now it's finally time to share all those lovely photos!

:: St. Joseph Peninsula, Florida ::

'

' '

' '

' '

' '

' '

' '

' '

' '

' '

' '

' '

' '

' '

' '

' '

' '

:: LOVES ::

seeing the ocean on both sides

biking riding to the beach

humidity curls

sitting under the awning watching the rain

collecting sea shells

writing our names in the white sand

splashing in the cool ocean waves

waking up to singing birds

soaking up the salt spray

bird watching walks

going out for a fancy italian dinner

washing laundry outside

the cool airstream camper next door

the lovely palm trees

bringing crystal white sand along with us

running on the beach

falling asleep to the lull of the waves

the perfect campsite

pulling out when the tornado warning came