strawberries

Mmmm . . . fresh strawberry jam!

If you’re looking for the very BEST pb and j, come on over for lunch.

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my new favorite place

The girls are holding some fresh farmer’s market delights.

After a short, busy week at home, (where we spent a few hours one evening in the basement during a tornado warning where one actually touched down in our town!) we went back across the state for a friend’s wedding.  All of the Austins were there for the weekend, so that was really fun.  Mel and I took the girls to another farmer’s market while G spent the morning golfing with friends he hadn’t seen in many years.

This was a much larger farmer’s market than the one close to our house, and I decided that farmer’s markets are one of my new favorite places.  So many bright colors and locally grown food . . .

Not sure what these are, but they sure are gorgeous!

Mmm . . . nothing like Michigan cherries.

The girls enjoyed listening to this musician for a couple of minutes, and I LOVED how his dog was just sitting right next to him and the open banjo case.  I would have really liked to have taken lots and lots of pictures of this, but that would have been totally awkward and weird.  As it was, I asked if I could take this picture.

Mel and I snatched up some fresh strawberries.  Delicious!!!  These babies are headed for some homemade jam.

Kait reeeeeeeeeeeeally wanted to buy something for herself, so I gave her a dollar and she chose a pretty little geranium.  So far she has taken really great care of it.

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happy girls

Yep . . . we’re glad daddy is home!  Three weeks is a loooooooong time to be gone!

Kait and I decorated some brownies (G’s favorite) to welcome him home.  We got the idea from Family Fun.  Kait is getting to be quite the helper in the kitchen.

This has been a really busy week (thus no blogging), but soon I’ll fill you in on what the Austins have been up to.

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music to my ears

The girls really enjoyed Mel’s piano.  Yes . . .all of them . . . at the same time.

I’m pretty sure the neighbors didn’t enjoy their music as much as they did.

I enjoyed seeing them playing together, but the REAL music to my ears is what is happening tomorrow!!

Big Daddy is coming home!!!

G is scheduled to arrive Tuesday morningish.

We will be there, running around the airport waiting room, probably annoying any others that are there, but we’ll be there to welcome our special man home!

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a morning at the gardens

On Saturday Mel and I took the girls to Fredrich Meijer Gardens, and we explored the Children’s Garden for a couple of hours.

The girls ran through the tree house,

explored a log cabin,

pretended to be birds in a nest,

built sand castles with Aunt Mel,

played in a rock quarry,

and . . . .their favorite . . . splashed in the Great Lakes water tables.

What a fun morning!!  We can’t wait to go back soon.

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gotcha’ day!

Today is another big day!  One year ago, Pendo became part of our forever family.

We became her foster family and brought her home to live with us until the court process would make her an official Austin almost six months later.

It was a REALLY BIG day for us!!

As it happened, Aunt Mel and my brother and his family were staying with us for a few days when we brought her home.  We had a big party.

Today we had another party.

I found a cute little cupcake recipe to try, and Mel helped me decorate them.

Oops.  They didn’t turn out so well.

There was one cute little crown, but the rest decided to wilt and look more like jester hats or sea anemones.

Pendo was SO cute when we sang “Happy Gotcha’ Day to you . . .”

She chose her cupcake, and everyone dug in.

We also went to a park and went swimming again to celebrate today.

Pendo, you bring SO MUCH to our family . . . so much silliness, so many laughs, so many snuggles, so many questions, so much determination, so many challenges, so much FUN, so much music,  so, so, so, so, so, so, so much JOY!!  We love you and are incredibly thankful you are part of our lives.

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summer . . .

Summer is officially here!

Can’t believe my Kait is now in SECOND GRADE!!

Yesterday, right after the half-day of school, Mel and I caravanned (Is that a word?  Spell check doesn’t like it.) back to her neck of the woods for a few days.  We’re staying at Mel’s house and having some summer fun while we wait for G to head back across the Atlantic in a few days (5 days and counting!).

So how did we begin the first day of summer . . .the first day we didn’t have to be awake at a certain time or be out the door in the early morning?  The little girls woke up at about 5:30am.  I could have screamed.  I was. not. a. happy. mama. let me tell you!  They were ready to go for the day.  UGH!

When every one else got up (at the reasonable hour of 7am), we hung out and had a leisurely morning.

Later in the day, we headed over to the pool and enjoyed the surprisingly warm water, and after dinner Kait whipped up a delightful apple crisp with just a little help from Aunt Mel and some observation from Rose.

Ever have one of those days when the kids need a break from each other?  Yeah.  Well, we have that every day, and while the two older girls whipped up some yummies, Pendo and I took Macie for a walk.

She discovered a bunch of rocks and determined to walk allllllllllllllllllllll the way down the long pathway.

Didn’t matter how often she fell, she got right back up . . . took a few steps . . .

and fell again .. . . and got right back up.  Over and over and over.  It must have taken us at least 10 minutes to walk down this street.

What a determined little lady!

When we got back to the house, there was a delightful baked apple aroma scenting the air.  Mmmmmm!  It tasted amazing!  Keep up the good work, Kait.  The summer is just beginning!

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farm fresh food

A few days ago I decided to check out our local farmer’s market.  G’s mom helped me with the little girls while Kait spent some quality time with Grandpa.  We saw some gorgeous fruits and veggies and flowers.

These radishes are so bright and beautiful that I almost, almost, want to eat them.

The breathtaking gerber daisies really drew me in.

One of these days, I’m going to try some of this delightful bread,

and some of these beeeeeeeeeeautiful berries.

But this time, I brought home some daisies along with the promise that we will certainly be going back to the farmer’s market–hopefully very, very soon.

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porch pool party

On Saturday we brought out the blow up pool.  The girls splished and splashed for about five minutes and then fizzled.  We were hoping to make this pool time last for awhile, so we added the slide and–whew!–that saved the day!

Yes, you are correct.  Pendo is licking the water off of her sister.

Grandma and Grandpa enjoyed watching the girls splash almost all the water out of the pool.

I am oh. so. grateful. for their willingness to put their lives on hold this week to come and help me with the girls while G is gone.  It in an amazing gift that I will always be thankful for.

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twelve

Twelve years ago today, my man and I walked down an aisle and committed to share the rest of our lives together.

(I was going to try to scan a picture from our wedding day because that was waaaaaaaaaaaay before digital wedding pictures, but that would have required me to find our wedding proofs, learn to use the scanner, and then figure out how to save it in the right spot to put it on the blog.  Sorry.  I just didn’t have the energy right now.  Maybe someday I’ll figure it out and give you something to giggle at and say ‘wow!  they looked like kids!’)

Little did we know what our future together would be.

Twelve years later these silly little ladies are a BIG part,

and we’ve grown closer and closer together through all of the ups and downs and challenges and joys that God has brought to us.

The only sad part of this day is that my love and I are an ocean apart.

Happy Anniversary, babe.  This has been the VERY BEST twelve years of my life, and I’m excited to live the rest of my days with you by my side.  We make a great team, and I’m so blessed to be married to my best friend.

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