Family Reunion

Top row left to right: Hunter, Jared, Conner, Ashlyn, Danika, Elle
Bottom row left to right: Tyler, Andrew, Adam, Mathew, Maquelle, Ethan

Michael's sister and all her kids came into town and so we got to have a family reunion. The brunettes belong to Michael's sister, the curlies are all ours and the rest of the blonds are Michael's brother's boys.

Elle wasn't sure what to make of all of it and was quite shy at first but she got into it with the rest of them by the end. Out of a current 13 grandchildren, only four are girls. It was quite rowdy with lots of yelling and running and a good time had by all. We had a few camera shy grown-ups, but I did sneak a few good pictures of them anyway.

My mother-in-law's neighbor's and long time friends were having a birthday party for their twin girls and she volunteered to cook ribs for both parties. It was....AWESOME! She cooked them at 300 for 3 hrs and then barbequed them on the grill. I've always boiled them first, but these turned out super tender. Wow!

Running through the sprinklers

We had a bit of a heat wave this week. On Wednesday we have Denver over for a play date. After I picked them up from TinyTots and fed everybody lunch we headed up to Grandma's for some time in the sprinklers. We brought the squirt guns from the Father's and Son's outing and balls. There was lots of running and screaming to begin with, but as they got their energy out they began experimenting with the spirnkler and all the towels that were provided.

I remember playing in the sprinklers as a child. It's one of those "must's" of childhood. Fortunately Grandma has a great backyard for this kind of thing. After they finished soaking all their towels we dumped the ice maker out on the lawn for them to play with. They thought it was great fun to throw the ice-cubes up in the air and watch them shatter on the patio. I sat just inside the door so I could keep and eye on them and watched a movie on Grandma's laptop.

Fleeting joys

Ethan finished his lesson book, "Teach Your Child To Read in 100 Easy Lessons" According to the manual, his fluency is at a 2nd grade level. I was working in the kitchen when I happened by and saw Ethan reading to Hunter on the couch. It's one of those moments as a Mother you feel so full of joy.

I tried to be as inconspicuous as possible when I took this picture so I could capture the moment without disturbing it.

Hunter is very impressed by Ethan being able to read he's started asking me to do the lessons with him. HURRAY!!!!

Uncles are fun

My two youngest brothers, Mikey and Daniel each came up from Southern Cal recently on different occasions to take care of a few things. The kids LOVE it when they come. Uncles are good for running and screaming... which gets the kids all riled up. Plus, Uncles don't tell you to clean up or get dressed or put your shoes on. They wrestle with the kids on the floor and become a human jungle gym. I'm sad I didn't get a picture with Daniel, but this one was taken on the 9th.

A light in the darkness

On my way in the car today I was listening to KDFC, the local classical station. They played this song...it was ....amazing. I wrote down the time it played so I could look up the information later.
The song was Sanctis by Libera Angel Voices. I found it and listened to it again. Then I listened to their other tracks.

I can't remember the last time music brought me to tears. It is like parting the veil of heaven itself and hearing choirs of angels. I am at a loss of words to adequately describe the beauty, joy, light and Spirit of God that this music swells within me. It resonates with my very soul. It is the sound of everything pure and beautiful in the world. It is the sound of innocence and faith. It is the sound of holiness.