Family Vacation!

My dad's side of the family last week had a Wilhelm family reunion in Colorado Springs. It was great to reunite with the whole family! I was especially glad for my kids to meet their relatives; since only Tim's grandma keeps in touch with us from his family, it was important my kids saw and met their aunts, uncles, and cousins. While we were planning the trip, Tim got the idea that since we were going to Colorado Springs that we should hit a couple of other fun places and visit some friends along the way.

The day after we arrived at in Colorado Springs, the whole family hiked "The Garden of the Gods." Everyone "oohed and aahed" over the red rocks and couldn't believe it when Tim and I told them we live just 15 minutes away from the spectacular red rocks in Sedona. 

After Colorado Springs we headed to Rapid City, South Dakota. The kids had a ball at Storybook Island. Seriously, the place is so charming! It had Disney themes all throughout and I must have taken about 50 pictures--no joke!--while we were there! I highly recommend the place if you have kids and are ever in the area. Did I mention it is free? :)

Monday night we made it to Mt. Rushmore and had the opportunity to see it at night with the lights show. Since Tim and the kids had never seen it before, it was fun to go. The kids really enjoyed the video about the making of it and the presidents, and asked all sorts of questions about it afterwards.  

Making our way back down, we stopped in Gilette, Wyoming, a town known for its mining industry. Here we are in a huge tire (13 ft. up?) and the kids enjoyed seeing the mine.

Our last stop was to see Focus on the Family back in Colorado Springs. We didn't get a chance to see it on the first part of our trip because it was closed for the July 4th holidays, so were glad we could see it on our way back. The kids absolutely loved the whole experience. The highlight was that our family was able to record our own Adventures in Odyssey story on cd! It was so cool--they give you a notebook with your part in it and you read it and then after you do the recording, they give you the cd--for free! 

And here's where I have to brag for a minute on Tirzah--I told the lady she would read for the part Jaime, a part that required lots of enthusiasm. The lady wasn't so sure Tirzah could do it and had her read a few lines to see. Tirzah read with great expression and the lady and sound man were amazed at not only her reading skill but her enthusiasm. After it was over with, the lady told me and Tim that Tirzah has a gift and that she should know since she has worked with hundreds of other kids!That was really neat for me--the homeschooling mother--to hear. :) 

We really had a great vacation! In one week we put 3,700 miles on the van and lots of memories in our family memory bank. I hope you are having a wonderful summer and are able to make beautiful memories with your family too!

Visiting Ruth Ann's Parents

In June I took the kids by myself to visit my parents in Sierra Vista. The road trip went so smoothly and we made the trip in 4 1/2 hours. It was great to be with mom and dad. Since we don't have a mall in Cottonwood, the kids really enjoying going to their mall and playing on the play structure, eating candy, and riding some rides!

Selah had a ball climbing on everything. It was fun to see her enjoying the whole playland experience. She is really growing up; absolutely refused to wear pull-ups for the trip, telling me she was a "big girl" now. She had no accidents and did great!

 

Tirzah and Acarith couldn't wait to play at Grandma and Boompa's mall. (Boompa is a name Tirzah called my dad when she was little and the name has stuck with all the kids!_

Hardy will tell you he's too big to watch Bob the Builder, but I guess he still must kind of like it since he wanted to ride "Scoop"!

The kids and I enjoyed going on a walk with my brother Jonathan and his dog Jewel. Behind them you can see my parent's house and our new van parked in front of it.

After we left my parent's house we stopped in Tempe, a suburb of Phoenix, to visit my brother Stephen. He lives in a downstairs apartment and the kids enjoyed climbing and trying to climbing up the wall. It was fun we could all see him, even if it was just for a few hours.

We had a great trip! Since I had promised the kids we would visit my family this summer, it worked out great for us to see them in June.

I hope you all are enjoying your summer like we are!

Miscellaneous Pictures

A recent picture of me by my favorite photo prop--our family tree. Trees are a big deal here in Cottonwood, and we are blessed to not only have in our front yard six 50 ft. pine trees but also to have three big Mulberry trees in our backyard.

 

Hardy lately has been working on his handstands--and he's actually kind of getting it. I know his belly is showing, but I couldn't resist posting this!

At bath time Acarith informed me she wanted to do her hair. Twenty minutes later she came out of the bathroom looking like this! Didn't she do a good job? The barrettes didn't stay in for too long in her fine hair, but she was so proud of herself--and I was pretty proud too!

Selah has some new news--she is now potty trained! Last week we spent a few days working on it, and by the end of the third day she completely had it! Yay! Acarith told her, "Selah, now you're a big girl like sissy" (that's Acarith).  Acarith was so helpful and encouraging with Selah--honestly, I don't know if I could have done it without her! :)

On May 18th Tirzah finished school and Hardy finished on the 19th. Tirzah now is going into fourth grade and Hardy into second! By Thursday Hardy said he missed his teacher and classmates! To get them busy, I gave them shovels and they had a ball digging a big pit the whole afternoon. We had a wonderful school year; I really am thankful for the Abeka videos and the godly influence the teachers and students have on my kids.

We are all doing very well and really thankful it's summer!  

Hardy's Baptism!

Last year in August Hardy accepted Jesus as his Savior and the past few months has been talking about baptism. We finally set the date for April 19th, and it was perfect because his grandma, grandpa, and uncles could come up and be there for the ceremony. I took this picture of him with his sisters on Sunday morning before church.  

The last week Hardy was nervous about the baptism. He left junior church class to get dressed and said, "Mama, can you pray for me to not be nervous?"

After I prayed with him, I took this picture of us. By this time, everyone was waiting for him to arrive outside.

This is  a picture of my family ready to watch the baptism. From the back left-my brother Jonathan, Dad, brother Stephen, then from the front-Selah, Mom, Tirzah, and Acarith. It was nice we could all be together as a family. My mom has been having health issues and my older brother has been flying out of state for job interviews, so it was amazing we could all be together for the baptism.

Tim had the privilege of baptizing Hardy. The water was nice and warm from the baptismal heater, and later Hardy said he wished he could have "gone swimming in it."

This was really exciting for Hardy. He later told Tim, "I had a wonderful day today!"

Hardy has really grown spiritually this last year; he has consistently wanted to be a missionary. Last week I heard him ask one of our teenager guys at church, "Do you want to be a missionary with me?" Then he asked another older boy the same question a few days later. Just last Saturday at a party he asked his friend LJ, "How about we be missionaries together when we grow up?" :) I love his sweet spirit towards the mission field and would be thrilled if he did become a missionary one day.

Making Culottes for the Girls

Last year at this time, I made Tirzah and Acarith some culottes. A friend of mine named Kristen drew out a simple pattern for me, and the girls have really enjoyed wearing them. Although most of the culottes have survived, they were getting small so I knew it was time to make another batch. The girls and I went to Wal-Mart and they had fun picking out material for their new culottes. I began the project Tuesday afternoon and by last Tuesday night, I had the three pairs in this picture made (the ones they are holding plus what Tirzah is wearing).

I like my sewing system. We have an entertainment center in the dining room, and instead of a TV in the big opening, I have all my sewing stuff in it. I even sew inside it, which is so convenient; I can set aside a project anytime and finish it later.

Here's my confession: I am NOT a sewer. I don't know very much, but thanks to youtube I have been able to learn. No joke-just this last week I had to watch a refresher on making a bobbin because it had been awhile since I sewed! 

By Thursday afternoon I finished the project--yay! I had made 12 pairs, with each one taking anywhere from 45 min. to an hour to make. Since Acarith's favorite color is purple, she loves her purple ones. Tirzah's favorite are the pink leopard ones.

Last year, I made a friend named Kristen. Her girls were wearing culottes, and, of course, Kristen and I talked all about making them; I made sure she understood I didn't know much about sewing! :) She said, "I have an easy pattern. I'll draw one up for you and I'm sure you'll be able to make them." I did need her to walk me through the process over the phone a couple times (thanks Kristen!), but eventually I did catch on and they really were easy to make. Now we're all ready for the warmer weather to come!  

Our Easter!

We have a tradition of doing our Easter egg hunt the Saturday evening before Easter Sunday. I love this tradition because we can really enjoy it without feeling rushed, and we have noticed the kids really focus on the resurrection of Jesus for church on Sunday. For this year's hunt, the kids got their baskets filled with stuffed animals and little toys and then headed to our front yard for their hunting. 

Acarith is so funny--she had on Friday night picked out this outfit to wear specifically for the hunt. She is definitely the fashionista of the family!

Hardy did NOT want his picture taken during the hunt. He said, "Mama, I'm hunting. I don't have time to stop for a picture!" :) He felt better when I assured him I would be taking pictures of the others as well!

I love this picture of Tim and the kids. It was taken right after the hunt.  They were so excited with their full baskets!

The kids were all smiles! We really had a good time. Afterwards they just enjoyed opening their eggs and eating their candies while Tim and I relaxed on our patio chairs. It was such a fun night!

Easter morning we got to church early to get pictures (and also prepare for the services), but then something horrible happened--my camera battery went dead! I was thankful that I at least got two pictures taken of the kids before that happened.

Yesterday I went to Wal-Mart to get Tirzah a dress and found nothing--and I mean nothing. In our town there is only one other option for dresses her age--JC Penneys. As I was heading there, I said out loud, "Lord, please let there be a dress for no more than $25 (last year the cheapest ones there were for $40 but we found one for her at WalMart for $15). I really was on a time crunch, and as I was pulling up to the parking lot I said, "Okay, Lord, I'll settle for $33." I ran in (literally) and discovered their dresses were 60% off, and found a cute dress in her (new) favorite color for--with tax included--$25.12. As I ran back to the van, I thanked the Lord for the dress and confessed my lack of faith! :) Seriously though, it's easy to get dresses for the little girls (theirs were both birthday presents by our friends), but it's getting harder to find modest, pretty dresses for Tirzah. One good thing--I'm inspired to pull my sewing machine out for making culottes and skirts this spring.

Ahhh...it's busy being a mother of four, but I love it!

I hope you all have enjoyed your Easter like our family did! Happy Resurrection Sunday!

Selah Turns 2!

 

Two years ago today, little Selah Joy was born at 9:29 am. She weighed in at 6 pounds, 12 ounces, and was 19" long. Hardy had a hard time accepting the fact the new baby was a girl, but when he saw her that night at the hospital, he loved and loved on her. After he left the room and reached the far end of the hallway he yelled, "Mama, I changed my mind! I love my new baby sister!" Awww...that was so precious to me! Everyone adjusted so well to her arrival, it was amazing. I am so thankful for all the Lord has done for our family.

Selah loves butterflies, so I thought a butterfly cake would be fun. Tirzah and Acarith did a great job putting the candies all over the cake, and we really had a fun time. Since we had done the hard part the night before, all we had to do was frost and decorate it for the party which was at noon today.

 

Selah looked adorable in her little butterfly outfit! Complete with new birthday shoes and hairbows. Gotta love being a girl sometimes!

I thought you might want to see the rainbow-layered cake in its natural state. This is actually thee baked 9x13 cakes from a white cake mix with added orange gelatin powder to one, lime for the second, and strawberry for the third. After I split each cake in half, I stacked the three kinds with lemon frosting in between. I then put the two stacks side-by-side and cut the cake to look like a butterfly and then re-froze it. In the morning I just pulled it out and it was all ready to decorate!

One problem occurred during the decorating of the cake: Selah got into my bottle of red food coloring dye! I washed her face three times with Dawn soap (you can imagine how she felt about that!), but it would not come off. Tim saved the day by getting some "stuff" from his workshop to put on her face, and I was so relieved that worked!

We had a great party, and it's hard to explain, but Selah somehow knew that party was all about her! Gotta love that girl!