4th of July Camping Trip

On a whim, we decided to go camping over the 4th of July.
This trip marked little Ru's first time camping, and for the most part, she did great and loved it!  

All of the nearby, reservable sites seemed to be full...go figure.
Looking for reservations on June 30th was not a brilliant idea, but we did get a spot in Glacier National Park at Kintla lake.  

In fact, there was one spot left right next to us and it was the ONLY spot in the ENTIRE park that was not taken on July 3rd and 4th (the two nights we stayed). 

Here are a few pictures and memories from our trip.

I ended up bringing two dead camera batteries, so our iphone was the only option.

Meh!  

Not the first time I've done that, and it probably won't be the last!

We didn't arrive to the campsite until dinner time, so we started the fire to get nice and hot for cooking and then started working on the tent before dark.

We put Ru in her highchair to keep the mischievous one out of the flames.

While Clint and I worked on the tent, Liam started building his own tent out of rocks and sticks.

About 30 minutes in...things started to go South...

Ruby and Liam were entertaining each other...much like you see here.

I was helping with the tent when I heard a blood curdling scream coming from Liam.

I turned to see that he had fallen backwards, kiester first,  into the fire pit... feet and hands were flailing... outside the flames thank goodness...

I like to think that I generally stay pretty calm, cool, and collected during accidents and mishaps.

This couldn't have been further from the truth in this instant...

I FREAKED OUT in sheer PANIC!

I grabbed Liam out of the fire, and flipped him onto his belly onto my lap to try and assess the damage.

I immediately started to see blisters forming on both of his calves, one of his triceps, and on the small of his back.  All I could think to do was to pray.

Here's what went down amidst tears and panic:

Me:  Let's pray that the Lord will heal your body!!

Liam:  I need the Lord HERE!

Me: He is here.  You just can't see Him.

Liam: I need him RIGHT here.  I need to see his face!

Me: You can't see his face, but I PROMISE you, He his right here!

*Liam looks up to the heavens and shouts at the top of his lungs*

"LOOOOORRRRDDDD, Show me your face!!!"

I pray and Liam cried for maybe 3-5 minutes...total...only complaining of itching on one leg.

Nothing else hurt.

After we bandaged  him up, de never complained about pain again.

I believe we witnessed a miracle!

That was the faith of a child right there, and the Lord heard him!

I still tear up every time I think about what could have happened and what our reality was.

Thank you Lord!

Turns out he was trying to be silly to make Ru laugh, tripped over his own foot and into the fire.

That was the end of our drama...

Nice to get it over with right away I guess :)

Here's Liam showing off his new bike helmet.

 

Bedtime?

I think not!

Liam found this awesome stick and dubbed it "The Goliath Stick."

A hike around Kinla Lake...or...a fraction of the the hike.

Sleepy...

I'd say Liam make it about 1 mile before petering out.

Ruby woke up for lunch...

...and for smooches :)

What did Liam want to do?

Throw rocks...maybe we should have stayed home ;)

Tuckered out...

We drove down to Apgar village so Liam could ride his bike on some of the trails.

Ruby LOVED it!  

Liam did too!

This was his first bike ride (outside of the trailer) that did not consist of our driveway.

Pretty sweet first ride I'd say!

Grubby kids are happy kids.

Look at those nails.

ICE CREAM...

Clint cooking pancakes over the fire

WE LOVE CAMPING!

The fish were really biting ;)

What a great first 2014 camping trip!

April Pictures, Toys, Bedtime Prayers

I do realize that June is drawing near and that these are APRIL updates.

What can I say?  

Life is busy.

It is 8:40 a.m. and both my children have had breakfast, and are back in their beds sleeping...

Apparently, we were not ready to start this day after all.

While I have just a moment 

(you know a.m. naps are too good to be true), 

I had to write about a few thing that made my day yesterday.

Liam and I were talking about Seleman, our sponsor child from Tanzania.

We talked about how it's good to help people when we can...

...that some kids don't get to go to school, have enough food, or any toys...

STOP AT NO TOYS!!!!

Liam had many, MANY questions about kids not having any TOYS!

He immediately suggested that we go to his toy box and give some of his toys away.

I was shocked...

Led by my 3-year-old son, we went to every toy location in the house, 

and began putting toys into a garbage sack.

"I still use this, so I will keep it, okay, Mommy."

"I'm done with this.  Let's give it to someone who needs a toy."

Giving...such a hard concept for so many of us...

...including myself.

Children are such amazing beings...

I am learning so much about Jesus' heart from my children.

I feel blessed beyond measure!

We have a pretty consistent bedtime/nap routine around here:

Jammies, Brush Teeth, Give Hugs & Kisses, Get in Bed.

Read Poppy & Sam, Read a Bible Story, Prayers, Turn on Music.

Lights Out.

My favorite part is DEFINITELY prayers.  

Clint or myself will pray first, and Liam will pray last.

In the past few months he has learned to branch out in his prayers...

...meaning not JUST thanking Jesus for all the names of family and friends...

...he IS still doing that (don't worry, you're still being covered), 

but he's adding other important things too.

Liam's prayer last night:

Dear Jesus, 

Thank you for Mommy, Daddy, Ruby and Liam.  

Thank you for... (all his 11 grandparents...by name)...

Please help Ruby to feel better (she got shots yesterday).  If she needs to, she can puke in my garbage by my bed.  And thank you for my Ernie, Jesus!  You have the best Sesame Street things EEEEEEVVVVER JEEESSSUUUSSS! 

 *sigh of complete contentment*

In Jesus' Name, 

AAAAMEN!

Oh, my goodness!  

I was trying so hard not to laugh at the Sesame Street Part.

It was so cute!

In all seriousness, my prayer is that my children will always thank Jesus for their many blessings.  Be generous people, who want to give and help others.   Be people who pray in earnest, expecting the Lord to move.

This parenting gig is tough at times...my kids are not perfect.  

They throw tantrums (even my 1 year-old).  

They whine, and have thrown things...

BUT it is So, SO wonderful, and rewarding!

Yesterday was such a treat, and filled my "mommy cup" right to the top!

A Little Birthday Photo Shoot

Yesterday, I wanted to take a few pictures of Ruby in her Birthday Dress.

It was a BEAUTIFUL day, and we didn't have time to do it on her actual birthday, so it seemed like a great idea.

Besides, it was either that, or clean my house...

...the choice was OBVIOUS!

Here's what we got...

Liam was my helper...

he has a way of getting her to smile for the camera!

Liam thought it would be a good idea to take a few pictures with her...

...I thought so too!

This just melts my mama-heart into big pile of mush!

"It's my birthday!"

Liam was getting hot, so he headed over to the stream...

Ruby didn't think that was very fair...

Photo shoot...OVER!

Time to get muddy :)

Ru is One!

Two weekends ago we celebrated Ruby's first birthday.

It was a great time with family and friends.

I cannot believe how quickly this year has gone by.

It seems like yesterday I was pregnant and looking forward to having a girl.

We have been so incredibly blessed with two beautiful, healthy children.

Last night as Clint and I celebrated our 8th anniversary, I was honestly able to say, "I'm just not sure if I could love my life any more than I do."

Yes, we have our struggles, 

and no our marriage and our children are nowhere near perfect,

but the Lord is molding our family in to something spectacular, and we are enjoying the ride for sure!

All praise be to the Lord, for He is GOOD!

Here are a few pictures of Ruby's special day.

Ruby May and Grandma K.

(Alissa's Mom)

Thank you Angie for teaching me to make these awesome cakes!

Ru and Papa

(Alissa's Dad)

Great-Grandpa Don and Great-Grandma Esther

(Clint's Grandparents)

We had a few giant photos blown up of sweet Ru.

Go to staples and ask for a black and white engineering print!

Best $3 I've ever spent on party decor!

Great-Grandma Esther and Great-Grandma Lois 

aka Grandma Don and Other Grandma

(Clint's Grandmas)

Ricci and Me

Ricci, thank you for all your help!

It was a beautiful day, and we were able to spend lot's of time outside.

Birthday Girl

CHEESE!

Great-Grandpa Don, Grandpa Jim (Clint's Dad), and Papa (Alissa's Dad)

Ruby took her first steps two days before her party.

MMMM...

We Celebrated Ruby's day a few days early...

May 17th which is her Great-Grandma Esther's birthday.  

Ruby gets to share her middle name, May, with this special lady!

Cake was not an instant hit...

But she learned to like it :)

MMMMMM.....

Daddy and Ru

Thank you everyone for your thoughtful gifts!

Grandpa Jim and Grandma Kit

(Clint's parents)

On Sunday, we had Ruby dedicated.

We were so excited to have so much family attend.

Happy Dedication Day!

Happy Birthday Roobsies!

March

Liam is potty trained...mostly.

It's SUPER EXCITING!!!

Ruby is standing on her own, cruising along furniture, 

and crawling like a mad woman to the tub (she loves the bath)!