the crisp connection

the kids' weekly grocery store treat: a green juice ;-)

the day before the sale, i finally gave up on trying to keep the kids out of the tables and tables of breakable items i had set out, and we took a day off. i had not been spending any time with them, so i would like to say that this face is due to my undivided attention, but i'm pretty sure its just the donut :-). The struggle to prioritize your family and keep as much routine as possible, we are learning more about that. it was just so crazy there for a while. the sunday we spoke in church just happened to be the same weekend of the moving sale. and i got sick that weekend too. after church, we went out to lunch with Patrick's family who came to support us. its a small town, nearly everybody goes to one of two restaurants. we were debriefing, and out of nowhere, hannah yells, mommy, you forgot my panties!! (and yes, she was wearing a dress.) Yikes. classic case of being too distracted with ministry?

caroline has moved on to another stage, there is now nearly nothing that is beyond her reach. her personal favorite is the kitchen table.

we finally had caroline's baby dedication last weekend.

the scene around our house when daddy gets home at night. caroline has to be right in the middle of it, too. she gets very upset if patrick doesnt pick her up right away!

i have never seen a messier child. at every meal, she rubs her food in her hair. doesnt matter what it is. and i dont have any idea what to do about it. as with most toddlers, i imagine, she doesnt want to be fed, she wants to do it herself. so i have to put it on her tray, and she promptly throws it all on the floor. and i've allowed her to get into the habit of walking around eating. i know she'll eat more if i leave her tray on the table, instead of cleaning it off, so that makes more mess. but she's such a picky eater, i just let her do whatever she wants. (wow, that sounds even worse when i say it out loud! its the third child, what can i say. i'm too busy trying to get the other ones to eat their vegetables and not play pirate with their forks.)

such a big girl! i cant believe i have a child this old. she is really enjoying our once a week co op morning with the homeschool group, and we are learning alot together when we do school in the afternoons.

we have been putting together some booklets to give to potential partners, with information on Africa Inland Mission, our financial needs, the top 10 questions we get, etc. The kids helped me stuff them the other day.

a trip to the pumpkin patch provided some much needed family time, last weekend. caroline had a great time rolling daddy around in the tunnel.

once again, my little climber. if she cant reach something, she'll just pull a chair over to it. the problem is, the only chairs we have right now are folding chairs, so they often fold up on her. she just tries it again, though!