happily random

THE SCARE OF MY LIFE

Wednesday afternoon I was in the house doing laundry and the kids were outside playing. Now, I live in the middle of nowhere.... literally. My house is on the top of a mountain in the middle of a forest. My street is a dirt road about 2 miles long with 4 other house nestled in the trees.

As I was saying, the kids were outside playing. I had the doors open so I could hear them. About 10 minutes after they started playing it had gotten quiet, so I walked outside and checked on them. Rebekah, my near 6 year old & the oldest of my four kids, answered that they were down at the garden. I asked if Lucas, her 4 year old brother was with her, & she said yes.

"What about Ty?" I hollered. Tyler just turned 2 in January.

"No, he's not here!" she yelled back.

I can't see my garden from the house. I can see my entire driveway thoug & Ty was nowhere to be seen. So I started yelling for him. My dd then yelled back, "He was riding the tractor!" We have one of those toy John Deere tractors with the electric motor for the kids to ride. The tractor was NO WHERE to be seen.

I started freaking out. I ran down our driveway to the bottom of the hill, about 2/10 of a mile. I look out on our dirt street & couldn't see or hear him. So I ran up the hill, yelling at the kids to get in the truck. Samantha was in the house napping, but I just left her in her crib. The kids were yelling at me that they didn't have their seatbelts on... Rebekah was crying.

So I started down our road. All downhill and about 1/2 a mile long. No Ty. I kept thinking that maybe I missed him, maybe he was at home, or maybe at one of the neighbors... I get to the end of our street, where our road turns onto the main paved road. I drove about 2/10 of a mile & around the corner there he was!!! He was driving his tractor down the middle of the road, happy as can be. He was about 3/4 of a mile from the house!!!!

I got him and the tractor loaded in the Suburban, got in the car & start shaking. What if another car had come around that corner & not seen him? What if someone had taken him? It wasn't till then that I started crying. I had been praying the entire time & I just started thanking God for keeping my little adventurer safe. That boy leads a charmed life, let me tell you. Thank you God for keeping my baby safe. Oh, and Samantha slept through the whole thing.

After I got in the car, I looked around and noticed that all of our dogs had been with him. They're all Goldens. I don't know if they were keeping an eye on him or what, but I'm happy they were there. Good dogs.

Oh, I asked Ty where he was going and he said, "To the store to get a Coke."

yadda yadda...

Busy week so far, and it's only Tuesday! I've been getting clothes ready to sell at one of the local MOPS group's consignment sales. I get 75% of what they sell, and I set the prices. Oh, and if it doesn't sell, they'll take care of donating it (if I want). So far I've gotten 100 items ready to sell, with more to go. It's a great way to get rid of all these outgrown clothes without having to list them on eBay.

It's finally warming up here in North Idaho! We've had a week's worth of 60 degree days with no rain. It's been very welcomed. The kids have pulled out their short-sleeved shirts. It's funny how we've acclimated to the climate here as opposed to Southern California. On a 60 degree day there we would be in sweaters and jackets! LOL. I guess our blood has thickened or whatever. Anyway, it's nice to have the sunshine and the plants growing again!

Here's a shot of Lucas in the sandbox. I thought it would make a good shot for a July 4th layout, don't you? Who would ever know it was taken in April?

April!!! Can you believe it's near the end of April??? Where does the time go? Samantha is 5 months old today. Rebekah's 6th birthday is in little over a month. A third of the year is gone. For that matter, about a third of my life is gone (that's assuming I live to be in my 90s). Let's not think about that. ;)

Ugh, the kids just came in from playing outside with a report that it's now raining. :P

Discovery

I think one of the neatest things about being a parent is watching your children discover new things. For example, Samantha is definitely into toys now. This morning while I was making coffee, she sat in her bouncy seat examining her butterfly toy. The wings crackle when they move, so I watched her turn it in her hands to make noise and, of course, stuff it in her mouth. She will be 5 months old tomorrow. Boy, does time fly!!

Silly Boy

I should have named him Isaac which means "laughter." He is my little laughing boy. I never thought disciplining a child would be tough because you're trying not to laugh! He is just the sweetest little boy. Now that he's two, he definitely has a two-ness about him, but for the most part he's just happy Ty. Even when he says 'no' to me, he folds his arms around his body, furrows his little brow and says "no" with a pouting mouth. It's really hard not to smile and be firm with him, cause while he is frowning, I can see the smile in his eyes.

The fine art of wasting time

I don't have a lot of time to just sit and do nothing. With four kids five and under, I'm always on the go. And when I'm not doing something for them (which is very rare), I'm trying to get things done. My house ALWAYS needs picking up. It's a constant thing. And if it's not things I have to do, there are things I want to do. Like scrapbook or read.

But right now is one of those rare moments where I'm just sitting. Joel took the kids to the dump to take out the trash (yes, they love to go to the dump... they get lollipops) and then off to look at trucks (he's thinking of buying a new truck and the kids love getting to climb in and out of them). It's just me and Samantha, and Samantha is sleeping. The house is quiet and I can actually hear the hum of the computer and the refrigerator. No TV. No kids screaming.

"Be still and know that I AM" That's a sign that I have right here on my wall in the kitchen. How often to I actually get to be still? Usually if I'm still, I'm unconscious. LOL. Still moments are too infrequent. So here I am, trying not to feel guilty for just sitting here. Trying not to think of all the things that I should be doing. They'll still be there when I'm done drinking in the silence. And they'll need doing again tomorrow, and the next day, and the next.

*deep breath* Ahhhhh....

Samantha's Photo Shoot

I finally did another shoot of Samantha yesterday. She will be 5 months old next week. How can that be? She wasn't happy when I first started (I don't think she liked the beanbag chair), but I got her smiling after a bit of perserverence. I used a light background as I've been trying to show off her crazy hair. :)

So sweet!

Rebekah got sent to her room when we got home from the park. When she came out, she brought this note. In her own little sweet writing that she told me she sounded out it says, "I love you, Mom. I am sorry." Doesn't it just melt your heart? It did mine.