Weekly Update on Benjamin's Garden

So, I think it's SO INTERESTING to see the growth of a garden from seed to full growth, so I'm going to try and take a picture every Saturday to show you the growth! This is yesterday's shot. I'm a little late, I didn't have the first few pictures as seed really other than them planting, but I'm starting now. So, in the pictures, you can see a little bit of green. He planted half of the garden about 2 weeks ago, and the rest throughout this week. Farthest away are two full rows of sweet corn, then there is broccoli, green beans, shell peas, carrots, potatoes, pumpkins, green onion, garlic, a whole row of tomato plants, and an entire row of strawberry plants! Should be yummy!!!!!! Can't wait! The black strips that you see along the garden are drip tapes that allow us to set our water on a timer and it will start watering on its own and just DRIP the water through so it's not so "flooded." It's more even. There is a drip tape for every row of vegetables on each side. So fun! I'm learning so much! My husband is AMAZING in the garden. This is his first "Arizona" garden, so he's very unsure of himself, but I have confidence he'll do amazing. Come along on our journey if you feel like it! :)

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, MAMA!!!!!

TODAY, is my mama's birthday! Actually it is now 12:10 AM, but I still consider it her birthday since I'm still awake!!!

Mama, I LOVE YOU so much, it makes me cry! You are the best mom in the entire world EVER! I couldn't ask for a better best friend! You care about me more than anyone in this world but my husband. You make me feel SO SPECIAL! So happy to still have you. Looking forward to celebrating your NEXT birthday! :)

Miss you! Can't wait to see you a week from today!

Outer extremities! :)

Ezra is pointing to his outer extremities for you here in this video! :) He still gets a little confused, but for the most part is quite familiar! :)

Big Update

Our fabulous school boy!

Boy is that ice cream cone GOOD!!!

Ooop! Helping daddy with the garden!!

Laine helping daddy plant the strawberry bushes.

Chavalah snoozing in her jumparoo!

KRISPY KREME!!! Enough said! :)

These boys are INSEPARABLE! They are AMAZING!
Praise God from whom all BLESSINGS FLOW!!!

Brothers! Did you hear that?! Brothers! Takes time for these adoptions to SOAK IN! Sorry for the repeat! I just like to hear that! :) BROTHERS! :) AMEN!

Mommy & Chavie!

It's been a GREAT week, but BUSY, and I'm ready for a weekend to recuperate! Benjamin has worked for almost 9 days in a row again and I'm ready for him to be HOME! :) Laine has been on Spring Break this week, it's been nice not to have to hurry up and get him to school by 11:40 every day, then hurry back to get him by 2:40. Had NO IDEA how much that actually disrupts my day! Shew! Nice break! Although, our sweet school boy has asked EVERY MORNING if he goes back to school yet! :) Such a cutie.

So, we started our week at church. Great service. I got some more Pampered Chef from my cousins' party and am always a very happy baker/cook when I get new things! :) People think I'm nuts, but I USE EVERY SINGLE PIECE, MANY TIMES, WITHOUT FAIL! :) Worth every penny.

Monday was a "prep" day for a freezer meal cooking day on Tuesday! My sister-in-law, Aubrey, and I planned an ALL DAY cooking day for Tuesday! Can I just say, that was one of the most rewarding days of my life! I felt SO SUCCESSFUL! I was so proud! And I think Aubrey would agree with me. We prepared meals for our families' that will probably last spread out about 2 months. We even did a batch of Slush and Chocolate Chip Cookie dough. Plus TONS of meals! They all smelled and looked SO YUMMY! I'm just hoping they last me through my 2-4 weeks of no cooking after surgery on Thursday! Eek! Probably not, but I"m going to really make them stretch! I just refuse to let my family eat out for the for sure 2 weeks that I can't cook. Can't afford the cost of eating out or the cost of the calories of eating out! Aubrey and I were in the kitchen from 10 until 7:30 with two short breaks, otherwise. Once Aubrey left, I was still in the kitchen until 1:30 AM finishing everything up. Shew! LONG DAY!

Today I felt we needed to GET OUT OF THE HOUSE! So, I decided I'd take the boys to Krispy Kreme. My original thought was that I'd take them there so that they could have fun watching the donuts being made, etc. To my suprise, this location only had donuts and a cafe, no manufacturing! :( I was SO DISAPPOINTED!!!!! The boys still had a fabulous time and we all enjoyed a special treat!

Last week, was busy as well. Benjamin planted most of his garden, with the help of his assistant sons! :) It was so cute, Benjamin would give Ezra a seed (corn) and tell him to plant it and Ezra would put it in the ground, cover it up (barely enough so daddy would finish), but he felt "so accomplished." You could just see the pride in his eyes! I LOVE seeing that in my children. Self-confidence! Good to teach them young. Ezra, after covering his seed up said, "Ni Ni, seed, Ni Ni" as he pats the dirt!! Too cute! They had SO MUCH FUN! I will take pictures tomorrow of his BEAUTIFUL GARDEN and post them! My baby is AWESOME when it comes to gardening and I can hardly wait to eat, can and store his goods! :) Thank you, sweetie!

Our baby girl is now 7 months old! Time is FLYING! Shew! She gets cuter and cuter every day! Can't stop loving and kissing on her. Pour baby was sick last week with an ear infection. She is starting to get over that now, but I think there might be some teeth coming through! We'll have to see. It seems to take forever.

Last week, also, our dear sweet Laine had an INCREDIBLE report home from school! He was SO GOOD, so focused, so kind to others, so much so that his principal got called to Ms Carvell's class to give Laine a great huge hug! Laine was pretty proud. We celebrated with an ice cream cone out on our patio in the 80 degree weather! WAY TO GO, LAINE! Mommy and daddy are so proud of you!

I think this brings you up to speed! Sending our love to all!

Surgery

Well, it's scheduled! At last, it's scheduled, and I am hopefully going to have some relief SOON! I will be having surgery on my wrist, March 19!!!!! Please pray for me that day. I'm VERY anxious, but know who is in control of my life! And for that I'm so grateful! Very minor, I have carpel tunnel that has made over half of my hand completely numb and useless. I have been dropping things, don't have strength in the hand to hold anything real tight. They say 70% of people that have the surgery feel immediate, day after, no numbness, etc. YAY!

Please also pray that Benjamin can get a little time off on "medical leave" so he can help me through the first week mainly with all our little ones. This will NOT be easy! I'm basically completely helpless until I get my stitches out at two weeks. Should be interesting.

Again, thank you for your faithful love, prayers and support! We are truly grateful!

Cinnamon Rolls

Mmmm, mmmm, GOOD!!! So, these may actually look like Pillsbury Grands, but they AREN'T! :) I finally found the juiciest, most lucious cinnamon roll recipe I've EVER made before. Eyes closed, hands down, they are Cinnabun rolls! Mmmmm! And SO EASY! I was almost embarrassed at how easy they were.

To top it ALL OFF! My dear husband said, "Wow, baby, these are JUST AS GOOD as the Amish sticky buns back home, if not BETTER." He grew up in the heart of Amish, Ohio, so that was a HUGE compliment! I was proud! :)

Only way to get your hands on a pan of these is to book your ticket out to Phoenix, AZ, and reservations at the Baltzly Bed & Breakfast!!!! :) Any takers!? :)

"Mommy" in the eyes of Laine!!!

So, just recently, I was tagged in a really fun questionnaire. Sometimes I get tired of the ones that I have to do the answering, this was a unique one where I was supposed to ask my son what the answers to the questions were! They are kind of fun! Enjoy! :)

1. What is something mom always says to you?

Clean up my toys!

2. What makes mom happy?

When I give kisses!

3. What makes mom sad?

When I don't give her hugs.

4. How does your mom make you laugh?

Tickles me.

5. What was your mom like as a child?

A little girl.

6. How old is your mom?

30! (Right on, cutie! :))

7. How tall is your mom?

Big!

8. What is her favorite thing to do?

Play games!

9. What does your mom do when you're not around?

Cook and play games with my daddy.

10. If your mom becomes famous, what will it be for?

A cooker.

11. What is your mom really good at?

Baking.

12. What is your mom not very good at?

Playing games!

13. What does your mom do for her job?

Clean up. (so true, so true!!!!)

14. What is your mom's favorite food?

Macaroni & Cheese (yeah right!!! this is what HE wanted for dinner tonight! :))

15. What makes you proud of your mom?

Because you cook.

16. If your mom were a cartoon character, who would she be?

Elmo. (???) (I asked him why that was and he said because he likes Elmo, it's his favorite, so I guess I'll take that for an answer! :))

17. What do you and your mom do together?

Go to school.

18. How are you and your mom the same?

Our eyes....our eyes are green!! (right on!)

19. How are you and your mom different?

Our toe nails and our hair. Mine are short and yours are long!

20. How do you know your mom loves you?

Because you say, "I love you, Laine."

21. Where is your mom's favorite place to go?

Starbucks and Tully's. (Cha Ching! :))