a little vacation...

Sorry, I've been unfaithful for a bit to the blogging world. So much going on lately, and trying to catch my breath. I was in a car accident, luckily I'm fine, but my poor car was not and after a month, I'm just getting it back from the shop. Also, we've discovered an allergy that we didn't realize was making the children worse and worse. Poor Gennevieve was so miserable, I would find her on the floor, rolling around and screaming "I itch!!!" So it's no more gluten and no more seafood. Both of those things cause a reaction, although the seafood is way more severe. We're trying to be a "gluten-free" family as it's helping all sorts of problems we didn't realize were linked. Although Jake and I find ourselves cheating sometimes... 

We recently had the joy of having a mini-vacation: The Grand Canyon and camping at Oak Creek Canyon. It was magical, it was perfect, we didn't want it to end. Here are some pictures to share.

 I think I had 10 mini heart attacks that day. So many places with no railings, which is so scary having five adventurous kids!!

This little guy was in train heaven!!!

Our view from our tent at Oak Creek Canyon. It was so beautiful!

Me and the fall leaves. Oh how I love fall!

Hair pretties

Here is something fun I've been working on.  They are SO MUCH fun to make! My girls feel so feminine wearing them and it's nice knowing I'm saving money making them versus buying the expensive ones in the store. There are so many different ways to make flowers, hair pretties, etc. Here are a few of mine.

 I curled this little one's hair with pink spongy curlers the night before. Oh and.... recognize this dress mom??? It's the dress I wore when I was her age. It fits her perfect and stayed in nice shape. Oh how I love...vintage :)

busy season

We are in a busy season in our lives right now. It feels like a circus constantly in motion: some scary, some joyous, some crazy. But we're here, we have our eyes on the Lord and His faithfulness is good!

We had our first ever garage sale. Man was it a doozy, we plan on doing that again this weekend. It felt so good to purge our "stuff". With five kids, it is absolutely incredible how much stuff you acquire in a short amount of time. I couldn't believe we have moved with some of this junk from place to place...and why didn't I notice it was junk until now? Better late than never I suppose.
We decided to let the kids get in on the action and said it could be a garage sale and lemonade stand together. We had so much fun as a family!

The "crazy" and "scary" part of our lives happened last night. A certain little baby boy decided to run full speed into a table with a gash in his eyebrow to follow. Luckily urgent care was around the corner and he was "glued" back together instead of  having to get stitches.

In the mean time, I'm in enjoying this...

Russian Tea. One of my favorite things about fall. It is delicious, easy to make and so very comforting.

1 c. instant tea
1 c. Tang
1 1/2 c. sugar
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. cloves

Mix. Store in airtight container in a dry place. To serve, place 2 heaping teaspoonfuls in a cup. Fill with hot water! 

Happy Fall to all of you and may your circus of life keep your eyes on the Lord.

Eucharisteo Moment: Devotions

Eucharisteo - A Friday ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember as thanks to the Lord.

Fall in the desert

Well, I decided to put up the fall decorations today.. you see, I love fall!! Everything about Fall just leaves me excited and joyful and kind of like a kid. Pumpkins, cinnamon and cloves, candles, leaves, crisp air... I love it! Well, we don't exactly get an Autumn here in Phoenix, but you make do! So here are my "fall leaves" and my "pumpkins" and for us, it works!

(Abigail helped me cut out all of these leaves!)

as I change what goes on the "gather" branches, I also change the birdies. Owlies are perfect for fall.

What special things do you like to do for fall? What are your favorite things about fall? I'd love to hear it.

Eucharisteo Moment: recess

Eucharisteo - A Friday ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember as thanks to the Lord.

Labor Day lovelies!

Well, I hope y'all enjoyed your Labor day. We had a marvelous time at a friend's BBQ. I made this only substituted a couple things. Instead of cooking chicken, I did bacon, then took out the bacon, in the juices I cooked the onion and garlic and then instead of Whiskey and Peach Jam, I used Rum and Apple Butter, then chopped up the bacon finely and added it back to the sauce. This went on Ribs....oh my word it was good!
I also made this for the first time and loved it. Here is my version to which I added Agave Nectar and Cinnamon

I highly recommend this recipe (and thanks friend for giving me the link!!).
Our labor day was relaxing, it was awesome. I love stay cations where nothing happens. I worked on a special fun project of which I will show you soon, my sweet girls were having fun...

The boy and I enjoying our time

Jake and I were blessed to get a date in. Here we are at a friend's house. I love this man!

we even got a chance to take care of this little lass. The kids named her "Autumn" and we took care of her until she suddenly flew away to join her family.

Today, I am back to eating healthier (fell off the wagon there for a bit, ribs will do that to ya!) the kids are enjoying school, reading Pinocchio out loud, practicing their cursive, excelling at Math. All so lovely!

Eucharisteo Moment

August's Eucharisteo list

So many things to be thankful for this month!

1. baby whispers

2.three year old singing "O Praise Him" loudly.

3. the way Soeren hums when I give him his pacifier

4. watching the lizards do push-ups

5. her delicate curls at the nape of her neck

6.baby belly laughs

7. Psalm 34

8. Egg Salad Sandwhiches

9.creative projects

10. handwritten notes from friends

11. his baby hums as I pat his back

12. Cloudy overcast skies

13. Sunday suppers with the good china

(got really sick and it made me thankful for...)

14. Gypsy Cold Care Tea and Sudafed

15.quiet sick-sleepy days (husband took the kids for the day on errands and I had a quiet house)

16.Morning Glory muffins

17.the sound of a football game on

18.forgiveness

19.watching her get her ears pierced

20. a clean backyard

21. chocolate chip cookies

22. Clean garage

23. board games

24.friend's hospitality

 25.when little guy falls asleep on me

26. Shopping Trips with new friends

27. being refreshed by a good sermon!

28. AC that works

29. blueberry muffins from Costco

30. New, fresh magazines

31. My mother's artwork

Dog days

I took this picture yesterday after getting back into my car in the Walmart parking lot. To say that "I'm miserable", would be putting it lightly. And also, this week was a toughy. Our AC's compressor died and we are finally back in our home after a little less than a week of camping out with others. The house said 95 when we made the decision to get out of our house, I just couldn't bear another minute at the house. We had some interesting times, challenging times, moments when I felt like collapsing on the floor of someone else's house and just crying like a toddler. Sometimes being a responsible 30 year old is hard, sometimes being a Mommy of 5 is hard (who am I kidding, sometimes?), living out of a suitcase can be challenging (especially when you're a homebody such as myself), but my emotions were getting the best of me and I had to sit there, not answer anybody and just breath and put up one of those "S.O.S prayers" to the Lord. But then He answered in such a great way too. We also got to stay with some friends who made life "refreshing". Board games, chocolate chip cookies, pool time, lots of laughter, etc was like water to my soul. I was at my snapping point and the Lord was gracious. I'm thankful for dear brothers and sisters in the Lord who bring home God's Word in an active and lively manner. I'm now home, in the cool, the kids are catching up on school and I'm catching up on laundry; but I am so thankful for the AC. We've learned something through all of this: never live in a place that is unlivable if you don't have an AC! Oh well, learning to be content in whatever "State" I'm in, even Arizona!