Domestic Kate

Old baby blocks from when daddy was little, paired with a 50 cent garage sale wooden tray, makes for a great time with baby and mommy in the backyard...oh and need I mention there were pictures?

***Side note...for some reason, the right side of the photo's are being cut off so poor little David's whole body isn't really in the family pictures...working on it....***** I was waiting to post these pictures hoping (and wishing and crossing my fingers) that just maybe my sister in law or mom got some pictures where all of the kids were looking at the camera....but, clearly that's asking too much. We were successful in getting all of the kids together and dressed somewhat similar although that was somewhat questionable (ahem, kim , ahem....) =-) The cousins did have a good time together despite what some of these pictures may depict! And, I think the kids did a pretty darn good job sitting for pictures considering there are EIGHT of them all under the age of SIX! The best of the best Silly Secrets Sweet Lucy Jane Emily just loves her baby cousin! "Can I keep him??" Crazy "big" girl cousins The boy cousins Fire pit dancing... Break with Papa

Hans is growing up. There's no doubt about that! These photo's show a couple of ways I'm noticing this change daily. He loves his sippy cup. He loves to hold it by himself and chew on it. The look of Hans behind a sippy cup like this just pulls on me. He looks like such a big boy and I love it! Of course, I have the my-boy-is growing-up sadness but that just gets eaten up by how cute he is looking when he's "so big!". They say it's "like taking candy from a baby", meaning, It's Easy. But after you take said "candy" (or toy, or cell phone....) away from baby, you have to deal with this..... One of the many ways Hans is showing us that he is growing up. He is getting opinions and showing us his wants and displeasure. We just love it all up though. This boy has got some guts and loves to show his blossoming personality everyday. It helps that the crying lasts all of 7 seconds too! =-)

When we begin to have days where it actually dips into the 70's, I must start cooking something warm. I was tempted to go with the ole' vegetable beef soup, but I'm saving that for an even cooler day. I made homemade chicken pot pie from our church cookbook. Hmmmm, supper. It smelled and tasted amazing and I cannot wait for leftovers tonight.

Ok, I'm in love with this time of year. I love the smell that is in the air and the crisp feel that is in the air {finally!}. I love the kids getting ready for school, buying school supplies and new backpacks. And, I can almost smell the exhaust from the school busses! Don't get me wrong, I definitely enjoy and eagerly anticipate spring and summer {especially after those cold, long winter months of blah} so I guess I just love-me some season change! =-) Today, the sun is out and it's perfectly mid- 70's. I'm just kicking back with my little boy taking it ALL in. These are the moments that I'll cherish and look back on, the moments I'll never get back and never duplicate. This time with just Hans and I. By the way, Hans is a little crawler! He is starting to follow me around from room to room now. Granted, he is not fast quite yet, but it's only a matter of time. A couple of days ago, I went into his room after his nap time, and he was standing...

Just wanted to send you off to a great weekend with some recent pictures of the little Bundle.... Gotta love the drool dripping down the chin... And my personal favorite...

I think Pooh said it best when he said, "Oohhh! There's a rumbly in my tumbly!". I recently bought Hans a 50 cent winnie the pooh toy and it brought to mind a couple of yummy things I wanted to share. First, let me start with dessert. {Cause let's face it, we ALL want to start with dessert!} I'm obsessed with making this. So simple, easy, and D-licious! Double Chocolate Mocha Trilfe Ingredients 1 Package brownie mix 1 3/4 cup of cold milk 2 (3.3ounce) packages of Instant White Chocolate Pudding Mix 4 teaspoons instant coffee granules 2 cups frozen whipped topping (we use fat free cool whip) Crushed Heath Bars Directions Prepare brownies according to the package instructions. Bake and cool completely. Cut into 1 inch cubes. (except ours always fall apart so we just put random pieces of brownies for each layer.) In a medium bowl, mix together pudding and cold milk until mixture begins to thicken. Dissolve coffee granules in water, mix with pudding. Fold in w...

We took a quick trip up to the cabin the last couple of days. It ended up to be gorgeous, breezy weather. It was slightly cool so my mom and I used the cool weather as an excuse to go antiquing! I picked up a little work bench for Hans that was a steal! It needs to be touched up a little bit, but it is solid and sturdy! With the break from the heat, I was able to put Hans in some jeans and a warm vest and we went for a walk. He looked so cute! "Can you tell that I'm happy" - Hans

We're thinking about starting to follow Crown Financial Ministries . Right now, we're just in the process of learning more about it, but it seems like a great plan for us. We love that they really encourage you to remember that your money is the Lords and has only been given to us so that we can be stewards of it. This really makes us want to be good stewards of our income. It kind of reminds me of when my dad and mom were watching me play soccer or race in track growing up. Knowing they were watching me, really made me want to play my absolute best because I wanted them to be proud of me. This is what I'm encouraged to do now with the way we manage our money. I want to make the Lord proud with what He has given us. Needless to say, I think following and learning more about this program can really give us the tools to do just that! Anyone try this or know someone that has? What do you know or think about Crown? I would love to hear what others who use this prog...

I think Hans has been one of those kids that has never really been super duper calm. He always seemed "on the go" from the very start. In the beginning this manifested itself in kicking, now it's kicking along with every-inch-of-his-body-movement. I like it though because it shows he's already a strong boy. The following pictures are just a glimpse into the past few days. We've already purchased several baby proofing items and will begin to start operation baby proofing soon. We're not going to go crazy into this proofing business, however. We're just going to take care of all of the electrical outlets, some cupboards we don't want him in, some wobbly tables, and the stairs. Pounding on the wood floor... Looking into his toy basket... Well, what do we have here?... Looking at the bookcase... While near the bookcase, he got a hold of some paper. Eventually, I had to take it away from him. This is the aftermath... He found another bookcase, som...