Life At The Circus

The kids and I had a unique opportunity this morning to feed some orphaned baby piglets.  The Momma Pig died at childbirth and the farmers were looking for extra hands to give bottles to the piglets.  I literally leaped at the opportunity.  And I am so glad that I did!  What a delightful way to spend our morning! Even my youngest had fun with the piglets… We drove a little over an hour to get there and the feeding didn’t last long, so we extended our stay a bit by sampling some of the creamery’s delicious ice cream.  The family was super kind to allow us to purchase ice cream before they were opened.  Ice Cream at 10am?!  Sure thing! 

My youngest daughter turns 4 this week. I often joke that she was born trying to keep up with her sister and brother.  It’s true though.  She is always ahead of where she should be b/c she has never wanted to be left behind.  As such, whenever her birthday rolls around I don’t have that typical, “How can it have been 4 yrs already?”   feeling, more often we’re like, “Really, your just now 4… seems like you’ve been 4 for awhile now.”   One thing is true… she’s growing up too fast for my liking.  I have one more year left before she goes to school… and since we homeschool, going to school is thankfully only 2 days a week at the tutorial, but even still it marks a new stage of life.  I want to be intentional with this last year… with our 2 mornings a week of time together when she is the big kid setting the pace for the household.  I learned so much about my older daughter when her brother went off to school.  I got to see new traits come ou...

Growing up, part of me wished for a sister… one to share a room with, share clothes and secrets with…. maybe if I’d have had one, I would know better how to braid my girls hair …  I had a great brother, and I would never have traded him for a sister, yet part of me at times felt like I was missing out a little… When I married Scott I instantly gained in my sister-in-law the sister I had always wanted.  And she is all that and more.  And to sweeten the deal even more, Karen and I share a birthday.  We joke that it’s perfect because it makes it so much easier for him to remember my birthday (that would work IF he could remember his sisters birthday). I truly couldn’t love Karen more if she was my blood.  I’ve known Karen for more than half my life… in HS I was her secret sister in lacrosse.  While Scott and I were dating in college, she let me crash in her dorm room (often even sharing her top bunk) so I could come and visit Scott at Grove City.  We...

While our world wind trip to and from Florida went off really without a hitch, the 48 hrs since pulling into our driveway have been anything but smooth sailing. Allow me to complain…  We got home at 9pm on Sunday night… we unloaded what we had to, put the kids to bed and sat on the couch.  Monday morning was back to reality… Scott had to be at work at 8, and the oldest two had to be at church at 8:45 for VBS.  I was so, so tempted to keep them home… and just spend the day in our pjs catching up on laundry and unpacking.   Part of me wishes I had done just that.  But, I took them to church (late of course) then went to pick up our dog from my friends house.  My friend graciously offered to watch the youngest 2 while I went to Aldi to pick up a few things.  I was so excited, going to run a quick errand and then visit with a friend before picking the kids up from church.  I don’t shop at Aldi very often.  I think all of my friends...

Most people think that perfect beach weather is a bright sunny day, but we discovered unexpected joy in a trip to the Florida beach on an overcast evening following an afternoon rain storm. Shuttle launch in the morning, nap in the afternoon, beach in the evening, and free Chick-Fil-A right before bed… it was a perfect day in Florida… totally worth the 32 hours of driving it took to get there and back. ~clicking on picture will make it bigger~

Ever since I was a kid and saw the movie Space Camp, I’ve wanted to see a shuttle launch.  Last spring when Scott told me that NASA was cancelling their shuttle launch program and their were only 3 left, I began scheming a way to get there and see one. We planned our entire vacation around the November launch.  And while our trip to Florida last November, was one of our best family vacations ever, we didn’t get to see a launch. Two shuttle launches came and went and I kept wanting to find a way to go.  But, work was too busy, weekends were booked and well, Florida vacations are expensive.  We just couldn’t make it work.  Finally a week before the last ever shuttle launch, we began talking seriously about a 4 day FL driving excursion.  32 hours down and back with a 2 minute show in the middle.  Can we make that work?  Should we bring the kids?  We tossed back and forth about what to do. Finally Tuesday night at 9pm, we sat down with an a...

It’s been a good week at the circus.  Nothing incredibly note worthy, but fun times all around… thought I’d share a few pictures from our week.  I love summer… seriously love it.  Love the long daylight hours… love the freedom… even love the hot summer sun.  How about you?  What are some of your highlights from the week?

It seems it might be time to do a “keepin it real” post of the circus life.  Because blogging is a funny thing… I typically write my blog posts during nap/quiet time… when the kids are all off in separate rooms sleeping or playing quietly alone… and well, that sweet time of day allows a mom to gather herself… grab a bit to eat, relish in the quiet and it sets a very different tone than if I was writing in the morning while 4 kids are pulling on my legs asking for food or complaining.  And rarely do I think to grab the camera when my living room is covered in dirty clothes and toys and my sink is overflowing with dishes… those most often are not the memories I seek to savor for later.  And so, those most often aren’t the moments I blog about.    But, then as a result,  when I sit down to blog, I tend to write more of the gushy stuff.  Which I do want to record and remember in years to come (or even next week when the kids are hitting each other a...