Nah nah nah nah nah nah, nah nah nah, hey June...

June was a blur. So much, just so much. One week of VBS, 2 weeks of CRC day camp, 3 weddings, a bake sale, a pregnancy celebration for a friend, Father's Day, babysitting, painted the entryway, hosted a progressive supper, gardening, surprise trip to Lincoln with the nephews, many parties to attend, and a lengthy To Do list for CRC. Oh did I mention that I like to see my husband and son, too? I know that I'm just going on and on about being busy, but people, hear me out. This was one of the craziest months of my life. MY LIFE. Yeah. But every second was ridiculously memorable. 

I helped in the kitchen and took pictures for our VBS early in June. It was an incredible week with close to 100 kids attending. It was knight themed, and overall was just a smooth, fun, and exhausting week. Take a look.

We got the first 2 cuttings of hay already. James has been trying to finish putting in pivot wires for other farmers; he's done over 70 this year. Considering he did around 30 last year, he's been swamped. Irrigating has also started, leaving us chained to the farm all the time. The corn and beans are looking awesome, and I think we are harvesting wheat this week. I'm really trying to keep caught up with the farm agenda. Truth is, it's summer and the days of seeing James have mostly come to a halt. He does surprise me every now and then by taking off an evening for supper, or coming home a couple hours early so we can attend an event together. And for that, I am grateful. 

 Ok confession time. I feel like we've been friends long enough that I can trust that you won't judge me after I admit this. Seriously, prepare yourself to love like Jesus. Here it goes... I don't cook. There, I said it. Now you are all thinking, "Oh surely you do. You're just being too hard on yourself, silly!" You don't understand. I don't. My good friends Paige and Jill (SHOUT OUT!) once asked me what we eat if I don't ever cook, thinking that I was exaggerating. I thought for a second and replied, "Well, I guess we eat a lot of eggs." It's true. We do. They still give me a hard time for that. Really though, eggs are good and easy and healthy. C'mon folks, eggs are a super food. We grill fairly often and do sandwiches way too much, so I don't really know if that counts. But back to cooking, I just don't really enjoy it. You see, my mom is a rockstar. She makes pies in her sleep, that's not even a joke. She will go to bed (at 2 AM!) while they are in the oven, and she'll wake up to the timer and take them out and make them look pretty. This weekend, yes 4th of July weekend, she is making 40 pies for a 2-day trap shoot. That wasn't a typo, I said 40! So you'll understand when I say that helping with pies or supper kind of became a chore for Ashton and I. That would be part of our responsibility was to help out with that. (Not saying I did a good job or was always the best help. Or any help, for that matter.) So when you think about it, it makes sense. Not many people enjoy taking out the trash or doing the dishes, am I right? Anyways, I did pretty good cooking meals in May, I was fresh out of college, motivated, and energized. Now I'm busy, burn out, and totally over that. Sorry about it. Most of all, sorry James. 

 Cousin Conlen came to play. They had a great time splashing in the pool, it was a little chilly that day to actually swim, but we had fun!

 Father's Day!

 This is cousin Jackson, and he has a stink eye that could kill. I've captured a glimpse of it here, but don't look directly into his eyes. I take no responsibility for any harm that comes from this; you've been warned. 

 They had a good time playing, and actually seemed to get a long most of the time. 

Sometimes we get so dirty outside that we take a bath in the utility sink. Hey, it works!

And check out that hair!!!! It curls so nice in the back that it doesn't seem that long, but when it's wet....It's a total mullet. What a stud. 

And then it was June 25th. We showed up at the boys' house to take them on an adventure. This was their faces when we got in the car. :) They had zero idea as to where we were going or what we were doing. 

They read the sign on the Lincoln Children's Museum and were excited, but I don't think they knew how much fun they were going to have. 

If you've never been, you have got to go. But you should probably find a child to go with. They might have to keep an eye on you if you show up alone to watch other children. 

 Scott made use of the face painting Q-tips. "What, I'm just cleaning out my ears!" 

Notice, above, the boy behind Scott. He has his face painted as a goatee and drew on some hefty eye brows. He came walking up to us as at this station and I saw him out of the corner of my eye. I genuinely thought he was a midget man. Totally creeped out that he would come up to us and watch us like that, but then I realized it was just a child posing as a man. False alarm, everybody. 

Mug shot!  

Apparently it was a big day for Ashton, went to jail and had a baby! Posting bail and having delivery charges...whew that's rough on the bank account. 

We stopped at Five Guys for lunch. They loved it. 

And for the finale, we went laser tagging. Definitely the highlight of the day. We all had so much fun. It was Scott and Billy's first time, and I think we could have gone for hours. We played for 1/2 hour, four 6 minute sessions with breaks in between. The first 2 sessions it was just the four of us. For the last 2 sessions, two other girls joined in the game. They were maybe 12 or 13. We ganged up on them and crushed them. It was heroic. The last game we played free-for-all, I didn't want those girls to leave crying. Overall it was such a great day. I'm not sure who had more fun, Scott and Billy, or Ashton and I. 

Trevin is doing things all the time. He doesn't slow down. I see other mommy's cuddle with their children on their lap for multiple minutes, and I think to myself, "Why not me?!" Nope we just play chase. Which is great. But. Ok the first hour is great, but it's the next 23 that get me.  

So he's been doing sign language for "please." I've tried to teach him "thank you," but the first time I took his hand to do it, he got his finger up close to his nose. He immediately tried sticking his finger up his nose. And now, anytime I can actually get him to try saying "thank you," he automatically sticks his finger in his nose. My son shows his gratitude by being a nose-picker. People, this is my life. 

Trevin got to ride his first carnival rides last weekend at the Sutton Dug Out Days. He was not too sure about any of the rides, but we managed to get a smile out of him eventually.

This ride is not made for big kids. I have bruises from the bar over my legs. Probably not ever again. Until next year.

Please notice my precious son, below. He is praying for their safety. WHAT A DOLL. I think I'm in love. 

He wasn't too sure about the train ride with Ashton. I'm pretty sure he was afraid of the pot-head carny running the ride. That man was a happy man. "Choo, Choo, All Aboard!" He was great with the kids........ Oh brother. 

James insisted that I get a picture of this grotty monkey. Yikes.
(And who knew that 'grotty' was spelled like that. I had to look it up because apparently I've been spelling 'grody' wrong for years. And trust me, I've probably wrote the word more than most human beings.) 

And then the parade...

I've had a lot people ask me about what I actually do for CRC. So here's my version of my job description. I do mostly secretary or office work, including making lots of calls. Some calls to parents for camp jobs like driving or craft help, or to staff to work out schedules. I also ordered t-shirts for the camps and made up name tags for all the campers. I've picked up random things at the store from time to time, too. They are currently trying to gather addresses of Travel Camp parents and also former TCers. I've spent many hours compiling lists and cross-referencing them. A big part of what I've done so far is making flyers for all sorts of things and mailing them out. I also went on as staff for the Jr. Hi Day camp a couple weeks back. I subbed this week for the elementary camp, as well. The weekend after Jr Hi, Paul and Kathy's daughter, Natalie, got married at CRC. Kathy ended up taking the last couple days of camp off, to see family and get the final preparations completed. This left me as the lead lady at camp. It was a lot of my responsibility to make sure everyone was where they needed to be and we didn't leave anyone behind on the traveling days. I'm not currently doing the bookwork for CRC, they already have someone on the job. I've a grand ol' time helping out. Couldn't ask for nicer people to work with and for. 

What a stud.

Eating a lot of sandwiches, growing on the farm...

Chaos and Iced Tea

Oh my goodness, I am not cut out for the life I am living. I feel like I live 6 different lives and I'm trying to juggle them all. Blog life has, well uh, it has suffered. I can picture myself, someday, blogging daily with such wisdom that can blow one's mind. Today, my friends, is NOT that day. Not much wisdom flowing these days, just chaos and iced tea. Isn't that the perfect combination, though? Such a crazy life just needs the right amount of iced tea, and the world will go on another day. 

This is Jen Hatmaker. She is incredible. If you have never heard of her, go here. Last year she spoke at a women's retreat that I went to in Nebraska City at the Lied Lodge. This year she came to Henderson to speak. Her topic this year was "Living on Mission". She's the author of the books Interrupted and Seven, both of which I am frightened to read because they will turn your world upside down. This woman is so in love with loving people, that she is willing to swallow her pride and actually show it. Such an inspiration.

I needed a haircut bad so I went in and ended up with a little purple. :) It washed out the next day, but it was awesome.

I graduated, last month, with an associates degree in business administration with an emphasis in accounting. Big title, but it really just says that I can run QuickBooks and I am one of the few people in the world that can accurately make adjusting entries. :) I absolutely loved my degree. I learned a tremendous amount and I honestly hope that I can apply it to my life, whatever life it is that I'm living for the day. Graduation was an emotional time for me because I felt like I was losing my purpose. I was starting to feel a sense of unfamiliarity with who I am. I asked the age-old question, "Now what?" Well God had so much planned for me, I had no idea.

I was offered a job at my church, almost immediately after I graduated. I couldn't have been more excited. I love my church and I was thrilled to be taking on a new role.  Without going into detail, it didn't work out; it fell through. I cried like a baby. I couldn't figure out why God did that.  I've never felt God give me an answer as directly as I heard Him say, "No, not now." After much prayer and conversing with James, I felt more at peace than I have in months. I knew that He had something else planned for me. About a week later, I was offered a job with Christian Resource Center, where James and I met. In the past all my hours at CRC had been volunteer, but this year I'm taking on a new role and getting paid for it. I felt God shoot me a grin as if saying, "See, I told you I had something in mind." After getting the position at CRC, I was still a little confused as to why the first situation had to happen. I'm starting to see why. When I got offered the church job, I thought that's where I was supposed to be, but now I know where I'm supposed to be. There's no second-guessing. This is what He wanted. I couldn't be happier. I love the staff, the kids, and the 40 acres. What a blessing.

We planted a garden this year: potatoes, watermelon, cucumbers, peppers, jalepenos, strawberries, onions, and tomatoes. It's been, well, as fun as having a garden can be... The reward will come soon enough, I suppose. We actually touched our flowerbeds this spring. I know, such a homemaker.

 I potted a few plants for the front porch, and I found these cute lawn ornaments at Hobby Lobby. These pictures were taken right after planting them, so some of them are dead now. It's whatever. 

 

We are also planning to put in a fire ring, hopefully this summer. We took out a tree, and decided that the stump was the perfect place to put it. I'm pretty excited about it! S'mores galore!

I love watching them together. What a team. 

Here are Trevin's 1-year photos. We had fun taking them. I wanted to take more, but it was around the time when it was always raining and chilly. Enjoy!

Trevin is saying more words, such as, nigh night, ashy, no, uh-oh, bye, baby, cracker, papa, me, whoa, and num (Yum). Some words he just repeats, and others he actually uses. He blows kisses, too. I've been trying to get him to do sign language for months, but he doesn't seem interested. Last week I told him to say please to get his snack. (Please in sign language is rubbing your hand on your chest.) After looking me dead in the eyes, he takes his hand and rubs it on my chest, instead of on his own. I got a good chuckle out of that! Obviously he knows, but he's just stubborn and won't usually do it. Just this week he has started clapping for "more." 

He's also started dancing. Check it out... :) 

He tries to stomp his feet, walk backwards, and run as fast as he can. It's fun to watch a little life learn and explore. 

Whenever he finds his blanket, he runs up to it, lays his head down and says, "Nigh night." So precious.

He finally likes Ashton. It took a little while, but now he cries when she leaves. They're buds.

So this is my family. Well part of it, anyways. There's still another 15 or so missing from this picture. It's my mom's side. One big, happy family!

What a goof-ball!

Grandma loves her boys! Everyone deserves a Grandma like her!

We have been trying to get outside as much as possible this summer. Trev is just so much happier outside. We've gone to the park, played in the sprinkler, gone to BBQ's, swam in the baby pool, went on walks, and worked in the yard.

 He saw the boys climbing up the slide, so guess what?! He made it all the way to the top, with a only a tiny bit of help.

I was holding Louie, and Trevin got jealous. Oh brother. 

 We had bible school last week. I took pictures and helped in the kitchen. It was a great week, but I was ready for morning naps to come back (for Trevin)! It made for a long week with a tired baby.

With my recently crazy life, James has taken Trevin to work with him for a couple hours. I don't know that James has gotten much accomplished, but he has certainly been more understanding with me after realizing what it's like to try and get something done while dealing with the busiest-body ever. James came home and said, "I don't know how you do it." Honestly, I don't know either. Besides Trevin's nap time, there's not much focused work time. But spending time with him is totally worth it.

 Last weekend, my cousin got married and another cousin graduated the following day, both in Kearney. We decided to make a weekend out of it and stayed overnight. My parents stayed too, and we spent the weekend attending the parties, playing cards, shopping, and checking out a really neat garden park.

Trevin loved having James to himself the entire weekend! 

Summer begins, growing on the farm...