A Belated Birthday Gift

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WAY back in April, we gifted Lane with the promise of a night of riding go-carts and playing mini golf.

Then it snowed.

In April.

There was illness.

Rain.

Lots of rain.

Places to be.

People to see.

And suddenly it was JULY.

On date night Friday night, Blake and I checked the weather, talked about everyone else’s schedule, and decided we were going to make this happen the next night!

We also drove over to Riverside park to see what it was all about!

We kept it a secret all day Saturday!

As we held hands to pray at dinner Saturday evening, Blake called on me to pray.

It was part of the plan!

Pay attention!

After I thanked the Lord for our food, for the day, and for everyone being together, I asked Him to bless our evening of riding go carts and playing mini golf.

Then I opened my eyes and looked over at Lane – who was grinning ear to ear!

Perfect!!

We hurried through dinner and dishes and headed out!

First up – go carts!!

These four went together!

Tate and Eliza had to ride in a two-seater one, and only someone with a driver’s license could drive them!

This girlie was by far the most excited!

Tate was patient as he waited for his turn and then Grant took him for a ride!

I gave Lane my turn so he could go again – it was his birthday present after all!

Next up was mini golf.

This was more fun than I thought it would be!

Even Tate and Eliza loved seeing how many shots it would take them to get into the hole!

We had balls go into the water a lot.

Lane got a HOLE IN ONE!

And got to use a ball that lighted up because it was his birthday celebration!

It was such a beautiful night.

We got home super late, crawled into bed without showers and baths, but with VERY FULL HEARTS.

It is a JOY to celebrate you, Lane Stevan!

Happy, happy belated birthday gift!!

So many more blessed memories tucked deep into our hearts!!!

The 4th of July

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Our 4th of July was rather quiet this year!

It ended up being a very sweet day of having almost everyone home – which does not happen very often anymore!

Blake did work most of the day, but when the rain started the work stopped and he was home in time for dinner.

Thankful!!

Addie Mae planned some 4th of July projects for her little brothers and sister and they enjoyed some time with her to the fullest!!

The littles are amazing us (more on that sometime soon)!

They enjoy life any day, and spent the afternoon on this day playing sweetly!

Addie took over the kitchen to make a beautiful and tasty 4th of July dessert!

Thanks to the rain the firework show we planned to attend was postponed until Thursday night – so we went then instead.

The crowd was small and it was chilly, but we enjoyed being with friends and watching the show so very much!

We stayed out way too late!!

This is the first 4th of July holiday in a couple of years that we did not camp out in a tent and cook food over a fire.

We do have a goal to do this soon!

It’s hard to coordinate everyone’s schedule and the weather for plans like these!!

How is it already JULY?!

Hanging on tight!!

Summer is flying by!!

Hope you all had a GREAT 4th of July!

A Recipe//Natural Toothpaste

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Do you ever think about the ingredients in things like toothpaste?

You would be surprised if you do a little research how many harmful chemicals you are putting in your mouth when you brush your teeth!

We like Dessert Essence brand toothpaste, but we also make homemade toothpaste that we use too.

I like to use this homemade toothpaste just several times a week as a tooth whitener, as I feel the baking soda in it may be too abrasive to maintain healthy tooth enamel.

I got this recipe years ago from a friend, and I do not know its original source.

Homemade Toothpaste

6 tsp baking soda
1/3 tsp real salt
4 tsp coconut oil
15 drops peppermint essential oil

Mix in a small container like a baby food jar. It is better to store this in glass. Make one jar per person. Dip a wet toothbrush in the jar to gather some toothpaste on the brush, and brush teeth as you normally would, rinsing well when finished.

**Coconut oil melts when warm. You will want to use somewhat softened but not melted oil for this recipe. This toothpaste needs to stay somewhat cool to keep a consistency of toothpaste, because if it gets too warm the oil will melt.

Enjoy!!

Summer In Wisconsin

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I really think we live in the most beautiful place on earth here in the hills of Wisconsin!

Besides the beauty of the landscape, the seasons are dramatic and very unpredictable, which is something we would surely miss if we were in a different place.

This past week brought some days of heat – 115 degrees heat index one day!

Twin Oaks has central air.

We are thankful for it for sure!

The sun was found again too – which gave me an opportunity to capture what I believe are those little slices of heaven here on earth.

If it is THIS beautiful here, we can not even possibly imagine what beauty waits for us in our eternal home!

Blake and I are being very intentional about our Friday night date nights again!

This past Friday night we had some coffee and then watched the sunset over the lake in Onalaska by Blake’s office.

We felt like we were back in Florida again!

Blake, Chad and Lane worked in the heat all day Saturday on the yard project – fixing the washed out areas of the yard, seeding, and spreading straw over the newly seeded areas.

There was a chance of rain predicted for Saturday night, but it came in the form of a HUGE storm that had us waiting it out in our storage room in the basement for the first time.

When we came back upstairs, Chad pulled his shirt over his head and sank down in a chair saying “It was SO much work!!”

Yep.

Pretty sure that grass seed is all gone.

Along with the mat that was sitting at our front door.

Thankful it wasn’t worse and that it dropped the temperature outside by quite a bit!

We have been enjoying Ruby so much this week!

She is SO easy!

After our little stint with Jax, who was a rescue dog, I was dreading training a new puppy.

But Ruby is only eight weeks old and had a very good start in life.

She is SMART.

Mellow.

Fluffy.

Gentle.

Sleeping GREAT in her crate.

You all, we all really love her!

And Sadie is starting to love her too!

Our week was filled with so many normal every day things – but things I never take for granted anyway!

Library day.

Books.

Lots of books.

Swimming!

Power walks.

I love to walk!

I went to get a haircut one morning and came home to a baking competition!

Boys verses girls.

It was hilarious!

The boys made snicker doodles!

The girls made caramel chocolate peanut butter truffles!

I couldn’t have those snicker doodles, and I shouldn’t have eaten a truffle….I mean three truffles….but I of course chose the truffles as the winner!

Man, they were SO good!

And met my chocolate quota for a whole month!

We still eat everyday too.

I made a huge batch of fresh salsa, and was told thank you about a million times!

My lunch time crowd is usually only a counter of four!

Snack plates for lunch are quick and popular around here.

Farm fresh eggs are always a hit!

Look at those bright yolks!

Smoothie season is taken seriously around these parts.

I froze all of those bananas!

Two cookie trays worth in the end!

I am being diligent in pulling helpers into the kitchen with me!

Sometimes helpers just show up to chat.

This young man was blessed with his Mama’s autoimmune health issues.

Lane had a very hard week, and my heart about broke in two.

He was skin and bones by the time he was back on his feet, but we are thankful he is feeling stronger everyday.

Blake set up an app on my phone that can download and play podcasts.

I have been enjoying listening to some – especially Revive Our Hearts and At Home With Sally.

One beautiful afternoon I sat on the front porch watching Ruby and listening away!

Theses kiddos of ours always enjoy one another!

Our little deck garden is being fruitful!

Sunday evenings are reserved for family time.

We have a dinner of snack foods usually!

And hang out with our favorites!

Lately we have been heading over to David and Kay’s!

I guess I can’t call it River’s place anymore, because they named it Shiloh Valley Farm!

We LOVE being there.

Like, want to move in kind of LOVE, love, love!

Last night we went creek stomping.

It was a cool evening, and the water was cold.

It was okay though because only Tate and Grant fell in!

GO FIGURE!

It’s hard to pull ourselves away from that little piece of heaven!

And those precious grand babies!

This week looks like it will be sunny and warmer.

Maybe we can get all the washed out areas of the yard fixed again!

Time will tell.

Summer in Wisconsin, we enjoy you!

Hope you all are having a great summer so far too!

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