Well, now that it’s halfway through September, I thought I’d put up a few pictures of what went on during the Summer.
Most of July was spent resting and recovering from Ryder’s birth.
I personally got a lot of reading done and quite enjoyed myself while Brian and the kids scurried around running the farm.
I won’t say it was all easy riding – the first few weeks Brian went back to work found me in tears here and there, but I kept reminding myself of what my sister had told me once “crying for girls is kind of like sweating for guys.” In other words, what I was doing was hard work, and hard work produces sweat, and I was just sweating out my eyes. It sort of helped.
We went back to our Bible reading at breakfast and memory work at lunch. I love tying in habits to predictable happenings during the day. Not every meal worked out, but we persevered and made it through several minor prophets and memorized a fun passage from Acts.
Ryder was slowly incorporated into daily life, each week making things just a little bit easier. His siblings love him and each enjoy him in different ways.
Ivy has enjoyed setting up scenes and taking his picture. Here a wild Indian rounds up some mustangs.
In a drastic change of careers, Ryder now grooms pets.
Ryder enjoys his first swim!
He likes to get your attention by vocalizing and loves to coo and talk with you.
Ryder is a super happy guy, smiling and laughing easily.
Other summer activities included:
Setting up a new trampoline after the old one broke.
Becoming well acquainted with a perpetual puddle.
Watching 3 river otters in a neighbors pond!
Picking blueberries
4th of July bounce houses!
Creating a “feast” in the barn.
Harvesting lots of watermelon….
…and even more watermelon! Probably over 60 in all!
And lots and lots of free play.
A great summer overall. And I love Ivy’s scenes with Ryder! You’re a great mom!!
Thank you for taking the time to update and post pictures. Reminds me so much of our childhood!
Thanks for sharing pics of Ryder. He is great and I love his laugh. I remember when my parents left after helping with Michael his first two weeks and then Jim went back to work. EEK! Cry. What do I do now? God is so good and encourages us and helps us each day. You are doing great, Amy.
I love reading with the kids and chess games with Lance. You’re a great mother with a fine and fun bunch of kids.