::quinn age 7::

My baby Quinny is the rainbow baby that got our lives back into focus.  He is the sunshine after the rain.  Never has the sight of one person so instantly altered the color of my karma.  He fixed my broken heart.  And Josh's too.   

Quinn is the soul mate that Josh needed.   They are cut of the same cloth.  Quinn loves to build and learn and be hands on.  Quinn loves to tell everyone about the fact that Josh delivered him.    

He had to hold the saw and he had to be the one to cut down the tree.  

He is not able to check out and veg in front of a screen.  He wants activity.  He wants to do.  He would rather go split wood with Josh than play a video fame.  

Quinn is the most fun person to feed that I have ever met.  This kid eats incredible amounts of food and he is never full.  It is a true pleasure to feed him something you cooked.  He tells you over and over how much he loves it while shoveling it in his mouth.  

This is my snuggle baby.  He curls up with you and immediately falls asleep.  Josh spent so much time teaching this kid to be held down and nap with us that he broke his spirit like they break wild mustangs.  BUT the only time we have ever been successful at breaking this kids spirit is in regards to sleep.   

Speaking of that unbreakable spirit - you will never meet a child that has a more defined sense of what he feels is right and wrong.  You can not reason with him if he thinks you are out of line. I was terrified to send him to school because I thought he would be arguing with his teacher all day long.  HE NEVER GETS IN TROUBLE AT SCHOOL!!!  He gets invited to be part of the "good kid" groups, that my other kids did not get invited to join.  These little good citizen clubs at school.  I was totally shocked.  He took me by complete surprise.  

He has an abnormal tolerance for cold.  Please note he is wearing shorts with this outfit.  

He OFTEN takes me by surprise.  I can't predict him, but I have learned to trust him.  He is a reliable person.  I can see the man that he will become.  He is going to be a gentleman that is capable, just like his father.  I see so much of his father in him that my heart hums.  RANDOM REMINDER: don't forget that her takes baths with goggles on and that every morning when you drop him off he does the victory dance about him loving me more than I love him.  

There are somethings that my baby and I have in common, we both adore animals, gardens, and outside.  Since he could walk he has been chasing after any creature on our farm.  He wants an animal near him at all times.  He is constantly trying to bring chickens in the house.  We have our giant dogs and our tiny dog, but I am seriously thinking about getting him his own basset hound, or maybe a dachshund.  He needs his own dog to be his best friend.  But I need a dog that is in a coma like state.  We will see how this all goes.  

He LOVES to help me bake or cook.  He begs to help, but refuses to wear a shirt.  I love having his help.  He is going to be a great cook.  

::max is 11::

Oh my precious baby Max.  My heart belongs to Max.  He smells like a calm light summer rain storm.  I know he isn't always going to smell good, I know he is growing into a stinky boy soon.  For now I am just going to enjoy the fact that he still holds my hand in public.  

He was the largest of my babies.  Nine and a half pounds and he had to have his blood sugars monitored his first 24 hours because he was such a beast.  He started crying before his shoulders was even delivered.    

He was the best baby in the world.  Slept through the night within his first week.  Ate like a champ.  Knew how to nurse right from the start.  

Our first bump in the road was when we found out that he carried Galactosemia.  Look it up if you want the details, but its basically any lactose you eat builds up over the course of your life till you go blind, develop kidney failure, and brain damage.  It's ugly.  I didn't know this but I carry it and I passed it on to him.  The good news is that it is rare and that you have to have both copies of the gene to express it.  We just carry it.  

He was such a great looking toddler.  His curls had strangers stopping us in the streets to pet his head.  

When he started school we noticed that he is wired a little different.  He has ADD and we have struggled with this off and on through out his schooling.  

setting up one of his nests in the pantry 

The good news is that he is a genius, so usually even though he only heard half the directions he is smart enough to just figure it out.  

He's so bright and creative.  He is constantly making the most amazing Lego creations with 14 different moving parts.  

He hasn't slept for real since he was less than 1.  He sleeps about 4-6 hours a night and then wakes up smiling and content.  I've told him that his lack of sleep makes him a super hero!  Think of all the great books he is going to read in his life.   He can either take his insomnia and freak out about it or just embrace it.   He's not tired the next day.  The kid needs less sleep that the average person.  It is amazing.  (I am not looking for idea's to help with this, it is not an issue.  It's just a cool part of him that I want to remember.)

He got a really big role in the Christmas Carol this year.  It was actually a high school play but a vry few kids got picked to play parts.  He was Scrooge at 12 and even sang a solo.  This kid is a natural actor.  He's so handsome and he has real talent.  There is a small chance I might be biased.  

I love being Max's mother.  He makes my soul feel calm and my heart happy.  Plus I have serious envy of his hair.  

::kitchen garden is happening::

This year will be our second summer living on our property.  Too much HAD to happen last year for my little garden to be built.  I also wanted to have one full season on this property to make sure I understand this farms quirks a little better.  This is going to be the garden that I have for the rest of my life.  I'm 41, I hope I get to garden in this garden for the next 50 years.  It has to be right.  

I learned some things in my old garden:
      1.  You can;t be close enough to the water source
      2.  I want to relax in my garden as much as I want to work in my garden.
      3.  I like excuses to be in my garden - like having a work bench in there.
      4.  I want to be able to sit in my garden with another person.  Maybe even eat in there.
      5.  I like my big dogs near me at all times, but I want my garden well protected from them.  
      6.  The pathways need to be rock, not mulch.  It lasts forever.  
      7.  Fencing that goes around the garden needs to act as a trellis and be good at keeping chickens/feral boys/goats/WHATEVER out in growing season. 
      8.  Flowers are a pretty part of my gardens and should be an after thought.
      9.  Potted veggies and flowers are visually appealing.  
      10.  The sound of a water fountain that can also be a water source for fauna makes me happy, but it has to be small enough for me to clean it if the ducks invade it.  
      11.  I like to work my chickens into my gardens to be natural source of fertilizer and to let them work the soil.  I have ideas on how to do this in a way that limits what the chickens have access to.  

I had an original plan that had my garden would have the chicken coop in it and the runs would be part of the garden.  I even played around with the idea of a chicken moat, but the reality of that seemed to have too many issues for me.  We have some ideas for the chickens, but that is for another post.  

The light green beds are outside the fence.  The purple are gates.  One leads into my dogs outdoor run.  One leads into my back yard.  The red areas are a hammock and a bench.  

The orange area is my work bench.  We have an old sink from our remodel and tons of supplies to make my potting bench.  I want it to look roughly like this one.   

The blue circle will be a small fountain.  I have been buying the supplies to make this from flea markets this winter.  This is the basic concept I will be going for. 

::sewing machine cover::

I've been intimidated by this project.  It just seemed like too much to try and figure out my own pattern.  I only had a certain amount of this bird fabric left and I didn't want to screw it all up.  I finally just bit the bullet and made my pattern out of paper.  It's imperfect, but I have given myself permission to be imperfect in sewing.  How else am I going to learn?

Scissor pocket.

::break time thrift shopping::

I don't know why but these kids love to go thrift shopping with us.  

It is not hard to find some seriously weird stuff.  

But the kid who finds the some interesting gets to pick the lunch location.  Quinn won today.   

Which meant Arby's.  

I had this exact barbie horse when I was a kid.  Her name is Dallas.  She did not come home with me, but we did catch up on old times.   

Jumping picture gone wrong.  

The shirt that triggered Lily.   I couldn't stop laughing.  It's just terrible.   

Josh finally found a trash can for his shop.  You can keep your specialized lubricant jokes to yourself.  I've heard them all already.  

We love a good vintage hat try on session.

I'm always fascinated my the taxidermy we see in these places.  I wish this little guy could tell me his tale.  

This great shop dog was straight chilling.  

He had lots to tell me.  

::finally some real snow::

My cute little cottage is loving her winter wonderland.  

Quinn woke up and ran right outside.  I never saw a kid love weather more than him.  Any kind of weather, he is ready to party.  His joy encouraged us all to get outside.  

The back deck got so much progress last year.  I can't wait to enjoy it this next summer.  

Rosie thought this weather suits her inner soul.  

Two happy giant dogs.  

When Rosie shakes her head lots of things more around in weird ways. 

The boys couldn't get enough.  

Look at that dog smile.  He is so wonderful.  

Of course he was still hot.  Fur ball.  

She just needs a neck keg and a mountain and she would save the world.  

Nothing better than sledding attached to the farm truck.  

I even took a turn on the sled.  I may need the chiropractor to get me lined up again, but it was super fun.  

After I went in I looked out and saw this - Quinn face down in the snow.  He really can't get enough.