Huge Duststorm!

We are under a weather alert today - but it's not rain! It's wind - which also means dust!! Around here a wind storm means dirt. And that's exactly what we got today.

These are pictures through the windows - I wasn't about to go outside just for a picture!

As I was watching clouds of dirt go by and hearing the howling wind I was growing increasingly thankful for our house! Thank the Lord for tightly sealed windows and doors!

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Fun With Friends!

Yesterday was a fun time for us - the Doughty's came out for the day! It was a great way to get our minds off of waiting. :-) We always love having them out!

All the boys on one couch!

Miss Amanda the cowgirl!

David and Amanda.

Isaac helped Mr. Doughty grill the hamburgers. He was desperate to go play with the big kids on the tire swing but we distracted him with a safer activity. :-)

Dad and Mr. Doughty had a great "manly" chat as they grilled the burgers! We had to keep on warding Buffy (the dog) off as he was loving sniffing the cheese slices.

Jonathan gave horse rides, of course.

Isaac looking just too cute in the dirt!! (By the way Mom, notice his visor? He had a BLAST making it the other day. Gotta love the pink flowers.)

All in all we had a great day - thanks Doughtys for bringing the ice cream - and for LEAVING it with us!! I'm looking forward to having a bowl this afternoon!

We are still surviving here at home...and I cannot believe that my new little brother is coming HOME this Saturday! Hooray! As I type this we are having a HUGE dust storm. It's been so windy so now we have walls of dust that sweep across our property. It's so thick right now I can barely see the horses out front. Yuck!

So my big focus this week is getting the house out of chaos stage and back into normality. And making quite a bit of food ahead of time for this weekend. I want to just enjoy Joshua and not have to worry about cooking for the first day or so. :-)

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We still hangin in there...

I realize I have NOT posted daily like I planned during the trip....but I also planned on having a lot more time available! I am truly learning the ropes of being a full time "mom"!! And it is much more time-consuming than I had expected!

But.

We are still hanging in there and very anxiously awaiting Mom, Courtney's and Joshua's return home on the 12th. As I type it's 6:30 AM and I have a little cheerio muncher by my side. It seems to be our new routine...he wakes up calling for me around 5:45, then we snuggle for a while, and then I go check Courtney's blog while he digs into cheerios.

Just 7 more days!!! Until this adorable little boy comes home!

I don't have any pictures to share from our last few days; because I've been too busy to take any. :-) And Courtney's blog is a WHOLE LOT more interesting at this point!! However I will try to be better about that this week.

Instead, I'll share with you some things I've learned about being a "mom":

~diapers fill much faster than you think. It's VERY wise to change them often or you will go through countless pairs of pants a day.

~never put a load of laundry in at 10:00 PM.

~fix hair and apply makeup in under 3.5 minutes.

~clean the kitchen entirely the night before or you won't feel like making breakfast the next morning.

~the crockpot is a mother's best friend.

~always make a 3 year old go potty BEFORE getting in the bathtub. It's vital.

~leftovers are lifesavers.

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Thursday Update

We have been having gorgeous weather the last few days (no fireplace use mom!) and so yesterday I got to open all the windows and we took Isaac outside for some fresh air. It was just so nice to be in the warm sun again - hopefully winter is finally gone!

We found Joshua a cowboy hat identical to Isaac's, except it is red-rimmed instead of blue. They're going to look so cute matching!

More horses arrived for Jonathan a few days ago - he bought two and is already working on training one of them.

Cowboy tickle time!

Isaac and I made a paper chain for all the days Mom and Courtney are gone in China. It started out pretty long, but now that we're down to almost a week left, it's getting shorter (we tear one link off every day). I tell Isaac that when we get to the top, Mama will be home!

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Tuesday Update

These days are surely flying by! I thought the two weeks Mom and Courtney were gone were going to just crawl by.....in a way they have but I'm also busier than I think I've ever been in my life. Seriously. Between soggy diapers, burned taco meat, mountains of laundry, and the ever present dishes, I'm constantly on the move! But that's a good thing, right?

David and Isaac were working on tracing letters together. Notice the finger inching up to the nose. He is such a stinker!

We also did hair cuts for the boys the other morning. They were all getting a little shaggy! Even Isaac got a buzz!

Making potato soup for lunch. Actually, it's on the stove right now - you know, I've watched Mom make potato soup dozens of times, but I've never actually done it myself. So I hope it turns out right! We're also having grilled sandwhiches along with it - and leftover ice cream from last night!! Dad bought it to celebrate Joshua!

Orange glazed pumpkin cinnamon rollls. We had these for breakfast the last few days. They were sooooo good!!

Isaac has loved being outside lately. He is such an outdoors boy! It's hard for him to play outside these days because I'm so busy with indoor chores to watch him and the boys don't always have time to take him out either. But right now he's playing cars in the sandpile with David, so he's getting his share of sun for the day!

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