July is a crazy month. The heats beats me down. My love  affair with my garden dries up and hides in search of a cool corner in the shade. I give up on the tomatoes and peppers and squash, all being commandeered by the stink bugs. It happens every year, though you'd think I would learn.

My oldest and my youngest greet the day of the year on which they were born, about a week apart. Adah loves her littlest brother, except when he's throwing things at her, or destroying her special toy.

This July is also chaos; moving Adah to her own room and the boys to their Big Boy Room, teaching new skills, such as how to sleep in a bed that is not a crib, and how to move gracefully into Big Girl Land while still loving your little, troublesome brothers. I sometimes start to feel like this crazy plant, a freak genetic experiment, trying to go too many directions at one time.

When I really want to be like this. Standing tall, erect, purposeful. Beautiful, even with the chaos surrounding.

They bring me back from my lists, and my Grand Agenda. The smiles, the sincere amazement at Life.

I am blown away at the breeze that sweeps through and shows me the smiles, the subtle growth that happens when I'm busy with my tasks.

It's all a messy endeavor, a hot, sticky, sometimes losing battle. But I know the end will be Beautiful.

Playing catch up again. I will endeavor to get this chronicle going on a more regular basis. I'm forgetting everything before I can write it down.

In May, we closed chapters in all of our "school" books.

Ranen had gradution from preschool.

From May

Adah performed in her first upper division ballet recital.

We also took a trip up to Brevard, NC for a week in a cabin. The weather was beautiful. We were blessed by the opportunity to do some hiking, marshmallow roasting, toy shopping, science center exploring, and yummy baked good eating. We had a great time!

June has rolled around and rolled on by. We have finished painting the inside of our house. I'm embarrassed to say how long it took (ah hem; wasn't I doing this last summer?!), but I was happy to have it all done.

Here's a recent photo of Ranen. These are rare as he hides as soon as I bring the camera out, so I post it now because I love his smile.

My mom made a beautiful dress for Adah. She was feeling under the weather while posing for this photo. She is growing up so quickly!

  Our garden is producing some vegetables and fruit. Here is a study in red: savory, sweet, and spicy.

So, as time is slipping by I am recording growth. The little ones grow like my tomatoes in June (with a handful of good rains). My prayer is that His rain will continue to fall down and grow them up Good.

In April, Mole, Rabbit, and Owl had a tea party.

Kaniel placed most of the water colors on the paper.

Music was played.

And that's all I have to say about that.

Below are a few recent photos from the past week. Ranen had his preschool Christmas program, and Adah had her Christmas mini-recital (that I almost forgot about.). We will blink and the leaves will have blown away.

This was just coincidence of dates, but we spent the past weekend at a family wedding that was held at Tyndall AFB in Panama City, FL. Below are photos taken for my mom and dad (my favorite Veterans, for whom I am very grateful).the weather was great and the time spent looking at "jets" very special.

Happy Veteran's Day! Thank you for my freedom.

.In this metaphorical home on the internet? Yes, we do. And I really don't have an acceptable excuse for not keeping up with the ongoing chronicle that is life. Thank goodness for photos. Now, if I didn't take any photos, I would be setting myself up for great sadness in just a few years. So, listen up, woman-take photos, jot down memories. Do it now, or regret it later when these wee little ones have flown the coop.

This is going to be painful, for you, dear reader. Like getting gorged on something sweet, like baklava. If you get to May or June and feel woozy, stop, and come back later in the week to finish the post.

March

Ranen went through a phase where he wanted to be robin hood. I made many, many arrows and bows.

Kaniel was hitting his months of triumph.yes, I did grab that cheerio, alright!

April

The air warmed and the grass turned green. And little kids who love to play in dirt rejoiced. Kaniel continued to grow and smile. And I continued to kiss his little cheeks every moment I could.  We discovered the joy that is the original Beatrix Potter stories. Great month, even enjoyed some home-made sushi with friends.

May

May was driven by the "home stretch" as school winded down. Adah was getting antsy for the summer break, and honestly, I was too. Not many pictures, but Christopher built me a very cool compost sifter, so we harvested a bunch of compost for our summer crops.

June

June was full of Kaniel tearing through the house and yard on all fours. He had started to crawl around six months, but his appetite for mobility and exploration were unchecked by the many bumps and scrapes he incurred. We picked lots of blackberries at the Mitchells house and started swim lessons. Ah, swim lessons. I should have just worn a bathing suit the first few days (and I think I did a day or two here and there). Ranen wanted no part of being in the water with the instructor. So, guess who had to get in the water with him? While toting around a little babe? Well, no one drowned and by the end of the two weeks, Adah was swimming in the deep end, and Ranen was getting his head wet. Improvement? I think so. And, no there are no photos of swim lessons.for, uh, obvious reasons.

I started the entry for July, but it became long and I didn't feel like editing it, so I'll continue with the general updates in the next day or so. Hope I didn't exhaust you!