"You don't need a "mansion" to have a well appointed, lovely and welcoming home.... I had forgotten.  Your friendship reminded me. "

These are words from a dear friend to me just today.  They brought tears to my eyes.  This is what I want for our home, each and every day.  A welcoming spot, a gentle reminder of things larger than consumerism, and the American dream, a place where we can share Christ and give (and receive, too).

And yet.......
I'll admit sometimes I do cringe when I welcome friends who live in large, lovely homes into my little 1993 Fleetwood, with its grand total of  l200 square feet.  It is a 17 year old double wide, and friends, this fact can't be hidden.

Or can it?
Facts will be facts, of course.

But maybe it doesn't matter quite as much as we have been led to believe.

Maybe, just maybe it is more about friendship and sharing and caring and loving.

Oh, we could live in a mansion, and have a 30 year loan hanging over our heads. But we have chosen not to do this, and someday we may get our chance to build our little dream cottage.
Or not.
 Either way, no matter where I live I want to always remember to share what we do have without apology.
 It is what God has given to us, to share with others for His glory.

I needed this reminder, it is so easy to forget.

Hey there

Baby girl waves hello to each of you.

 Today Lexie is 6 weeks old

7lbs 2 oz

20 " long

She has grown 2" and gained  1lb 8oz since we brought her home.

I love the way she raises her eyebrows and wrinkles her forehead.

 This week she started to respond with big smiles and little baby "talking" noises that are halfway between a gasp and a giggle. Duane is entranced, I have never seen him so totally into a baby like he is with Lexie.  It is the sweetest thing!

It's the weekend

On Friday we went hiking with a lovely friend, Kerstin and her kids.  Everyone had a wonderful afternoon, I think baby girl would perhaps live in the wrap quite contentedly for days on end.  

I, for one, was thrilled to be out doors with nothing to do but trail along after the children.  Kind of therapeutic and rejuvenating. Very needed in my life just now.

Really, I am getting pretty close to a walking zombie these days.  Strange enough, it has had some good side effects.  Lack of sleep has made me more mellow, and low key. 

Weird, I know, but still true.

 Like tonight....two months ago I would not have been sitting here staring at a computer screen.  I would have been picking up the living room, washing dishes, and laying out school stuff.  Make no mistake, all of those things really "should" be done (plus about a gazillion other things, too.)  but I am frankly to tired and so...........well, just don't come visit me right now if you wanna see my house. :-)

See.... here I am, just rambling and babbling when I had really intended to simply post some hiking photos. Half of which didn't even turn out because the camera settings were all screwed up, must be my baby brains.

That was our fun relaxing Friday afternoon. Well, okay making it out the door at 1PM was NOT relaxing but after that it was all good.  :-)

Saturday we spent the morning at the flea market and came away with a wonderful loot of boys clothes size 10-14 for just $28.  A huge Dillards bag full of clothes, all of them in like new condition, name brand, etc.
The mother was telling me that they had never been dried in the dryer and she always ironed everything when she laundered. I smiled and nodded and thought about the last time I ironed.
Probably on a Sunday morning,  to make my dh's dress shirt presentable for church.
  Do I ever iron jeans or T-shirts?
 Ummm,  that would be a NO! But I guess you can do stuff like that when you only have 1 kid, and I won't complain because I am all to happy to have these clothes.  Sweetness! 

We wandered around and found a few other great deals, ate some boiled peanuts and stocked up on some produce from the Mexican stands before heading home.

 Then we seriously worked our brains out trying to quickly finish the greenhouse for the aquaponic system before nightfall.  Last night the temp dropped to 31 and knowing this was the forecast we really didn't want to loose everything.  We did get things winterized AND ate dinner at 9:30PM (horrors, I know, and so bad for your digestion.  But what was I to do? We were all starving and the guys certainly wouldn't have been happy to wait until breakfast).  

We rejoiced that we could turn the clock back in the morning.  Which we actually haven't even gotten around to doing yet. Tomorrow, yes... I will do it tomorrow.  Maybe I can post the greenhouse pictures too,...... or not..... since I will be in the office all afternoon while D takes all the boys to the dentist.

Goodnight.  I am off to nurse Itty Bitty.

4 Wk Photos

4 Wks Old - (6lbs 9oz.)

 Love that little tongue!

Kiss those baby cheeks.

Bath time.

Itty Bitty's Bathtub- the kitchen sink.

Chicken Tractor

Here are the requested pictures of the new chicken tractor.  I will say this, if you were to build one from all new materials it probably would not be the most economical chicken tractor. Most of the materials I had already so the cost for me was quite less.- Duane