Summer love, chicken love

2 laying chickens = 2 eggs a day. Our others will probably begin laying in September.

We LOVE fresh eggs.

This little guy LOVES summer.

He LOVES time outside! And he LOVES chickens.

I love our sunsets.

Black bottom cupcakes/bread... mmm mmm mmm

on the go... she has places to be

The heavens declare the glory of God...

Preparing for baseball state this week. How can it be that time already? Thursday, Friday, Saturday, Sunday! I am excited to cheer on the 9u Chiefs and 12u Chiefs! Different cities, but we will do our best.  Merit's state tourney is in East Wenatchee, Will's is in Moses Lake. I wish they were different weekends, but we'll deal. 
I am enjoying the kids, the garden, the flowers, the chickens and the summer sun.

 So thankful for God's beauty!

Sunday evening update

Vacation Bible School last week was terrific. Watching those kids sing for Jesus, learn about Jesus love, learn about Science, make cool crafts... it was so fun! I did Pre-K crafts with Maria and enjoyed it so much.
Then this weekend was FULL of heat, baseball, cousin fun, gramma and papa fun! Fischer and Kendal spent the night Friday night after we all had dinner here and then yesterday and today Willem had a baseball tourney! It is nice to be here in town for a tournament. Merit had the weekend off so we had a bit more free time than usual. And we ate out more than usual, yum!

I feel bad for our chickens in this heat! Frozen treats and keeping their water containers filled seems to help. They also love time on the grass in the evenings.

I went thrifting with Maria two weeks ago. What fun!  We found so many neat things and several OLD things. Like this fun book! Maria found some great books too. We dug in the books and fabric for quite some time at the Ephrata Senior Center thrift store. Special treasures, good conversation and a refreshing break. It was what we both needed.

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Will up to bat!

 These boys!

sweetheart!

And he was a great baseball fan this weekend!

Baseball in Ellensburg!

Carson and Hazel, buddies, making memories at the baseball games

sweet, hot, tired boy

Friday afternoon we left at 3:45 for Ellensburg - Willem, Hazel, Oren and I - Vance and Merit were already on their way to Liberty Lake. I got slightly lost trying to find the fields. We got to the fields about 5:10. Game started at 6. Oren and Hazel ran and played and made ten new friends. We made the drive back to Moses Lake and got home about ten. The next morning we loaded the car at 8:40 and were on the road again. Great games Sat.! We got home around 8 Saturday night. Oren was full of it. Thank Goodness for Curious George and the Robots movie in the car. Willem thanked me five times for getting him to and from his games. He said " I know this can be hard for you." Sweet kid.

Grandpa Vic, Gramma Kris, Uncle John, Aunt Katie, Fischer, Kendal, Kelcy and Ryan caught half a game on their way out of E'burg Sat. So it was fun to see them.

Sunday morning we got on the road at 8:40. I stopped at Starbucks, oh that latte tasted good. We got to the fields in E'burg at ten only to find out Willem's 11 o'clock game was delayed. SO, Willem's team played at 1:30 and 3:40. They played hard, played well. They lost both but were "in it" the whole time. I set up a pack and play in the shade and Oren napped. Hazel ran and ran and was alseep after being in the car three minutes. I have been TRYING to meet up with my sis Lesha and family since Thur., when they got to Crescent Bar! And last night we had a chance...We drove to Quincy, I grabbed Kai from Lesha and sent Hazel back to Crescent Bar with Lesha.Whew! I had four boys in the house last night and loved it. In 30 min. we load back in the car and spend the day at Crescent Bar with Lesha and family! God gives me a lot of energy. And prayerful, helpful friends. This week's shout out has to go to Maria and Shannon! 

Will at short

focused, ready

And because I love kids and baseball, it hasn't taken me long to really appreciate and invest in this team. 

I have been a huge supporter of Merit's team for a long time, and now we get to add another baseball "family". Feels pretty cool.

Merit's team took FIRST in Liberty Lake! Wow, I hated to miss it, but it has been so fun to hear about!! And Merit has wanted to share every detail, Merit style. This, I love.

Soap Lake, summer

I do wish there were more lazy days. Today is one of those days where I have to be intentionally grateful for days like the one I am sharing here... a little afternoon eating at DKs and swimming in Soap Lake. Who knew 1 hour at Soap Lake on Wed. could be a summer highlight.

I know I have been pushing Hazel and Oren a little too hard, mainly with our busy baseball schedule. Hazel showed me last night what she wanted to wear today, Friday. I agreed it was a great summer outfit. She then proceeded to put it on at 9:30 last night. I asked her why she wasn't getting pjs on. She was simply "saving time" --- knowing she wouldn't have to get dressed in the morning. 

I'll keep working on getting it all done. This morning when I woke up it seemed like such a huge feat. Lots of prayer and deep breaths. And I will find the joy too. 

I love this pic!

This girl is so sweet! 

And she is a wonderful baseball fan!

12 u  -- this is a heck of a team. 

These guys make me laugh, I have gotten to know them well. The team changes a bit each year, depending on who makes All Stars, but man they are fun to watch.

These are the days

Our 12 year old Jansen #7!

Our 9 year old Jansen #7

An hour or two before sunset we let the chickens out. Oren rides his horse, the kids play, Vance and I work outside a bit or sit together. We watch the sunset. The chickens love this time of evening and we do too.

And next time I will post some pics of our sweet Hazel Jane.

Today we found a kitty on the side of the road. A four week old adorable, dehydrated, sweet kitten!! We took her to the vet, had her checked out. Oren fell in love with her immediately! Wow. I couldn't believe how much he loved cuddling that cat! Merit prayed for the cat in the car. We took it to the park for a bit and a woman with a mama cat and four week old kittens at home wanted to adopt her! The mama cat is such a good mom and so gentle. One of her four kittens died so the lady thought the mama cat would accept the cute orange kitten we found. And she has! I have been texting with this sweet woman today. --- I would have loved to keep that kitten! But there will be another time...

BASEBALL, kittens, chickens, thrifting, swimming, trying to keep things organized, trying to find just a bit of time to relax... thank you God for summer!