9 Years . . .

My baby had his 9th birthday yesterday (6-23).  Time has flown by so quickly.  I got a little teary-eyed looking through some old pictures and seeing those big blue eyes, chubby cheeks, and chunky little legs.  Now he's a blue-eyed, lanky, baseball playing boy!

3 days new.  8 lbs, 5 oz, 20 inches.  

 Not only is it Logan who has grown up so much, but look at this picture with Austin!  He was 8 (okay probably just a week or 2 away from being 9).  His birthday is July 30, that should give me plenty of time to find some good pictures of him!

Austin-age 9, Logan -around 2-3 weeks.  L rolled over at 4 weeks.

 He was a happy baby, and had (has) a smile that would light up the room.

You can tell by all the drool some little teeth were just coming in.

 Always the "outdoor-type" kid.  He loves to be outside, especially now since we got the pool set up!

Age 2

 He loves baseball, and is one of the biggest St. Louis Cardinals fans I know.  This was his 2nd year of playing catcher, and he loves it.  On the way home one afternoon he looked at me and said, "I think you should just call me Yadi (Yadier Molina, Cardinals' catcher).  He cracks me up!  Just to set the record straight, though, Matt Holliday is his favorite player.  He has a t-shirt and a jersey with Holliday on them.  We are hoping to take the boys to a game in St. Louis before school starts. (I'm as excited as they are, I love the Cards!)

So serious

So not serious.  Check out the cake, found that in Pinterest.  the kids were running around saying, "We ate a base!"

Officially a 9 year old!

Saturday we had his birthday party.  He had a few friends over and Chris's family joined us.  We had a good time, and the kid had fun.  Our intent was to have a "kid" party then another "family" party, but after the last game of the tournament L was invited to play a practice game for the Tri-County Allstars baseball team on Sunday (which was his actual birthday) so we combined the parties.  After the games were over on Sunday the coach told us he wanted Logan to play on the team and would need a copy of L's birth certificate and health insurance card.  Quite a birthday present!  The next 3 weekends will be filled with Babe Ruth League baseball tournaments.  It will be busy, but lots of fun.  I did learn a lesson from the games Sunday (doubleheader), PACK SUNSCREEN!  My legs were a little pink, but they're tan today, I'm afraid I won't be so lucky the next time.

Sometimes He stops us in our tracks...

I was driving down the road listening to The Message radio station on XM Radio and a new song by Chris August came on.  By the time he got to the chorus I was in tears.   Music is one of the most effective (to me) ministries, and this song just left me speechless.....kind of like the first time I heard "Praise You In This Storm" by Casting Crowns.  I am amazed by the power of God.  Please take the time to listen to the song by clicking the link below.

Restore by Chris August

Thankful

I'm guilty of it.  I allow life to distract me and forget to see the beauty around me everyday.  I forget to be thankful.  Sometimes the little things we overlook can bring so much happiness.  Sometimes we need to see the world through fresh eyes.

The view from a friend's cabin.  We live in a beautiful place. 

Father and son working together.  The little red heifer in the squeeze chute is a show cow, the little donkey on the left is her trainer.  Just like most trainers, Red does NOT like him.  She will eventually learn to lead...with his help, but the process is not fun...for her.

Sometimes you just need to roll around in dirt to scratch that pesky itch.

The joys of a bicycle on a summer afternoon.

Riding down a country road (from the barn to the house).

Round bales make a fun jungle gym.

Shooter (the puppy) wanted to get in on the hay bale action, too.  It took him a few tries, but he finally made it to the top.

Victory!  He made it to his boy.

Hi, mamma, are you proud of me?

Hide & seek in the hay.

..and one more trip to the top.

Just look around you.  No matter if you're in the country, like us, or the big city, there are blessings all around.  Make the choice to be happy and see the beauty in details of everyday life.