Fields of Yellow

This morning the littles and I ventured out in search of a golden yellow field. I've been feeling overwhelmed with life lately and thought that taking a drive together might help. We drove and drove down winding highways lined with fields and fresh cut hay with no luck. Just as I was ready to give up Joe called out, "Look! Over there!" We turned off the highway and snapped a few quick pictures. My heart was filled with gratitude as I looked at my sweet kids all gathered together. 

Motherhood can be hard and most days leave me feeling like a failure as I try to navigate my way through the dishes and the piles of laundry while trying to make sure everyone's needs are met. I've been running on empty lately and haven't had much to give my family other than an overtired mom who is desperately trying to keep things balanced and in control. It can be hard when there's no recognition at day's end and your work goes unnoticed and without thanks.

But my littles are always watching and taking note and encouraging me in their own way. I hear it in their "I love you's" and their hugs. Sometimes I just need to slow down and take the time to listen.

Holding Up

It's been a rough couple of days. I've been failing hard-core in the Mom department. Mr. Stannix has been busy with work and church and I've done bedtime on my own all week. I'm afraid I've been short of patience. The highlight of my day was getting the mail because this adorable owl diffuser I've been swooning over finally arrived! Camilla gets to use it in her room to help her out at night. It plays nature sounds and white noise and helps her room smell great! When the day got too rough I found peace in the greenhouse. Sawyer swung and played with his toes while I helped Dad prune and weed. The quiet of nap time was much welcomed.

Taste the Rainbow

There is something so wonderful about gathering a whole bunch of veggies from plants  that you helped start from seed and nurture. I love knowing where my food comes from and how it was grown. I love that my littles are able to eat organic, fresh garden produce for every meal. 

I was practically jumping up and down with excitement when I spotted these giant red tomatoes. My dad spied the cucumbers and I grabbed some gloves (they're super prickly) and picked them. The parsley was ready and I was able to gather a few eggs before heading inside. I am still desperately waiting to find a blue egg from my Americana's one day!

Sawyer was my little buddy as I strung up some tomatillo branches, pruned my pumpkin plants, and picked some yummy things.

The misty rain gave way part way through the day. Oliver and Joe helped me pick half a bucket of red currants. The bush is loaded and we hardly even picked 1/4 of what's there! The sun sure felt good on our faces though! 

After dinner the children were begging me to go for a walk. It started to rain just as we were getting our jackets on and I really wanted to get to the bed time routine. I was feeling extra tired and frustrated at the mess in my kitchen. I decided to paste a smile on and brave the rain, and I was so glad I did because as I came around the side of the house I was greeted by the most beautiful double rainbow! I would have missed it had I chose to stay inside and do the dishes. The children enjoyed the walk and the fresh air calmed my worries. We all came back home in a better space to work through the bed time routine while Daddy was at the church for meetings. Putting six kids to bed on my own sometimes feels hard. I want so badly to take enough time with each of them, but sometimes it gets chaotic. I usually end up flooded with feelings of guilt and inadequacy after tucking the last of the littles into bed, wishing I hadn't lost my patience. The phrase, "I'm Sorry" is used often, but I am glad that my children are able to learn about repentance and forgiveness in a safe environment. Tomorrow is a new day with no mistakes in it yet!

Home Again

After being away all weekend we came home to a lot of great things growing! I was so excited to go to the greenhouse and check out my pumpkins and the tomatoes! It always seems like these things just grow over night! Just last week my pumpkins were the size of my thumb and this week they are looking like plump baby pumpkins. The red currant bush also exploded and we will be picking buckets and buckets! The rest of the day was spent relaxing and bathing (some of us outdoors) after a weekend of camping! 

Hudkins Reunion

 A few years ago at the end of the Hudkins Reunion the family was looking for volunteers for this years reunion. Mike and I naively put our hands up thinking only about how much fun it would be to plan an event like this. We drove home with visions and ideas dancing around in our heads. Fast forward a few years and we've been through a move and had a new baby and all of the sudden it became harder to make those visions become a reality. But we managed to pull off a pretty stellar weekend thanks to everyone's help, and really enjoyed everyone's company! Family is so special, and I am pretty grateful for my Grandparents and all that they do for all of us!

The Lodge that we usually hold the reunion at did some renovations and looked great!

Camilla was so excited to be reunited with her sweet second cousin Mia. 

With all of the rain, it was pretty muddy, but that didn't stop the boys from using the zipline all day long!

One night after tucking in the littles Daddy put his shoe on to walk back to the lodge and felt something by his toes. Thinking it was a child's sock, he just kept walking. When he went to dump his shoe out this big frog jumped out and scared us all to death! Also, we left our tent windows down by accident during a thunder storm and all of our sleeping bags ended up swimming in puddles. Thankfully we had lots of great family offer us shelter and blankets for the night. It was quite the way to begin the weekend!

One of our visions for this reunion was to get matching t-shirts for all of the clan! My cousin did a great job pulling this off, they turned out amazing and will be fun to wear to future reunions.

Even though the weather was windy and a touch on the chilly side, we headed over to the Tanner Youth camp for the afternoon on Saturday. It ended up being lots of fun! Cold, but fun!

The sun came out half way through our time at the beach and helped warm us up a little!

There was lots of cousin time and baby snuggling in the lodge.

Although we were missing lots of people, we were sure grateful for those that were able to make it!

My grandparents have created quite the clan and we all love them dearly! 

On Sunday afternoon we enjoyed some group relays. We all participated on different teams and had a blast!

Everyone was so exhausted by the last night that they slept like logs and took their time waking up in the morning. We all worked together to clean up, packed our vehicles and said our good-bye's. It was a wonderful weekend with family!

Hello August

 Hello August! I've been admiring the wheat and canola fields as we drive and even spotted a few yellow leaves on the tops of the trees. These next three months are my favorite and I'm getting excited for cool evenings and meals from the garden. My sister snapped a few pictures of Sawyer last week and I am in love with them! Here's to more outdoor bubble baths in the near future!