Every now and then i can get a picture of them together...BUT i must be quick!

Barnstormers Adventure

Saturday night we went to the Barnstormers game. In hindsight, not the best decision!! They were playing York and had fireworks afterward, so it was a packed house. After the first inning, we made the trek out to the consessions to get supper, and we lost Ben! After what seemed like a long time of searching, i spotted a man walking the other way with him. He worked there, and i was able to track him down. He said a woman handed him over. So he took us to a back room and gave Ben a ball for being so brave. I think clueless might be a more accurate word, but we'll just use the word brave. Then around the 5 inning we headed off to the playground, where it proceded to downpour. It was too crowded to get under cover so we just went home!

A bright spot was the kids got to see their mascot, Cylo and give high fives. But other then that, it didn't go so well. The boys were a little too young to want to sit and watch the game. But we kept good attitudes for the kids sake, and i don't think they realized it was not a successful family outing. For the time being, we'll just stick to uncle Mikey's baseball games where they can play in the dirt the whole time :)

Quick Fix BBQ Fajitas

I make these a lot and they are easy to make. We love them!

(I took this picture straight from the picture in the magazine, i forgot to take a 'real' picture after i made them)

BBQ Fajitas

3/4 lb boneless skinless breast or thighs, cut into small strips

1 medium each green and red peppers, cut into strips

1 medium onion, cut into wedges

1/2 c. BBQ sauce (we like hickory smoked)

soft tortillas

shredded sharp cheddar or mexican cheese

salsa

sour cream

Toss chicken and vegetables with the BBQ sauce, and put in a disposable foil roasting pan. Grill on Med-high for approx 20 minutes or until chicken is cooked and veggies are crisp-tender. stir occasionally.

Spoon mixture onto tortillas and top with cheese, salsa, and sour cream. Roll up and ENJOY!

*The recipe came from KRAFT Food and Family magazine and for some reason i recieved several free months worth of this magazine before it stopped and i got quite a few good, simple recipes from it.

Mountains!

This past weekend, our family headed off to the cabin, in Potter county...5 hours away! I've been going to this cabin since i was 9 and i still love it. It's a little dirtier then it used to be, but still the same cabin and fun times!

There's not much around, but a creek and mountains. part of why i love it so much. We took many walks..The boys were getting along great, must have been the mountain air!

We found a minnow that was on it's way to turning into a frog. very cool.

On Saturday we went to a family fair a couple miles away. Lots of freebies and games. We went to this last year also, it's really neat and people come out of the woodwork for this fair.

The boys liked the decor of the cabin...
It was good to get away!

Home Improvement

My sister-in-law came up today to work on a project involving this poor, nasty wall...She has a knack for painting and i asked her if she would like to paint a scripture verse on here for us. The wall is located right close to where we have campfires and family gatherings, so i wanted a verse that would be relevant to that.She graciously agreed to do it, so Rod and i picked a verse and we think it looks great!!
She will still add the reference and darken the first line. It was only 90+ degrees today so i said "you're done!" Thanks Andrea, i'm excited for people to see it!

Summer is going by too quickly. I enjoy it more and more every year as the boys get older. Just watching them take it the summer days and seeing what stuff they get in to is such a joy. I anticipate many more years of fun at our place. And probably lots of injuries as well !
Ben got stung the other day. Apparently there was a bee in the pool. They came inside and told me about the bee. I said "don't worry about it, it'll be fine" (thinking it was probably just a fly) moments later Ben starts screaming! Ok so it WAS a bee! I should have known he would play with it, Ben loves bugs! He didn't cry long. He cries longer about having to take a bath, then the bee sting!

I tried getting cute photos at our garden shed. I guess it would have helped if they'd cooperated!

Adam helping with garden stuff....as long as the attention span allows...

The twins are always doing strange things with each other. This one is their latest...We call it "belly kissing".

I have this daily inspiration booklet, given to mothers at church on Mother's Day a few years ago. Right now it's turned to this one and i like it....

Dear Father, Thank you for the privilege of influencing these dear children. Forgive my failures, fill me with wisdom, and keep us forever close to you in Jesus. Amen.

My mom had great taste!

This dress was given to me last night by my aunt. She wore it 37 years ago at my parents' wedding! Can we say HIDEOUS! Luckily mom knows that, and we can laugh and joke about it. There's even a lovely matching bow to attach to the top of my head. I opted not to do that for the photo (actually I'm holding it in the picture). Kudos to my aunt for keeping it all these years!

I just heard news today that acquaintances of ours just had their twins delivered 15 weeks early! 1 lb 10 oz and 1 lb 14 oz...They were born yesterday and are doing well. However, they need LOTS of prayer! This is going to be a long, hard road. Someone has created a blog for them, that you can also check for updates. Their names are Mitch and Heather, they were both a year under me in school. Their blog is www.shellenbergertwins.blogspot.com Please pray for them as they come to mind. They are trying to organize round-the-clock prayer for them as well.

I am struggling with this!! I know there are a lot of things that are unfair in life. But to me, this has to be up there with the most unfair. Of course, i dealt with this to some degree, so that could be my reason for thinking this. But there are so many people out there who have no idea what this is like (and that's good!) but even if these twins do fine in the NICU, get out at the 35 weeks gestation, and impress the doctors (all which was true with my guys), it's still a HARD thing. They will be dealing with premature effects for a long time! My heart go out to the mom.

The Garden

Even though having a garden is a lot of work, this is the time of year when it makes it all worth it. Seems like everything is ready! The boys enjoy going with me and seeing what we can pick. I've never seen anyone get so excited over raw green beans or grape tomatoes! And can they ever eat corn! Our second planting of corn is ready now, and the 'coons did not get it! They pretty much took care of my first planting, although we managed to get a couple meals from it...but then i took a radio next to the corn to play at nighttime and they stayed away from my second planting. I've been able to freeze some too which is nice. We all love corn on the cob! My garden hasn't been weeded for about a month, so some things (like onions and peppers) i really have to go digging for, but i know about where they are so it's not too bad :)

Here's a butterfly on a sunflower, at the edge of my garden. i took this right before my camera died, i'm glad i could get this shot!

Table Setting

i recently added table setting to the things i let the boys help me with. i have to admit, it's hard for me to get motivated w/ teaching them different chores, it's so much easier and quicker for me to just do them myself. that's the perfectionist in me. but they are at such a willing age right now, and i know i need to take advantage of that. i've been getting a kick out of how the table looks when they are done. One is in charge of forks, one in charge of spoons, and one in charge of the kids plates. mommy takes care of the breakable stuff :)

i told them i want to take a picture and show people what a good job they did. actually i wanted you all to get a good snicker!

Adam put his plate in the sink the other day after eating, WITHOUT me telling him to and i almost cried!! how dorky is that!?! it's just nice to see positive results from all the constant training. the "fruit" from my labor isn't seen very often at this age, but i must stay consistent! i continue to ask God for good ideas on how to teach and train each one, according to their learning style and personality. What a tough job it is! (but someone's got to do it...haha) Blessings to you if you're in the same season of life!!