A Look at September ✽ Write 31, 2018

Happy October! It's time for me to share about the past month! This is also the first post in my Write 31 Series this year... because I have decided not to really have a theme this year, I am just going to do one of the free write options ;). I just felt that would be much more manageable this year, and I have several ideas that didn't really relate to each other, so I thought, why not ;)? I'm excited for this year's October blogging challenge :)! For those of you who may be new here thanks to Write 31 - hello! Thank you for stopping by, and feel free to visit my about page and leave a comment to introduce yourself :)!

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Sweet cuddle bear making my work a little more pleasant :)!

Granny gave us these mexican sunflowers this spring, and they 

finally bloomed, haha. They are gorgeous!

Quality time with the two who have been dubbed the twins ;).

I made a taco lasagna, and it was delicious!

Sneak peek at the little blanket set I made for a certain little boy <3. We got pictures of him with it....

but he'd already outgrown the hat. The child won't slow down his growing, haha!

 A terrible picture from my phone, but he smiles the whole ride to church every week, and I love it!!!

 Isaac's beautiful smile <3 <3 <3.

 Josiah waiting very patiently and expectantly for a cookie ;).

Andrew turned 12 yesterday <3!

Our month was really quite wonderful; productive but fairly relaxed, for the most part, barring inventory week for Daddy. I turned 21 (thank you all for the birthday wishes!), and Andrew just turned 12 yesterday! Way back when, he was due the day after my birthday, and I wanted him to come a day early so we could share, but of course he was 17 days late, instead ;). Since his birthday was on a Sunday this year, he and Daddy took his birthday outing (he wanted to go canoeing again) on Saturday, and we made it to church early yesterday to hear our elder's report on the Kenyan mission trip... then we did Andrew's party that evening :). I enjoyed trying out some new recipes this past month (some where a hit, some were... not ;)...), and autumn arrived, so I am very much enjoying all the coziness that I stuff into the season, haha ;). I saw the first leaf shower last week! And I haven't seen one since. But as Mama pointed out, it's still hot, but we CAN sit in the car without the air conditioner running without roasting, so we must really be having a fall this year ;)...

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Noah: *completely scared by thunder and confused as to why "Lighting McQueen" is being so loud tonight*

Noah just a couple weeks later, sees lighting: "Ope, next comes the crash!"

Noah a couple weeks later, as Daddy's camera flashes: "Lightning!!!"
It was a very short lived fear ;).

Peter: "Andrew, how do you spell diary?"
"Why?"
"Someone was rude to me."
Several questions are raised: 1. We call them journals at our house, not diaries. 2. We don't use them that way?!?!?! Where did he get this idea?!

Peter: "Bri should marry."
5 days later, Abbi: "I'm glad Bri is 21 now, that means it's less likely she'll marry."
Twenty. One. And an old maid, hahaha....

Noah, while Mama reads the account of Noah's Ark: "Yeah, I did that."
"Oh, really?"
Tori: "What did you feed the animals?"
Noah: "Tea."

Incidentally, Noah reciting the 7 C's of History is just TOO CUTE. But Noah hearing his own name is just too distracting during bible study, hahaha! The monologue gets longer the more he learns. But, he's listening and retaining. So that's good!

Emmi: "I don't know how to separate eggs. Can someone come do that so I don't ruin the cookies?"
Abbi: "Oh! Oh! I know how, I know how, can I do it for you? Can I do it, Bri?"
*Separates the eggs successfully*
Abbi: "YES!!! I DID know how to do it! I've never done it before, but I watched one time."
Emmi and I: "YOU'D NEVER DONE IT?!?!?!?!"

Bethi, with a touch of concern in her voice: "Would you like me to get you some chocolate?..."
Me: *gestures vaguely at chocolate cookies in the kitchen* "Oh, don't worry. I'm already making me some..."

Josiah eating a new meal: "It's gross, but I like it."
This child is getting worse instead of better as he gets exposed to more foods; he would live off of pizza and cinnamon rolls and cookies if he could, and not much of those foods. So that was actually an A- rating from the Joe, and I felt like I had won, hahaha.

Mama texts me from upstairs: "It's quiet. What happened?"

Me to Bethi: "I put 'start blog post' on my to-do list. If I open blogger and type one line, that is officially starting, right? Please?"

Tori, explains the difference between step siblings and half siblings: "...and then if your mom and new dad have another baby, that baby is your half sister AND your step brother's half sister."
Abbi, so done: "You have to share?"

99% sure I accidentally threw away a paper with 4 funny snippets on it while cleaning out my desk drawers, and it's driving me insane, but it's fine...

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Etsy did some major updating starting in late August, and they finally finalized it a couple weeks ago... and I have to say, I love some of the new changes! There is a new notifications for shops you follow section, which I enjoy, and there was a whole overhaul with the SEO (yep, that again), and it seems so much more streamlined now, it's awesome! I've not created any new products this month, but don't worry! The plan is that you'll be able to see many more items by the end of the month, as I overhaul and add going off of Etsy's new methods! And I'll share a couple of pictures later of two custom orders I am working on right now!

I also mailed out these items:

 Jeremiah 29:11 canvas (link here).

And these dishcloths, requested in a custom color :)! (Link here.)

There are a few new listings added that you can check out at www.etsy.com/shop/underthetapestry, although they are projects that you've already seen revealed before they were official ;).

 Annnnnd, listed today, because, HAPPY OCTOBER!!! is this canvas, one of my all time favorites!

And blog posts from the past month...
-Sunshine Blogger Award
-99 Life Lessons from 21 Years
-Recipe Review: Iced Caramel Macchiatoes
-Summer and Autumn

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And there's a look at my month! Now let's talk about yours! What was one highlight of your September? What is your favorite fall quote? If you are new here, please introduce yourself and leave your blog link down below!

Rejoicing in Hope,
Bri

August in Review ✽ Monthly Recap

(Two months on time in a row. Wow, I am on the ball. I'm not sure why... hahaha!)

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Little Cutie <3.

Playing a joke on us, licking ice cream that has eyeballs ;).

They attached allll the markers together until they could touch the ceiling with them, haha.

Josiah = Very happy... Noah = Very tired ;).

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We had a wonderful August... most notably, little Isaac joined our family! He's continuing to do well, and has hit 10 lbs at just three weeks! He's already smiling, and he's such a happy baby. We all love him <3!

We also celebrated three other birthdays this month - Mama's and Daddy's on the 26th (they are exactly 3 years apart!), and Abbi's big #10 birthday on the 29th! Thanks to Isaac we have 4 birthdays in less than 3 weeks... that's a third of our family's birthdays, hahaha!

Other than baby excitement and birthdays and visits from family so they could meet Issac... actually, that's enough, right? Haha! We've not done too much else out of the ordinary, just life. And all trying to get a turn for baby snuggles ;).

One day both Bethi and I stepped outside and decided it felt like fall, and we were so ready to go for a walk... but it took us a few days to work one out, and by the time we did it was sooooo nasty hot out, haha. Oh well. We enjoyed ourselves anyway... we found the cutest cul-de-sac in the neighborhood (it reminds me of our Virgina neighborhood), and then we came home and ate cookie dough and watched a Family Affair episode (which, if you like cute old TV shows, is currently free on Amazon Prime, as Mama kindly pointed out. You're welcome ;).) Our cucumber plants gave us a few more cucumbers, but now they are dying off. One tomato got eaten and the other fell off the vine while it was still green... so I don't imagine we shall get any of those. Our bell peppers are doing way better than I thought they would, though! And our basil came back, even though it's growing season is over, go figure. We can grow that overtime, but not the stuff we are actually working for... haha! That's fine, though, because basil is "my" seasoning. I love. the smell of fresh basil! Mmmmm.

I've been making an effort to read a bit more (again) this month... I would say that on the whole (sadly) this is working... of course, I will also say that I am pretty sure 65% of my reading has involved reading "Should I Share My Ice Cream?" to the little boys, which Noah has at least 50% memorized, and it's adorable to hear him "reading it" to Josiah... they are so cute! I have been reading "Woman of the Word" by Jen Wilkin along with my usual bible reading, and it has so much truth in it, I am loving it (and Mama suggested a conference session dealing with Psalm 139 by her that was great, if you want to check it out on youtube!). I continue to read through the bible at a pace that allows me to stop and "dig in" whenever I need to... I just read Hosea, and there were passages I hadn't noticed before that were just beautiful pictures of how loving our Lord is even in His discipline of sin... we could truly never earn the amount of love that God has shown to us, and yet He bestows it upon us anyway, in a display of His glory. How wonderful He is!

And now that it's September... I'm beginning to think about the Write31 blogger event! I can't quite decide on a theme to spend the month on... I have lots of ideas, but I don't want to bore y'all, either. Sooooo, does anyone have a suggestion of something you would like to see a series on here at Forget Not His Benefits?

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"Tori, Katie sent you a hug."
Tori: "Where?..."
Me, sarcastically: "In the mail."
Tori: "Okay. I feel hugged." Haha!

"We have no ice cream. This is a public crime."

Bethi: "It's like cleaning out your drawers - you think it will take 5 years, and it takes 5 minutes."
*blinks* "How clean are your drawers??? Just 5 minutes?!??!!?!"

(Jokingly): "Wow, Noah, you are work!"
Noah, looking straight into my face: "I forgive you." *hugs me* LOL!

Abbi, talking about our church's mission team: "But how do they choose who to help?! *I* can't choose *ice cream*!!!"

Tori: "How smart are you, Noah?"
Noah (who only ever answers 3 for any number question): "Three."
"How cute are you?"
"FOUR."
Annnnnnd, he knows it...

Noah: *chokes on water*
*reaches for  milk* Because it's totally different and won't make him choke, right?

Bethi: "You're phone has a sensitive notification. Be careful with it, you might hurt it's feelings."

*about 10 hours after Isaac was born* "Isaac said hello earlier."

"Good job, Isaac! You'll be a pro at picture taking by tomorrow!"
*Isaac cries at the thought*

Mama: "I should video tape this sometime. Then you could go get a job as a photographer's assistant."
Haha! The first baby photo shoot I remember helping with was Emmi's six months photo shoot. I've been involved with every one since then, and I do love it. But Isaac was an awesome little subject, too - so alert and content, he made the rest of it easy!

Abbi, in awe at the boxes of 3 dozen donuts given us by a friend after Isaac arrived: "Is THAT a box of donuts? It's so... big!!!!"

Josiah: "Croutons are spicy."
Tori: "Wow, he's more sensitive than I am."

Cooking whole wheat noodles for the first time in years (we usually use rice): I (think???) they might be done???? *drains them and hopes for the best* Then I remember... this used to come naturally? Lol!

Aunt Tessa, explaining the water play game she's come up with: "Whichever team's bucket is empty first, wins!"
Daddy: "...You may not pick up and tip the bucket over just to win."
To Aunt Tessa: "I know how they think. They think like me."
*Aunt Tessa stares a bit confusedly at all this unexpectedness*

Noah has stuck stickers to his sippy cups:
Cup #1, milk:" "Hang in there!"
Cup #2, chocolate milk: "NICE!"

Tori points to a hippo: "What is that?"
Noah: "A squeaky pig!"

Noah's hands are two birds: One says "caw, caw", and one says "tweet, tweet", and they talk to each other all the time. This has been going on for a while now.

Josiah: "I hope we are having gonemade pizza!"

Noah's head pops up from his play pen when he wakes up: "I should go to Bri's bed!"
You totally should, buddy <3.

Bethi to Andrew: "Hello shrimp."
A.K.A, Andrew is taller than everyone but Daddy at this point.

Noah pulled my covers down for me at night before getting in bed and asking me to cover him up xD.

Tori: This person is 100 years old on Mama and Daddy's birthday.
Me: Who?
Tori: You know, the main lady from that movie.
Me: HOW OLD IS THAT MOVIE?!
Tori: Not the actress, the lady she played, Bri...

"Did you just pick-pocket him?!"
"No! Hey Andrew, can I have a hug?"
*sneaks Andrew's watch out of his pocket*
AND HE NEVER NOTICED UNTIL SHE SHOWED HIM.

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I have been super busy creating this month, although I haven't added too much to the shop lately. Here are a few new makes, all special requests....

The winning canvas design from Under The Tapestry's 3rd anniversary contest! I had fun with the design of this one, I love the font and the vine! I used to do these vines on handmade cards all the time, but I hadn't thought of adding it to a canvas before!

A little fake goldfish for those "perfect pet" aquariums that people are making inspired by Pinterest. (Funny side note... we made some of these for craft time during the summer camp I helped at this summer, except with the plastic fish, instead of crocheted, and there was actual water in the jar... which translated to some careful propping of the fish on the underwater plants, so they wouldn't be floating belly up, oops. Haha!

Some of you said yes to adding the hearts around the ice cream cone, and so here is the updated new chalkboard! I love this one!

Little dinosaurs! These were a custom order, so they are already sold, but I would be happy to make some more - or some of their friends!

Also made this month: two birthday gifts (which I shall share sometime soon) and a tiny hedgehog toy, along with finishing Isaac's baby blanket (which necessitated texting my aunt for an hour as we worked on the placing of the appliques, because I didn't want Mama to see it until it was done and I wanted advise, haha!).

Under The Tapestry turned 3 years old, and we celebrated with a sale and a discount... and my shop was also featured over on Alyssa's blog. That was such fun, and proved again that the music chalkboard (which was originally inspired by and designed for Alyssa herself!) is the most popular item in my shop ;). NOW, Etsy is having a Labor Day Sale through the 3rd, and everything in Under The Tapestry is 20% off :D! Including custom orders, so let me know if you want something that isn't currently listed ;).

And here are the posts that I shared on Forget Not His Benefits this month, if you haven't had a chance to read them :)...

On My Bookshelf

Grateful Hearts

Baby Name Challenge Tag

And there should have been another post, but I decided not to even try to post on Abbi's birthday, haha. And then I was only two days away from this post, so I decided to wait ;).

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So, that's a glimpse of all that has been going on in the last month for me! I would love to hear about your month - what were the three best parts of it? What do you think I should blog about every day in October? If you are joining Write31 too, let me know, because I would love to follow along!

Rejoicing in Hope,
Bri <3

Looking Back at July ✽ Little Moments

Happy August, everyone! I hope your July was wonderful and that this new month will hold lots of blessings for each of you! Life was busy and full in July, and now we are all just wondering when Baby Bear will choose to grace us with his presence ;). Here's a little look at our month...

One night while Mama and Daddy went on a date, I had the little ones make personalized pizzas for supper. It made quite the impression on them. Abbi especially talks about it constantly, and I would say it was definitely a memory maker for them, haha!

Abbi made her pizza shaped like a stocking on accident, lol!

I wuv him <3. He woke up early and came to snuggle me in bed while I did my bible reading, but by the time I was ready to get up he was fast asleep again :).

We were gifted these chairs by a kind couple at church who are moving, so sweet!

Peter drew the kissy-face emoji from memory after seeing it once as I scrolled through instagram. Too cute!

Mama and I have been crafting half the month; she took up fabric stamping (so awesome!), and I have been working on a baby blanket for 3 weeks... hopefully just two more days worth of work to do there! I kind of had a goal to finish in less than 40 days, which is, I think, my current record for how diligent I was on getting one from start to finish. I'm not a very competitive person except against myself, then I am ruthless, haha! But I'm not going to share any pictures, we'll get some with baby eventually ;).

Our garden... haha. Well, the bell peppers and tomato plants started flowering. But it's so late now, I doubt that it really does much good. But, as Bethi says, we did better than last year! We've got three cucumbers that are quite big, and we harvested a whole basil plant (which is currently drying in the dehydrator, and it smells delicious, but it's taking so loooonnnnnng, haha!). Last year we got three basil leaves. And Bethi lost them. This year is, sadly, an improvement. We had such a great garden before we moved to VA, it's sad!

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Josiah: "I am hiding the dice from Noah. He can't see it way up there!"
Yeah, well neither can you, buddy... haha!

Noah, sitting in the van, about to go into church...
"Get pizza!"
After church:
"Get pizza now!"
*babbles about pizza*
Mama: "What if we don't get pizza?"
Noah, little lips quivering: "Because [translated "but"]. It be tasty."
*pizza for lunch*

Noah, with a caution cone on his head: "I'm a birthday!"
*Mama gives him a real birthday hat for fun*
Noah: "Where's a mirror? I sooooooo cute!"

Abbi: "Noah! It's raining!!!"
Noah: "More whipped cream!"
He typically loves rain, but apparently :whipped cream > rain:.

Also, obviously Noah is the family comedian of the year. You can't beat two year olds. (Sorry, Tori.)

Can we all just agree that if you clean the play kitchen set at church and there AREN'T toy cars in the oven, the question begs to be asked, did they even use the nursery last week?

Tori: "Noah calls cardinal birds, caramel birds."
Peter: "...Cardinal birds?...
"...I think I know why...
"...I call them caramel birds, too."

*Me, talking to myself, obviously*
Andrew: "WOULD YOU JUST BE QUIET."
I thought that that habit had died down for some reason, but nope, it's totally still buried in there, and it's resurfacing full force. Honestly it annoys me too when I notice, but it's just so involuntary, lol.

Also, does anyone else find themselves making a conscientious decision to Stop. Singing. In. Their. Head. and breath a sigh of relief when everything is quiet for two minutes before you start again...accidentally? Or no? Is that just me?

Noah, pointing to a cucumber; "Cucomoe!"

Abbi: "We've loved each other all our lives."
"Except you were MISSING for eleven years of my life, and it was sad."
Abbi: "But we have always loved each other in our hearts, even when we didn't know it..."

Abbi and Emmi, pretending to be indian princesses, walk past our organization station:
Emmi: "Ooo! You have a morning schedule! Not many tribes have those."

Josiah, when Tori asked if he liked salsa chicken: "No, but I just keep on eatin' it. And when it spices me, I have to take a big drink."

Andrew: "I didn't want to take my belt to bed with me! I might swallow it while I slept." (???)
Tori: "And then every time you would open your mouth to sing, you would start... BELTING."

Josiah explaining "Duck, duck goose": "You sit, and we'll goose you."

Bethi: "You don't get points for doing nothing."
I mean, she was being sarcastic, but that's a great life lesson right there. Thanks, Bethi.

While mourning the fact that the first baby cucumber I found was eaten by bugs, two much bigger cucumbers were growing and I never even knew it, I was so surprised when I found them, haha.

Noah is only too young for coffee when he wears this shirt....

...If he is wearing literally any other shirt, he says he is big enough. It's hilarious. I will tell him, "You're too young for coffee!!!" and he looks down at his shirt to see whether he is too young today, or not.

I'm turning on the dehydrator for basil...
?!?!?!?!?!
"It won't turn on."
*checks plug*
"Ohhhhhh, good."
*plugs it in* *turns it on*
"It still won't start. Where is the manual? Maybe I forgot something.... nope. Oh dear. Wait a minute... I bet..."
...
"Yep. Y'all, I plugged in the coffee pot."

I take a video of Noah telling me what his "Dino-mite Dude" shirt says, because it's cute, and he asks to see it.
After it's over, he tells me, giggling, "That was Noah. Noah talking like a baby." Like he doesn't talk all day long like a baby for obvious reasons... like, um, being a baby ;).

Abbi and Emmi celebrated Christmas in July... with an umbrella tree, a precious moments figurine, and air cocoa with candy canes in a Christmas cup, hahaha!

Tori, while I edit this post... ""Are you laughing at your own blog?"
Me: "Cardinal Birds?... I think I know why..."

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These knitted washcloths are available in Under the Tapestry :)! I was asked to sell these by a knit-washcloth-fan, and I have several sets available! And Under the Tapestry celebrates it's 3 year opening anniversary on August 10th! How would y'all like to see that celebrated :)? I have some ideas, but I am still finalizing things, so I am open to suggestions!

I also impulse free-handed this little mouse for Noah one night. He had been carrying around a baby's first laptop just to play with the little "computer mouse" on it. So I thought, I bet he'd like one without the laptop attached, and that evening I crocheted it up on the fly in a little over an hour. I finished it after he went to sleep, which made me sad, because I had told him I was making something for him... but then he woke up being carried to bed, and I was like, "Hey Noah..."... and when he saw it, he gasped and grinned from ear to ear, and it was just precious! I told Bethi, "That was worth it!!!", to which Noah replied, "Yeah, Merphett," and shoved the mouse in her face, so now this little guy is called Merphett the Mouse, and the pattern for him is going to be up on Under The Tapestry Handcrafts soon!

And here are the posts I shared on Forget Not His Benefits this month, in case you missed them :).

Life Lately

Undivided: A Study in 1st Samuel 

Whereas it was in Your Heart

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How was your month :)?! Any ideas for Under The Tapestry's 3rd "birthday"? What are you looking forward to in August :)? Many blessings to each of you in our precious Lord and Savior!

Rejoicing in Hope,
Bri :)

June in Review (Which Means the Year is Half Over Already?!)

Watching Veggietales while we older ones set up Emmi's party, because distraught toddlers need distraction from the fact that they didn't get to leave the house with the birthday girl, haha.

Emmi suspected what her birthday theme would be and apparently told Peter, "If I have a Care Bear birthday, set up all the Care Bears by the door so I will know." Nobody else knew that she had charged him with this task, but I had literally not even finished locking the door behind them before he was dragging the bin out!

I've been having some fun trying to do a bit of handlettering :). I'm willing to unveil this one here because I'm not happy with it yet, haha ;). I'll show the finished project on my shop blog/page later!

That, my dear readers, was found in a bag of baby carrots. I had to cut it in fourths.
And our favorite recipe site has been taken down, so we had to guess how to make the roasted root veggies, and I had to write down two recipes that I had memorized so that I'm not the sole holder of their yumminess,  and I'm trying to remember if all the other recipes were printed off or not... (Nope. We don't have our crouton recipe...)

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"Popcorn is so much work to make."
*Spontaneously makes cookies instead*
"I mean... not that this isn't work. But I got excited."

Noah, after Andrew tapped the bottom of Noah's cup while he was drinking: "I saw your noise."

*everybody coughing*
*Noah, who is not sick, coughs too*
Tori: "Feeling left out, Noah?"
Noah: "Sometimes."

Joey: " Where is that book, Mommy?"
Mama: "Over here."
"IN YOUR EAR?!?!?!"

Josiah: "Can we listen to Piano Guys?"
*Tori and Joey watch some piano tutorials*
Tori telling us the story later: "He asked for the tutorials I watch and he liked them, but eventually he got bored, and then he went, 'Tori, you know what would be really funny? If we watched what I actually asked for first.' I should have laughed the whole time we watch Piano Guys and told him he was right, this was funny."

Noah: "I not a see bug, I not a see bug!"

Noah at the zoo:
Looking at the crocodiles: "It's a crocodino, it's a crocodino!"
Looking at the ostriches: "It's a big duckie!"
After getting off the merry-go-round (which he was slightly intimidated by, but enjoyed nevertheless!): "Yay!!! That was amazing!!!"
Hearing some children in the aquarium squealing about the fish: *joins their family* *Squeals along with them*

Some guy after watching me and Noah in the aquarium for a minute, to Noah: "Hi there!"
To me: "You can TELL he's your's! He looks just like you."
Er... um... thanks?... but...
Hahahahaha. For you older sisters of large families DO you get mistaken for your sibs mothers? And what do you say? Because I always feel rude and flat saying "Actually, he/she is my brother/sister/these are my siblings", but... there is nothing else to say.

Me: "I need to grab my name tag so they don't lock the church down when I get there."
Mama: "That would almost be funny..."
Me: *leaves my name tag in the van and doesn't realize it until Mama gets out of the parking lot*
At least I noticed it before I went in, haha...

Mama randomly told me I make pretty taco salads, and after my comment about a salad being a work of art last month (which Mama had neither heard nor read yet), I had to laugh!

Tori said Josiah fluffed his hair like Mama does to Noah's, in an attempt to bring out the curls he doesn't have, and when he saw the result, regretted it and smoothed it immediately, haha!

Mama: *reorganizes all the books, fitting each one perfectly onto the shelves*
Mama: *pulls out her chair to sit down for supper, and finds the biggest book we own sitting on it*

Andrew is standing beside me with a grin on his face.
I reach over and push down on his shoulders to get him off his tip toes.
I laugh uncontrollably as I realize... he's not ON his tip toes.

*Noah and Mama talking about Baby*
*Noah has a sudden revelation*
"That not Baby Bear! That a ball!!!"

Josiah, sneaking, sneaking around the house, when I look up at him:
*giggles* "That was a bad part of the spy. You saw me."

Noah, whenever he doesn't want to do something: "Oh, I so sick!"

Noah, when Tori asked him to do something: "I have a scratch!"
"Where?"
"I have bruises!"
"Where?"
"I soooooo sick!"
"No you aren't."
"Oh. ...I sooooooo tired!"

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-June started with Emmi's birthday! Our baby sister is 8 now. It's so odd to realize we don't have a "little" girl anymore, after the family was mostly girls for so long! She took Mama and Daddy and Abbi to the zoo, and they rode ponies and had ice cream and enjoyed all that fun zoo busyness. Abbi and Emmi truly fill their birthdays to the brim. It was so late when they got home, and we still had gifts and cake to do afterwards. And then she stayed up after that... haha! She was so exhausted by the time it was all over.

-Our church held a lady's yarn fellowship, and Bethi (who has not shown any interest in crocheting or knitting for about 6 years now) and I went. It was fun, there was all kinds of yarn and all kinds of projects there that the ladies had brought as examples or inspiration or to finish. And some of the ladies were learning, and some were teaching, and some were just there for the company, and we had a salad buffet for lunch. One sweet lady there (she's one of ten children, so she has really taken our family in!) taught me how to make granny squares. It's not hard, but I have never taken the time to learn the science behind it, so when she asked if I knew how, I responded no. She told me she'd teach me, then. I sat down and picked up a crochet hook, to which she asked if I wanted a larger one, because that was more of a professional sized one and would be harder to use. I told her I was good. She showed me how to make a granny square, and then started showing me all the baby items she crochets. They were gorgeous, and as we were talking, I showed her a picture of the baby set I made for Noah... which, when she saw, caused her to promptly asked WHY she had just shown me how to crochet granny squares if I could already do something like that. "You asked, and I hadn't ever made one before!", I tried to explain, but she waved me off and told me that next time I need to be one of those teaching. Yes ma'am... haha! I think I got off easy with her, though, because I had been working with Bethi ;). Who CAN crochet. She just won't if it's not social, I guess...

-We went for our annual summer blueberry picking. Unfortunately it was really hot and several people were down right miserable by the time we finished, with half the blueberries we usually get. But we had lots of yummy berries for eating, plain or with strawberries and whipped cream, and making muffins and blueberry crisp, with some left in the freezer now. Noah was sooooo cute; he was very careful to only pick the blue ones (and sticks, but hey, he's a two year old boy, what could you expect? Sticks are all the rage), and about twenty minutes in, he apparently told Mama, out of the blue; "I happy!" Too cute <3!

How was your June :)? Two things that really stood out to you during the month? And how was your 4th of July :)?

Rejoicing in Hope,
Bri <3