August Review ✽ Hello September (ha...)

Happenings:

 -THIS CHILD. Okay, so he has this weird thing about eating; he eats just fine once he's started, unless he gets thirsty or actually gags on it. BUT, sometimes he likes to be stubborn for absolutely no reason, refusing to take a bite; but he'll open up as soon as I say, even from rooms away, "Come on, take a bite Noah!". Every once in a while I'll hear Andrew or Bethi calling at lunch, "Bri! We need you to work your powers!" And I'll just call back "Noah, come on, take a bite!" *quiet for ten seconds* Andrew or Bethi: "Thank you."
Well, this night, Andrew called on me to assist from across the table, and I looked over to that up there. I believe the stinker is trying to tell me that if he can't hear me, it doesn't count as disobedience, and my powers have no sway over him. Hahaha!

 Little guy has this tongue thing he's doing, because his top

lip was dry/scratched...

Also, that playpen is not is use yet, but the fact that we have it

means he joins us in our room as soon as Mama can say goodbye,

haha!

 

-I taught the little girls single crochet stitch, and he sat beside us and wound some yarn around and around and around a crochet hook... haha :).

 

-I found Abbi crocheting with a toothbrush. A clean toothbrush, but still, a toothbrush. EWWWW!

-Poor Joey took a tumble down the stairs, and gashed his forehead... make that zero boys without a scar above their eye...

-Daddy took us older four out at about 1:00 a.m. on the 13th to see the meteor showers :). We didn't see as many as he hoped, and he didn't get any pictures, but it was still a special little outing :)...

-I spent a very intense week learning InDesign skills so I could created a mock magazine page! It was hard, and I don't know if it was helpful at all, BUT, it was a major victory when I finished it, haha.

- We all went to see the solar eclipse! The gps took us in the wrong direction, but we made it in time to have a picnic, watch a guy build a thirteen rock high tower in the random moments he got bored (Tori and I couldn't help cringing at the thought of it falling- but it was safe when it did, lol), and saw most of the eclipse. Totality was soooo cool... It was too short!

-Noah got some pictures taken. It involved cereal, his favorite fish video, and lots of tears, poor child. But even the grumpy ones are cute... (Also, Daddy found out his eyes are a purple-grey mix, not actually blue?!)

-Mama and Daddy's birthday! Daddy was out of town for it, so everything was kind of spread out, but Bethi hosted a tea party as a joint celebration of Mama and Abbi's birthdays, and she did absolutely marvelous. So much cooking. And she was so chill about it. When did she grow up?!

-And Abbi's birthday! She's nine now, it's hard to believe. She still just our sparkly, tiny but mighty Abbi, though!

In loving memory...

Mama and Daddy talking about baby names:
Daddy: "I like that NAME, it's just the nicknames you guys would give the child from it that I don't like."
Mama: "But (nickname) is cute, and we'll use it if we name the child that, so you don't *actually* like that name."
Me: "If you don't like that nickname, I could give you about ten other ones, and that fixes all the problems."
Daddy: "Oh, please no."
He's never quite recovered from hearing Joeyakins for the first time, hahaha!

Abbi: "Please, please, please let the baby be a girl!"
Josiah, who is always right: "Well, it's a boy."
The suspense that made us feel!

 Laughing at:

*A friend decides to blog again*
Me: is on blogger and sees all her old posts pop up.
Me: " Are you thinking of blogging again?!?!?"
I think I creeped her out a bit, lol...

I'm dusting around the seashells on the dinning room shelves.
"Y'all. This is not a seashell. This is a burnt mac'n'cheese noodle...."

Josiah to Noah: "Okay, play with your imaginary friend now." *skips off*
(Tori said she asked and Josiah's imaginary friend has blue eyes and white hair and is an old man. "He actually has an adopted Grandpa", she told me. Haha!)

-While Daddy was gone, we older girls stayed up one night and had Nutella and animal crackers/pretzels and watched a movie until way late. I dragged my full sized mattress down for Bethi and I to lay on. Mama was getting ready to head to bed, and she asked me, "Are you going to stay down here all night, or are you taking your bed back upstairs?"
"I don't think when Jesus said take up your bed and walk he meant at 3 o'clock in the morning..."
(Tori wouldn't let me stay there though... she carried it upstairs for me, ha!)

Josiah: "It's 50 hours until my birthday."
Bethi: " No it's not. Your birthday is next year."
Josiah: " I'm making it in 50 hours."

Abbi, looking at her birthday cards and sight reading another name... "This is from Granny, because it's written in cursive. And this is from... Mr. and Mrs. Jasper Disco?"
Not even close...

Josiah, watching Piano Guys: *video: "good thing you are a piano guy"*
Josiah: " Hahahah! He is a piano guy and he plays a GUITAR!"
That is a cello, and that realization took a few years... Haha!

Peter: "Look! It's a little plane!!!!"
"That's a dragonfly, dear."

Bethi: "What if someone tried to do that cool thing where people push their glasses up on their nose, but without glasses?" *demonstrates* "I just poked my own eye..."

Peter: *says something*
Emmi: "What did you say?"
Peter: "Nothing."
Emmi: "You are weird then. You did say something, and you said you didn't, and that is weird."
Peter: *wise shake of the head* "Then you don't know what nothing means. Nothing means never mind."

Reading:

-"Anne's House of Dreams", by L. M. Montgomery. This was a re-read, because basically that's my favorite book out of the series, though I love Anne of the Island, too.


-Another L. M. Montgomery book that was actually just terrible. Gah. How can she write stuff that is so sweet and relate-able and then switch to... so not. sigh...

-"Hearts of Fire", a collection of stories of women persecuted for Christ's sake (it includes the story of Sabina Wurmbrant, who helped found Voice of the Martyrs. We learned Richard Wurmbrant's story from a torchlighters, so it was interesting to read more of her side of the story.)

-I started "Alive in Christ" by Gloria Furman, as part of my bible study :). And of course I continue to read my bible and my "Valley of Vision" devotional book <3!


Quotes I liked:

-"Lord, help me, for I am often lukewarm and chill;
 unbelief mars my confidence,
 sin makes me forget thee.
Let the weeds that grow in my soul be cut to their roots;
Grant me to know that I truly live only when I live to thee,
  that all else is trifling.
Thy presence alone can make me holy, devout, strong and happy.
Abide in me, gracious God." (The Valley of Vision)

-"Teach me the happy art of attending to things temporal
 with a mind intent on things eternal." (The Valley of Vision)

-"Blessed be God,
 because he has not rejected my prayer
 or removed his steadfast love from me!" (Psalm 66:20)

Fails:

-Should I even bother to blog other than a monthly recap anymore? Ha!

-I've pretty much gotten use to the fact that the gideon cyst on my wrist may just be a permanent thing now. It doesn't hurt anymore, it's just weird looking, and I'm attached to it, so I can't get away from it... haha!

-I ran. into a pole. while trying to turn the car. in the Walmart parking lot.
I was on the verge of tears, but the door still opens and Daddy got the bright yellow paint off the side, so I'm beginning to recover... the dent is very discouraging though...

The Etsy Shop:

-I hit 30 sales!

-My Custom Quote Canvases did really well for some reason; I sold 6 in ten days! I'm not sure if this is because my listing renewed and rebooted with my improved keys words and cover photo (because it's obviously getting found more!), because my shop got ranked higher in Etsy for having had 30 sales (they actually sent me a notification telling me to celebrate, haha!), or what, but that was so exciting! One of those orders I received was for a set of two canvases that are going to be hung up in a special education class; that was such a special order for me!

-August 10th was Under the Tapestry's second anniversary, celebrated with it's first sale using Etsy's new sale feature, and Maddy and I held Under the Tapestry's first giveaway!

Grateful for:

 I wuv him. He's so cute.

-Meeting up with an old friend before she left for college again. It was such a good time of fellowship, it was such a blessing <3! And she was so sweet, she paid for my meal and everything just for <3.
-USPS pickup service options. That's been helpful with all the packages I've needed to send out, because we ALWAYS get to the post office during lunch hour. I do not even know why. But it's almost guaranteed, no matter what order we run our errands in.
-Chocolate milk. Haha...
-Quiet nights spent enjoying God's creation with my family.
-And once-in-a-lifetime chances to view special aspects of God's design together with my family, as well :).
-Ice cream. Ice cream is wonderful, whether out of a carton or my tea cup... heehee :).
-That the Lord is always near to those who call on him.

"Bless the Lord oh my soul. Oh my soul. Worship His Holy name. Sing like never before. Oh my soul. I'll worship Your Holy name." (1,000 Reasons, Matt Reddmen)