Summary

These last few days have flown by in a flurry of activity.  Hope it was a wonderful time celebrating the dads in your life yesterday.  Amber and Eddie came over for Kevin's celebration enjoying burgers and some pool time.  It wasn't as relaxed a day as originally planned, as our pool pump went out Friday evening and on Saturday Kevin and Cameron drove out to get a new pump and began the process of installation.  He had some final tweaking of the equipment that needed to be done before their arrival and with the heat this was not the relax and enjoy day originally planned.  Getting him to just let it go wasn't going to happen as he was on a mission to finish the task. It's part of the quality that makes Kevin the great dad he is!!

Cam had to have this T shirt for dad

Perfect day for time in the pool

Our little birds are now grown and have flown off.  These last few shots show their growth and the fact that the nest was getting pretty crowded.  Didn't actually witness any leave, but all seem to have made it out safely - no evidence to the contrary.

Oh it's you again!

It's getting crowded in here



Down to 2

The empty nest

A few pictures of our now tall sunflowers.  Note the bird netting. I have it covering my whole garden as the birds kept uprooting my seedlings.  So this garden is well fenced and covered in an effort to have us enjoy the fruits of our labor.

Smile

Yesterday was another first for Lauren, she had her first dentist visit.  Leanne the hygenist was incredible.  She explained all the instruments she'd be using before starting and showed Lauren how "Mr. Thirsty" as she called him, worked so that Lauren could remove the excess moisture herself as needed. 

Fortunately nothing more than cleaning was necessary.

Lauren did great and was not bothered by the visit at all.  In fact with all the extra attention and then the "treasure box" at the end, she has decided the dentist is a great place to go. 

Swimming and Changes

With all the ups and downs in temperatures this year, our swim season began a bit later. Now that the pool water has warmed, the days are hotter, and we've dealt with getting rid of ducks and the mess they left we are able to enjoy the pool.

2012

I took some photos as the girls and dad got out to swim. As I did I was struck with the changes from last year as both the girls have grown so.  I retrieved pictures from last May and noted the contrasts.  The swimsuit that was a bit baggy on Hannah last year fits beautifully this year.  And she's so bold in her swimming now.

May 2011

The changes in Lauren are amazing.  Last year we were still really trying to put some weight on her and build up her stamina.   Looking at her this year the healthy food and vitamins have paid off.  There's meat on those bones!!!  I was aware of this as she's now gone from a size 2T to 3T, and when she walks she now has enough of a tummy and backside that her pants don't fall down, but to see her in her swimsuit truly showed the changes.

May 2011 - note thin arms

2012 -Healthier size and weight

Last year though she was excited about the "big water", she was terrified when it actually came to getting in.  This year she was excited and after a bit of initial hesitation, quickly adjusted and boldly moved off the step and swam about in the shallow end on her own.  I'm sure it won't be long before she loses the floattie and becomes a fish the way Hannah has.



2011 - Terrified

2012 - Enjoying herself

Content to swim without assistance

Cameron enjoying his time relaxing

Hungry Baby Birds

Anticipation

You want us to eat this?

I promised updates and here are some new photos.  Of the original 5 eggs, 3 hatched.  Mom and Dad have been busy caring for these quickly growing little ones.  They seem a bit more comfortable with our intrusions since their babies aren't harmed after our visits.

Dad watching from the tree

Two days ago the little birds were still floppy headed and a tad listless. 

Today when I arrived they responded with anticipation of being fed, then seemed quite disappointed when all they got was this flashy thing.
They don't make any sounds yet, but I imagine that will change in the next few days.

HUNGRY!!!

"Hey where's my food?"

Cartoon birds Orangeball productions.

"I Voted"

This is Camerons first opportunity to vote as a now "adult" citizen of this State.  That's strange for us as mom and dad to acknowledge he's an adult.  Kevin and I have for years voted by absentee ballot, especially with the ever increasing number of state, county and judicial seats to decide on, plus the mountain of info you need to research on all the propositions attached to each election.  It's easier to in the privacy of your home do the research and take advantage of online resources to aid in making more educated choices.  Then not to be hurried in filling out the ballots.

So Sunday evening Cameron sat with his ballot and joined us in this "civic duty"  : )    He was quite pleased with the process.  Rather than mail, we will usually drop the completed ballots off at the local polling place and so his first election, this one a Primary ballot, is now a new first for him.

Project on Hold

After completing the roof on the back of the house, featured in an earlier post. Kevin and Cameron were going to begin the stucco on the side.  This however has had to be put on temporary delay as we have little ones to wait on.

Stock photo of a wrentit

It seems a mama and papa wrentit pair found the corner indention in the support post a perfect nesting place.  Honestly it's so tiny of an area who would have thought they could have fit in there themselves let alone built this perfectly ordered nest and filled it with 5 tiny blue green eggs.

Corner support opening only measures 2"X 3"

Began noticing awhile back that everytime I walked past the end of the house when watering the garden a bird flew off. It took awhile to realize they were nesting there and by the time we did we already had eggs inside, so the stucco project is on hold until they all hatch and fly away.  In the meantime it's been homeschool lesson time.  The nest is too high for the girls to see into it so I climb the step ladder each morning and snap photos to mark the progress.  Needless to say mama and papa bird aren't too happy with me and sit in the nearby tree, or on the roof of the house and barn making the tat, tat, tat chirp that is associated with this bird.

First hatchling and two of the 5 eggs can be seen here

Backgound shows remnants of old foam insulation maybe we should have left in
place. Never thought birds would nest here.

3 babies huddled into one fuzzy ball

Todays shot shows all 5 huddled together in a mix of the bald pink
and fuzzy grey downy feathers.

Zoomed in to take a shot of mom and dad at the top of
 the barn, not too happy with me!

Our birdwatching lesson has taught us that these birds are known for their unique chirp. They are monogomous with both male and female participating in the nest building and care of their young.

As the eggs began to hatch we had the combination of bald and a bit fuzzy little birds that are so ugly they're cute.  It's been a bit challenging getting pictures because of the angle and small opening of the area they are in.  It seems all the eggs have hatched now and according to what we've read it will be about 15 days until they are grown and leave the nest.  I'll post more updates as they continue to grow.

Prayer Request

There is a family, the Bartlinski's that we have been lifting up in prayer for some time. We have an icon on our sidebar for one of their daughter's in particular.  I've borrowed their info from their site for a brief history of Teresa here:

Today Teresa goes in for a heart cath to test and see if she is able to be listed for transplant status. Having to be put under for this procedure is dangerous in itself for her.  This is an amazing, loving family with nine children with all 5 of the younger girls originally from China.  God has already done so many wonderful things in answer to prayer and I encourage you to visit their blog to learn more about them at the link I'll have a the bottom of this post,

As a family we prayed for Teresa last night and took communion together to stand on the promises of that covenant's healing.  We believe nothing is impossible for God and personally while I am so grateful for medical advances like heart and lung transplants, I am believing for  healing that can come through His creative miracle working power.  I would humbly request all who are so inclined to lift this precious girl and her family up in prayer with the expectation of results that can come from the source of life Himself.  Thank you.

For the Bartlinski's blog click here.  http://ourplacecalledhome.blogspot.com/

This post linked to http://iliveinanantbed.com/