Year 7, August: Friedenswald, Family, Fair!

Happy September! We are happy to be moving on to another month, August was quite a month. Very pleasant, full of all kinds of enjoyable experiences, but a bit exhausting, so we are excited to slow down a bit this month. 

Amelia and I did a little bit more blueberry picking near the beginning of the month, we got peaches, we did corn, we had a ton of tomatoes, there was a lot of food prep! Bread, salsa, diced tomatoes, rotel, peaches, corn, stuff for Friedenswald, the first week was a bit wild and pretty overwhelming, if we are being honest, but Jonathan and Mom took good care of me! Mom helped with corn, Jonathan kept the kids so I could go to the book store, Amelia had more ear problems and I went to the chiropractor all in one day. It was a good day! I came home in a much healthier place mentally and was able to have a better week with the capacity to do what I needed to do the last week of my maternity leave. 

We had a good trip to Friedenswald to see Jonathan's mom's side of the family. They are awesome and the kids had a blast with all the cousins around. The trip was long, but we made it through! Vivian was a little trooper, sweet baby, and the kids were very comfortable in the new car, it worked super well for all of us and we had an impressively good trip for having three kids under the age of 5!

My first day back to work went well. The kids have adjusted well, I am starting to get my feet under me here at home with the new schedule. Vivi has had some rough days, but overall she is doing fantastic. Sleeping like a little sweetheart, eating like a champ, she is incredibly sweet. She loves to snuggle with Mama after her days away, which doesn't bother me at all!

We are getting everything figured out here with our new normal. Last weekend we did some shopping, the kids needed new clothes, specifically William. He has made his 2T clothes last two summers...we are now definitely in 3t and his pants and shirts were just not even close to fitting! Now he has some things that fit, which is quite helpful! It was also our first trip out to eat with all three kids, of course, they did fantastic! We enjoyed it a lot.

On Sunday the Landis family came over and we got to spend time with them, Jonathan made burgers, it was quite a relaxing evening and we had a great time. The kids loved every minute of it, the best part of their days. I spent the day working in the kitchen, Jonathan worked on the windows upstairs, so it was productive as well! 

Sunday we had church, a birthday party and we all went to the fair in the evening, which was fantastic. The kids had a great time, they were not afraid of the animals this time, which was new this year! Usually they are terrified, so it was fun. The whole day was incredibly enjoyable, we loved the whole day with the kids. Unfortunately, we found out our neighbor passed away, which put a damper on everything. We are so sad to have lost him and will miss him terribly, so Jonathan and I had a very hard time with that, but we were still able to enjoy our evening with the kids and we were thankful for that distraction! Amelia has decided she wants a pony, but seems to be open to other options as well. William, on the other hand, likes horses and goats the best, he does not like pigs and that is his official position, he has no intention of changing his answers ever because he is two and that is how he approaches everything in his life. We love him with our whole hearts and laugh at him all the time! 

We are so blessed and are looking forward to this month as we are starting school! It is fun to watch them learn and it is even more fun to learn more about them! I hope everyone enjoys this month of summer turning into fall, we certainly plan to!

Love,

Jonathan, Allison, Amelia, William and Vivian

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Year 6, July: Family, Freedom and the Fourth!

Here we are again! It was a good month, a bit toasty, but we are making it through! Lots of time spent in the pool and with the babies! We also did a lot of harvesting, preserving and grilling!

So beginning of the month, I got a different car! We got rid of ours, which I think I talked about last month, but anyway, after a lot of searching we found one we wanted and got it! Yay! It has been great to have my own vehicle again.

My Bible study ended at the beginning of the month, which was sad because I enjoyed it but it was perfect timing so we had a bit more time together as a family! I also had to start taking kids to doctor's appointments, so we have spent a lot of time going to those. 

We went out to Jonathan's parents' for the fourth, which was a lot of fun. It was a good weekend with Jonathan since he was off for bit. We love some time together as a family, that's for sure! 

My garden started really producing and it has been a ton of fun. Lettuce, cilantro, onions, cucumbers, beans, tomatoes, potatoes, we are enjoying all of it! I also have started making bread, so we have been trying different things there, I found a successful burger bun, so we are all excited about that!

Jonathan did a little bit of traveling early in the month, so the kids and I enjoyed some time together at home, started going to the library much more regularly, got more fresh fruit, it has been fantastic to have fresh things like blueberries! We are enjoying time with friends too, which is very helpful when we are spending all our time together.

We also have had fun practicing our swimming and cooling off with friends! Mom and Dad let us have some friends over for a swim party and the kids had an absolute blast. That was on the 13th, on the 16th I took Amelia to the doctor for her ear, which has been hurting ever since (today is August 4th) and they told me her ear looked great. Poor girl is a champ! I also started with a clogged milk duct around that time and went to visit the lactation consultant to get something to stop mastitis. Thankfully no more infections and I think we are getting there when it comes to milk supply! Vivian is beginning to do well with the bottle for people other than me, which is progress considering I am going to be going back to work soon.

William got his hair cut, it was so very necessary and thankfully Jonathan took him and he did GREAT! They went to a barber shop instead of a salon and there were brum brums there...sooo...we figured that out! Amelia and I picked green beans while they were gone and I spent a lot of time preserving those. I really enjoy being in the kitchen preserving food, baking things and taking care of our family - there has been a lot of all of that this month!

Jonathan's parents met us at Virgil's for ice cream and we went to play at the park afterward for Jonathan's birthday. He enjoyed it immensely and the kids and I did too! It was a hot day, but we all hung in there! Naps were enjoyed on Sunday, then we spent the rest of the week with family!

Kyle was in town and it was hot, so we were at Mom's a lot! They had the garage sale at Grandpa's house so we got to help by delivering lunches! The kids had a blast going over there and I did too! We also finished our READING CURRICULUM at the end of the month! I am so proud of Amelia, she is doing a great job and is loving every single minute.

It has been a great month, our last full one with me on maternity leave. Jonathan took some half days at the end of the month and we made the most of it! Had a great time chatting about different goals and things we want to do this year. It was great and we enjoyed some extra time since he worked so much this month!

Enjoy the rest of the summer! We are enjoyed a bit of a break from the 90 degree weather here! Keep us in your prayers as we adjust to my return to work this month! Love you all!

Love,

Jonathan, Allison, Amelia, William and Vivian

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