Glimpses of our country egg hunt

I just love these little blue galoshes! Diego wears them everywhere! 

(Old news alert! I'm playing catch-up this week!)

This year I organized an Easter egg hunt that would help the children be unified, rather than competing against each other for eggs. I hate the competitiveness and greediness of normal egg hunts, so I made a way to encourage them to work together. It all has to do with the gold eggs (more at the end of the post).

Here are glimpses of our Easter egg hunt this year. I spread 100 eggs around our property while the children were at school. The school bus pulled up and dozens of noses were pressed against the bus windows, looking at the colorful eggs scattered in the yard. Our Littles were so eager to hop off the bus and begin the hunt. 

The children had a wonderful time and did a great job working together to help each other find eggs. 

At first Diego thought the eggs were just pretty toys to collect, which he dutifully did. He giggled each time he discovered another colorful treasure.

Then he finally opened one. And discovered the sugary goodness inside. 

He lost interest in any other eggs and the world paused for him while he licked out every last speck from the sugar-coated marshmallow chick inside. From then on, he 'got it' and ran laughing from one patch of grass to another, searching for more treats.

 Cutest thing ever.

Matthew found several golden eggs this year, and generously gave a gold egg to each sibling. 

At one point Daniel was disappointed that he didn't have as many eggs as everyone else. Matthew quietly went around the corner, removed several eggs from his own bag and hid them. Then he came running back with excitement and yelled, "Daniel! Look over there! No one found those eggs yet!" 

Daniel was SO excited and Matthew watched with a small smile on his face while Daniel scooped up each egg. Matt didn't see me watching from across the yard. Oh, my heart melted!

I wanted the children to work together as a team this year, so I made a puzzle with clues to lead the children to the baskets. Each large egg had pieces of the puzzle. The gold eggs held the most important parts of the puzzle with the key words of the clues. 

It was neat to watch the children pool their pieces and work together to solve the mystery. Each child contributed to the solution, then they read the clues together and ran away to fetch the prizes. 

It was a delightful day! I hope your day today is full of joy!

A new morning routine

Each morning this week, my sweetheart and I have worked side by side in our garden before he headed into town for his 'real' job behind a desk as a software engineer. Each day, the sun beamed on us brightly and the trees overhead were filled with songbirds welcoming the new day in song.

It was so unbelievably peaceful and rejuvenating. 

I've decided it's the perfect way to start a day. 

We worked together in the soil preparing garden beds and seeding the pasture with hardy grasses. Nathan built watering troughs and inspected water lines. We cared for fragile seedlings, 'spring cleaned' the chicken coop, fixed fences (again!), and collected eggs together. Our hearts felt full as we worked with animals and plants alike. 

I love partnering with my sweetheart on projects. There's something magical about working side by side with the one you love, creating something that was only imaginary until your hands started to work. It's very bonding and rewarding, don't you agree? The joy I feel is so....so...REAL. 

I've been thinking about the principle of work for a few days now. I think work is a spiritual necessity as it trains our spirits to overcome the body's natural laziness and be increasingly self-disciplined.

I found a wonderful quote by Elder Neal A. Maxwell that says, "There is something holy about work; even in times of plenty, it is a necessity. While work is not all of life, it nevertheless can keep us mindful of our blessings." 

I've noticed that I'm always much more aware of and grateful for my blessings after I've been working hard. I feel a deeper joy in appreciating what the Lord has generously blessed me with- even little things that normally are taken for granted, such as abundant clean water to wash up after a messy hour in the garden, or warm sunshine on my back, work gloves to protect my hands, or even my soft bed when I'm ready for an afternoon nap.

We always head outside to work after our big kids have already caught the bus to school, so we bring Diego outside to play near us. When we have lots of work to do and little time to keep an eye on him, Nathan straps him into a baby backpack. He is cheerfully carried on Daddy's back as we make the rounds checking fences, checking the orchard, caring for animals, etc. Usually Diego is perfectly content to take in the view from his high vantage point. Every so often we let him down to explore and play.

He tries so hard to be helpful, imitating our actions by digging with a miniature shovel or carefully handling tools. It's very endearing to watch his chubby little fingers hold a heavy hammer and clumsily try to tap in nails.

He also loves to explore the seed pods left clinging to the tips of last year's weeds in the pasture. 

As I watch Diego's efforts to duplicate my actions and build something useful, I wonder if God feels the same way about my attempts to create a garden. I'm sure my untrained efforts to build a successful farm look clumsy to the Creator of the entire Earth and its complex ecosystems.

I think part of the deep satisfaction I feel in gardening must come from the fact that I'm creating something useful and beautiful where there previously existed only weeds and barren ground. Does our soul feel accomplished when we try to imitate our God through creating a beautiful space with purpose? I think so. 

In other news, our fruit trees in the orchard are starting to bud. Yay! Check out the baby leaves on our new pomegranate trees:

The beensy leaves are so exciting to see! The signs of life surrounding us are exhilarating!

I wondered today if this is a bit of the joy Adam and Eve felt as they worked in their Garden of Eden. What a happy existence it would be, tending a perfect garden and watching the fruit of your labors come to harvest.

We really are so happy on this little plot of land. I never regret moving to the country!



PS- Sarah is learning how to edit photos this week. I heard her giggling as she worked on her first picture. This is what I discovered when I checked her project:

Definitely a keeper.

Photography challenge

I decided to do some creative photography involving my favorite things.

My favorite clothing item is a knit hat looks like a rainbow exploded and landed....well....on the hat. Goofy tassels and a floppy pom-pom complete the light-hearted look. 

Diego was happy to play with my hat while I snapped some playful pictures. 

(Okay- I know they are totally out of focus. I'm a very beginner photographer at best and my lighting wasn't very ideal so I didn't get crisp images. Sigh. But Diego is so cute I just had to keep these.)

A love affair to remember

Diego discovered a new passion in life: the watermelon. 

(Rubbing my hands in a sinister fashion: 

The first taste is always free...now he's hooked for life! Mwahahaha!)

We had a picnic for dinner in the Idaho countryside

. Dutch-oven style: BBQ beef, roasted vegies, and baked brownies. 

Imagine this picnic on the Muir farm, 

surrounded by tall pines (or spruces, or whatever they are) 

with the scenic foothills in the distance. 

Birds serenaded in the fading light.

The sunset was breathtaking and the air was cool. 

(I do miss the spectacular Idaho sunsets!)

The children laughed and played on the swings while the adults ate and played games. 

One game we played was a "Getting-to-know-you-AGAIN" game. 

You know, because even though we're related we still don't see each other very often.

Here's how it works- each person is assigned another family member to introduce (preferably assign them a person they don't know very well.). They can ask everyone else (other than their assigned person) for any details to use in the introduction.

It's a great activity for breaking the familial ice after years of being apart. 

It was also very wonderful to hear what everyone thinks of each other. I discovered a lot of talents and character strengths in other people that I hadn't noticed previously. 

It was such a great activity to strengthen our friendships. Everyone felt loved by the group. 

(I'll confess, it also fed my self-esteem.)

One last parting note- don't let your Littles eat just watermelon for dinner. 

You'll regret it and so will he. Just sayin'.

Bath time and dress up for a date

Diego loves taking a bath.

Last week we played dress-up with friends. I'm not kidding. 

While I have no pictures for proof, we all dressed up as fantasy characters and played games. 

I love date nights at home.

Our friends brought some yummy homemade ciabatta. 

We whipped out our collection of gourmet oils and vinegar to savor with the ciabatta.

Nathan and I purchased these goodies on a date in St. Louis to the Vom Fass store.

The store is lined with casks of delicious oils and vinegars for shoppers to sample.

They give you beensy spoons wherein they mix different flavor combiniations for your sampling pleasure.

It's one of the funnest places I've been for a date.

Have you ever had pumpkin seed oil mixed with apple vinegar? 

How about hazelnut oil drizzled over raspberry vinegar? 

Oh heavens, it's delicious. 

I love his green tub. 

Camping with a baby

I was hesitant to participate in our annual ward camp-out this year. I didn't want to be 'those' parents who were foolish and brought a baby who cried all night. Tent walls don't provide much of a sound barrier, and I couldn't bear the thought of being responsible for 50 sleep-deprived people.

Our kids love camping and look forward to this tradition of camping with friends. I intended to send Mr. Kingsley and our three older children happily on their way to the camp-out while I stayed home and enjoyed a quiet (albeit lonely) evening at home with Diego. Diego really doesn't like being without a rocking chair during the infamous 'witching hours'.

Nathan couldn't bear the thought of being apart from each other for a weekend. Characteristically, he had a clever solution to the potentially-cranky baby problem. He packed along my rocking chair and set it up in the pecan grove where we were camping. (Okay, I'll admit, we DID feel a bit self-conscious carrying the rocker to our tent {like the people who can't handle camping without the luxuries of home....we might as well bring along a refrigerator and DVD player!}....but as soon as I sat in it with my baby, I didn't care what people thought.) Doesn't this look fun?

Nathan ingeniously purchased several boxes of glowstick necklaces to bring along and share with all the children. He and I sat at a table and passed them out to any child who could recite a scripture or Article of Faith from memory (or sing a Primary song if they were too little to memorize scriptures). All the children were so ecstatic to have a glow necklace. Their faces were lit with anticipation as they waited in line.We felt like Santa and Mrs. Claus on Christmas Day. It was so fun watching the children all get so eager to recite scriptures!

Dozens of children danced and played night games with their glow sticks lighting the way. It looked like a party with all the bright colors swirling around in the dark.

After the potluck dinner, stories, and games,  I sat in our tent and rocked my baby while listening to coyotes calling in the woods behind me. It was a surprisingly relaxed evening for me. Cuddling with my soft, warm baby while enjoying the nature around me was a perfect way to end the day.

Everyone slept quite well (even Diego) and we enjoyed playing all morning with friends before I ran away for a face painting gig.

I love the friendships we have been blessed with in our new congregation. Life is so wonderful! It was a delightful weekend to create family memories. I feel so very blessed.