The power of laughter.

I laugh at my babies every day. They're just so cute, and so smart, and absolutely hilarious. One of the things I didn't do very well when I was growing up was laugh at myself. I was very, very hard on myself and expected nothing less than perfection in all I did. So... I try to laugh rather than get frustrated when my children make a silly mistake and encourage them to laugh along. Like, when Abby tries to put her pants on by herself and puts both legs in one pant leg... 3 times in a row. Or when Jett is swinging his plastic bat and knocks himself in the head. I'm hoping that when they're older, as they're striving to do their best and things don't go exactly as planned, they're able to shrug it off, learn, and move on.

We laugh a lot in our crazy house... :)

And now, a story.

Abby loves to sing, but not usually by herself. She needs you to start, and then she'll mumble most of the words along with you.

Yesterday, Abby started singing her own song:

"Jesus loves me, yes I know... And I love Jesus!"

Cutest thing ever. I know she'll learn the rest of "Jesus Loves Me" eventually, but I kind of don't want her to. I like her version, and her melody.

I was driving the little ones home from the farm later that night, and Abby asked me to sing her Jesus song with her. So, I did. She "sang" along of course, and when we made it through the verse and chorus, she said "Nice job Mommy!" (she's the only one who ever said I sing well!), started singing by herself again, paused, and said "Mommy, I love that song. Do you love it too? I really love that song."

Now, it's a pretty new song for AJ to sing. Usually she chooses ABC's, Twinkle Twinkle, Old McDonald, or Jingle Bells (yep, you read right). So I was caught a little off-guard with her statement. I don't think I've ever heard her say she "loves" a song... so what is it about JLM?

Part of me likes to think that her heart and soul already know her Jesus, and she knows what it is to love and be loved. The other part of me KNOWS that this is indeed the case. What a wonderful God we serve!

Starting back up!

A few of my friends have started blogging. I love reading their stories, but what I love most of all is the record they're keeping. I hope their children enjoy reading momma's stories when they're older! I've been keeping a paper journal for my kiddos, but haven't been very good at it... maybe an online journal will be an easier way to share stories with my kiddos later in life. And let's be honest... my memory gets a bit worse each year, especially the bigger my family becomes. It'll be nice to have something to remind me of all the joys and events that come along! Here goes!!

Part 4- October.

I had to go to South Dakota during harvest, so Auntie Stevee came up to take care of Abby Jo. She took lots of pictures for us!

Mmmm... nothing like a good book/space heater manual!
What?

Oh yes, actual books are better.

October brings pheasant season, which makes Dakotah very happy.

Chad, Dad, and Lane actually shot an albino pheasant!

Future musician?


Or Rubik's Cube genius?

Best friends:)


Our two girls, cute as can be.

Part 3- End of September

End of September, a couple of the munchkins came to hang out at our house! Dani hammed it up for the camera, Courtney zoned into the TV, Troy didn't want to do anything but be cuddled, and Abby went off to play on her own!

Grandpa came over, and had a knee for each of his two youngest grandkids. I've never seen him look prouder.

Abby also learned to pull herself up in her crib (and has since moved on to pulling herself up on a lot of other things). She's been pretty fun to watch.

Abby sportin' a shirt her Aunt Lacee gave her. It says, "If you think I'm cute, you should see my Aunt!"

More naked pictures:). She just does not like to get dressed after her bath!

Part 2- Are you ready for some FOOTBALL?!

Early in September, Abby went to her very first football game! The end of the month brought a heat wave, but early in the month she needed to be bundled up!



Abby Jo with Gramma. Looks a little tired!

And with Grandpa!

After the game, the boys from both teams joined for a prayer. It was awesome to watch!

Abby Jo was so proud of her uncle Brady. He had a great game.

Harvest and travel season are finally over!! Part 1- Summer left-overs.

Now that harvest is over and travel season is only a few days away from completion, I finally have the time to go through and update AJ's blog!

This picture below is one of my favorites! End of August we went to my third (Chad counts him as a second) cousin's wedding out in Wishek, ND. It was a crazy hot weekend, but the wedding was gorgeous and it was great to see everyone. Two days before we went out to ND, Abby had a 105 degree temp due to an ear infection. That night I don't think Chad or I slept for more than a couple hours at a time without waking up to check on her. She was still recovering the whole weekend, but she was such a trooper!


Abby Jo with her big cousin Taelyn. I have a feeling these two girls will be great friends!

Wes and Vera made their annual trip up to the lake. It was so good to see them both!

Abby and Carsen hung out a few times this summer! Carsen was much more content to hang out in the stroller than AJ.

We got to see cousin Logan a couple times this summer. Next summer he'll be able to give AJ a run for her money, I'm sure!