Spring snippets.

Finn celebrated his eighth birthday with family.  

He still hasn't spent his birthday money... 

Jackson stayed with us while his parents were at John Hopkins with his Grandpa.  It was bittersweet, because we love having Jackson around all the time, but we were sorry for the reason he spent the week with us. 

The boys ran around like wild men every night, drop net fishing, bb gun stalking, and lots of mud.  We had grilled dove breast, fried bluegill, and wild turkey nuggets in one week.  And survived. 

They fileted, floured, and fried all by themselves.

Youth hunting day with Uncle Greg was a success.  10 inch beard with 1 inch spurs.  Apparently that is what you say when you tell people you shot a turkey.

Spring soccer has arrived with a bang... my favorite sports season of all.

We had a big hailstorm with considerable damage.  Our roof is most likely getting replaced and our car hood is covered in dents.  It left leafy trash all over the place and sticks everywhere.  The boys spent two full days cleaning up sticks over their spring break.  Grandpa paid, Dad didn't.  They remind us a lot.

I was in charge of the February encouragement gift for the girls in our One Year Plan.  I did art all week... in April... better to have late encouragement than none at all.  If the Apostle Paul didn't say that, he should have.

Trapping season is over EXCEPT for coyotes.  You can trap them all year long.  Drew bought a dozen angry looking snares and has his live trap set with leftover turkey parts.  The woods is a dangerous place around here.  They found a "coyote burial ground" with dozens of cow skulls so they dragged them up on my porch and displayed them like a museum.  Or a CSI lab. 

And found as many dirty rusty signs as they could and ten penny nailed them to their walls.  I heard banging all week long.  I would yell upstairs and they would say "Just ONE more, Mom!  What is YOUR problem?  You decorate all the time!"

At the end of our spring break, Jackson, Payton, and Camden's poppa and Kristi and Kelli's daddy died from cancer.  We are still so sad and shocked and I have a big prayer request for their family's comfort and healing.  Blessed are they that mourn: for they shall be comforted.  I keep praying it for them, over and over.  Jesus makes it sound so easy, but it is so hard to watch them mourn.