Grandpa & Grandma's farm

We visited Papa Richard and Grandma Mary about a month ago.  It was still cold, but sunny and we did some exploring around the farm.  My mind was flooded with memories of my childhood on the family farm.  It was no surprise to me at all that Lucas and Hannah loved exploring, asking me questions and running around.  Since it was still cold temperatures, Ryan stayed cozy and warm inside with Grandma.  

She loves animals.  She stood there for a long time talking to the calves.  

That's an animal chute and head gate.  You would use this small size of chute for an animal like sheep to put in an ear tag for identification or to administer medical attention.  Don't confuse it with a guillotine, which it looks like with this six year old posing in it.  There was no one to take a picture of me inside it when Lucas asked what it was.  

Yes, I climbed in.  :-)

Poking things with sticks… seems to be a natural part of kid discovery. 

I remember the dent in the top pole of this portable scale 25 years ago.  

There was less rust back then, too.  

Brent was helping my dad try to get this tractor running and he dropped a teeny tiny screw in the dirt below.  Lucas was helping look for it, too.  

Using young energy to pick up sticks.  

Chore time with Papa! 

Some fun on the swing set. 

Lucas and Dusty

Hannah and Dusty

I like this picture… the colors… the clouds.

The white structure with a window was the original house on the farm when my grandparents moved here.  My dad lived in that house until my grandparents built the house that my parents live in today.  

This windmill (missing all of its blades) was giant when I was a kid.  It also seemed like such a long walk from the other side of the farm where my childhood house stood.  There was some kind of berry bush that used to grow in the windmill when we were kids and I can remember Karen and I walking to it and picking berries.  I guess that was our "Little House on the  Prairie" childhood moment... I don't remember eating them.  

My mom and I were hanging up some pictures and came across this old one… she thinks it is my paternal great grandparents, James and Anna Fitzpatrick on their wedding day.

My dad, Richard (in the stroller), with his cousins Camilla and Ronnie*.  

Picture taken at the south farm, approximately 1941.  

*More than 35 years after this picture was taken, Ronnie and his wife, Sharon, became my Godparents.  

Look at that stroller!  

It was a great weekend of memories.  

No More Perfect Moms

I am part of a weekly moms group called Play & Pray.  As moms, we encourage each other, we lean on each other and we offer advice.  We center our discussion on whatever faith based book we are reading but it always drifts to whatever happenings (happy or difficult) that our lives are dealing with.  Last fall we read "No More Perfect Moms" by Jill Savage.

I am not perfect, nor is my husband, my kids or my house.  

"How clean your kitchen floor is does not define you."  Oh, thank goodness!

"Our imperfect lives are counterbalanced with a perfect God."  We can't be perfect parents but we can partner with a perfect God.  God gives us a perfect love, perfect strength, perfect hope, a perfect truth and a perfect redemption.  

Every mom should read this book; it is so relatable to real life.  And every mom has some of the feelings shared in the book.  Savage talks about the perfection infection - "while we are pursuing perfection, we're missing out on the most precious parts of life."  Facebook, Instagram and blogs can make lives look perfect and free of stress and mess.  But that's the perception, not the reality.  

My reality is I just picked up eight socks in my living room, only two of those were a pair.  I'll probably find the rest in the toy piles or under the couch.
My perception is that I've cropped photos to remove messes.
There's more:
I think dusting is over rated.
Mail, work papers and homework pile up on our counter.
I've found gross sippy cups before
Our kids don't make their beds.
Sometimes we have breakfast for supper because it's easy.

The list could go on and on…

What's your reality? 

Ryan: photo dump

Our sweet little baby.  

He is pure joy.  

He is full of happy smiles, giggles, adventure and curiosity.  He loves to crawl to the deck door or the front door and just watch.  His crawling legs take him to investigate every nook and cranny, then whatever he found goes into his mouth.  He has just the two bottom teeth but that doesn't stop him from eating everything.  There are three teeth on the top just waiting to pop! 

How do you not want to kiss those cheeks?!?!

He is eating mostly table food, has no interest in that mushy baby stuff anymore and likes drinking from a sippy cup.  

Ryan enjoys cruising in his walker more than being in one spot in his jumper.  

That smile!

He loves this ball popper!

He had a round of RSV this winter.  :-( But he was a trooper and sat well to have his breathing treatments.  It's an awful feeling as a parent when your kids are ill.  

But we just did a lot of snuggling and that helped.  

Typical Perry baby sleep position.  Tummy.  Arms under belly.  Butt in the air.  All three kids did this!  

This series of pictures within seconds of each other makes me laugh.  

This expression!  

Loving Daddy's entertainment from across the table.  

Ryan and Jack Rempt.  Buddies.  

Look at that talent!  A dog on the head?  Amazing.  

Trying out his new carseat… fresh out of the box in our living room. 

Don't worry, it's still rear facing!    

Doesn't it make him look older already?   

Enjoying a spring walk!

This was a couple months ago - loving his toes!

Now he would much rather do this.  At every.single.piece of furniture he can find.  

Who can resist baby suspenders?  

Look at the hair growing over his ears!  Maybe it's time for his first haircut.  

More standing.  More suspenders.  More baby love.  

Birthday Boy

Happy Birthday to the world's best dad and husband! 

… with Lucas 12/13/2007

… with Hannah 1/06/2011

… with Ryan 6/25/2014

… on our honeymoon June 2003

Cheers to many more memories!

Hannah: photo dump

Hannah's latest happenings…

It seems that these days, Hannah loves everything.  One of her most used sayings is "that's my favowit"  {favorite}.  She's really had some maturing moments in the last few months.  Some of that has come with wisdom from this mama, too.  She wants to be independent, she wants to learn and she just loves to be busy.  So I'm trying to embrace it.  :-) A lot of mornings she is the first child awake in the house and when I greet her with "Good morning, Hannah," she replies with "where we going today, mama?"  And there is great disappointment if I say we are taking Lucas to school and coming home.  Hannah loves her daycare days and Wednesdays for Play & Pray; she's quite the social butterfly.  

Playing farm with Lucas.  

She does not love having her hair combed but we have a pretty good system in place now {Brent and I are still learning, too}.  And she's recently started requesting braids in her hair!

You can't beat the smiles.  

Every one's ready for the day!  Another one of her funny sayings at 6AM is very matter of factly stating "It's a nice day out."  

Perspective.  

Sofia the First and Daniel Tiger's Neighborhood are her favorite shows.  She got to see her very first movie at the theatre in January - Frozen.  She is only three stickers away from earning the movie on her sticker chart, too!  I downloaded the soundtrack on iTunes a couple of months ago and we can just about sing every song in our sleep.  Daddy included.  

Sleeping beauty with Ducky.  

Writing "H"s on her Valentines.  So, so proud!!

Lucas isn't the only one who loves making Lego creations!

A little shirtless computer time.  

Throwback photo… I think she was just over one in this pic.  

Now it's shirtless cooking.  See a theme? 

On the go again, this time Bunny got to go for a ride.  

Noah and Hannah.  

Hannah and Campbell.  

She loves her baby brother… sometimes more than he cares for.  He's got some defensive moves, though.  He has now started to reach for her hair and she quickly leaves Ryan alone.  

She was so proud of the "bunk beds" that she built for her, Lucas and me.  They pester each other and get on each other's nerves like any siblings but at the end of the day, they are looking out for each other.  I love that.  

She loves her frilly skirts, her Cyclone t-shirts and her cowboy boots equally.  

Perfect.