Wordless Wednesday New Playset For The Kids

Playground area for the kids. This is where we also have the thorn-less blackberries planted.

Once upon a Swingset

The picture above is how part of my backyard looked right after we moved in to the house we live in now. We have a fairly good size backyard, but when we moved in there were locust bushes and unkempt yard as far as the eye can see. We enlisted the help of some LDS missionaries that were enthusiastic about helping us somehow and created a giant burn pile so big that you could not see the neighbor's house that was on the side of us. We made a lot of progress since then on both our yard and house and our backyard now looks like a yard should not a jungle.

When we moved in we had a swing set in our backyard. It was the first swing set we had actually owned as a family and it came with the house which was a neat added extra bonus for my children. As time went by the swing set in our backyard became unsafe and unfortunately had to be demolished and hauled away. It was really fun while it lasted, but since it had been used previously and neglected by the previous owners it needed more TLC than we wanted to give it. We had some very happy times and fond memories on it, but we have moved on and we hope to get another to replace it someday. Since its demise I have been on the lookout for new backyard swing sets. Maybe someday we will finally find one to suit us.

DISCLOSURE/DISCLAIMER: Since I am a CSN Preferred Blogger I am receiving another $65 Gift Code free from CSN Stores to use at their stores and review the items I get with it. This is a sponsored keyword linked post so that I can review for them at a later date.

Teela's First Birthday!

Teela is one!! She had her party to celebrate her Birthday, that was on the 15th, on the 18th. Here are a few of my most favorite pictures taken that day. My parents came by and gave her a riding toy. She had a small party. Just a few friends and family showed up. My mother made carrot cake by request...since it was after Easter and I was craving it :) She also brought her yummy lasagna for dinner that night. Teela sure enjoyed herself. She also received a beautiful homemade dress that was made by her Nonnie, Brian's mother.

Earlier that day her Daddy was putting on his boots in the glider chair and Teela came crawling up to him begging for him to pick her up. She loves her Daddy so much! Dadda was one of her first words. Anyway, he held her a little while and then put her in the swing that is suspended from the rail he built for Tatiana's Hopsa Dress. The swing is actually for Tatiana too, but Teela enjoys it more. Teela's baby bungee is also suspended from the rail. The rail spans the length of our whole dining room and half of our living room. We actually sold our kitchen tables because we needed the space. So...I now eat at the kitchen counter. Well, I rarely used the tables anyway for formal dining...never had the time to sit down and eat there as a family. We should have made the time I guess, but it never was a priority with us. The boys were always sitting at their kid table in the kitchen too...although they will be growing to big for that soon.

Anyway...I kinda got off topic a bit (going to again)...probably because I miss my daughter Tatiana and I didn't get to see her this weekend. She is at the Providence Center for Medically Fragile Children right now. She has been there since April 6th. They are supposed to be giving me respite, but I just feel empty without her. She is also there for them to monitor her sodium levels and try to figure out what they can do to make them more stable. She has Diabetes Insipidus and the levels have been crazy for a while and since she has the g-tube for her thirst recognition disorder and now the portacath to take her blood easier we have been monitoring and adjusting her g-tube feedings and Desmopressin practically every day at home since her last discharge from the hospital. If you are new here reading my blog Tatiana has been in and out of the hospital quite a bit in the past two years.