March happenings...

 Been weeding, starting seeds, mixing soil, and getting all ready to plant a garden! Duke is pretty helpful...he likes to soak me with the hose, throw dirt, run away, and climb on top of things while my hands are covered in dirt. :) But he is learning, always learning, to listen and obey. Somedays I get discouraged, thinking, "will he ever NOT need so many spankings?!"But I have to remind myself that I am the same way! I seem to always have to be re-learning the same lessons over and over...going through the same cycles of rebellion, falling on my face, repentance, forgiveness over and over again. But then I am encouraged...I have the opportunity to lovingly and consistently model God's love to Duke as I correct his naughtiness and try to guide him to listen and obey. And hopefully one day, he will understand his need for Jesus to cleanse his sins and give him the Spirit to help him listen and obey.

 This is my first sprout! And I have no idea what it is! :( I accidentally dropped the tray of newly planted seeds, and they got all mixed up. Oh well, growing a garden has never been so suspenseful and exciting! :) Not many of them are growing, though, so I think I might need to try again...ya, I think I'll try again.




Duke is becoming a water baby, fast! He just learned to blow bubbles and even likes to practice his new trick with a cup of water at meal-times (which is NOT encouraged). He has gone surfing twice now, and enjoyed it both times....all the while I am sitting on the beach taking pictures and praying for him to not fall off the board! :)

Duke is completely obsessed with cars. He loves them. He even gets excited to go for a ride in the car...I mean, what kid likes to get strapped into a carseat and look out the window calling everything in sight a car? Duke Danger does. :) And it's even better if he is holding one of his little toy cars. 

Speaking of going for a ride in the car, Duke went with his grandma today to run some errands. I don't leave Duke very often, cause I haven't really had many reasons to so far, but I just started cleaning a condo near by and will probably leave Duke with his grandma about once a week. As most mothers understand, when you don't really leave your child very often, they can get an extra strong clingy-ness to their mommies....and such is the case with Duke. Everything revolves around 'mama' these days. :) I love being loved, but I also love the chance to get away for a little while and give grandma some time with Dukie. I packed his bag full of crackers and toy cars to keep him happy along the way. :) 

In other news, Police Academy is going well for Aaron and we are starting to get excited as it gets closer to his graduation in June. Duke and I look forward to his return home from work everyday, and are so thankful for such a hard-working man to lead our family. 

This move to Hawaii has caused a lot of growth in us as a family, and we often pray that God would continue to use everything in our lives - trials and joys - to mold us to be more like Jesus. 

New Addition...

Our chickens are getting so big, and our most recent addition is a little goat! As it was given to us, we aren't sure if it is a baby or just a miniature breed... either way, she's cute, ya?
I also recently cleared out a little raised garden bed in hopes of planting some vegetables soon....so you can just call me farmer Sally. :)
I really enjoy having some outdoor 'chores' and having a break from the dishes, cooking, and laundry. Duke LOVES playing in the pile of dirt near the garden and running up and down a little grassy hill. He is getting a lot more sturdy on his feet and is becoming a little climber as well. He thinks everything is a car...either that, or he is pretending. :) His latest 'tricks' are meowing like a cat, saying 'doodoo', and giving a pound with his fist. He is learning and growing so fast, I can't keep up! He is a smart little guy and is figuring out how to exert his opinion quite forcefully at times, and I often find myself begging for wisdom and grace to help him learn to love and obey Jesus (and mommy!).

Thanks to pinterest, I have had quite a few craft projects that I've been wanting to do, and Duke's morning nap is often the perfect time to get a little crafting in. This is my latest project, and am really enjoying this type of canvas/painting/art and would love for more excuses to make these, so if anyone has a custom order, I'd love to make some more!












We have been enjoying the rain this week...
Duke finds all sorts of bugs and gets to splash in puddles!
I tell him stories of when I was a little girl, growing up in Oregon and how it rained all the time!
He thinks it sounds fun. :)

Aaron came home with this ukelele recently and we have been enjoying having him walk around playing music for us all the time. :)