Squeezing in Summer

So, I was informed again today that I've been neglecting our blog. I assure you that it was for good cause...we're squeezing in summer these last few weeks of pleasant and travel friendly weather. With moving and all that it entails our summer just seemed to slip away faster than one would have thought. So, blogging has taken a back seat to spending time with family and friends in the wonderful creation that God has so richly blessed us with. I found this poem online a couple weeks ago and thought it would be fitting to explain my blogging absence.

I Took His Hand and Followed

By: Mrs. Roy L. Peifer

My dishes went unwashed today,

I didn't make the bed,

I took his hand and followed

Where his eager footsteps led.

Oh yes, we went adventuring,

My little son and I...

Exploring all the great outdoors

Beneath the summer sky.

We waded in a crystal stream,

We wandered through a wood...

My kitchen wasn't swept today

But life was gay and good.

We found a cool, sun-dappled glade

And now my small son knows

How Mother Bunny hides her nest,

Where jack-in-the-pulpit grows.

We watched a robin feed her young,

We climbed a sunlit hill...

Saw cloud-sheep scamper through the sky,

We plucked a daffodil.

That my house (and blogging) was neglected,

That I didn't brush the stairs,

In twenty years, no one on earth

Will know, or even care.

But that I've helped my little boy

To noble (and Godly) manhood grow,

In twenty years, the whole wide world

May look and see and know.

Please enjoy some of the pictures of spending time with my blessing from God this summer.

Riding with Papa at their house

Notice the look of joy (terror?)

Sitting on the fence while watching Mommy work cattle at Winnemucca Ranch

Hot August Night's with Daddy

Hosting his first sleepover with his favorite person in the world, Vada McClelland.

Dinner at our new home with LaLa and Papa.

We traveled to Crater Lake, Oregon with my Dad, Mom and Grandmother. My uncle and aunt from Portland met us there. Unfortunately, Scott had to stay home and work, so we ruffed it and had fun without him. :-)

First trip to the ocean while visiting the Trokey's in California. Noah wasn't scared a bit of the ocean, don't know why that surprises me though!

Scott and Noah practicing their elk calls in preparation for hunting season. The testosterone was DRIPPING off the walls.

Hunting last weekend at my Dad's cousin's ranch in Yerington. They run a cattle feed lot, grow seed garlic and consumption onions. Noah had a blast with all the cows. Also, our cousin gave us a complete tour of the onion processing portion of the business. Noah was able to see the whole process in person from the time a onion was picked in the field all the way to boxing for shipment. It was a wonderful and educational experience. On Monday he was so excited that the onions made it to the supermarket when we went grocery shopping. :-)

Picking and consuming apples in Yerington.

Now that we're settled in our new home I finally took the time to drag out and unpack my scrapbooking stuff. I only started scrapbooking about 6 months ago and enjoy it more that I thought I would. It's been wonderful going back over Noah's life and recording all the little things I don't want to forget. I still haven't completed his first year album but am getting closer and closer with each crop.

Here are some of my favorite and most recent pages...

Tahoe Family Encampment

IT'S ABOUT TIME! We took our first week long family vacation since our Honeymoon (3-1/2 years ago) last week. We camped and attended Tahoe Family Encampment, a week long Christian seminar at Lake Tahoe. We feel so blessed to have been able to spend quality family time together and also be filled up spiritually. Noah loved playing with all the kids at camp and attending Bible class in the morning. Scott and I participated in some incredible Bible classes on marriage and family that we will never forget.

Here are a few of our favorite pictures from the trip.

Noah and his buddy Ezekiel at the beach.

Noah's "Lober"

Waiting in line for ice cream.

Enjoying some "i-cream"

The bunk bed in the camper worked great except the first night he sat up in his sleep a few times and bonked his head on the ceiling. Life lesson I suppose.

We had a couple bouts of hail in the afternoon. Noah was trying to show the camera the hail.

Ride em' cowboy!

Enjoying his "Tot-Spot" chair during our evening campfire.

"Here Mommy...a flower." What a sweet boy!

What makes a home?

If home is where the heart is, What distinguishes it from a house? While one can spin a thousand tales, The other merely serves as shelter. A home is filled with life and vitality, While a house is but a structure. The latter, built with boards and nails, Repels all of nature’s trauma. A home, much different indeed, is full of kin. Love, pulsing through a home, Is but the essence of its being. Cement, holding steadfast a house, Is but a common hardened mixture. Absorbed with the tradition of a lifetime, A home is where you thrive. Pounded with nails of steel, A house is where you reside. What makes a home a home? What makes a house a house? The simple matters in life, Delved from our inner soul, Can answer these pressing question. Home is where the heart is, The heart makes a home a home. Praise the LORD! Our house on Lenwood finally closed and we've moved. I can't even express the relief and sense of peace we feel now that we are somewhere more affordable. I struggled with leaving the memories of Lenwood but thanks to my dear friend Theresa and her words of wisdom I now realize that our house doesn't make our family, we do.

Sensory overload!

I never imagined that experiencing things such as Sesame Street Live with my son would bring tears to my eye. We feel blessed to be able to take Noah to something he enjoys so much. We talked about it for a few days and Noah knew he was going to see Elmo but he had no idea what was in store. The first 15 minutes of the show he just sat there, with his mouth open, not smiling, not clapping, saying nothing, just attempting to take it all in. Eventually he adjusted and had a blast! Thanks Grandma Becki for the tickets!

What happened to April?

Upon signing in this morning to catch up on everyones news I realized I didn't post the ENTIRE month of April. Not for the lack of interesting and adorable things happening...but for a lack of time and planning. One of these days I'll adjust to "Mommyhood" and get on top of things.

So, a quick catchup on all the happenings in the Boutcher household....

Janelle Cooke (Winburn) visited with her adorable new son Caleb. Janelle and I have been friends my ENTIRE life and her friendship has meant the world to me. We've shared childhood, young adulthood (living in DC), marriage to our fantastic husbands, and now motherhood together. Looking forward to many more years of memories and experiences.


We drove to Sacramento 2 weeks ago and visited the Sacramento Zoo. Unfortunately, my camera battery died so we have few pictures but many memories. I took Noah to the Portland Zoo when he was a year old but he didn't really get it. This time he had a blast. You would think his favorite part would have been the animals...but no...it was the train. He's still talking about it.

We had an Egg-cellent Easter! After church we went to my Grandmother's home with family and our friends, the Claysons. The kids had a blast hunting Easter eggs and eating A LOT of candy.

We're still in escrow on the house. My dear friend Tracy once told me while I was in another unrelated life transition, "Sarah, you're in God's waiting room...get a magazine." Well, I think about that a lot right now. We're at a time in our life that is trying, unsure and scary but I know that someday looking back I will see the positive in this trial and "count it all joy" (see James chapter 1).