We added some new animals lately – rabbits. They’re New Zealand Whites, and these two are females. One of them will hop right to the edge of the hutch and let us pet her, the other one isn’t quite as outgoing. We’re hoping to add a buck eventually too, but haven’t gotten him yet.

The kids certainly love them!

She only looks like she’s helping. . .instead, she was shaking all the bead boxes, trying to tear off labels, and unrolling spools of ribbon. I’m just thankful most of the containers in that drawer are taped shut!

Aren’t you so glad God knows what you can handle (and what you can’t) better than you do? I am.

We got some unexpected news this week. We have been having ridiculously low water pressure in the house lately, so we called the well repair company to come look at it again. This is the third time they’ve been out here this year, by the way. The first two times they replaced parts on the motor and tank.

Wednesday they didn’t replace anything. Instead, they told us we need to dig a new well. It turns out our well is quite shallow and is going dry.

When Stephen came in the house to tell me what the repair men had said, I cried. It hadn’t occurred to me at all that digging a new well would be mentioned, so it was a shock.

Normally I’d say it’s ok, we’ll just save up for it and pray that God lets that happen quickly. But this time. . .we don’t have a lot of time to save up that kind of money.

So we’re praying for a miracle. I’m wondering how God will provide for this. He has always provided our needs, and this is most certainly a need.

It’s been an interesting few days. We’ve done our best to use as little water as possible. We’re praying for rain to help keep our well from going more dry in the meantime. But mostly, I’m doing my best to keep my eyes on God, my Jehovah-Jireh, my Provider. I’m curious to see how He works this out. I don’t feel like I can handle this trial right now, but it’s good to know that God can.

What a great birthday I had this year!

It started out like this, with breakfast in bed:

It was great. Stephen got up early and made homemade waffles, and prepared the fruit. Once he was just about done, Samuel got up and brought me my plate, and took all the credit for me getting breakfast in bed. :O)

It was such a wonderful day. Later in the afternoon, some friends stopped by with a container of mocha brownies for me. Yum. It was the first time I’d ever tried mocha brownies, but they were good. What a treat.

Later that day, Stephen caught a huge praying mantis on one of the bushes outside the house. He put it in a jar and brought it inside for the kids to watch. I caught a smaller bug (thought it was a stink bug but Stephen said it wasn’t actually a stink bug. What do I know?) and we put the two together. It was so fun to watch the praying mantis attack and eat the other insect.

The rest of the week has been fairly uneventful so far, thankfully. We’re trying to really get into the swing of school (though honestly we are on week 4 already). We’re using My Father’s World for the bulk of our curriculum, and while I love it, the style is so different from my usual “get up and do four other things during school” mentality. It’s forcing me to slow down, and while that’s not a bad thing, it has taken some adjustment, that’s for sure! I do think that once the new baby is here it will be wonderful.

Then today, my jewelry is being featured on Groopdealz.com again. Last time went really well, so I’m excited to be able to partner with them again. I also made some changes to how I prepared for it this time, which should allow me to get the bracelets shipped out faster too.

If you planned on entering the Silver Necklace Giveaway, make sure you enter today. The contest ends at midnight tonight!

Silver Necklace Giveaway on Facebook

Right now the sounds in my living room are:

The 7-year-old walking in circles reciting his addition facts (he is a very kinesthetic/tactile learner and we’re trying new options to cement those facts in his mind)

The 3-year-old standing behind me in my chair, hugging my back and saying, “Mama, what’cha doing?”

The almost 2-year-old trying to get up in my chair too and getting frustrated at the lack of room in the chair

The quiet humming of our air conditioner – new this season – something I’m VERY thankful for with the heat we’ve had!

Now the almost 2-year-old has pushed her brother out of the chair and is driving a truck on my back. . .

My life is crazy and I love it.

There’s a sterling silver necklace giveaway over at my Hope of My Heart Designs Facebook page! Here’s more information about it:

We’re celebrating 150 fans on our Facebook page – which means a new custom necklace for one of you! You’ll get one hand stamped sterling silver necklace with whatever you’d like stamped on it (well, ok, whatever will fit, anyway). You can also add a pearl or a birthstone if you’d like – it’s all up to you! The disc is 3/4 inch across – the most common size of the necklaces here – and you get your choice of an 18 inch thin curb chain or delicate ball chain.

To enter, you need to like the page. Then just leave your name and email address. We’ll email you if you win. Giveaway closes at midnight on August 8, 2011, and the winner will be announced the morning of August 9, 2011. Be sure to tell your friends!

If you’re interested, you can enter the giveaway over at the Hope of My Heart Designs Facebook page.