Sprouting Sinnemas: A Visit to Malta

Time for our second trip to Malta!

A stop along the way a few miles north of Lewistown.

So peaceful. Only us and a park ranger around. So Easy to get used to this again! Normal population - us and nature. Praise God.

They are all Such good travelers! And after traveling from Texas to Wyoming, then Wyoming to Nebraska and finally Nebraska to Montana...in the last state we finally picked up a laptop and watch a movie every now and then in the car. Very nice! Just like everyone says.

Matthew trained me well right from the start. When traveling, we have plenty of books, plenty of toys, and plenty of snacks! Try one at a time, slowly and methodically, and majority of the time the little one becomes happy again! When the car is thoroughly trashed - mission accomplished!

When I went to prenatal appointments, pregnant with Kaitlyn, from Gillette to South Dakota and back again, that's the worse state I've ever seen our car...and Matthew. Just Matthew and I in the car, when he was two years old and took a Lot of attention. The food always came last, and it was a mess on top of everything. But we made it. So wonderful how God gives us the grace as we need it.

Matthew still Adores Blake. And Blake knows karate! He is Very good at it. And it is awesome to see how it improves Blake and Matthew's relationship. Matthew has Always been too aggressive with Blake, in his adoration. And now Blake easily maneuvers things so he's not taking the brunt of all the rough housing in which Matthew loves to shower his attention on him with.

Always love the stimulating conversation with Roger. We appreciate So Much how Debbie and Blake, and Roger and Shari always make the effort to come by and see us. Let alone Aunt Eva, Aunt Polly and others! Traveling around to visit just never happens with us. So when we actually make it to Dad and Mom's, we love it that you stop by!! We know you are Busy, and it means so much to us how you take the time to come and stay and chat!

And Mom and Dad are always receiving phone calls and having people stopping by for one thing or another. We love benefiting from their popularity and involvement in the community!

William is So low maintenance. I am so thankful for our awesome third child. I have a vacation in So many ways with him and I do not take it for granted. So when he let's me know that he is a little warmish and does Not want a shirt on - ok. I can do that.

William is So aware of what is going on and what we are saying. So when I mention, "Picture!" I am still pleasantly surprised to see him right there, quietly joining in! Such a dear.

Our gracious hostess. She is pretty much my example in every area of life.

Mom has been busy my entire life with church. And she hasn't slowed down A Bit.

She is faithful. Faithful in her homemaking, faithful at her beloved church, faithful with her loved ones. She has looked her best my entire life. Doesn't matter if she's going out or not. Even when Debbie was 2 years old, she had lipstick on, her hair done, and nice slacks on. And the pictures don't lie, the house was always looking it's best, too. And possibly it was because Debbie and I were the youngest of five kids, but she and Dad never raised their voices with us. Never. I have a good memory and am not exaggerating. I am still amazed at what a wonderful childhood I had. I was always allowed to be a kid. And not a perfect one at that. And they accepted us just the way we were. They let us be just who we were.

Ouch. Blake is Such a good big brother.

A long standing tradition between Pappa and Blake.

And Blake so graciously lets the others join in.

He enjoys every minute of it, just as much as they do. So Neat.

Dad has always been so good with kids. He was the third oldest of ten kids. So he's seen it all and still is so loving. He's been in rough-and-tumble circles growing up, in the army, working solo at one of the most dangerous professions - and he still gives his 100% patient and gentle attention to the little ones, and all the way up to the big ones.

Just the other day, a woman close to my age in town was talking about Dad and at the end of the conversation asked, "Does he ever have a bad day?" A typical question I've heard my entire life. And no, honestly, not when I've been around. When friends came over for slumber parties year after year when we were growing up, it was common to hear, how mine was their favorite. Because of Dad...and Mom working behind the scenes making everything so great! I must add!

All three are quick to be a part of, "How much have you grown?" There's many marks showing the years and Pappa kindly says, when it's time to paint, we'll go around this important history.