I'm not sure what prompted it, but Blake (son #2) asked me to teach him to make pancakes from scratch a few nights ago. We made a triple batch together and it was so successful that his brothers went through them like a horde of locusts - there were 2 pancakes left when they finally declared themselves full.

Blake pestered me all day yesterday to let him make pancakes again. I told him I was rationing our milk to the end of the week, so he needed to wait. Today, he made a double batch of pancakes for breakfast. This time he was flying about 90% solo. Not only did he do a great job, he decided to get fancy with it. I showed him how to make Mickey Mouse pancakes and he took it to a whole new level. He was making T-Rexes, scary clowns, hearts, and even carrot-shaped pancakes. Son #1 and I decided the pancake images were a bit like clouds, they required a bit of imagination to get the full effect.

It was a sad moment when all the batter was gone and I wouldn't let him whip up another batch. Blake asked if he could take on odd jobs to buy more pancake making supplies. Apparently my grocery rationing is coming in between a boy and his dream. Maybe I do need to get around to buying our own Jersey cow after all - then he could make pancakes whenever his heart desired.

I feel like I utter the sentence, "It's been a crazy couple of weeks" a lot. Sometimes I remind myself that these are the busy years, and one day, I'll have all the time in the world to sit on my front porch and reflect on them. For now, though, I'll just hang on tight and do my best to keep up.

We've had three major events in the past few weeks: VBS, a mountain lion attack and a move (sort-of).

First, VBS. Our church is a teeny-tiny country church in a town most people have never heard of, but we're serious about our VBS. Kids come out of the woodwork for this thing, and we have as many attendees as we have members of the church. It's amazing, it's fun, and it's exhausting. This was the second year my family has participated. I'm in charge of crafts and my husband teaches the kindergarten class. It's a whirlwind week that always leaves me happy and tired. This year, six children accepted Jesus into their lives during the week. I can't begin to describe what an amazing feeling that is because I know He'll never leave them or forsake them. Making that choice is the best thing that could possibly happen in and for their lives.

Two, the rogue mountain lion. While we were at our last night of VBS, my Kali-girl got her shoulder torn up when a mountain lion attacked.

We're keeping Kali in the house while her wounds heal. She woke me up at 4 a.m. the other morning because the cat was back. When I opened the back door to see what she was making such a racket about, she took off after it. A fight ensued and my dogs managed to chase the cat off a second time, this time with no injuries.

Apparently there have been multiple sightings of a big cat throughout our area. Each instance shows the cat or cats getting pretty bold and fearlessly approaching humans - something that makes me a bit nervous as a mom and farmer.

The third major event happening around our place is that, after hitting constant roadblocks in our quest to build on our land, we were able to acquire our neighbor's house and surrounding acre. It's a small farmhouse that originally went with our land before the property was divided years ago. (Actually, the original house is now gone but the foundation remains.) Not only is the house exactly what I've dreamed of for years, it comes with amazing gardens and an orchard with cherry, apple and peach trees. It hasn't been cared for in quite a while, so we've spent a lot of time cleaning and reclaiming, with a lot more time to go, but we're happy as clams to be settled in what I hope will be our forever home. (Well, this side of heaven anyway!)

Throw in a few animal and child-centered antics and you pretty much have a recap of the past two weeks of my life. I'm sincerely hoping the next two weeks include some reading. My TBR list is getting a bit out of hand, and I now have a front porch that is beckoning me to laze away an afternoon on it.

I adore my boys. They are the light and life of my world. Still, it's with a certain amount of trepidation that I stare into the looming summer. My oldest son homeschools. He and I have figured out our rhythm. We have a pattern to our days that lets both of us accomplish what we need to.

My other two... change the dynamic. 

I've taken on more duties at Booktrope, too. I'm helping other authors market their books and I'm getting more involved in Vox Dei, Booktrope's Christian imprint. I'm stupidly excited about these new projects - and I'm stupidly excited about the writing projects I have going. (Hint: It's Vance's turn!)

Today, as I'm trying to dive headfirst into these new projects, I find myself settling phone disputes and convincing my children that teeter-totters were not intended to be balance beams. Especially when your little brother is lying under one of them. Sigh.

We'll settle in; we'll find our new rhythm. But until then, I'm going to rely heavily on my sense of humor.

Oh, and did I mention it's VBS week at church and both my husband and I are teaching? Yeah, the sense of humor is definitely going to get a workout...