Around Here

It has been quiet here in our little corner of the world.  We spent most of last week alternating between resting/relaxing and playing/organizing!!  With the help of my sweet little men and my big man,  I got so much done!  I started this week refreshed and happy!

It makes such a difference in my day when my house is not overly cluttered!  We got all the toys organized (has to be done at least 4 times a year) upstairs toys and downstairs toys.  I was able to get the clothes bins organized and completely switched out.  The boys worked outside and cleaned out the garage.  And, :-) we got our Christmas decorations up making our house warm and ready for the upcoming season!  Love it!

We had a little bit of excitement yesterday.....

It snowed.... In November.... How fun!!  Unfortunately, it did not stick to the warm ground, but I can't tell you how fun it was to look over Joshua's shoulder this morning as we worked together on math and see sweet little white flakes floating down to the ground outside our schoolroom window. :-)  I text Erik and begged him to move me farther north, but he just text back that he loves me.  Oh, well!!

JCT brought this ring home to me from church Sunday.  I LOVE it!!  I haven't taken it off yet ~ but it is turning black, so I'll have to retire it soon!  

Yesterday, we knew that the snow might come, and we were pumped!!  I get a wee bit silly over snow!  It is like a party around our home when snow is in the forecast!!  So, to celebrate the freezing cold weather, the boys and I made peanut butter pinecones to feed the birds....

And, we made hot chocolate to drink with our afternoon reading...

 We are still fairly busy, but I feel myself shifting into holiday mode.  I am loving the relaxed atmosphere around our house lately!  We only have this Friday and the next left of Excelsior for this semester.  We are all looking forward to a nice break for Christmas!!!

It is almost time for Christmas cookies and goodies!

Another happy thing happened yesterday besides the snow...  A sweet friend of mine text me to let me know that she was bringing my family dinner...

every Monday for the rest of my pregnancy!!  How precious is that!  She had been telling me for several months that she was praying about a way to help me.  She runs the music ministry at our church and is sooo busy!!!  And, I really never thought much of her saying it because really what can anyone do to help a busy mama!  Other than move in and become a housekeeper!  That would be quite helpful!  Anyway, I was floored by her thoughtfulness!!!  And, the best part is that she is an awesome cook!  So, yummo!!!!!  I am so grateful!  She brought potato soup and chocolate chip cookies this week.  Heaven. Pure heaven.  I'm a sucker for creamy soups, so I was a happy, happy girl! Potato soup on a snowy cold evening!! :-)

Life is good!

Life is loud and busy and wild and chaotic around here!  But, I am thankful for all of it, all the noise, busyness, and activity!  There is a lot of life in our home, and that is a good thing!

Sweet Jack,

I haven't written in several months. In fact, I haven't written to you since we found out that you will quickly become a big brother ~ maybe even before your first birthday!! :-)  I'm not sure what it will be like for you or for me when your younger sibling arrives, but God knows. Since we are confident that it was by His own hands that this one was created, then we can be certain that He will give all of us exactly what we need each day just as we need it.  You will be a great big brother, and I know that the two of you will be super close.  I'll enjoy watching you grow up side by side.

But, let me tell you a little bit about you!  I really thought that because you were born 5 weeks early you might take a little longer to do things, but I was wrong! You began crawling at 7 months which is right around the same time as your brothers ~ some started earlier, but some started later!  And, eating solids has been an easy transition for you.  Daddy even sneaks you bites of "real" food, and you are able to chew it up and swallow it like a champ!  You chatter on and on and giggle and smile!  You mostly say "Daddda," but I have forgiven you for this! :-)  You can sit up fairly well ~ though you still prefer the tripod position with one arm propped for support.  You don't have any teeth yet, but it seems all my boys are late to get teeth! You are a very happy little man and have stolen all of our hearts.  I can honestly say that your brothers adore you!  I think it is their ages. They are old enough to really enjoy you, and they play with you and take care of you all day long.  You are their favorite toy!!  Joshua is so proud.  He and James always want to carry you into church, Excelsior, or the library.  They are proud to be your big brothers.

We love you to pieces little fellow!  It is hard to believe that next week you will be 8 months old!  You are such a joy to us.  Love you, little man!!

A Full Tank!

Oh, me.  I'm sitting in bed with my laptop, exhausted but not spent.  I'm exhausted but full.  Today was a good day, a full, busy, happy day, and I am thankful.  Erik was out of town this weekend, so it was just me and the guys!

We went to Wally World, and the little mister sat in the big boy seat for the very first time!  I think he liked it...

I bought a lot of bins to help organize the boys clothes.  This is an on going effort for me.  I organize, and then I reorganize, and then we have to change seasons and sizes and on and on and on...

But, on a more enjoyable note, I bought these items for "movie night with mom" as the boys call it.

Joshua said Bambi was a girl movie.  Erik told me to tell him it was about hunters, but that just seemed wrong to me.  Anyway, it all turned out okay, except that I didn't remember that Bambi really doesn't have a whole lot of plot to it.  But, the boys didn't seem to notice, so all was well.

After Jack and Eriky went down for naps, the boys and I filled our Operation Christmas Child boxes.  This is always so much fun!!!

I love OCC!!!  Our church is a relay center for OCC, so it is a very big deal to us. Every year the boys do a musical to promote it.  The congregation brings their boxes and at the end of the performance the children collect all the boxes and bring them to the front.  They've been working hard preparing for the performance, and I can't wait to see it tomorrow night!

After we filled our boxes, the boys went to jump on the trampoline, a.k.a. their second home. :-)  I followed them outside and began raking a pile of leaves for them.  They quickly realized what I was up to, and from the trampoline they encouraged me, "Wow!  That is awesome, Mom! Keep it up!!"  "Just a little taller, Mom!! You can do it!!"  "That is the best pile ever!  Keep going ~ just a little bigger!!"  Finally I finished up, and they could not wait to dive in!  Here they are waiting for me to say, "1,2,3, GO!!!"

They tried different things like running all the way from the house to the pile down by the pond!

Then, they would dive in like it was a swimming pool!!  Cannon ball!!!

Joshua...

James...

Elijah, wait, where is he???

Oh, yes, there he is!!!!

I had so much fun watching them play!  I just sat criss cross applesauce and took pictures and laughed a good bit, too!!

Sweet friends.

 Then, Eriky woke up, and I really started snapping pictures...

Good old fashioned fall fun...

I remember loving leaf piles as a child!

 As I watched them play, I wondered if years from now they will remember this...

I hope they do.

I know that I will never forget...

their laughter mingled with the sound of crunching leaves...

It was a good day, full and busy, but, oh, so good!  After they had played to their heart's content, I took them in and bathed them.  They put on their pj's, and then off we went to pick up carry out Mexican food!  We watched Bambi, ate Mexican, and baked our cupcakes.  Here is Lije icing his...

and eating it!!

My goal for the weekend was to finish swapping winter and summer clothes.  I am so behind, and I am tired of grabbing clothes out of bins!!!  I did get a good bit accomplished, but I didn't get the job done!  Oh, well, maybe next weekend.  As I was organizing, the boys were literally at my feet.  I was using the guest bed as my organizing headquarters, and they decided to play hide and seek... in the guest room!!!  My first reaction was frustration.  It is hard to work in a small space when four little boys are moving around, running from one another, hiding, squealing, etc.  But, then, I thought about the fact that they wanted to play where I was.  They wanted to be where I was.  They didn't want to be downstairs or outside.  They wanted to be near me.  That may not always be the case?  So, for today, I am thankful for the nuisance.  I am thankful for the little bodies in my way.

Some days, days like today, I wish that these little men would never grow up, that they would stay little, stay with me forever.  But, I know that is not what God has planned, so, for today, I am thankful.  I am thankful that they think pancakes for breakfast and Mexican for dinner are awesome meals!  I'm thankful for leaves that crackle and crunch and are broken up in little pieces all over my house serving as reminders of the fun we've had.  I'm thankful for little green, blue, and brown eyes that look to me for help with shoelaces and shoulder pads. I'm thankful for smiles with icing mustaches.  I'm thankful for bathtime and clean boys tucked sweetly in beds.  I'm thankful for movie nights with mom.  I'm thankful that Elijah "loves me more than a shark," and "more than 16,000 monkeys."  I'm thankful that Oregon won, even if my sweet son was too tired to stay awake and see it.  I'm thankful that not only are my boys good friends with each other, but the older they get the more my heart sees them as my best friends, too.  I'm thankful that they still think my ideas are fun and not cheesy.  I'm thankful that as I shut my computer down and lay my head upon my pillow, I can say that today was a good day.  I am exhausted, but it is the good kind of exhausted.  The kind of exhausted that comes from spending yourself wholeheartedly for those you love.  As my sister in love would say, my love tank is full.

Perspective...

It is all in the way you see things...

What is beautiful to me...

May just be ordinary to someone else...

But, there is so much beauty in the ordinary...

 If our eyes are open to see the precious in the everyday...

and our hearts refuse to take the little things for granted...

Because, really, the little everyday ordinary things are what beautiful life is made of!!!!!

Reprieve...

I feel it.

I feel it in the cool wind that is blowing leaves to and fro in my backyard.

A needed reprieve from busyness and excessive activity.

And, the holidays, they are knocking gently, kindly on the front door.

I feel it coming.

The peace, the slow pace, the cool, overcast days...

They are now within reach, and that makes my heart so happy!

Our family has been running like crazy for the last few months.  We haven't eaten many dinners together.  I haven't cooked much at all, and I cannot wait to get back at it!  It is time for soup and chili, cocoa and cider!  It is time to enjoy dinner together, time to be home in the evenings ~ all of us, altogether.  It is time for fires in the fireplace and cuddling with books, blankets, and little boys.  It is time to catch up on time together as a family.  Holiday football games to watch, basketball season beginning, little boys too cold to play outside very long, and sweet little rosy cheeks when they do.  Welcome November!  I'm so glad we are finally here.  Park league soccer and football are over, and the holidays are beckoning. :-)

Quiet One

Hi, little friend!  We sure enjoyed seeing you!!  You are just about the sweetest thing ever!

You are the work of the Maker, and I am in awe.  You came like a whisper into our little world.  We never in our wildest dreams imagined God would bless us with you when He did!  Just 3 short months after your big brother Jack was born, our Creator saw fit to begin work on you!  When I saw those little pink lines on that cute little stick, I was completely blown away!  But, life with 5 children gets busy, and you have not drawn much attention to yourself...

Quiet.  You have been quiet.  I had a few sick days, but nothing like I have had in previous pregnancies.  And, I've hardly gained weight, growing only the littlest amount each month.  And, as I type this I am 18 weeks along, and I still am not feeling you move.  In fact, I asked the sonographer if you were, in fact, moving!  She said you were but not a lot.  Maybe you will be a calm, quiet child?  Or, maybe we will read this 10 years from now and laugh at the thought!! :-)  Either way, I love you tremendously. And, I am so glad that you are mine!  I'm thankful to my sweet God for you!

Jumping Jack...

has jumped all he can...

Sweet Baby, I love...