Lije, Rejoicing, and Monday's Gratitude (a.k.a. really random post)

Lije, my Lije, has kept a sweet smile on my face all day today.  Three is just the cutest of ages!!  At 3 children are old enough to really verbalize their thoughts well, and yet they are still figuring things out.  Thus, they get things a little mixed up which is so cute!

This morning sweet Lije told Erik and I that Batman "two-feeted da bad guy!" (defeated).  He was so animated and cute when he was telling us!! Fun, fun!  Then, a few hours later, I was doing school with the big boys, and I asked Elijah if he would rather play a game on the computer or the ipad?  He said very seriously as he stared out the bay window in front of our kitchen table, "Neither.  I'd rather just sit here on the bench and watch the wind blow. . ."  I agreed, and a few minutes later I passed by the kitchen table again and this is what I saw. . .

Sweet little man sitting on the bench with his mouth up against the screen of the open window, saying in a quiet voice, "God, God, can you hear me?  Are you there, God?"

I love this age!  Then, tonight he announced to me that, "When Joshua and James are at bastikball practice, I'm da big brudder!!!"  He was so proud!  He is going to love having the new baby!!  I can't wait to introduce the baby to my Lije!

I love the fact that I have gotten to rejoice with those who rejoice this weekend!!  One friend got engaged!! :-)  We all know how happy that is!!!

And, our neighbors and dear friends, the husband is coach of our local high school basketball team, led the team to win the north half of our state 3A championship, and now it is off to state!!  This is so fun especially in our small town that LOVES sports!!!  With each game they'd win, I'd text my friend and ask how many hours of sleep they got.  As they continued to win game after game, the sweet couple slept fewer and fewer hours each night!!  When they won the north half, I text her and asked if she'd like Erik to call them in some ambien!!  I think I've read her response a thousand times and pondered it even more times than that!!

She said, "Prob need something!!!!!  We both said when we sleep it makes the moment disappear so we would rather stay awake."  

Life so good you don't want to sleep for missing it!!!  How awesome!  I just loved it!  In 5 months she only missed 3 games, and she takes her 3 children (the oldest is 4!) with her to the games.  Not to mention the fact that she is 28 weeks pregnant with #4!!!! So supportive!

I am so thankful for. . .

* Open windows and fresh air flowing freely through my home.

*  Birthday cake and ice cream and Deana B who sent me home from her son's awesome birthday party with leftovers!!!!  Yum!!  But, even more than that I am thankful that God has given us the privilege of sharing life with Sean and Deana B.  I still pass Deana B on the road sometimes driving through town, and say to myself, "Oh. My. Goodness. She lives here!"  And, occasionally I see our husbands names together on the sign in front of their office and think, "Oh. My. Goodness. Erik always dreamed of this, and it is actually happening!"  I don't know what tomorrow holds, but I am so thankful for today, and for the moments that our families have shared over the past 4 years!

*  The little one who kicks crazily within me!

*  A weekend visit from Pop!  The way Erik Daniel ran around the yard like a wild man when his truck pulled in the driveway!

*  My sweet friend, Sara, who turned 35 on Sunday!!!!  We've been friends for 22 years now if I've counted correctly!  Whoa!!!  And, my sweet friend, Sarah, who turned 35 last Friday!

* Moments, sweet moments, and life so good you don't want to sleep for missing it. . .

Mr. Middle

Mr. Middle. Elijah Kelly. Man, I love him. He is sweet, funny, and precious. He is fairly compliant. If you explain why something needs to be a certain way, he usually acquieces and moves on. He has a special place in most of my girlfriends' hearts because of his unique way of expressing himself. He's a cutie! But. . .

falling in line like he does, he is often overlooked a bit. He doesn't draw attention to himself by acting out. He goes with the flow. Joshua and JCT are involved in sports and school and other activities that make the attention of our family gravitate toward them. And, then, Eriky D., well, he never suffers from lack of attention because he is the baby (for now! :-), and he is two years old ~ and a curious two year old he is. Therefore, he consumes a good bit of my attention. For months I have tried to make conscious efforts to lift Lije up and draw him out and put the attention on him. But, honestly, it is hard and takes a good deal of effort because the attention naturally falls elsewhere. Until recently. . .

Lije has developed a problem, an obstacle, bless his heart ~ it is breaking mine! And, now, he is the main topic of Erik and my conversation a lot of the time. He is at the forefront. He needs our help, our attention, and he is getting it. Because of his little problem, we have had to slow down, stop what we are doing and give him our undivided attention throughout the day.

And, as I sat, on the edge of JCT's bed last night, watching my three big boys sleeping peacefully, I prayed for my Lije. And, as I prayed and begged God to remove this obstacle or to help him quickly through it, He whispered to my heart the blessing of the thorn. Now, there is nothing good about the struggle he is facing each day, but the blessing is found in the fact that this struggle has forced us to slow down and give him a little extra attention. And, I am so thankful for that.

Could Someone PLEASE freeze time!!!!!!!

My Lijah's Laugh. . .

I love him so, my little sunshiney happy boy!!!

Wintery Day!

The last two days the clouds have been so thick and so white that I really thought they looked as though they could produce snow! Oh, glorious thought!!! We get very little snow where we live, and this upsets me greatly because I really, really love the white powdery stuff!!! But, even though I know very well that snow will not fall with temps in the 40's, the clouds let me dream for a minute or two. . . It has been so wintery looking outside lately, and that has made my home seem all the more warm!!!

The pool storage house not looking so poolish. . .

This morning was pure bliss! Little boys immersed in their studies, littler boys playing, Rain resting, laundry washing, dishwasher humming, James Taylor singing Christmas carols, and warm coffee in my cup!! I felt so cozy and content that I made the boys an extra special 10:00 snack ~ brownies with snow sprinkled on top!!!

I wanted to take a second to answer a couple questions. I apologize that it has taken me this long! Kimberly asked me what we let our boys say when they are disappointed. And, I really don't know the answer to that!! I'll have to pay attention! I know that I say, "Oh, my goodness!!!" all the time or " Oh, my!!!" So, I imagine they repeat those two a good bit!! And, maybe they say, "Oh, man!" But, that is all I can think of?? And, Tyna asked about my sweet Rain!! Rain had a huge, as you could see by the size of his scar, lipoma (fatty tumor) under a muscle flap by his front left leg. The vet feared it would impede his ability to walk if we waited and continued to let it grow, so out it came!!! And, he is being well taken care of here! Lots of little boys wanting to give him lots of doggie treats!!!

JCT put Lije down for his nap today. He read to him and tucked him in, but Lije wanted his mama to sing!!!! It was so sweet to watch!!!!

Oh, and if you noticed that JCT is still wearing PJ's at naptime, it is because the boys declared today PJ day!!! So, they have worn their PJ's all day!! Harmless silliness!! :-)

I have been letting Lije nap in my bed because, well, just because. . . Anyway, aren't kids so adorably sweet when they are asleep!! Like angels!!!

Still sucking his fingers and twisting his hair in his sleep!!! Love that little guy!!!

While he slept the big boys and I finished up their schoolwork, and then they headed out to play on the back porch. After 30 or so minutes, they came in with freezing cold fingers which they, of course, place upon my neck and back like their good father taught them to do. I offered their cold hands a warm cup of hot chocolate with marshmallows ~ the first this season! You would have thought I'd offered them the moon! Oh, the excitement!!!!

Yummo!!!

And, I have to put this last picture in because I know that I won't get to look upon such sweetness forever. . .

One day he will spell out, "I love Janie" or "Becky" or Sarah Rachel" or some other sweet young thing's name. I realize my time as Queen Mama is limited!! But, I am soaking it up while I can!!!!!!!

My house is such a mess, but my heart is so, so, so content!!!!!!! :-)

Mr. President!

The Big Three. . .

This past Sunday was my little monkey's third birthday. He was so excited, and I was so excited for him!!! We had a little party with our family and the Reynolds. And, for one day, little Lije got to be the center of attention, and he absolutely loved it!! Every part of the day was so exciting for him! Everyone in the family (except me ~ sorry I just don't own anything orange and dressy) wore orange to church in honor of Elijah's favorite color! :-)

I loved watching him open gifts! My little middle man just doesn't get that many new things, so he thoroughly enjoyed opening some new toys just for him!

He wanted a baseball party, so that is exactly what we had!


Here he is blowing out his candle. . . (Joshua is holding him :-)
And, it was such a treat that Lauren (or "Miss Worr-en" as Lije calls her) surprised Lijah and came to his party! Elijah adores "Miss Worr-en". She is one of his Sunday school teachers, and Elijah says she loves him more than I do. He swears she does, but I am not so sure!!!! Mommy loves her little monkey a lot!!!

I love you, my sweet Lijah man! You are an amazing little guy ~ an awesome combination of funny, lovable, strong, confident, bold, tender, and sweet all rolled into one precious little package! And, I am so thankful to call you mine! I love you ~ Mommy

For Nana and Poppy

Just wanted to thank you for the fun birthday gift!! Lijah has loved it!! It is a little too short for Joshua and JCT, but it hasn't stoppped them from taking a swing at it, too!!! An appropriate gift from our beloved pitcher of a Poppy!!!!

A Nap with Pop

They were sitting together on the couch watching the Macy's Thanksgiving Day parade last I remember. . .

Apparently, the parade was not very exciting! They were so cute resting there together ~ I had to snap a picture! Sweet Pop and sweet Lije! I love them both so much!!!

Monkey Man

He doesn't feel good! My little monkey doesn't feel like monkeying around!!! Oh, sad day! I miss my happy hyper little monkey man! All morning he has been a little ragdoll on my hip ~ so sweet! He cuddled his little face into my neck and hung on for dear life while I held him and attempted to do all my morning chores! I put him down on the couch for just a minute so that I could move laundry from the washer to the dryer, and when I returned to my little man, this is what I found!

What is it about sleeping children ~ so peaceful and sweet! Today is such a calm and relaxing day so far! I kept JCT home from pre-k to make my life a little easier! The picking up every two hours in the afternoon got old after the first week of school! It just doesn't jive well with my two little ones' nap schedules. So, today we are settled in at home. Christmas tree lights are on, Christmas music playing, cinnamon candle on candle warmer, and it is rainy and overcast! It is, in my opinion, a good day ~ except for Lije not feeling well, of course!!!

Soon maybe I will have time to post a multitude of Thanksgiving pics!! We had a really nice holiday! Thanks to all who were praying for us!

I Need To Clarify. . .

It has come to my attention that one of my sons, ahem, is spreading some not so nice rumors about my parenting skills, and I must clear the air.

A little background info: With Joshua I always felt in complete control. With JCT, not so much, but, I still felt like I had a bit of control over what he would say or do. With Elijah, no control whatsoever, no. none. nada.

For Example: Someone might walk up to my sweet Lijah boy and say, "You are so cute!!!" And, he might turn around with an unfriendly face, hold out his hand like a crossing guard, and say "STOP!"

Yes. He does this sort of thing, regularly.

And, if you know me, you know that even if I am in the middle of active labor, having a long, painful contraction, and you walk up to me and say, "Hi, Erin, how are you? Do you prefer jelly beans or jelly bellies?" And, even if I am thinking that this is not a good time to ask me about candy preferences, I would smile and say, "Both!" Because that is how I was made. You always smile, and you are always nice.

But, not my Lije. And, try as I may, I cannot make him be any way other than the way he is. But, if you know him like I do, then you know that underneath that stern, "STOP!" is a silly smiling heart. It is all a game to him. He likes to act all tough and mean, but under it all he is a silly willy little man. I always tell people that his bark is much, much worse than his bite. He is a unique combination of aggression, passion, and preciousness.

I digress. . .

So, he was in his 2 y/o Sunday school class, and the teachers were discussing being thankful. "What are you thankful for?" they asked the children. No volunteers. So, they asked, "Are you thankful for your Mommy?" And, what did my sweet 2 y/o say? My sweet 2 y/o who I cuddle and bathe and love and hold and rock and sing to and read to and push on the swings and make cupcakes for and kiss his boo-boos and smile when he tee tees, what did that sweet son of mine say?

"NO!"

(And, he could have just left it at "NO!" but he did not, he had to add. . .

"No, my mommy locks me in the house!"

WHAT?

No, I have not nor will I ever lock my children in the house nor out of the house nor in their room for that matter!!! What is up with that?

Well, I'll tell you. Reminiscent of this. . .

It was about two weeks ago now, and I had just picked up JCT at preschool. I was hauling everybody and everything from the van to the house. It was nap time, and I was ready for a little peace. I had Erik Daniel on my hip (thankfully). I took my first load of things inside ~ diaper bag, etc., and everyone followed me into the house. I set my things down and headed back to the van for a second load of things ~ Erik Daniel still on my hip and JCT at my side talking nonstop about all that happened at preschool that morning. As I am shuffling through bags and mail in the passenger seat of the van JCT comes up to me and says. . .

"Elijah locked us outside."

Not again, Lord, not again. Will all my children have to lock me outside?? I forget about the bags in front of me and head straight for the backdoor. I check it. It is locked. Elijah's little red-headed self is smiling his silly, cheesy grin, proud of himself.

"Open the door," I say. Well, he tries, and he can't. I keep asking him over and over. He keeps trying, but can't seem to do it. So, I go look for the spare key. . . not in it's hiding place. My cell phone is in my diaper bag inside the house. We try the other doors ~ with the hope that one of them will be easier for him to unlock. Nope. For a good 20 minutes, I stand there trying not to panic. I wanted to go to a neighbor's house and use her phone, but I didn't want to leave my 2 y/o alone. I knew he was scared, so I stayed and eventually he figured out how to unbolt the door.

Now nearly every time we come home from anywhere, he says as I am unlocking the backdoor, "Mommy, I pwomise not to lock the door. I pwomise, Mommy."

So, there you have it. I was not the one doing the locking ~ Lijah was. And, the funny thing is that things like this happen so routinely around our home that I'm not even sure if I told Erik about it right away. My life is crazy, crazy, crazy!!! But, I wouldn't trade it for anything! He assigned me my portion and my cup, and I love it!!!!!!

Watch Out David Crowder!!

It is a glimpse into the craziness that is my life! And, people wonder why it takes me a while to return phone calls!!!! I love this video because it is so Elijah, so, so, so Elijah right now. He is loud and he is confident.

Birthday Party X 2

We had a few close friends and family over to our home last weekend to celebrate Elijah's second birthday and Erik Daniel's first birthday. And, here are a few pics of the special evening. Here are the cakes. The "e" cake and the dump truck were Elijah's cakes, and the number 1 cake was Eriky D's special cake.


I have made a lot of cakes for my sons over the years ~ many of which have been 3 dimensional. But, for some reason the "e" cake was my husbands favorite cake of any that I have ever made! Go figure! The number 1 cake was very fun to decorate. I cut out tin foil circles and lay them on the cake then iced around them. I added the colored icing last. Super easy, and I thought it turned out cute!


In the truck I just put chunks of chocolate cake layered with a chocolate pudding and cream cheese mixture. And, I had to throw in some gummy worms for fun!!! :-)

Now, I could eat him up. . .


Mommy and her big boy!


The Grill Master! :-)


Pretty girls. . .


My sweet Mommy and me. . .


Lijah blowing out his candle. . .


I did what Kate (of Jon and Kate) does for her sextuplets. We sang "Happy Birthday" twice ~ once to Lije and once to Eriky D.

Elijah likes cake, oh, yes ma'am, he does like cake. . .



Pop and Joshua. . .

Pop and Eriky D. . .


The one and only. . . James Christofer Truett! (I love that kid!)

Special friends. . .

Cutie Quin was all partied out. . .

This is Erik Daniel with his friend Sam (see picture below). We put them together in Erik Daniel's play-yard. The only problem was that Erik Daniel kept bopping sweet Sam on the head. My sweet and gentle baby boy bopping his friend on the head. . .

Doesn't Sam have gorgeous eyes!!!! But, in between every couple of bops, Eriky D. would stop and kiss him on top of his head!!! He's a lover not a fighter!!!! :-)


I must end with a little brother-love! These two have a special bond! I love it!

So sweet!

Leaders, Confrontations, and an Upgrade

I haven't been posting as often lately, and I think the reason for that is two-fold. On one hand we are busy. Erik is in and out of town taking care of his parents. The boys have a summer agenda which consists of lots of outdoor play. And, we had Vacation Bible School at our church last week ~ the boys attended and I helped with crafts.

And, on the other hand, I am going through a kind of funny stage right now.

If I have learned anything about parenting in the last 6 years, it is that it comes in stages, phases, or whatever you want to call them. Some stages are sweet, some are fun, some are trying, and some are downright difficult. And, right now the testosterone level in this house is wearing me out! I don't consider myself to be a leader. Deana B. would argue with me on that, but I think it is true. And, I have four little wanna~be leaders growing up under me, and I am learning how to handle them ~ how to handle myself. All my life I have fought to avoid confrontation at all costs, and now I am facing confrontations all day everyday.

Little boys.

God made them with the desire to lead, to conquer, to fight, and to protect. Those are wonderful things when they are under His direction. But, harnessing them, channeling them is a huge challenge ~ one that I didn't see coming. But, I am attempting to adjust, to get my barrings, to figure this thing out ~ if that is possible.

All that to say, I have been a bit distracted from the computer lately! But, hey, speaking of leaders, my number 3 boy has a new thing that he likes to say to aggravate his big brothers. He walks up to them, puffs his little chest out as big as he can, and says in his loud, deep, raspy voice, "I da BOSS of dis house." This angers his big brothers who argue that Daddy is the boss of the house. But, Elijah, unrelentingly repeats his little phrase over and over, all the while smiling overcomingly as he fuels their anger. He loves it. They hate it. And, these sorts of things go on all day long within the walls of our sweet home!

So, here is Lijah in two pictures that I like to call. . .

The Upgrade. . .

This summer Erik Daniel has taken over the baby swing, and Elijah has upgraded to a big boy swing. And, he is oh, so proud of himself!!! Can you tell??

Just Call Me the Llama Mama

I'm just not sure how to take this. . .

I bought this really fun farm animal book for Elijah at Barnes and Noble a few months ago. He loves farm animals, and his favorite thing on earth for me to do is to quiz him on animals and the lovely sounds that they make.

So, a few days ago I was quizzing him on the animals in this cute little book. We finally came to the llama section. I pointed to the llama in the picture and asked, "What is this animal?"

He answered, "Mama."

I said, "No, llama. LLLLlama."

He said, "MMMMama."

"Not a Mama, Lij, it's a Llama."

"It's a Mama!" He said adamately.

A simple mistake, you say?

Now, here is why I was not so crazy about his confusion. . .

This is the picture I was pointing to. . .

I'm really trying to tell myself that he is just having trouble pronouncing the "ll" in llama! But, a little laughing voice in my head said that maybe, just maybe, the picture reminded him of his own mama!!! :-)

I guess I shouldn't let it get to me. After all, when I asked him what animal this was. . .

He said, "Dat's Rain!" (Our weimeraner!) :-) And, I must admit the long ears do look a bit like our sweet dog's ears!

As we read along, Lijah got so excited that at one point he jumped back and hit the back of his head against the bone just under my eye. And, for a moment, just a moment, I thought that I might go to church on Mother's Day with a black eye given to me by my sweet 2 year old son!!!

Now that would have been a good story!!!

Not that we need another good Lijah story. We have plenty, and I have a feeling that there are many more to come. Life is never boring with little Lij around!!!

Simple things. . .

It's the simple things, right?

Yeah, it is. And, I am not talking about sunsets and pitchers of ice cold lemonade.

No, I am talking about empty laundry hampers, clean toilets - void of little boy tinkle stains, actually being able to sit down for a meal, a solid night of sleep, uncluttered counters and floors, the ability to wear a shirt without peanut butter, pureed sweet potatoes, or spit up on it, the ability to slowly sip a hot cup of coffee on a Saturday morning, an uninterrupted adult phone conversation ~ w/o having to hide in the closet (you know you've done it, too! :-), time to actually use a blow dryer on my hair, and. . .

the ability to take a shower without fear.

Yesterday was absolutely beautiful, thus we played outside for hours! We went out in the morning and then again for several hours in the afternoon. All that to say, I had the great desire to take a quick shower before we went to church that evening. So, I corralled the boys and brought them in around 5 to feed them an early dinner and to get them ready to go. After I fed those sweet hungry little animals, I took them upstairs to play.

Erik and I have gotten quite comfortable letting the 3 older boys play upstairs alone with the baby gate up to keep Elijah from wandering down the steps. Our stairs are hardwood and the foyer floor is stained concrete. It has all the makings of an ER visit, thus the baby gate.

So, I put the baby gate in place, and I had a little talk with Joshua. I told him that Mommy wants to take a very quick shower, and that I will come up as soon as I get out and dressed.

With that done, I stepped over the baby gate, and went downstairs with Erik Daniel in my arms. I placed him in his crib in our room with a few toys. Then, I took the monitor that monitors Joshua and JCT's room into the master bath and turned it on. After that, I proceeded to take a quick shower all the while trying desperately to discern whether what I was hearing was laughter or loud talking or yelling or crying. I cut my quick shower short and was pleased to hear that it was laughter coming from the monitor ~ loud belly laughs with long sighs in between followed by another uproar of hysterical laughter. At first, I was relieved. . . but then I began to think. . .

Laughter isn't always a good thing when coming from little boys. . .

Then, I heard JCT say, "He's stepping in it! He's stepping in it!!!" And, that sealed it for me. This could not be a good thing. I grabbed my towel, wrapped it around me, and took off like a shot into the foyer and up the stairs to see what "he" was stepping in. I knew who "he" was ~ no doubt. Elijah has replaced JCT as "the one." I didn't even look as I passed our double front door windows to see if any of our neighbors were walking their dogs and happened to see me dash upstairs in a towel. As I reached the newel post, I yelled up, "JOSHUAAAAA, WHAT IS SO FUNNY????" I was met by 3 not laughing little boys at the baby gate. It didn't take me long to figure out what "it" was. . .

All I had to do was follow one of two things. . .

A.) the diaperless 2 year old with a bottom in need of wiping. . .

or

B.) the little brown footprints on the sisal carpet leading straight to a dirty diaper in the middle of the big boys room.

Enough said.

So, as I cleaned, resolved, wiped, and bathed all effected areas while constantly adjusting and readjusting my towel with my hair piled on top of my head and mascara running down my face, I smiled to myself. My, has my life changed. Or, should I say. . .

My, has my life changed me. . .

Gone are my diva days. . .

Now I clean poo poo footprints off carpet and tinkle stains off toilets, and, occasionally, vomit off big brother's hair after little brother woke up in the middle of the night and threw up on his head, and I don't even flinch.

But, you want to know the truth?

I'm glad.

I don't want to be a diva. I would much rather be the me that I am today than the me I was 6 years ago. They make me better. These crazy wild little Indian boys. . . They make me better.

And, you know what, I am thankful for tinkle stained toilets. Well, not so much for the tinkle stains themselves, but for what they represent. . .

Little boys.

Little boys who think that their sweet God in all His infinite wisdom blessed them with their very own toy hose!

It really is the simple things, you know?

Picking up the Pace. . .

Life has seriously picked up the pace on our family lately. Most of this is due to the Easter Musical at our church ~ lots of practices, lots and lots of practices. And, since Erik, Erik Daniel and I are all in the musical, the entire family goes to every rehearsal. Every year follows the same pattern beginning in the fall. Fall is Erik's most busy season ~ football games on some Thursday nights (Jr. College) and every Friday night (High school). Then, Basketball season hits, and it is less busy because there are far less injuries on the basketball court than on the football field. Then after basketball season is the Easter musical, and after the Easter musical, it is time to rest easy for a few months!! Yay!!! I can't wait! We are almost there!

Here are a few snapshots from our weekend. . .

Does Erik look like Jesus? He has been growing his beard and hair for several months now!

Joshua dressed himself like his Daddy on his own. It only took me like 2 hours to notice that he had changed his clothes to be twinkies with Daddy. I'm seriously not observant. Anyway, they are cute with their little Carolina shirts and Hoosier shorts. Some might not appreciate the combination, but I rather like it ~ my heritage meets my man. A marriage made in heaven!

And, speaking of basketball. . .

It is almost time for Final Four Weekend!!! Woo hoo! I cannot tell you how hard I cheered for MSU ~ almost as hard as I did for UNC. Except I didn't really cheer for UNC because we were in Easter Musical practice. :-( So, my sweet mommy kept me posted on the game by texting me every few minutes with updates. My heart raced every single time I felt my cell phone vibrate! I like Izzo, and I had to route for the Big 10! Yay, for them! But, honestly I hate to see anybody lose this late in the dance. I felt especially sorry for Louisville because I really thought they were going to win it all, and I know that they did, too.

Enough already. . .

Have I ever mentioned that I LOVE little boys!!!! I do! I absolutely adore them!!!! And, here is one reason why. . .

I mean, really, Superman in a diaper on a tractor in red cowboy boots! It just doesn't get anymore little boy than that! And, I LOVE little boys!!!!!!

I picked up these pjs for Lijah at Wally world the other day, and he, of course, wanted to put them on immediately! They even have a velcro-on cape! How adorable! I think his big brothers were jealous, but it didn't come in their sizes!!!!

Oh, and this week Erik's brother's family is coming to visit! So, I'll be back next week sometime! I will have 8 children and 4 adults under my roof this week!! Crazy fun! But, shhhhh, don't tell my boys! I'm surprising them! I can't wait to see their faces when that their sweet cousins have come for a visit!!!!!!!!!!

And, I'll end with a picture of JCT. . .

Snapshots of the morning. . .

Here we go, back at it once again! After a week of play, I woke up this morning ready to get our life back into some kind of working order.

Yeah, right.

Everything in me wants to throw my hands up and not even attempt to work until the kids are out of the way, and I can truly focus on the task at hand. But, because that realistically won't happen for years, I have to learn to do things in tiny bite sized increments. And, that is hard for this all or nothing girl ~ especially when my home is completely 100% out of control.

Out. Of. Control.

Lest you think I am exaggerating, may I show you what my laundry room looks like this morning. . .

Pretty bad, huh? Just wait it gets worse ~ check this out. . .








The counters I use to fold and sort 6 family members (3 of which are boys who play in the dirt, mud, and sand :-) worth of laundry on top of ~ yeah, like where did they go? I'm determined to find them this week!


It makes me want to scream, but I am helpless to fix it because I have so many other responsibilities which come first. Having a play week last week was fun, but I am going to pay for it this week!



But, it was still worth it, and I'd do it all over again if I could!!!


Anyway, on a more positive note, look at these cuties watching early morning cartoons. . .






And, this is how I attempted to do my Bible study this morning. . .

Is it any wonder that I am a week behind in my homework?

But, he is an awfully cute distraction wouldn't you say?

Elijah is one of those children who eats everything in sight. And, what I mean by that is. . . if you put 5 grape halves in front of him, he will put all 5 in his mouth at one time. He knows no limits. So, I have to feed him bite by bite. I can put, at most, 3 goldfish on his tray at one time or he will fill his mouth until he gags. So, now that I am solid feeding Erik Daniel, lunch looks like this (except imagine me sitting on the end of the bench feeding one cheeto to Lijah, then one spoon full to Erik Daniel, then one more cheeto to Lijah, then one more spoon full. . . you get the idea!). . .

Oh, and the bowl on Elijah's tray is full of peanut butter. He likes to dip his goldfish in peanut butter. If you could zoom in and look closely at Elijah, you would see that he has pb covering his hands, face, and hair! Ahhhhh!

Such is life with little ones!

Learning to coexist. . .

That is what I call these pictures. If Erik Daniel hopes to learn to crawl one day, then these two little men must learn to be in close proximity. Up until now, I have done everything in my power to keep Elijah as far as possible from Erik Daniel. Elijah is, how do I say this?

Wild.

Crazy.

Unpredictable.

So, when you think of it, will you please say a prayer for Erik Daniel's safety.

Thanks.