Merry Christmas!

Sometimes...

Sometimes I don't mind when my 5-year-old

gets me in the middle of the night

because he wet the bed.

Especially when I tuck him in again and he gives me a sweet smile

(lips closed, eyes crinkly)

and says so very sweetly,

"I love you mom."

I really don't mind that at all.

Guess who...

LOVES the trampoline?

She laughed and laughed.

A cute baby belly laugh that spreads from one person to the next until everybody else is laughing too.

Natalie, Andrew and I were laughing and jumping and laughing with Amelia (James was napping).

Andrew, midst his jumps and laughs, said, "It's so fun to have a laughing baby!"

I really think we'll have to do that again.

I needed a good laugh...

Here is my sweet son Andrew with his Kindergarten class. They are just about to sing a silly song for all us parents who were there at 8:30am to listen to some poetry recitation.

Do you notice anything different about this picture?(besides the graininess...the phone camera had to fill in because I didn't have anything else)



How about this one? Anything stand out? 8:30 comes fast when you are trying to get yourself showered and ready, 4 kids clothed, 3 shoed, 2 diapers changed, a baby fed (so she doesn't cry during poems) and a lunch made.



Notice anything? Our morning was a little crazy getting out the door. But we pulled into the school parking lot just in time. Big sigh of relief.

As I started to unload everyone, Andrew says from the back "Mom, I don't have any shoes!"

Pause.

"Well I guess you'll be saying your poem in your socks!"

Starting to laugh. And I laughed harder as I watched him hop out of the car and walk with his backpack on across the parking lot. In his socks.

He talked to some kids he passed by. In his socks.

I thought maybe we could slip under the radar and nobody would notice my kid came to school without shoes.


But his teacher asked him to take the roll to the office. Then remembered he had no shoes so announced "oh but you don't have any shoes." (laughing harder)

She let him go anyway cautioning him to avoid puddles. Wouldn't want his socks to get wet.

And just in case anybody missed the fact that he didn't have shoes on, as he returned to the classroom he slipped on the paint on the ground in the doorway and slid to the ground. His feet just flew out from under him. I guess that painted cement is slippery in socks. And everybody got to think about that when his teacher announced "Are you ok? It must be slippery in your socks!"


But it didn't bother Andrew one bit. I love that about him.

I have laughed about this until I cried (thanks mom!) thinking about him in his socks amidst all the kids in their shoes. Oh how I needed a good laugh!

Note: I don't have any pictures of him saying his own poem. Even better.

3rd night's the charm

Tonight John is not getting home until later...for the third time (out of four days) this week.

So after I picked Andrew up from tennis tonight I decided a little of this









was in order.

How fun it is to sit here and listen to my kids laughing and playing together. Knowing that there will be no dinner mess to clean up tonight.

Thank you McDonalds.

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Shopping as we know it

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She knows what she wants

Tuesday morning Natalie came into my room dressed in the following:


she had even accessorized with tennis shoes, a matching bow, three bracelets and "pearls".

I think I should hire her as a consultant. Or maybe I could just borrow a bracelet.

Love this girl!

(trying out my blogpress app and picture taken from my phone)

-Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

So many...

...things that I have not been recording!

So many drafts that I have not finished for this blog!

So many other things that have taken over all my waking hours! (see below)

I am needing to play a little catch up here.

To all three readers...indulge me.

A Day of Blessings

Sunday we finally blessed Amelia.

This little girl is a blessing to us every day.

Although she started out rather fussy and basically cried all waking moments, she has turned the corner and is now all smiles and fun. And sweet. And kissable. And as discovered tonight, ticklish.

How in the world can you love somebody so much that you have only known for 3 1/2 months?

This is a pretty typical picture of how things are around here...crazy!

...and sweet (with some crying too)

It was a wonderful day full of family. My parents were in town, and John's family came over that evening for brownies and ice cream...

...and to race around the natural track that circles through our kitchen, entry, and living room.

These older cousins were so cute with Amelia. Waiting their turn to hold her, taking pictures of her with their phones.

We have a lot of blessings around here.

"James, put your hands down...Not up! Down!" We obviously need to work on our ups and downs.

8 years ago today...

I married someone who made me laugh,

who turned my insides to mush at the very sight of him,

and who caused me for the first time to want to turn my whole self over to someone else.

Eight years later and he still makes me laugh like nobody else,

my insides can still get mushy in his presence,

and I have no regrets of becoming his.

I love you John, even more than ever.

Happy 8 Years!

What animal am I?

In a family game of animal charades the other night, John started us off with a lion. Next came Andrew.

He stomped around with a fierce look and a loud growl. His arms scratching at the air.

We guessed. Lion, Tiger, Bear, and then didn't really know where to go from there.

Finally we gave up.

"I'm a T-Rex!"

Yes, he was.

Sums it up

I was asked to bring Amelia into Andrew's primary class soon after she was born. Andrew gave the opening prayer. After blessing everyone to have a lovely day at church, etc. he threw in a very fitting plea for me:

"And bless mom to get more sleep."

Amen.

Constructive Feedback Friday

It is Constructive Feedback Friday at iHeart Faces. I post a picture and get some very welcome feedback!

I took this with my Canon Rebel xTi. ISO 200 f/1.8 1/1000 sec 50 mm

I edited it in Lightroom.

But I have not been happy with the overall look of the pictures I took. The skin tone seems blotchy--especially on her face and eyebrow area, a little too cold on the tone I think, and I can't seem to get a crisp, vibrant look.

And I tried a black and white edit. But not really sure what to do with it. Thanks for any feedback!!

Joy times four

Every time I have another baby, it is a little different.  Not just the baby, the delivery, the pregnancy.  But the whole surroundings.  Because every time I have a baby, there is another little one at home to welcome her.

Andrew came home to two doting parents whose whole universe had not only centered on him throughout the pregnancy (name lists were made before discovering the gender, music was played for his sole enjoyment and enrichment in the womb...), but continued to focus on him after his birth.  Everything was new and exciting.  Everything he did we oohed and aahed and took a picture.

Natalie came home to two doting parents who had considered names before the hospital and who were excited to welcome the first girl, and to an older brother who wasn't too sure about sharing mom's lap and took his spot on that lap everytime I started to feed Natalie.  But he soon was loving her too.  He still took naps in the afternoon, and so there was still some one-on-one time with Natalie and even some alone time for me on occasion.  We were out and about soon after the delivery...why not?  With just one little one to chase and the baby very content in her car seat/stroller we could go and do anything with occasional breaks for feeding. And we took plenty of pictures, but maybe not of everything.

James came home to two doting parents.  But mom admits she didn't really have time to think much about him before he got here.  Of course there were moments when I would think of his arrival and feel so grateful and excited to meet him.  But most of mom's time was spent entertaining, chasing, cleaning up after two little children.  He got as much attention as his parents could give him amidst the busyness.  And some one-on-one attention during night feedings.  But he got non-stop attention from his older brother and sister who were now old enough to appreciate and immediately adore their new baby brother.  Kisses, loves, laughs, dress-ups.  We tried to get out right away with some semi-disasterous results.  And there were not as many pictures. 

And now Amelia.  Name, what name?  Baby, what baby?  Things were pretty crazy around here before she arrived.  And things are still pretty crazy after her arrival.  Granted, I got plenty of just me and baby time in the hospital.  And even this week with John home, I have found that I have some precious moments with her.  But that will change next week.  She has come home to a full house.  A home full of laughing, playing, make-believe, and yes, crying, fighting and some screaming (mostly done by the kids, not the mom...mostly).

But amazingly, I feel like the excitement and joy surrounding each child just gets greater each time.  Not that we are more excited over one child vs. another.  But the amount of total joy increases each time.  

With the first child, all the joy surrounding the birth is centered on only that child.  With each additional child, I feel that the joy is magnified.  Because now it's not just about the one child, but about each child and his interaction with the new baby.  

I was thrilled to hold Amelia for the first time, love looking into her beautiful eyes with my face next to hers, love rubbing my cheek on her soft head, feeling her body breathe as she lays curled up on my chest.  Every noise she makes, every face she makes I am admiring and loving.  

But I can't explain the joy I felt when these kids came to see the baby for the first time. 

Look at their faces.

And look at all those "aminals."  Natalie has some pretty lipstick on.

They were so excited. 

And just loving her.

Andrew was so excited he could hardly stand it.  He held Amelia, kissed her head with a little kiss and whispered, "I love you" into her little ear.  I get teary just thinking about it.

Natalie must have exclaimed "She's SOOO cute" 100 times.  At least.  She held her and held her and held her.  She rubbed her head with her little hand.  She covered her with blankets and made sure she had her bunny that had been given to her.  And everything Amelia did, Natalie made sure we all knew about it as she let out an exclamation of delight and announced, "She just did _____!"

James showed off his language skills and exclaimed "baby" over and over as he destroyed the room.  But he did get in a few "soft" pats on her head.  As they were all gathered around John holding her in a very tender moment, James leaned in, smiled, said "baby" and spit on her head.  Since we have been home, he has been constantly gifting Amelia with different stuffed animals and kisses "mmm--aaa" to her head.

And this warm feeling of joy continues to fill my heart every time one of the kids wants to hold Amelia, or wants to show her to her friends, or gets excited over something she is doing, or just stops by to give her a little kiss to her head or whisper something in her ear.

Joy now times four.

I feel so blessed.

Even when the nurse came in to see why there were loud banging noises coming from my room during each family visit.  Weren't those rolling stools put in the rooms for children to push each other around on?