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!