While dad's away...

The kids will play!  Well, they play everyday anyways, but we managed to do ok and have some fun while daddy was away.  Even though we missed him.

We went on walks with the neighbors.  1 mile the first night and 1 1/2 the second night.  Miss A walked (nearly) all of it.  The first night she ran.  The second night it was much cooler and she stuck close to me.  Miss F liked the walk too.

All bundled up and ready to go.

Little Miss F was having a hard time getting to sleep.  We Face Timed with daddy and snuggled and then she slept all night in her own bed.  I think she was missing her dad.  She sure loves her people.

Miss A climbed into bed early the first morning and said "more daddy" while signing "more" and then saying "my daddy gone."  As much as she was very clear that she missed him she held up quite nicely.

Miss E had been looking forward to having SO friends over to watch the movie Outbreak for quite a while.  One of her Science Olympiad events the last 2 years has been Disease Detectives (epidemiology).  We had a great group of friends and lots of treats.

I'm thankful that this assignment does not involve too many trips away from home.  When they do happen I'm all the more thankful for the sweet community that God has placed us in.

Memorial Day

Ah, Memorial Day.  Not just an extra Monday off to BBQ and party.  It's a day to remember those that died in service to our nation.  We gathered with friends from a couple of churches for this day of remembrance.

Military Roll was called.  While several past and present Military service men in attendance were able to answer 31 men and women were not present to answer.  They died in defense of our nation, rights and freedoms between last Memorial Day and today.  It can be so easy to take all of this for granted, we must not.  When we remember the lives given we also remember Him that gave the ultimate sacrifice.  Christ not only gave His life, but also suffered the wrath of God to pay our debt so that we may live eternally with Him.

Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.

John 15:13

It's not shrubbery!

If you've seen Monty Python and the Holy Grail then you know about needing to go get a shrubbery.  If you've never seen it you can just skip this post or go watch the movie and come back to this.  Oh, I guess you could just laugh along anyways. :)

We recently let the older kids watch the movie.  Shortly after watching Mr. M was chasing and tickling the little kids.  They were having so much fun together.  At some point he told them he would stop chasing them if they would bring him a shrubbery.  "What's a shrubbery?"  He told them it was the big green exercise ball downstairs.  They got him his shrubbery and the game was over.  End of story; or so it would seem....

Miss A discovered my purple exercise ball which looked remarkably like what she thought was a shrubbery.  She brought it to me and said "it's shrubbery!"  Quite proudly.  Miss E and I laughed so hard and then corrected her. "No, it's not shrubbery.  Shrubbery is green"  For the last 4 days or so we've had the same conversation over and over again.  She brings me the purple ball and says "It's not shrubbery.  Shrubbery is green.  This not shrubbery."  All said in the sweetest, most serious 2 1/2 year old voice you can imagine.

Oh my goodness!  This girl keeps us laughing!

*This is posted so that years from now I can look back and remember and get another good laugh from this. 

Oh this girl!

Miss A keeps us on our toes!  Someone recently commented that we seem to have become a full on coffee drinking family (I'm not talking those fluffy mocha/latte type drinks...full on COFFEE).  I replied that as long as Miss A is in our home, I'll likely be a coffee drinker.  I need the extra boost!

She recently went on a milk drinking binge.  It was nice that she was able to get the milk out of the refrigerator and bring it and the sippy cup to us for re-fills.  Then she decided to bypass the sippy.  I'm glad the jug was mostly empty at that point.

We've had some very busy days and she's been holding up very well.  One day she was her usual playful self, then I watched her grab her pacie and crawl onto the couch.  She was OUT in a matter of seconds and stayed asleep for a couple of hours....even with our family going about business as usual all around her.  She plays hard and sleeps hard.  WHEN she sleeps.

She LOVES Miss F.  She is very gentle with her, but still Miss F is not quite sure what to think.

Miss A is always busy.  Somedays more than others.  She recently had a particularly eventful morning.  She'd helped herself to 2 bananas.  Asked a brother to make her a bowl of oatmeal (which he did, and she gobbled it up).  Then we made her an egg.  All of this in less than an hour; then she says "I huh-he mama"  What does she do with all of that food?  Well it seems that she needed the energy after having taken the sheets AND the mattress off of her bed....TWICE!  That's along with the normal playful two-year-old-activities she'd been up to that morning...you know like changing her outfit 3 times.  All before 8 am.

She finally decided on her swim dress.  "It petty"

This girl keeps us laughing all the time.  Her joyful, creative, independent spirit may keep us on our toes, but we wouldn't have it any other way.

2 months!

These 2 months with Miss F have just flown by.  She is growing very well weighing in
at 11 pounds 7 ounces.

We're loving the big smiles she gives.  She's trying to talk to us and she even tries so hard to get little laughs out.  She is already bringing so much joy to our home.

Miss F is NOT a cuddle bug.  She prefers to be able to watch all of the action going on around here from her bouncy seat, swing, or facing out when in someones arms.  She's very much like her oldest sister in that way.

I'm loving that Miss F is such a great sleeper.  Most nights she sleeps about 7 hours a night.

May the fourth be with you!

The kids thought they had come up with a great excuse to eat junk food and watch movies all day....a Star Wars marathon.  All. Day. Long.  I told them that was a great idea.  Maybe they could invite some friends?  I had them make up a shopping list and e-mail out an invitation.

They cleaned up the house.  Then they baked and prepped all of the snacks.  There were other obligations that morning, so they had to use time management skills.  Once their friends arrived they played host/hostess.  I suggested they pull out the Star Wars Mad Libs, and they ended up doing 5 of them.  Yeah, I called it a school day. :)

The little kids spent much of their time playing with playdoh.  The Star Wars set.

They took a break for a water fight and to wash a friend's car.  I don't think we made it through all of the movies, but it was a great day.

Happy Birthday Mr S!

Ah, the end of April.  We had our last (hopefully) blizzard before spring came to stay.  When Mr. S was born on a sunny day in Florida I never imagined we'd ever be celebrating his birthday in a blizzard.  We had known the forecast and the plan had been to get out and go shopping for his birthday food on Saturday once the snow stopped.  We got out in the van ok, but (thanks to the wind) we got stuck in a drift coming home.  Fun!

These two had so much fun together while we were shopping.  They're not always like this, but more often than not they really are like best buddies.

We opened gifts.  Mr S was super excited to get gift cards to many of his favorite places.

Since it hadn't been too hard to get the van unstuck and the truck can generally get in and out ok we decided to take him on his birthday date.  We had a great time taking him out for Chinese food.  After eating we took him shopping for some treats to share with his brothers and sisters at home.  When we got home the truck got stuck in the drifts.  The wind was causing more trouble than the initial storm did.  Yikes!  We decided it would be best to stay in for the next day or two while the snow melted. :) 

Mr S has such an energetic and outgoing personality.  He makes friends easily and usually has a smile on his face. He's a creative guy.  Life is always an adventure with this guy and we look forward to seeing what adventures God has in store for him as he continues to grow and learn.