I Guess He Can Stay

For our first child the nursery and crib were set up and ready to go months in advance of the blessed arrival...We've slacked off some since then. We did have this graciously donated crib set up (in the corner of Joe's room) before Daniel was born, but I had yet to buy the bedding. Well, I found a cute bumper and crib skirt set on eBay, and decided, yeah, maybe we'll need that. So Daniel now has his own bed, with sheets and everything. I guess he's officially in the family.

By the way, this wasn't a moment too soon. This is how Daniel was sleeping in his cradle.

Happy Birthday, Baboo!

My mom, aka "Baboo", celebrated her sixty-first birthday last month. We had the traditional apple pie. It looked a little prettier than last year's but tasted awful! A word to the wise: Even if your little apple variety chart says that Gala apples are "excellent" for pies, don't do it! Shoulda' used Macintosh.

My Boys

The Nap

A full week of all day Kindergarten, and this is how Ellie spends her Saturday afternoons. She's really doing great with school. No complaints, and she comes home chattering about every little thing that happened. The only way we know she's tired is the raw emotion, usually in the form of tears, when something goes wrong. Little things, like dropping a cracker on the floor, have caused moaning and wailing enough to make me think she'd broken her arm! And the thing is, in my sleep-deprived state, I totally understand.

Sing, Sweet Nightingale

Some things are just so much more fun when you're a kid! I guess at this age, it's easier to imagine that you really are Cinderella.

Vintage

Sometimes "vintage" is a good word... Our computer crashed last month (first time ever!), and we had to take it to an Apple store where I had an appointment with one of their "geniuses" to see if he could get us back up and going. As soon as he saw our computer he told us that it was "vintage", and I thought, "cool". Then I learned that "vintage" is just a nice way of saying "if your hard drive is gone, we can't replace it". Thankfully, our genius came through for us and was able to repair our hard drive without losing any of our stuff (most of which wasn't backed up). He told me I should thank my lucky stars...I don't believe in lucky stars...It was the hand of God. He also told me to run, not walk, and buy an external hard drive, so that when this seven-year-old dinosaur crashes for good, all our "stuff" will be safe and sound.

My technological education comes in spurts, probably because I have no interest in "pushing the envelope". If it does what I want it to do, great. If it's not broke, I ain't fixin' it. Then it does break, and I have to get a bunch of new stuff in my head, just to make things work again. Fortunately, I found a very knowledgeable and helpful guy at Best Buy (Can you believe it?!) and he got me all set up with my new external hard drive. I just feel so up-to-the-minute. Please don't burst my bubble.

Yoga is Yummy!

My Taylor roommate, Polly (Pol), has recently started a blog called Yoga is Yummy, which is well-worth the read. Pol is very passionate about Jesus Christ, her family, her friends, good nutrition, and yoga. Not to mention, she has more energy than anyone I know (except my son...It's a tie there, which still says a lot!)

Polly and I roomed together for three years at Taylor, and I know she was a gift from God. I can't imagine what college would have been like without her. I also give her all the credit for helping keep my abs so flat with all of our laugh sessions! I had a great time looking through my pictures trying to find some to put here. I've picked some good ones, but I'm just skimming the surface. She just made everything so FUN! The giraffe one is fun because it made me think of the "rainbow disaster", which Polly will understand. The picture of us in the masks is just classic, but I don't know what's funnier, the masks or the "Little Mermaid" poster on the wall behind us. What were we thinking?!

THE Little Twirly Dress

When Ellie was in her "dresses-only" stage a couple years ago, I bought this little number at WalMart. It soon became her favorite, and she wore it almost every day the summer that she was three. When I packed it away at the end of that summer, I was already looking forward to seeing it again when Erin was three. It has been Erin's favorite dress, too, which has only added to its sentimental value. So here we are, approaching the end of the summer, and I know that soon I'm going to have to pack it away, this time, for good. I know I'll heave a pretty hefty sigh as I do. It will probably end up going into the box reserved for the most special clothes, which I will keep. Not a bad fate for a little $7 dress from WalMart.

Little Bookworm

While the older kids have been out in the backyard swimming, Daniel has been catching up on his reading.

OK, laugh at the over-achiever parents!

What $10 Will Buy (at the End of August)

Last week, while cleaning our inflatable backyard pool, I accidentally broke a hole in the bottom, which sent me on an errand to find some sort of kit to patch the hole. Unfortunately, I didn't find a patch kit. Fortunately, I did find a much bigger pool on the end-of-summer clearance rack. So now the kids can all fit in the pool and there's still room to move! I did have some difficulty getting this thing blown up. After struggling with a little handheld pump all afternoon, Matt came home and showed me how our shop vac could do the same job in about a minute...just love it when that happens! It was all worth it, though, as the kids think this pool is paradise...and I'm the nicest Mommy ever for getting it!

One Month Old!

Daniel celebrated his on month birthday on Sept. 2. I'm going to try to take his picture on his monthly birthdays sitting next to this bear, so we can see how he changes over his first year. He's still pretty flopsy, as this picture shows, but he is definitely growing. He probably weighs 11 or 12 pounds now and has outgrown his 0-3 month clothing...without even wearing most of it! I think his eyes might just stay blue. His coloring reminds me a lot of Erin's and her eyes were blue until until they turned green at 18 months old. Daniel's personality continues to be easy-going. We're just thoroughly enjoying him!

Little Mommy

Some people say "little mommy" jokingly, but Ellie has taken it to heart. When she gets home from school, the first thing she tells Daniel is, "Your little mommy is home now." I think all the attention is making a difference. Daniel does seem to follow her with his eyes and will turn his head toward the sound of her voice.

New Blogs!

I'm thrilled to announce that there are two new blogs out there, whose creators I can claim as friends and family.

My cousin, Meredith, has a blog called A Little Bit of Boggs. It's so funny...Meredith was a toddler at a time when I was fascinated by toddlers, so I really thought she was something special. Now she has a toddler of her own!

A good friend of mine has also started a blog about herfamily, The Wagner Family. Amy was at Taylor with me, then we taught on the same team for four years in VA. She lives in GA now, and we actually spent some time with her family there this summer. I love knowing people through different stages of life!

If you get a chance stop by these blogs, just to say hi!

Ellie's First Day!

Ellie is officially a schoolgirl now! She had her first day of kindergarten yesterday, and all went well. As she left in the morning, she was very excited and "just a little bit nervous". You would never know it, though. Doesn't she just exude confidence in these pictures?! Fortunately that HUGE Hello Kitty backpack is almost empty, so she managed to walk to her class and proceeded to have a great day. She loved art class and meeting the other girls in her class (it was girls only for their first day). I knew she'd do fine, but still, I was praying all day and was so thankful that we have a God who is in control of each little detail of life.

The Last Girly Day

Because the kindergarten had a "staggered start", we had a few more days where the girls were home together without Joe. Monday was the last day, and we tried to make it fun. I think this is the hardest part about sending Ellie to school. The "girly days" chapter just seems way too short.

Kindergarten Orientation

Ellie's kindergarten orientation was last week and was a complete success! Kindergarten launches are EVER SO much easier the second time around. She will be in Mrs. C's room just like her brother was last year. I'm so thankful for that!

First Day of First Grade!

Joe had his first day of first grade last week. He was much more comfortable with the whole school thing this year, and wasn't event hat nervous about having a different teacher. We know he's in good hands with Mrs. S., and it hasn't been hard for him to hook up with his friends from last year during lunch and recess. It has been terribly hot, and our school isn't air-conditioned. We actually had an early release one day last week, which I thought was very kind of the powers-that-be.

Matt also went back to school last week. He "looped" up to fourth grade with his class this year, so it made for a nice transition. He said it was his easiest start of the school year yet. That's probably why he and Daniel look so relaxed in this picture!

Cute-T's!

Check out these fun T-shirts! I got the idea from Family Fun magazine. At the top they say "Summer Fun 2007", then each kid has six pictures featuring their favorite summer activities. I used the iron-on transfer paper that works for an inkjet printer. They came out really cute, and the kids just love them!

One For My Brother

I don't know how often my brother stops by the blog, but I just got a great picture that I wanted to post in honor of him. As we were getting ready for bed last night, Erin and Ellie asked if it would be OK for Daniel to sleep in their room in one of their doll cradles. He's obviously too big but was a good sport about it anyway. I thought of Luke who grew up with two sisters about this much older than him...now we know why he is the way he is! Way to go on making it to adulthood, Luke!

Cuteness

Our little "king of cuteness" went five hours between feedings last night! This means that I got four hours of uninterrupted sleep (which is so much better than two)! I felt like a new woman! I hope he can repeat the performance tonight...

We also want to wish our niece, Megan, a happy birthday today! As you can see from this picture, our kids love to be with Megan, and she always takes an interest in their little worlds. We love her for being such a kind, fun-loving, "adventurey" kind of gal. She's very cute, too, so I guess she fits into this post just fine. We hope her day is a special one!

Four Peas in a Pod

Daniel - Aug., 2007

Erin - Feb., 2004

Ellie - Feb., 2002

Joseph - June, 2000

Walk in the Park

Matt went back to school today, unofficially, to work in his classroom, which left me home alone with all four kids for the first time. I'm happy to say that we had a great day, which all began with an outing to the park in the morning. I just love walking behind my kids as they run, jump, and skip down the sidewalk to the park. As I follow them, marveling at their energy and overwhelmed with how much I love them, I always become sentimental and am just so thankful for another day to seize. I wish I had a picture to share here, but I forgot my camera...better that than the baby, I figure. The weather was beautiful, the first day we've had that is starting to hint that summer could come to an end. We had the whole playground to ourselves, and we played hide and seek. Then the kids got into a pretty elaborate game about good guy and bad guy castles, and the mulched area was water, so they couldn't walk there, etc. It just felt good to be the mom and to be truly enjoying the same stuff my kids were. What a beautiful morning!

Here's a completely unrelated picture. I just wanted to show what Daniel looks like with his eyes open.

Mother of Four

So here we are one week ago...


This week has flown by, and I know it's because I'm having so much fun. Isn't it amazing how aches, pains, and exhaustion can be so insignificant when you are falling in love with a newborn? Daniel's labor and delivery were my easiest ever, (checked into the hospital at midnight and at 4:19 am, he was born) and he continues to be a delightful baby. He eats and sleeps, fusses when we change his diaper, and more and more now is staying awake for short periods of time. The jury is still out on his eye color, but he definitely looks like he fits our family mold. His brother and sisters are still enthralled with him, although Joe is ready for him to be big enough to play.

It's been such a blessing to have Matt home all week. He is definitely one of the most helpful husbands on the planet! We've also been well taken care of by neighbors, friends, and family. (You should see the list of thank you's I need to write!) It's made for a nice transition to a family of six. Then just when I'm starting to think, "This isn't so bad," I remember, "Oh yeah, I haven't cooked all week." Maybe next week will be the true test...

And those are the ramblings of the sleep-deprived for tonight. I'm off to bed (for a couple hours, anyway).

Here He Is!

Great is his love toward us, and the faithfulness of the Lord endures forever!

~Psalm 117:2


With thanksgiving, we announce the birth of
Daniel Matthew
August 2, 2007
9 pounds, 11 ounces
22 inches

We're all doing well, and no one can seem to get enough of this little guy!

Happy Birthday, David Paul!

Today is the birthday of our nephew, David, the talented two-fisted-s'more-eater pictured here. We would have loved to have our baby share a birthday with this great guy, but I guess it wasn't meant to be. David is a nephew who's easy to be proud of because he truly strives to use his abilities to honor the Lord. He's headed to college this fall to study engineering and missions. What a neat combo! Another great thing about David is that he's better at playing with our kids' toys than they are. He creates some really amazing structures with building toys, like these tinkertoys. We send "D.P." our love and best wishes today!

Glory

"...whatever you do, do all to the glory of of God."
1 Corinthians 10:31b

Camping

After church today we headed down to a nearby State Park where Matt's parents are camping for a couple weeks. Matt's brother's family came down, too, and it made for a really fun afternoon and evening. The kids swam at the beach with their cousin, Nathan, who is much-loved, then took a boat ride. After cooking a supper of "pudgie pies" over the fire, we had a surprising amount of fun with some rocket balloons. Last of all, of course, we made s'mores. (Found out that Erin prefers hers without marshmallows or graham crackers.) The perfect summer outing! Thanks, Grandma and Papa!

New Addition!

Psych! No, this isn't THE new addition. I just wanted to post a picture of our newest pet. After much gentle persuasion, Matt was enticed into letting us bring a kitty home from his parents' farm a few weeks ago. When we arrived at the farm for a visit, Patches had already had a week of being "loved on" by the visiting cousins, and she would still purr when our kids picked her up and flopped her around! I decided, "Nice cat," and Ellie simply fell in love with her. (She is really cute!) So now she's at home in our garage and seems quite happy roaming the yard. So far, so good. I'm glad to say that she is getting lots of love and attention, and I think her prospects look pretty good, as a cat's life goes. Not to mention, Matt got to be the benevolent hero who made his kids' dream of a kitty come true!

As for our other addition, he seems to be quite content where he is for now, although I think I see a full moon up there tonight...Dream on, Bob.

Cruel Parents

Tomorrow we will finish our two-week swimming lessons course here at our local pool, which our kids believe is filled with water sent via pipeline from the Arctic. We like the end of July for lessons because it's usually plenty warm by then, even for the 10:00 lessons. These past two weeks have been unusually chilly and cloudy, though, leading our kids to believe that we simply enjoy torturing them by sending them to lessons each day. I do feel sort of sorry for them because I know how it feels, but they've been pretty strong troopers with it all. Here's a couple shots of them looking their most pathetic this morning as they finished class. Keep in mind that Erin's class is only half as long as Joe and Ellie's, so she has a little more to smile about.

Something Had to Give

Well, the news that was never published on the blog is that we are expecting Baby #4. He's due any day now, and we're all very excited about it. Unfortunately, this pregnancy just zapped me of energy and clarity of thought. I'd never been pregnant at 35 before, and it's definitely different than just a few years ago! Actually, it wasn't so bad as long as I was getting rest, so I cut out the majority of my Internet activity. I hope to be back now, as I really have missed blogging and reading other blogs. Sounds crazy to try to make that commitment when I've got tons of sleep deprivation coming on...We'll see how it goes.

I plan to announce the baby's birth here, so check back if you're curious. He's due August 4, so I'm hoping he'll be born tomorrow...although it doesn't seem likely.

This is what my kids look like now. (My, haven't they grown since the last time I was here!) This is one of my favorite pictures of them now. They look good together, but I think the main thing I like is how still they are standing. We don't get a lot of that these days! I'll try to fill in more of our lives lately as the energy and inspiration hit.

Happy Birthday, Ellie and Caity!

February 28, was Ellie's 5th birthday and the 18th birthday of her cousin, Caity. It's a very special connection for these two. When Ellie was born at 6:52 am, Caity was the first person we called. We caught her just as she was heading off for school and were happy to tell her that we were able to give her just what she had asked for on her 13th birthday! She came to visit in the hospital later that night...


Caity is a very popular cousin, as she is just so fun and playful! We are always happy to have her around at family gatherings, because the kids pester Caity and Matt and I have more time to visit with other adults. Of course, when Caity isn't entertaining kids, the grown-ups also enjoy having someone around whose fun and playful! We send her lots of belated birthday love!

Ellie's birthday party was last weekend and was a very nice time. She had chosen a "pink poodle" theme, which made for some lovely pink and lavender decorations. Her big present was her own two-wheeler, which she is more than ready for. She is anxiously anticipating the first day warm enough to get out and ride! She also got lots of clothes to put on bears and dolls. She's such a sweet little mother!



Ellie took us by surprise five years ago by being the happiest, most content baby I could have imagined! (Actually, after Joe, I would have never thought a baby could be so easy!) I guess the Lord knew we needed one like that as we were in the process of moving and doing our first round of major repairs on our house. She continues to be such a mild-mannered, peaceful child. She's got a wacky side, but she doesn't expect everybody to notice it all the time. She's a great little sister and a great big sister...just delightful. My favorite things about her this year have been reading her stories about "adventurey" girls and singing with her at bedtime until she has the songs memorized and we can sing together. I also love her sense of humor. She often will challenge us to a race after she gets to the finish line. For example, she'll get to the top of the steps, then say, with a smile, "I'll race you to the top!" What a blessing she is to us!

GLOSSY!

The question is... What kind of foolish parents lay their three-year-old down for a nap with a brand new compact of lip gloss right next to her bed?! (She's smiling because she feels so beautiful!)

Happy Birthday, Jeremy!

Today our nephew Jeremy is sixteen years and ten days old, so this is, of course a special day for him. Actually Feb. 15, was probably more special, but we hope he's having a good day today, too. As Jeremy would tell you, there's no one who deserves a better birthday than him, the most humble of all men, and happy to tell you about it! He's great for a laugh, and a talented and kind person to boot. The cross-eyed picture is an old one that we have, and as I have never put it in an album, we come across it in our piles of stuff on the desk periodically. Whenever we do, we just have to laugh, partly because the eye cross is so great and partly because it's this nice, serious family picture where everyone else looks normal and smiley. On this special day, may Jeremy bring everyone a laugh...