A Fun 4th!

Occupying our time with lots and lots of donut holes before the parade started
Our annual 4th of July picture in our matching shirts.


All American Kids!Logan was a little upset when the parade ended.Enjoying some fireworksOur day started out early. We were in the car by 8am, ready to pick up some friends and head to the parade. Jason had picked up dozens of donut holes for the kids to eat while we waited until the parade started. The kids loved the parade. The boys especially liked the tractors, fire trucks, police cars, sirens, golf cart, well, anything with wheels. Hannah had her own likes, but she remembers that Spiderman gave her a Sonic mint. I was excited because we got to have our annual picture in our 4th of July shirts taken. Jason, well, he is not so thrilled about that tradition, but we have come to a compromise. In years past, we have all had matching shirts and I had requested that we wear them all day long, which included the picnic in the afternoon with his co-workers/bosses. He used to get made fun of the following Monday morning by his co-workers. So, I gave in. I only ask that we wear them to the parade then he is free to change, which he does rather quickly. It works out well now, except for all of our friends that know the story and met us at the parade. They still gave him a hard time and I must admit it was funny.

That afternoon we had a little BBQ at our house. Hannah was excited because the Palmer family came into town to visit their family and they were able to spend some time with us that day. Finally a little girl for Hannah to play with. They played dress up, played in the play house, and just acted like little girls. It was fun to see them play together. Their family brought the slip-n-slide, which was a big hit with my children. Such a hit that on Monday when we went to the store, they begged and begged for a slide like Grace and Brady have. Thanks Palmers, I guess we need a slip-n-slide now! After some good food, we packed up the 8 kids and headed out for fireworks. Most of the kids liked them. We were surprised that Luke rather play in all the vehicles versus watch the fireworks. We could not tell if he was too scared or just not interested. Hannah and Logan stared in amazement. It was a great fun day!

If you came to our house.....

Okay, so I realize that this post will take some time to think about, but I challenge you to do it when you have a chance. It allows you to really evaluate what it feels like to walk into your own home...from an outsiders view. I saw this idea on a sweet high school friend, Sarah's, blog. She made her house sound so friendly and warm...if only we lived in the same state I am sure our kids would have a great time! So, take the challenge and if you can, post what your house would look like if we stopped by in the comments section.

IF YOU CAME TO OUR HOUSE...

You would see...
lots of pictures of our kids and our family. I love pictures, probably because my mom was a fanatic about pictures when I was growing up. You would also see lots of toys because we LOVE toys too. If we knew you were coming, you would probably smell the cleaners that were used during the wee hours of the morning before your arrival. Yes, I clean all hours of the night if I know you are coming the next day. It is the only time where the kids are not pulling out things as I clean or it is the only time I know they are not going to bust their head on a freshly mopped floor. It is compulsion that my husband is not too fond of, but I figure as long as I am not complaining the whole next day about being tired, then it works! Now, if you drop in unexpectedly, you enter at your own risk. We try to keep all the toys in the playroom, but they apparently have legs, yes which belong to my 3 kids, and they wonder out.

We'd probably feed you...
a dessert. I love, love, love to bake. I might also try a new recipe on you, but it will probably be one with chocolate of some form.

We'd undoubtedly ask if you would read....
the newest library books that we have checked out. The kids love books and of course think that every one want to read their newest one.

We'd want to play this music for you....
usually we have the radio on during the day, but if you show up, we will turn it off. We realize that with 3 preschool kids, we already have enough noise in the background.

We'd want to tell you the latest about....
our recent trip to Sea World. If we went and played or did something fun that day, you would most certainly hear about it too. Hannah would tell you about getting ready for Kindergarten while Logan would tell you about some type of tractor. Luke would chime in about another tractor. Jason and I might tell you about the progress on our bathroom!

We'd probably suggest a game of....
well, we would not suggest any games because we really don't have much time to play them. Now, the kids, on the other hand, would bombard you with every game in the game closet if they can. They might start with Hi-Ho-Cherry-O, or the Dora Memory Game then of course they would end with the Elephant game where you catch the butterflies.

We might show off...
the progress on the bathroom. Hannah might show you something she has drawn or a craft she has made. Logan and Luke might start to bring out lots and lots of John Deere stuff!

We might get on the computer and show you....
Hannah's webkinz. She has just started to enjoy playing webkinz or pbskids.org

If it was a long enough visit, we might watch....
some of the Planet Earth series. The kids love watching the "animal movie", however we have to monitor and make sure that they are not watching anything that might scare them. Yes, we are pretty strict about what they see right now. No need to add additional fears about animals eating each other or something! If there is not enough time for that, we might show you the new Word World DVD. They love "building words" and I love that it does actually try to teach them.

What would a visit to your house be like? If you have some time, post it in the comments section, if not, at least give it some thought. Our hope is when people walk into our home that they feel welcomed. We want them to know that we care about the people who walk in and that our house is always open to them. We want their kids to love being here, at least that is my excuse to have a playroom full of toys!! Mostly we want them to feel wanted. Our desire is for our house to be a memorable place, somewhere that in the future when we have preteens/teens running around their friends will want to hang out here. Have a great weekend!

Catching Up

Enjoying some popsicles with our neighbors

Our sweet neighbor let them fill the sand box with water!

Luke and his little buddy

Hannah standing in the sand box now filled with lots and lots of water!

Playing in the neighbors pool, muddy and all!

Feeding the ducks again

Taking a ride to the park

At the park feeding ducks again

Oops, Luke got a little carried away being crazy by the water and fell in

Hannah holding a baby bird...another casulity of our dog

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Luke holding the injuried bird

Logan holding the bird too

Everyone wanted to help take care of the bird...and no, we did not keep it!

Luke checking out the snakes at the musuem

Luke and Logan at the petting zoo

Hannah feeding the animals at the petting zoo

So I realize again that I am really behind. Summer is already flying by. Before I know it , my sweet little girl will be gone to school. We are making the most of our summer and suprise, suprise, they are keeping us really busy. Sorry about the mass post of pictures. I will do my best to post in a more timely fashion in the future. For now I will leave you with this one last picture....we drove their vechiles to the park and they had a blast. It was a hilarous sight to see them coming down the side walk. They actually do really well not running into each other considering their ages! Now, they want to drive them all over. Have a great day!

Second Time Around!!

I could not resist, I had to show you this AGAIN. This past week during Hannah and Logan's gymnastics class Luke and I went to feed the geese again. He would ask me, "are they going to eat me?" I replied that they would not eat him but they did want his bread. He even asked if I was going to "kick them in the head" if they tried to bite him. I reassured him that I would protect him, however I guess I did not fully follow through on my promise because once he got brave, he tried to feed them from his hand. Of course you know the rest of the story.....

I guess it did not hurt too bad, he was all smiles shortly after his goose attack!

Five Fabulous Feelings For Friday

This weekend is shaping up to be a nice, relaxing time. Actually I hope that we get a little bit of work done on the bathroom, okay I am not really the one who does the physical work, but you know what I mean. Here are a few things that I am grateful about....

1. We just got home from swimming at a friends house. The kids were so excited and had a blast. It is fun to watch them having so much fun.
2. We have had rain a few times this week. It has been wonderful after such a long time without rain. Really, I just like the Lord shows a little grace to our water bill.
3. We have no plans for this weekend which leaves it wide opened to get a lot done.
4. That I have a husband who can literally fix anything. On Wednesday night our fan motor something went out on our air-conditioner. Jason diagnosed the problem and fixed it as soon as the store opened. The amount of $ that we save because he either knows how to fix it or knows someone who can tell him how to is amazing. Everyone needs a husband or friend like that!
5. Luke is doing well potty training. The #2 has been a hold up for him. At the beginning of the week I almost gave up, but he has made progress. We will keep pushing through this literally!

Prayer for Today

What a difference one year really makes. Last year at this time, we were scared, nervous, worried, and ultimately mourning about our friends situation. I am talking about the Carr Family. For those of you who have not read his blog, you should take a look here. Today marks the one year anniversary of Wendy's death. We have known Matt and Wendy for about 10 years. If my memory is right, they even got married right around the same week as we did. We were involved in the same college ministry, went to the same newlywed Sunday school class, then the same young married class when we were both pregnant with our girls at the same time. They changed churches and we only then "kept up" with them through other friends or when we would run into them around town. However, when we heard what had happened to Wendy, we were devastated. At that time, their kids were 4 years old and 2 1/2 weeks old. I could not wrap my mind around that thought. I spent most of the week just crying when I thought about Matt and their kids. All week, Hannah kept asking what was wrong. Of course I tried to be discrete, but it just was not happening. We had told Hannah all week that Ms. Wendy was very sick. We prayed about it and finally decided to tell Hannah that Ms. Wendy was now with Jesus. I think it hit home so much because our girls were just a few weeks apart and we had known them for so long. This was Hannah's first experience with death. She had so many questions which again made me so sad because I knew that L, Matt's little girl had to have the same or even more questions. Hannah did really well and every night was diligent about praying for L and M, L's little brother. One day when we were driving, out of the blue Hannah said, "Mom, I bet when L sees you that it makes her sad". I asked "why". Then she broke my heart when she answered. She said "because I bet it makes her think that you are her mommy because she misses her mommy". In four year old terms, I knew what she meant. I knew that she meant that seeing other kids with their moms makes her think/wish she had her mom back. There were other times where she just amazed us with her words. One day she said, "I know that everyone is sad about Ms. Wendy, but we should be happy that Ms. Wendy is with Jesus now and her heart is healed". It was BIG at our house. Hannah and Logan, even though he did not understand, talked about it a lot. Again it just made me think of their family. I just thought about how Hannah would be a different little girl if I were gone or if Jason were gone. It did not make me fear death because I would be with the Lord, but it made me worry about the emotional state of our kids if that were to happen. Tragic events change who people are, in my opinion, ALWAYS. It was and still is a very sad situation, however the Lord has placed those two kids with a wonderful dad who seeks the Lord for every step of his day. The family is also surrounded by an amazing support group of family and friends. It has been a testimony of the strength of people praying when we see them at school or around town. Today as you go about your day, remember to pry for them. The Lord continues to use this situation as His people continue to pray!

Happy Fathers Day!

Happy Father's Day to all the daddies. The kids were excited about today. We went out to lunch after church with another family. After debating where to eat, we realized that with 5 kids and 4 adults would be better suited at a small wonderful Mexican food restaurant. Yep, you guessed it....Jason GOT to go to Taco Bueno after church. Okay, really our kids picked it, but he complied. After we got home, the kids gave him his present. I think he knew what he was getting, although he would not admit it because he knew it would make me sad. Even this morning Logan kept telling him that he would not tell him that we got him a "digital". He was right, we got him a digital picture frame for his office. Sorry babe, no power tools this year! The yard was mowed while the kids splashed around in the little pool. We grilled for dinner and again the kids played outside. It was a fun productive day.

Thanks Jason for everything you do to keep our family/home in order. I know that everyone else may have the same opinion of their own hubby, but I have to say that mine is the best around. I appreciate everything that you do for us. You are such a wonderful dad. The kids love playing with you, but at the same time, they know that you will enforce them when needed. I could not have asked for a better daddy and best friend. I love you!

Friday was a little Far From Fabulous

I realized that I did not post my Fabulous Fridays yesterday, but well to be honest we did not have the most fabulous day. I think I have mentioned before that one of Hannah's best friends was moving out of state. Their two kids, a little girl Hannah's age and a little boy stuck right in the middle of my boys, spent the day with us on Thursday while their parents packed and got things ready. We brought them dinner on Thursday night and let the kids play one last time. We had to run something by on Friday morning so they did get to see them again, but well to be as real as I can it was horrible. We have had friends move before. I remember when Hannah was about 5 months old my best friend from college, Danica moved to Russia to be a missionary with her wonderful husband Greg. I was very very sad, but it was a little different. I had just transitioned from working full time before Hannah was born to staying home. Danica did not have any kids and worked full time. I was used to not seeing her during the day. They also did not have any kids that Hannah was "attached" to. This time it hit home more. Hannah and Evie loved playing with each other. They have been friends since they were 2 years old. They have taken ballet together, been in cubbies together,same Sunday School class for the past 3 years, gone to the same bible study every week for years, done more lunches at Chick-Fil-A than I can count, and the list goes on and on. We used to pick up the girls after bible study and they would have lunch planned for us. It was very cute, unless we could not go that day, then it turned into a fit! The boys have loved playing with Walter too. It was a great set up with the genders and the ages. And to top it off, I really enjoyed Jennifer, their mom. She loved the Lord completely and gave great sound advice. I remember after Hannah was born being sad because we mainly had friends that worked full time. Of course I adjusted to having a baby after a few months, got out more, and of course found out that more ladies stayed home than I thought. But it is hard to find that one special family where both the kids and the moms get along well. Jennifer and I were past the hard parts of a friendship. I was not embarrassed when my kids acted up or when I could not control them in public. We always secretly laughed, at the appropriate time of course, at our kids. It was a great friendship. I think that I have been so focused on the kids missing each other that I did not pay much attention to the fact that I would be so sad. I have been worried the most about Hannah. She is sad but has said that she is not going to cry or she has also said that will play alone at church now because Evie has moved. I know she will play with other kids and be just fine but I do worry because the group that we run with has mainly boys that around her age. She and Evie has always been the only consistent girls in our little group of friends. So, all of this to say, my whole family was pretty sad on Friday. Jason and I did drop off the kids at the church for childcare and we went to Chili's by ourselves. It was great to get out but I am sure my hubby would have liked it if I were a little happier. We will get by and be just fine I realize that, but this is new for us. It will just take some getting out of our comfort zone again. So, Danica when you read this, between the lines it says to sell your flat faster than you were thinking and get home with that boy that my kids love so much. Of course they will love the new baby just as much too.

And here is why I am behind.....

Hannah helped pull down wallpaper

It started out just pulling down wallpaper in the bathroom, texturing our bedroom, painting, can lights, new fan, and new vanity top. We knew there was a small leak in the shower wall that needed to be fixed, but this is what it looks like now!

And, if you are going to tear out the shower because of the leak, you might as well make it a little bigger, tear out the wall between the vanity area and the shower/toliet area, replace the vanity, oh and bust out the concrete in the shower so you can move the drain to accomodate the new dimentions. Now I know that pulling down the wallpaper was a complete waste of my time since there is NO sheetrock left in the area.

Oh, and we have these "helpers" to korral during all of the work. They enjoyed the demo the most. They bring all of their play tools into the bathrom and "help" daddy. We will keep you posted on the progress. Lets hope it does not take months and months since all 5 of us are sharing a bathroom. Our last bathroom that was completely gutted took exactly 30 days from start to finish but I think Jason only slept a few hours a night. This one we have a little more time since we don't have a baby shower for a freind planned like we did last time.

It just was not his day!

Today Hannah and Logan had gymnastics so Luke and I went to feed the ducks while we waited for them to get out of class. Luke was insistent that he wanted the geese to "eat out my hand". One seemed friendly enough so I thought if he had a big enough piece it would maybe be okay. The first time Luke tried, the goose pecked him in the stomach. He whined for a minute then said he needed another piece of bread. I tried to warn him and tell him to just throw it on the ground but he would not listen. You would think he would not have wanted to come near that thing since it already pecked him, but I think it took two times around the block to get the point. That goose started pecking him while I was taking his picture. I had to use my foot to push his head away from Luke. I was looking through my pictures after we sat down and realized my finger was on the button while I was gently pushing the goose with my foot. The kids sure thought that was a funny picture. Even after that, he still wanted to feed them, but he did not want to let them eat out of his hand this time!

It's fun and games until...

IT'S ALL FUN AND GAMES UNTIL SOMEONE GETS THEIR HEAD STUCK!!

This week Luke started wearing big boy underwear during the day. Now, we are still far from being potty trained, but he is doing well. He, just like our other two, is bribed with mini M&Ms. He gets 2 for going pee-pee and 5 for pooping. Today Logan was going potty before we left for the store and Luke had run into the bathroom. I heard them laughing (never a good thing) so I headed to the bathroom. Luke met me in the hallway with his potty seat over his head. He thought it was so funny. I was not too concerned since I wipe it down after ever use with a Clorox wipe, but nonetheless it probably still should not be on his head. It was hard to resist. I grabbed the camera and then he started crying because it was stuck. After a few pictures, I had to pull it off. He cried because it pulled his ear. I hope this was a good lesson!

Sea World

Over Memorial Day weekend we went to Sea World. The kids did great given the fact that on Saturday we were there from 9:30am - 8:30pm and Sunday we went from 9:45am - 6:00pm. The boys napped in the stroller while Hannah just kept going and going. We fed the dolphins, the sea lions, the lorikeets, and went swimming. It was hot, humid, and pretty crowded. Saturday alone we were with another 35,000 people!! Because the park is pretty big you don't notice too much. We had a wonderful time. It was a much needed trip however it was fast and furious the whole weekend.

We bribed them with Shamu ice creams if they smiled for us!

The Lorikeets had to be one of their most favorite things, well besides the dolphins! They were so friendly. We went to the first feeding of the day which meant the birds were very ready for us to feed them. The kids absolutely loved it. The staff was wonderful and made sure each of the kids got to hold one. I think our kids would have stayed in their all day.

We went to the Viva show where the divers jumped off beams from the ceiling.

We looked over and one of the divers was running through the audience and came and sat by us. Our kids did not know what to think.

Can you tell, they were DONE with pictures!