Happy Birthday Libby!

Libby turned 9 on April 30th. Nine!! Seems like just yesterday she was a baby! Now she is growing up into a beautiful young lady. She wanted to wear her pretty dress for school, and was sporting her new shoes too. She wanted keens for "years!" She also was quite animate about wanting to go to Ihop for her birthday. I don't think it lived up to the expectation though, but we had a good time. It is interesting going to a restaurant with wait staff though, this crew is used to buffet and drive through!!
Libby is an amazing girl full of inspiration and imagination. She wants to be a doctor, hair stylist, and a teacher when she grows up. Not sure how that fits into a day, but if there is a way she will figure it out! I am leaning towards presidency myself:) She presented her first power point yesterday and is loves to read and create. We love you so much and we pray that God will continue to bless you in amazing ways. The last year of single digits, make it a good one!!

...cousins...

Easter Sunday. We call it Resurrection Sunday for what it is, we don't care for the extra fluff (aka Easter bunny and all the other rifraf materialistic traditions. We do hide a gift for the kids or do a family gift to their rising that morning. This year they all got something with wheels, the older kids got some sole skater boards (thanks shopko 80% off last year,) while Noah got rollerblades and Naomi the little doll stroller (thanks toys'r'us freebie when we bought her birthday dolly.) We wound up skipping church, as it was too rushed to make it over to the family celebration at Bridget's. We had a great time though and here are the girls up on a fort top, having a great time. We would love to have land someday, but in the mean time take what visiting that we can get!!



Man's Men: Noah and Henry, getting a little game on- these boys are so cute together!


Naomi giving her loves to Emmett. These are Ryan's adorable boys, who will be big brothers in November! We are so happy for them!



Emmett giving his loves to baby Lillie.


Lillie and Sophia (Jenny's baby) are 3 weeks apart. Probably because of the postpartum brains times 2, this was their first picture together, but there will be plenty more, so that's okay. They look about the sames size here even!

A brother and the baby in a bonnet is worth the shot.


Lillie is reading already!! We are so blessed with smart kids!!


Naomi and her friend Will on the little couch.
We splurged and got her a new little couch,
the other one balanced the cost
effectiveness because it
was $2 at a sale.

Naomi is such a love ham!!


These little strollers must hold all their owners,
good thing dad did a good fix job when it broke
shortly after her sitting in it on day one.

GOING PUBLIC:

We are expecting!!
A 12 year old boy. Shame on IA DHS for not giving him to us in the first place. Shame on the family that made his life worse and gets to keep a lone sibling. This is real people. There are THOUSANDS of kids in the US that do not have a family that wants them. I am so happy my boy is coming home, and life will be redefined as we know it. I am so glad God knows what he's doing, clearly I don't!! So don't pat my tummy, he's well and waiting for us to love and provide to him like he never knew. Thank you Jesus, once we didn't know if we'd see him again. Maybe I will write a book...in my free time!

Mommy Chronicles

Adam has been upgraded to a full bed, being taller than Luke, we decided the twin bottom bunk was not enough space for him. He has been getting ready for fishing and golfing season. His sweet 16 is just around the corner, and guess what he wants? His ear pierced?! Where did that come from and will we allow it? Hmmm


Darling David, reading to his little brother. He just might have a future in child care! He also is doing great in karate and I am really glad he started that. He has earned the most for his willingness to fill leaf bags too, loves the greenbacks:)

Libby and her daddy. She got a special invite to a writers workshop at St.Bens, and is very excited about that. She has all of mommy's touch down too in baby care and word is out because the neighbors even use her helper services! Both girls piano is coming along nicely too.


Reany is the pogo stick master and can even go backwards! She is growing her hair out, and this time after the dance recital we will actually keep it longer. She likely is Naomi's first choice in playmates too, because they have a blast together.


Noah is the winner of the sweet little big brother award, he just loves Lillie up and is always saying how precious and cute she is. He has been known to try getting her too though, so my guard is on. He is going to try BMX racing this season too, and is in the lineup for t-ball. Luke thinks he will be bored with that because he hits like a pro already, so we'll see if he gets a minor league contract this summer or not. Where God is taking him with the athleticism will be fun to watch and partner.

Naomi...if you call her sweetie, honey, cutie, or any of the like, she will correct you,"I Mo-mie!" She is keeping up with the big kids now and loves playing house. She loves puppies too. Her favorite snack is toothpaste (and the ever convenient fruit shelf may need to be relocated, at least until she finishes potty training:)

First smile caught on camera. She's either happy or irrate, even trying reflux meds to see if that doesn't help her out. She loves tummy pressure, mommy, mommy, and mommy. She is already in solid 6 months clothes and is the family favorite (okay, she is still working on Adam, but he'll come around.)

So, with the visual reminder of who all these cute kids are, in a nutshell here we are. We also lost our dear boxer, Bruno, and will have a memorial post to come. He was the best dog in the world and we are all sad to lose him, he wasn't even 7 yet! Not sure what is in store for our pet prospects, Luke is not very interested in a replacement yet. I am certain kids need a dog though, so maybe we will decide by the end of summer to get back into the swing of dog care. In the meantime, we can enjoy that we won't have to clean poop in the yard or off (Reany's) shoes.

Spring is here, we are delighted in the nice weather. Blessed from God, and we nod- in adoration for our King, who has set us free so we can be...who we are in Him and not look back or keep track of what could have been might have been, we can win and for His glory share his story (holla, holla!)...Peace out!

Blueberries in a bowl

And call it a break. Laundry going, who am I kidding it never stops! Naomi is talking herself to sleep. Noah is amazingly still on my bed, close to sleeping. The baby just realized I documented a break and I guess the. Blueberries will thaw and be good in a few minutes...ah the life!

Before and After, What is Now

All packed and ready to go have a baby! Luke painted my toes the night before and I was more than ready to meet my precious new daughter! Theresa came for the early shift and we were out to become parents...again.

All packed up and ready to go home, no more menu selections for this momma! Little Lillie was the first of my 4 babies to get a new carseat, lucky girl! The kids made a beautiful welcome home sign for her too, I will probably capture another time. And there are photos in between these ones of course, possibly a new post.

Lillie's first bath was not a big hit for her, luckily it was quick and painless!

Love this pic! Daddy and his little girls!

We are adjusting quite well to the new sheriff's orders. We will be enjoying these last 6 weeks of school, and Lillie turns 6 weeks on Monday, so very do-able. The homeschooling is working out well, but have not etched anything in stone for next school year. They are doing part-time at the local school district, which has FAAARRRR better programming than the school we previously open enrolled at to seek the social advantages of a more rural and lower class size desires. I have been nothing but impressed with the distict and staff, so that is good. They are picked up at 9:50 and brought home at 1:30. For next year I am going to shoot for a better schedule, not smack dab middle of my day. If that isn't possible, we may reconsider all together. There are some potential distractions in store for next year, so not counting any ducklings yet.
The boys wanted to do karate. Let's just say that our autism didn't mix well with karate and Adam's response to what he thought was, "I hate it!" Plus he was so worked up he was close to tears by the end of the hour. Experiencing that was good for him, but he'll stick with golf!
Noah has had a change of schedule too, I knew the last thing I would want to do was bring him to the Montessori M-F by 8am with a toddler and infant, plus he griped half the time about going. So, we pulled him from the program and decided to try the traditional preschool setting and he is going to the elementary school for their program only 2 days a week. What a nice swap that was! Plus he LOVES it! The activities and structured fine motor and academic activities are just what we were ready for. He has enough independence! That being said, he had a rough day this week. Wednesday, started out great, he was helping me peel carrots, dancing, singing, playing drums, great kid. Blame it on the parent, I should have made him take a rest or laid down with him til he fell asleep (boy wouldn't that be relaxing, but wait we need clean clothes and meals prepared among a million other things!) He found some scissors after peircing a whole in Libby and Reany's bedroom door with a stool. Then he got caught cutting Uno cards, and I noticed he snipped the blinds strings in his new room. Bummer, they are expensive! Then he came upstairs and with no explanation took a full container of baby wipes and put them in the toilet...just to be naughty! He didn't know enough that clogging the toilet means caught in a flush, which he didn't do. He was one step away from a beating! Seriously, I was doing a little meditative parental coaching there, like what the heck! And when he was caught with the Uno cards he bit David. Later in the evening he bit Libby when she was trying to help escort him off the playground for pushing a kid well over a foot taller than him. Terrible day for my sweet boy! Wouldn't you agree? He needs a ball and chain to mommy.
I am so glad it is Friday and I survived this week though! It was my second week of Luke back at work and I am finally getting my groove back. I even organized a closet, or cleared a chair off in the spare room's closet that had been there for a few months! We will need to be transitioning Noah into that room (actually Aubrey and Lexi's originally.) Lillie is a little piggy and I am guessing we will go to her 8 week and see she is 15# and that is the weight cap on the bassinet for the pack and play. They grow way to fast!
Today Lillie was up before 5 and fussed for a solid 45 minutes before I caught a wink of sleep and had to make lunches and get the girls off to school. Noah needed a bath because he peed big time in the big bed, luckily there is plastic there. I am so ready for him to outgrow that! I had to load up the girls and bring him to school by 750am. Then we did school with the boys, working on some geography together and English. They got their ride and us girls went to pick up Noah and go to Sams Club. Solid 250 in damages there and pushed the train cart (the big blue double seater in front) into the family bathroom and had to nurse the baby after we used the bathroom. Then we got pizza and the two an ice cream to share. Noah was glad that Naomi got sassy and tried smacking me in the face, as he didn't have to share ice cream after all. Then Naomi and Lillie were both discontent on our way out the store, pleasing all that we were leaving at that point. I buckled up Naomi and then set the baby in the van while loading all our goods up. Then I had to feed the baby the other side before making it home. Naomi crashed on the way home and Lillie is still in her carseat sleeping too. Noah is fighting me to not have a nap, but I am not caving. In fact, I am going to go put my feet up and make him rest, likely he will be out in 10 minutes. I just had to blog though!