Paka, Crib!

Well, it has finally happened...

Caleb is officially out of his crib and out of our room. He finally decided he was ready, and he has slept through the night for several nights now. I didn't blog about it at first because I didn't want to jinx it :0) Anyway, some of you may notice the sports pillowcase and wonder why it doesn't look loke he is sleeping in his bed. Well, that's because it isn't his bed...

... it's Andrew's bottom bunk. I'm pleased to report both brothers are thrilled with the arrangement and Mommy is doing just fine. The binky is next on our list!!!!!

Fun

Well, we've been having a lot of fun this summer! Here's some pics from last weekend. We spent some time with friends fishing, shooting (big boys only), and hanging out. The kids had a blast. See if you can spot something not so fun in the pictures. I'll give you a clue.... we had a broken bone incident with one of our kids about two weeks ago. Look back over the pictures and see if you can spot just who.

Six Flags Trip

I'm finally getting our Six Flags pics on here... These are from 2 weeks ago. We drove to St. Louis for a day with friends and really had a great time! Our kids are fearless- especially Caleb. I truly believe he would go on any ride in the park if he could :0)

Ordinary Miracles

Being a Mommy is truly the most amazing gift.

For a short time, I get to see everything through the eyes of a child... and it is incredible. A child's perspective helps me to see the beauty of God's creation and His blessings all around me.

Nothing is ordinary through the eyes of a child.

Just today, for example, my youngest son gasped and squealed with glee when he saw how tall our corn had grown. I know if he hadn't been there, I honestly wouldn't have thought much of it. To be completely honest, I was worrying about financial issues at the very moment he was telling me to look at the corn.

This afternoon, my oldest son exclaimed, "Hey! That cloud looks just like the Nike symbol" as we drove out of our neighborhood. If he hadn't been with me, I probably wouldn't have even noticed that the sky had clouds in it...or that the sky was such a beautiful and brilliant blue... I was too busy worrying about getting to our destination on time.

A few weeks ago, we were tracing one another with sidewalk chalk on the driveway. It was my turn to get traced. As I was lying there on the warm concrete, one of my daughters said, "Mommy, don't the sun and breeze together feel amazing when you close your eyes and relax?". I really wanted to go inside and make dinner, but I forced myself to close my eyes and relax. She was right, it DID feel amazing

Everyday, my four children remind me to stop and pay attention to the truly important things.

Thank you, Lord, for the blessing of my beautiful children. May the lessons I have learned from them stay with me always.

Something to Think About

This family is truly inspiring...

Promo for "We Have Room" Documentary from David Watson on Vimeo.

Sparklers!

This was the first year we have bought sparklers for the kids. In the past, D worked at night, so sparklers were out of the question. I'm sure it had something to do with the very scary combo of multiple young children + fire + Mommy all alone. This year, D was home for the Fourth of July (hooray!) and the kids got what they have been begging for all along. All in all, they got to indulge for three nights in a row! Dreams really DO come true :0) :0) :0) :0)

God Bless America!

Happy Fourth of July! What a blessing it is to live here in this country! Here's Caleb wishing America a happy birthday. No matter how many times he tried, he just could NOT say all 3 words in a row. In the end, he opted to leave out the word "birthday" in the middle. So cute!