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Last day of School

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Although our preschool goes year-round, we still celebrated the “last day of school” before the summer program began.  The day before KJ’s graduation, the littler kids (Cbug, A, and C) had a small end of year program.  Since I forgot to take pictures before they left that morning, for their last day of school, I snapped a few before we left for the program that evening.  I’m so glad I did- they were looking especially handsome/beautiful all clean and dressed-in-their-best.
KJ started at this little preschool two years ago, and we have loved every minute of it.  But I have never loved it quite as much as I did the day I sat in the school office, telling the assistant director about my niece and nephew.  They threw their arms open for these two, totally “bent” all the rules to make the best possible situation for their mid-year transition to the school, and walked step-by-step with them as they worked to adjust to the new place.  I’m so very thankful for the ladies that took care of all four of these precious ones while they were at school, especially in the midst of this crazy season for our family.
(When you see Cbug’s picture with his teacher, would you join me in a unified song of praise that Mrs J has 3 boys of her own at home and just KNOWS how to love boys)

For comparison purposes, here are all of their first day and last day pictures.
KJ
First day
Bummed that somehow I didn’t get a picture of KJ by himself on the first day.  I was so loving the boys excitement over going to school TOGETHER that I didn’t think farther.  Ah well.

Last day
AB
First Day
On A’s first day, Cbug thought he might need a little extra encouragement and suggested that A wear the multicolored macaroni necklace that Cbug had crafted.  Nice touch to his first-day-of school attire, I thought.
Last Day
Cbug
First Day
Last Day
I can see the biggest change in Cbug.  He has gained TONS of confidence this school year…not that these pictures would tell you that or anything (smirk).  Is it just me, or does anyone else see these and CLEARLY picture the ham-of-a-teenager that our Cbug will be? Watch out (and stick around for the fun)!


CB
First day

Last day

 Aren’t they the sweetest?  We are so blessed to have a place for them to spend a few days during the week where they are so well loved and learn more about Jesus!
ABL

FIVE things about #5

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Ok- I know no one else is quite as amazed that we have a five-year-old as we are. I PROMISE this will be the last 5th birthday post.

I just need one more to document his big day happenings. LET.ME.TELL.YOU, boy howdy… did we celebrate. The fact that his big day happened to fall on his preschool graduation day, made for a VERY full day of celebrations for Mr. KJ.  So full that there were way too many pictures to even get all the good ones on the blog.  I posted a bunch more on facebook, if you are interested.

Without further ado- here are FIVE things that our FIVE-year-old did on his FIFTH birthday.

1) Celebrated during a donut-shop outing with FIVE siblings/cousins.
He opened presents (with some help from his bro, as is their own personal little tradition), picked out his favorite donuts and got lots of phone calls from adoring fans (for which his fingers were too sticky to hold the phone himself).

 

 2) Legoland Discovery Center

with FIVE of his favorite fellas (plus his favorite Momma).

 

I’d definitely recommend the LDC as a place to visit ONCE. It was a bit overpriced, very crowded. BUT it did prove a far-superior alternative to KJ’s original request (ChuckECheese) and the boys LOVED it.
(below L to R) Build-your-own race car, Earthquake demonstration, Mini city and a 4D movie.
Quick funny story about how we decided on LDC for the party locale. KJ has been talking for nearly a YEAR about his ChuckECheese party. Can I just tell you how much that place makes my skin crawl? Seriously, I have GREAT disdain. BUT, I had told him that he could choose where he went this year (since he was a whole hand old and all).  I was determined to convince him the CC was not the winner. I’ve made no less than 1028376392 alternative suggestions. All with no success. When I started talking about Legoland he was excited and I was SHOCKED that he was willing to consider something other than his plan. FAST forward to just a few days before his birthday. His good buddy/across-the-street neighbor, Katie, told me that while she had been keeping the kids, KJ told her about the upcoming festivities. And mentioned that he wasn’t sure we’d make it back in time for his graduation all the way from Legoland. She asked “Oh really? Where is Legoland?” To which he replied,
“I don’t know exactly, but its really far. I think its pretty close to Costa Rica or something like that”

YUP. Apparently the LAND part of LegoLAND really stuck- he was picturing a whole LAND of legos. SERIOUSLY. So, we had to do some fast talking and website browsing to convince him that while LDC was just a mall amusement area, it would still be super cool. Luckily, he bought it…and I don’t think he was too disappointed. He still loved the adventure of it, even if we didn’t get to fly on an airplane to get there.


Then again, any place these five-year-olds (or nearly 5) go together…is SURE to be a fun adventure!

3) THE CAKE
He designed and enjoyed a FIVE layer cake.

This actually probably deserves a whole post on its own. BUT I PROMISED there would only be one more birthday post. I did not, however, make any promises about its brevity 🙂

Other than the party location, the primary concern for KJ, while planning his big day, was his CAKE. Literally for MONTHS we’ve been having conversations about what his cake would be like. Often, driving along in the van, he’d holler from the backseat a new idea or specification about the cake. When all was said and done, I had to sit down with him the night before I made the cake to actually draw a diagram and be SURE I had it down. I HAVE NO IDEA where he gets this level of attention to detail…but his perfect cake was to be… “Five layers (you know, since I’m five) of Strawberry, then Chocolate, Strawberry, Chocolate, Strawberry with strawberry icing in between each layer and chocolate frosting on the outside, because if there was strawberry icing on the outside it might look pink and pink is for girls. AND it needs to have Spiderman on top” (the web was momma’s addition) Oh how I wish I could have documented all of the conversations that lead to this final conclusion, or had a picture of how he would use one hand to count to five (to be sure he didn’t say Strawberry/Chocolate/Strawberry too many times) with using the other hand to indicate the layers on top of each other. Oh, I love this boy!

4) GRADUATION
I would have SERIOUSLY been a mess about KJ turning 5 on the same day he graduated from preschool if this had been his REAL graduation from preschool. While most of his class is heading off to kindergarten, for KJ (and his Momma) this was just “practice” graduation. After a lot of thought, prayer and input from others, we’ve decided that he’ll stay another year before going to “big school”. So it wasn’t like I was all emotional quite yet. I’ll tell you what, though, if the welling of tears I got when I saw him walk in wearing his little robe (that swallowed him) and cap in the “practice” is any indication…WOAH, watch out whoever sits next to us next year- you might just see the UGLY cry. It was fun that we got to have a night with just him and some of the people that love him. He ATE IT UP.
It did make me laugh that he spent a large portion of the program in “ready position” with his hands on his knees.  For no reason.  He was like that for so long that eventually the girl next to him thought maybe that was the way they were supposed to stand, and gave it a whirl, too!

5) PICTURES
KJ had his picture taken approximately 500 times this day. And it didn’t go to his head, AT ALL (cough, cough). Here are a few of my favorites.

What a wonderful day, celebrating a wonderful 5-year-old.  Have I mentioned that he is FIVE?  If I haven’t, he’ll be sure to tell you next time he sees you!
ABL

Too much to ask?

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Do you think it would be too much to ask…
to have JUST ONE picture
of these (matching but not twin) brothers
both looking at the camera
and both smiling
that doesn’t end
with wrestling?
Apparently so.
ABL
More coming later (hopefully sooner than…) about our Legoland celebration of a certain 5-year-old.

The day has FINALLY come…He is FIVE!

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Today is a day of many emotions.  I wrote on facebook last night that I was having trouble sleeping.  Granted that was partly because I was making KJ the cake of his dreams (more on that later), but it was also because I was in awe of the fact that it was the last night that my first-born would be four.  How in the world does time pass so quickly?  I was in bed wondering if I fell asleep, would I wake to find that KJ was ready for college? 

While having a BIG FIVE-YEAR-OLD is full of emotions, there are few things in my life that make me more proud than watching my children grow.  It is an interesting pride, though, because it is a pride full of humility.  Is that even possible?  There is pride in watching them grow, learn, change, love, care, laugh and knowing a piece of them is ME. Yet humility in knowing I get a lot of credit for those things- yet am so inadequate to teach them.  I hold my job a a mom at high importance.  But just above it, I hold the relationships I have with my Jesus and my husband.  That’s where my children get their amazingness…their AMAZING creator.  I do get the privilege of seeing it all…first steps, first words, FIFTH BIRTHDAY, Pre-K graduation, but like the rest of my life I’m not walking this path of motherhood alone.  I wouldn’t dare.  I’m so thankful that the Lord (abundantly) fills the gaps I leave, and that so many others love my children right beside me.  Because I’ve been so keenly aware of that lately, that’s also been my special prayer for KJ (and his brother and sister)…that I’ll be able to prepare my children for the path, but that they will never EVER try to walk the path alone.
Dearest KJ-
Today is the day.  This very day you are FINALLY five.  I can vividly remember the day you made me a mom, and changed my life forever.  Seems like it was just yesterday and I can hardly believe that you are now five.  While the time has flown by for me, I know it has crept along for you, as you anticipated today.  I’m pretty sure you have been counting down to five for your whole life.  Definitely for the last year…as you have been 4 then 4 and 1/2, 4 and 2/3, 4 and 3/4 and (my personal favorite) 4 and 11/12.  You have never wanted anything more than to just.be.five. AND now you are!  Your new goal is to just be as old as Caleb H, and I can’t think of a better goal.  I love this about you.  I love that you get your mind set on something, and work and work until you accomplish it.  You are a very driven little 5-year-old and I know you will use that to do great things.  I also love that you love to plan.  You like to look forward to events and see the details in them.  You had distinct ideas about what your fifth birthday would look like, you like to talk about what School will be like in “the fall”, and you like to plan games for your siblings and cousins.  I think this makes you (a little) like Mommy, and i love seeing this come alive in you.  You are also like Daddy.  Not only do you look so much like he did as a boy, you also have his heart for caring for other people.  I love the way you are quick to apologize, quick to compromise, slow to anger and eager to serve.  Your Daddy and I love to talk to you.  We all love the creative and intelligent things that you come up to share with us.  Sometimes we joke that you are a 30-year-old stuck in a five-year-old body.  Promise that you’ll always tell us secrets, always share your dreams with us, always tell us stories to make us laugh and always tell us when you are sad…ok, bud?
As I told you tonight, we are so proud of you.  We are very proud of all you have accomplished in school, the way you help around the house, the positive attitude with which you approach all things, and the way you treat your siblings and cousins.  But mostly we are very VERY proud of the way you love Jesus.  We love that you remind us that you DO love us…but not as much as Jesus.  I’m thankful for you today, on your fifth birthday.  I’m proud that you are mine and Daddy’s.  But I’m even more proud that you are His!
I love you to the moon and back!
Mommy
Because FIVE was such a big birthday for KJ (being one-whole-hand and everything), we did something special for him. RRL put together this little video of KJ growing.  I love that this song, a children’s song, shares what it is like to be waiting and waiting and waiting to be bigger…only to realize it has HAPPENED.
I know this is already a long birthday post, but I have one more thing to share.  Tonight in his little end of the year program, they said that KJ said he “wanted to be a firefighter when he grew up, loved circle time at school, and was looking forward to learning about catapults in Kindergarten.”  All three of those answers completely surprised me, so I decided to “interview” KJ tonight and see what else I might uncover.  Here are some of his responses.  I absolutely love this age and the things that come out of his mouth.
A: So, K, do you know what an interview is?
KJ: Can you remind me?
A: Sure- its when someone asks questions of someone important, to find out more about them.  Can I interview you?
K: (beaming) Sure, mom.
A: What is your favorite Color?
K: Blue.  Wait.  I mean Green. 
(he and Cbug recently decided to “trade” favorite colors…its hard to remember which one is his now, i’m sure)
A: What is your favorite thing to do with Daddy?
K: Build Leggos.
A: What is your favorite thing to do with Mommy?
K:  Build leggos.  Wait.  Should it be something girly?  How about go the store, just you and me.
A: Favorite thing to do with Cbug and Lou?
K: Build leggos with Cbug and play in Lou’s kitchen with her (she really likes that, Mom).
A: What is your favorite superhero?
K: The Joker.
A: Well, what is your favorite superhero good guy?
K: Oh.  Spiderman
A: Where is your favorite place to go?
K: Could you skip that question and just ask me about my favorite bad guy right now?
A: Who is your favorite bad guy?
K: The joker.  He’s really bad.
A: i see.  So where is your favorite place to go?
K: Nonna’s house.
A: What is your favorite thing to wear?
K: Spiderman shirt
A: To eat?
K: Cake
A: What makes you laugh?
K: When it is dark outside, sometimes people try to sting bugs, but people don’t have stingers and its just so hilarious that I can’t even really talk about it right now.
A: Um, ok.
A: What do you want to be when you grow up/
K:  A Daddy.
     then a little while later Maybe I also want to be a teenager AND a Daddy…together.
A: What do you want to teach your kids when you are a Daddy.
K: The things my Daddy teaches me.  Like not getting on the fireplace and measure twice, cut once.
A: What is your favorite bible verse?
K: The three…I mean four…men in the fiery furnace. 
A: Who were they?
K: (I prompted Shadrach), Meshach, and Abednego…and an angel.
A: Well, really that is a bible STORY.   What is your favorite verse that you have memorized?
K: OH.  That new verse Daddy taught me.  Proverbs 27:12
I have a lot more to say about our day today.  We had a full day of celebration.  LITERALLY all day.  But that will be another post.  For now, I just wanted to gush a little and share a tiny sliver of why I love a certain 5-year-old more than I can say.
ABL

the GREEN SLIME

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You know those “Mom Plans” that you have before you are a mom, that you are so certain you will stick to.  My kids playing sports was one of those for me.  I definitely wanted them to try sports, but I really wanted them to wait until kindergarten or so, and not get competitively involved at too young of an age.  HOWEVER, when a certain 4-year-old witnessed one of his favorite friends playing soccer last fall, he was ALL IN.  He asked and asked and asked to get to play.  And when we didn’t let him IMMEDIATELY, he just formed a team of his own, an imaginary team that lived in our home.  And that’s when I knew… that I knew nothing.  He was ready to play, and was determined that Cbug would be on his team, too.  So, we signed up for soccer.

I could not have asked for a better introduction to organized sports for my boys.  They absolutely LOVED playing soccer for the first time.  And we couldn’t have hand picked a better coach (with saint-like-patience), a better team of kids and parents…Actually, I let my good friend MRF handpick them 🙂

Let me introduce you to the
GREEN SLIME SOCCER TEAM

Before the first game, KJ asked if I thought that his “fans” would make a tunnel for him after the game.  GUESS WHAT?  They did!  This was a highlight for both boys after every game. Too funny.

And his “fans” were indeed amazing.  It was so much fun to watch people that love my boys, cheering for them.
(I don’t know how we didn’t get a picture of Grammy…she loves the Green Slime, too)
As for their competitiveness, I don’t think we have to worry about their skills going to their heads anytime soon.  For approximately eight out of nine games, Cbugs soccer performance looked something like this…
Marching around the center circle, hanging from the goal, snuggling with Coach, running with his shirt over his face. 
You know.  Soccer stuff.
In the final game it was like a light switch flipped.  He actually CHASED THE BALL.  I was shocked.  He was thrilled.
KJ was totally into it all.  He was definitely a newbie, but he scored in the first game, regularly kept score, loved running back to the goal to play “defense” and couldn’t wait to get the snack at the end of each game.  Here’s a little video of his big goal!
But my favorite part was watching something we talk about all the time…TEAMWORK. 
We talk about these two being a “team” and watching out for each other.  It was so much fun to watch them have this good visual example of that life lesson, in a super fun way.
GO.GREEN.SLIME!
ABL

I LOVE MAY!

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Two of my favorite birthday months begin with “M”.  Those two months are packed with celebrating people that I love.

I love May because three of my favorite fellas have birthdays within a little more than a week of each other.  Uncle D celebrated his last week, someone else special is today, and I can’t even type out who will be FIVE on Friday without tearing up.  We’ll get to that.

AS FOR TODAY….

 Happy Birthday to my Daddy.  Oh my, how much I already loved you.  But the way you adore my children and now support and encourage all SIX of these kiddos makes my heart skip a little.  I am so very thankful that they all call you their “Papa”. 
And, yes, this picture has strings attached.  Please refer to previous birthday post for the not-so-subtle ulterior motives.  Thankyouverymuch.
Love,
ABL

I want to remember…

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I do hope to continue going back over some of the fun events from the last couple of months and get them documented here.  I don’t know how long that will take or if it is even manageable.  There has been camping, the museum, Easter, Mother’s Day, 1st birthday party, many a park-adventure, a soccer season and more.  Just thinking about that list of documentable occasions makes my heart start racing a little.  So, yeah, not making any promises and planning to cut myself some slack on hashing through it all.

In the meantime, I thought it might be fun to show a few pictures of how things are “rolling” around here.  People often ask “how we do it”- meaning how do we SURVIVE.  My answer is nearly always the same…we ARE NOT doing it.  We simply can’t.  Can’t do it alone, at least.  I mentioned before, but we have literally been sustained in miraculous ways through strength and endurance of supernatural proportions and by the angels sent to walk beside us. 

At home, though, we are learning a few survival tactics, and I thought it might be fun to show you a few of the small ones.  No one else may be interested in this, but these little things speak volumes to me about our lives right now and…

I want to remember.

I want to remember what it looks like to have six car seats in the minivan.
(not pictured: the solid layer of books and toys on the floor, the mass chaos of getting everyone in and out, and the “luggage” that fills the trunk each time we go ANYWHERE)

speaking of “luggage”…
I want to remember the color coded cubbies where school backpacks, lunchboxes, folders and nap mats are organized each evening

I want to remember what it looks like to walk by myself with six little chicks to the park nearly every day. 

I lead the way with the stroller and four little ducklings tag along behind on their bright orange rope.  If that weren’t spectacle enough, we also usually have at least one kid in some combination of funny hat, random winter gloves, mismatched clothes, shoes on the wrong feet, lugging a favorite (but random) toy…etc.
I want to remember what it looks like to fix 5 toddler plates at the same time
(fix them all on the counter BEFORE we sit down and say prayers and THEN serve them.  Critical timing to ensure that nothing gets spilled, traded, tasted or complained about…before RRL and I get to sit down).
I want to remember what it looks like to find random jobs around the house to a) get toddlers involved and b) keep those toddlers occupied.  Jobs like helping load the washing machine via a 2-year-old to 3-year-old handoff.
I want to remember what it looks like to lay out six outfits each night, across the back of the couch.
in age order, so that everyone knows where there clothes are in the morning and can get themselves dressed before breakfast
And I want to remember what it looks like to tuck in 6 sleeping angels.
(this particular night 5 were all sleeping on one pallet in our tent when we went camping.  Baby B, not pictured, was in his packnplay.)

As crazy as it all is…I do want to remember each of these things.
Such tiny things that have completely transformed our everyday living in just two short months.

ABL

Guess who has a Birthday today?

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One of their favorite people.

We love you, D, and these six absolutely LOVED your visit and the package you sent them.  Hope you have a wonderful birthday!
And this picture may or may not be
 one part birthday celebration
and
six parts “maybe-if-you-see-their-adorable-faces-you’ll-come-back-to-see-us….ASAP”. 
Did it work?

ABL

MMM: Pi Day

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You can learn all kinds of amazingness via facebook, even if you are facebook-sporadic (as the case may be). 
For instance, Did YOU KNOW…
March 14 is National Pi day
(get it…3.14?  I know, it took me a minute, too)
Your life is complete now that you have that amazing piece of information, isnt it?  But, if you happen to have just arrived back in town on a Sunday evening, and are looking for something spur-of-the moment to do with your children on a Monday (which happens to be 3.14), this is MOST excellent information to stumble across.  And its even better news when paired with the fact that I did a quick library search and found this treasure…

The treasure that my treasures are holding, that is.  A book on the very subject that includes DRAGONS…what boy doesn’t love dragons?  RRL picked it up for us Monday morning and MMM:Pi Day was born (or “circle day” as KJ dubbed it).

Who knew so many activities could include circles?

We made circle pictures, decorated with circle stickers.  The boys loved this project, Lou thought her pink paper was complete with a single basketball and a couple of scribble.

We also headed outside for more circle drawing, this time with sidewalk chalk.  We even tested “Pi” by counting the number of steps around a circle compared to the number of steps straight through a circle.  Even with anything but even “stepping” contributed by the expert-measuring-team, we got pretty close to 3 times more steps around than through.  The kids didn’t get it…at all…but I thought it was cool.
 Next we did some “circle exercising”…totally made this up to kill time…and energy. 

 After using all our “circle” energy, its time to refuel…with some circle lunches.

 AND FOR THE GRAND FINALE…
 Pi Day Pies.
Seriously, if you have small children (and aren’t afraid of a little mess), this was an awesome activity.  Jello pudding pies.  I just followed the very simple no-bake directions on the box, let the kids fill the pie shells however they wanted, and sprinkled some Andes mint pieces on top.  YUMMY, and the kids LOVED it, too. (well, two of them did.  I can’t remember why exactly, but KJ was sulking about something and didn’t want to participate).  You’ll notice that most of the pies were “unsharable” by the time Cbug and Lou licked all over them, but the fun they had was totally worth it.  This kept them occupied FOREVER.  I love the pictures of the incredible duo “cleaning-up” the chocolate mess.  These two are hilarious together these days.  I love the sweet relationship they are forming.
We had such a fun “Circle Day”- can’t wait to celebrate again next year.  It was so sweet of the Lord to give me this special day of JOY with my three treasures.  By that very night there were three more treasures sleeping in their rooms, so it was a much needed day of fun for us.  One I’ll treasure, messes and all, for a very long time.
Thanks, Facebook.  And thanks, Pi Day!  You were well celebrated by Team L.
ABL


Testing…testing…one…two…three

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After a two-month (plus) “sabbatical”, I wonder…is it worth trying to start again? This blog and I…our relationship is anything but consistent. Yet it sticks around. Thanks, DRRF, thanks for providing a blank page for me even when I forget to write.  I’d promise to be more faithful, but we both know it would be pie-crust (easy to make, easy to crumble).  I’d try to fill in the gaps of time, but where would I even begin.  I know you’ll forgive me.  And if even if you don’t…that’s the beauty of this relationship, it continues anyway.

So, here we go.  I promise to post more pictures, funny stories, and antics soon, but first I need to set the stage a bit for a big change you’ll see on this little piece of the web.

Exactly one week after my last post, I had an awesome weekend at the beach with some lovely ladies.  Sadly, I carried my camera everywhere and took exactly zero pictures.  You’ll have to believe me that it was a perfect 3 1/2 days, celebrating one of my favorite people in the whole world and her upcoming marriage.  There was lots of laying around at the spa, laying around on the beach, laying around by the pool…mixed with some shopping, a couple of great runs, and too much good food.  I thoroughly enjoyed getting to meet and visit with different pieces of the bride-to-be’s world(s).  It was a wonderful way to learn more about someone I already dearly loved.  I came home thoroughly rested and rejuvenated. 

And its a good thing, because the day after I came home, life around our house changed drastically.  Monday was a normal MMM (more later about the “National Pi Day” that we celebrated) and the kids went down for great naps.  Over the course of the next few hours, something RRL and I could not have foreseen began unfolding in a miraculous way.  Here is a little piece of the email I sent the next day…

While the events of the last 24 hours were not even on our radar screen, we know that all along the Lord has been paving a path for these events. RRL and I have felt very strongly over the last couple of months that the Lord was “preparing” us. While that was just as ambiguous to us as it sounds and left more questions than answers, the result was that we have been in a season of growing closer to each other and closer to the Lord. We have confided this in a few close friends and as a result, know that others have been praying for us…even before we really knew what they were praying for.  Yesterday the “what we were preparing for” fell in our laps in the form of three adorable siblings, the children of RRL’s stepsister. A, age 3 (three weeks older than Cbug), C, age 2 (6months older than Lou) and baby B (10 months).

We don’t really know how long our family will include our sweet nephews and niece, but for awhile at least it will change the photos and stories you see here quite a bit (obviously).  Our daily family tasks take on a whole new adventure-like-quality when handling them with six small children.  Its really hilarious, actually.  Can’t wait to give you a glimpse.  For now, though, here’s a picture to fool you into thinking we’ve got it all together (after all, it is my blog).

`

I mean, really, how adorable are they?

Life with six kids is anything but easy.  Its full of blessings in the form of tons of sticky kisses and lots of dog-pile-like hugs, but there have definitely been times it when it has been completely exhausting.  We continue, though, to experience that same sense that I wrote about in those very first days.  We still believe that He prepared us for this path.  He’s asking us to walk through something we didn’t choose, but He’s walking ahead of us, behind us, and right beside us.  Sometimes His presence is in the stillness of naptime, the peace of children playing together, or the sweet conversations I get to have with my husband after all 6 kids are in bed.  But sometimes its more tangible.  Many times, He’s walking with us in the form of His people.  People that are meeting so many of our needs, before we even know how to ask.

Here’s another email excerpt
“I am not exaggerating when I say that every single time we get to the point of being at our wits end, help arrives. There was one point this week that help was walking in our door with arm loads of groceries, at the same moment that help was walking out of our door after dropping off 3 of the children. We feel so loved. So blessed. Not alone.
I keep thinking about the following verses in Nehemiah, chapter 4. The building of the wall is well underway, yet threat of the enemy seems imminent. In order to complete the work they were called to, the people couldn’t just huddle together waiting for an attack. Instead they had a plan…
19 Then I said to the nobles, the officials and the rest of the people, “The work is extensive and spread out, and we are widely separated from each other along the wall. 20 Wherever you hear the sound of the trumpet, join us there. Our God will fight for us!”
Thank you for being the kind of friends that, no matter how spread out we are, no matter how many different paths of service He may lead us to, we know we can be JOINED at the sounding of a trumpet (or email or blog). We’ve seen this first hand as we’ve felt surrounded in presence and in prayer and as we watch what God is doing.”

We know He is at work and feel privileged to have a front-row-seat.

I know this is long, just wanted to document a small piece of our current lives.  And it seemed a bit abrupt to just show up in Deep Rolling Right Field, and not at least explain why the pictures include six children instead of three.  So there you have it.  Hope to be back soon…but no promises.

ABL

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