No Strings Attached

Bike Rides

2012-01-28T13:05:00.001-08:00

The rain has left us alone for a few days so the boys have been out and about riding their bikes. They even convinced me to join them on a ride to the park yesterday despite my concerns that it was just too cold! The ride home had all three boys moaning at how freezing they were. Inside I was able to give them all a "I told you so" jest as they sat next to the heaters warming their frozen little fingers.

All bundled up and ready for a bike ride.

A new road to explore. We are enjoying our new neighborhood and most especially the old logging road. It leads to a park as well as the river.

This guy has to do what his big brothers are doing. A stroller just won't work anymore. He wants to be on his bike too. So Brian takes his belt and wraps it around to give Darius an effortless ride.

Brian made the boys their own personal parking spots in the garage. They ride them right up to their special places.

Balloons and Blessings

2012-01-25T09:10:00.001-08:00

Last night around bedtime, we borrowed our neighbors' keys. The five of us had a very strategic mission. We trucked across the street, half of us barefoot (that's how a family of mostly boys rolls) with two garbage bags full of helium balloons, thanks to a perfectly timed message with left over supplies. We're Oregonians so of course we love reusing left over supplies. Plus we had some special people to pick up from the airport. Andy and Alison were coming home from their honeymoon and we wanted to surprise them with a clean house, treats, balloons and cards.

The boys wrote sweet letters on their cards. They were pretty cute. Judah in one line said, "I hope you have a kid or two. I hope your kids play with you." And another part read, "I hope Alison likes your house." It was a card of hopes.

As we walked across the street, Judah and Owen each held onto a black, floating bag while Brian and I anxiously hurried them along so as not to loose all the balloons. Inside, we let out the balloons and spent an hour tying string onto balloons as the boys ran around screeching with joy as they carefully chose locations to settle their balloons. Down the hall, in the kitchen, in the bedroom, right next to the door. Everywhere. And it was the best hour of their day.

It was a special evening for our whole family. I was blessed as I watched the sheer joy in my boys' as they were doing something special and loving for someone else. I was blessed as I sat with my husband working together , enjoying our kids' laughter, and sharing words and smiles.

Jesus' words came to mind, "It is more blessed to give than to receive." It had a new meaning for me in that moment. It was so very true. Our family could not have done anything more fun with our evening. No amount of entertainment could have possibly outweighed the great blessings all of us received by doing something special for someone else. And we did it together. What a special bond. I'm going into the future looking for more opportunities for our family to give to others. And in so doing, receive blessings!

Living Among Artists

2012-01-23T13:17:00.001-08:00

Today we painted. With real watercolor paints and real watercolor paper. The boys get giddy when they get to paint with the "adult kind!".

The process of allowing my two and four and six year olds to use real artist tools was really just that, a process. I had purchased the art supplies for myself originally, not with them in mind at all. They would find me working with the adult versions of their play things and stand there, drooling. One day I realized it was more work to keep them from the supplies than to just let them join in. And since then, I've never purchased another kid version of painting supplies.

In comparing the kid paints in the school aisle versus the real paints in the art aisle, it's a surprising normality we parents have taken on. Because it's the normal thing to buy your kids the 99 cent plastic box of dried out paint that comes with that little stick with a few black plastic hairs coming out. That's what kids are supposed to paint with. I'm glad I stumbled upon another way.

In all actuality, real paints are surprisingly inexpensive, work better, allow more control, last longer and look prettier. They don't dry out. They come in little tubes with varying colors that you squirt just the right amount you need into a little palette. And then the crazy part, your kids' paintings can really be framed and displayed in your home. And they can really turn out great.

One of my favorite quotes is by Pablo Picasso as he said, "Every child is an artist. The problem is how to remain an artist once we grow up." As I watched the boys paint this morning, I find that so true. There are times when I look at Owen's concentration as he is painting. He doesn't over think it like I do. He just goes with it, is happy as he's creating and doesn't expect anything out of it. He is just being an artist. In his own little growing way.

Scrunched Nose Smile

2012-01-21T14:45:00.001-08:00

The Dersh, as he's often referred to around here, has the best smile. I was happy to capture a few of his many different smiles. My favorite has to be his signature scrunched nose smile. Isn't it the cutest?

The Wonder in a Gift

2012-01-14T14:50:00.000-08:00

Since kiddo number three, I've been a terrible photographer and even worse photo downloader. It's the middle of January and I'm just now downloading my Christmas photos, of which I didn't take many. At least I did break out the camera. That is an upgrade this year. Here's some shots of our Christmas. I love the look on their faces. Pure wonder in receiving surprises.

Christmas Elves

2012-01-01T17:35:00.001-08:00

This year we had a few Christmas elves working away busily on gifts. All secretly working before Christmas to create one-of-a-kind, artistic, handmade gifts for family members. All without previous knowledge of the others at work. Here are a few of the unique items that now live in our home.

Brian created this very cool shelf for me. On a northwest Portland stroll earlier this year, we stumbled into a furniture store and I found a shelf that I adored. Brian secretly took note of the design and put his woodworking skills (plus picked up new ones) to work to create this bedroom piece. It will be stained dark later.

I love the corner wraps.

Judah painted this submarine painting on a canvas wrap for his dad. I think it actually turned out pretty fantastic. It's now gracing our home office.

And I did a painting as well, for Brian. It's of a well-loved conversation we had a long time ago. It's a watercolor painting that I put in a black frame where it sits in our bathroom.

Thankful

2011-12-07T09:37:00.000-08:00

Thanksgiving dinner.

Busy little crafters.

Making ornaments.

Very blinged out snowflake ornaments.

The two buddies sitting together while the bigger cousins are busy crafting.

The camera is here, must karate chop.

Fall Fondue

2011-11-04T13:39:00.000-07:00

Last night we kicked off November with a chilly walk in the dark, armed with flashlights, winter coats and hot chocolate. When we got home, we warmed up with a pot of chocolate fondue and loads of fresh fruit. Of course the boys had to try out everything several times to help figure out what their favorite was. Judah landed on the bananas and Owen chose the raspberries as his favorite. But just to be sure, they had to double check a few more times. We had such a fun family time that we're going to make this our newest fall tradition. The boys decided tradition meant every day and woke up this morning ready for more!

Banana cheers!

Giving this fondue thing a try.

So happy.

Going in for a chocolate-covered kiss.

Confirming that he's a eye-closing kisser.

Cuddles and chocolate, what could be better?

Yay! I heard a couple, "best day ever!"s by the boys. Chocolate fondue was most definitely a raging success in our home. And a new tradition to kick off the beginning of the holiday season.

In Search of Pumpkins...

2011-10-26T15:38:00.000-07:00

Dynamic Duo

2011-10-08T21:46:00.000-07:00

Judah and Adi are on the same soccer team again. And this year, it's like the light switched on for both of them. They are quite the teammates, both great hustlers and scorers. It's been so much fun to watch them in action. And they seem to always be together on the field, either actually playing soccer or chatting it up. Here's a few shots I got of them playing, the other always close by.

School Days

2011-10-08T21:13:00.000-07:00

School days are here! It's been four weeks of having a full-time student in our home. Judah has ventured off to the first grade and he is loving it. The most exciting things include, of course, hot lunch, recess, and the bus.

Hot lunch lost its luster after week one, when Judah realized that the cafeteria ladies monitor the the hot lunch kids to be sure they eat everything on their trays. So for the past three weeks, he has taken a cold lunch, which he now loves because no one tells him what he has to eat. Except for mom, where he gets the normal, "eat the healthy stuff before you eat the fun stuff" speech every other day or so. It seems the other kids get the same speech. I noticed this while eating lunch with Judah one day as another first grade boy was lecturing the kid in front of him, "eat your sandwich first!" I was actually amazed watching this cute row of little six-year olds all busily eating their sandwiches.

In regards to the bus, I was nervous. Judah was begging to go on the bus but it took me a week to let him go. Elliot walks down every morning and they go out the door at 7:55 where the bus picks them up right outside our house. It's pretty fantastic actually. And it only took me three weeks to let him ride the bus home. There are two boys in his class who ride the same bus. He absolutely loves it.

We're a month in and everyone is loving this new way of doing school. So far, so good!

Judah's first day of first grade.

At his desk for the very first time.

Two very excited people on his big first day.

Summer Beach Trip

2011-07-01T16:41:00.000-07:00

A rare family photo moment.

Taking group photos.

All the kids.

Beach fun.

Beach photo posing for mom.

Dad tackle from behind!

Snackmakers

2011-06-25T15:52:00.000-07:00

The boys making healthy treats: dried bananas.

Darius is still working on his banana cutting skills.

Bed of Boxes

2011-06-22T15:43:00.000-07:00

Day 2 of the banana boxes proved to be even more fun than day 1. Instead of a little train of boxes, the boys made the boxes into a little bed for Darius, equipped with a blanket roof and a soft blanket make-shift mattress for extra coziness.

Step 1 of getting out of the banana box bed.

Step 2 looks like it hurts but only giggles came out.

Step 3 is always, "I really didn't want out!"

If it looks squishy...

it's because it is...

really squishy for three!

But baby thinks it's fun to make it more squishy for those big brothers.

Ha ha...

Good thing it's really fun!

Night-night.

Cardboard Goodness

2011-06-20T14:15:00.000-07:00

Hours and hours spent with these three boxes. Needless to say, I'm just not ready to recycle them yet!

Diligent Darius

2011-06-18T13:47:00.000-07:00

One of my favorite verses is Proverbs 13:4. It says, "the sluggard craves and gets nothing, but the desires of the diligent are fully satisfied." Now this verse has always just been a normal piece of common sense to me until I read what the Matthew Henry commentary had to say on it. I was delighted with a whole new insight into this verse. He says, "the happiness and honor of the diligent; they shall have abundance. This is especially true in spiritual affairs."

All of a sudden, every verse in the Bible that talks about how working hard is important, was lit up in a new way to me. Not only in the natural, but also it applies in the spiritual. If you are diligent in spiritual matters, you will be satisfied. We can be starving spiritually and it naturally is linked to our spiritual disciplines. Working hard, digging in the word, praying, seeking the Lord, they are all a matter of diligence. They are the hard work of sowing that will lead to a great reaping, leaving us satisfied. What a new way to look at time spent reading and studying the Bible.

All that being said, I found the littlest member of our family working diligently alongside his dad in the yard. Darius found a rake in the shed, pulled it out all on his own, and drug it through the yard, to sweep up the grass clippings left in the road. I had no idea a two year old could put all that together, but he did. Brian had just mowed the lawn and was weed eating and cleaning up the yard. While the other boys were playing and running around somewhere else, Darius stayed right by his dad, working so very hard. It just goes to show, even a two year old can experience great satisfaction in hard work and diligence.

Big Two

2011-06-10T22:26:00.000-07:00

The baby of our family is no longer a baby! He's two today! Darius had an exciting day of being sung "Happy Birthday" probably a hundred times today. We lit and relit two little candles over and over again and sang and sang so he could blow them out again and again. It all began this morning with those two little yellow and blue candles being lit in a pile of syrupy waffles at breakfast. Over and over again. And then again after dinner, they were squished down in three oatmeal chocolate chip cookies. We went on a bike ride and came home for another round of cookies and candles. It was tears when all the singing and relighting and blowing out candles was put away so we could go to bed. What a fun day with three boys and lots of singing.

Three boys making birthday cookies for the big two year old.

Smile! Cookies are on their way :)

Happy Birthday to our Dare-Dare, Dersh Bersh, Darius!

Birthday Bike Ride

2011-06-10T21:30:00.000-07:00

Today after downing Darius' birthday cookies, the crew piled up in the car ready to go on a birthday bike ride. Notice the chocolate on all of their faces.

Oh by the way, somebody learned how to ride his bike today! The training wheels came off today and Owen's been cruising around all day...

With a huge smile!

This little guy tools around in his three wheeler.

All smiles, all day long.

Outdoor School

2011-06-03T13:39:00.001-07:00

Yay! It's a normal warm and beautiful almost summer day today. And so, we of course, had to take school outside. This is where we hung out today, on a blanket in the sunshine, working ever so diligently on learning what even and odd numbers are, among other things.

Darius helping Judah with his schoolwork.

Hard working boy in the sunshine.

Taking a kissing break.

"Hey mom, I'm a flamingo!"

Ha ha...life is funny.

Yay for doing school outside!

Brothers who love to be with each other.

Days Like These...

2011-05-31T21:32:00.000-07:00

It's the day before June and I've been freezing all day! I wore a sweatshirt with a down vest this evening and I'm still cold. So in honor of this very cold month, I've decided to post a few of our Hawaii photos. It's days like these that make me dream of somewhere warm...

The view from our room. Ahhhhh...

Us driving around in our convertible.

Outside of our hotel.

Brian getting ready to surf. He actually was able to get up on the board.

Inside the hotel's lobby. There were real flamingos in this pool.

Car Rides and Errands

2011-05-14T15:06:00.000-07:00

Errands are a part of life. They're boring and tedious but necessary. I've never given errands much thought until today as I was unloading my camera card. I know errands are miserable for me but I've never seen them through the eyes of the little kids that ride around with me. Until the photos popped up that is. The boys had again taken my little camera captive. I found over 300 photos taken by the boys of us on our errands. Consequently, I now have in my possession all of Scappoose taken from the backseat of our car. Here's a few of the ones that have us in them.

This is Darius and I after talking with some friends and heading back to the car. The boys were still strapped in their car seats and taking pictures of me.

This is the "I'm so bored, I'm about to take my nap" look.

Homeschooling Moments

2011-05-14T14:57:00.000-07:00

Lots of homeschooling moments are like this. Fun, progressive and exciting.

And lots of other homeschooling moments are like this. Difficult, attitudes and not very exciting.

But all in all, it's a family affair, where everyone gets to peek in and learn along.

We love to be together! I love this smile. And I love that this fun four year old gets to be part of the kindergarten class.

Brother Lovin'

2011-05-09T21:24:00.000-07:00

The other night Owen offered to feed Darius his bottle. How thoughtful was that? So Darius snuggled up with Owen and had his bedtime ritual. Judah saw what was going on and had to join in on the snuggles. Here's some snaps of them on a rare moment of all three slowing down their boyish rambunctious ways to love on each other.

Easter Egg Hunting

2011-04-25T10:46:00.000-07:00

The Easter Egg Hunt begins and they're off and running.

I found one sister!

Eat and run.

Hmm...I know there's an egg around here somewhere.

Am I hot or cold, mom?

Owen found a green squishy dragon. I've been working with Judah about being excited when good things happen to other people, especially his brother. Here he is thinking about it and a couple seconds later actually said, "good job O!" That was the highlight of my day.

The Fearless Four

2011-04-25T10:35:00.000-07:00

Every Friday night these four get together for their favorite night of the week. The biggest cousins out of the grand kid group meet up at the best place ever, Grandma Julie's house to spend the night. Did I mention this happens EVERY Friday night? Yes, the best night of the week for everyone!

Good Bye Five

2011-04-20T13:15:00.000-07:00

Exit five year old, enter six year old. That's what happened this month as we celebrated Judah's birthday. It included a van full of kids, a trip to Chuck E Cheese, games and prizes, and of course topped off with the family singing happy birthday and enjoying cake together. Happy Birthday to our Judah Bug!

I love the look of being surprised! Both boys are pleasantly surprised by new toys. I love how Owen knows that whatever Judah gets, he kind of gets too.

The Great Exchange

2011-03-25T16:15:00.000-07:00

"Whoever wants to be great must become a servant. Whoever wants to be first among you must be your slave. That is what the Son of Man has done: He came to serve, not to be served—and then to give away his life in exchange for many who are held hostage." -Mark 10:41

I was explaining this verse to the boys this afternoon and asked if they wanted to partake in the Great Exchange. I explained that this is where you give all your bad stuff to God and exchange it for His righteousness and eternal life. They were excited about this and so we took a few moments and prayed together. Immediately after the prayer, Owen looks up at me and asks, "how long is it gonna take?"

I smiled, trying not to laugh, and explained that it already happened! He was a happy boy that he didn't have to wait. It's been a very good afternoon with the best deal in the universe being exchanged in our little kitchen.

Boys in a Box

2011-02-17T11:17:00.000-08:00

This is a common thing to see in our home. The two littlest boys of the family sitting the toy box watching tv or just being together. I love it.

Being Big is Hard!

2011-02-10T12:39:00.000-08:00

I learned my lesson with the paintbrush scenario. I found a package of six identically perfectly fat paintbrushes while shopping recently that I swooped up as fast as I could. The next day, the boys went to work painting happily away. Even the baby of the family.

Darius has graduated from baby to active brother. As we sat him up on the chair to paint away, I had to take some official shots of him doing his first big boy activity with his brothers. It was quite adorable until the baby side of him kicked into high gear. I got it all down on record. See below:

Darius has his own spot at the table of big boys.

Learning the ropes of this new thing called painting.

Notice big brother thinks he can move the paints to a more neutral location.

Baby brother is not OK with that. Big brother looks a little worried with the sudden "WAAAAH!"

Definitely not OK!

Insert more "WAAAAH!"'s.

Running away from conflict and toward much needed comfort.

So sad!

Help is found.

Turning toward the accused and using all his words (WAAAAH!) to tell on him.

So very, very sad.

A little hug always helps.

Dad makes everything better and brings the big boy back to the table.

Insert bink to help soothe this very difficult transition from baby to big boy.

Back to being a very big boy.

Working hard and having fun.

And then the process all begins again. "WAAAAH!"

Oh, it's soooo bad! Momma intervenes and calls it nap time for this baby :)

Painting and Preaching

2011-01-07T13:39:00.000-08:00

Owen emerged from the schoolroom with a box of paints he had received in his Christmas stocking. He asked if they could paint so we had to scrounge up some paintbrushes first. There are a few oddball paintbrushes that meander around the house via little hands anywhere from the no-man's land drawers to under the couches. Just like my camera, they have the same fate. So we all set out on the search.

The first one to be found was a thin brushed yellow paintbrush. Owen found it in the drawer that is reserved for everything odd, like screwdrivers and scissors. He held onto that yellow paintbrush with all his might. I suggested he give it to his brother because we might still find the green one, which is significantly thicker and the coveted paintbrush. "Noooo..." he held onto it, keeping his options open, in the likely case that there was no emergent second paintbrush. Three seconds later as I walked into the family room, square in the middle of the floor (what are the odds?) was the green brush. Just lying there. I grabbed it and walked towards Judah to give it to him. Owen ran up to Judah and attempted to place the yellow, less desired brush in Judah's hand. There was no reception as Judah closed his fist so as not to somehow accidentally receive it. With his other hand he reached for the green brush.

You know what comes next. The three year old freaks out and it's an all out war between brothers for the better brush. It's all a blur for me from there. I imagine that blur of clouds and dust and stars that you might see in a comic strip picture at this point. That's all I can remember.

But within say, five minutes or so, we had two little boys painting away. The older had somehow given up his rights to the green brush and was happily painting a rainbow with the paintbrush half its size. A painting or two into the art session, Owen happily traded his better paintbrush for the lesser one. And they continued for quite some time, trading paintbrushes back and forth and enjoying letting out some creativity on paper.

I watched them on the other side of the counter, oohing and ahhing every now and then, and taking a moment to talk about the previous ordeal. I asked them to give me a little sermon on the take-away, "God's ways are better than my ways". (Brian works on take-away's with them at night, which are little Bible truths). They looked at me with blank stares. So I gave them an example.

"One day my brother wanted the better paintbrush that I had. And I know that God's ways are better than my ways so I thought I would let him have it, even though I really, really wanted it. It made him happy and brought peace to our family. He shared the good paintbrush with me and we had so much fun!"

Two pairs of little eyes peeked up from their work and I got a huge round of smiles. That's a Bible take-away that I think they understand a little bit better now. God's ways are better than our ways. You can preach that even while you paint :)

Real Life

2011-01-07T10:30:00.000-08:00

For my birthday a couple years ago, Brian bought me a little purple camera to throw in my purse. The fact that I know where that camera is, is a miracle. I have three sets of little hands that carry it around like they own the thing. At any one moment, it could be anywhere in the house. I find it in the strangest of places. And when it's time to download, I find the most random of photos captured on it. Random and real. They are real life moments that happen at our home, and I love what I find. They are photos that are far from staged and photos that I would never have thought to stop and take. Here are a few of the most recent.

Learning to read. Relaxed style.

I spied a little head and camera poking out from behind the wall. This is what he spied.

Learning to read. In pajamas. Is this legal?

The scary dinosaur in our bathroom.

Nine Cousins Sitting in a Row

2011-01-06T11:20:00.000-08:00

My sister-in-laws and I finally got all of our kids together for a full cousin photo. Every year we talk about doing it but someone has always been very pregnant and we would say that we will wait until that one was born. Well nine cousins later, with no one pregnant, we accomplished the impossible. Making all of our kids sit happily together as we attempted to get a good shot of them.

On a rainy day before Christmas, we piled them on a single sofa with m&m bribery in hand, to capture that shot that their amazing grandma has been wanting. It's not exactly picture perfect but we'll take it! Believe me, the job was much more difficult than appears.

Christmas Morning

2010-12-29T11:05:00.000-08:00

Our Friends

2010-12-11T16:18:00.000-08:00

This has been quite the exciting week at our house! While the Asante Children's Choir has been touring the Portland area, we received the honor to host a couple of the kids. In our house for nine days were two beautiful Rwandan boys, Charles and Vianney and their chaperone, Ivan. We had such an amazing time learning about these boys and their country.

The boys making a gingerbread house together.

Being silly. Which they are all very good at doing.

Vianney and Darius.

Trophies

2010-10-30T22:53:00.000-07:00

So the big event of the day today was Judah's last soccer game and of course the following soccer party. Dairy Queen was the venue of choice as a dozen little orange and black five year olds filled the back room with their families. The big question looming was finally answered after everyone had their fill of fries. Coach Dad picked up the mystery cardboard box and began to talk about each of the kids and then dum-dum-dum-dum, trophies! Wow, little kids like trophies!

They were so cute as they received their rewards for playing so well this season. The coach called Judah's name last. I guess that's how it's supposed to be for the coach's kid? Later in the day as we were talking about the day's exciting events, Judah reported to me that he got the very first trophy. I thought that was odd, so I corrected him to let him know that he actually got the last one. He then looked at me and said, "the last shall be first!"

I guess he got that Bible take-away :)

Pumpkin Season

2010-10-21T20:35:00.000-07:00

A few years ago, I put together a little book for the kids with some of our favorite pumpkin patch photos. There's a little story that goes along with it that talks about "when the leaves begin to turn beautiful shades of red, orange, and yellow..." then they'll know that it's time for the family trip to get pumpkins.

So last Sunday, Amy and I were discussing our upcoming plans for our annual trip to the pumpkin patch when we asked the kids if they knew what was happening the next day. They didn't and so I asked them, "what happens with the leaves begin to turn red, orange, and yellow?" They all blurted out, "we go get pumpkins!" Nothing else needed to be said and they were all frantically talking amongst themselves about our family trip to the pumpkin patch.

The next day was a day filled with so much fun as the nine cousins ran (well Raelyn didn't exactly run, she rode on her momma's back) around the pumpkin patch doing everything they could find to do. You know the routine; barn full of animals, hay maze, tractor climbing, cow rides, hay pyramid, hayride, pumpkin picking, fresh corn on the cob, and lots and lots of playing and running.

I think back to our first trip just six years ago with a little baby Colin. It's amazing how much happens in six years! It's very telling in the amount of people that have been added to our family. Thank you God for all nine of these very special people. We treasure all of them. I love that they have the gift of this wonderful thing called cousins.

Some of my favorite crazy ninos.

Thanks Uncle Leo, for making this special moment even more special.

A family photo shoot...of sorts.

The infamous hayride. We now take up an entire truck bed.

Oh yah, a big one!

Go Outside!

2010-09-30T22:50:00.000-07:00

I absolutely love our lot. It's a half acre of room for boys to play. Besides that, we have neighbors with great big yards as well, so there is plenty of room in our neighborhood. After a couple hours of school, I'm ready for the boys to go outside and play. There are times where, I suppose like every other mom, I make them go outside. Like literally kick them out.

Darius loves to follow them around wherever they go. The only problem with our yard is when you have a one year old. They don't quite get the boundary thing and we have no fences. So he toddles wherever he wants and oftentimes he'll wander through the neighbor's garden or through another yard. The boys are pretty good about going after him and bringing him to our yard. They hike him all over the place.

He's used to his big brothers carrying him around. I think it's one of his favorite modes of transportation actually. It beats walking up that hill all the time!

We got him!

This kid is getting heavy.

Sweet Owen in the neighbor's apple tree.

My little Judah who will now take photo shoots willingly for me.

Ah man, caught again...

Math Games

2010-09-30T22:36:00.000-07:00

So now that school is in full swing, we've been thinking of some other fun ways to get school in. One of Brian's favorite childhood memories was playing endless rounds of Yahtzee with his dad. So he took Judah on a little walk down to his parents' house and came back with his old Yahtzee box. They pulled it out and spent the evening learning a new game, which Judah now loves. Lots of math was going on without any arguments, other than to play some more of course.

Owen sits quiet and content just munching away at his multiple packs of smarties.

Counting, adding, all that math stuff without feeling like math stuff.

Winning feels good!

I love this shot. Poor Darius, just stuck in the middle of a big boys game. They seem to have him completely tuned out.

High fives all around.

School Days

2010-09-23T11:18:00.000-07:00

School days are here! It's been a great first few weeks of school here at home. Owen works on his preschool book while Judah works on his big kindergarten schoolwork. They both love the structure that this new school thing is providing. We moved Darius' room upstairs next to the boys room and turned the old nursery into a schoolroom. So far, so good!

A crazy little classroom.

Chowder School

2010-09-18T14:05:00.000-07:00

After much thought and discussion throughout the summer, we finally arrived at a decision of what to do with Judah for his first year of school. There are so many options and deciding what to do is less than easy. We batted around everything including public school, private school, homeschool. I told Brian, "at this point it's all just theory" but choosing one will have all sorts of rewards and consequences. Moving out of theory mode and into actual life is a scary step.

Thankfully the fall comes and you are forced to make the decision. So our choice was the charter school, which the kids call "chowder school". It's basically homeschool with one day a week in the classroom. The classroom is small with only seven kids. Two of them are his cousins (Adison and Aria), which make for almost half of the classroom being family!

On Tuesday he had his first day of school, which he was super excited to go to. With water bottle and snacks in tow, he happily marched into his classroom. I grabbed my phone and mommy-unashamedly took pictures of him. He looked like a deer caught in headlights. So a little disclaimer to the photo below, he really does loves his new school!

First day of school - somebody looks a little freaked out huh?

The white board Brian made us for homeschooling.

Bugs in an educational sort of way.

Judah's kindergarten class - first day of school.

Three "chowder school" kids enjoying their first field trip together.

Fall Days

2010-09-13T21:20:00.000-07:00

Here we go! The fall is here and of course that means soccer. This year is our first school year as Judah enters kindergarten. He's loving life as a big boy with soccer games and schoolwork.

This year, saying goodbye to summer has a whole new meaning at our house. After five years of diapers and babies, it's a new time at our house with a whole new world of big kid stuff. We're excited (and a little nervous) for this new area of life called structure.

A cousin chat.

Beach Bums

2010-09-13T21:06:00.000-07:00

Our Birthday Party

2010-07-05T16:30:00.000-07:00

I haven't had a birthday party since I was a little kid. I'm just never up for the idea. But this year was different. Earlier in the month, we didn't get to celebrate Darius' 1st birthday due to a brief hospital stay to remove my appendix. So by the end of the month, when my birthday was rolling around, I couldn't think of a better way to spend it than by throwing a first birthday party for our littlest guy. We celebrated with all of our favorite desserts. Chocolate cake of course, with whip cream and ice cream, chocolate covered strawberries and raspberries, and later when the fire got started, smores. It was a fun, relaxing evening with family as we celebrated Darius' first year.

Darius going to town on his chocolate cake. He ate the whole piece all by himself.

Lovin' that chocolate cake!

The night was all about desserts.

Cousins, Darius and Max, trying out the new birthday toys.

So happy at his party.

Darius and I at our birthday party.

A New Song...

2010-05-01T22:55:00.000-07:00

"Sing to the Lord a new song; sing to the Lord, all the earth."

Psalm 96:1

It happens all the time around our house. I happened to catch it on video today as we were driving. Here's a little video of Judah and Owen singing a song that Judah is making up. Owen sings the background echoes.

Crazy Lazy Day-sies

2010-04-27T22:53:00.000-07:00

Saturday and Sundays are work days around here, which make Mondays and Tuesdays our weekends. Our normal Sunday nights are generally spent napping and lounging around the house. We then attempt to recoup sometime by at least the next evening. The house is always in a strange mode of restful chaos all day Monday. It's pajamas for all until at least noon. Breakfast is usually a huge craziness with waffles and eggs and sausage and anything else that can be imagined and requested by five and three year olds. It feels crazy, but for now, that's our life. Mondays are major crazy, lazy days...and we love 'em!

Chasing Big

2010-03-24T12:43:00.000-07:00

Darius is in love with being outside. With the weather at perfect, we've been spending some time outdoors on a blanket. He doesn't stay there but explores this new area called our yard. He chases after the big kids but by the time he gets halfway there, they're gone and onto doing something new.

I watch him as he's in this stage of chasing big. For now he's quite a bit behind where the boys are developmentally. Though it doesn't look like it, I know the gap is quickly closing. I am sure by the end of summer, I will have three boys running around together.

Birthday Party, Daddy Style

2010-03-01T11:49:00.000-08:00

Moms think about their kids' birthdays. They plan and prepare and just think about it before it arrives. Not that dads don't, but I think it's safe to say they don't think about them nearly to the same degree. So for a while now, I've been thinking about Owen's upcoming little family birthday party.

I was up late the night before making lasagnas. And I made sure to make up goodie bags for all of his little cousin-friend guests. We had done our dollar store run for balloons and other odds and ends. There was a special Costco run just for an amazing four layer chocolate fudge cake. Gifts were purchased and wrapped. The house was cleaned and ready.

So an hour before the party was to begin, I had an unplanned conversation with Brian. I asked if he would do the cake part and lead us in the happy birthday song so I wouldn't be left with an unwanted solo. He agreed. I paused. "Maybe you could pray for dinner too?" Agreed again. I paused again. "Maybe you could just lead the whole thing?" Wholehearted agreement, bless his heart.

I went on with my preparation duties but the next time I saw him, he had some paper and a pen. Uh-oh, what was that all about? He was telling me about the game we were going to play to pass out the goodie bags. I told him that we were just going to pass them out. He countered me with a cool and confident, "but do we have a game?" My answer was a slow, "uh...no..."

He informed me that it was going to be a cake-walk type of game with music. Whoa, what was happening to my party? I tried to talk him out of the game but I could see any talking would be fruitless. The man was on a mission. I had given him the reigns and I wasn't getting them back. I had demoted myself from party planner DJ to photographer and cake cutter.

The guests began to arrive, with shrills and screams coming from Judah and Owen. Followed by sounds of their little feet pounding as they ran to the door to welcome everyone. The boys were so excited as they had been counting down the hours until the party. Everything was going just as I had planned at the beginning. Family arrives, check. Dinner, check. Relax for a moment, check.

And then I noticed Brian doing this:

He was actually helping Owen change his clothes from the cute outfit I had chosen (like every good birthday-planning mom does). He was allowing him to wear three layers of the ugliest shirts Owen could have possibly found. Eeeek! I bit my tongue. Owen was extremely pleased, as you can see:

The next thing that happened was Brian pulled out some paper with numbers and began to place them on the floor. All of the 11 kids came streaming into our little living room. They danced around on the pieces of paper to the music. The goodie bags were given as they "won". It was a little crazy. But fun.

And I kid you not, less than a minute later, as I was recouping from the game, luckily sitting with our video camera, I happened to look up to see this:

Whoa! That happened fast. With no warning at all! But I went with it and was just glad that at least I had the camera on. Whew! It was cute and Owen did a little jig as we all sang happy birthday to him. Plus I didn't have to break out in a solo, which was good for all of us.

Then, maybe thirty seconds later, out came this:

Brian had asked all the kids if they wanted to be helpers and bring out the presents. They all did of course and it was an absolute mad-house, free-for-all gift-opening event. It was a train that I couldn't stop. It was in full swing and I sat in complete bewilderment. It was one of those moments when you can't think and you have no idea of what you should do. So I just sat there, trying to remember how to think.

Even in the midst of my internal freak out session, I could see that all of the kids were having a most exhilarating time. Even the littlest ones were involved and helping unwrap:

The rest of the evening continued with cake and ice cream and conversation. It was such a good time to be with family and friends.

The whole party looked completely different than I had envisioned. It just didn't go the way a birthday party should go! From what most of us moms who need to control the little details think anyways. But it was a birthday party and it was different and it was fun. I think my favorite part was that Owen's dad was front and center. That is something that you just can't plan.

Thank you Brian, for being such a good daddy.

Partners in cake cutting.

Big Lessons in Little Plastics

2010-02-27T11:44:00.001-08:00

If you've ever been to Ikea and you have kids, you more than likely have a stack of multi-colored plastic cups and plates from there. You can't miss the huge pile of super cheap kid dining gear and it's just too easy to grab a couple of 99 cent items and throw them in your cart.

And those are exactly what my kids eat their meals on. Every morning they get a little plastic colored plate full of eggs and toast. And generally a little plastic colored cup of water. The colors include bright blue, pink, yellow, green, and orange. Blue was the favored color and pink never went over well, as you could imagine in a house full of boys.

So last year I noticed a trend happening at every meal. It would be kids hollering at me, demanding that they should get "da boo one!" With only one blue plate and one blue cup, it became obvious that we were all going to have learn a new policy. One, to relieve the stress and two, to deal with the selfishness that was manifesting itself in my children.

I began to teach the kids that it doesn't really matter what color plate you have because basically, they're all the same, they're just plates. And also that it's always better to give the better half or piece to someone else.

I watched Judah grab onto these truths wholeheartedly. It completely changed the dynamics of our mealtimes. The stress immediately stopped and was replaced with peace and kindness. I watched as he would carry little plates of eggs to the table for me and as he walked, he would inspect which plate had more eggs. The plate with more would always go to Owen. The same with the colors. He would always give Owen the blue cup or plate and he would always take for himself the pink ones. He really learned to not care what color he was eating on. Or who had more. I have been amazed at how he has learned this unselfish attitude.

It's been like this for the past year. So this morning I was on his side when this happened...

We were setting the table for breakfast. I handed him two pieces of banana to place on each of their plates. He stood at the table carefully inspecting the sizes. He then placed them, identical in size to the untrained eye, on each plate. He looked up at me with the sweetest voice and with such conviction told me, "I think I'll give Owen the smaller one because I think he needs to learn to share." He said this in such a way that you'd really have thought that all he was concerned about was Owen and his sharing skills. I looked at him and smiled and said, "I think you're right."

Technology These Days...

2010-02-23T23:06:00.000-08:00

So I've always disliked the idea of video games. And I have felt beyond blessed to not have any gamers in our family. Or so I thought. It didn't dawn on me that there were gamers in my midst until I saw this today...

Owen propped up comfortably on the sofa with my iphone. He was just lounged back having a good old time playing his little games like matching zoo. It kind of hit me by surprise when I saw him, in the middle of the day, just working his way around my phone. He knows how to swish his finger across the bottom to open it up. And he knows which buttons to push to get to his little games. He knows how to take photos and videos. And then he knows how to view them and watch the videos he made.

And he learned all of that without any help from me.

Just a loungin'

My Littlest Baby

2010-02-23T11:25:00.000-08:00

While the bigger boys were away fishing with Grandma and Grandpa on Sunday afternoon, I took the opportunity for a photo shoot with just Darius. He's the littlest baby of the family and growing up so fast.

I'm so big!

Sweet Boys

2010-02-20T22:35:00.000-08:00

Passions

2010-02-16T10:29:00.000-08:00

Owen has only been on this planet for a couple of years. And yet he's got interests. I think I should rather call them passions. Rockets and worms are on his list of passions. Those are two of his favorite things to do. Going outside to dig for worms and launching rockets with his dad. These two things hold his attention completely. I love getting to watch his passions grow.

Helping Dad build his rocket.

What's one brother's passion ends up spilling over to the other brother.

Very excited about the upcoming rocket launch.

A very common sight out my side window. Owen digging for worms.

Checking out the day's catch.

Our Derssssh

2010-02-14T21:50:00.000-08:00

Our littlest man is eight months old now. He's usually called either Dersh or Dare-Dare. I don't know where the nicknames came from but we hardly ever call him by his real name. He's the sweetest thing and I'm so glad he's part of our family.

Your Children

2010-02-03T20:37:00.000-08:00

Tonight at the dinner table Judah was enthusiastically telling us about something. He was talking about "pillows that are animals!" His dad asked him some questions trying to figure out exactly what he was talking about.

And then Judah again explained them and we began to catch on that there was some new stuffed animal thing that somehow turned into a pillow. Or something like that. Things were still a little foggy until he exclaimed, arms in the air, "they said that your children will love them!"

We looked at each other and laughed. The aha moment was upon us. Advertising, what a powerful thing.

It's what's for dinner

2010-01-21T15:15:00.000-08:00

The boys were playing outside today and Owen came to the door with his little chubby hand holding a prized worm. Worms are his new thing. He loves them. He digs for them and when he finds one, it's like he's just found a pot of gold.

He comes to the door with his treasure and lets me know that we are going to "cook it". I told him, "no, we are not going to cook the worm". A very emphatic, "Yea! We cook it for dee-ner!" His powerful stance had to be thwarted by a mom who hates worms, "Owen, don't you bring that worm into this house!"

Needless to say, the worm is back in his home. Where he belongs.

His Girl

2010-01-16T21:22:00.000-08:00

Tonight I told Owen he could have a cookie. I was rewarded with a huge, excited gasp and my favorite quote of the day, "mom, you my gull!" Normally he proclaims that I am his best friend if I do something he really likes but tonight I was his girl. How sweet is that?

Loved Even If...

2010-01-06T16:52:00.000-08:00

So I was pulled over the other night. Yep, with three kids and lots of craziness. Judah was freaking out asking me if the policeman was going to take me to jail. "Of course not" I had to tell him multiple times.

Everything was expired, our tags and our insurance papers. And so we waited for what felt like a very long time. I suppose that any time at all waiting with three kids on the side of the highway, with lights flashing feels like a very long time. Finally he came back, gave me a nice pep talk and then let us go. He was very nice and that was what Owen remembered, telling me, "poweeceman nice!" I was glad for that.

Later that night, long after I'd forgotten about the incident, Judah came up to me in a very serious manner and announced, "I love you soooo much Momma. Even if you go to jail, I will still love you!"

Happy New Years!

2010-01-01T15:10:00.000-08:00

We ushered the New Year in amongst quite the crowd last night. I think it's safe to say that we aren't exactly the party going types. But with free tickets (thanks to John and Erin) to the Champagne Ball at the Hilton, we dressed up and went out the door.

Brian loves dancing. I abhor it. It is absolute pure agony to me. But, in a roller coaster moment of love, I headed out to the dance floor with him and hundreds of other dance lovers. It's an understatement to say that I was out of my element. At one point it occurred to me, "I better jump in feet first to avoid dying out here".

So jump in with both feet I did. And then the surprise of my night, we actually had a blast together doing something I normally dislike. I suppose you can do anything together and have a really good time. Even if it's not exactly up your alley.

And that, I think, is called true love. Happy New Years and more true love to your New Year!

Before we left. One of the fun parts of the night. Owen putting his photography skills to work.

Getting to the party and ready for a new cultural experience.

The true party animals of the night. Right.

The lighting crew...plus us. We had a great time watching these guys work hard.

A Very Merry Christmas

2009-12-26T11:10:00.000-08:00

Last night, as I tucked the boys into bed, Judah said with a sigh, "I just had too much fun today". That about summed up our Christmas day. It was full of family, food and way too much fun.

Judah high-fiving Dad because of his new pogo stick.

A different Christmas morning perspective. Darius sat on the floor completely absorbed in his new toys, very unaware of and undetected by the rest of the Christmas morning craziness.

The Christmas breakfast makers.

Favorite Baby

2009-12-02T21:07:00.000-08:00

Judah: Mom, guess who my favorite baby is?

Me: Umm...Darius?

Judah: Yep!

Me: Wow, yah, that was a tough one.

Judah: Well, you got it! First time!

Nine Years with My Best Friend

2009-11-23T23:23:00.000-08:00

I love the fall. It's my favorite time of the year. Ever since I was little. I loved the smell of new crayons and that freshness of starting all over with new books, new school supplies, new teachers, a new start. So it seemed.

And then the year I turned 22, a real new start. Married life. In the fall. And now my falls are even sweeter than they were before.

This year on our anniversary I found beautiful white roses on our table. Every time we stop to smell them, Owen tells me, with a sweet voice and a sheepish grin, "you get maw-weed momma".

I'm only left to imagine his conversation with his dad on why they were buying momma flowers. It makes me smile every time.

Three boys later.

Cowboys

2009-10-31T22:20:00.000-07:00

There were two of them, in my house all day long today. Two very authentic looking and sounding cowboys. I lost count of how many cap gun refills I helped reload. And I lost count of the amount of times I yelled for them to take their guns outside and "close the door!" Despite all the noise, they were the cutest little cowboys I'd ever seen. And they made me smile all day long.

Who taught him to stand like that?!

A cowboy sweet moment.

Making Uncle Phil proud. Check out that stance!

Just the way a cowboy should stand.

Look on down there yonder. Who's it?

Ahhhh, our grandma! Yeehaw!

C'mon part'ner

Smoking gun.

It's been one of those rough and tough, good ole cowboy days.

A Fall Slow Down

2009-10-29T15:30:00.000-07:00

Two boys, in jammies, looking out the window at...

Full-fledged fall.

My sweet boy who is also...

Mr. Waterworks.

Sweet kissable cheeks.

Always watching momma.

Brothers playing...

and lounging together on a slow, fall day.

The Blue Button

2009-10-28T09:04:00.001-07:00

Yesterday I was cuddling and talking with Owen and stopped to ask him, "how did you get so handsome?"

Without hesitation he answered, "I pushed da but-ton."

I laughed and then asked, "what button?"

Very matter-of-factly, without missing a beat he answered, "da booo (blue) button."

Blue happens to be his favorite color.

I've been wondering how the little guy got so handsome. It's nice to know there are blue buttons out there that do that.

Bowling Boys

2009-10-01T07:48:00.000-07:00

When Judah asked his dad if he would take him bowling, we were on our way to the bowling alley that afternoon. It was Brian's day off and we all hopped in the car a little after breakfast (sadly close to noon) and spent a good hour (plenty of time) watching two boys throw big, heavy balls down the runway.

The poor guy behind the counter turned into our personal assistant. Multiple times he had to walk down the sides and push our bowling balls the rest of the way. On one occasion he had to move us to a new runway. Not to worry, it didn't seem like there was a whole lot for bowling alley employees to do on a Monday afternoon.

Will Work for Stars

2009-09-30T22:11:00.000-07:00

It's amazing what kind of work you can hire out for the low, low price of shiny stars. A few weeks ago I created some chore charts for the boys. They are loving the simple reward of getting to put a star on their chart. And I'm loving the obedience that is magically happening before my eyes. It's a beautiful thing to watch a new and completely different method of training actually work. And work much better than the old method. Positive reinforcement is better than negative? Go figure.

They used to fight over who got to take out the trash until they realized, "hey, we can both do it!" The other day I followed their trek out to the garbage can. I had been wondering how exactly their garbage-removal system worked. They've got it down quite well.

Super Chill

2009-09-21T23:36:00.000-07:00

Darius is our chill-man. He is so laid back and easy going. I stuck him in this basket for some photos and he loved it. It was as if it was his lazy boy. Here he is being just that.

Thrill Riders

2009-09-17T09:47:00.000-07:00

Tuesday and Wednesday mornings from 9:30 - 11:30 at Oaks Park (through the month of September) is open to toddlers for $6. On Tuesday our family joined up with Diane and Jaden for a morning filled with rides and slides and a storytime. The park is empty minus a few strollers and other moms with their little guys. It's a great way to spend the morning with your little energy bunnies.

So Big

2009-09-12T15:44:00.000-07:00

This week two of my boys moved up a size in their clothing. Darius' 0-3 newborn clothes went into boxes and out came the 3-6 months. Owen moved out of 2T's and into 3T's. Whew. Quite the workout. Physically and emotionally! They just keep on getting bigger.

Six Cousins Sitting in a Row

2009-09-09T21:24:00.000-07:00

Brothers

2009-09-03T10:51:00.000-07:00

Cuddle Bugs

2009-08-31T22:22:00.000-07:00

Darius continues to get lots of love and cuddles from his brothers. I caught them loving on him this morning. Owen brought his blankies and shared with baby brother.

One of Owen's favorite things to do is to suck on his index finger while rubbing one of his favorite soft blankies. Lately he has gotten into the habit of using his little baby brother instead of a blankie. He must think that Darius just looks so soft and cuddly. He will also use baby cousin Max or my mom's cat, Dora. Check out the photo below of Owen using Darius as his blankie.

My Monkeys

2009-08-25T22:49:00.001-07:00

As a momma, you never know what you're gonna turn around and see. Yesterday it was two little monkeys. They were "wost" and came to live at our house.

Helloooo Personality

2009-08-15T18:49:00.000-07:00

He's only two months old but he's having a blast with this thing called life. The smiles and coos have finally come bursting onto the scene and we're having so much fun interacting with Darius.

In Transit

2009-08-06T14:59:00.000-07:00

I peered out the kitchen window as I was cleaning up after breakfast. I watched as my husband and his dad unloaded our leather armchair (you know, the kind that matches the rest of the furniture). I saw them stop and look closer at the front part of the chair. And then there were looks between them and then looks back at the house with that, "am I caught?" look. I stared right at my husband. We locked eyes and I gave him a finger point with that look, "yes, you are caught!" I watched as he let out an "oh no, I'm caught!" laugh.

I knew what had happened without having to see it. Over the past year, our chair had made regular trips on Sunday mornings down to Branches for different kinds of interviews or events. This particular Sunday I had this feeling that someday my chair would inevitably come back ruined with all of that moving around. I had no idea it would be that same day until I saw the looks of the faces of those two movers.

And then I knew. Right away. I didn't have to go out and inspect the damage. I would instead calmly wait for the report. Especially after their next move of carrying the chair into the garage. The garage! Yes, my third piece of a three part set was being dragged into our garage. Never to be seen by our living room again. It now sat innocently amidst our lawnmower and an old washing machine waiting for the next dump run.

It was that bad. There was a zig-zag rip across the front of the chair that spanned over a square foot. It was so bad that we didn't even entertain ideas of fixing it. The only glimmer of hope in our now seemingly bare living room was an insurance policy. Yes, for some crazy reason we actually purchased furniture insurance with the set. They sold it to us by exclaiming that if your child were to poke a hole in the leather with a pen, you're covered and magically a new sofa would appear. Wow! That would be cool! OK, sign us up.

We dug up the policy information and read through the requirements. There it was, in black and white, on the first line of reasons that will not be covered. In transit. The list was long and that's when I realized two things. One, that this policy was written by a team of lawyers for the purpose of increasing revenue, not helping people out. And two, was quite possibly the dumbest thing we'd ever purchased. Burning money is more what it felt like. Duped into a scam. The only real thing that it did seem to cover was if your child did poke a hole in it with a pen. And now that I really think about it, kids are generally not that strong.

So the only thing that the policy covers is the impossible. For everything else, there's visa. Literally. Your own visa. To cover unexpected things like a chair in transit coming home with a hole in it. And after some odd weeks of a living room that just felt empty, we found a perfect matching chair at Costco. We grabbed one and put it on our cart. The boys immediately jumped onto the moving armchair and rode it out the front door like two little kings.

The new chair made it home via in transit. And I am happy to announce that our living room feels back to its old self now. With absolutely no insurance.

Our Trip to the Alps

2009-08-03T13:34:00.000-07:00

OK, well not exactly the Alps. But it felt like it to us. And since we probably won't be visiting Europe anytime soon, Mt. Rainier will just have to do for now. We actually had a wonderful time visiting some beautiful parts of Washington this weekend. Just the three of us (only Darius was allowed on the trip) took the two and half hour drive up to Packwood for Jason and Stacey's wedding.

We stayed in a quaint historic hotel that felt like something you would expect in Switzerland. It was a nice $39 for the room with the catch of sharing bathrooms with the rest of the nine other rooms. Thankfully everything was extremely clean which helped ease my nerves. Our room felt like we stepped back into time. I don't think much had changed since its early years as a hotel room in 1912.

I first realized how deep into the wilderness we actually were when I happened to look out our window to see a huge animal munching on grass. My first thought was that it was a horse, but that didn't make any sense and it was too big to be a deer which led me to the conclusion that it must be an elk. Another one came walking around and it was the strangest sight to see elk meandering through town.

The next day we ventured out to Mt. Rainier for a hike. The views of the mountain and the Cascades were breathtaking. This wasn't too far from home and we wondered why we had never been here before.

Later that evening we attended the wedding, which was beautifully set in front of a gorgeous river and mountainous views. The weather was delightful. It was a perfect day for a perfect wedding. Congratulations Jason and Stacey!

Our Alps.

One of the Cascade views from the top of the trail.

On our hike.

Hotel Packwood.

The historic hotel.

Back to 1912.

The elk.

A picturesque setting for a wedding.

The happy couple, Jason and Stacey.

Off into the sunset.

Enjoying our weekend away.

Belly Floppers

2009-07-26T01:26:00.000-07:00

Oh my goodness, I definitely have boys! These two are some of the craziest little guys I've ever seen. They love to jump and they love to swim. The combination makes for some fun times for them and some intense moments for me as they play in Grandma's pool. Check out the video below of some of their great belly flopping.

The Other Brother Time

2009-07-19T00:06:00.001-07:00

While Judah was out and about in the neighborhood (down at Elliot & Anna's house), Owen woke up and found Darius still napping. Owen was in that mellow, dreamy phase after his nap and laid down next to his little brother for some brother cuddle time.

Brother Time

2009-07-17T15:25:00.000-07:00

During nap time today, I was able to sneak in a photo shoot of Darius. But Judah is right at that age of switching from the beloved two hour nap to some days not having one at all. Today was a no nap day. And so he joined the photo shoot, completely oblivious to the fact that he wasn't the main subject.

Big brother sneaking in on little brother's photo.

Little brother being a little brother to big brother.

Good Pals

2009-07-17T08:07:00.000-07:00

Brothers. Playmates. Best friends. So fun to watch.

It's Gone

2009-07-13T17:46:00.001-07:00

We first noticed it was gone on July 9th. And then I realized that was just one day before his one month birthday. My brand new baby didn't look like a brand new baby anymore. All day long we commented to each other that his newborn stage was gone. Just that fast.

Why does it have to leave so quickly? The only condolence is the excitement of getting to know him and to see his personality. Small glimpses shimmer through his eyes as he begins to connect with us more and more each day. That couldn't happen if he didn't grow up. Ahhhh, the joys and sorrows of time passing.

Getting bigger.

The comforting big brother.

Serenaded

2009-07-12T21:58:00.000-07:00

I caught the boys serenading Darius the other day. While he was asleep. Very effective serenading. Here's a video of their beautiful singing and songwriting skills at work...

Three Peas in a Pod

2009-07-09T15:51:00.000-07:00

These three love to be around each other. It's been fun to watch Darius get kisses all day long from a passing-by brother. They rarely run by him without stopping for a kiss or a hug or a cuddle. If I have Darius laying down on the couch for a nap, then in no time at all, there's a brother laying next to him. The big boys have done so well with him and I'm beyond pleased with how much they love him.

Owen holding his baby brother.

Uh-oh Mom, the baby's crying! Help!

The Fourth

2009-07-06T11:30:00.000-07:00

We spent the Fourth of July weekend in Bend, thanks to Amy's parents, who supplied our family with a house and hospitality for the stay. Thanks Mike and Marty for the fun weekend! Our time was spent eating lots of yummy food, swimming, participating in the parade, playing games, golfing and of course watching fireworks. Here's a few pictures from our vacation in the sun.

The whole crew getting ready for the parade.

The grandmas with their hoops.

Here comes Uncle Sam and the little kid on his decorated hog. With his blankie of course.

Owen could not concentrate on where he was going or anything else except those pretty spinning pinwheels. He had lots of crashes.

Decorating for the parade.

Somehow the kids didn't get to bring any toys but Dad snuck some in, which the kids took over.

The difference six months makes.

Pacifier Patrol

2009-07-01T14:58:00.000-07:00

Three kids means three car seats in one car. A truly scary thought. We had talked for weeks before Darius came as to how we would arrange the car with that many obnoxiously oversized seats. When he finally came, we were pleasantly surprised to find that all three car seats fit in one row.

Right away Judah contended for the middle seat to "sit by both Owen and Darius". He now gets that middle seat and the new job of "pacifier patrol". Every car ride, Judah gets armed with a binkie and does a most fabulous job of keeping our newborn quiet.

And the rest of us happy.

On duty.

Bored on duty.

Still Love Him

2009-06-29T11:16:00.000-07:00

Judah and Owen were helping me change the baby's diaper this morning. I usually just prop Darius on my bed and change him there. The boys climb all over the bed to get the best view possible when "helping". While surveying the damage, the boys noticed how much was in his diaper and I said something about how he had done a "big one".

Judah turned to me and asked, "but we still love him...right?"

Yes Judah, it doesn't matter how many messes he makes, we'll always love this little man.

Birthday Cake

2009-06-28T00:02:00.000-07:00

Today was my 31st birthday. I didn't expect a birthday cake but I got my favorite one yet. Judah, Owen, Colin and Adison were the cake decorators this year and it was as much fun to watch them as it was to eat the cake. Check out their steps below...

Step 1: Frost the cake

Step 2: Add toppings

Step 3: Add more toppings until it's completely covered

Step 4: Smile and lick anything that has frosting on it

Skater Boys

2009-06-25T17:41:00.000-07:00

The boys have spent some time in the garage working on their skateboarding skills. Here's a video of their latest accomplishments. Enough to make a momma stress out...

Big Helper

2009-06-24T17:38:00.000-07:00

The older boys have been playing at my Mom's house non-stop for the past month or more. Yesterday they went over to go swimming and play with their cousins, which gave me some much needed time do laundry. I was in the thick of it when Darius began to get fussy. I propped him down in a basket of laundry that just came out of the dryer. He melted into the warm sheets and took a little snooze. Here he is helping me out with the laundry...

Sleeping on the job.

Where's the baby?

Babies

2009-06-24T10:39:00.000-07:00

So last night I was busy getting everyone to bed, including myself. I was doing the last few things, putting pajamas on and brushing my teeth when I heard two very loud boys singing a new, made-up song. They were singing, "Baby! Baby! Baby!"

I was focused on finishing my nighttime rituals so that I could get to bed as soon as possible when the song kept getting louder and louder and there was lots of motion coming from the door. My boys were working so hard to get my attention and finally I looked up to see them each wearing one of Darius' new bibs. They had found them tucked away and helped themselves to them.

What made the whole episode so hilarious was how they thought they were so funny. So here are my "babies"...

Owen doing the "Obo Jig".

Lazy Days

2009-06-22T18:04:00.000-07:00

Ahhhh, the lazy days of summer. This baby was born at the absolute perfect time. I'm at home with the boys, simply enjoying the slow days of having three little ones to take care of. With a four year old, a two year old and a newborn, there is nothing quick or seemingly productive about your day. The only way to enjoy it is to take it for what it is. Everything seems to be in slow motion. Trying to remember to embrace the moments that seem to be at a snail pace because before I know it, they'll be gone.

Brothers

2009-06-20T17:10:00.000-07:00

I don't think I've seen two prouder brothers than Judah and Owen. They are both absolutely in love with their new baby brother. Judah told me yesterday that he "loves baby Darius more than Owen". We had a little chat about how we're supposed to love them both the same but sometimes it may be a little different.

All in all, these two big brothers are wonderful brothers to each other and to their new little tiny one. I'm beyond thrilled that they have one another. It may be loud and crazy but there is much love among these brothers.

Three Boys in a Tub

2009-06-18T17:03:00.000-07:00

Darius had his first bath today. Of course he loved it. Although with the other two in there he should have been more scared than he was. The boys were beyond thrilled when they realized that their newest brother would be joining them.

Just Chillin'

2009-06-18T16:57:00.000-07:00

The one new baby item that I purchased during this pregnancy was a moses basket. It has been our favorite baby thing. Darius doesn't cry much and when he does, he's hard to hear from across the house. I just pack him around with me during the day and it's much easier to keep an eye on him.

I was getting ready for the day in my closet and so packed him alongside. Owen came around, saw his brother laying cozy on the floor, left and came back with his own blanket. He propped down next to him and took a little rest with his new brother. It was a pretty sweet little moment.

Baby Dssss

2009-06-18T16:29:00.000-07:00

One week down, 935 more to go. Well, that's at least if he stays here until he's 18. The question I keep asking Darius is, "how do I bottle this up?" He's so soft and snugly, smells so good, and is just the sweetest little sleeper. You can pack him anywhere and he doesn't care (yet). You can roll him up into a ball or lay him across your chest. He's way too kissable and just too much fun. We are all absolutely loving life with "Baby Dssss", as Owen calls him. I just wish there was a way to bottle up a bit of this sweetness for later.

Pure Sweetness

2009-06-16T17:37:00.000-07:00

There certainly cannot be anything sweeter than a brand new baby. Tomorrow is Darius' due date and I'm so happy that we have had this week to cuddle and love him. The question that keeps popping into my mind, how do you stop time? We've been spending the past few days taking in deep breaths and attempting to etch into our memories the wondrous, precious moments of this little one's first week of life.

Tiny Toes

2009-06-15T15:32:00.000-07:00

What a joy these little toes have been in our home. And all the rest of this little person that God has put into our family.

I remember one day last fall when Brian looked up at me to see my face in utter turmoil. He asked me with great concern, "what's wrong?!" That's when I, speechless, pulled out the pregnancy test and handed it to him. We were both quite shocked that entire day and the weeks and months that followed. Another baby? Life was already feeling crazy with the other two we had. It took me months, if not the entire nine months, to adjust to this idea of a baby.

And here I am, on the other side of this pregnancy, five days into it with my sweet third born son. I am in awe and in constant gratitude to the Lord for his providence in my life. This perfect little person has stolen my heart away and I could not imagine for a moment life without him. Since his arrival, I have not stopped thanking God for giving me this pregnancy, although I had loathed most moments of it, and for giving to our family this sweet little Darius. God has been too good to me.

Darius Nolan

2009-06-12T13:14:00.000-07:00

He's finally here and we are blessed beyond belief. Darius came on Wednesday, June 10th at 5:39 pm. He weighed 7 pounds, 15 ounces and was 20 1/2 inches long. The delivery was quick and easy (can I say that?) and left us with a beautiful, healthy, perfect little man to add to the crew.

We came home the next day right at lunch time (thanks to a super on-top-of-it nurse!) and have been having the best time being a family of five together. Thanks to all my crazed nesting, we came home to a very clean house and things have been so smooth and lovely around here.

I woke up this morning a little after 8:00 am, shocked to wake up to sunlight. Darius had slept six hours without waking up. We all woke up refreshed and the day has been so relaxing and wonderful. Is this life with three? I'm sure there are rough times ahead but for now we are all relishing in an easy and beautiful transition.

My Workers

2009-06-07T00:06:00.000-07:00

The last project before baby arrives was finished today. Brian turned a cluttered, useless closet into valuable and usable space for all of baby's things. The boys were out in the garage helping their daddy work on the closet. This is what I found when out to check on their progress.

Safety first! Earplugs are important when working with power tools.

That's so loud Dad!

The before shot of the closet.

Ready for all of baby's things.

Owen helping Mom fill up the new closet.

Anytime your ready now baby!

Three Weeks or Less...Hopefully!

2009-05-25T19:43:00.000-07:00

Everything is packed and I'm ready to bolt out the door if need be. There's nothing imminent that needs to be nested. I have everything I need to get this labor on. Except the full-blown labor part. Now hopefully my mind can settle down a bit and relax.

No Strings Attached

Bike Rides

Balloons and Blessings

Living Among Artists

Scrunched Nose Smile

The Wonder in a Gift

Christmas Elves

Thankful

Fall Fondue

In Search of Pumpkins...

Dynamic Duo

School Days

Summer Beach Trip

Snackmakers

Bed of Boxes

Cardboard Goodness

card·board box: -noun. (1.) the best toy in the world!

Diligent Darius

Big Two

Birthday Bike Ride

Outdoor School

Days Like These...

Car Rides and Errands

Homeschooling Moments

Brother Lovin'

Easter Egg Hunting

The Fearless Four

Good Bye Five

The Great Exchange

Boys in a Box

Being Big is Hard!

Painting and Preaching

Real Life

Nine Cousins Sitting in a Row

Christmas Morning

Our Friends

Trophies

Pumpkin Season

Go Outside!

Math Games

School Days

Chowder School

Fall Days

Beach Bums

Our Birthday Party

A New Song...

Crazy Lazy Day-sies

Chasing Big

Birthday Party, Daddy Style

Big Lessons in Little Plastics

Technology These Days...

My Littlest Baby

Sweet Boys

Passions

Our Derssssh

Your Children

It's what's for dinner

His Girl

Loved Even If...

Happy New Years!

A Very Merry Christmas

Favorite Baby

Nine Years with My Best Friend

Cowboys

A Fall Slow Down

The Blue Button

Bowling Boys

Will Work for Stars

Super Chill

Thrill Riders

So Big

Six Cousins Sitting in a Row

Brothers

Cuddle Bugs

My Monkeys

Helloooo Personality

In Transit

Our Trip to the Alps

Belly Floppers

The Other Brother Time