Daddy

You work hard to provide for our family

You are good to us

You spend time making our house fit our growing family

You teach the kids teamwork

You include the kids in things you do even if it slows the process down

You are making the kids into little Cubs fans

You make characters for each child on your favorite computer game

You play that game listening to them tell you how to play it

You do funny things to make the kids laugh

You are patient

You love them back as much as they love you

You are a great Daddy

Dishes

I sat here pondering for a little bit if I should do the dishes or not. I don't really like to do the dishes and have tried to find joy in it, but I just can't. But, they need to be done or there are no more spoons for the morning if they are still dirty on the counter. As I am running the water and putting the first batch in my sweet little Max peeps his head out his door while rubbing his eyes and says "Mommy, will you leave some dishes for me to dry?" I hear this from his little mouth after I was upset with him for not having his room cleaned up as he said it would be before he went to bed. I guess it just reminds me that we are teaching our kids to pitch in and help around the house. I just think they enjoy it more when it is the new jobs laid out in front of them. This is just the reminder for me to give the kids a little grace when things are not as I would like to have them. God is so willing to give me plenty of grace for the places in my heart where I need it and just have to remember to pass that on to the little ones He has given to me. I don't know why dishes teach me this but God has a funny way of putting in front of me what I need to be working on. While I may not like the act of washing the dishes it gives me great pleasure to have a clean counter and an empty kitchen sink to wake up to in the morning. All these little things add up to make doing the dishes worth it. Gotta love these reminders :)

Of course this wouldn't be complete without a picture of my wild man Max!

...and so it rained

It came down with a furry and left us with a great big puddle. They jumped and got filthy dirty and I loved watching every minute of 'happyness' on their little faces.

The End....of Second Grade

Here is to the last day of second grade for my sweet boy Noah. He has had such a fun year with a great perky teacher and many new friends. Noah joined Cub Scouts this year and the exciting thing about that was most of the boys in his den were in his class. He had to opportunity to develop friendships that will hopefully last a lifetime. Noah has been reading lots of Baily School Kids and Star Wars books this year. He loves to read with me as I do with him. We get very expressive with the characters and Noah is very sure to let me know if I don't sound them out the right way. I am smiling so big on the inside to see the fine young little man our Noah is becoming.

The End...of Kindergarten

Today is the last day of Kindergarten for my twin babies. I am so proud of how this year has gone for Max and Naomi. We had a little graduation for them at school yesterday afternoon. Naomi won the acting out the best troll in their Billy Goats Gruff play award. She did such a great job jumping out at the billy goats in their play that some of the kids jumped back and were really scared because Naomi growled at them so loud and scarey! Max won the best snowman award for the day daddy went to school with them to help the class. He was so proud of daddy being there. They also had to make a paper and picture and tell the audience what they wanted to be when they grow up. Max wants to be a teacher and Naomi wants to be a massager like mommy. That was just way to sweet. I am proud of how the two of them have done this year. They have grown up so much and are such great little people.

One more BOY!

We were so blessed last week to have an ultrasound of the new baby with all of the older kids with us to find out that our #5 is a boy! He had his hands crossed over his head a lot so we couldn't get a good 3-D image or see his hands good. There was no problem telling he was a boy if you know what I mean:) It was fun to watch him move around which made it more real for the kids. I am fascinated with all the little bones and how they are so defined especially his hands and feet. Max was jumping for joy and saying "Yes" while Noah and Naomi were very upset that it wasn't a girl. I knew what each one wanted but didn't expect those reactions. A few days later though and Naomi is now praying at night for her new baby brother or the boy baby. I think she is just going to love having a little baby around again. Noah hasn't said much else but I think he is ok with it now. We have been very focused on building the boys a bedroom downstairs. Over the weekend the kids helped dig a hole for their new window so the builder can come on Thursday to install it. We have much painting and moving around of other rooms upstairs to make everyone fit. But, the progress is moving forward and that is exciting! Now we just have to pray Marlee will sleep in a big girl bed really soon so we don't need another crib. She is such a stinker that I think I may be dreaming. One can always hope.

On one other thought, Daddy is excited because now we have our own starting lineup and our own soccer team! Yeah for us!

Twins

I captured this sweet moment while at the soccer field this morning. It wasn't raining but Max and Naomi had to have the umbrellas up and ready to go if needed. As I sat next to them I listened to Naomi humming Jingle Bells while coloring in her Hello Kitty coloring book and watched Max go through his candy bag nonstop asking me if he can have another treat.

They are such a gift. Completely opposite. Naomi is very independent and is starting to be a little mommy as she listens to the boys fight and marches right to where they are at and says "Boys! Stop fighting right now. That is enough of this." She is mostly quiet and loves to be helpful. Naomi loves to play with her my little ponies, unicorns, and pretend to be a kitty with Noah as her owner. I love when she asks me to color with her. The pictures are always like a rainbow and filled with color.

Max is very dependent on us. He asks for help with just about anything and needs constant direction for what he is doing. He takes his sweet ole time doing his daily jobs and dilly dally's around getting involved in building with legos or reading a book when he is supposed to be cleaning up. Piles follow him everywhere he goes. Max is very loud and highly wired. Some days I just don't know what to do with his hyperness but I do love that he has such a great energy in life. He plays with all his heart in whatever he does.

Our hearts are always happy when Max gets a book Naomi likes from the school library when she is sick without us even asking. Naomi is just as thoughtful to Max when he is out of school for the day and brings him his work and explains in detail what he needs to do. They don't play together much in their classroom at school but I think they are unconsciously watching out for each other. We often forget Max and Naomi are our twins because we are so used to them being with us and we see such differences in them yet they are bonded in a way that is unexplainable because they are simply just part of each other.

Rain

I love hearing the rain fall. I am sitting here on the couch with the windows open and the sound is just so peaceful. It reminds me of being a child. I remember running around outside in the rain opening my mouth to catch the drops on my tongue. I remember jumping in puddles with the freedom of no worries about how wet I am getting or that I may get sick from being wet. At times I am overly protective of the kids and I need to remember to let go and let them be who they are. Let them discover the world around them instead of creating what I want them to see. Yes, they need protection but they also need freedom to become the beautiful little people they are. I write this just to remind myself to let them experience in their own way the simple things in life and appreciate them for their uniqueness. So, next time it rains I will let the kids run and jump in puddles with no worries on my mind. I will just enjoy watching them without freaking out that they are going to get sick. I want them to create a memory of their own like mine. I love how a sound of nature can remind me of something so sweet in life.

Things that make me happy today

-Getting a call first thing in the morning from a massage patient telling me the massage I gave them the day before made them feel like a new person. The call was my Hallmark card!

-Making my own laundry soap at $1 per 5 gallons thanks to the Duggar family recipe. Can't wait to try that out tomorrow after it sets.

-Clean sheets on my bed.

-A beautiful walk in the morning from bringing my truck to a great mechanic in town so I can open my door again from the inside.

-A friend who offers to drive me to get my truck so I don't have to walk far again.

-Spending time with Marlee in the front yard and getting fun pictures with Bokeh and good catchlights in my photos!!!

-Hearing Max and Naomi's presentations this morning on their research project. Max did soccer which his picture had a boy kicking a ball at the other boys head:) Naomi did Seahorses and drew a mommy and daddy seahorse with almost one hundred babies!

-Knowing what is for dinner-Tacos.

-Looking forward to Max and Naomi's Music program this afternoon.

-Plans to go to the park tonight for Noah's raingutter regatta race for cubscouts.

Miss Marlee

She is walking!!! Marlee definatitely takes her own time probably because she likes everyone else to do things for her. Today she is walking across rooms to me and then off to get what toy she wants. When she gets to where she is going or falls down she laughs and looks for us because she is so proud of what she has accomplished! The other kids love it when she walks. They get so excited and if I am not in the room they run in to tell me "Mommy, Marlee just walked from the big couch to the little couch!" They just make me smile because they love all her little milestones so much.

Little Miss likes to take her socks off now too. She thinks it is the funniest thing ever to rip them off her feet. So, when she takes me her shoes I usually have to go on a search for her socks, and that is no easy thing. Marlee loves to go outside which we haven't done too much because she is ripping up her pants from crawling on the ground. She loves to watch the kids out the window and is constantly trying to pull the screen door open. We will be running around soon! I can't wait till she is more free to see what she gets into in the great outdoors!

and so it begins...."Mrs. Oosterhouse"

I am starting my blog. We'll see where it goes. I just hope to capture some of the moments that can too quickly be forgotten. So, for my first post is something that will forever be in the back of my mind whenever I see the number from school on the caller id.

For the first time ever I get a call from the principle at the kid's school. "Mrs. Oosterhouse" (now I know something is bad) "I need to talk to you about Max. He peed on a tree at lunch recess." It is all I can do to keep a normal voice so she doesn't know I am cracking up on the other end of the phone. She had me talk to Max and have him tell me what he did. He of course blamed it on the other little boy who did it before him. Peer pressure already! I had to tell him it wasn't a good thing to do in front of other girls and boys and that we would talk to him more when he got home. I guess if that is the worst thing we get a call about from the school that would be perfectly fine. Oh, the joy of having boys.