JUST ME AND MY MAX

It was your special day. You and I got to leave after lunch and start our time away going to the 3-D G-Force movie. It was awesome. You loved the big robot monster and the guinea pig ball cars. Darwin was your favorite guinea pig character. We checked into our hotel then left for Toys R Us for a lego set. You picked out a Power Miners set that you put together over dinner at the Macaroni Grill. The kind servers name was Kevin and he gave you a big bowl of ice cream after dinner! You loved it. We made a stop at Meijer and I bought you your own first Bakugan which you couldn't stop gloating about. After we returned to the hotel we went swimming. It was cold at first so we went in the hot tub. After getting overheated there we decided the pool felt better and we had the whole thing to ourselves. It was the first time I have been swimming in quite a while and it felt good to get in the water. It was great fun racing across the indoor to outdoor connected pool and watching your confidence grow as you kicked your feet so hard to beat me to the other side(with your floaty on of course). You loved the pool but you really enjoyed the hot tub.

A few things you asked me from the time we left home
MAX:Do we have to sleep together at the hotel?
MOM:No honey, unless you want to.
MAX:Good, I don't want to sleep with you.

MAX:I am glad it is just you and me. I always fight with Noah.

MAX:Do you think Naomi and Noah are wondering what we are doing right now? (I was asked this several times)

We laughed about the stupid dogs that were barking in the other room, and I tickled you when you were playing the give me five up high and down low game. We checked out your teeth and noticed both of your top "buck teeth" not butt teeth are loose:)
We bought a new Scooby movie so after getting ready for bed you made yourself very comfortable on your bed with some water and Cheerios mix and the laptop on your belly. After two episodes we turned Scooby off and were ready for lights out. You told me you weren't tired but 2 minutes after the light was out you were sound asleep. Now I am listening to you breathe and praying you have deep dreamfilled sleep.


I can tell you are really concentrating on something when your tongue is out of your mouth like this.


Saturday morning we walked around the hotel to take pictures. You had to go up to the top floor then down all the steps. Thankfully it was only 4 stories down. We had an agreement that mommy had to do a bit of shopping today since Friday was all about you. I got new sandals and then found fabric for the new baby room. We went to Texas Roadhouse for lunch because you love to throw the peanut shells on the floor. It was funny watching you do that because you would first look to see if anyone was watching you then wipe your pile on the floor.




You are such great company and I really enjoyed spending 24 hours in just your company. I love to see your uniqueness which makes me love and appreciate you all the more. You have a great heart and you are totally a momma's boy. I know that when you are driving me crazy the most I need to slow down and spend time with you. For some reason that settles you. I love you for the wildness you bring into my heart.

THESE ARE THE TIMES

that I am so grateful the TV isn't on and you have all found something to occupy your time creatively. You have all calmed down from fighting and arguing on your own. There are times when all you three do is nit pick and fight and get emotional because things aren't going your way and I have to step back and let you figure it out(which is not my natural instinct). My desire for you all is to be good at resolving conflict on your own and not needing me to figure it all out for you. It is not easy for me to stay out of it but I want you to be your own individual person and figure life out as we have instructed you so far. I love that you boys have legos and take time to create a ship together. I love that Naomi colors a picture and tells me not to peak because it is a suprise. This is one of the many times that I am reminded we have such great kids.

AT THE PARK

We have been going to the park a bit this summer. The kids really enjoy it and since Marlee started walking she is having fun exploring and learning to walk on new surfaces. She loves to climb through the tunnel. She just goes back and forth laughing the whole time. Marlee also loves to snack at the park. We quite often meet Jack there and they share drinks and food. I love having a good park nearby that the kids enjoy.

Jack and Marlee sharing snacks

Max enjoying the tire swing to himself

Naomi, Max, and a friend spinning like crazy

SISTERS

My dear Naomi,
You are such a great big sister to Marlee. You are so aware of when she needs something and are always keeping her from harm. This photo is the two of you walking by the new window well and fence that are going up. You were guiding Marlee over the uneven ground and keeping her from falling in by the window. I love watching you be a little mommy. Today you emptied out the toy bin and were giving Marlee rides around the house while I was getting lunch ready. She was laughing and having a great time with you entertaining her. I appreciate your big heart for Marlee. You are such a sweet and loving little girl and I cherish watching you grow up close with your sister.

Sassy

I am having a lot of fun (and frustration) learning Photoshop. I am not very patient when it comes to understanding the computer and the foreign language that it speaks to me. I am proud of making my header with the help of and online class and a patient friend. I also learned how to put a frame and words on a photo. It is babysteps but I love the look.

Trouble comes in two's

These two are something else. Noah and Max started the day early fighting like little animals and ended up with an outside time out. They were not happy and this is what I found after a few minutes of them pouting that there was no shade. They remind me of two little old men:)

13 Years Ago...

...I said yes. You asked me to marry you on a beach on Mackinac Island. It was a wonderful moment (even though I forgot for a minute about the beach and was thinking we got engaged watching fireworks up on the hill that evening). Sorry babe:) You remind me to love, to be patient, and to enjoy what is going on around me. We had no idea that our lives would be where they are today. We have lived in a different state, had babies, changed jobs, traveled, made new friends, tried different churches, and still search for new things to discover. I love our life. It has been crazy but it is ours to create. I love you and am still glad I said yes.

The first picture is us on the beach when I moved up to Mackinac and the second one is our engagement photo. Both taken in 1996.

Strawberries

This morning I decided it was a good day to get out and pick strawberries. The kids and I ran a few errands and went to the store to get supplies for jelly so we could make it when we got home. It was so much fun to do this stuff with our kids. They did a fantastic job picking good strawberries and they had fun with it. It was cool and rained for about 5 minutes. Naomi had to run into the truck because she didn't like to be rained on. When it stopped she came out and told me she had prayed to God that he would stop the rain so she could keep picking strawberries. God heard her prayer. She was so proud that she was the one who asked that question to God all on her own and that He listened. It was so great to hear her talk like that as Kevin and I have been teaching the kids they can talk to God whenever and wherever they are. What a moment to remember as she is growing in her trust and faith in God. Meanwhile, in the rain, Max had to have an umbrella which I had to hold over us so he could continue to pick strawberries. Noah said he didn't care if he got wet until he started getting really wet right before the rain stopped. Marlee sat content in her stroller watching us in tired amazement. I let her out of the stroller before we were done and she was sure to be part of the action. Noah led her around and showed Marlee what to do and made sure she was eating good strawberries. He took very good care of her today. I love these things I can do with our kids. They are all so good to be around in this atmosphere. I don't have to worry about them being destructive or running all over. The kids all enjoy to do these types of special things and it makes me love them all the more. Today was a fun day I just love these kinds of summer days.

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!