Happy Father's Day!

I wanted to take a minute and talk about the dads in my life. First of all, there's the one that's been there since I was born. He is not a man of many words, but when he speaks to me across the miles into the telephone, I feel loved. He cares about his grandkids, and what's going on in our lives, and I love that about him. I sometimes wish that we lived closer, but I think that being across the mountains from each other makes our relationship special. I love you dad!

14 years ago, I was blessed with another type of dad in my life. My step-dad. He is gentle, and kind, and loves to hear how my family is doing. Since I was an adult when he walked into my life, I was pretty hard on him at first. But he was patient with me and earned my trust. He has done nothing but shown love to me, and I love him back. Thank you Hal. I am blessed to have you in my life. (Remind me to get a picture of you with my kids next time we see you!)

Around the same time that Hal came into my life, I got married. The third dad that has been a big part of my life is my father in law. I consider myself lucky! I love my in-laws! Doug is quiet, but funny. And wise. He is a great father to his children and his step children. I really enjoy the time I get to spend with him. I am so glad that he is a part of my life. Thank you Doug, for loving our family. We love you too!

I saved the best for last. Words can't express how much I love the father of my children. We have been married for almost 14 years now. For almost half of those years, he has been a father. He loves them in so many ways. He plays with them, teaches them, disciplines them, and encourages them. He is my pillar of strength, and makes me feel loved both as a mother, and his wife. Thank you for always being there by my side in this adventure called parenting. We all love you very much!

Daddy with his 1st born and forever baby girl!

Daddy and 2nd born (1st son), yawning together.

Daddy and 3rd born (2nd son) chillin' together.

Daddy with his two baby girls at the hospital.

Daddy with his last born. (3rd son) Whew! Having five kids really wears you out!

Like arrows in the hand of a warrior, So are the children of one's youth. How blessed is the man whose quiver is full of them; -Psalm 127:4-5a

Happy Birthday and "The End!"

Now I have to admit, I am a little behind on my posts so this is my second one today. This week we celebrated my middle son's 5th birthday. It was a big deal. He has been waiting to turn five all year! According to him, five year olds have all the fun. Apparently, something magical happens when you turn 5. It's like you grow up all of a sudden and get to do the things big kids do. On the morning of his birthday my son said to me "Mommy, since I'm five now, do I get to go to school today?" Oh how I hope he keeps his enthusiasm! Happy birthday BC!

Actually, for one month, I can say I have two five year olds. No, we didn't take on the youngest exchange student ever! Two of my boys are just 11months apart. JS will be turning six next month. People ask me everywhere we go if they are twins. Sometimes you would think they were since they like to cause double the trouble!

Tonight I had a good laugh at just the right moment though. BC was really trying my patience when he asked for more pasta for the thirteenth time when I looked him in the eye and said very slowly, hoping he would finally listen, "there is no more pasta!" And then JS chimed in "THE END!" He looked at me with those big brown eyes waiting for my response and I just cracked up laughing.

That was a teaching moment for me about what matters most. My response for the situation was the right choice. Sometimes a little laughter and a lot of love go a long way!

Summer Fun

School's out and we are ready for a fun packed summer! Hopefully, the summer weather is here to stay. Last week we had snow advisories. In June! I don't want heat wave like the East Coast, but 70's would be nice!

This week my mom and grandma are coming to visit. We are really looking forward to it. My grandma is near 95 so they are staying at a nearby motel instead of here at the house. That gives her a quiet place to rest if things get crazy around here. (Crazy at our house? No, never!) Plus that gives us access to a pool, (I haven't told them yet in case it rains) which the kids will love.

We are also preparing for a garage sale to happen next weekend. I haven't ever been a big garage sale girl, but our garage is full of junk, um, I mean treasures, waiting for someone else to buy. In the past, we have moved, and thus purged things in the process. Since we are going on four years here, you can imagine what we have collected! So a garage sale it is! I am sharing the weekend and our driveway with a friend and my sister in law. Hopefully, it will be nice weather and we will send the boys with our sons camping. Then we have half the kids to entertain, and I must say, girls are easier to entertain than boys!

I'll leave the rest of our summer for another post, because this one is getting lengthy. I will say that I am glad summer is finally here. It brings family reunions, water fun, birthdays, and lots of activity. This is one mom that is going to enjoy it while my kids are still small enough to want to stick close to home!

Peace and Quiet

Ahhhh....the banana bread is in the oven, and the kids are playing. That gives me a moment of peace and quiet, at least for now.

Peace and quiet doesn't happen very often around here. Unless of course, it's in the early hours of the morning when no one else is up yet! From the moment the kids wake up, to the moment the kids go to bed, the day is packed full of loud, crazy, fun times. So how do I cultivate moments of peace in our family? I schedule them!

I think it's important for everyone to have a little down time in their day. Even children. Since only two of my five kids take naps these days, I try to make nap time "quiet time" for my other three blessings. They can color, read, or even play quietly with toys if they want. Of course, it doesn't always work out that way. Sometimes you have to allow for life's interruptions. But I'll save that for another post!

And now for that banana bread!

He's Growing Up

Ahhhhh.....Spring rain. After a few sunny hot days, it is welcome here. There's something about a good Spring shower that calms the spirit. I love the smell in the air afterwards. It's different from Winter rain. Clean and fresh. Plus we don't have to break out the sprinklers to water the lawn just yet! April showers bring May flowers! Oh yeah, we still had snow in April...we're blooming just a little late here in the Northwest this year! Anyway, nothing like a Spring rain to help the grass, trees, and flowers grow.

Speaking of growing, I registered my third born for kindergarten yesterday. It's hard to believe that he will start school in the fall. In order to register him I had to dig out his birth certificate. In the process, I found some pictures of the day he was born. He was so tiny!

This is one right after he was born in that sweet moment that they first hand your baby to you.

This is him in back in December.

Next month he turns 5. There's an old saying "he's growing like a weed." I prefer to say "his personality is blooming like a flower." As sure as the seasons change, each new season of life brings change and growth. I am excited to usher my son into this season of life as he begins his school years. He is an eager learner, and I look forward to watching him grow.


There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under heaven -Ecc. 3:1

Ab-sent Minded Exercise

Today I stumbled on to this fun blog called Three Kid Circus.
http://threekidcircus.com/threekidcircus/
She's holding a contest to win a Wii console plus the new Wii Fit Balance Board and Game.
http://threekidcircus.com/threekidcircus/archives/2008/05/in_only_six_min.html All you have to do to enter, is to tell a fitness purchase glory story. I have been admiring the new game so I thought I'd give it a shot.

I was actually never really one for exercise, until I had five children in under seven years. In order to keep up with those kids, I kind of have to be in shape, or at least live a pretty healthy lifestyle. Honestly, it wasn't ever very hard for me to lose the baby weight. I had to make the extra effort for those last few pounds every time, but all it took was a little hard work and they eventually came off.

My problem area would be my abs...who doesn't want rock hard abs like they show on all those exercise infomercials?? But I HATE sit ups! And whenever I do crunches I wonder if I'm doing them right. So one night when I was watching late night tv after having one of my kids I saw a program promoting the "Ab-doer". It looked simple enough. Sit down, use the bar thingy (that's not the technical term, I'm sure) and move back and forth, round and round in a variety of exercises to melt off those love handles! I just had to have it. Three instruction tapes included!

Well, I will tell you that I actually thought it was working...for a while. Then I realized that my abs were just as soft and squishy as before and it became an extra chair in my laundry room. It's actually moved with us three times now I think. Just can't seem to say good bye. As for my exercise routine now? It consists of Pilates and Yoga. Not to mention keeping up with 5 kids ages 6 and under! That's why the Wii program caught my attention. I think it is something I could stick with. And who knows? Maybe have a little fun too!

Exercise and a healthy lifestyle are very important to me as a mom. I hope to pass that message along to my children. I may never have rock hard abs, but at least I have the energy to keep up with my kids. That's what matters to me. : )

Happy Mother's Day!

Ten things I love about my mom: (Not in any specific order)

1. She loves me unconditionally
2. She is always there to listen
3. She is supportive of my decisions (even when they make no sense and come back to bite me in the butt!)
4. She goes out of her way to come and visit me
5. She helps me financially when I am in a pinch
6. She gives helpful advice
7. When she hugs me she takes an extra squeeze before letting go
8. She lets me cry on her shoulder our into the phone when I need to
9. She is an active grandma : )
10. She has shown me how to be a loving mother.

Thanks for being such a great mom! I love you!

Ten things I love about being a mom:

1. Hugs and kisses
2. Prayers at bedtime
3. Reading together and story time by the fire
4. Tickles and giggles
5. Making owies better with kisses and band aids
6. Watching my children discover new things
7. Little yellow flowers picked just for me
8. Singing songs together
9. Watching each child develop their own personality
10. Spending one on one time with each of my children
11. Catching my children being good and praising them for it
12. Watching my children being loving towards each other and growing closer as friends

Ok...so I couldn't choose just ten. The list could go on and on. I am so thankful for my five blessings from heaven. I love being a mom! Happy mother's day to me!