Innocence

I sat listening to the sound of little rain boots go running around just below the window. Suddenly camo clad boys with wooden guns and sticks came into view. Off they went into the woods to save the day. Protect the king they call it. I'm not sure what all is involved except that everyone is running and having so much fun you can't capture them on the camera. Believe me, I've tried.

Earlier today I took all 5 kids to the grocery store. The grocery store is one of my boys' favorite places. You get cookies there, they have carts that look like cars and so many other things to behold.

Innocence. It such a special and wonderful thing. I've been reminded of that today. It is a blessing to send my boys out the back door into the woods and the wild and to feel completely at ease. So many of my friends live in places where they cannot trust those around them. Their kids cannot run through the fields and hills because there are scary things out there. Innocence lost. We are blessed.

Someday cookies and car carts will not hold the attention of my little men. Someday running through the woods pretending to get the bad guys will be boring and old fashioned. But today it is everything. So, today I'll remember and be thankful for their innocence.

A Month Old.

Today our littlest girl is a month old. I can't even believe its only been a month and at the same time life has been so full of ups and downs I can't believe it hasn't been longer! Phoebs is really a great little baby. She eats good, sleeps pretty good and seems to have a pretty tough skin. Its hard to be the youngest of 5 and not get beat up. They all just love her too much I guess. Its not hard to see why. Look at those cheeks! They scream "KISS ME!"

Today is the stormiest day we've had in a long time. Benson keeps looking out the back door and sticking his head out to see how stormy it is. I have to laugh because our back door is all glass so he can see just fine how stormy it is :-) On days like this the boys talk about Morocco more than other days. Today they've talked a lot about their toys and friends that they miss. Its pretty sweet.

It is so much fun to be here though surrounded by family and friends. Its hard to beat afternoons of craziness on the trampoline with all the boy cousins. Hard to beat time with special animal friends and time to learn lessons only provided by rainy days. You always seem to want to be somewhere you're not. Hopefully we can all learn the lesson this year of being happy right where God has us. 

Isabelle and her special Kitty.

9 boys on one trampoline. Come on over, there's room for one more!

Back To Life, Back To Reality...

My parents left this morning. My Mom had been here for a week helping me with the kiddos and keeping me from picking up things that weigh more then Phoebe. I guess you're not suppose to pick up heavy stuff after a major surgery. Something about large incisions or some such thing.

It was wonderful to have my Mom here. I wasn't sure how it would go honestly. See I am not very good at letting people help me do things. OK, I totally suck at letting people help me. Its just easier to do it myself. I could pretend I don't want to be a burder, or that I am a fully capable individual but actually I am just selfish and lazy and don't want to put out the effort to let people do things the way they want to instead of doing it my way. My Mom, though, was a trooper. She dealt with my attitudes, and comments. She brought her game face and cleaned house, made lunches and held babies like a champ. Most importantly she blessed me numerous times in little and big ways. Simply by being here, loving on my kids and loving on me she gave glory to God and encouraged my heart.

But Dad missed her. So he came up and got her, taking her back to her reality and leaving me to mine. I've been thinking a lot about my reality the past few days. The beauty of nursing a new baby is you have lots of time to think and read and think some more. Anyway, I've come to the conclusion that I like my reality. I like it a lot. I especially like the part about how well I am know by God and how perfectly he has orchastrated my reality. He has given me exactly what I need to make it through each day and He set things in motion for my growth and change. He is not leaving me the way I am, but instead working with in me so that I might bring Him glory and so that I might be fully who He created me to be. He knows me that well.

There have been times when I have not liked my reality. Like today, after the parents had left, just before lunch when everyone went psycho and started crying at once and the thought wandered across my brain that this was completely out of control and I wondered what exactly I was doing here. The thought passed though and I found joy in the midst of peanut butter and jelly. But there have been seasons where reality was not something I enjoyed. I was blinded by the trials, focused on the "unanswered" prayers and confused by what I thought were my desires. The thing is though that My God knows me better than I know myself. He has seen my heart and still loves me. He sees past my bad moments and embraces my victories. And looking back I can see how He placed things in my life for a reason and that is what gives me hope for today.  That is what brings joy to my reality.

The words of a song have been running through my mind today. They seem to fit with these jumbled thoughts. So at the risk of adding more randomness to this post I'll leave you with these words by Matt Redman. 

"Even though I walk through 

the valley Of the shadow of death  

Your perfect love is casting out fear

 
And even when I’m caught in the middle 

Of the storms of this life I won’t turn back, 

I know You are near

 
And I will fear no evil 

For my God is with me 

And if my God is with me  

Whom then shall I fear?  

Whom then shall I fear?
 

Oh no, You never let go  

Through the calm and through the storm  

Oh no, You never let go  

In every high and every low  

Oh no, You never let go Lord, 

You never let go of me"

Every Good & Perfect Gift.

When I was little we use to talk about what life would be like when it was the year 2000. "Can you imagine what it will be like? Cars will fly, We'll live on the Moon and I'll be 21. Oh my gosh. SO old."

Here we are now, 2013. How did that happen? How has time flown so quickly and how has my life turned out so incredibly different than I thought back then. My car doesn't fly and I only feel like I live on the moon. And, I'm 34. Seriously, NOT so old.

My life has turned out quite different from what I imagined. And I can only say "PRAISE THE LORD". Oh how he has blessed me and given me grace and joy beyond measure. My life is good. Really good. Oh so good. It is only good because my God is good and he has blessed me with every good and perfect gift. He has pulled me through each day and each moment and smiled at my weaknesses. He has grown me and changed me and shown me the right path. Do I always listen? no. should I. yes!

He has now blessed me with another little life to look after. Phoebe Easley born January 22, 2013. She was 8 lbs 12 oz and 22 in long. Another girl to add some pink to our family. Isabelle adores her, as do her brothers. Kisses every morning and occasional fist fights over who gets to hold her first. Her name means "bright & radiant" and so far she is.

Like I said, "Praise the Lord" the giver of all good gifts. 2013, totally different than I ever expected...I couldn't be more thankful!

Thanksgiving

Sometimes in the midst of life I forget. I forget things like why I opened the refrigerator and what I was going to do after I finished making coffee. Sometimes I forget to enjoy the moments and laugh at the insanity. Mostly I forget to be thankful. 

And I have SO much to be thankful for. So many blessings that I can't even begin to number them. My God has supplied all my needs according to his riches in heaven and he has done more than I could ever ask or imagine. 

I find myself rejoicing that we have such a day here in America. A day to remember what we've been given, what we've been spared and how we've been cared for. 

So this Thanksgiving, I will not forget. I will remember and be Thankful.

 

I am especially thankful for these 4 bundles and all the joy they bring my way. Thankful that we get to add one more blessing to our family in January. Seriously, how could I forget to be thankful with little reminders such as these?! Aren't they cute?!

Isabelle Turns One!

 

Its hard to believe that at this time a year ago I was already out of surgery and holding my new baby girl. I'll never forget the excitement of the Dr. and nurses when they told me we'd had a girl. They all knew about our three wonderful boys and they were so excited for us to be able to add a little girl. Since she was born in Spain they spoke Spanish when telling me about her. It took a few minutes for me to process what they had said. Not only because my Spanish is horrid, but also because I was so surprised. 

Isabelle has been such a fun addition to the family. I love her laugh and smile and especially the way she is head over heels about her brothers. Her personality is starting to show up and we are having a blast watching her grow and learn. I can't wait for the coming years!

We celebrated her birthday a few days early because Joey's parents are headed to Morocco today. We combined first birthday and going away. It made the going easier, and the party bigger! Nothing like Mexican lazagna and cheesecake to bolster the party spirit. In my family we have a tradition (like every other family in America) of giving the birthday kid, on their 1st birthday, their very own cake. Then you stand back and wait for them to dig in. Usually its a lot of fun. Not so much this time. Isabelle was not interested in eating this cake.

We even got a cheering squad to encourage a little digging in. They were all ready to step in an help eat if need be. 

Nope, not interested. So last night we decided we'll try again. There was a whole pink carrot cake that needed eating. So we set her up in the highchair and went for a second round. At first things seemed a bit more promising. She started eating the frosting and trying to suck every last drop off her hands.

But it wasn't until I dug in with a fork for a few bites that she really got into it. Our pretty little princess didn't want to be too messy. 

Well, not at first anyway. She ended up finishing off a third of the cake and only stopped because it was time for dinner and she was more interested in meat and potatoes.

I think that means she's going to be ok. 

Happy Birthday Isabelle. 

We love you!

They Say The Darndest Things!

**While discussing going to heaven and leaving our present body behind.**

Josiah: "But what are we going to do [in heaven] if we don't have a bottom?!"

Me: "Uh?..."

Josiah: (Very concerned expression on his face) "Are we going to get to sit down?"

**While talking about how its a brothers job to protect his sister and ok any future husbands.**

Josiah: "but we don't want her [Isabelle] to get married"

Joey: "We don't?"

Josiah: "No, she's sooo nice and cute. We want her to stay with us."

**While talking about riding bikes with friends Elias & TT (a girl).**

 Benson: "Lets go ride bikes with Elias and TT. Well, not TT she doesn't have a bike. She'll have to just stand there and yell 'GO  BENSON!!!'"

**Anytime after racing or playing a game.**

 Josiah or Benson: "I'm the winner"

William: (With arms raised and smiling.) "Yeah! Mine Did It! I Loser!!!"

I sure do love my kiddos and the crazy things they say!