"Labor" Day

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I guess I never really thought about why we celebrate Labor Day or what it means. However, when I asked the kids if they were excited about the holiday, TJ responded with a determined "No". Elaina said she was excited because she loves holidays. Sounded reasonable to me! So why was TJ dreading the day. At first I thought TJ was just sad to miss school (who was I kidding!). After thinking a little more about it, I realized that he thought Labor Day was a day dedicated to working!

Hmmmm... Well why not? We did have a big job that needed to be done, so we enlisted the kids' help for the morning.


Our tree house tree:




I have always loved this tree. It is great for climbing, for swings, for shade, everything you could want in a tree. But, I never knew how much work a great tree like this is. At least once a year we have to trim it way back or we loose branches from the weight. It drops tons of pods that make a mess. However, it gives us a great opportunity to work with the kids.





We had fun together! The weather was nice to us too : )


Is it just me, or can all boys turn just about anything into a sword, bow & arrow, or gun???



The finished product:





Definitely worth the work!!!





Now all we need is a tree house for our tree house tree!
Someday...

Camera Shy

I have tried and tried to get a good picture of Lydia smiling. She is too cute with her toothless grin, mouth wide open. It is great!

But whenever she sees the camera, she just stares.

Example:

She is still sweet (especially the drool!), but I really wanted that smile!

Well, I finally got my wish! Thanks for your help Travis!

Aren't baby smiles the best?!?

Now we just have to get her to laugh. I want a real laugh, a belly laugh, you know the one I mean. We can force out a whimpy giggle right now, but I am not satisfied! Give me the real thing, a sincere he-haw!

I can't wait!

Lydia is just over 3 months now! She is holding her head up all the time, grabbing things, and drooling everywhere. We sadly say goodbye to the sticky-up hair. I have been tempted to give her a little trim...I can't believe how quickly they get big!

New Project

So I am sitting here trying to get adjusted to my life with a new baby, five children in general, double the laundry load, and the list goes on! Really, it's not that bad and it is getting much easier. But, every once in a while I have one of those days where I just need a little breather. Sometimes I escape to the land of Blog for this purpose. I really enjoy reading about my friends' lives and all the happenings. I enjoy seeing the pictures and watching life change as time goes on. It is fun for me.

A couple of weeks ago I came upon a Family Home Evening blog. I loved the concept of having free FHE lessons on a blog for all to use. I am a little passionate about Family Night (is it possible to be a little passionate?) although far from perfect at it. I just know it can be a great blessing to families. So when I saw that the founders of the site were looking for people to contribute lessons, the wheels started turning. They were turning so much that I couldn't go back to sleep that night until I had written down 5 or 6 lesson ideas. You wouldn't think that I need another extra thing to do. At least I didn't think I did...

Well, I decided that I would become a contributor and have posted my first lesson! The lesson is called Secret Server and is about the importance of serving others without seeking thanks or praise for it. Go to the link if you want to take a look or need ideas for Family Home Evening. I will be trying to post about 3 lessons a month. I know this will keep me busy and hopefully the ideas will keep coming.

Why I am doing this:

1.

Sorry you aren't in this picture, T.J. You were too busy reading to get your picture taken. Surprise, surprise : )

2. I hope that others find the lesson ideas useful and that it makes having Family Night easier.

Ahhhhh! (a sigh of relief)

Saturday night I was up for the usual middle of the night feeding and the inspiration hit me: I need to stop nursing my baby. That may not sound like inspiration but the reasoning came next and it was so simple. I want to be a happy mother which means I want my baby to be happy. I knew that this was a good desire and I also knew that I had tried everything I could think of to make that happen. The fact was that she wasn't happy and I was struggling every day to keep myself together so that I could take care of five children and be a wife. I was doing none of this very well, I must add. The thing is, I don't just want to survive, I want to enjoy the journey and I don't want to just be a mother and wife, I want to be a great mother and wife. Finally I want my kids to love having a baby sister. It broke my heart when Natalie brought home a paper she did at school that was all about her, the "fill in the blank" type. The phrase started out: I worry about ________. Her answer: my baby

My answer: quit nursing!

The idea had danced around in my mind before, but I pushed it away knowing that nursing is the best source of nutrition for infants, it is FREE, it's convenient, and she was really good at it! But when it came to my mind that night, I knew I had to try it. Well... it has been nearly a week since Lydia has been on formula and I have a new baby. I am seriously shocked and absolutely relieved at the dramatic change. Lydia is peaceful during the day and naps for more than 10 minutes at a time without squirming (her official nickname is Wiggles) and fussing. She smiles more and is noticing things around her. She is interacting with the other kids and is able to sit or lay happily without being held all the time. I am feeling more and more sane each day. It is soooo nice not to have to yell at my kids over the screams of my little sweetie.
It already feels like she was never fussy or at least like it wasn't that bad!

This video isn't anything too exciting, but I thought I would post it for my sweet friend who never got to see Lydia in person. A video is sometimes more real than a photo : ) I love how she is always ready to box with her hands in fists. Check out those guns!

Photographers in Training

The other day I uploaded some pictures from my trusty companion, Digital Camera, to the computer only to find some photos that I didn't take. My camera had been mysteriously abducted and fell into some less experienced, extremely enthusiastic hands. Luckily, the camera was returned to its rightful, ever loving owner and came away unharmed with a tale to tell.

The culprits:

Miss E and dear friend Miss N

I think it is funny that they already know how to take pictures of themselves! Not bad!

Preparing their model. "Tilt your head a little to the side... a little more... a little more..."

"Just right! That was the look we were going for, serious yet playful."

"Now we need an action shot."

Tyler: "Action is my middle name!"

"Enough with the model. Let's take some more of ourselves! We are much prettier subjects and so graceful!"

Interesting!

Work the camera!

I can tell they had a fun time. Maybe the next time they decide to do a photo shoot, we can pick out some matching clothes and comb their hair!

Every once in a while I think about how different life is for my kids than it was for me. Computers: My brother had a computer when I was young. He loved working on it and figuring it all out. Something about DOS??? When I was in high school, we had an Apple computer that we could do word processing on. In college I got my first email address.

Kids today can type, run many applications, surf the web, create power point presentations, etc. etc.

Cameras: Polaroid was awesome when I was a kid because you could see the image right away. 35 mm was the most popular, just be careful you don't open the back without rewinding the film first! My kids now pose for the picture and demand to see it as soon as they hear the "click" sound effect, they can entertain themselves for many minutes scrolling through 100 plus photos stored on the memory card. They even occasionally ask me to change their hair to purple or green in our photo editing program! Fun times.

That is just scratching the surface when I think about how times have changed. And I'm really not that old! Seriously! The world seems to change and evolve so rapidly. What will it be like when I am 80? I think I need to watch the Back to the Future trilogy and let my imagination run wild for a little while!

A Goodbye and A Blessing

Last night was to be the big pack meeting. TJ would be advancing from a wolf to a bear in cub scouts. We all needed to be there. Of course Lydia was actually napping when it was time to go. This worked out fine because Travis usually drives separately anyways on pack mtg. night so that he can go to mutual afterwards. So, he loaded up the 4 big kids and headed out while I got Lydia ready to go. Just as I was grabbing the keys to the car, the phone rang. I was sure it was Travis reminding me to bring the camera so we could remember this special night for TJ. Well, it was Travis but his reason for calling was quite different! "We just got in a car accident," he said in his matter-of-fact, ever calm way. He assured me that everyone was okay. All the kids were crying from the shock (except Tyler!) but they didn't seem to be hurt.


I left Lydia with Grandma Carolyn and headed down the street to check on everyone. I had to park a ways away because everything was blocked off and I was wishing I had worn my tennis shoes as I jogged down the sidewalk in my trusty platform flip-flops. When I arrived I was surprised to see three cars smashed up! The paramedics were checking out Natalie. She had a couple of very minor bruises and had hit her head. They instructed me just to keep an eye on her and make sure her behavior didn't seem abnormal. Everyone seemed fine and calm. But, it looks like we say goodbye to our old silver truck. A sad farewell to a good friend.

The car that hit us is in front of the truck in this shot. It is hard to see unless you look at the full size image. It was crunched pretty good in the front and back. Not fun at all!

Travis asked me to go back home for our new insurance card (we of course hadn't put the new ones in the car when they arrived a couple of weeks ago). Mad dash back to the car, speed (safely and within the speed limit) home, search through piles of papers for insurance cards, success! rush back to accident site, deliver the card, wonder why I didn't bring everyone water to guzzle in the heat, look for kids and find this:

The kids were sitting in an air conditioned van, sipping blue Gatorade, and wearing firemen hats. Two volunteers who work with the fire dept. were visiting with and caring for my babies. I was so happy that they were happy. They could have been feeling very traumatized by the experience, instead it was a great adventure for them.


On our way home, Travis explained what had happened (did I forget to mention that when they were struck, the truck spun around 1 1/2 times?) and I realized that we were very, very blessed. It may seem strange to call an accident a blessing, but if they had collided a second or less after they did, the front of the truck would have crashed into the other car. I have had visions in my mind of what my family would have looked like if that had happened. My Life was driving to the church in that truck. What would I do without them? I definitely call a smashed truck and 4 happy kids and a safe husband a great blessing. Life is so fragile and so sweet, every moment a precious gift.


I am proud of my girls and don't want to forget that their biggest worry was that the woman driving the little car was hurt. Travis said they took her to the hospital just as a precaution. The other driver was fine as well. I think we were all watched over yesterday.

First Day of School

TJ, Natalie and Elaina started school Monday.

They were very excited and I was excited for them too. I think Elaina was a little nervous, mostly because she wanted to make sure she knew where she was going. It is a pretty big school for a new kindergartner.

The kiddos are getting so big. Where does the time go?

Sometimes things just feel like they fall into place. That is how I felt when I met the kids' teachers. I just knew that each teacher would be perfect for each child. It will be fun to see how the year goes!

Elaina, our new kindergartner. She asked me what grade kindergarten is. I guess it is zero because it isn't first. I didn't tell her that!

I have never cried when I have sent off a kindergartner and this time was no different. I don't know why I am not more emotional. But the truth is that I will miss her very much. I feel like my time with her is gone. Now I only get her for a small part of each day. My heart feels a little ache and a small emptiness. She is such a sweet heart. I know she will love full time school.

Natalie the 2nd grader. She is growing up way too fast. This summer I saw the mommy in her emerge. It is amazing how naturally it comes to her. She has been a little angel in all of her helpful and kind acts of service. More that once she has changed a diaper, taken the screaming baby from me so that I could have a little break, and many other little things that have meant so much.
I know she will love second grade. She is such a worker and takes great pride in her schoolwork. I can't wait to see her reading take off and her math skills continue to grow.




T.J. my big 4th grader. I just love this kid! He has such energy and enthusiasm for life. He makes friends so easily and for that reason, he was super anxious for school to start. I think he will love his teacher again this year. I've only spoken with her twice but I really like her.
Is he really in 4th grade? Wow! What a nice kid and a great brother. It will be a fun year for him.

By the way... Happy Birthday TJ! Nine years old. Nine years ago...

School Kids

Tyler will miss his buddies!