April

It's true this post has set new records for how long it's taken me to write and publish! April now seems like such a long time ago, but we're only just three weeks past. ::Sigh:: It's been a busy three weeks, though. I'll save those stories for a future post.

The first day of April directly followed Easter Sunday this year, and with it came a new experience in parenting for Matt and I. We try to follow a no-sugar policy at our house, which translated means the sweet stuff is reserved for only once-a-week desserts and 2-5 daily jelly beans as payment for chores done with happy hearts. Well, on this particular Monday morning our childrens' eyes were glued to the abundance of Easter candy showered on them by family members the day before. All were obedient, however, and put the candy in a special place for consumption at a TBD time. Except, that is, for one.

It was later in the morning and I had run upstairs for something, only to come back down and discover Jadyn was missing. Neither of the other two kids had seen her and after calling and searching for her for several minutes I got a bit panicky and called to Matt for help.

A few anxious minutes later we found her. Naked. In the dark. Yes, it's true. We found her sitting cross-legged and naked on a pile of laundry in the dark laundry room, with the door tightly shut, shoveling Easter candy into her mouth by the handful. I only wish I could have captured a picture of that little face when I discovered her. She had chocolate smeared all over her cheeks and was at that moment popping Starbursts (unwrapped ones, at that!) into her little rosebud mouth like there was no tomorrow. 'Twas the first time in my short parenting career that I couldn't do anything but quietly close the door, retreat to the living room, and fall on the floor laughing. So much for taking advantage of a disciplinary moment. I could hardly hold it together!

Needless to say, Matt and I had a good long talk with our little Jady-Bug and after hearing what the consequences of her behavior would be she tearfully admitted her undying love for candy. It was really too cute. Here's a photo of her I snapped a few days later that displays her cuteness, but in a better light :-). Yes, that's a skirt she's wearing in the picture. Yes, she pooped out colored candy wrappers for a couple of days. No, I don't think she'll do something like that ever again.

The other resident cutie-pie in our household is growing like a weed. She turned 7 months old the beginning of April and is still her Daddy's girl. She flashes grins like these at everyone she meets, especially if they are males. Heaven help us, this baby is definitely boy crazy. Ah, I could just eat her up!

April found us enjoying the opportunities to get outside and away from the house. With my business website in full swing I decided it was time to hit the trail and forage for some fresh herbs to write about. Nettle just happened to be the herb of the month and so the kids and I headed for my parent's property to go in search of them. Novice that I am, we discovered what we thought was a patch of Stinging Nettle (not that I wanted to touch them and find out!) and proceeded to harvest quite a bit. Later my grandfather took a look at my "weeds" and declared they were not nettles (as he grabbed a fist-full) and we later found out they were noxious weeds called Garlic-Mustard. Who knew? I redeemed the trip by taking this cute picture of my girlies with some wild Bluebells.

The gorgeous spring weather beckoned us outside for chores as well as play. Matt's lawn is his favorite project and it was green and beautiful this spring... and tall. Keeping to tradition he hoisted MJ on his hip and set out to mow one evening. Later I discovered this precious father/son bonding that was taking place. I think this will be a cherished photo for years to come.

I'll wrap this post up with another picture of our Jordynn. Our nicknames for her have turned out to be Jordy, Georgy-Porgy Puddin n' Pie, Punky Brewster, Lil' Ewok and Ham. Quite an assortment I guess. And as the picture suggests, she is a lover of food! We've moved on to cheerios and pancakes and muffins and... you name it she loves it! Here she's indulging in my Dandelion Banana Muffins.

Until next month... adieu!

Here's To Loving The Ones You're With

It's that time again.

Time to sit down and reflect on all the happenings from the past month. I TRY to purposefully savor the moments: the childlike wonder of a snow fall, the twirling of princess dresses, the discovery of a toy train... the oatmeal stuck to the floor. And yet, despite my best attempts it still passes by so quickly and as I sit to write all that comes to mind are mere shadows of memory.

Listen to me... sounding rather forlorn. Truth is... we're busy living life to it's fullest, celebrating each day the best we can, all the while remembering that we are merely sojourners on a journey. This journey's end has not yet come... but when it does and a new chapter begins, I'm sure we'll care most about the relationships fostered here. And we've been blessed with some great ones!

So here's to February! A month for lovers. A month for chocolate. A month for loving the ones you're with! Here's what that looked like for us:

My little love, MJ, is still a momma's boy. I keep shooing away the worried male figures in his life, reassuring them that it's only temporary. While I certainly hope he has a lifetime of love for his momma, I know that his interest in me is short-lived and that one day some other gal shall have his heart (*Hi there, daughter-in-love... praying for you and looking forward to meeting you one day!*) and until he attempts to soar to new heights away from the safety of my lap... well, I'm enjoying his toddler love.

 I don't, however, disregard the concerned faces of the men when they saw this:

 MJ, 21 months

Yes, that's my son. Playing dress-up. In a ladybug costume.

I told my husband that perhaps with a little squinting he could see that MJ was really pretending to be St. Valentine... with the measles.

He didn't buy that description and promptly purchased a Batman costume. MJ retaliated by putting on a purple ball gown. I was forbidden to take pictures of that.

So there you have it.

In other Valentine's news... you've heard the adage you've got to say it with flowers? We put a new spin on it this year: you've got to have your flowers... and eat them, too!

Romantic candlelit dinners don't happen around here anymore. We've traded them in on something better. Bacon roses for breakfast. Need I say more?

Yes. Yes, I did make Jadyn eat the bacon rose she stuck her nose on.

Many thanks to Pinterest and all the wonderful people who dream up such crafty festive concoctions... perhaps during their candlelit dinners. I'm not jealous.

And speaking of Jadyn... she takes the cake (or ice cream, as the case may be) for the best quote of the month:

Jadyn: Pawpaw took me out to get ice cream!
Mommy: Where did you go?
Jadyn: He took me to Wendy's house. She has really good Frosties. :-)

 Jadyn, 3 / Morenna, 4 / MJ, 1.5

Now for some real family fun. As you've probably noticed by now, my camera taking skills were a bit pathetic this month. That's mostly due to... to... all my laziness time spent doing hands-on things with the kids. At our house the quickest way to assemble the troops is using a general call to arms: "Who wants to help Mommy make..."

On this particular day my patience was wearing thin as I not five seconds before had made my summons only to quickly find myself blocked from the very mixer I had been using before they came. How is momma supposed to help-you-help-her-make-you bread?!

In other news... yes, Jordynn is alive and well. She just didn't make the cut this month. No really... she's sitting on the counter in her infant seat in the picture above. I just figured leaving her foot in the picture wasn't necessary. :-)


Matt and my dad had some quality male bonding time finishing our basement crawl space this month. The project may have been fueled by Matt's aspirations of converting half the basement into a theater/movie room like in his bachelor pad our old house. They did an excellent job and the organization of all our junk seasonal decor is wonderful.

Last but not least, the real reason for my failure this month as a family photographer comes from the fact that I have returned to school part-time. After much consideration (and God-led series of events) I decided to return to school for a certification in Clinical Homeopathy. The program is 2-years in length, self-paced, and affords me training under one of the leading U.S. homeopaths. Holistic health care has been a growing passion for our family and we have been blown away by the resulting vitality we've seen in our family from using homeopathy and other forms of alternative medicine.

Speaking of... the business my girlfriend and I have been working on is just about ready to sprout wings and fly. Tune in next month for information on that!

As I draw this rambling note to a close, I am reminded of Jim Elliott's relevant quote: Wherever you are... be all there. I hope that rings true of your today... and your tomorrow.

November: Thankfulness At Our House

And another month begins. 

As we head into the busy season of December, I'm enjoying the chance to pause and look back at the month of November. The Thanksgiving Holiday is my favorite! In fact, I wish Christmas took it's cues to be more like it's predecessor holiday. 

Sometimes it's disheartening that we take the time to be thankful for all the Lord has blessed us

with and then only hours later Black Friday attempts to herald in a different message. May we all seek to carry the thanksgiving message with us through December as we celebrate the biggest reason to be thankful... the birth of the Savior! Anyway...

What November would be complete without the traditional romp-around in the leaves? The weather here in the Mid-West was sunny and warm most of the month, affording us lots of opportunities to play outside.

 Here are we burying my dad in a leaf pile. My hair is pretty long here...would you believe it now hangs in beautiful ringlets around my face? Yeah, neither would I. It does, however, now have a perm thanks to a little grown girl I used to babysit in high school who is now achieving a degree in cosmetology. True story.

 I'm not sure if I've posted a photo of my childhood home here before... but here she is. In all her Fall glory. It was a pretty special place to grow up.

 Being that November is the "thankful month," at the inspiration of a friend we attempted to name a few of the many things our family is thankful for using a "thankful tree". Some of the random items selected by our littles included: the living room ceiling fan, loveys, family members, and... of course, cheese.

 While cheese is pretty amazing, Matt and I had no trouble naming our four little ones as what we're most thankful for this year. Our youngest little member continues to be such a sweet joy to us. She is by far our easiest baby, very laid back and content. And those blue eyes never cease to intrigue us. This little angel is wildly adored by her siblings who are always up for entertaining her by singing or dancing within a few feet of her. In MJ's case he'd be happy to climb all over her, but we try to keep that sort of sibling love to a minimum.

 Isn't she just the cutest thing? This month she started sleeping more through the night. We're now getting around 7 hours from her during the first stretch of the night, which has been wonderful. Sleep deprivation is still a real threat for Matt and I, but there is light at the end of the tunnel. Jordynn's hair is coming in with a bit of a red tint. Achievements on her baby calendar this month also include rolling from tummy to back!

And speaking of cute... here's the male version: 

 This little guy exhausts all parental energies. His favorite activity continues to be playing in the water, which now that it's too cold to play in water outside means that all the water play now happens on my kitchen floor. Thankyouverymuch. His vocabulary has grown this month to include phrases like "I don't like that," and "no, no diaper change," and inquiries like "pee in the potty?" This latest phrase is the direct result of the many reminders spoken to our 2nd born... who just in time for her 3rd birthday, is finally POTTY-TRAINED! Praise the Lord.

 Allow me to skip the Thanksgiving Holiday and first mention that at the end of the month our little Jady-Bug turned 3 years old. Her achievement of potty-training is just one of the many areas of maturity that testifies to her growing up. She had a "Finding Nemo" birthday party with some friends and enjoyed receiving new panties, sparkling pink shoes and a ballerina jewelry box on her special day. Her birthday wish: a day with MawMaw... and so that's where she spent a good majority of her day, after a morning romp-around a the local children's museum with her Daddy & Mommy.

 And now for Thanksgiving: The Day. Like much of the country, we enjoyed a warmer-than-usual holiday in the mid-60s. This afforded the kids ample time for outside play while the adults were able to enjoy some rare moments of uninterrupted turkey coma  dinner.

While everyone was outside, though, I was able to snag some good shots of Morenna and MJ (and who is that good lookin' man?), as seen above and below. It was a beautiful day of celebration - especially for Morenna who spend the day on a sugar high chasing her cousins around - brought to close by our traditional viewing of "Miracle on 34th Street."

 Bring on the Christmas decorations!

 It's true that children really bring on the wonder of the season.  Matt and I enjoyed decorating the house one afternoon while the kids were napping and the joy and tears that appeared on their faces as they came downstairs was priceless. Yes! We had accomplished Operation Winter Wonderland. 

In addition to the annual decoration fest, Matt and I also had a few enjoyable grown-up happenings this month. Matt was able to have a night away and attend our church's men's retreat. He really enjoyed getting to know the men in our church more. 

And I was able to attend an 8-hour course in homeopathic medicine and herbal studies. It's a little-known secret that a close friend and I are in the throws of starting an herbal business called the Nourishing Herbalist. We're in the process of getting the webpage put together and the content live, but I'll be sure to post more about it when the time comes. In the meantime, I have other projects my book that needs to take up most of my free time.

So anyway, there it is folks. Our month of November. Not logged were the 85+ meals made, 28 loads of laundry, 300+ diapers changed and 10+ toilet scrubbings. I'll leave you to fill in the rest. But I'm trying hard to be thankful for it all. :-) How about you?

October at Our House

Back when we were a one-child family I found myself with lots of time on my hands and enough brain cells left over to create a bi-weekly newsletter filled with updates on life for our close friends and family. And then we had baby #2. 

Sleep then seemed like a thing of the past and with it went what little creativity I had. In a half-hearted attempt I pursued blogging, which went fairly well until we decided in May 2010 to make a 400 mile move... followed by baby #3. 

But in the back of my sleep-deprived mind, I've missed those newsletters... and I think others have too. They serve as such special portholes into our life and times and I can't help but wonder how many memories have since fallen by the wayside because I forgot to write them down. 

All that to say... here we go again. There is no creativity - or even time - to publish my little family newsletter, but I do think a monthly blog post updating the interested public is in order. With no further ado, I give you Vol. 1 No. 1 of the new and improved life and times of our family of three, four, five... six!