Mirror Mirror on the Wall....

Rainy Saturday

 I get this every time I hold up the camera.

Jack, smile. Jack, keep your tong in your mouth. Jack, close your mouth. Jack....just never mind.

I don't know what this look even means! He must take after his brothers.

Coolest Cast on the Planet

Thanks Daddy for making this a little easier on him. He wears his Spider man costume almost every day and its pretty much falling apart. Dad drew Spider man on his cast since his costume is so hard to get on and off. He is getting a little annoyed with it these days. It hasn't started itching yet but he misses the rough play, bike riding, tree climbing, swimming kind of days. Only 2 more weeks to go!  Oh, I may have forgotten to mention that he broke his arm on the trampoline. He didn't fall off, but fell on it. He just landed on it wrong. Poor guy. He loves the attention it gets him. It has even saved him from a few public spanks. How could I spank my 3 year old with a broke arm and risk someone seeing???  D.H.R. would be at my doorstep before I got home.

While we are waiting...

 We had a quick trip to the park while waiting to pick up Aaron at the airport.

Aaron had to go out of town for a total of 2.5 weeks in April! What a new respect I have gained for all the single Moms out there. It was TOUGH while he was gone. Here are just a few things that happened; Ben had a stomach virus, I had strep throat, Jack broke his arm,  and Jack, Parker, and Christian had pinworms! I'm sure there is more but I just can't think of it at the moment. The worse of it was the pinworms. Completely freaked this Momma out.  I was sanitizing and washing clothes, towels, rugs, and pillows around the clock. It was even worse than the broke arm.  Jack broke his arm about 2 days before Aaron got back and I have to say that at that point I was unraveling.

While we walked out of the Doctors office, my three year old happily trotted by my side with a casted arm, I just fell to pieces. It was only by the grace of God that I made it through. Thankfully a few precious ladies from Church took pity on me and brought me a couple of meals.  It was so helpful. I do love our Church and the women in it. My mother-in-law was checking on me daily and assured me that she was praying for us while Aaron was away and had even asked some others to do the same.

The hardest part was that it simply wasn't enjoyable.  I had this fantasy in my mind that we would have wonderful bonding time of reading stories together, cuddling, and conversation. I had planned on making things fun. It wasn't even close to that. On top of all the illnesses mentioned above, their behavior was horrible. It was nuts! I was herding cats and distributing spanks around the clock. There were times that Aaron had to get on the phone and speak to them sternly. I'm sure he made threats that I don't even know about.

I'm sharing these things with you because I feel like sometimes there is a misconception that life is always splendid.  You see pictures of silly kiddos and smiling faces, but it's not always like that. We are a VERY normal family. I have been approached before by other Moms who think things are so dreamy in our family, and that our children obey by the sound of my voice, that I never have to spank them, and our marriage is a dream. I have been compared to June Cleaver. Just writing this makes me smile because it is so far from the truth. We are sinners and I have to seek God's face every day because frankly, I can't make it through the day if I don't. I have 4 little boys that are little boys.

End of the Year School Art/Music Show

 Christian's painting is in the middle. Please note that everything is in perfect proportion to follow suit with his personality. All of this child's artwork is symmetrical and as perfect as possible. I think he's got talent. Maybe I can teach him to relax a little.

Christian is making sure that he is doing the correct gestures. Love him!

 Ben is so far back you can barely make him out. Top row, next to the girl with black hair and white balls in her hair???

 Again, I think my children are talented. Check out the other kids. I mean, come on! We've got this whole art thing down pat! I'm guessing Ben was itching to get really crazy with this painting and wasn't allowed. This is the most basic piece I've ever seen him do.

As the end of the year is approaching, I am filled with all types of emotions. As a previous home schooler, this was a unique experience. I was disconnected with my children for 7hrs a day for about 10 months....weird. Very weird. To be perfectly honest, some days it was great to have some relief, and other days my heart ached to be with them. I'm glad we did it. I truly am. It was a good experience for them and me.  The grass always seems greener on the other side and now that I have seen both sides I will say that homeschooling is better suited for our family.

Ben made all A's through out the year and Christian made all A's and B's. Both boys enjoyed it mostly.  It was a breeze for Ben. On the other hand, Christian had to work hard to make those grades and we spent HOURS on homework every night. It usually ended in tears for both of us. Christian does NOT like to read. I'm hoping throughout the summer I can saturate him with books that HE finds interesting and perhaps take 15 min. a day to read them. My hope is that when the 15 min is up, he will be disappointed and request longer reading times. Oh please Lord, let this become a reality. We feel like there is a struggle there for a reason but it's hard to pinpoint. We have had some evaluations done but it's hard at this age to recognize anything definite.

A few things that stuck out to me:

*I would get minimum information about how their day went or what they did.
*They never pooped at school so it was a rush to get home to use the bathroom. Gross, I know.
*They sort of smelt like a sweaty sneaker at the end of the day.
*Rarely ate the school lunch and was eager for after school snacks.
*I struggled to get up and get it all together to get them there on time (NOT A MORNING PERSON). Waiting to be summoned to truancy court...
*They picked up some funny gestures and would talk about Justin Bebber (Beiber) or other trendy conversation. Oftentimes they would communicate it incorrectly, but it was cute.
*Christian went to the school nurse frequently due to bleeding knees after recess.
*I found that Christian was especially good at trying to befriend the "un-friendable" He would tell me about these children and how he is trying to include them in games and conversation. He has a heart for them and it is truly precious. 
*Ben has received his 1st love letter and a girl's phone number. Many girls have asked to be his girlfriend. (Aaron had to talk me out of calling the girls mother to inform her that her daughter is giving her number out - Hey! I would want to know!) I told Ben he could call her when he was 18, and he is very excited about turning 18 now...sheesh.

So, now I have 1 going into 1st grade, 1 going into 2nd grade, 1 in preschool, and 1 in diapers.  It's a hectic and sometimes overwhelming time. I'm constantly trying to figure out ways to be less busy and create more family time. To pause and enjoy. I'm going to miss this.

Birthday Party Fun

 A girl and her balloon. Precious.

 A boy and his gun. Not as equally precious.

 Patience is a virtue sweet Darcy! (waiting for the obstacle course)

The Birthday Boy with his HUMONGOUS CAKE!

The boys were invited to this fun superhero birthday party - right up their alley!