I've got PERSONALITY!!!!!

Can you just see their personalities??!!! Haha! I love it!

Oh, and I do remember that I have a third son in case you are wondering. One of which you haven't seen many pictures of lately. That soon will change! He has been under the weather with super teething troubles and a cold to top it. Green snot and a raw nose just doesn't make for a nice picture. He will return to object of my photographs soon enough!

My Girls

It's just me, and them. We are the girls in this family of much testosterone. We've had them for about a month now...maybe. Not really sure, but they were cute when we got them. Now, well they are just ugly. Soon to be pretty again I hope. Looking forward to lots of fresh eggs, and nervous about chicken snakes. Christian and Ben love them, sometime a little too much love. We have to keep reminding them not to squeeze, be gentle, and don't kiss. They came with a fl yer with several health warnings. Don't put the chicks near your face or mouth. Wash hands immediately, and do not let children handle. Right, so I have to tell my children not to touch or breath the air that the birds breath...I think not! We let them hold, but they do have to wash their hands shortly after. Jack doesn't get to hold them, mostly because he would kill them. The baby loves to squeeze, pinch, and throw! Bye bye birdie! As of right now, we have 13. We eat a lot of eggs, but I still feel like there will be a surplus to share!

Chores

(The raw steel was a bad choice - lots of fingerprints. Also, should have chosen a different color scheme; I forgot that the wall was the color of a terracotta pot!)

I just start cracking up looking at these pictures, and reflecting on my last two weeks of implementing them. Many things to be learned from a chore chart, on both sides. It has been fun...for the first week. My boys were super energized and over enthusiastic about having a cool chart with their name on them. Christian especially loved the organized fashion of the design and being in charge of certain tasks along with the sense of accomplishment. It's heavenly for him. He is a real work horse and still wakes to check his chart and set his goals for the day. He also will take it upon himself to oversee the chores that Ben has not yet completed, and that doesn't go over very well.

Just yesterday Ben asked with a dramatic shrug, slumped shoulders, big frown and a definite whine in his tone "Maauuummmm, why did you make this chore chart? Why Mom, why?" On the inside I was laughing. These are my two oldest boys, night and day in everything they do. Ben is not one for responsibility. He is carefree and messy. He goes about his day leaving a trail of crumbs, toys, clothes, liquids, garbage... He changes clothes about 3x a day (leaves all of it on the floor) and usually wears whatever is the most contrary to the current climate. Shoes ALWAYS get put on the wrong feet as if it were intentional. So, as you can see, the chart is torture for him because it represents everything he is opposed to. It goes against his very nature, but it is good. It is good for him to learn how to serve others, be responsible, organized, and follow direction.

There are also a few chores that are considered "Extras." If they have finished their normal task and would like to earn some money they are able to take on an "Extra" in which case they are paid 1 penny. Yes, I know that isn't a lot, but they are only 4 and 5 years old. A penny is a treasure to them and it is meant more for motivating them, and helping them keep track of/count money. Once they accomplish this, I'll give them a raise! :)

Fairy Tale Ball

Some friends came down to visit and we took the little ones to the Fairy Tale Ball. Fun event, and the boys wanted their pictures taken with EVERYONE! We met up with some other friends toward the end of our stay, but no pictures there. By that time, I was tired of taking pictures, juggling baby, diaper bag, camera strap, and being pulled into many directions. A little overwhelmed I think! It was fun, but I may re-strategize for next years event.

Children were encouraged to come as their favorite fairytale character, or in our case whatever hodgepodge costumes we could scrounge up. Christian was a pirate, Ben a knight in shinning armor, and Jack was Curious George (not sure if that counts but I was desperate). Hannah (friends daughter) was a fairy. The boys had such a good time, they REALLY didn't want to leave. They especially loved dancing. Probably because we don't do that a lot at home. I have two left feet and can barely clap to a rhythm, so Daddy will definitely have to take over in this area of their lives and encourage more dancing. If you notice the picture of them with Puss n Boots, we had to track that kitty down and ask him for a sword fight, and then a picture They were excited to meet a cat with a sword. Shame on me for not giving them a more well rounded education in the area of Fairy Tales. They didn't understand who most of the characters were but still found them interesting enough for a photo.

T-Ball Time

As I type this I am smiling because Ben is constantly smiling when hitting/running. This is his favorite part of t-ball. He least favorite part is being in the outfield. Especially right field. Poor little guy just doesn't pay attention enough yet. He is young. Christian played right field his first year too.

Christian has gotten a lot more serious about t-ball. He hits hard, runs hard, and fields hard. His batting has become very impressive and only plays in the dirt every once in a while. :)

Opening Day!

Our team: The Braves

Christian: 2nd base Ben: Right Field

Bad Dog

So, ya know how I was kinda braggish about Lucy, the wonderful stray dog who must have been sent from God because she is truly the best dog we have ever had. I would like to take this opportunity to retract any and every nice thing I have ever said about her. She is a bad dog, sent from Satan himself to ruin my life and make me want to harm her in the kind of way that would make for a great reality TV show "God Fearing Women Gone Wild." Seriously, I loved these shoes, and the other pair she ate as well. Mark my words; this dog, this dog named Lucy, will be conquered....I think. Ha! Stinkin' dog really shows me how I can be so easily ruled by anger....maybe she is sent from God to reveal my sin! Ahhh! Stinkin' dog!

Talent Show

A video will be coming soon, but for now here are some pictures.

Christian and Ben participated in a Talent Show Fund Raiser at their co-op school. Aaron and I came up with an illusionist act. A simple trick followed by a disappearing act. It was so much fun to teach the boys about stage presence and work with them on their lines. I was impressed with them and their boldness to get on stage and perform. They were smooth little fellas! I was a little apprehensive. I felt like they were too young to do this themselves, but they amazed me! A friend of ours recorded the whole thing and I have GOT TO GET a copy and put it on here for everyone to see!

A little side note: I made their costumes, no pattern, no direction....it took forever! There were tired of Mommy asking them to try it on, and tired of getting stuck with pins!!! Haha! Next time, Beth, you are going to come down and assist. What I really mean is I will assist you!

Jack is 1

Zooming by Mommy's camera!

I had to get Uncle Josh to stand behind so he would smile.

Just a little note about his outfit: my sewing machine is acting up so I used "wonder under" to iron on the 1, and had to hot glue the ric rac (I was desperate). A little bummed that it can't go in the dryer and has to be washed on dedicates. I guess I could go back and sew it on....maybe. It held up great for the day, though.

Jack liked his cake, but was very slow about eating it.

Something to treasure in years to come.

Nothing like green eggs and ham!

Mommy and Daddy - having to take their "sugars."

Uncle Josh and Aunt Kari

Momma Beth and Big Poppa

Grandma and Poppy

First thing to be said: Please don't get your feelings hurt if you didn't receive an invite to this party. We only had immediate family come over and kept it small. With 3 children, I do feel like we sometime celebrate birthdays year round and would like to give our friends a break.

Jack:
He isn't walking yet, but don't underestimate him. He is fast on all fours! Thankfully, he is a really great eater, such a relief. I will have to admit that he is a big time Daddy's boy, and I do get a little jealous at times. He says "Momma" and "Dadda" and loves to put things in his mouth (even dog food). He still doesn't give his kisses away but we are working on that. Also, not really into the whole "bye bye" and waving scene. None of our children really were. I guess we just forget to teach them that. He and Lucy (our dog) are real pals. She endures so much from him, and is very gentle despite his abuse. Definitely a tough guy, and not too much of a cuddle bug. Very messy. He can turn a room upside down in minutes, it's quite astounding. His big brothers make him laugh the hardest. It's still difficult to say what his personality is like, but he seems pretty laid back and fun loving. We shower him with hugs and kisses all day long. He is just so stinkin' cute!

Surprise!

I am posting this picture to show you, Erika, that my camera is smartest in "AUTO", not "P" mode. See how yucky this picture is???

I am married to a 30 year old man!!!! Bahahaha! Don't you remember back in high school, you would look at a 30 year old man and think, "Man, he is old!" Crazy!

I sure do love my 30 year old man so very much! He is really hard to pull tricks or surprises on, but we did it! Yes, that old man got a surprise party in his home town. Yes, that old man WAS surprised! Yes, that old man will try to say that he "kinda knew" we would do that, but that is a lie! We got you got you got you!!!! I love you honey! You are awesome!

H-h-h-horse

Jack is looking at Daddy - probably wants to give him a kiss!

Smile for the camera!

-Coming out of a trot, trying to get him to stop. Apparently, I'm too gentle. Erika told me I could have pulled back a lot more....it's been a while. I had forgotten how incredibly tall a horse was when you are looking down from atop his back, and I didn't want to do anything to tick him off. Falling hurts more than it use to. I could hear the Doc. telling Aaron "so why did you let her _______ (fill in the blank)"

and that's how the pros do it! :)

This week I am teaching the boys about the letter "H" to go right along with horse, obedience, and how we should obey God. They got super super excited when I told them that we were going to Erika's house to feed her horses carrots. Quickly, they started to raid the fridge for other yummy treats. Not willing to give up my apples, we just stuck to carrots. A couple of things to mention here ---- They are WAAAYYYY to comfortable around horses. Black Heart, the white horse, is perfectly calm and doesn't mind them in the least bit, so glad for that. They were walking under him, behind him, playing with his tail, walking in front of him (while he was moving), the list just goes on! If it were any other horse than they could have gotten seriously hurt. Trying to handle the baby, stroller, camera, diaper bag, and keep the boys from getting hurt was a little much. We had fun, but I think we will definitely have a long talk in preparation of rules/dangers before walking back into the horse pasture. Reflecting back on the day, I believe I would have preferred for them to have been terrified of horses.

Happy Birthday Jesus!

We love Christmas! I guess everyone does! I forgot to take a picture of Jesus's birthday cake, but Mom made it-Angel Food Cake, how perfect. Christmas Eve and Christmas Day was spent in our home. We had a wonderful candlelight service at Church and Mom and Dad came down to spend it with us. Later on that week we packed up and headed to Big Poppa and Momma Beth's house to do it all over again. I never tire of Christmas!!! One more "big" thing: this was Jack's first Christmas. He was so fun to watch. Definitely more interested in the bows and paper, but found his new toys to be attractive as well.

Before Christmas we were challenged with keeping him away from the gifts under the tree. He would rip all the labels off and feed them to the dog. I thought I had gotten it all straightened back out but Big Poppa opened up a box full of brightly colored footed onesies. We had a good laugh about it anyway!

Reluctance

So, I almost wasn't going to write this but I suppose it is a baby book thing. Ok, here we go....ok, I'm ready now......well.....I'm really going to do it this time.....ugh.....this is so sad....

JACK GIVES AARON OPEN MOUTH KISSES, AND HE WONT GIVE ME EVEN ONE!!!! NOT ONE!!! In fact, he offers me his cheek instead. LUDICROUS!!!! Can I just rant for a moment? I mean, really?! REALLY??!!! I'm Mommy. I'm the greatest ever! I feed him, play with him, bathe him, change his diapers, wash his clothes...and he is still nursing which means there is that unspoken bond thing. I just don't get it....I'm speechless. What a Daddy's boy he is! But don't worry. The day that he gives me a sweet open mouth kiss you and the rest of the world will know about it!!!!!

Ouch

I love how Christian placed a piece of chalk on each rock (in the background) in various colors so that there would be absolute clarity for Ben during this project. Christian took charge, and didn't want to leave any room for error. Just a side note: Ben colored them exactly the way he wanted to, and it caused some serious conflict that day.

Every little boy needs a slingshot. The boys love these and have been gradually improving their skills. Of course, with slingshots, come rules; 1. Don't aim it at the house. 2. Shoot it from this point back. 3. Never point it at a person/dog. 4. Squirrels and birds are fair game, but not if they are near a house.

I wanted to take their picture pulling it back, but to my surprise Ben actually had a rock in his as I placed myself in front of him with full trust and made sure that my very expensive camera was squared up with him just so......right after I took the picture he released the tension and I was taken by surprise to find a rock meet the side of my head at an alarmingly high velocity. Ouch. The first thing that came to my mind was unfortunately far from Godly, but I just gasped and tried to just bite my tongue. Needless to say, that little boys got a stern conversation and had to put his slingshot up for the rest of the day.

Oklahoma

Practicing on the way...

Sung Jack to sleep.

Sanctified went to Oklahoma for a singing. Christian and Ben stayed with Momma Beth for the weekend, but Jack came with us - we are a package deal right now. Jack was SOOOO good. Oh, what a sweet 3rd child he is. Thank you Lord!

Family Time

We're sitting around the dinner table and Christian asks "Can we do a campfire and tell stories tonight." I think we have started something here. The boys really enjoy our time outside, sitting around the fire. I have encouraged the boys to tell stories. They are pretty comical. This has definitely become a family favorite and we try to do this this at least once a week while the aie is crisp.