Friday, April 30, 2010

Meet Moxie!

She's in there somewhere! We're not really sure which one she is yet, but we are just thrilled that she is one of them!

Last week we found out that we would not be able to get one of the puppies from this litter, which meant that we would not bring our puppy home in June. We were going to have to wait until August, and that was such a heartbreaker for the kids (for Dave and me too!). A few tears were shed, but we comforted the kids by telling them that we would fit in a few extra camping trips and go on more family outings this summer.

Today I received a call from our breeder. She gave us the wonderful news that one of the little girl pups from this litter, born April 17th, would be ours in June!! She was so sweet in the way she told me that I immediately started crying. :) God bless her!

It was so much fun to share the news with the kids after school. And then our dear breeder emailed us pictures of the puppies tonight. The kids were OVER THE MOON!

This last picture is one of Moxie's older siblings, born from the same mother (Liv). Moxie should look a lot like this when we take her home at 8 weeks old. What a teddy bear, huh?!


Thursday, April 29, 2010

Evan's Serenade


Evan was feeling pretty musical tonight. On the way to swimming lessons we were treated to a fabulous medley of the Batman theme, Barney, and a little Beyonce. (If you haven't heard a 3 year old boy sing "Single Ladies," you really are missing something.)

When he grew tired of those, he moved on to a little songwriting. This process is quite entertaining as he composes from his own experiences. Here's what he came up with tonight...

"When you go to the bathroom,

OH, when you go to the bathroom,

Sometimes you have to go pee-ee-ee,

And sometimes you have to go POOP!"

I can't even begin to tell you how entertaining his older brothers and sisters found this song. They requested several encores of the performance, as you might imagine. :)

Tuesday, April 27, 2010

Because I had to.

I could not NOT share this.

Cousin Joe would be SO proud.

Dave's cousin Joe is a member of a band called the CASH BOX KINGS (a fabulous young blues band, click on their name to visit their website). Joe is an incredibly gifted musician who can sing and play many different instruments. At our wedding reception 13 years ago, Joe treated our guests to a special serenade on his harmonica.

Wait...I need to clarify...that would be two harmonicas.

One for his mouth,

and one for his NOSE.

It was wildly entertaining.


Tonight, I went to Henry's 4th grade music performance. They sang and played many different instruments, including the xylophone, the piano, acoustic and electric guitars, and recorders.
And, because they are 4th graders, they discovered that they can play their recorders with both their mouths AND their noses.

We'll see if they ever develop Joe's talent of playing through both orafices at the same time.

And without further adieu, here's the next generation of musicians who can play an instrument...
with their nose...


Sunday, April 25, 2010

Father and Son Construction

Three things I love about this clip...
1. Henry knows exactly what he's doing.
2. Dave taught him.
3. They worked together for the longest time, and Henry loved every minute of it.
I love my handymen!

Nadia's First Holy Communion

Our sweet God daughter, Nadia, had her First Communion today.
Here she is with her sister, Anabel, and her parents. Beautiful family!
And look at this good-looking trio, Nadia with her Grandma and Grandpa!

Congratulations, Nadia!

Saturday, April 24, 2010

She can play soccer...











and assist Uncle Gary in hanging drywall.
She is one multi-talented little girl. :)

Friday, April 23, 2010

Puddle Buddies

We had a good rainstorm this afternoon. Caroline, Evan and I suited up in our boots, rainjackets and umbrellas.
We headed outside to stomp in some putddles, and look for worms and frogs.

The kids love their umbrellas, and try to take advantage of every opportunity to use them.

They got a little wet,

especially this little girl.
They never found any frogs. So when we came back inside, they pretended to be frogs themselves. :)

Thursday, April 22, 2010

Just one of those days.

I think that God was working on my humility today. It definitely knocked my confidence level down a notch or two.

Last night after CCD and First Communion pictures, Seth and I went to pick up some milk at the grocery store. Five minutes later we were home, got all the kids to bed, and then went to bed ourselves.

This morning I woke with a sinking feeling that I left the milk in the car. I was right. Good start to the day.

Then I very creatively packed the boys lunches, as the cupboards were pretty bare. I put the lunches in the backpacks. A couple of minutes later, Henry looked in his backpack and couldn't find his lunch. It was no where to be found. So, as it was time to go to school, I promised Henry that I would look for his lunch and bring it to school when I found it.

I kept looking while getting Evan ready for his swimming lessons and making coffee for Uncle Gary, who, as you know, is helping to finish the basement. I still couldn't find the lunch. We headed to swimming lessons, and then took Evan, Caroline and her friend, Jane, to McDonald's playplace. I knew that there was no way I could scrounge up more food for the kids in the kitchen. I could also pick up some food on the way out for Henry's lunch.

On the way out, with getting the kids ready to go, I completely forgot to pick up Henry's lunch. I realized that fact when I was dropping the girls off for Kindergarten. Where was my head today?! I felt like the worst mom in the world.

So I picked Henry up from school, took him to McDonald's. Evan, in the mean time, fell asleep in the car. I knew that meant that instead of getting his full nap in the afternoon, this cat nap would be all he would get. That in turn, meant a cranky boy, and a mom who gets less done. :( I dropped Henry back off at school just in time for recess with his friends. At that point, the school secretary told me that I had packed Henry's lunch in Caroline's bag. BRILLIANT.

When we got home, Uncle Gary was to have left for the day because he had some appointments in the afternoon. Unfortunately, his truck had died. He was in the process of trying to get his truck towed to a repair shop, and the tow truck driver was refusing his AAA coverage because he said the truck was too big. The rest of the afternoon, until just before I picked the kids up to school, we worked on getting the truck towed and food for Uncle Gary.

I picked up the kids from school, made cookies with the kids so that they'd have a little snack, Jane's mom came to pick her up, and we headed out to swimming lessons for the other kids. Dave had to get some more drywall for the basement, and then he picked up some groceries. (Thank God!)

We had fast food for the second time today, and finally were home around 8:30. We got the kids to bed, and then I fell into bed myself.

I was telling my husband that I am realizing, now that his focus is primarily on the basement, how much he usually does to help with general housework. I'm a little swamped, but I am trying to just get done as much as I can, let some stuff go, and try not to let it bother me, roll with the punches, and remember that this won't last forever. In the end, our efforts will pay off in a finished basement, which will be a very good thing.

Jane came for the last time today, so now we'll have a little more flexibility for when we go grocery shopping. However, Caroline will miss her terribly. She has loved having a playdate every day for the past two weeks. She'll miss her "twin sister."

I'm praying that the day goes a little smoother tomorrow, that I'm a little more with it, and that I might actually get something done around the house. :)

God Gave Me You

What a beautiful way to start the morning...I was reading BooMama's blog (one of my favorites) where she had posted this music video by Dave Barnes about how much a man loves his wife...LOVE it...

Wednesday, April 21, 2010

First Communion Preview

Seth's first Communion class got together tonight to take pictures. The boys looked SOOOO handsome in their suits, and the girls were stunning in their dresses. Seeing them all dressed up together was a beautiful sight! They took the group shot outside in front of our church.


Here they are!


Is there anything sweeter?

Here's our handsome young man...

We are so proud of him!

Tuesday, April 20, 2010

Peace

Sweet children...

a dear husband and involved father...

Family.

Laundry, messy house, endless lists of things that are not getting done...
Let them go today. Moments like these don't last.

Monday, April 19, 2010

He's serious about his smoothies.

This boy has grown tired of the standard breakfast fare, so a few days ago, we tried to switch things up with smoothies.

Our blender has been busy ever since. He not only needs them before school, but he needs their sustenance after school while doing his homework.

Obviously, Seth loves his smoothies. Mom does too. What's not to like? They are healthy, tasty, and ever so easy to make.

Here's his favorites:

Strawberry-Banana Smoothie
-1 banana
-5 or 6 strawberries
-3/4 cup skim milk
-a little sugar to taste
-a few ice cubes if you like it cold
Blend.

Peanut Butter-Banana Smoothie
-1 banana
-2 heaping TBSP of peanut butter
-3/4 cup skim milk
-a little honey (1 TBSP?)
-a few ice cubes if you like it cold
Blend.

Yum!

Sunday, April 18, 2010

Such a CLOWN!

That's the thing about young Evan. He likes to be the center of attention, and loves to make all of us laugh. Can you tell?

(The card game footage of Henry and my mom makes me laugh too!)

Saturday, April 17, 2010

H.A.M.S.

After a sleepover and a big breakfast of cinnamon rolls, french toast sticks, bacon, eggs and diced potatoes, the boys wanted to take Caroline, Evan and I over to their newly discovered territory, "H.A.M.S." (They named it after themselves, Henry, Alex, Matthew and Seth, and it is conveniently located behind our house.)
They were excellent tour guides.

They explained to a very curious Evan all the sights and wonders along the way.

Matthew gave a detailed explanation of all the fun you can have with "exploding cat tails".

They brought all of the proper equipment we needed, including walkie-talkies.

So much beauty to see!

Here's our youngest hiker trying to keep up with our oldest!

Evan definitely kept up, and then some!
We crossed streams.

We posed for pictures.

We had a fabulous adventure with good friends!
That was a Saturday morning well-spent.

Thursday, April 15, 2010

There is something that is 4 MILLION YEARS OLD in my kitchen.

I have two things to say about this post title:

1. I am NOT exaggerating.

2. And no, I did not find said item in my refrigerator.

Any guesses?

You are spot on! We have a 4 million year old proboscidian tooth in our kitchen! Of course, right?!
Uncle Gary brought this massive molar to show to the kids today. He found it on one of his trips to Mexico, and brought it to the Field Museum to find out what it was and how old it is. For those of you who don't know, the proboscidean family includes modern-day elephants, mammoths, mastadons, and their ancestors.
The kids were fascinated! We all agreed that we have never touched anything THAT old.

Caroline, who was just visited by the tooth fairy because she just lost her first tooth, wondered what would happen if she put THIS tooth under her pillow. Henry said that she might have a hard time sleeping with a huge, hard FOSSIL there, and Seth said that it might be a little hard for the tooth fairy to carry. :) They theorized that they might get a little more from the tooth fairy than their usual two dollars.

They all agreed that this particular proboscidean needed to brush better and see his dentist more often. They thought that he might have had a cavity.


Of course, we now have a research assignment tonight. All three of the kids want to share the tooth with their classes, and we need to know what we're talking about. :) The traveling tooth exhibit tentatively takes place tomorrow. (That was a pretty good alliteration, if I do say so myself!)