Family

My brother got married, which meant we had family in town.

It was so wonderful to see my Grandma,

the kids Great Grandma.

It was the first time for Baby J to meet

his Great Grandma.

Aunt Mandi with her two precious

children were also here.

Piano Recital

Jakin had his very first piano recital.  He did a very good job and made his mom and dad very proud.

Big Smile

Eyes!

I love this picture of Baby J.  He normally gets scared when he is put in the bathtub.  But this particular morning he kept his precious eyes on me the entire time and as I spoke to him, he never cried.  It was so sweet to see the trust in his eyes that his mommy would take care of him!!

Nature Walk

The other morning it was absolutely gorgeous!

So, we took school outside and went to a near by lake

to walk on some trails and study nature.

The kids then each choose something to sit and draw.

It was great to get outside and enjoy

the Lord's amazing creation.

Date with Daddy

For the past few years we have all enjoyed

filling out a bracket for March Madness 

(basketball tournament).

Daddy then keeps track to see who wins.

This year Busy Bee won.  Daddy promised

a special treat to the winner.  Within minutes 

Busy Bee had her special treat planned and 

couldn't WAIT for daddy to take her out.

The other morning the two of them went

out to breakfast together.  She was SO

excited!!  She got all dressed up

in her princess dress and high heel shoes.

Date with Purple Girl

The other afternoon I got to go on a date with 

Purple Girl (and of course Baby J).

Purple Girl's first choice was to go 

to the Mall of America.  When I told

her we needed to stay local she was a little

disappointed.  But, we finally landed on going to a 

park. She told me she needed some fresh air.

After playing for a little while, we 

then decided to go pick some dandelions. 

She has been quite disappointed that we don't have 

any in our yard.  

It was nice to have that special time with her.

Mustaches

For school we made mustaches...

The Principal wasn't sure this was a 

productive school activity - but it was a fun

project that went with our History.

The kids had fun and sometimes school gets to be FUN!!

T-Ball

Little J enjoyed his new T-ball set.

But then was frustrated when he could

not hit the ball as far as his older siblings.

He had fun though and I am sure he

will learn quickly.

Fire

What is really fun for five kids,

but really nerve racking for mom...

a fun evening around a fire in the backyard!!

Of course the three oldest loved 

helping daddy throw sticks in the fire.

Mom was busy holding baby and trying to keep

the now 2 year old in a seat!

I should have had a picture of Busy Bee -

she was daddy's BIG helper this night.  

She made sure every last stick was picked up in 

the yard and thrown into the fire.

She was so excited to tell me that 

she was daddy's big helper and was

greatly encouraged by the the praise from her dad.

Big Eyes

I love Little J's BIG brown eyes in this picture below.

He sure loves to hold his little brother!

That's Cool Mom

Little J's new saying is "That's cool mom!!"

So, while helping me throw clothes in the washing machine and 

watching the water fill up, he kept telling me "That's cool mom!"

Two Months Old

Our sweet baby boy is two months old today!!!

It is getting much easier to catch smiles on the 

camera now.  He is staring to "talk" with us 

and has lots of smiles when you get 

eye contact with him.

He doesn't take a pacifier - 

we don't need one for this little guy

as he rarely is crying unless he truly

needs something (sleep, food or a diaper change).

But, he does suck on his fist a lot, 

so we will see if this turns to the thumb.

A lot of people have asked how it is with five.

Having five children - having one child -

is life changing and also sanctifying

in my walk with Christ for sure!!!

I ask for forgiveness a lot -

from my Savior and from my children and from 

my husband at times too.

It is a constant humbling experience

as I am daily reminded that life is not about me,

not about my wants or my desires.

It is a good reminder....

the more I let go of me,

the more I love my Savior, 

which in turn the more I love

others in my life.

I am BLESSED!  There is

just no other way to say it...very blessed!

Not because life is perfect or because I have perfect 

kids or even a perfect husband (although he is great)...

but because I have a PERFECT Savior - 

and when I stand before God it is ONLY 

because of Jesus that I will be saved.

So how is life with FIVE?

Life is crazy, life is busy, life is messy,

it is challenging yet rewarding,

it is unpredictable yet fun,

it is hard but worth it all...

but overall life is like it was

with one, two, three, four and now five -

GOOD - because my JOY is found in Christ!

"you make known to me the path of life;

in your presence there is fullness of JOY;

at your right hand are pleasures forevermore."  

Psalm 16:11

Love this guy!!!

Three Generations

GiGi and Baby

Easter Smile

A big mouth open Smile from our Baby on Easter!!

Mommy's Helper

 Purple Girl has really turned into Mommy's BIG helper with Baby J!

She has worked really hard at being able to change his diaper all on her own.  

She may not have it perfect yet, but she does a really good job.

She loves feeding him a bottle.

She also does a good job calming him down if he is upset. 

He is a very happy baby and doesn't get upset too often,

but he still is scared of taking baths.

So the other day she crawled in with him 

and held his hand while I bathed him.

Family of Seven

On Easter Sunday I was finally able to get a nice picture of our family together.

One too many pictures for our baby boy!!

These pictures are always so precious to me

as a mom.  Especially when most of the children

are looking at the camera and every one over the age of

one is not crying!

Bribing the kids with chocolate does help :) 

Egg Hunt

While Grammie was in town over the weekend the kids enjoyed an egg hunt with their cousins.

Helping Daddy

Daddy  was cleaning out the garage and of course Little J was right there to help him.  

Little J was quite disappointed when 

both of these machines would not run for him.

He asked Daddy to please turn them on, 

but not yet.  

Two Years Old

Our Little J is TWO years old today!

He is all about balls - especially basketball, so it was the

perfect theme for his birthday this year.

We had a basketball pinata

and made a basketball cake.

His birthday poster.

Little J is such a sweet little boy

who adds a lot of excitement, busyness and

smiles to our home. 

For some reason this picture below kept downloading side-ways,

but I wanted to include it.  Little J had a lot of fun

hitting at the pinata and watching his cousins do the same.

Little J was so adorable as he sang Happy Birthday to himself

while everyone else sang to him.

Then he tried blowing out his candles...

It was so cute as he blew, but I believe 

Purple Girl (who you can't see in the picture below)

ended up blowing out the candles for him.

After cake, we did a basketball game where all the 

kids shot hoops and we kept score to see if they could beat the

dads.  When it was Little J's turn, all the kids cheered for him.

It was So sweet...he was so excited to make his shots as

everyone cheered.

I loved the two year old birthday parties...

they always seem so genuine 

in their excitement.  After the party and as I was putting 

him to bed, he retold me about all the fun he had.  

It was a sweet time with my Birthday boy!

We love you so much buddy!! 

Happy birthday.

Baby Amy

When I was a little girl I had a baby doll that I loved very much - her name was Amy and she looks a lot like a real baby.  Both Busy Bee and Little J love this doll.  It is sweet to see them take care of her.  If you ask Little J who's baby she is, he will say "my baby."

Bottle

Baby J enjoyed a bottle the other morning.

He took it just fine.

Picture with aunt

My Little Boys!

I could use another Ergo!!