Birthday Girl

On September 2nd we celebrated Abby's first birthday (already!). She is a sweet little girl, though a little impatient. She is not necessarily a "social" person like most of her brothers. She takes a little while to get used to people and is rarely fine with having neither Ted nor I around. I love to receive her hugs, watch her love her babies, the way she "dances" to music and her special giggle to let you know that she wants more food. How blessed we are to have this little girl! I often look at her in unbelief - is this really our little girl or are her real parents coming to pick her up? My children are such a sweet reminder of how good the Lord is to me.

Vacation

A few months ago Ted and I decided to brave the odds and take 5 kids on vacation! We figured that if we waited until all the kids were done with naps and out of diapers we might be pushing it off into Caleb's teenage years. The boys were really excited about the vacation and we parents were looking forward to a "quiet" break from a busy summer. From looking at our pictures you might think that we spent most of our time at the pool - and you're right! We went to the sea only once during our trip. The boys were not that impressed and Abby was not a fan of the sand. The boys preferred to be at the pool where they could do cannon balls and back flips! Most of us came back a shade darker and thankful for the opportunity to spend time together as a family. Now we readjusted to life without a pool or air conditioning! Nothing like taking pictures of your kids to remind you of how big your kids are getting, huh?

Abby is following in her brothers' footsteps and seems to just keep growing and growing. She is 11 months old and, for the most part, she is a happy baby. She loves music, being held, being entertained by her brothers, being outside, and (most recently) walking. She does not like for her Daddy to leave and does not appreciate if he enters a room and does not immediately pick her up. She does not like loud noises or extreme sports - like being thrown too high in the air or being spun around really fast. To be honest I get a little excited when she does "girly" things, like cry for a long time over a small scratch or when she squeezes her eyes shut when she is fake crying. These are some of my favorite pictures over the last six months or so.

Birthdays

We have celebrated 3 birthdays since returning from the states. That's not even half of us- haha! Birthdays were always a special day when I was a child and I take great joy in making them special for the boys (and soon Abby!).

In February we celebrated Lucas' 5th birthday. He selected chocolate chip pancakes for breakfast. He was very excited to receive his own REAL tool set. He has tried to take apart tables, hammered nails into small pieces of wood and dismantled broken electronics. One of the things that I love most about Lucas is that he wants to know how everything works and why. He always wants to be doing something and enjoys being a helper.

In March we celebrated Micah's 3rd birthday. He requested cinnamon rolls for breakfast and meatloaf (no joke) for dinner. Micah was very excited to get a scooter for his birthday. I think that he missed the scooter he rode in the states more than any other thing. He says that he is the "scooter dude". Micah is a funny little boy and I love that about him. He can make you laugh with the silly faces he makes and the funny things he says. It is funny to hear a three year old say things like "Oh yeah, baby" and "I'm going to play football in college".


We celebrated Caleb's 10th birthday earlier this month. He chose cinnamon rolls for breakfast and chicken wings for dinner. I know every parent says this, but I really cannot believe how fast time has gone. I found myself tearing up a couple times just thinking that he was already 10 and way too close to college for me! It is fun (and sometimes not) to see his personality develop as he gets older. One of the things I love most about Caleb is that he is a relationship driven kid. on of the things that makes him happiest is spending time with friends, family, and visitors.

Smorgasbord

So I decided that if I actually posted all my pics from our time in the states in order and wrote about them it would take me FOREVER! My desire to do things in order is partially why I am 4 years behind in my scrapbooking. The five kids thing also plays a part, I think. Anyhoo, I decided to just post a few of the other things and just move on. By far the best part of being in the states was being able to reconnect with old friends and make some pretty great new ones. We had old friends travel good distances to see us and that was such an encouragement. We meet people for the first time that have faithfully prayed for us even though we never met. What a blessing! We spent the holidays with family for the first time in 3 years. I was also able to so something I haven't been able to do in three years - I went to Target! Okay, maybe I went more than once.

We were blessed to have old friends travel to see us.
These friends traveled from NY to CA to spend time with us!

The boys enjoyed getting dressed up and
going to a "Trunk and Treat" with
Grandpa and Grandma Tricia (aka Catwoman).

Lucas enjoys a Thanksgiving feast.

The trip wouldn't be complete without visits to the
emergency room. Micah cut his leg when he broke a glass and
Josiah cut his chin open riding a bike down a hill.

Christmas Morning 2010

A very generous group of ladies made these
Christmas stockings (LOVE THEM!) possible.

We were able to spend Christmas with Aunt Nicole,
Uncle Ryan, Uncle Robert and Grandma.

Abby at 6 months

All of the boys developed an interest
in football and baseball cards. One night before Micah went to
bed he whispered to Ted, "Daddy, I got a Mickey Mantle".

The boys made a lot of new friends (like the Medlins)
and for about a month after we returned Micah would ask
if we could go to Mr. Joe's house.

We spent New Years Eve with the Hough's. Did I mention that
we were blessed with some neat new friends!

The Great Outdoors

Before returning to the states I wondered how the boys would react. Living overseas is all that Micah has ever known and Lucas was only 18 months when we moved. I laughed the first time we went to Target and the boys ran and yelled as they marveled at all the toys. I laughed when Lucas tried to speak to the cashier in the national language (instead of English). I, however, did not laugh when he went behind the register and tried to help her scan things. That is acceptable behavior here, but not at Target. I REALLY laughed when I took the boys to Sports Authority and they were so excited they could not contain themselves. They touched everything, tried on helmets, swung bats, put on football pads, even tossed a football. Under normal circumstances I would have put a stop to it right away, but these were not normal circumstances. They had never seen some of these things and certainly never knew that they could be purchased. Though we did acquire our fair share of sporting goods, I did have to let them know that we could not purchase everything they saw.
Of all the things they enjoyed about being in the states, I think their favorite thing was having a place to roam. In each of the places we stayed they had a yard they could play in. Our home here does not have a gated space or grass - which meant that Micah could not go out unattended and playing football meant no tackling. Almost everyday we were in the states, the boys played football or baseball (usually both). Since we returned they have continued to play football, but they miss being able to tackle (but they are not ripping holes in their pants as much!). They all have aspirations of playing in the NFL and the other day Micah informed us that he was going to play football in college.

Josiah's Birthday

We celebrated Josiah's 7th birthday 10 days after arriving in the states (after 3 1/2 years overseas). Being in the states meant the boys were able to enjoy a few new things as we celebrated. It was a treat for all the boys to be able to celebrate at Chuck-E-Cheese with Nana, Aunt Sarah, and Uncle David. Of course, Josiah loved it because he loves video games. He also loves sports - both playing them and watching them. He discovered ESPN once we arrived in the states and fell in love. Josiah is very smart and loves math - which means that he remembers the score of any game he watches and has learned the intricacies of football very quickly. He makes me laugh when I see him playing football by himself, but still going through all the steps of huddling, calling a play, calling hike, and even taking the proper steps backward when he is going to kick a field goal.

Special treat - ice cream cake!

You might get points for looking
the part.

Can you be cute if you are breaking
the rules?

Still too young to reach the wheel
or pedals but she joined the fun.

Uncle David helps Lucas and Micah
reach the pedals.

Big Brothers

All of the boys (most of the time) have loved having a little sister in the house. It is interesting to see the way each one relates to her as it shows their unique personalities. Caleb, of course, loves Abby. He wanted to hold her right away and takes great joy in being her big brother. In keeping with his personality, he battles between thinking she's great and being jealous of the attention she receives.He is already her protector and hates to hear her cry. Josiah, our "whatever" kid, thought it was great when Abby came home but was ready to move on to something else a few minutes later. I guess I would say that though he loves her he is not overly impressed with her as some of the others are.He is happy to talk to her and hold her, but his interest is not held very long. In true Lucas fashion he wants to understand how "she works". He asks a lot of questions about how she will grow, what she will do, why she can/cannot do certain things, etc. What has been a very pleasant surprise is seeing how much he loves her. He, more than the others, loves to talk to her and make her laugh. He is very sweet to her and Abby loves him. Micah, as is the nature of a two year old with 3 older brothers, will respond to Abby in whatever way his brothers are. Micah has been our "snuggle bug" boy so there are times when he is upset because he cannot be held or loved on because attention is being given to Abby. Needless to say, she is one blessed little girl to have so many big brothers. She just might end up being the most protected, spoiled little sister ever!