Review in pictures

I thought that I would share a few of my favorite pictures from the last couple of months. They don't necessarily warrant their own blog posting but I want to share them anyway.


Lucas' greatest joy is to be able to go
"bye-bye down". He often sits at a window
looking at cars and kids playing.

Caleb performed a short skit (in the national
language) for his graduation program.

I just love it - no real story!

Nana's visit was a huge blessing - for me and
for the boys.

The boys loved hanging out with Grandma
Tricia and Grandpa.

Micah is finding his voice.

I brought cupcakes to school for Caleb's
birthday. Funny to have to show the kids
how to remove the paper before eating!

Caleb graduates! He (and Josiah)
have done so well learning the
language - we are so thankful.

Caleb's 7th Birthday

Yesterday we celebrated Caleb's 7th birthday and this year was his first birthday "party". We invited some of Caleb's friends over (6 boys to be exact) for a cake, ice cream and fun. That brought our boy count to 10 which brought our noise level to "over the charts". This morning our neighbor commented on the noise that came from our apartment! We were also glad that Grandpa and Grandma Tricia were able to be here to help celebrate Caleb's big day. Caleb has been very excited about celebrating this birthday. Caleb woke up yesterday, threw his hands in the air and yelled "I'm seven!". Apparently Nana told him that when he turned 7 he officially moved out of being a little kid. He tried to convince me that he was old enough to walk to the store alone today - I'm not ready for that yet. I'm also not ready for him to learn to ride the skateboard that Grandma and Grandpa gave him - even though he has spent most of the day walking around the house in his protective gear. Birthdays are always bittersweet for me. I'm excited because they are excited and I have a good reason to give extra love and attention to one child (every other day we have to be "fair") but I am also a little sad because I know that they are one year closer to being all grown up. To many of you Caleb will look a lot bigger than the last time you saw him and even though I have been with him he looks a lot bigger to me too.

Mother's Day

I have a tradition with every holiday and Mother's Day means that I take a picture with the boys. Trying to get four boys to sit still, look in the same direction, and smile can be a challenge. I think we did alright this year. As far as my Mother's Day memory this year - I think that I have two. First, as I was getting ready for church Sunday morning Caleb says "you don't look like a mom today". If you're a mom with young kids I hope that you are able to guess the "why". Apparently I do not look like a mom if my hair is not in a ponytail. I am grateful for a very observant son! Later I was trying to explain to Josiah that not all grown up men are Daddy's. I told him that grown up people are called adults. Daddy is an adult and so am I. Josiah shakes his head and says "No, you're not an adult you're just a mommy." I can live with that.

The First Weeks

I will not deny it - having four small children is crazy. There is always something that needs to be done or someone that needs to be taken care of. With friends providing dinners the first week and my mother coming soon after we have entered this new stage slowly. I joke (kind of) about what my house is going to look like when I am home alone with all four. After a rough week or so Micah is nursing better and gaining weight. There are things that you take for granted when you have your fourth child. It never crossed my mind that there would be a nursing problem - I've done this three times before right? Well, that is just another reminder that every child is different. We wondered how Lucas would adjust to having a baby in the house. He has really done well and only tells me to put the baby down when he first wakes up from his nap. The problem we are finding is that Lucas is still two, which means he is getting into everything and looking for opportunities to cause trouble. Just yesterday I went to see what he was up to and found him in the bathroom with gel running down the side of his head. I cleaned him up and then two minutes later I found him standing on the toilet. He had dumped baby powder all over himself and the floor. What else could I do besides laugh and get my camera? After my mother leaves I think that I will have to lock Lucas in a room with me while I feed the baby!


Isn't he sweet?!

Trouble, trouble, trouble!!!!

Easter Sunday

When I bought the boys these matching ties someone suggested that I might need four. Surely Micah wouldn't come that early!

Micah's Arrival

Micah Silas was born at 9:27 on Thursday March 20th. He weighed in at 7lbs 4oz and was about 19 inches long. He arrived after 3 1/2 hours of labor and is doing well. While we were in the hospital the boys stayed with friends and met their brother the next day. Lucas was the first to see Micah. He noticed that there was someone new on the couch when he came home and he was pretty interested. There have been a few times when he wasn't as gentle as we would like him to be, but otherwise he has been really sweet. He wants to hold Micah and enjoys giving him kisses. He also likes to tell us when Micah is awake, asleep, or crying. Josiah was somewhat excited to see Micah but was more excited about being able to have sleepovers. He has asked to hold him a couple of times, but in general he is going about like nothing has changed. I wish that you had been here to see Caleb meet Micah for the first time. When we left for the hospital Caleb was very excited that Micah was coming. According to his teacher he has often mentioned how much longer it was until Micah arrived. I knew that he would be happy to finally meet him. When Caleb came home he very cautiously walked over to Micah and I. I could already see the tears welling up in his eyes (which meant mine we soon to follow!) He asked to hold him and as I put him in his arms Caleb said "I can't believe he is here, I have been waiting so long" and then he began to weep. He was just overwhelmed and it took him a few minutes to settle down. Could you ask for a sweeter reaction?

Ready or not....

I think that I am pretty brave - not for having a baby in another country - but for posting a picture of myself in the last month of pregnancy. Our newest little guy is due to arrive in less than 2 weeks. Thanks to a few care packages and a surprise baby shower we have most of the things we need. We feel like new parents all over again as we try to remember what we should have for the baby. I'm sure there are things that we are forgetting, but at least we remembered the diapers. Last week we timed the drive to the hospital and met with a hospital liaison to ask questions about what to expect. That sounds a little funny considering we've done this 3 times before. Really my biggest concern was the lack of emergency parking. With the last labor lasting only 45 minutes I wanted to make sure that we were going to have an easy place to park the car. The liaison at the hospital assured us that we could just drive up to the emergency door and leave the keys with the security guard! OK!! Needless to say, in less than two weeks we will have a story to tell.