The Coffee Hour

And here we are again.

2012-01-28T11:22:00.001-06:00

This picture gives me déjà vu.

Holding our breath

2012-01-26T11:27:00.000-06:00

We did a very small wheat trial- no noticeable reaction. And then one more… And then I let him eat a whole piece of delicious, fluffy white bread {GASP!}.

He said, “Ooooh this is really good Mom!”

He might just be able to tolerate wheat. I think I might cry. Thank you Jesus.

Happy Birthday to Abby!

2012-01-08T11:08:00.000-06:00

Our sweet baby girl turned 2 years old…

What does a 2 year old girl in a family full of boys want for her birthday? Things that her brothers play with, only in pink!

Pink legos Pink goggles

The pink barbie princess dress up dress I got her? She wants nothing to do with it! If only I could find a pink garbage truck!

Daddy is really enjoying Mommy’s Christmas presents.

2011-12-30T15:24:00.001-06:00

Merry Christmas!

2011-12-25T15:19:00.000-06:00

Advent Traditions

2011-12-22T14:35:00.000-06:00

There are so many great fun ideas for emphasizing the true meaning of Christmas with your kids. In retrospect, I think I have tried to do too many things at once in Decembers past and in doing so, was not as consistent or effective in implementing any of them.

This year I simplified our daily advent activities to the Christmas chain with a verse on it each morning (I love hubbardscupboard.org for bible activities) and the Jesse Tree ornaments and reading each night with the advent wreath.

Each night one child had a turn with lighting the candles, opening the ornament for the advent nativity and blowing the candles out at the end.

Again, incorporating FIRE in any activity will captivate the little ones and keep them begging for more.

It was a great Advent season with the kids, and I don’t at all regret just doing these 2 simple activities each day! Christmas was easy to set up, easy to put away, and without the stress of trying to do too much we were more able to put the focus on Jesus.

Poor 5th child…

2011-12-19T15:16:00.000-06:00

Since bringing Joseph home, we have been through sickness Armageddon. 3 children with Strep, 3 with conjunctivitis, and 6 of us with some eternal coughing virus that just won’t go away.

Understatement of the year: I have been doing a lot of laundry.

I would like to forget about this illness period associated with Joseph’s homecoming, so I will leave you with these sweet sibling pictures (taken pre-illness). This 5th child has been heavily loved on. And remains healthy, thank you Jesus!

Joseph’s birthday!

2011-12-13T22:53:00.000-06:00

My midwife recommended a labor induction cocktail at my appointment today. I drank the nasty mix after getting home and went to lay down. Jason was home watching the kids and cleaning up their lunch. For about an hour I felt some very mild contractions but they were like a distant echo of the real thing... then my water broke. It was 12:30. I brought my hospital bag to the door and told Jason my water broke. The contractions were already getting going. We told the kids we were going to the hospital and got in the car before his parents even arrived to watch the 3 littlest ones. As soon as their car pulled up we were off. Jason drove as fast as the Prius could go with the hazard lights on, flashing his headlights for people to let us through. It felt like God really made the way clear for us as we went down the interstate. Neither of us said anything the whole way there. I tried to stay really relaxed and breathe through each contraction, which were quickly getting more intense. When we got off at the hospital exit the labor felt so intense I said, "Oh this is really bad! Jesus help me!" We got to the street in front of the emergency department and I said, "The baby is coming!" There was no stopping this little man from making his appearance. I laid the seat back, put my feet up on the dash of the car and pulled my pants down. Jason pulled the car right in front of the emergency room door and ran inside to the security guard and told them he needed a doctor to deliver a baby. He ran back outside just in time to see little Joseph's head crowning. In complete calm, he helped his head out, released the cord from around his neck, and Joseph was born right into daddy's hands. He started crying right away and looked so pink and healthy- we were so relieved he was okay. For 30 glorious seconds it was just the 3 of us there at the car. We called him by name, told him we loved him and I held him close to me. I felt so happy we had made it to the hospital and that the hardest part was over! Joseph was born at around 1:15 in the afternoon. If I hadn’t forgotten our little pocket camera on the way out the door, we would have had some kind of picture of us Post- Prius-Pre-Hospital. But, we don’t.

Some emergency department people came out to help us with blankets and cutting the cord. It was kind of a surreal experience to get out of the car with your pants around your ankles holding a clamped umbilical cord hanging between your legs in your hand. I really did not care at that point who saw what, I was just so happy to have our baby here safely. We rolled on into the ED where a doctor looked at us in the hallway and deemed Joseph Alive and Okay. The doctor then realized that Jason was indeed the dad of this precious little miracle and not just a Vanderbilt doctor who happened to be walking by and ended up helping a random lady give birth outside the hospital. This still makes us laugh because Jason would be a very unlikely candidate for helping a random lady give birth- he runs from all women's health related issues like the plague. Our new family joke- "Dr. Pereira- Now offering emergency roadside delivery assistance!"

Little Joseph has the distinction of having his daddy's name on his birth certificate in two places- once as the daddy, and once as the "certifier of live birth" - the doctor who delivered him! Not at all what we had planned, but what a blessing it turned out to be. We truly thank the Lord for his protection and guidance in Joseph's arrival.

Fun math activity

2011-12-10T16:52:00.001-06:00

This month we are doing a simple activity that the boys have really enjoyed.

I bought this amaryllis bulb in the very early bud stage at the beginning of December. The plant grows quickly and blossoms into a beautiful flower in just a few weeks. We are keeping a daily chart of the plant’s measurement and how much the plant grew. I decided to measure in centimeters so there isn’t a need for fractions- we aren’t ready for that yet! The anticipation of waiting for the flower to bloom keeps them excited to do this each morning.

I heart my new blender

2011-12-10T14:34:00.000-06:00

Recently Jason and I were out on a daytime date and found ourselves wandering around Costco. Yes I know we are sad. But this rare opportunity to shop without children caused us to pause for samples at the fancy blender demo that happened to be taking place that day. I have always thought of these appliances as ridiculously overpriced as-seen-on-tv type gimmicks. However, I have recently been exploring some vegan cookbooks and blogs in an effort to increase the proportion of vegetables in our family diet. And the seed of temptation was planted when the authors kept mentioning, “and now I throw all that in the Vitamix.”

So we watched the guy (who was a skilled salesman and fancy blender operator) effortlessly make ice cream! hot soup! lemonade! smoothies! in seconds. And I am embarrassed to admit, we were sold.

Now, I am not trying to sell anyone a fancy blender, but let me just say that this has really helped us with our vegetable eating goals!

My 3 favorite things to make so far: green smoothies, green soup, and “ice cream” which is really just fruit and milk blended with ice. The kids all love it! And we’re eating up huge packages of organic kale and spinach every week in addition to the fruit and raw almonds in the smoothies. I find myself actually craving all the fresh, raw green stuff that I put in the smoothies we have been making for breakfast almost every day. In the summer I look forward to making popsicles and baby food with this too!

This blender is great because: Its easy to clean- nothing to take apart like a normal blender or food processor. Its really powerful- it even breaks up the seeds in berries. It fits under my counter and is really easy to move and store away if needed. The programmed buttons for “soup” and “whole juice” and “ice cream” are handy in addition to the manual speed control. I haven’t smoked out the motor yet like I have nearly every time I used my old oster blender.

So there you have it! Happy vegetable eating!

Gallery

2011-12-07T14:04:00.001-06:00

Our oldest son is a prolific artist. He created this display himself and adds to it frequently.

And no, it doesn’t stop there…

My secret wall hanging weapon: blue painter’s tape! They can stick stuff up wherever they want and the paint doesn’t come off.

Confessions of a self-described photophile

2011-12-03T17:00:00.001-06:00

I love my camera. I love my family. I think my kids are the most beautiful people God ever created. These delights combined result in lots and lots and LOTS of pictures downloaded to my hard drive. Sadly, few of these images ever make it outside of the hard drive to be enjoyed in any form. I gave up paper scrap booking when my FIRST child was still a baby- it was something I enjoyed but it was too cumbersome and time consuming to maintain. Then in 2006 I discovered publishable digital photo albums that are now widely used and popular. It is so much easier and efficient and preserves the parts of book making that are most important to me- a place to write about our family memories and enjoy our many pictures- as many as we like! Still, the discipline of keeping up with creating the albums has escaped me. The last time I was caught up with our family photo books was in early 2008 after being on bedrest with my third pregnancy. For shame!

Last week I finally finished our family memory book for 2008- it contained over 600 pictures and 170+ pages. Going through the pictures brought back a wide range of emotions- a lot has changed in the last 4 years, some in good ways and some sad. But that is simply the reality of being human in a fallen world. More than anything, I am reminded of God’s faithfulness to bring us through all of these things, the blessings that are from Him and His presence in the pain. And that is what remembrance in a believer’s life should result in- praise and thanksgiving that we belong to Him and nothing that happens in this life will fall outside of His sovereign power.

So the picture albums, they are worth pursuing I think. My husband whole heartedly agrees. Here are some things I need to do differently so that I can complete these albums before our last child leaves for college!

-Download the pictures frequently, then go through them right away and keep only the very best images, edit them, and organize them by month and year. It is discouraging to have to sift through hundreds of pictures just to make a few pages in the memory book. I don’t need 8 or 23 pictures of the same child in the same pose. Just pick one and go on!

-Minimize the number of folders for each month to make importing a large number of images into the book more efficient.

I have used the Costco MyPublisher program in years past for our books, but now I am using blurb.com. If you are the kind of person who enjoys lots of creative control over your layouts and the ability to insert as little or as much text as you like, it is a great option. I have tried “autofill” and “slurping” from my blog, but I’m just not happy with how those layouts turn out. I also like that I am designing my book in a local program on my own computer that I can upload when the final product is complete, instead of doing the whole project online. They frequently have great discount promotions too so I waited for one of those to come along. I was so happy with how our 2008 book turned out, I am excited to keep going. Who knows, maybe this is part of nesting!

So here, in case either of my 2 blog readers are interested, is a little glimpse of our latest family book!

Its beginning to look a lot like Christmas…

2011-12-01T21:45:00.000-06:00

We did our annual tradition of going to get a Home Depot tree. We spent a grand total of 2 minutes picking the perfect one. This year the trees were under this circus tent like thing in the parking lot, which was dark and gave kind of a campy feel to the whole experience.

The decorating free-for-all went pretty well this year; only a few ornamental casualties were sustained. My policy is: I want this to be a fun memory for the kids, so no being anal about ornament placement or breakage!

Abby even points and says, “Tis-mus tee!”

Thanksgiving weekend round up.

2011-11-28T21:45:00.000-06:00

Grandma came to visit.

The boys showed her their “Super Hero Game”

We ate yummy food. (Mommy’s tummy grew a lot)

We went to Cheekwood to see the Wild West exhibit.

And the trains.

The boys were obsessed with seeing Buffalo Bill’s guns the whole time we were there.

We really enjoyed the beautiful weather!

We have been blessed abundantly! Thank you Jesus for everything You are to us and all you have given us.

Keep your game face on

2011-11-21T21:26:00.000-06:00

After having 3 babies early at 37 or 38 weeks, it felt like pure torture to be pregnant with my 4th for 40 weeks and 2 DAYS!!! I felt like I was approaching the finish line in a marathon, and then someone moved it further out at the very last second. Its all about your expectations! This time I will be prepared. No packing of a hospital bag at 35 weeks. No cute little newborn baby items laying around mocking me that indeed, I am still pregnant. In fact, at 36 weeks I am trying to forget that I am even pregnant at all. 36 weeks is only the beginning (of the end). Which can start to feel very long. No predictions of an early delivery here folks, and if anyone makes a statement toward that end out loud, I just quickly point out that we have a FULL FOUR WEEKS to go. At least! Lets all just sit back and talk about something other than the baby that will not be born for a very long, long time.

While we are on the subject, here are some things to never say out loud to a pregnant lady:

“Wow! You look like you’re about ready to drop that load!” (strange man in an elevator)

“You must be having twins!” (gas station attendant)

Generally, commenting on the impressive size, contour, or dimensions of a strange person’s body is not going to be well received and creates awkwardness. But for some reason, pregnancy seems to cause people to throw their social inhibitions to the wind. Really, unless you are another very huge pregnant lady, it would be okay to NOT SAY ANYTHING AT ALL.

Last time we brought home a baby…

2011-11-20T21:27:00.000-06:00

I was going through some pictures tonight and was reminded of this sweet memory. The biggest surprise to us when we brought Abby home from the hospital was how enamored little Sam was with his sister. I did not expect a 20 month old boy to immediately be so in love with a baby. The excitement didn’t wear off either- there was never any jealousy from Sam! Frequently we would notice Sam was missing and would find him in our room, sitting next to Abby, softly repeating her name over and over. He was always very gentle and kind and loved to be close to her.

Fast forward almost 2 years! Sam is still an awesome big brother to Abby. They do have their moments, but you will often find Sam reading books to Abby, helping her climb up on a chair, or take the lids of the markers she wants to color with. They have special made up games they play together, and Sam can often translate “Abby-speak” when us parents can’t understand what she is saying! I am so thankful these 2 have each other.

Sam’s Theme Song

2011-11-16T10:15:00.001-06:00

Our third child is the most outgoing and gregarious person in the family. He loves to entertain and perform… and sing worship songs! We associate certain songs with events and time periods in our family history because when Sam is hooked on a song, he is going to sing it loudly everywhere he goes. For awhile it was “Everlasting God” and then it was “Barbara Ann” (beach boys).

Here is his latest-

Camping, Pereira style

2011-10-22T20:25:00.000-05:00

Being a Northwest girl, there is some camping in my background, especially in my college days. Wow, those days seem quite remote now. Recently boys have been asking to go camping, so we thought we would start small and set up a tent in the back yard. This was a REALLY good plan! Of course, we also had to have the essential elements of FOOD and FIRE to make this a truly spectacular event for them.

Abby went on to her own bed and me and my 8 months pregnant belly left the fellas out in the tent with their dad. With the smell of campfire smoke in my hair and gooey marshmallow smeared on my pants, I went back and quietly listened at the door to Jason telling the boys tales of his childhood. I felt overwhelmed with thankfulness that my children have this kind of dad. The boys were completely enthralled, begging for more stories.

A book I have been reading recently was encouraging moms to have regular tea parties with their kids for the purpose of building relationships with them and discipling them through spending special time together. I think we have found our “tea party” equivalent in the campfire and tent arrangement- it fits with the boy’s God-given design perfectly.

Fire safety.

2011-10-17T20:55:00.001-05:00

For fire prevention week we paid a visit to our local fire station with a homeschool group. Ben and Sam loved seeing all the equipment and the real firefighters dressed in their gear.

Afterwards, we did a craft that involved taping a (real) match to a piece of paper and gluing an “X” over it, to remind us not to play with matches. It only took a few hours for Ben to start asking if we could light the match, and if it would really start a fire. That craft had to go away in a hurry!

The boys love to play firefighter at home together- here they are dressed up in the imaginary gear they have come up with on their own. I love the creativity of the swim goggles and the “air tank” which is their sleeping bags.

Gentry Farm 2011

2011-10-15T20:44:00.000-05:00

The annual trip to our favorite pumpkin patch was our best ever! It was beautiful weather and the kids had a great time for a full 2 hours before the little people got tired. We followed up with a trip to Jason’s Deli, our favorite family lunch destination. The whole day was a special treat.

Just some sibling cuteness.

2011-09-21T09:20:00.000-05:00

Happy Birthday Ben!

2011-09-17T08:47:00.000-05:00

Big Ben turned 5 this week. Our second son is such a delightful guy. He generally has a very easy going attitude and brings an enjoyment of hard work and distinct sense of humor to the mix. In his free playtime, you can usually find him outside digging a big hole, collecting “treasures” like rocks, sticks, snails and other critters, sweeping dirt to create “smoke” or trying to start a fire by some impossible form of spontaneous combustion (I have not showed him the magnifying glass method or he really will start a fire!) Ben continues to have an affinity for building things out of yard treasures, blocks, legos, and anything else he can find. He is doing great with homeschooling this year and is making good progress towards learning to read. His favorite subject is math- we are using Right Start Math and he enjoys the visual and manipulative nature of this curriculum (and mommy loves teaching it too!) At his 5 year check up, he weighed in at 42 lbs (74th percentile) and 44.5 inches (80th percentile). He took the 5 year shots like such a brave little man I think I got more teary than he did.

Since we have too many children to have big expensive parties for each one every year, we have decided to celebrate certain milestone birthdays extra big- at 5, 10 and 16. When you turn 5, you can have your party at a special location of your choice. Ben picked Bounce-U, or as the boys affectionately call it, “The Jump-Jump-Slide.”

Some favorite gift this year for Ben were: a cap gun with leather holster (picked by big brother Jake), a lego set, and a military action figure set (pictured above with the cake).

A Pereira Milestone

2011-09-11T21:26:00.001-05:00

Jake fell off the tire swing at a playground on Saturday. It wasn’t the scariest or most dramatic accident we have experienced with these boys, but this happened to be the first one to require x-rays and a cast! I knew it would inevitably happen at some point. Bringing him to the ED brought back awful memories for Jason taking Sam there when he has been so sick, so it really made us THANKFUL that this was not a scary or serious visit.

Jake was very brave and enjoyed recounting the many tv shows he watched during his lengthy wait at the ED. Wonderful.

He is so proud of his cast and x-ray, which shows his fractured radius and ulna. It will be a challenge for him to continue working on his handwriting for the next 4 weeks, and sadly he will miss half of the swim lessons we signed up for that start this week. So sorry this happened to you buddy! You have been a great sport about it so far.

Seattle trip!

2011-09-07T21:11:00.000-05:00

The Pereiras are not big travelers, at least not at this stage of many small children, some of whom need naps and special foods to maintain optimum functioning. In spite of our lack of travel enthusiasm, we decided it was time to make the big trip out to Seattle to visit my family, and especially the kids’ one living great grandmother, who is now 95 years old and in declining health. We had not been as a whole family since 2007.

Here are the highlights:

Visit to the aquarium followed by lunch on the waterfront at Ivar’s and feeding the seagulls.

Birthday brunch for Ben at the Space Needle! A very special and memorable outing!

2 sweet visits with my precious Grandma! We love you so much!

The boys’ favorite part of the trip… going to the beach! The water was really cold but that didn’t stop Jake and Ben from getting in. We were so blessed to enjoy beautiful weather for the whole trip.

One of my favorite parts- having all of my family in the place where I grew up. There is such a comforting familiarity about being in your childhood home and it was fun to share it with my kids. My parents were so kind and generous to have us all in such a small space. Hopefully we didn’t stress them out too much. I miss many things about living in the northwest- it is always good to go back!

The Big Day

2011-08-22T14:48:00.001-05:00

All loaded up and ready to go!

Jake and his teacher Mrs. Teller.

It was a great first day! Jake was excited to go and didn’t really seem nervous at all. Mostly it was Mommy who was a wreck. This was my first car line pick up… what a mess! Its going to be a big adjustment but we are excited for his year!

End of summer and big changes

2011-08-21T21:27:00.001-05:00

The end of summer is almost here. This year we find ourselves on the brink of a new era for our family, because someone is going to school! My heart is definitely still in homeschooling and it is still our first choice for our children’s education. However, we hold this view as a “year at a time, child at a time” decision. A combination of reasons have led us to enroll Jake at Christ Presbyterian Academy for Kindergarten this fall. So off he will go tomorrow. I know it is going to be a great year for him and I feel confident that the school is a very special place for him to spend so much of his day. It has been a hard process to make this decision and while I know it is the right thing for Jake this year, part of me is still profoundly sad.

Jake is our creative, free spirited child. We will miss having him around but we look forward to seeing what God has in store for all of us in this new chapter of Jake’s life and our family.

Easy livin’ summertime

2011-08-17T21:27:00.000-05:00

I love these rare, cooler summer mornings with my barefooted babies in the grass.

Zinnias have been my favorite summer flowers- so easy to grow, and the more you pick, the more they bloom. They attract butterflies too. Perfect for a kid-friendly garden!

Ben has not put this book down all week… he is becoming very interested in learning to read! I’m excited to have special time with Ben this year while big brother is at school.

Williamson County Fair, 2011 edition

2011-08-07T21:07:00.001-05:00

Yearly traditions are so fun now that the boys are old enough to remember and anticipate special events. This year we had a great time at the fair. We stayed longer than we ever had, even through nap time! We missed seeing the BMX bikers and the Ferris wheel was not there. Ben had been looking forward to riding it all year, since he wasn’t tall enough last year. The big boys were definitely more into the rides, and trying bigger things. Jake really wanted to do the big upside down stomach flipping rides, and he probably would have if they would let 6 year olds on them.

Nascar simulator

The little 1’s farm exhibit is always one of my favorites! Here are some year by year pictures…

2011 2010

2009

2011- maybe the last year they will think this ride is cool!

2010

2009

I can’t forget to mention sweet little Abby! She was the best sport ever, hanging out in the stroller, eating a pound of snacks from home, and taking a little nap without a fuss when she had enough of the fair.

Zip!

2011-08-05T13:59:00.001-05:00

Jake and Ben attended their older cousin’s 8th birthday this week. This is a fantastic idea for a big kid party- a zip line adventure course. Both boys did each of the 8 zips on the course, some of them 85 feet above the ground! Way to go fellas! I wish I could have been there to participate!

Jason and his oldest brother Tim

Mommy wants a turn!

Woven

2011-08-01T14:14:00.001-05:00

The kids got a big thrill out of this web that appeared across our back door overnight. It was taller than they are, so I think they imagined the elusive spider to be bigger than them too.

Meaningful work

2011-07-31T14:05:00.000-05:00

The other night during the witching hour, things were really falling apart. People were bored and there was lots of crying, fighting and misdirected activity. In a moment of desperation, I recruited some kitchen helpers to use a device that turned out to be new and exciting to them: the cherry pitter! Thankfully, all the boys wanted in on this job! There was instant co-operation and taking turns! It turns out this is a miracle device.

I also recently discovered that Jake is old enough to cut soft foods with a knife. Give a boy a small sharp knife, appropriate supervision and some safety rules… he feels like BIG STUFF! They do this in Montessori classrooms regularly, so I should have thought of this sooner. He made a salad almost all on his own.

It’s a…

2011-07-27T13:44:00.001-05:00

As all 2 of my blog readers know, there is another little Pereira on the way. Here we are in the ultrasound waiting room yesterday. It has become a family tradition for us all to go see the new baby together. Historically, daddy is wrestling with a squirmy toddler the whole time while the older ones look on in fascination. This time was no exception! Mommy’s rules: Be quiet and be still! And there might be a treat afterwards if you’re good. Thankfully, little baby #5 is growing well and looks healthy so far. At the very end of the study, it was revealed, much to mommy’s surprise….

I had planed to offload a lot of clothes at a consignment sale next week, but now it looks like we will need to hang on to them for a bit longer. We are so thankful for this healthy little boy. Each time I see a fetal ultrasound I am so in awe of God’s creativity and power in his perfect design.

The newest little Pereira

2011-07-20T14:51:00.001-05:00

Jason’s brother and sister in law have recently completed the long process of adopting a little girl from China. We joined the big party at the airport last Thursday to welcome little Belle Qing Pereira to her new home. She has been loved on heavily by her 4 older siblings and has made a great adjustment to her new home so far. Our boys are in love with their new little cousin. She is the same age as Abby so that will be fun for them as they get older.

Enjoying getting to know her Papaw- he has a special way with babies!

Sweet Abby

2011-07-10T13:58:00.001-05:00

Happy 4th!

2011-07-05T14:19:00.000-05:00

We attended the Pegram 4th of July parade again this year. Its fun that the boys are now old enough to remember these events from last year and look forward with great anticipation to doing them again.

We had Papaw and Ellie over for dinner and watched the neighbors set off their fireworks. The boys could not wait for it to get dark, and we had a few small fireworks of our own. Its scary how much they LOVE fireworks! Careful!!!

I love how Jake’s face says it all in this picture!

Fun time with our cousins

2011-06-27T13:45:00.000-05:00

Two of our nieces from Cincinnati came to visit while their older sister was recovering from surgery. We had the best time taking them to the zoo and playing in the river by our house. The raft was definitely the most popular activity of the weekend! The boys were so excited the whole time they were here, by the end of the visit they were all more exhausted than we have ever seen before. There was an awful lot of showing off and physical play among themselves, I guess just trying to impress their cousins. The girls were so sweet and well behaved, but our boys were a handful!

The best daddy EVER

2011-06-19T14:09:00.001-05:00

Our ~~four~~ almost five children are so blessed! We love you!

Fun summer activity.

2011-06-18T13:52:00.000-05:00

We borrowed this raft from some neighbors and took it out on the river across the street from our house. The boys had the BEST time. They only stayed in the raft for about 30 seconds, then the real fun was to swim in the river and push the raft around. The river is quite shallow in many areas so they could touch bottom. We explored a little tributary that runs through some farmland across the river from our house, which felt like a little adventure.

Brothers

2011-06-15T14:10:00.000-05:00

Finally walking!!!

2011-05-24T20:18:00.000-05:00

Abby is our latest walker at 16 1/2 months. She is so proud of herself, and we are so happy to see her toddling around on 2 feet. This makes going outside so much more fun for all of us. Go Abby!

Mommy & Abby

2011-05-22T08:59:00.001-05:00

1977

2011

Little Rednecks in Training

2011-05-20T12:03:00.000-05:00

Papaw and Ellie were very gracious to buy each boy a present for Jake’s birthday. This is what Jake chose as his special gift.

Happy Birthday to Jake!

2011-05-18T21:16:00.000-05:00

Jake made this cake as a special activity with Grandma Ellie

Lego party with friends- our first “big kid” party!

Lego car race track.

Bunk beds

2011-05-16T07:24:00.000-05:00

Just for fun we thought we would try moving all 3 boys into the same bedroom. Jake and Ben were thrilled at the idea of bunking their beds. Little Sam was very excited to be sharing a room with his older brothers. He was so excited in fact, that he was talking, getting out of bed and “using the bathroom” repeatedly, despite many corrective measures, until after 9 pm each night. And the excitement continued when he woke everyone up each morning around 6 am or even earlier. All of this excitement was a bit too much for the rest of us, so after a 2 week trial we have moved happy, excited Sam back into his own room for now.

change of plans

2011-04-28T11:05:00.000-05:00

Our daily afternoon trip to the boat ramp was not possible today… the trail was flooded. The boys had a great time testing the waters, under mommy’s very close supervision! Just a few feet from where we were standing the river was moving very fast!

Happy Birthday to Sam!!!

2011-04-22T09:41:00.000-05:00

Sam had a sprinklers and popsicles party for his big #3 birthday. He continues to be the life of the party in our family as our loudest, happiest, most extroverted child. As long as he is feeling well physically, Sam is having a GREAT day, EVERY day, ALL day, and he wants to tell you all about it. We are so thankful for how God has brought Sam out of so much suffering and into a much healthier place in his life. He still has many food intolerances but his sick cycles are not nearly as debilitating as they used to be. At his 3 year check up, he was up to the 50th percentile on weight, from 5% a year ago. The doctor was shocked to see how big he has grown. Thank you Jesus for your merciful goodness to us! Sam is such a blessing to our family.

Piggies

2011-04-09T16:30:00.001-05:00

The boys were delighted to see Abby’s new hairstyle, and wanted to join in…

Guilty

2011-02-25T04:52:00.000-06:00

Sam was banished to the Time Out Chair in the dining room, to remain until the time of his penitence was complete . But when I came back to get him… there were postage stamps stuck all over his face!

Happy Birthday to Daddy!

2011-02-24T04:21:00.001-06:00

To the very best husband and daddy in the whole world. I definitely got the better end of the deal when I married you. Thank you for dying to yourself every day to love and serve each one of us- you are truly a picture of Christ to our family.

13 Months

2011-02-23T16:28:00.000-06:00

I may not be walking quite yet…

But I am

into

everything!

Loooong in coming.

2011-02-18T16:19:00.000-06:00

Jake and Ben can write their names. The fine motor skills have a ways to go yet but its encouraging to see they are making progress.

Guns.

2011-02-11T16:17:00.000-06:00

These boys are OBSESSED with guns! They “earned” their latest weaponry by filling up their sticker charts by doing morning chores. There was much celebrating and rejoicing when I got out the much anticipated GUNS! Only 5.99 for a 3 pack at Target. Sweet times that they can be thrilled with these simple prizes, at least for now.

Cure for the winter blues

2011-01-30T21:47:00.001-06:00

Swim lessons! Even little Sam is getting in on this one. “Coach Josh” at the GJCC is like the Toddler Swim Whisperer. Amazing results. Can’t wait to take all my swimmers to the pool this summer.

Ben in quiet time

2011-01-26T21:44:00.000-06:00

I took this picture because it perfectly captures the personality of my precious Ben! He loves his “things” and the way he carefully arranged them all on his bed and then somehow fell asleep made me laugh. The red streak next to his ear? That is a piece of gum.

A perfect snow day!

2011-01-24T21:37:00.000-06:00

First, check the quality of snow and see if its packable for making a snowman. Then eat some snowballs for breakfast. (Ben likes to wear his bike helmet all the time, not sure why)

Next, spend 30 minutes stuffing children into their snow gear and then commence making snow angels. The above pictures are actually two different children, who happen to be wearing similar snow gear.

Now hook up with some neighborhood friends and collaborate on making the largest snowball possible when you only weigh 40 pounds a piece.

Go ahead and eat some snow if you get thirsty from all that work.

Dress your snow people in appropriate attire, stand back and admire! Nice work fellas!

I can’t wait to read this.

2011-01-17T19:53:00.001-06:00

By Ann Voskamp

Happy Birthday to Abby!

2011-01-08T19:54:00.000-06:00

Baby girl loved her strawberry cake!

CHEESE!

2010-12-21T19:58:00.000-06:00

Sam is tolerating cheese! Here he is eating his first grilled cheese sandwich. A momentous occasion for him. I am so thankful he is doing well…each day is such a gift.

Snow day!

2010-12-13T20:55:00.001-06:00

The boys were SO excited to have a “fire” in our gas fireplace. We hadn’t used it in 3 years, so they had no idea it was actually meant to have a fire.

Suggested amendment to the patient handout.

2010-12-04T20:48:00.000-06:00

When we scheduled Sam’s surgery, they gave us a cute little handout complete with cartoon illustrations entitled: 5 things to expect after tonsillectomy. The five things were: sore throat, bad breath, fever to 102 for up to 3 days, ear pain, and white scabs at the surgical site. We were told there is a wide range of recovery experiences, depending on the individual child. I think it would be helpful to expand the patient handout to include the following:

Pain: Caregivers should plan on sleeping 1-3 hours per night for the first 10 days after surgery. You will be holding your child upright who is writhing in agony for most of the night. Your child will be unable to sleep due to coughing and choking on secretions, in addition to high fevers. The liquid pain medicine provided by your surgeon contains the alcohol equivalent of Bacardi 151. It will burn like Hell’s fury on the 3 open surgical wounds in your child’s throat. Two adults will be required to successfully administer the medication to your child. Expect your child to scream, gag, vomit, and have bleeding from the surgical site as a result of trying to swallow the medicine. Any therapeutic benefit that can be realized after such administration will last up to 2 hours after which time the writhing in agony will resume. Administer the medication every 4 hours around the clock.

Fever: In excess of 104 degrees for 5 days or longer. Due to increased bleeding risk, medications like Motrin may not be used to reduce fever. You child will refuse to drink due to intense pain at the surgical site. Plan on coming back to the hospital 18 hours after discharge due to dehydration.

So Sam went back to the hospital on Thanksgiving day. It was actually a huge relief to us after a horrible night at home with him. We were blessed to have family in town to spend time with our other children. Jason and I enjoyed a delightfully peaceful meal brought from the family gathering to the hospital while our little boy was zonked out on IV morphine.

What does a 2 year old recovering from tonsillectomy/adenoidectomy want to eat? Popsicles? Applesauce? No, just potato chips dipped in butter of course!

The whole gang came to cheer Sam on- this was the night before the final discharge.

Thankfully Sam has made a full recovery in every sense. He seems to be breathing better at night and shows no sign of the obstruction he had before surgery. We are so thankful the Lord has brought him through this difficult recovery safely and pray he will continue to grow be as healthy as possible. Thank you to all our friends who prayed for us and little Sam through this time.

Sometimes, tonsils are not our friends.

2010-11-22T21:50:00.001-06:00

Sam had his tonsils out today. Here he is before surgery:

Here he is after surgery one hour later:

The doctor said the tonsils were much bigger than they looked so there is a good chance having them out will really help his breathing and sleeping so that is good news. He is quite the little trooper. Here’s hoping for a speedy recovery little buddy!

On being real.

2010-11-12T15:09:00.001-06:00

Amy is one of my all time favorite people I hang out with at the “internet back fence.” I started reading her blog because of its homeschooling/farming/large family kind of flavor. When she moved from the suburbs to a farm, I was vicariously living a dream through her stories. What I have come to appreciate most is that she constantly breaks out of the stereotypes associated with the above mentioned flavors, for the sake of the gospel, for grace, for being authentic. There is nothing more refreshing to me than truth and authenticity, even at the expense of being nice or heaven forbid at the expense of pride.

So this post was so well said it kind of rocked my world. I get hung up in the information acquisition phase of things. In school I always enjoyed compiling and perusing enormous amounts of current research, but when it came down to taking the next step and coming up with my own original material I ran out of steam. This is a profound weakness. It carries through even now in my individual journey as a wife and mom.

“The collective thing about women, mothers in particular, is that we are trying to do our best. In general, we know we only get this chance, and so it’s important to make our lives count. I want to get this right because it matters.”

So I am always longing for a formula, a picture of what this is supposed to look like, desperately wanting to live out the gospel in a way that is so much more than typical American suburban life. When you have to make hard choices you want to look around and see if anybody else is with you, and what does it look like for them? There are a lot of good ideas out there, but oh help I am drowning in them. The consumption of good ideas can become a paralyzing addiction, and the “fruit” it produces looks more like confusion and turmoil. At some point it becomes time to step away from the distraction and learn to simply become what it is supposed to look like in me. I have to accept that this is something God has designed, He will reveal it as I seek Him and walk with Him, and it is not subject to the many bandwagons that I am so drawn to. God is not the author of bandwagons, they are often a manifestation of our desire for works based righteousness. I am not saying anything new here, its just taking a long time for me to finally get it.

We love Gentry’s Farm- every year!

2010-10-23T15:40:00.000-05:00

2010

2009

2008

(missed it in 2007)

2006

Love my big brother!

2010-10-15T15:29:00.000-05:00

The Boat Ramp

2010-10-15T15:25:00.000-05:00

This was put in by search and rescue after the flood in May. A sad circumstance but a happy addition to our neighborhood. We walk here several times a week to observe nature, throw rocks, collect sticks and occasionally ~~fall in~~ wade. The boys would spend all day, every day at the boat ramp! And we don’t even need a boat!

“Mommy, today I’ll just skip napping.”

2010-10-12T15:28:00.000-05:00

Happy birthday to Ben!

2010-09-15T15:46:00.000-05:00

Ben turned four years old today. If I could describe Ben in only a few words, they would be: industrious, kind, easy going, delightful. This child loves to work. He loves tools of any kind. He will pick “real” things over toys to play with any day. Some of his favorite non-toy picks include: a small garden pick axe (yeah, real safe!) shovels, rakes, a basketball pump, a hammer and a bungee cord.

Two of Ben’s most requested birthday gifts: a toy trimmer (sorry Ben, you’re just not quite ready for a real gas powered one yet) and a pair of binoculars. Surprisingly he was most excited about the pair of goggles included with the trimmer.

Jus’ readin’ to my sister

2010-09-10T15:44:00.000-05:00

This 100 Trucks book from the library was a smash hit with Ben and Sam. Abby enjoyed having it read to her also! When you have all these brothers, there is no shortage of someone to play with.

Abby’s first trip to Seattle

2010-09-01T15:53:00.000-05:00

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Abby and Mommy took a quick girls’ trip to Seattle. The main reason for the trip was for my 95 year old grandmother to meet her littlest great granddaughter. We were able to have several very special visits with her over the weekend. Grandma always loves to see the babies as you can see from the pictures. I am so thankful that she was feeling well and able to hold and play with Abby. Then we took another short plane ride over to Idaho to visit my friend Stephanie and meet her new baby- also named Abigail. Abby was the sweetest little traveler ever- very easy and flexible with the time change and being out of routine. It was so nice to be back in the northwest… it will always be home to me.

Warning: Items on your agenda may be more costly, complicated and time consuming than they first appear.

2010-08-21T11:36:00.001-05:00

Add some under cabinet lights, and throw up a tile backsplash! Sounds like a pretty self-contained project to the optimistic but naive home improvement enthusiast like myself. The electrician made it sound like it would be no big deal to just tile over this mess he made out of the walls. However, each hole had to be braced and the drywall repaired for the tiles to be secured evenly. Cheers to the stacks of tile sitting in the garage and a Saturday morning spent with gorilla glue and crayola markers. Up next- an afternoon with joint compound.

Singin’ in the rain.

2010-08-19T12:21:00.000-05:00

No need to stay inside on a rainy afternoon.

First day of school

2010-08-16T12:16:00.000-05:00

Today Jake and Ben started their once weekly homeschool enrichment tutorial. The tall white socks were Ben’s fashion statement of choice today. Not gonna fight that battle! Of course getting the older boys to smile for the camera is like pulling teeth, but their little brother was insistent on being part of the picture.

Abby 6 months

2010-07-25T21:21:00.001-05:00

Does this onesie make my cheeks look fat?

Ben age 3.

2010-07-23T22:50:00.001-05:00

On the way home from a Costco hot dog dinner tonight:

Ben: Mommy, I’m still hungry. Can I have another cookie?

Me: No more cookies, Ben. How about I fix you a plate of broccoli when we get home?

Ben: Yeth, and I would like a plate of meat to go with it. For my dinner.

20 days

2010-07-16T22:55:00.000-05:00

Sam has been sick with his poorly defined GI issues since June 25. He does not eat much, but we are used to that. The thing that is hard is that he acts miserable the whole time, crying and whining, and needing to be held. He has no ability to cope with anything and no ability to play on his own. It is exhausting and discouraging and tends to consume our family as much as we try not to let it. If I was not in the middle of this situation, I would say it sounds like you just have a 2 year old who needs a good spanking. But, I am being humbled all the time and learning I just cannot understand what kinds of burdens others carry. I want to have more grace- I sure do need it from others. I want to be more like Jesus and less like the self righteous, judgmental sinner that I am. I want to be more thankful and joyful in every circumstance. As I was feeling so deeply sad yesterday, I was reminded once again there are families who have deeper hurts and need my prayers. It is a dark path to walk when there are no answers, no clear diagnoses, no cures. But in this darkness we must walk by faith- there is no other way.

When we go through these cycles with Sam, it feels like I can’t breathe. After awhile it feels like drowning. Then as crazy as this sounds, one day, like today, he gets up, eats normally, and goes off to play with his brothers. The difference in him is so dramatic. Its beautiful to know little Sam when he is feeling good- its like he is making up for lost time by taking on three fold exuberant joy for life; full speed, full volume, non-stop happy boy. A huge weight is lifted and we come up for air.

Don’t call this exercise

2010-07-15T13:23:00.001-05:00

I am no expert on things, but it seems that boys are pretty energetic by default, and by nine in the morning when I am peeling them off the ceiling I would call it downright rowdy. Just recently we have discovered that Ben has finally grown big enough to handle a 16 inch bike. This opens us exciting new energy release outlets for us because he can now ride fast enough to keep up- the little 12 inch wheels made him like a dachshund trying to keep up with a greyhound. So the scenario looks something like this- Jake and Ben are flying down the trail near our house and I am pushing Sam and Abby in the double jogger just trying to keep them in sight. Given their intense enjoyment of riding the bikes OFF the pavement, I am breathlessly shouting out safety precautions and instructions the whole time lest someone fly straight into an ancient remnant of a barbwire fence or right off a sheer slope down into the river. Which is only 24 inches deep right now so the chances of rescue are pretty good, but still it would be traumatic for everyone involved. The whole time I am feeling like a crazy lady and trying really hard not to wet my pants. There are still many postpartum issues in play here and like everything else, things just aren’t the same as before having kids! The scene has all the makings for a great Nike commercial (HA!) or better yet a plastic surgery commercial. When all is said and done we have traveled about 3 miles and I am drenched in sweat. It feels pretty good. When it comes to exercise I am at risk for having an all or nothing mentality and as a result set myself up for failure every time. So this, what we are doing, is NOT exercise.

Mostly I’m a mommy’s girl, but I’m learning that Daddy is pretty cool too

2010-07-13T09:39:00.000-05:00

Little Entrepreneur

2010-07-07T15:27:00.000-05:00

I love the creative games my kids come up with. Today Jake decided to open a toy store where “everything is free.” Here is Jake’s first happy customer! I think that is the assistant manager testing one of the products in the background.

July 4

2010-07-04T09:59:00.000-05:00

We attended the small-town USA style parade in Pegram. It turned out to be a little boys’ dream with lots of fire engines, tractors, motorcycles and four wheelers. We also ventured in the the realm of very tame home fireworks for the first time with a few sparklers, Snaps, and little tanks that sparked and popped. Each child responded in their own very age appropriate way- Sam cried because it was too loud, Ben cautiously observed and Jake was ecstatic and can’t wait to do it again, bigger and louder. Little Sam came down with a fever so we had to depart celebrating with our friends early. After putting the littlest two to bed we were able to catch a front row seat of the neighbor’s big fireworks out on the street with Jake and Ben.

Priceless

2010-07-02T16:04:00.000-05:00

This is Sam’s precious little friend Paige. At the boat ramp today, Paige was handing Sam rocks to throw one at a time, and each time Sam responded “Tanks!” It was one of those moments when you wish you had the big camera and the portrait lens and the video camera all handy despite the fact you would be precariously dangling them at the river’s edge while trying to keep up with many small children.

Hiding place

2010-06-28T14:30:00.000-05:00

One substance, many forms

2010-06-25T15:04:00.000-05:00

One of little Sam’s favorite foods is turkey meatloaf. My cooking life is one of angst in the season of life with many little ones and Sam’s special diet. So when its time to cook lets do bulk quantities and get it over with. I made mini meatloaves in muffin tins and meatballs in mini muffin tins all out of the same mix. Marvelous!

Are you a caboose or an engine?

2010-06-23T14:59:00.000-05:00

My sweet friend Stephanie and I talk almost daily even though we have lived in different states for the last 8 years. As a mom of 3 little ones and a woman who loves God and His word, she is always a great source of encouragement to me in our parallel struggles and adventures of family life. Lately she has been asking, “Are you a caboose or an engine today?” - Did you get up early, spend time with the Lord, and prepare yourself for the day with careful planning and intention? Are you ready to lead or are you just trying to catch up to a runaway train? This analogy has helped me focus and define my goals for being effective in my role as a homemaker.

Despite my best laid plans and efforts for more productive and educational activities this morning, we ended up on the back porch blowing bubbles in our pajamas. The train went on a detour but not completely off track. Maybe every once in awhile that’s not such a bad thing.

Summer moments.

2010-06-14T22:17:00.000-05:00

Happy boys. They sure do love to eat- Sam has been doing great so far since coming back from Cincinnati.

Ben and Sam doing some “school” together. Using glue is always a very popular activity. Note that Puppy and Elephant are also present in class today.

The Reagan and Pereira boys watching the monkeys at the zoo.

Abby’s first haircut

2010-06-07T22:08:00.000-05:00

I did not anticipate needing to cut my infant’s hair at only 5 months old, but with the bald spots and mullet she had going I decided it was time. The ring of crazy hair around the sides of her head reminded me of Crusty the Clown. Once the bald spots fill in and catch up with the rest of her hair, we’ll let it grow longer! Abby started crying and flopping around in the seat so I never did get an after picture.

Matching “Puppies”

2010-06-03T21:58:00.000-05:00

Sam has a special blanket that he is completely attached to. “Puppy” as he is affectionately called has endured many illnesses and hardships with Sam, including the 8 day hospitalization and he even went into the endoscopy. It is a sad hygiene situation when you only have one lone Puppy-the hour it takes for the washer and dryer to finish Puppy’s bath feel like an eternity when you are having a bad day and you are only 2 years old. We finally got wise to the security object situation and purchased “A pair and a spare” pink version of Puppy for Abby- identical triplets, so there is always a backup available in crisis. Sam was delighted to bestow these precious items on his sister. “JUST LIKE MINE!!!!” he declared with triumph.

Surprisingly, pink Puppy seems to be just as comforting as original Puppy. So pink Puppy is loved on by Sam and then handed over to Abby occasionally throughout the day. I wonder how long Abby will tolerate this kind of “sharing.”

The Pereira Swim Team

2010-05-31T21:47:00.000-05:00

Trip to Cincinnati

2010-05-29T21:28:00.000-05:00

We finally took Sam to his long anticipated appointments with the doctors at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital. He underwent an extensive evaluation to see if they could determine the cause of his poor weight gain and problems with food intolerances. It was a hard week for us and him to endure these procedures, but we are thankful to have the opportunity to get this level of care.

The main finding was an abnormally high number of eosinophils in Sam’s colon, which sometimes causes chronic abdominal pain. The cause may be foods or may be an abnormal immune response to his normal intestinal flora. We will keep him on his restricted diet and try a new medicine that helps reduce colon inflammation. The doctor said often kids will eventually outgrow this condition. We are still do not have a definitive diagnosis, but this is “a target to shoot at” as the doctor put it. Sam’s symptoms go in cycles, so if he goes into a sick cycle again we can come back to this new GI doctor for another evaluation while he is having problems.

Sam about to rock his upper GI series.

It ended up taking 3 people to hold him down for an hour to get all the images needed.

We were so blessed to stay with Jason’s family in Cincinnati. The boys had so much fun playing with their cousins.

We are relieved the week is over and pray that Sam will do well with his new medicine. I always remind myself that God did not make mistakes when he made Sam, and he will use this to His glory. Sam, like all of our children, belongs to the Lord!

Heeeeere we go!

2010-05-22T22:03:00.001-05:00

Our big trip is finally here. We are taking Sam to the Cincinnati Center for Eosinophilic Disorders at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital. This opportunity is a huge blessing for Sam and we are hopeful they will be able to secure a diagnosis for us and help manage his problems better. Here is a summary of our week-

Sunday- clear liquids only all day, laxatives and 3 enemas before bed

Monday- meet with GI doctor at 8:30, undergo upper and lower endoscopy under anesthesia at 12:30. After that he can eat!

Tuesday- meet with allergist, undergo prick testing and have food patches placed on his back

Wednesday- no medical appointments

Thursday- Follow up with GI doctor to review pathology results

Friday- Follow up with allergist and nutritionist on patch test results

This is a huge undertaking for us to bring our whole family on this trip. Thankfully Jason’s brother has very graciously invited us to stay with them- I hope they won’t regret it as we are quite the family circus. Please pray for Sam’s safety to undergo the procedure and that he will be consolable through all of this testing. Please pray that the doctors will have wisdom to help Sam be able to eat and grow and be a happy, healthy little boy!

Making progress

2010-05-19T16:00:00.001-05:00

Happy Birthday to Jake!

2010-05-18T21:52:00.001-05:00

Jake’s 5th birthday party was at Bounce U, or “The Jump-Jump-Slide” as Jake and Ben have coined it. We had the best time.

Now for the big visit to the pediatrician tomorrow, where two of my children will receive a grand total of 10 vaccinations. Just a small downer on an otherwise fabulous turning 5 celebration. Lord help us.

The Aftermath

2010-05-18T21:24:00.001-05:00

It has been 2 weeks since the flood. God’s grace and goodness to spare our home is overwhelming. We are surrounded by constant reminders of the monstrous murky brown waters that rose so quickly to overtake our community. They have left devastation that will never be fully repaired. The reality of what has happened is sinking in in new ways for us- it is surreal to be inside your house where everything is the same, but all around us our peaceful street and our world has changed. Looking out the front door, going to the grocery store… there is debris piled everywhere. Physical signs of homes and businesses destroyed. Each day there are five or six search and rescue vehicles parked in front of my house from dawn till dark. Dump trucks and excavators working on the once quiet riverside trail. Boats and cadaver dogs. All signs of life lost, one body not yet recovered. Red cross relief vans. Helicopters circling overhead. Police cars patrolling up and down the street. Today a couple drove by and said some things had just been stolen from their house.

The kids are different too. We could pretend we weren’t scared while the rain kept coming and the water was rising, we told them we are having a rainy day party, with lots of friends over, and Mommy is just organizing some things to pack in the car! But in the aftermath we cannot pretend that people aren’t hurting, homes aren’t wrecked. They see it everywhere we go. And they ask so many questions that are hard to answer without getting into some pretty heavy theology. Their play is different- lots of narrative about natural disasters, a lot of rescues. I pray for wisdom that we will make the most of every opportunity to teach them through this experience. Every night Ben prays, “And thank you God for protecting our house.”

I am not complaining- we are not suffering. But we are hurting for the many people whose lives have been turned upside down by this flood. We are trying to help where we can. None of us will ever be the same.

USA today article about my neighborhood!

2010-05-08T11:02:00.001-05:00

Here

Flood

2010-05-08T10:46:00.001-05:00

For all my friends who live other places!

Our house was not damaged, but many homes in our neighborhood were destroyed. There is so much need it is overwhelming. I have a few pictures of my own I may post later, but this is a great summary….

Suffering

2010-04-09T21:39:00.000-05:00

Sam has been so sick lately. He is not eating. When one child suffers, the whole family suffers. I have cried my eyes out over this child a hundred times.

One new conviction today was, if I would really behold and believe how big God is, and recognize even a fraction of His glorious power, this issue with Sam would seem so small. It is a problem of unbelief, a problem of being unable to release him to God. My vision of God is far too small, my vision of earth far too big. How can I rest if I do not trust? I can only believe with the faith that He gives, and so I ask, please Lord, give me more faith, help my unbelief.

I certainly love comfort more than Jesus, and suffering will definitely help remedy that! And that is a blessing! Thank you Lord for not leaving me cold and lifeless in my comfort, and my small vision of You.

My prayer must change from “ take away this pain!” to, “MORE of You Jesus, give me more of Yourself.”

Not feeling so great.

Happy Easter!

2010-04-04T15:52:00.001-05:00

We even made it to church on time. The spit up all over Abby and I dried before we got there. It was a beautiful service and a beautiful day. I am so thankful that we have LIFE and I pray that God will draw these children unto Himself by His grace and awaken them to saving faith one day soon.

Wash and wear

2010-03-27T14:06:00.001-05:00

No more scrubbing to get the sand and dirt out of their scalp, no more bed head, no more crying while mommy combs the tangles out of your mop. Ben saw Jake’s new do and said, “I want a buzz, Mommy.”

Now I have to look twice to see who is who. A bit scary isn’t it?

Gardening part 2

2010-03-25T11:41:00.001-05:00

So after the sad outcome of our little seedlings starts, we did a different kind of gardening project. This was no-fail and really fun!

I love to look at seed catalogs. Then I realized how fun it would be for the boys to look at them too, and incorporate a scissors and glue activity along with it. The boys had a great time planting their own gardens (after adding brown crayon garden soil of course) . Not sure what’s happening in the center of Jake’s plot.

Gardening

2010-03-25T07:11:00.001-05:00

The boys enjoyed popping seeds into this starting tray in anticipation of our spring garden. Tomatoes, broccoli, and some summer flowering annuals were started. Everything was sprouting and looking great. I put the trays out one afternoon to harden off the little seedlings. Then I forgot them outside overnight and they all wilted. Then I forgot them again during a hard rain, and one tray fell off its perch and the pods were scattered and soaked. Whoops! The lesson here is, this spring I have too many babies to be caring for baby plants too. Hopefully the seeds we put directly in the ground will fare better than this!

Mystery blob

2010-03-17T13:19:00.001-05:00

This morning while I was making lunch I handed Sam a piece of dried mango. He took it and went back over to the couch. A minute later, he brought it back- a common Sam practice. “Here, Mommy.” He hands me this squishy brown blob. Its a little too squishy. I pause and look over at Sam, who is now walking funny and has a wet spot on his jeans. Yes, it was a piece of poop that had fallen out of his pants, not a piece of dried mango. Nice.

This is not my best poop story however. No, the best one was about a year ago when I was trying to potty train Ben, and 3 or 4 of us were in the bathroom as a group (as we so often are!) and I was putting him on the potty, and suddenly Sam starts crying. I look over and he is standing there with a log of poop in his hand that had apparently fallen out of Ben’s pants in the potty transfer process. And he had taken a bite out of it.