This week has been a very big range of emotions. Ryan's Uncle Kent died in a very unfortunate and unexpected accident. We were blessed to visit with his Aunt and her family last night. It is so amazing to see the way people come together in times of sorrow. I was talking to his cousin Kiersten and she was saying how so many people want to help. We all do. We love them and want to be a support to them in some way. I am grateful to know that their is more then just this earth life. What peace and comfort that gives in this time of sorrow.

In the past I might not have come over because I wouldn't have known what to say or I didn't want to intrude. I feel so blessed to have learned from my SIL's how to comfort those in need. Amy doesn't worry about doing the "right" thing, she just acts. She goes to work making meals and giving hugs. She feels and she feels deeply. Sarah has taught me that you don't have to say anything. Your presence and a willing ear are all most people want and need. (Thanks Sarah for always listening to me) Hope teaches me to be willing to do things you might not at first want to do. She helped clean Chris's house. I bet she felt so good when it was all done. We all know how nice it is to not have to worry about your house. I feel so blessed to have learned this from them. This is what the unity of sisterhood is supposed to be all about.


After we visited with them we went to see Allie, Sean, and their new baby Brody. He is such a little cutie. Her labor went amazingly well. She delivered Brody two hours after induction. He weighed in at 8lbs 11 ounces and 20 inches long. Could the labor fairies visit me with this blessing? Allie is so enjoyable to visit with. I feel such a connection to her. She reminds me of me when I had my second. Such a desire to do things the right way. She wants so much to be a good wife and good mother. Her desire is what helps her to be the wonderful person she is.

Look at at that hair!

I always tuck in the kids after the fall asleep. I do this for very selfish reasons. The most important being When I see them all peaceful and quiet I can't help but feel gratitude for them. So no matter how crazy or hectic our day is I can end it with a loving feel for this little people. When I went to tuck in the boys I found this. How cute are they?? And in case you are wondering, on a normal day I do put my children in jammies. This had been a long day and I wanted to get them to bed quickly. Hey don't judge. ;)


This video is to show Joshua's scream. I bet in ten years we will have forgotten all about it so I wanted to document it. The video does not do him justice. The scream is normally so much louder and much more frequent.

Tribute to fall

In the move I gave away all my old and not so cute decor which left me with nothing for fall. Great excuse for me to make this for my dining room table...

I thought that while the kids were at school today we would do some crafting. Now that I am finally starting to feel settled I am ready to make my house look more like my home. I thought that Joseph and I would make this...

But he decided that he did not like the idea of getting messy so instead he painted. I had another craft idea of putting paint on the leaves then stamping them on the pumpkin but again messy. I tried it on paper because I was curious and it didn't work the way I thought it would. Does he look like he cared that what I had planned didn't really work?

Of course not

Happy nice weather day to all!

My kids are the funniest!

When I had Jared I had no idea what to do with a new little baby that demanded my attention all the time. I remember feeling so bored and I had no idea how to spend my time! Funny to think about now that I was ever bored. I would think, "I can't wait until he can really talk to me." Then when he got older and could talk so young he would entertain me.
But today I realized that we have really entered the funnest age yet. We sit down to lunch and have this conversation,
"OK. Mom, if you had been eating only beans from the ground, roots from a tree for your water, sand crabs (other funny things I don't remember) and it was all really gross, then you could eat whatever you wanted, what would you eat?"

I thought for a minute and answered to quickly and non serious for his liking, "Chips and Salsa"

Jared says very seriously,"You could eat ANYTHING and you would eat chips and salsa????"

Now its time for business. I pause, waiting a sufficient time, and reply, "Do I have to cook it myself?"

"No, now what would you eat?"

"Really good fish fajitas"

Then he says as he points his finger at me in a Dwight (from The Office) way, "But your a vegetarian."

I say, "Yeah, I am a vegetarian."

"But one who doesn't eat fish!"

How did I not just crack up at this point? I have no idea. Just writing this I laugh out loud.

I asked what he would eat and what followed is so funny for a 9 year old boy.

"Lobster, octopus, clams, etc...."

I wanted to say,"But your a vegetarian, the kind that does not eat fish!" But I was a good mom and I held my tongue while smiling really big inside.

Earlier in the day the kids and I were doing math facts on the trampoline. I sat on the tramp while they each took turns reciting math facts. After each child was done they would get the next and Joseph and I would jump. Once they all returned to their work Joseph and I stayed out there. I lay down and he told me I had to cover my eyes. Then he ran around me and in a sing-song voice said, "Batman, Batman don't come alive. Batman, Batman now your alive. 1, 2, 3, 1, 2, 3." At this point I was expected to keep my eyes closed and come after him. When I came in I asked the kids were he learned that game. They said it was dead man not batman. All the funnier.
I love the way kids hear things. Emma is the best. She loves to sing but never gets the words right. Her latest is Bop to the Top from the Highschool Musical. She was singing it in the car and saying, "LllOp, llop, lllop, blop to the top." We love our Emma.

Update on Joshua and the spray bottle, its a no go. He laughed today when we tried it. So anyone out there have a good suggestion on how to stop a 15 month old from screaming so loud the neighbors can hear?

Sarah said to me today, "Do you think all families are as happy as we are?" It was good to hear that she thought that since I had been very grumpy last week. A lady at Target today said,"You must have your hands full?" To which Sarah replied to me, "Isn't it funny how EVERYONE says that to us?" I guess we spoiled it for her that she was not to original. I told Sarah that I did not think I had my hands full and she agreed.

This is one of the joys of being a big family. I wish people could see this when I was at the store and they say,"You must have your hands full?" No, in fact I feel extremely blessed to overflowing with such wonderful kids who teach me on a daily basis what life is really about! To love, be loved, and laugh often.

Pack meeting

Jared had pack meeting tonight for scouts. I have been helping out until the find an official one. I am actually enjoying it. I got to make two train cakes. It is very rewarding. The den leader made two and I made two. The two of us stood by our cakes like an artist at an art show. We were proud of our creations. "May I ask, what were you thinking when you created this one?" "It really is so complex. How do I describe the emotions of this train?" Really, I laughed on the way home when I thought of how we stood by our cakes.

Caroline's wonderful cakes.
Before things got under way the boys each were playing with one half of a bouncey ball and having the best time.
Jared got to be in charge of the salute. I was so proud of him.
The boys painted the Station. I thought they did a nice job!

Few tidbits into my life.

Joshua has decided that his new form of communication is to scream a very high pitch level. This started when I was sick and had a headache for over a week straight. The kind of headache that makes it hard to even think. With that said you will understand why I did what I did. A friend of mine came over and I asked her if she had any idea how to stop a child from screaming. She told me that she had a daughter that did the same thing at the same age. Her husband would spray her with water. I thought, "That sounds so mean." Don't they train dogs that way? But when the screaming began I searched for our spray bottle and yes I admit I did it. He would squint and wonder why I did that. It seemed to help, a little. I would say, "Joshua we don't scream." Then if he did it again I would spray him.
The kids and I also made up a song we sing when he starts to scream to try to distract him. "We don't scream, we don't scream. We just sing, so lets all sing. We don't scream" (I know I should go into the business but who has time for that?)
I was doing school with the kids a few days ago when Joshua comes into me soaking wet. I laughed and searched for Joseph. His reply was very simple, "I told him no scream" Very funny to us all!

So I declared already that I hate shopping and that I am used to people saying "Are they all yours?" and "You must be busy!' Well for some reason when I went to target yesterday and was bugged afresh. I only had the boys with me, the girls were at dance. Jared took Joseph into the bathroom with him so I was only with Josh. A lady in her mid forties started to play cutsie with him. Telling me how she loved being a mom and how she can tell he is big for his age. On and on. Then Jared and Joseph walked up and she stood and stared with mouth open. I was uncomfortable at this point. I was trying to get Joseph into the cart as fast as I could. Then she blurts out, "Girl, How old are you?" 1. this is none of her business 2. the way she said it came out with such disdain. I was taken back and had no good reply so I answered her and she then told me I looked 18. All I could think to say was, "Thank you, I think" She continued to just stand and stare, a personal favorite. I don't mind being told I look young for my age. I get that a lot. But for some reason being told I look 11 years younger then I am got under my skin. I wished I had commented on how she looked so old for her age or something good but I was in shock and nothing came to me.

I looked at my friend Shannon's blog today and was reminded of how much I love Fall. When I got dressed today I was able to wear one of my favorite shirts that it has been to hot to wear. The kids and I went to the library today and as we walked out you could feel the nice cool fall breeze. We then had a discussion about how we both love fall! All that comes with it. Rain, beautiful leaves, cool weather but not yet cold, Halloween. Understand that the only reason I love Halloween is because I love to dress my kids up. I love to think of fun costumes for them and then seem them be so excited to dress up.

Can I just tell you how much I love blogger! They have now made it easy to upload video. I used to have to do it through Google and it was a pain. But know it is as easy as uploading a picture! Joshua loves to play in my cup drawer. It makes him happy so I let him. When he did this the other day we had a great laugh!

Yet another reason I homeschool!

For school Emma and I read a book about a little Japanese girl. So we decided to eat dinner like her. I dressed Emma in her robe, Kimono, and we ate on pillows over the coffee table. The kids even tried to use chopsticks. They actually did pretty well. I had great intentions of making Japanese food but I was not feeling well. So thank you San Sai. Food was great and we enjoy our festive night.




This may not seem like such a big deal to most of you. We don't watch very much tv and Joshua never has interest. I just thought it was super cute that he was hanging out with his big brother. Joshua just looks so big to me lately

Fieldtrip!

My SIL Amy and her family went camping this last week to the beach. I wanted to go also but really did not feel up to it. So instead we went to visit them on Thursday. It was so much fun and I want to go with them next year. The water was a little cold for my liking but the kids did not seem to mind. Joshua discovered the water. He would bolt for it. I would hold his hands as he walked into the water. He would try to push me away and walk farther in. I think he believed he could swim. Joseph normally stays far away from the water but once he saw that Joshua was going in he decided it must be ok. The rest of the time he wanted to "Go in water Mom?" I had to hold his hand for him to feel safe. That part was a little challenging when I was trying to hold Joshua's hand and Joseph's. Joshua is at that age where he lets his body go lose to try to get away from you. The waves were so mild that it was never a big deal.

Jared wanted so much to find crabs but they seemed to be gone the day we were their. This picture seems to capture so much of what their relationship is. Joseph loves his big brother. Jared found some lobster shells. We even got to bring one home. I know what your thinking and please don't be jealous that I now have a part of a lobster shell in my bathroom.

I found another set of super neat looking stairs. If you click on the picture you can see better the hilarious face that Emma is making. That is their cousin Cade in the back. We all went on a walk together.

On our walk we found a ton of squirrels, 17 according to Cade.

MY fun little Emma. She had a great time playing in the sand and occasionally playing in the water. She is just so friendly to all the kid she would meet.

The birds there were so tame. You really couldn't get rid of them even if you wanted to. Joshua was so cute. He would chase up and down and all around the beach. They would slowly walk away from him never really to concerned.
This was Joshua. He wants so much to keep up with the big kids. I felt like I was saying "slow down, hurry up" a bunch. The older kids want to run and the younger ones want to stop and look at everything.

The kids had their first day of school. I do homeschool through the best charter school around. I found out this last week that it is rated a 9 out of 10 for the schools in our area.

Emma was so excited. I missed them so much. When they got home the plopped themselves down and showed me all their work. They were so tired. I spent my first free day going shopping. Why would I do that you ask? Because I do not love grocery shopping with everyone. I have gotten over the "are they all yours?" and "You must have your hands full!" I just find that the grocery store is a magnet for begging and tormenting one another so I try to avoid it at all costs. Except for Sam's club. I don't know why they like Sam's Club but usually they are pretty good ther. Ok back to topic of origin... Our second free day Joseph and I had a great day. We colored, ran to the store and baked cookies. I love homeschool and I love that they get to enjoy the benifits of going to school also. I am not used to having the kids gone yet and it still feels weird to me. Too quiet for my likeing.