Oh Florida, how we miss you...

We packed light, earned enough flight miles for five free (ahem, I mean earned) airline tickets (squeezing in Tess for free right before her 2nd birthday!), and headed off on one exciting adventure...

Our complex schedule for the week? Wake up, get bagels, and head down to the pool (brushing your teeth, completely optional)...

We squeezed in a beautiful, successful day at the beach... (successful = no one freaked out this year because there was sand down their pants)

Lunch every day... by the pool, of course!

Then up to the room for naptime, where everyone (including adults!) napped, while Jack read hundreds of pages out of his books. :)

Repeat adventures for some, and first-time adventures for others.

Much needed family time, and never a rush to get anywhere...

A night at Rainforest Cafe for the kids, and date nights for us...

And get this: sunshine, pools, beaches, and lots of extra attention make for much more well-behaved children.

Amazing, huh?

And on lazy vacation days, we did things like paint the girl's toenails for the first time. Bet you can't guess whose idea that was?

Oh Florida, how we miss you...

** In case you missed it (my dates got jumbled up from my wacky out-of-order posting), read more about what made our trip a success here.

Happy Father's Day

It's Father's Day, and I get the gift of being married to this guy. If you could only live in this house for a day, you would know what I'm talking about. He never stops.

Happy Father's Day to one incredible Daddy. You are one of the most serving, sacrificial people I know. Thank you for loving us the way you do!

One day...

...everybody will want to take a family picture just as much as I do.

I just know it.

The Secret to Success

Before we talk Florida, I must let you in on a little secret. We conned these guys into going with us! Hali and Cameron have been a part of our family for over three years now. They began babysitting for us when Chase was a baby and they had just begun their time at Purdue. Since then, we've watched them go from dating, to engaged, to married last summer. And our relationship with them has sweetened from just babysitters... to friends. When they got married, I thought for sure they'd be ready to get on with their hard earned "adult" life. For some crazy reason, though, they keep sticking around. And it's definitely a package deal (it's neat to see certain kids bond in a special way with one or the other). They love our kids, each other, and God. And proof of how much our kids love them? We've offered to take a boy or two with us to small group (as a special treat) before when they've babysat, and we get turned down every time. No one wants to miss out on the fun at home! So they ventured to Florida with us, and probably learned more than they ever wanted to know about our family. :) We lived in swimsuits and bathed much too irregularly. We hardly picked up after ourselves. We slept in pretty close quarters. We shared lotions and a bathroom.

But it worked beautifully. We had four extra hands at the pool to help monitor the older swimmers, and help hang with the little ones. Tyler and I had date nights a few evenings while Hali and Cameron stayed back at the condo with the kids. These guys changed diapers, rubbed on sunscreen, and cleaned up dishes more times than I can count (come to think of it, I never loaded the dishwasher once the whole week!), all without us ever mentioning a word. And they were a joy to be with - such fun, and such servants.

We would put the kids to bed at night, and if Tyler and I weren't on a date, we would gather in Hali and Cameron's side of the suite for snacks and cards. We've already played one round of Hand and Foot since we've been home, until wee hours of the morning. I definitely see this trend continuing. Lots of laughs, sarcasm, healthy competition, and great conversation going on.

Yep, definitely friends.

Thanks, Stouts, for the many ways you have - and continue - to bless our family!

Just peeking in...

...to say that I have NO time to blog today. It's a crazy VBS / baseball week around here. But I promise to get Florida pictures up soon. Until then, here's me and Tess on the beach. Bummer that she wasn't looking. But I'm posting the picture in honor of my mom (who, incidently, doesn't read my blog - remember?), who had the exact same pair of sunglasses in the 70's, only in brown. Sweet.

She's still crazy hip, by the way.

Be back soon. That is, unless I don't survive five nights straight of energetic VBS preschoolers. :)

We're back!

We're home from an incredible week in Florida. And I'm not just saying that. It was one of our best vacations ever.

And we needed it.

Vacations are good investments for a lot of reasons. I should write about that sometime. You don't have to go to Florida. You could go to, say, Spring Mill State Park (good memories). Or fishing. Or camp in your back yard. Or picnic in the park.

But you ought to invest in something.

Because you might just need to get away. Have fewer distractions. Simplify.

And fall in love - in fresh, new ways - with your family all over again.

More pictures, and memories, to come!

Ready... set....

Our bags are packed, and our family of six (plus the coolest babysitter couple in the world!!) is ready to hop on an airplane tomorrow to Florida. We're on our last two days of antibiotics, and even though we had our doubts, everyone seems to be entering some sort of a relatively healthy state (thanks for praying!).

The boys are super psyched, and Trey is even coming out of his depression from the thought of missing his baseball tournament this weekend. They each packed a backpack of treasures to take, and I had to veto weapons more than once. I have packed, and repacked, and even had dreams about what to pack. All I know is this: if I have the meds, ear plugs, and Chase's rubber snakey, then we're good to go. We can get everything else at Wal-Mart.

Now, here's to hoping that this rotten girl will find something to keep her occupied on the flight.

Yeah right.

Florida on my mind...

This is how we looked...

the last time we were in Florida...

our family not quite yet complete.

One week and counting...

Ah, life...

So I installed this counter on my blog two days ago to see if, in fact, anyone actually reads this thing. A busy mom has to have some sort of motivation, you know. Wait, the adult conversation with myself on the blog is motivation enough. Heh. My sweet mom's words on the phone to me this week were, "Oh dear, I should read your blog. I really do mean to." So if my mom doesn't read, then who on earth would? :)

Two days later, my hits are in the 70's, so now I officially have lots of adults in my life and I'm going to abuse my relationship with you. :)

I'm usually too private to ask, but tonight I'm asking you to pray.

We're exhausted. Sick kids all week, and four sleepless nights adding up to less than 10 hours of sleep total for me. Or something like that. I sorta lost track. Ten divided by four. Not good for morale.

Trey had a fever last weekend. Chase and Tess came down with fevers and coughs on Monday, and Jack missed school on Wednesday. I woke up with a sore throat and groggy voice today, and everyone knows that the momma just doesn't have time to be sick.

Just as I'm rearranging in my head who was going to take Trey to his ballgame tonight and who was going to stay home with the sick ones, Tyler comes up with a fever and is out on the couch for the night. We're dropping like flies, and it's almost getting comical, folks (almost, I said). So I head to the game with Trey and two sick ones in tow, and besides the rock in the eyeball incident (how does every other player escape this but my kid?) , everyone pulls through.

Cancel an after-bedtime Starbucks date with a girlfriend.

I get all four in bed by 8:30, and by 10pm, three were awake and out of bed, crying and coughing. No one else seems to have other preparations for tomorrow on their mind. Like:

Teacher gifts - oh, and don't forget the bus driver too.

One awesome "Create Your Own Beach Scene" snack for Jack's Beach Day / last day of school celebration. Think Jello aquarium in Berry Blue with a suspended Swedish Fish, sand (AKA crushed graham crackers), Nemo fruit snacks, chocolate shells, and a mini umbrella to top it all off. At one desperate point Tyler said to scrap it all and get donuts, but everyone knows that donuts don't pass as beachy. Sorry dads, you'll never understand this obsessive mom trait. We'll try not to drive you batty over it.

Oh, and then there's the dueling ear tube surgery at 6am in the morning. It was one surgery (Tess, who has had four ear infections in seven weeks) until 11 o'clock this morning, when Chase super failed his hearing test at his ENT appointment. No wonder I thought he was having a hard time listening. Our kind ENT (who knows us quite well 8 surgeries later) put a call in to our anesthesiologist and asked him to come in 15 minutes early so we can squeeze in yet another Daugherty. 15 minutes for a few thousand dollars? No problem.

Arrange babysitter. Lay out clothes and backpacks. Write teacher thank yous and notes to my boys. Pack teacher gifts and treats. Choose special toys and a change of clothes for the hospital. Double check paperwork.

All in a day's work.

The laundry will get done, I know. And though sometimes it feels like the luck's all against me, the kids won't always be sick. God continues to give us little graces along the way, for which I'm thankful. And ear problems? Geesh. That is simple compared to a host of medical issues some have to deal with.

Come to think of it, I need times like these to keep me grounded in my need for a Savior. My do-it-myself attitude only gets me so far in my relationship with God. It robs me of the help (and joy!) only He can give. It takes away His glory for some futile attempt on my behalf. Why do I wait to turn to Him?

I'm off to cross of some items off my list, and to pray while I work. It's been silent for the last 15 minutes, so I'd better not push it.

I'm needy, I'll admit it. But I'm thankful for a Heavenly Father who meets me in my neediness, and gives me my Daily Bread. Not too soon, and not too late. I'm thinking that if I make it through tomorrow, I'm good.

Ah, a little blog self-talk is just what I needed. I knew this adult conversation was good for something. :)

Thanks for listening.

Thanks for praying.

These two...

I just left these two, after way too much giggling and way past their bedtime. It's Friday night, and they were deep in a new handshake bonding moment, and I just couldn't cut it short.

God had a way different plan than I did when it came to these two. I was an emotional wreck when I found out I was pregnant with Trey. Jack had been a big adjustment for me, and I still didn't have him figured out six months into motherhood. He was fussy, didn't sleep, and had way too many doctor appointments in his little life already. Our little family was living in a tiny apartment in Lafayette, waiting for our out-of-town house to sell. Six months had gone by with no luck. And I was feeling cramped, in more ways than one.

And then I took a pregnancy test (holding a fussy baby in one arm and the stick in the other!) that changed my life forever. And I cried hard. For about four months. Looking back, I don't think I doubted God as much as I doubted my own ability. Hmm... but that's still doubting God, isn't it?

Because He's the only One who has the power to work out the details anyway.

Oh, there were details alright.

Sleepless nights for months on end. Nursing a baby in one arm while reading to a toddler in the other. Protecting an infant from a very energetic one year old. Feeling sweaty all of the time with two babies constantly on me. Making it to church on time - or anywhere for that matter - with the boys when Tyler worked. And when he didn't. And making it through a sermon without getting paged to the nursery? Well, that didn't happen for a long time.

But I left their bedroom tonight almost in tears from laughing so hard. They were made for each other. Polar opposites, but the best buddies ever. Tighter than tight. Inseparable. Friends.

And I thanked God for giving me these two so close together. It took some hard work initially, and ultimately a lot of trusting in the One who always knows what's best for us.

But man, is it paying off.

God knew what He was doing.

But then, HE always does, doesn't He?

Simple Joys...

Laundry that just looks like Spring.

I know, I'm easily amused.

You know you're a mom when...

(My niece Emma, my mom, Tess and Aunt Patty... some of my very favorite girls ever)

...it's Mother's Day, and it's midnight, and you just re-tucked your four year old back in bed, hopefully for the last time tonight. Seems his thumb is still hurting from the (what started out) friendly wrestling match between he and Trey this afternoon. He whimpered for a long time, so I finally gave in and brought him downstairs into our bed, where he finished watching Titanic with us, complete with Motrin, an ice pack and a good back scratch.

All of that was after I had just tucked Trey back in, who had to get up for one more potty break.

I'm just waiting for Tess to cry out next. She's in a strip-yourself-completely-naked-in-the-middle-of-the-night stage, and I've had to redress her several nights in the past week. Bring it on, I say. I'm so close to pulling out the duct tape that it's not even funny.

Funny how Mother's Day makes me thankful for the daddy in this house. He had to work today, which made me thankful for how hard he works so I can do what I do at home. He is one amazing partner in parenting, and in life.

Blessings from today:

Church this morning, where I got to witness Trey serve his sweet friend Ian. This just may have been the best Mother's Day present ever.

A visit from Mom and Dave (complete with lots of awesome garage sale finds for Tess!).

Brunch at The Trails with Mom, Dave and the Walshes, where three boys were especially cute and full of manners.

Hanging out with the boys on the driveway, lighting leaves and ants on fire with a magnifying glass and the sun. :)

Opening a sweet card addressed to "Ommee" - Tess's version of Mommy.

Answering the door bell to find that some sneaky boys had placed a beautiful planter on my doorstep.

Tyler getting home from work and freeing me up for the evening (I left by myself for a little shopping at Meijer and Gordman's - woah. Best purchase of the night: a new baseball bat for Trey.).

A movie / Spageddies take-out date with Tyler when I got home.

Honoring my mom today, who first loved God with her whole heart, then loved me enough to point me to Him.

Speaking of views...

.... this is mine from the hammock.

So much for cuddling up just the two of us. :)

The View

Do you ever catch yourself in the kitchen, hustling like a crazy person to finish supper before the evening activities begin, then turn around and see a counter-full of kids and think to yourself,

"Woah, I have four kids."

Ok, so maybe not four, but the number doesn't really matter, does it?

I know, I know. I see this view every single day. Multiple times a day. Actually, the whole herd follows me wherever I go... in one room and out the other. To the toilet, and beyond. And in case you were slightly concerned, yes, I know, I've had four kids for quite a while now. I haven't completely lost it. Yet.

But this time, no one was fighting, whining or throwing food.

Not that my kids do that or anything.

In fact, they were being so cordial that I almost forgot they were sitting there. Miracles do happen. About 10 seconds went by before someone actually spotted me staring at them. It was a rare moment and definitely worth taking in.

I giggled inside, wondering if Tyler really knew what he was in for all those years ago.

I watched them interact, and couldn't imagine my life with one less.

I witnessed love shown with each Veggie Straw Tess shared Lady and the Tramp style.

And I decided that I need to stop more often, and take in...

the view.

Homework

I love this kid...

Today is someone's birthday...

...and he's FOUR!

Happy Birthday, darlin'!

The 5 minute blog post about nothing...

It's 9:49pm and Tyler should be rolling in from work in the next few minutes. Darn those 1:30-10pm weekend shifts. Oh wait, I gave a kid-lecture on that once. Thank you God for one great job. Really.

Parenting is hard, but more on that later. I asked my mom the other day how she did it, and she said that we were the most compliant four children on the face of the planet. Or something like that. Anyway, that didn't get me very far. :)

Had the privilege of taking Trey by myself to his 2nd baseball practice today. I loved every minute of it, even though the wind was a bit chilly. I took a book to pass the 90 minutes, but never got it out. Couldn't take one eye off of my boy. He played catcher, wasn't bad, and definitely never complained. Couldn't hit the ball until the coach told him to stop closing his eyes, then he slammed every one. I wanted to cheer like a crazy woman, but just smiled inside and answered his thumbs-up.

My OCD is really kicking in. I make mental lists in my head all day long of things I want to organize. Especially this time of year. Then I remember that I have a one year old. My lists will have to wait, and at kid number 4, I'm getting closer to being okay with that. Could someone please come and wash my windows though (I have someone who likes to lick windows!)? :)

Planning Chase's birthday party for next week, and it better be good, because if you heard him talk, you wouldn't want to disappoint him either. The good news is that a good party equals a Darth Vader pinata. He's a sweetie, and sure has waited a long time to turn four. Now that I can't believe (the four part).

Summer scheduling is in full swing! Scheduled so far: swimming lessons, VBS (x2), Lego Engineering, Purdue's Super Summer, Baseball, Mini 4-H, and a Florida trip! Lovin' the thought of having the older boys home all day in a few short weeks!

Jack cut his own fingernails for the first time today. I know that doesn't seem exactly blog-worthy, but that means that my weekly count just went down by 20 finger and toenails!

And.... my favorite person just walked though the door. And guess what?

He ranks over you... :)

More nonsense at a later date!

Who has time for egg hunts...

when you can just stop and eat the candy?!

Still reflecting on Christ and His amazing gift to us!

Letter of the day...

Changing Chase. I can almost see the wheels spinning in this kid's mind some days. Sometimes he loves being silly with Tess, doing everything to make her laugh, content to play simple baby games with her. Other times he really wants to learn things. Hard things, like Jack and Trey. He spends most days talking non-stop, asking what something is, or how it works, or why it does that.

His questions the last couple of weeks have centered around letters. He really wants to read. He sees the older boys spending lots of time in books, and will curl up with his own, making up the story as he goes. He has memorized some of our favorite reads, and will now point to words and "read" along as he turns the pages. "What's this word, Mommy?," I hear him ask, about 20 times a day.

He knows his letters quite well, and can write most of them without thinking. But I realized that we still have a few letters that we've not practiced the sounds of yet. So I'm a mommy on a mission, trying to take advantage of the momentary motivation of my almost four year old sponge. :) So we're tackling a "letter of the day," each morning after the big boys get to school. We're keeping it super simple... mostly so he doesn't get frustrated! I spent a few dollars at Wal-Mart and got him his very own supplies (way cooler to know that they're all his instead of someone else's leftovers, trust me):

Crayons, glue (the colored, sparkly kind, for sure), scissors, a bound notebook of 3x5 cards, and a Crayola Beginning Alphabet and Numbers pack... We start off by practicing writing the letter of the day. While he's writing, we say the sound or sounds the letter makes, and take turns shouting out words that begin with that letter. I've found that a little excitement can go a long way... he doesn't even realize he's learning half the time. It's more like a silly word game with his nutty mom (silly voice inflections and all!).

We found some larger letters in fish shapes online, and printed them off to color and cut out (what a great way to sneak in a couple of other skills to practice!). After he colors and cuts out the capital and lower-case versions of the letter of the day, he glues them into his 3x5 flip book, that we fondly titled, "Chase's Letter Book." What's great about this is that he can flip through and review each letter that we've covered. He loves looking through it and seeing how much he's accomplished! Best of all, I get some planned special time with my sweet boy, who might otherwise feel a little lost in the crowd...

The Climber...

She has a will, and she'll find a way...

... she spots her motivation (in the form of chocolate)...

... and goes in for the attack.

She would be why I don't ever get anything done.

The Bachelor

So I walk in the door from work and Whitney grabs the camera to show me a picture she took earlier in the day. I'm expecting a cute shot of Tess. Or Chase making a silly face. Maybe even a picture of Trey losing another loose tooth. Instead, it was the latest work of our eldest bachelor, Jack.

She didn't need to explain the picture. To know Jack is to know that this is his mind at work. I haven't asked him why he did this, and I won't. I prefer to just consider the possibilities.....

• Lazziness? -- obviously not. Way more work to make the note
• Sarcasm? -- doubtful. Not sure he understands the concept, yet
• Helpfulness? -- Whitney says no!
• Hygeine? -- strong possibility. Dirty underwear devastates him

In the end, I like to think he just applied what few man-law concepts he has learned (and probably observed, regretfully) and left himself a reminder for when he needs his next clean pair. Sort of genius, I think. He's well on his way to becoming an excellent bachelor.

Spring cleaning can be so emotional...

Ok, not really. It's actually quite refreshing. Tyler switched our garage over from Winter to Spring yesterday, which meant storing the snow blower, removing the dead mice that we didn't realize we'd caught, and clearing out the junk that had accumulated over the past few cold months. Tyler is an organizational genius, so it involved way more than that, but you get the idea (and now I'm off the hook if he actually reads this!).

Part of that junk? This old highchair. Almost nine years old to be exact. Tess recently moved into a booster seat, and we were happy to regain our floor space that the high chair has occupied, every day, since 2001.

Wow, we've been doing this baby thing for a long time.

I'm really anti-clutter. Trust me when I say that I love a good purging. And I'm even okay with getting rid of this baby stuff. I've dealt with those emotions already, and it feels good to love where we are in this stage of life. But as I packed up the high chair for good, I do have to say that I got a little emotional.

Four babies have eaten in this thing, from their first bites of rice cereal, to learning how to use a fork for the first time.

I've scrubbed crayon and paint off the tray more times than I can remember.

I've depended on it, combined with a trusty Baby Einstein video, as a means to get my shower many mornings.

I've ordered replacement cover after replacement cover from Graco to keep it going all these years.

And every once in a while, when I was busy cleaning up lunch, I would find a baby who couldn't hold out for naptime any longer...

... fast asleep.

Thankful for this man...

Tyler has been putting in some longer hours at work since the new hospital opened last week. Not as much as some dads have to put in on a regular basis, but enough that our kids have noticed. Since Tyler works the 1:30pm-10:00pm shift this weekend, we're on our own much of the day (I know the evening shift is only eight hours long, just the same as the day shift, so why, oh why, does it seem twice as long?!). The kids and I took advantage of the beautiful weather this afternoon and rode bikes and played outside, then ventured to Target, Arby's and the car wash tonight. Have I told you lately how much Tess despises the car wash? Woah. Anyway, fancy Saturday night, I know, but we were so giddy about the 50 degrees that it didn't matter where we went, as long as we spent it in and out of the sunshine.

On the way home Trey announced - in typical Trey/drama fashion - that he missed his dad. A lot. Then he went on about how it wasn't fair that the hospital was making him work all day when his kids were not in school and it was nice outside. How dare they! That got Jack going, and before I knew it, all three boys had joined in and together had come to the conclusion that Tyler should quit his job. Um... boys?!

So we talked the whole way home about how God has given Daddy this job and that we should be so very thankful for it. I tried to give a kid-sized version of the state of the economy, just to let them know that we will NOT complain about how God provides for our family, when so many others are without jobs.

Then we talked about their dad, and what a hard worker he is. Jack brought up the fact that he's helping sick people when he's away from us. Trey commented on how smart he is. And Chase, sweet Chase, wanted us all to know that Daddy shoots off rockets from the pharmacy, and when the rockets come back, they have suckers in them (um, I think he's getting the tube systems from the pharmacy and the bank a little mixed up!). I talked about how Daddy doesn't want to be away from us either, but he gladly goes to work to provide for our family ("Okay boys, start naming things that you have that cost money. Do you know where that money comes from?").

And Tess? Well, she's just glad to be done with the car wash.

All of that to say that we're thankful for this man who works so hard and sacrifices so much for us. I wish Tyler could have heard our conversation today, and how passionate these boys are about their daddy.

It's always good to find out that you've been missed.

Haircut time!

Ah, welcome March! For February being the month of love, we weren't exactly feelin' it with a surgery, a week long flu and the insanity of the opening of a new hospital. Good times. But who wants to dwell on that when we could be talking about a girl with a new 'do?!

This is Tess before her monumental first haircut a couple of weeks ago. It was long overdue, I must say. The mullet was winning, plain and simple. You can admit it along with me... I'm secure like that. :)

The problem is that the front of her hair just doesn't grow at the same pace as the back of her hair. Why this happens, I have no idea. So we waited and waited for her bangs to grow out, and they never did.

Thin, uneven, and a mullet on steroids.

When Tyler and I were broke and in college and just friends (don't fight me on this), he asked me to cut his hair. And even though I had never cut anyone's hair in my life, I agreed. Because that might have just been one more good excuse to hang out with him when I should have been studying. So we went to Wal-Mart and bought some clippers. We skipped watching the instructional video because how-hard-can-it-be-anyway, and I gave him the worst home-done haircut in the history of wanna-be dating couples. No lie.

But he lived through it, and even asked me to do it again (it would take three haircuts to get his money's worth for the clippers). Eventually I got better, and I've been cutting his hair ever since. Every month for the past sixteen years.

And I only forgot the clipper guard once. Impressive, huh?

So now three other boys get the privilege of meeting me in the master bathroom once a month for our salon dates.

Jack: Clippers in back and longer on top, being careful to cut very evenly, since his very straight hair is not very forgiving if you get it wrong. Style with molding clay for that dry, messy look.*

Trey: Clippers all over and keep it super, super short, or his coarse, thick hair will go into Chia-Pet mode. Style with Crew gel with a spike in the front. Oh, and don't forget to shave the uni-brow.*

Chase: Attempt the surfer look with a scissor cut only, and wonder every time if I really know what I'm doing. Feed him M & M's throughout the cut since it takes much, much longer than it should due to my cluelessness.*

*Repeat monthy until they get a clue that there may actually be cooler options out there other than their Mom...

(Our cute little beautician, who was probably 18 and had - literally - 15 brothers and sisters!

You don't think she feels smothered, do you?!)

So anyway, you can imagine my insecurity when it came to girl hair. I just couldn't cut it myself. She needed a style, not some best-guess attempt. So off to Cookie Cutters we went, and asked for the cutest little bob we could get for $9.99. Never a tear, thanks to the horn that beeped on her chair, and a sweet little video. I, however, was completely overbearing and annoying (hey, I'm a fake beautician, dontchaknow)...

Bobbed (and stacked!) in the back, and angled so it's longer in the front. Super cute!

What kid could not be completely distracted in this crazy place?!

We celebrated our first of many girl spa days with lunch at McCalister's afterwards. I originally thought we would go short on her hair just until her bangs grow out, but now I'm loving the look. We may just have to keep it (it kind of goes with her spunky attitude, I must say)!

It's beginning to get complicated, folks...

We were getting a little too comfortable with all of this pink in our house. And then it happened...

This babydoll might never be the same again.

Reason #7 why girls are more complicated than boys:

Babydolls have hair. Spiderman doesn't.

And I hear it only gets worse...

Keepin' it simple...

We've been a little out of commission this week, due to a certain momma and one long overdue surgery. But thankfully, after birthing four very large babies, all of my organs are happily back where they belong. For now anyway. I'm sure you're glad to know that. And just so you know too, I have one awesome Mom and one simply amazing husband who took care of those very large babies this week. God is good. So, check that off the list, please.

The moral of the story? I'm not 18 anymore.

Or 29 for that matter.

And guess what else?

Tess likes frozen peas.

This is one crazy profound post.

Keepin' it simple around here this week...

Stable Jack...

I was sorting through pictures tonight and ran across this one from Jack's 8th birthday party. It made me stop in my tracks for some reason. At first I thought it was because he's not wearing his glasses. Then I realized how old and tall he looks. I smiled too at the thought of him losing his grown-up, academic self for the party... how I loved watching him actually act his age: carefree and full of energy. I tried to wrap my mind around his new relationship with deodorant and his desire to take morning showers instead of nighttime baths. My boy is growing up.

I admired this group of eight-year old school friends, and wondered who he would be hanging out with when he's fifteen. And what kind of influences they would be to him, and he to them. Then that got me thinking about his conviction over lyrics of a song on the school bus this week, and my phone call to the bus driver that followed.

Friends, choices, convictions, growing up. Then I decided to stop thinking.

I don't write so much about Jack on the blog, I've noticed. It's not that there's not a lot going on with him, or that I don't follow him as closely. It's just that he's...

stable.

Obviously not without some habits that need some continued, clear training. He's far from perfect. But I'm really enjoying him and his stableness. He has a clear sense of who he is and what's expected of him. He's able to do so many things on his own, and requires less direction than the other three. We have intelligent, meaningful conversations on everything from computer games to God. He still tells me everything. He wants to help me cook dinner.

He was three once, and not so stable. And trust me, when he wasn't stable, neither was I. Who knows which came first, but God used that time to teach both of us a lot about ourselves. And now, just this week, I've told his story twice to two weary moms (to guess what... three year olds!). And I was able to encourage them that eventually, with lots of discipline, consistency, patience, prayer, and grace, God can take a three year old...

and make him stable.

At least for this week (sometimes I leave that part out...heh.).