The Backseat...

Classified Ad: Wanted

• snacks..........check
• flame thrower..........check
• super strength coat..........check
• dynamite..........check

Say...does anybody have a boulder axe we could borrow?

College Girls' Weekend

I did it. I left four children ranging from seven to one in the care of their very capable daddy. Went away for two entire nights and days, something we had planned for almost six months. I stayed up until 4am, an hour I hadn't seen, well, at least for a month or two.

We talked and laughed. We looked at ridiculous pictures of ourselves from 15 years ago and remembered details about each other's weddings. We covered kids, schools, our kids' friends and how to encourage our husbands. We might have even noticed that we're aging. We went for a walk in the rain, then ran home the last bit, completely soaked and giggling. We opened up the Bible on the porch and were reminded of how we got here.

Friends.

Sisters in Christ.

No matter how much time passes.

She's One!!

Tess Elena is officially one year old!! Unbelievable ... well, sort of. :) The year has been back and forth, sometimes going slowly and hectic with much maintenance. Other times it flew by as we watched Tess accomplish more and more each day. Either way, we are loving this age as she settles into her own sweet personality (and I am loving the fact that she now crawls around saying "Mama").

Tess and Nana at her party...

(this monkey is her favorite... maybe because her daddy calls her "Monkey"??)

These girls share a birthday!

Not sure how it happened, but we ended up with a "sweets buffet" of sorts.

No one seemed to mind. :) Steph and Cory's famous peanut butter balls, designed in party colors! Too cute! Something healthy... (note to self, de-skewer fruit before giving to your children, especially if they are boys!) Tyler's surprise to me... a BonBonerie cake - all the way from Cincinnati (courtesy of the Costellos) - for our last one-year-old. When the first few cousins turned one, Cory and Stephanie started this tradition. If you haven't eaten one of these cakes, you've never lived. :)

Our smiley (unless Mama's in the room),

12 hour-sleeping (but has to be in bed by 6:30pm),

jabbering (words: "Mama," and "Hi"),

brother-loving (they babysit in the toyroom when I'm in the kitchen -

sometimes for a "happy heart", and when I'm really desperate, a quarter!),

book adoring (and book-eating!)...

attention-craving,

teeth-cutting (8 and counting),

Baby Einstein watching (four for four!),

baby wrestling (with the boys)

one year old!

Kissing her new baby doll!

We weren't quite ready when Tess grabbed for the cake.

Nothing that a little lick won't fix!

Her own personal brother fan-base!

A true girl at heart... so excited about her new shoes...

Happy Birthday, sweet girl!

"3"

I have two days before a little girl in the house turns one year old, and with all of her birthday planning, I realized I had forgotten to blog about a very important day (oh geesh, if you must know, at the end of April!) when a very grown-up boy turned 3!

Funny how life with four kids changes you. Seriously, I never thought I would be thinking about stuff like equal blogtime for my kids. :) But with each unique personality and relationship that God has given us with our kids, I do think about equality. And how much attention each one gets. And who I read to last, and for how long. And whose turn it is to fetch me a diaper. And how much each one ate at supper, and when they pottied last.

I did it with one, so I'm guessing that you do it too.

But the funnier thing about all of this is that I like the idea that many children leads to less equality. Because in a loving way, it's healthy for them to know that it's not all about them all of the time.

Yes, I realize this is a birthday post. Are you still with me? :)

All mom-guilt aside, the point is, Chase is 3. And he's quickly going on whatever age Jack and Trey are acting like on any given day.

I remember "3" with the other boys. And I'll admit, it makes me cringe a little bit. Tyler adores this age. I seem to have less patience for it for some reason. But with a bit more experience this time around, I'm soaking up all the cuteness I can, because there sure is a lot of it. And I'm convinced that in God's great wisdom, he made "3" the cutest age, so you can live through those 3 year old moments when they forget all about being cute.

I like to say that Chase is the oldest three year old I have ever had. He likes to run with the big boys. He does more, knows more, and says more stuff than the other two ever did at this age. Trying to be big brings him much happiness a lot of the time, and much frustration the rest of the time. Because three year olds can't always do what 6 and 7 year olds do, no matter how hard they try.

He's into Scooby Doo big time, and says the word "Like..." way too often because Shaggy Rogers is his hero. He talks about going to preschool this fall, but he doesn't know what August means in terms of timeframe, so he asks every day if "today is the day" when he will go. He loves to cook with his momma, and would bake cupcakes every day if I said yes. He talks nonstop, and entertains us constantly with his made-up songs, usually to the tune of the Star Wars theme song ("I-have-to-go... to-the-potty.... yes-I-do..."). Oh, and speaking of Star Wars, he knows more about the characters than I do. His memory amazes me.

Chase loves to play dress-up. Lucky for him, the third time around I've decided to choose my battles, so he even gets to wear his Spidey outfit to the store on occasion. He wants candy for breakfast every morning, and never tires of asking, even though I've told him "no" every day for the last 58 days straight. Chase has a very special relationship with his daddy. They often run errands together or go out to breakfast, just the two of them. And when he's not with his dad? Well, let's just say that I have a shadow closer than Peter Pan's.

Did I mention that he's cute?

And really stubborn.

If I try to open the door for him, he gets frustrated and tells me to shut it because he wants to open it. Then he (fumbling and taking what seems like forever) opens it for me, and says, "The gentleman always helps the ladies."

And the cute factor wins again.

He's silly and smart, which might just turn out to be a pretty good mix when he gets his emotions in check. Whenever that might be. My guess is it's not happening at "3".

But you never know. This one could be different.

Then again, he always repeats everything his brothers say.

Chase Dylan, my sweet third boy.

Thanking God for you, and for "3".

To Tyler...

When I first said "I love you..."

I thought I understood the full meaning of those words.

But when I watch you as a dad -

playing and laughing,

giving a big hug,

just being there -

I realize that when I first said "I love you"

I had just begun to understand all my heart could hold for you.

I thank God for making you mine-

and then for making you ours.

-DaySpring

"How can we thank God enough for you and for the joy and delight you have given us...?" 1 Thess. 3:9 TLB

Happy Father's Day

We love you!

Whitney, Jack, Trey, Chase and Tess

Girl issues...

She got my uni-brow. So did Trey, but guys seem to pull it off a little better.

She also likes to squint a lot. Sooo much personality starting to come out (maybe with a little attitude mixed in)!

And, I've decided that most of my pictures of her will be this close for a very long time. She wants to eat the camera, and there's no stopping her.

AND, that's all I have to say, because it's late. :)

Late...

Gosh, what kind of a mother blogger am I? I've got to blog about this kid's birthday... ...before it's this kid's birthday...

But I can't tonight, because it's late. In every sense of the word.

And I was going to get smarter about being late to bed. But I haven't gotten there yet. Because apparently I excel in lateness.

There you have it.

The end of an era...

Do I have any male readers, I wonder (I dare you to comment if you're out there. Now that would be interesting.)? If so, you may want to go back to your ESPN site, weather.com, youtube, itunes, or wherever it is in internetland where you guys like to hang out.

As for this blog, it's time to get reflective, in a sappy mom sort of way.

I'm pretty sure I have nursed a baby for the last time.

(You can't say I didn't warn you, guys...)

Tess will be one year old this month... so hard to believe! It's time, I suppose, but it is still a little bittersweet for me nonetheless.

You see, Tess is the last one. It's a permanent sort of thing, unless the Lord, who is sovereign, chooses us for some modern-day miracle. That made me sad for a while too, but now I'm over it. I think the baseball schedule did it for me.

Nursing is not for everyone, I know this. But for me, it has been a wonderful choice.

And a lengthy one...

Four children, and almost a four year commitment. With each baby that came along, I swore I'd at least pump and give them a bottle every once and a while. Like when I wanted to go out on a date or something. But I never did. Before you get the idea that I'm that die-hard, I'm not. I'm mostly just lazy. :)

While this made for some excellent bonding, it also made for one land-locked momma. Especially early on when feedings are so frequent. Either I stayed or the baby went with me. Simple as that. Most of the time this worked well, but sometimes it did feel like a huge sacrifice. Especially as the older ones got older, and the juggling of the schedules became more involved.

But looking back, my did it go quickly. And now that I am leaving the childbearing years of my life behind, I am becoming sentimental. You know, of the 3am feedings that you think they might never give up... now those are some of the most precious memories I have. When everyone else in the house was asleep and all was quiet (I don't know about your house, but that's a rarity around here!), what a joy it was to have that one-on-one time rocking and feeding a sweet little one. And praying. Lots of opportunities to pray in the middle of the night for me over the years... :)

Are you a weary momma today? Whether you nurse or not, it's all hard work. But I'm slowly gaining perspective. I'm trying not to wish the days away anymore. Because there will come a day when they'd rather hang out with their cool dad instead of you. You'll compete with baseball schedules and friends down the street, messy creeks and all things Star Wars.

And you might just look back on those baby days and think to yourself, "Those were simple times," even though it didn't feel very simple at the time.

Just ask me.

Now before you start to think that I'm stuck in a retrospective rut - trust me - I'm already looking ahead. There is so much to look forward to! Fun, new opportunities that come with each new stage of parenting. And possibly my favorite part... date nights with my favorite guy that can begin before the baby is in bed for the night.

Yes, I think I'm starting to like this...

Bad Hair Day....Take 2

Not to be outdone by their younger brother...."the boys" (as I still call them, which I got in the habit of doing back when they were the only 2 boys) went all out on "crazy hair day" at school -- right down to the Flying V and tie dye T-shirts. Trey got sent to the office....which was a good thing in this case....where he competed for "best hair" in the school. CHA-CHA-CHA-CHIA!!

Waiting...

This is what you get when I'm waiting on my sheets to dry before I can go to bed...

Aren't you glad I forgot to switch the load over earlier? :)

Her dad didn't think it was right that she was using her brothers' tiger and lion bath towels. Too masculine for sure. Lucky for him, the hospital had some vendor set up in the lobby last week, so one day he came home with this. Much more appropriate, don't ya think? We're slowly getting in girl gear around here. I'm even becoming a softie and bought a pack of headbands for the first time recently (thought it was time to distract from the mullet!).

You have to love a daddy who looks out for his girl.

Bad Hair Day...

...just in need of a haircut in the worst way. Problem is, his daddy likes it this way. Long, that is. Not exactly this post-nap way. My problem with the whole thing is that my little boy suddenly looks like he's 10 years old.

And yes, since you were wondering, it takes him a bit to "wake-up" from a nap. We know this by now and we're pretty good at giving him his space until he's good and ready.

Unless we want to take his picture, that is.

An Easter Story...

Although we downplay the Easter Bunny quite a bit, somehow three growing boys still believe. I'm not even sure we've ever admitted to there being an Easter bunny. But he's famous now, because this year he got the credit for bringing the Star Wars movies into our house. You should have heard three boys squealing like little girls. No candy necessary.

Twas the night before Easter... and we panicked. The Star Wars Easter Egg Color Kit was no where to be found, and time was running out. Each boy had admired the box at length: Jack read the back of the box at breakfast several mornings. Chase carried it around with him for days, following me, asking me if today was the day we could color eggs. Trey might have even slept with it one night. But when crunch time came, the treasured box was MIA. Every boy claimed that another boy had it last. So instead of the much looked forward to TIE-fighter egg, we would have to use the boring, plain colors left over from the year before.

The disappointment didn't last long though, because plain ol' egg

coloring can even make a busy adult happy.

Jack still dressed up like a Jedi even though the Star Wars theme was compromised.

We don't have to think too long around here before we find a pretty

decent excuse to make sugar cookies...

With no family in town for us, we were blessed to spend the Saturday before Easter at the Brovonts for an Easter Egg Hunt. Many of our great friends were there - even the Brookes and the Wombles were able to make the trip from out of town! We started out with brunch...

What a fun table! These kids have played together since they were babies, and my, have we added to the numbers over the years!

Jack and Tess waiting for the hunt to start... Ready for the rules (and our first attempt at a group picture!)... And the hunt begins (ah, and the satisfying scene of children running in open spaces)!

I think Chase stopped each time he found an egg to eat what was inside. Scary thought.Although these pictures might give the impression that Easter for us is about eggs and bunnies, what you don't see captured here was our study as a family of the TRUE Easter story.

Six days before Easter Sunday, we got out our two sets of Resurrection Eggs by Family Life. Before bed during our reading time, we piled onto Jack or Trey's bed and opened two eggs each night. Inside of these eggs (12 in all) are objects that help tell the story of Jesus' death and resurrection. There is a wonderful devotional booklet that comes with the eggs that points to specific scripture and helps to complete the story. Let me just say that the boys could not WAIT for the next night to open up two more eggs. They were begging to go onto the next part of the story! What a meaningful week we had in the Word being reminded of the real reason we celebrate Easter!

The Family Life website says it best: "The Easter holiday may be the best time to tell your children of their need for Christ."