Easter

Here's a few pictures from our Easter activities. We always try to do all the silly egg stuff before Sunday, so Sunday can be all about celebrating our Risen Savior. Lincoln was a lot of fun this year because he got so excited to participate in everything- which made somethings more challenging- like using the Resurrection Eggs to go through the Easter story with the kids. But his enthusiasm over the empty egg at the end symbolizing the empty tomb was worth the difficulty! He especially got excited for the egg hunt on Saturday, and kept asking "mom, egg hunt now?" (Yes, we are so excited about the progress he is making in his speech!!) We had a full house on Sunday with both my sister Bre and Kevin's sister Nikki plus their families, and our 'nearly' family members Zach & Megan. We had a total of 9 kids 7 and under, and 3 helpful teenagers. We were very traditional- and enjoyed an Easter fiesta with fajitas :) We are so thankful for the precious gift of family & friends, & even more so that the Lord has so graciously given us all saving faith so that we can celebrate His amazing sacrifice and resurrection together!!

Getting ready to hunt some eggs with our good friends- the Schneiders

Taking a quick break for a sample

So I have to admit that with all the busyness of hosting on Sunday, I failed to get any pictures of the kids before they changed into play clothes, so the other day I had the girls put on their Easter clothes so I could snap a picture, but I didn't feel the need to change Linc.

Seasons

Rylin had her 1st soccer game of the spring season today, and something struck me as we were pulling out of the parking lot. I watched as a mom set up her stroller, packed in the diaper bag and put the baby into the stroller- and suddenly I had flashbacks of Kacia's 1st (and only) soccer season. Lincoln was 3 months old, Rylin was the age Lincoln is now, close to 3, and Kacia was 5. This morning I got myself and all 3 kids to the soccer park by 8:15 (Kevin was able to go to Oakland for opening day) and as I watched this lady struggle to gather all of her stuff, I was so thankful for the season of life I am in for this season of soccer. No diaper bag, no strollers. Kacia held Lincoln's hand as we walked, Rylin carried her own gear, and I just had to manage a chair & snacks. Wow! What a difference a few seasons make! I loved Kacia's soccer season and wouldn't change anything about the hectic craziness of making sure the baby was neither too hot or too cold and was fed before we left, and the 2 1/2 year old had enough snacks to stay entertained and somewhat contained, but there was something very peaceful and easy about our morning today. And I got to actually watch my little Pixie and her teammates play a super fun game! I didn't remember to bring the camera today, but here's ones from the Fall 2008 season...

Let's Get Ready to Reffle!!!!

Lincoln has a new love, which is a new thing in our home, but quite common in many- Lincoln loves to wrestle, or "reffle" as he says it. I love watching how animated he gets, as he tries to convince Kevin or I to drop everything and wrestle. (He has been told not to wrestle his 'fragile' sisters). He even got Allie to wrestle once when she was babysitting, after she was able to decipher what REFFLE!!! meant :)

This is his "blue baseball shirt" that he practically lives in. I'm quite certain 90% of the pictures I have of him at this age are in this silly shirt. He has a ton of baseball shirts, so I'm not sure what it is about this one that he loves so much, but he pretty much wears it every other day. I insist that we wash it on the off days, but as soon as the dryer goes off, he excitedly comes running up to me "blue baseball shirt done!" I haven't decided yet whether or not I am allowing him to "win" and wear it so much because I just don't want to fight over it everyday or if it's because in all honesty, it's just a shirt and we stay home most days- so what's the big deal. That is a thought I'm still mulling over... but for now, and today the blue baseball shirt rules

Thoughts on Motherhood

So about a month ago, I was at a thing for church, and we all had to answer the question, "What is your favorite thing about being a mom?" This is a question that has stuck with me, and I have continued to ponder it. I think the reason why it's so hard to answer (aside from the fact that it was asked at 7pm on a Monday!) is because a lot of times I don't "feel" like I'm totally loving it, which of course brings on loads of guilt and this never ending question "What is wrong with me!!!???" But as I've chewed on this, here is what I've come up with:

1. I do love the cuddles and hugs. I love that with every scraped knee or harsh word by a friend- they come to me. I love that Rylin will come up to me randomly and ask me to sit with her on the couch because she "needs my cuddles". I love watching them play together- and actually like it! I love sneaking in the girls' room when they are sleeping and seeing them snuggled up to one another. I love their excitement and enthusiasm over even the smallest thing.

2. But in daily life, the 12 hours that mean the most- being a mom is WAY harder and selfless than I ever imagined. I'm not sure if my mom just made it look easy, or if I was completely in my own world, but I feel like I had no clue what I was getting myself into. It is draining and dare I say it- sometimes suffocating.

2. I hate discplining ALL day long. I hate how it wears me down. I hate repeating myself. I hate feeling like I'm hounding my kids to do or not to do the same things everyday. There are days when I feel like all I do is correct them, which can't be true because I know there are not days when all they do is the wrong thing!

3. The thing I love the most is also the thing that I struggle with the most- being a mother is one of God's greatest tools in sanctifying me! It is far easier to address their sin and discipline their issues, than it is to handle mine. And yet, it is in this journey that I see my sin the most, I see my need for a Savior in a whole new light, I see how I fall short, which is in no way enjoyable or fun! But is it necessary- yes. Is it molding me and changing me- I hope so.

4. I love being reminded that my unconditional love for my kids is also a hint at God's unconditional love for them and me. There is no one on this Earth that loves my kids more than I do, and there is nothing they can do to change that, which, knowing that my love for them is miniscule in comparison, it so greatly magnifies God's love. But on the other hand, my kids also daily live out a portion of this unconditional love for me. No matter how many times I lose it, am too harsh with my words, too impatient with my responses - they love me. They want my kisses goodnight, they wipe the slate clean, and at the end of the day (at least for now) I'm still their favorite person!

Being a mom is the hardest thing I have ever done, and yet it has rewards that I cannot even start to hit on. But it also has this incredible pressure, for each day passes and I can't get it back. I must invest in them, I must do the work, I must not be lazy in these young years if I desire for them to be people who will glorify the Lord. Yes, they are ultimately His, and yes, He will work in them despite my failures, but still I must be faithful. Faithful to daily seek Him, faithful to rely on Him (I can't do it on my own anyways!) and faithful to follow His instructions.

And here's some pictures of when it snowed back in February (I had just packed all the snow clothes and heavy coats a few days before!) We went to Bre's because she actually had enough to make a snowman. This is because you deserve some pictures if you read this long post, and if you didn't read it- at least you can see the 3 little ones I love more than life itself!

Busy Month

So it's been a month or so since my last post and life has been, well, too busy for blogging. We have officially moved- a big thank you to our friends and family who graciously helped! My kids have been sick, gotten better, only to get sick again. (Kacia's teacher said 10 students were absent on Monday!) But instead of boring you with all the details of our daily life, I wanted to share a clip of Rylin reading!!! This preschooler is one excited cookie to show me her new home reader each week. We are so proud of her and so happy for her, as this has been a skill she has desperately wanted to participate in. I cut the video to make it a little shorter to not bore you- or later severely embarrass her- including her making a face at a snooping sibling & nose picking :)

3

So 3 seems to be our number. No, I'm not referring to kids, although that is our number in that category as well. But 3 also seems to be the amount of years we spend in a house. Yep, it's moving time! There are once again boxes invading our rooms as we prepare to pack it up and move across town. I have to admit I like the adventure in moving- although a different house in the same city seems to be as adventurous as we get! I love to see God's hand orchestrating all of the details, watching and waiting for Him to direct us, and then rejoicing in His incredible provision. I love being forced to sort through all of our stuff, purge, organize, and downsize. And if I'm to be totally honest, I love having a new canvas to decorate :)

KK & Baby

Kaitlin, known around our house as Auntie KK, flew down with Reid for a great visit. I simply cannot get enough cuddles and smiles from my sweet, happy nephew! And of course, I love it when my sissy comes to town!

We enjoyed a fun sister night out! (Thanks Pete & Allie for holding down the fort!)

This boy loves to smile!

Kaitlin curled Rylin's hair, and well, Lincoln's speaks for itself :)

Gotta love cousins!

Seattle

Kacia and I went on a spontaneous road trip up to visit my siblings a couple of weekends ago. It is always weird to be back in my "hometown" as it no longer feels at all like home. There are new things and changes everywhere, but then there are also the familiar sites that bring back a flood of memories. I had a wonderful time spending one on one time with my girl, and it was such a blessing to be able to spend time with people that I love so much, yet rarely get to see. I was able to enjoy a yummy dinner at Tim & Sabrina's place (which I had not seen before); was able to show Kacia a little bit of Seattle; had great girl time with Kaitlin; loved on Reid; visited Mars Hill with Kaitlin & James; and so much more!

Lincoln's first sentence...

So most of you know that last August Lincoln was "diagnosed" with speech apraxia. In a quick explanation, it's a motor skill disorder that affects him in the area of the brain sending signs to all of the parts needed to spit out a word- the tongue, jaw, mouth, etc. His comprehension was through the roof, but his ability to communicate via speech was way below what was desired for his age, thus we began speech therapy twice a week. All of that to say, he is doing well and growing his vocabulary almost daily.

When Kev and I were in Mexico, we called the kids and Kacia was excited to tell me that Lincoln had said his 1st sentence. Apparently the battery to my van died in the school parking lot, so Lincoln said, "help mom." After that we began really working on building two words, bye dad, more please, etc. It still is not super natural, and there is typically a significant pause in between as he processes, but more and more, he is putting two words together on his own.

Then yesterday, he decided to spit out 3 words in a row!!! What were they you ask? Well that is the odd part to my little story, my son did not chose to say I love you, or me want juice, no, nothing normal, instead he said "baby cow die" over and over and over again! You see, by Rylin's school there is a field of cows, and recently two calves were added to their number. So Kacia didn't see the calves and asked me if they died. I assured her they had not, either we just didn't see them, or maybe they sold them. Lincoln however, chose that moment to repeat his sister! And when he is learning something new, he repeats himself incessantly, so all the drive home, he's in the back saying quite proudly "baby cow die, baby cow die," etc. Does a 2 year old understand death, no. Did we see both calves today, yes. Does that change it to Lincoln, no. I tried to get him to say "baby cow no die," but maybe 4 words is just too big of a leap for now! All I can say is this little boy has my heart!

Snow Deprived

So my kids were given a great New Year's gift- snow! (well kinda) Knowing that they would want to go outside as soon as they saw it, I waited a little bit until I told Kacia to open the blinds. They were ecstatic! Knowing that it would be gone real soon, we managed to find enough clothes to sort of work and we headed outside in our pajamas before 8am. It was practically gone, but they had a blast attempting to make snowballs. The last time we had snow in our yard was 2007, when Kacia was 4 and Rylin had just turned 2. Kacia still remembers how her and Ian made a snowman. I'm guessing they will always hold New Years Day 2011 as a great memory!

I know it looks like a pathetic amount of snow, but hey, when are used to none, a little is pretty exciting!

Christmas 2010 (For you-Kaitlin)

Here's a few pictures from our Christmas 2010

I love Rylin's face on this one! This is the gift the girls picked out for Lincoln- it's a Cars game where you have to stack Luigi's Tower of Tires with a Mater hook.

Kacia wearing her new boots from Rylin

Lincoln wanted to "help" everyone open up their gifts but adamantly refused to let them help him with his. He was quite funny this year!

One of the greatest gifts I've ever received!!

It was so fun to have "boy" toys this year. This car track was quite entertaining for all of us! Look at Linc's face :)

My boy on his new bean bag chair, actually he was jumping off the bed onto the chair until I came into the room :)

Tim- this pic is for you! The guys have played A LOT of Dominion this last week!

Allie had on new boots that made her WAY too tall next to her aunt!

A great day was had by all!