Just for fun pics!

My posse.

Zac is working on this beautiful Saturday morning so we took some pictures to update the status of all my little people. Sort of like their own mini facebook entry :)

Joel and his plants. Oh my, he's becoming quite the horticulturist. Every day he checks on his grass and sunflowers and makes sure they are adequately watered. It's a big moment for him because apparently we are supposed to put the sunflower sprouts into a bigger pot so they can keep growing and blossom. He looked horrified when I told him I thought big sunflowers were a little scary. I guess I'll put my fears aside for his dreams. And, I must say that he took it very well when Brody yanked one of the sprouts out of the pot and left it for dead in a pile of soil on the kitchen floor. Oops, I guess 3 out of 4 ain't bad.

The other day he was singing Mary Had a Little Lamb. I was semi-listening but tuned in enough to hear him sing, "every where that Mary went the lamb was too short (sure) to go"! ha ha. Needless to say, he's been quite focused on growing bigger lately and so that was just what he heard when he listened to the song I guess.

He asked me what we were doing today and I told him he was going to a birthday party. He told me he didn't see it written down so we should write it down on the calculator. Um, calendar.




Dear Jesse. One minute sweet, the next very spicy. He's quite into the game Hi-Ho-Cheerio right now and I think we've logged about 40 playings in the last few days. He is camera shy (hence the hiding), but I did manage to get him to smile once--I bribed him. Good Mommy. He LOVES words and reading. Many times I find he and Joel on the couch with big, long books, teaching Joel how to read. "That word is actually, Joel." "No, that says through."

We were spelling words on the dining room table and he wanted to do words of things in our house. Like pot, bed, car, right? Nope, dump truck, mirror, and bedroom where his starting points. Bless his 3 year old savant-like little heart. He did ask for a little assistance spelling toilet.



Brody, the bruiser. He is ALL boy. Constantly into things and climbing on things. The other day I turned around and he was standing on the kitchen table. A few days before that I was sitting on the couch feeding Bronwyn and he just disappeared. I found him balancing on the windowsill behind the couch, in between the blinds and the window, staring out the window. Have NO idea how he got up there.

But, he is completely full of sweetness. Very few tantrums, lots of laughter and smiles for this recently turned 18 month old. If that kid was a piece of candy, I would just eat him up. I really have no words to describe his precious disposition and laid back attitude. What a special blessing he is right now!



And the princess. Probably my most smiley baby. She's already babbling and cooing up a storm...and growing like a weed. 12 weeks old yesterday! She needs to be in her crib if you want her to take a good nap--that may not bode well for her being the fourth child in a busy family, but we are trying our best :).

I still have moments every few days where it truly hits me that I have a girl! This is the baby girl I've dreamed of. She's here. Her name is Bronwyn. I'm living this! In a way, I feel a little disconnected (although you would never know it with all of the smiles and kisses that girl gets from me). It's just that it seems so surreal after 3 boys and really believing that I may never get a girl. I'm not just playing dress-up with a doll and every day I remind myself to soak this in.


I'm trying my best not to get too overwhelmed at home. These children are a blessing and if I can keep my mind on that instead of the mundane, yet pressing details of the day, then I am in the best place I can be. Savor these moments, because too soon, they will be gone!

Just because.

And what is the reason for all of these recent posts, you may ask?

Well, I may never post again. If these 4 kids don't do me in, then my new job might.

Yep, I did say my new job.

Because just in case things were crazy enough around here, I've decided to start working again.

Actually, my new job is a HUGE blessing to us--I get to do something I am really passionate about (a home therapist for children with autism), work very flexible and very minimal part-time hours, and get paid well to do it!

I started yesterday and, while it may take a little adjusting for our family, we are all very excited about it :).

One of my favorite things...

is to take all four kids to the doctor by myself. Uh, or not.

Actually, I would call our trip today very successful (if you don't count the hour I had to wait at the pharmacy) and it apparently was needed because Joel was right when he told me he had a "science infection" (sinus). Hehe.

Little daddy.

A couple of weeks ago during "rest" time (that is a very loose term around here these days :) I asked Joel and Jesse to be nice and quiet in their room because I was going to try and rest too. Joel asked why and i said it was because I was tired. "Why?", he asked again. "Well, because I have to get up with Bronwyn several times at night to feed her when she's crying. He looked shocked that all of this was going on in the household without his knowledge.

Since then, he asks me every morning how Bronwyn slept, how many times she cried, and if she had a good night. So cute.

Then last night when I went in to check on her around 9:30, I tripped over something on the floor. I turned on the light to see Jesse curled up on the floor next to Bronwyn's crib, and Joel all cozy in her rocking chair--both sound asleep. Joel woke up as I moved him to his bed and I asked what they were doing and he told me that they were going to sleep in her room so that they could take care of her overnight so that I wouldn't have to. So sweet. I almost cried.

Then I told him that he could just enjoy being her big brother and I would worry about taking care of her because I love taking care of my kids!

Easter!

I'm not sure why the boys were standing so far away from me in the pictures with just me and them...I tried to get them to come closer, but as you can tell by the "action shots" of Jesse and Brody during the actual Easter egg hunt, they were very serious about their hunting and couldn't pull away for just one second to take a picture. This was even after I assured them multiple times that ALL of the eggs had been found. :)

Easter was a really wonderful day! We had an amazing worship service at church and then over to some dear friends parent's house for lunch and it was so good! The bigger boys (we call them the "J's") played with two little girls there and were most content--I even heard Joel and Jesse say to the hostess, "This food sure is delicious" and "I really like this lunch!". And the little ones (we call them the "B's") both slept almost the entire time. We actually sat at the dining room table for 2+ hours and had real grown-up conversation without breaking up one fight or changing one diaper!

5 years ago.

5 years ago this week...

We were adjusting to life with a 3 month old baby who had colic, reflux, and reactive airway disease.

Zac was desperately trying to finish his M.Div. degree at Denver Seminary.

I was a new mom desperately trying to get three consecutive hours of sleep and make it through the day without crying.

We were living in a little condo in north Denver.

I was diagnosed with cancer.

Life become so complicated in a matter of months, and we felt like we were bobbing below the surface of the water, just trying to get enough quick breaths of air to stay alive.

Here's our little family then:



This week:

Our 3 month old then is now 5 years and 3 months old, and getting ready to start kindergarten. He'll be in a regular classroom and is fighting the disease of autism. Tonight he wrote a story for me about how much he loves me!

Zac is now an ordained pastor and released his first album this past fall. He's amazing and it's so neat to see the seeds that God was planting in college and graduate school coming to fruition.

I am now a "seasoned" mom with four little people to care for, and still desperately trying to get 3 consecutive hours of sleep (ha!). Crying is now quite the norm in our household, although I'm happy to say that 98% of it isn't coming from me :).

We are living in a house that is just perfect for us in south Denver.

I am cancer-free and had one very encouraging doctor visit today. Apparently with my type of cancer, the 6 year mark is when my risk for the cancer spreading goes WAY down, but 5 sure is a good sign and we are praising God!! I've adjusted quite easily to the loss of vision and it doesn't slow me down one bit.

So thankful yesterday, singing praises to God in church on Easter, and standing amazed at the power of the cross. About what it means for us eternally, but also what it means for us in this life. There will most definitely be suffering, but we are never left in that place. Christ has secured for us an eternal victory and with that hope, we can worship him here in the valleys and on the mountaintops--whatever the years may bring.

Here's our expanded family 3 weeks ago when Zac baptized Bronwyn:



It's a little hard to get us all in a picture these days. I'll try and get some up from Easter soon. :)