Passing the Torch?

Spring is in full bloom around these parts. The flowers and the bellies! Our church is sure riding the waves of the next baby boom, or so it seems! Brooklyn has always been our most matronly child and so its no surprise that every time a pregnant lady passes our path she says something along the lines of; "That girl has a baby in her tummy just like you!"

I look her straight in the eyes and remind her for the umpteenth time that we aren't going to be having any more brothers or sisters. That there aren't any babies in my tummy, (who needs more motivation to get to the gym than that?). Last week I think she finally understood what I was explaining to her and that she would just have to accept it.

For now she's content to carry dolls in her shirt and when a pregnant lady passes us she reminds me that one day she'll go to the hospital and get a baby! I am soooooo glad that's a long, long, long way off but I can already see that she will be a blessing as a mom and that is pretty cool.

Egg-citing

This is only our second attempt at Easter Egg decorating. I tend to decorate the eggs and then forget to dispose of them post-Easter until there is a smell that I cannot place. This year I was a little smarter, telling the kids that on Easter Sunday the Easter Bunny will come and trade their decorated eggs for treats! Now I don't have to worry about hurting their feelings by throwing the eggs away too soon, and my house wont smell because I waited too long to dispose of them!

These are the poses with our finished Easter egg creations. Brooklyn is showing Katy the ropes.

Brooklyn cute as can be.

Not sure why she chose the peace sign, but she did, completely unprompted by the parentals.

Katy dropped her egg, which caused the shell to crack, which caused her to put her finger in it, which caused the shell to come off, which then prompted her to bite it, which caused her to spit the shell out. Then mommy peeled it and she tried the hard boiled egg, which she also spit out, apparently not a fan of hard boiled eggs.

Isabella concentrated really hard on her sticker placement.

Nolan watched and ate. Happy as a clam.

Waiting for the eggs to dry was a really long time!

Daddy helped with the dying so we didn't have finger prints all over the house.

Look at all those colours!

Getting ready to decorate some eggs!!

Tea for Two, or Twelve!

For Isabella's fifth birthday we threw a Princess Tea Party. She invited her sisters and all the girls in her class. It was a great time with 12 little princesses crammed into our living room, (I had planned a bunch of outdoor games, but it rained!). Here are just a few pictures, I didn't want to put any with faces other than my girls on here! It doesn't really show the charming chaoticness, but I bet you can imagine! I'm just a bit too tired today to put them in any order. I'll see if I can squeeze in comments though. For some reason it's not letting me type in between the pictures. But there you have it. Food, games, crafts, gifts and giggles. And one very happy five year old girl!

The Path is Paved

I started this week off with totally good intentions. Working out, blogging, house work- the whole nine yards. I have done absolutely nothing. Well not nothing, I read a zillion books, fed and bathed children, made it to bus stops and doctors appointments and cuddled sick children. But I didn't make it to the gym even once, fell right back off the bloggin' wagon and my house, um, let's leave that subject alone for now! You know that old saying about good intentions, hopefully I can change them into reality and start heading the right direction!

Shining Example

About two weeks ago Isabella got her first shiner. I was out of the house, but apparently she jumped over Nick's legs while goofing around and fell forward bouncing her eye socket off of Nolan's head. So the story goes that Nolan didn't even flinch.

It amazes me that just weeks shy of her fifth birthday Isabella is sporting a shiner for the first time. I recently sorted through a million photos and I am pretty convinced that Brooklyn spent her entire second year with a black eye or bruised forehead or rug burned chin. Its like comparing apples and oranges those two.

Isabella loved to recount the story at church and let everyone know exactly what happened. She was rather happy with the attention I think. Which is fine, as long as her story doesn't end with: 'But you should see the other guy!".

Re-LENT-less

March finds one in the midst of the Lent season. For a long time I thought that celebrating Lent merely meant giving up something in order to suffer. It made sense in my mind. What better way to focus on Easter and what Christ did on the cross than by voluntarily suffering? I never got much out of Lent.

A few years ago I learned that my perception of Lent was only half the picture. I had the giving up part right but I was missing out on the filling up. The whole picture of Lent involves not only giving something up, but filling that void with God. So to abstain from chocolate, or TV, or afternoon naps for 40 days in hopes of growing closer to an understanding of the Passion of Christ is most likely missing the mark.

I've had one good Lent experience. It was the Easter after Brooklyn was born, so 2007. I had Isabella and Brooklyn in my care and was in morning sickness/incredible exhaustion mode due to being pregnant once again. Every day around 3:00 I would be ready to throw in the towel. Since that wasn't an option I would head to the pantry, grab a can of Coke, down it in about 3.5 seconds and get on with the day fueled by caffine and sugar. The day was good. Until about 5:30 when inevitably the effects would wear off and let's just say our days were not ending up in a happy place.

For Lent I decided to kick the Coke habit and replace it with prayer. I'm pretty sure that if you stopped by our house during that season of Lent you would have found me on my knees at 3:30 like clockwork, crying out for some divine help, complete with weeping and gnashing of teeth supplied by my babes.

And it was so worth it. Not only to have nixed the daily sugar high and inevitable crash, but also to have learned that the power of the Holy Spirit is there for me all day long, whenever I need it, whatever the circumstances, to get me from strength to strength. The days didn't stop being tiring, the kids didn't start feeding and bathing themselves and then skipping off happily to bed. But I was able, because HE is able, to do those tasks required of me with joy and energy.

Since then I haven't had a good Lent experience. I struggle to find another vice that I have need to rid myself of. But as I pause to consider the 'filling up' side of Lent I know that I have so much further to go in growing closer to God and perhaps I need to shift my focus from throwing things off to putting things on.

Miss Fancy Pants

There is a great bunch of books called "Fancy Nancy", by, um, I forget. They are wonderful stories that say things like; "Mad is too plain for how I feel, I am furious!" and "When I tell my best friend I can't come to her birthday party she is heartbroken." or "I am an azure butterfly. Azure is a fancy word for blue." The whole concept of the book is to teach kids big words without it seeming overwhelming. The illustrations are amazingly fun and the story lines are cute.

Nancy, in the story, is a girl with wildflowers in her hair and a million accessories. She is in fact Brooklyn's twin. (Well maybe minus the wildflowers.) Brooklyn changes outfits at least four times a day. She always has on a headband, one ring, one bracelet, carries a cell phone and the rest varies day by day. We recently received a bag of hand-me-downs containing a tankini, I think size 7. Much too big for either of the girls to wear. Brooklyn has yet to take it off. She wears it like a tank top, which its big enough for, and she matches the rest of her clothes to it. I let her wear it to church, its just a phase right? I put it right back in her drawer after I wash it and when she discovers it she exclaims; "This is my bestest shirt ever, I have never seen it in so long!"

If you're doing something you shouldn't be, Brooklyn will remind you that there is a consequence. If there are toys on the floor that she does not want to pick up she will inform me that it's Bella's responsibility. Where this girl comes up with these big words, I have no idea ;)

She is over-dramatic. She is full of energy. She is hard to keep up with. Every day has a cute storyline with her. She is one Fancy Nancy.

Captured!

I take a lot of pictures, I'm in the thick of organizing like 20,000 of them. Literally. I like most of them. I love many. I could sit and stare for days at a few of them and this is one of those pictures. All on it's own without any story to back it this picture makes me giggle. It makes me want to smoosh Katy up in a huge hug. It just warms the cockles of my January cold heart.

We went to an indoor play center for a birthday party this weekend. There were tonnes of things to climb on and slides, a rock wall to climb, cool bike thingys to drive, a few other play centers I don't know how to describe and a dress up center. Katy and I were going down slides together and in the midst of our running around we found this discarded costume. She put it on and kept on playing. After she wore it a few moments I tried to get her to put it back for other kids to play with and she looked at me quite seriously and said 'My Monkey!'. We convinced her to take it off when it was time for lunch, but she found it again right away and wore it until we left.

I love that she loves to dress up. I love that she likes to do what makes her happy without pausing to consider what others might think. I love that it brought her so much joy. I love that I was there to share it with her. I love that it is forever captured on 'film'.

First time for Everything

I am one of those crazy people who loves winter. I love bundling up in extra sweaters. I love running inside for hot chocolate after being outside. I love the comfort food I make for dinner. I love watching snow fall. I love how excited Isabella gets when she makes snow angels. I love all the celebrations and get togethers that come along when there is snow on the ground.

But not this year.

It has been so cold, and up until last night I could still see grass in my neighbor's back yard. The most time I've spent outside is waiting at the bus stop and that is just not enjoyable. I think this may be the first year I've ever experienced the January blahs. And you know what? All you winter bah-humbugers can have them back! I am not a fan. Not at all.

And the main thing that makes the difference seems to be the lack of white stuff. Not having a few feet of snow around seems to have let the cold air go straight to my heart. I need it back to insulate my reverie.

I want to enjoy the winter season. Being stuck inside with the ones you love, extra time to scrapbook and read. Warm foods and warm drinks. I think I'm going to have to reclaim my love for winter, with or without the snow!

Family Funnies

When everyone is playing quietly, GET SUSPICIOUS!

Side note: Nolan totally did this to himself, he found a capless marker and was trying to get it in his mouth.

Singing with Meaning

I try to make a point of not singing a spiritual song unless I know what it means in my heart. There's a lot of songs based on really great theology and while I know the words I don't really know it and those songs I mostly just listen to and ponder. I find that knowing what the words mean in my heart helps me to connect with the song and really enter into a worshipful spirit on Sunday mornings.

This week we sang a song that I like and a phrase has stuck out to me: 'as I wait I'll rise up like the eagle'. I think I know what that means in my heart, about pressing on in tough situations without letting them have victory over you. But I have been questioning all week whether I know what it means in my life. When I think of things I am waiting on the Lord for, how can I rise up? What does that look like? Can other people see that I'm rising like the eagle, or should they be able to? If I mean what I sing on Sunday morning then my life should reflect it and this week I've been wondering if it does.
(These pics are of the girls in concert. Brooklyn making a surprise appearance at the church concert and Belle at her first school concert.)

Must be Santa

This year I learned a lot about Santa. Mostly from Isabella who has become quite informed since entering school. Did you know that you tell Santa what you want for Christmas and then he brings it for you? (Note to self: take kids to see Santa before doing Christmas shopping next year.) Isabella had a long list, mostly consisting of Barbies and Hannah Montana. Barbies I get, it's an inevitable rite of passage. But who told her about Hannah Montana? Not I. Isabella would decide she wanted something for Christmas and therefore begin asking if we could go to the Mall to let Santa in on her updated list. Too funny. She has not yet made the connection that she can also pester me relentlessly about what she wants to receive which is great! Nolan has no clue. Absolutely. No. Clue. People whom he does not know hold him all the time.
It took a bit of coercing to get Brooklyn to sit with Santa. As soon as she realized she could sit on a stool in front of him she agreed. Then I gave her a candy cane and told her I would open it once she smiled for the picture. If you look closely you can see her trying to get it open while the picture is being taken. Kathryn ran screaming for the hills, literally, hence the reason she is not in this picture. Next year we'll have two kids in school and I wonder what new things about Santa I will learn, and how many times we'll have to go to the mall. ;)

Unexpexcted

From June 2004 to June 2009 I spent 165 of 260 weeks pregnant. Which roughly translated means I spent 3 of the last 5 years knocked up. I wasn't all that good at being pregnant. I don't think anyone would try and keep a straight face long enough to say that I ever 'glowed', and I was uncomfortable, tired and grouchy. The return on those three invested years were well worth it, and I don't miss it. But I am having a hard time letting go.

Since before we even started thinking about making children a reality in our lives Nick and I have always wanted four kids close together in age and we have been blessed with just that! I do have a bit of a sad spot that Nolan is the only boy, but I'm sure he will have many 'brother's' outside our gene pool. It really has been amazing how quickly our dreams of a family became our reality, and although they aren't the 4 rough and tumble boys I pictured in my head in my pre-baby days they are the perfect kids for us!

And now it's time to move on to the next phase of life. Which I didn't expect to be hard. I have become so comfortable living in this space: being physically uncomfortable, not sleeping, living in 9 month chunks, nasuea, stretchy waistbands, swollen feet. When I thought of what I would be leaving behind that is what I thought of. I forgot about being included in the joy of the unknown expectation and being an integral part of God's amazing work of creation. While I was in the thick of it I thought more about freedom from heart burn than the tug of heart strings.

I am excited to see what the future brings, but this hard time saying good bye to the past is unexpected.

Sugar and Spice

Here are some pictures of our most recent photo shoot. The shoot was meant to document Nolan turning six months old and Kathryn turning two, but since you need three shots for the package we dressed up the other two as well. The photographer wasn't anything inspiring, but these girls were ready for their close up and once Nolan got the camera to himself he started having fun! Happy Celebrations Everyone!

Supersize Me!

I love, love, love that we have a 'big' family. I know that when you compare us to the Duggers and the like we are a teeny family, but I do believe we fall in, or at least near, the category of today's big families. And I really enjoy it.This week we did many family things; our Christmas card photo shoot, a meal in a restaurant (gotta love kids eat free!), Operation Christmas Child boxes, family movie night at Belle's school and tomorrow the kids and I are headed for the Santa Claus Parade! It's been a full week, full of fun, full of family. I love that we don't necessarily have to find other people to hang out with, (although we enjoy that just as much). The kids play with each other, they feed off each others moods and every now and then they run back for a little snuggle. I like that they look after each other in crowds and whenever we go anywhere the first thing they do is introduce their siblings, (even to random strangers in the grocery check out line).I am glad we were able to stick out the craziness of newborn days and decide to 'go down that road again' three more times! There are many days I don't have a clue how I'll get through, but I am so thankful that I do because I couldn't imagine our family with even one less person.

Contemplations

There is a great study tool that I was introduced to a while ago. It's called The Truth Project and it is a set of material from Focus on the Family. The basic premise of the study is answering this question: Do you really believe that what you believe is really real?

I've gone through all the material once and am on my second round of small group study with it. So many thoughts, questions, internal conversations all ring in my head and I want to share them, but I find myself struggling to put them into coherent thought patterns. I'm going to keep trying, but for now here are two video clips shown in this week and last week's sessions. Instead of me telling you what I think, tell me what you think.

Watch this.

and This.

I got a haircut. I know it's a good haircut because people did double takes and someone exclaimed; "Amanda, I didn't even recognize you!". I like getting good haircuts.

I've just been through one of the busiest quarter ends since I started my transcriptionist job in August 2006. It has been hectic and I'm a bit brain fried right now. It was also well worth it.

I am trying to get into a regular rhythm of blogging and although I can't think of much to say I needed to keep the rhythm and post something about myself on 'all about me monday".

I am going to see Twilight on Sunday. I may or may not be a little too excited.

I am going to be a single parent for 96 hours this week while Nick goes away to Atlanta. I have something planned each day and am actually looking forward to our events. Sad that Nick will miss them, but happy that I can continue to live life to the fullest with four kids sans husband.

I am going to bed.

The Evolution of a Name

Just before school started for Bella this fall I wrote her name on a cardboard box and she copied it. I thought to myself; "My kid is amazing!".

Then school started and she began learning letters. "I" became a stick with a hat and shoes. When asked to write her name she did: "I". A little Zorroesque if you ask me. Three strokes quick as lightning.
(They're at the wrong side of the line there, hard to see, sorry)

Since then she has been learning more and more letters and her name continues to evolve. (The 's' are usually backwards and being a leftie she starts at the right and goes to the left most often).
I wonder how long it will be before she can write the whole thing perfectly.