Ethan is SIX!

Ethan turned six on the third, but I kept forgetting to post about it. Bad mom. Anywho. This year was the first year he did a countdown and actually looked forward to his day. It was really cute and he was super excited.

So, what's up with Mr. Ethan? He has been in kindergarten since August and absolutely loves it! He is so smart and well-behaved - he makes Ronnie and me very proud! He has excelled in everything he's done at school. I remember about the second week of school he got upset one night while he was doing his homework because Mrs. York hadn't taught him to read yet. I had to explain that he needed to know certain words before he could read and he has dutifully learned all of his kindergarten sight words before Christmas! He's working on 1st grade ones now and he's picking them up really easily. And he's reading! He loves when he has to read for homework and gets so thrilled when he can pick out words from random articles, signs, books, etc. He's actually reading on a 1st grade level too! He even enjoys math (are we sure he's mine? lol). He counts, adds, subtracts, does bar graphs and all kinds of cool stuff. He completes a whole week of homework in one night and forgets about it the rest of the time. He even got nominated to be in his school's musical in a few months. I'm just so proud of how well he's doing.

The best news I have about Ethan is that he got saved! Praise the Lord! The Sunday after his birthday I was driving him and his brothers home when he asked, "Guess what, Mama!" "What, Baby?" " I got saved!" "You did? When?" "One night laying in my bed I asked Jesus to come into my heart and He did!" When we got home he ran into the house to tell Ronnie (stayed home sick) and has been telling people ever since. It is truly amazing to see God work in my little boy's heart!

Here are his questions for this year:

1. What is your favorite color? Blue and red.

2. What is your favorite toy? Transformers.

3. What is your favorite fruit? Oranges.

4. What is your favorite tv show? Curious George and Wild Kratts.

5. What is your favorite thing to eat for lunch? Oranges.

6. What is your favorite outfit? Motorcycle shirt and blue pants (jeans).

7. What is your favorite game? Lightning McQueen.

8. What is your favorite snack? Cereal.

9. What is your favorite animal? Giraffes.

10. What is your favorite song? O Magnify the Lord

11. What is your favorite book? A number book.

12. Who is your best friend? Lane

13. What is your favorite cereal? Fruit Loops

14. What is your favorite thing to do outside? Play on slides and swings.

15. What is your favorite drink? Kool Aid - Fruit Punch

16. What is your favorite holiday? Christmas. Because it snows.

17. What do you like to take to bed with you at night? My big horse pillow.

18. What is your favorite thing to eat for breakfast? Bananas and oatmeal.

19. What do you want for dinner on your birthday? Pizza

20. What do you want to be when you grow up? A paleontologist. 

For his birthday we didn't throw a party, but we went to my mom and dad's for pizza and cake. Then on Friday night we got a big group up and went to the 2 hour unlimited bowl to celebrate! We had a great time!

I Survived

This past week was my first week home with my kiddos. And we made it. There were some rough patches, but we all came out unscathed (except for that ugly bruise on Ezra's chin...still can't remember how he did that).

Monday was a holiday so we had nothing on the agenda other than hanging out. And that's just what we did. We slept in, we ate, we watched shows on netflix, we napped. Life was good. The boys even got along pretty well.

Things changed on Tuesday. I was awakened by Ezra throwing up on my chest. Gross. No fever, but he couldn't keep anything down. Great. And I was quickly running out of diapers. Luckily, my dear mother ran to the store for me and got him something to drink and diapers since it was freezing outside and I didn't want to risk a puking incident in aisle 7. The rest of the day was fairly normal, other than sitting around loving on a puny little guy.

Wednesday was Ethan's first day back at school. Since I haven't changed him to a morning bus rider, I had to get all four of us up and to school to drop him off before 8am. No big deal. As a matter of fact, I was something of a super mom because I got them all up, clothed, fed and bundled and still got him there early. Never mind that I didn't shower or anything so I looked a hot mess in the drop off line. Oh well.

Thursday got us off to another great start. Everyone got all they needed and we rolled on to the school at a fair time. Then on the way home I heard that sound. The sound you hate to hear in the car. Your child vomiting all over the place. It's just awful because you know its all over the front of them and you still have to get them unbuckled and out of the safety seat before you can haul them to the water hose because you can't spray directly into the car. No really. It means you're about to get icky no matter what you do. I got him out the best I could and stripped him almost naked before I ran inside to clean him off. (No water hose outside when its still 20-something degrees out.)

To make the morning a little less stressful, the three of us climbed back into my bed and took a nice nap before snack time so we all could enjoy the rest of the day a little better. That afternoon, Ezra went down for his nap and I went to the end of the drive to wait on the bus. I waited for almost an hour. During that time I called the school and was told that nothing was going on and that they didn't know why my child was not home. I finally got in touch with Ronnie and let him know that Ethan was essentially missing and that I was about to flip out. I felt like I couldn't leave my post because I didn't want to miss the bus if it came by, but I felt like I needed to go find him. Ronnie called the school and found out that the driver couldn't find our road and that she had taken him back to the school. I was so mad! How could they not find our road? It's the main road that the bus travels to let off any kid on that bus! We don't live on a side road, but the main road through our little section of nowhere. I finally got to my child about an hour and 15 minutes after he should have been home. I was glad he was safe, but upset with how the situation was handled.

Friday we sent Ethan to school with the threat of "winter precipitation." Around here, we stick to the "I'll believe it when I see it" motto for winter weather. The game plan was to drop him off at school, take Ronnie to the oral surgeon, stop for groceries and be home quickly since the school had already planned to close at 11.00. All was going well until I got a text in the middle of Wal Mart telling me that school was closing an hour earlier, which meant it was closing like right now! There was no way I could get all I needed and then manage to get through one of the two open registers before his bus got to our house so I left my cart and we headed on home. Once we were all home safely we snuggled in for a nice little ice storm and thus ended my first week as a stay at home mom.

Round two: Monday morning. :)

Elijah is 3!

Today is Elijah's birthday and he turns three! It's hard to believe how quickly these few years have gone.

It's funny this year because he understands that he has to hold another finger up when we ask him how old he's going to be and he's been walking around the house singing, "happy birthday to me!" over and over again for two days.

Elijah is truly a special child! He cracks me up with his words...the ones we understand anyways. He now calls me "Ma-he" and he tells us all kinds of the things that make us wonder what goes through that adorable blonde head. Just this week he has taken to carrying an old (really old) camera from a Game Boy around the house, yelling "9-9-1" into it and telling me he's going on a "chire tall!" (fire call). He then puts his "pay her" (pager) into the side of his underwear, puts on a baseball cap, grabs a toy gun, and takes off!

We're not doing big parties this year so we decided to make dinner at Grandma Jackie's house since his birthday was the day that we normally eat there anyway. He chose meatballs so we added noodles and salads for the meal.

Crushing cookies for his cake.

His only true birthday request was a dump truck cake so that's what he got!

This is the first year I've asked him these questions and I got some interesting responses. Enjoy!

1. What is your favorite color? Pointed at orange marker.

2. What is your favorite toy? kitchen - pointed at play pot

3. What is your favorite fruit? pointed at Mama

4. What is your favorite tv show? Boy ones!

5. What is your favorite thing to eat for lunch? Meatball!

6. What is your favorite outfit? Bumblebee

7. What is your favorite game? 1

8. What is your favorite snack? 1

9. What is your favorite animal? shark (said "chalk")

10. What is your favorite song? Started singing Jesus loves me

11. What is your favorite book? read

12. Who is your best friend? TT is my best friend!

13. What is your favorite cereal? 1

14. What is your favorite thing to do outside? knock

15. What is your favorite drink? Kool-Aid

16. What is your favorite holiday? Christmas (yelled)

17. What do you like to take to bed with you at night? a book

18. What is your favorite thing to eat for breakfast? Spaghetti

19. What do you want for dinner on your birthday? Meatballs and spaghetti

20. What do you want to be when you grow up? Bumblebee! I'm gonna transform!

FAQ we seem to be getting...

Since people are finding out about our soon-to-arrive miracle, we're getting quite a few questions. Several of them have been repeated so I thought I'd answer here.

1. Another one?!?!

Yes, we're having another child. We love the three we have and we try our best to take care of them and raise them to be responsible, God-fearing people. Is there a problem with that?

2. Was it planned?

Wow! Can't get much more personal than that, can we? We've been blessed with three wonderful boys, plus a child in Heaven. We don't say to ourselves, "Let's go make a baby right now," but we do pray for God's Will to be done in our family. That said, Ronnie and I both prayed for another child whenever we would be blessed with one. God's timing says that the right time is now so we're happy to welcome another miracle to our home.

3. Is it a girl? I bet you really want a girl! OR Are you going to keep trying until you get a girl?

Well, since you asked. Having a girl at this point is a little scary. We're very accustomed to life with little boys and having a girl would mean a big change in our family dynamic. I've been the only girl in this family since the day Ronnie and I said "I do." I have no problem sharing the role of Queen with a little Princess, but it would be odd to have pink and frilly with all the blue, cars, tools, dinosaurs, hunting gear and such that we have in every nook and cranny of our house. If this child is not a girl, we're okay. If it is a girl, we're okay with that too! We're happy to have another child. Will we have more after this? I'm not sure...we always said we'd like four, but we'll see when the time comes.

4. You do know what causes that, right?

Seriously? Ronnie and I are two healthy, married adults. I think we have figured out what causes babies to be made. I do believe that a good marriage involves this act every once in a while. Maybe more than that, if desired. Ronnie has comebacks to this question. Most of the time I'm either shocked that someone had the nerve to ask that or too embarrassed to use what he says. He did tell my mother when she asked that he "likes it a lot." I've also heard him say, "yes, and I do believe I must be pretty good at it," and "the Bible says to 'be fruitful and multiply!'" Ahhh....love him so much!

I think those are the main ones about pregnancy right now. On to me quitting my job!

1. Won't you get bored?

Ha! Ha! Ha! This one really makes me want to laugh in the person's face. Bored? I have three kids and one on the way - do you really think I'll get bored? If nothing else, I have continuous cleaning, cooking and laundry to do. Don't forget the fact that there are diapers and potty accidents in addition to all the times I hear "uh oh" in a day. Hopefully with more time at home, I'll have more time to enjoy my children before they're old enough to move out!

2. Are you gonna be poor? OR Won't you starve?

Well, we are cutting our income a lot. But we're not paying for child care or gas to run around every day so there will be savings as well. That said, we may not have everything we want (its not like we do now anyways), but I believe God will provide everything we need.

3. What about all the time you spent going to school?

Yes, I spent many, many hours pursuing a degree in education. I enjoyed it at the time. But now we have our own children to care for and I would rather "waste" my degree than miss my children growing up. I can always go back to work when they're older, but right now I want to enjoy them and be around them while they're young and impressionable. Will I go back to teaching? I don't know. Education has changed so much in the past 10 years and is only going to continue to do so. Some changes are good, some not so much. Don't know if I really want to go back. I still tell people I don't know what I want to be when I grow up so we'll see later.

If I come up with anymore, I'll be back to share! Have a great day!

Another Change

So what do these three incredibly handsome guys all have in common?

They're all going to be big brothers in July!!!!!

Stay tuned for more news!

Word for 2013

I've seen several bloggers posting their word for the year in the past. I thought it was a good idea and decided that I need something to focus on this year. I'm not setting resolutions, but I would like to have an idea or a goal for myself for the year.

The word I chose for 2013 is faith. Faith is something I've thought a lot about lately and I feel like I need more of it in all aspects of my life. We've made some big decisions in the past few months and it's going to take faith in God to get us through this year.

A New Year

We rung in the new year at church last night. We spent time with family and friends while we listened to preaching and singing. Ronnie preached his first time at the Watch Night Service and the boys actually behaved well enough for us to stay the night. It really helped that Ezra fell asleep around 10.00. Ethan was kept company by his friend, Geraldine, and Elijah made his rounds between me, my parents and my grandmother. It was a great evening, capped by joining hands and praying out the old year and praying in the new.

2012 was a good year. It had its ups and downs, but we persevered and we're better for our struggles. We dealt with PPD, Ronnie announced his call to preach, Ronnie started a new job, I resigned my position, the boys turned 5, 2, and 1, Ronnie's grandmother passed away, Ethan started kindergarten, Elijah started talking more clear, Ezra started walking and babbling, I welcomed my first niece, we went to museums to see dinosaurs, we camped at the beach for the first time, we had several trips to the ER for the first time ever, Ronnie preached at the church and the nursing home, we sung songs in the van while travelling and we had several movie nights. Ronnie was gone a lot, but we enjoyed the time we had together. The important thing is that we still have one another.

We are so blessed. We are all healthy. We have clothes to wear, food to eat, a place to sleep, a roof to keep us dry and warm. We have a church where we can worship freely, we were able to vote in elections this year and we have a God that loves and protects us. What more could we ask for? Are things perfect? No. Far from it. But what right do I have to complain that we don't have something that someone else does. We have what we have and that's enough. God will supply our every need.

As we look forward to 2013, we don't know what this year holds. I know that after January 18, I won't be working the job I've had since 2006. I don't know if Ronnie will stay at his current job or if we'll be called to do something more for the Lord. I do know that we'll have to have faith and that we'll have to lean on God to get us through whatever lies ahead. Only with His help will we make it.