My Girls

-Taking in the scenery on this evening's bike ride.

"You don't know what it's like to be the oldest."
She's right, I don't. I was the youngest and I was spoiled, or so I've been told. But I told her that God put her in the position she is in for a reason. And everything that she experiences while she's in this house will make her into the adult she is to become.


Your oldest children are your Ginnie Pigs. They are the ones that get you before you read up on the parenting books. They get stuck with the curriculum that you discovered was not as great as you hoped. They are the ones that get the hardest chores. They are the baby holders, the little sister chasers, the sandwich makers... my biggest helpers.
I can't begin to tell you how much I appreciate them and how much I depend on them.

While sitting on the swing with Paige, watching the kids play, I said "In about 5 years, Joshua will be old enough that we wont have to keep an eye on him every minute. All the kids will be big enough that we can relax and go to the park without running after any babies. Wont that be nice?"
But then it hit me - Paige will be 17 in 5 years. She will be almost out of the house. When I have the opportunity to give her my undivided attention, she'll be too old to want it.

The time is now to savor every moment, to take any opportunity I can to spend a quality moment with my still young children, to have a quiet conversation while we swing, to take a bike ride after the little ones are in bed.

They enjoy playing with Grace. They love snuggling with Joshua. Who wouldn't?
My goal for them is that they benefit and develop stronger character from the added responsibility of their position in the family.

Some day they'll look back and say, "Remember when Grace was two and..."
And Grace will be there to hear the story because they are taking the time to build a relationship now that will last for the rest of their lives.


Well, here's hopin' anyway...

That's what Aunts are for.

"no, Grace, you can't have it."
Is all I heard. I don't even know what she was being denied. But she let out a whimper and ran to Aunt Kathy, who, of course, picked her right up. And this is the sly little grin we got from over "Kaka" 's shoulder.

Swingin good time

Now, you know me...

I'm not afraid of mud. And I never mind the kids getting a little dirty. Good thing, huh?



So Courtney decided to wash the car for me. It took her over an hour. Well, the car was very clean but it left the driveway really muddy, and the boys took advantage of it.



But that was Ok, it's just mud, it washes. It was what happened in the attempted clean up... I wont bore you with the details, let's just say it involved a trapeze act with the shower curtain and water dripping from the ceiling and you can just use your imagination.

Apparently, it's not a good idea to leave two 6 year old boys int the tub and expect them to actually wash themselves.

So anyway, I found these pictures on my camera later that night, taken, I'm assuming, by Courtney. They weren't funny then, but it's been a few days.
I'm over it.

The Roll

You don't think this kid is Italian, do you?

Civil War

We witnessed the Civil War this afternoon. Or rather, Gennesee museum's reenactment.
I didn't have the best view of the battle but the kids were able to squeeze up to the front and Courtney took lots of pictures for me.







A couple notable quotes...
Abraham Lincoln asked Jacob if he was going to join the Army. He sheepishly shook his head no.
"How old are you?"
"Six."
"Well, in two years, you can join the Navy."
"Oh, I'm already in the avy."

One man was telling a crowd about how they traded the Indians for fire water.
"Do you know what fire water is, little boy?"
"Yeah, it's the Red Sea."

Roll over... I'm crowded

How did I get all these babies in my bed?
Our morning routine - Grace gets out of her crib with the help or whoever she decides to call for that day, and immediately runs for my room, baby doll in tow, jumps up into bed with me (and Joshua) and places baby doll just right, then lies down on the other side. Um, for about 30 seconds. Then she's bouncing all around the bed, falling all over me. She's kind of a brute. I've tried to doze for a little while despite this, but I've learned that when Grace is up... every one's up.

Oh yeah, Tonight while we were eating dinner, Joshua suddenly started crying. I thought, "He sounds muffled. Did he pull a blanket up over his face?"
No, he was on his tummy. He rolled over for the first time (yeah!) and we all missed it.