Friday, August 24, 2012

Sweet and spicy...

B.E. is a fascinating child!  I spend much of my days trying to figure out how his head works.  He can be very dreamy and get lost during tasks.  He is very stubborn and only does things when he's ready.  And he doesn't respond to any form of discipline.  But on the opposite side of all of that is the sweetest boy who goes out of his way to show his love.  He takes care of his sisters with the gentlest tone and touch.  He's sensitive and feels everyone else's hurts.  He is the perfect blend of sweet and spicy!

We got to witness just how sweet and spicy B.E. can be this week...

We had a less than stellar week.  The boys have been completely off a schedule due to our summer break and trying to get them situated back onto one has been a struggle.  One day in particular caused my blood pressure to rise quite a bit.  It started with morning chores, after 30 minutes I went upstairs to find Zep and B.E. had yet to complete even one of their tasks.  Then came school, as B.E. complained during almost all of his lessons.  Next was lunch chores, three hours of them goofing off while not completing anything.  B.E. knew I was angry; everyone knew I was angry.

Flash forward to yesterday.  We were getting ready to head out to a homeschool back to school party. I asked the boys to clean their room before we left for the day.  B.E. came up to me and announced that he would clean the room all by himself.  "What? Why?" I asked.  And this is where my sweet Bright Eyes emerged, "Because I was mean to you the other day, and I want to do something nice for God."

If there was ever a moment when I was so proud I could cry, this was one of them.  I scooped up that little boy and praised him and squeezed him to pieces.

I have no doubts that our spicy B.E. will return, but his sweet side balances him perfectly!

***Kawasaki update - B.E. saw his cardiologist yesterday.  He has a beautiful heart and does not have to see the doctor again for a whole year!  

August 24th, 2012

Thursday, August 23, 2012

Isn't She Lovely!!


How can you not fall in love with this face?  The quickest way to cure a bout of frustration is to share a smile with her.  Thank you, God, for this beautiful gift!

August 23rd, 2012

Saturday, August 18, 2012

Sunshine??

I think she may have temporarily lost her shine!


This is her "mean" face!  She's excellent when it comes to her acting skills!

August 18th, 2012

Friday, August 17, 2012

Our sweet baby girl!

Lil' Bit is now 3 months old.  The time has really flown by.  I think we finally found our groove about a month or so ago.  Lil' Bit started sleeping through the night right before she turned 2 months old.  She is now slowly working herself into a pretty workable routine.

We have all loved having this sweet baby girl in our lives.  She is such an good spirited baby.  She greets us each morning with the most beautiful grin.  Her smile spreads throughout her whole face...so big that her little eyes close shut and her mouth grins wide open.  It's precious!

I am truly loving this time with our Lil' Bit.  After four kids, you tend to finally relax a bit with newborns.  Instead of worrying over everything she does, I feel much more peaceful and able to just love on her.  This little girl has grabbed such a hold of my heart.  Our family was absolutely blessed with her addition.  Hubby and I are so excited to watch our Lil' Bit grow into a beautiful young lady!


August 17th, 2012

Friday, August 10, 2012

Happy 7th Birthday, Zep!

I know everyone says this...but seriously, I CAN NOT believe our little man is now 7 years old!  It seems like just yesterday that we were rushing to the hospital to have him.  What an amazing son he is!

Zep is such a smart boy!  As a homeschool teacher, he's my dream student.  He's truly excited about learning and picks things up so quickly.  He's just like his mommy and loves to read.  Most nights he sneak reads using the closet light to illuminate his book.  We allow it...how can we punish the boy for reading?  It's not uncommon for him to come bounding in our room in the morning announcing he read "a whole book" the night before.

Zep is still a HUGE gamer.  He would sit in front of the XBox all day long if you let him.  We bought him Settlers of Catan for his birthday.  It's a great strategy game geared for ages 10+.  I had no doubt that he would love it, and sure enough he does.  We wasted this entire last weekend playing the game all day!  Hubby and I are in heaven...we're both huge game people too!

Zep has wonderful manners...even in his sleep.  His night terrors stopped for awhile and then picked back up recently.  Some nights he'll just casually walk into the room mumbling.  If you try to converse with him he'll always respond with "yes, ma'am" or "no, sir."  I'd love to take credit for this, but it primarily comes from his best friend.  It's very true that your friend's habits rub off on you...I'm glad he has such a wonderful friend.

Zep is always willing to help out.  He may grumble every once in a while, but usually he'll jump up without any question when asked for a favor.

As far as his quarks...Zep rushes through everything.  I have to get him to slow down when doing his schoolwork because he makes silly mistakes.  He's one of those kids that tries to take advantage of times when his siblings are in trouble..."look mom, I ate ALL my vegetables."  He's still not really into independent play.  He's very social and would prefer someone be around to entertain him all the time.  His favorite word..."why?"  As in, "Cole, what's your favorite color?" .."why?"  We're working on not answering questions with questions.  He still can not sit still.  He's moving constantly.  We watched Facing the Giants recently.  He jumped up and down in front of the TV for the entire last 20 minutes when the football team was about to win state.

Happy Birthday to our amazing 7-year-old!

Zep, 
What a wonderful son you've been!  Dad and I couldn't have dreamed up a better big brother for your sisters and brother.  I so enjoy our times together.  Your excitement over the newest Beyblade or the stories you read is infectious.  Your energy amazes me.  Sometimes I look at you and am amazed that you've grown up so fast.  I feel like I blinked and the first 7 years of your life were gone.  You've grown into such a remarkable boy.  I love that you love to be home with me each day!  Our time together is priceless.  Happy 7th Birthday!  You'll always be my baby.

Love, Mom

Zep decided to skip having a big party this year and opted to have one friend stay the night.  He did request a Beyblade birthday cake.  Let me tell you, hubby and I could never work for the Cake Boss!  Zep didn't seem to mind though.


August 10th, 2012

Wednesday, August 1, 2012

Celebrating a friend!


The boys were invited to a dear friend's birthday not too long ago. His mom is a great friend of mine.  She managed to snag her best friend (a party planner) to plan the party for her.  It was awesome!  A complete dirt bike themed party.  Zep and B.E. managed to forget their swimsuits in the car.  I was told that, "they won't get too wet."  Ha!  When I came back to pick them up they were dripping wet from head to toe.  The boys had such a great time!  Happy Birthday, Mr. P!

August 1st, 2012