Yes, I Have My Hands Full, Thank You

Everyone has their opinion on nearly everything, but usually people will keep their opinions to themselves in a public place like, say, the grocery store. All this changes, though, when you have children. For some reason, taking one's children into public gives most people the perceived permission to comment.

It's strange, being the mother of 4 small children. Everyone has something to say about it. Well, not EVERYONE, but usually every other person or so. The most common is, "You have your hands full," which is about as useful a statement as, "You cut your hair!" Another common one is "Are all those yours?" (accompanied by look of utter disbelief). Sometimes I wish I had a shirt that says: Yes, we know about birth control and we chose to have this many children anyway.

It's sad to say but most comments are negative like that, even if all my children are dressed to the nines and behaving like angels. On occasion, someone (usually a sweet elderly lady) has something very encouraging to say such as, "Oh, I had 8 kids within 3 years and it was the best years of my life." My favorite from yesterday's Costco trip is, "I bet you can leap tall buildings in a single bound too!" That was a first. I liked that one.

I try to remind myself that being a spectacle like this is a great opportunity to be a light in this world. God says that children are a blessing and motherhood is honorable. And He's not saying that sarcastically! More on that in a later post...

So all you mothers out there, hold your head high with pride, put on your thick skin, and let your light shine!

Fun and Games at The Shire

We love this time of year at our home. What is otherwise a dusty yard is turned into The Shire for a few short months. So as you can see, we have been taking advantage of all this green. We even have grass!

Devin is secretly planning the construction of a fort for the children. Don't know when, but we'll show photos as soon as it's up.

The grass withers and the flowers fade but the word of the Lord endures forever.

Prayer Request

My bother and sister-in-law, Trevis and Rebecca Smith really need your prayers concerning their adoption. They have been working on the process for over a year now. They have a referral: a darling little boy. They so desperately want to take this boy home but the sending government has officially closed the country for overseas adoptions. All adoptions except those with children with disabilities. The government is now working through a review process to determine those who have disabilities and those who do not, that is, who they will send out of the country and who they won't. This is heartbreaking for my family, especially for my brother and sister who have already mentally and emotionally adopted this child and are just waiting to take their son home. Trevis and Rebecca rest in the fact that God is an amazing, powerful, and good God who has total control over this situation, but it's still really hard. We so appreciate your prayers.

Aiden's Favorite Song

For those of you who have known Aiden since he was a toddler, you might remember that he loved to sing Joyful, Joyful. He sang with gusto and surprisingly on-pitch! But as he grew older and more shy, he stopped singing the song. But he never stopped loving it. Here's a duet with Mrs. McElroy, his piano teacher, published with his permission. We aren't proud or anything...

Thinking Outside the (Cereal) Box

This week Vons had cereal on sale for $1.50. Naturally, I bought one of each kind. You'd think Santa had just come down the chimney the way my kids looked as I walked in the house after my shopping trip. The kids were beyond excited, especially to have APPLE JACKS!!!!
Of course I didn't let them eat straight Apple Jacks. It's like kiddie crack. They would eat 5 bowls if I let them. I made them mix it with Cheerios. They still wanted seconds. That led to the question of which cereals I would let them mix together. That got me thinking ... hmmm ... teachable moment!! As I whipped out the Sharpie, the breakfast table turned into a one-room-schoolhouse. We checked the sugar content of each cereal, then lined them up in order of sweetness. BTW Selena, it was all differentiated very well-- you would be proud of me!

Turns out raisin bran had the most sugar....who would have guessed!

Comic Relief

I was blog surfing tonight when I stumbled across Sam Neylan's most recent post about the website Cake Wrecks. If you guys don't already know about Cake Wrecks, you should check it out. It will make you laugh 'til there's tears. Good stuff.

A Rose By Any Other Name... Would Still Make a Beautiful Float

Yes, Geneva's wearing a tutu. But I insisted she change out of her ballet shoes!

My knight in shining armor

Devin with the Hanging Gardens of Babylon (in honor of his Ancient History Readings class!)

There is smoke coming out of the dinosaur's nostrils.

Abby with Abby

Our princess in front of her carriage.

Aiden tipping his hat with Asimo the robot

A modern day visionary in front of Leonardo da Vinci's float

Somehow Jonathan's picture was on a float!

Someday I'll learn how to do one of those snazzy slide shows, but until then, bear with me...