Mom & John visit!

My Mom and John finally made it after Hurricane Irene messed up our original plans. Our Labor Day weekend was filled with laughs, lots of swinging, great runs, delicious halibut, fancy wine, farting noise contests :) and just plain great company! My Mom is precious. Unlike your typical grandma. So full of energy! She could keep up with Lukey better than I can! And watching my boys adore her and John just melts my heart. I am so thankful for their relationships. Living far away is hard, so we just love these visits!!!

Lily is taking steps!

"Sissy" as we call her, is now trying to walk!  At only 8 1/2 months!  CRAZY!  It's usually just a few steps, but once she took SIX steps! I saw it with my own eyes!  She will not be outdone by these boys :)  I have a feeling she'll be out there shooting BB's with them... although, she HAS started a new VERY girly scream/whine.  SO girly.  It makes me laugh :)

Lily loves pizza!

My 8 1/2 month old baby girl went from strictly nursing (wouldn't touch baby food with a ten foot pole) to eating table food!  She now has eaten, and loved, mashed potatoes, cantelope, whole wheat toast, and even pizza!  I had to get a few pics of her with pizza sauce all over her face.  It made her look so grown up...  :(  This precious baby girl is such a joy.  I was terrified when I got pregnant with her.  Lukey was just over a year and I didn't think I could handle any more.  How could I possibly be a good mom to 4 kids?!  I fall short everyday, but my heart is so fulfilled, so complete, with each unique one of them.  I live in a world of constant chaos, but I often have to pinch myself when they call ME mommy.  Isaiah, Gabriel, Luke and Lily are amazing little people. 

RAIN!!!

We finally got some rain the other day!  I didn't mind getting some things done inside that get put onthe back burner when we're outside all the time.  The boys made a traffic jam out of all of their cars :)  I thought that was very creative!  

Then we headed outside for a "Thank-You-for-the-rain!" dance :)

So while I was cooking dinner tonight, Luke was playing outside. He hopped into Justin's shoes and clunked around on the porch in them.

The next thing I knew, he was gone! I went outside and saw him managing his way across the yard to see Mr. Billy and Isaiah out in their garden! He kept those things on the whole way and even tried to run! So cute :)

Catching frogs :) something we do just about every day!

Friday morning, we headed out early to do our weekly grocery shopping trip. Gabe drew a picture of Justin to bring with us! He said "Now Daddy can come with us and we can all be together".

feeding the ducks

Do your kids always seem to get into trouble when you're on the phone??? Mine do!!! I was talking to my Mom yesterday and glance out the window to find this! Boys being boys!

my heart is GOOO!

These are the moments that take my breath away, make my heart pound out of my chest, erase every stress of motherhood, and illuminate my purpose, reminding me of what life is all about...

Sleepover fun!

We had the pleasure of having Zach spend the night a couple weeks ago. These guys are best buds :) Zach is such a kind-hearted and imaginative boy. He is always coming up with great games for them all to play. He kind of acts like the ring-leader, not in a bossy way, just very entertaining. I try not to be too strict about messes during sleepovers. I pretty much just let then go crazy, as you can see :)

The next morning we headed outside for some water play. I set up a blanket with toys for Lily but she wanted to be right in the middle of the action! She kept crawling toward the boys :)

Isaiah & Gabe's first soccer practice