Easter 2010

 

This was the second annual Easter Egg Hunt that Journey Church had held at the Crestview Park Community Center, and the first egg hunt Faith had ever participated in, it was so much fun for all the kids!  There was 5,000 eggs for all the kids to find, and as you can see there was no lack for each child to search for and find!

 Ethan obviously made out like a bandit!  They all had such a great time and we had a great time watching, I kept forgetting to take pictures, I was enjoying myself so much!

Bailey and Ethan Turn 8!

What To Do!

I was working on lesson plans and grading papers one night and Zach was just really having a hard time going to bed.  He kept coming down stairs and wanting me to carry him back to bed and snuggle, and on and on it went. Well, I thought I had chased him up to bed for the last time and then Rob finally got home, he had a late meeting. I told him what had happened, I also told him that I wouldn't be surprised if he found him in the hallway asleep or something silly like that.  He went upstairs and came back down not finding Zach, but then stopped in the dining room, and motioned for me to come in there. 

Zach was asleep UNDER the dining room table on the cold ceramic tile floor!  I had never seen anything like that before!  That silly little guy brought his blankie and his stuffed animal down and crashed on the floor!  He was quiet as a mouse too, I didn't hear him! 

The Training Of A Book Worm

Grace is very well know as our "Book Worm" and she is very proud of that, well, it seems that she is somewhat determined to turn her little sister into one too!  She is constantly sticking a book in her nose, and Faith LOVES it!

 Even if they are on the swings, they have a book!  I joke, but Faith already really does enjoy being read to, and will always bring you a book if you sit down for more than a moment, and we have Grace to thank for that! Uh oh!  Don't tell Faith-but, her book is upside down!

Ethan's Hair Cut?

What happens if you give yourself a funny hairdo with rubber bands and then you can't get them out?  Well, you cut them out, right?  This is the thought process of a 7 year old I guess, but a big ol' chunk of hair came with it!  He came down the stairs when I called him and I could tell immediately what he'd done (how could you NOT notice that big gap of hair missing?!), and of course, he's like "WHAT?!?!" "What?", I ask, "are you serious?"  Nana to the rescue, took him to get a haircut so he did not look like this for Easter weekend!

Snugglin' Sweetness

 I couldn't get my camera to load onto my computer or I would have posted these sooner!  This is from when Faith wasn't feeling so hot, we were all sitting in the family room watching a movie together and Zach and Faith were on the couch between Rob and I.  Zach DOES NOT share HIS blanket (the white one you see), with just anyone you see, he's very protective of this blankie, it's THE BLANKIE!  So, we were so in awe when he put it over his baby sister's lap and snuggled her in next to him and even put his arm around her!  She LOVED it too!  She laid her head on his shoulder and enjoyed the moment!  Rob and I seriously almost cried!  I motioned to Grace to go and get the camera so I could capture this, I want proof, in case they ever think they hate each other!

I really got a kick out them later on when Zach was explaining part of the movie to Faith, she hangs on his every word!  It amazes me the relationship that they have, I haven't ever seen a brother and sister act like they do, he calls her his "Princess", and says that he is her "Knight" and they hug and kiss each other just out of the blue for no reason, they are so much fun to watch interact.  Don't think that they don't fight, or antagonize each other too, they do, and that's hilarious!  But they're sweetness to each other is just so touching.

Playin Outside!

 We are LOVING this warm weather and being able to play outside so much now!  The kids can't get enough and Faith is finally getting her footing, she's starting to run even!

What A Boy Should Look Like!

This is a picture I took really quick last night BEFORE I scolded him for playing in the mud puddles!  I would tell you I was frustrated, mad or upset with him for this, but it was really too precious!  He looked to me just as a boy should!  His big sister came running into the house to tattle (she was MORTIFIED at his appearance!) and as you can tell he was quite pleased with himself and not the least bit afraid of the consequences for his awesome puddle jumping experience!  Come to think of it, having to come inside and getting cleaned up ended up being the only consequences for making such a mess of himself, oh well, I guess it wasn't too much to worry about was it?  I think he knows his Mommy all too well!

Some Kind of a Day

I started out my morning with Zachary climbing into bed with me VERY EARLY (4:30 AM) and coughing almost non-stop which I managed to somehow sleep off and on through until Ethan (who is also sick) brought down Faith to my room who had just woke him up (7:30 AM).  She had kept Grace up quite a bit with the similar coughing that I had just endured with Zach, so I was determined to let Grace sleep in as long as possible.  I began to nurse Faith, who was very congested, and then began coughing, she then got so worked up she threw up all over herself, me and my bed, which Zach, Faith and I were all in!  NICE.
First job of the day-Give smelly and sick Faith and Zach a bath!
Nothing dramatic here, got the job done without incident.
Second job of the day-Feed all the kids breakfast.
This is where I found out that I would not be allowed to set Faith down for the rest of the day without her explicit permission, or there would be shrill screaming and crying!  She is today a MOMMA'S GIRL!
Third job ATTEMPTED-Shop ads and pull coupons.
Not very easy with a tot on your knee!  Thank goodness it was almost nap time!  So then I put Faith down for a nap and tried to get as much done as possible!!!!
I finished my couponing, cleaned up the kitchen some, played with the kids some, blogged some, got some phone calls made, still didn't get a shower or dressed though :(
Okay, Faith's up, back to working with one hand!  Interestingly enough we had a guy come by to measure for siding that was really cool, he actually took time to pray with me on the front porch for a quick recovery of all the kids!  Now THAT does not happen everyday!  I know I looked amazing in my pjs, no make-up and so little sleep ;)  I sure needed the prayer!
Then Nana got here, and it was nap time!  Praise the Lord!  That was MUCH needed rest time!
Soon after nap time there was pure chaos with Zach and Faith, I had put Faith, down to dress Zach, (so she was screaming) because he wanted to go outside to play, and then I was not doing that to his liking so he was screaming (grouchy from his long nap).  My Mom who was playing Monopoly with Ethan jokingly commented with a smile that it was awfully loud in our house.  I said it's about time that they show their true colors when Nana's around!  This is how they REALLY act!
Just then my Mom looked at me and realized that I hadn't even had a shower today, and commented on that.  And this is when (again) I felt just slightly pathetic and almost wanted to cry.  I sent Zach out the door to play, resumed holding Faith got a little bit of work down on the computer and cooked dinner.
A home cooked meal for eight=$5.20!  Quite honestly, I wanted so bad to go to McDonald's, but I just couldn't justify it.  After cleaning up the kitchen from dinner, FINALLY finishing up my work on the computer, I announced that I was taking a shower now!  It lasted all of five minutes (I think) and I cleaned the tub while I was in it :)
So, after Rob was finally home from working his day off and late to boot, we sat down as a family and watched the new movie that Nana bought us today, Where The Wild Things Are, Rob fell asleep, I ran around the house putting Faith to bed, making popcorn, and even blogging for the biz.  Nana snuggled the kiddos and they said the movie was pretty good, Nana cried (I'm sure I'll see it sometime-at least the parts I missed!).
After the movie, I helped get all the other munchkins to bed, and then I left to do my CVS, Dillon's and Wal-Mart runs, and used my almost expired ECBs, and saved HUGE at all three stores.  Was this a particularly crazy or otherwise insane day?  Nope, it kind of through a wrench in it with the kids being sicky-poo, but, if it wasn't that, it would have been another you know?
Now, my house is quiet, and I shall go upstairs and wake my sleeping husband who has fallen asleep in our three year old's bed (again) while snuggling (three hours ago!) and tuck him in with me into our bed!  You know, God is good, I love this life, as hard or stress-filled as it may seen sometimes, what love there is filling these walls!

Zachary's Idea of Decorating

Apparently MY decorating has become dull and boring and needed a face lift, so Zach thought he'd help out, this is what he came up with, tell me what you think, I appreciated that he kept with the colors in flower arrangement and lamps when choosing the dinosaurs for his ensemble!

Ninja Ethan

 

Ethan did this costume all by himself, he collected items from old costumes and scrap fabric, a ski hat, and went to town, he even whittled his own sword from a piece of scrap wood from the garage. This was serious business.  He is so creative.  He has been a Ninja for a few days now, I know that it won't last so I thought I'd better post it fast!

Faith's First Piggy Tails!

 

The day has come when our baby girl can wear her hair in piggy tails!  It's sooooo cute!  It won't all go up yet, but almost, and we just couldn't get enough of this cute new look, even if it was a mess an hour later.

Ouch!

So, every day I come across those who admire my coupon using, money saving abilities, and then there are the "haters", the people who are just so mean, really-quite rude! Like tonight when I was at the store and this guy behind me in line was making funny comments like "Look, she's amazing, she's saving so much money! I can't believe this, looks at all the money she's saving!" When he asked how much I saved and I was very happy to report that it was more than 75% off and that I also got then $12 in Register Rewards back too, he was applauding, the checker then said "it takes so much time though", to which he asked me, "but what do you make an hour clipping those coupons?" For which I could very confidently tell him I make about $100 an hour! Then he set down his cigarettes and his Diet Coke and laughed "I guess I'll pay full price for these!" The checker then said to me, "Well, I guess if you have nothing better to do." To which I replied, I actually have 5 children AND I home school, so I keep busy, thank you. I was quite astounded by her remark and from overhearing her talking about going to school and working at the drug store, I wonder-is SHE going to be making $100 an hour anytime soon? Even AFTER graduation? I highly doubt it.

ALMOST!

I can honestly say that this has NEVER happened before!  And quite frankly I'm a little surprised that it hasn't, five kids running sometimes a bit wild at a fun place like a bowling alley are tough to keep track of! I ALMOST left one of them!  Sadly, this time I had help too!  Anyway, Zach went running from the bathroom after a diaper change (pray for potty-training to happen SOON!) and I thought since our lane was right outside the bathroom that SURELY Rob would see him and catch him as I finished up (thank goodness this didn't happen while I was alone!), but he was oblivious and so Zach made a B-line for the arcade!  So less than five minutes later as we are headed out the door, Keith says, "Where's Zach?" and O my word!  We ALMOST left him!!!!  Thankfully we did not, and he was having quite the time playing with the birthday party full of kids in the arcade!  How embarrassing!  So, above is the face of our 3 1/2 year old stinker, whom we ALMOST left in the arcade at the bowling alley!  Doesn't he look traumatized?