First born

The house is relatively quiet and I'm resisting the urge to take a nap. I have been thinking for some time that I haven't actually recorded any of my thoughts about the kids or life lately. My time and mind has been on other things. Peter has been growing and maturing this winter like no other. Practically speaking he weighed in at his allergy check up at 4'5 and 70.2lbs. It's no wonder that I can hardly keep this boy full! His hopes and dreams right now are to play basketball for Duke and become an archeologist. I don't mind so much that he dreams of going to Duke because he knows full well that he has to make some amazing grades to get there! When he's not talking about basketball, his conversations usually fall to some other sport or perhaps a book he's read recently. I am thrilled that he has learned to wash dishes. His love for his baby brother has yet to wane. I love to see the care and interest he show Nathan. Admittingly, there are times when I have to declare Nathan "off limits" in order to keep him focused or to just give Nathan some space! He is bright, loving and respectful and I'm thankful that he's ours.

Beach trip

We stole away to the coast while Philip was with the youth group. The air was crisp; the wind was brisk but it was still the beach.

Flight of Honor

My grandfather had the opportunity to participate in the Flight of Honor. He actually was interviewed by WRAL- TV5.

St. Patrick's Day

It's a little past the date but I thought I would go ahead and post our fun times at a friend's home. She hosted us for a St. Patrick's Day party. The weather was wonderful.

The kids painted murals.

We ate and drank foods that were green.

There was even a contest to see who could wear the most green. The boys seemed to turn this hammock into a boat.

Needless to say there was a lot of shooting going on! Nathan was trying to figure out how to blend in with the big boys. He's getting the shooting noises down pat but aiming is another subject.

Birthday boy

Ryan shares his birthday with my grandfather. As he enters his 5th year my grandfather begins is 91st year. It's such a blessing that we get to celebrate the day together!Ryan is a cowboy at heart; he's been one for a while but just hasn't ha the outfit to prove it. Well, he's all decked out and ready to fight the outlaws.I have to admit that in my 8 1/2 years of motherhood these are the first two toy guns that have entered our possession. Sure we have light sabers and a clone trooper gun thing- but these are the first click and shoot guns. I'm afraid to admit but I will be buying a few more for a certain 1 year old that loves to have possession of the weapon.
I'm glad my grandparents have good stable hearts because when we show up to visit we certainly cause a little bit of a disturbance from their normal quiet routine!
I hope that we have will have many more birthdays to share together!

Oreo Olympics

The kids participated in an Oreo Olympics this morning! It was lots of fun. They built towers;they measured distances
and tried hard not to eat all of them.

Room to breathe

I have to say that I have had a great week. In many ways it felt like a 'staycation'. My parents graciously offered to take Peter and Emma for the week. While the older two were away writing books for this year's PBS Kids writing contest, I had room to breathe. I didn't really know that I needed room to breathe until it was given to me. When strangers or friends comment to me about 4 kids being a lot of work my token response is, "If you can handle two you can handle 4". Though I still believe that, I was pleasantly reminded that there is a huge difference between 2 and 4 kids. We all had room to breathe. Ryan had room to be the big man on campus. He had room to climb to new heights and shoulder the responsibility of being a big brother. We had tea parties, baked cookies, went the the park, made it to story time and read lots of books.
Although, there was some sibling conflictthere just didn't seem to be quite as much! I am looking forward to returning to a family of 6. I hope to find a way to keep the peace, fun and room to breathe that we found this week.

Hair

There's a certain fellow in my home that either needsa bath or a hair cut or both!

we're safe!

Our woods are safe!
Thanks to the Adventures of Robin Hood! I never anticipated that Peter would be able to read the book. It was only $1.04 and I couldn't pass it by. I thought maybe over the summer or next year he'll pick it up. I was wrong. In a matter of about 4 days our life has begun to revolve around Sheerwood forest.
Peter and Emma are spending the week with my parents. They are at "Writing camp"! My mom is helping them write their books for the PBS kids writing contest. This evening while talking to Peter on the phone he couldn't tell me enough how quiet it was there. He kept looking around for Nathan. He really missed him and Ryan too!I tried to encourage him to enjoy the quiet!

Tubes....

We took Nathan to the hospital last Wednesday for him to have tubes placed in his ears. The ENT and surgery staff were unbelievably fast. Thirty- five minutes after we said "good bye" he was back in the recovery room. He took a much needed early and long morning nap. He seemed to have slept off much of the grogginess that the surgery caused. Unfortunately, he seems to have had a virus going into surgery so he's yet to be back to 100%. At least in my opinion, Nathan's vocabulary has skyrocketed since surgery. He will now attempt to repeat words that are said to him and can put two words together. I'm thankful we decided to go ahead with the tubes. I look forward to staying out of the doctor's office for a good long while!

building

While my mother-in law was busy recovering my couch. My handy father -in- law was transforming the copy room at the church. It went from a copy room- where your store things you don't know where to put- to an office! It was an amazing transformation. Bob was patient enough to let the older kids "help" him over the 3 days he worked in the room.
It was a weekend of transformation here in Roxboro!

tattered and torn

After being in our living room for 12 and 1/2 years, bearing the brunt of 4 kids and countless people who have sat upon or even slept upon, our couch has torn.Its' not just any couch, to me it holds precious memories. It is a visual reminder of how God provides even the smallest of details to those whom He loves. I bought this couch just a few months before Philip and I were married. I bought my first piece of adult furniture with money my grandparents had given to me upon graduation from college. I bought this couch at the first place I stopped to look for couches. When I walked into the doors of the furniture store that was literally a few doors down from Philip's house, the owner said to me, "Today's your lucky day. Anything you want is 50% off". Seriously- I asked. I knew I needed to take advantage of this and was determined to find a couch. So, I'm attached! Emotionally attached to this couch. When I looked down a few weeks ago and saw that it was torn, not just in one place but in 3 places, it was crisis mode. I wasn't ready for a new couch. This one holds way too many memories. It's just right. It's the couch I sleep on when we have guests join us. It's the couch that ever so often I get to take a nap on. I wasn't ready to throw it to the curb.
Thankfully, Philip's mother came to my rescue. She saved my couch and extended it's life. Silly, I know, it's just a couch. But I do love this couch.