Mother's Day

I didn't give my mom a proper Mother's day- not one that she truly deserved anyways. Nor could I if I had even tried just a little bit harder, She is worth far more than words on a card and flowers in a vase. She lives her life as a constant gracious example to me. She is angelic in her meekness, selfless in her every motive and Christlike in her every thought and word. She embodies everything that I hope to be as a person and as a mother. Through all these wonderful attributes, she has even taught me to laugh at myself and to find humor in the awkward and goofy things that life hands to us. I am so grateful and so blessed to be her daughter. I am grateful for the eyes that I have been given because of her, to watch her every year of my life. Now, as a mother, I understand the love that she has for her children as I have for my own, I understand all that she did and sacrificed for her children and I can't help but love her and appreciate her even more.`

My Mother's Days have gotten sweeter and sweeter every year. I was able to sleep in while the boys made breakfast and cards. Marshall had all of them helping in the kitchen and even with all the cleaning. (It took him 3 hours from start to finish. I felt really guilty! But really spoiled)

The boys were very kind and sweet in their words and actions and they were also very expressive in their love for me. In their little voices and vocabulary and in their small gifts, I could feel the huge amount of love that they feel for me and it made me teary eyed all day. Marshall gave me the most perfect card that brought me to tears and the boys were so excited to sing a song that they had been working on in primary for the last couple weeks. It was absolutely everything that I needed to hear. I bawled! 

 I know I am surrounded by so much love in my home and that is such a special blessing in my life.

We were able to have some photos taken by the amazing Paisley Ann Photography. She needed models for a mentoring session she was doing and I am so honored she asked the boys and I to be her subjects. I really love that I have been able to capture all sorts of stages of our growing family, I love that we were able to get some beautiful photos of the boys before our new little babe joins our family in a few weeks.

These boys have taught me more about life and it's beauty than anything else in the world. Becoming a mother to these unique little boys has been a jumble of a million emotions at a million different moments. I know that all of my children were sent to me just at time I needed them most in my life. They have taught me a love that truly was heaven sent. 

May: In Photos!

May is on it's way out and I am finally getting a moment to load and post all of our photos from the last few weeks!

Here are some photos of all that we have been up to, it has been crazy! But FUN!

The boys and I (and grandma Debby) visited the cleanest and sweetest little farm. The boys were able to hold the chickens, walk through lots of mud with their boots, chase a chicken and pick it up! (Eli was awesomely fearless, I couldn't believe he did this!) gather eggs from the chicken coop, Eli took one from right under the hen, saying, "It's warm!" I would have pecked him if I were that hen! They were able to milk a goat and feed the baby goats bottles and they were all able to sit on the horse. We LOVED it ! We will definitely go back, it was so awesome. (Squareroot farms in Corcoran, Mn)

-We have been learning a lot of fun and random things at home. Ezra has requested things of interest. In example, photographing us and all the things at the farm- Ezra took a lot of the pictures,  Presidents, current and past. Presidents on money, How microwaves work, Wizard of Oz. Adventures in Robin hood.  How to determine the ages of trees (this was hard! I had to call Marshall!), Tree grain art, Greeks, Bull jumping, and color coordinating our legos while talking about organization and classification, bug, slug and worm collecting and trips to the grocery store with all the boys on my own, we talked about safety,budgeting and meal planning (total success- the boys were a dream!) and lots of other really cool and interesting things. 

-The boys finished their gymnastics class and LOVED it. We are hoping to find another class for them in the future.

-We have celebrated birthdays for friends, Baby showers thrown by my dearest friend(s), mother's day and bridal showers for my sister. It feels like we are partying nonstop over here! 

-I have been especially grateful for my good friend, Tricia for helping me out weekly so I can get to my doctors appointments without kids. She has made something that I was so worried about completely easy and stress free. The boys look forward to playing with her kiddos every week and absolutely love their standing play date.

Last week and This week.

As I sit here and think about all that has happened in our home and family the last couple days, I can't believe all that we've gone through and survived. 

Here are a couple things.

Oliver is a rascal and full on two year old, rascal! He bullies his brothers, He gets into EVERYTHING! Rips clothes out of drawers, all the utensils out of the kitchen drawers, pulls papers down, toys strewn and thrown everywhere, rips pages out of books, school work, You name it! He is a handful. On one particular day last week, I was downstairs doing schoolwork with Ezra when Eli ran up to the bathroom, Oliver was Eli's shadow more than usual this day and quickly followed behind him. I could hear Eli's cries from downstairs and just assumed it was because Oliver was bothering him, but what I didn't know was that there was pee all over the floor, little pee footprints all over the bathroom floor with things from our bathroom drawers IN the pee! As my eyes scanned the floor and worked their way up to the boys faces, I noticed Oliver had his hands completely covered in the boys hair product/glue- I also noticed how he had styled his hair and all sorts of other things he could get his hands on. Eli was traumatized and upset and Oliver was proud of his work. I, on the otherhand didn't know where to begin in cleaning this up. Ezra came through and was a big help with helping Eli get cleaned up. I was grateful to have a shampoo bowl where I could get the product out of Oliver's hair.

Ezra is still working on little creations. This handmade paper diaper was later transformed into a time machine for Eli.

Eli's favorite color is red. And he was feeling pretty confident in his red attire on this morning.

Ezra's love for books is one of my most favorite things about him. We listened to Frank Braum's Wizard of Oz and Ezra LOVED it. We are now into Robin Hood's adventures.

I love how contagious Marshall's joy is when he is on the trampoline- not to mention how giant he looks on it.

With all the paper and crayons out these days, Eli is bound to get in on the action. He asked me to trace his body and as I did, I was so impressed by how still he laid. The last time that I did this, I remember him being so giggly and wiggly.

This happens a lot more than you would think. They boys love all looking together at the same book/Magazine at the same time. I love how they are all interested in (mostly) the same things.

I feel like as a mom to boys my mission to raise these boys with the skills necessary to become confident in their independence. They all had a part in making our spaghetti dinner. They were so proud of their dinner that they all devoured it up! They were complimenting each others dishes. Ezra would say, "Good job on this sauce, Eli, it is delicious!" And Eli would say, "Wow! Oliver, these noodles are great!"

Here are a couple more photos from my phone.

It looks like the boys are watching something here, but they are actually only listening to a song- but they are so happy to be near their dad after he's been gone at work for the day.

Oliver. Being Oliver.

Ezra was hired by a friend to pick up sticks in her yard. He was beyond thrilled to be able to use the wheelbarrow and was even more excited to make a little cash, I am so proud of him for wanting to work and to enjoy the value of work. He is so cool.

Ezra snuck into my room as I was napping and sat at the edge of the bed so quietly. He asked if I was awake and then asked for juice. For some reason, this was a sweet moment for me. He was so considerate of my quiet time, yet so tender in his request. Of course I said yes. 

Somehow Ezra had my phone and snagged a photo of me while I was shopping for light bulbs. 

Selfie. Cause I was able to get some free eyeglasses.

Ezra and I put together this little project for his homeschool co-op and I literally felt like crying the entire time I was cutting and gluing these photos. Ezra is such a joy and such a wonderful spirit in our home, I feel so fortunate to be his mother.

Here's our baby #4-  I am obsessed with his little face.

Belly shots! Third Trimester!

Major respect for Marshall- Last weekend, we were hit with the nastiest bug. Puke was everywhere! But he really held us all together. He was cleaning up all the messes and watching over us as we slept. I couldn't do anything without him.

Oliver was hit first on Thursday night, and took a couple days to recover.  

Then Saturday, Eli, Ezra and I were hit. hit HARD! I am not a puker, and I couldn't keep anything down. It was horrible.

We spent most of the beginning of the week recovering. We all slept SO much and could hardly eat a thing. I had my first "real" meal after 6 days of an uneasy tummy. 

Miraculously, Marshall didn't get it (like we did) He had a "different version" of our bug. He had to stay home from work for a day and half but I think he recovered much easier than I did.

I also helped host a bridal shower for my sister (the same day I got sick) and unfortunately couldn't stay for it. I was happy to have helped put it together for her though. I am getting really excited for her big day in June.

I am ready for some warmer and healthier days. Things are starting to look up over here as we are getting better and back to normal. Thank heavens!