When I say that trains are a pretty big deal at our house, I mean that EVERYTHING revolves around trains or has some type of connection to a train. Every item that we own is either truly a train or something that can be (with a little imagination) turned into a train. When the boys peel oranges, they line up the peels on the table in front of them like freight cars. They can play with orange peels for upward of an hour. Jewelry, blocks, cups, lint from the laundry, books, pillows, Barbies, Cheerios, etc. can all make fantastic steam locomotives! When we go anywhere, our family is a train! We have, in fact, left the mall due to a donnybrook about who the engine was on that particular trip. I can only imagine how it might sound to passers-by while we try to soothe and calm the children: "No, Sarah. You have to allow Joseph to be the caboose this time. Sure, Joseph, you can be a red engine. No, Tom, he doesn't have to be blue. It doesn't matter if it is your favorite color. Sarah can be a steam engine if she wants. No, she doesn't have to be a coal car. NO! Nathan is not a lump of coal!" As you can see, it is much more comfortable for me and Matt if these conversations take place at home.

To further emphasize, as I was making dinner last night for the children, this conversation took place:

Sarah: "Mommy, isn't Jesus the greatest gift of Christmas?"

Mommy: "Of course, Sarah. That is so bright of you!"

Sarah: "Joseph says the greatest gift of Christmas is trains!"

Joseph (faintly from the next room) :"Trains ARE the greatest gift of Christmas. T-R-A-I-N-S. TRAINS!"

Oh dear.

"The sheep is going to the North Pole. He IS going to the North Pole! Can you say 'Bye sheep?' Bye sheeeeeep!"

Sick and Stir Crazy

The children are bored. Too many days stuck at home with their colds. The party planner (me) is running out of activities.

The playroom was immaculate when they went to bed. This is how it looked approximately 3 minutes after they woke up. Notice, there are no children to be found. Did they destroy and disappear? Where were they?



Building a fort to keep out the Abominable Snow Monster, of course! (Too many Christmas specials, I suppose.)



The bag of drinking straws kept them busy for a whole 13 1/2 minutes! I was pretty proud of my ingenuity for this one!

Ready for my brilliant (and scholarly, might I add) idea to keep them busy? "Okay guys, let's see how many letters you can make out of the straws!" Joseph made 3...all 3 being an "x" was okay with me. This party planner was whipped!

Oh, So Grateful!

Matt's glasses broke this past week. I am such an incredibly attentive wife, that I didn't notice that he was missing an entire nose pad and that his glasses were so crooked that he was holding his head sideways to keep them on. He looked slightly different. I asked him if he got a haircut or something.

Anyway, last night we went to the mall to get his eyes checked and order a new pair of glasses. Their last record of Matt was from 2007. The opthomologist, instead of scolding Matt for not staying up to date with his appointments, looked in my direction with a condescending expression. Seriously?! Three of my four children were climbing up the display cases of designer glasses. Obviously, THIS WIFE has been a little busy since 2007...too busy to schedule an eye appointment for her better half. And how was I supposed to remember?!? Not only do I consistently have post-partum amnesia (because most of the time, I am post-partum), but Matt is not a squeaky wheel. He patches his pants with duct tape instead of telling me he needs a new pair. He uses No More Tears baby shampoo when we run out of the regular shampoo. He eats pancakes for dinner with a smile on his face.

Our trip to the mall was insane. The children were literally jumping out of their clothes with Christmas excitement. Santa was there. Decorations were everywhere. Christmas music was playing over the intercom. People were walking and breathing.

On our ride home, the children were fighting over whose favorite Christmas carol was on the radio. They all claim to have a favorite, which means that only that one particular child can sing that particular song. Ever. Sarah and Joseph actually have favorites. Thomas just calls every song his favorite...just because he needs to join in the rivalry. I tried to be calm and explain to them (for the bajillionth time) that no one gets their own, personal Christmas song and that we have to share Christmas songs because they were written for everyone. But I lost them somewhere in my explanation (I must sound like Charlie Brown's teacher after a while) because the next song came on and the argument started all over again. Nice.

Later, when they were all asleep, Matt and I did our "rounds". As we were tucking in all four babies with their blankets, making sure they were set for the night, I felt this overwhelming sense of gratitude. God is so good. I began, immediately, to praise Him for every trying moment throughout that day. I wouldn't trade these memories for anything.

New friends

Lisa and Joseph came to visit a few weekends ago. We were so excited to have some special time together...and for our boys to meet for the first time!

Gotta love that tongue!

Nathan is still not rolling over. I begged the pediatrician not to be upset with me. Tummy time just isn't safe at our home. Someone lying on the floor on their tummy is an open invitation to be tackled. The only time Nathan gets on the floor is after 9pm...when the other children are nestled all snug in their beds...and the gates are barring their doors...and there is absolutely no chance that they will wake up anytime in the near future. Poor Nate.

Cookies with Aunt Cookie

We had a tremendous Christmas gift today! Aunt Cookie came over and took care of all of us as we were fighting off colds. She brought cookies, frosting, sprinkles, and much needed groceries. The kids had a great time decorating cookies in their pajamas and foregoing naps for a special viewing of the Polar Express. Thank you, Cooks, for taking the time out of your schedule to pamper us all!

Tommy didn't even bother putting frosting on his cookie before chowing down!

The big sister, making sure everything was done properly.

Aunt Cookie, showing her amazing amount of patience.

Joseph, giving up, going face-first into his cookie.

First Snowman!

The temperature went up to 41 degrees this past weekend. We bundled up the kids and took them out into PERFECT snowman-building weather. Everything about winter is so magical to them. It is intoxicating! I haven't been this excited since I was a child!

"Just chillin' out, doing some peaceful tummy time."


"Okay, this is cool. Joseph is sharing. I like cars."

"I can handle a few more. Tom is just helping me out."

"Ummmmm...what now?"

"Too Much Stimulation!"

Fun at the Garden Factory

We spent the afternoon at the Garden Factory, checking out their train display and getting into the Christmas spirit. We were all so excited to have Honey, Uncle Robby and Aunt Ellen with us!

Trains are a crazy, big deal in our home. I couldn't get Tommy to look away from the layout and at the camera for any pictures. Joseph is only looking at me because I told him I had a train on my head.

Family Photo Night

We had such a great time at Honey and Papa's house. They had incredible amounts of patience and tenacity. I think we may have captured a couple of Kodak moments.

95th Percentile!

We are so proud of Nathan! At his 2 month appointment he weighed in at 14 1/2 pounds!!! He is such a good eater. :)







He and Sarah get along so beautifully...she entertains him all day long.

Halloween

Halloween was so exciting! I have never been more proud of my princess, monkey, dragon and pumpkin...they trick-or-treated right through the snow storm this year!

I also don't know if I have ever been so excited! To capture all of them in a picture is quite a feat these days. Normally, I am lucky if I get Sarah, Thomas and Nathan...and Joseph's foot!

First Day of Schooling

Well, it's official! We are now a homeschooling family! Sarah started the kindergarten curriculum through Seton this past week. Our first day was much more peaceful than I could have hoped. EVERYONE participated! Thomas sat on the floor, at the feet of Sarah and Joseph, and studied his number book with such fervor!




Nathan was VERY patient all day long! Daddy gave him a pep-talk before he left for work, warning Nathan that he might just have to wait an extra 20 seconds to eat that day...just in case Mommy was ever in the middle of something else.

He took the pep-talk to heart and slept most of the day away. (We paid for it that night!)

But most incredible of all were my two oldest. Sarah and Joseph were amazing. They have a desire to learn that just blows me away! They sat still and "taught" eachother...and listened so carefully to all my instructions. I am so proud of our little sponges!

Psalm 128

And then there were 6.

Matt's Children

No, it wasn't a rainy day. No, the children weren't bored. Mommy was having a hard time getting all the chores done. I figured my three little elves could help me with some of the more simple tasks during these last couple weeks of pregnancy. My completely brainless thought: "Matching Socks is practically a game! The kids LOVE matching things! They do puzzles and play Memory...how is this any different?!?! I might even be able to sit on the couch!" So after laying down all the ground rules (like a good Mom), I handed over a basket full of single socks to be matched and folded. Approximately 27 seconds later, it looked like my washing machine threw up in the playroom. Thomas, for good measure, also swiped his hand down the bookshelves...because he is good at it...and he likes to do that type of thing.

Vacation

Our vacation was wonderful! Usually we spend our free days getting projects done around the house. This year was different.



We were industrious in different ways.

We caught up on more important things.

But best of all, we laughed...

and laughed...


and laughed some more!