Must. Slow. Down.

Spring has finally arrived! Easter has come! Our yard is getting greener by the day!

 

 

This letter from our school district tickled my funny bone to no end. They were missing a set of quarterly reports for my children, Devyn and Joseph. It was a funny phone call to make to the district office, alerting them to the fact that they would probably not ever receive a quarterly report for Devyn...since I am not homeschooling a Devyn...nor have I given birth to one.
Matt and I have decided that Devyn is most likely the child that eats the last cookie on the tray, uses up all the hot water, messes up the children's beds after they make them so nicely and breaks ALL THE THINGS.
Devyn, if I find you, you will be in a terribly long time out.
 



baking. baking. baking.
Hello, nesting.



Hello Baby.
 We love you like crazy and can't wait to meet you in person!



I can always tell which child used the bathroom during my shower. Sarah draws hearts and flowers. Tom draws ships and weapons. Nathan takes cups full of water and throws them at the mirror.
Joseph does math problems.
Math problems, y'all...



After Easter dinner, when Steve left to go back to school and the children were in bed, I came downstairs to this.
Some people see flowers and candy.
 I see work...hours of work.
And then I get frustrated.
And then I get sad: Why do I react to this beautiful mess with frustration?
As a mother and a housewife, I have a ton of growing to do.
SOOOOOO...I sat down at the island and promptly ate more Reeses Pieces than I'd care to admit. And I said a prayer of gratitude: for the special dishes that were gifts from my grandparents at our wedding, for the food that we were so blessed to have, for an overflowing fridge, for all those pots and pans to cook the food, for that counter, for my kitchen, for this house, for these babies that need so many cups and plates to eat from...
and then it happened.
I started crying tears of joy and gratitude.
These babies.
All these babies.
Why we do what we do.
So blessed.
Washing each of those dishes was a joy that night.
(Don't ask about how I felt about dishes the next day. This is a steep learning curve, friends.)



When she goes to sleep, when she wakes up in the middle of the night, when she is cranky...Es wants to hold my hand.
I love this girl.

Getting ready for Sarah's First Communion. So proud of my Koala.



Sugar coma







Impossible. He's still three years old and walking around in purple footy pajamas.

She took my cheese stick and I asked for it back. Her reaction was priceless. I am eternally grateful that I was able to capture the moment. She is HILARIOUS.

Reunited on the First Communion weekend.



Holding Honey's hand to fall asleep..

New Dining Room Floor

Just the beginning...

There are no words to describe how having a new floor put in is making me feel. I mean, really, look at the previous floor next to it. I have bleached and scrubbed that blasted thing on my hands and knees. I love the new flooring and can't wait to let the kids play on it. Matt and Bernie and Steve have been saintly putting it in for me. They finished about half the dining room today. 

I've been on the verge of tears since they started the second row. Maybe it's because we've been down and out with a cold from purgatory, maybe it's because I cry at toothpaste commercials at this point in the pregnancy, or maybe it's just because I'm plain grateful. 

April 2014 begins

Pretending to sleep during reading class. 

We went to Destiny Mall (wow!!!!!) last night. With seven levels and a bowling alley, this mall has it all. The kids were in sensory overload. It was hysterical!

It was wild, looking out onto the city of Syracuse. The reality of it being our new home made me sick to my stomach and grateful at the same time. "How in the world did we get here?" And "What are we doing?" crossed my mind as I stared out the glass windows. 

Then the children started jumping on Matt and I remembered why we do what we do...

Like I say to the kids when they keep asking "why?" : "because God said so!"