It's been awhile

Here's the latest news: Violet is crawling! She is on the go, and is venturing outside her safety zone of "the rug" It is fun to watch her crawl around and every day she is mastering the skill better and better. At times while in the "crawl" position she will straighten her legs and stick her behind way up. It is so funny, I wonder why she does this? My concern is what is she going after and what is she going to put in her mouth? It is a bit of a challenge to keep the older children's small toys away from a mobile Violet. Violet went for her 6 month check up today, she weighs 15lbs and 1 oz. She is in the 90th percentile for height, although I can't remember her measurement. After her dr's appt I was planning a big grocery stop, but in the store, Rachel fell apart (unusual for her). I do believe she is tired after getting up so early. So, no groceries later, I am home trying to think up a plan for supper.
This is a picture of Jacob, yes, he is running on the treadmill. He likes being the fastest runner in his class, and this year another boy runs around the track faster than Jacob. So we told him he just needed to keep running and after some practice, he would run even faster. Jacob came up with this idea that over the weekend he needed to run on the treadmill to practice. He ran one mile on Sat and again on Sun afternoon. Come Monday at school, his legs were tired and he still couldn't pass this one boy. So we encouraged him to take it a little easier. He is playing soccer and is running there!

It really warms my heart to see my children playing together. When every one is getting along and having fun, I feel like we are doing something right. Just a dirt pile entertains them for a long time.

I caught Ben reading the girls books before bedtime. This doesn't always happen like this, our evening routine varies. Sometimes I am rushing off to work at 6:00pm, soccer practice cuts our evening short, and homework changes things. Plus, we are pretty good about the 8:00 bedtime, but it makes our evenings just fly by!

Ben's parents were here from Wed to Monday morning, and it was so nice to have extra hands and open arms for the children. We all enjoy having them with us. Thanks dad and mom Bast for all the help you give to us! We love having you here.

I have started working an 11pm-7am shift at work. It touched my heart when I came home, and Jacob poured a cup of coffee for me. He seems to really help out when I am gone. I am trying to do this without a babysitter. Fatigue and I are already close companions and so far, I am managing. My laundry pile is getting huge, and the dust is collecting, but oh well. I am Just thankful I can work as little as I do.

After school fun

This week has flown by, and I am trying to get used to having the days slip away. Some days I getmething done, and other days I think I am going to get something done. We have spent some time outside enjoying this beautiful weather. Here Rachel is in her dress (the outfit for the moment) playing in the dirt. One bonus to living in a constant construction zone is the piles and piles of dirt we have. The kids don't know what it is like to live without dirt! Ben cut down some trees, and left this pine tree for the kids to play on and let me tell you we have walked all over this tree. It is very long/tall, and we have played follow the leader, and practiced balancing on this tree. Ashley loves walking on this tree and even Rachel can walk on this fallen tree.

We also got the baby swing up again, with the rope fixed, so Violet has enjoyed swinging. I also was able to get the garden somewhat ready for fall while she sat in the swing and watched.

Jacob is enjoying 2nd grade. His group of friends have discovered the sport of kickball, so when I ask about school, I hear about the eventful kickball game during recess and who ran the fastest, etc... I guess that's what is important. One afternoon after school I was able to get a quick picture of his afternoon activity of playing cowboy. Hmmmm, once again, I am thankful for dirt.

And of course, I have to include a picture of this beautiful baby of mine, who is just growing so fast and is just amazing. She is near crawling. She gets up on her hands and knees and rocks back and forth and then ends up on her belly. She wants to crawl, but hasn't quite gotten there yet. When I went to work the other night I left specific instructions that Violet was not allowed to crawl. I didn't want to miss her milestone. So the kids were excited to tell me the next morning that every time she got up on her hands and knees, they made her get on her belly again. It also helped that Ben put her in a bag sleeper to make it more difficult.

Now this evening I need to get supper ready. I have been in a slump recently regarding supper plans and ideas. Hopefully I will pull out of it soon. I just feel like I fix the same ole things over and over again. No one here is complaining, it's just my thoughts and we do seem to end up with a balanced complete meal. Just a tired cook dreading the clean up process after bedtime. UGGGH! Oh for a cook, housekeeper and laundry assistant, then I could sleep and play, what fun that would be!!!

Doesn't time fly?

Oh my, how long has it been since I have made an entry here? Let me explain, the best time for me to update is during the daytime, evenings are a little busy with homework, supper, and bedtime. After the kids are in bed I clean up the house, pack bookbags, nurse a baby, and catch up with my husband ( I try, but often fall asleep). So here we are early afternoon, I have 3 loads of laundry that needs to be folded and maybe 2 more that need to be washed. I try to make, or at least have started, supper prep before the kids come home, and at present time, I have a baby here on my lap reaching and grasping things. So I guess that is my excuse for not keeping everyone updated more often. Oh these kids of mine, they are just so cute, I have to take pictures. My problem is getting all 4 in a photo together. Somehow, there is always someone missing, or one child in movement, or one not wanting their picture taken.

Rachel just absolutely loves babies. I have to keep a close eye on her for the safety of Violet. Violet doesn't mind being lifted, rolled or squished by Rachel. Rachel carries her baby around as I do with Violet. Her "baby" is very special and not to be forgotten about. As I care for Violet's needs, Rachel tends to her baby in the same way. The picture below is Rachel crawling into Violet's bed in the morning. How sweet it is to watch her kiss and coo to Violet and see Violet's reaction to Rachel. What a wonderful way to start a day!!

Oh yes, we did go roller skating. What a fun time. It was fun to watch the kids learn how to roller skate and how they coped with the frequent falling and learning to skate. Jacob- he was very confident he knew how to skate and wasn't going to fall. Got on the rink, fell, became very frustrated and after some time, was stomping around wanting to go home. He didn't want help to learn to skate, so I chose to keep on skating myself and before long, there was Jacob skating around the rink. His speed- fast. Ashley, oh she kept falling and falling. She would get up and keep trying. Never complained and I saw tears one time, with a hug and some encouraging words and she was back at it. She did so good! She was skating, loving it, even though she had some sore spots. I enjoyed holding her hand and skating.

Yes, Ben even skated, and he enjoyed it! And dear Rachel, she did get out there, but the music was a little loud, but she preferred to watch with her ears plugged. But she was smiling!! And Violet, did I mention how it's hard to take pictures of the 4 kids? She didn't get her picture taken (oops) but she was there. Watching. I was proud of my kids. They hung in there and in their own way, learned how to roller skate.

What a fun time. Our life is so busy, and the days fly by. I wish I could cling on to them a little longer and savor these moments. This is one season, I don't want to see pass. I love my kids little! I love the stages they are in, but I do enjoy watching them grow, and hope and pray we guide them to be mature, independant, christian adults.

a quick update

Time slips by so quickly, days fly by, weeks disappear and now look at this baby of ours. I smile every time I look over her way and catch her watching me with those big eyes. She is growing so quickly, I am sad how fast time flies and feel like I am not appreciating these moments. I catch myself thinking and saying, this is the last time I get to have an infant, etc.... I even hear Ben saying things like, this is the last baby I get to toss around. He enjoys playing with her and hearing her laugh as he tosses her around.

Rachel and I had some fun with our babies here. I did not include the picture of her baby, but her baby has acquired new clothing. Violet, at times, needs some clothing changes, so of course Rachel's baby doll must also, and I do not have baby doll clothing. We were in the middle of a crisis, when I had this brillant idea of those baby clothes Violet can not wear anymore and sure enough, they fit, so now I can enjoy seeing those infant clothing on a baby doll!! Who would have thought!

Rachel is talking more and more. It is fun to spend time with her! This weekend we had a fun time camping with our church group. Late nights, campfire talks with our friends and even later nights for us adults. There were so many girls that were so willing to help me keep up with my kids. It is so nice to be in a place where other people know my children and if they did forget where I was, people around knew who they were and could get them to me. It is getting really late. I'm not even sure if I'm making any sense. I think it is time to go to bed. Sweet dreams to every one.