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.
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!!!
