Reflecting on a Monday, Is it Monday?

No pictures today, I am sorry. I know it has been awhile, and I am not sure I have even taken any pictures recently. (isn't that awful!!!!) Since it has been so long, I thought I better give an update on everyone.

Jacob, baseball is keeping us very busy! Between practice and games it takes three evenings a week. This means keeping him focused on coming home from school, snack, homework, completing chores, eating supper and then going wherever. A big change from our normal routine!! Jacob earned his first game ball this evening. He is pretty proud and is well deserving of this accomplishment. I missed the game tonight, since I have sick girls at home. He loves baseball! He seems to really like sports at this stage in his life.

Ashley, ballet is wrapping up for her. Her performance is the next weekend. So, next week means rehearsal every evening! She is on stage for just a short time, so rehearsal time for her is short as well (thank goodness). Kindergarten is flying by. She is reading really well and does really well in school. I am just so proud of her! We are going on a field trip tomorrow and I am looking forward to spending some time with her. Tomorrow evening the younger classes from her school are putting on their spring performance.

Rachel, she is conversing so well for her age. We have some pretty deep conversations and I sometimes feel like I am talking with someone much older than her 3 little years. She is such a young lady, so considerate of others and such a wonderful help in the kitchen! She loves baking cookies ( we did today) and will "help" wash dishes, anything to work beside me. She is full of personality which is emerging more and more everyday.

Violet, oh my sweet "little one". She is fairly quiet, has yet to find her voice. Her new talents are, waving bye, bye, making the shhhh sign, dada, mama (constantly), sound like HI, and my favorite is the kiss. Friday, I got my first kiss from Violet. She leaned her head to my cheek, with open mouth and made the sound mmmmawww. The sound I make when I give her kisses. Oh so precious!!! her teeth are just ripping her gums! She has 4 new teeth breaking thru! I do believe it is making her miserable. She is no longer sleeping thru the night, and prefers to be held all night while yanking my hair out of my head! I am trying very hard to be patient. This will not last forever! (right????)

In regards to our health, we have dealt with ear infections, strep throat, stomach bugs, viruses causes fevers, flu, ear infections again, strep throat again, more viruses, etc..... it seems never ending. Violet is clear of her ear infections now. Rachel now is the second to start running a fever again. Ashley is coughing and complaining of a sore throat. (I am hoping/praying no strep throat) Rachel was checked today and was negative for her strep throat(thank God!) I guess with four children this is to be expected, but really? Must it last this long? I have tried bleaching and have changed toothbrushes so frequently, but lets get real! Anyway, I don't want to dwell on this too long. I just don't have time during the day to get to my computer. My kids when not feeling well, seem to need a lot of hands on attention. Which they are certainly getting! :)

Next time, more pictures............

Enjoying snow once more!

The children are once more getting a chance to enjoy the beautiful snow. However, it is taking a bit more encouraging to get them out there! Jacob and Rachel have been my snow children this time. Ashley has been dealing with high fevers and not feeling well. So, Jacob is enjoying this new sled!

Rachel, outside, smiling and enjoying herself.

So cute! I was able to go outside and took some beautiful snow pictures.

Ashley has been so brave and strong as she struggles to feel better. I just wish I could take the sickness myself instead of seeing her struggle and be so fatigued, and still able to smile as a camera is aimed at her. I have made a bed on the couch to keep her close to me during the day and night. Often I am on the other couch at night to help her as needed. Today, she is feeling a little more like herself, although she still has a low grade temp.

And little Violet, asleep in her crib, as I wander around with my camera. It was so nice to get outside for a bit while she slept. Oh, I needed some fresh air!! I smile as I notice one sock on and one sock off. A Violet trait!

Saturday our electricity was off from 8:15 to 4:30pm. Now, I thought for sure we were going to be out for days!! Which I believe made the whole experience a little worse for me. I learned how many things we take for granted. The wood stove provided us with warm heat, and we read books, and played in the basement. I did not realize how much I am used to praise music playing in the background, how many times I glance at the electrical clocks, and the joy of running water. I would say I missed the running water the most. Washing our hands, flushing toilets, even cleaning the house! It pretty much put a stop to most things. Even the coffee maker!!!!!! We were melting buckets of snow so we could flush toilets! The kids thought it was a wonderful adventure and after electricity was restored, the kids were playing a game called No Electricity! I was walking around thanking God for the electricity we had. Even woke up this morning expressing my thankfulness for the electricity.

Party time

All week I have been thinking about my Thankful Thursday theme. The kids and I have discussed being thankful for my car which we rely on to carry us to all different places, thankful for our beds that feel so good when we fall into them, thankful for the food that we can afford to buy and then eat, and thankful for the jobs that we have to help meet our needs. I decided on Thursday to focus on being thankful for our health. So many people around us have health struggles and different viruses are causing young people to be ill. Thru all of this, our family has been relatively healthy. Yes, we have minor complaints typical of the season, but overall we have maintained our healthful condition, and I am so truly thankful for that. Focusing on being thankful is such a healthy exercise for our minds. It has helped my children in directing their thoughts. I really should do this throughout the year and not just one month.

Friday night was the great, anticipated party night in Ashley's room. Ashley prepared by making a list of activities and collecting craft items for her planned events(food was not permitted). Jacob pitched the tent in her room, sleeping bags were arranged, and the door was closed to adults. They had one hour to "party" and then we settled them down and this is what they looked like. It was so fun to hear them giggling and having a good time, feeling so grown up without adults! Before we went to bed, we peeked in, and of course had to capture the moment.

What fun they had, and now they are planning the next party!

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!!!

A Wonderful Weekend

It was so nice to have the kids home again, all together. I think they all enjoyed playing together. Here Rachel is playing baby with Violet. Violet has mastered sitting, now onto crawling! And to explain Rachel's outfit, she really wants to dress herself and chose her own clothing. So she can, until we need to go out in public, than we have some negotiating to do. I caught a really funny expression on Violet's face here. She's so funny, always smiling.

On Saturday, we went to a local park where they have a little train that we rode on. The kids loved it!!

Now starting a new week, we will see what kind of adventures this week will bring.