sick day

this morning, in the hustle and bustle of lunch making and breakfast serving, i noticed maxwell was moving a bit slower. he told me he did not want breakfast.  when i kissed his forehead, my fears were confirmed.  fever.

so heartbreaking to see my my oldest who ussually hungers for outdoors and adventure, snuggle on the couch, only ingesting water and popsicles.  this is when i love harv the best.  whenever maxer is ill, harv snuggles in right by him and does not leave his side. (unless he is harassed by our other son).  max sometimes gets annoyed with the constancy of harv's closeness, but the dog's intuitive companionship is adorable.

this pic was taken on saturday during the 50 degree warm front

the challenge of the day then, other than encouraging max to drink and eat, is keeping the other adorables from the tv.  it is like a magnet.  sickness earns the right to unlimited toons, but a sick bro does not.  so i have been making lots of deals with bear.  he can watch to the commercial, then 5 books.  or a game. or a project. or whatev.  keeps me on my toes.  but bear's bear's brotherly love is beautiful.  every so often, he will tell me he needs to check on maxer and will be right back.  though i suspect a trick to sneak in more max and ruby, he always returns momentarily with a report.

thinking of auntie kels in nyc

ayla jo is not exempt from the tv watching marathon.  she is currently running back in forth from the kitchen table to the living room with my robe sash wrapped around her shoulders screaming super bunny.  also she is wearing bear bear undies...

friday morning brought healing for the oldest, and pink eye for the mama. bring it on

tales of tuesday

we are two days into a back to normalcy routine.  already i was feeling thankful for a day that only one child had to be ready for the public.  in fact, i allowed bear bear to remain in bed until the van was started and maxer and ayla jo were loaded.  when he finally opened his beautiful brown eyes i suggested a quick bathroom break before dressing him in snowpants and a coat on backwards per his request.  underneath his snow gear he wore shorts.  of course.

reveling in maxer's independence, i wore my fave flannel camo pants featuring a hunting dog motif.  baby blue was the cutest by far.  despite her intense case of bed head. 

we returned home and got the middle one fed. the two remaining adorables seemed happy to play wild and free with one another.  until bear requested technology.  a typical request, but one rarely answered with a simple yes.  i gave him an amount of time before we could wii and dove into whatever game or play the babes wanted.  though i attempted productivity in between the barbie/monster truck sale, lunchtime requests and puppies, minimal cleaning happened. 

instead, the highlights included lots of ponies getting arranged and rearranged on various surfaces, bear bear demanding me to draw several kittens until finally i traced one from a book and he settled down, and the creation of a construction paper hot tub complete with mini bear and aforementioned kitten which is now being proudly displayed on our fridge. 

once our fam was complete and brad and max joined the crazy, cupcake expanded her  mantra of "here's a puppy for you" followed by "that's my favorite puppy" to involve two more family members, meaning i heard it even twice as often. 

bear bear tore from the table as he had to go poop.  when brad went to assist him, wes spit on the floor of the bathroom.  brad questioned the spitting and weston denied it.  later he explained he had a bad smell, so he spit it out.  eew.

we spent a little family time with the wii.  the boys are so entertaining to watch.  bear's entire body moves to the race.  max keeps a running commentary in which he thanks the other racers for letting him lead, or asking if he is going fast enough for the other cars.  funny!  brad and i kept glancing at one another with amused grins.

that night, as my daughter and i brushed our teeth together, aylaroo blurted "i like you mommy" and smiled sweetly.  i hugged her close and thanked her, assuring her i love her so very much as well.

this certainly is a happy ever after kinda day.

christmas vacation

on december 21st, two entire weeks of all my babes home full time seemed like a blissfully long and welcome idea.  now, on january 3rd, it seems like not nearly long enough. 

there are definetly moments when the whining reaches new heights and the boys clamor to play the wii and the house is a disaster and suddenly school seems so far away.  but mostly, i am treasuring the extra time with my adorables.  one amazing benefit of sending my children to school is that the burden does not rest solely on me to educate them.  therefore our breaks and vacations can be saturated with play and fun with a little educationalness sprinkled in.

here are a few of the things i best loved this break:
1.  the new nest.  it is as awesome as the typical sat night creation, but is located in our room and occupied all break.  both boys are set up on the floor of our room, right next our bed.  i love waking up and seeing those beautiful faces all snuggled.  even harv has joined the boys on the floor the last couple nights.  not my choice...

2. gaming.  the boys got some really fun games this christmas.  and they are old enough to play competitively.  so much time has been spent playing sorry and spot it.  we laugh and play and make some cute memories.  like today when bear bear was attempting to say sea lion and lost the power of speech in the heat of the moment.  he kept repeating "see!  see!  see!  o, i cant say it!" then he dissolved in a fit of giggles as did maxer and me.

3.  sissie days.  kels was home for a few days and i so enjoyed catching up with my baby sis.  even though we talk frequently, long distance relaitonships are hard.  then, beans took me on a sister day involving mani's, pedi's, lunch, and twilight.  bliss.  on new years day, we bowled with meg and aust, and alex and courtney.  meg and aust then hosted a pizza party at their cute new house.  i am so blessed by dear sibs whom love me and my fam so well.

4.  barn parties.  we have been utilizing the new barn for festivities and have found it a perfect place to party!  we even dragged some christmas decor in there.

5.  puzzle time.  brad bought a 300 piece puzzle for the fam.  i totes doubted that we could handle that extreme of a project.  i was absolutely mistaken.  we had so much fun creating this puzzle.  maxer was amazing.  he was connecting pieces left and right and high fiving the whole time.  i love that even though he is huge, he is still a little boy, not repsectful of personal space and sneakin his way in wherever he wants to be.  bear bear preferred to have me locate some pieces that went together and then pointing them out to him.  otherwise, his interest waned quickly.  ayla jo continously doled out teensy tiny puppies to all participants. 

6.  the slow pace.  wow.  we really snapped right back into the summertime schedule.  sleeping in, jammies all day, soaking in each other's presence.  it felt so beautiful.  minimal agendas were maximum enjoyement.  never once did my children say bored.  love that

7.  the announcement of the healthy howard triplets due this summer and the birth of beautiful baby boy sawyer grassmid.  god is so good and his mercies abound in these new and precious lives!  much prayer covers both of these sweet fams. 

today i dropped off my boys at school again to start up our schoolday routine.  as i watched their excitment mounting during the hectic morning of teethbrushing and mitten locating, i was thankful for schooldays too.  both were eager to see their beloved teachers and friends.  and absence surely makes the heart grow fonder.  so excited to see my boys again and gather my little fam around me tonight knowing the very best part of christmas break, celebrating the presence of christ in our lives, icontinues every day we live in communion with Him. 

2013

happy new year!

we have arrived people.  2013 is here and with it comes blessings and miracles mercies untold.  as we were driving to our traditional siblings bowling new year's day adventure yesterday, brad and i were discussing that new years day is a strange holiday.  the beautiful reminder tucked within the time off work and the opening of a new calendar is the anticipation for the works god will do in our lives in the coming year.  looking back we can see his hand in 2012, and we can hope and have faith that he will remain beside us in 2013, and that promise is worthy of a celebration.

christmas break has brought a lot of family time together.  that is my fave.  i cannot get enough of my hubs and our three babes.  to have them all around more is literally the manifest of my hearts' contentment.  though some of the days have been spent healing from various illnesses, the majority have been spent reading stories, eating good food, partying for jesus, playing with wii and lots of teensy tiny puppies, and nesting.

this year, instead of making a new years resolution that i will promptly fail and soon after forget about, i will be intentionally praying for my fam.  i chose a verse for each of my beloveds and will be praying that over them for a year.  i am so excited to see how god will answer these prayers in the lives of my husband and children.

for brad, "let the beauty of the lord our god be upon us, and establish the work of our hands for us, yes establish the work of our hands" psalm 90:17

brad continues to be our sole provider, financing our fun and our food alone.  that is a big burden that sometimes weighs heavily on his shoulders.  the work of fatherhood is also a daunting task as brad strives to provide for the adorables spiritual and emotional needs as well. i pray that he finds peace and release as he works each day unto the lord.

for max, "because he has set his love upon Me, therefore i will deliver him; i will set him on high, because he has known My name" psalm 91:14

maxer is a smart boy, he has lots of knowledge about jesus and the bible.  this year i pray that max really knows jesus as his savior and friend.

for wes, "for god gave us not a spirit of fear, but of power and love and self control" 2 timothy 1:7

bear is filled with courage and adventure and power and passion.  my prayer is that he begins to utilize his spirit of self control.  because wow.

for ayla jo, "now may the god of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that you may abound in hope by the power of the holy spirit" romans 15:13

baby blue is such a sweet girl, albeit sassy at times.  i pray that her beautiful childhood innocence be filled with hope and joy straight from the source.

i am often overwhelmed with feelings that i am not doing enough with this precious time with my fam.  we are at such an amazing place as a fam, the adorables growing and gaining in independence but still considering their daddy and mommy as their best best friends.  i dont want to waste or miss a moment.  that is a lot of pressure, so i intend to cover them all in prayer, one of the most powerful resources i have as a mom and as daughter of the king. 

lord jesus, i surrender to you 2013.  may we seek you hard this year, relying on you for our everything with the sure knowledge that you are enough.  may your word prevail over our family lord as we strive to bring glory to your name. 

amen