here comes the sun

hallelujah and praise the lord the sun is shining!  and the temp is in the 50's!  this is big news here at the meiste farm.  we are in a mood to rejoice.  so thank you jesus!

*none of the adorables are on any sort of perscription medication!  woot woot

ayla jo had her well child visit and dr lund declared her laungage skills to be "advanced".  i think baby blue wowed her when cupcake asked to see dr lund's toes after showing off her own

* the laundry is (sort of) done!  as my babes continously generate laundry, this is a feat that is never wholly complete.  but.  i can see the laundry room floor.  that is a big deal.  espeically since the laundry room is also the back entry into our house and the door could hardly open.  i know.

here are bear and aylaroo throwing stones into a puddle, and getting super super dirty

*the boys use the word "hauling" constantly and it is beyond precious.  example: mom you are haulin your sandwich (during lunch when i was apparently super hungry and eating quite quickly).  "ayla you are haulin", while she runs around the table

sidebar- baby blue just brought me a boogie and "mommy what is this called?"  eeew

*we got to go ride our bikes outside this afternoon!  my face may be suffering from windburn and the temps were very very brisk, but outside!  and the boys can ride two wheelers!  impressive sons! 

another sidebar- on the way home, bear told me he needed new pants and undies upon our arrival home.  i agreed because he used a wet swing and the wetness seeped into his pants.  and then bear said " yes, and i peed a little okay"  no reason why.  just a little pee

*i got the genius idea to put the nest sleeping bags on the line this afternoon to get nice and fresh after a winter of cuddling.

here we are on thursday morning and there were flurries a flyin.  so thankful for the day of sun to remember and hold us over until tomorrow...

back

we are assimilating to real life again.  life after spring break is made a bit easier with the sweet memories we made the past few days.  the break went by astonishingly quickly.  we saved the best for last and headed to cadillac as a fam for a long weekend of soul rest and rejuvination.

the weather was chilly, the people were few.  we spent the days going for hikes, walks, eating, bonding, snuggling, and enjoying some quality, uninterrupted time together.  amazing.  i treasure these special moments where there is no agenda, other than to just experience one another and savor the place that we are currently.  my favorite parts were:\

bundling the adorables up for a jumpy jaunt on the tramp,

our mini shopping trips for groceries and shorts all together, a true team effort.

snuggling the fam in for the night.

building fires in the fireplace and basking in the warmth around the hearth.

the peace that comes from togetherness

well on monday, we were a family seperated.  by school, work, grocery getting, etc.  truly, everyone was where they were supposed to be.  but my heart was a bit broken at seeing the scattering of boys.  and they had something broken as well.  becuase there was crabbiness and tears and other unpleasantness. 

day after day of gray have not improved the attitude over here.  things are not sliding perfectly into place.  this morning, i dropped a limping max off to school as his toe was still incredibley painful after a tiny collision with bear last night.  there is no swelling, no redness, no evidence of any kind that an injury did in fact take place, but there he was, a pitiful sight. 

sharing is at an all time low with the inclusion of our friday guest.  and my soul is sad for her as her week has been even more of a struggle than usual.  but my soul is sad for my little prinpress who is asked to share all her toys but yelled at when she tries to enter into the playtime.  i am attempting to use this opportunity to teach ayla jo grace.  but that is a hard concept to demonstrate as an almost 30 year old, so i can appreciate the difficulty baby blue is having.

now this post portrays a week of blah.  and that is truly not the case.  we have been partying (happy birthday uncle alex), and playing, and laughing and snacking. 

its just that right now, noses are drippy.  voices are whiny.  heads are achey.  so we are sprinkling a blue day with some sparkley ingulgences.  an extra show.  yoga pants for mom all the day long.  fruit snacks for a morning snack.  a chat with a bestie just for fun.  and those moments are cherished as well, shining bright in the midst of a day during which bear just literally asked me if he could go in time out...

easter

best. day. ever.

the kids were at a peak of adorable in their easter gear.  that bradley alone dressed them in. i bought ayla jo this super cute flouncy and layered pink polka dot dress on zulily and she really rocked it with some sweet slightly high heeled sandals, and weston's undies.  i had a wedding shower saturday, so brad was on his own getting the babes in their easter finest.  i worked on friday evening and what with the shower and the work and all i simply had not folded laundry enough to supply my blue with actual girl panties.  so she wore bear's and didnt mind at all.


we went to church saturday evening and found the zoerhofs reserving a couch in the cafe area so we could celebrate easter together with the children.  after standing in a long line for the promised cinnamon rolls for the darlings, we discovered that the cafe was out.  so we rushed downstairs and purchased some from the commons.  hallelujah.  we settled in and heard the awesome story of saving grace.  it never gets old.  in fact, His mercies are new every morning.  praise the lord.

because this morning i needed mercy.  after a leisurely easter of togetherness and pajamas and lots of fam devotion time during which i asked questions and the adorables received candy if they answered correctly, this morning we headed out of the house for a super ambitious day of playdate and aldi.


maxer's friend from school, basillio, hosted the playdate.  well, his mom did.  they are new to the area and recently built a gorgeous home nearby.  my considerate and thoughtful plan to bake some homemade goodness prior to arriving morphed quickly into whipping some break and bakes into the oven while urging boys and girl alike to get dressed. 

well, we made it.  the adorables all poured through the door and began wreaking havoc.  bear started yanking on the door to the parents' bedroom.  ayla jo began screeching in delight and then terror while getting aquainted with their huge dog jojo.  maxer raced with basillio downstairs despite gretchens pleas not to go in the basement.  once the whilwind calmed a bit, grethchen mentioned that baby oscar had thrown up this morning.  whoa. 

i am a stomach flu phobe.  because eew.  and when i was pregnant i threw up enough for 7 lifetimes, so enough is enough.  and when the babes get the flu, i get overwhelmed.  i despise seeing their bodies ravaged by convulsions of throwing up, their little faces all exhausted and confused, their laundry piling in endless piles of disgusting.  so it took all my self control not to flee the scene immediately. 

instead i kept the children far away from baby and sanitized at every chance before making a less than graceful getaway to aldi.  there was a small period of time where bear was lying on the floor in the throes of a tantrum, but the rest of the trip really went quite well.  once i fed the darlings some cheese danish for lunch, and unloaded that van full, i began preperations for the evening event.

brad had a chiropractor appointment, so the littles and i headed to family video to get some entertainment since this week of spring break is reminding us so much of winter break in terms of temperature.  we then met my dad and naomi for supper at jets where they presented some easter goodies to my loves. 

max was soon bored but found entertainment in taking pics.

i savored food i did not make.

bear crabbed because he felt that bunnies were for girls.



we ended the evening with a quick stop at vanhill to look at a replacement couch.  because ours has holes.  i mean, the adorables are a bit, i mean a lot destructive and once the couches started down the slippery slope of disrepair, it was not long before the disrepair became disgusting.  anywho, we were helped and a bit hounded by a nice lady while max drove the younger two in a double cart shaped like a firetruck.  wow.  that was dangerous.  the saleslady mentioned our "active" family like 87 times in her attempt to make a sale. 

we made it out without major harm.  just a wee bit of damage done to a floor lamp that brad was able to bend back with little to no problem.

whew.  amidst the chaos of the monday, the blessed assurance of easter sunday remained.  the forgiveness undeserved flowed.  the sacrifice unsurpassed covered monday, and tuesday, and every day.  may we live this day in response to the beautiful gift of easter.