my three little swimmers...

Here are our five for Friday.

-Grammy and Isaiah Visit-

Grammy and Isaiah surprised us at the end of last week with a dinner visit.  

 The boys decided to join Isaiah in a little study time.

-Swim Night-

Friday night we headed to the Y swimming pool and had it pretty much to ourselves.  We enjoy the warmth of the therapy pool.  Amos is working on swimming without his floaty, but he wasn't too happy about.  Silas got a lot more confident in his floaty, and Ivan is ready to dive in on his own.

-Movie Night-

 We saved family movie night for Saturday this week.  It's been fun trying to find movies that both kids and adults would like watching.  Also, we always pick out a fun treat to make it extra special.

-Friends visit and the Bounce House-

We had an exciting week with Music class with the Corcoran's on Monday and then our friends, Rachel, Scout and Rhuey visiting on Tuesday to celebrate Scout's birthday.  We hit up the Bounce House to party.  It just happened to be the most happening place in town that day.  No one minded though.  Scout and Amos picked up right where they left off.

This guy got in on some major jumping too.  He had no fear.

And this one wouldn't stop moving long enough for me to grab a picture...

We took Chick-fi-la back to our house and then played, played, played.  We were protected by all the superheros!

-Normal Happenings-

Other than that, it's been a pretty normal week.  This guy keeps getting bigger and bigger and wanting to do lots on his own.  Including eating a banana, which remains one of his favorite foods.

Lots of brother hang out time.  I love when I come down to find them all gathered together!  They're pretty good about including Ivan in play, as long as there isn't something that he can destroy and then he becomes the IVAN MONSTER!  Watch out!

 Lots of lego love this week.  Dad got in on the action too!  Amos has a little trouble with wanting anything he builds to be exactly like the picture.  I understand the struggle.  We're working on using our imaginations to make whatever he wants.  We all have more fun that way!

my three little dates...

- Chick-fi-la with Mom -

After a Saturday of being at home without Dad for most of the day, we loaded up the car and headed to Chick-fi-la.  We used our Chick-fi-la card and ate for ALMOST nothing! Score.  And then we got some crazies out in the play area and made it home just before Dad arrived!  Score.

- New Member's Sunday - 

We officially became members of our new church, Christ Church of Joplin, on Sunday.  We had already gone through a Introduction class and me with our pastor, but it became official on Sunday and the church welcomed us.  Being in a place of transition is hard, but we have definitely felt the Lord directing us and are excited, happy, nervous, and expectant about the place the Lord has us in now.  

-Firefly Class-

We started the week off with a bang with homeschool with the Corcoran's and then trying out a new local preschool time called FireFlys.  We split up our kids into age groups and took them on two different days.  The kiddos had a blast and it was fun to get out in this cold weather and do something different.  I got to go with the older two, MaKenna and Amos.

-New Baby-

I haven't mentioned much about Baby #4 on here.  But, he has a name.  It's Conrad.  This is the first time we have ever known what we are naming our child before going to the hospital.  And it's fun.  We talk about Conrad.  We pray for Conrad.  We talk to Conrad.  And Amos includes him when he is telling stories.  It is sooo fun!  Conrad means 'bold counselor".  How cool is that?  That would definitely be our prayer for him.  We are not sure of his middle name, but it will start with a J and most likely one syllable.  Because I like similarities.  Amos Jack, Silas John, Ivan Jude, and Conrad???? Suggestions?

He's nice and healthy in my stomach.  The weeks are flying by.  It's a good thing I get a weekly e-mail, or I would have no idea how far along I am...somewhere past half-way??  Due date is May 12th and I am constantly praying that he will not be bigger than Ivan (9lbs 6 oz).  Join me in that prayer please.

We're all really excited about him, except for maybe Ivan, but he doesn't know that yet.  More to come.

-My men -

Boys, boys boys!  They are so fun!  The littlest one has been walking everywhere with his hands behind his back.  It's one of the cutest things ever.  He's like my little butler following me around.

His other big thing this week is dropping that morning nap.  Halelujah...hold me.  I'm not sure how I feel about it, but it is happening.  He's awake more and we are learning how to entertain the monster.  Jason said THE funniest thing to me last night.  He was trying to read with the older boys and came and told me that Ivan was being really distracting...ha.ha.ha.  I said, "Welcome to our day!"

Here's one method of entertainment.  Take everything out of the cabinet and bring it to the stairs.  I kept seeing him leave the room with the bowls and decided to follow him.  He was pretty proud of this creation on the stairs.

 And then there's this.  You probably can't tell, but all the boys are up in their room with Dad on the bed.  This was last night while I was getting dinner ready and it made my insides warm.  Can I get an AMEN for Dad time!  I love it, they love it.  All around win!

Jesus calms the storm this week.  The ones in our hearts and the ones on the water.  This can be re-enacted with foil bots and lego men!!!

my three little movers...

We're into week 2 of back to school after Christmas break.  We've been taking it pretty easy for the most part and have enjoyed our time back into normal and rhythms.  Here's our top 5 for the week...

-Our Rhythms-

 Jason and I like to sit down before going into a new season and plot out some rhythms we want to shape our time and our week.  One of our rhythms is family worship night.  This grainy picture shows all our musical talent and I'll let you imagine the sound on your own.  Amos knows some new songs from church and he gets so excited when we sing them all together at home.

-Roller Skating-

Our Parents As Teachers does a great job putting together fun activities for the kiddos in the community.  This is the second year we have participated in the Roller Skating day.  My sweet friend, Nyss,a offered to watch Ivan so these two and I were rolling all over the place.  They had a blast, yet again.  Amos titled this day "Best Day Ever."

-Playdates-

Being in town a couple times this week meant lots of playing with friends. And chatting for Moms! Amen.  New scenery and new people can make a BIG difference some days.  We stayed home all day on Wednesday and Amos came in and told me that this wasn't his funn-est day.  I had to let him in on the secret that some days are going to be like that. Amen?

Sidenote:  this little man is ALL about closing doors.  If it is opened, it should be closed and used to play peek-a-boo!

-Beautiful Weather-

I continue to be "blown away" by how beautiful the weather is right now.  We have been outside getting refreshed for most of the week.  It is amazing the difference it makes.  Ivan is loving using his new skills at walking to maneuver uneven ground.  He thinks he's pretty big stuff.

-Homeschool Planning-

As of right now, we are planning on homeschooling Amos next year instead of sending him off to kindergarten.  I've been busy researching, brainstorming and planning this week.  It's definitely a life-giving endeavor for me and I'm loving it. 

Jason has been really busy this week with school, school and church.  Yes, that was two schools. He's starting a new program through PSU to certify him in TeSOL.  He's been really excited about it and now we're jumping right in.

We are ready for a fun weekend at home!  Maybe the weather will stay nice a little bit longer.

my birthday weekend - 29

Our first week back to "normal" was better than I expected.  We were all ready to get back to a more predictable routine, so I think everyone appreciated it instead of fighting against it.  

The gym, learning, chores, and predictable evenings were all welcomed back.  All the new gifts were part of our entertainment too.  

To Ivan's delight, his older brothers are including him a lot more in their play.  He was in heaven being pushed around by Si.

Isn't this a delightful picture?  They were helping me make a snack-granola.  I'm trying to train them early when they are still excited about helping.

One of my favorite parts of our day comes right after lunch.  We set a timer for 15 minutes and everyone reads - including Mom - their own book!!  Here's Ivan even participating in the fun.

On Friday, we packed our bags to head to Grammy and Gramps house.  They offered to watch the boys so that Jason and I could have a date night to celebrate my birthday.  We celebrated first with lunch out at Subway!

After dropping them off, I drove back just in time to shower and get ready to go out with this guy.  We hit up one of our favorites - the Kinaree.  And somebody got adventurous and tried mussels.  We also learned that our spice level is only a 2, not a 3-which both of us ordered.

The next afternoon, we headed back to Kansas and celebrated my birthday with the whole family.  I got this wonderful surprise at the end of the meal.  

"29" It's the year of living it up!  And then I remember I'm going to have a baby in 4 months.  Maybe I'll live up next year!

I sure am blessed with these sweet boys.  The Lord knew I needed good ones if I was going to have 4 of them!

 Here's my due date buddy!  Bring on them boys!

the new year 2016

Our past several New Year's have been super laid back and uneventful!  We've made a point to set aside time together after the boys go to bed to talk over our goals, dreams and plans for the new year together!  It's been pretty wonderful.  And an inspiring way to start the new year.  This year was a little different though.  We celebrated with friends!  What's that?  Novel, I know!

NYE involved the Kirkpatricks coming over for a nice simple dinner of pizza and finger foods.

The most exciting part was documenting the New Year WAAAAY before it actually happened by wishing it a VERY HAPPY BIRTHDAY!  Nobody here minded eating cookie cake a little early.

Jason and I still squeezed in our hot chocolate and goals after everyone was gone and boys were asleep.  Neither of us made it to the New Year ;)

The next day we started a new (hopefully annual tradition) of having the Eden's over for a laid back day of snacking, catching up, and enjoying!  The kiddos played so well.  We ate so well.  And in the end, felt like it was such a good way to thoroughly enjoy the start of the year.  I hope we have many more years just like this.

Our last HURRAH of the Christmas break was on Saturday when we loaded up to head to Arkansas for some family hiking.  It was a perfect day for it.  All we wore were our jackets and felt great in the sunshine.  

All of us were in AWE of the wonderful trails.  Amos kept saying that we should move down here.  I think Jason fully agrees.

The boys found a trail for mountain bikes that ran parralel to the paved trail.  The had fun exploring all the created jumps on the more exciting path.

Ivan wanted to be a part of that too, but I told him he was going to have to get a little bigger.

Amos also kept saying that this was the best day ever.  And he isn't one to always say that, so I think it was a good decision for how to end our break!

We ended the day with Mexican!  Woohoo!  That's how we roll.  This is the second time we've been to this little hole in the wall place.  It's very authentic, and we love it!

HAPPY NEW YEAR!