Hey Little Bloggie,

I am awake at an unusual hour due to drinking a Diet Dr. Pepper AND a mocha cookies n creme milkshake… both after 4 pm!  (I had forgotten I had the Diet Dr. Pepper- see, I should not be drinking aspartame! Aspartame is linked to memory loss, ya know?)  Anywho… just thought I would do a little update while I’m wired.

Harper:  We begin home school on Monday!  We are both so excited!  I asked her today if she was maybe a little sad that she wasn’t going to a school like her friends at church.  She said she wasn’t sad at all!  She couldn’t wait to do school at home!  Precious girl.  While on my caffeine buzz, I have finished cleaning out our art supply cabinet and gotten everything all ready!  Eeep!  I will definitely try to update more on this! 

A little dress up in my closet.

The boys:  Their little personalities are exploding before us, and let me tell you they are SSSOOOOO different!

Laughing after baths.

Warner:  This kid is a crack up.  He loves schedules, organization, a plan, and following rules.  He knows several sight words and surprised me by reading ‘Happy Day’ the other day on my phone.  He knows so much, and is always telling me things like, ‘Okay, when we get home, we are going to brush our teeth, put on our jammies, read the Bible, and go to bed.  Right, Mom?  Okay??’  Always has a plan this one.

Boys turned 4…FOUR!!! on July 16th

Crews:  He is still the cuddle bug.  He asks me a few times a day to ‘ride on my back’ which means he wants to be carried in the Ergo carrier while I clean the kitchen.  He weighs 40 lbs, but when I pick him up, he curls all up and feels like he weighs about 25 lbs.  (for about 5 minutes…).  He is quite passionate, and has been having a challenge controlling his out bursts.  He is so soft spoken and gentle, yet can turn hot in a second.  His little lisp is just about enough to melt you into a puddle.  He says ‘th’ for ‘f’.’  So, food = thood.    Makes me giggle all the time.  A saying in our family is ‘others first’  I make him say it all the time because it’s so cute to hear..’others thirst.’  Such a little love bug.

Love this ‘smile’

Maverick:  I am giggling just thinking about our raspy, loud, new york accent Mav.  Seriously, he is too much.  Haaaa-pah, whe-ahs your wah-tah?  (Harper, where’s your water?  For example)  He will yell, Mom! Mom! Mom!  for me to say, yes, Maverick?!?!  And then he will answer, I yub you.  Killer.  He also has been playing puppy with his other brother’s lately.  And he named himself Hambone.  Bahaha!  But, now he says he’s a ‘kimmie’ (aka kitty) cat.  He keeps me laughing A LOT!

Haven:  Oh this little curly cue.  She has my heart.  Tonight she filled in the blanks to Jesus Loves Me for the first time – saying ‘me, Bible, so, strong’.  She wants to be soooo big & do everything like her brothers and sister.  She adores Meme (Minnie) Mouse and Meeecky Mouse.  I do believe Grandma Dee Dee (my mom, who lives right behind us!) in her eyes, has hung the moon.  Speaking of moon, she loooooves to find it!  Moooo!!! Mooo!!!!  Oh, and to update from the last post…she started nursing again after her little strike, and is still nursing at 19 months.  Now, I have a new dilemma…weaning.  I do believe she will want to nurse for.ev.er.  I’m beginning to wean her…I think.  But, its going veeerrrryyy slowly.  haha!  She signs milk and says ‘mek’ or ‘meky.’  It’s really cute. Oh, and she finally started walking at 17 months & 2 weeks.  I was almost going to start to worry, but then, she pretty much took a few steps and then started running.  (well, that’s a leetle exaggerated) But, she has definitely caught up to her brothers and sissy.  I’m thankful for the extra time I had her as my baby.  She is definitely a full-fledged toddler now!

She adores bebes.

Chris:  He’s about to start Greek in seminary.  I’m really excited because I want to learn some, too.  I hope to listen in on some of his online classes!  He loves ministry and we are blessed to be at this church.  Cannot believe we have been here for over 5 1/2 years!

Also, we grew really crazy big sunflowers this summer!

Me:  I feel like I’m coming out of a very hard stage with all the babies.  The big 4 are turning into kids, while Haven is entering into the lovely 2 year old phase.  I seriously do not remember much about the boys from about 18mos – 3 years.  I think it was harder than I could process, but we survived! There is nothing else like the pruning that comes from being a mother of toddlers.  But, I’m so thankful and way stronger to have been blessed with this opportunity.  Also, I’m savoring Haven’s toddler phase – (and I also know it passes quickly, so I’m way more chill.)  I can’t wait for this new heart-shaping phase of life.  I hope to update more now that I don’t feel like I’m drowning quite as often, but I also really value sleep.  So, unless I have another forgetful coffee day, I’m not making any update promises…just know I would really like to, but priorities (ahem…sleep!) are TOP priority. Off to wind down before bed.  It’s 12:38 AM…I am wild!

Hanging out on a family vacation!

Kissy kissy,