Recent Kid Quotes

Andy: "I love you, Ebba."
Annabelle: "I love you, too, Daddy."
Andy: "You love me as good as you can, can't you sweetie?"
Annabelle "Yes, I love you all the way."

This conversation came after she had recently told me she loves me "as good as I can."

Rain Reds the Raspberries
-Sam - May 2014

Late Night Tea Party

Andy took the boys to the park to play some baseball while I stayed home with the girls, which is a very common occurrence these days. (Our yard is too small for baseball, but we are so thankful we have so many fantastic parks so close to our house to enjoy).

While they were gone Annabelle and I decided it was a great night for a nice quiet tea party. So we played with Rosie a bit, did some other stuff and then put Rosie to bed. We got all set up and of course just as we are sitting down to enjoy our tea the boys come trampling home. We had a decision to make... warmly welcome them to join us or request that they let it be a girls only tea party that night.

When we noticed the smiles on their faces and saw how ecstatic they were that a tea party was about to start and they hadn't missed out, our decision was made. We told them they were more than welcome to join us, they just had to not be smelly and dirty :) So as cute as they possibly could be, they quietly went upstairs. They then came down hands and faces washed and completely dressed up in collared shirts and dress shorts! It was adorable. They were beaming - speaking so prime and proper to top it off. We got the extra tea and snacks all set up and laughed the evening away. We even found time to get through another chapter of Little Town on the Prairie.

I've retired to my room for the night to start a friend's second book that was just released yesterday, and I even just ordered myself my Mother's Day gift, a new sewing machine! It's quite simply an ideal way to end a wonderful evening.

The dishes didn't get done, a-gain, but I'm certain they will be patiently waiting for me in the morning. For now, I'm cherishing a rare, quiet and restful evening alone (Andy is out running with a friend) and thanking God for the gift of motherhood that not all who desire get to enjoy.

Is it possible I get to call them all mine?!

Puddle Jumping

Poor pathetic duo stuck inside to watch everyone else having fun in the rain.

Sam has a pretty loose top tooth. He's going to look so cute once it falls out.

Rosie's cuteness finally won out and she joined the big kids outside. Her first puddle experience I believe.

Quite thrilled!

Ebba in Mama's Dress

My mom sent a few dresses from when I was Ebba's age. Here she is in one of them!

7,5,3,1

There Are No Words...

First Half of December Photos

I could watch a sleeping baby all day.

Samuel has been saving up for a long time for his first knife and he finally had enough money. Can't believe a child of mine is old enough to have his own knife.

Younger brother anxiously awaits his turn to have a knife.

Sam's first competition! He did so well. Placed 9th for rings. It was a huge venue and so intimidating. He wasn't nervous at all. In fact here is a conversation we had the day after.

Me: I'm really proud of you Sam for competing yesterday in that huge arena.
Samuel: Really? Why?
Me: Because it was so huge and there were so many people. I don't like doing things in front of a bunch of people.
Samuel: Really? I love it. It makes me feel like everyone in the world loves me.

He never stopped smiling.

Many days before Christmas Joseph had already made, wrapped and had Annabelle's present under the tree. Melts my heart to see them loving on each other on their own initiative.

Joseph dressed Annabelle up in her fanciest dress, put on some music and told her he was going to take her dancing. Oh my is he going to be a fantastic husband someday!

Sam had a holiday show at his gym.

Her last night being zero.

Random Thoughts

I've been compiling a list of random thoughts that don't have any pictures associated with them so haven't ever been blogged about. Here's the list.

Horton Hears a Who - I was never a big Dr. Seuss reader when I was a kid, so reading all of the Dr. Seuss books now with the kids is quite new to me. I just loved the book, Horton Hears a Who. "A person's a person, no matter how small." What an excellent way to express the support of life in all it's stages.

Baby Bird - One day we were studying birds and  I was short on dinner ideas. I made some rice and beans and tried to pull it off that we were going to eat like birds that night. The rice would be the worms and the beans the bugs. They totally bought it! It didn't even have sauce or cheese. I feed them all their dinner just like Mama birds do and they flew around the house and then would come back to me when their mouths were empty. It was a blast. Well, every time Annabelle doesn't enjoy a dinner and is having a hard time eating it, she asks to play baby bird!

Question Time - As a way of building communication with our kids and giving them opportunities to share their thoughts on different things, we came up with the Question Game. Someone asks a question to the whole family about something and then everyone has to answer. It cannot be a yes or no answer. It has been so much fun! I have learned so much from my children and Andy that I did not know. It's also been neat to see what they want to know about us, too. Many times a day it is asked "Can we do question time?"

Parts of Rosemary That are Fat Game - The kids came up with this game. Someone starts first and then everyone goes around and around naming the different parts of Rosie that are fat! Hahaha! It's quite hilarious. I'm well aware that this won't be able to continue forever, but for now it's adorable.

Rosemary's list of nicknames is hilarious... I wouldn't have expected anything less from our family. Daddy is most often the initiator of the names and this time it is no exception. It started with calling her "Rose Puppy" and then it morphed into "Rose Pappy" then that was expanded into "Pappy Lee Lau from the South" and now it's stuck! How ridiculous!

The kids think Rosie's favorite color is white since milk is white. They choose the color white for her whenever there is that option and we joke that she doesn't understand when things don't come in the color white.

November - First Half

Daddy teaching Annabelle how to club throw. She's bound to be a pro. Notice the "bucket o' clubs"

We found this while playing in the backyard - a snakes skin. Which is now housed in the boys' bedroom.

Joe loves cursive!

I love watching them work together during free time.

But, I especially love walking in the room and "catching" them reading their bibles.

Sam off for his first ever intra-squad competition.

I think he just looks so handsome in his uniform.

Andy is hilarious. He bought a bunch of new clothes for his new job and wrote himself a gift card. I opened it after it was delivered and just chuckled. I love his quirky sense of humor. 

Lucy came to visit and we had such a wonderful week with her.

End of October Through Beginning of November Photos

Rosemary is getting really into family worship. She's a pro at playing Fred the Egg!

She never snuggles when she's awake. But, Andy caught her in the act. I cherish this photo!

That FACE!!!

The kids set up the tent for Rosie with all of her favorite toys inside and then had her climb through the tunnel to get to her prizes. She had a blast! They love her so much.

This just about sums Joseph up to a T! He is ALWAYS writing notes, making us cards, gifts, you name it. He decided to put a sticky note up on our fridge to each person in our family. I got such a kick out of Rosie's. All the hair on it and the spell. Then he made one for himself.

My precious little Ebba Sue.

I was out one night and came home after the kids were in bed. Joseph had run out of tape so he clipped a clothespine to the picture and then hung a string between that and another clip to the door. He's a genius in my eyes. Then he wrote "Joseph did." So I knew he did it. Haha!

We don't celebrate Halloween but while the kids were outside playing that night a neighbor offered them a piece of gum. Samuel has been asking us recently about if we thought he was old enough for gum or not, and we said sure. Then he gets some from a neighbor. I think they were more excited about this gum than just about anything else in their lives. Oh to find this much joy in the little things in life. Not sure how Annabelle got away with having a piece too, but she did. Lucky girl.

 We played scrabble with scrabble cheese its. A HUGE hit.

I cannot get over this picture! It looks like she is really thinking hard about her next move. Look at the rolls on her arms!!! I just want to EAT HER!

I made a bag for a friend for a shower gift.

Sporting a new sweater from my Mama.

Joseph decided to take his quiet time downstairs with me one day and I ended up falling asleep on the couch. He must have gotten tired too. The little couch had some things on it so he went into the school room, read some books and then took a nap. Haha! I have no idea why he just didn't go into his bed to sleep.

Me and my precious girls! I love this photo so much.