Snuggle with Siblings

Joseph woke up pretty grumpy this morning. After giving him a chance to go back to bed and start his day over he was still struggling to have a happy heart about anything. I was determined to not let his grouchy mood put a damper on the rest of our cheerful attitudes. So, I made him tell me 5 things that make him happy before he went on with his day. A huge smile lit up his face... he said "Posey," One of the many nicknames we have for Rosemary. Then I asked him what else... he couldn't think of anything.. Haha. So, I told him to think of 5 things about Posey that he loves... oh the list quickly gained momentum after that.

I love so much that even in the worst of moods, our precious Posey puts a smile on anyone of our faces.

The story above is not new to Joseph one bit. He has been requesting for weeks that I add "snuggle with Annabelle" as a chore for his chore board. I thought it humorous that he would want to add yet another "chore" to his list, but he insisted. Why would I ever argue with this sort of request?! So, I made it a bit broader since everyone else jumped on board with the idea to "snuggle with siblings". Not surprisingly it's all of their favorite chore of the day.

Lots to Celebrate!

In typical Eckert fashion we're celebrating again. This time Father's Day and Miss Kim's birthday. After church we went on a picnic and to swim at Walnut Creek Park to celebrate these two very special people!

And since we'll be gone on Annabelle's birthday, Rachel brought her birthday gifts to church. She got her a plate, cup, bowl, coloring book and bag all of Hello Kitty stuff, which Annabelle so affectionately calls "Hello Catty" or "Missy Catty". She loves it all! She has worn it on her shoulder almost the entire day. Here she is eating dinner with it on. Haha!

Bunk Beds

Knowing that our weekends have been jam packed lately and that the next two weekends would be filled up as well, he promised the boys that they would be able to sleep in their beds Saturday night.

And being the man of his word that he is - here he is finishing tucking them in. Notice the clock - 11:59!

We put them to bed before this in other rooms and then transferred them into bed while they were asleep. Neither one of them woke up during the transfer. So they woke up in the morning in their beds. It was great!

I think I'm going to attempt to finish the wood somehow after we get back from vacation. Either staining or painting them. Not sure what yet. Or they might just stay like this for the next 20 years!

Marker Obsession

My budding artists are really making progress. It's so fun to watch their skills improve. This artistic mommy is thrilled they love drawing and crafts as much as they do. I love being able to share interests together with my kids.



Action Packed Weekend

Our church meets at an elementary school and members of our church volunteer to help run the school's fundraising carnival each year. It's a yearly tradition now where Andy volunteers and I run around with the kiddos doing all the fun stuff. This year Gigi and GranRan came, so we were able to play man to man for the night, which was super helpful. (Rosemary didn't really count since she's so easy and just hangs out with me in the carrier).

The kiddos showing off their face paints from Miss Kim. Joe got a frog (of course), Belle got a dragon and Sam a dolphin.

Annabelle got some sand art for the first time. They got tattoos and balloon swords and flowers.


We had a campfire with Gigi and GranRan on Saturday night. I just love this picture! The pure love and joy in Robbie's face. She's in heaven when she's with them.

Rosie crashed after church. This was the best I could do to get a picture of her in this adorable outfit.

Annabelle trying to do pushups like Daddy. Haha!

I come around the corner and found her like this. Joe made it for her.

 

Sunday evening our community group was cancelled, so we took the opportunity to get some fun family time at a park. The girls and I played while the guys went on a run then we all met up later. I was able to take some cute pictures of Annabelle in action.

 



Joseph adores her so much. He's always telling her that she's so cute.

She loves her pink catty jacket.

Several days ago Samuel brought me a dandelion to blow all the seeds away and told me to make a wish. I told him there wasn't a single thing I wanted that I didn't already have. He told me that I should wish for another baby in my belly. My heart just sunk. Here he is, the oldest of 4 and is anxious to welcome yet another sibling into our family. I am so blessed to have him as our firstborn. He is so tender with the babies and is so eager to do whatever is needed during any given situation, baby related or not. I have seen him really maturing lately. Its becoming easier to imagine him as a young adult. He reminded me the other day that he only has a little over 3 years until he's 10!

Love these kids more each day!

March Madness

While Joe was away with Gigi and GranRan, Daddy was away on a retreat with men from our church. After we put Annabelle to bed, Samuel and I were able to have a second date night in 2 weeks!

I grew up frequenting the Carrier Dome to cheer on either Syracuse football or basketball. My love for Syracuse sports goes deep. Since Andy would much rather play sports than watch them, I knew if our children were ever going to have an appreciation for March Madness it was going to come from me. So, Sam and I (and Rosie looking the other direction) made a night of watching the March Madness Tournament.

After the Olympics, Sam's only memorable reference to sports teams on TV was countries competing against other countries. It took quite awhile to understand that these were just different colleges. It was so cute. I couldn't help but pull out the US map and turn it into a geography lesson. He now understands.

We had such a great time. We ended up staying up way too late, but it was well worth it. Oh, how I love this kid and all of the moments we are able to spend together.

 

Rosie's view.

 

Samuel wanted Rosemary to be in her rocker so he could lay on the floor and put tons of pillows underneath him to be at the same angle as her and still be able to watch the game. Looks horribly uncomfortable, but he loved every second of it.

Rocking My Baby

Annabelle loves washing windows. Good thing, because her and her sidekicks sure know how to make a mess out of glass.... and well, everything else they touch.

 

Simply put...our home is always dirty. With 4 kids living full-time in our home, I can clean something and moments later it's dirty. I'm consistent about tidying up most areas of our home, but I learned a long time ago to embrace the dirt. And, honestly, I have (in a strange way) grown to love it.

As much as we painstakingly try to train our children to respect property and be good stewards of things, the fact remains that they are still kids. Not miniature adults. Spotless homes with flawless furniture no longer impress me. Instead they just make me uncomfortable because I know that when the visit is through, and my children say their goodbyes they will be leaving their marks behind.

 

Behind every spec of dirt in our home is a story. A beloved son or daughter is behind each fingerprint, each crumb, each piece of laundry, each dirty dish. It means my children can walk, can run, can eat, are growing, and I will even go out on a limb and say, are thriving. The messes that lurk around every corner...It all means that my children live life with me, day in and day out, moment by moment. We are making our memories together as a family inside this messy home and I wouldn't change a thing if I could.

During the first days after Samuel and I came home from the hospital, Andy's mom told me about a poem she had up in their home when she was raising her children. I meditate on it's lesson quite often.

Rocking My Baby

      

Cleaning And Scrubbing Can Wait Till Tomorrow...
For Babies Grow Up We've Learned To Our Sorrow...
So Quiet Down Cobwebs...Dust Go To Sleep...
I'm Rocking My Baby, And Babies Don't Keep.

MomHeart Conference

Several moms from our church traveled down to Durham, NC to attend a Sally Clarkson conference. It was such a blast. The conference was so uplifting and encouraging. It was really fun to get away and spend such quality time with other like-minded mamas. We were close to a very dear friend of mine who lives in NC. Jennifer graciously drove the 40 minutes to come and see us so we could go out together for dinner during a break in the conference. She hadn't meet Rosemary yet so I was so delighted to introduce them to one another.

 

A bunch of women at the conference brought our nursing babies and while a handful of us were out in the lobby Sally Clarkson came over to say hello. She asked to get her picture with us. It was very cute.

I left that weekend with my cup so full. I am so blessed to have such sweet friends to live my life with and to share in all of the ups and downs we face in our many roles as women.

Love Always Begins with Patience

I have a sweet little girl that always wants to help me in the kitchen. I mean, always! Most of the time it's adorable. Other times I'd rather do it all myself, therefore finishing the task multiple times faster.

One thing I'm working on lately as a mama is fighting the goal-oriented part of myself and embrace each moment that my children want to be with me. There are many moments a day where Annabelle desires to spend with me. It doesn't matter if it's to help me do something I'm doing, to have me help her with something, play a game with her, read to her, brush her hair, tickle, hug or kiss; whatever it may be - she simple wants my time. And if I pack our schedule too tight that there is no room in it for a smoothie taking 25 minutes to make, then our lives are simply too busy.

A whole life can be lost in minutes wasted, small moments missed. ~A.V. 

There will be one day she won't be under our roof and I just know I'm going to regret all those times I told her to go play and I'll call her when the food is ready instead of pulling up a chair and getting out her special spatula she loves to use. And even when I convince myself that placing her at the kitchen table with a puzzle while I cook is "just fine" deep down I know it's not meeting that need in her heart to live life along side of me. I'm learning to slow down and let the little ones join me.

Time’s this priceless currency and only the slow spend it wise enough to be rich. ~A.V.

Yes, it means that more rags are soiled, clothes need to be changed, the first cracked egg didn't actually make it into the bowl, fruit needs to be washed and rewashed again because it has dropped on the floor, or the entire jar of salt was dropped into the freshly milled flour. But, oh how sweet that food is going to taste to that child if I hollow out space in our lives to embrace her with joy.

Memories she and I will remember forever.

This Creature...

Is saying 12 word sentences.
Always counts by 3's. "1,3,6,9, ready, go!"
Is as sweet as honey.
Gets cuter by the day.
Has more character than her toddler body can contain.
Turns 2 in a month.

If she was my first kid, I think I would be excited about her milestones, but I'm not. She's growing up way faster than the boys did, and I don't like it one bit. Having her in our family has been such a blessing, but if I had a request, it would be that it would slow down a bit.

Good Friday

We were able to spend the whole day together as a family since Andy had the day off. It was wonderful. The weather was beautiful so were were able to hike a new trail on the Blue Ridge.

Excited for a new adventure.

Each year as the children get older we are able to dig deeper into Jesus' death and resurrection story. We are always amazed at what these children soak up as we watch their understanding deepen. We shared a feast together on Thursday night, and then on Friday, as we went through the day, Andy would share what would have been happening to Jesus at that time. For the first time with the kids, we limited our food intake to just the basics, no special treats or fun snacks for the day. We thought it might end up being a disaster, especially going on a long hike, but it shockingly seemed to have made an impact on the boys. It was a great experience to finally have as a family.

Hiking Dripping Rock

As these treasures grow and their love for the truth deepens, we are daily reminded that we cannot lead these children to the streams of living water, if we ourselves do not know the way. We cannot teach something to our children that we first do not know intimately ourselves.

My first encounter with a Columbine flower. Gorgeous!

Leading by example has never been so challenging. Whether we are trying to teach them to love deeply, to submit to authority, to think selflessly; whatever it is, we need to first have experienced some level of success in that area ourselves to bring wisdom to the situation and to gain their trust and respect.

It is such an honor to be a key factor is these children's futures.

Belle is becoming quite the hiker.

After our hike, we came home to prepare our resurrection garden.

Searching for those perfect sticks and stone.

Joseph was the name of the man in the Bible that buried Jesus.
He was a very bold man of faith. None of the 11 disciples were bold enough
to ask for his body. So, it was fitting that we had our Joseph bury him.

Sadness entered the room as the stone was rolled over the tomb.
Praise the LORD we know the end of the story!

Waiting patiently for Sunday to come.

God sent His son, they called Him Jesus
He came to love, heal, and forgive.
He lived and died to buy my pardon,
An empty grave is there to prove my Savior lives.

Because He lives, I can face tomorrow.
Because He lives, All fear is gone.
Because I know He holds the future,
And life is worth the living just because He lives.

Psalm 133 On Brothers

At the dinner table last night we were reading our Bible and working on our memory verses and we came across this psalm. The boys were so encouraged by it! I just love seeing their continued understanding of God's Word and how it is coming more and more alive in their hearts.

For the word of God is living and active. (Hebrews 4:12)

The precepts of the LORD are right, giving joy to the heart. (Psalm 19:8).

How good and pleasant it is when brothers live together in unity!
....For there the Lord bestows his blessing, even life forevermore.
Psalm 133

Thankful for - Date Night With Sam

Saturday night Samuel and I were able to get away for awhile just the two of us. Joseph went to the movies with Andy on a date earlier this year, but Samuel had never been. So, I was praying for a good kids movie to be out and there was! We went to see Dolphin Tale. It was fantastic. The perfect movie for us to see together. We then finished off the night with some ice cream from Ben and Jerry's.

Us with our 3D movie glasses!

With all that's been thrown our way lately Samuel and I just needed some time to process it all together away from home and just enjoy being with one another. It was such a blessing. This kid blows me away with his insight. There's a reason why we call him Sam the Prophet. I am so proud of the young man he is becoming. Watching him take on the role as oldest sibling and shepherd his young siblings has been beautiful. His tenderness is unmatched. I am so honored to be a part of Samuel's story and watch how God is transforming his heart for Kingdom work!

Gearing Up for Kindergarten!

Despite us all being under the weather the last few days, we are pushing through and finishing up our tasks before the school year begins on the 7th! I found an enormous dresser at a second hand store that I couldn't pass up. It's going to solve my constant issue of how to hide all of our clutter, and now schooling materials. It needed a lot of work, but for the price, I was willing to put in some elbow grease and get it looking decent. But, here it is, finally finished!

So, we're in the process of completely revamping the play room into a school room and have now put all of the play toys (as opposed to learning toys) in the boys room. So, when Joseph is done with his school stuff and Samuel is still working, Joseph can only play with learning toys downstairs or go upstairs to play with the other toys. It's a way to (I hope) keep Samuel focused and not want to stop working. And also because they are getting some smaller toys now that are so hard to keep away from Annabelle. This way if they are in their bedroom and they aren't ready to put them all away we can just shut the door and keep her out.

We took this out of the playroom and now the boys have their trains, lincoln logs, tinker toys, big legos, small legos, cars and trucks in here in their (gasp) bedroom. I have fought tooth and nail for over 5 years to never have toys in the bedrooms, but here we have it. Never say never, I suppose. They are quick to get into and put away and, most importantly, satisfy this very anti-clutter mama!

And now to go find a new home for all of this stuff before I completely have a heart attack!

Things already done:

• Spent countless hours of prayer, research, interviewing veteran homeschool moms, reading countless books and blogs all to figure out the best way to structure this year. Tips always welcome!
• Registered Samuel through the city.
• Bought materials needed.
• Finished the dresser.
• Repainted the bookshelf.
• Painted the school table white.
• Purged our toys, books and supplies.

Things still to do:

• Organize the school room.
• Wait for 3 books in the mail.
• Figure out if we are going to supplement our curriculum with more math.
• Finalize our name!

I guess that's not so overwhelming now that I look at it and see what we've already done and have left to do. I do know we're all going to get a good laugh out of this entry for years to come. It's all gotta start somewhere, right? I cannot wait to see where our homeschooling years are going to take us. What an exciting escapade we are about to undertake!

***************************

All of those thoughts are juxtaposed against what I read during my quiet time this morning.

Continually restate to yourself what the purpose of your life is. The destined end of a man is not happiness, nor health, but holiness. The only thing that matters is whether a man will accept the God Who will make him holy. At all cost a man must be rightly related to God. ~Oswald Chambers

It sure puts all of this hustle and bustle into getting all of our school things 'just right' in the next few days into perspective. None of that matters unless my heart is in a right relationship with the one who made me.

So, here's to a school year that is full of learning about letters and numbers, plants and animals and vowels and consonants, but most importantly here's to a year that is full of learning as a family what it means to be rightly related to God.

Siblings... One of God's Greatest Gifts

No matter how many children we end up having, I believe carving out frequent one-on-one times with each child is crucial to their development. So, while Samuel was gone doing his various activities last month, those times naturally lent themselves perfectly for Joseph and I to spend time alone together. I was able to really connect with Joseph, focus on him as an individual and do the things that he loves to do. It was a very special time for us both.

But, as nice as it was, there was still a noticable void for Joseph. The bike rides just weren't as fun, the games not as exciting and Mommy sure doesn't play swords quite like Samuel.

Conclusion: Mommies are great, but sometimes all a boy wants is a brother!

We have enjoyed so much watching our children's relationships with each other blossom into such deep friendships. We pray they will only grow deeper with time.