Our Seventh Heaven

Whoa check this out - they're all looking & reasonably happy (except for our wonderful newest addition - Luke Joseph, but he's not unhappy and we can still see him).

And what, who's that?  Mom made it into a picture?!  Who has the camera?  Thanks, Daddy, for taking one for us.  Sure loving this crew!

A broken pot?

You may see a broken pot, but I see a broken heart!  On a school day just before Mother's Day, I was picking up the kids from school.  Leah was walking, so slowly, focusing very closely on a bag she was carrying, with two hands at all times, and with both eyes on the bag.  She made it to the van and got in.  She said it was a surprise and that I shouldn't look.  It was my gift she had made for me.  She brought it home and was keeping it safe for Mother's Day.  She did a great job!  She and Anne had also made a gift for me at home and they had put in carefully up on the mantle in the family room to wait for the special day.  

Well, it may have been Friday afternoon or Saturday when Leah decided she wanted the gift bag from school to also be on the mantle.  She reached as high as she could to push it onto the ledge, and in an instant, I heard crying.  She came running, full of tears, to tell me that she had dropped the bag and it fell on the bricks and the gift had broken.  She was so sad that I almost cried!  She was so proud of her creation and so sad that it broke.  Poor girl.  

After a lot of hugs and reassurance, she felt better about the accident and knew I would love the gift no matter what.  I told her I would glue it all back together, no problem.  That made her happy, too.  So this week, we spent some time planting other flowers.  She planted hers all by herself so that we would have the empty pot to glue back together.  I'm sure she'll help take good care of it this summer!  The cute little gift came with this poem:

"My fingers are the petals.

My thumbprint is the seed.

Put them both together - 

A flower made by me!"

The pot has little finger and thumbprints.  Most definitely a happy Mother's Day for this mom!

Spring Sports in full "Swing"

We had a nice break from practices and now we're back to practice 3 nights a week and typically a game at least one night a week.  It sure is noticeable when that change happens.  But, the kids are having fun and it's enjoyable to watch them.  Hard to believe we have just two weeks of school left!  YEAH!  We are all excited - Mom included!  Leyton & Nathaniel have had 2 baseball games already, Jacob is winding down on soccer games and his baseball games will start in the next couple weeks.  It is fun to watch and really see the difference each year.  These third graders are playing more and more like a real baseball game!  They are both having lots of fun and doing well - making good defensive plays and both hitting the ball.  My competitive nature still makes me want to say more than a mom should, but I think I am doing alright.  Sure is something about enjoying baseball games on nice days!

"...For Once"

I almost had to wonder recently whether I had a teenager in my house.  It was a Saturday evening and the kids were getting ready for bed.  We talked about what time we'd go to Mass on Sunday morning - we basically go to 9am ALL the time unless there's something odd going on.  The boys, especially Leyton, are starting to stay up a little later and sleep in more.  So that evening, I think Leyton must have been tired because I mentioned the idea of 9am Mass and he said, "Oh, sometime can we just sleep in FOR ONCE?"  Funny kid.

One of My Favorite Things

Anne is so joyful all the time and she is just so much fun to be around.  She has a simplicity to her that I love watching at her age.  She knows what she likes and she knows what routine she's used to.  She will typically ask what is planned for the following day and whether I have work, Atrium, or whether her dad & brothers will be home or at work & school.  I have to say, though, that one of my favorite parts lately is seeing the joy in her of having her siblings all home.

If she realizes it's the weekend and her brothers & dad will be home, she is SO excited.  She really loves to have those boys around her.  And they, too, are very happy with her.  Each of them plays with her in their own way and it is so fun to watch.  Lately, she has even wanted to have her bedtime books read to her by Leyton instead of me. She wants Leyton to lay by her.  Jacob is so good at imaginary play with her no matter what the topic of the moment is.  Nathaniel will talk so gently to her and get her anything she needs.  She just seems so happy with all of them.  It's as if that's what makes her day complete.  Don't get me wrong, she really enjoys playing with Leah & Catherine, too.  She & Leah are upstairs right now playing dentist.  I can hear them taking turns calling the next "patient" and they also needed napkins to unfold and put on their shirts like they do at the dentist.

Watching these siblings is so much fun.  If getting to enjoy watching my children with each other is the reward for sweeping the kitchen floor twenty times a day and mopping up milk spills over and over, I wouldn't trade it for anything.

Advice from a 3 year old girl

This morning I was loading the dishwasher after we took the boys to school.  The girls were sitting at the table.  Leah told me she was going to paint Anne's nails.  They sat and discussed their color options.  The next thing I heard Anne say was, "You can NEVER go wrong with PINK!"  With her tone and inflection, it was the cutest thing.

Happy Easter!

What a beautiful Easter!  We had a wonderful time with family.  Grandma Donna & Grandpa Jerry came and stayed with us for the weekend and we all loved having them.  They and the Lees joined us for Easter lunch at Aunt Stacy's with the Robinsons.  We went to the Easter Vigil on Saturday evening again and the kids really enjoyed it.  They did really well and especially enjoy the Liturgy of the Light (just makes mom & dad slightly nervous to have the kids all holding their open flames!).  I tried to catch some photos, but as you can see, the only possible group photos didn't even catch everyone in the shot.  Oh well.  It's tough sometimes to catch them all at once!