The biggest kid in our family

No, I'm not talking about my 6 ft son! So, today, as I was almost taken out by this male in the household as he ran for someone at the door. I thought maybe it would be good for me to show a few pics our dog Ryker.... One of Livi's favorite meal time buddies. So, this morning, as I was trying to get kids out the door for school, Livi was a bit demanding - surprise, surprise- so I put her in her highchair and handed her 1/2 a pretzel rod. Let's just say, she was happy and so was Ryker. When Ben saw what was occurring between the two of them he completely grossed out. You would have thought he was the one with Rykers saliva in his mouth as he "bleh" and "pwah" and "yuck!" all the way to the door. Let's just hope that Livi and Ryker become the best of friends and that Ryker is patient with her... especially as she is so close to walking! I love my kids and yes, I do love my dog... even though he sometimes makes me crazy!

Okay, kids are tucked into bed.. whoa, it's before 9pm - that might be a record for this month! 
So, unless I have lost count, which on some days isn't hard for me to do, we are on to kido number 3...


Anna - She is about one inch shy of 5' (about 2 inches taller than Kaelyn) and has a personality that explodes in every direction! She looooves anything "artsy", loves to dance to music, loves to laugh and to make others laugh, she loves dramatic interrpretation (if you know what I mean) and absolutely loves to hang out with her friends. She hasn't really decided whether or not she wants to play a musical instrument but she loves music and sings her little heart out as she lays in bed trying to go to sleep. This summer, she and Nic decided to attend a rock climbing camp at which Anna - being the lightweight that she is - just excelled very quickly. (Why can't our kids pick inexpensive hobbies???  Is there such a thing anymore?) 
Anna loves to run upstairs and grab Livi (her baby sister) from her crib the second she hears her make any noise... and then quickly says, "here Mom".  I love that our girls are such great friends! There are many days they are at odds about something but, even on those days, they usually quickly make things right and get on with playing together... most days. Lol


Benjamin - Where to start with my little man... He is about 4'6" tall and has about the same size shoe as his sisters. He absolutely LOVES crocs. He wears them so much that he has worn through 2 pair in this past year.... if you know anything about crocs - that's saying something! His new favorite "game", "thing", "toy".... not even sure what to call it, is playing "bayblades ". He and his buddies all huddle around his plastic bay blade stadium and then on the count of 3 they pull their rip sticks. They all cheer - rather loudly of course - waiting to see whose bayblade is the last one spinning. Somehow, this keeps him and his friends relatively occupied for several hours at a time. He still loves to play Lego's, loves listening to music, reading, making cookies with me - as long as his hands don't get messy - and loves leaving early on those special mornings to go grab donuts with Daddy before anyone else is up and ready to eat breakfast. He is super tenderhearted and absolutely loves to sing and read to Livi.


WHEW - four down and one more to go! I know, some of you are probably thrown for a bit of a loop! Yes, after being taken on a crazy wild journey - it would take quite some time to explain - we added a 5 child to craziness of our household. Someday, I might try to revisit that journey and bask in the perfect timing and graces given by our amazing God. 


Olivia - She usually goes by the nickname "Livi" but we alternate enough that she probably thinks she has two names. She turned 9 months Dec 5th, weighs about 19.5 lbs and is 28.5 in long. She is crawling everywhere, actually she is not far from walking! She already transfers herself from one thing to another - sort of in that "leap of faith" way. She has decided that she is big enough to forgo any and all baby foods and very much prefers to simply eat what we are all eating. Seeing that she still has yet to start teething, this sometimes makes for quite a scenario. Let's just say we do lots of cutting into little pieces these days! Livi loves to be social. Whenever we are out running errands she loves to get the attention of any/all strangers simply to get them to respond to her.... let's pray that changes in the near future! When we head to the nursing home to visit Grandpa, she makes her rounds to each person in his "neighborhood" and lights up the room with smiles. It's sort of humbling to stand there and see life in the beginning stage all the way to almost its end.... all in one room. I wouldn't say that Livi has been an easy baby in any way, but the older she gets and the more the good Lord lets us peek into her little personality, the easier those hard moments become to handle. 


Okay... ready for number 6????  Lol... just kidding. I have no idea what God has in store for us all in the future, but for now, I am one content Mama and am learning to love each and every tired moment I have with the blessing I have been given.


I would, however, like to take a second to brag about my hubby. It has been so incredibly amazing to see a man who hated to smell of any baby's poopy diaper - sing while changing one now; to see a guy who insisted (years ago) that he needed at least 8 hours of sleep to function - get up every morning at 6:30 am to take one of our kids to Jazz practice by 6:55 am and then come all the way home to get the other one, who doesn't have to be at school until 8am, simply to let them sleep a little longer; and lastly, to see a man, who once needed TONS of "alone" time to unwind and be sane - give up most of every alone moment to serve and love his family. He works tirelessly, loves people, and loves me... I am a blessed woman. 

Welcome to our Family blog! 


 I figured that after 16 years of marriage and 5 kids later that a blog was something I should consider. I find it really hard to re-tell all the events that might occur, on any given day, to one person - namely my husband - more less the many friends and family who might want to know. Sooooo, here it is! A place where you all can take a peek into our crazy household and see each weeks events as they unfold.  I will do my best to post at least once a week and if I get crazy I might post more... 


For this week, I thought I might start out by simply sharing about what each of my kids are doing in life... Since I have 5, it might take a bit, so hold onto your hats... here it goes...


Nicolas - He likes to go by "Nic" is now 13 (almost 14) and is taller that both Dave and I. He is 6'2", wears a size 13.5 shoe and eats us out of every good thing in the house. He plays the Bari-sax, loves video games, movies, computers - okay, just about anything that might have a screen attached to it. He loves to ride his bike to Kum and Go and grab the most nutritious drink in town - "Green Machine" - and sometimes surprises me by bringing me a much needed Diet Dew or Pepsi... he becomes my favorite kid for just a few seconds when he does that.  Nic loves to attend Youth Group, hanging out with his friends, listening to his music - LOUD- and hanging out with his baby sister. Did I mention that he is an AMAZING babysitter... especially when it comes to watching his baby sister who simply adores him. 
I am told that, in the state of Iowa, one is allowed to get their learners permit at the age of 14. 14???!!!!!  Guess who is making sure I am reminded of that on just about a daily basis?


Kaelyn - She normally goes by "K" but still loves to go by "Kaelyn" too. She turned 12 in August and still continues to lag a bit in the height department.... something she has come to take a little pride in... being a bit short. Kaelyn loves to read, hang out with friends, take really long baths, keep her room clean, bake and shop... when Mommy has time to take her and is an extremely talented writer. She will often take a leap of faith by using her writing assignments as a way to share her heart and her love for Jesus with both her teacher and her classmates. I often wish I would have had the same courage as she does when I was her  age. She loves to dace to music with her sister Anna and watch sad movies. She loves to sit and play with her baby sister but also loves to give her back! Lol. Kaelyn plays trumpet and  is in both advanced math (algebra) and english and was asked to join the 7th grade Jazz band. She starred in her first play this year and looks forward to maybe getting more involved in drama next year. 


Okay, so that is 2 out of 5 kids.... Since my kido's are just getting home from school, I will need to finish the other 3 later today or later this week! 


I am excited to share with you all the events of our family as they unfold!