Conversation with Daddy

This took place just before Jeremy headed out of town for two weeks for work. It was so sweet to watch her interact with him. She is doing this more and more. She was on the verge of a smile at one point but we haven't seen it yet. I bet she is saving it for her daddy when he gets home. :)

A Winter Hike

We have had a very mild winter around here. On Sunday, during one of our short boughts of very chilly and windy weather, we decided to take a family hike. We went to Bur Mil park. It was a beautiful day! It was also a wonderful way to spend some family time before I had to head out of town for work the following morning. 

"I can't move my arms!" Does this bring anything to mind? :)

This picture is beautiful but it still doesn't do it justice. The sky was such a deep blue!

Another Week Past? and Emma is One Month Old

Wow, time is flying these days. :)

The kids put on a concert for me:

"Gabe school" : We focused on the letter Bb this week with similar activities as last week. Gabe made a rainbow and we talked about colors more. We also made patterns with the little Aa and Bb papers that we used for our letter hunt. We did not try writing this week but we did draw some circles and color them in. He had a better week with following directions.

Enjoying the Sabbath:

Joining a friend for worship night at her church:

Silly Children:

notice Gabe still at the table... this happens most every day. Olivia has gotten quicker with eating but Gabe certainly takes his time to savor. ;) Maybe I could learn something from him but it does occasionally get frustrating too. :)

he runs around and says, "ye haw!"

The way I look most of the week and how Emma likes to ride (sling or Moby wrap) or be carried:

And she really prefers to sleep in our bed... oh, my...

Another Week

So I am going to give you another set of pictures that capture some of what we did this week. It is far from all of it. Among other things, I left out all the spills and messes I cleaned up. :) I am getting used to having four kiddos. The days seem to speed by sometimes and creep sometimes. I am sleeping sporadically at night. I feel like I have spent the weeks since Emma was born trying to keep up. All the kids need some individual attention and specific needs met. They are wonderful though. And Jeremy is super supportive. I wouldn't really trade things in the long run. I just hope that I can get a handle on our daily lives a bit more. I get up in the morning and commit each one of us to God. I ask him to direct our days. I ask him to give me patience to train up these little ones he has given me. Yes, I have lost it with them. I tell them I am sorry. I seek forgiveness. I ask God for fresh patience and joy. My mood totally effects them, I can change the tides of our day either direction. I set the tone. I want my home to be a safe and fulfilling place for them. I am a work in progress as they are. I would love it if you would pray for me in that regard. We are so blessed! I am thankful for my family, my home, and our friends. Our family has received more meals this time around than with any other baby. But that has been a wonderful thing. I didn't have to really cook dinner for almost 2 weeks. It was a huge relief to not have to think about planning dinner and having yummy meals. God has been so good to us!

Olivia is playing store. This brought back so many memories since I used to play store and bank as a child.

The boys love playing with their cars. It is one of their favorite activities and they really want me to sit and play with them. It is fun and makes their day.

The above two pictures are from us acting out a rhym about creation and Adam and Eve.

He is walking on the A. He also had to trace over it with a block. There is a lowercase a behind him. So I would have him jump on whichever one I called out to him.

He is on a hunt for As. I "hid" a bunch of papers with the letter Aa on them around the room. He loved finding them. And then hiding them and finding them again. :)

We have been trying to keep going with some schooling for Olivia although it has been mostly just some basics of bible, reading, copywork, and math. I am thankful that she is willing and able to do some things independently. This coming week we venture back into My Father's World. We'll see how it goes. :) I did start using the preschool program, Little Hands to Heaven, with Gabe this week. He loves it. Olivia likes to be involved. I tell her that I used this same curriculum with her and she thinks that is fun. We (Gabe and I) are trying hard to work on following directions and even some pre-writing activities. He asked and yet he gets frustrated really easily. So we are taking that really slow. :)

Emma is growing like a weed. She is more alert--focusing on our faces and her mobile and turning to our voices, esp mine. She is getting better with holding her head up.

Olivia is a HUGE help to me. She asks for things to do to help out. She is willing to drop just about anything when I ask her for help. Thank you for being an amazing big sister, Olivia! I love you! :)

To cap the week off, we went back down to feed the homeless for the first time since  late December. The kids were excited to hand out bananas and even got to eat some donuts, courtesy of Donut World on West Market Street.

Week in Review

Here are some pictures of the kids this week:

My joyful and so very helpful one! She loves to be funny and cute.

SISTERS! :)

This was his first exposure to finger paint. I missed getting the photo of when he started finger painting his hair green and blue--he got tired of it fast and Emma started crying at that same time.

Gabe playing with puzzles. He is so enthusiastic and really wants my attention and help with things right now.

Well, these are actually from the last two weeks but this just shows you how much Emma has already changed and filled out. She is precious and sweet! Her is starting to have more awake time after certain feedings, mostly in the late afternoon/evening hours. She has had some fussier times the last couple of days but i wouldn't trade it. :)

We went for a walk the other day and were approached by a man with a camera and newspaper badge who wanted to take a picture of Olivia riding her scooter. He said it might or might not be in the paper sometime over the next few days and, sure enough, it was there the very next day on page 2!

Beach Trip

Yes, we went to the beach in JANUARY (can you say extra windy, cold, and short days?) and with a NEWBORN (1 week old). But my in-laws graciously offered Jeremy work and they offered us a place to stay so we wouldn't be without daddy for the nights he was down there working. It was not crowded. We did get some sunshine and it is a mild winter so far this year. And the ocean is a beautiful part of God's creation and I am blessed that I got to experience it. It has been several years since I have been down to the beach. The kids enjoyed picking up seashells. Olivia loved the clear view of the stars we got at night. And she couldn't believe how big and loud the ocean was. 

The sunrise view from our room.

This is our most adventurous child and here are some wounds he received on the trip to prove it.