Christmas - Part Two

Christmas morning.... my parents, grandparents and Charles' parents were all going to be here by 7:00.  I was half way expecting the boys to wake up super early in which case we'd have to hold them off until at least 7 but they slept until they heard the happy noises of all their grandparents and a set of great grandparents!  The excitement on their faces was what everyone was so excited to see and they definitely got what they came for! :)  I shot a video of them running out that morning to see what Santa had brought but it turned out a little dark (I'll work on it and see what I can do in order for it to be posted).  Chase didn't know where to go first... he was so overwhelmed by everyone being here and he couldn't decide if he wanted to get some loves first or go straight to the toys brought by Santa.  He chose to give some loves first (which did my heart good) and then went over to enjoy the toys.  Santa brought the boys a kitchen and a workbench.... both huge hits!!  After enjoying their new toys for a few minutes we gave them their stockings and they loved going through those huge stockings and finding all those new things!!  Flashlights, new sunglasses, some M&Ms, a new hat for Jacob and some sticker/coloring books... they were in Heaven, and we hadn't even gotten to the rest of the presents!!

Once the stockings were opened we had a time of reflecting on the true meaning of Christmas and Pop-Pop prayed.  Then we enjoyed a yummy breakfast... breakfast casserole that my mother-in-law brought and coffee cake, juice and coffee.  We were all planning on having our big meal for lunch so we kept breakfast on the lighter side.  Luke slept through all the excitement so I decided to let him get his rest and he could have his Christmas when he woke up for the day.... it actually worked out great because I could really focus on the boys, on breakfast and on everything else that was happening. 

 Chase was so cute this year... his reaction to every single gift he opened was priceless.  He would open a present and it was like it was the most amazing thing ever... then he'd move on to the next gift and his reaction would be the same!  Pure joy and excitement over it all and it was so much fun to watch him!

Jacob took his time opening his gifts... he would carefully rip the wrapping paper, peek at what it was, show tons of excitement and then open it the rest of the way.  He needed a little help with a few of the bigger gifts but that is what Ginga's are for! :)  The blankets were gifts from their GG & Goomba and they have been the biggest hit... after playing in the snow they had to get wrapped up in order to warm up, after bath time they both have to get wrapped up. They love their new blankets and I have to admit, they are so cozy and warm!  The thank you hugs followed and both boys loved going around and thanking everyone for their presents and for being here with them on such a special morning.  These boys are beyond blessed with two sets of grandparents who love the Lord and love them with all their hearts and how fun it was to have them all here on Christmas morning!

Once the boys were finished it was time for them to go play with their new things and let the adults have their Christmas!  I was so excited for my parents and my grandparents to open their gifts... it is exactly what we did for them last year but both gifts are things that are treasured all year long!  My grandparents get a calendar made by all of their grandchildren that includes many, many pictures of their great-grands from the previous year!!  

My parents get a photo book put together by all of us that goes month by month through the year, documenting how much their grandchildren grown and changed and all the fun things we did each month!  We did this for the first time last year and that book has been looked at, looked at some more, and looked at again.

 My mom realized what it was as soon as Dad took it out of the box and could hardly wait to start looking at it!  I love her expression in this picture, nothing better!!

 They could look at these books forever and it's so fun to be able to do something for them that brings them so much joy throughout the entire year!  About that time Luke started to stir so it was finally his time to enjoy his first Christmas! 

Luke wasn't quite sure what to think about all the commotion but he sure loved the attention he was getting!  He loves his new mirror and it has already gotten a ton of use!  He got lots of fun things that he will enjoy as he gets a little older and a little bit bigger! :) 

The rest of the morning was great... we enjoyed lots of time to relax!  Our Christmas meal consisted of ham, sweet potatoes, crock pot macaroni and cheese, green beans, Goomba's very own coleslaw, rolls, cranberry sauce, and of course, pie for dessert. Perfect!!

This Christmas we all got some amazing gifts from those who love us and we gave some amazing gifts to those we love.... but Christmas 2010 will not be remembered because of the gifts given or received.  But for me, Christmas 2010 will always be special because of all the time we had with our family.  If you had asked me 5 years ago if I thought I would spend Christmas in my own house, with my own children, my parents and my grandparents, I would have probably said no.  The Lord has been so good to allow my grandparents to stay in such good health over these last 10 years and I am so grateful for that!  They were always there for our Christmas mornings growing up and it was so amazing to have them here with me and my family for this Christmas!  Thank you Mom and Dad, GG & Goomba for being here with us and sharing Christmas with us!!  Thank you also to Ginga and Jupe for getting up early and driving over to be with us.  Just because we live in town now doesn't mean we don't want you over for fun moments, like Christmas morning and we were so thrilled to have you both here with us!!  We thought a lot about the family not able to be with us... family all the way in Japan and family spread out over the states... we missed them a lot this Christmas but look forward to the next time we'll all be together again!!

 Jacob played and played with his new kitchen.  He loves to pretend and also loves to open and close and put things away.  The kitchen is perfect for all of those things!! :)

Chase was wiped out after a super fun and busy Christmas... that night all he wanted to do was curl up in his new blanket and read his new Tiger book that Daddy gave him!!  Such a fun Christmas!!!

Christmas - Part One

What an amazing Christmas we had this year.... amazing for many reasons!!!  Amazing because of the fun and special times we had with our three gifts that we call our boys.  Amazing because we had Nana & Pop-Pop here to share it with us.  Amazing because we had my grandparents, the boy's great grandparents, here to be a part of our family traditions.  Amazing because we had both sets of the boy's grandparents and one set of their great-grandparents here on Christmas morning.  We were surrounded by family, all here to celebrate the birth of our Savior Jesus Christ with us and take part in the family traditions that Charles and I have started with our boys.  One word to describe this Christmas, amazing!!! 

My parents and grand-parents drove to Columbia early on Christmas Eve.  They were here before lunch time which gave us plenty of time to relax, eat lunch and take naps before getting ready for the Christmas Eve service at our church.

 Luke is never lacking in the area of getting attention, especially from family.  Right now he is the youngest grandchild and great-grandchild so he gets all the baby loves!!  GG couldn't wait to get her hands on him... she had not seen him in a few months and couldn't get over how much he had changed!!

Luke was dressed and ready for the Christmas Eve service at church so while I got the other boys ready Luke spent some good time with his Goomba.  Goomba was always such an amazing grandpa to me and my siblings growing up and now it's so special to watch him interact and love all of his great grandchildren.  What a blessing that he is still in such good health and able to be involved in our kid's lives!!

Here the whole gang is ready to head out the door for the Christmas Eve service.  Dinner was in the oven, the timer and delay start were programed and the table was set.  I don't get to use my fine china much so it was so much fun to pull all of it out for our special meals.  I wish I had taken a picture of the table set but I didn't... maybe next year.  It was actually sad when I put all the china away... can't wait to bring it out and use it again soon!! 

This was the first year that I "hosted" Christmas at my house.  We were in our house last year for Christmas and we had our special meals with just us, but this year, having company and cooking for everyone was so much fun!  I got so excited as I did my big grocery shop and had so much fun putting the meals together and making it special.  Christmas Eve we had Italian (something my mom did every year growing up so it only felt right to continue that tradition).  This was also my first time using the delay start on my oven... all through the service and on the way home I kept my fingers crossed that the oven would come on and the ziti would be hot when we got home.  Sure enough it did just as I had programed it to do and the house smelled amazing when we walked in the door.  I can remember years growing up that my mom would do the same type of thing and we would come home from our Christmas Eve service and the food would still be cold.  :)  After a very tasty meal we sang "Happy Birthday" to Jesus and the boys were both able to blow out a candle on their cupcakes in Jesus' honor.

After the kitchen was cleaned up and everything was put away we let the boys open one present.... their Christmas pajamas.  They were both very excited and happy about their new pajamas and couldn't wait to get them on!!  Their excitement over pajamas was so funny but I guess at their age it's more the excitement of opening a present rather than what is actually in the box! :)

Luke needed some help opening his gift that night and was not as impressed as the big boys were.  He was wiped out from a very busy Christmas Eve and was ready to be in his bed!!  Once Luke was in bed the boys helped us pick out a few cookies for Santa and they both carried the plate over to the table by the Christmas Tree.  We couldn't forget a cup of milk (2%, not skim... our Santa wouldn't have it any other way!) and we also hung our jingle bells on the door so Santa could get in! :)

Finally, we did our Jesse Tree lesson for the night which tied in nicely to reading the stories in their Bible about Mary and Joseph traveling to Bethlehem, baby Jesus being born in a stable and sleeping in a manger, the shepherds, the star and the wise men.  That night we hung Mary on the Jesse Tree and the boys were excited to hang baby Jesus up there in the morning!

It is and always will be so important to us that our boys focus mostly on what God did for all of us so long ago in sending his son to this Earth as a baby, to have him live a life without sin so he could one day take all of our sins to Calvary.  Santa is fun, the presents are super fun.... but we want the boys to focus on the most important present they could ever, ever receive... the gift of everlasting life by asking Jesus to be their Savior and ask forgiveness for their sins.  God did an amazing thing for us so many years ago and we will always make that the most important priority every Christmas Eve!!    

We all had such a great Christmas Eve this year and loved every minute of spending it with Nana & Pop-Pop, GG & Goomba!

Luke's New (borrowed) Toy

Luke is really getting strong... he loves to sit up or stand up all the time.  He has started bouncing on our laps so it is a perfect time to introduce his new toy that we are borrowing from the Jones family.  Thanks Jones family... we've only had it a few days but it is already a HUGE hit!!  I think this might be a lifesaver for us over the next few months!!!

Boy do we love this sweet, happy, fun, incredibly adorable four month old!!!!! :)

Chase's 4 year check up

We had Chase's four year appointment yesterday.  He was excited to see his pediatrician, Dr. Shrouds, and show him how big he had gotten but was a little anxious about his shots.  He had a flu shot a few months ago and by the time he realized it hurt it was over so no tears were shed.  I knew this was going to be different because he was getting 5 shots.... FIVE!!!  I have to admit that I was a little anxious for him, knowing how hard it would be after the first prick knowing he had four more coming.  Before his shots, though, they weighed him and got his height.  He weighed in at 30 pounds 5 ounces which puts him in the 10th percentile for weight.  He is now 38 inches tall which is the 9th percentile.  Tiny across the boards but his pediatrician wasn't concerned for two reasons: 1) he has been consistently small since he was 4 months old and 2) he grew more than the expected amount in height (they say at this age they should grown about 4 cm/year and Chase grew 5 since his 3 year check up).  They also took his blood pressure which he loved doing.  He had a good time showing off how much he knew... Dr. Shrouds would draw a shape and Chase would tell him what it was...he went through circle (which at first Chase said the letter O but then realized he wanted a shape and not a letter), triangle, square, rectangle, oval, diamond and octagon.  Chase could identify all but the diamond... he was probably confused, knowing that he saw a diamond but his "mathematician daddy" would want him to call it a rhombus! :)  Then Dr. Shrouds asked Chase to draw a circle and a lower case t which he did.  Chase then wrote his name for Dr. Shrouds all by himself... because the paper was little you had to play a little game of unscramble the letters but he wrote them in order and correctly so we were all impressed.  This was the first time that Chase had his vision and hearing tested... passed both thank goodness!  The hearing has been questionable lately but obviously it's selective hearing.  ;)  Gotta work on that one!!  Finally he got his shots and we were out of there!  I took Chase to get a special breakfast at Dunkin Donuts which he loved... he probably said "Thank you, Mommy!" fifty times.  It was so cute.  He couldn't wait to get home to show Daddy & Jacob his band aids... then he immediately wanted the band aids off.  He wasn't a fan!  The shots really started taking it's toll on his little body around dinner time and last night was a little rough but he seems to be doing better today.  Hopefully tomorrow he'll be 100% again!

Happy 4th Birthday, Chase!!!!

 HAPPY 4th BIRTHDAY, CHASE!!!!

Today my oldest turns four years old!!  Can't get over how big he is, how much he has grown up and how much he is learning!  He brings us so much joy and we couldn't imagine what our days would be like without him.  During the time it took us to get pregnant with our first baby I spent so much time wondering what it would feel like to be a mom, what my child would be like, what my child would look like ... God did an amazing thing when He gave us our Chase, when He knit him together so perfectly and gave him all of his character traits.  He looks so much like his Daddy but has my hair and eye color.  He has such a tender heart and loves to be around babies and other children.  He has such a strong desire to please that sometimes he puts too much pressure on himself.  He loves to learn and most importantly, loves to learn about Jesus and what He did for him.  His prayers melt my heart and his hugs and "I love you, Mom" brings me to tears.  Even though he's turning into a big boy, he loves to climb onto our laps, snuggle and tell us how much he loves us.  He is a big brother to two younger brothers and takes his role very seriously... he wants to be a role model for them and wants to always be there to help take care of them.  It has been such a joy for us to watch just how much he loves his brothers... he was only 14 months old when Jacob was born and we saw a love for his baby then but now that he is older we have seen it even more since Luke was born.  Chase has accomplished a lot this year and has had a lot of firsts.... he had his first real stomach virus (NO fun!), he learned to ride a bike with training wheels, he has learned to recognize his letters and has even learned to write his own name.  He started Cubbies this year and lives to learn his Bible verse for the week.  He has learned what it means to really be a helper for me and loves to take on that role.  He went on his very first camping trip with his Daddy, he swam in the pool all by himself (with floaties on and Mommy very close by!).... I could go on and on with all the things he did this year... it makes me realize just how much they grow up in one years time.  I wonder what he is going to be like this time next year, how he's going to do in school, what activities he's going to want to be involved in, what college he's going to want to go to, what he's going to be when he grows up.... but most importantly when he is going to take the step and trust Jesus as his Savior.  He loves reading his Bible stories, loves talking to Jesus through his prayers.... our prayer is that he will trust Jesus as his Savior at an early age and live to follow Him.  We are so very blessed by our oldest son and are so thankful that the Lord has given him to us for this time.  We know that he is not "ours" but that he belongs to Him and that the Lord is entrusting him to us and is requiring us to raise him in a Godly home where He will always be the center and focus!

Dear Chase,

What a year this has been!  You have grown up so much this year and have become so independent.  It makes me so happy to see you get yourself dressed, put your own shoes on, help Jacob with his shoes, hold Luke for me while I fold a pile of laundry.  You are always so happy to help me or be my big helper... it makes you feel so proud to be able to do things the other two cannot do quite yet.  You take your job as the biggest brother very seriously.  You do not go a day, sometimes not even a few hours, without telling them both that you love them.  You are getting so big and yet you still love to sit on Mommy's lap and snuggle.  Lately you love to run up to Mommy and Daddy, wrap your arms around our necks as tight as you can and whisper in our ears "I love you, Mom" or "I love you, Dad".  You've learned a lot about your God this year.  You're memorizing His word and hiding it in your heart.  We talk daily about what He did for you and how He so willingly became a sacrifice for you and took your sins to the cross.  Sometimes out of the blue we will see you pat your heart and say "Jesus lives in my heart" and it makes us so happy to know that your little heart is already moving closer and closer to Jesus. We can't wait for the day that you pray with one of us or someone else close to you and ask Jesus to come into your heart and be your Savior.  Thank you for being the sweet little boy God created you to be... you're not perfect, no one is, but you have such a teachable heart and your Daddy and I pray that your heart stays that way.  We pray for your future, for who you are, who you will become and who you will end up being as an adult.  We pray for your future wife, that she will be a woman after God's own heart.  You have so many exciting things ahead of you and we will always be your biggest supporters.  

We love you, Chase Smoak!!!

Christmas Bible Verse 2010

Last year we started a tradition that we are going to remember to do each year and that is to pick a Bible verse to focus on for the holiday season.  Last year Chase memorized Luke 2:11 "For unto you is born this day, in the city of David, a Savior which is Christ the Lord."  Jacob was a little bit too young last year so we focused just on Chase learning that verse.  This year we chose to memorize Isaiah 9:6.  It is a little bit longer of a verse with some difficult words in it so I thought that Jacob would memorize just a few parts of it and Chase would learn the entire thing.  The other day I sat down with Chase to get his verse on video.  When Chase was finished Jacob came over and wanted to say his verse to the camera too so I started taping him.  Much to my surprise he knew the entire thing!  He has a hard time pronouncing a few of the words but he did amazing!  I was in such shock because whenever we would work with them on the verse he didn't have the attention span to sit and learn it like Chase does so he would end up getting down in the middle and going off to play.  I realized that even though he may not be sitting in front of me learning how his big brother learns he is learning in his own way.  I love how he pronounces a few of the words, especially "born", "government", "shoulders" and "Mighty God" and "Father". 

Chase is also doing a super job learning this verse for Christmas this year.  He learns things so quickly.  I can't wait until next year to choose something different! :)  It is such a great way to be reminded of what this season is all about... we talk to the boys a little bit about Santa but it is so important to me and Charles that the focus is primarily on what God did for us.  He sent his Son to this earth as a tiny baby... He gave us the greatest gift we could ever receive, the gift of His perfect Son, who would one day take our sins upon himself and be the ultimate sacrifice for us.  That is so much bigger than Santa, a better gift than Santa could ever bring and we want our boys to know that each and every year!

"For to us a child is born, to us a Son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders.  And He will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace."   Isaiah 9:6

4 Months Old

Luke turned 4 months old today.  I know I sound like a broken record when I say I can't get over how quickly time is going by but it's so true.  I have blinked and four months have passed.  Luke went from a tiny newborn to a very smiley four month old who loves to talk to you, makes the cutest expressions all the time and laughs at just about anything!  I love this stage that he is in now... he's still such a snuggle bug who loves to be held and loved on, he's so content to just hang out and is such an amazing sleeper (my best by far!).  No signs of teeth yet (thank goodness - I want him to wait as long as possible before starting the teething stuff) and loves to eat.  He is in a stage of refusing the bottle but I think I've found one he likes and hopefully he'll get back to taking one every now and then.  Bath time is his all time favorite thing in the world... giving him a bath is so fun but also hard at the same time because he's constant motion and just about wiggles off the bath sling.  I have to keep one hand on him at all times or he'll flip off the sling and into the water which would not be good!  He has the best time and I'm so happy he loves the water!!

His hair is really coming in now and I'm pretty sure it's going to stay dark.  His eyes seem to be getting brighter so they may stay blue (which I would love!).  He's a perfect mixture of Chase & Jacob in those areas.  He also seems to be the perfect mix of his two big brothers when it comes to his size.... he weighed in today at 13 pounds 10 ounces (which is somewhere around the 20%) and he is 25 1/4 inches long (which is about the 50%).  He's longer (like Jacob) but tiny (like Chase).... and he has a tiny peanut head (not quite as small as Chase's but a good bit smaller than Jacob). :) 

What a sweet personality he has and I'm so in love with my third little boy!!  

Happy 4 months, Luke Thomas!!

Great-Grandma Smoak

In the evening on December 2nd Grandma Smoak went to be with the Lord.  She fought hard this last year, battling a very aggressive brain tumor and that night the Lord brought her home, healed her completely and she is now enjoying every moment praising our Lord and Savior.  Charles and I were able to meet his parents at the nursing home that night and had a special time of prayer, thanking Him for all of the time He gave us with Grandma Smoak, praising Him that she was a child of His and excited that this was not goodbye but "see ya later" when we will all be reunited in Heaven one day.  For the last year Chase would randomly ask if Great-Grandma was better yet.  We would always respond by saying that Great-Grandma was very sick and that as soon as she meets Jesus in Heaven she would be all better.  With that said, here is how the conversation went when Charles and I talked to them the next morning:
Charles: Great-Grandma died.  She is no longer sick.  She is now better!
Chase: Oh!
Charles: Why is Great-Grandma better?
Chase: Because she went to Heaven and Jesus made her better.
Charles: Why did Great-Grandma go to Heaven?
Chase: Because she asked Jesus into her heart.
Charles: That's right!  She asked Jesus to be her Savior, to forgive her sins and to come live in her heart.

That was the end of the conversation but Chase's mind must have kept processing it because this is how his prayer went before lunch that day:
Chase: Dear Jesus, thank you for today.  Thank you for me, for Jacob, for Mommy, Daddy and Luke.  Please help us to make good choices.  Thank you for Great-Grandma and for making her all better.  Thank you for our food. Amen.
Me: Chase, every time you pray Jesus hears you.  And Great-Grandma is all better because she is now with Jesus.
Chase: Yeah.  (Pause) And Jesus, please tell Great-Grandma I said hi.  Amen.
 
I literally had to turn around to hide my tears.  It still brings tears to my eyes to think about his prayers that day.  He is only 3 (almost 4) and it amazes me to think how much he already understands. 

This is the day (in Jan. 2007) that she met her very first great-grandchild.  What a sweet meeting it was and you can tell by the smile on her face how much she loved her great-grands and how proud of them she was!

Chase with Great-Grandma when he was 6 months old

Great Grandma with Chase (Christmas 2007)

Great-Grandma meeting Jacob (May 2008)

Christmas 2009 - our last Christmas with Great-Grandma

As soon as Luke was born we wanted to get a picture of him with his Great-Grandma but she had gotten so sick by that point that no one really would have wanted a visual reminder of that.  Great-Grandma leaves behind 3 great-grandsons that will always be reminded of how much she loved them and how much joy they brought to her.  So thankful that she is tumor free, able to walk and run and sing praises to our king!  She has no more pain and no more sickness, praise Jesus!!

Thanksgiving 2010 at Nana & Pop-Pop's

We left the Tuesday before Thanksgiving and took the family down to Hilton Head.  We were so excited about spending Thanksgiving with my parents, Nana & Pop-Pop.  The boys had such a great time with them and it was such a nice surprise that Nana even got off of work early the days we were there. 

 Jacob using a princess tiara and wand to be a police officer (I think the tiara was a mask or sunglasses and the wand was his "spanking spoon for bad guys")

 Luke getting another one of Nana's baths in her kitchen sink

 Enjoying a special breakfast on Thanksgiving morning

 Pop-Pop getting lots of snuggles and time in with his grandsons and Nana doing what she does best, read :)

 We loved our Thanksgiving and Luke especially loved his first Thanksgiving

 Luke spent lots of time talking to Nana & Pop-Pop

Normally my Dad's parents, GG & Goomba, would have been there too but this year Goomba had a heart cath procedure scheduled around that time so they were unable to come up.  We missed them so much but are beyond excited that they will be here, in Columbia at our home, along with Nana & Pop-Pop, for Christmas!!!  Never in a million years did I think I would ever have my grandparents at my house for Christmas Eve and Christmas morning so this year is going to be extra special and something we'll remember forever!

So close!

Does my heart good to see them doing things like this....

Or seeing them playing together and having smiles on their faces like these....

Nothing better than having a brother.... or two :)

Changing SO quickly!

I can't believe that on Friday my littlest one will be four months old.  The time is going by way too quickly and he is growing up way too fast!  I want to freeze him in the stage he is in now and keep him there for a long time!!  He has discovered his hands and fingers (he tries all the time to get his thumb in his mouth so I'm thinking we may have another thumb sucker on our hands!) and more recently he has discovered he has a voice.  His sounds are so sweet!!  He also has started laughing in the last few weeks.  At first it took a lot to get a tiny laugh out of him but more and more these days it takes very little to get tons of belly laughs.  We got a cute video a few nights ago of him laughing/talking to our dog... I will try to remember to post that video soon.  The big boys love that they can make him smile simply by just talking to him.  Chase has definitely been my huge helper.  Just today he held Luke for a good while I put laundry in the dryer, made lunch and emptied the dishwasher.  Such a huge help that I am not used to... Chase was only 18 months old when Jacob was Luke's age so he wasn't much of a helper.  Also, as a side note, it's crazy to think that Luke is only 2 months younger than Chase was when we found out we were pregnant again... I can't even begin to think about another child!  I think I would seriously go out of my mind!  Anyways, back to how much Luke is changing.... he has become quite the marathon sleeper.  Most nights he goes from 7:00ish at night until at least 7:00 or later in the morning.  Occasionally he'll wake up in the morning around 6 or 6:30 to eat in which case I'll feed him and put him back to sleep and he'll sleep until 10:30 or 11:00 in the morning.  He will almost combine his nighttime sleep and his morning nap into one long stretch.  And naps are about the same... I can always count on a good 3-4 hour nap in the afternoons which is so great.  I know this isn't going to last long so I'm taking advantage of it while it lasts! :) Here a few pictures to recap the last few weeks...

 Having fun one morning on his playmat

Trying to tell a story :)

 Attempting to get both fists in his mouth at the same time

 Enjoying his first time in his exersaucer - still just a tad too wobbly, that or he gets tired quickly

I couldn't resist taking and using this picture... his pouty face is so sad and pathetic that it breaks my heart but it's also so stinking cute at the same time! 

 Oh Jacob... never a dull moment :)

 Chase loves learning and being challenged..... working on his patterns!

 Sitting up like a big boy.... bright eyed after a great night's sleep.

Such a sweet crooked smile!

The big boys entertaining Luke for a few minutes

We've stayed very busy the last few weeks so the days that we don't have much going on I try to take advantage of it.  I love getting on the floor and playing with Luke, playing games with the big boys, reading to the big boys and finding out what things make Luke the happiest.  Most days we're either running around busy, busy or I'm home trying to get a million things crossed off of my list.  Sometimes I have to force myself to stop for a few minutes because I know this time is fast and fleeting and before I blink it's going to be gone!  So thankful for these three amazing blessings, even on the rough days where all I do is break up arguments, wipe bottoms and discipline, I love these three boys more than I ever thought I was capable of loving.