It's a Good, Good Friday

Our babies are 10 months today. Things have changed a bit since the day I took diaper pictures back in the fall.
I read the story of Jesus going to the cross out of the Jesus Storybook Bible this morning with Silas while the babies played at our feet. It was so sweet. Silas had an "ouchie" on his finger this week and has wanted Mommy to "Kiss it away" multiple times. Every time I do, I remind him that I can kiss it, but only God heals. I am thankful we had those conversations because it was a simple way to talk about the "ouchies" that Jesus experienced. And to talk about how much God loves us.









Yes, it is a good, good Friday.

@ the Arch

It is spring break here in our little town in central Illinois. So there are a bunch of high school guys downstairs playing XBox with Shane. I decided to snuggle up under the blankets with a computer on this rainy night instead of party with the guys. The babes are all tucked in. And the dogs are content to miss their evening walk when the weather is so wet. So we're all happy.

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I also got to "chat" a bit with my friend Julie (we texted). Always a blessing. Friendships like that never get replaced, no matter where we all move.

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Last week on our way home from Missouri we stopped to let Silas experience the "Gateway Arch" up close. I keep calling it that because it's what Silas calls it. He was thrilled. We didn't go up in it, but did run inside long enough for Silas to use the potty. Then I fed the babes dinner outside and we took a few pictures. We were all in traveling clothes, but I still think some of them turned out cute.

Tonight I think I can finally say we are back in routine after our trip. Everyone is sleeping well again and I think (besides the two suitcases that still need to be taken up to the attic) everything is back in place. I thrive on routine so it's nice to be settled again. But getting out of routine for a bit definitely made me appreciate it more!

Home Again, Home Again

We are settled back in at home again. Today we were back in a pretty typical routine: Silas and I painted while the babies took their morning nap then we all went outside to play with bubbles and take a walk until lunch time. Shane's mom came for a few hours so I ran to the grocery store during afternoon naps. And it was just so nice outside that we all played outdoors again before dinner while Shane mowed for the first time this spring.

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All of us were sick on our trip to Missouri. Just colds, but it still wasn't fun. It started with me and I had practically lost my voice by Saturday. And our Simeon has been teething so between teeth, a stuffy nose, and changing beds, he didn't sleep much. Which means Shane and I didn't sleep much.

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But. The non-sleep and hectic schedule and hours in the car were all more than worth it. We had a wonderful trip. I keep re-playing moments that I loved in my mind. It was just so good.

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I won't log all the details here. However, I do have to mention that the comical highlight of the weekend was late on Saturday night, as several of us sat in lawnchairs outside the Bachman's home. The children were sleeping or watching a movie inside while we parents remembered the good old college days. More than once, either my friend Laura or I would say to one of the other girls, "You haven't heard this story?! They tell this every time we're together!" And we would listen to it one more time. But the one we had never heard before was Shane's memory of the first time he met Luke. I haven't laughed that hard in ages. And now we can all look forward to hearing it when we're together again.

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I am so grateful for a weekend chock-full of it's own memories. Like being with family (I took few pictures of this event. My cousin took more and promises to send them to me, hint-hint, Mindy)...

And being with friends...

And seeing our children with the children of some of our dearest friends. Our Saturday night gathering included 16 children, all aged 7 and under!

Silas became fast friends with Soren. Seriously need to get these two together more often...

Abounding

My heart is abounding with joy right now. We are on a weekend trip to one of our favorite places in the world...Springfield, Mo. I am so thankful to the Lord for the timing of this trip. It has been long overdue (Silas was just 4 months old the last time we came) and I have been craving some time with good, old friends.

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Our trip down yesterday went pretty well. Everyone did great until the last 10 minutes before we pulled into Lebanon. We stopped there to see dear friends and have dinner before heading on to Springfield. Shane and I drove past our townhouse, where we lived when we were first married. And about that time all the children had a meltdown. But we made it to my friend Lindsey's house, had dinner and everyone felt much better.

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All three children loved getting to watch videos on the drive...

Silas got a map for Christmas that tells one special thing about each state. So he was excited to see the "Gateway Arch" as we drove through St. Louis. We thought it was hilarious that he knew what to look for in Missouri! Here he is waving as we drove by...
Playing with friend Ellie on our dinner stop...
And I have to admit this was my favorite part of the day...


All three were out as soon as we drove out of Lebanon. So sweet to see them snuggled in their seats.

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I also need to report that Silas has been on three outings this week and stayed accident-free! I am so proud that even with this trip, he stayed dry this morning while we were out and about seeing friends at the hospital where I used to work.

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I can't say enough what a gift this trip is. It always feels like coming home.

The Fun (and the not-so-much-fun)

I have this sudden and almost insatiable desire to document these days. I can't take enough picture and I had to clean off everything on our camera because there were so many videos that I was about to run out of memory space. All three of our little ones are changing so much right now that I truly can't keep up. Ah, well. Most of the best memories are saved in my mind and not on a memory stick anyway.

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Today I took Silas, Simeon, and Lieren to Kroger for a few things. We decided to stop in at the church offices, "Daddy's work", and say hi. Prior to leaving I thought, what a perfect opportunity for Silas to wear underwear. He always wears a diaper out because with me and all three, going potty is one concern too many. So he went right before jumping in the car and I was sure he would be fine. Wrong. No more than 11 minutes after we left the house, right in the middle of Daddy's office, Silas had an accident. It wet all the way down to his socks. So we cut our visit short and went out to the car to change, which is when I realized I only brought a pair of pants. No underwear. No diaper. No dry socks. I had to laugh out loud in Kroger as Silas kept hiking up the pants threatening to slide down his bare bottom. At least no one could tell he wasn't wearing socks either. Real classy, I know. But I chalked it up as a great learning experience and went on. It could have been worse. It could have happened with me and the three alone in the middle of Kroger.

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On a different note, we did have great fun on Monday at Monkey Joes...

One of these days Lieren is going to get her own set of videos on the blog! She is thinking about crawling but still can't quite stay up on all fours. In the meantime, here is the fun that Simeon's been up to...