Priceless

My friend Shelly stopped over the other day with her two boys. Logan, Bennett and Grady love to play together and little Henry will soon be able to keep up with the big boys!

The three big boys prove they are 100% BOY because there is lots of running and yelling when they are together. I suggested they run outside instead of inside so they went to put their shoe on, but I found Logan reading to the boys in the back entry a few minutes later.

Logan is quite a reader - often picking up books to read to his siblings or to John and I. We are curious what level he is reading at now, a he can pick up a new book he has never read before and read most beginner words. I love thy he loves to read - what a great gift to share with friends and siblings!

I love my butterfly

Eden is beginning to really love looking at her fun toys - especially butterfly!

Mother's Day 2012

Today was the best Mother's Day!  Eden sleeps 7 hours at night consistently, but she wakes up early.  I welcome the early morning with her because its some undivided time with my sweet baby girl before the day begins.  This morning I was greeted with brewed coffee, a special note and a little blue box.  It was a lovely way to start Mother's Day.

Eden wore this special dress from a friend.  She was adorable!

 She has the cutest sneezes!

(I realize only a child's parent would say that...)

 "Bless you, Eden!"

 Biggest brother, little sister.

 I'm so thankful for my three beautiful children!

 And its fun to be the mother of a daughter now!  We had a lovely church service honoring Mother's Day today.  I even got to pray with moms when they collected special gifts at the end of the service.  It was beautiful and moving and blessed.  After church, we enjoyed the beautiful day outside.  John picked up lunch and we played baseball, soccer, and went for a walk.

Its hard to believe 5 years ago, I was pregnant with Logan...

 he is so grown up!

 And Bennett sure is unique!  He is proof to us that each child is their own!  He is just as sweet as he is challenging.

Eden liked hanging out in her stroller, feeling the breeze...

and being entertained by the dynamic duo!

I got some extra snuggles with Eden today because there was no youth group tonight.  After church, John was home with us all day - that was the best Mother's Day gift!

 And lucky for Dad, he got some extra snuggles with Eden, too!

Eden loves some Daddy Time. 

The boys made special cards and said a special prayer for me at dinner.  It was something like this:

Logan: "Thank you God for our special Mommy who loves us so much"

Bennett: "Thank you God for our special Mommy..." (because B just likes to repeat what L says!)

Logan: "And she makes good dinner.  Amen"

Bennett: "Amen"

And, of course, Logan proceeded to not eat his dinner.  Haha!

Happy Mother's Day to all our family and friends - especially our own wonderful loving moms!

"Can I hold Eden?"

I was so excited when Bennett asked if he could hold Eden this week!  He hasn't held her since she came home from the hospital and he decided she "is too big for me".  But something changed and he held her so well this week!  Yay Benny!  He doesn't have a problem with Eden or dislike her, but holding her is not really his thing.  He loves to talk to her, sing to her, touch her...but this was a rare occasion!

 Having brothers is exhausting.

We love the outdoors!

Our days are so much better when we can spend time outside.  Indoors, the boys get stir crazy and start to fight, so outdoors is the answer these days.  Summer can't come fast enough for us!  Lately, the boys love to ride bikes down the block and back.  Bennett has the Skuut and we fashioned a thrift store bike into a skuut of sorts for Logan.  We anticipate Logan getting a big bike later this summer, so we're just working on the balance right now.  Bennett flies around on his Skuut - he is really fun to watch.  Logan is a little more tentative, but he's catching on.  I thought the boys looked so cute in their helmets and backpacks.  :)

Puj Time!

We got a puj tub this time around and I'm loving it.  Its easy to give Eden a bath anywhere and she loves it!  She has some cradle cap now, so I've been doing more frequent baths for a while to work on that.  It has helped with her dry skin so far.  She really likes the warm water and after her shots this week, I could tell her little legs were sore, so we had some soothing warm baths just for fun!

Our deep kitchen sink is a nice place to have a bath...

 Happy girl!

 All wet and loving it

 Of course, the boys have to help!

Benny got to give Eden a little rinse

 And after the boys had their bath and went to bed, Eden rested on the couch while I caught up on some email.  I love this sleeping babe - she is my princess!

Jacob's Well

April 4th marked John's one year anniversary since joining the staff at Jacob's Well.  Its a wonderful church for which we are so happy to be a part of.  We are learning and growing so much by being a part of Jacob's Well.

The new church website is now active.

John also has a blog post worth reading here.