Life with 4...

Whenever I see another family with more kids than I have, I always wonder...How do they do it? Even now with one more little one, it intrigues me. I'm sure there are many of us who ask the same question. Today I had two new ideas that I will be implementing into OUR family. Then it hit me, that is how we do it. One day at a time, one change at time, we adjust. Some days are crazy, some are easier, some are really hard and some are really good. This is life, it is about learning.

 That is how God wants me. Ready to learn, wanting to draw from His strength on the hard days, giving thanks even in the crazy, and enjoying the moments that we call life. These pictures are so random, but that is how our life is right now. I am learning that we always make time for what is important and what really matters to each of us.

 The dinosaurs are over taking my house! Today, I found one on top of my couch, guarding the pile of laundry and it made me laugh.

 Digging in the sand for dinosaurs with friends. These memories bring smiles to my face.

 I am thankful for this sassy girl. She always has a pose for the camera. She loves and forgives so unconditionally. She is teaching me.

 Jocelynne is so creative. This year she took extra time to make her letter to her Christmas friend special. She is realizing how much she has in life. I am humbled when I read her list of things she is giving thanks for this year:
*I have a warm house
*I have a good family
*My books, so I can read
*My toys I can play with
*Dad makes us laugh
*Mom makes good food. Yippy!
*My relatives
*I have good friends to play with.

 These two are always up to something. Playing on the book shelves, because mom still hasn't put the books back.

 Hey mom, I found "Chubby, chubby" That is what all worms are named.

Cuddles from Tia Julie.

Jaron Isaac

We are so blessed that God has chosen to give us another precious life. Jaron Isaac joined our family Sept. 22nd at 6:55pm.

As with all of our kids we chose to wait and find out what our baby would be and pick out two names, one for a boy and one for a girl. Every time we have picked out a name for our children, one always seems to stand out more than the others. I think of in the Bible how people decided to name their children after certain experiences in life  or what they were going through at that specific time and ours have been no different. God has given each of our children to us with a special meaning.

Jaron means " to sing out" and its Hebrew origin means " the cry of rejoicing". I loved this name as soon as we found it and its meaning made it even more special. Nathaniel enjoys singing and he has requested almost every night a song to be sung before bed time. Many times we would end up singing many songs together as a family. It was a very special bonding time for all of us and our kids all have loved it. One night after singing together all of us watched as baby Jaron moved around inside my belly as if to say, "I like this too".

For me it has a special personal meaning. As many of you know, our Nathaniel came into this world weighing a very big 10 lbs. 11 oz.  There were many nights toward the end of my pregnancy with Jaron, that I was up at night praying, asking God for this baby to come before it was also too big. One of these nights the only verse that kept coming to mind was Ps. 40:3

He put a new song in my mouth, a song of praise to our God. Many will see and fear, and put their trust in the Lord.
I said it over and over until I fell asleep. It comforted my soul. The next morning I woke up feeling rested, but discouraged. Nothing had happened. It is amazing how quickly we can go from trust to doubt, but that very next morning He reminded me once again at church,

You are the strength of my heart
You are the strength of my heart
I can rely on You, I can rely on You
You are the joy of my life
You are my SONG IN THE NIGHT
There is no one as true
Jesus I trust in You

The words jumped off of the screen at me and I was flooded with conviction and peace once again.
I wish I could say it only took a couple reminders for me to trust His timing, but there were many.
Every reminder, however only affirmed that the name we had picked out was truly a perfect fit and we would be having a boy.

There are a few times in life where time itself seems to stand still for a moment. One of them is when your child enters the world. Once again God gave me peace and strength as our midwife, without request put on some background music when I was in labor.
I was not surprised, when I first saw him. God is good and there were cries of rejoicing. We love you Jaron Isaac!

A new season... new beginnings...a new adventure...

 Its that time of year, when our kids go back to school. Bittersweet to say goodbye to summer and all the fun of having them home and just doing whatever. It was nice to hear Jocelynne say that she did not want summer to end on the first day of school. Her sassy new haircut says it all, she is growing up so fast. I want to hold on to every last bit of childhood with her and yet, she is beginning a new season.

 Emily, has been so excited to start happy hearts. I miss having her home too, but its been good for her to have some of her own time away. Lately she has been asking me to not walk her into the building. "You stay here mom", she says, and my heart cries a little. She too is spreading her wings and it is good, it is a new beginning.

 The last weekend it was still nice and felt like summer we headed over to Ephrata. We like their parks and enjoyed a little ice cream at DK's.

 This girl always has a pose for us.

 And then...Jaron finally made his entry into the world. Thus beginning a new adventure for our family. We get the question, "how is it?" Today my answer was, "Fun and crazy all at the same time."

 I love these next two photos. Nathaniel is probably having the hardest time with all these new changes. Both of his sisters are in school, he packs his back pack with all of his trains and begs to go with them. He does love his new little brother, but doesn't want to share his mommy time. So we are trying to make time for some fun activities together, just me and him.

...and some brother snuggles.

The Ocean...

 What is it about the sand and water that fascinates us so?

...a place where we can clear our minds...

 ...where the sand on our feet causes us to relax...

Where the sound of the waves brings peace to ones soul...

 Where hours of exploring can be had...

 Where the sunsets never grow old...

 Where we spent hours and hours this summer...

 And never grew tired of it...

I do not know the answer...but I am so incredibly grateful to God for making a place called the beach. Somewhere that young and old are both captivated by its simple and yet so unique qualities. Its a place our family loves.

Summer...oh you go so quick!

The memories will last forever...

 Moonlit dock, late night visit with friends.

 A camping trip with dear friends to Steamboat Rock.

 S'mores and a camfire.

 Fun with bubbles.

 Deep conversations.

 Fun in the water

...and sand.

Let's Celebrate!

 I like to have what we call "FUN DAYS" for the kids to celebrate special things. This time we celebrated the beginning of summer. I am not sure if the kids or I look forward more to the lazy days of summer. I forgot to take pictures once the excitement ensued, but I am glad I least took these.

I usually use things that we already have for decorating. The flag bunting is from Nathaniel's birthday which I made with twine and cloth triangles sewn on. The tablecloth is a piece of old fabric I found from the thrift store for $2, I used it for Christmas last year too. The little ants on started on the table and went through the house to lead to their surprise.

This old metal box was a goodwill find for a $1.50. The sun glasses and binder were also goodwill finds. I made Nathaniel's name out of magnets and cardstock.

These burlap bags were also .99 cents at goodwill, so I snagged a few for the girls and put their names on in fabric letters.

This little golden book I found at a garage sale for Emily. She is into kitties now.

Jocelynne loves the American girl doll books. I found this set at a fun thrift store in Wenatchee.

I thought Nathaniel would like these animals and board book also found at a garage sale for 50 cents.

Other than that I filled their bags with bubbles, play dough, sidewalk chalk, paints, coloring books and other fun things we love to do in summer. Each of the kids got a binder with their name on it. Emily will practice writing her name this summer. Jocelynne has a fun reading incentive game she is working on. I found all the printables here. I only printed the bingo card page and the coupon page. Cheers to another GREAT summer!

Its Summer!

 Lots of walks by the canal.

 Lots of sunsets.

 Lots of "tree watering"

 ...more sunsets.

 Finding bugs in the garden.

 Side walk chalk...or deck chalk if you prefer.

 Lots of daisies in bloom

 Sidewalk chalking with friends.

 Lavender in full bloom.

Hoping for many days filled with all of these things.