Eliza & Ephraim

Don't let her innocent smile fool you! She's the one who somehow contracted head lice and brought it to our house! Tuesday morning I got a call from day care that Eliza had live lice. All four kids were sent home from school/day care for treatment. I spent all day doing laundry, laundry and more laundry!! The doctor prescribed a prescription shamoo to use once a week.

Now we just wait. . . and try not to be paranoid about itching. To complicate matters, I'm hoping I don't have to treat my hair since I just got a perm on Friday! Now, I'm realizing how much our heads touch each other during the day and the places that touch our heads (couch, bean bag, coats, towels, etc).
Ready for Kindergarten round-up at Fremont Community School. It looks like there will be 15 in Ephraim's class. This was Wednesday, April 29th. We had to bribe him with a doughnut to get him to wear his nice clothes.

Fun with Friends!

We were excited to have Allison & Jessica come to play last Wednesday. We now have our swing set set up and all the kids enjoyed that!

Sand-tastic Smiles!

We now have a little bit of a sand pile. Okay, maybe that's an understatement. We have enough sand to fill a dump truck. Literally. Above is Eliza enjoying the new sand.
This is Emmet rolling down the sand pile.

Eden scooping sand.

And now Ephraim comes tumbling down.

Sand piles are great fun for the kids. However, mommy doesn't enjoy the sand coming into the house. The kids know they have to strip down outside and go straight to the tub.

We've since moved this pile closer to the swingset in the back yard. These pictures were taken in the yard by the barn.

Ear infections and doctor appointments

The girls had their 18-month check ups this week. Eden weighs 25 pounds and Eliza is 23 pounds 8 ounces. Their height is the same. Eden is in the 60th percentile and Eliza the 40-50th percentile. I'm just glad that this visit did not include shots. We were at the doctor on Wednesday. Thursday afternoon Eden has a fever at day care and I have to leave work to take her home. I didn't argue too much, it was such a nice day outside. I called the doctor and he prescribed a prescription over the phone. Great! I was home with them on Friday, well for most of the day. I was at work for a few hours since Supreme Court Justice Marsha Ternus was visiting our office. Then I was home to enjoy more beautiful weather.

Emmet has Grandma Boat's genes
(Relatives on my mom's side will appreciate this story.)
As you may have read in previous posts, Emmet had ear infection on Easter. The day before Easter, Emmet was having kind of a rough day. I think his ear was really starting to bother him. He was sitting on my lap and proceeded to say that his legs were hurting. At his age, he's growing fast and trying to keep up with an older brother. We usually treat this with ibuprofin. After a few minutes, he sticks out his lower lip and says that his tongue hurts. Now, at this point I say "Are you having a Grandma Boat moment?"
My Grandma Boat (my mom's mom) passed away in 2006. She was a dear woman who we really loved. In her last years she had a lot of aches and pains. Most of them were real, however a few could have been sympathy pains. When we would visit we would often get a rundown of her latest aches. Hence, Emmet having a Grandma Boat moment.
Later, we were talking with the kids about how Eden wasn't feeling good and had an ouchy ear. Emmet comes up to me and says "I don't feel so good. I need medsin (medicine)." And then Saturday night, Eden laid down in the bean bag and Emmet laid down beside her and goes "We don't feel good."
Oh, Emmet! And now, as I was typing this, Emmet comes from his bedroom for a band-aid . . .

Our Little Gardeners

We spent last Saturday gardening. We have a joint garden with Seth's parents, brother Paul and sister Michelle's family. This is probably our second or third year doing it as an organized effort and it works really well. (Actually, this is probably my first year offering a lot of assistance. Last year the twins were babies and the year before that I was pregnant with them.) The weather was perfect last Saturday for gardening. We started by planting potatoes (all 200 of them)! Then it was time for peas, onions, strawberries and raspberries. The lettuce and radishes and rhubarb were already planted. And we still have more things to plant as spring progresses.

Emmet helping dig the potato trench.

Ephraim getting the potatoes ready.

Eliza planting potatoes very carefully.

Emmet covering up the potatoes. Emmet actually only helped for 30 minutes or so. He wasn't feeling the best so he took a nap on the floor of the van.

Ephraim covering up the potatoes.

Eliza raking a spot for the onions.

Eden with the rake.

Last, but most favorite of all, were the raspberry plants. Here is Eliza and Grandma planting 20 of those. Notice that Eliza is standing right over one of the plants. The girls were good for compaction since they were pretty skilled at walking in the newly planted areas. We only had to replant one that Eliza yanked out of the ground.

Eden has had enough. Time to go inside.

(I sure hope everyone enjoys these pictures. It took me two days to get them all loaded. Dial-up has got to go.)

Easter

Here is a photo of our family on Easter Sunday. The kids looked pretty spiffy in their Easter clothes. I am holding Eden, then it is Emmet, Ephraim and Seth with Eliza. We enjoyed Easter dinner with Seth's parents. However, our Easter evening consisted of a trip to the ER with Emmet who was showing signs of ear infection. Now he's on antibiotic for 10 days.

This is a picture of the kids before church. They are holding their Easter presents. We don't really do the Easter bunny thing but I did find the kids 6 Bible action toys at Dollar Tree. Ephraim is showing off Mary and Jesus. Emmet wanted David and Goliath and the girls were left with Noah and Moses.

Don't ask where I got the girls' dresses from. Eliza's dress was a hand-me-down from a friend and then I found Eden's dress at a consignment shop in Osky and it happened to look a lot like Eliza's only all pink! Perfect.

Easter #2

Easter # 2 for us consisted of a get together with our couples Bible study group and our kids on Sunday, April 5th. We started out with crafts for the kids. They made Easter lilies by tracing their hand for the lily part. It was great to see many of the moms and even the dads helping their kids cutting, etc. The craft was easy and just involved paper, a straw, a pipe cleaner and tape.

Then it was time for supper and an easter egg hunt in the basement. Notice the fancy Easter baskets for my kids (they are ice cream containers). The kids were excited about the candy and small toys in the eggs.

Here is a group picture of all the kids!

My kids are in the back row starting on the left with Eliza, Eden and Ephraim (holding his handmade Easter lily). Then it's Micah, Emmet, PJ, Alexis and Levi. Front row: Maddy, Trace, Becca, Allie, Sevanna, Hayley with Hannah and Kamden with Kobie. Whew! What a group (and all ages 5 and under)! We had a great time and we're thankful that Phil and Theresa had a big enough house for all of us since it was snowing and we couldn't be outside!

Another "What was I thinking?"

In my mind, it was important to take the boys to Maundy Thursday services at church to commemorate the Last Supper and think about Good Friday. However, Seth was still in the field and I was going to attempt the near impossible--taking all four kids to church by myself. We arrived on time and took our spot in the back pew. . near an escape door just in case. Emmet begins talking to me "Where's Jesus?" "Is that the cross that Jesus was on?" "Is Jesus here?" "When will we see Him?" And I'm thinking that his questions are exactly the reason I came. He is starting to grasp the Easter story.
It wasn't long past the 2nd song before there was mutiny in the pew. My dictatorship wasn't working. I march everyone out and we stand in the back. That worked for about 7 minutes and then the kids got too antsy back there. Defeated, I scuffle all 4 kids to the basement and we spent the rest of the service in the nursery.
This is not the end of the story. We arrive home and I unlock the door with the key and go back to the van to get the sleeping girls with the hope of just laying them down in bed. I bring Eden in the house and try to open the door--it was locked. This door doesn't just automatically unlock with the key, you also have to unlock it from the inside. So, now I have four kids and myself stuck in the breezeway. Breaking the window in the door seemed like the easiest option to me, but after some searching and the use of a ladder and flashlight, I made it into the house. . .unlocked the door and sent all the kids straight to bed. Two lessons learned in one night--I'm exhausted!

Hope you all have a blessed Easter with family and friends-remember that Jesus gives us hope and reason to celebrate!

Palm Sunday & Easter #1

The boys participated in our church's Palm Sunday services. They made an entrance to both services with palm branches and then sang a song. It is great to see the energetic little kids on stage.

We had Sunday lunch with my parents to celebrate Easter a week early. My mom hid some Easter eggs around the basement and the kids had a fun time finding them. The best part is that they didn't have candy in them. Since Grandma works at a bank . . . the eggs have money in them!
Stay tuned for more Easter photos!

Happy 9th Anniversary!

Seth and I have been married 9 years today! Wow, a lot has happened in those 9 years. As we look back, we can definitely see the hand of God in our lives. And we look forward to the years ahead!
(Seth made breakfast this morning, so that was special). Otherwise, no big celebration is planned. We are going to California this summer and will count that for our 10 year anniversary.
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Potty Training, Take 2; Uh, I mean Take 67.
Praise God that Emmet seems to be potty trained and he's even staying dry at night. Now, we just have to work on going #2 in the potty.

Antiquities

Monroe Rec Park was offering Antiquities pictures for a fundraiser. For only $10 you get a photo and then you can buy more. I thought this sounded like a good idea. WHAT was I thinking???
1st. Ephraim and Emmet were bummed that the "outfits" were jean bibs and white t-shirts. Boring in their minds. I had to physically dress all four kids.
2nd. The photographer hands Ephraim a suitcoat and he turns the other way. The photographer hands Ephraim a hat and Ephraim hits it out of his hand and it flys to the other side of the room!
3rd. We try for a group shot. Eden won't put her hands down, she's wanting picked up out of the old-time suitcase.
4th. Emmet actually took a good photo. He was handed a banjo and started smiling. Wow!
5th. Ephraim refuses to smile for the photo with the bat and ball. He's scowling.
6th. Eliza takes a cute photo with a tea set.
7th. Eden's turn. Not so good. She screams and arches her back. We try putting her in a barrel but the rebellion continues.
8th. We try for another group shot with Eden in an apple crate. But the crate tips backwards . . .
9th. That's it, we're out of here.

Down and Dirty

Some days you just have to let boys be boys! Wednesday was a little cool but the sun was out so we took advantage of it. Ephraim got out of pre-k early and was home by 2pm. We started with a walk around the pasture and to check the cows. Then we wandered in the back yard and that's when the real fun began. The boys found the tractor tire tracks from when Seth delivered our swingset from the other house. The tracks were half full of water. And oh, were the boys excited about that.

At first they were cautious about getting muddy, but after a few minutes of throwing rocks and dirt clods in the water, they started braving it with their boots. Only once did Emmet get stuck. Yes, I was watching this all unfold and didn't put a stop to it. It was fun to just sit back and watch them have fun. They didn't care that it was COLD, muddy water. They didn't care that it was on their face. They didn't care that their socks were soaking wet. I wasn't even thinking about the laundry issue. (And for this I am grateful that we have two washing machines--one in the basement for Seth's clothes and really dirty boy clothes). I just didn't want to spoil their explorations. Plus, they were getting along so well with each other. Again, boys need time to be boys.

Eliza and I were content to sit in the porch swing and just watch.

When it was time to come in, I made them completely strip down outside and then go directly to the bathroom and "do not touch anything"!

This is a picture of Eliza and I walking around the pasture. Eden was asleep in the house.

Forget reality tv, we've got cows to keep an eye on. You can barely see it in this picture, but the big cow in the back has a newborn calf beside it. That is another calf to its right. Mama cow is on the left. We now have two calves. Each born on a Friday right before a snowstorm! This is Emmet standing on the fence watching them. Ask Ephraim if they have names and he'll reply "No, Daddy says they're not pets!"