To Sum Up 2010

If I actually posted to my blog every time I came up with an idea for a post my life would be well documented. However, there is something about sitting down to post that makes me so tired. Maybe it is because I never have the chance to sit still with five kids and when I do my body immediately thinks it's time to sleep. Anyway...

We had an AWESOME year! I can't believe how much our lives have changed in just one year. We started the year as a family of five and quickly grew to a family of seven. I was so unprepared for how much I would enjoy all the chaos that five children bring. Don't get me wrong, I am tired, tired, tired and it is hard, hard, hard BUT I wouldn't trade it for the world! I actually think I've become calmer with five kiddos because I've given up trying to control every circumstance in my life. I love it!

Colin and I actually got to take a little trip to Austin all by ourselves this fall and it was wonderful. I know a lot of people get to go do more exciting things than that, but we are so very thankful for the time we had together and the time we spent with good friends.

Russell is doing well in school, loving being a boy scout, going golfing with Dad and disc golfing with whoever will take him. He has made new friends and continues to ask us questions we don't know the answers to...very humbling! He loves to teach our family about all the things he is learning.

Aubrey loves school, especially her friends at school! She enjoys drawing, painting and playing with her Barbie dolls. She is learning to read and loves it. She is quite the helper with Lillian and Asher. She tells me she wants to be a Mommy when she grows up, but she only wants four children.

Bethany loves school too, but her school is with me at home. She enjoys baking, painting, making mud pies in the back yard and most of all singing. She is quite gregarious and has a surprisingly quick wit. She keeps us all laughing!

Lillian loves to dance and bounce to any music she hears. She is playful and talkative. She loves to eat, just like her mama, and cries when she is out of Gerber Puffs. She is a cuddlebug which both Mommy and Daddy take full advantage of!

Asher is rarely without a smile! He loves to laugh and babble! He enjoys climbing, but doesn't enjoy the tumbles he takes as a result of his fondness for climbing. He may be the baby, but not in size. He is growing bigger by the day, and learning all the time!

Here's the very best Christmas picture we could manage...ahhhh the chaos!

Wow! I haven't posted in forever...

I guess having five kids will do that to you. I was reading a blog post from Missy at It's Almost Naptime, and I so identified. If you're a mom with young kids, please go read it. You will NOT be disappointed.

I'm posting some pictures that we had taken back in July for all you who don't have Facebook and haven't seen them yet. They are in no particular order because I'm just too tired to fix them!

Happy Birthday Jenny Dear!!

Happy Birthday Jenny Dear! I made a little video to commerate how you heard this song for the fist time. I recorded in a card didn't I? I don't really remember. I do know this song is just for you, and I've been singing it every August 5th for more than half your life now! I sure don't know what I would have done if God hadn't made us cousins!! ;-) I love you dearly, Jenny Dear! Now are you ready for a hearty laugh?!?!?! :) Love, Abs

You know you have five kids when....

you have to get a babysitter just to have a phone conversation that lasts more than 2 minutes. Thanks for the refreshing chat Lisa!!!

I'll be back soon with some new family pictures!

Abby

Grief is Sneaky

I've been formulating posts in my head for days. Some are funny. Some are venting. Some are crazy. Some are sad. Some are all of those things, but I'm too tired to post.

Tonight I'm just writing, writing because it feels good to get some things off my chest. Today I was taking Aubrey to VBS and as I was waiting at the stoplight I saw the Klein Funeral Home hearse drive by. The man driving the hearse was the same one who I watched from the porch of my parents home drive off with my Mom on May 30, 2007. I didn't cry that day. I knew she was going to die. I was numb to it. Today was different. I wasn't expecting to see the hearse and the tears I should have cried three years ago all came out today.

I cried.

I needed to.

It felt good.

I'm still sad some days.

Most days I remember her with joy and happiness.

She was a good Mom.

She is a good Mom.

I still miss her.

Grief is sneaky. It comes out of nowhere, even three years later, when you think you're all cried out, there are still tears.

My Five

2 Months Already

Lilly Pie and Asher Man,

You are two months old! Wow time flies! It seems like just yesterday your Daddy and I were welcoming you here!

Now here we are two months later and we are more in love with you than ever!! Here are some things that I want to remember about this month:

- Lillian you smile all the time! You also cry a lot! :)

- Asher you are still laid back. You take it all in, a man of few words, except when you are hungry. - You are both very strong! You lift your head up when you are on your tummy and look at your toys. You like laying on your back and looking up at the fun things hanging down on your play gym.

- You both follow rattles and other brightly colored toys with your eyes. You are very interested in your surroundings. - Asher you love for Aubrey to play with you and engage with you. You smile for her a lot!

- Asher you don't like it when Bethany shoves toys in your face. Your Daddy and I are trying to help her be more gentle when she plays with you.

- Lillian you love going for walks, while Asher is napping, your eyes are wide open taking in the great outdoors. I hope this is the beginning of your love for the outdoors, maybe one day we'll hike together.

- Lillian, Aubrey and Bethany don't like for you to leave home without a bow in your hair.

- Asher, Russell takes great pride in the fact that you look like him. So does your Aunt 'Stina since your really do look like her with your red hair and blue eyes! - Asher you found your thumb and your Daddy is just beside himself...he want you to take a "Doodler" and not your thumb!!

- Asher, your brother and sisters have changed the words of the song "Hot Dog" by They Might Be Giants from Mickey Mouse Clubhouse just for you! It goes like this...

Ash Dog, Ash Dog, Ash Diggity Dog!
It's a brand new day whatcha waiting for!
Get up, stretch out, stomp on the floor...
Ash Dog, Ash Dog, Ash Diggity Dog!

-Asher and Lillian you have brought joy back into my life. I haven't been this happy since before my Mom died. I was so scared before you came. I knew it was going to be hard, but I didn't know how hard, and the truth is that frightened me. Now that you are here, it is hard, but you guys are soooooo worth it! I LOVE being your Mommy! I am so glad that God gave you to me! You are a gift and I love you both more than there are stars in the Sky!