Welcome baby Thomas

It is sad for me to think that many months ago I couldn't understand God's timing.  Life was hectic.  Lucy didn't sleep.  I homeschool.  I couldn't handle another baby.  And so I cried.  But good friends and wonderful husbands stepped in to tell me I could, and I would.  They developed plans and had good ideas, and still I doubted.  And then Thomas arrived.  I was sure he would be late and big.  He was early and small.   I have 10 pound babies in less than 3 hours, but Thomas was tiny and it took 10.  And that describes Thomas....a surprise.....a gift that only God knew we needed.  And apparently we needed him so, because it feels like he was always supposed to be with us.  His quiet open eyes take us and the world all in.  And he fills our hearts.  I am so very thankful that God knew better than me.

Thomas had a birthday party in the hospital complete with cupcakes and presents for all his siblings.  (pretty thoughtful baby huh?)  The biggest treat was his Grandma and Grandpa Army got to be in town for his birth. They were in town for a few days on their way back from vacation so they got to spend a bit of time with him before heading home.  And we were very thankful for the extra help!


Details:
Name:  Thomas More
born:  8/19/12
7 pounds 7 ounces   22 inches

August birthday boys

Aside from Patrick's special day, we have several more birthdays for the men in our family.  I cannot believe that Luke turned 12 this year, and Max turned 4.  Perhaps I can blame it on post-partum hormones, but I had one of those "I nearly need to stop the car and cry for a bit" moments while driving the kids around the other day.  It started with a Mexican restaurant turning into a Dunkin' Donuts and after my mind played with it for a minute it involved memories.....a Luke that is now 12.....he'll only be in the house for 6 more years....Max is 4.....that is really close to 6.......time is going by too fast......the baby is already 4 days old and changing......  Oh hormones.  It is such a gift to raise these boys.  Luke is turning into quite a young man.  He has really stepped up to the plate in the helpfulness department and is truly helping me with the little ones lately.  A big treat for him is the newly finished basement.  It now holds an air hockey table and ping-pong table.  This has resulted in some guy time in the basement.  After all the little ones are in bed, Luke and Patrick head to the basement for ping-pong.  They really enjoy the time together, and Luke usually returns covered in sweat.  Who knew ping-pong was so....aerobic?  I'm thinking Patrick's days are numbered as the reigning ping-pong house champion.

Max got to celebrate his birthday at school with his friends, where they sang him "Happy Birthday" and "The Earth Goes Around the Sun".  This is how the teacher helps them learn months of the year and time.  Max requested a white cake, with white frosting and red writing.  He wanted strawberries, and no real decoration.  It is quite possibly the ugliest cake I ever made.  No one else in the house likes cake, and they were disappointed Max didn't pick one of Patrick's ice cream cake creations.  But Max loved his cake.  He loved the slippery strawberries sliding around in their juice leaking all over the cake.  I cringed.....he ate.

All Aboard the Crazy Train

I am blessed to have several friends from large families.  All are wonderful people, and they help to keep me focused on the positives and more importantly to keep things in perspective.  Sometimes little things can seem like such a big deal and they reassure me that they really are not so important.  When talking a few months ago with a friend who is one of five, she told me, "Girl for the next 15 years you are on the crazy train....just enjoy the ride."  I really like that motto and am contemplating having a t-shirt made for myself and some other friends.  But here are the latest antics that help to remind me....."of the train".

1.  "Are we really out of milk again?  That is it...we buy 6 gallons to start the week from now on and see how long we can last...4 is a joke."

2.  Max:  "Mom remember when be got these bracelets at the Monkey Theater?"  (Mom thinking....what on earth is a Monkey Theater?  Mom looks at the object in question.  Oh yeah!)  Mom:  "Max we call that place a zoo, not a Monkey Theater."

3.   I will preface this story with the fact that neither my brain nor my hands are working well these days.  Maybe pregnancy is to blame, but I keep dropping things.  Especially sweet drinks inside the garage that then need cleaned up (including glass).  Usually after 3 days of such episodes, tears ensue.  I also seem to be  calling all my boys by the wrong names.  Yesterday, Sean walked into the kitchen with a post-it note attached to his chin.  On it was printed his name.  He calmly told me it was to help me to remember to call him by the right name.  Instead, I began to freak out that my children will forever remember me being so scatterbrained that I couldn't even remember their names.

All on board the crazy train......

A memory of two

The big kids are all off at science camp again this week, and I have made a promise to do some fun things with just the little two. (instead of tackling my growing to-do list).  I remember when it was just Sarah and Luke and we would spend many mornings at a playland at the mall in Charleston.  Well, as it turns out we have a mall with a playland here too!  And my little ones have never been there (mom guilt enters here...)  So after dropping off the big kids and a near terrible mouth injury for Lucy (tongues sure bleed a lot!), we headed to the mall for some play time.  Max jumped right into the mix with the boys there, playing superheros.  Lucy wasn't so sure what to do with herself.  Max tried to take her to various parts of the playland.  When any big kids would get close to her he would say something like, "This is my baby.  Isn't she cute?  You have to play gentle around her."  He never ceases to amaze me with his caring attitude and genuine love for his siblings.  He really enjoys being a big brother to Lucy, and she is lucky to have him.  Anyhow, she left the playland area to concentrate on all the shoes laying around.  She was like Cinderella and tried on many different shoes belonging to many different people.  Gross, I know!  But it is her favorite game to play at home.  She puts on any shoes she can find and walks all around saying, "shoe....shoe....shoe...".  It was a fun morning of memories of how life was when it was only two little ones.  Not better or even less stressful (after all, there were less helpful hands than usual), but it was nice to dote on the little guys for once.

One last hurrah.....

Before the baby arrives.  We decided to take a trip at the last moment to celebrate Patrick's birthday, Luke's birthday, and the impending arrival of our newest little one.  It was the last weekend in which I could travel.  So we headed to Charleston and the beach for an action packed weekend.  The kids loved staying in a hotel.  The liked the breakfast buffet and all its goodies.  The liked watching the Olympics on TV.  They loved the beach.  They loved visiting a few of their old friends.  They liked eating out and the Children's Museum of the Lowcountry.   Even Sean.  (Mr.  all museums are boring and I am NOT going to have a good time no matter what you tell me).  About 2 minutes into the museum and he loved it.  A special treat was ice cream cones for dinner on the way home.  Every time we make this trip we say we should do it more often.  Maybe we will.

A Summer in Review

Yes, for most of America it is still summer, and technically I keep telling the kids it is still summer for us.  Only it is summer with a twist.  A big twist of schooling.  We returned to "school" this week so that we can get in a fair amount before the baby arrives at the end of August.  But here is run-down of what we've been up to since April.  (a bit behind these days, I guess!)

1.  We had a family reunion/birthday party for Patrick's mom in May.  All the family was here except for one lone nephew who couldn't leave due to med school (oh how I remember those days!).  I think Mom liked her party...and the kids just loved it.  Twenty-some cousins, what a blast!

2.  Sean turned seven!  I can't believe how big all these kiddos are getting.  We enjoyed the day at an arcade with games and laser tag.  And he had one of Dad's yummy cakes.  He is really a sweet, lovable kid, with a hidden side of caretaker to the littler ones when I least expect it.  The best part of Sean's birthday was the visit by Grandma and Grandpa Army.  Apparently we were having so much fun, that I forgot to take pictures.  Oops.

3.  We went to visit our best friends in San Antonio and Lucy is proof it was a hair-raising good time.  We got to fly on airplanes, swim, go to parks, play games, and cook....and cook....The only low was Patrick's bout with a stomach bug.  In the 16 years I have known him, he has NEVER gotten a bug.  Bummer that it happened on vacation.  Awesome news is that no one else suffered his fate.

4.  We have been picking berries or from the garden nearly every day.  I have canned pickles, relish, and tomatoes.  I have frozen beans and tons of zucchini.  We have bags of frozen blueberries, strawberries, and blackberries stockpiled in the freezer.  I love the sight and smell of it all.  I don't necessarily love canning at 9:30 at night.  But......  I wish I could send some to San Antonio to our friends as the heat doesn't seem to work very well for a garden there.  In fact.... I would send them tons and tons of cucumbers if I could....just so I wouldn't have to pull out the canner again.

5.  Swim team started a few weeks ago and what a great thing!  It is going to make our school day a bit more cramped since we swim 4 days a week.  But it is great exercise, the kids love it, it tires them out, and the 3 big kids can all participate at the same time!

6.  Construction update....drywall in the basement finished today.  We need to clean up the space, do molding, finish the stairs, finish the floor, and paint.  I've decided to move my school room down there into about 1/3 of the space.  I've added bookcases to the necessary items.  Construction on my laundry room remodel starts soon.  My hubby is wonderful!

7.  We will try to be more punctual with our postings.  Until then, we are off learning!

A few days in paradise

Last week Patrick and I took a little trip to Cancun, Mexico.  It was a lot of work getting ready to go.  It involved making meals to freeze for the kids, laying out clothes for the kids, wrapping a-present-a-day for the kids (little treats to keep them smiling...like sunglasses, bubbles, silly putty etc), making lists and lists and more lists, arranging babysitters and then doing it again to fill in some holes.  Anyway, I remember thinking, during that week of preparation, I will NOT do this again, it is just too much work.  And then we left home.  It was just us....like I vaguely remember from days past.  And it was so worth it.  It was fun to hang out, and relax, and not cook, or wipe bottoms, and talk, and talk during meals that lasted over two hours that didn't involve spills or the words, "sit back down".  I remembered all those reasons why I fell in love with my husband in the first place (not that I had forgotten, the craziness of everyday life just takes over sometimes).  Of course, I missed those 5 living examples of our love who were back home having fun.  Best of all we shared our getaway with our best friends....friends from before kids who now have many themselves.  The time shared was such a blessing!