Lunch with the lunch bunch

Anna and I made lunch for the 'lunch bunch' yesterday...we had a nice time eating and talking with these ladies. 94 year old Aunt Mae Frank (for those H'burg people, she is Mike Marsh's dad's sister) brought us a pineapple and a bag of key limes from her backyard as well as a key lime pie she had made the day before (Rose Marie, I'm going to freeze some of the juice to make you a pie when you come to visit!). These ladies have been a blessing to us and it's been neat to hear stories of life with horse drawn buggys and gas-run refridgerators.

Here are the five kids watching Scooby-Doo.

Leighton & Matthias

These two babies are so cute. It's funny, I meet people when I'm out and they comment on how alike they look...when in reality they really look nothing alike. I don't know if it's a psychological twin thing or if I just know they look nothing a like b/c I see them every day. I stood on a scale the other day with them....Leighton is around 15 pounds and Matthias is still around 20. They are starting to pay more attention to each other....Leighton loves faces, so when I went to find the camera to take this picture she was grabbing at Matthias' face....they chew on each other's hands and grab each other's blankets if it's within their reach.

They paved our neighborhood a month or so ago...we were really grateful for that. Hurricane Charley came through here in 2004 and with all the big trucks driving in and out of the neighborhood the streets got really ripped up. Anyways, Anna and I went for a bike ride around the block with Kylie and Josey today....The two big kids finally have a good place to ride their bikes and are doing great with it! We're really enjoying Anna and are not looking forward to her leaving. September 15th is the date and it is fast approaching. Pray for me as that day gets closer.... and pray for her, she's going to orientation with Wycliffe Bible Translators in Orlando for two weeks before heading back to St. Louis for the fall. We're going to miss her.

first day of school!!!

My big kids started first and second grade today!! I can't believe it....the summer has flown by. So, they were excited and nervous this morning....we had met their teachers last friday and saw their classrooms so everything wasn't totally brand new. When they got home we sat down to brownies and milk and they told me all about their days and did their homework. It seems like they're going to really enjoy their classes. They were really wired when they got home from school....and they had no problems falling asleep tonight. :)

Here is my fashion diva with her little princess sister. Kylie has really gotten into stylish things...she definitely didn't get that from her mother!! And of course, AJ wants to wear everything pink nowadays.....my least favorite color. :)

I've been told that they grow up fast. I am definitely experiencing that firsthand...my first baby is nowhere near being a baby anymore. We were talking in sunday school about God's sovereignty, and related it some to raising children....how to be faithful with the fact that He has entrusted us with these lives to care for....and yet to know that we have no control over or no idea of how they are going to end up. There's a good bit of freedom in that fact....even in the midst of the fears. Kylie is going to go before the session and share her testimony to begin taking communion. She (for almost a year now) has really wanted to take part in the Lord's supper...and we feel she has gotten to a place where she can really articulate her simple and sweet faith. It's exciting stuff this growing up thing!

Busch Gardens and big belly babies!

We went to Busch Gardens on monday. We arrived at 9:30 and stayed until they closed at 8:00. AJ was an amazing trooper through it all...there were several rides that the big kids wanted to do that she couldn't so Tom and I would take turns hanging out with her while the other was riding the ride with the bigger ones. Our family favorite was the log flume....AJ laughed the whole time, especially with the big drop where we got wet.
Here is a pic of AJ and I on the serengeti train....we toured the park looking at the animals while Tom and the big kids were on the Congo river rapids ride.
All 3 of them would have loved to stay the entire time in the Land of the Dragons (a lot of the rides were little kids only). All in all it was a great first family trip to an amusement park!

The twins were looking especially cute with their roly-poly bellys tonight....I just had to get a sumo-wrestler shot of them in their diapers. It seems as if Matthias just keeps growing and growing. Leighton is definitely growing, too, but he's keeping his distance in weight. How can anybody not love a fat baby? :)

Fire Ants!

Here is a harmless looking pile of dirt in the middle of our yard...
If you were to step on that pile of dirt this is what would be stirred up.

Anna and I and the kids went to Ms. Toms house on friday to visit with her. She had plans of showing us her yard with all the different plants and trees, etc... so I had us all wear socks and shoes b/c I knew that there would be fire ants in the yard. Well, as we stood listening to her tell us of some flower or plant (I honestly don't remember what she was talking about) I realized that there were a few ants on my left ankle. I looked down and saw that my shoe was swarming with ants and a few had made it to my ankle and were biting (rather, stinging) me. I hurriedly lifted my to get my shoe and sock off and suddenly realized that my right foot was actually standing on the fire ant mound and that shoe was swarming with ants along with at least twenty or more ants on my right ankle. All in all it was a horrible experience....I am just glad that it was me and not one of the kids. Tom suggested that I take a picture of my ankle and post it, but I have decided that that would be a little to graphic. In all, my left ankle got away with 3 or 4 stings and my right ankle is covered with 25-30 stings....that have turned into pustules (horrible word) and itch like crazy, but hurt when I touch them. I am actually glad that I got that over with....I figured I'd be stung by a fire ant at some point. I'm going to sign off before the benedryl kicks in. We're headed to Busch Gardens (Africa in Tampa) tomorrow....this is the last week of summer for the kids, so we're going all out!

5 kids?

We can't figure out who looks like who. Everyone is saying that Leighton looks like AJ when she was little....and a lot of people are saying that she looks like Tom. Matthias doesn't seem to have any similar features to his siblings that stand out. It's fun that they are each their own person.
These babies are so much fun! They are so happy. I cannot believe that they're already five months old. We definitely need to put them in separate beds soon. I put them down for a nap yesterday and after a little fussing Leighton was quiet...Matthias seemed to be having a hard time falling asleep (I usually let them fuss for a little before they nap)....so after a while I went in to check on him. Leighton was wide awake smiling up at me...kicking her legs. Matthias' head was under Leighton's legs...he was getting kicked in the face and was not happy about that. Poor baby boy. I felt bad for laughing, but really couldn't help it.

Our trip to VA - Kyle and Ginny's wedding!

Kyle and Ginny's wedding was really nice. The guys had a good time with each other and managed to not get in trouble. It was nice to see some friends and their wives...all in all very enjoyable! I left the babies for 12 hours that day! They had a wonderful time with the Patton's and I was able to enjoy the wedding without having the responsibility of any children.
The wedding party.

One of my best friends (Shannon) was due in early march and i was due in late march.... we joked that we might end up at RMH at the same time b/c she tended towards going late and i have had all my children early. Sadly, she went into labor the day after i was discharged from the hospital.
The twins and Solomon are only four days apart...it was fun to spend a morning with them while we were in Harrisonburg. :)

Uncle Dan, thigh-thigh and yayton!

Here's happy Matthias with Uncle Daniel
Leighton getting rinsed off after a much needed bath
Matthias playing piano with A-ma.

We're in Northern VA right now (Tom and I and the twins) having just been in Blacksburg yesterday for our friend, Kyle's, wedding. It was a lot of fun to see some good college friends and their wives. (pictures to come) We miss the big kids...they stayed back in Florida with Anna for the long weekend. Before we left it was thundering and lightning one night and Kylie made up the nicknames Thunder thigh-thigh and Lightning leighton for the babies. Sweet baby Matthias definitely has the thunder thigh-thighs. :)