Who are these children?

I find myself asking this question frequently.

Like when I'm folding laundry at the kitchen table and all 4 of them are having a snack around the counter / highchair. (4pm = boys get off the bus, food everywhere for a good 15 minutes or so....)

I have a hard time understanding that all these little people with their amazingly different personalities came out of my body.

Last week was one of those weeks where I wondered if our parenting was making any difference in the lives of our children. It felt like we were walking through a battlefield, being ambushed by situations left and right.

And you're just trying to get through it as best you can...there are no recipes for success when it comes to raising kids. But, man, it sure would be easier if there were. It's cliche to repeat here, but PARENTING IS SOOO HARD.

We've really entered a different stage with Greg and Daniel as they are now bigger than ever -- 1st and 3rd grade -- and it's harder to find ways to simply connect with them since they don't need the same things little boys need.

On Labor Day this past summer -- did I already blog this?? -- I have no memory -- I took Greg and Daniel to the airport to drop off some friends, and then we hit the Mall of America, where we took in the Aquarium (still a rip-off with coupons, oh well) and LegoWorld. It was a day I'll never forget, especially with Daniel squeezing my middle and exclaiming, "You're the best Mom EVER!"

Bottom Line? Parenting can make you crazy, but it can also change and grow you in amazing ways.

Decisions, decisions...and trying to find something in Mom's budget...
This is a Star Wars Clone Tropper made out of legos, for those of you without boys in the house.

This is Sharky, the Aquarium mascot, so to speak. I was surprised my boys wanted their picture with him. Big outside, still kinda little inside :) OK by me.

Grandma, Creative Memories, and Movies

Hey Ya'll!

Grandma's here from Ohio and we're having a grand time. I keep her up late at night and the kids wake her up early getting ready for school :)

Last night she came with me to a Creative Memories Get Together that one of my friends had. It was great to have her there for moral support and to help carry things in! I've loved getting "back into" (never really left) CM -- there are so many new products that make me smile and motivate me to play with pictures again.

Watched "Dan in Real Life" again the other night and laughed again at the craziness and wonderfulness of family. One of my favorite scenes? "What's your talent, Dan?" and he responds quietly: "Murderer of Love." (after the scene with his love-struck teenage daughter...)

Also loving new music right now....Priscilla Ahn and "Dream" if you need some mellow tunes and "Glory Revealed II" -- an album collection of worship songs with a lot of different artists. I love it's country feel.

End of Summer Catch-Up

Really, I have to apologize for being away for awhile. The main reason is that every time I try to post, there is an 18 mo. old child climbing all over my back, my lap, and slamming the keys. Makes it a little difficult.

So, here are a big load of pictures to show you how we spent Labor Day Weekend. The McBrides came for a visit and we loved every minute of it. Above is Greg, getting up on a wakeboard!

Daddy, surfing behind Uncle Chris' boat.


The boys love playing around with Patrick. He used to wrestle around with Greg and Daniel when we lived in Houston.

Ashley and baby Benjamin

Again, another unsuccessful family photo. I give up.

But this one made my day.

Confessions of a Lazy Blogger

In the interest of time I am deferring to my friend at this blog - check it out! (Scroll down to the Sept. 8th post to see what I'm referring to)

It Starts Early, People

This summer we had an outdoor baptism service. Hope was determined to sing with Mama, or more accurately, be held.