A Taste of My Own Medicine

Last night Jonathan got a call a little after ten to do an inter-thecal block for a laboring woman in Centerville. The drive to the Centerville hospital is about 40 minutes from our home. He got dressed and ready, I said goodnight he and headed out the door. A little after 2 AM he got home after placing the inter-thecal and crawled into bed. He had almost fallen asleep when the phone rang again. Centerville - she had failed to progress and now was needing to go to a C-Section. Back in the car he went for his second trip to Centerville to do the spinal on the lady. Some time after 5 AM he was back to bed the second time. Unbeknownst of his long night I woke feeling rested and ready for a happy Sabbath. He was a little sluggish on the draw and in fact didn't get up with the 7 AM alarm for P.E.C. (What a slacker...) It wasn't until after church when we finally had a few moments to talk that I found out he had made two trips to Centerville and didn't really sleep last night.

I just laughed. I was clueless to his phone ringing in the night, him coming... going... talking to nurses. I slept... well, dang hard.

Only now do I have a twinge of appreciation for his comments in the morning that go a little like this... "Wow, that was a great night. Did the boys all sleep through the night?" And through bloodshot eyes I wonder to myself, how is it humanly possible for him to be unaware of the 5 wake-up sessions I had with 3 different children.

It's all about selective hearing... his is buzzing, mine is whimpering. But ya know folks... we get r' done.

Matthew's Apprentice

Andrew has learned everything he knows from his big brother. The one that he calls Ma-Mow.

Ma-Mow has a gift for helping.

Seven

A rainbow with a pot of gold at the bottom was Mr. Adam's birthday request this year. He got it, along with a handful of friends to go bowling with. They had a great time ripping the balls down the lanes and eating lots of pepperoni pizza and eating cake. This was the first I had met a few of Adam's school friends. It was fun to get to know "the country kids" the secretary at the school remarked that Adam hung out with. Ya, they're a little country... cowboy boots and ball caps. But awfully cute little fellas.

When the boy's parents asked what they could get Adam for his birthday I really had to think on it. Adam loves fish, fishing and reading. He loves to receive toys, but he doesn't actually play with them because he doesn't want them to get broken. He's is an intensive steward of everything he owns. He gets that from his Dad who still owns all of his childhood toys. He ended up with a building set, a few new footballs, a yo-yo, a watch, a few books, and a few other silly toys. I gave him a journal which he loves to write in. He's my bookie child and I love it. He has read the Magic Tree House Series up to #37 more times than I can count, has just about cleaned up all of the Secrets of Droon Series and I'm debating if I should start him on Harry Potter. If it has words he reads it. The other day he was reading the paper and he said to me, "Mom, did you know that there is real war going on?" I love him. His current WPM is over 200 and cruising.
Andrew and Dad got in on a little bowling fun with the ramp.
Michael watched and got called a little girl several times. A very common mishap in this adorable little BOY'S life.

Happy birthday Adam!

Mom, that's just unacceptable

Matthew asked me a question and I gave him an answer. His response,

"Mom, I'm sorry, but that is an unacceptable answer. You'll just have to try again."

Ha!!!!!!!!

If You Chance to Meet a Frown...

Aunt Becky is expecting a baby girl very soon. We are SOOOO excited for her! My sister Wendy bought me a baby girl bedding set before Adam was born. I tucked it away thinking it may get used... four boys later I decided to pull it out of hiding and at least let someone that knows they can get some use out of it have it. So Michael got a glamour shot on a girl blankie and we boxed it up for Aunt Bepee.

Mommy, READ!!

You gotta love the spike at the top of this child's head.

Grandma Jenson gave the boys the "Big Yellow Songbook" several years ago. It is a two year old magnet. Andrew grabs it crawls on my lap and yells at the top of his lungs, "READ!" In other words - sing me these songs! When Mom doesn't he makes a nest and reads them to his bear friends.

Michael's Blessing Day

Michael's Blessing was a beautiful day. He was blessed by his Dad on December 26, 2010. Michael is a blessed spirit and addition to our family. I think my favorite part of his blessing was the promise that he would be a peacemaker in our home. In his few short months of life I have seen this promise begin to unfold. He evokes tender feelings of love from each of his big brothers. I love to watch the older boys be the big brothers. They are so tender and so sweet. It makes me want to never stop having children. I wish that all of them could feel the joy that comes from being the big brother. Unfortunately... there is a little thing called reality that exists in our home and all good things will some day come to an end. So for now we are enjoying our little dumplings especially on days like today when Adam comes to by bedroom and says, "Mom, Andrew is white." Huh? Ya, have you seen how far an entire bottle of baby powder can spread? Ask Andrew. He has a gift for "dusting" his bedroom. I should introduce him to Amelia Bedelia. The whole house was baby powder fresh!

Birds

I went to get my camera this morning when we were eating breakfast because the weather has turned a touch warmer and a few of our bird friends are returning. There was a brilliant cardinal that perched on our deck and I wanted to get a picture of it. By the time I got my act together it was gone so we settled for finches and a couple nuthatches.

I love the nuthatches. They live their lives upside down. I don't think I have ever seen one perched on the side of a tree up-right. I LOVE LOVE LOVE to watch these silly little birds.

Adam built a bird house last year and we finally got it hung up. Jonathan and the boys spent Saturday afternoon at the conservation center building a new bluebird house. When they hung up the bluebird house out by the garden they hung Adam's birdhouse in the pear tree that sits outside of our bedroom window. This picture is for you Adam... who has waited a year for his birdhouse to be hung. Now... we just need birds.