A Leap Year

 If I can get this posted before 12am, I am still meeting my at least once a month blogging goal thanks to February 29th! ....

 We just had an impromptu play-date earlier today at our good friends who have almost all matching aged kids as ours...here are Leila and Anna getting to know each other...

 And a picnic in the kitchen with pizza lunchables.....so fun!!

 Leila Lou loves to roll these days...

 And here's Sy Guy sitting on his cat "Itty". Silas brings him E.V.E.R.Y.W.H.E.R.E.

 

Another friend Anna playing super heros with Sammy....

 

   

Lei tried oatmeal for the first time this month. She didn't know what was coming...

 

 "Ugh...what IS this stuff?"

 Grets has her first ballet performance tomorrow night. This is her rain jacket costume. She is so excited!

 Here's Leila's 5 month picture...hair accessories approved by Gretta...

 So happy!

 Love this pic, but Sy Guy was too busy...maybe next time :)

And finally a group shot of all four with GG after a fun night at the cabin. We love you GG!!

iphone updates

 I've heard that when you are behind on something, like lets say scrapbooking or blogging for example, the easiest way to catch up is to start from the most current and work backwards. I've got tons of pics from Christmas and birthdays, but since those were so last month, I will start with the most recent...all four in one picture! This is nearly impossible these days....

 My girls! As for eye color, we have one boy and one girl with blue eyes and one boy and one girl with brown eyes. The two oldest are brown, the two youngest are blue...so fascinating!!

Being goofy as always :)

 Here we are at our favorite park on a warm winter day...this is our favorite hill at the favorite park (facing the neighborhood). GG was with us this time, and she attempted a long roll down the hill...no pictures to show it! What a trooper!!

My shadow...

Sammy on the swings...

Gretta too; they both loved the underducks...

And Sy loved the freedom of a big kid swing...he held on for life :) Is Lei still sleeping in her stroller?...

Nope...she's wide awake!

 Sammy LOVES doing headstands, and he is getting pretty good (with a little help)! I think Linds and I lived half of our childhood upside down...there's something about that view :)

 Rooster Leila just woke up from a nap...you should see the curls after a bath!!

 And of course a thumb picture. Lately, her index finger has been her favored one...

And finally, our trip to the Library to read to Keeva (the little dog between Sam and the Lady in red)...I totally thought Keeva would be a golden retriever, so we got quite the surprise when we first met her!

 

Even though we've had a very large dog for 5ish years, the kids are extremely afraid of other dogs...Silas was the most brave, even letting Keeva lick his face....

 

And Gretta...well, she was perfectly content reading to Keeva while she sat on her owners lap.

Four Months

Leila Lou turned four months old yesterday. I was just sitting here folding mounds of laundry and caught her gaze. She giggled and breathed in real deep like she was so satisfied. Then she found her thumb, the one on her left hand (I've been studying her,  and as far as I can tell, she always picks the one on the left hand). I continued to fold, and caught her gaze again. Giggle. Deep breath. Thumb in mouth. Repeat. Daughter, I too, am satisfied. Satisfied in God. And so thankful He chose me to be your mommy.

A Rhyming Story About a Bear along with smelly marker accents

"The bear went up the stairs and he sat in his chair and he ate a pear and stared." -Gretta made this while mommy was nursing Leila in the other room. The only question I got was "MOM, HOW DO YOU SPELL "ch"? 

Substance

It seems like a productive day; at least on the outside. The washing machine is running, the kitchen table is full of folded clothes soon to be put away. The turkey's in the oven, the sweet aroma of french bread will soon be filling the kitchen, not to mention two kids are napping and another two are upstairs (mostly) giggling over a hand-me-down bag of boys dress up costumes from GG.

But on the inside I started to dwell on things that would be nice to have that we don't have, like a warm fireplace, or more bedrooms to fill more little ones, or blinds on our patio door. My "wanter radar" as one of the kids books calls it was running sky high. When my eyes began to fill with a few tears, I knew a heart check was in order. Off to my knees in the most quiet place I can think of right now, my bedroom floor. In that place, I confessed my seemingly increasing dissatisfaction with what we have been given, and then turned to the daily devo I committed to reading for the next thirty-one days. Maybe none of this would have occurred if I would have read it this morning instead of at 1:30 in the afternoon :)

In 'Pierced by the Word', Piper points to Psalm 135:15-18: The idols of the nations are silver and gold, the work of human hands. They have mouths, but they do not speak; they have eyes, but they do not see; they have ears, but they do not hear, nor is there any breath in their mouths. Those who make them become like them, so do all who trust in them".  Earlier in the devo he said, "It is our created nature to make much of God....When we fulfill this reason for being, we have substance. Not to fulfill this purpose for human existance is to be a mere shadow of the substance we were created to make. Pray along with me that God would make us "feel the suicidal faith in innocent idols and give us fresh freedom from all hallow gems".

Leila Lou

"Giggle butts" is sometimes what we call her. It is funny to hear the kids say it as I can see the reels turning in their minds, "what exactly does 'giggle butts' mean?" I'm not sure what it means; just that she giggles a lot, and giggles more when you say it.

November News

 Here is Leila's 2 month picture.  It's funny to hear who people think she looks like. I often hear a confident "I think she looks just like _____ " but it's never the same family member. I guess we all look alike!

 

Leila has been such a sweet and happy baby. She is easy to get to laugh, loves taking it easy in her swing, and is never bored with all of the sibling attention around here.

 We had a triple birthday party this month for Tim, Brian and Silas, whose birthdays are all within five days of each other. Sy's latest is counting to 10 but before he gets to 10, he seems to be fond of one number specifically, "1..2..3..4..5..6..7..8..9.9.9.9.9.9.9.9.9...........10". He makes us laugh!

 For the party, we made homemade pizza pockets. Sammy put a little of everything in his...such a good eater!

 Grandma and Grandma holding their newest grandkids, Grey and Leila.

The only picture I have of the guys, and Tim isn't even in it :( Funny how picture taking by the time the third kid turns two just isn't approached with quite the same effort :)

 Cousins Johnny, Sy, Allison, Leila, Sam, Gretta and Grey all in pjs.

 Play date at our house...thanks Amy, Janelle and Mary for all of the fun!...oh wait, the playdate was for the kids?!

 Cousins John, Amie and Paul...so grown up!

 "Leila Lou" celebrating a Packer win at Auntie Karens :) She will have to wait until next year to try the turkey.

 

 After a few bribes of cookies and gum, they all sat on the same couch for about 3 seconds :)

 

The boys are up north with Daddy, so Gretta, Leila and I had some sweet girls time starting off at Hobby Lobby where we found some paper dolls. We went out to lunch at Mc Ds and finished the day strong with puzzles, Candy Land, window clings and a Christmas movie. I don't remember the last time our house was this quiet! But still, we are excited to welcome the boys back tomorrow!