Nearly Impossible...

...to get a good picture of four kids together all smiling and happy (not always the same thing) but wanted to share that I love my kids and all their very different personalities. We have...

...the enforcer (who rules with a stick)

...the allergy sufferer (who can barely open his eyes)

...the little mommy (who tries to make others stay in place)

...the sensitive one (who is scared of being put down outside)

Christ is Risen

A wonderful song that reminds of the AMAZING truth of the resurrection and all that it means for us. If you haven't heard this song I encourage you to listen to it on the youtube link I put below.

Christ is Risen (on the album Alive Again)
By Matt Maher

Let no one caught in sin remain
Inside the lie of inward shame
But fix our eyes upon the cross
And run to Him who showed great love
And bled for us
Freely You've bled for us

Christ is rise from the dead
Tramling over death by death
Come awake, come awake
Come and rise up from the grave
Christ is risen from the dead
We are one with Him again
Come awake, come awake
Come and rise up from the grace

Beneath the weight of all our sin
You bowed to non but heaven's will
No sheme of hell, no scoffer's crown
No burden great can hold You down
In strength You reign
Forever let Your church proclaim

O death, where is your sting?
O hell, where is your victory?
O church, come stand in the light
The glory of God has defeated the night

O death where is your sting?
O hell, where is your victory?
O church, come stand in the light
O God is not dead
He's Alive! He's Alive!

Keeping Me Humble

Yesterday Karis & I went to a baby shower for a dear friend. They had a time of people sharing either mothering advice or anything they remember about their mother. After I shared something the mom to be asked Karis if she had anything to share. Just to keep me humble, Karis shared, "She sure can get angry quick."

We all had a good laugh. She was embarrassed after but it was good for her to share this to humble me and remind me how much I need the Savior! This mothering thing is a gift from him and it is only in his strength that we can do anything.

Signs of Spring

I no longer have to do 4 loads of laundry every 3 days, this week I only had 5 loads total.

Great Wolf Lodge & Williamsburg

Earlier this weekend we took a mini family vacation (1 night) to Great Wolf Lodge & Colonial Williamsburg. We had a great time. The kids all loved Great Wolf Lodge, even Jotham who I thought would be too scared to do anything. He was riding waves and going down slides all by himself- amazing.


Karis loved walking around Colonial Williamsburg in the dress I made her (from an old sheet). She would run up to anyone in Colonial garb and ask them questions about what they did, etc. She learned to curtsy and say, "Good Day to you."


I enjoyed going to the candy shop and getting chocolate covered gummy bears, I know it sounds gross but they are so yummy! I especially loved being with the people I love the most.

Today I am loving...

... 3 kids playing outside

... 1 little boy (getting so big) watching from the window

... short sleeves on all

Oh Sweet Spring

Song for a Fifth Child

A wonderful and godly mother told me a verse of this poem in Starbucks the other day and I started crying right there.

Song for a Fifth Child
by Ruth Hulburt Hamilton

Mother, O Mother, come shake our your cloth
Empty the dustpan, poison the moth
Hang out the washing, make up the bed,
Sew on a button and butter the bread.
Where is the mother whose house is so shocking?
She's up in the nursery, blissfully rocking.

Oh, I've grown as shiftless as Little Boy Blue,
Lullaby, rockabye, lullabye loo.
Dishes are waiting and bills are past due
Pat-a-cake, darling, and peek, peekaboo

The shopping's not done and there's nothing for stew
And out in the yard there's a hullabaloo
But I'm playing Kanga and this is my Roo
Look! Aren't his eyes the most wonderful hue?
Lullabye, rockabye lullaby loo.

The cleaning and scrubbing can wait till tomorrow
But children grow up as I've learned to my sorrow.
So quiet down cobwebs; Dust go to sleep!
I'm rocking my baby and babies don't keep.