Time With My Peeps

Well, this week has held a lot...a lot of ups and a lot of downs. Lawson turned four and three out of our four kids have been sick and to the doctor...so I've had a lot of time with my peeps needless to say!

I'll start with the ups...My sweet Lawson! It is hard to believe four whole years have passed since God blessed us with this sweet guy! Here he's dressed as a super hero with his "blank" as his cape.


How cute is he with his baseball glove in one hand and a mini cupcake in the other? Oh and a sucker too...can't get enough sugar.


Lawson is by far the most affectionate child, he loves to give kisses and hugs; he enjoys playing with trains, dressing up like any superhero and helping to make macaroni and cheese (which happens to be his all time favorite). His new phrase is "I don't want any dessert"...which is code for "I don't want to eat anymore and its ok if I don't get to have the cookie or cupcake." He loves to ride in Adam's truck; help in the yard (mostly digging holes with his shovel); his favorite thing to do is to wrestle anytime, any day, he never has to be asked twice if he wants to wrestle and certainly don't suggest it if you don't really want to do it because he will be HEART.BROKEN if it doesn't happen. He is quite smart he can count to 20, he recognizes most letters, he can even spell several colors (thanks to listening to Peyton sing his color songs!) He is quite verbal and enjoys talking. He tries to do everything Peyton does so this past weekend, he asked to have his training wheels removed so Adam took him up to the fields by our church and let him go for it. With his helmet, knee, elbow and wrist pads, he took off and hardly looked back. Pretty brave for a four year old huh?!!

We are currently working with him on spontaneously saying "please" and "thank you" without us having to prompt him first; we're also working on looking adults in the eyes and talking to people when spoken to. We've begun a chore chart and I must say he's done a great job of helping to pick up his toys, emptying the silverware basket and clearing his dishes when he's finished. He is a precious little guy and we are so thankful that God saw fit to place him in our home, it would not be the same place without him! He brings laughter, joy, noise and volume to our house...he is active, energetic and at times intense...but its the life he has and its this life that we've come to love so much! We can't wait to celebrate with friends and family in just a couple of weeks. Stay tuned for those party pics!

And as for my downs...my oh my...when it rains it does pour sometimes! Yesterday I did have a mini meltdown cause at one point E.VER.Y.ONE was either whining or crying...and when I say everyone I mean Peyton, Lawson, Emerson, Ava Jane and I!! Ava Jane has a terrible respitory virus and ear infection, so our normally easy going baby has been tremendously fussy; Emerson has had the stomach bug coming out both ends for over a week; Peyton was running fever and has a terrible cough; and Lawson was just whiny. Mama just needed a time out!! Two days in a row I've been at All For Kids, this morning I was there before 8am! Wowsers! I must say I couldn't have done it without my Mom yesterday who came and watched the oldest boys so I could take Emerson and Ava Jane to the doctor...thanks Mom for so graciously doing my laundry, folding it and putting it away...I'm so grateful at times like this, to be living back in Little Rock, what a blessing!!

While at the doctors office, people kept commenting to me about how full my hands were while we were waiting for our RSV lab results for Ava Jane and our stool sample for Emerson (yes, you heard me right, since he's had this bug going for over a week now, they're testing to see if its something bacterial, what a joy that was!) We're sitting there for our allotted 20 minutes for the results and I wasn't prepared because the nurse had taken the carseat (which is my extra set of hands) and diaper bag (which had my cel phone, snacks and juice cup) while it was certainly nice of her to want to help ease my burden of gear, once I was in the waiting area, I was kicking myself for having agreed for her to put my things in the Doctors office. As we're sitting there and I'm pulling out every last thing I can from my purse, Emerson starts throwing everything from my purse onto the floor (gum, pens, Ava Jane's favorite paci...you name it he threw it!) And of course there were several parents and children waiting their turn in the lab too...and I just love it when people state the obvious, like, "you really have your hands full, huh?" "Yes, I sure do" I said with a half smile I'm sure and a cleansing breath!

So today, Mama just took a day off...I decided after we got home from the clinic, we were just gonna have fun! Lawson wanted hot chocolate with colored marshmallows so he enjoyed that, while Em had his favorite juice. After that we headed up to the playroom to make food, play with the train table and do some imaginary play with all their Imaginext toys. I don't take enough time to just sit and play with them...it really was nice to just set things aside and focus solely on playing with my peeps!!








And here's the hot chocolate evidence...


I had fun playing with my boys...I love them and am so grateful for time to be with them!

And what would a girl do without some really great friends?!! Thanks Carol for my little "happy" that you left in my mailbox, you know how much I LOVE popcorn, it was delightful!

And the dinner you brought will for sure be enjoyed!

And sweet Lindsay, thanks for bringing by my drink of choice...sweet tea, it is the nectar of the Gods!!