Happy Birthday Luke!

Luke,

Happy 4th birthday Darth Vader (if you heard me say that you would be so excied - you love to be called Darth Vader)!! Today is your birthday, but tomorrow is your party and you are so excited. You have only been talking about it for the past 3 months! To anyone and everyone who would listen. And, true to who you are, you have invited everyone you meet to come to your party!

My little Lukie, you are the funniest, sweetest child I have ever met. Yesterday as we were walking home from the bus stop you asked me, "Mommy, what number is bigger than 100." I replied, "200." And then you said the sweetest thing I have ever heard, "I love you 200!" You are adorable!

Here are four of my favorite things about you these days:

1. You are the most charming child...when I ask you to do something that you don't want to do, you look me straight in the eye and with the biggest smile and cutest face say "Yes, ma'am" and then do the completely opposite thing I said. It can be really hard to get mad at you sometimes!
2. You love your big brother!! Since Caleb has started school you really miss him and tell him that all the time. I overheard you begging Caleb not to go to school the other day because you would miss him. You and Caleb have such a great, close relationship and for that I am so thankful.
3. You are so into Star Wars it is c-r-a-z-y! And the craziest part is that you are just four. But I guess that's what happens when you have a big brother. Your favorite guys are Darth Vader and Darth Maul and your favorite episode is 4. Nana Bear got you a Darth Vader costume and you put it on today...you were so excited!!
4. My most favorite thing about you is how expressive you are. When you want a junk snack you will give this pathetic-I-could-die-at-any-moment look and say that you "think you are going to throw up!" And so I say, "Oh no! What do you think you need to feel better?" With total drama you will say, "I need ____!" (fill in the blank with - ice cream, a cookie, a doughnut, gum, fruit snack) You wear all your emotions on your sleeve and I love it! All I have to do is look at your adorable little face and I know exactly how you are feeling!

My little boy, there are so many things I love about you. I can't wait to see what kind of man you will grow to be. Actually I can wait because I am enjoying the phase that you are in right now. You are determined, charming, passionate, athletic, laid back, outgoing, trusting, funny, enthusiastic, energetic and such a joy to be around!

Before we ever met you I have been praying for the Light that shines within you. I pray that others are attracted to you because of the deep love and strong relationship that you have with your Savior. I pray that you are able to articulate that love and share it passionately with others. I pray that you are clothed with compassion, kindness, gentleness and strength. I also pray that you use your big personality to draw out others who are lonely and show them they are loved by God. I pray, my sweet little Lukie, that in all you do and all you are you always remember that you have been placed here to show others God's glory and point the way to him. You are an amazing little boy Luke and I love you so much!

Happy Birthday my big 4 year old!!!

This just got very INTERESTING and EXCITING!

Did y'all hear the big news?! J-Mac announced his pick for VP of the USA...Sarah Palin! And to say I am so excited about her is an understatement! Here is what I love about her:

• She's a Christian
• She's Republican
• SHE'S woman
• She's not only from the state Hubs was born and raised, but also lives in the same little town my husband is from and my in-laws live (how crazy us that?!).
• She's a mama of 5!!
• She's adorable
• She opposes same sex marriage
• Her oldest son enlisted in the Army (I'll forgive that he didn't join the AF)
• She's not your typical politician
• She's Pro-Life
• She knowingly brought a child into this world that has Down Syndrome and when she looks at him she sees "perfection"
• And I totally LOVE that she brought her (infant!) son to this big breakout rally without any shoes. This is a woman after my own heart

I am once again excited about this election and can't wait to see what's to come!!

"I choo'd"

In all my excitement over Caleb going to kindergarten, I forgot to tell you that Luke is going to school also. Our school district offers a pre-K program for four year olds and Luke barely made the cutoff. I thought long and hard about this because it's from 11:45-2:45 five days a week. Five days are a lot in my world and I just wasn't sure if that would be a good fit for us.

But, I'm super happy to report that thus far it is going well! Luke loves riding on the school bus. (I was worried about him being on the bus at such a young age, but they have chaperone's on the bus for the 4 year old's!) And he comes home excited every day and says its, "awesome" to go to school.

That kid is so cute! Below is a conversation I had with him:

While pulling a tissue out of his pocket he says, "My teachers gave me a tissue to put in my pocket because I choo'd"

You what?

I choo'd

You what? What did you do?

I choo'd

I stood there mystified and then finally it dawned on me! You mean you went, "ah-choo? Did you sneeze?

Yeah, I went choo.


Isn't that kid adorable? That kid seriously has personality. And lots of it. He's always making us laugh with the crazy things he says. I think we'll keep him!

Some pictures of the big day!

Here is my school boy...doesn't he look so handsome?!

What a day! (BIG sigh!)

Our morning ran more smoothly than I could have imagined. Caleb loved his list and did everything on it without any issues. I have no illusions that it will always be this easy, but I will take it when I can get it

Dropping Caleb off was hard and the school was a mad house! Caleb went right in and was so excited to be there. There was absolutely no tears, hesitation or sadness on his part. My part, on the other hand, is another story. I held it together very well on the way there, there and on the way home. It was when I got home and Luke said, "I miss Caleb. Can we go get him?" And then I saw Caleb's "friends" (Pups and Blankie) all by themselves on the table and that is when I lost it. Caleb loves his "friends" and is still very attached to them. Him leaving them at home was a big step and one I didn't even have to encourage. He did it all on his own. He's growing up! Ready or not...

Here is a picture of him when I dropped him off:


I cried on and off all morning. This adjustment is huge for me. For the past 6 years Caleb and I have had a similar routine every day. When Luke was born, things slightly changed and when the twins were born there was change, but even it was slighter than this one. Big change can be hard for me. Especially when it involves my kids.

Below is a picture of Caleb getting off the school bus:

Isn't this the nicest school bus you have ever seen?! He was so happy and that gave me such comfort!

My school boy had a great day and is thrilled that he gets to go back tomorrow! Oh, and he updated his blog with some thoughts about school.

To Caleb, From Mama on your FIRST day of school!

Caleb,

Today you are going to kindergarten and you are thrilled beyond words. You have been asking to go for 2 years and you are so excited that the day has finally come! Mama can't believe that this day is already here. I feel like it was just last month that we brought you home from the hospital and wasn't it just last week that you were learning to walk? My time with you, my little Lovie, is flying right by and this is another big mile marker that we have approached.

Mama is happy for you, but also a little sad too. I will miss you. Luke, the girls and I will be lonely without you. You are a very important piece to our day. I am so thankful that we kept you home an extra year. You have matured tons, got to spend time getting to love on the sisters and I have LOVED watching you and Luke become best buddies. I love hearing Luke ask you questions, hearing you guys making up games and I love listening to the little moments that you have gotten to have together. I will cherish them forever. While this past year hasn't always been easy, I am so grateful that we had it together.

I am also grateful that you will be experiencing two things that you are excited about - school and learning. We prayed about and chose a school where you will get to hear about Jesus throughout your day! You will get to read the bible, sing songs and learn memory verses with teachers who love Jesus. That makes letting you go a little easier.

Little Lovie, I pray that you will have a great time at school. I pray that your teacher will be kind, patient, understanding and that she has growing and committed relationship with Jesus Christ and that her joy overflows to you throughout the day. I pray that kids are drawn to the Light inside you and that you make wise choices in friends. I pray that you remember, that if you are scared or lonely, God loves you more than I ever could and that He is there with you.

I love you Caleb and I'm so proud to be your mama!

Holy God, this is so hard for me. Please give me peace throughout the day as I am away from Caleb. Put your hand of protection around him and comfort him if he is lonely, sad or scared. Help Caleb to remember that you are always there for him. Please help our morning to run smoothly and give me a brave face when I drop him off. Remind me today that this is the path that you have chosen for us and please give me some reassurance of that. Give Caleb favor with his teachers and peers, Lord, and let your Light shine bright within him. I know that he is yours Father and I thank you for trusting him to me for this season. Father, please draw me close to you today. I love you. Amen.

Take a deep breath!

Tomorrow my first born child goes to kindergarten and I am overwhelmed and completely unprepared! It just occurred to me yesterday that I have to pack the boy a lunch. H-e-l-l-o... I am so not ready for all this!

So, in typical Sab Mad fashion, when I feel out of control what do I do? Make lists. Sometimes lists of lists I want to make. Can you say, "control freak?" One of the list that I made was for Caleb. My desire for the morning is that it runs as smoothly as it possibly can while trying to get 4 kids out of the house and in the car by 8:10 am. Some of you may not think that is a big deal, but please put into perspective the fact that I am not normally out of bed until 8 am! This is a big feat for me!

And to make it easier I made a chart for Caleb. Here it is:

...seems like a lot huh? I know, I think so too. But I think he can do it! He will be getting up almost an hour earlier than normal. When I say "up" let me clarify. Caleb is my child that is awake before anyone else in the house. Years ago, we trained him to stay in bed quietly until his alarm goes off at 7:45. Now, for school, he will be getting up at 7 am and he is so excited about that! Luke will still have to stay in bed, but only until 7:30.

The other thing that we are going to start working on is his quiet time with God in the morning. I will have to help him with that, so that will mean that I will have to get up earlier to have mine before I help him with his. Whew! - that is going to be a challenge, but something that I really want to make a priority. I also want us to work on learning a bible verse in the car each week together. I think that this will be made easier by the fact that he will have to learn some verses for school. It will be good for Luke and I to learn along with him.

Lofty goals for all of us, huh?!

I'm not quitting my day job!

Last weekend my very gorgeous friend, Rebecca, emailed me to ask me if I was interested in a modeling job.

Hmmm...me, modeling? I have absolutely *NO experience modeling and am not photogenic, but.. $125 for four hours?! I'd love to!

So a couple of days ago Maggie, the photographer, came to my house and we took some pictures here and then went on location. Location, doesn't that sound so official?

I'm not sure how the pictures will turn out or if they will be usable, but I had fun and found it exciting!

While this is another thing that I can add to my resume, I think that it is pretty safe to say that I have not found a new career!!

The above picture is of Maggie taking a picture of me "reminiscing" over my wedding photo's.

Super Fun Family Day!

Joseph was off today and we went with some of our favorite friends (their Daddy was off work today too!!) to the children's museum that is about 45 min away. I had heard that it was good and was pleasantly surprised at how amazing it was! They had something for all ages and the kids had a blast!! So did the parents!

Ella trying to hang with the big kids and play with the trains.
Sweet Lily Kate playing with puzzles.
They had a face painting station where Joseph practiced his art skills on Caleb's face.

If this doctor thing doesn't work out, Joseph could always join a carnival and work as a face painter!
Luke and his "best girl" Rayna. Isn't that cute?! He calls her his "best girl"!
Luke and his "best buddy" Luke!
Luke and R2-D2. I love this kid! Look at the serious look on his face and his salute! SO cute!



Caleb loving on his sisters.
Aren't my little Twinkies adorable?

The best buddies! (check out Luke's pose! what a nut!)
The Pigtail Sisters!
Aren't they gorgeous?!
One of my favorite things about the twins is that they have no personal space with one another. They are always crawling over on another, laying on one another, grabbing at each other...and rarely to they get upset about it!
Don't you love the cute little furniture?
The girls love to pull one anothers hair!
I asked if anyone was ready to go have lunch...Ella raised her hand!



This is Lily Kate on our way home...exhausted!

And look at crazy Ella. 1 pigtail in, lunch still on her face... What a mess!

Late night ramblings

I haven't blogged in a while...have y'all noticed? Life is busy, full and flying right by me. On top of all that, I've not been able to find my blogging voice lately.

My Mothers of Multiples sale, over the weekend, went very well. I sold quite a bit. I arrived with 4 bins stuffed full of clothing and left with 1 loosely stuffed bin. The Love was thrilled about that. He thinks these sales are ridiculous. If Lovey Maddry was the stay-at-home Papa, he would have just dropped the stuff off at Goodwill. Never in a million years would you catch him tagging clothes, running in to shop with other bargain shoppers (it reminded me of shopping the day after Thanksgiving!) waking up early to work the sale and then loading up all the stuff that didn't sell in the car to do it all again next Spring. Never in a million years. But then again, if he was the stay-at-home Papa, he also wouldn't spend remotely as much money as I do and we would only be eating pancakes or mac-n-cheese.

Good thing he has a "real job".

The boys start school next week and I can't believe how fast the summer has gone by! It will be so weird not to have my Caleb here. But, let's not talk about that or I will be sad!

Darth Vader's (aka Luke) birthday is in two weeks and to say that he is excited about his birthday party is the understatement of the year! That child is hilarious. I asked him today what kind of food he wants at his party and he said, "Cereal and chocolate milk!" That child seriously cracks me up!

Joseph finishes up this awful rotation this week and then returns home to the ER for the next couple of months. After the horrible hours on this past month, the ER hours look fabulous! This residency thing is so weird. In what other job would a wife be thrilled about a 60 hour work week?

One month down of intern year, ten more to go!!

I have been keeping a little secret from you all... I have been running...a lot lately. When I first started running, I could barely run 4 minutes! Then I worked my way up to a 12 minute mile (not breaking any Olympic records!) and then little by little I have been working my way up AND now am running 2 and a quarter miles!! And today I was averaging a little over 9 minutes a mile!! Still not breaking any Olympic records, but can I get some bloggy love anyway?! I am so proud of myself! My goal is 3 miles at an 8 minute a mile pace. Four months ago I never would have thought that possible, but now....I have hope!!

Well, I guess I should head to bed. I have some cute pictures of the Pigtail Twins and my fabulous friend's Baby Shower that I will post soon.

Sales and Tails

...are flying by in a flurry of activity!


This weekend my Mothers of Multiples group is having one of their sales. They have them twice a year and this is my second time selling. There is a lot that goes into it and I am selling quite a few things...



These are the girls winter clothes that they have outgrown. Yep, just their winter wear. And the shoes have never been worn. I haven't really been putting shoes on the girls until recently. And they love them!! Girlie's after my own heart!!


Tagging, hanging and getting all the clothes ready has been a feat and this weekend will be crazy because I have to set up for the sale tonight and then work it tomorrow. I'm already tired from the weekend and it hasn't even started!!


But here is something that makes me laugh and brings me more joy than you can imagine:
PIGTAILS!!! Can you say d-e-l-i-c-i-o-u-s?! I know some of you probably think, "Yeah, so what's the big deal?" The big deal is that for 6 years I have never been able to do "girl hair" and now I can!! After I made her pigtails I literally was squealing with excitement and joy! Even now, when I look at that sweet face I can't stop smiling! This is Ella by the way. I didn't get home last night with their little rubberbands until they were on their way to bed, so I just grabbed the twin closest to me to see if they had enough hair for pigtails. Have no fear, I'm positive that there will be many, many, many pictures of both Twinkies with their new do!!

2 sets of twins?

People ask me that question a lot. I just chuckle. It's not unheard of...there are quite a few women in my mother's of multiples group that have 2 sets of twins. I just laugh because look at them... One speaks better than the other, follows directions better that the other and is a head taller than the other.

Nope, they aren't twins, but there are many times that they wish they were!

A glimpse of my day through pictures...

Monday is laundry day here at the Mad house. With all of the laundry I do, and all the cute clothes my boys have, this is what they choose to wear - red socks with holes. Hmm...lovely.
This is what Luke begs, and I mean begs, me to take pictures of...lightsabers.
This was our mid-morning drama. Apparently Luke asked Caleb to draw him a picture of a leopard. So this is Caleb's interpretation of a leopard. Luke started crying and said, "that's not a leopard, that's a mini-van!" (Side note: Caleb is really a smart kid. He reads, he writes, but he is really NOT into art. He actually really dislikes coloring and drawing - a lot.)
This was the first drama of the day!! Caleb's tadpole, Taddy, died in the middle of the night. Apparently, that was a traumatizing sight for Caleb to wake and see. Caleb thinks Taddy's death was due to a lack of oxygen. I, personally think that it was due to a lightsaber that a certain 3-year-old-who-only-responds-to-Darth Luke was using.
Caleb wrote 2 notes to me and 1 to our neighbor to let us know that he was very upset about the death in our family. (Side note: isn't his writing really great for a child that isn't even in Kinder yet? I take little credit for the child that reads and writes...he's so self motivated and a miniature of his papa!)

And this, my friends, is where Caleb gets his artistic talents from. The above picture may look like it was drawn by a 5 year old, but alas it was drawn by the 5 year old's mama! Pretty pathetic, I know. My ego was stroked by a certain 3-year-old-who-only-responds-to-Darth Luke! He thought it looked really good and was excited to color it and draw it's spots! I was so happy that he didn't think it looked like a mini-van!!

Germs, germs and more germs!

This is sweet Lily Kate's favorite activity these days... If she sees the baby wipes box, she makes a beeline and has all of the wipes out of the box way faster than I can get 1 wipe out of the box. It's really quite something. After she pulls the wipes out, she proceeds to rip them to shreds. And I wonder why we go through 600+ wipes a month!!!

Poor Lily Kate has been so sick all weekend long! Last week she had high fever for days and then she got "the rash" also known as roseola. Poor thing was covered in a red, bumpy rash! And to top it all off, she has pink eye in both eyes and a cold!! She is a mess! So whiny, uncomfortable and sad. Poor, sweet baby!

Ella and Caleb also have pink eye and colds as well. Darth Luke has managed to escape illness... for now. I am sure that once everyone is better, he will get it. Hmm...lovely.

The girls have been sick for almost a week. It is really hard when the twins get sick and Joseph is working long hours. They both fuss and want to be held and it's exhausting. I am so thankful that my Mama came into town Saturday morning and helped out so much. Joseph spent most of the weekend at the hospital, and it would have been super hard without any help.

It makes me laugh that I am 31 years old and still need my Mama's help!!

Steven Curtis Chapman

Did any of you get a chance to watch Steven Curtis Chapman on Larry King Live last night? I had wanted to DVR it, but had forgotten so I caught it in segments on youtube. You can go here if you want to see all parts of it.

While watching it I was struck by what an amazing family this was. Steven and Mary Beth Chapman have raised incredible children who I was in awe of while watching them share what God has been doing in their lives during this difficult time. They were all so real and honest about their pain, but also unwavering in their faith.

If you have some time, I highly recommend watching it. You'll be encouraged!

Brotherly Love

When I was looking at the girls today I thought to myself, "How in the world did I get so blessed to have had twin girls?" They looked so cute standing at the coffee table, digging in a bag of Oreo's and laughing at one another. So cute!! How blessed am I?

I think that my boys feel the same way. (Well, maybe not Luke - he has no use for the girls since they can't play Star Wars!) Caleb is especially in love with his sisters. He's always playing games with them, trying to kiss and hold them and calling them his "princess babies". Here's a peek...

I love this picture! It was completely Caleb's idea. He put the babies in his lap and then told me to hurry and take a picture. Not the greatest quality, but still adorable!!

Caleb and Lily Kate.

Caleb and Ella.

And here is my other adorable child...

This child is something else. He is driving me crazy lately. Insane. He seriously is on another planet. Sometimes I wonder if he can hear me. If only the problem were that easy! Luke frustrates me and drives me crazy, but look at that face! And he is so charming!! He's going to be a slippery one...

This one is for you Lovey - (please print and refer to often)!!

(My amazing friend sent this to me and I loved it!)

9 WORDS WOMEN USE

(1) Fine: This is the word women use to end an argument when they are right and you need to shut up.

(2) Five Minutes: If she is getting dressed, this means a half an hour. Five minutes is only five minutes if you have just been given five more minutes to watch the game before helping around the house.

(3) Nothing: This is the calm before the storm. This means something , and you should be on your toes. Arguments that begin with nothing usually end in fine.

(4) Go Ahead: This is a dare, not permission. Don't Do It!

(5) Loud Sigh: This is actually a word, but is a non-verbal statement often misunderstood by men. A loud sigh means she thinks you are an idiot and wonders why she is wasting her time standing here and arguing with you about nothing. (Refer back to # 3 for the meaning of nothing.)

(6) That's Okay: This is one of the most dangerous statements a women can make to a man. That's okay means she wants to think long and hard before deciding how and when you will pay for your mistake.

(7) Thanks: A woman is thanking you, do not question, or Faint. Just say you're welcome. (I want to add in a clause here - This is true, unless she says "Thanks a lot" - that is PURE sarcasm and she is not thanking you at all. DO NOT say "you're welcome" ... that will bring on a "whatever").

(8) Whatever: Is a women's way of saying &?*% (In the south they would say, "Bless your little heart".)

(9) Don't worry about it, I've got it: Another dangerous statement, meaning this is something that a woman has told a man to do several times, but is now doing it herself. This will later result in a man asking "What's wrong?" For the woman's response refer to # 3.

Bingo and Darth

Yesterday was busy and fun, but by the end of the day I was too tired to blog about it!

Most days in this house begin with craziness and yesterday was no exception. The day began with Caleb asking to be called Bingo and Luke wanted to be called Darth Vader. I've learned there are times when not to ask questions...

Joseph had the day off, his first in 10 days, and I needed him to watch the Darlings while I ran some serious errands. Yesterday was official get-ready-for-school-starting day. I went to Caleb's new school and wrote a hefty check to pay his tuition for the year. After a long drawn out discussion with myself, I also signed him up for the bus!

After leaving there, then I went to try to get Luke into Pre-K. That was exhausting and a whole other drawn out discussion with myself. A discussion that is still unresolved. That's the hard part when you talk to yourself.

I took the boys to the splash park where the lifeguard's whistle was constantly being blown at Luke. There is a no running rule. Problematic for a child that only has two modes - running or falling on the floor.

We left there early because I was sick of yelling, "Luke, no running."

After a brief stop at home to drop Luke off, Caleb and I went to the school uniform store to buy his school uniforms. He was thrilled!!! Completely, totally absolutely thrilled to get his uniforms!

Yesterday marked 3 weeks until my firstborn goes to Kindergarten. Such a bittersweet time in my life. On one hand I am so excited for him because words cannot convey how over-the-top he is about starting school. Daily he talks about the magical date of August 25th and "kinder"! I'm happy for him. But I am also sad for me. I will miss that child. Tremendously. He is difficult, moody and at times my most difficult child, but he is mine and I adore him. And a part of me is missing when he isn't here. Big Sigh...

After that, I went to the gym and then we all went to our favorite Mexican restaurant for dinner. The kids were extremely well behaved and, as usual, the food was fab!

And that was our busy day. Joseph hates those days off, where I run errands, so I try not to do them very often. It had to be done yesterday.

That was my day in a nutshell.

Oh, yeah and I stepped down as coordinator for Military MOPS... but that is another story!!

Mama to the rescue!

Joseph's schedule has been brutal!! B-R-U-T-A-L! Late last Wednesday night, after Lovey had been at work for 16 hours, I decided that I was going to my mom's house for the weekend. He was going to be working even longer over the weekend, so Joseph encouraged me to get out of Dodge and get some reprieve at my mama's house. Much needed R & R!

We are blessed in so many ways and one of the ways that we are most blessed is to have family that lives 3 short hours away. For a military family that is very rare. I am so thankful that I will have a place to run to when things get hard (and I am sure they will get hard) over the next 3 years of residency!

My mom's house is fabulous and oh-so-fun for the kids. She has closets (did you get the plural of that?) of toys for the kids. She is fun, very hands-on, has a great park in her backyard, the neighborhood pool is 5 houses down and she spoils the children rotten. Totally rotten. And they (including mama!) love every moment of it!!

Mom's house is fabulous too. The boys have a room, the girls have a room and I have a room of my own! A room that I used to sleep in ('sleeping in' is sleeping until 9!!) this morning while my mom took care of my kids. Isn't she amazing? She also took care of my kids while I went to lay out by the pool for a couple of hours!!

Yeah, being here is so much better than being at home and by myself on a weekend. So much better!