Our time with Joseph's family

Here are some pictures of the time that we spent with Love's family. We don't get to see them very often, so it is a treat for the kids to get to spend time with their grandparents.

I loved Philadelphia. We were on our way to the Liberty Bell and stopped in this story spot where they tell stories from the time of the Revolution. I think our kids were a little too young, but was pleasantly surprised at how well they all sat and paid attention.

The boys and the Grandma LeAnn

Here we are in front of the Liberty Bell. What? You can't see the bell? Oh, yeah, while my Mother-in-law is fabulous at many things, taking pictures may not be one of them!

Here is Joseph at one of the lookout points at Shenandoah National Park. We took the skyline drive and it was gorgeous. Joseph and I have been to many National Parks together, so it was fun to add this one to the list. I really am amazed at how beautiful Virgina is!

Luke, Annika and Katie

The Mad Sr.'s with their kids.

Annika was so good with the babies. They fell in love with her!

Papa and Ella

We also went to Natural Bridge and it was beautiful! We went on this nature hike that the kids LOVED! We are such an outdoor family and this was right up my kids alley.

This is the Natural Bridge...amazing!

Papa and Luke! SO Sweet!

Hmmmm... What is Papa showing Caleb?

Frogs having relations!!!! Seriously... I am so thankful that Caleb didn't ask any questions about that. It didn't even seem to perturb him. Me on the other hand...

Please don't let this be more mating animals... Lucky for me it was just some crawdads!

My almost 6 year old and his super Daddy!

And the clock begins....

Seriously, I am giving myself 5 minutes to blog. That's it. So here goes...are you ready for some randomness, run-on's, overuse of comma's and incoherent thoughts? Because that's all I have today people...

I have been super busy lately and though I love my little blog, it is the first that has to go. I'm feeling like it is time to take a break from blogging anyway. I have no idea who reads, or why you read, but I have a feeling you will all survive quite nicely without me!

This is a super busy week. I have something going on everyday this week and then a MOPS retreat this weekend, along with 2 BBQ's (and did I mention I have four little kids that seem to need me now more than ever?!) C-R-A-Z-Y busy. Oh, and I almost forgot my oldest child is turning 6!!! What is that all about? I am so not ready and really not ready for his birthday party. I'm totally slacking on this birthday party. Way worse than ever before. Because of this busy week, we are going to have to have the big event at Chuck's. I feel so bad because he really wants to have his party at home and I have no time to throw an at home party. Maybe if it was in July. But he didn't want to wait that long. I don't blame him....

I am in a sweet place with God right now. He is totally revealing Himself in amazing ways. I would love to talk more about that, but I only have 30 more seconds before this computer self-destructs!

And I want to give a shout out to the most amazing Dad on the planet....My Lovey!! As our Pastor was praying about making the dads in our church Godly men, I was thanking God for giving me a husband that loves Him so much and is the most Godly man I know. Joseph is an example of integrity, honesty, loyalty, humility and I would love it if my boys become even half the man that their Papa is and for my beauties to marry a man just like their Daddy. I was also telling God that I know with all my heart that I don't deserve my man, but I am so thankful for him. Joseph, my friends, is grace made tangible in my life.

I love you JKM and think you are one very cool Rockstar.... And I am officially 90 seconds over! Par for the course these days.

You gotta love good customer service!

We get home from our trip and I noticed that Fabio was on the fritz. Making a totally weird noise.

I happen to know him intimately and almost immediately noticed the noise. So I ask Joseph to take a look. He didn't hear the noise and then he started manhandling Fabio. So, I kindly asked him to step away - far away from Fabio.

Then I called the Dyson people. They are fabulous. The Dyson Lady listened to the noise, over the phone, and said that the problem was that thingy's are getting in the filter area and they are not supposed to be (that's the cliff notes of a 30 min diagnosis). Then she said that she would be sending me a new filter and small-particle-something-or-other. She also said to clean the filter.

So I cleaned the filter. It was disgusting. Then vacuumed this morning. And when I opened the filter, I noticed that there was still thingy's getting inside the filter. So I called back.

And got another very nice support person. I told her all about my problems with Fabio and after she laughed (and said I was the first person that she had come across who named their Dyson - go figure) she helped me fix the problem and is sending me another filter and a new canister!!

How cool is that?!

I was so sad because I thought that Fabio, my no-back-talking-easy-on-the-eyes-love-slave, may not be one of the best things that has happened to me in the past year. But alas, he is as fabulous as I have always thought and now he as good as new. And kudos to Dyson for having such an awesome website and hiring excellent customer service people! How rare is that these days?

Can you tell me how to get...

to Sesame Street?!
I am finally getting around to posting some more pictures from our vacation. These are of our fun times at Sesame Place. We had been there a couple of years before with our best friends, the Zeiglers, and had a blast! This time we also brought along Joseph's parents and our friends the Fieberkorn's.

The boys coming out of this huge slide!

Caleb, Elise and I rode this crazy rocket ride that actually made my stomach do flip flops. Elise was so cute and as soon as we took off she gabbed my hand and held it tight for the rest of the ride.

I love this picture of Caleb. It totally captures the face that he makes when he is excited!

A little drama from the Queen and prince.

Angela and I were the first to brave the waters. While we were there it was a little chilly in PA and the water was freezing!

Luke was fascinated with that big yellow rubber ducky at the top of the water ride.

Josiah, Caleb and Luke

Didn't that girl do an awesome job?! We waited in line for close to 45 minutes for this face painting and the excitement that Caleb had about it was worth it! He loved it!!! It matched his bright orange space suit that his Grandma LeAnn bought for him from the National Air and Space Museum. He had asked me for it, but Mama's don't spend that kinda money on things like that in gift shops like grandma's do!

The best buddies!

Lovey, Michael and Mike all went to the Air Force Academy together.

Poor kids. I wanted to get a picture of them on the famous "stoop" but the sun was positioned right in their eyes. Poor things!

The Mads, Ziggys and Fiebs!

The Mad/Ziggy Vacation 2008. When I look at this picture I laugh. I'm just in awe! It's so hard to believe we have 6 1/2 kids between us. A-M-A-Z-I-N-G. 7 short years ago we were 2 couples getting ready for our weddings. And now look. So awesome!

My Friend. Isn't she cute prego?!

Diapers and Rahab - Happy Monday!

It's a little after 2pm in the afternoon and my girls were squealing and laughing so I went in to check on them. After all it has been almost an hour since their Daddy laid them down.

I wish I had pictures of what I found...

First, the girlie's were in the wrong beds. Eh, not too big a deal, it happens. Then I notice that Ella is happy as can be with all the blankets in her bed, and sweet silly Lily Kate was not so happy without a blanket. So I pick Ella up and put her in the right bed and then when I go to pick up Lily, I notice that she doesn't have a diaper on!!! Daddy, in his hurry to get back to work, never replaced the diaper that he changed on his baby girl!! Daddy, Daddy, Daddy....gone back to work for a few hours, comes home for a quick lunch and forgets how to change a diaper.

But we won't be too hard on the amazing man because he did come home and watch the babies while I took the boys swimming with some friends.

On to another topic, I learned something new this morning during my quiet time. I'm sure that you all already knew this, but I just learned that the mother of Boaz was Rahab! Isn't that something? I think that is so cool! I love how God is always moving behind the scenes, working. And how he uses the broken and those that seem least worthy for His purposes. Rahab is one cool chic! Full of faith. You should read her story... Pretty cool stuff!

We owe, we owe, it's off to work HE goes!

The Love goes back to work tomorrow. And it will be a shock to all our systems. Having him home for the past month has been amazing. And what a blessing.

He hasn't had a "real" schedule since March. The next 2 months his hours are 7:30a-4:30p with weekends off. Another blessing. As an intern and resident his hours will rarely be that great. So we are going to enjoy it while we can.

In some ways I am ready for him to get back to work. I'm ready for my schedule to be more normal and while I know he loves being at home with us, he thrives off being challenged and helping sick people. We are blessed that he has a job he loves and that makes him feel like he has a purpose. And he just doesn't feel that same challenge and purpose being at home with us. We're too boring. And not intellectual enough. Hmmm...imagine that.

So, while I wish that we were independently wealthy and never had to work again, I'm glad for Joseph's sake that we are not and he gets to go to work. He's better for it. In about 6 months, I doubt I will feel that way.

These are the days of our lives

So remember I told you that my kids are being difficult this week? I wasn't kidding. It was a really hard week. Trying to recover from lack of naps, getting back into a routine, not having many play dates...I'm not sure what exactly the problem is, but there is definitely a problem. And I don't know how to fix it.

I spent some time on the phone with the-mom-that-I-want-to-be-like-but-am-not-even-close, My Michele, and begged her to tell me what in the world I am doing wrong. She lovingly laughed at me and said (what she always says!), "Nothing! Your kids are delightful and beautiful and you are going a great job." Humph. Their behavior begs to differ. She also did another thing that she always does with me when I call in angst over my Darlings, she prayed with me. And her prayers are so real and honest. Listening to her pray to Father is... Words can't describe. I can only tell you that I wish I knew God in that way.

Back to my kiddo's - I am having such a hard time loving them in a way that they understand. Life is full of demands, I have 4 kids, my lists are long and my days are short. My four baby loves have different needs and receive love in different ways. And I'm doing a poor job meeting those needs and loving in those ways. Very poor job.

Caleb, ever so sensitive. That sweet boy reads me like a book. He is so perceptive. And verbal. He has been telling me, "I need loved on" or "I'm not feeling loved" all the time lately. Lord, please show me how to love that boy. In ways that he'll understand and will be real to him.

And Luke...I know I say it all the time, but that child is so sweet and charming and defiant and stubborn and adorable and funny and rough and so whiny these days. I don't know what to do with him.

And then Lily Kate and Ella - their needs are so basic, but now that they are both everywhere they have become difficult and demanding. I constantly have to keep a watch on them and make sure that they aren't putting all the dangerous things that a house with 2 older brothers has to offer. We are working hard to train boundaries now and know that it will pay off later.

All this to say that this mommy business is hard and having more kids than you have hands doesn't make it any easier. And that God knows when we need grace, a sprinkle or a shower, and he'll provide it when we need it the most. He gave me a sprinkle the other day when I was so parched and dry. And that sprinkle sustains me to continue this task that He hand-picked me to do...be mom to my four little lovies. He hand-picked me and I pray that he will continue to equip me. This I most certainly believe.

Movie Reviews

We have seen quite a few movies lately and I thought that I would give you my humble take on them. I also asked Joseph his thoughts on the movie and will type those in green. My man is really a man if few words!

Juno - When we rented this movie I had no idea what to expect (and honestly didn't have high hopes!), but was pleasantly surprised. I thought this movie was charming, thought provoking, funny (there are some great lines!) but definitely not for teens or kids. I wasn't crazy about the ending, but I won't tell you why in case you haven't seen it. I also didn't like all the relativism. If you have seen it, I'd love to know what you thought of this movie.
I thought it was good.

27 Dresses - This wasn't a good movie at all. It was super boring and brainless. The acting was terrible and this movie is definitely not going to find a place in my all time favorite date movies!
Boring.

Untraceable - I hate movies like this! It scared me and made my stomach hurt. Way too much violence and way too visual for me.
Exciting, but not a feel good movie.

Kung Fu Panda - I thought that this movie was adorable and funny. We took the kids last night and Caleb loved it! Luke, on the other hand, was so scared that Joseph had to leave the theatre with him. There were a few scary moments and Luke gets scared easily. We went with out good friends, for a family double date, and their kids are younger than Luke and they did fine.
I thought it was good.

Reality Bites & other randomness

You haven't heard from me lately because we are back in the real world and the real world is BUSY! It is amazing how much stuff has to be done when you return home after being gone for 3 weeks. The mail pile was out of control, bills to be paid (in my rush to leave I forgot to pay bills), budgets to revise (we got a nice chunk of pay raise), van to unload, van to clean out, bible studies to host, MOPS to coordinate, laundry to do, groceries to get, oh yeah and I still have kids to take care of and a husband to love on. I'm ready for another vacation.

I spent all day cleaning out the van yesterday. All day. It was disgusting. Seriously, I vacuumed up enough food to feed a small village. It was gross. So I took everything out of the van and really cleaned. I took apart the grotesque car seats and washed them, used an entire bottle of cleaner on the inside of the van, shampooed the carpets and even cleaned the roof (how in the world do things find their way up there?!) Usually my cleaning goes completely unnoticed, but this time my boys were all impressed with my work. Both boys kept saying, "Wow, this looks good!" I have no grand illusions that it will stay this way for long. High hopes, but no illusions.

While I was cleaning the car, our cleaners were cleaning my very dirty house. Can you say "delicious"?

MOPS is now in full gear. We got our charter, late last week, to start a MOPS on base and so the next year of my life is going to be immersed in this endeavor. I'm scared, excited, nervous and overwhelmed with all their is to do to be Coordinator of a brand new military group. I did read something yesterday that put it all into perspective:

"The servant with the two thousand showed how he also had doubled his master's investment. His master commended him: 'Good work! You did your job well. From now on be my partner.' ~Matthew 25:22-23

While God is giving me a bigger job, he wants to be my partner in it!!! How amazing is that?!? It is so cool that God wants to partner with us. Cool, but very, very humbling. And how much pressure does that take off of me?! It is a reminder that it is not all about me and it is not all up to me. I think that I'll need to be reminded of that on a daily basis.

What else...

The kids. How could I forget?!? I'm not sure if my kids are having a hard time adjusting or if they are just acting out, but we are having a hard time with them. Right now, I am giving them the benefit of the doubt and chalking up their behavior to coming down from vacation. They are both having a really hard time adjusting. Love and I have been working really hard to love all over them and spend extra time with them. Today we are going to SeaWorld and tonight we are eating pizza at our friends neighborhood swimming pool. Tomorrow we are getting a babysitter for the girls and taking the boys for a date night to see Kung Fu Panda. (It's getting kid friendly reviews, so hopefully it will be!) Our hope is that yhis extra attention will help. I think they are also sensing that Daddy is going back to work, on Monday, after being off for a month. But we aren't going to think about that...

A few stats...

Number of miles driven = over 4,500 (not typo people!)

Number of hours in the car = around 70!

Amount of money spent on gas = almost $800 (I was expecting that number to be higher!)

Most amount of money we have ever spent in filling our tank (filled during this trip because of the high gas costs) = $84.00

Number of days we were away from home = 22

Number of times we heard the phrase, "I have to go to the bathroom" while in the middle of nowhere = more times than I care to remember!

Number of times we said, "If you don't stop ________ we will pull this car over" = I repeat, more times than I care to remember!!

Number of times we pulled the car over! = There was only 1 day that we literally pulled over ever half hour to deal with luke drama.

Number of times all six of us stayed in a hotel room together = 8

Before this trip, number of times all six of us stayed in a hotel room together = 0

Number of times Luke threw something in anger = I am embarrassed to admit this one.

Number of pounds I gained = 14. Once again, this is no typo. I just weighed myself for you, my bloggy friends. Maybe the scale is broken? (at this point I must derail to tell you that I just asked Lovey how much weight he thinks I gained on this trip and he said, "15 pounds." I indignantly said, "Why did you say 15 pounds?" His reply was, "You look like you gained a decent amount of weight." Honesty, is highly overrated!)

Number of times the girl's cried = I could count that on 1 hand.

Number of times Luke cried = We would need a football team to loan their fingers and toes to count this one!

Number of times we got lost = Two Words...New Jersey!

Number of times we said, "Luke put your seat belt on now!" = Has that football team arrived?

Number of hours the boys slept in the car = Caleb - 0, Luke - 1

Number of hours the girls slept in the car = Rough estimate - an hour a day.

Number of hours I slept in the car = Rough estimate - 2 hours a day.

Amount we went over budget = Eh, you know, a couple of...thousand!

It was worth every penny of it. We just got home a couple of hours ago and both said that the past 3 weeks were the most fun we have had in a long time. We spent fun time with both our families, with some of our favorite friends, as a family and with one another. While we had some rough moments in the car with our favorite youngest son, we are both amazed at how well our kids did that long on the road.

Our whole trip was amazing and I will cherish it forever!

And now we are back to the real world. Big sigh.

How could I have forgotten to mention this?!?

Joseph got me a great gift for graduation! Isn't she beautiful?!?

A first for me

I am doing something that I haven't done in well over a year. Joseph and I are getting away for the next 24 hours without any kids! We are so excited!!

I have to admit that I have never left the kids for any significant time and never left the girls for more than a few hours. When Caleb was a year old I left him for a couple of days and then again when he was 2. And then I left both boys to go to a Weekend to Remember when Caleb was 2 and Luke was 6 months old. That was really hard, but so worth it. And then when Caleb was three I left him with our friends the Ziggy's to go house hunting, but brought Luke with me. And I think that is the last time that I have left the kids outside of having the girls.

Yep, it is time.

And I have to admit that I wish that it were longer. But we made the decision that this trip would be a family trip and then in 3 years, when Joseph is done with residency, I want to do something big. Very big. And without the Darlings.

But, until then I am excited to get away with my love for a little reprieve from the drama Darlings. And I know that they are in great hands with my mom. We are coming back in time for gumbo tomorrow. And we all know how I feel about gumbo.

The Mad generations

Joseph's parents and grandparents came from Alaska for graduation and to hang out with us afterwards. We were all so excited to see them since it had been almost a year since we had last seen them.

His parents have adopted 3 little girls and it was sweet to see my kids playing so well with them. They loved the babies and were really a great help with all my kids.

Another family joined us on our vacation!

We had another family join us on our vacation at Solomons and they were a huge hit with our kids! H-U-G-E hit!

We found this little family of swans right in front of our beach and once we started feeding them bread, they camped out here for the rest of the time we were at the beach. The kids were completely enthralled.

Aren't they beautiful?

Just some cute pictures of my kids at Solomons

Aren't the girls getting big?!?

Ella with her new shades that the Zigs got her.
The boys pretending to kayak. Caleb with his busted up face. His daddy was playing Frisbee with Caleb and I guess his face got in the way. Daddy heard about that one...

The girlie's first time drinking from a cup!!!! Hip, hip, hooray!!

Mad/Ziggy Vacation

Our amazing friends, the Ziggy's, went on vacation with us and as always it was a blast. We have had two other family vacations with them, one to Colorado and one to Alaska and have many great memories together. Mike and Amy were in our wedding and we had our first 2 kids within months of one another. They are treasured friends and watching our kids grow up together is a treat.
Here are some pictures of our time at Solomons Island...

Elise feeding Lily Kate and Amy feeding Ella. Bottle time was a big deal and there was always someone around who wanted to feed the girls.

Mike on the grill

Sweet Elise

I LOVE this picture of the 4 friends!

My Amy, her sweet baby and I enjoying another amazing sunset!