Life at our House

Here are Caleb and Steven trying out their new shaving kit from Christmas
Dr. Caleb giving Steven the once-over
Steven crashed out on Daddy's lap
A very perseverant S proving that she successfully finished B's new shaped horse puzzle. What makes this especially sweet is that one of the little boys tipped the temporary table the puzzle had been on the night before and she had to start again nearly from scratch. I helped but she's the one who stuck with it until she got it done.
Do you ever just have one of those days?? We won't mention which one of our family members this reminds me of--but she and I are very close :) :) :)


B and T with the lovely gifts they received from their birth dad.
This picture of Caleb and Steven just cracks me up.
I know this is fuzzy but I was so impressed with Steven's attentiveness to his new ABC book.
This was New Year's Eve--or maybe it was actually right after midnight: J posing with his freshly baked loaf of banana bread

Stuffed-cheek B showing off the new Remote Control backhoe he purchased with his chore money and Christmas money.



T's brand-new Tomagotchi drying out on the heat vent after accidently going through a dishwasher cycle. (Note: it did work again after Kevin took it apart)
Steven and Caleb had a wonderful time playing in the box that their new shelves had come in.

B helping Daddy put the shelves together
I could not believe this: I drew the S and we were talking about the 'sss' sound and Steven said "T" and promptly drew one!!


T playing a relaxing game of Solitaire--no this photo was not staged.



J got Caleb and Steven recruited in his couch cushion-fort

Kevin proudly showing the completed (finally) copies of his annual water/waste water report. He'd started it early in January but then our computer crashed--what a mess.
Our kitty Jade selected Kevin's partially open sock drawer as the spot to get a cat-nap.





Now it's the girls' closet. What a silly, silly feline.
Steven curled up in the top of the laundry basket. He was looking up at Grandma to check out her reaction to his escapade.

Sorry for the long interval between entries here. How is it that during the Christmas holidays when I didn't have TIME to post and later when our computer basically crashed and I COULDN'T post, I could think of all sorts of enlightening, encouraging,and/or entertaining tidbits to share but now that I have a block of time available all my words of wisdom seem to have escaped from my head??

It seems with our blog title that I should include at least some entries on daily life with our children. The problem is that everyday life often seems way too boring to share or else a bit too real. How I would love for you to imagine that I go about each and every day with a smile on my face and a song in my heart and I always speak sweetly, gently, and encouragingly; that our children always conduct themselves in an orderly and respectful manner and their rooms and persons are always ship-shape . . . . I could go on an on in this daydream but that is all it is. The truth is that life is very real. It is not perfect. I am not perfect. My children are not perfect. The house is not perfect. And yet I have been incredibly blessed--I have a husband who loves me and our kids, who works hard at two jobs to support us, who is faithful and strong. And I have 6 children who can be incredibly sweet and compassionate and insightful.

So I'm just including some random shots of "life at our house"