Peanut Butter and Honey on my Honey:)

This is the direct result of feeding an 18 month old a peanut butter and honey sandwich for lunch.....

Really....need I say more?

Sunshines's visit with the Tooth Fairy

First of all, Sunshine I am sorry that this post is a few weeks delayed. You see, Sunshine lost her very first tooth a few weeks back. Recently we had been to the dentist and he noted that two of her permanent teeth have already come through, and the baby ones were barely even loose. We have been telling her to wiggle and wiggle them, which she said she had been doing. Well, one night as we were all sitting downstairs I asked her if I could check and see the wiggle progress. I wiggled, but didn't think they felt much different than the last time. I asked Daddy to check, and he took it upon himself to do a very...ahem...thorough wiggle check, causing it to start bleeding pretty good. Needless to say, Sunshine became HYSTERICAL at the sight of all the blood. At that point we didn't have many options....one, let it bleed and risk her swallowing it in her sleep or two, pull it out. Daddy opted for option 2...and pull it out he did!!! She wasn't too thrilled about it (understatement of the year by the way!!) but was determined to show it off at school. She decided to wait one night before putting it under her pillow so she could bring it to school. That was probably a good idea, since the tooth fairy wasn't very prepared for this late night tooth arrival:)

Let's Dance!

Okay, this had to be one of the sweetest things I have seen here in a while. The other day Little T asked Fearless to dance with her. He obliged, and took his role very, very seriously. They waltzed, spun and she even taught him some ballet. It was so heartwarming, I could have sat and watched them all night long. Fearless really does take his role as BIGGEST brother very seriously and he was hand picked just for that gruelling job. God has blessed him to be very patient, loving and a great care giver. Thank you Lord for those moments when love abounds!!

Watch out MOA....here we come!

During Christmas break, the whole family made a trip to the Mall of America. Now, we have not been there since Fearless was 2 and Skater Boy was only a few months old. Our new pup Moxie was heading to the vet in Brooklyn Park so we figured we'd make a trip out of it. We tried to explain to the children how big the mall was, but they just didn't get it. "Yeah right, we don't believe that people come from all over the country just to shop at the mall, it can't be THAT BIG!" Ha, once we arrived they were all stunned...to say the least. They couldn't believe that the amusement park was IN THE MALL. Then....Legoland was almost more than they could handle. The boys would just stare at the gigantic figures and try to imagine how long it would take to replicate one! We knew ahead of time that we were going to treat the kids to lunch at the Rainforest Cafe'. But, before lunch we took the time to simply walk the mall. We stopped in some Skateboard shops, the girls saw the American Girl store for the first time and we hand picked a bag of Jelly Belly's! Finally, everyone was STARVING TO DEATH (in their own words) so we headed to lunch. Lunch at the Rainforest Cafe' was the highlight of every one's day. The kids couldn't believe all the aquariums with fish and eels, don't forget the moving monkeys, thunder and rainstorms....to sum it up it was AWESOME!! As an added bonus, there was a hobo there who was making balloon animals. Now, these were not just the puppy or sword balloon animals that my little ones are used to. No...these were fish with eyes and a worm, or a dolphin in 3-D. I mean seriously, this guy had some mad skills and we were all in awe of his talent. Fearless summed it up by saying "God gave this guy some talent for sure mom!" Yep, he was quite a sight to watch and the kids enjoyed his creations. We walked a little while longer after lunch, then we needed to head home to pick up our recovery puppy!
Oh, and in case you were wondering, the kids do not doubt anymore that people travel from all over to see this mall...they thought it was amazing!

On a side note which I have to share....a woman stopped me at the Cafe' to tell me that my children were the best behaved children she had ever seen at a restaurant. I was so proud of all of them when I heard that comment. Now, I'm not sharing this to brag, because frankly I do not control my children's actions. I am just so proud that they understand the importance of manners and proper behavior at a restaurant that I want to publicly praise them!!! I suppose it doesn't hurt that we don't get out very often and they were probably in so much awe that they didn't have time to do much else:) Whatever....I'm still proud!!!!

So long 2010....hello to a new year!

Well....it's been another year come and gone. I feel like I just sat down mere moments ago to reflect upon last year! We had a busy, busy year with Michael starting his new job at the VA and still continuing on in school to get his RN. God has still been faithful to us and we still sit back and marvel at the fact that we have been allowed to stay in this home, so far! We are really looking forward to the day when we can put schooling and all of these struggles behind us, it feels as though this has been our life for so long and I can't even imagine it not being here. Although we will all greatly rejoice on the day that it is. A good friend of mine reminded me that this is ultimately not our home and we need to remember that. There are going to be struggles and hard times and we need to persevere and keep our eye on the prize! There is a Bible verse that I always read which helps me remember that what we are living through is ultimately for our own good: "We also glory in tribulations, knowing that tribulation produces perserverance; and perserverance, character; and character, hope. Now hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit. Romans 5: 3-5. I think that pretty much sums it up, don't you!!
On a lighter note, I have to say that 2010 went out much more smoothly than the previous year. We didn't have anyone vomiting, nobody froze to the trampoline and there were no babies waking every hour on the hour. In fact, this year was so quiet that it didn't really even feel like New Year's Eve. Michael had to work until 10 pm so Mommy was home solo with all five little ones. We ran a few errands and toasted to a New Year with some ginger ale mimosas during our dinner. All of the little ones were so very tired from sleep overs the night before, and they were all in bed by 9:30. So, Michael and I rang in the New Year like the old married couple that we are. I in my robe and he in his...err I mean...my robe:) We settled down for a long...scratch that....short winters nap.
Happy New Year all and may God bless you and your family in 2011!!!

What a baby!

Seriously, I don't know what to say about this. In the past, our dog was never, and I repeat, NEVER EVER allowed to sit on the furniture let alone people on the furniture. However, I have to admit that I have softened (Moxie's lack of shedding plays a HUGE role!) to this and our new pup has been allowed on the leather furniture. She has really taken to Fearless lately and is pretty much his shadow, even trying to crawl in bed with him last night. It's almost as if they are siblings. They play together, pretend to fight together and cuddle together all the time...it really is pretty sweet. She has been a great little addition to the family, although I can't really use the word "little" anymore....and she's still growing!!!