Picture of the Week - May 13

The birthday boy and his present opening assistant extraordinaire ...

My Reminder

Most of you guys know Luke, right?

He's number four of our group of banshees. The only singleton baby we have. He's the one who loves excavators, dump trucks, and "fork-liffers." He likes to do things BY HIMSELF! He loves trying to make people laugh. He seeks out hugs and snuggles and is right smack in the middle of what I like to call the they-call-them-the-terrible-two's-just-so-you-won't-be-petrified-by-the-even-more-terrible-three's stage. He is spunk and spit-fire and giggles coiled up inside a warm little Spiderman pajama-clad body.

Luke is so many things to so many people. He's my baby, my baby who will turn 3 years old tomorrow. But more than anything, he serves as my reminder.

God put Luke on this earth to remind me daily that I am not in control. Hear that self?!? YOU ARE NOT IN CHARGE! You see, I've had a bit of a hard time accepting that throughout the course of my life. Oh sure, I make my own decisions and try to control the direction I am going, but Luke's daily presence is God's way of gently reminding me that no, I am not the one in control.

You see, Luke's birth was out of my control. His mere existence was out of my control since he was never supposed to exist. We weren't capable of creating him, supposedly.

But God has a funny way of making the impossible, possible. Miracles come in all shapes, forms, and sizes, and this certain miracle came to us in an 8 lb, 7 oz package on May 12, 2009. He wasn't supposed to be able to be here, but he was.

So as I look at Luke and watch him grow, I am constantly reminded that I am not the one who oversees my own life. I must trust God and his plans for me, because they are so, so much greater than the ones I ever foresaw for myself. Luke's presence has taught me to live with purpose, and to follow the One who matters in the process. The One who loved me enough to show me, in the most loving way possible, that I am not in control. I'm so glad He taught me that lesson.

Happy 3 Year Reminder Luke! You will always symbolize the grace, forgiveness, and wonder that my awe-inspiring God gave me in the form of you just a few short years ago. You remind me that reliance on God is not a crutch, but an acceptance of the life He can give both you and me if we turn to Him and love with all of our hearts.

The Sing Off

I'm all for a little competition.

My husband and I were both college athletes, so competition is part of our DNA. And I knew having four children so close together that there were bound to be races, fights, and competitions over nearly everything.

But this??

This has taken it to a whole 'nother level, folks. I couldn't decide whether to die from embarrassment or wet myself from laughing so hard.

(PS - My kids are the ones in the green tops.)

I guess we've successfully passed on the competitive gene. I'm guessing they'll be smart enough to place our kids in the back next time they perform at church.

What Am I Supposed To Do With All These Strawberries?

This weekend we finally decided to hit the strawberry fields. This is one of our favorite picking activities because it's usually fairly quick, it's in the spring so it isn't too hot, and we love strawberries!

The kids had a fabulous time and we were rewarded with lots of cloud cover and a not-yet-raided patch of strawberries.

We ended up with two large flats of strawberries in under half an hour! We love strawberries, but what am I supposed to do with all of them? We froze some, but I'm trying to find ideas on what to do with the ones we haven't frozen. Strawberry pie has already been mentioned ... any other ideas??

We are literally drowning in strawberries ... help!

Picture of the Week - May 6

I'm SO (insert sarcasm here) happy that the field where the triplets play soccer is surrounded by a dirt track. But a certain someone doesn't seem to mind the dirt ...

Cowboy Up

Last weekend we took a day trip with the family and some friends to the Lazy 5 Ranch about an hour from our house. We've been meaning to head out there sometime this spring, so I was glad we were finally able to make it there. It wasn't a very spring-like day with highs in the 50's, but I'll take that over the alternative of 85 degrees mixed with the smell of animal excrement. At least colder weather equals a happier nose.

Basically, the Lazy 5 Ranch is the country version of a zoo. It was started by some random guy about 20 years ago with a love for raising and showing people exotic animals. He privately started his own ranch where people would have the opportunity to come to his property and view his animals. It grew pretty rapidly and now is its own full-blown operation. There were several birthday parties on the day we were there, which is the sign from the heavens that you have made it in the ranch world.

We started the day off by walking around the animal exhibits and feeding the animals. I think the kids loved the ranch even more than the zoo because they got to feed and touch most of the animals. We are a hands-on type of crowd. They fed the sheep and the goats and the pigs and the llamas and ...

Why yes, that IS a camel.

Because who doesn't have camels at their petting zoos/ranches?

As you can see, these camels knew what to do when you approached with a bucket of food. They opened wide just begging you to pour the whole bucket in. Here's Sam's reaction to the camel (it's blurry, but too good to pass up) ...

He really wasn't that scared of them, I just don't think he liked being face to face with the millions of strings of saliva stretching across the yawning gap that was the camel's wide open mouth.

Everyone else enjoyed feeding the bigger animals as well.

Peyton's reaction to feeding the camel ...

I know she looks scared, but this photo proves that her shrieks were ones of joy ... promise!

The girls even took some time to make a new friend ...

while also testing out what an alpaca wool sweater may feel like next winter.

After visiting the animals, it was time for what I call the "Jurassic Park" portion of the trip where they loaded us all into horse drawn wagons to see other animals. I just kept waiting for something to go bad and the wagon to tip over while everyone ran off screaming and the T-Rex herd of water buffaloes stampeded us all to death. Dramatic? Yes. But that's how I am when it comes to 8 foot tall walking birds and animals with antlers that could gore me in one swift motion.

 

Ready to loose some fingers, ma!

Here's the ravenous and food seeking missile otherwise known as crazy stalker ostrich.

Luckily Peyton thought all the pecking was hilarious and didn't seem to mind as I winced with every peck while imagining how hard life would be for her when she only had 3 remaining fingers on her right hand.

Besides the ostrich, I was ok with all the other animals. Some of them were really sweet and the water buffaloes were very docile (and hungry)!

We even got to see giraffes! Unfortunately, they weren't in the mood to eat, which bummed me out. This was actually an animal I would have enjoyed feeding.

Overall, the kids had a really great time. It's nice to have somewhere like this so close and I know they really enjoyed how much they actually got to touch and feed the animals. We will definitely be back, I just may make the kids wear steel-covered gloves (do they make those?) next time. Their fingers will thank me later.

PALS Profile - Luke

Favorite Color: It's always been red, but lately you've been saying orange. I think this is largely due to most construction equipment being this color!

Favorite Food: Food. Seriously, you love to eat. You have gotten slightly pickier with some things as you have gotten older, but you're not a picky eater. You love any kind of pasta and pizza like everyone else, but your favorite food is probably any kind of fruit. You LOVE fruit, especially grapes.

Favorite Book: Definitely Goodnight, Goodnight Construction Site by Sherri Duskey Rinker and Tom Lichtenheld. It combines all of your loves in one place: Excavators, backhoes, dump trucks, dirt, and rhyming.

Favorite Song: Anything by Fresh Beat Band but you also love "C is for Cookie" (by you favorite blue monster) and "Shine Your Light" by David Crowder.

Likes to: Do anything involving construction equipment. Playing with it, pretending to work on the machines, driving to the construction site to watch the excavators ... if it's related to construction, you love it. You started pretend playing really early because you had three older influences to draw you in. You love to play with them and pretend. You also love your mommy. My quest to make you a momma's boy is complete!

Does not like: Being told "no." You are just entering the whiny stage where you whine about everything you want. While I'm glad that you seem to be exiting the "I do it myself" phase, this new phase really hurts my ears. You also still struggle a bit with being left somewhere. You don't cry, but you're always slightly reluctant to go to school, the Y, Sunday school, etc. You are fine once you're inside, you just have to be prodded to enter. I'll have to chalk this one up to me and my momma's boy quest.

Things you can do: Ride your bike with training wheels (you taught yourself to pedal that bike really early), recognize all of the letters, buckle yourself into your car seat, working on writing letters but you are still a little ways from that.

Things you can't live without: Your excavator, food and snacks, your momma