Pigtails.

Big thanks to big sis Mary for doing a fabulous job!

Gathered around the table today, we were discussing our current week of history. We are chatting about vocabulary words; as I read one if they already know what it is, they tell me. Nice and simple, yes?

Anyone know what a Sentry is?

Child left un-named to protect her mother: Oh, that’s easy. 100 years.

Wise, college educated, refined mother: Um, that would be a century, goofball. (said with deep love and respect. I promise, I wasn’t laughing. Really.) This word is sentry.

Child still left un-named to protect her mother: Oh, that’s a soldier. *giggle*

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A bonus episode brought to you by FYI, Inc.

You can make your daughter’s head explode by talking about transitive and intransitive verbs, verb inflections and reflexive pronouns. We did make a breakthrough. Reflexive pronouns seem to make sense when I told her to just think of “I hit myself” and then to hit herself on the head. I had her practice a few times to make sure it clicked. Laughter is better than tears, right?

The official birthday celebration happened on Friday evening; pizza, cake and ice cream!

I think she definitely enjoyed turning 7.

This was Lydia’s cake. Lydia drew a picture of what she wanted and our dear friend Mrs. L was kind enough to create this beautiful cake. Lydia was so excited! We give big thanks to Mrs. L!

Lydia turned seven today!! Wow!

And she was thrilled that on her birthday, Sam was exactly 9 months old.

We only half celebrated these wonderful milestones today. Breakfast was homemade cinnamon rolls using Mrs. L’s yummy recipe; also some delicious brownies for a dessert at dinner to help make the day a bit more special. The official birthday dinner and cake will be served on Friday evening. She was also blessed to receive birthday wishes and song at our church’s prayer meeting.

Lydia Lu is such a sweet blessing in our home; her tender heart, her giggles and her contentment in the little things. She came into this world by an emergency c-section and we were so thankful that her life was spared. I can’t imagine not having my little red head brightening my day with her twinkling eyes and smiles. I love to watch her with Sam. She is a wonderful big sister; always willing to hold him even when he is Mr. Grumpy.

Happy Birthday, LuLu!!!!

Lydia and Hannah played most of the days with the Legos; building houses and people. That is what they were doing when I took the above photo. Lydia grabbed Hannah and said, “Take this picture.”

Big Sister. She’s a pro.

And Mr. 9 Month old spent his day trying to find every little choking hazard within his reach…

Thankfully he was distracted by some quality literature.

Until he spotted the camera…

Mary was working on math corrections. She decided for this intense mental task she needed to sit directly in front of the box fan. As you can see in the photo this meant that her pages kept flying back and forth. Hannah was intensely watching Mary reduce, multiply and divide. If she was going to sit there, why not work, right? I told her to hold Mary’s page in place for her. Hannah was thrilled to help. But it might have been a bit too strenuous for her.

Yep, asleep on the job.

No worries. We did not let her rest long. Someone not paying attention ran into her face with a Little People School Bus.

One time dozing off on the job I could understand. But repeat offenses? And in the same week?

(Sam was removed from the sleep cuddle as soon as the pic was taken.)

I guess this shows that when Hannah needs sleep, she needs sleep.

The bigger kiddos have gone with their daddy to prayer meeting. I am stayed behind with the little ones who need a bit of extra sleep. They are sleeping at this very moment.

We are house sitting for friends this week. Since we are in a “strange” house and her room buddies are not here, I grabbed a pillow and blanket so Sarah could snooze on the couch this evening. (I’ll move her to bed later.) She was cuddled up on one end of the couch and I was nursing Sam to sleep on the other end. Every now and then she would look at me and smile, I’d tell her I love you and I watched her eyes getting heavier and heavier.

In a moment she was asleep. I watched her for a bit. Still and quiet. Those two words are not often associated with Sarah.

Before I know it, I hear Sam’s little snores. He has fallen asleep as well. I hold him a bit longer. Yes, I know. I spoil my babies. I’m ok with that. I love to cuddle them to sleep. The time can pass so quickly. I want to savor those sweet baby smells and sounds.

Sam is now in his bed. Sarah is beside me on the couch. I have a kitchen that needs to be cleaned. My clean up crew was running behind and had to dash out before we were done. But I want to enjoy the stillness, the quiet just a bit longer.

Thank you, Father, for this moment. For reminding me to take time to be quiet. To be still and know that You are God. Father, I thank you for this moment to remember how You have blessed me beyond measure. Amen.

Suddenly, there was a change in the discussion. A change that I believe needs to be shared with other moms who are sitting back and thinking of their dream home. I think Mary has stumbled upon the perfect dream home.

Hershey’s Kiss House. Mmhmmm. You read that right. A chocolate house. You buy your gigantic Hershey’s Kiss and you eat out your doors and windows. Once that is completed you eat out rooms, hallways, stairs and secret passages, of course.

Won’t we get sick from all this eating, Mary?

Oh, no. We are specially made to be able to eat the chocolate without getting sick.

Sign. Me. Up.

Brilliant, yes?

I did not burst her dream home bubble. I was enjoying it myself. However, in the South, it would be more of a chocolate pool than a house. Sigh. Back to dreaming……