Reasons to Smile

Life has been rather busy lately. I can't believe it's really taken me a month to post something new. I really don't know how mom's of large families do it. Aside from all the chaos at our house, I have a few reasons to make me smile. In no particular order, I have listed a few below.

1) Kelsey- This girl is a character. She is the life of the party for sure. She does the funniest things and I can't but laugh when she does them. One of the things that always gives me the giggles is when she says, "Mom, Bwryce is eating your brweast". I need to take a picture of her fashion statements because thy are unique but no matter what she is wearing it always includes her pink cowgirl boots. We love our Ducky.

2) Jocelyn- This pictures sums up my girls: (Jocelyn usually has her nose in a book and Kelsey is being silly). Jocelyn is a true drama queen but we love her. Have you ever read the comic"Family Circus"? Well Jocelyn is the little girl Dolly to a tee. I like to call her Mama Joce and for good reason. She helps me with Bryce by feeding him bottles sometimes or just holding him while I make dinner. She loves being the big sister in fact the other day I walked into the bathroom and Kelsey was sitting on the little potty while Jocelyn was reading her a book or pretending to read to her. I asked what was going on and without even looking up Jocelyn replies, "Potty training Kelsey". Be my guest.

3) Jackson- This kid is getting so big. He starts kindergarten in the fall and I can't believe we are almost to that point. He can be the best helper and so silly. He is obsessed with Star Wars and I love his creativity with it. He makes Darth Vader costumes out of old cereal boxes and batman capes. He absolutely adores Bryce and anticipates the day Bryce can actually play. He loves taking care of his sisters especially Kelsey. He always make sure she holds his hand when they cross the street.

4) Bryce- Our little bowling ball as Dad refers to him as. He is just growing at full speed. He is over 9 lbs and 21 1/2 inches long. He tolerates all the chaos and torture pretty well. Even when Kelsey swung him right out of his swing, he didn't even make a peep. He still is every one's favorite guy.

5) John-David- It was my birthday this week. It's actually not a thing I like to focus on because I get hung up on how old I am getting. The kids could care less about how old I am getting, they just know birthdays equal cake. John-David, I mean the kids, sent me beautiful flowers earlier in the day. When he came home from work, he had dinner and a cake. Jocelyn was getting worried when she found out that dad was in charge of the cake that there wouldn't be one. But he pulled through and it was quite delicious. Once again John-David was sneaky and I got some fun birthday surprises. Thanks dear.

6) Good Friends- Our friends the Gessels came to visit us all the way from Iowa and was so much fun. It made me miss all my friends from Ohio. Our kids played non-stop and it was great to be able to hang out and talk. Unfortunately this photo of Marianne, myself and our EIGHT kids didn't turn out as well (two of the kids are in Marianne's body but they be here September so they count). When we met I had one kid and she was about to deliver Ryan. A lot has changed in 5 years! Too bad we still don't live near them. Thanks for coming friends!

7) Jackson with his best buddy Ryan- These two have always been quite the pair. The fact that now they both share the love for Star Wars made this reunion even greater. We need Ryan to come and live at our house for awhile.

8) A Swing set- It's nothing glamorous and it probably will fall apart but it is a swing set. Nothing makes me happier than to have the kids play outside on this thing. Jocelyn can swing for hours which my neighbors probably don't love because she out there at 7:00 A.M.. Jackson and Jocelyn can now pump themselves which is beautiful. This makes me smile big.