Cousins in Car Seats

Benjamin has a lot of cousins his own age to play with. I hope he doesn't mind playing tea party or dress-up...

An Oldie but a Goodie

Found this one as I was scanning old pictures found at Dad's house. This one is approximately 30 years old, I think. Dad would have been around 29 or 30. My "little" brother is pretty cute, huh?

Easter Pics

We decided to take some quick pictures of the kids before church on Sunday.  Here they are looking at the bubble bucket that we got for Grace...it just didn't have any bubble solution in it yet.  I was able to get one more dress for Grace out of the pattern that I bought for her Thanksgiving dress and Christmas dress.  I think I'm done making dresses out of that pattern.  Also, I really don't have time to sew.  (I cut the dress out before Benjamin was born.)



I know that all of the "first holidays" after Dad's death are going to be hard milestones.  If I had to choose which holiday would be the first one to experience, I think Easter would be my choice.  It's so springy, and victorious, and joyful, that it seems it would be easier walk through Easter than one that is more sentimental, like Christmas.  (Both involve lots of chocolate, though, which is undoubtedly a good thing.  :)  )  I know that lots of people are praying for us, and that means so much and is carrying us through this time.

Anyway, here are pictures of the kids.  Our goofy but treasured kiddos hardly looked at the camera.  I'm not sure how old they'll be when we can get their attention all at the same time.  (Last year, the pictures were awesome, if I do say so myself.  So, if you want great pictures, you can look at last year's, but if you want current and entertaining pictures, see below.)








Yup, that's just the way it goes.

The Wrong Year

I thought I'd upload a quick picture for an Easter post, but my photo uploader was aimed at the wrong photo directory. I found these photos instead. (These are from 2008. And I'm sure there's a technical way to explain that, but I'll move on...)

These are photos of Dad opening his Christmas gift from Todd and Corinne. They found a secondhand, still-new Electrolux vacuum that was exactly the same as the one Dad used to love. The only problem was that Dad had accidentally run over the original model with his car a long time ago. Needless to say, Dad was thrilled with his gift.

Hope these pics give a grin to those who knew Dad or were there for the unveiling of the new Electrolux...or the demise of the old one.

PRK Milk

Well, this post is a lot more lighthearted than the last.  One of the many wonderful things about kids is that they add laughter to life no matter what is going on.

Jonathan and I have had a "secret language" for quite some time now.  It's not such a secret, but we spell words to each other when we don't want Grace to know what we're saying or want whatever we're talking about.  For example, on the way home from school, if Jonathan wants to go to the park, he'll say, "Can we go to the p-a-r-k?"  Or, if he wants more milk after his first bowl of cereal, he'll say, "Can I have some m-i-l-k?"

Grace has caught onto this.  She knows some letters and knows that Jonathan uses them to ask for things.  Sometimes she'll repeat what he says, but she seems to only be able to remember a series of three letters, so after he asks to go to the p-a-r-k, she'll ask to go to the p-r-k.

This morning, she wanted more breakfast after her first bowl of cereal, and she asked me if she could have some more "p-r-k milk."  Love that girl!

Dad

The time has come to share the news about my dad.  He died at home early yesterday morning, peacefully and without pain.  He was 59.

This picture is from my wedding day in 1999.  We love you, Dad!

What God Ordains Is Always Good

My dad appears to be in his last days of life.  (I haven't posted about Dad's cancer very much, and I probably still won't.  There are just some things that cannot be expressed on a blog post.)  Soon after he found out that he had cancer, Dad shared this hymn with me and told me that it had sustained him during previous difficult times and was sustaining him especially as he began to deal with cancer.

He never mentioned it again, but this seems like a good time to share the hymn once more.  Here are the words, and if you'd like to hear the music, it's here.

by Samuel Rodigast, 1649-1708
Text From:THE LUTHERAN HYMNAL
(St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 1941)

1. What God ordains is always good;
His will abideth holy.
As He directs my life for me,
I follow meek and lowly.
God indeed in every need
Doth well know how to shield me;
To Him, then, I will yield me.

2. What God ordains is always good.
He never will deceive me;
He leads me in His own right way,
And never will He leave me.
I take content What He hath sent;
His hand that sends me sadness
Will turn my tears to gladness.

3. What God ordains is always good.
His loving thought attends me;
No poison can be in the cup
That my Physician sends me.
My God is true; Each morn anew
I'll trust His grace unending,
My life to Him commending.

4. What God ordains is always good.
He is my Friend and Father;
He suffers naught to do me harm,
Though many storms may gather.
Now I may know Both joy and woe,
Some day I shall see clearly
That He hath loved me dearly.

5. What God ordains is always good.
Though I the cup am drinking
Which savors now of bitterness,
I take it without shrinking.
For after grief God grants relief,
My heart with comfort filling
And all my sorrow stilling.

6. What God ordains is always good.
This truth remains unshaken.
Though sorrow, need, or death be mine,
I shall not be forsaken.
I fear no harm, For with His arm
He shall embrace and shield me;
So to my God I yield me.

Four Months Old

Benjamin Jeffrey, four months old, 17 lbs., 5 oz. He is a joy. We all adore him. And Mama's exhausted, what can I say?

Super "B"

Lego Fish

In the water

Out of the water

This Can't Be Comfortable...Can It?

Charlotte Is Here!

My new niece, Charlotte, was born on Saturday! Here she is with her daddy, my little brother. And guess what? She was born on his birthday! What a gift!

I got to hold her, too. Corinne did great, but was recovering from the delivery, so I spared her and didn't take her picture. I'm sure I'll have a picture of her with Charlotte soon.

Here are the two newest cousins in our family. I make Benjamin look big and Todd makes Charlotte look small, plus I think Benjamin was closer to the camera than Charlotte. (But yes, Todd really is that much taller than me.)  Charlotte and Benjamin were about the same size at birth, and look how big he's getting already. Crazy. I'm sure the time will go just as quickly with her as it did with him.

Congratulations, Todd and Corinne!

Then and Now

Jonathan - April 10, 2005 - exactly 4 mos. old

Benjamin - April 12, 2011 - almost 4 mos. old

Hopping Pictures

I know I already posted a video of this, but I thought the pictures were too cute to resist. I'll probably take the video down before too much longer because it uses so much storage space on the blog.

Enjoy!

I LOVE this one!

And here she is wearing what she calls "Jonathan's sunflower."

Our Kiddos

A Growth Spurt

Benjamin has been growing like crazy lately. He's up to 16 lbs., 10 oz., and gained over a pound in a week. Crazy. This is the first time I've had a baby who achieved chubbiness during infancy! This shirt is a little too small for him, but as you can see, the onesie extender is helping him to keep wearing it for pictures with his siblings. I took pictures of the three kids in their shirts that I'll post soon. They have some warm-weather sibling shirts that they'll wear next time (thanks, Jennie!)

Quiet Time

I still have Jonathan take a little quiet time in the afternoons. If he's engrossed in a Lego project, I sometimes let it slide, but he usually has some reading/resting time and seems to enjoy the quiet.

Serious Business

She's feeding baby Jenna (in pink jammies) and baby Aliana (in the dress.) Jenna came with her name on the box, and Jonathan helped Grace choose the name Aliana. I thought the name would pass, but it has stuck! Grace loves feeding bottles and solid food to her baby dolls. Lately, their favorite food has been oatmeal. :)

How She Gets Down Stairs

Kinda Gross, Kinda Interesting

As soon as the weather warmed up a bit around here, it was snail season.  (Not escargot!)  They thought that any new plant coming up, or any new flower placed in the flower bed, was an invitation to breakfast.  The baby snails love to slither up and down our back door, which happens to be a sliding glass door right by our table.  Not very appetizing, but fascinating for the kids.

To give you an idea how small the baby snails are, here's a picture of one.  The snail is going down the outside of the glass, and that's Jonathan's thumb on the inside.

More Smiles

???

He's not sure what to do with this pot that Grace gave to him.

Gas?

Some friends dropped by the other day, and one made this remark, which is a good description of Benjamin: "Does he just smile all the time, or does he have gas?" He does smile a lot. It's not gas! He is a very happy and chatty baby almost all the time. He is a joy. He's not sleeping through the night yet, but he's so cute that we'll let that slide for now. :)

Long

Doesn't he look so long in this picture? I think he's catching up with Jonathan's height at this age.