A Thorn Among Roses

before i even start, i have to send you over to   McK mama's blog ... Stellan was born and you really need to go see that precious pea and read of the miracle that has taken place there.   grab a tissue...especially when you read yesterday's post . ryan's bro, jon , and his most incredible wife, meg , have been in town... and we love it! so we made it out for starbucks one night...and here's the proof. do you think the boys could look a little more alike??  meg and i are soooo lucky!!!

even when ryan tries to pull off the cocky business man look,  he just isn't very convincing. ...ok, so maybe if the cigar was unwrapped and the beer had some beer in it? or part of the money stack wasn't the shopping list? or if he didn't have such a cheesy grin because we were laughing so hard! oh well, i love my nice guy...cheesy grin and all!

a few of my favs from the week climbing on the "uncle jon gym" sofie smiles... happy camper more happiness all around... and #1...well, she's avoiding the camera. teenagers!  jk! wordful wednesday ...come along and join in!

sofie is really starting to be on the move...and she's so stinking proud of her little self. cousin Finn is in town and although only 10 days separate their birth, their size...well, see for yourself

...is a happy house. (it happens some times, i swea r) And some NOT ME MONDAY things...I " did not " do the last few days: i did NOT eat a whole container of chocolate eclairs in two days. i did NOT use the soapy bubbles in the kids bath last night to wash them. i did NOT ditch my kids for 4 hours to go shopping with my SIL Meg. i did NOT almost pee my pants when hubby called me from his new job and his new office today. i did NOT sit in bed and ditch my kids a second time to watch Baby Momma with said SIL. join the fun... check it out .  everybody's doing it!

i got a new award from my friend, dysFUNctional mom...yeah...it's one of ths super fun awards bc it says i'm creative (so creative it's misspelled).   so i'm to tell you some random things about me... 1.  i hate doors that are opened.  i like all the cabinet doors and room doors closed.  weird. 2.  i was a clown, Giggles, in a clown ministry with my Dad, Crackles, for years. 3.  new things that are shiny are boring...love them old and rusty looking. 4.  i don't like my dog...she annoys me...barks all the time and i'm keeping her bc my #2 loves her sooooo much.  (it's true). 5.  i'm married to my dream husband...i mean that. 6.  my girls names in initial form are PBJS; peanut butter and jelly sandwich...not intentional, but fun.  and, if you're reading this...you're tagged too!!!  come on and join the fun!

i make up weird rules sometimes to make the kids quit asking things that are not feasible.   (oh, come on, you wish you would have thought of it first) my best to date...the gum chewing rule. "you have to be 5 years old to chew gum." #3 shines her pearly whites at dad last night and says,  "i have all my teeth.  and their white" *dad says, "yes you do.  good job" * *quickly followed up by #3... "i can chew gum now." * sorry... the fake gum rule says 5 .  and for some reason,  everyone actually listens to the fake rule.   i need to go...i need to think up more fake rules that my kids will actually follow.

my grandpa passed away just a few months ago...it was quite unexpected. as we all shared pictures, it just made me smile to look back through a few of them... it's funny, when he was alive, i never saw some of these. ok, it's huge family...my dad is the oldest of 8; i am #2 of 27 grandkids; there are 33 great grandkids and counting. but there are sides of grandpa i heard about, but now that i get to see these pics, it just makes me smile! this is the man i remember..hysterical, full of energy and always smiling! watch out carey grant...who knew grandpa was a ladies man??? Grandpa served in India during WW2...(and that tradition of service continues in the family) and being just as my poor hubby is...a thorn among roses in his fam with all those sisters. love ya grandpa...good memories!

I am in bloggy and costume sewing love with so many things...but this one, my girls would flip out over!!!  it is super duper beaut!! Marie-Therese Gown GIVEAWAY !!!!!!!

when you feed (or watch someone feed) a baby, do you do it?? and for all you coffee drinkers, i just found delish news at Momma Matters , free cappuccino Oct 31st at Barnes and Noble college stores...really!!!  Go check it out...it made my day!

we're park peeps... and it seems that the park is timeless. my kiddos actually get along at the park (really) this is the vomit-maker, spin master 6000... a spinning, swirly disc that the kids sit on...and think is fun.  yuck. the park is a place where you help your sister...without being asked. and you climb to new heights...and smile for a picture too! and give some really funny looks... and more spinning things...that only kids can handle! did i mention, we love the park?? coem and join us in Wordful Wednesday at Seven Clown Circus ... angie's got it going on.

the last few days have been great...we had our open house, we saw lots of family and friends and we ate lots and lots of junk food. then, a few "reminders" of real life (and ministry) hit home and sunday night came...then a tough monday morning.  as i was driving, i see a sign... surely that's not what i think it is. no way. is it? oh, oh, it is! then, the angels started to sing and the sun shone directly down on it... and there it was!!! la!!!!!!!!! that fabulous green aproned barista made my venti bold with hazelnut and cream... served it with a smile... and i never left my car. (pardon me while i get a tissue...i have a tear) then, i see this... and i say to this..."NO.  thank you!!!" two starbucks.  one day... now that is a great reward!!

there's a lot that happens on the sidelines during a game/match...at least with us nana plays with the girls during time outs and half time papa plays with the girls...all the time there are smiles... and tears...with lots of hugs and fan/family support (my niece shelby...isn't she just the cutest?) there's the potty breaks (at good and bad times) and really great plays still on the field!! and in the end...lots of smiles and a loving daddy/coach!

so its celebration day... adoption and sofie's big time hello.  pics to follow.   :) happy sunday!

Sofia is on the move...   she's so tiny for 9 months (22" and 13 lbs) that it just seems dangerous.  but, it's not...she is, however, not crawling with both legs...STINKER!  it's cute though...and PT Lindsey is having quite a fit. her sensory stuff is so intense that she is adjusting even her crawling...she refuses to be on her tummy and PT everyday is just plain painful.  poor girl.  anyway, small successes...she stayed on her tummy playing 12 seconds this week...that's 4 times longer than ever before!!! here's sofie dofie on the move... i sound so stupid now that i listen to the video, but she's still cute!  happy weekend!

there are 7 words that no mother ever wants to hear while in the car (did i mention in the car with all the kids?) seven words... but it happenedand it wasn't good. "i feel like i'm going to be sick" which is quickly followed (and i mean supersonic quick) by "it"...the "sick". so after i was done gagging myself and doing crowd control with the other 3, it was clean up and go at the closest gas station. i'm happy to report that the stomach flu lasted but a few hours with brooke; i was not so lucky.  but i am back.  good thing, too....we have our open house on sunday for jk's adoption and to welcome sofie.   we're off to all eat toast knowing that someone else well def be getting sick soon...booo! (it may be a bad time to say this but i have waited for my 03 escalade for a while...i know it's old to you, but it's so awesome for me...and now, it's been initiated...and it's only been 5 months. sad.  poor girl.)

i notice that my b and jk both pray for what is on their minds.  brooke never prays with out being thankful for all the puppies and kittens and animals in the world and asking the Lord to be with them all. at first, that seems a little off...praying for kittens?  but brooke prays her heart...why don't we?  sometimes i think it's b/c we aren't sure what's really in our hearts...sometimes it's fear of being exposed...sometimes we just don't pray...and sometimes we are too wrapped up in our own wants and needs to know what to pray. i got an email today from johnie... abigail 's dad.  you might remember her from the Mitochondrial Disease walk we did a few weeks ago.  She's not doing well...and that just gets me.  it hurts.  i pray for her and then i want to pray again...and i pray for nicole (mom) and i want to pray more.   days like this remind me that we are totally living in a fallen and sick world...and that is totally not now it was suppose to be.  dea...

Brooke and Jada started this thing this week where i'm beginning to wonder if they are morphing into one person.  here's how it goes... b: "oh for Heaven's" jk: "sake" not just once...every single time.  from the other room, in the middle of a conversation, whatever.  cracks me up.  i love that they love each other...they just need to be a little less freaky about it! Sofie is on the move...how in the world did that happen?  when you are 22" and 13# you should not be able to move around so much!  she looks so funny and adorable... notice all the afghan's strategically placed where she is playing...i swear i don't normally have odd colored blankies all over the place {wink} And a strange thing happened this week...it's called the "i never thought it would happen to me thing".  i went to hug paige (13) and she looked at me like i was a criminal.  it's no longer okay for me to show affection in front of family either.  ok...i ...