5 year old in the house!!!

We celebrated our Henry's 5th birthday in June...the 14th....wow! Just like we all say, its flown by. What a remarkable kid he is. Loving, sincere, honest, dependable, fun-loving, silly, INQUSITIVE, and thoughtful are all words I'd use to describe him. I am amazed at the difference a year makes in a child and what they are capable of and are ready for. He's become much more adventurous this year and has really built his confidence in trying new things. He's more thoughtful than one just to jump in and try it...and that's ok! I see him as the voice of reason for his younger brother! God has blessed us with an amazingly, loving little boy that we are doing our best to train into a man who will love Him. I am so grateful that Henry has a heart that is responsive and already has a love for the Lord. When I think of my hopes and dreams for him, there are many, but the greatest is that he have a wonderfully real, exciting, adventurous relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ....all else will be handed to him, if he seeks first the kingdom of God.
How many hours did I rock this sweet tiny baby in my arms? How many times have I kissed his sweet face? How many times have I hugged his precious frame? How many times have I sung to him his special Henry song? The Lord only knows and I have enjoyed every single moment of it.
When I think of my life before him and how it has changed, I am amazed...My Jesus is who has changed me and my Henry was a catalyst for most of it. Children that you love do that to you, don't they? They make me search for what is real and what is lasting. Thank you Jesus for giving up your life, that I may have an abundant life NOW, here on this earth, with my husband, my children and my family and friends. I am so grateful.

In this first pic, I asked him to show me how excited he was for his birthday party that day....pretty excited, I'd say.

We had a rocket ship themed party...with rocket ship shaped invitations, jet packs, rocket shaped birthday cake, alien crafts and even an outer space room! Brent worked so hard on our basement, turning it into outer space. He built a rocket ship, hung stars from the ceiling, hung white streamers and put up black lights everwhere, so that it would all glow in the dark! The kids had a blast!!!!

Jet packs...so cute!

Here he is with many of his friends....

rocketship cake that was DELICIOUS.... Alison helped me make it!

I love having birthday parties...a focused day on each of the kids once a year isn't too indulgent and what great memories it builds. Each of their actual birth days were such a blessing to our family and we want to celebrate that!! HAPPY 5th BIRTHDAY HENRY!

our funny man turns 2!

Here he is...the funny guy, the life of the party, the one who can turn any situation into a fun one. He just cracks us up. He knows he's funny too. He tries to make us laugh and I love that about him. I can see him being the one to cheer his friends up, the one who can laugh at himself and make others comfortable...

I am taking a cue from Beth Moore and starting birthday letters to my children. I will keep those private and include them in their baby books. I hope that I can convey all to them that they mean to me at each year in their lives. I pray that it will be a blessing to them in their adult years to know how much they were treasured as children.

We celebrated Harry's 2nd birthday at home with 3 of his friends...Keegan and Caroline Dosek and Steven Joseph. The theme of the party was Mickey Mouse, of course, and they had a blast! We themed the party around a mickey book we have about having a picnic with your friends. We had the same menu as in the book....mouska dogs (nitrate/nitrate fee, of course!) , corn on the cob, fruit salad, cake and ice cream!

We brought all of our mickey mouse toys, books, blankets and stuffed animals down to the party and had fun mickey ears for all the kids to wear. In true fashion, they wore them for about 2minutes and then were on to better things...like chasing each other around with light sabers. I love how boys play!

For his birthday, we gave him a new guitar so that he, henry and daddy all have their own for their sessions of guitar hero. He love it and dances the whole time he's playing it. In fact, Harry dances EVERYTIME he hears music. A commercial, the radio, even the rhythm of the breast pump sends him into a routine. I tell ya, he's a riot! He also got some new books and lots of bubble blowing paraphernalia.

It was a fun, low key easy birthday party. Thanks to Brent for cooking all of the food and even sending plates home with our guests! What a dad. Happy 2nd Birthday Harry! You are truly a blessing to our family and a lover of life! Can't wait to see what God has in store for you!

Ruby Alison

January 10, 2010 at 5:30pm, our precious Ruby Alison was born. What an incredible surprise is was to be given a little girl! We were so tickled....pink! I can still hear the utter excitement and surprise in Brent's voice as he exclaimed..."its a baby girl!" We could not believe it! To be blessed with 3 amazing children is incredible and to get to experience boys and a girl...wow...we could just burst!

It was so much fun to wait until the birth to find out the gender...we knew with both of the boys, but from the very beginning of this pregnancy, things felt differently for me. BTW, Brent did not want to wait...even tried to talk me into finding out during the ultrasound. He was glad we waited in the end, although it was hard to wait. Not only did I not want to know the gender, I was sick the first trimester, which was different from my previous pregnancies and I carried her differently than I carried the boys. She was much higher, which made it hard for me to breathe throughout most of the pregnancy.

We knew all along what her middle name would be....Alison. I have an amazing sister whose name Ruby was given. She is loving and loyal and doesn't even begin to know how much she means to me. Well, she doesn't know how much she means to any of us. She is our beloved 'oopie' and I could think of no better way to honor her than to name my little girl after her. I hope that Ruby will understand what her Aunt Alison means to me.

So far, I couldn't ask for a better baby. She started sleeping about 3 hours at a time at night almost from the beginning. She's content most of the time and has a calm and inquisitive nature. She is very determined already...I can tell by how badly she wants to hold her head up. She will not give up!

Its pretty special to see Brent love his daughter. I wonder sometimes what he's thinking as he's looking at her. We all seem to be gushy over her...even Henry. He was rubbing her head the other day very tenderly and I asked him why he loved her so much...his reply.."I like her face"...oh! Pretty funny since she looks like him.

Harry is also pretty taken with her. I am so happy that he really hasn't been very jealous. Thankfully, he is pretty independent and has adjusted very well. Before Ruby was born, I wasn't sure how he would react, because he did not like to share me, even with the dog, but he has been sharing me very sweetly. Of course he has his moments, but he has taken on the big brother role very graciously. I am very proud of the both of them.

We feel amazingly grateful and blessed. We know that children are a gift from the Lord and we are humbled by the three amazing presents we've been entrusted with for a while here on this earth. We pray that we can stay focused and on the course and bring them up in love with the Lord who made them. Our hope for all of our children is that they will have a personal, life giving relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ and that they will let Him rule in their lives. God, help us to show them your love, show them how to honor you and how to serve others. Thank you for entrusting them to us for a while. We are humbled.