A spring trip up north

Matthew climbing a tree. I remember when I was a kid, my brother and I used to always climb trees together. Now I watch my son as he enjoys the same thing. Thank goodness for a Carhartt jacket that can withstand the branches scraping against it.
Matthew teaching his cousin how to shoot his BB gun. He was very good at telling him all about gun safety as he showed him what to do.
Three of my kids and my nephew on a log in the woods.
The woods looked more like fall than spring. But it sure was beautiful.

The kids enjoyed hiking through the woods.
Some of the kids sitting with Papa by his favorite tree looking out over the creek.
Hiking through the fields. It was amazing how many anthills there are. You normally can't see them all because of the weeds. But the weeds are all dead and knocked down, so the anthills were everywhere.
Hiking through the pines. We planted these pines as little tiny seedlings and spent several summers mowing the weeds down around them. Now they are huge and beautiful.

Kevin riding on Papa's shoulders in the pines.

Haircuts

Well, Kevin is 17 months old now and other than a trim around his neck and his bangs, he hadn't had a real haircut. His hair is nothing like Matthew's was. Matthew was desperately in need of a haircut by his first birthday. Kevin's hair is taking its time coming in. But anyway, we took him to the barber for his first barber shop haircut on Saturday.

He got real upset at first, but only because he saw that Matthew and Michael had gotten suckers and he didn't get one. So once he got a sucker he was a happy camper. Michael had a few meltdowns at the barber shop because he kept wanting to be next. But he just needs his hair buzzed off all one length and we can do that very easily at home (and save the money). However, a three year old doesn't understand that reasoning and desperately wanted to get his haircut. So I thought all day about how I could make his haircut at home special so he wouldn't feel so left out. So when we got around to cutting his hair in the afternoon, I asked Matthew if he wanted to cut his brother's hair. Of course, what almost 7 year old would turn down an opportunity to use the hair clippers. So Matthew and Michael got an exciting time of bonding as Matthew cut Michael's hair. Aaron cleaned it up some when Matthew was done, but Matthew did a pretty good job for his first try (and for being so young).

You have to watch this video!!!!!!!!!!

A Sleepover

Alisha is almost five and is having her first sleepover tonight. She has her cousin spending the night with her. We pulled the mattress off her bunk and put it on the floor. I had bought her one of those bed canopy/tent things for Christmas, but it doesn't work for her top bunk. But I thought she would enjoy having a tent for her sleepover. So the girls are very giddy and excited about sleeping in a princess tent together. Within the first five minutes, they were out with their "scary happening"... 1st they came running out together to tell us that something was moving like water in there ??? We told them it was them and they ran back in giggling and jumped into the tent. Then we could here them giggling that they forgot to close the door. 2nd they came running out to tell us that something was making a noise like an owl in there. They are so silly. It is exciting to see Alisha giggling like a giddy little girl. Being in a houseful of brothers, she doesn't get as giddy and giggly as some little girls and I am enjoying listening to her. I still dream about her having a sister, but daddy says I'm out of my mind.

Nothing Much

It seems so hard lately to find time to post on here. It really does take a lot to work full time and care for four kids. BUT I wouldn't trade it for anything in the world. The kids can use every ounce of patience that I have and then some, but they are such a blessing. I took Kevin to his third doctor's appointment in just over a week today. He seems to be doing very well now. It all started a week and a half ago when Matthew decided to walk on my parents treadmill (that he knows he isn't allowed to touch) with Kevin in the room. He was smart enough to not turn it on because then we would have heard it. Unfortunately, Kevin was the one that paid the price for his brother's disobedience. His finger got caught in the treadmill and got pretty mangled. There were no fractures, but it ended up getting infected. So he is finally doing better, we just have to finish off the antibiotics.
We have been fighting the flu alot around here ( alot of good the flu shots did). Hopefully, we are all feeling better now and will stay that way.
Please pray for families that are going through international adoption processes. I have one friend that has been in the process of adopting her son for over three years now. Please pray for continued patience and for the process to finish and her son to come home. I also have a friend who is in the process of adopting from Liberia and now the president of Liberia has suspended all adoptions. I can't imagine the added stress that all of these trials must bring. It makes me thankful that it ONLY took 28 months to get Michael home. I guess it could have been much worse. God has a plan in it all. Please pray that God's plan and grace would be evident in the lives of my friends and other christian families that are in the process of adopting children.

I can't believe it is February already

I find it hard to post very often now. Working full time and caring for 4 kids keeps me very busy. Michael has had some ups and downs over the past few weeks. He is doing better overall, but he still does some very crazy things. He still has moments when he starts crying for no reason at all. He seems to be bonding with us now though. He wants hugs and kisses and he wants to sit close, where as before he didn't care whether we were close to him and he had no interest in affection. He's been home for just over 7 months now. He speaks english extremely well. However, like any 3.5 year old he has certain things that he can't pronounce correctly.

Kevin keeps fighting flu like symptoms off and on and is really struggling with Mommy being gone to work during the day. So it makes for some long evenings when he wants to be held all the time. Don't get me wrong, I LOVE holding him. I think even more than I liked holding the others, but it is hard to cook, clean, or play with the others while constantly holding him. He is also learning to feed himself with a spoon. He is very messy!

Matthew is feeling better and is learning some hard lessons on how disobeying can hurt other people and not just himself. Pray that he takes it serious and learns to obey.

Alisha is struggling with wanting attention all the time from everyone and wanting to be in charge of everyone. She can be very bossy.

It'sCOLD!!!

Well, the kids and I got to stay home together today because it is so cold. I am very thankful for a warm house.
Matthew has been sick this week with pneumonia but seems to be better today. He missed three and a half days of school, but his cousin brought home his work and he got it all done. He does really well on his math work. Alisha is really enjoying school. She seems to be starting to write some letters now. She is finally exhibiting a sense of imagination. She talks nonstop. Michael is a handful to put it nicely. He has had a really rough week after having me home for a few weeks over the holidays and then me having to go back to work. Hopefully, he will settle back into the routine and do better like he was before Christmas. Kevin is full of smiles and giggles. He is an excellent baby. He plays really well and entertains himself. He is starting to pick up a lot of words and follow simple directions.
My classes are going pretty good this year. I still have students that won't do anything, but I have quite a few that are working hard to do better. Aaron is driving now for his job, so I pray that God will protect him from this cold weather.
Sorry, I don't have much to post, but I thought that I would just try to keep you updated on our lives.