When you are #5...

there is rarely a dull moment.
you are showered with kisses....constantly.
you will never have to look far to find a friend.

13 inches and some motherly ramblings

Gracie donated her hair to Locks of Love again. This time she donated 13 inches.

Somehow, the cut has transformed her (or maybe it's me). Every time I look at her I can't get over how grown-up she looks. I caught glimpses of it before, but now it hits me hard every time I look in her direction. It makes me proud and panicky all at once. I am so proud of who she is, but I also see just how quickly she is growing up right before my eyes and I panic a little and hope I have been and still am teaching her all she will need to know as she becomes more independent in this world. A world with lots that is good if you will just take the time to look for it, but a world full of so much evil that it can literally bombard you from every direction if you aren't ready for it.

This world is hard on girls and quite frankly it scares me spitless to think about some of the things the young girls today will have to face. How can I truly prepare mine for the blows society will send their way? How can I make sure they know they are loved and valued beyond their own comprehension so they will be strong enough to walk away when something isn't good for them? How do you walk the delicate balance between giving them their independence and sheltering them from the things you know will bring them sorrow?

I really like the ages my children are currently at. I am (for the most part) very comfortable with the challenges I face with them. Generally speaking, most days, my biggest concerns deal with a little bit of back-talk, keeping bottoms and noses clean and straightening up a few toddler fiascoes along the way. I can "fix" nearly everyone's problems right now. I can make everyone laugh and smile and can usually chase their worries away with a simple pep-talk. I don't look forward to the day when I will lose that control, when I won't be able to lift the weight of the world off their shoulders by simply giving them a tickle or a hug or a bedtime talk.

Some days I worry so much about what's to come that it nearly consumes me and I wish that time would slow down a little so I would have more time to try and "get it right." But time just seems to fly faster, so I just hold on to these little ones with all my might. I try to be near them every waking moment so that maybe somehow my presence or my influence will sink deep in their souls and they will never wonder where to turn when the going gets rough, it will just be second nature. And I hope that I will be their soft place to land and that home and family will be where they turn for peace and support.

It would be nice if there were a guarantee, a black and white checklist that you could maneuver through and if you just made sure you got it all crossed off then you'd get your guarantee...your guarantee that your kids would be ok and they would make it through life with their characters and testimonies intact, but since there isn't I guess I will just keep taking the days as they come and being thankful for the time I still have to do a little better and thankful to be a part of this motherhood journey and above all thankful for these 5 little spirits that have been entrusted to me in all my imperfectness.

I just love this girl. She is beautiful and smart, helpful, kind and tender and I am so thankful that somehow I managed to get lucky enough to have her in my life.

High Risk Occupation

Apparently, being a school teacher is risky business....because you could dodge a soccer ball at recess and hit heads with a little girl (yes, I said little girl...no worries though, she was just fine) and split your eye open far enough to warrant 6 stitches.

Luckily we can laugh about it because we have a super-skilled, super-generous friend who was willing to do a stitch job in his kitchen and save us a hefty doctor bill. THANK YOU FRIEND!!!

And even though we might be teasing Mr. Edwards just a little, we sure are glad to have him home. He decided to up and leave us for San Diego last week to attend a math conference. We sure missed him and have almost forgiven him for all the beach pics he kept sending us. ugh! We would have told you sooner, but, you know, we didn't want any crazy blog-stalkers knowing we were home alone.

Productive Morning

I just finished matching 106 pairs of socks....and it's only 7:30am. Impressive, no? I have been a little behind on sock matching. For some reason I despise the task. I think the only question now is what will I do with my time in the morning now that I don't have to dig through an overflowing basket of socks to cover the 14 feet in our family?


In other news...
Have I ever mentioned Lila? Well, we LOVE her. I am pretty sure she is THE BEST DOG EVER! I think Owen agrees. (If only I had used a flash, you might actually be able to see her. Oh well, if I had, you'd probably be able to see Owen's face and I'd hate to ruin your appetite this early in the morning.)

"Owen do it"

Owen currently insists on doing nearly everything himself.
He is a very busy boy with lots of ideas. Some of his ideas work and turn out great...others aren't so great. Case in point....serving up himself some grape juice.
While I worked at mopping up the juice, I looked over to see him poking the pears on the table with a pair of scizzors.
....so I put him to work cleaning up his own mess. He obliged, but insisted on wearing my slippers while he worked.
Other recent mishaps included but were not limited to a broken camera, a laptop with missing keys, a near epic flood in the laundry room involving a comical amount of suds and Ava's $30 bum cream on couch and carpet.
Some days I wonder if he might drive me crazy, but at the end of the day he snuggles with me nose to nose and runs his chubby little fingers through my hair and my heart melts and I (nearly) forget all his shenanigans....besides, have you ever seen a cuter (albeit sticky) little face?

Returning

Pic is completely unrelated from post topic, but we blessed little Ava yesterday so I'm adding a pic of her with more to come:)

We've been away from the blogging scene for a long time now. I am sad that I don't have a consistent record of the past months, but to be honest I haven't felt like blogging. There were times I wanted to be in the mood to blog, but I was in a funk and never knew quite what to write. We've been dealt some challenges, but I finally feel like we are emerging on the other side...and we might even be better people with more compassion, understanding and patience than we once had and I think we may have learned a thing or two, but at times it's been a difficult road. In the midst of it all, it was hard and sometimes overwhelming, I felt laden with stress and worry and sometimes I felt like I was barely holding it together. We had lots of good times too, and when I began a pity party and started thinking I had it rough, all I really had to do was turn on the news or even just look around me and then I'd realize just how insignificant our trials were in comparison to the loads some people have to bear. Through it all we have been so blessed. Although life was busier than we wanted it to be and many times we felt over scheduled and some times overwhelmed. We really couldn't complain, we were healthy and happy and we realized that we are surrounded by amazing friends and family who seemed to notice when we were on the brink and showed up with kind words, or loaves of bread, or dinner, or would whisk the kids away for an impromptu playdate. I now know that we are surrounded by the best people in the world....ones who truly care and would do anything for us and we will be eternally grateful for such a blessing.
I hope to do a little catch-up on everyone in our family and begin regular posting again. We'll see how it goes.