i'm not making this up... like father like son.

tonight (thursday) after we got home from watching our neighbor play his first baseball game,
the kids had a snack,
got their jammies on,
and went to brush their teeth.

it was late.
around 9:30.
i heard a loud bang.
and a scream.
and hannah running with brody in her arms, to me.
he had pulled one of the bathroom drawers out all the way,
and it dropped, and landed on his foot.

and this is what i saw.



i iced it.
and he stopped crying about two seconds later.
but it looked terrible.
so i took him to the e.r.

when i got there,
the nurse said,
"we should get you a punch card."

nice.



and it's broken.
right on top.
and he has to go see the same specialist that steve has to go see on monday.
we are going to make it a father son outing.

and because this is my blog, and i can

one more picture of micah.

i mean seriously.

the doctor said to him,
this bandage i am putting on, makes you look a whole lot more beat up then you really are, which will be good for you..
all your girlfriends will be concerned, you know?

and micah said, yah, i know.

the doctor started to laugh, and said,
never had that response before.
usually little boys say, i don't have any girlfriends.
he just played that totally cool...
must be those eyes.

i'd have to agree.

i need to buy stock.

in unity hospital.

had to pick micah up from school today,
and take him to urgent care.

fell off a chair.
cut his face open.

well, as steve said,
so much for him being a model.

memorial day fun

had a cook out.
kids had a blast.
we had a blast.



and the fun never ends when a chocolate fountain is involved.

i told you so.

wednesday steve hurt his foot.
digging up a dead tree,
and planting the six we purchased.

he was jumping on the shovel,
in nike free running shoes.
not wearing boots like he has in the past.

he said he was just in a hurry,
and wanted to get the trees in the ground.

he hobbled around on it the rest of the week.
continuing to do yard work,
and walk all over the place.
claiming it was fine.

i begged him to go to the doctor.
i thought it was broken.

so last night, monday night, five days after,
he finally gave in around 10pm,
and let me take him to the e.r.

and yes.
it's broken.

in fact, a piece of bone is broken off.
so he has to go to the orthopedist too.
he was so mad when they were putting the hard splint on,
giving me dirty looks.
he has kind of a hard time being hurt.

but he looks cute in his cast. :)
and i was right.
which is clearly the important thing here.

5th grade track meet

last wednesday was the annual 5th grade track meet.
the schools do a good job of making it fair for everyone.
they set them up in heats of four,
with their fastest runners going first,
then on down from there... so everyone has a chance to compete,
and has a chance to race against people who are of like speed.

the kids get so excited about this,
and it is always a highlight of the year.

isaiah is quick.
really quick.
so he was in the first heat for the 50m dash.

and he won.



first heat for the 100m dash.

and he won.




he anchored the 4x100m relay, which ran in the first heat.

and they won.




and for the first time ever,
madison elementary had two students qualify to run in the 800m.

there were 8 boys.

and he won.



so proud.

thursday with brody...

anything for water....

images from the talent show..

they did it.

i promise i will have pictures up here soon...

but just a quick note to say

they did it.

west middle school raised over

five thousand dollars.

kids.
teachers.
parents.

a well.

proud does not even begin to describe how i am feeling...

it is more like humbled,
and honored.

a million

i have a million pictures to get downloaded
to my computer.

good ones too.

but i have no time...
stayed up until two thirty getting bracelets ready
for the talent show at west middle school
to benefit water.

it makes me infinitely happy
to see kids get excited about making a difference
in the lives of kids just like them
on the other side of the world.

if you live in town,
i encourage you to stop by west middle school
today at one.

you will be inspired,
in awe,
and so proud of this generation
of kids making a difference.

one voice at a time.
one life saved at a time.
one drop of water at a time.

trees...

steve spent most of yesterday planting some new trees in our yard.
he dug holes, and put in five.

i was admiring the work,
when micah happened along.

i said, "micah, aren't these trees dad planted nice?"

and he said, "well, they are nice and all, but what happens if i am walking through the yard with my eyes closed, and forget they are there, and run right into them?"

"when do you walk through the yard with your eyes closed?"

"i haven't yet, but i might."

so proud

a huge congratulations goes out
to steve's brother, mike smith...
coach for california baptist university women's softball.

they won the NAIA national championship
about five minutes ago...

this is huge.

the first time a GSAC school has EVER won the NAIA championship.

so proud.

he is a great coach,
a loving husband and father,
and steve's big brother.

we love you mike.

happy birthday baby boy

today our baby boy turns four years old.

it is so hard to believe it has been four years.
but i really can't remember what it was like before he was around.



he is small but mighty...
super competitive.
loves anything sports.
and adores, adores his brothers.



he loves worms.
and frogs.
and turtles.
and mud.

and he still loves to snuggle with his mommy.
which makes me very happy. :)

happy birthday brody, we love you little man.

are you kidding me?

so last night before bed,
brody told me that he had found one of the mushrooms
we had been hunting for with emily.

he said they were in the sticks
in the back yard.

i didn't really believe him.

and then he showed me this...



shortly after, he pointed out the really big one.
and said there were more too.



he was right.

and is apparently a killer mushroom hunter.
i told him he was the mushroom king.
he liked that a whole bunch.

first turtle of the year

it was a weekend full of baseball and soccer.
but those photos get old.

yesterday evening isaiah came home with the first turtle of the year.



he was an adorable little guy, or girl, i suppose.



a sure sign that summer is coming.
and i think i might be getting a bit better at capturing these little guys on camera..



either that, or the spunky little turtle just wanted his picture taken.
which, now that i think about it,
seems a whole lot more likely.

Happy Monday

the girls celebrating their birthdays by going out to dinner.
they are having a great time.
really.

so, mother's day.

with all these birthdays going on, i didn't post about mother's day.
it was great.
i got a robot that vacuums my house for me.
fab.
love her.
we named her hattie.

but what i loved most, was seeing 4 out of my 5 kids up on stage at church,
singing and dancing.
micah got to sing a solo.
jesus loves me.
it was adorable.



after that we took my mom to lunch at the chart house.
love her.
love the chart house.



and i got one photo of all my children.
i am not in it.
but i was there.
trust me.

Happy 13th Birthday Emily!

it is so hard to believe my first born is 13 today.
it really doesn't seem like that long ago
that i was wondering...
will she be bull-headed as a teen?

uh, yah.

but again, i wouldn't have her any other way.



she is strong.
mentally, emotionally, and physically.
she will always be able to kick isaiah's butt. :)
she hates social injustice
and is passionate about her causes.
she is honest, always.
she is beautiful, inside, and out.
she has more common sense then most 30 year olds.
and even though she is a bit too much like her mamma,
i love her.
we love her.
happy 13th birthday emily.

funny things micah says...

yesterday...
steve says to hannah:

hannah, thanks for having a birthday!

micah looks at me, and says:

yah, and thank YOU for giving birth to her!

-----

this morning while i was trying to get him out the door to school, he kept playing with a calculator, i said:

micah, i already asked you to put that away!

micah: geez, i just want to calculate some numbers.

good times...

Happy 9th Birthday Hannah

Hannah is nine years old today.
so hard to believe.
and although she gives me a ton of dirty looks...
or ignores me all together,
she is exactly how i would want her to be.


she is mellow,
and loving.
motherly
and caring.
she goes with the flow,
and remains my "easy" kid.
she is even keel
and a beauty.
inside and out.
happy birthday baby girl.
we love you.

MORELS!!!

so, this morning,
i decided that emily needed to,
as my dad used to say,
participate in an educational experience outside the classroom.

i wanted someone to go hunt mushrooms with,
because as much as i adore brody,
i was in the mood for more grown up conversation.

the three of us left while it was still pretty foggy
and as it turns out,
she was good luck.

we only found two...
but they are beautiful!

me and my baby boy

i am loving watching brody gain confidence,
becoming his own little person,
not needing me so much.

but i also still love it
when the "big" kids leave,
and we crawl back into my bed and cuddle.

he is at a good place.
and i am so blessed to be his mom.

most improved!

so, it was mother's tea at preschool.
i was kinda dreading it,
given the christmas performance.

but what a difference a few months makes!
brody was totally into it,
singing his little heart out.

very cute,
love him.

it helped, i think,
that he got to stand next to his favorite person at preschool.
it's good to have friends.

mushroom hunting...

we didn't find a single one.
could have been because we were hunting with a 3 year old.