Oh, Christmas Tree

It is that time of year again. As we approach Christmas time, I love to watch the excitement in my children. They have been around long enough to look forward to all the traditions we have formed over the years. The first is finding and cutting our tree the day after Thanksgiving. We did the same this year, except that the tree hunting took place right on our property. We decided to load up the tiny trailer I use to pull the kids with our quad. It is just big enough for them. So I hooked it all up and bundled us all up in winter gear. We headed through the tall grass and bumpy trails. It went well untila banch caused the trailer to dump. Good thing I was going slow. After I unburied Abby from he bottom o the pile and made sure that it would not happen again, we headed the rest of the way. The barbed wire fence almost had us, but we all got through unscaithed. My mind saw the perfect tree in our living room. My children were going more for the Charlie Brown look. They won...it is all about good memories and tradition after all! I piled the kids back in the little trailer and stuck the tree right on top if them. Ilistened to giggles all the way back to the house. It was great! I will try to add some pictures the next time the wind blows in our direction and we hve internet!

Being Thankful

Thanksgiving is right around the corner. A lot of people look and assume I don't have much to be thankful for this year. They see the seperation from Marvin because of deployment and my being alone with 5 kids. I will admit that there are moments of weakness that I look around and have a little pity party for myself. And then one of my children says or does something that brings a smile and reminds how much God has given to us. We have so much to be thankful for. I am most thankful for a day to focus on those things. A day that I can refocus on things and find something to be thankful for in every circumstance...and trust God in the stuff I can't find any good in. So, yes, my husband is away for a very long time. Because of his abscence, I have the oppurtunity to cling to Christ. Marvin is able to grow and lead others to Him. He was even able to lead praise and worship at a church in Bahrain just last weekend. Talk about awesome oppurtunities! We live in a house 1/3 the size of the last one, but it is warm and cozy. We are saving so much to put toward our adoption that it will be a reality and not just a dream! God has provided for not only our own needs, but for our future children's as well. Then there are the obvious ones, that need no digging to find God's hand. I look at Josh and really see him, which in itself is amazing! I see my children growing into wonderful people. My boys are so open to God and ways to serve Him and others around them. I see joy that come from them and am reminded that theirs is the kingdom of God. It is a constant reminder to see Him in everything. It comes so naturally for them. So, can you find Him in everything? The bigger question maybe is, can you trust Him even when you can't find Him there?

Our Announcement!

   We have done a lot of praying, planning, and talking for quite a long time. God has placed a calling on our hearts that we have recognized and acknowledged in our family, but have shared with only a few. I'm not sure why, except that we know people might think we are absolutely crazy. We might agree, actually, but that is a whole other post! You see, we are excited to add more Quiambaos to our family!!! We will be starting the process to adopt when Marvin gets home and we get settled into our next duty station! Right now, we are saving money so that we will not have to go into debt, and praying. We know for a fact that God has the children picked out for us, but we know nothing beyond that. We do know that we would like an older sibling group and that we would like to adopt an HIV+ child. Why? We have gotten some pretty big reactions to this news from people who love us and want to stand behind us. Let me explain the things that God has laid on our hearts that have led us here.
    First, our children are so very close. They are truly best friends. I love to watch the relationships that they have with one another. When Marvin and I both felt our hearts being pulled to adopt, we began looking into different ways to go about it. There are so many children, both here in our country and all over the world. We began looking at different agencies and getting information. It was clear that the the group who needed us most was older children. Our hearts were broken for these children so often overlooked. Then we found sibling groups with older children and we both knew that is where we needed to be looking.
     We had never considered bringing an HIV+ child into our home. We had thought like so many people, that it would be a danger to our own children. We want to impact the lives of these children, but we did not want to put the lives that God has already entrusted to us at risk. We never would have even considered it...until God changed us forever. Our friends went through the process of adopting and their child was HIV+. We did not know at first, but we prayed fervently for her through the whole process. God did something in our hearts during that time and I could never have seen it coming. He broke our hearts for that child that we had never met. Because of her and her very special family, we started looking into HIV and the statistics behind it. We were blown away by the things we found out and how much things have changed in the years since those terrifying words became real to us. How children with this disease can live very healthy, full lives on medications that are readily available here in the US. How those same children are dying everyday in Ethiopia because they do not have them. How not one case has ever been documented of a child contracting the disease from another child in day to day living. We were amazed at how the many things we thought we knew were just plain false. Yes, this disease kills, but medication can and does allow people to live happy, healthy lives. We have watched our friends' daughter flourish and bloom in front of our very eyes and cannot help but want that for every child. We cannot save every child, oh how I wish we could, but we can help save the lives of one sibling group somewhere in Ethiopia right now.
       We do not know who our next children will be, but God does. My heart as their mother yearns for them all day, everyday. I know they are out there and I know they are probably sick. It hurts deeply to know that they are there but I can't comfort them. I want to so badly. All I can do is ask God to wrap them in His love and allow them to know that I am loving them every single second from all the way around the world. This blog will be a place that I can record the ups and downs as we go through this long process. Made longer by the fact that we cannot even start until Marvin gets home and we are settled into our next duty station. We need to be somewhere long enough to get through the long process!

I Feel Sneaky...

I am sitting here, feeling a little strange because I am using the neighbors' internet. It must be a better strength in the winter now that the leaves are gone, because it is reaching here! I am so excited! The wind has to be blowing just right for the signal to get here, but I love it when it happens! I have decided that I need to blog during this time because my husband needs to be able to look into the days he is missing. So much already, and I will type our memories on my tiny phone keyboard when the wind is not blowing in the neighbor's signal so that he doesn't have to completely miss out on what is going on in our lives while he has to be away! There is another reason, but that deserves its own post! It feels so good to be back! I have so missed processing my thoughts this way. I feel like I'm being reunited with a good friend!

Fly Me to the Moon!

I have no real internet in our new temporary home, and blogging from my phone is not the best set up, but we had such a huge milestone yesterday, I absolutely could not skip this post, even on this tiny keyboard! Josh has made steady improvemt over the last almost two years. No doubt about it, he has blown us away by the miracle that we have seen in his life. We have seen him meet so many goals. They have all made us very proud, but none have made my heart soar like it did yesterday! Josh came to me as I worked in the kitchen. He loves to help in the kitchen, so that is not out of the ordinary. After he got to measure some things, he put his little arm around me and squeezed in an awkward hug. I smiled big and patted his shoulder. Then it happened! He looked up at me and said, "I love you." Now those words are enough to make my mama Heart soar, but this time I was pretty close to the moon. This precious boy, the one whom we weren't sure would ever even understand what love truly was, looked me in the eyes, and told me he loves me for the very first time! Thank You, Lord, for allowing us to really know the special little boy you placed so perfectly in the middle of our family.

Josh Update

It has been a while since I've updated on the kids(or even written for that matter!), so I thought it is about time. I'll start with Josh because he just completed his first year of Preschool. I cannot believe he is already done for the summer. It seems like we just started this crazy journey! In these past months, Josh has made huge strides. I met with his teachers and Speech therapist when we were trying to decide if we should stay here or move during Marvin's deployment. We sat down and discussed all the things he accomplished. He is a totally different little boy today than he was just a year ago. I remember getting his diagnosis and wondering how much progress could be made. WOW, if I could have seen then what I do now! I'll list just a few of the biggest improvements we've seen!

1. He is responding when spoken to. He went to school for months without saying a word or participating in anything but playing by himself. When his teachers would talk to him, he refused to even look at them. Now, he immediately responds when someone speaks to him(unless he is acting like a normal stubborn child!).

2. He now expresses his thoughts and desires both at school and at home with words. He does still have trouble with this, but there has been much improvement!

3. He is handling changes so much better. If something changes, it throws him off for a bit, but he is able to recover in much less time.

4. He still loves his bunny, but he is okay leaving it at home when we go out and it is not constantly attached to him when he is playing at home. He does seek it out when he gets upset for calming, but plays happily without it most of the day.

5. He is way more engaged in the things around him. He pays very close attention to everything and remembers way too much!

These are not close to the only changes, but some of the big things we were hoping to see improvement on by this time. When we set those goals, none of us knew whether or not he would be able to fully meet them. He has blown us away! He has loved school(after the first 3 months of completely ignoring them!). Teacher Pat and Mrs. T are 2 of his favorite people. The program here is amazing. It was hard to decide to leave it for next year. It was only done after talking with both teachers and his therapists to make sure they all thought it would be a good thing for him. They all agree that he is ready for this step and think it will even be a good test for him to see how fast he is able to adjust to the many new things we are about to throw at him. Please pray that he would not be turned completely upside down and will be able to recover quickly.

                                    Teacher Pat leading the last circle time of the school year!

       Josh's friend, Chase, showing Abby the ropes on the way out to the bus on the last day of school

 Josh with his bus driver, Miss Shelly, on his last day. He has loved riding the bus!

 Josh with his teacher, Teacher Pat, on the last day of school.

Josh with Mrs. T on the last day.

Josh will probably have struggles his entire life, but he has so much courage to fight for the next step. He brings me unspeakable joy. It has taken many many months, but I can truly say that I find joy in him. Not in the things he can and can't do, but the person he is right now. It has been a long trip for a mom who likes to control everything in and around our family, but I am a better person for learning this lesson. I love all my children, not based on what they do and how well they accomplish what I want them to, but based on the people that they are right now. I cannot wait to see the plans God has for each of their lives, but this past year has taught me to enjoy the process every step of the way with great anticipation!

Uncle Jay and Auntie Christy

We had some fun visitors this past week! Jay called and asked if he and his girlfriend could come and visit before our big move. We were very excited to have them come! Jay(now known as Marlon) was only 15 when Marvin and I married. It has been fun to watch from afar as he has grown into a man of God that we are so proud of! We were extremely excited to get to know the woman that has won his heart. After spending 4 action packed days with them, we could not be happier with the couple that they make! They got in very late on Thursday and the kids were super excited to know they would wake up to their visitors on Friday morning. Christy was rooming in the girls' bedroom, so they were both told to be very quiet. They did extremely well, I think(of course, I was in another room...). We drove over to Marvin's ship for a tour after Josh got out of school on Friday. The kids and I have never been on this ship before. We thought it would be a good thing since we had 2 extra pairs of arms! It was very exciting for the kids to see where Abba eats and sleeps and works when he is away from us. After lugging little people and the diaper bag up and down ladders and through tiny doorways for way longer than I had intended, we were all exhausted and decided to head home. However, we did not take into account that it was Friday evening and the ferry was packed(we're talking hours of waiting!). We happened on a really neat Mexican restaurant and hoped that eating would allow the traffic to move some. It was really good, but the traffic was still crazy so we stopped for coffee and got ready for the long drive around. On Saturday, we grilled for lunch and enjoyed the sun peaking out(after weeks of gray). After lunch, we headed to an outdoor theater for The Sound of Music. It was SO neat. We hiked into the woods for about 10 minutes to a clearing. The seats were sort of carved out of a hill and at the bottom, there was a clearing that served as the stage. It was SO much fun. The kids loved it and we all had a great time! We came home and Marvin and I got all dressed up and headed on a date. Uncle Jay and Auntie Christy offered to babysit so that we could  have a date night. We headed to The Melting Pot and had a blast just the two of us. Meanwhile, the kids made pizza and had fun at home! On Sunday we went to church and then took naps to recover from busy days. On Monday, Jay and Christy headed back to Seattle for the day. I dropped the kids off at our friends' house right after lunch and headed over myself to pick Marvin up from work. We then met Jay and Christy for a grown up dinner, which was absolutely magnificent(does that make me sound fancy?). Tuesday brought goodbyes that were not welcome. Poor Abby cried for several minutes as we drove away from the airport and both girls have asked for Auntie Christy every morning since. The boys have talked about Uncle Jay nonstop! Needless to say, they both made quite an impression. We are looking forward to seeing them again very soon when we head to California for Uncle Mark's wedding. But, that is for another post!!!! Sadly, I got no pictures of our weekend(not sure what I was thinking). Hopefully Jay and Christy will email me some of theirs!!!!

Corey's Day on the Farm

I know I have not written in way too long. I have been busy trying to get things sorted out and thrown away so that we don't have to pay to store a bunch of junk. And let me tell you, there has been a LOT of junk!!! But, I need to write down our wonderful experience before I forget it, especially since I did not get any pictures thanks to a dead camera battery. BUMMER! Despite a morning of glitches like dead batteries and cold rain, we had such a great day. Corey's Day on the Farm was started by a family who invited their son's Special Ed class to their farm. It was such a huge hit, that other schools heard about it and approached them about bringing their own Special Ed classes for a day at the farm. It grew so much that soon the family brought the farm to the fairgrounds and opened it up to all Special Needs children. It is all run by volunteers. People from all over the area bring their own farm animals and equipment to the fairgrounds for the kids to enjoy. I wasn't sure what to expect, as this was our first year to go. The day I dropped Josh off for his first day of school, his teachers told us to mark off this day on our calendars. So we did. All the kids have been looking forward to it. We were definitely not let down! We got there and Josh got his wristband for horse rides(Sarah somehow wrangled one out of Josh's teachers as well, she was all about the bracelet). When we got inside, Josh got a tee shirt and everyone was offered a straw cowboy hat and a scarf to be an authentic cowboy. Sam was the only one who accepted, the rest of my Sensory challenged kiddos declined. Although Sarah took possession half way through the day. They did really great pictures to put into photo mugs, which my children again declined. There were several booths set up inside the big building, which was great due to the rain outside. The kids had fun coloring tiles, eating popcorn and hunting for chicken eggs. Once we got through with that, we walked out into the fairgrounds and what I saw blew me away. SO many people were there to bring joy to so many special needs kids...to MY special kids. They did not just give up there time, although that would have been enough. They came and brought horses(a LOT of horses) and tractors and hayrides and goats and chickens and dogs. Most importantly, they brought joy and smiles to faces that are very dear to me. Josh immediately made a beeline for the horse rides. He walked up the stairs and hopped right on the horse without looking back. I just stood there with my mouth on the ground. They had at least 20 horses walking a huge field with one person leading the horse and another to walk alongside. Josh had the biggest smile on his face. Talk about great therapy for him! After that we ate snow cones in the rain until they were too frozen to hold on to them. The rain stopped while we waited in line for the tractor ride. After that we got to get nose to nose with a baby cow and several goats and ponies. We made a quick pit stop at the potty(did I mention that Sarah is fully potty trained!!!!!!!!!!) and then picked up our free bagged lunches. After lunch we headed back outside so the kids could each learn the art of roping from 2 of the sweetest boys. It was the highlight for Sam and Michael. After a hay ride, Josh rode the horses 3 more times, Sam got to ride twice, and the girls each rode with young ladies from the rodeo circuit. The biggest surprise was that Michael got into line after being pretty adamant all week long that he did NOT want to ride a horse. I didn't even ask him when we got there because I promised him that I would not if he was sure, which he assured me he was. After Sam rode, Michael tugged on my arm and asked where the line ended. I pointed in the direction and the next  thing I knew he was in it. Now, it was not a tiny line, plenty of time to change his mind, but he didn't! He says it wasn't his favorite part, but I saw the look in his eyes on his way back to the platform. During Sarah's ride, she kept holding up her cowgirl hat and yelling, "Yahooooooo!" The group of volunteers at the platform at the end were all cracking up. It is hard to point out a favorite part of my day. I think more than anything, I was so touched by the people that came out and worked hard in order to bring memories and experiences to kids that often get overlooked. This day did so much for my family in just a few hours. I am touched by the kindness of an army of volunteers and a community that came together to give my family a day to remember!

Why 5 Minutes of Quiet is Never a Good Thing!

glasses

You may have noticed in the last post that both Sam and Michael are sporting a new look with glasses. I had been noticing that Michael was squinting when he was working at the computer. I figured it would be best to get his eyes checked out. Our insurance covers one exam per year so I thought I'd take both the big boys and get that checked off the list. It turns out that Sam is a bit nearsighted. It is not terrible right now, but he needed a small prescription. Michael is farsighted by quite a bit. He is not blind or anything, but definitely is what was causing the squinting while on the computer. He needed glasses as well, especially for reading. They were both thrilled to get glasses. They picked out their frames and were very eager for the hour to be up. They have had them now for over a week and have taken very good care of them so far. They still do enjoy them and I must say, I think they look rather handsome! We'll see how long it takes for the novelty to wear off and glasses get old! The fact that Michael has had something for longer than a week and hasn't lost it yet is a miracle in itself :)

Easter- picture overload!

Well, we were sick on Easter this year and the whole week leading up to it. We tried to get in all the normal traditions, but had to go slow. That caused our Easter celebrating to last 2 weeks instead of one. It was kind of nice, really. We were able to really focus without a whirlwind of outside activities to distract us. The only regret I have is having to miss Easter service. We have our own "service" at home when we have to miss church, but Easter Sunday is a special time and it is sad to miss out. Not to mention the cute matching outfits the have been hanging in my closet for an entire month! We did wear them this week, so it wasn't a complete loss! We had a blast making Resurrection Rolls . The story was even more real to them this year as Michael read to us the story of Jesus' burial and resurrection just before each child took turns teaching the lesson as they made their own roll. I love making lessons come to life and seeing them really learn it and explain it to the rest of us in their own words. They painted ceramic bunnies that I had picked up from The World Market. They LOVE doing crafty things and I have to admit it is so fun to see how each work of art shows each child's personality. Michael's is kind of willy nilly until he sees something that sparks his imagination(what looked like a cape on his bunny's back) and then goes all out with that theme. Sam 's uses every color precisely the same amount so as not to be unfair to any of the colors, each transition perfect. Josh's is just a big jumble of colors in no real order and running all on top of the others. Sarah's is all one color and every space is covered completely. And Abby's has one little spot that has layers upon layers of paint while the rest of the bunny is blank. So funny how I could tell who painted what bunny even if they weren't labeled! Of course, we did color eggs. It is the only time of year that my kiddos willingly eat hard boiled eggs, they taste better if they are pretty colors, didn't you know? On Easter morning, we woke up to Easter baskets and an egg hunt. I really thought about a way to somehow tie this really fun tradition unto a Godly lesson for them. I figured The parable of the Lost Sheep was a very good one. I think maybe next year, I'll tape some cotton on the eggs and they can go sheep hunting instead. Maybe a stretch,  but I hate to pass up a learning experience if there is one even remotely related. We got to wear our pretty Easter outfits this week. The weather was much better this week, which works much better for my pictures! Maybe it worked better this way after all!

disclaimer: Josh did NOT eat those PEEPS! He only ate organic chocolate, but his Mama is crazy with things having to be symmetrical. I, in fact, was happy to help him remain on his dye free diet!

Sarah was in chocolate heaven!

before church rush

this is what happens when I say smile...you'd think I'd learn!!!

Josh LOVES to blow these!

he's so proud!

after church and done with pictures!

family pyramid!

Sarah looks so sweet...

Abby stops to smell the flowers...EVERY flower!

my sweetheart!

Why Do I Always Go Missing?

I am sitting here contemplating why I go missing from here so much these days. I have come to the conclusion that it is because when there is just too much for my mind to process, I just shut it down and try to pretend there is nothing at all. Kind of like when I used to pull the covers over my head when I was little. Oh, and because I'm just a tad bit busy ;). We got some news the other day that Marvin's deployment has been extended to last 10 months instead of the normal 6-7 months. Our plan was just to stay here and go on with our daily lives, but for various reasons, we feel like we need to leave our current rental home and get settled somewhere else before he leaves. Then, we thought if we have to pack everything up anyway, we might as well put it all in storage and head to my parents' empty house in Michigan. Let me explain. My parents own a home in Michigan, but are not living in it until my dad retires from the Army. They have been renting it out, but it just so happens that their renters are moving out and the house will be empty. So, it works out well for all of us! My parents are not there, but my grandparents and an Aunt and Uncle and cousins are not too far away. It will be nice to be near family there. Homeschooling is easier to do there as well. Michael is going to be 8 this school year and in Washington, that means a letter of intent to homeschool as well as testing and assessments. We can forgo that another year if we are living and schooling there. Not that he wouldn't do well, just one less thing we have to schedule. My parents also own a whole lot of land and I cannot wait to let the kids run free and the dog will have a blast! We'll find a new house here once Marvin is home again. That decision made, I feel a bit lighter! 

Light at the End of the Tunnel

We are finally feeling better! I am SO ready to get back to our regular lives! Being cooped up alone with 5 sick little ones for 2 weeks is just about enough to break me! I am SO thankful for the life that I have. I am SO thankful that although my husband is gone often, I KNOW that he loves us and will return as soon as he can. I am also so thankful for my house full of children and the joy they bring me every single day. Yes, even the hardest of them! I don't take a minute of that for granted, or at least I try not to. That doesn't change the fact that I get overwhelmed some days. Thankfully, I don't stay feeling defeated for long, I have learned to recognize when I am going there and have learned to reach up and hang onto my Savior with everything I am. The last few days I have been fighting to remember what it is that is important. It is not a clean house, a mowed lawn, or even being on time for church. I sometimes get so caught up with the outside stuff, that I forget the most important job I have ever been given. I forget to take the little moments to enjoy my blessings and to teach them who God is and how much they are loved.

God is teaching me new things, hard things, over the last couple of months. I feel free, but terrified at the same time. I love that He has given me a new freedom, but I can't help but be terrified at where we may go next. It is a good terrified though...mostly. I know that no matter how rocky the road to get there, freedom will be at the end. I also know that no matter how turbulent, I have the most steady, firm foundation on which to stand!

Finally, I got to leave a few of the cute things that my kiddos are up to. It is amazing how much entertainment these 5 special little people bring me each and every day!

Michael is getting over this virus. The first night he was sick, he was in bed and coughed so much that it caused him to throw up. I won't paint the picture for you, but it was an ugly few minutes and a LOT of clean up by the time it was all over with. He looked at me with the biggest of eyes and I was about to melt with sympathy for him(I HATE to throw up). Then he smiled and said, "Wouldn't that be the best super power?! I could just throw up on all the bad guys!" I guess that is a boy for you! I'm glad he was not too traumatized by the whole thing.

Sam loves to pray before we eat. No matter who gets the turn, Sam prays as well. Lately, he has been praying that all the people who don't know Jesus would ask Him into their heart and find peace(his words, not mine). He then prays specifically for Josh. I asked him the other day why he was praying especially for Josh and he said it was because Josh is 4 now and that is how old he was when he asked Jesus into his heart. Our little evangelist! I cannot wait to see what God has planned for him!

Josh has loved "new bunny" almost to death. I thought he might be okay now without him, but the few nights he went without him, he woke up several times. So, I went back to ebay and happened upon 2 that were much cheaper than all the other "antique" Thumpers. I thought they were probably knock offs and not the original disney store version, but as fast as he goes through them, I figured it really didn't matter as long as he couldn't tell. So, I ordered them both to keep one in reserve just to be safe. I've been keeping one hidden in the top of my closet. The other night, new new bunny was left in the basement at bedtime. I was exhausted and did not want to run down to get it, so I got the other one out of my closet with the plan to replace the left one when I went to bed. I forgot and today Josh found "the other new bunny"(are you getting confused yet?). So, he had both bunnies in one place and was SO excited. He came rushing up the stairs and told me that new bunny had a baby. We are now keeping track of 2 bunnies, because one was certainly not hard enough!

Sarah is my little mini me. She makes sure that everyone else is doing what they are supposed to be doing. She also loves to share every experience with Abby, who does not always share the same enthusiasm. The other day, Sarah wanted Abby to come upstairs to dance with her, but was being ignored. I hear Sarah yell down the steps, "ABBY!.....ABBY!...ABBYGAIL!!!!" After she was still ignored, she came stomping over to me and sighed and said, "Abby not listen to my words!"

One more, I can't leave Abby out! Marvin has been gone for 2 weeks. His boat ported in San Diego and he called us. I answered with an excited, "Hi, Babe!" and went upstairs so we could talk. Abby followed  right on my tail and with a big scowl said, "Hey, I wanna talk to Babe!" I thought I heard her wrong, so I bent down and asked what she had said. She smiled and said, "I wanna talk to Babe!" I handed her the phone and she immediately said in the sweetest voice, "Hello, Abba!"

I promise I'll get some new pictures up very soon, so much is changing, I need to get it documented before they grow up anymore! For tonight, it is bedtime and my alarm goes off WAY too early to be up this late!

Hit Hard

We have been hit hard by a particularly ugly virus that is going around our area. We don't go to the doctor unless I am really concerned. I don't like exposing my little ones to even worse germs than they come with and I really try all natural remedies before we use medicines. However, with this virus, we have been to the doctor's office twice and the ER once and that was when only 2 of the kids had it. Now they all have it in its various phases. Lovely! The only silver lining is that at least going to the hospital so many times has given me a place to show off my really good hair week. That only happens about once a year, so at least someone got to see it. The first 2 days seems to wear them out and after that, they are hyper from being stuck in the house. The problem with that is that the cough is so bad that when they get active or laugh(which is hard to avoid in our house), they have such a coughing fit that they throw up. NICE! I got so irritated with them the other night trying to make each other laugh to the point of puking, I threatened the next person to purposefully make someone throw up would be cleaning up the mess themselves! That did the trick. That and tv. Nick Jr has been on way more than I would ever admit otherwise! But at least they are still and quiet! They have enjoyed watching the Olympics that I record every night. Sam was especially excited about the luge. He asked me how fast they were going and when I told him faster than our car on the highway, he excitedly declared that is what he wants to do when he grows up. Why am I not surprised that my son wants to zip down an icy track going 90mph wearing only a leotard laying on nothing more than a board on blades? I hope my heart holds out during his adolescence and adult years when I can no longer protect him from himself!!! Sarah and Abby love the ice skating, it is so funny to watch them trying to mimic the moves they see! I'd better run. I need to boil toothbrushes and disinfect the house while all the kiddos are resting! I am determined that we will survive this thing and someday we will leave the house for a reason other than to visit our hospital!

I am BACK!!!!!!!!!!

We have fought internet issues for over a month. It has been crazy. Our "internet"(that is what they call it, but I'm not so sure it is actually connected to anything at all) company changed hands. When they "upgraded" their modems, we pretty much lost everything. It was not great to start with, to use it we had to open the window where it sat, but it worked when we needed it to. After the "upgrade" it wouldn't stay connected at all. We gave it a couple of weeks for them to get their act together and tried a few things they suggested, but it just wasn't happening. We decided to go ahead and switch to cable, easy enough. Only, they had to bring the cable from 2 houses down. They were going to just drill it under the neighbors driveway, not too hard. Only, in true Q style, it was. It turned out that there were other lines in the way, so instead of drilling under the neighbors driveway, they had to dig OUT the neighbors driveway(with jackhammers and big scoops)! Thankfully, our neighbors are WONDERFUL and did not even bat an eyelash, but it took 3 full days of work in the midst of 2 months of waiting for permits and permissions. All is done now. We have real internet and the neighbor's have a brand new driveway! All is well. I have gone through major withdraw from the blog world and am SO happy to be back! Pictures to come tomorrow, it is past bedtime for this tired mama, but I wanted to touch base again!

One Big Happy Family

It never fails to amuse me to watch the reaction we get when we walk into a place. It really doesn't matter where we are, our family just draws attention. I love to watch people's eyes get bigger and bigger as they silently count heads as we go by. I get a kick out of comments made as we walk by(I guess a LOT of people assume that deafness comes with having a big family ;)). I don't think that it is just the number of kids, but that they are all so close to the same age. As the little ones get bigger and the size gap lessens, we seem to draw even more attention. I get a kick out of people trying to figure out my family clueless to the fact that we can HEAR them!
"Oh my, she has twins AND triplets."

"Oh wow, I think that is TWO sets of twins."

"Oh my word, is that one family?"

Only a small percentage of those people ask me. I am more than happy to answer those questions, unless of course, I am busy dealing with an active meltdown, in which case I just give a quick warning that anyone close by should move within 30 seconds before said child self destructs. The rest of the time, I just smile and nod as we walk away. I am happy to say that we have run into only a few very rude people who dare to say negative things in our hearing. Most are just plain curious. I am thinking seriously about making tee shirts for each of the children just to answer the most asked questions and address the most used comments.

Michael's would say, I am the oldest. I am not a twin. Yes, I am on the small side, but my mom says the best things come in the smallest packages!

Sam's would say, I am number 2. I am not a twin. Yes, I do get that a lot.

Josh's would say, I am number 3. I am not a twin nor am I a triplet! I am my own man!

Sarah and Abby's would say, YES, we are twins. No, we are not identical, really.

I would not change anything about our family...at least not much. More about that later(and no, I am NOT pregnant!).

Sibling Love?

Poor Josh. He has been sleeping in the big boy's room for several months. He is quite happy that he is a part of the "big boy" group now. Happy enough to put up with being Michael's roomate! This is how he woke up the other day. Michael admitted doing it when questioned. Let me tell you, it was hard for me to give a lecture with a straight face. I had to step inside the bathroom to laugh before I could attempt to have a heart to heart with Michael. I have quite a reputation for pranks(part of the reason my husband fell in love with me!), and it would seem that my oldest is starting early! Thankfully, he used a Crayola Washable marker which happens to be THE best washable marker out there. I'm pretty sure that Michael will not repeat this particular stunt again, but it makes me wonder what might be next...

Fun times!

I have got so many posts coming! They are written in my head, it has just gotten harder to get them actually on the blog. One of my New Years resolutions is to be better about writing stuff down. There is SO much that I do not want to forget and so little time to remember it all! My mom has been here for the last week. It has been SO wonderful to have her here. She is supposed to be going home on Thursday...I'm not quite sure that she will make it to the airport on time ;)! Sarah has decided that panties are the cool thing yet again. She has been in them for 2 days now. She has not been as successful this time as in the past, but she is really trying. Who knows if she will be doing it still tomorrow. If there is one thing I have learned, it is that I cannot MAKE Sarah go in the potty. There are several places that I have to be firm with her, that I am in charge of. Eating and going potty are all hers and I will not fight the fights that I cannot win. I can bribe though(I prefer to call them rewards!)! If she eats her dinner, she gets a snack. If she goes potty on the potty, she gets a piece of chocolate. It has caused her to try really hard to get it right. This morning, she was sitting on the potty and trying REALLY hard to get some candy! She passed gas and she looked up at me in surprise and said, "Oh! Bless you!" Then she giggled. It was absolutely adorable. We will keep this up for as long as she is willing. I cannot wait for the day that Abby is ready to start training and I can throw the diapers away for good!

Christmas with the Q's!

We have had such a wonderful time together as a family this holiday season. We have been on the go! Marvin informed me on the 21st that he had duty on the 24th. He said he didn't think that we would mind moving Christmas back a couple of days. Well, he does see now;). Being the wonderful husband that he is, he arranged to get a few hours off to go to the Christmas eve service and to have Jesus' birthday cake with us(I know this is not a simple task!). We almost made it through the service! Next year we might actually make it to the candle lighting part of the candle light service! After the service, we came home to celebrate Jesus' birthday. It was fun watching the foundations of belief build as we focused daily on Jesus and his birth all during the month. We have a Little People nativity set so that the kids aren't told all season to leave Baby Jesus alone. Sarah was often seen rocking and singing to him and then putting him "night, night" in the stable. I pray that she will only love Him more when it becomes clear to her that His birth was only the beginning and that it gets SO much better!!!! After cake and singing, each child gets to open their Christmas pajamas and their Christmas storybook. This was the year that Michael figured out that their Christmas eve gift is always pajamas. We wondered how long it would take. He love his jammies, so it is still exciting for him! Then we get snuggled up in the jammies and read the book together before bed. The girls were on a bit of a  sugar high, but it is a magical time for all of us!

Happy birthday cake!

getting ready to sing

 Happy birthday, Jesus

 

 

YUM!

Sarah was in the chocolate cake zone!

Abby was there as well!

Definition of sugar high!

Abby's response after getting caught licking her plate...

Excited about opening presents!

Abby loves them!

 Josh is loving the monkey jammies!

One of this year's books

The other Christmas book

snuggled up together, enjoying the magic of Christmas!