We have been having such a nice time just doing ordinary things lately. We are all so excited that there is only 2 more weeks of school! Next week, the girls have their yearly testing, so we decided to relax with friends on the weekend. That water was really cold! Can you guess how long it took before everyone was soaking wet? And who do you think whined the most?
These are money plants in my mom's backyard. I am hoping that romping through them will bring us some financial success!
We have had some new developments. My baby is growing up. She lost her first tooth! She actually yanked it out herself. The tooth fairy brought her two quarters. The first thing she said was, "Mom, I will take you to the store and buy you some M&M's with my money." Such a sweet child!
Such sweet, loving sisters......at least for the picture!
Notice anything different? Someone else is growing up too! Victoria insists on wearing underwear and gets downright offended if you try to put a diaper on her.
Who needs tv? We have a new favorite game around here. Blindfold the mischievous children and let them try to find their way around. On the one hand, they are slower finding things to get into trouble with, but, on the other hand, they have managed to make a new record for broken objects.
Need a little extra oxygen to the brain? Call Isabella for a quick flip.
I lost my mind and took all five girls shoe and bathing suit shopping. Francesca has already lost her new sandals. Catherine wanted a size 10 bathing suit the size of a Kleenex and Anastasia tried on 20 different bathing suits before I started hiding in the Hello Kitty pajamas. They may be going naked this summer.
The girls' school had a field day. The face painting took a long time to put on......
.........but the water slide took it all off in less than a minute. Time well spent!
This mud hole made me so glad that I had wasted precious brain cells in buying new bathing suits.
Hopefully, Catherine likes the Georgia clay fashion statement, because her new bathing suit will be staying this way. Sigh.
Nothing like a playground on a sunny day!
I love this determined look on Victoria's face.
Clover chains!
The girls love to sit on the roof when we go to get milkshakes. Probably, this is not very good for my car, but how important is a smooth, non-dented roof anyway.
No matter how tough things get, always take time to walk through the clover!
Hello everyone!!! I sure did miss you all!! Thank you so much for all the kind thoughts and prayers. They have helped so much.
So, what have we been doing all this time? I have some difficult news to share. My husband and I are getting a divorce. It has been a really tough time, but I do believe it is for the best.
The kids and I (and the dogs and cats) have been living with my mom for quite a while. All of us are squished into her little three bedroom ranch. My mom is a saint! Thank you so much Mom!!!! I am so blessed to have your support and love always.
Everyone is adjusting, but it has been a tough time. I guess I have been feeling kind of down and overwhelmed. Though we have had some hard days, we have also had some amazing developments.
Things are definitely getting better......day by day.....frequent doughnut eating really helps.
As you can see from the video, Victoria's walker is growing cobwebs on it now. Though the doctors said she wouldn't be able to, she is walking, even long distances (like all around the driveway) totally unassisted! She used to be terrified to even attempt to walk outside, but her confidence has soared recently.
She also has developed quite the temper when she doesn't get her way. I have started being stricter, but she can pitch quite a fit. She is putting three word sentences together, but is really hard to understand. We work on annunciation alot, but she doesn't like to move her mouth much when she talks, almost like a ventriloquist. Such a difference from the withdrawn little one from a year and a half ago.
Victoria also knows almost all her letters and can count to five. She can still seem distant sometimes, but she takes everything in.
Francesca is totally potty trained, except for at night time. She is quite proud of herself. She is talking much more than ever before, though she is still very hard to understand. She has such a happy spirit and has so much empathy. If I say I can't find my shoes, she will look and look until she finds them. If I take out the garbage, she is right there, trying to help me drag the big can. She loves to help and loves to give hugs. She seems to be following in little Catherine's fashion sense.
Catherine had some blood work done recently to see if we could discover why she isn't really growing. They took 8 vials of blood! In true Catherine fashion, she just watched the needle calmly and asked lots of questions. The m&m's helped too! All her bloodwork was totally normal, so we decided that she is just petite.
Of course, she continues to come up with interesting clothing combinations.
Anastasia and Isabella are such big helpers. I don't know what I would do without them! Grandma has been teaching them a lot about cooking. They have been going on some really fun field trips at their school.
They are designing a garden in Grandma's yard.
Elliot is doing well at school and has joined the weight lifting club.
We have had a few tough times, like when my car wouldn't start on a hill out of town, with 6 kids. Good times!
As for me, I am adjusting to taking care of six kids on my own. I sort of miss being able to go to the bathroom by myself, ever. I like to think that as time goes on, and everyone feels a little more secure in the changes, that I may be able to pee in solitary blissfulness.
We have all certainly learned alot about working together and keeping a joyful spirit. Even during difficult times, we are all so lucky to have each other.
Please pray for peace for all of us!
I promise to start writing more now. I am getting my groove back for sure!
