Happy Birthday, Daniel!

Today he is 3. Yesterday (or so it seems) he was a chubby little baby resting quietly in my arms. The poor little fella rang in his birthday with a stomach virus. Ironically, he was born in the middle of the night, at 2:59 am, and this year I got the privilege (though I wasn't too thrilled about it at the time) of snuggling him at the same wee hours of the night. We weren't exactly partying, but as you parents probably know, I did gaze at him and wonder at all that has changed in 3 years, quietly celebrating him in my heart. I got to make him a "special bed" on the floor next to me and periodically drop my hand down next to him and squeeze his little chubby hand. Just like 3 years ago, I got to watch him sleep.
We had to cancel his little birthday party with friends, in hopes of not sharing these germs. So when he woke up this morning and he and I were alone in the house, the others already off for the day, I got to sing Happy Birthday with his full attention and a big grin. And when he asked for candy for breakfast, I giggled and said yes. :)

Daniel, you rock my little world. You fill each day with new wonder and joy, always making up new words, making me laugh over and over again and making me stand in awe of the little person you have become.
You are full of life and energy, ready to tackle or wrestle any willing (or sometimes not so willing) participants. You love any kind of ball and have recently learned to hit baseballs off the tee with surprising skill and strength.
You adore your Daddy and ask for him throughout the day, eager for him to come home and play dart wars with you and Isaiah or to build new lego towers. You recently looked at Daddy in the midst of play and said, "Daddy, you're AWESOME." I pray you continue to grow in closeness with him. He is the best Daddy I have ever seen and loves you with a love that is nothing short of spectacular and truly a gift from your Heavenly Father.
You love to eat cheese, especially any spicy variety, drink sprite (which is surprising to me b/c your siblings won't touch the stuff), and share Doritos with Daddy, and drink my coffee every morning. You love to be outside whenever possible and are relishing your new found ability to pedal a bicycle "super fast!"
And despite being so very very full of energy, you love to snuggle. Sometimes you will be in full play and suddenly seek me out for some snuggle time. You wake EVERY morning asking to be held and snuggled with all your soft blankies. You beg for me or Daddy to lay with you each night at bedtime and give extended hugs and cuddles. You even ask Isaiah and Mercy to snuggle you at times. I love this about you.

You aren't perfect. You are a rascally little boy who sometimes gets totally out of control and finds yourself in trouble. But even then, thanks to a gracious God who is gently working in your little heart, you are quick to apologize and seek forgiveness. You have a growing tenderness to wanting to please and obey the Lord. I look forward so much to watching how our Lord continues to move inside you and make you into a man after His own heart. We cling to the promises he has for you and pray faithfully for Him to captivate your heart with his unfailing, radical, life changing love. You belong to him after all and we are so very thankful that He has entrusted you to us. What a blessing to be your Mama!
Happy 3rd Birthday little buddy!

I'm going to stop apologizing...

I'm going to stop apologizing for being such a terrible family blogger. I really don't feel that guilty for not posting regularly. I wish I was more committed to it, but in all honesty, I'm just trying to parent my munchkins well, be a good wife, help my husband plant a church, keep a house somewhat in order, and be a faithful follower of King Jesus. Oh and also growing a baby. :) Yep, I'm actually almost done growing baby Rico #4. We plan to welcome him/her into our family in about 5 weeks. We are all really really excited and eager to meet this little one. For now, Isaiah Mercy and Daniel are enjoying feeling the baby kick and wiggle and give lots of kisses to my rapidly growing belly. It's pretty sweet to see all the ways they are processing the impending arrival of this little one. Mercy is faithfully praying for a little sister. She asked me a few months ago, "Mama, if Jesus already knows if the baby is a boy or a girl, should I still pray for a sister?" Sweet girl trying to process the deep mysteries of our great God and how he works in and through our prayers. Isaiah and Daniel are more hopeful for a new brother, but they aren't nearly as passionate about it as Mercy. I overheard Mercy educating Daniel the other day, "Daniel, Mommy says that if the baby is a boy, we still need to take care of it. So, we are going to love the baby no matter what, ok?" So cute. Apparently the little talk I had with her about God knowing what is best for us, whether baby boy or baby girl, made a bit of an impact.
We moved the boys in a room together in the basement after Thanksgiving. My Mom helped me paint and decorate and so far they have loved sharing a room. Over the holidays when I needed Daniel to sleep elsewhere, he cried saying, "But mama!!! I need someone to snuggle near. Not a stuffed animal. I need a real brother to sleep close to! " He is pretty fond of having his big brother in the bed across from him and though there are plenty of times they keep each other awake with giggles and chatting, I'm happy to see them enjoying each other and their shared space.
Daniel's old room is now prepped and ready for the new baby. That room had fire engine red walls when we moved in and we have now finally painted them and have a nice soothing neutral cream color. I am loving the change!


Mercy started K4 this year at Isaiah's school and is loving being in class across the hall from him. In the mornings when I drop them off together, it is not uncommon to see them walk into the building hand in hand. Isaiah has been so good to her, helping make sure she goes to the right places and checking in on her periodically. He is such a sweet big brother and often amazes me with his nurturing and concern for his siblings. Here they are on the first day of school this year:

Isaiah is thriving in 1st grade, reading like a maniac, loving Math and Science, and learning to play the piano. He had his first piano recital a few months ago and I was super proud of how he stepped up to that piano in front of over 100 people and played his Christmas songs. He was very proud of himself and we were bursting with joy over his hard work and accomplishment.
Here he is on his 7th birthday back at the beginning of December.

Daniel turns 3 tomorrow. He is such a big boy! His favorite things to do are build lego duplo towers and creations, play dart gun wars with Daddy and Isaiah, and wrestle and tackle anyone willing! He especially loves to tackle Bear (his grandaddy). He loves to eat and seems to be constantly hungry. Some days the food consumption in this house seems outright ridiculous! I can't imagine what it is going to be like in a few years when they are all teenagers. Wow!
Tonight when I tucked him into bed, we snuggled and he patted my cheek with his chubby little hands and said, "Mommy, I love you. Can I keep you?" Sometimes I really do feel like I might burst wide open with love for him and his siblings.


I really do love this busy, full life. My family is precious to me and I am eager to get to meet and know this new little baby. Maybe I'll even get better at this blogging thing... probably not though. :)

Yeah, I know... I am a bad blogger. Oh well. My identity/value is not in my blogging, thankfully.
Lots has happened this fall.
Joab had another very successful football season with GMS, finishing undefeated for the 3rd season in a row. While it takes him away from our family a lot of evenings, it is a great outlet for him and gives him tons of opportunities to love kids and share the Gospel with them. It has been a joy to watch so many young men get to know the Lord in the last few years, many of them through their devotional times on the football field. God sure does work in surprising ways and his Word never returns void.
Still, I was happy when the season ended and Daddy was home again! :)
We had a fun halloween this year, gathering with several other families and their cute children. Isaiah was Robin Hood, Mercy was Maid Merian, and Daniel was a fierce lion. Ha.

Actually, we almost made Daniel be Frankenstein because the day before, he pulled a heavy metal bar stool down into his face and split his forehead pretty badly.


My Dad called his friend and plastic surgeon, Sam Richwine, who promptly saw us in his office and stitched Daniel up. 30+ stitches later, we headed home and nursed a sad, sore little boy, grateful for good plastic surgeons!
Thanksgiving came and we enjoyed fun time with all the cousins and family. We fried our turkey and everyone brought food and a good time was had by all! Unfortunately, that weekend, Daniel attempted another dangerous feat, jumping off the end of a recliner but hit a toy box face first, with his mouth open. I knew as soon as he was airborne that we were going to be making a second visit to the plastic surgeon. Sure enough, his mouth was messed up inside and out and within 10 minutes, Dad again had us on our way to the same surgeon's office. Richwine's partner met us there and did a great job sewing up sweet little Daniel's mouth. And thankfully, despite the fact that Daniel pulled every stitch out within 48 hours (which, yes, freaked me out!), his lips and mouth healed well and now you can't tell it even happened.

And since this post is mostly about Daniel now, I should add that he successfully potty trained at the beginning of November, at 21 months. I was anticipating he would be my most difficult child to train, but he actually turned out to be the easiest. After 2 days of accidents, he was virtually accident free. And he is so proud of himself.
Isaiah has been enjoying Kindergarten and has learned to read. He is LOVING his new reading skills. Many days my Mom picks him up from school and they stop by my grandparents. Sometimes Mom will leave him there reading stories to them. He loves it and I think they love getting to have that time with him. It is really sweet that my children are getting to know their great grandparents.

Well, I guess that is enough for now. Maybe I'll try to blog again before another 6 months has passed. :)

I love this girl.

Mercy is at such a fun age. I touched on how much I am enjoying her in an earlier post, but we are having so many fun times together during the day. The first thing she says when she wakes up every morning is "Mommy, can we snuggle?" I love waking up to that question, although I wouldn't be completely against it coming at 8 rather than 6:45 most mornings. ;) We get Isaiah off to school and then she usually dives into some pretend world. Lately, she has been doing a lot of "work" in her kitchen. This involves doing her baby's laundry, folding it meticulously, cooking and feeding baby, and sometimes putting baby down for a nap. It is so sweet to watch her mimic me in her nurturing. And sometimes, her baby even gets in trouble and has to get spanked. This always makes me laugh.
Her hair is finally growing out from where she took scissors to it. I love her blond hair. Though i never pictured having a blond little girl, I love looking at her and seeing so much of her Daddy. Speaking of her daddy, she said to him the other day, "Daddy, I think I'm really starting to love you." Haha! So cute to me.

I asked Isaiah to tell me 5 things he loves about his sister. Here were his answers:
1. "I like how she is good at taking care of Daniel and making him laugh."
2. "I love that she likes to stir the chocolate when you are making cake pops."
3. "I like that she is gentle with her baby."
4. "I like that she doesn't cry when she goes to Sunday School anymore."
5. "I love to play dress up wither her.
oh and 6. "I love to have sleepovers with her."

I like these kids a lot. Can you tell?

Back again...

Life is busy. But in all good ways. Isaiah started kindergarten this week (GASP! how can i have a child old enough for that!??!) at North Georgia Christian School, formerly Westminster where I attended as a child. I can't tell you how thankful I am to have him there. We are doing weekly Scripture memory with him (and his classmates) and are having lively discussions about all he is learning. His teacher, Mrs. Hoh, is an absolute doll and he adores her already. He wills start full days at school next week and he CANNOT WAIT TO TAKE A LUNCH and eat with the "big kids". It's so cute what excites little people. I will miss him during the day, but he is totally ready for school and so far, has thrived.
Mercy and Daniel and I are having fun, early morning play time at the park...as in we arrive at the park before 8 am! We drop Isaiah at school and then, since we are already dressed and out of the house, hit a park. Occasionally, we can convince a friend or two to join us. ;)
Mercy is at such a fun age. Discipline is rarely an issue of any significance, she easily enters an elaborate pretend world with her baby or her kitchen, and she loves to help me with things, particularly cooking. I love cooking with her. I pray for her and dream for her of how she might one day take the things she is learning from me and use them in caring for a family of her own. I can't wait to watch that.
She is tall and beautiful and so sweet (most of the time). Of course, she has her little moments of rebellion or selfishness. But what encourages me most is that she is pretty easily corrected and quick to apologize.
Daniel is huge! I am pretty sure he is over 32 lbs at 18 mos. And he is a bruiser. :) He loves to wrestle, has a language or grunts, is all about balls of any kind and hitting things with bats or clubs (plastic of course!). I noticed recently that his shoes were hard to get on his feet and decided it was probably time for some new ones. He has been wearing the tennis shoes and sandles that Isaiah wore at this age, which were size 6's. So, I took him to a shoe store and asked the lady to please size his foot. I felt myself catch my breath, as I heard her say that he needed at least an 8!!! an 8 people! I have been shoving his little (big!) foot into a shoe at least 2 sizes too small. Poor little buddy. He never complained, but I am sure it explains how his toes are bloody on the ends. You see, his toes were slightly hanging off the ends of the sandles he was wearing and he kept tripping over them and stubbing them on the pavement. I know, I know. I feel awful and quite stupid for not paying closer attention. I just thought he was clumsy. Oops. But you will be happy to know he is now wearing size 8 1/2 shoes (with a little growing room now) and I feel certain his little stubbed toes will heal in no time. Maybe we won't tell him this story. Yeah, I think that is a good plan.
Daniel is also starting to be quite a little entertainer. Whenever he sees someone notice him, he launches into a series of "tricks" which include poking his own belly button and saying "Beep Beep!" or patting his mouth with the back of his hand to sound like a little indian, or jumping up and down, or frantically waving Hi. It's funny to me because Isaiah and Mercy were not this uninhibited at this age.
I am loving my life. Football season is upon us, which means Joab is gone a lot, but I am tremendously thankful for his job and the many ways it allows him to share the Gospel with lots of kids. I am also thankful for the stage of life we are in with the kids. Everyone sleeps good at night and takes fairly predictable naps every day, which means all in all I feel rested and "normal". I'm thinking we will start potty training Daniel soon which will hopefully mean our diaper purchasing will cease in the near future. Exciting and a bit sad at the same time.
Here are some pics from the last few months:

So, maintaining two blogs is hard. But, oh well. i still like doing it, just find myself not posting here as much as i would like. Need to document life better.
It is Spring and I couldn't be happier! The weather is gorgeous. I wake up planning what park we want to visit and what fun outdoor things I want to accomplish at home. Love it!
The kids are enjoying it too. They play hard outside almost every waking moment, sleep like champs, and overall are more happy. The sunshine really makes a difference for everyone.
Daniel is walking/running everywhere, although he might just be the clumsiest kid I have ever seen. I swear he falls down or runs into something every other minute. But, thankfully, he is rather tough so there aren't that many tears.
Isaiah is continuing his Star Wars obsession. Everyone gets assigned a different character to play throughout the day and we have ongoing light saber battles and discussions on how to defeat the battle droids and Darth Vader. It is pretty fun. I love watching him create scenarios and enter the imagination world.
Thankfully, Mercy is happy being assigned Princess Leah, Asoka, Ventress, or a Padawan of sorts. She just goes right along. Every once in a while she protests that she wants to be Luke Skywalker and a bit of conflict ensues. But, mostly, she lets Isaiah boss her around in the realms of Star Wars.
Here are a few pics of recent life, mostly from the church egg hunt.

More Snow. . .

Mercy spent the day eating snow. Not interested in throwing snow balls. . . just eating it.

Learning to make snow angels. . .

Bear rolling parts of our big snowman. He and Joab were very persistent in our snowman making venture. We had our guy all stacked up at one point and he collapsed. They just started right back up recreating .


And Bear and Lollie with Isaiah and Mercy and our snow dude all finished. We had lots of fun!

And yes, Daniel is missing from all of these. He was napping and it was just SO cold. He did not enjoy the snow last time, so I saved myself the trouble of putting ten layers of clothing on him, only to get out there and have him cry to go back in.