lately....

I'm not sure if I feel like the whale (some days, yes...but having lost 20 lbs so far, maybe not as much as in the past...but still) or the guys on the sail boat...

I'm gonna go with guys on the sailboat...chest crushing anxiety.

I need some GodZoloft...the kind David is on. read on....

We got to sleep in this morning. Niiiiiice. we finally got a few minutes to just TALK.

wow.

weird.

David mentioned that he had this "peace" from God that he just "doesn't understand".

I asked him if it was perhaps THE PEACE THAT PASSES ALL UNDERSTANDING, that comes from God?

Ohhhh yeah....forgot about that. God's Zoloft....the best kind.

I'd like a prescription....really no worries, just lots and lotsa responsibility...ordering books for FOUR people's education, health, keeping home fires burning, this, that and the other thing to come in and rob me of my peace. all good things, just a lot.

Lord, I ask that you help me to smash thru all the things that can wait...to take care of IMPORTANT things and know what is URGENT. (we still remember your lesson from OVER three years ago, Mr. Bandy!)

Hope you are having a great weekend...this weather is a gift from God. go out and enjoy it.

I'd like to be, under the sea...

Molly: inside out bathing suit, showing her sassy dance moves to Bulletproof. this girl has rhythm.

we have the coolest kids...Levi wins the award for nicest Coppertone tan! He looks like my sibs and I did from our summers in Grandma T's pool.

Will & Levner

they do this a lot!! Levi has become such a good swimmer this summer....I'm so impressed!

notice who's knocking me over here...Mr. Splashypants...he lives to splash me, dunk me, and knock me off my tube!

Ethan likes to pretend he's dead. creepy.

Melanie is our Ethel Merman...synchronized swimming delight...

David brought home his Sbux treat...and Molly delighted in it...oh my!

Molly has also, just in the past 2 weeks, become quite the little daredevil. it is sooo cute to watch her jump in...she really should be a gymnast.

look at those legs! amazing!

Tom, my big bro, got an underwater camera...this was our first adventure with it! Oh, the fun to be had...

These were taken on Friday, July 23...I shall truly miss these delightful summer months when winter rears it's head...we have had such a nice time cooling off, chillaxing with my parents in our little oasis.

Thanks, for the 4th season, to Becky's C in-laws, for giving us this true gift! We LOVE it more every year...

Hope you've had a wonderful weekend...here's to a new week...

Little Miss Twirls-A-Lot

Mel took these pictures...way to go, Mel.

Molly has discovered the unadulterated joy that is spinning....

when she gets dressed every morning, she is visibly upset if it's not a "spinny" dress.

This little dress was Melanie's when she was a little girl...a Christmas dress and straight from Scotland. It's so sweet to see her wearing it, spinning in it like Mel used to. It's like a second chance to appreciate my little females.

Hope these find you enjoying your Wednesday. I'm listening to Spinny girl wail in the other room...I guess along with spinning and twirling comes LOTS of drama.

Peace...

Summer Places...

We realized we hadn't been to our local putt putt place since before Molly was born...we were overdue.

David got a hole in one right off the bat. pull your shirt down, boy!

Six of my most favorite people, picking up right where they left off more than three years ago...

this brought back memories of dealing with Levi at the Putt Putt place...no fun. She lost interest after the first 3 holes.

she just exudes orneriness. good thing she's cute.

zinnias, Tambo sunflowers, love our yard in the summertime.

Eighteen tomato plants, baby...maybe this year, we will get to enjoy some.

fresh salsa, omelets, tomatoes on everything. yum.

P and T

fun shots of Patrick and Teresa...and David's noggin...

there ya have it, the proper sides of our dear friends!

"On the day that you were born...

the angels got together, and decided to create a dream come true...." though I'm pretty sure you were not created by angels...

these pix were taken on Friday, July 9, 2010 (Moo's actual 3rd birthday...we were at the mall so we could meet Jen for Algebra tutoring and mindless shopping...)

My Three Year Old beauty! For her birthday, I gathered all the change from my purse and car, and let her, Nora, Levi and Pipes ride to their hearts content on alllll those annoying little change suckers in the middle of the mall. hopefully, they won't think we'll do that every time we visit the mall. just on special occasions.

Nora was driving Molly's birthday bus.

oh the sheer joy...

Later that night, David and I sweated our guts out at the Rathskeller downtown Indy. Patrick and Teresa were in town from Ft. Wayne to see Polka Boy. We thought we'd see what all the fuss was about...PB is a highly entertaining band and it was neat to see them in action.

This considerate guitarist came backstage to play for us for a minute. very cool. (we were "stage left")

can you see the accordion players? and the crazy drunk lady at the bottom right? she was NUTS. but fun to watch.

I was really, really scared here. ha ha. j/k. I did come to the realization that I am a homebody though. We had a fun time, and I enjoy people watching. Polka Boy was highly entertaining and so were ALL of the people surrounding us.

This is Patrick and Teresa ('s backsides). I will post a better pic of them but it will be in another post...the middle aged guy in the blue shirt? he was really getting in to the music, which was hilarious to watch...

Danka Danka Danka

call me crazy

I just got really bored blogging, so I will cut this short for tonight....here are a few precious pix of #4 and #5 enjoying some beloved summertime activities...

it is the year of the push up and I don't mean bra...har har.

after seeing Levi in a swimsuit, we may want to take it easy on said push ups. i'm just sayin'. (love you, li'l Roundy)

Tambo gave us their little play house...I don't think my kids believe it's theirs yet. they are in shock. I moved it today (with some help from #1 and #3) down to the back deck...it was killing my struggling grass. Thanks K fam...Caroline will have to come over and play, for old times sake. We shall have tea and scones on the veranda.

one of summer's richest blessings...sunflowers, zinnias, echinacea, cosmos and other random plants. when they start sprouting, I weep with joy.

Folks, I'm heading to Green Gables (we love Anne)...but I have so many pix to blog. I will have to return to my sweet Good Life tomorrow morning, once I shoo David out the door (at 5 am)...our new schedule has us way more regulated and, though it's been a challenge to get used to, I LOVE IT! We go to bed when it's still sorta light outside...if you know us, you know that is weirrrrd.

Hope your weekend was spectacular. I know ours was. so much to say, so much to say.

Good night. God Bless you...

Vessel

Molly at 8 months. Love that big square head...and spindle-y li'l neck holding it up. awww, good job neck!

I don't know about you, but birthdays make me think. nice to know something makes me think, right? shaddap.

~First thoughts: "What was I doing on this day three years ago???" finding out we were only at 4 cm. Beck drove me home (bad move huh?). Retrieved my family, went to bank and Sbux, got home, contx picked up INSTANTLY! crazy, movie-like ride to birth center, tried to hold baby IN, got there in nick of time, Molly Christine born at 2:55 pm, bright sunny hot day. Seven pounds, 7 ounces, bright and chubby right off the bat. If I think hard enough, I can still feel it. (it's raining today, I can always tell I've had babies when it rains...TMI? dunno)

~looking at my post from yesterday, I think it's so neat how God uses us as mother's to fill so many roles...our very first being the host, master gardener, whatever you wanna call us...then when the birth starts, we become a vessel.

however long your delivery takes, your life changes dramatically from incubator to vessel to sustainer/encourager/caregiver.

As a mom, that will never change. Even when your baby becomes a big ol' teenager! (isn't that just so cool??) or when their feet are bigger than yours....I could go on.

Molly (Will, Ethan, Mel, Levi too), I am so blessed to have been your vessel to LIFE! You guys are one awesome little brood of kids to mother! I praise the Lord for the daily reminders He sends. so cool.

ok, gotta finish cleaning the house so I can enjoy the weekend! Hope this finds you healthy and whole...thanks for letting me get all nostalgic on ya.

Happy Birthday Eve, Miss Molly Moo!

can't believe I still had ankles! This was on our Memorial Day trip to Lafayette, while I still had FOUR kids.

July 9, 2007...that most joyous of days, when Sista Nugget officially joined our family! wow!! my hair was so dark...

Sweet little bundle of girliness....

It's almost 6 a.m. on the day before my fifth child's birthday. I'm sad because I thought I was losing space on blogger so I deleted the post from her day of birth. That was before I bought more space....

Anyways, I will be nostalgic today because July 8th of 2007 was a trying day...I was ready to be done with pregnancy, David and I were grumping at each other ALL DAY about this, that or whatever...to top it off, I fell off the wall surrounding the pool. That was pretty funny...but I scratched myself up nicely. Imagine a largely expecting woman toppling over...yes, it was funny. Yes, I did land on Molly.

I took off that night on a little drive. Needed to clear my fool head. I met up with my mom and sister (my very own Steel Magnolias), who had been down to the outlet malls that day. They got me a bunch of little things in preparation of Moo's arrival, which I was beginning to think would never happen. needless to say, I was feeling VERY discouraged. (If you've ever had a baby, you know what feeling and sensations I'm referring to)...

I ate a Big Mac that night and didn't care ONE BIT. (take that, David. and I ended up being the one who paid for it)

That is not sufficient labor aiding food but it must be adequate labor-inducing food...I went home, made good with my family.

Labored all night and you know that feeling when you first start to labor? skeery. especially in the middle of the night, all by yourself. vulnerable. weird.

Anyways, time to get a move on for this day...until I've ingested my coffee, I won't really know what's happening around here today...so enjoy your muggy July 8th and if you are pregnant in this heat and mug, I feel for ya.

life is like a video game...

my favorite American History photograph....Hope your Independence Day was incredible!

Molly flanked by Caroline and her little cousin, Brady...

this was our view...the 'works were being shot off of the big blue-rimmed building (Regions), which just happens to house (well, don't know if it's still there actually) the Teller's Cage up there at the top. My parents took David and I there 17 years ago this month and it's where I took my bridesmaids for the bridal luncheon later that year...all that to say, nostalgia.

blurry...I'm hating my camera right now...it's very temperamental. grrr. but dig the condos behind Tammy...sha-zam!

Delaware St. before the lights display started.

Actually quite an amazing place to be, with little fireworks displays all around the city going off here and there...surreal! thanks for inviting us, K fam...and for letting me SWEAT all over you. (the only reason I would despise summer, really). I am, temperaturally, one of the hottest girls I know. Mom says I was this way as a baby too. what gives?

Tammy was seriously considering, well never mind...let's just say we were 7 levels up...the moms of the group were very jittery. Tammy, I heart you for holding Moo up so she could see...I was too hot and then, that whole heights thing seemed to make me even more steamy. Bobby was kind enough to run some of us into the Star bathroom before the show started...and let's just say, walking in a ginormous cement (which soaked up alllll the day's heat and poured it out onto ME) block caused overheat. and then I realized I had gotten some CHLORINE on my NEW shirt right before we left....too many heat-inducing factors for this refrigerated girl.

Hello people...

Ka-POW!

note: lotsa fireworks shots coming up...for posterity's sake...thank you for your patience.

They even had a SMILEY FACE firework this year...which I failed to get a pic of, but oh so cool!

One of the cons of being so close? Debris. lots of it....the first few times caused quite a commotion...and apparently, David got some in his eye...

Tambo holding cutie pie Brady. whatta good auntie...

we were sooo close that we had to tilt back...in fact, laying on blankets was the best viewing option...I will have to post those pix in the next post. even though they were alll dark.

the grand finale was, well, GRAND, to say the very least~! I have a feeling that we will need to be this close EVERY year from now on. hope that's ok, K fam. we are spoiled now! :)

Mel, Annie, and Sarah...

I shall start with yesterday, since it's the freshest...

the post title just refers to life and my perspective of it right now. doesn't have anything to do with my post! Just when I think things will start to ease up or maybe possibly get easier (gasp! dare I even hope??)...we are presented with new challenges...not necessarily bad. Esp. when we can remember that, for some unknown reason, the Lord knows what He's doing and it will be for our best...David and I were praying before he went to work this morning and it struck me how life is like a video game...and with God's help, I will know what button to push to defeat the enemy to make it to the next level.

yeah, I know. pretty deep for a Monday, eh?

ok, well, I'm gonna go move my room around...hope your weekend was great...i will return later to post Moo's party pix, drive in movie experiences and more fun activities like that.