Lazy Sunday

Day of Fast Food

Isa had a birthday party yesterday so I told the boys that I would take them and their friends out to eat. I had lots of ideas for where we could eat and Burger King was not one of them. Benjamin has never eaten there but he told me, "I heard the food is so good." I said, "You mean you saw a commercial with a toy that you wanted that came from Burger King?" He insisted that he wanted to go for the food. Gag. Needless to say, I ate at home before we left. (Sorry to any Burger King fans out there.) I texted Drew, "Nastiest food. Dumbest toy. Grumpiest worker. Happiest boys." They had a great time together.

Then we headed up to the Fort Wayne mall. We met Grandma Ruth and Grandma Pam at Barnes and Noble. We sat and read books and drank coffee, walked around the mall a little bit, grabbed dinner at Chik-fil-A, and then took a spin on the merry-go-round. My children did not eat their fruits and vegetables yesterday.

A confession

One night last week Drew was tucking the boys into bed while I was tucking the girls in. He came out chuckling and carrying a bowl of cheerios. Apparently, Benjamin interrupted Drew when he was mid-way through the bed time story. "Daddy, I need to tell you something." He seemed quite serious so Drew was a little nervous about what was coming.

Benjamin pulled a bowl of cheerios out from under his pillow and said, "I have been hiding snacks under my pillow for Sam and I to share at night after you tuck us in." Bahaha. Drew tried to keep a straight face and said, "Okay Ben. Why did you feel like you needed to tell me that?" Benjamin said, "Because I knew you probably wouldn't like me doing that. But sometimes I get hungry at night." Drew told him, "Well buddy. You're right. You shouldn't bring food to bed because your sheets will get dirty. You can always come ask for a snack if you are hungry or remember to get one before you get in bed. Thanks for being honest with me. How long have you been doing this?" Benjamin, "Just a few nights, daddy."

Oh how I pray he is still tender and quick to confess things to us when he is a teenager. I keep laughing every time I think about those two sitting in Ben's bed sharing snacks.

Benjamin adores Stella and I think she feels the same way about him.

Best Dollars Ever Spent

Our friend, Lisa, bought the kids each a bubble wand for our 36 hour drive out to Vancouver almost two years ago. Within 10 minutes of playing with them the first time we stopped for gas and food, all the bubble solution had been accidentally (or intentionally, how can one really know for sure?) dumped. I almost pitched them and then thought, "No, we could always refill them." We never did refill them with bubble solution. They stuffed them with sticks and berries, candy, ribbons, etc. They were used as swords for the first year and a half. Now most recently, they have become Light Sabers. They have rarely left the kids' hands lately as they pretend to be Luke, Obi Wan, Darth Vader, etc. The sound effects and their conversations with each other are so funny and wonderful to listen to. Lisa, your gift just keeps on giving.

Remember this video?...

Hallway Fun from drewandbekah on Vimeo.

Two years later...

Luke Sam Skywalker from drewandbekah on Vimeo.

4 month photos

Benjamin, Eloisa and Samuel got to spend four hours today with Taylor Students that volunteered to watch kids and give parents a break. God bless 'em. Drew is at Indiana State so it was just me and baby girl. We dropped the hoodlums off, came home, took naps, snapped a few pictures, read some books, and are now checking email. A very quiet, wonderful Saturday afternoon...and I still have an hour left!

Stella loves her lambie. She hyperventilates when she sees it and attacks it with her mouth.

The best thing about leggings? Her chubby thigh peeking out of the top of them!

I need this plate

Nutri-Plate.com

Ready for Summer

Isa found her sunglasses and said, "Mama, I going to hand these down to Stella." Ha. Isa gets lots of things handed down to her so she was excited to hand something down to Stella.

Martin Luther King, Jr.

"God never intended for a group of people to live in superfluous, inordinate wealth while others live in abject, deadening poverty. God intends for all of His children to have the basic necessities of life, and He has left in this universe enough and to spare for that purpose. So I call upon you to bridge the gulf between abject poverty and superfluous wealth."

In 1962, King preached, "I see hungry boys and girls in this nation and other nations and think about the fact that we spend more than a million dollars a day storing surplus food. And I say to myself 'I know where we can store that food free of charge - in the wrinkled stomachs of the millions of people in our nation and in this world who go to bed hungry at night.'" --MLK's quotes from the Huffington Post

Baby Book Post

Stella is 4 months old today. Where does the time go? Because I have no baby book, scrap book, or photo albums for my kids (don't judge me), this is the place for me to keep track of their growth. She had her 4 month check up this afternoon. She weighs 16 lbs and 3 oz which puts her in the 95%. She is 28 in. tall which puts her way above the 100%. I hope she slows down at some point.

Stella Claire is a pretty chill baby. She loves having anyone look at and talk to her. She is full of sweet smiles but the girl will not give us giggles. We have heard her sweet little laugh maybe 3 times. This is new to me since the boys were so easy and quick to giggle. She is also my first baby to wake up from night time and nap time and not immediately start crying to alert me, "I'm awake!" It's so nice to hear her talking and cooing in her bed. I love walking in to get her. As soon as she catches my eye, she grins and starts pumping her legs. Love. it.

She goes to sleep around 9:00pm. She wakes up and thinks she needs to eat at some point in the middle of the night but I haven't been feeding her (obviously she is not starving though she thinks she is). Drew and I take turns popping her pacifier in her mouth so she'll go back to sleep. She wakes up around 5:00 or 6:00am to eat and then goes back to sleep until 9:00 or 10:00am. She is taking 3 to 4 naps a day. Usually two long naps and one short snooze after dinner.

We couldn't imagine adding one more kiddo to our family but now that she is here, I can't imagine life without her. We are so thankful for Stella and have loved the past 4 months with her.

Sam likes Stella to be next to him in bed while Drew tells them a bedtime story. The story is usually about Jedi Ben and Jedi Sam and their adventures with Princess Isa and Princess Stella.

Stella Claire enjoys playing Wii with the boys. Here she is sporting a dress that I wore as a baby.

All this girl wants to do is sit up. She is not content reclining in her bouncer anymore and does a constant sit up if we put her in it. It's quite funny to watch. So we busted out the bumbo. She doesn't want to miss anything.

She is sooo long and is now officially wearing the clothes that we brought Isa home in at 16 months.