Apples in toilets, kids in sprinklers!

first hike!!

olive oil hair treatment-M just wanted plastic bag on his head :)

1st Sunday to go to church with Dad

Mini van completely full! Baby is on right facing back

They love doing dishes!

Had to show you Luke's creative hand made halloween  robot? head! 

M's 6th birthday!

first dusting of snow!

My climber!!

1st BIG snow!!! They SCREAMED with excitement !

LIFE in the fast lane! :)

(or at least the carpool lane!)

It seems like we have been a family FOREVER 

and then some days 

just like we got home yesterday.

We have had so much LAUGHTER

and some tears.

The Funny MOMENTS : )

1. One of the girls was eating on an apple in the morning. I couldn't find it anywhere..looked in the trash and it wasn't there. Thought that was strange b/c I knew she didn't eat it all.

Little bit later took a girl to go to the bathroom. There sitting in the toilet plugging the hole was the whole apple! Of course we had to RUN upstairs b/c she had waited too long! Hollared at Randall that there was an apple in the toilet!

Before he could get to it a boy went poop on it. 

Never did ask how he got it out!!

Very funny to us until....

2. Next morning... take a girl to same bathroom...ANOTHER apple in the toilet.

Not so funny this time! Thank goodness we have long barbeque pitchfork.

Everyone banned from apples! :)

3. The kids LOVE water! While it was still warm I had a friend come bring us a meal. I was visiting with her and had the baby inside. The big kids were running in and out the back door playing outside.

She leaves I go outside wondering why I hear water running.

M has turned on the sprinkler and ALL the kids are running through it with their clothes on. 

Our sweet neighbor is sitting on her side of our little 4 foot picket fence watching her little guy. He was even getting sprinkled the water was turned on so high. 

I really DO watch the kids! :)

4. Another afternoon we were outside with the kids. The sprinkler system was going off and the kids thought that was so fuuny. They were running through them, jumping over etc.

A little girl stepped on one of the sprinkler heads. At that moment the cycle changed and the head disappeared and the water stopped. 1 boy stood there and looked at where the sprinkler head vanished. He felt all around, very puzzled. Then he hollars at his sister b/c he thought she broke it. Then he starts hollaring at Randall, "DAAAD! WATER?? , DAAD WATER!!!!" 

He was so loud and his mouth was literally almost has big as his face yelling, DAAAD!!

We were laughing so hard!

5. The first big snow I was upstairs with the baby and M and the kids were downstairs in the kitchen. All of a sudden I hear screaming. I'm hollaring down what is going on..who is messing with who!

M informs me no one is hurting anyone. They are all looking out the back door screaming about the snow.

That was the day they built the HUGE snowman with Randall. 

6. They LOVE to ride bicycles. They will CAREEN down the sidewalk out of control (trying to teach the one who can really ride a bike to use the brakes) and then walk them up the hill back to the starting spot.

We have had a few minor crashes (you can imagine with 4 kids on bikes/tricycles all on the same sidewalk!)

7. M and Randall set up cones to divide the sidewalk in half. One side up/ one side down. At the end by the neighbors driveway are cones to not go past. At the top are cones at the next driveway. While 3 kids are busy riding up and down and taking out a few cones 1 little girl is at the top of the sidewalk busily rearranging all the cones. :)

8. They are learning English more each day. We do a lot of hand motions ! They can understand A LOT more than they can speak. One boy says "Oh my gosh!" all the time. 

Baby says "Ca-Ca" which he came from Ethiopia saying! 

We were outside playing and 1 little girl says to her Pop-Pop, "SIT DOWN, SIT DOWN!"

We all laughed! That was the first time she said that in English... she wanted him to sit down on the sidewalk so she could trace around him with sidewalk chalk. :)

(you can tell what we say to her quite often!)

They all say/hollar, "MOOMM!! MOOOMMM!" all the time!!

I have never heard my name called so much in my life!

Teaching them to say in a normal voice, "Mom, may I please...."

or "Micah (insert various sibling's names), please stop...."

9. We have sweet moments reading at night and then singing together.

R usually gets the boys ready, I get the girl's and baby ready. Put baby to bed while Randall reads to all of them. They LOVE M's children's Bible story book and he has already read all the way through and has started over. 

Then they go to their own rooms and get in bed. Boys are usually out quick. Girls giggling and getting out of bed. Sometimes I lay with them and get my hair braided :)

10. They LOVE music! I hear " MOM! musica! Up!" Every time we are in the van they want the music up!

We have listened a lot to the Ethiopian music until we say "okay, finished" M's turn to pick! :)

They LOVE to dance and even Baby claps his hands and moves around!

On another day I will post more and share a few struggles and what we are working through.

It's ALWAYS good to remember the GOOD and SWEET times to help get through 

the 

wailing and gnashing of teeth :)

(but that will be for another day!)

Good night!

Love, Tracy :)