5 months

Where does the time go?

Ya gotta love it

When you hear cuteness kid say "help me pwease" and you turn around and see this

Can you tell that his shirt is soaking? Well, it is. As is the rest of him. As you can see he is trying to take his shirt off and needs help. What you can't see is that he already successfully removed the rest of his clothing.

Perhaps I should give a little history. We put our kiddie pool up against the fence, you know, so it wouldn't get full of rain water. At some point it must have decided to not be up against the fence because it is a pool after all and should be full of water, especially when lots of rain is coming. So, yesterday, I have three boys come into the house, dripping water, saying they need a shower. They most certainly do. I promptly go to dump water out of said pool. Not so easy when it is FULL of heavy water.

No problem, there's a plug, I'll pull it out. It's stuck, no good. Lots of lifting and shifting to get even some of it to spill over and out to make it easier. Maybe got a gallon. Maybe not. Not working so much. Cuteness kid running around backyard without clothes on. Ushering back to shower, and making sure they stay there until they are good and clean and smelling nice. While the pool is still FULL of lots of water. Out of sight, out of mind. Still was today when the boys and their friend that I was watching went out back to play...

Am I a bad mom for posting these?

Thank you Matthew for keeping your clothes on.

Cuteness kid that doesn't belong in my numbering system.

Cuteness kid #3 making one of his faces. I always forget the intent behind them because they always change. But they always make me laugh.

So, I did what anyone would do. Swimsuits = I don't have to shower you right now just to shower you in 20 minutes when you do the same thing again 'cuz I'm to weak to dump out the swimming pool.

And just 'cuz I know you were wondering...

And the results are in

We know you are all dying to know what happed. We were going to just post the video up, but the program we need seems to no longer be on our computer. The disc to put it on our computer seems to have disappeared. (Not totally convinced that cuteness #4 did not dispose of it. He went [is maybe still going through] a phase where he likes to just throw things away.)

We'll try not to deprive you to the best of our ability. So here is what happened.

***

I put the cookies in a dish on the counter and told them to come get one. Matthew is the first to grab one and start to walk away. He examines it and then goes to switch it for a different one.

Mikayla: "Okay, don't take a bite out of them and then...(she pauses here and it looks like she is starting to notice that maybe not all is right.) ...put them back, Matt."

At this point Ethan grabs a cookie and starts eating and watching Mikayla while she is talking.

Matthew: "No, these were already bite."

Mikayla: "Well, don't bite them again." (She starts shuffling through the cookies, finally picks one and just kind of holds it up to her mouth.)

Jayden starts searching through the cookies, picking them up one at a time to examine them, sets it down and reaches for another. Finally he says:

Jayden: "Umm, why are all of them bitten, mom?"

I am trying to hold back a laugh, but not all that successfully.

Jayden: Now with a smile on his face as sees me laughing. "Mom, why are all of them bitten?"

Me: "Ethan got into them last night."

Lots of laughing and giggling as Jayden justs grabs a cookie and they all start munching away.

Me: "Is that funny Ethan?"

Ethan: With a big smile on his face and a mouthful of cookie, "I bit!"

***

And to end with a picture

I'll give you one guess as to who I found gagging on a glob of dough literally minutes before I put the bread in the oven. Anyone, anyone???

What do you get...

When you have yummy cookies...

And cuteness kid #4 who is supposed to be in bed, but obviously isn't?

THIS!!!

I'm not sure if you can tell, but there is at least one bite taken out of every single cookie that was left in our house. (This is not where yummy cookies were when cuteness kid went to bed.)

*Just to clarify, picture of cuteness kid not taken tonight. By the time I got the camera he actually WAS in bed.

So, one of three things will happen tomorrow.

a) Cuteness siblings will not want to eat cookies because "Ewwww, there's a bite in it!"

b) Cuteness siblings will eat cookies

c) Cuteness siblings will say "Ewwww," and then proceed to eat cookies anyway. (I mean, c'mon, they are yummy Andes Mint Cookies.)

Should we post a poll to see who knows our kids the best?

God, Family, and Country

This last week I had to complete a survey at work about the factors that influence me to either stay in or get out of the Air Force. Most of the questions were the "to-what-extent-do-you-agree-or-disagree-with-the-following-statement" type of questions, but one of the questions asked me to fill in my own comments:

"Please provide any comments you may have pertaining to what influences your career decision."

As I thought about my response to that question, it really just hit me. This is my response:

"The single biggest drawback to my Air Force service is the time I have to spend away from my family. My priorities in life are (in this order) my God, my family, and my country. Being away from family for my country is a sacrifice and a burden. That being said, I understand the need, and I understand that someone has to do it. My family understands, too. Were it not for a supportive family, I would not stay in the Air Force. I feel, however, that those times when I am away from my family, I am serving not only my country, but I am also serving my family and my God. Because of that conviction, I choose to remain in the Air Force, despite having to leave my family from time to time. This period of my life will not last forever; I hope to be able make a difference while I can."