As good as its gonna get.. for now

I can not believe that I have yet to get a decent photo of all the kiddos together. I have not been up for the battle. When I try to corral the kids all together and then pull out my camera you start to hear moaning and groaning and teeth gnashing. I tried this morning at 7:30a.m. before we headed out the door for church. All of us dressed, fed, and 3 out of 5 kids actually had a comb put through their hair.

Personally, I much rather take photos of each of them one by one.  

My baby girl just finished up her Kindergarten year.  Cliche or not, I can't believe how she is growing up so quickly.  I vowed a long time ago to always let my children know how much I love the person they are growing up to be, and not dwell on the fact that they are not babies anymore.  

Tonight when she went to bed I threatened to put bricks on her head to keep her from growing any taller while she was sleeping (yeah, I know, I broke my own vow).   

And then this guy, he will be a Junior in High school next year, half of which he will live in Beijing, without his Mama.

He is working 2 summer jobs, a camp counselor and at a local restaurant, and he sometimes thinks I am the toughest Mom in the whole world.  I love the man he is becoming. I wouldn't want to be 16 again for anything, so much stress, so little perspective.  He is handling it all much better than I ever did.  I pray for his protection and his ability to make good decisions...It's all about making good decisions....