I have a wall in my foyer that was screaming for photos. My first thought was to go with the ever predictable matching frames and matted b&w photos. I have the frames and it was the obvious way to go. Then I got a bit inspired and started pulling a few random things together to create my "funky wall". I had a bit of angst about it for a while...

I am sure this look isn't for everyone, but seeing that I don't have any sort of symmetrical/ linear style to me whatsoever.. my random collection seems to work here. The #7 for our family of 7...picked this up at my favorite store Anthr0pl0gie. and a few of my favorite family photos ,cool little frames, blackboards, mirrors, shelves...

One of my favorite verses Jeremiah 29:11

The flag that was at my fathers funeral. I miss him desperately and it is a noble memento.
Our family portrait by Jackson age 5 at the time.

And while I was unsure of the whole funky junk wall in our foyer.. I was in the kitchen and I spotted this going down, and I knew that we are so the funky junk wall family... one kid scaling the wall, one dressed like Pocahontas, and one like a power ranger. It fits us just fine.
I want to do a bunch of before and afters of our new place. So far I have a ton of before photos, but not so many afters.

Prayers for my biggest baby..

My baby is sick, he is thousands of miles away and has been quarantined and put into a separate dorm room and had to visit the Chinese hospital. He says he feels really weak and has a fever... he has been sick for about 5 days. How strange it is to have him so far away and not be able to do anything. I spoke to him last night and then I couldn't sleep because I forgot to tell him to make sure he drank a lot of fluids so he didn't get dehydrated. so silly. I spoke with him again tonight and he assured me that everyone is telling him the same thing. Exciting news is that he has been able to spend time at New Day foster home. Have you every checked out Carrie's blog ? Prepare to be inspired when you hop over there. I am ridiculously envious that he gets to spend time with the children and getting to know Carrie. He is really enjoying his time there. And he seems to have a special soft spot for this little guy. Isn't he just the cutest!

Spring break project- what a stinkin' mess

The twerps love a project as much as their mama. The messier the better. This one kept them entertained for quite a while this week. Painting and planting their own strawberry pot. I don't know how they are the most focused bunch of kiddos... they could all sit here for hours and do this kind of stuff...but again only if it makes a big mess..
I've learned to embrace it and reap the rewards of the stillness.
The smiles aren't half bad either.
A little soap and water goes a long ways.
Now comes the real dirty part.
A lesson in controlled snacking.. they have already discussed how they will not be sharing the strawberries in their individual pots. I have no doubt that each of these little plants will be well loved and doted on.
And because I couldn't resist wrecking the whole process with instant gratification...
I love a good kid project...feel free to share yours. our crew will thank you :) Hope you are having beautiful weather and enjoying spring!

I held my friends newborn baby the other day. People used to call me the "baby lady", I loved babies so much I would beg to hold anyones baby. I have even spent nights at friends homes to do night time feedings so I could hold a baby for hours. I have changed... I am not the baby lady anymore. I think having 5 kids will do that to you. Now I see a baby and I think of the sleepless nights, and the bottles and the work that comes with having a baby. I have clearly moved on from longing for more of my own babies. But as I said before, I held my friends newborn baby the other day and a new strange emotion kicked me in the gut. My youngest daughters, my babies, they were once that very tiny. 6 pounds of complete dependence. I know it is not a new revelation, of course they were babies. But seeing my friends 3 day old baby, it sort of takes the wind out of you to remember the helplessness of those first moments. I can't wrap my head around the circumstance of their first few fragile days. I wish I could go back and be there from the very first moment for my girls. To be able to spend the sleepless nights rocking them, the hours staring at their every shape and hearing every breath, they deserve that... and so much more.

I know I don't dwell on adoption. My daughters are every bit my daughters, but sometimes I take it for granted. I forget. I go about like their lives started the day I held them for the very first time...but then I hold my friends newborn baby and I feel the air squeeze out of my chest and I want to cry a river for my sweet girls. So helpless. So tiny. So brave. I wonder if they will feel the weight of it all one day when they hold their very own newborn baby, when they feel like they would give their life for the swaddled 6 pound helpless creature. It's not fair, it stinks, I'm sorry babies. I will love you the best I know how, but it is tough knowing I can never fix it.

I know I have been hiding from my blog... I just sat down for the first time in weeks and am feeling a bit guilty about it already. We are mostly moved in and we are loving our new house. I still have rooms that I am in denial about that are filled with boxes and all the things that have yet to find their home... but we won't talk about that right now. Right now we can focus on the sweetness of Easter morning and all that comes with it... Finn's first Easter home and First time having a Pe@p, and it is only 6:30 a.m... I think she could get used to this.

"Papa, I know it isn't even 7:00a.m. but could I please have one more piece of candy?"

Mama 2.0

The joy and excitement of being 6... love it
I know baby, I'm tired too... must be coming off of the Pe@ps sugar shock...

Here's Mina and her cheesy pose on the swinging bed we hung last week... It's so comfy! Calling all Mom's of boys. I need some advice. Anyone else out there have a super-competative little guy? It's making me bonkers... Here, he is devastated that his sister found the last easter egg. It is not good enough that he found the most and found them the fastest. He is seriously self motivated when it comes to school, sports, or any thing that he could take score... If you can't take score, he will create a way.. Then if he doesn't win, he crumbles. So annoying. What do I do? He is so calm and mild mannered until there is a competitive angle.

Taking a poll...

Disclaimer: this is sooo not my house, just photos I've collected for inspiration in the past few weeks.

So am I iNsAnE? I have 5 kids and this is how I really want to decorate my house.

Moving has me obsessing over decorating.

Here are a few of the 50 some photos that inspire me.

Surely I must be nuts to want to decorate like this with 5 messy kids who are always covered in dirt...not just any dirt, red clay. I just can't seem to shake my desire for all things white.

Someone knock some sense into me! I did happen to find a hanging twin bed on Cr@ig's list last week, I can't want to hang it on our new sun porch and throw a bunch of linens on it, and hopefully come out with something like this....

Living in Limbo

I would post cute pictures but I don't have a clue where my camera is. I would say something interesting and poignant if I could pause long enough to gather a concise thought. I am excited to be moving into our new house in 4 days, right now we have taken over my in-laws house. Thankfully, they are not scared of our rowdy crew and the mess that comes with our noise.
Do you ever get the feeling you are aging in "dog years"? This past week I have felt my age, well older in fact.. More like the Benjamin Button version of myself. I fell twice, once down the stairs while holding Finn, she was fine, I took a beating. Then yesterday I fell off a ladder and had to holler for my husband to help me up. What the HECK! I am a complete disaster these days, so with my body and my pride full of bruises, I signed up for a triathlon in a few months. I needed the motivation to get moving again. What is the best exercise for clumsiness? Feeling like a big dork amongst the boxes.
Hopefully cute photos coming soon and I can't wait to start before and after photos of our new casa!

"M"

I crawled out from beneath the boxes to take the girls outside. It would have been a sin to not enjoy the beautiful weather we are having, regardless of how much remains to be done inside. Plus I am over the whole packing mess, o.v.e.r. -i.t.. I brought my camera with me and switched it to the manual setting, I know the excitement is overwhelming. I really want to learn how to take better pictures but I am seriously lacking in the time and patience departments.

It's a someday goal. I do like how these shots turned out after I played around with the settings,

I understand about 5% of the buttons on my camera, and I am not much of a instruction book readin' kind of girl. (can you tell by how womp-a-do this blog post showed up) Thank goodness I have some willing subjects.

Well enough of the cuteness and messing around I gots to get back to work....

Early Morning Phone Chat

The girls had a super early morning skype chat with their big brother.

They have some serious bed head, but it is never too early in the morning for Mina to accessorize with her "more is better" style approach.

"Collin, you miss me? I miss you"

Worker Bees

We have a house full of "Helpers", The bigger kids are actually getting more helpful with their helping... This is CRACKING me up! I told the big kids to label the boxes they pack. So now I keep seeing these boxes that Jack wrote on, and they are kinda like those personalized licence plates that get your brain working.
This one.... Office Supplies ... Did you get it? The next one is a little harder....
Answer: Trophies / Jack's piggy bank . Too Cute.
Then they boy got out of hand, he was taking a break playing in the back yard and found a little snake. Which of course he then decided to put in a box and label...poor little snake
So I'm not sure if he wants a pet snake or if he has gone all "Man vs. Wild" on us and is saving this little guy for a "snack".
See you soon.... it's all kinds of messy and crazy over here! Have a beautiful weekend.

Bad Hair Baby

Finn is going through the bad hair stage, as I am sure you can tell from my last blog post. Her hair has me perplexed. It is super thin and naturally wants to stand on end, It doesn't help that she is the first of my girlies that despises having any cute little clips or bows in her hair.

Can you tell that she is already scheming how to quickly take out her funky "do"? Mina on the other hand...L-O-V-E-S to have her hair done.... just one of the 17 million differences in my polar opposite cutie-pies.

My home has been taken over by boxes. The twerps are not complaining..

What is it about kids and boxes...maybe I won't unpack all those ridiculous toys. I just can't wrap my head around where all this STUFF came from. Holy cow! Once you start pulling it all out, it multiplies. Today I am thankful for the dreary cold weather. I know I just couldn't bear being inside amongst the boxes if the weather was beautiful. I am also thankful for uber-organized friends that come over carrying a toddler and twin babies to help me pack...seriously who does that? The little ones have a blast tearing the place apart as we stock them full of carbs and let them run wild.