Two Kids Plus Trips!!

Blog Moving Time! Oh, And Happy New Year...

2011-12-31T22:43:00.002-05:00

At the start of 2012 I have decided to consolidate all my blogging into one site.

Happy New Year to you and please consider joining me at my new site:

Dorinda Writes

I will still be sharing some of our family journey of life with two kids plus triplets but it will be taking a back burner to writing. Over the past five plus years I have enjoyed sharing my pregnancy, birth and growth of my triplet girls but find that its taking away from my real passion: writing Christian suspense fiction and I want to get back to it.

Thank you for hanging out with me over the years and seeing how our family has grown from two children to five in just one day!

I hope you will join me in my new journey...

Merry Christmas!

2011-12-25T10:00:00.003-05:00

Here's wishing you and your family a very Merry Christmas!!

We are celebrating with family and will be back in the New Year with some fun new things so please stay tuned.

In the meantime, enjoy a picture of my brand new niece, Aubree Noelle who was born on December 23rd weighing 6 lbs 13 ounces and 18 inches long. I'm so excited to be an aunt and think she's just adorable :)

Our Christmas Tree

2011-12-08T23:27:00.022-05:00

By Kaitlyn (captions on bottom of pictures)

Now, I know that looks like a lot of work. It was, just not in decorating. Choosing it took two hours and a half! Here, I'll show you in pictures.

The little elves don't want to pick a tree just yet!

Can't go over it, can't go under it, can't go around it, got to go through it!

Tractor rides to the trees.

Oh, boy! This looks hard!

Already decorated wreaths, (can't we just get one of these instead?). You might recognize the big blue one, which we now have on our door.

Everyone wanted that one. (see it? The one on the hill, in the back?)

When dad said that we were going to get a smaller tree this year, this is actually what I thought of.

The holy tree.

The tree was saying "Don't pick me! Don't pick me!"

Yea, I was there to.

Dad vs. Tree

Julianna's barbie tree.

Our final decision in mid-fall, (Look at the tree, it's saying "Darn! I got picked!")with Alyssa staying ten feet back, for once! ;)

Alyssa "helping"

Well, Merry Christmas to all, and to all, happy tree hunting!

At Least Some Of Us Are Ready For Christmas!!

2011-12-01T00:16:00.003-05:00

To be fair it's a little easier for them when they don't have to buy any gifts or get anything out and ready but I do love their enthusiasm!

Hope you have a wonderful December and while you're shopping let's all remember what we're really celebrating!

Nelsons Multiplied! Happy Thanksgiving

2011-11-24T20:38:00.010-05:00

We have traveled to Tennessee to spend Thanksgiving with Kirk's side of the family - the entire Nelson clan to be exact.

You can see our Households represented here from left to right: Uncle Ross & Aunt Liz, Uncle Neil & Aunt Jess, Grandad, Us, Great-Grandpa & Great-Grandma, then Great-Uncle Larry & Great-Aunt Cheryl with Cousin Amanda.

The Girls having fun picking out quilts in Great Grandma's Sewing Room!

While Caleb cracks and shells pecans he gathered from Great-Grandpa's pecan trees for some delicious homemade pecan pie!

Kirk had fun riding the 4-wheeler around the farm. And yes, we all got rides!

Four Generations of "Ralph Nelsons" Kevin Ralph, Kirk Ralph, Oliver Ralph, and Caleb Ralph.

There were so many Nelsons for Thanksgiving Dinner we had to hold the event in the fellowship hall of Great-Grandma's church! So much great farm cooked food thanks to the culinary skills of Aunt Cheryl! Mmmmmm...

We certainly had a Happy Thanksgiving out on the old family farm. We hope you had one as well.

Party Like Your Five Years Old

2011-11-20T22:31:00.017-05:00

Because that's what we did this weekend! Our party included colored rice, perler bead crafts and lots and lots of coloring.

To me turning 5 is a pretty big deal. Scary deal to mommy but a big deal to the girls. Still we went with the simple party. That's what happens when their birthday is all of 6 days after their brothers AND one week before Thanksgiving. Talking about small planning time and PRESSURE. I think I need to begin planning birthday party #6 right now.

My birthday girls.

Wondering what's so funny? Julianna is trying to show me how she can pick up Rachel. Julianna says she can pick up Rachel because she's so light but not Alyssa because Alyssa is bigger and if she falls over she could "squish me dead" - who thinks of these things?

All their bears were ready to party too. They made sure that each of their bears had party hats on too. So cute!

The biggest attraction of the night was the rainbow rice bucket Kirk and I made the night before. For instructions and photos check out my other blog Tightwads with Triplets

The girls "patiently" waiting to mix up all the rice.

It was a big hit with everyone. A little messy, sure, but so much fun (and honestly pretty easy to clean up).

All the "littles" eating pizza (or pretending to).

After dinner it was birthday cake time and thanks once again to my good friend, Kristy we had three awesome cakes.

I only had one 5 candle (sad right?) so we sung Happy Birthday to each girl one at a time. Seemed right though since they are individuals and not a unit.

Happy 5th Birthday to Julianna Mabel born 11/16/06 at 2:12 PM weighing 5 lbs 2 oz

Happy 5th Birthday to Rachel Gabrielle born 11/16/06 at 2:13 PM weighing 4 lbs 8 oz

Happy 5th Birthday to Alyssa Elaine born 11/16/06 at 2:16 PM weighing 4 lbs 12 oz

And what's a party without some presents?

Happy 5th Birthday to the girls who five years ago changed my life forever!

Way Back When-esday: My Girls Were Born

2011-11-16T19:18:00.003-05:00

Five Years Ago Today my three princesses were born:

Date: November 16th, 2006
Triplets' Age: 1 day old (in this photo really just minutes old)

Happy 5th Birthday
Julianna, Rachel and Alyssa!!

We celebrate with friends this weekend so I'll post more pictures then. For now I'm just grateful to have my three beautiful girls in my life for the past five years!

Happy 8th Birthday Caleb!

2011-11-10T13:16:00.007-05:00

Today Caleb turned 8 years old! It's hard to believe my only son is getting so "old". He's turning into a young man right before my eyes. I'm just telling myself that 8 is still young and he's still my sweet little boy for a while longer.

Of course his party was all about being a boy.

It's not often that my girls are outnumbered by boys!

Present time! What to get an 8 year old boy? Legos! He got quite a few and he's been putting them together ever since. He got a bunch of other cool gifts making it an awesome birthday :)

We went with a Spider Man theme, built a make-shift movie theater in the backyard to watch Cars 2 and had Spider Man Spaghetti Pies for dinner!

It was a whirlwind of boys, presents and Spider Man but overall I think it was a great birthday.

As hard as it is to watch my little man grow up I enjoy seeing what he loves to do and who he's turning into. I pray every day that He grows up to glorify God and to follow wherever the Lord leads.

I love you Caleb, Happy 8th Birthday!

Visit From Grandpa and Grandma

2011-11-06T21:30:00.013-05:00

Besides lots of pumpkins fall means lots of birthdays for us: Caleb, Julianna, Rachel and Alyssa (yikes!) Fortunately it also means my parents come for a visit! For the second year in a row my parents have chosen fall as the time to visit. We had a few warmer days so they didn't freeze completely :)

And despite only having a few days we were able to do quite a few things together.

Last Monday Grandma and Grandpa met us at Chuck E. Cheese where we were meeting friends for dinner.

Looks like Grandpa was having lots of fun!

Grandma's enjoying herself too.

Wednesday we all took an evening out to National Harbor.

And what's a trip to National Harbor without a stop at the Peep Store?

Or a chance to "play" on the Awakening statue. I have no idea if this is what the artist intended but my kids sure do enjoy it!

Mom and Grandma looking on (and Kaitlyn taking a break):

Me and my Dad :)

Even though my parents live about 900 miles away from me they are an essential part of our lives. My kids love their grandparents and look forward to every minute they get to spend with them.

Out to dinner.

Walking around the harbor, on our way to Grandma and Grandpa's special surprise...

A birthday trip to Build-A-Bear! For their birthday gift, Grandma and Grandpa took all four of their November birthday grandkids to pick out their own bears. This was the first time the girls had ever had the chance to do anything like this and they were thrilled! (Kaitlyn didn't want to be left out so she used some allowance money to buy her own bear, er, owl)

Thanks Grandma and Grandpa for coming to visit us! We love you and can't wait to see you again soon!

And More Fall Fun

2011-10-23T21:36:00.024-04:00

Because who doesn't love even more photos of my kids and pumpkins?

At least I'll start with a sneak peek at our new family photos:

Can't wait to get more photos from my good friend, Kerri over at With Love Studios

I won't spoil any of the fun by showing you any more pictures - Kirk took a few good ones too but I'll wait to share those until after I get the rest of the pictures from Kerri.

Last Sunday Kirk took the kids to a local animal park/pumpkin patch with my moms of multiples club. I wasn't able to go but the kids seemed to have a great time anyway!

Slight obsession with the llama - they had just watched the Emperor's New Groove and were super excited to see one in person.

Look out! Sliding triplets!

Caleb loves it too :)

Don't get lost in there...

My pumpkin family. Like I said, who gets tired of my kids and pumpkins?

Hayriding triplets....

Kaitlyn and Caleb like the hayride too.

Mountain-climbing triplets. Nope, it never gets old.

This probably explains why my kids move so slowly (except when candy or dessert is involved):

Oh yeah, Kaitlyn was there! Seems Kirk didn't get many pictures of her :)

If you were wondering the girls have been there before but they don't remember because they were this little (not yet 2 years old). How cute were they??

Today we had another picnic of sorts to go to. Kirk's division at work held their own company picnic and we took the family - the kids had another afternoon of pumpkin fun - though this time they were painting them.

Did a little bit of running around - looking for a place to feed ducks - sadly we found none. But they sure looked cute looking!

Ooohh, scary girls!

Seems something has happened to all my kids teeth :)

Oh yeah, we did a little bit of eating too. At least some of us did - it has yet to be said that my girls ate too much.

Yep, they would prefer to color than eat.

Alyssa's duck - can't tell if she drew it but she definitely signed her name!

Silly girls.

Isn't Fall just the best time of year? We still have so much more fall fun to go! We haven't even started raking leaves yet...

You Know It's Fall When You've Been To the Pumpkin Patch

2011-10-07T23:15:00.024-04:00

We're ready to go!

First stop: picking pumpkins

The kids learned how bees pollinate flowers and practiced being bees and ladybugs to bring pollen from one flower to another.

Fancy meeting you here! While we were eating lunch I actually got to spend a little time with Caleb who spent the rest of his day with his class and his teacher.

After lunch we went to feed the animals (the day was getting a lot warmer so Julianna and Rachel took off their sweaters - Alyssa still wanted to wear hers - hard to believe given the heat!)

Alyssa is telling me all about the goats she fed.

"What? That's it. I'm done."

"Please can I have more food to feed the goats and sheep??"

From feeding animals to swinging in a barn - this day is great fun!

We had a great time at the pumpkin patch but we sure were exhausted when the night was over!

6th grade on up didn't get to go on this field trip and I missed Kaitlyn though I can't even be in 2 places at once let alone 3!! I got to spend my day with the girls but that meant I couldn't hang out with Caleb. Fortunately, he did just fine without me and got to do and learn a bunch of great stuff.

Funny Faces

2011-10-03T14:30:00.009-04:00

My kids make LOTS of funny faces. No one makes more funny or interesting faces than Alyssa but recently Kirk took the kids to Burger King for dinner and it so happened that that evening they had a face painter. And not just any face painter - check this out - she was pretty darn good!

Kaitlyn got a dragon:

And Caleb a snake:

Julianna went very girly (did you get a look at the detail in the face paint??)

Alyssa went with her favorite, fish. Boy does she love fish. Of course hers is already a little smeared...

But Rachel wanted to be different. She literally became a zebra.

I did mention that Alyssa has a few crazy faces right?

There's this one. This is the look she gave me when I told her to look at the camera and smile. It's not the look she had, it's the one she put on when I asked her to look at me. I have no idea what she was thinking.

This is the smile I usually get. She was wearing her necklace that a blog reader made and sent me and I wanted to get a picture. Thus, the smile.

Trying to do a little better with the smile.

Now here's a real smile.

It's because she was quite pleased with herself for "feeding" her elephants. You know how much elephants like peanuts!! Apparantly, they like Planters :)

Seems funny faces are easier for me to capture than funny sayings. I guess I need to start following them around with a recorder now.

We LOVE Six Flags

2011-09-21T22:33:00.012-04:00

My favorite ride that I got to ride once. I know, I'm sad too but it's so hard to juggle an 11-year-old who can ride everything; a 7-year-old who wants to ride everything but can't yet and three 4-year-olds who can only ride the small kid rides.

Isn't this drop awesome?! I LOVE the Superman ride. Only ride better (that I've been on thus far) is the Intimidator 305 at Kings Dominion.

I think this was the kids favorite ride - well the little ones anyway though the big kids found it surprisingly fun.

I took Kaitlyn on the Joker. Had to take her almost kicking and screaming. Up until the ride started she was trying to talk me into letting her off but I knew she'd be okay and she was. Halfway through the ride she yells "I love you mom! This is awesome!" Can't get any better than that :)

My big 11-year-old looking so proud at surviving the ride behind her!

Her second favorite rides are the wooden coasters. She and Caleb really enjoy going on these. Dad takes them to the wooden ones - I just can't handle them - way to much shaking for me. Guess that means I'm getting old.

Here's Kirk taking the kids to get wet. Alyssa especially liked getting soaked - a lot. Seemed she didn't even want to get dry. Not sure if you can see her face here but she is LOVING this ride. Kirk on the other hand lost his hat. It flew right off his head as the ride came down. Funny thing it was his Superman hat. Probably should have lost it on the Superman ride instead.

Most of our day was spent in the Thomas the Train Engine kids section. The kids got to enjoy rides like a train:

Helicopter:

Hot air balloons:

And a bus that goes in circles:

You know that looks like fun!!

All in all we had a great day and we didn't have enough time to do everything we wanted to do. Our day there always seems to end too soon and we're already looking forward to next year. Though I think next year we'll give the water park a try. That and Six Flags is adding a new ride. Can't wait for that either :)

Half A Month Gone, Too Busy To Slow Down

2011-09-18T22:01:00.020-04:00

The kids have already completed 3 weeks of school and I have been in full volunteering mode with all five kids attending essentially full time. Believe it or not free time has been scarce. So scarce it has made blogging difficult!

But I thought the least I could do was put up a few pictures of my so very cute kids :)

Sisterly love! In chapel uniform.

Rachel loves modeling.

Kaitlyn does too :)

Handsome boy. Less into modeling...

And my whole clan in full chapel dress. I know they all hate it but they certainly look adorable to me!

They all say hi! At least I think that's what they're doing. Maybe they're just doing the wave. Hard to know :)

Kirk is in "charge" of the school's website and part of what they've asked of him is to put up pictures of kids in proper uniform. Of course, I am quick to oblige just about anything that involves taking pictures of the kids.

Here they are modeling their casual uniforms.

When in the world did she get so grown up?

Caleb goes a little more for the stiff approach:

But he's still a handsome boy :)

Julianna:

She's all about taking pictures in different place - it was her idea to sit on the bench and have me take her picture. The girls really love to be the subject of any and all photos!

I know, I know about the bangs but I'm trying to grow them out - just seems to be taking forever!! Rachel does all her own posing.

A great picture that I'm going to have to work with in Photoshop when I post about Rachel.

I have no idea what to do about Alyssa and her smile.

It's not much better on the bench. Hopefully she'll grow out of it and I'll get a real one soon :)

And a sweet reader made necklaces for all my kids and sent them to me. The kids loved them and I have been trying to get pictures of them with them on. Two down, three to go. Thank you for the great gift!

I have more to blog about soon - our trip to Six Flags for one but I think that's enough for now. I'm just a bit exhausted...

School's In: Off To A Rocky Start

2011-08-31T23:55:00.000-04:00

Today marks day 3 of school but for Kaitlyn she's only been in one day! Fevers have hit our house hard and while Kaitlyn made it to the first day of school she managed to pick up her sister's fever. Alyssa started it, then Julianna had it higher and for longer than Alyssa did so I kept the girls home on Monday. At least we got Kaitlyn's first-day-of-middle-school picture! Doesn't she look so excited to be going??

Caleb started 2nd grade on Monday and he has been doing great. I think he secretly likes school though he won't admit it to his big sister :)

Kaitlyn seems a little more excited when she gets to school and has the joy of having her own locker:

I can't tell if this is the "I'm happy about this" look or her "I have no other choice but to be here" look...

At least Caleb's ready to get started!

The little girls started K4 on Tuesday. Because their birthday falls in November they have another year of preschool before Kindergarten. While they feel like they are ready for Kindergarten, I'm really glad they aren't there yet!

Some sisterly love (they did this on their own!)

So eager to get to class that they don't even wait for mom or wave goodbye.

Miss Miles has a whole basket full of apples this year :)

Alyssa doesn't miss a beat as she gets right back into the swing of things.

And Rachel got right back to playing with her favorite friend, Cody - we talk about him often at our house! So cute, that she has a crush at her age :)

Looks like the girls will be going five full days a week so that I can work a few mornings a week at the school. I'm a little nervous about my duties but the girls couldn't be more excited to be going every day. They LOVE school and for now even their big sister can't talk them out of it!We are praying for a great year. It's certainly going to be really busy around here.

Happy Birthday Dorinda!

2011-08-29T05:31:00.002-04:00

I know this post is a day late, but we were gone all weekend at a church retreat, so I'm just now getting it up. Anyway, for those who couldn't join us lat week for Dorinda's surprise party, please help me in wishing the love of my life a very Happy Birthday!

Life Is Full Of Surprises

2011-08-23T23:30:00.005-04:00

Like today, for example, when I was sitting at lunch with the kids and Kirk and the table begins to shake.

I was *this close* to turning to yell at the kids to stop shaking the table because really it wasn't funny to be shaking the table so hard when I realize the entire building is shaking. And not just our building but the building next door!

Kirk says, "It's an earthquake."

But despite all the evidence that he's right I'm still thinking, "No way, we live in Virginia, how could this be an earthquake?"

I'm sure if you've seen the news you know it was in fact an earthquake. Details HERE - so while I thought it was the kids shaking the table and the kids thought it was daddy shaking the table it was actually, well God, shaking the table :)

For me, this was my second surprise of the week.

On Saturday evening Kirk through me a surprise party for my 35th birthday. He very sweetly invited my friends, ordered the food and picked up the decorations. He arranged for my SIL to take me out to a movie to get me out of the house, cleaned everything up and pulled it all together.

"Surprise!!"

Yummy spread!

Could I really be that old??!!

Thank you sweetheart for giving me one of life's good surprises!

A Night At The Fair

2011-08-18T16:29:00.008-04:00

Two years ago to the day we took all the kids to the county fair - the triplets for the first time. Last year we missed it (I think we were out of town) but this year thanks to a Certifikid deal (like Groupon) we were able to take all of us plus a few more to the fair - rides included! And oh how they rode and rode and rode.

Two years ago they didn't get a chance to ride the ferris wheel - this year it's the first thing we did :)

Waiting on line with Aunt Liz.

Riding the wheel - don't they look excited?

After that we made our way around the fair from one ride to the next.

First it was the little red roller coaster:

Then it was the elephant ride that went up and down in a circle:

And the boat ride - went up and down in a circle (lots of circles here) - this was a favorite and the girls begged to go again and again. After two times around I encouraged them to another ride. That one was and I quote "boring!" Had to laugh though they were right - compared to the boat ride, it was boring :)

More circles in a construction vehicle:

And then in a go-kart (the sad face is because she's in the blue truck):

And the big kids? They were all with dad so they could ride the big rides rather than the little kid ones :)

Pretty much the only thing we could go together on was the big slide in the middle of the park. Funny thing it's pretty much the only one that didn't go in a circle!

The big kids did their fair share of circles too:

Besides rides we also checked out the animals - the girls pet sheep, saw baby goats, big cows, little pigs and lots of roosters and chickens.

We also saw some bees - which doesn't sound hugely fascinating to me but the girls loved every second and asked all kinds of questions. Who knew?

Know who this is? It's Alyssa! You knew that right? :) Our good friend and favorite babysitter drew it - and look at that - she one first place!

I think she got Alyssa's expression spot on - don't you?

We had a great time at the fair and I'm so glad we went! We're already looking forward to next year!

My Girls: Julianna

2011-08-11T23:35:00.009-04:00

Every day we inch closer to 5 years old. I can hardly believe that it's this close! The girls have all requested that they not turn 5 because they know they will get shots at the doctors. It cracks me up because they will actually catch themselves asking for birthday gifts and realize it means they will have a birthday so then they will say, "not for my birthday mommy, for Christmas because I don't want those shots!" Too funny.

I still get asked from time to time how I tell the girls apart. While everyone still knows which one is Rachel (the blonde one) many people still have trouble telling who is who between Julianna and Alyssa. This always makes me smile because the two of them couldn't be more different than night and day.

To prove my point I thought I would share a little bit about my girls. Julianna is my girly-girl; the one who loves to dress up, to wear make-up, to pretend she's an adult, to get her nails done. So, it doesn't surprise me one bit when new clothes come in the mail (the ones I picked out for our professional fall pictures later this year) that she would want to try them on immediately!

And like a good mother how could I refuse? Besides, I've been anxious to begin learning Photoshop. Yes, me! After all, I'm married to one of the best graphics artists every (yes, I'm a little bias but that doesn't mean it's not the truth!) - on top of which he's a very good teacher so I thought maybe he could show me some things to spruce up some of my photos.

Here's to giving it a try!

My before photo:

And my touch-ups (with Kirk's help of course!)

(yes, I know her bangs are a little long - we're growing them out - hopefully by picture time they will stay back!)

And the whole outfit - my lighting wasn't that great and a little shadowy but she really wanted to pose by the tree.

Before:

I did most of the work on this one though Kirk did some work lightening up her face - hopefully I will find time to improve my skills soon!

After:

And just because she's so cute and having fun and I love the photos of the girls on the steps (you'll see when I get to a post about Alyssa)

Before:

After:

And as if you needed to see more to remind us how much of a girl she is - she also sings and has absolutely no camera shyness! I hope you can hear all the words she says - I couldn't help but laugh at one point - sorry about that!

Yes, yes, I'm in trouble when she grows up and the fact that I have three of them isn't lost on me!! Can't help but love them all though :)

Still Celebrating Kaitlyn's Birthday!

2011-08-01T19:39:00.007-04:00

Kaitlyn turned 11 on July 19th but that doesn't mean we stopped celebrating. We have, in fact, been celebrating for over a month. In June while we were in Florida we celebrated with Aunt Kim and Uncle Daniel. Then two days before her birthday as a family, then on her birthday in Luray with our close friends and finally this past weekend with a few of her closest friends spending the night.

Boy did Caleb feel like the odd man out with SOO many girls here! Add all the girls to girly things like make-up and nails and I know Caleb was wishing he could have found a place to hide :)

The girls on the other hand seemed to have a lot of fun!

They got their nails and make-up done with special help from my sister-in-law, Liz (on make-up) and my good friend Lisa (who does an awesome job on nails!)

Because the big girls chose to play outside in the sprinkler the little girls cut in line to get their fingers and toes done. The best part for them? The color doesn't come off in the bath! (they had some little girl "nail polish" that wiped right off and they were so disappointed)

The "drying chair" - seemed to be the perfect place for the girls to wait for their nails to dry...

(Sorry about the yellowish color - our flash still isn't working so inside pictures aren't that great - sadly all the other pictures we got of the big girls are too blurry to see)

But the biggest highlight of the night?

The cake!

The before picture: a candyland cake FULL of candy thanks to Mrs. Shepherd

The after picture: the cake is completely destroyed but their bellys were all full and happy!

Now that it's August Kaitlyn is officially officially 11 and I think we can stop celebrating now... at least until next year!

Time Away In Luray

2011-07-25T18:36:00.003-04:00

Last week was our annual trip to Luray, VA. With our good friends of 14 years and their 4 children (yes, 13 people in one house) we headed out to 80 acres, cows and just being in the middle of nowhere. Other than some fights over electronics everything went smoothly and we had a lot of fun.

Check out these great shots Kirk took.

I apologize for yet another delay but between being out of town last week, preparing for Kaitlyn's birthday party this weekend and having my computer break on me I'm a little behind. And now I'm adjusting to a new laptop. Seems my computers only last 2 years before something goes terribly wrong. Here's hoping the new one will last a little longer!

Thanks for your patience :)

Where Have You Been?

2011-07-17T22:28:00.013-04:00

Yikes! Seems we got back from vacation and instead of settling down things seem to have revved up. Isn't summer supposed to be relaxing?

So, what have we been up to?

Well, after our fiasco on the trip home my dad did NOT have time to re-do the kids bathroom but since he brought his work clothes he so kindly and sweetly (I love you dad!) offered to re-paint my living room. Soo happy :)

He had a few helpers:

It's a good thing I don't have any more kids or my dad may never have gotten started!!

The transformation from green to orange (yes, orange!)

The real painter:

And the orange with some rearranged furniture:

The completed room after a trip to Ikea - I love, love, love it and am already planning out my next room. A hint: it's the dining room but believe it or not I'm NOT repainting.

What else?

Building a cereal tower with Caleb - I think we hit somewhere around 30 boxes of cereal. (Mostly free - hey, couponing is what I do!!)

And celebrating Kaitlyn's birthday. She will be 11 in just TWO days!! Can't believe she's turning into such a big girl and a beautiful young lady. Since we'll be out with friends on her birthday we decided to surprise her with a special family dinner out last night.

We also surprised her with her birthday gift. This is the look that says "I already know what my gift is."

This is the look that says, "Oh my word, it's not what I thought it was!! It's waaaayy better!" (she was expecting her iPod to be fixed and gift wrapped - instead we (along with Grandma and Grandpa) upgraded her to an iPod Touch. Yes, she loves her gift.

My beautiful 11 (almost) year-old. Happy Birthday Baby Girl! I love you so much and so glad that you made me a mother 11 years ago.

The Long Journey Home

2011-07-03T18:37:00.005-04:00

We made it home! No, it hasn't taken us a whole week but I swear it felt like it :) We were planning to leave on Monday but pushed it to Tuesday so that we could be more prepared.

On Tuesday we were making great time. Didn't even stop for our first break for 5 hours! That's great for us. We stopped for a quick lunch, gas and potty break and were back on the road not to stop again until dinner. Seriously, we were doing that great! We were on track to make it home by 10:30 in the evening and since we left at 7:30 in the morning it would have made the trip a "short" 15 hours. With 5 kids that is great time.

But in Virginia we hit quite a storm. Lots and lots of rain and very high winds. Of course, this meant someone had to go to the bathroom and we found a rest area to make a quick stop. I opted not to take all the girls in while my dad took Caleb (thanks Dad!). They were quick - the rain helped :) and we were back on the road.

We weren't ten minutes down the road in the POURING rain when our windshield wipers stopped working. My dad was driving blind, literally, on 95. We pulled over quickly out of the rain but were sitting on the side of 95 with no way to drive and the inability to see! Thankfully the car was still running so the kids were happily watching TV all while I'm trying to figure out what to do when someone says they have to go potty. I won't share all the ways I considered.

I called Kirk and we discussed our options including his driving down and picking us up but that still would have been a problem for the van. Towing seemed pointless since everything worked but the wipers but of course the rain was NOT letting up.

After 30 to 45 minutes on the side of the road the rain let up a tiny bit - at least enough for my dad to slowly inch us to the next exit - mind you, it was still raining, he was still driving blind and basically trusting me to see the white line. Praise God we made it the half mile to the next exit being missed my a few cars and a semi.

No gas station has ever looked sweeter. I didn't care if the bathroom was a small hole it was WAY better than figuring it out in the driving rain on the side of the road.

Out of other options we spent the night at a local motel praying for the rain to end. The kids LOVED it. Julianna said and I quote, "this place is beautiful" - at least her standards are low. They just loved sleeping in the same room as me with a TV right there.

Fortunately, the rain cleared overnight and we were able to safely drive home on Wednesday morning. Turns out the wipers just needed a little tightening and everything is fine. Go figure.

But hey, Kirk was supposed to fly back home on Tuesday 2 weeks before we drove home but his plane got cancelled and he too spent the night in a hotel (nicer than ours) and had to fly on home on Wednesday. Ultimately he flew from Tampa to Buffalo, NY to Chicago to VA. Eeek! I think it may have taken him longer to get home then us :)

Praise God we all made it home safely! And thank you Dad very much for taking care of us and getting us home safely! I've already said it but I'll repeat myself, you're the best dad a girl could ever have :)

And since tomorrow if the 4th of July it seems quite appropriate to wish you a very happy 4th of July and may you stay even more safe than we were driving home :)

Florida Photos: SOOO Busy!

2011-06-26T23:33:00.032-04:00

We have been blessed with a great trip to Florida this year. Grandma and Grandpa have provided us with lots of fun. That along with playdates and parties have kept us incredibly busy. So busy, in fact, that we have postponed our return trip by a day so we can actually get prepared instead of just throwing our stuff in the van and taking off.

Of course there's been lots of pool time.

And Grandpa and Kirk took the kids to the beach (because I wasn't feeling so well that day)

The girls actually fell asleep on the beach after playing in the water and the sand!

Kirk's birthday - we had a chance to celebrate with family and friends:

Saying goodbye to Daddy is ALWAYS hard!

Father's Day at Church:

Last Saturday we visited Celebration Station (thanks Grandpa and Grandpa we had a GREAT time!!)

The girls on the little roller coaster - they loved it!

Bumper boats - it was pretty hot so I was asking the kids to spray me while I watched them :)

Kaitlyn got to drive her own go-kart and apparantly she had a lead foot :)

Grandpa and Caleb had to ride together but I still think they had fun!

Mini-golfing. Watching the girls "golf" is a riot. Mostly it involves them slowly shoving the ball into the hole :)

They needed a lot of help from Grandpa!

And since the big kids were so much quicker (Caleb even got a hole in one!) Grandma got to go on ahead.

Alyssa was pretty sick of pictues so she was done smiling by this point.

We're done! Happy, tired and HOT!

And today, an awesome Star Wars birthday party!

My Jedi knights:

Fun, balloon popping game - Kaitlyn won :)

And then we were visited by Storm Troopers!

Kaitlyn seems quite comfortable holding that gun...

Alyssa's got it a little backwards:

But Julianna has no problem with it.

Rachel need convincing to even get near the Troopers - sister love to the rescue!

Now Caleb, on the other hand, got a little different treatment... Hmmm... I did tell him I never want to see this again :)

We had a really good trip to Florida this year and we will miss our family and friends as we return home to Virginia.

Wow, we had a LOT of fun and it's soo hard to believe that our vacation is already over. Thank you so much Grandma and Grandpa for everything! We will miss you sooo much and can't wait to see you again soon. Love you!

Goodbye Florida, we'll see you soon...

Happy Father's Day From The Pool

2011-06-19T00:36:00.002-04:00

For the second year in a row, we are in Florida for Father's Day. It's hard to be apart from Kirk on this special day and the kids certainly miss him but we're excited to share Father's Day with Grandpa :)

Because it's Father's Day and because Kirk isn't here he's missed out on a few things the kids have been doing which of course, involve the pool. So, in their own special way the kids show off their "talents" and wish their dad a Happy Father's Day. (sorry for the length - they LOVED to be filmed and even asked for more filming after this so I could get video of Alyssa "swimming up" - whatever that means!)

Have a great day daddy, we love you!!

And Happy Father's Day to my dad, you're the best dad and Grandpa the kids and I could have!

First Summer Field Trip

2011-06-15T22:48:00.016-04:00

Grandma and Grandpa took us all to a great museum in Tampa called MOSI (Museum of Science and Industry) and the kids loved it. They have a whole section called Kids in Charge! which of course, they enjoyed.

The kids did some silly stuff like:

- lying on nails:

- losing their heads, er, bodies:

- sticking to walls:

- playing with "food":

- building stuff:

- making shadows on the wall, playing tug-of-war and seeing and doing lots of other cool and fun stuff!

It took a few hours but we were finally able to drag the kids away to other parts of the museum - the 2nd favorite of the day was "Disasterville" where our family got to experience a tornado, housefire and hurricane all in one hour!!

But don't worry - we had rescue workers handy! (I think Caleb's expression is because the sheer magnitude of his job is beginning to sink in...)

Getting blown away - Alyssa wanted NO part of it...

I can't blame her - the wind inside went up to 80MPH!!

But with all these disasters the only stressful time was figuring out what small (er, cheap) trinket to pick up at the gift shop :) I'm smiling because we're done and at the checkout! We settled on mugs with the girls names on it - of course none of them said "Julianna" so we went with "Anna" - hopefully a Sharpie will fill in the rest...

At least someone was happy:

My sad attempt at getting a shot of the kids with the cool flowers - no one really wanted to cooperate.

Thanks Mom and Dad (Grandma and Grandpa) for a great day at the museum. We can't wait till we get to go again.

Happy Birthday To A Real Man

2011-06-13T00:04:00.003-04:00

Last night we watched a new TV show called The Protector. It stars an actress I really like, Ally Walker - her old series Profiler was by far one of my all-time favorite series. The Protector was okay but honestly I am so tired of the same old character on TV.

Her character sketch goes like this (and you will find the same character on quite a number of other current TV crime-drama series):
- strong, independent woman
- doesn't need any help
- is always right
- every male character is wrong and stupid - she can run circles around them in her sleep - other detectives may have thoughts or ideas but they are always wrong - only Ally's character, Gloria is correct - about EVERYTHING
- she dumped her lame, horrible, cheating husband
- can single-handedly raise her 2 boys - no man needed
- is in perfect shape making her physically superior to men
- must rescue others (especially men) and be everyones protector (as if, somehow a woman who weighs 100 pounds will be protection against an attacker but this we are to believe)

I'm so tired of this female character. Why is it okay to teach our daughters that men are complete idiots? Why do we have to push so hard that our girls can be independent and don't need men?

I want to tell you about the man I'm married to:

He's smart - VERY smart - much smarter than I am and I respect him for it.

He's an AWESOME dad - to say that I could raise my kids without him would be a complete joke - they need him in their lives - without him they would be missing something - they would be missing a FATHER and last I checked a father is a hugely vital role in a child's life no matter what TV tells us.

He's quite competent - believe it or not my husband knows how to do a lot of things - many of which I don't know how to do, so rather than me telling him he's stupid because he's a male I'm happy to have him help or do things for me. He can even take care of all five of our children on his own and do a very fine job at it.

He works hard, very hard - he holds down a full time job plus writes for magazines plus does other side jobs so that I can stay home and be a mom to our kids. He's NOT lazy - he runs on so little sleep so that I can have more - he gives and gives so that our family has what we have - there's no way I could do half of what he does.

He's not lame, he doesn't cheat and he's not horrible - I am blessed by God to have the husband that I have. I know there are jerks out there - men who do not do what they're supposed to - but you know what? There are men who are amazing and special and I married the best. And I want all 4 of my daughters growing up looking for a man like him.

Today my husband turns 36. I want to wish him a very happy birthday and I want to thank God for bringing him into this world 36 years ago and I pray that he has many more to come.

Apparently I'm no "Protector" because I need my husband and I wouldn't feel whole without him.

So Lifetime, until you can figure out how to make real characters and not sad cookie-cutter cut-outs I'm going to avoid your show. There are good men out there that independent women can love and respect and really, I find it hard to believe that every male cop is a stupid idiot just because of his gender. The plot of the pilot wasn't that good either.

Happy 36th Birthday, Kirk! I love you and pray you have a great birthday and a wonderful next year.

I mean, come on, doesn't he make juggling triplets look easy? :)

Officially Summer

2011-06-06T23:53:00.002-04:00

Today was the first official day of summer. The kids got out on Friday so today was their first day off. And what are we doing? We're already in Florida! We don't waste any time starting summer :)

And the kids didn't waste anytime getting into the pool. The triplets were doing well when we left Florida last year and they seem to have picked up right where they left off and then some.

I'm way behind on pictures and end of school happenings but I did want to share a video of the kids in the pool.

If you notice Alyssa is trying to get me to "climb aboard" the raft - I took another few minutes of video after this one and she was asking me STILL to climb aboard - on some things she has a one track mind :)

Title Undetermined (Camping)

2011-05-31T11:39:00.013-04:00

Oh, I had a few other thoughts for this blog post title but I figured I'd rather not scare anyone!!

It could have been: "Bruised, Battered and Burnt" but I didn't want anyone to think we'd been killed in a car wreck or housefire :)

Or I could have gone with "Camping is NOT for wimps ergo Camping is NOT for me!" but it's only about 95% true - I did survive... barely and apparantly I'm going to be doing it again next year - yikes, I'm already nervous.

Don't get me wrong the surroundings were beautiful - we slept (though I do use the term slept loosely) right near a waterfall, we tubed down a river complete with some rapids (thus the bruised part), we were surrounded by trees and mountains.

Sounds beautiful but I didn't mention - the bathrooms were uphill and we trecked up there many, many times a day sometimes in the middle of the night often with 3 girls in tow - the bathrooms were small and hot and none of the doors worked and the girls couldn't turn on the water by themselves or use the dryer by themselves leaving me to juggle doors, water and dryer - it got old - FAST!

I didn't mention that too many people don't pay attention to the quiet curfew and while all my kids can sleep through everyone talking, yelling, driving, waving flashlights, using car blinkers repeatedly for no apparant reason - I cannot.

I don't like sleeping in sand or sticking to the mud or standing on really hot playgrounds with no place to sit while the girls play for hours.

I know, I'm a baby but this is why God gave me a house to live in. Maybe someday He'll call me to live in the middle of the brush and I will make do but right now I am feeling extremely blessed to have a roof over my head - a real one, not a plastic one.

Enough about me, the kids had a great time because unlike me they really enjoy being dirty, playing in the mud, sleeping on the ground and swimming in cold pools.

The really, very beautiful waterfall we slept nearby:

And oh how the kids loved the river - kept them occupied for hours!

My "rock" girls:

Some of our group tubing - Kirk, myself and the big kids got a chance to ride - it was too rough for the triplets - maybe next year...

My handsome guy in the river - he was gracious enough to buy us an air mattress so I didn't have to sleep directly on the ground AND was willing to come home a night early so we could all sleep in our beds - true love!!

Our "home" away from home - it says it sleeps 8 so it slept our 7 pretty "comfortably".

There will be no pictures of me. They will all be destroyed. All of them...

We survived. We are all a bit burnt, we have lots of new cuts and bruises but we are alive and soo grateful to be home and have the day off yesterday. A big thanks to the men and women who serve our country and those who have family serving our country. Our family was able to have the freedom to take the weekend off and I very much appreciate my freedom!!

Happy Birthday To My Dad!!

2011-05-27T00:04:00.005-04:00

I want to take a moment to wish my dad a very Happy Birthday! I can't be there to celebrate with today but I will be there in a week - yep, it's time to head to Florida again and swim in the pool :) The kids are counting down the days - they can hardly wait.

Happy Birthday to my dad who is still young enough to have fun:

Crazy enough to go on field trips with my kids:

And still living well despite having had to raise me as a teenager! Dad, thanks for being an awesome dad and a fun-loving Grandpa. We love you and miss you and can't wait to see you soon!

I hope you have a wonderful day and a very blessed year :)

Is God Bigger Than Sam?

2011-05-16T23:52:00.011-04:00

We have a lot of fun conversations now that the girls are 4 1/2 (today! Yikes!) but my favorite one generally goes like this:

Mom, is God bigger than Daddy?
Yes, He is.
Is God bigger than our house?
Yes.
Is God bigger than Sam?

Who is Sam you ask?

Sam is a horse.

But he's not just any horse. He's a VERY biiiggg horse! Sam is NOT on a platform - he is just that big.

A few weeks ago the girls had a field trip to one of their classmates houses to go riding on this sweet pony:

And the girls were very excited to do so.

Seems the whole class was :)

Alyssa rode first out of my three and she seemed like a natural!

Rachel was very excited to give it a try but she was the only one who wouldn't go twice around the circle - once was enough for her.

Julianna loved being on the horse and was happy to show me how much :)

After riding the girls got to feed the horses a carrot - notice how close this horse is to the stall gate - unlike Sam who towers over it.

Sam and the class - he's just a cool horse.

From their perspective Sam must be enormous and when they ask me if God is bigger than Sam it's like me asking is God bigger than a skyscraper (well, almost). I mean Sam is big to me, I can't imagine what he looks like them.

But the best part is that the girls are thinking about God and who He is and I get a chance to teach them that yes, God is bigger than Sam, God is bigger than all of us and yet He still loved us enough to send His Son to die for us.

Now that's just awesome!

Happy Anniversary!! 15 Years!!

2011-05-10T21:50:00.002-04:00

It doesn't seem possible...

I'm NOT old enough...

To have been married for 15 years - but it's true. At the very young age of 19 I married my high school sweetheart - okay, he was mine, I wasn't his - he'd already graduated - I was a senior when we met - still, it's close enough :)

We've had our ups and downs but one thing is certain what God joins together He intends to stay that way but He doesn't intend for us to go it alone. On the bad days I cry out for help and God always answers. He restores the love I sometimes lack and makes me whole again. Without God's grace in our lives as husband and wife we would fail as a unit and as a family.

This song says it really well and is so relevant for us! Although we didn't get engaged at 19 and 21 we were quite young and we have now been married 15 years...

Happy 15th Anniversary to my wonderful husband, Kirk. Thanks for everything and may God grant us many more years together.

Happy Mother's Day!!

2011-05-08T21:49:00.001-04:00

I hope you all had a wonderful day celebrating your Mother's or celebrating with your children and enjoying your own motherhood.

I got to spend the weekend away with my husband at Hershey Park, PA - lots of rides and lots of chocolate but no kids :) It was a nice break. I'd say that covers Mother's Day even though it was more for our 15th anniversary.

Now for Mother's Day I got a different sort of gift - my favorite kind:

Photos of my family!

My beautiful kiddos :)

The whole family - I think this is such a cool shot:

More of the family - seems like Rachel was not cooperating! Stinker...

My handsome boys...

And my beautiful girls...

I think these are my favorite - the individual shots of the kids - how cute are they?

And no photo shoot is complete without some good photos of me and my favorite guy!

A big thanks to Megan Keys from Keys Photography for the great shots! And of course, Happy Mother's Day to me :) I hope I can actually get some of these on my wall soon...

Now I Feel Like A Parent...

2011-05-03T17:05:00.006-04:00

There are few milestones in the life of kid-dom - like being born, walking, learning to use the potty, starting school - but the most dreaded of all makes me really feel like a parent:

BRACES!!

I'm sure college will be that much worse but braces is one of those real big expenses that parents face.

Now I'm good at using coupons but darn it they just don't make coupons for braces! Sure they have insurance but I have to say their definition of "co-pay" and mine are quite different. Fortunately, the Lord was gracious and provided a way where the braces aren't as expensive as they could be and o, how grateful I am for that! Of course, this is just child #1...

The big before:

Unfortunately, Kaitlyn has a very large overbite and that for me necessitated the braces - even the orthodontist was concerned about her teeth chipping because of their position in her mouth. Beyond that she has a jaw that doesn't align and one that even when it does her top jaw is actually inside her bottom jaw.

Sooo... to fix all that she actually has to have a very special bracket inserted in her upper and lower jaw - 10 years ago this would have been head gear but they have found no one wants to wear that (go figure) so someone invented the brackets to go inside the mouth rather than outside - yea!

NOT happy as they put the brackets in...

Brackets are in, getting ready to put on the top braces:

Top braces are on, just 4 for now and no wire yet - that will come after we've spent a few weeks daily adjusting the bracket:

All done - I think this look is more pain than gratitude. What do you think?

And today (after):

She is surprisingly good spirits despite the discomfort that I know she's in. The smile here is about how much she can close her mouth for now. I also notice that the photo doesn't show clearly enough how much metal is actually in her mouth!

We're looking at a 3-year process - a long, slow journey but so worth it in the end - I look forward to seeing the finished "product" - for now I can just enjoy making the payments and this quite large childhood milestone.

Now that makes me feel like a parent... but I love it!

Counting Down To 15 Years

2011-05-01T23:18:00.004-04:00

In 10 days Kirk and I celebrate 15 years of marriage. Fifteen years may not seem as big as the tenth or twentieth anniversary but it's pretty big to me :) The past 15 years have not been without their bumps and bruises - amazing highs and amazing lows.

When we said our vows all those years ago I certainly didn't foresee a lot of what lie ahead. I mean who could have predicted we'd have 5 kids? I wouldn't have guessed I'd have 4 girls especially that 3 of them would be triplets! At the time we lived in Florida and now we're in Virginia. We've lost Kirk's mom since our wedding and we still miss her. We have no idea what lies ahead but I am grateful that I still have Kirk standing next to me as my husband and my best friend.

So, 10 days out from our anniversary I thought I would take a moment and list 10 reasons why I love Kirk - this is not an exhaustive list and it isn't in order from least to greatest but it's a small attempt of mine to show my husband how I love him and how happy I am that we will be celebrating 15 years together.

10. He's a hard worker - he works full time at his job and then comes home and helps me with dinner or other activities at home and then goes back to work at his other job to make sure our family is provided for.

9. He has amazing talent - I am constantly impressed at how good he is at what he does. God has given him the talent he has and he uses it well. I don't understand half of what he does but I see the results and they are amazing! He writes for THIS magazine and THIS one - how cool is that?

8. He has a tattoo with my name on it - come on, that's just cool! Not only does it have my name but he designed it, got it done and surprised me with it about a year and a half ago. How's that for romance?

7. He's a great dad - ever since Kaitlyn was born he has pitched in without question or complaint. When the triplets were born he helped with feedings and changings. Now that they're older he makes every effort to spend time with all the kids and they have a great relationship.

6. He has a servant's heart - not only does he work to provide for our family he helps me at home whenever he can. When I say "Do you mind grabbing this for me?" He always responds with "Don't mind at all" - I aspire to his servant's heart.

5. He puts up with me - I'm not putting myself down here - I'm just stating the obvious that I am a flawed sinner and Kirk has put up with me for 15 years with patience and love.

4. He always encourages me - whether it's couponing or writing or mothering or whatever I endeavor to do he is willing to support me and encourage me and help wherever he can.

3. He forgives - a bit like #5 but even more than that - another lesson I can take from my husband - the ability to forgive - I am grateful to constantly be on the receiving end.

2. He loves Christ - he has a strong faith in Christ and I love to see it grow as he strives to love me as Christ loves the church and as he strives to love me in a self-sacrificial way. I love to have theological discussions with him, to discuss the Bible and what we have learned - our relationship with one another is greater because of his love for our Lord.

1. He is the man God created for me - while not every day is easy (despite being awesome Kirk is a sinner too!) Kirk is the man that God created for me and I for him and I am proud to be his wife.

I'm know this isn't a complete list but this is a small idea of how blessed I feel to be married to Kirk and to be loved by him. I am very excited to be celebrating 15 years of marriage in 10 days. By God's grace we are still together and by His grace we will be together for many, many years to come.

Multiples Field Trip

2011-04-25T17:51:00.002-04:00

Besides friendships with moms who understand what it's like to have multiples the moms of multiples club I belong to provides lots of family activities. One of them is field trips - a few weeks ago the girls and I took a tour of Harris Teeter but this past Friday I got to take the whole family since it was Spring Break.

We met everyong at Frying Pan park and did a self-tour of all the animals on the farm. Believe it or not it was COLD - think 45 degrees! And just as we were leaving it was starting to rain. Can't say it was the best day for a field trip - and when you notice Caleb wearing my jacket you'll realize how unprepared we were for the low temps - but we still had a pretty good time :)

We're already looking forward to the moms of multiples Spring party on Saturday.

And keep checking back this week for a special treat - can't wait to share! (NO, I'm NOT pregnant...)

Way Back When-esday: Swings and Cherry Blossoms

2011-04-20T23:27:00.012-04:00

It's time for the swings again - at least in between the rains that just don't seem to let up.

Looks like my girls are continuing to grow and April is time for my annual tradition of taking photos of the girls on their swings. And the only fun way to see new pictures of the girls on the swings is to take a look at the past years first.

Julianna Mabel: still my princess - she is by far my most talkative 4-year-old - she is always curious and always has questions - she can't wait to have her ears pierced, she wants to wear all my jewelry and asks me often when she'll be able to get married. She loves to be praised and enjoys being my helper and the 2nd mommy to the girls mostly by giving them instructions on what they should wear, what they should play and how they should eat. She's still the boss!

April 2007

April 2008

April 2009

April 2010

April 2011

Rachel Gabrielle: she's still the quietest of the three yet when I take her out alone she's very talkative and has lots to say. She constantly repeats my name in conversation "mom, can I have this? mom, can I do this? mom, did you see mom?" Really if you sat and listened to her you can't help but laugh at the sheer number of times she repeats my name. She's also very clingy and is VERY much a mommy's girl. None of the girls can sit next to me at dinner without clinging to me but Rachel is by far the worst. At least I always feel loved :)

April 2007

April 2008

April 2009

April 2010

April 2011

Alyssa Elaine: Alyssa is my character. On the one hand she's in her own world but on the other hand she is the most helpful - when I take her grocery shopping she loves to help get the groceries, she loves to help when there are babies around and if I ask her to do something I almost always hear, "Oh yes ma'am" and it's done. But she's also my fraidy-cat - she's afraid of the dark, she's afraid of scary points in movies (even ones she's seen and not always in the spots you'd think but I often find her watching TV from our dining room which is 2 rooms away from the family room but she can still see the TV - she's just getting further away from the action) and she woke up during nap yesterday to cry about pillows - she was afraid of them. She's just so silly.

April 2007

April 2008

April 2009

April 2010

April 2011

And what would spring be without Cherry Blossoms? This is another one of those things I wanted to do with the girls every year but in years past the rains come and we don't get pictures before our tree drops all it's beautiful flowers but this year I was able to snap some shots - check it out - I love these!

Julianna Mabel - she's a ham for the camera - just LOVES it - if you couldn't tell

April 2008

April 2011

Rachel Gabrielle - she's enduring the tree this year

April 2008

April 2011

Alyssa Elaine - she is SOOO tough to photograph - she just does NOT want to look at the camera so I'm always getting either a weird smile or a decent smile but not looking at the camera and while I do love photos where people aren't looking (see hers below) it would be nice if I could actually capture a decent photo of her looking at me and smiling!

April 2008

April 2011

Wow! That was a huge post but April is my favorite time of year for photos - despite all the rain I love the weather and the blooming flowers and taking pictures of the kids outside for the first time really in months.

See other Way Back When-esday posts at Twinfatuation and thanks for letting me take this trip down memory lane - I swear it feels like yesterday that I did this post for 2010 - how is it possible that another year has gone by already??

School Egg Hunt

2011-04-16T13:01:00.011-04:00

Yesterday the triplet's preschool class had their Easter party/egg hunt. It was certainly a learning experience for the teacher and I! Wow! I think there is an art to making egg hunting not too hard and not too easy. Meaning I have a bad feeling there are a few plastic eggs still in the grass...

It started out so well - they were all lined up, ready to find the right numbered eggs for their baskets.

But a few of the eggs were just a little bit harder to find than others and by a little bit I mean impossible.

Still, it seems like the girls had a lot of fun! Probably because they were some of the most eagle-eyed of the group and had little trouble finding their eggs. Or maybe they're just used to fending for themselves against their older brother and sister. No, I'm sure that's not it - has to be that they're eagle-eyed.

I've got one!

Classic Julianna pose:

Rachel found some eggs.

Alyssa's having fun!

Searching, searching... This is serious stuff.

In between they waited patiently for the rest of their classmates to find the remainder of their own eggs.

Yep, patiently...

(And I've got to wonder what Alyssa is thinking! Any ideas?!)

Today is the beginning of spring break - 10 days of home with the kids! How many egg hunts can I do exactly before they get tired of it?

The Three Words I Hate The Most...

2011-04-06T22:02:00.004-04:00

"She's NOT Sharing!"

Oh, I hate them.

If you have more than one child you understand.

The definition of "sharing" for any 3 or 4-year-old is really "she's not giving me exactly what I want at the very moment I want it"

My girls do fight but honestly for the most part they get along, however, when it comes to a toy or a game or a pillow or a blanket or a small crumb they've found on the floor - if one of them has it and the other one wants it then all I hear is crying and tears and the utter angst of a 4-year-old little girl.

With my older two I had the "advantage" of saying to my oldest, "he's younger be nice to him" but now...

Now they're all the same age so they are on equal footing so to speak - no one is younger or older - I can't say that so I'm left with the dilemma of how to intervene. Most of the time the fighting occurs out of my view - they're in another room and I have NO idea who had the item first and they're looking to me to resolve the situation.

Ultimately I let them know that they need to work it out among themselves but oh how I hate those words...

(Photo taken on St. Patrick's Day on a field trip to Harris Teeter - as if I'm not there enough already!!)

Silly Girls

2011-03-28T14:36:00.007-04:00

I can't help it, my girls crack me up. Listening to them talk to each other - watching them interact - it's all just fun - mostly because I really love this age. Four is a great age - they can do some things for themselves, they can play together well while still taking naps (quiet time really) most days - what could be more perfect?

I've been capturing some of their funniest moments in recent weeks and thought I would share.

Before I share why I took this picture - do notice that it is bright day outside and they are wearing their PJ's or "pajammies" (pronounced pu-jammies) as they are called in our house - they are in love with all their pajammies and would much rather wear them ALL the time if allowed.

But for this photo they had found some "snapping dolls" that they have and the dolls had braided hair so they brought me the plastic dolls hair and asked if I could do their hair this way - this is the result:

(Disclaimer - I have 4 girls but I am NOT the worlds best braider...)

Piled on top of Daddy - also in their pajammies.

Apparantly these buckets are perfect umbrellas. I love how they all like to copy each other and when one decides something it's law for everyone and they all have to do it. So, someone decided that this was a great idea and they all joined in marching in cirlces around our house.

What makes me laugh even more is while I was the one that asked to take a picture of them like this they then gave me a list of what pictures they wanted:

Front angle:

Back side:

Turn to the left:

And then turn to the right:

Because you know those were important pictures :)

And no post about how silly they are would be complete without a photo of Rachel and her beloved books:

You have to notice the title of the book she's "reading": "Heaven Sent Husband" - while Julianna does ask me often when she'll be old enough to get married Rachel tends to keep these questions to herself. Apparantly she's found the answers in her books. Also notice how worn and turned the pages are - if you know me then you know that I have NOT read this book - this is not even close to the genre I enjoy so all the page turning is solely Rachel's :)

Gotta love it.

Bowl-A-Thon A Success: Thank You!

2011-03-21T16:20:00.005-04:00

Thank you so much to all of you who sponosored our kids at their school's Bowl-A-Thon this past Friday. The kids really enjoyed bowling though the girls (and all the preschoolers) got really bored in between their turns. Since they had NO idea what the heck bowling was about or what the score means they didn't really understand why they got to go twice in a row but no more - and obviously no less :) However, they did seem thrilled whenever the board showed they got a spare - or maybe that was just me.

My bowlers:

The kids had a great time and raised money for the school at the same time. Thank you again to those who contributed! We really do appreciate it.

Way Back When-esday: 4 Years, 4 Months: A Look Back

2011-03-16T14:26:00.006-04:00

These days my girls are playing together and bickering like sisters - sometimes this is cute and sometimes this is difficult. At lunch last week when the big kids were in school and it was just me and the girls having lunch together Alyssa was having a little trouble eating her lunch and Julianna had a few words to say about that:

Julianna: Come on, eat your lunch kid.
Alyssa: (beginning to cry) She called me kid.
Julianna: Well, yesterday when we were sleeping Alyssa called me potty talk.

How can I not laugh at the silly banter between them? I wish I could capture the way Alyssa talks - it's hard to explain. When we took Lollipop to the vet for his injury Alyssa had no hesitations about telling the vet, "Lollipop has a problem." And certainly he did :)

But 4 years ago now these girls who are currently best friends at one moment and mortal enemies the next looked a little more like well, burritos :)

And of all the little gestures newborns do, the one I miss the most is how they put their arms up in the air while they're sleeping :) How cute are they?

Where did these tiny stinkers go?! Four years ago they had their first professional picture done - they were so tiny but somehow we managed to time these photos at the perfect moment between sleep and food that they actually cooperated :)

Four years ago they weighed 11.7; 12.8 and 13.12 lbs and we had nicknamed them Little, Leaky and Loud. Four years later Rachel is still the smallest of the bunch and Alyssa is still the loudest but Julianna leaks a LOT less :) Since the girls are obsessed with them being babies and often tell me how much they miss being babies (not that they really remember of course) they love to hear what we called them and Julianna could probably tell you that we called her our Leaky Princess while Rachel was our Little Peanut and Alyssa was our Loud Pumpkin.

Sorry to take a trip backwards but I'm always thinking about them when they were babies on the 16th - it's so hard not to!

I didn't really set out to participate in Way Back When-esday but since the 16th fell on a Wednesday it just seemed appropriate!

You can play along at Twinfatuation

Owner And Cat: Matching Leg Wounds

2011-03-09T19:57:00.002-05:00

Guest Blogger: Kaitlyn

You all know that I got a leg wound. Well, now it's Lollypop's turn. We don't even know what happened! Check it out:

When I first saw it (which you will see later) I told Mom and we took him to the vet.
She siad that he had to where a cone and stay in a easy-to-clean place until it stops oozing (yah,yah it's gross, save those "ews" for later). We chose the
master bathroom. That's where he is here.
Here he is with his cone:

This is his wound- (okay now you can "eww") what do you think it is?

(By Mom: we have no idea what happened to him - could have been a spider - could have been a sting - could have been shot by someone - we aren't sure. In every other way he seems to be healthy and is healing well.)

Caleb Had Some Fierce Competition

2011-03-06T21:52:00.007-05:00

Today was Caleb's first Pinewood Derby race. Despite having never done this before and having no real idea what he was doing he came in 5th! I'm very proud of him even though he was quite disappointed that his best friend came in first and he didn't.

Caleb's car is the green striped one:

At least he looks like he's having fun:

The big track:

The boys got to race their cars on each of the tracks so there were no unfair advantages - then their times were calculated and the fastest overall was the winner. Caleb actually won one of his races but overall he came in 5th.

His car on the track - it's a little blurry but you can see his in there and you can see big sister Kaitlyn cheering on her brother :) So sweet.

There's his name on the big board:

Apparantly when he won the board displayed just his name - he was pretty excited but Kirk didn't get a picture of that. Oh well, we're proud of him :)

February's Over

2011-02-28T21:58:00.003-05:00

And I'm so behind.

The thing about 4-year-old triplets is that they're not that different from day-to-day. We are crazy busy but it's all kind of the same. Last year it was potty training - this year they are in school 3 full days a week which you think would translate into more time for me but ultimately it doesn't. It does mean that I have more time to have my devotions and spend some quiet time with God which I have been very much enjoying and I've had more time to coupon so I'm either saving more money or just buying more stuff - still trying to figure that out!

Plus there are all the days I spend at school to read to the preschool class or help with classroom parties. So we all stay pretty busy and sometimes (okay often) the blog gets neglected.

We are still alive.

And they are still so very cute :)

Favorite recent sayings:

All the girls: "It takes for a while. Why does it take for a while?" - obviously when they feel like anything is taking a long time - which for them is just about everything!

Julianna when we went out to dinner - the girls know not to play with knives and they always give us their knives from the silverware at the restaurant - this past week Julianna said, "Here daddy, you can have my knife so I don't cut off my fingers because that would be hurting"

I know they say cute stuff all the time and I want to record it but it goes in one ear and out the other no matter how much I try to commit it to memory. There's something to work on in March...remember more :)

Hope your February was great and your March is better! I know we're thawing out here in crazy warm (but rainy) temperatures.

Happy Valentine's Day

2011-02-14T13:17:00.003-05:00

I can't say I'm the most romantic person in the world but I can say that I love my husband and am grateful to God for the man that he is both to me and to our children. I know I have been blessed to have him in my life and I pray that each of you may be so blessed.

I also want to wish my parents a Happy 41st Anniversary! Forty-one years and still in love - a sure testament to the goodness and grace of God.

I love you, Kirk and look forward to reaching 41 Anniversarys with you!

Visit Recap with Aunt Kim and Uncle Daniel

2011-02-07T22:02:00.012-05:00

Yes, I'm behind. They've been gone for 4 days and I have yet to post pictures. Sad, I know. But we did have a good visit and I think, just maybe that even Uncle Daniel enjoyed having the kids around.

But I'll let the pictures speak for themselves...

Of course, Aunt Kim was there too.

The girls fought over Aunt Kim and Uncle Daniel constantly. Mom and Dad were old news in favor of holding Aunt Kim or Uncle Daniel's hand. I don't mind - I love that they are getting to know our family better.

Besides tubing we hung out, played a lot of Pictionary on the Wii Draw (highly recommend it - love that game!) and took them to the Air and Space Museum to check out the planes.

In other news, I'm also a triplet!

I'd say we look alike :)

From left to right: Liz Nelson (Kirk's brother's wife who now lives down the street from us - yea!); Kim Hildebrandt (my brother's wife - yes, that's my maiden name) and Dorinda Nelson - yep, triplets. I guess they do run in the family!

This Is Really Playing In The Snow

2011-01-29T23:49:00.027-05:00

My brother Daniel and his wife Kim arrived at our home last night and well, they're from Florida so first off they want to know what the white stuff on the ground is :) But it wasn't enough to tell them what the white stuff was we had to show them - really show them.

Kirk's idea?

Take the whole family tubing! Originally we had planned to actually go to a ski resort but since God saw fit to send us some free snow we decided it was better to go "tubing" on a local hill.

We certainly weren't the only ones so we had to do some sled dodging but we did manage to find a "bunny hill" that worked really well for the triplets to slide down on their tubes:

This was actually the first time the girls had ever gone tubing. Kirk has taken Kaitlyn and Caleb to this same hill in years past (even last year after our blizzards I believe) but the girls have never gone. I mean, come on, that's a LOT of kids to try and corral on some very slippery slopes. But with extra hands today seemed like the perfect day to go for it.

I'd say they liked it. In fact, Julianna asked me, "The next time it snows can we build a snowman and go tubing both at the same time?"

.
She was the only one of the three who pretty much ran up the hill to slide down again and carried her tube every time and kept suggesting we start higher and higher

As for the big kids - Kaitlyn rivals Julianna in her love of sledding. Up and down, up and down - when I said we would be leaving soon she said, "But I've only gone down 14 times!" I think in 2 hours she had to have gone down close to 30 times and she wasn't doing the "bunny hill" either!

There she goes!

Caleb enjoyed sledding as well but he had a bumpier ride falling off his sled a few times - but bumps and bruises didn't stop him from going again and again. (Thank God there were no broken bones!)

Brother and sisterly love...

Speaking of brothers this was my brother's first real time in snow. He only wiped out once - his first time - but he survived and was willing to give it another try.

It looks like he enjoyed himself!

And yes, Kim got in on the act too and she loved it as much as the kids!

And the cute couple :) Aaaawww...

And the other girls?

Alyssa seemed to enjoy it though she HATED going up and down the slope with her tube, had trouble staying out of the way and preferred for everyone else to just do it for her even if that meant people she didn't know carrying her tube for her!

Little stinker but she sure is cute!

Rachel, as always, spent a lot of her time eating snow but she did actually enjoy going down the slope for a short time (though not nearly as much as the other two)

...and she enjoyed making snow angels!

Yes, Kirk and I got in the act a little bit too though I think Kirk enjoyed the bumps a little more than I did!

All in all it was a great day and we were thrilled to be able to share our snow with Uncle Daniel and Aunt Kim :)

Oh, We Got Some Snow

2011-01-27T22:37:00.007-05:00

And for some reason it was enough to cancel school for THREE days!! Of course the kids are excited but it means that the girls have NOT gone to school a single day this week since Monday was a teacher-workday. Oh yes, I'm going crazy.

But at least we got out for a little while today to play in the snow and the kids seem to love the snow more and more every year.

Fair warning: picture heavy! Maybe because the kids are so darn cute :)

I got just one picture of Kaitlyn. Not true - I got a few but none of the others came out - I had the flash all wrong and I washed her out. And of course she was cold and went inside so this is all I got but she's still cute!

Caleb looks handsome playing in the snow - look at those rosy red cheeks!

Rachel loves to play in it but mostly she loves to eat it. Don't ask me why but she really does! Yes, a little gross but aren't kids supposed to eat a pound of dirt in their lives?

"Should I eat it or save it for Valentine's Day?"

Lookin' good without some snow in her hand or mouth.

Alyssa was a little more into playing with her brother in the snow - throwing snowballs is a great way to play!

Sitting on top of the snow mound.

"Helping" Daddy shovel the driveway.

I think Julianna enjoyed the snow most of all. She was out there the longest and wanted to go back out again later in the day.

She even attempted to make her own snowman.

Though her sisters quickly knocked it over and a fight ensued but at least it was an attempt!

"Look mom, snow!"

Daddy gets to do all the work, of course. He certainly does it well :) Thanks honey!

Our first real snow of 2011. Nothing like last year but at least we got covered in the white stuff.

All in all we got about 8 or so inches of snow and the kids are off from school again tomorrow. Well, I did ask for it and my brother and sister-in-law are coming into town tomorrow and THEY asked for it so we got it. Not a ton but enough to take the kids out of school for 3 days, knock the power out in the area and give us some white stuff to play in.

As much as I love snow I'm really hoping that my kids make it to school a few days next week!

Mommy Goofed

2011-01-22T23:53:00.004-05:00

I'm bound to forget something but really did I have to forget the camera AND the video camera on my son's big night?

Yes, yes I did and I feel awful.

So, I have no photographic record of Caleb "the strongman" (in costume no less) or Kirk acting as his only son's announcer. Right? How bad is that?

You'll have to use your imagination. It was the school talent show - there were some singing acts, a dancer and a mathematician but best of all there was a cute 7-year-old strongman act that everyone loved.

He stood on his daddy shoulders...

He flipped backwards off Kirk's shoulders his cape flapping in the wind...

He picked up his 10-year-old sister who is significantly taller than him...

He bent a spoon made of pure steel using only his hands...

And for his final act...

He lifted two thirty pound barbells! He only weighs 65 pounds and he was able to lift 60 by himself!

Imagine the excitement and a cheering crowd :)

Imagine me missing all of it on film.

But he did a great job and was adorable. He even was asked for an autograph by an excited fan.

I hope you have some really great imaginations. Of course he did offer to do it for his aunt and uncle who arrive in a week so maybe there's a chance to capture the greatness then. I know you will stay tuned - you wouldn't want to miss it!

Family Visit: Blink And You Miss It

2011-01-17T13:06:00.004-05:00

My family swung by last week on their way from Florida to New York. It was a very, very brief stay but the girls got their Amber and "baby fix" for a few hours.

Kaitlyn used her new camera to take some pictures and she wanted to help write up this post. Since she has recently joined the Newspaper Club at school I thought this would be a great place for her to work on her skills!

Now, it's Kaitlyn's turn :) (All the pictures are hers from her camera from Christmas - we are still trying to figure it out - so some of the pictures are a bit grainy - sorry!)

Man! Did that visit go by fast! I was so happy when they arrived, then I'm sad they are gone! That is so not enough time to show them our Christmas gifts!:) I got some pics. anyway.

This is Cousin Amber. She's my dad's neice.

The girls are with Cousin Amber's daugter, Addelynne. Notice the book in the back:)
Aunt Lori. She's married to my dad's brother
who brought us Amber.

Mom with Addelynne.
Sorry we didn't have any pictures of Uncle Steve. I got one but it didn't come out to well.
P.S.- it's a three day weekend and I'm alive! If you know what I've been through the past three, you would understand...

Double Triples And Best Friends

2011-01-11T22:29:00.008-05:00

This weekend we got a chance to visit with some friends of ours who also have triplet girls. Since they no longer live in the same state we don't get to see them very often so this was the first time in a while that our girls have gotten to play together. It was quite cute to see them interact. Julianna was still the mom giving her friends detailed instructions as to how to play her video game. Gotta love it! She's always in charge and in control.

While I certainly find this age challenging I also enjoy it. The girls really are best friends. They can play so well together - of course they fight occasionally - but for the most part they get along.

Reading my Nook together. Oh yes, they love it! I love that I can get them books that will read to them.

Playing together. This morning they even spent a few hours playing in Caleb's room with all this cars, legos and army men and then they cleaned it up!! That was the real miracle :) I think preschool is teaching them something after all. No, I'm kidding - they're learning plenty and they love their teacher. Of course she bribes them a bit with the treasure box but hey, whatever works.

Silly little goofs, sisters and best friends. What a privilege it is to raise them and a privilege for them to have each other even when they don't think so!

Of course I had to post today - after all it's 1/11/11 - so cool :)

Christmas Is Finally, Officially Over

2011-01-07T21:16:00.006-05:00

As we take down all the Christmas decorations I am convinced that Christmas is finally over. Of course it couldn't end until after the kids Christmas program at school which, because of snow last month, got postponed till last night. All the kids were in their holiday colors and some were in their holiday best and we sang Christmas carols - a weird thing so long after Christmas!

The girls waiting in line to go on stage:

The girls "performing" - it was a riot really. They were either not participating or overly participating - mostly Alyssa who found stomping on the stage and swinging her arms in circles and singing really loudly quite amusing! So did the audience.

After the girls Caleb's class was up to sing a few songs.

And then Kaitlyn's class:

The "show" was simple but the kids seemed to enjoy it and they did a great job. However, I was quickly reminded that life is MUCH easier when the triplets are on stage and NOT in my lap! Our picture snapping certainly decreased as we juggled the girls. I thought 4-years-old would be much easier.

Maybe that could be a resolution - life is easier with triplets. Hmm, okay, more like a prayer...

Rewind: Christmas Eve

2011-01-03T22:48:00.008-05:00

I didn't get a chance to put up pictures of the kids Christmas Eve performance at church and even though it's after New Years I still wanted to share:

My little wiseman (literally most days!!)

My angels:

And my sheep:

Yes, she was a sheep and she enjoyed her role :)

The cast kneeling before the King.

All the kids did a good job :) Of course none of the girls really sang the song they were supposed to even though prior to getting on stage Julianna was singing the song at the top of her lungs. Maybe next year...

Happy New Year 2011!

2011-01-01T14:04:00.017-05:00

I know everyone says this but it's true: how did the last year go by so fast? How can it already be New Year's Day again?

Our year has flown by and the kids have grown up so much. For the first time ever I have a 4-year-old and no baby so that has been an adjustment for me. Of course having three 4-year-olds has certainly kept me as much on my toes as any newborn!

As much as I sometimes hate to see everyone get older I do enjoy all the moments we have with them. Christmas was especially great with the girls understanding what was going on for the first time. Unlike last year where they stopped in the middle of opening presents this year they spent the whole time asking for more :)

Like every other year we don't put any presents under the tree before Christmas morning so when the kids go to bed the tree is decorated but bare underneath. Last Saturday morning it looked like this:

The girls went to their new bikes from Grandma and Grandpa first till I made them sit down and wait for gifts to unwrap.

Because I LOVE opening presents (really I love watching the kids open theirs) I wrap just about everything. A few things were unwrapped but for the most part even the floss and toothpaste in the stockings gets wrapped. And call me a mean mom but I don't let the kids tear into their gifts - we try and do things orderly so we can take pictures and enjoy the moment for as long as possible!

The kids enduring a photo while waiting for some gifts...

Julianna got some loot:

Rachel's pretty excited about her new gifts:

Alyssa prefers to sit on her bike and examine some of her new stuff - including her Toy Story bodywash!

Opening their gifts from Granddad (Kirk's dad):

Alyssa got her Aerial make-over or at least pretty close - she's been putting lip gloss on a hundred times a day every since...

Julianna is hiding behind her Baby Alive doll - one of her very favorite gifts - she can feed the doll and change it's diaper - she's already a mom in training! As for Rachel she got some more drawing tools and she loves them!

Kaitlyn and Caleb opening their big gifts from Uncle Michael:

Aunt Kim and Uncle Daniel bought the kids a Wii Draw tablet which is really cool! We bought Pictionary to go with it and have had a great time playing it (okay, it's not just for the kids...)

Great-Grandma and Great-Grandpa got the kids their own computer which will be so helpful

The girls big gift from Mom and Dad (us) were the Fisher Price iXL game systems. They LOVE them and play them often. My only negative is that they run out of batteries quickly - thankfully I coupon and get them cheap but still little girls can go through batteries FAST!!

Kaitlyn got a digital camera and Caleb got his spy remote-controlled camera car that he had asked for. They were too excited to smile for a picture - at least I think that's why they won't look at me :)

Not to be left out we got a few things of our own. I'm rocking these new boots with my sweatpants right?! I promise NEVER to go in public like this :)

Kirk's looking handsome in his new jacket:

And my most favorite gift (well, somewhat tied with the dishwasher my parents gave us which is awesome too!) was my new nook!! I love it - it's awesome.

After everything the family room looked a little well, destroyed. Notice Caleb's already playing his new Wii game from Grandma and Grandpa. We didn't waste anytime digging in to our goodies.

The girls took their first rides on their bikes - so cute with their dolls strapped into the seats behind them. They had to ride in the garage because it's a bit cold outside go around the block but by next summer the world better look out - we'll have 3 crazy girls riding around!

We were certainly very blessed this Christmas and grateful for all of the new things we were given. We are praying for a prosperous new year and hope that you have a good one too.

God bless you all in 2011 and a very Happy New Year!

Merry Christmas To All!!

2010-12-25T23:45:00.004-05:00

Hope you all had a very blessed Christmas. Our family had a wonderful celebration and we are grateful to God for His goodness to us!

Lots to share soon but for now I'm going to spend a little while recovering from Christmas and getting ready for the new year :)

Christmas Is A'Coming

2010-12-21T17:48:00.002-05:00

For the past two weeks I have been working on a HUGE project: Christmas Cards!

You know what that's like don't you?

Have to get the right picture for the cards but before that you have to have the right clothes. At least we do given my ummm, small obsession with Gymboree :) Once we had the right outfit then we had to take the picture. Due to time and money constraints it was easiest to have a friend come over and take some quick shots.

My idea: quick, simple: pick a shot and put it in the card (last year I bought cards that you insert a photo in which seemed easier than ordering photo cards online) - my husband had some other ideas :) Being a graphics artist (and a VERY darn good one) that is his right but just know I asked for simple!

So that took a whole night of Kirk putting together and awesome photo which we had printed out at the store. Okay, I could have just gone with the photo and mailed that but what fun is that?

I did NOT want to handwrite every card (sorry!) so I printed out the note to include in the card which required gluing. The kids helped with that so some of them are a tad interesting :)

And if getting ready for Christmas wasn't enough the girls had their 4 year check-ups. I'm sure you all are dying to know how much my girls weigh, right? Probably not so I won't bore you with their individual "stats". I will just share what I found most interesting in that Alyssa and Julianna are the exact same height to the 1/4 of an inch!! And they are within half a pound of each other. I'm amazed at how similar they are.

Rachel will forever be our peanut - she is a full 5 pounds less in weight than Julianna but in height there's only about an inch difference between her and her sisters. Fortunately she likes being the small one and doesn't seem to notice the difference! For them the biggest difference is their hair and they are always quick to point out that Rachel's "yellow" hair makes her different.

Pictures and more fun coming but for now I have to get to wrapping! Christmas is just days away?! How is that possible??

What My Kids Want For Christmas

2010-12-13T17:25:00.004-05:00

When I ask my kids what they want for Christmas I absolutely love their answers. They crack me every time.

Here are a few of things my kids "want" for Christmas - I'm not completely sure that all of these things exsist though!!

Alyssa:

- a Diego costume
- a Diego spy scope
- Ariel princess make-over
- Lights
- not a ball, not a bunk bed and not a sock
- a dragon in the night for Caleb

Julianna

- a king
- then a princess who gets married
- then a knight fights the dragon
- then the dragon gets killed
- in the castle
- that's all I want

Rachel

- Boz the bear stuff
- a house and a Boz the bear castle
- Julianna has suggested she get 2 Boz the bears so that one can be the king and one can be the princess - Rachel has rejected this idea

Caleb (his list makes more sense)

- anything remote control (just about)
- marble stuff
- spy gear including this really cool remote control toy that shows you the what you looking at as it drives - "I saw it on a commercial"
- legos
- Wii stuff

Kaitlyn is much more direct in her approach and gave me a list:

You'll have to click on it to zoom in. Do notice the check boxes and the little notations on the side that tell me what is most important. She claims those are doodles in the middle of the page but I think she is also asking for 15 people for Christmas :)

I didn't intend to MIA for so many weeks but without a flash for the camera taking pictures was about impossible. That and being swamped as we get closer to Christmas! I hope your Christmas preperations are going as well as mine :)

Were You Thankful?

2010-11-27T22:56:00.008-05:00

I hope everyone had a good Thanksgiving! We were blessed to spend the day with church friends at 2 seperate houses :) One for dinner and one for dessert. We had a good day and ate lots of good food!

We certainly have that to be thankful for! Great friends made through a church we are grateful to attend.

But the real challenge is to be thankful for the hard things. A week ago we had a women's night and we were challenged to be thankful for our hardships. In MOPS we were challenged to think beyond the "normal" thankful items and really think about what God has done for you in the past year. Of course we are thankful for our family and our friends and the things we have but beyond that what else can you be thankful for? Both were good challenges and got me thinking.

I can't say I'm thankful when money is tight, however, I am thankful that amidst the struggle God has always provided for our needs. I always wish I would "provide" a little more abundantly so we didn't have to struggle but I know that in the difficult times He is teaching me to trust Him rather than the money that is in the bank account and for that reason I am thankful for my money struggles.

What about you? I think it's a great idea to think deeper about what God has really done for you and in you!

In other things related to Thanksgiving I haven't yet posted pictures of my little Pilgrims and Indians :)

Last Friday at school we had a school-wide Thanksgiving dinner - the triplets were pilgrims (Rachel was unhappy most of the day - she does NOT like the spotlight and was dealing with some stage fright):

The preschool class crossing the stage in the Mayflower (at least I think it's the Mayflower):

The preschoolers were supposed to be doing hand motions while the bigger kids read and walked around the stage but none of them appeared to be paying attention :) It was a good attempt anyway.

Caleb, being a "big kid" was doing a lot of the reading for the program and he did very well. His class was reading the letters of the alphabet and what they stood for for Thanksgiving:

He made an adorable Indian (or Native American) :)

We had a great Thanksgiving meal with the school:

Yet another meal to be thankful for. It may not be as hard to be thankful for family and friends or food and shelter but I am by no means less thankful for them!

I pray your Thanksgiving holiday was just as wonderful and that you have a blessed holiday season.

Yea, it's Christmas time!!

Happy Thanksgiving

2010-11-25T22:57:00.000-05:00

Wishing Everybody a Happy, Safe, and Warm Thanksgiving!

The Bugs Have Been Exterminated By Princesses

2010-11-21T22:49:00.014-05:00

My dining room is pink :)

And full of princesses!

Julianna, my model and most in love with being a princess:

Rachel, my creative one and apparantly a chocolate lover:

Alyssa, my crazy one:

But sometimes the sweetest things happen when you least expect them - Alyssa spent some time "reading" to her smallest friend, Ben. My girls LOVE books :)

Cake Time! Gone are the bugs and in their place pink purses, cupcakes and ring pops. Special thanks to Miss Kristy (Ben's mom) for the purse cake - she offered to bring it and I gladly accepted!

Anxiously awaiting their cake:

Daddy gets to carry the cake again this week :) I think he's getting good at it!

They blew their candles out pretty quickly - I was proud of them! They really are big girls.

Triplet present openers:

I think they've got the hang of it!

They certainly enjoyed their 4th birthday party. I'm still wrapping my brain around the fact that it's been 4 years!!

How did I get from here?

To here?

To here? One years old...

To here? Two years old...

To here? Three years old...

And now here? Four years old...

I have to note I wrote that when they turned 2 years old that they were acting like big girls and no longer my babies. To say that they are 4 just seems impossible. Today they are my sweet helpers (when they want to be), my little babies (when they fall down) and my gift from God (always).

When Julianna, Rachel and Alyssa were born I had no idea how they would fit in our family or how we would manage. But each and every day God has given us the strength we've needed to make it one more day, one more hour. Now they are so much a part of our family I can't imagine life without them. They love their big sister, Kaitlyn and their big brother, Caleb just as much as I hoped they would when they were born.

Nothing could replace having such a big family or being able to be the mom of triplets. I wish everyone had as much of a blessing as we do. So, please don't feel sorry for me when you see me out and about with my whole crew. Praise God for His goodness to our family. His grace in answering a million of my prayers.

My babies are 4 but thank God they still have a long way to go before they are ready to leave the nest and praise God for each and every day I have to enjoy them until then :)

Happy 4th Birthday To Julianna, Rachel and Alyssa

2010-11-16T23:13:00.006-05:00

Is it possible that my girls are actually 4 years old?

(me and my goofy four-year-olds! L to R: Rachel, Julianna, Alyssa for those of you who don't know!!)

Apparantly the calendar says they are! I'm still trying to wrap my brain around the fact that it has been 4 years since I gave birth to three little people. Four years ago I remember being completely unsure as to how I would handle a single day with three babies and now 4 years later we have survived and thrived with triplets. We have even managed to keep all five kids alive and relatively happy :)

But, not only did the girls turn 4 today they got new big girl bunk beds!

This is "Phase 1" - we have the beds together, the mattresses on as well as new bedding. We still have to hang the curtains, the lights and paint the room. I realize the paint should have come first but it just didn't fit into the schedule. Hopefully next week!

When we put them to bed Julianna and Alyssa had top bunks while Rachel slept on the bottom leaving one empty bed for guests or as a "couch" for the girls to play on. I'm quite excited to have the extra bed! Of course, once all the lights were out Alyssa was nervous she would fall off the top bed so she was moved to the open bottom bed. It's a learning process - we'll see what happens tomorrow night!

We did get to one decorative touch - a new rug on their floor:

The girls love their new room and their new Christmas pajamas. After all, now that their birthday is over we are ready for Christmas :) Okay, not quite especially since we seem to celebrate birthdays for a whole week and not just one day. The girls birthday is no exception - it will take us a good week to finish their room and they are having a "pink" party on Saturday.

Happy 4th Birthday to my girls! I love you and you have been such a joy to have in my life. I look forward to so many more years to come even if right now I'm not ready to see you get older!!

Trips down memory lane to come - what's a birthday without remembering where we've been and how we've grown?

My House Is Overrun With Bugs!!

2010-11-14T22:18:00.007-05:00

And strangely by my own choice...

I have been wanting (for quite a few years) to do a bug party theme for Caleb's birthday and finally this year he let me. I don't know about him but I had a great time!

His bug cake was just way too fun to make though maybe not for the squeamish.

The goody bags were edible bug habitats - each one consisted of edible dirt, candy rocks and one large marshmallow bug:

(I did add some bug fruit snacks, a few other bug treats and some plastic bugs to a paper bag but it turned out to be a simple and fun goody bag!)

And no bug party is complete without homemade mud cups :)

We kept the party simple. Kirk took the boys to see the new movie Megamind and then brought them home for lunch (complete with bug juice to drink), presents...

And of course, CAKE!

Guess it means Caleb is officially 7 and I need to turn my attention from bugs to pink as the countdown is on till the girls turn 4!!

Caleb's 7 Today!!

2010-11-10T20:51:00.004-05:00

It's official. Caleb is no longer little. He's now 7 years old. That just sounds old. In the scheme of things I know it isn't but to me it is. Of course he's thrilled with the new development and promises me he is still the same kid but he has to get older or he will die. I certainly don't wish him to stop growing and I love seeing the kid he is becoming but I will always miss this:

How quickly my little baby turned into my little man:

My little man who wants to be a pizza delivery man when he grows up :)

Okay, we're working on that but truly this is what he chose for career day at school the other week! Fortunately his reasoning was just that he wanted to carry a pizza box around and was considering it for supplemental income. That's my boy - already thinking ahead!!

I want to wish him an extra special happy birthday and let him know that I love him and look forward to seeing him grow up but for now I want to enjoy every minute I have with him. After all, seven is still young right?!

Up To Our Eyeballs

2010-11-04T16:53:00.002-04:00

Maybe I've said this before but we're busy! Really busy.

I had hoped at the beginning of the year that things would be easier. After all, I have 5 kids in school 3 full days a week but it seems that one thing after another comes up and interupts what I thought I could get done.

Kaitlyn seems to have had the worst of it. Missing a day of school in the first week, then falling and injuring her leg and now chicken pox. In between all that we've had 3 consignment sales and my parents in town. We were supposed to have more guests this weekend but chicken pox is keeping them away :( Fortunately it's a mild case of chicken pox (just a break through since she has been vaccinated) and our friends were able to reschedule their visit.

As if November wasn't already busy enough with 4 birthdays in 1 week! I can't seem believe Caleb will be 7 in just 6 days and the triplets will be 4 in 12 days. Doesn't seem possible that it's been 4 years since I laid in the hospital bed. While I was there it felt like it would never end and now it's just a distant memory.

More to come soon and hopefully a blog re-do (finally!). While I'm busy running around like crazy you can enjoy Julianna's brand-new made-up song :) I ran out of batteries at the very end but at least I got her whole song and she's adorable singing it!

Pumpkin Patch: Then and Now (Way Back When-esday)

2010-10-27T22:21:00.016-04:00

I know I haven't played along with Way Back When-esday in a while but the kids field trip last Friday reminded me of taking the girls when they were little.

Look how seriously cute they were (and still are but you know what I mean!!)

Julianna: October 2007 (11 months)

Rachel: October 2007 (11 months)

Alyssa: October 2007 (11 months)

Not to be left out: Kaitlyn (7) and Caleb (3)

This past Friday my dad (mom was sick), Kirk and I accompanied the kids on their fall field trip to Belvedere Plantation in Fredericksburg. While we all had a lot of fun it was seriously cold making it a tad harder to enjoy.

But we managed to find some ways. After the very exciting bus ride (aren't they all?)

We went on a hayride to pick pumpkins

Then it was on to the animals - not so-much petting but some feeding

... which Alyssa really seemed to enjoy!

We were on a tight schedule - moving from one activity to another. After the animals we moved on to the learning aspect of our day. The older kids had harder "lessons" while the little ones had some more playful learning time. The preshool class got to learn about how pumpkins grow. The kids learned about the male and female of the pumpkins (who knew?) - okay, probably you but I didn't :)

Other than Rachel (not sure why) the kids got to pretend to be bees pollinating the pumpkins - I think they really got into it!

Once the kids had their full of learning they were back to playing. Playing included a really awesome rope swing in a barn but since the flash on our camera is broken (Kirk dropped it to tend to Kaitlyn's injury - she's better by the way - got her stitches out last Monday and her wound is healing nicely though she will have a large scar) I was unable to get any pictures of them on the swing that weren't blurry.

After lunch and a little free play we were on our way home and we were exhausted!! Kirk got quite a number of photos of kids sleeping on the bus :) The only one of ours to succumb to sleep was Rachel and I enjoyed every minute of it.

At least that was a little reminder that even though they're older they are still little. I'm trying to enjoy them while I can!

Want to play along?

Twinfatuation

To The Top Of The Washington Monument

2010-10-20T23:22:00.010-04:00

We have lived in the DC area for over 13 years but I have never even gotten close to the Washington Monument. But with my parents in town we decided not only to get close to the monument but to take the tour to the top. Despite the rain and cooler weather the kids did well and we had a great time.

Getting close enough to touch...

That is seriously tall!

The monument stands 555 feet tall and the elevator takes you almost to the very top. The view of DC from the highest point in DC:

The girls checking out the view from up top.

After the monument we went to the American History Museum. The kids really loved the hands-on aspect of the museum. Us grown-ups enjoyed the history we saw there. My dad got "lost" in the cars and trains portions for quite a while :)

Because we're not allowed on the Metro with our huge wagon before 7 PM we had to kill some time between the museum closing and getting on the Metro.

The girls were dancing and being goofy:

Kaitlyn and Caleb having fun on the Mall with the Monument (even funnier after we had just been up in it!)

Mom and Dad looking cold but happy in DC!

This is my "done-for-the-day" look. After hours of walking around DC and then killing time I was tired. It was a LOOONG day!!

Apparantly I wasn't the only one who was done! (Side note: she was just playing - my kids don't actually fall asleep in strollers or wagons or the Metro or even cars - grrr...)

Another side note - I started this post days ago and am just now getting around to finishing it! With my parents here we are way too busy to spend time on the computer so this week I'm playing catch-up. More to post later...

Wedding and Updates

2010-10-14T23:46:00.004-04:00

Even though we had a major injury on Saturday we still made it Kirk's brother's wedding on Sunday (10/10/10 - cool date right?!). The kids did well despite Kaitlyn being in pain and the other kids wanting to run in random circles and throw themselves on all the furniture in the hotel.

Trying to get the kids all together:

It seems our flash got broken after Kaitlyn got hurt so all of the pictures blurred if someone moved and you can imagine just HOW much 5 kids can move when asked to sit still while dressed up at a wedding with no toys...

The wedding went off beautifully and I'm excited to have a new sister-in-law in the family. Unfortunately the camera kept me from getting any good pictures of anything. Hopefully we'll have it fixed soon.

As for Kaitlyn, she is doing better. Was off the crutches after 3 days and a check with the doctor today confirms her wound is healing and she will get her stitches out on Monday. Still praying for no infection!

Kaitlyn Wanted To Be The Headline

2010-10-09T23:35:00.005-04:00

I was teasing her about it but really it isn't that funny. To her it's not funny at all.

Do you see it? That little hook underneath Alyssa?

While the kids were playing on the cannon and trying to take pictures Kaitlyn fell - she fell straight on to that hook.

Happy here:

Now she's not so happy. I had met Kirk and the kids for lunch because Kirk's dad was in town and I was at our moms of multiples consginmentsale. I was on my way back when Kirk called to tell me that Kaitlyn had fallen and that he had already called 9-1-1.

An ambulance ride and a LOT of tears later Kaitlyn and I made it to the ER. The wound was quite wide and deep - certainly worse than any of our kids had. I considered pictures but that would have been a little gross :) Plus, Kirk left the camera behind so no hospital photos either.

Kaitlyn is a beautiful and sweet girl but she does not take pain well. So getting her numb enough for stitches took a LONG time but she finally got 6 stitches - could have had more but they left the wound open slightly to air out and keep it from getting infected.

We are all so relieved and grateful to God that it wasn't worse than it was. While she's in a lot of pain and will be on crutches for a few days the hook could have gone in a lot farther than it did or it could have gone in higher than it did and hit her artery or a nerve.

It's going to take her a little while to fully recover and she'll have a pretty nasty scar but she'll eventually be okay.

Your prayers for her are appreciated. One trip was bad enough - I do NOT want to see this wound infected!!

Kaitlyn is now #2 to get stiches (Julianna being the first) but Kaitlyn certainly had the more serious injury and will have the bigger scar. Don't worry, we've instructed Caleb that he's not allowed to compete!!

Right now though I'm not sure Kaitlyn is sadder that she got hurt or that she lost her favorite shorts in the process - besides the hole the hook made and the blood the paramedics had to cut her shorts off.

At least she has some new fancy scrubs to show off:

Consignment Sale Time!!

2010-10-06T14:55:00.000-04:00

I have been SOOO busy for the past month getting items in my house sorted, cleaned, hung and tagged for consignment sales because in the next week I have 3 of them!!

Just wanted to share them with you in case you are in the Northern Virginia area and wish to do some shopping :)

The first sale is THIS Saturday at the Fairgrounds:

PWMOMC Fall 2010 Clothing & Toy Sale With Household Goods
Saturday, October 9, 2010
8am-1pm
Prince William County Fairgrounds (click here for directions)
10624 Dumfries Road - Manassas, VA

FREE ADMISSION

Sale will feature:
Fall & Winter Baby and Toddler Clothing, Shoes & Accessories
(Also some Adult clothing)
Holiday Outfits
Baby/Toddler Equipment
Toys & Games
Books, DVD/VHS movies
Maternity Clothes
Household Items
& More!!!

ALSO,
Vendor Sale & Bake Sale

Come and shop for your family’s and friends’ needs!
A portion of the sales support Prince William County Mothers of Multiples Club, a non-profit organization, and its community projects to benefit area mothers,
children, and families.

www.pwmomc.org for more information

CLASSY KIDS CONSIGNMENT

Your one stop shop for

SAVING, QUALITY and SELECTION!

Next Sale Dates:

Oct. 13-17, 2010

Prince William County Fairgrounds

10624 Dumfries Rd. Manassas, VA 20112

The last sale I'm invovled in is next weekend:

Don’t miss it!!

MOPS
(Mothers of Preschoolers)
Fall Toy and Clothing
Consignment Sale!!!

Baby’s and children’s clothes, toys and equipment

Saturday
October 16, 2010

8:00 am – 1:00pm

(1/2 price sale at 11:30!)

Rt. 29 in Gainesville at Church of the Word next to McDonald’s

It's time to stock up on your kids fall/winter wardrobe as well as to shop early for Christmas so get out there and spend a little to save a LOT!!

Three Little Kittens Have Lost Their Mittens

2010-10-01T22:14:00.003-04:00

Three little kittens, they lost their mittens,

And they began to cry,

Oh, mother dear, we sadly fear

That we have lost our mittens.

What! Lost your mittens, you naughty kittens!

Then you shall have no pie.

Mee-ow, mee-ow, mee-ow, mee-ow.

You shall have no pie.

The three little kittens, they found their mittens,

And they began to cry,

Oh, mother dear, see here, see here,

Our mittens we have found.

Put on your mittens, you silly kittens,

And you shall have some pie.

Purr-r, purr-r, purr-r,

Oh, let us have some pie.

The three little kittens, put on their mittens,

And soon ate up the pie;

Oh, mother dear, we greatly fear

That we have soiled our mittens

What! Soiled your mittens, you naughty kittens!

Then they began to sigh,

Mee-ow, mee-ow, mee-ow, mee-ow.

They began to sigh.

The three little kittens, they washed their mittens,

And hung them out to dry;

Oh! mother dear, do you not hear

That we have washed our mittens?

What! Washed your mittens, then you’re such good kittens.

But I smell a rat close by

Mee-ow, mee-ow, mee-ow, mee-ow.

We smell a rat close by.

Today was nursery rhyme day at school. The girls were thrilled to be kittens and had a great time showing off their costumes at school. Their teacher was Mother Goose and the kids were able to choose what rhyme character they would be. We, of course, had to go with a trio theme!

Next year maybe it will be the Three Blind Mice :)

A Big First For Caleb

2010-09-23T20:05:00.006-04:00

We had a big first for Caleb today (yes, it's so big I'm saying it twice!) - he lost his first tooth!!! He's been waiting and hoping for this day for quite a while and he was so excited when his tooth finally fell out.

Here he is showing off his new "hole":

All my kids know they get $1.00 under their pillow for each lost tooth so they tend to have a money earning plan: loose teeth! Kaitlyn has said to me before, "So, if I lose 10 teeth I'll get $10.00!" Well, yes but no one loses teeth that fast :) Of course, Caleb is losing teeth a tad late (Kaitlyn lost her first tooth just three months after turning 5 and Caleb is almost 7) so he may lose quite a few in the next few weeks/months anyway - his money earning plan may just work :)

In other news, Superman now resides in our home.

Want to know Superman's secret identity?

It's not Caleb.

It's Rachel! And she's very darn proud of it.

She will gladly answer to Superman.

She knows how to fly (really it's a very cool twirl) and she saves princesses:

Except this isn't any ordinary princess! She's a superhero also!

I have no idea where the "obsession" over Superman came from but they are also very much into Batman except for Julianna who is sticking with being a princess and repeating the phrase "Oh for crying out loud" repeatedly. They may be going on 4 but they think they are quite a few years older and have already reported their loose teeth and requested that they also want to lose teeth.

I'm barely ready for Caleb to be old enough to lose teeth let alone the triplets!