Introducing...Matthew Ronald!

Matthew was born on Monday, April 21, at 11:28 AM.
He was 8 pounds, 6 ounces and 21 inches long. Matthew is my smallest baby!
I guess because he was born 2 weeks before his due date.



Matthew is named after his grandpa...Ronald. This is Paul's dad holding Baby Matthew Ronald.



Here is Joshua, holding his baby brother for the first time. He's being supported by Grandma and Carrie.



And here's a sleepy Daddy holding Baby Matthew.
By this time, he had been up all night and into the afternoon.
We went to the hospital on Sunday evening, around 8:30. We spent the late evening hours in triage while the kids went home with Grandma and Grandpa. I am so thankful to Ron and Judy for being ready and very willing to come and spend time in the hospital--and then to take the kids home with them while we waited to see what would happen.
After walking the halls to "move things along," we were finally admitted to a room around 1:00 AM. The epidural came at 3:00 AM, and the rest was smooth sailing.
Labor took awhile because Matthew was "floating," but he finally moved down into position. After that, it didn't take long for Matthew to join us.



This is big brother, William, holding Matthew. He wanted to be the third person (not counting nurses and doctors) to hold the baby, because Carrie got to hold Joshua third after he was born. He got his wish.



Carrie followed close behind! She's such a natural with him.



Here's Joshua with a day-old Matthew and a brand new blue cast. Daddy took him to the bone doctor that morning...more on Josh and his accident later.



Paul's grandma, who we lovingly call GG (Great-Grandma) came on Monday evening. Isn't it neat that she has welcomed 5 great-grandchildren into the world?



Paul's brother, Uncle Brian, came too. He has been close by after the birth of each of the babies. He's a very fun uncle--he provides the kids with lots of adventure.



Around 4:30 on Monday afternoon, my brother called and asked what time visiting hours ended. He said that he and his girlfriend, Amanda, were wanting to come down to see Matthew--coming down for them included a 3 hour trip after a work-day for both of them! You can't imagine my surprise--maybe complete shock--and thankfulness! It meant a whole lot to me to have you both there!



Matthew and Mommy.



Here is Matthew getting all ready to come home on Wednesday. He is wearing his firetruck jammies that Grandma and Joshua picked out. Josh was pretty proud of these.




And now, here we are exactly a week after we went to the hospital! I can't believe the week has gone by so quickly. Baby Matthew is so content and so sweet! Carrie, William, and Joshua are totally in love--as are Paul and me.

Once Again...Wordless Wednesday on Thursday

Of Boys and Cars--Oh, and Messes!

One cold, January morning, I was just so proud of myself. I got out a baking pan full of cornmeal and decided to let Josh draw in it--you know, maybe work on numbers or letters or something. It was the start of one of those great homeschooling moments that just don't come often enough--so I thought.


Being a boy, Josh had a different idea. He and big brother, William, decided that this cornmeal made an excellent place to drive their cars. It was fun, they discovered, to bury the cars and then use a paint brush to recover them. Pretty innocent, I thought, until this "sand," as Josh began calling it, got all over the floor and into the nooks and crannies of the train table. And you can just imagine how cornmeal sticks to bare feet.

I don't know if you know this about me or not, but I HATE messes! My kids know that I hate messes. They dread my reaction to messes, but they just can't seem to help themselves. They make them anyway.

You might have already taken note that I didn't take a picture of this "sand" mess. It really wasn't all that funny.

And for the record, I pretty much kept my cool. It's something that I've been working with God on lately. Keeping my cool. Not yelling. Not crying. The key words are "working on." I am a work in progress.


Since the "sand" mess was so big, we didn't have any cornmeal left in the container--and any that was retrieved from the train table was silently thrown away. Josh now just asks for "Sand?" When I tell him that it's all gone, he says, "Get some at Meijer."

Until then, he has become creative.



Bird seed works just as well as cornmeal.



You'll never guess what my sweeper swept up the next day.
Sunflower seeds.

Did You Know...

Did you know that if you're a 12-year old, and you decide to play in a 2-year old's car, you may get stuck?



Did you know that if you bring home refrigerator "crescent rolls-in-a-can" from the grocery store--and you forget to put them in the refrigerator--two hours later you may hear an explosion and find a mess on your kitchen floor?



Did you know that if you pour out all of your pop into a cup and then turn the plastic pop bottle upside-down and squeeze, you may be able to suction the pop back into the bottle?



Did you know that if you buy gum for a 2-year old at the grocery store, he may chew it all up in one day--just for the flavor?

Wordless Wednesday: Warm, Sunny Memories from 2007

Pet Peeve

Jack.
Good old Jack.

He really is a good dog, but the holes all over our yard really drive me crazy.

I think I mentioned before that Jack has not been blessed with the gift of hunting.

Well, maybe that statement wasn't quite accurate.

He does plenty of hunting--all over the yard. It's the catching that's not his strong suit.




One of these days, maybe he will actually catch a mole.

Maybe then I will appreciate all the holes in our yard.

But I doubt it.

I Got Pizza!

Pizza is one of Joshua's favorite meals.
O.K., pizza is one of everyone's favorite meals!

Last week, we got one of our favorites...Papa Murphy's.
Josh sat there singing, "I got pizza! I got pizza!"



I found out that pizza sauce is also one of Joshua's favorite meals.
Warning: Don't leave a 2-year old alone with an open jar of pizza sauce.



The fork worked for awhile, but he soon became impatient with that method.



The finger ended up being much more affective.



At least he's tidy.



And if the napkin gets too messy, use the table.

Wordless Wednesday: Pillow People

Fun with Grandma, Part 2

Funny story.

Grandma told Joshua a month or so ago that the next time he came and stayed the night with her, he could paint. He asked, "Blue paint?" She said, "Yes!" He said, "Paint a blue car?" She said, "Of course!" I heard it all. I'm imagining him sitting there at the table, painting a picture of a blue car--after all, every time that I sit down to color with him, he asks me to draw a car.

About a week later, I agreed to get out the blue paint so that he could paint a blue car. I had him all set up at the table...blue paint, paintbrush, and a blank piece of paper. Josh looks at the materials in front of him, picks up the paper, and says, "No need that." Then he proceeds to go to his car box, he picks out a car, and he brings it back to the table and says, "I paint blue car."

Oh! You see, I thought that he wanted to paint a blue car. I didn't realize that he wanted to paint a car blue! Word order makes all the difference.

Well, after some tears and lots of talking on my part, he decided that he would paint a blue car. Later that day, I shared this funny story with Judy (Grandma).

This past Friday I had a doctor's appointment. Guess what Grandma and Joshua did while I was away...








That's right! Josh got to paint a car blue! That car was actually a wooden car that Grandpa had made many years before for his little boys.

He also painted a beautiful card for me that said, "I love you!" signed by Joshua himself. Inspired by Grandma, I'm sure!

These pictures were taken in a room in Judy's basement that she calls her craft room. William is looking on lovingly at the table that, in his words, "...holds so many special memories."

A funny side note...Joshua did not want to wear this paint smock! I am thankful that he did!

Fun with Grandma, Part 1

Paul's mom is very crafty. Crafty in a good way.
I am not crafty at all.
The kids enjoy being crafty.
Can you see where this is going?

If left with only me, the kids might never know the joy of creating something with their hands. If left with only me, there might be only English and math.

I am so thankful that Judy loves to create and loves to involve the kids in her creativity. Carrie and William--and now Joshua--know that an afternoon project with Grandma is going to turn out to be an afternoon of fun. They've also learned that with Grandma, it's O.K. to make a mess--something that they haven't learned from me.

Hanging in Judy's craft room was a sign that read, "Creative Minds are Rarely Tidy." That is Carrie's motto to a tee. It now hangs in Carrie's studio (which is what the pink playhouse is now called).

Here are some pictures taken the Wednesday afternoon before Easter. Judy came over to make Easter candy with the kids. Not just one-colored chocolates--but bunnies with pink noses and white eyes.







Thank you, Grandma, for spending time with us and making memories.