Life with 5 Babies...

It's almost Easter time!! What a glorious time of year! The obvious reason to celebrate is the fact that Jesus conquered death on our behalf so that we may have eternal life with Him. Thank you, Jesus, for your sacrifice! But there are other...still God-given, but slightly smaller...reasons to celebrate. Little budding leaves, bright blooming flowers, gorgeous blue skies...all things that make me do a little happy dance every single time I walk outside. :o)

Melissa and I have had fun adjusting to life with five kids between the two of us. There are many, many hectic moments, but life is brimming with joy, and I wouldn't change a thing. Since we both stay at home, we have to be majorly creative with ideas for entertainment and learning. Some days, we don't have to entertain at all...the kids take care of that....
Other days, we actually brush our teeth and put eyeliner on, and then we go off on excursions in our lovely town. This day, we went to the zoo....

Feeding the crazy goldfish at the Alex Zoo....nightmares are made in this pond.

Looking at the big turtles.....

Singing "The Itsy-bitsy Spider" while we looked at the spiders....

Callie's shocked expression....

This was my scary face while we were hanging out with the snakes....Nathan did NOT get the memo for this picture.

Shanny Baby along for our latest journey. She's an ultimate jam. ;o)

This is what it looks like when all three kids need their faces jammed into the small opening for the picture boards.

Sliding together...these two really do complete one another. Love these girls more than life.

Wheeeeeeeeeeeeeee!!!!!

Andrew had enough of all the excitement...

The never, ever, ever successful pictures in the azalea bush.

Back at the house. We have some real farm girls in Sharbono-ville. Rylie won't go anywhere without her "shrimp boots."

Our garden. It's MASSIVE this year. We are doing it with several of our church friends. It's about 23 x53, and if it does well, we will be able to feed the community. This means I will have lots of veggies in the freezer, and I'll be canning a ton this year. You can't imagine how much this excites me! We loved eating our homemade jams and apple butter this past year, and I can only imagine what it will be like to open up jars of the produce from our garden. Pickles, relishes, jams, tomato sauces...it's really never-ending. This is my ultimate hobby, and I'm getting my girls in early. Everyday, they help me cook Nathan's supper. They even know how to operate the Kitchen Aid mixer. I love it.

Callie's first big-girl bath. We had a splashin' good time.

The girls helping Nathan take out the trash....they will do ANYTHING if it means hanging out with Daddy. I married a good man, and I thank God for him daily.

Priceless.

Sadie has very dramatic expressions. This is the eye-roll. She does it to be funny right now...Lord help her if it ever turns into sass. ;o)

We played hide-and-go-seek in the stroller today. It's a great game when you get to find these two faces!

I hope everyone is as blessed as we have been this year. The more I learn about the Lord, the more I want to abandon all earthly pursuits just to chase after Him. May my desire always be to build His kingdom and not my own! Love to all!!!! :o)

March Madness

Happy St. Patrick's Day!!

How wonderful it has been to have spring arrive!! At our house, we spend the majority of each day outside, so winter days can be really long. Once spring gets here, we go nuts outside...swinging on the swing, riding the tractor, picking flowers, taking walks, petting horses (not ours, our neighbors!!), and this year....cracking pecans. It's been a neat experience to have this year completely with the girls. Last year, I taught for two hours each day, and our days were filled with lots of running around. This year, we have been much more relaxed and calm....really able to soak in some sweet moments. I'm really aware right now that the girls will start school soon, and my time to have all day with them is quickly coming to an end....forever. It sounds a little doom-dayish, I admit, but after they turn 4/5, I will never again have so many days where it's just us. We'll have school, ball games, sleep-overs, field trips, homework.....life will get busy, and time for cracking pecans together won't be as readily available. But instead of mourning what will be gone, I want to embrace and anticipate what lies ahead. So when I think about what's coming, I realize that this is a good thing....we'll have school, ball games, sleepovers, field trips, and homework...all evidence that God is allowing my little girls the opportunity to grow up and become young women. I just pray that I don't waste moments on frivilous pursuits, but that I parent and discipline with an eternal perspective. I'm grateful to be a mom. It's taught me so much about Christ and His relationship with God, the Father.
Thankfully, we didn't have any sick bugs running around our house this year. I was especially nervous with Callie being so new, but the Lord protected us, and we stayed healthy during this flu/rsv season. Nathan didn't feel well one day, but I think it was a 24 hour thing. Anyway...here he is resting, and there's a little snuggle bug tucked underneath. We used to take baths in one side of the sink. For whatever reason, I threw them in the sink instead of the bathtub, and this is what we got. Giant little girls who can no longer fit in one side.

Callie hung out with us while we had bathtime....

Yay...all clean!!!

They look like 8Os babies. We went to see Emillie Collins for the Grant parish garage sale....and we went in high fashion.

The first time Callie stood up!!!! Monday, she pushed herself to a sitting position from her belly. Tuesday, she pulled up on this thing-a-ma-jig from Aunt Mandy. Wednesday, she said, "da-da." It's her official first word. I'm so thankful to be home and not miss any of these sweet moments!

My little adventure racer. Nathan's first race is in April, and he's been working hard to get in shape. Sadie found his gear, and she decided to get dressed up. Scarlett, does Damon need a partner???? ;o)

Enough pictures, Mom.

Rylie's turn. I like what she's done with the sunglasses. ;o)

Such little hams. I love them.

More pictures to post, but I have kids to play with, so it will have to be later. ;o)

LOVE!

The Poole Party Is Expanded

Here are some "night before Andrew is here" pictures....

You can take a guess at what Savannah has smeared all over her face....

The sweet family of three...Melissa is 41 weeks pregnant here....every woman's favorite place to be. :o) I love this beautiful family!

The little muffin, fresh out of the oven!!!!! This is about fifteen minutes after he was born.

Lissie and Vanda (that's what the twins call her).

Hezzy with the two newest babies in the Brinker clan...Callie is a giant baby. There's a lot to love on that little munchkin!!!!

Andrew has been such a wonderful baby. He sounds like a little lamb when he cries, but that never happens when Aunt Jen is holding him. ;o) Mandy is next to have a Brinker boy...she is due in June. I'm hoping he comes on the twins' birthday!!!

The girls and I got to take a walk outside today for the first time in a thousand years. They were so excited, and they sang to Callie as we soaked in the sunshine. I can't wait for spring/summer. I'm thrilled about planting our garden and canning our vegetables. I did a little canning this past year (jellies, marmalades, relishes, preserves), and it has become my new favorite hobby. I envision a sparkling white pantry, with shelves bulging from our garden's produce...maybe a little ambitious, but one day, I hope that's reality.

Have a very merry weekend!!!!!!

I'm Starting Slow

It's been a long time since I've blogged. I think I've stayed away because I always felt like it was just WAY too much to catch up on, but I'm really going to try to get back in the game. I actually miss it. I decided not to succomb to the pressure to catch up from July, but here are the highlights....

1. I had Callie. She is a divine baby. She rarely fusses, and she has been a true delight to our family. She has big sparkling blue eyes and fat, fat, fat cheeks. I'm crazy about her.

2. I'm still married to a great man that I adore. I want to walk hand-in-hand in every sunset with this guy. He's a great dad to our three girls, and life would be no fun without him.

3. I have a new nephew, Andrew Paul Poole. He looks so much like Savannah. He is snuggly and warm and delightful. I love that baby like my own.

4. We have made the adjustment to a family of five!! I can't believe we have three kids, and yes, we still want another one. No, we are not trying for a boy. Nathan and I are certain we will have four girls, and we are 100% delighted with that. As mom says, I'm having my future best friends....you know, like in 25 years when it's ok to be friends with your kids. :) I can't even imagine the shopping trips with these three.

Thanks for reading!!!! I really, really, really hope to see you soon!!!!!

Playing in the Rain

It's raining this morning, and I could not resist taking these pictures and hurrying to put them on the blog. What sweet, simple joy!!!!