Time, and How There isn't Enough of it

The title pretty well sums it up.  I keep saying life is so BUSY.  But I've decided to change my tune.  Life is so FULL.  Busy seems like such a negative way to describe what my days look like.  Am I busy?  Without a doubt.  But it's so much more than that.  And busy doesn't even begin to cover it.

Between an active, cuddly (almost) 1-year old, homeschooling 3 and 1/2 kids (Paige gets about half the schooling and makes about double the mess of everyone but Jay), church responsibilities with the youth, sports activities for the older kiddos, their church activities, date nights with my cute, dear husband, keeping up with the house, feeding a herd of hungry kids, and trying to manage laundry well enough that we don't go naked makes for a very FULL life.

And when I do have those rare, precious moments that aren't FILLED with something, I'm not usually blogging.  So, dear readers, you have been neglected.

But here is an update.

What are some of the picture-worthy moments of late?  (If you're on Facebook or Instagram, some of these may be familiar to you.)

In no particular order (since this computer can't read my mind and it will take too much time to arrange it.)

Merry Grace was baptized!!!  What a happy, joyous occasion that always is.  Merry Grace looked beautiful and was thrilled with this day she had been looking forward to for months.  We couldn't be prouder parents of this precious little girl.

We are honored to be her parents.

This picture just speaks to my heart.  THIS is what most of the day was like.  (This is what most days are like for us.)  A little hectic, a little chaotic.  Not perfect.  But still wonderful.  I love the symbolism of what this means in relation to baptism.  Baptism is a reminder that we are imperfect and that we need to follow the only One who IS perfect because He is the only one who can turn our not-so-perfect lives into something MORE.  Every time I see this picture I want to laugh and cry at the same time because I am overwhelmed at how wonderful it is.

Once in a while, I have errands and I let the older kids work on school work in peace and quiet while I take the littles out.  It's nice for the older kids and nice to have some time with this cool cat and her little brother.

 Our life pretty much revolves around this kid.  He's adorable and precious and is oh-so-loved by every single member of the family that we just can't stand it.  I mean--just look at him!  Couldn't you just eat him with a spoon?

Also, he loves strawberries. :)

 Bedtime always consists of tucking all the kids in.  Usually Jay is still awake (still working on that sleep schedule thing with him) and so he gets good night kisses from all the kids and they love snuggling with him for a few minutes before they go to sleep.

 Another bedtime routine is a cup of hot chocolate for Cory and I after (most of) the kids have gone to bed.  We've fallen in love with a butter pecan creamer that we add to it.  It's fun to sit and talk and have a cup of cocoa, especially during this long, cold winter.  Since Jay is often still up, he has found he loves hot chocolate as well.  He won't let you have a cup without sharing.

 Despite some reports to the contrary, he does occasionally get upset, although with so many of his favorites at his constant beck and call, this doesn't happen too often.  But he's even cute when he's angry.  He even does this cute little trill, where it sounds like he's rolling one long "r" sound and it makes us giggle.  We all love his angry trill.

There have been a few GORGEOUS days tucked into this long, cold winter and we have soaked up every ounce of sun we could when they came.  They were basically perfection and we can't WAIT for spring.  Well, technically it's already Spring.  So Spring weather then.  That's what we want.

Sometimes this little guy still just snuggles and I love it.  I will never, EVER get tired of that.

 One night at dinner, Jay was fussing to get at our food.  On a whim I handed him the dill pickle from my plate.  He had no reaction at all, other than to gobble it down.  So he also likes dill pickles.  (So do I!)

 This was a day Jay was pretending to read a book, but that quickly turned into a game of Peek-a-boo with the older kids.  (Have I mentioned how darling we all think he is?)

 Ian has become our expert chocolate chip cookie maker.  He is really, really good at making them, so he gets requests to make them often, especially on Sunday afternoons.

He also participated in the Pinewood Derby recently.  He came in a SUPER close second to his cousin Charles-Allen.  They were adorable because they both wanted to win, but neither one wanted to beat the other one.  Charles-Allen won by one-one hundredth of a second.  So close and so fun.  Ian was a great sport and we were so proud to cheer him on in his last (sniff, sniff) one.

 Sometimes all you need in life to make you happy is a cardboard box and a friend.  I love these little ones to pieces.

Jay loves to snuggle.  Sometimes if I have things to do, I'll strap him into the carrier and tote him around while I work.  When he gets tired, he'll take my hand and cover his eyes.  I think it's so adorable and precious.  It's one of those things I wish he'd do forever.

I mean, really.  What do you want me to say.  Cutest baby around.

 I had Ian practice his cursive by writing a letter.  He got a lot of imaginary gold stars for this one.  ("Dear Mommy, You are the best mom ever.  I can not live with out you.  I love you so much.  Thank you for every thing you do.  Love, Ian")

 My parents got to come see one of Elise's volleyball games.  This sight just about made my heart burst.

We have LOVED cheering Elise on throughout this volleyball season.  She is such a great girl and works so hard and plays so hard.  We think she is amazing.

So there are a few highlights from our life.  Our FULL, wonderful, beautifully imperfect, crazy, chaotic life.