Coming up for air...

No worries, we are all alive. Good golly, 2012 has proven to be a really busy year! I am not sure what has been different these last few months, but I can't find time to do anything. I always feel behind at school, I am always tired and dragging and my house looks like a tornado went through. I would like to take a second to say that my laundry is all complete, so there is hope for me!

The big news around here is that we are moving! Our house is for sale and we found a beautiful home where we can raise our family. We will have plenty of room for the family we want and it is in a wonderful school district. We are excited for the change, but also to sad to leave what we have. This house has been wonderful to us. We have been here for almost 7 years and have not had any problems. We love our neighbors and the kid-friendly neighborhood. We moved here when Andrew was 5 months old and it has been the only home our children have ever known. But, I know we will have wonderful memories in our new house.

Andrew is still our academic school boy. He loves to learn and his new found love is CHESS! He is quite good and just recently is able to beat both his parents. I would like to say that I let him win, but I don't. He really is THAT good! Since I run the chess club at school, he gets to play. He is the only 1st grader with a group of 3rd, 4th and 5th graders. He does really well! There is one little guy he can't beat, but he always learns something new from him. He takes those moves and does them on someone else. I am sure as he gets older he will be a very competitive player.

Matthew is counting down the days until he is in Kindergarten and with his mommy at school. He loves his preschool, but he is ready for MORE! He is writing so well and learning so much. I can't wait to see him take off. He really wants to learn how to read (because of Andrew) so we might start to tackle that this summer.

Timmy. What can I say about Timmy. He is cute, and it is a good thing because at this point in the game my patience is low. He doesn't sleep and actually spends a majority of the night screaming. He is so much like Andrew it scares me. Last night when I was in bed at 10:30 listening to Timmy scream his lungs out (for an hour and a half) I remembered something. We fought this same battle with Andrew. We solved it by putting a TV in the room with him and letting him watch a movie to fall asleep. I know, horrible, right? But it worked. Andrew would scream and scream and want to come in my bed. We would let him, but I never slept because he would kick and cry through the night. Now, fast forward 5 years and we are in the same boat. That TV solution is sounding better and better to me! Mama needs sleep! It isn't just Timmy. Matthew wakes up screaming most nights, too. He says he has bad dreams. So sad. Last night he cried and said he didn't want to go to sleep because he had scary dreams. He also wets the bed often, which makes him wake up screaming. You never know where everyone will be in the morning. Sometimes Rick or myself will end up in another bed because our bed has been taken over by little people. Oh, well... this too will pass, right?

Other than sleeping, Timmy is doing well. He is talking more and more. He makes sure that Emma knows he has about 10 pounds on her. Rick and I still believe he will end up on You Tube one day for his stunts. You never know what you will find him on top of. He is our monkey boy.

Finally, Emma Grace. Still so sweet and precious. She loves her babies and takes great care of them. She is talking more and more and growing up so fast. As a matter of fact, I have a meeting with the pre-school in April to see if she will qualify for their program. I can't believe my baby girl is ready for pre-school! She is so smart and a very good girl! She listens well and loves to help. She makes sure everyone is following the rules. I just can't imagine our life without this little girl. And yes, she is FULLY potty trained!

Finally, the big news! Anyone still reading? I am going to CHINA this summer! I am traveling with 3 other ladies back to Shepherd's Field to volunteer for a week. I can't even tell you how excited I am to go on this journey. So many precious children there. Also excited to soak up the history of my daughter. Ok, enough rambling. Here are some recent pictures.

Fun in the box... it brought out their love for each other!

They really do love each other!

My babies

Emma still treats her babies like little people. You never know where you will find her taking care of these little things!!

This is funny. Andrew did not close his eyes on purpose, just happened to be the luck of the shot. I was bummed because it was such a cute picture. Of course there was no hope to get another one.

After seeing the other picture on my camera, Matthew closed his eyes on PURPOSE because he thought it was funny. Again, bummed because it was a cute picture!

Cute picture, but Timmy isn't looking.

We love technology around here!

Enjoying a nice afternoon with Jacob. We are going to miss living next to them!!

Trying to get a picture of Timmy. My daughter is in the background saying"shake your booooootttttyyyyyyy..." She learned that from Andrew and Matthew, who teach her all types of wonderful things.

Then Timmy turns around to shake his booty. There really is no hope for decent pictures at this age!