Scenes From Last Week

One of the things we've started doing with Sarah Grace and Thomas is to allow them to take a few pictures each week. They are allowed to take shots of anything they see that interests them. The subjects of their pictures scream to the heavens and back the differences in boys and girls.

Thomas opted to capture a machine while Sarah Grace went with pretty flowers. Does it get any more straightforward than that?

Thomas takes great pride in being a brother to a brother. He takes amazing care of Daniel. In the mornings when Daniel wakes up, Thomas takes him out of the crib in the room the boys share, lays him on the floor and entertains him until I come to get everyone up. On this particular day, Thomas built a pyramid for Daniel. He thought Daniel loved it so much that he asked to take a picture of it so Daniel could remember it one day.

I lost Anna one day last week. It was quiet time and I had sent the kids upstairs to their respective quiet time spots. After I got Daniel settled in, I went upstairs to insure that Thomas and Sarah Grace had quiet activities and then tuck in Elizabeth and Anna for their naps. Except when I went to the guest room to check on Anna, but I didn't see her. I went back in the other bedrooms and asked the kids if Anna was in the room with them. I checked the bathrooms and then went downstairs to check the bathroom. I couldn't find her. I walked around outside but, again, still didn't see her. My heart began to accelerate as my mind started conjuring horrible thoughts. I breathed out a quick prayer and ran back inside to check more thoroughly. Back in the guest room, I looked in the closets and around the other side of the bed. This is what I saw:

She had curled up on the floor for some reason and fallen asleep quickly, explaining why she didn't answer my calls. I snapped a picture of her, tossed a blanket over her and let her be. She slept for three solid hours that day!

Over the weekend, we had a swim party to celebrate the August birthdays of Thomas, Sarah Grace, and their friend Micah. There was much tossing of children into the air and belly flopping and toddlers on the steps. I think it was the best party we've ever done. Bring kids in swimsuits, grab pizza and grapes, finish with cupcakes, clean up, kids pass out from sheer exhaustion after swimming all evening. Perfection in my book!

Yup, life is good.