In the way of updates...

Over the past few months, some of the baby pounds have begun to slip away and my body has melted into a recognizable me. How have you done it, you ask? Well, it's simple. I'm neither nursing nor pregnant (and have been for some time now). So, here I sit, at a weight that my body seems to like and though I'm thrilled that my clothes fit oh so much better, I know that I could do better. Meaning, if I actually tried to exercise and eat right, I might actually have the energy to keep up with my kids. So, after I find myself a workout partner, I will be getting up at 6 a.m. to take a crack at this whole exercise thing. Anyone game?

In other news, we planted a couple of bareroot apple trees behind our property line -can you imagine soil so full of rocks and clay that a 3 foot diameter hole takes 45 minutes to dig? I don't have to. Looking forward to putting the kids to work in a few years during the September apple harvest.

I stayed home from church with all four little ones today. Lots of phlegm, goop in the eyes, that sort of stuff.

Tim is slowly checking things off the honey-do list. Here's the latest in the organizational madness: a wall-mounted coat rack. Yay! No more coats cascading out of their designated baskets beneath the laundry room counter.



Eve can sign a few important words like "milk", "food" and "more". As far as talking goes, she makes no sense whatsoever (though she seems to think so). I wonder what the sign is for "messy"? She likes that, a lot. Walking though? Not so much.

After a three-month hiatus (yeah, not sure how I scored that kind of break) I'm teaching Joy School this week. Seven preschoolers (and Rachel) learning about relationships and communication. Can't wait. No really. I love Joy School.

Now I'm off to end my temporary starvation... er, I mean, fast. (Oh, let's be honest, when you're home from church feeding the mouths of four sick kids all day, it's starvation, all right?) And on that note, here's a picture of the most adorable one-year old alive. It's easy to love life when you get a piece of this everyday.