Photo Booth Fun!

Had one of the worst nights ever last night.

All 4 kids up all night.

I might have gotten an hour of sleep all told.

It was not fun.

But I'll talk about that later.

I am feeling better now because God sends me reminders of His love for me in the form of simple things like: sunshine, a long hot shower, a napping baby, and these photo booth pictures.

Oh how I love the photo booth.

There was a photo booth at my bro's wedding and I just discovered some of the pics are up on their photographer's blog.
Colleen, you are rad!
Just look at the fun we had.

BE STILL MY HEART.
Daddy and his little girl.
You should have seen her face light up when he told her she looked like a princess.  He said he'd never forget it.
Can I get this in a 50 x 50?


And this pretty much sums up the real us.

The new Mr. and Mrs.
Aren't they beautiful?

I love these 2 silly boys.
My baby bro and my man--I'm glad they're friends.

And these 2.
Oh wow, how I love, love, love this picture.
My mom looked amazing that day.
And my dad is so cute.
I love them.

And this picture is pure awesome.
Doesn't my Dad look like a pastor in this one?
Maybe he should hang it in his office.
The kids love this one.
Me too.

Go visit Colleen's blog to see the whole set of photo booth pics.
And if you live in the San Diego area and need a photographer, I'd give her a buzz.
Photo booth pics are good for the soul.
Love from,
Greta


PS. I am linking up with Casey' blog for the blog hop.
If you're a visitor from the hop, hello and welcome!
Please take a look at the Popular Post button on my sidebar to see what this blog is all about.
And if you are a regular reader, go visit some new blogs by checking out the blog hop, here.

Happy Halloween weekend, everyone!
I'm showing Aaron's awesome Halloween costume over on Picnics.  Go see!

A Day at the Tidepools In Which We Save a Shark

I was recently reading the introduction to one of our textbooks, The Handbook of Nature Study.

In it, the author describes her talks with teachers and their experiences in nature.

Do they seek out time in nature with their students and themselves to learn, to refresh their spirits, to replenish their souls?

"Oh no," the teachers cry.  "We haven't the time!"

The book was written exactly 100 years ago and it is uncanny how the similar the teachers' problems sound like the problems of teachers today.

But that's a different post.

My point is that Ms. Comstock, the author of The Handbook of Nature Study, understood the value of being outside.

It tames the "naughty" child who needs to get out of his desk.

(apparently they had ADD 100 yeadrs ago, they just called it something else)

It inspires, calms, refreshes, comforts, encourages, and energizes.

Spending time in nature was, in her mind, not a luxury but a neccesity.

I wholeheartedly agree with her.

I would go hiking daily if I could.

But don't be mistaken.

Getting 4 kids ready for a day spent in nature is no easy task.

It takes effort.

And sometimes I just want to say, "screw effort!"

I don't want to pack lunches, snacks, water bottles, the blanket for sitting on, extra clothes for wet or muddy excursions, art supplies, the stroller, the baby carrier, hats, first aid kit, the nursing cover, extra diapers and on and on the list goes.

Sometimes I'd rather just stay home and let the kids watch a cartoon on Netflix.

But that seldom works out for me.

Because just staying home and watching cartoons leads to kids who are running around the house, crazy and "naughty"and that leads to me going crazy and being naughty. (ahem)

Our days are so much better when we go outside.

And I do mean more than just, "go play in the backyard right NOW!" kind of outside.

(although that has a place and I am deeply grateful for our back yard)

I mean when we head out into nature.

Yes, it takes effort.

But it is always worth it.

Every. Single. Time.

......................................................................................................................................

Yesterday dawned dreary and gray.

Again.

I know some of my local friends love that weather.

It's so, fallish.

No.  It's not.

It's dank and depressing and energy sapping.

It does not make one want to go to the beach for tide pools.

But we did anyway.

And just seeing this sign lifted my spirits.

I love Crystal Cove.
It is one of my most favorite places on earth.
Not just for the cottages and the whole feeling of the place, but for the beaches that look like this.

That's hard to come by in southern California.
The sky was big, with streaks of blue and sunshine peeking through.
The tide pools spread out before us, otherworldly and full of life.

My heart filled with peace.
I relaxed.
And took in the beauty.

Then we set to exploring.

There were barnacles and mussels.

Sculpin fish. Coraline Algea.  Sea Anemones.

Rocks for climbing on.

We used our field guides as we explored.
It's so much more fun when we can identify our discoveries.

At first they thought these were fossils.
They are Chitons.

Rough Limpets.

Deep caves crawling with hermit crabs and shore crabs.

Boots are good for tide pooling.

Big, purple Ochre Stars.

And orange ones too.

Rocks covered in sharp mussel shells.

And slippery algae.

We found 2 Sea Hares.  This one was swimming.

We held him for a moment so curios hands could touch his slimy skin.

After the tide pools, we sat below the cliffs and took in the rocks.

Another field guide for identifying all those lovely layers of sedimentary rock.

The sun came out and it got hot.
The water sparkled and we were visited by one of our favorite friends.
Really, we could not have asked for a more perfect afternoon at the shore.
It was exactly what we all needed.

Then, as we were leaving, the day got more exciting.
Christina and I were a ways behind our big kids, walking with our littles.
Up ahead, the bigs were yelling, "a shark!  A shark!  We found a shark!!!"
A shark it was.

Way up on the dry sand, far beyond the reach of the tide, with no indication how he got there, a small Leopard Shark lay on the sand.
We, Christina actually, rescued him.
She used her son's shorts to pick him up by the tail.

Just look at that awesome mama!
He was limp and covered with dry sand.
We weren't sure if he'd make it, but we were going to give him a chance.

As Christina walked toward the water, he moved around, causing great excitement for the kids.
They were yelling things like, "shark alert!"
Probably not the best thing to yell at the beach, but can you blame them?
It was exciting.

Christina the shark rescuer, thew him back into the sea and off he swam.
We like to think he made it.

We can now add shark to our list of wildlife sightings.

Rattlesnake.  Bears. Shark.

Our list is getting exciting.

We ended our day with a treat of french fries and celebrating a friend's birthday at the Beachcomber cafe.

Gotta get that parking validated, you know!

In the words of Mary Poppins, "it was practically perfect in every way."

It's worth the effort, friends.

Go outside today.

Love from,

Greta

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If you are not fortunate enough to live near tide pools, then I have a wonderful way for you to still experience them.

Get this book.

We just started reading it and we love it already.

It is the perfect accompaniment to our trip to the tide pools.

But you'll love it even if you don't get to do the tide pools as you read.

It is so well written and the story so engaging that all my kids love it.

The illustrations are amazing.

All of Holling Clancy Holling's books are wonderful.

We read this one last year and cried when it was over.

I can't recommend them enough.

Get thee to a library!

Davy, Davy the Wonder Baby

Davy is 4 and a half months old today.

You can chalk it up to hormones if you want, but the waves of love that wash over me when I look into his sweet, smiling eyes leave me limp.

He brings me so much joy.

People often comment on what a good baby Davy is.
I've been fortunate--all of my babies have been easy.
Seldom fussy, never colicky or clingy, they were all good babies.
But Davy surpasses them all.
I call him the Wonder Baby because he really is.
He is just mellow, calm and happy.
Oh that boy is happy.
He just loves to be with people.
He'll let anybody hold him and he smiles and talks to them while they do.
Or, if he's tired, he'll fall asleep in their arms.
He loves me best of all, though.
I'm not ashamed to say that I love that.

4 and a half months is so much fun with him.

He grabs everything now and tries to put it in his mouth.

He rolls around and loves to be rough-housed with.
He loves to be tickled.
He laughs out loud.
He likes to be thrown up in the air and to ride the horsey on my knee.
He smiles and grins and tries so hard to get a word or 2 out of his mouth.
He's not a newborn anymore.
He's a baby.

And, like all my babies, he's got those roly-poly thighs that strangers ask if they can squeeze.
He's not the biggest 4 month old I've had, but at 18 pounds he's putting in a good effort.
If he were my first baby I would be shouting from the rooftops that he's a great sleeper.
He naps and naps during the day.
He just goes to sleep when I lay him down.
And for months now, he's only woken once in the night to eat.
For the past 3 nights he's slept 10 hours straight through.
But,  I've done this enough times to know that as soon as he gets into a routine, something will change.
If he sleeps more now, he'll sleep less later.
Or he'll be the one who wants to sleep in our bed.
Whatever.
I've done this enough times not to get upset about it.
I won't feel ripped off that he's not sleeping more.
We'll all be sleeping more, eventually.

The best part about this little boy is how much he reminds me to be in the moment with him.
I dread, truly dread, him turning 1, then 2 then 7.
I know now how fast it all goes by and that I'll never get it back.
I am more present with David than I was with any of my other babies.
Because I know.
Soon enough, he'll be standing at the window, calling to his big brothers, or his sister, and he'll be busy.
Busy with toys, busy with playing, busy exploring, making messes and making me chase him all over creation.

He won't be content to simply sit on my lap and let me nibble his toes.
Right now that's his favorite place in the world.
I cherish that.
Is it weird to say that I already miss these days?
Being a mama is beautifully, wonderfully, amazingly hard.


I try to remember that with the other kids too.
Someday James won't ask me to hold his hand when he's up coughing in the middle of the night.
William won't climb into bed with me in the morning.
And Lilly won't be thrilled to brush my hair.
I need to love them all hard.
Right this minute, because the minutes are racing by.
And I never know when they will stop.

There are a lot of different reasons why David's presence in my life means so much.

He is a tangible example of God's provision after a time of much loss.
He's far enough down the line that I finally know how to relax and simply enjoy my baby.
He is the light of his siblings' eyes.

And, I have a sneaking suspicion he'll be our last baby.

I hear other women say that so confidently.

With happiness even.

But that's not me.

I mourn being done with babies.

And while I can't imagine going through another pregnancy, I can imagine more babies.

Because they're wonderful.

He's wonderful.

And I love him to the very core of my being.

"A babe in the house is a well-spring of pleasure." (source)

And you are, Baby Davy.

You are indeed.

I love you so.

Love from,

Mommy

............................................................................................
I admit, Davy is easy to love.
What baby isn't?
But, like when I first fell in love with Aaron, it hasn't gotten hard yet.
Those days will come.
It happens to all of us.
And I'll have days with him like I do with the others.

By the end of the day today my patience was worn thin.
I was so tired of being needed, tired of messes, tired of sweeping up crumbs and tired of noise.
I just wanted to be done.
And I was grouchy and mean.
I had to apologize.


Do you ever wonder what their last memory of you will be?
Do you ever wonder if they'll remember you yelling more than they'll remember you smiling?
Do you ever think of the time you've wasted getting upset about stupid things?


Having Davy around reminds me of these things.
He reminds me to give them all my best.
And to pick up and try again when I give them my worst.
It's a good thing to remember.
Who, or what, are you giving your best to?


PS.  I just read this post by my friend, Hannah.
It fit so well with this post.  
It reminded me that I need to give my best to my husband too, not just my children.
How often have I given him the dregs of what's left of me after the kids are down for the night.
Or worse yet, given him nothing at all because I'm worn out and he's a grown up and can handle it.
Yes, he needs the best of me too.
Go read it and be encouraged.

Of Wedding Weekends and Hotel Fun

Life has been a whirlwind lately.

I have been away from home every weekend for the past month.

And I mean packed up, and not at home.

Also, we were gone for a week on vacation.

And during the week, we've been extra busy prepping for things like vacation and my brother's wedding.

The wedding was this weekend and it was wonderful.

All 3 of the big kids were in it.
I wasn't sure how it would all play out.
Lilly was still recovering from the worst cold ever and double ear infections.
James was up all hours of the night with the same cough Lilly had.
Aaron wasn't feeling too hot.
And William, well he's William, so you never know what you're gonna get.

But they were superstars.
The combined effect of very late nights and too many treats left them crazy tired, but they hung in there.
And looked pretty darn cute doing it.

Initially William and James declared, adamantly, that they would not be ring bearers.
I told them they had no choice--they had to do this for Uncle B.
So they did it.  Happily, even.
And had fun.
The best part was watching them walk down the aisle together.
William carried the pillow since James had been a ring bearer before.
James walked with his hand on William's back, guiding him down the aisle.
I loved seeing them together, big brother helping little brother, and supporting one one another.
One day they'll be the ones getting married.
As if I wasn't crying enough already.

Lilly was hilarious.
She was walking around all day with a dazed look on her face.
All the fatigue, pink dresses, pink flowers, pretty everything and her beloved Karen Pretzel in a beautiful, white princess dress was almost too much for her to take in.
She threw the flowers with gusto.
Originally straight down at the ground, then up in the air.
With gusto.

Normally I would say my kiddos were the best part of the wedding.
But they weren't.
Seeing the joy on my brother's face as he married the love of his life was, by far, the best part.

I've long been praying for him to find the one.

Life is sweeter with a partner.

I am so glad he has her.

I am so glad they have each other.

Weddings make me so weepy.

They remind me of my wedding day.
And of how far we've come since then.
For better or for worse, I am sticking with this guy.
And I love him more now than I ever have before.
In the words of Nacho Libra, "He's the beeessst!"
And Baby Davy was the PERFECT baby all weekend long.
Like he'd be anything else.
And aren't they both so handsome?  
And doesn't Davy look like an old man? (he really does have hair--it's just so blond you can't see it.  that white head really accentuates the old man look.)

I am sad to say I got very few pictures of the wedding or people in it.
My mom and sister looked so beautiful and I did not get one picture of them.
Or one of my brother and my kids.
Between getting all 3 of them where they were supposed to go and having a baby to attend to, I just had no free hands for snapping pictures.
There are a few pictures of the kids practicing for the big day over at Picnics in the Park.  Go see.
In the end, it was a beautiful day.
I am so glad we got to be a part of it.
..........................................................................................................
The wedding was down in San Diego, so we stayed at a hotel.
It was our kids' first time staying at a hotel.
They were stoked.
Our trips usually involve camping, staying at the grandparents' house or our yearly trip to the cabin.
So a hotel was all new.
And let me tell you, they lived it up.


It was a weekend of childhood decadence.
Bed jumping.

Breakfasts of champions.

Of eating said breakfasts, and snacks, and meals, in bed.
While watching TV.
What bliss, what joy, what utter indulgence.

And there was plenty of pool time.

They loved playing with cousin Veronica.
Cloudy skies didn't keep them out of the pool for hours.
And hours.
Thankfully it was heated.

Even David enjoyed hanging by the pool.

4 kids in a hotel room, 2 queen beds and it worked just fine. (we just kept the extra 2 kids in our room on the down low.  no one seemed to notice)

There are benefits to having your kids share a room.

Ours can sleep anywhere.

They're ready for another hotel adventure.

So am I.

But I don't think the kids would be thrilled to know I'd love to do the hotel thing without them.

Shh.  Don't tell.

And it will be a while.

Because I am sick of packing.

It's good to be home.

Love from,

Greta