It's November!

I can't believe that I haven't posted since August.  I guess it's just been that crazy.

The LaRock for Delegate campaign started picking up in September and October, and thanks to hard work and lots of prayers, my father in law won the election on November 5th!  The kids and I pretty much just tried to hang on those few months.  We spent as much time as possible at the park and outside.  My boys are very active, and they love to be able to run around.  We also spent time at our local mall.  They love the play area and just the big space to explore.

Peter stayed busy with the campaign, and I can tell you, we were all pretty excited at the win.  Peter's change in jobs had worried me just because I don't adapt to change well, but I can see God's hand in it.  It has stretched me, and it has been such a blessing to see Peter growing and developing new skills and interests.

Now we have some more unknown with the session in January and February down in Richmond, but I know that the Lord will see us through; whether we go down with Peter, or we face some time without daddy.

The kids are doing well.  Isaac finally popped a tooth!  My kids are late teethers.  Hopefully he'll get the other teeth soon - poor boy.  He is generally so happy, and the teeth do tend to make him sad and grumpy.

Here are some current pictures of my cutie pies!

All three boys in one picture!

Marcus playing with little Isaac.

My baby is growing up!

Cutie.

Enjoying the leaves of fall.

Of Mice and Porches and Three Crazy Boys

Last week, as the boys and I were enjoying our lunch, I saw a mouse run from the kitchen to the dishwasher(which is currently sitting in the dining room.)  I was not at all surprised to see a mouse as this house is a work in progress, and it had been closed up for some time.  I set a trap and figured that would be the end of that.  Sure enough, the trap did its job, and the mouse was disposed of.  

The next night, Peter let me know that he was almost positive that he'd seen another mouse in the dining room.  This time we set 2 traps, and the next morning we had 2 catches, ew!  Right after Peter headed out the door the next day yet another mouse, (this one was a baby) poked his little head out and proceeded to check out the kid drops of food under the table.  I observed this little guy throughout the day, but, the noise of the kids kept him from reaching his own trap destination.  He just kind of acted like the place belonged to him.  That night, we decided to lift the cabinet where we thought the little boogers were coming from, and what a strange find.  The mice were all gone, (save the last little baby) but under the cabinet was dirt, of course, 15 to 20 play, fake mice, and 2 mouse traps.  We think maybe the family dog who lived here before had toy mice that it played with, and maybe mommy mouse collected them?  Whatever the case, it was a random find, but thankfully, the mice are all gone for now.

In other house news, Peter has been hard at work on the front porch.  He started out by working on the gutters.  The one in the back, once cleaned and put back up, has kept our basement from flooding each time we get a big rain, yay!  When he took off the gutter on the front porch, we realized just how rotted the porch was.  As you can see below, he has made great progress.  The front porch also used to have a green and white awning, but that we took down awhile back.  I think once painted, this place's porch will look pretty awesome.

Before

Before

After

After

Our kiddos are growing and changing so quickly.  Here is a brief update on each of them.

Sammy and I have been working through his Sing Spell Read and Write book, and he is nearly done with the first one.  Yesterday I sat down and thought through his first official school year, and ordered a few things.  I am really enjoying doing school with him, and I love that he is loving to learn.  He's started in a beginning math book, and I think that's his current favorite subject.  It is so fun to observe his little mind working as he grasps new concepts.  This summer he has spent alot of time outside, "chuffing and puffing" like Thomas the Train up and down our sidewalk.  He's also become a big helper on our shopping, library and park trips.  He loves to help me push Isaac's stroller.  As long as he and Marcus have a few feet between them, they get along very well.

Marcus is still our bundle of trouble, but he's a cutie pie who is also such a delight.  If Marcus is quiet it generally means he's into trouble.  The sink, the markers, the crayons, the tools, the putty, the finger nail polish.  You name, it, he'll get into it.  He has a hard time sitting still and focusing in on any activity, (unless it involves water or destruction.)  I look forward to the day when I can sit and read books with him, but for now, I just try and follow him around, cleaning up his messes, keeping him out of trouble, and getting his sloppy kisses, precious hugs, listening to his delightful laugh, and watching him learn and do.  Lately, when he takes a nap, he will have a hard time going to sleep at night.  Last night I was beginning to work out, and he popped his head around the corner and say, "You workin' out mommy?"  He then joined me and did a pretty good job :-)  As you can see from the picture below, he still thinks that he's the baby of the family.

Isaac is growing and changing so fast.  He's really chubbed up and he's such a happy baby!  Today he rolled over from his back to his tummy several times.  He is a hold me baby, who is happiest on my hip.  He wakes up each morning so happy.  He generally only gets up once to eat each night, and for that I thank him.

In The Good Old Summertime....

There is a happy, chubby baby.

There is a handsome dude in his underpants playing in the best fun in the world...WATER!  There are sprinklers

There are fairs with crazy chickens, and all kinds of cool animals.

There is a handsome little man at the fair who can't get enough of those funny chickens.

There is a cute, chunky baby checking out the fair.

There is ICE CREAM!

Hooray for ice cream!

There are TRACTORS...

and lawnmowers!

And, as always, a smiling chubba bubba.

"Why Good Morning Miss J!"

That was often the greeting I received from Rhonda Maki when she passed my office back when I worked at HSLDA.  She greeted each day in her cheery way, and proceeded to get to work.

When I moved to Virginia and started working at HSLDA, I remember being overwhelmed.  I started work during the busy summer months, and I can remember getting to the end of each long day of call after call and wondering just what I'd gotten myself into.  I will always remember Rhonda's willingness to listen, encourage, and go check with "dad", (the head of our department) to try and make things better/easier for each of us, if she could.  She was the supervisor in a department that was nearly all girls, and she really did a wonderful job handling all of us.  I think it's safe to say that she became a mom-like figure in many of our lives.

She was always so cheerful, and she had the best sense of humor.  I can remember seeing her with a huge pile of applications on her desk - big smile on her face, a small grimace, and then some quip like, "oh dear, oh dear, it's busy season."  We had some memorable callers, and I can remember recounting one caller to her, (who I think was actually in a mental institution), and when I got to the part about how this woman felt that she was queen of the world, the good laugh we shared.

As supervisor Rhonda would get the cranky callers, and as my office was right next door to hers, it was always entertaining to listen to her deal with them.  She was patient, but firm, and often, she'd finish the call, hang up the phone and and say, "Well!"

I remember that she her her husband started taking ballroom dancing lessons together, and it seemed that they were having such fun doing that.

Once when I was between housing, she and her husband invited me to stay at their place in their spare room for a month or two.  Rhonda was just like that - she tended to our needs like we were her own kiddos.

When I left HSLDA after I had Sammy, I continued working from home part time, and I always enjoyed catching up with Rhonda.  When I'd stop by the office, she'd always inquire about my growing family and wanted to see how we were doing.  She always talked about her dream to have red headed grand babies.

When I heard of her unexpected cancer diagnosis, I worried some, but Rhonda, being so full of life, I figured, had to pull through.

When Peter told me yesterday that they were thinking she wouldn't make it another day, the tears came.  I knew she'd been up and down, better then worse, then better, but I didn't expect her to die.  I really wanted to see God heal her this side of heaven.  But, His ways are not our ways, nor are His thoughts our thoughts.

I know that she's in a perfect place now, and I know that she's happy, whole and so full of joy.  She's probably dancing her heart out in her new body, exploring beauty that she was never able to see here.  I just know that I will miss her.  I know that she will be sorely missed by her husband, family and by the many whose lives she touched.  

We had a "hat day" once in our department.  Here is Rhonda, participating right along side all of us goofy girls.  This is how I remember her.  Happy, fun, and full of life.

I will miss you, Rhonda!  See you on the other side.

Part Two....

This is my best friend, the love of my life, and the most handsome man in the world - yes, biased here.

This last year has probably been one of the craziest since we've been married, but through all of it Peter's literally been my unflappable rock.  I've felt more emotional and exhausted then I have ever before I think, but Peter's remained patient and loving when I haven't been.  I know I'm one blessed woman to have him in my life and I pray that this coming year is especially blessed for Peter.

We all love you so much, darling!

My baby is conspiring against me I feel, when it comes to these posts, so I will leave it at that.

Happy Birthday, my Love!

Following in my tradition so far, this post is a bit late.  Peter's birthday is the 10th of July, which gives our family birthdays in March, April, May, June and July.  Fun times!

Peter has been hard at work on our new home, and I want to share some pictures.  Each room in our house needs work of some kind, some more than others.  The downstairs bathroom needed a lot of work, and we began there.  I was pretty determined to try out tiling, but, in the season of life I'm in, I have lots of ideas, but no time or energy to see them through.  After I did the research and purchased the supplies, my loving husband laid our tile floor.

He continued working on it, and today it is nearly complete.  Here are before and after pictures of the bathroom.

I am so grateful for Peter.  He's a hardworking man who has so much to juggle these days.

To be continued...baby is awake :-)

This is me a post about me.

It's about my crazy life these last few weeks, and reaching the cool 30's club.  I honestly am happy to have reached 30 and I feel like I've earned it :-)  Hey, I was carded 2 weeks ago at Costco, so I must not look 30 just yet.

I am currently sitting at Starbucks, sipping a soy, decaff, vanilla latte, (joys of the nursing mommy with gassy baby) having a quiet moment to myself, since we don't yet have internet at our house - gotta give kudos to my husband for this one, ahhh....

I am sunburned, but I am content, and I am happy.  Here I can begin my stories of the last few weeks.

Today was election day.  My father-in-law is running for House of Delegates, and in just a few hours we will know if he won.  Peter worked the poll here in Winchester from 6 this morning to 7 tonight.  Seeing how he was close by, and seeing how I like to spend time with him, our little men and I spent most of the day with him.  A sunburn is really the worst thing that came out of today.  The boys had a blast hanging with us, even Isaac was a sweetheart.  Sammy would ask folks if they were planning to vote, and, (after observing his daddy) opened the door for a couple so they could go vote.  It was so sweet and cute.  Marcus' short were too loose, and when we were talking with one couple, they literally fell down to his ankles.  Good times.

Today is one of those days that reminds me of how much I truly love my life and the people God has placed in it.  I needed today.  I needed to love on and spend time with all four of my babies.

The days leading up to today have been trying to say the least.  We moved into our new house last Wednesday, and it's a fixer upper, so nothing really feels "homey" about it yet.  It's kind of been chaos since then.

Things like adjusting from staying at Mimi and Papa's house to a fixer-upper house that was completely new and unfamiliar, a newborn who hit a really fussy stage a few days ago and began demanding constant holding, 2 and 4 year olds who enjoy making each other scream, lots of boo boos, (goose egg to Marcus' head from hitting on it on the only remaining radiator in the house, nasty burn to Marcus' hand from a grab of mommy's hair straightener, a bloody cut to Sammy's toe that had us both screaming because he was so afraid of the cream and band aid), and the stupid shrub in the front yard.  Okay, I must share about the shrub.  In our front yard there is a nasty vine of a shrub that has basically covered part of the fence and was starting to take over the front porch.  I really want it gone.  The whole yard is overgrown, but that shrub was driving me mad.  On Saturday I decided to try and cut it down.  Baby asleep, check.  Boys playing in the pool, check.  I began my task - so happy to finally be doing something other than hold my baby.  10 minutes in the two boys begin fighting, and baby wakes up.  I get baby and his swing, break up the fight and begin to cut again. 10 minutes later baby begins to cry again.  I hold him, and get him back to sleep.  Onto the bed he goes.  Take 3: 10 minutes later the boys begin to fight again to the point of having to go in for discipline, and the baby wakes up again.  At this point I drag Sammy into the house with Isaac on the other arm.  Peter, (who had missed the chaos because of the noise of the mower) helped me out a bit later.
I have been trying to get into the habit of looking for something to be thankful for in every difficult circumstance.  I tried for awhile with this one, and then gave up.  That shrub is still there, and I swear it's laughing at me!  That night I kind of lost it and started letting all of my frustration come out - thank God for my patient man.  When I got to end of my vent, I let Peter know that all I really wanted to do was finish that stupid shrub.  Maybe one day I will:-)

My birthday was a really tiring, long day.  I knew it would be, but there were really sweet moments, and it's those moments that I'm learning to cherish.  The pure joy in my kids eyes when we sing "Happy Birthday" and the candles are lit.  They LOVE birthdays and candles.  My husband's love and reminders of his love throughout the day.  The evening when the babies were quiet, when we got to work together on our house.  As I fell asleep hearing Peter say, "I've got the baby, you go to sleep.  I love you, you're a great mom, and a great wife.  Happy Birthday, love."  Yep, these are the beautiful moments in the midst of chaos.

It's funny, when I look back over the last few weeks, they were stressful, but not as bad as I remember them being.

Ah, Starbucks is closing, so I must close for now.


-

Happy Birthday to Marcus!

Marcus turned 2 on May 9th, and once again I'm behind in posting.  It's really been a crazy time for us.  We officially have a new fixer upper house, we are living with my in-laws, and Sammy and Marcus have been working through round 2 of a new sickness.  I feel like we've been sick since the middle of April.  This one has been pretty yucky, but they seem to be on the mend.

Anyhow, enough about us, this is all about Marcus.

He was by far my easiest birth and easiest baby.  But, once he got old enough to be curious, he's become a handful!   It's funny, we tease him about his large head, (it is a little large) but, maybe it needs to be big to hold all of his passion to learn about things.  He really does seem to have a desire to learn about just about everything he touches.  The problem is that he often destroys things in the process.  Marcus has really helped me to learn to let go of the stuff in my life!  I remember cleaning up a lamp he broke, (it felt like one of my last wedding gifts that was still in one piece), and I think that's the last time I bawled over something he broke.  It's just stuff that will be destroyed one day anyway.

He's such a sweet little love bug despite his precocious side..  He always has hugs and kisses to go around.  He loves to be doing as much as possible, but will still cuddle some to read one of his favorite books.  Right now he likes, "Are You My Mother" and "Snow".

He has quite the vocabulary for a 2-year-old, and has been talking for what feels like forever.  He speaks in complete sentences all of the time, and has no problem communicating what he does or does not want.

He loves to be outside exploring.

He is so excited when we see trucks, tractors and other big machinery.

He's my water baby who will find any water he can to get onto if it is not first offered to him.

He loves his Grandparents, and especially loves going for rides in the "beep beep", (off road vehicle) at Papa LaRock's house

We love you, Booger!

Visiting with Mimi and the boys.

A few weeks ago my mom and youngest brothers came to visit.  We had a great time with them!  We'd hoped to be in our new house by then, and hence would have had projects for my little brothers to work on, but that saga continues, and one day, when I actually know whether or not we'll be moving, I'll fill you in.  It worked out for my brothers to help out on my father in law's campaign for the Virginia House of Delegates.  It also gave them the chance to play volleyball with the HSLDA crew.  They seemed to enjoy that arrangement.  Jed especially loves him some volleyball.  Jeffrey, maybe next time we can get in some good basketball!

Here's our chubba, Isaac, ready to head to the train station to pick them up.  Yep, just want to show how much he's changed in these last several weeks.

Here are Mimi and Isaac spending some quality time together.  He loves to be held, (a lot like Sammy did when he was a baby.)  Mom helped me so much just spending time holding him.
Mom sang songs to him that I remember her singing when I was a little girl.  He really seemed to enjoy his times with Mimi.

Marcus also took to Mimi Cole pretty quickly, and still asks me, "Mom, where's Mimi Cole?  Can we go visit her?"  One afternoon Mom and Marcus went outside and they observed a moving truck together.  My picture's not that great, but it was a sweet moment.

He had a good time playing with my little brothers, too.  It was a blessing to have the extra hands especially when we were outside.

Speaking of little brothers.  Here they are hanging out in our backyard.  Well, they aren't so little anymore.  It's funny, I remember when they were born, and I can remember spending a lot of time playing with them and watching them.  It's kind of fun now to see them playing with my kids.

Sammy especially took to them, and one morning when Peter took them to the LaRock's house to work on the campaign, Sammy watched out the window, and with tears streaming down his face cried, "Daddy, don't take them, daddy don't take them away!!"

On their last day here, the boys stayed with us for the day, and then we had a small cookout on the back deck.  That seemed to make it all better for Sammy. :-)



And, here are some more photos of my little men enjoying their Mimi Cole!  We missed seeing dad, but hopefully, we'll catch up with him next time.

Guess Who's 4?

Sammy is!  His birthday was actually April 20th, but, I hope he'll forgive my late post.  Sammy was born on his due date, April 20th, 4 years ago.  We were excited, scared, new parents.  This was a whole, new adventure, and I'll be the first to admit, we had no idea what was coming.  But, looking back over these last four years, we wouldn't trade any of it.  Well, maybe the fussy first several months, or the defiant passion and drama that come out of this little one.  And yet, even things that I may view as negative, are God-given, and are things that make Sammy who he is.  I learned a lot about myself as I cried in self pity over my fussy, imperfect newborn.  I began to realize that God had given us exactly the baby that we needed to shape us to be more like Him.  I began to see just how impatient I am, (I had always prided myself mentally on just how patient I thought I was.)  In reality, much more than being married, my little man Sammy began to reveal to me just how sinful I really am.  Yes, God knew that I needed this little one right off the bat.

Sammy is such a little sweetheart and such a big helper to me.  He LOVES his baby brother, Isaac, and, is really beginning to play well with his other little brother, Marcus.  He runs and fetches me diapers and wipes for diaper changes, towels for spit up explosions, and, when I'm pinned down nursing, he checks on little brother mischief, Marcus for me.  He has the best imagination in the world and loves books, movies and songs..  He'll pick up lines from movies or books, and he'll create whole new stories from those lines.  He can take a random piece of paper, or a cup, or you name it, and imagine it's a plane flying over a cliff, or some other random thing.  I love to watch his little mind at work.  We have started a reading program, (paused when baby Isaac was born.), and he was picking up a lot.  I look forward to getting back into that with him soon.  He also enjoys painting with watercolors, and other creative type projects.

Samster is a social butterfly who will greet any stranger and try his utmost to be kind and fair to everyone.  His cheerful "Hey there" or "Hey man" has stopped many a folk on our walks or in the store.  His cheeriness makes people smile.

When I have a down time, Sammy instantly can tell.  He'll come, take my face in his hands and say, "Don't be sad mommy, be happy!"  Or, "Don't cry mommy!"  He's really trained me to fight the urge to respond emotionally to my circumstances all of the time. :-)  Like his daddy, he prefers mommy happy!

Sammy loves Thomas the Train right now, when praised for something will say, "I'm a good little engine, aren't I?"

Just last night we saw the Apple Blossom fireworks, and I will never forget the pure joy and excitement that poured from Sammy.  He is so full of joy and childish enthusiasm.  I love it!

Sam can't get enough time with his awesome daddy.  Whether it's a trip to Lowes, going fishing, wrestling on the living room floor, reading a book or playing frisbee, he loves him some daddy time.

Sammy is very cautious and responsible.  He lets me know if Marcus is doing something he shouldn't be.

Sammy is learning more and more each day about God's love and mercy.  It's my prayer that he will continue to grow in his understanding of his need for Jesus and the unconditional love and forgiveness He offers.

I am so blessed to be his mommy.  He is so forgiving of my sins against him.  I pray his little heart always stays so soft.

We love our Samuel and we are so very thankful for him!  Happy belated birthday, buddy!

Here are some pictures of our growing family.  Isaac is nearly 6 weeks already!  I'll post more information about him and the other two boys here soon.  For now, though, enjoy!

Few weeks old, and getting more alert!

Getting chub.  I think he's around 4 weeks here.

Proud, big brother.

Another proud, big brother.

Aw :-)

Oldest two boys heading up to bed.  They love their daddy!

Good Morning World!

Isaac Archer LaRock 3.23.13 6lb 4oz

"Give me plenty of warning, and please work out the timing, Father"  Those had been my specific prayers for this baby, and what a truly awesome thing to see Him answer in such beautiful ways.

This birth was different in many ways.  We were planning a "home birth" with my midwives, but due to our pending move and the state of our house, we were planning to have the baby at my in-laws house.  I tend to be a worry wart, and was worried about the logistics of getting there with my other two little ones.  Marcus' birth was so fast and furious that I worried I'd be in hard labor trying to drive us to the birth location.  God took care of this for me.  I had what I thought was false labor all day Friday and through the night Friday night.  The contractions hurt, but they were sporadic, and not close together, 20 minutes or more.  I did wake up each time during the night, but they never got worse, so I just figured it was my body getting ready for birth a few more weeks down the road.  Saturday morning it became apparent to me that this baby would be coming sooner rather than later.  The contractions eased and almost stopped, but there were other indications that things would be picking back up.  I called my midwife, and she said that yes, we may have a baby later that day.  We did some Saturday, (thank you Lord it was Saturday - Peter was around!) activities.  We took the trash to the dump, and then ran by Lowes so Peter could finish installing a new deadbolt and door knob on our door, (the one he'd bought the night before was missing a screw, so we needed to get that finished so as not to leave the back door with no lock or door knob.)

My contractions started up again around 11am, but were still sporadic and not regular.  We decided to go ahead and pack up and head to Peter's folk's house.  Once there we just hung out and enjoyed the sunny day.  The kids played outside, and I just kept waiting for everything to kick in.  Finally at 5pm my contractions became regular and about 5 minutes apart.  I let my midwives know, and we started with the little tasks like filling the tub etc.  I can honestly say that this stage of my labor is the most gentle I've had yet. The contractions were never more than about a minute I'd say, and I got nice breaks in between.  When they let me know that I was 9 to 10 centimeters and completely effaced, I really was surprised.

The last part of my labor was the not as gentle part.  This little booger had decided to turn posterior, (he'd been in a good position at my 36 week check up) which made for a very different delivery.  With Sammy and Marcus, my body delivered the baby, and I just hung on for the ride.  With little Issac, I had to do a lot more of it myself.  Thankfully, I had wonderful support, and Issac came into the world at 9:08pm.  So, really only about 4 hours of active labor!  He is a little tiny one, but is strong and healthy.  I had asked God to work out the timing of the birth because my husband had informed me that our closing date for the house had been moved to April 9th, (which was two days before my original due date on April 11th).  I am thankful that God saw fit to orchestrate everything the way that He did.  This new little one is such a miracle, and I know that I am very blessed to be able to call him my son.

He has a big head of very dark hair.  His brothers seem to really get a kick out of him, and it's going to be fun to see his little personality develop in the coming weeks.