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.


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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.