Overwhelmed

Overwhelmed seems to be the word that sums up my life of late. Yes, many many days I am overwhelmed with dishes and squawking, bickering children.  Overwhelmed when I think about dishes and laundry and homeschooling and diapers..... 

I am often overwhelmed with the magnitude of this thing we call parenting. How will I ever send these little people off into the world to be a blessing and a joy and not a detriment to society? :). Will there really be a day they remember to say Yes Ma'am and No Thank You and for heaven sakes close the van door when you get out??

And then there are the moments like the ones pictured here. Moments of pure sweetness, kindness and love for one another.  Moments that I as their mama get to see. A glimpse into how much our Heavenly Father adores us. Or moments like tonight standing in the middle of their bedroom when all three healthy, growing children are sleeping and realizing that God picked me to be their mama, and what an overwhelming privledge it is to love and guide them. 

Thank you Jesus for my blessings. :)

SIX

Benjamin Asher, my first baby, turned SIX    yesterday. In a way it has gone so fast, and yet it is hard to imagine a life without him. 

He is a boy beyond his years. An old sole... Like his daddy. :). He is a sweet big brother, a lover of all things Lego and boy, soccer man, vegetable lover.  He has a huge imagination... From zombie attacks to blizzards.  Something is always going on behind those light brown eyes. He loves to snuggle and be read to, but loves Angry Birds too. :). 

He remembers everything, loves to sleep in his clothes and a winter hat and eat oatmeal for breakfast. :). He is precious to me and a great blessing. Love you Benjamin Asher!  I am so thankful I get to be your mama!!  

A Day to Celebrate Turning SIX!

 

The last day of being 5. 

I had a little bit of fun wrapping his gifts. :)

Presents for breakfast. Does it get any better??

LEGOs!!!!!! And the crowd goes wild!!!!!!

Naomi had a great time wrapping her gift for Ben. :). I think we should have named her Naomi The Taper Grace. :)

Two hands!!!! 

Mama Happiness is:

Two sharing one chair while playing together.  I pray this close relationship continues for many many many more years! 

You Can't Have Too Many Weapons

Ben

Cousins!

 While Micah & Lara were home for a few days between the wedding and heading for Texas, we managed to squeeze in some cousin pics for the grandma!  Horray for cousins!!

And for the record:  Ben 5, Naomi 3, Juliet 20 months & Isaac 4 weeks. :)

When in Utah...

You must learn to snowboard! 

Uncle Nate was an amazing teacher (he even sings his way down the mountain), and Ben was a great student. 

Naomi attempted skiing.  She loved riding the conveyer belt up. 

Thatha teaching Naomi.  She had a good time til she got cold.  :)

Hot Chocolate break! 

The boys having a good time.  :)

Made it all the way down the hill! (3x)

Ben wore out his teacher... :)

Birthdays!

It has been birthday weekend at our house!  Ben turned 5 and Andrew... well, he is getting up there in years.  :)  We had our first official Lego birthday!  It is the start of a long love (Ben)/hate (mom, when she steps on them and vacuums them up) relationship... that I hope will last many many years! :)

Micah teaching Ben how to build Legos properly. :)

This picture was taken long after Ben was in bed.  Yes, boys never truly grow up... :)

Ben's First Race!

On Thanksgiving morning Ben ran his first race... the 1 mile Gobble Wobble!!  His Uncle Daniel ran it with him.  His focused personality certainly shone through... his only goal was to beat the person in front of him... :)

He never stopped running and ran the mile in 11 minutes!!!  GO BEN!!  

The Gobble Wobbler...

With his ribbon!

Halloween Activities

Painting Pumpkins!  (Sooo beats carving :)

Pumpkin Decorating #2

Naomi, Ben & Juliet

 This is the second year in a row we hung our with our friends the Whipples on Vermont street in West Asheville.  It is quite the "destination" for trick or treating.  We had a great time people watching and hanging out with a bunch of friends.  Mr. Mark Whipple dressed up as the Abominable Snowman... Poor Naomi was TERRIFIED... hence her face in this picture. :)  He was standing behind me. 

Loot Collecting :)

Tinkerbell :)

Peter Pan :)

Fall Soccer

I guess we have entered the "Soccer Mom" stage of life... although it won't be official until I get my minivan and a "Soccer Mom" bumper sticker.  :)

We put Ben in soccer this fall and he has loved every minute of it.  (It is a great schedule, 30 minutes of practice and 30 minutes of "game" on Saturday morning.)  He is rather shy normally and must be greatly encouraged to try new things (like his mother), however soccer has brought out a side of Ben we have rarely seen.  On the field he is confident, is not afraid to go after the ball and extremely focused (the latter trait we see often).  He loves to play and makes most of the team goals and... much to his mother's dismay... does a little "victory walk" after each goal.  So, here are a few pictures to document the event. :)  Enjoy...

Ben being a goof ball.  We try to go early and play each week. He likes to play goalie.

Ben getting his "Game Face" on.

Action Shot.

Naomi loves soccer too!  Although she spends the majority of the game time playing in the rocks and dirt.

Observing.

Game Time!

Herding Cats!  His coach is so great, and this past week the other coach was sick so he had both teams.

Classic Ben.

Could be one of my favorite pictures...

Ben and his Team. :)