Silly siblings, snow, & sickness...

WARNING: This is a long post! :)

I love our little pile of kids!

Benjamin turned 15 months ten days ago... I can't believe how quickly he's growing up. I've been trying to just snap little moments of things he does lately - of course with my phone since that's always on me.
I put a little product in his hair the other day and suddenly he had a top full of curls. It's so crazy that he has curly hair! Still so unexpected.

Proof that Benjamin was here...

If he isn't in destruction mode, then he's climbing on something. :)

We've recently discovered that Benjamin has the same love of the outdoors that Jude does. Anytime someone opens the front door, Benj makes a bee line for it! He wants out!

He was thrilled the other morning when right after breakfast, before getting dressed, I told the kids to throw on their coats and shoes because we were going to go weed the backyard. It was such a fun morning together! We got everything cleaned up and it felt great.


Selah is a great helper!

Josh took a pic of me rocking Benj the other night. I just love his snuggles at nap/bedtime and don't want to forget these sweet moments with him still small in my arms. He always holds my hair as I rock him.


We got a snow day last week! The kids were beyond excited! We didn't get a ton of snow, but just enough to kill an hour outside playing. Loved it.




This is out of order, but this shot on the left is Benj taking his first step in snow. I know, documentation overkill. :)

The kids got sick last week. Selah had an eyelid swell pretty badly. It wasn't pink eye, instead had something to do with the skin around her eye. She was really nervous about having to go to the doctor. She sat on my lap the whole time we were in the waiting room.

We distracted ourselves...

Then she felt much more secure once we were in the room. She kept smiling at me, sitting up on the big seat. I love this sweet girl.

She was put on antibiotics and feeling better in no time. Then the cold set in and Jude and Benj got the cold. Then Jude got an eye infection and I took him to the doctor next. Thankfully everyone's better now.
Bedtime reading with Daddy...

Last week at sensory therapy Jude did some auditory work with the headphones and did some more great climbing with Miss M. She commented on how well he listened and kept on task. So great for this mama to hear! Progress!! I LOVE going to Jude's therapy each week. I feel like Miss M is a friend, and she's always a great encouragement and cheerleader for Jude. And I don't say this in any sort of self-pity way, but it's a place where we can feel normal. :) Motherhood is such a journey in itself, but throw into it medical issues, as well as food allergies, and it can result in feeling lost and a bit alone sometimes, but there at sensory therapy we feel right at home! It's great. I shared with Josh a year or so ago that (at the time) I felt like I was in the middle of the sea treading water with my kids and trying to make it to shore, and everywhere I looked I saw moms in canoes with their kids inside, sitting up straight in their life vests, rowing to shore with smiles... and here I was just trying to keep us above water. My fear of the unknown and my constant searching for answers to Jude's medical issues, as well as that thing we moms do (feel this need to "compare" our children with others to make sure we're ok) was getting the best of me. God continued and continues to remind me to keep my eyes on Him*. He has been so faithful to direct our steps, provide excellent help/medical care, and to be my comfort. Our struggles aren't huge. I know others have much more challenging ones, and my heart goes out to them, because I know the longing of wanting to do anything to help your child. But I do know these feelings, and I'm so grateful for the way God faithfully carries us along!! He's sovereign and trustworthy, and He sees us and loves us. I'm SO proud of Jude for all of the hard work he's putting in. I love watching his face light up when he figures out how to do something new! He is doing so great!! I couldn't love that boy more.
Years ago Josh and I memorized a verse that has stuck with us through this challenging medical season:
*"You will keep in perfect peace him whose mind is stayed on You, because he trusts in You. Trust in the Lord forever, for the Lord, the Lord is the Rock eternal." Isaiah 26:3

When Selah was first sick last week we had to skip swimming lessons because of her eye. She was so bummed out, so we rented a kid movie instead and decided to do a family movie night. Jude fell asleep on the 5 minute drive home from the Redbox kiosk. :) I guess his therapy session wore him out.

Jude has been asking to earn money for a couple of months now. So anytime I find a job for him to do he excitedly does it. Selah loves to help out too, but I don't think she has quite the same grasp on it yet that Jude does, because he seems to have a lot more drive for his goal. So anyway, the kids have been earning money here and there for certain jobs. Well, Jude has had his eye on a Shu car, from Cars2, for quite some time. He finally earned enough money to buy it last week! I've only seen it in Target once, months ago. I wondered if we'd be able to find one (except online). I called the Disney store and they were out of them, so we headed for the Target I saw it at before. I literally prayed on the way over that they'd have a Shu car, knowing how hard Jude had worked for weeks, sorting laundry, making his bed, hanging clothes, picking up toys... working for his goal. When we got there, there was ONE! :) I couldn't help but smile and give thanks. He carried it proudly to check out.

Selah wasn't quite sure what she was going to purchase. She looked at the My Little Ponies, but they didn't have what she was looking for, so we went to another store where she found two horses she could paint. She also asked to spend one of her dollars on a hot chocolate. :)


My friend Marisa invited us to a fire station tour nearby today. Jude was SO excited to go! He was quite the chatter box there. Selah was really shy, and stayed close by me, but finally came out of her shell right at the end. The fire fighters were so friendly, and it was really neat learning about the trucks and all of their equipment, as well as "station life". Thank you Marisa for inviting us along! It was really fun.