And God Said.. STOP CLIMBING ON THAT!

I don't know about you, but right now my life is crazy busy. I have friends who go to several Bible Studies a week, I have friends who, every day post Bible verses as their facebook status that they came across when they were doing their three hour quiet time. I have friends who have read every single devotional and are that perfect Proverbs 31 woman. 

Don't get me wrong, I want to grow and be everything I can possibly be. I probably do need a huge dose of "Spirituality" in my every day life. I have a friend who put it so well; "I really try hard to make the Lord my number one priority, but lets face it, the Lord isn't asking me to change his poopy diaper RIGHT NOW."

I determined to read my Bible more. I tried doing it at night and the next morning I had drooled all over Adam naming the animals. So I decided I would try it in the morning, but the baby decided breakfast was more important than the "two by two's" making their way into the ark. I finally found a perfect time to read my Bible; while I am pumping. See I told you I need more spirituality in my daily routine!

Bedtime rolls around and I am determined to be that mom who prays with her kids and has kids who grow up to breathe and sleep and eat prayer and pray prayers that produce food for hungry kids and heals broken limbs instantly. My kids start their prayers, and in between hearing them thank God for Nintendo and asking Him for Luke Skywalker to become a real life person, I must have nodded off, because all of a sudden there is World War 3 going on over top of me because one kid prayed for the other kid to let him use his bicycle and for God to hit him over the head if he doesn't. 

You know that verse about praying without ceasing, I think I am doing better at that! "God please don't let that police officer catch up to me" "God please don't let my kid puke from eating the tube of toothpaste" "God please keep the bank open an extra 20 minutes today" "God please help me not to intentionally lose my fighting kids in the store." "God PLEASE let the bathroom scales be wrong!"

We read a Bible Story the other night and I was interrupted by one of my inquisitive sons; "Mommy what did Noah do with all that poop from the animals on the ark?" Before I could answer  another one asked, "Yeah and where did Noah go to the bathroom?" Which reminded the third kid that he had a poopy diaper, and poor Noah did not get off the boat full of stinky animals that night.

My kids and I do have spiritual discussions. We talk about if nothing is impossible for God than he can make slime come out of his ears. We talk about how big God's fingernail clippings must be if he can hold the whole world in his hands and we talk about how God has to whisper because if he talked out loud, since he's so big, it would pop all of our ears. 

Awhile back, I had a grouchy kid giving me attitude at lunch. I prayed for our food and added a plea for all of us to have good attitudes. Without missing a beat, my child chimed in "Dear God, don't listen to mommy. Amen" 

Last Sunday after church the Sunday School teacher mentioned that my kids were in time out for karate chopping each other over the head multiple times. Yep we are officially the most unspiritual family in church. 

Thankfully I have learned about God's grace and I realize that he understands if the only Bible Verse I read  that day is the one over my kitchen sink or if He has to listen to panicked pleas to keep the child forgotten at school scarred for a short time instead of for life, more than once a week. I think he understands that someday I do plan on joining the deep discussions on how in the world the Proverbs 31 woman ever has time to sleep instead of discussing whether or not dinosaurs will be in Heaven. 

Just Another Day in Paradise

I get a lot of comments about my 22 month old. "He's so cute!" "How do you ever tell him no?" "Look at those eyes" and they go on and on. Those people do not live with him on a regular basis. When I try to convince  them that the innocence is totally superficial, I get nasty looks! So today I followed little Mr. Caleb around with a camera. I did discover he does have pretty cute eyes.

Yesterday when I was picking up Kyler at school, we were standing in line. Before I could stop it, Caleb removed his shoe and hurled it into the lady in front of him. She whirled around with a rather annoyed look on her face and then looks at me and says, "He has the cutest smile I have ever seen." I'm looking at her thinking, "Lady, the kid left a shoe shaped bruise on your shin, remember??" 

Today is Friday; cleaning day. I locked Caleb in the backyard so the house could be clean for 10 minutes.  Well the 10 minutes ended, hurricane Caleb entered the house and I am still sitting in the middle of a ripped up book, with marshmallows scattered about and Kleenex from the freshly emptied box softly floating around my head.

Micah asked for Snickerdoodles. I decided this sounded fabulous so I set out to bake some really quick before supper. Of course Caleb was tired of turning the washing machine on and off and on and off and on and off and on and off, so he wandered over to watch what I was doing. I turned around to wash the flour off of my hands and this is what happened. 

He ate three balls of dough before I stopped him, and as I was filling a second pan I noticed a few more that had not escaped the fingers of Sir Caleb.

As I was finishing up with the cookies, Caleb, who was jumping on the couch, hit his head on the windowsill. Wails and tears and hiccups ensued and I set him up on the counter while I washed up the baking dishes. I stopped to get the phone but Caleb had no problem entertaining himself while I took my attention elsewhere for a few minutes. 

He scampered away as fast as he could as I cleaned up the pond on the kitchen floor, and yelled threats that Canada could hear. By this time I am well aware that even I do not understand the extent of this child's talent for sabotaging cleaning day, so I scurry upstairs to find him. And I almost just turned around and went back downstairs once I found him.

Do you know how hard it is to get pencil off of walls? There was pencil all over every wall in the hall way. Seriously the child has impressive destructive speed! He wanted the rag I was cleaning with and when I wouldn't let him have it, he threw himself on the floor in a wailing kicking fit. I didn't look at him once, so he got up and went into the bathroom declaring "rag". I finished cleaning the wall and realized he hadn't come back out of the bathroom. 

I have no idea how he got the facet handle off, or why both of his brothers toothbrushes are in his mouth. There was a cute little hand print on my freshly cleaned mirror. At this point supper was burned and Liam was screaming for his supper. The older two were fighting and I was ready to declare bedtime at 5:30pm!

After supper we all sat down to watch a movie. 10 minutes into it, this was sweet little Caleb.

And this is just 1 kid, I have 3 more where he came from!!!

March Memories

I hate March. It seems as though March is filled with teeny tastes of spring, and long blasts of winter. March makes me feel like winter will never end. I have never liked the month of March.

This March, however, was the month of visitors. To try and buddy up to me, March has also delivered several long stretches of beautiful 70 degree weather. I am warming up to the rascally month of March.

My baby brother from North Carolina graced us with his presence the last week of February and the first week of March. We had some grand adventures. I reminded him several times of all the diapers of his that I changed and I made him clean my couches until midnight one night. He ate an inhumane amount of food and left his socks on my bathroom floor. He took my kids snake shopping. I can't believe how much my baby brother has grown up! I can't wait till he comes back to visit!! Caleb just told someone that the guest bed was Uncle Ryan's bed, and he still asks for him on a regular basis.

Our next set of visitors was my cousins Marilyn and her little baby bump, and Cheryl and her princess Malana, from New Mexico.

When we were growing up we lived next to each other for two years. Those two years have so many memories!! We had a funeral for a guinea pig and baby chick, we played Indians dressed in paper bags in the backyard. We built elaborate forts from cardboard boxes.

While they were here, we watched our kids play and make memories like we did when we were their ages. We spent an afternoon learning how to ride bikes and climb rocks in Garden of the Gods, and spent time relaxing and chatting. Micah and Kyler were rather sad the day they had to say goodbye to their cousins. Kyler dramatically stated that he "loved Malana for always".

A few days after my cousin's left, my grandparents from Bellville Pennsylvania came to visit. We had some yummy bar-b-q and looked at pictures and caught up. This was actually the first time they got to meet crazy and wild Caleb, and of course they met little Liam as well. My kids love Grandpa and Grandma Peachey, and were thrilled with Grandpa's stories about "pet snakes" found when their Papa and Uncles were boys. My Grandma raised three boys and it was fun to hear about what all I have to look forward to!

My Uncle Tim from San Diego also came with my grandparents, but he and his wife Carolyn got to stop in again, for a day a week later. Uncle Tim and Aunt Carolyn came bringing cool gifts for the boys and were instantly welcomed with open arms by the boys. Everyone competed to sit by them at lunch and every latest achievement and story were told several times by my kids. We always have such a great time catching up with Uncle Tim and Aunt Carolyn, even though every time we see them we tend to have another new family member. Maybe we should Skype or email from now on. Kyler whined that it was no fun that they had to go home!

We love having company!! And there is still a week left in March if you are feeling left out!!

Random Wilson Moments

When I was a little girl I dreamed about meeting prince charming, marrying him, having a dozen kids and living happily ever after. I didn't, however, think about prince charming getting old! (I still refuse to believe that if he is getting old, then I am, because I was like 12 when I got married, so I still have years and years before it happens to me!)

One morning I rolled over and realized my prince charming had just a few hairs less than he did when we rode off into the sunset. Makes God's counting job easier I guess. Then I noticed silver hairs!! And then he turned 30!!! Whats next a cane and false teeth???

I guess I should have seen it coming when he got winded going up the stairs, or had to spend the day in bed after a baseball game. Oh and then there is his "hip flexor" he has been complaining about! What the heck is a hip flexor????

As if my husband turning 30 wasn't cruel enough of mother nature in reminding me that I might be a tad older than some people, my 6 year old started riding his bike without training wheels. It started out with a few feet and a crash and crying and threats never ever ever ever ever to get on a bike again. And then one day he took off. All of a sudden my little baby can ride a bike and I'm sobbing and realizing that he is going to get a drivers license one day!

My four year old is planning his fifth birthday party in a few weeks. This child keeps me on my toes! Last week he asked me if we could get a pet mouse. Um NO! Then he asks me if he can when I am dead. Well considering that I have an aging husband, he may get his mouse sooner than he thinks.

So I discovered something. Each child I produce gets a tad ornerier. This brings me to the Caleb update, and honestly this child leaves me speechless most days. Probably because I can't say the words that he usually evokes in front of children.

I came upon my sweet innocent angel the other day and his response to my loud "What are you doing??" was a very practical "I pump."

And then there was yesterday when I followed the trail of eyeshadow to the baby's swing. His response again was matter of fact. "Liam, eyes."

My sweet little youngest has started giggling. He discovered his hands the other day, which is always comical to me. Can you imagine the utter shock when this thing that keep hitting you in the face suddenly appears to be attached to you!! I always imagine them thinking things like , Whoa I wonder what else it can do, or what else I have!!

Yep I love being a mom!!!!!!!!!!!!

When I Grow Up

My oldest asked me once why we have to just choose one thing to be when we grow up. I feel the exact same way. Currently I am one Bio class away from entering the nursing program to become an RN. This has been my dream since I was a little girl. Only problem with nursing is needles. I hate needles. As I am studying, I have discovered another problem with nursing. All the diseases and things that can go wrong, therefore creating the need for nurses.

I have somewhat of a reputation for imaginitis, or thinking I have everything I hear about. Kevin has banned me from watching mystery diagnosis on TV because we often have conversations along these lines; Me: I think I have that! I wonder what stage I'm in! Kevin: Your in no stage. Me: Well thats the perfect stage to start treatment, seeing how your chances of surviving go down with each stage. Kevin: Your in no stage because you don't have it, plus I think you have to be a man to get it!

While Kevin was in Africa for two weeks I often fell asleep watching whatever happened to be on. One night I watched "I Didn't Know I was Pregnant". I freaked out and started cleaning all my bathroom cupboards searching frantically for a pregnancy test. True I had just had a baby and my husband was on a two week trip in Africa, but these people thought there was no earthly way they were pregnant, and they ended up on TV!!

Another thing I want to be when I grow up is a writer. I love to read and these people write hopelessly romantic books that make you get goosebumps and cause people to line up for miles three nights before the movie starts after someone turns your book into a film. But what would I write about? I can't do vampires, thats only successful once, plus Kevin tells me my "limited" knowledge of vampires is incorrect in so many aspects. I can't really do self help books, because you have to help yourself first, and I am sure a book on how to stack the most dishes in the sink with out having them fall over is not going to hit the bestsellers list anytime soon. And I haven't gotten stuck in a water barrel in another country, while researching ape behavior, almost died, seen my great grandparents, and then lived to tell about it.

Today I want to be a baby photographer when I grow up! There is this lady in like Nebraska or somewhere there is corn, and she takes these amazing pictures of naked, tiny babies and charges like a million dollars a session, but they are stunning! Lets face it newborns rock. True babies may pee on you while you are trying to capture their breath taking, red, wrinkly skin, but you don't have to cough up a dollar fifty to bribe one tiny smile out of them. They don't throw the props at you, or run away screaming "No I will NOT sit by him!" I really need to find a way to get one of those cool cameras that does everything, including making toast for you!!

So I will tell my kid, go ahead and plan on becoming a dinosaur trainer, an astronaut and a video game maker. Sounds like fun, and how could you possibly choose between those three, seriously!

Observations of an unusual love

Growing up, my sister was my best friend. We were two years apart and we did almost everything together. My mom claims we fought, but being the delightful child I was, I think she is getting me confused with my rascally brothers. We went to sleepovers together, we shared Barbie clothes, and we did swimming lessons together. As we got older we double dated together and shared each other's clothes and whispered at night about our dates and first kisses. I loved having a sister so close to me, so when I got married and we discussed adding more delightful little children to the current population, we planned for them to be close.

I ended up with 4 boys! Did I mention that my brothers don't giggle at night about their crushes? Did I also mention that their interactions are more loud and include name calling when the other one backs into ones car?

I have observed that a brother relationship is a tad different than sisters. The tackling is a little bit rougher, and ears and toes get bitten more, and you can stick your tongue out for record setting amounts of time if one is irritating you. I have also noticed that, though they may hide it a little better, boys still love each other and have a closeness that comes from sharing the same set of quirky, and unusual set of parents.

Today my oldest punched his brother in the stomach for daring to touch his Nintendo DS, #2 "accidentally" spit on #1 when he dared to say he could run faster. #3 smacked #2 over the head with a toy hammer, and for what we don't exactly know.

(Yes, when you have 4 boys ages 6 and under, it is perfectly ok to start calling them by numbers.)

Today Micah gave his snacks to Kyler and Caleb after his basketball game because they didn't get any. Caleb cuddled Liam while he watched a movie. Kyler told Micah he was the best big brother in the world, and 1, 2, and 3 are all sleeping together in one twin sized bed, you can't tell whose arms belongs to which body.

Brothers are an incredible, sometimes disguised, gift from God!

Liam Kade

Well its been over a month since I have blogged. At my current stage of life, I only get to wash three body parts at a time in the shower before its time to jump out and, dripping wet, rescue a child falling down the stairs, or feed a tiny mouth or break up world war 3. My life revolves around 3am feedings and the next poopy diaper.

Even though I knew I would have to deliver a 10 minute short summary of one of the most amazing days of my life, I have been meaning to get on here a lot sooner. And so in way to few of words here is our newest members arrival to the world.

On December 30th, we kissed the older boys goodbye and waddled our way to the car. At 12:31 with my guts laid across an operating table, my red wrinkled 8 pound 14 ounce son was pulled from his little cocoon, and filled the room with his tiny screams. Even though he's my 4th that first cry filled my heart and overflowed from my eyes. I will treasure those firsts cries every day of my life.

My older boys were very excited to meet trouble #4!!

They all love him. True Micah has decided that he is now the class clown and his teacher is thinking about changing her career to something in a monastery far from any children, and Kyler suddenly can't remember to get to the bathroom in time, and Caleb has emptied every cupboard and hides things in the washer, but at least they love their brother!

So our baby was officially 2 hours old, hanging out in the NICU and the poor sweet thing had no name. Through this entire pregnancy we battled over what we should name our 4th boy. We had enough names to name 2o girls, but 4 boy names was impossible.

Kevin thought of Tank and Bear and Flying animal something or other. I was told the names I came up with were rather feminine. Thankfully, as I lay in a recovery room having my stapled belly bandaged, we found a name that fit him perfectly.

Liam Kade Wilson.

And so we are bumbling our way through life with 4 children hoping that they are young enough not to remember being forgotten in the car, or being fed froot loops for dinner and truly loving every minute of our very blessed, yet not always fully showered lives!!!