These two are just so stinkin' adorable! The boys just adore there little sister!
It took so long to get our caravan of kids down the hall that the big kid had already opened all his gifts and card before I got there ;)
Celebrating Daddy at his place!
39 Years Young!
Practicing for HER big day!
This one particularly has SERIOUS love for his Daddy still.
It's usually a hot mess when we're getting ready to leave Daddy's lol
These guys love their papa too ;) I mean, so does Cashel, but we can't get that kid to take a picture for the life of us these days.
I finally confiscated all of Mark's smaller shirts. Somehow he kept sneaking them into his rotation, even though they were showing something ilke the bottom 5 inches of his tummy. He doesn't have the capacity to recognize that not only did he look ridiculous, but he was uncomfortable in them. It still catches me off guard when I open Kendrick's closet and see them hanging there. There will come a day when he loses this insatiable desire to eat, and he'll slowly fit back into them again, but for now, it's just a reminder that he's not here, and that's hard :(
The mall is a big hit when we go visit Daddy as a whole family.
A peek inside the front door at Mark's facility.
"Don't even think about coming anywhere near my room, wolves, or you'll be sorry" -Kendrick Williard, age 4.9999999
These three are so full of adventure!
We ventured to Redwood Falls for the day, and had a blast on their basically deserted roads hiking down from the waterfalls to Ramsey Park to see the animals. There had been some major flooding that had ruined the roads going that direction, so there was no traffic, which worked well for my crazy monkey children.
Picnic lunches are the best!
I love these guys so, so much!
Yelling at his little brother to "just come back here". ::sigh:: One of the habits FTD inflicted on our family is the "I'm too tired, and my body is too broken and weary to actually walk over there, so I'm just going to yell really loud and hope you come" tactics. It's not really ideal, so much.
You see this picture and probably see some sweet, carefree kiddos, but what I see is the creepy guy who was lurking at the picnic table by himself nearby. He had been sitting there just observing kiddos for a while, and, being a vulnerable Mama bear, I was on seriously high alert at the time. The kids weren't listening, and I was about to lose my top. What would I have done had this guy been an actual threat? Maybe he was? I don't know, really, but I do know that since my 6'3" 300+lb husband is no longer with us in places like this, it makes me nervous to think about how vulnerable we all really are as a family, and that's a little scary. A worn out Mama with hip and foot issues and 4 little kids who refuse to listen? Yeah, that's a problem. I'm working to remedy all of the above (or, well, at least the hip and foot issues and getting the kids more disciplined), but in the meanwhile, it's just a little scary when you start letting your mind go to those places. :(
Mealtimes just aren't quite the same as they used to be. Most of the time, the kids don't even care to eat it, opting when I'm putting the babies down to bed, to make some popcorn or have 4 gogurts or applesauce cups. ::sigh:: Still working on it.
We had Kinsley's dedication ceremony shortly before she turned 1 in mid-August.
This Priscilla Shirer CD has gotten me through so many long jaunts down to Humboldt and Mankato when the kiddos aren't with me.
The happiest girl you ever did meet ;)
Why is it that when you leave kids to their own playtime at bedtime that something like this happens?
::sigh:: I mean, really...what would possess them to color an entire train track with blue marker?
Kendrick's face in this one cracks me up ;)
Yep, they're ALLLLLL mine!
Always with the messy face, this one.
This kid is quite the goofball ;)
Love this guy ;)
All my babies ;)
I'm not sure how my baby girl turned ONE already, but, well, it happened!
Poor girlie hardly got any cake for herself - always a lot of hands in the cake on those first birthdays.
Such fun having our Vinsand cousins join in the fun this year!
The littlest "Ropte" cousins, Gracie and Kinsley :)
My little princess :) For a full recap of her first birthday, click here.
It's crazy how much this room has changed in the course of the past year.
The effects of FTD in one single year :(
The group our local fair board usually books for the county fair for rides and food were already booked this past year, so they improvised with this fun inflatable games set. The kids had an absolute BLAST, and were dripping profusely with sweat by the time I dragged them away.
One of my very favorite parts of being a Mom is seeing my big kids be so kind and helpful with their little siblings. These boys are going to be excellent Daddies one day.
I just adore watching this guy trying to be a big kid ;)
Just a typical Sunday afternoon in August ;)
We made a few Saturday morning trips to the Farmers' Market in town in August. The kids LOVED it!
Sometimes I feel like just underlining all the words in the devotionals or books I'm reading. It's pretty obvious that a lot of people are regularly going through hard times based on the fact that I can find SUCH immense comfort in reading their words.
We celebrated Kendrick's 5th birthday a handful of days early with a fun Ghostbusters vs. Power Rangers themed party. You can check out the recap HERE.
This woman is pretty incredible, really ;) She has been such an enormous help to me in the midst of this crazy single-Mommin'. She helped me corral my kiddos for a fun day down to Okoboji and Arnold's Park after Kendrick's party. I'm not sure where I'd be without her! Her whole family has been awesome at helping keep the big kids under control on those days I'm drowning. There are certainly more people to thank profusely, but I happened to have taken a picture with this particular one this month ;) Love you, Jill!
By the end of the evening, the boys were ungrateful and cranky, and well...I was ready to be done going out of my way to have fun with them, honestly. They *said* that they didn't have any fun at ALL, but I've got a handful of pictures like this that prove them to be liars. Anyone else deal with end of the summer ungratefulness with their kiddos? Oh my goodness!!! On another note, how are all 3 of my boys big enough to go on the kiddie roller coasters???
I didn't know how badly I needed a little shelf in my bathroom like this until after I installed it. LOVE!
It's not fair that fresh salsa season is so short. Our buddy Jim in our paint department brings us his specialty salsa (with everything from just the "weak" serrano peppers up to the ghost peppers. I had to decline for the past few years between pregnancies and nursing, so this year being able to partake was AWESOME!!
This kid LOVES school!! :) He's in his second year of preschool this year, even though he's 5. He isn't nearly as excited about learning things like his ABCs and 123s, but loves shapes, colors and learning about things like the weather, and is always excited to be the line leader ;)
Bath time for the babies ;)
Neighborhood biker gang, minus one ;)
This little lady is quite the handful ;) Also, if anyone has some great advice as to how to keep socks and shoes on her, let me know! This winter is going to get interesting, as she pulls them off on the way to daycare, and then again if I try to put them on her while we're walking in. I'm not above trying duct tape at this point...
We're going to have to figure out how to do August birthdays, since we now have 3 in our immediate family with birthdays in August. We had a LOT of cake this month!
I just love watching my babies sleep :) They are go-go-go all day long, but when they fall asleep at night, it's just so, so sweet.
It took so long to get our caravan of kids down the hall that the big kid had already opened all his gifts and card before I got there ;)
Celebrating Daddy at his place!
39 Years Young!
Practicing for HER big day!
This one particularly has SERIOUS love for his Daddy still.
It's usually a hot mess when we're getting ready to leave Daddy's lol
These guys love their papa too ;) I mean, so does Cashel, but we can't get that kid to take a picture for the life of us these days.
I finally confiscated all of Mark's smaller shirts. Somehow he kept sneaking them into his rotation, even though they were showing something ilke the bottom 5 inches of his tummy. He doesn't have the capacity to recognize that not only did he look ridiculous, but he was uncomfortable in them. It still catches me off guard when I open Kendrick's closet and see them hanging there. There will come a day when he loses this insatiable desire to eat, and he'll slowly fit back into them again, but for now, it's just a reminder that he's not here, and that's hard :(
The mall is a big hit when we go visit Daddy as a whole family.
A peek inside the front door at Mark's facility.
"Don't even think about coming anywhere near my room, wolves, or you'll be sorry" -Kendrick Williard, age 4.9999999
These three are so full of adventure!
We ventured to Redwood Falls for the day, and had a blast on their basically deserted roads hiking down from the waterfalls to Ramsey Park to see the animals. There had been some major flooding that had ruined the roads going that direction, so there was no traffic, which worked well for my crazy monkey children.
Picnic lunches are the best!
I love these guys so, so much!
Yelling at his little brother to "just come back here". ::sigh:: One of the habits FTD inflicted on our family is the "I'm too tired, and my body is too broken and weary to actually walk over there, so I'm just going to yell really loud and hope you come" tactics. It's not really ideal, so much.
You see this picture and probably see some sweet, carefree kiddos, but what I see is the creepy guy who was lurking at the picnic table by himself nearby. He had been sitting there just observing kiddos for a while, and, being a vulnerable Mama bear, I was on seriously high alert at the time. The kids weren't listening, and I was about to lose my top. What would I have done had this guy been an actual threat? Maybe he was? I don't know, really, but I do know that since my 6'3" 300+lb husband is no longer with us in places like this, it makes me nervous to think about how vulnerable we all really are as a family, and that's a little scary. A worn out Mama with hip and foot issues and 4 little kids who refuse to listen? Yeah, that's a problem. I'm working to remedy all of the above (or, well, at least the hip and foot issues and getting the kids more disciplined), but in the meanwhile, it's just a little scary when you start letting your mind go to those places. :(
Mealtimes just aren't quite the same as they used to be. Most of the time, the kids don't even care to eat it, opting when I'm putting the babies down to bed, to make some popcorn or have 4 gogurts or applesauce cups. ::sigh:: Still working on it.
We had Kinsley's dedication ceremony shortly before she turned 1 in mid-August.
This Priscilla Shirer CD has gotten me through so many long jaunts down to Humboldt and Mankato when the kiddos aren't with me.
The happiest girl you ever did meet ;)
Why is it that when you leave kids to their own playtime at bedtime that something like this happens?
::sigh:: I mean, really...what would possess them to color an entire train track with blue marker?
Kendrick's face in this one cracks me up ;)
Yep, they're ALLLLLL mine!
Always with the messy face, this one.
This kid is quite the goofball ;)
Love this guy ;)
All my babies ;)
I'm not sure how my baby girl turned ONE already, but, well, it happened!
Poor girlie hardly got any cake for herself - always a lot of hands in the cake on those first birthdays.
Such fun having our Vinsand cousins join in the fun this year!
The littlest "Ropte" cousins, Gracie and Kinsley :)
My little princess :) For a full recap of her first birthday, click here.
It's crazy how much this room has changed in the course of the past year.
The effects of FTD in one single year :(
The group our local fair board usually books for the county fair for rides and food were already booked this past year, so they improvised with this fun inflatable games set. The kids had an absolute BLAST, and were dripping profusely with sweat by the time I dragged them away.
One of my very favorite parts of being a Mom is seeing my big kids be so kind and helpful with their little siblings. These boys are going to be excellent Daddies one day.
I just adore watching this guy trying to be a big kid ;)
Just a typical Sunday afternoon in August ;)
We made a few Saturday morning trips to the Farmers' Market in town in August. The kids LOVED it!
Sometimes I feel like just underlining all the words in the devotionals or books I'm reading. It's pretty obvious that a lot of people are regularly going through hard times based on the fact that I can find SUCH immense comfort in reading their words.
We celebrated Kendrick's 5th birthday a handful of days early with a fun Ghostbusters vs. Power Rangers themed party. You can check out the recap HERE.
This woman is pretty incredible, really ;) She has been such an enormous help to me in the midst of this crazy single-Mommin'. She helped me corral my kiddos for a fun day down to Okoboji and Arnold's Park after Kendrick's party. I'm not sure where I'd be without her! Her whole family has been awesome at helping keep the big kids under control on those days I'm drowning. There are certainly more people to thank profusely, but I happened to have taken a picture with this particular one this month ;) Love you, Jill!
By the end of the evening, the boys were ungrateful and cranky, and well...I was ready to be done going out of my way to have fun with them, honestly. They *said* that they didn't have any fun at ALL, but I've got a handful of pictures like this that prove them to be liars. Anyone else deal with end of the summer ungratefulness with their kiddos? Oh my goodness!!! On another note, how are all 3 of my boys big enough to go on the kiddie roller coasters???
I didn't know how badly I needed a little shelf in my bathroom like this until after I installed it. LOVE!
It's not fair that fresh salsa season is so short. Our buddy Jim in our paint department brings us his specialty salsa (with everything from just the "weak" serrano peppers up to the ghost peppers. I had to decline for the past few years between pregnancies and nursing, so this year being able to partake was AWESOME!!
This kid LOVES school!! :) He's in his second year of preschool this year, even though he's 5. He isn't nearly as excited about learning things like his ABCs and 123s, but loves shapes, colors and learning about things like the weather, and is always excited to be the line leader ;)
Bath time for the babies ;)
Neighborhood biker gang, minus one ;)
This little lady is quite the handful ;) Also, if anyone has some great advice as to how to keep socks and shoes on her, let me know! This winter is going to get interesting, as she pulls them off on the way to daycare, and then again if I try to put them on her while we're walking in. I'm not above trying duct tape at this point...
We're going to have to figure out how to do August birthdays, since we now have 3 in our immediate family with birthdays in August. We had a LOT of cake this month!
I just love watching my babies sleep :) They are go-go-go all day long, but when they fall asleep at night, it's just so, so sweet.
