Fun pics in May

Mini bike

Saturday mornings Rod heads out by himself and goes yard saling. He leaves before anyone else is awake. He calls it his 2 hours of free time for the week! He loves yard saling solo. Last year we'd go w/ the boys and would slow him down quite a bit :) it's interesting to see what he comes home with! He does good buying boys clothes. (i forbid him to buy anymore jeans!) He's also gotten lawn chairs, a pressure washer, booster seats, traffic cones, oh and this mini bike! The fun the boys will have on this thing in years to come. But first it's mommy and daddy's turn.

Fruit Pizza

This is so yummy!

Fruit Pizza:

Cookie Dough recipe:
1/4 c. butter
1/4 c. shortening
1/3 c. brown sugar
1/3 c. sugar
1 egg
1 1/3 c. flour
3/4 tsp. baking soda
3/4 tsp. vanilla
Cream shortenings and sugars. Add remaining ingred. Mix until smooth. Spread on pizza pan. Bake 375 for 10 minutes.

Filling:
1 - 8oz. cream cheese, softened
8 oz whipped topping
1/2 c. sugar
Blend together and spread on top of cooled cookie crust.

Arrange fruit of your choice on top. Such as - strawberries, bananas, grapes, peaches, blueberries, raspberries, kiwi, etc.

Orange glaze:
1/2 c. sugar
1 T cornstarch
1/2 orange juice
dash salt
1/4 c. water
Mix and boil, until thickened. Cool slightly. Make sure all fruit is covered/sealed. ENJOY!!

Perennial swap

I invited a group of ladies here Saturday for a perennial swap. Everyone was to dig up their perennials that needed thinned out and bring them to share. And then they all went home w/ something new to plant. we had 9 ladies here. i want to do it again next year. i couldn't believe all the plants people brought. they did great!

a couple updated shots

Gingrich cousins:
Little boy Clay's 1 month pictures: He was truly bored....

~Mother's Day~

Hoping you all had a nice Mother's day yesterday.

Mine started off on a selfish note. The boys didn't do anything for me, and i was disappointed rod didn't have the boys do something. I knew it was selfish, but i couldn't help it! I didn't want him to buy me anything. Just have the boys scribble on some paper, that would have been fine :) So at breakfast Adam says "mom, we forgot to do a craft for you!" (i had told him the day before to make something for me while i was away:) So after breakfast i helped the boys make me a craft! They were sweet and handed me their creation and said Happy Mother's day. Actually Ben said "Happy....pause......I have to poop!" Well ok, there goes that moment!

I was so happy to be able to go to church, Ben had been sick the 2 days before and i was certain the other ones would have gotten it by Sunday. But they didn't, and Ben was better. I seriously think this is the first time one has gotten sick without the others getting it!! And i really enjoyed the service. Pretty sure God wanted me to go :)

I was convicted about my selfishness. A handful of ladies were asked to share about their moms and experiences growing up and it was so neat to hear the honor these ladies had for their moms. I was challenged to be a loving and prayerful mom, mirroring God's love and using our God given Mother's heart to love our children and others supernaturally, thus giving God glory and showing the world what God's love looks like. I could go on. It was very good. So i left there not thinking about me and my lack of recognition at home, but reflecting on the service and striving to be the loving mom (and person) God calls us to be.

Singleton, Twins, and...Triplets!

Rods aunt nannies for a set of triplets. We had a playdate with them this week. They are adorable! Colin, Zoe, and Lilah are 16 months old.

interacting

I try to have a good balance between letting the boys interact w/ Clay and asking them to give him space. It's stretching sometimes letting them interact with him. Look at what the poor boy has to deal with! It's sweet though in it's own way.

Another fun thing from today was this bike Rod found in his warehouse for Adam. We've been looking at yard sales for a training wheeled bike, and then it dawned on him he's had this one stashed away for years. It's girly and wobbly, but Adam loves it and did real well on it.

I'm tired, hoping to pick up a nap today. Clay has picked his awake time to be when the other 3 are napping!

Some favorites

I haven't been taking as many pictures of Clay as i have with the other boys. Funny how that happens. But here are a few of my favorites.
He continues to be an easy, content baby (except for the above pic:) He does have more awake time now, but still not nursing well. Rod and i keep commenting how nice it is to just have one this time!! Thinking back on when the twins were infants has really made us enjoy this newborn phase with Clay all the more. Rod's sister is in town which means i've had lots of help, that has been a blessing. They even helped me plant my garden. The whole garden got planted in one hour! It usually takes me a good week to get everything in. So a big thank you to them for all they are doing for us.