There was one, there were two, there were three little monkeys, there were four...

Have I said enough that the boys LOVE their sister? Because they do.

There were two...

there were three...

there were four little monkeys

If one of the boys gets to lay with Haven, they all want to. And below is often how our mornings started where each boy would make it into my bedroom to say hello to me  Haven. If H had had a bad night I always had to make sure my light was off in the room near the time the boys got up, even if I was feeding her, so that they wouldn't enter into the room and I could sneak in a little more sleep. If they saw the light on, they came in. 

And she loves them just as much as they love her. She thrives on all the attention and the general loudness of life around her. The few times Brett and I have traveled with just her she seems lost and bored with just us as entertainment.

I never thought the boys would be so into their sister. I knew they'd love her but it is so sweet to see how much they genuinely enjoy her and love to love on her. Haven has been such a sweet, sweet blessing to our family. I can't imagine us without her!

Fire bending

When I am writing in the month of October about pictures from July, I feel a bit overwhelmed by how far behind I am in keeping up with what's been going on. But I am reminded that this is for the kids to look back upon more than for the present so with that in mind, I press on. (Hopefully they will thank me one day).

One thing I hate about summer in America is that it gets dark SO LATE and the boys are always sad that they have to go to bed while it is still light outside. While I'd love to let them stay up, they don't sleep in and we pay for it desperately the next day so in general, my boys rarely see the dark during summer months. So on the rare occasions that they do, I hope it feels them with excitement and much joy. The week before my sister's family left for Ecuador, Zachary spent the night with the boys. They watched a movie and ate pizza and popcorn and then went out and did sparklers. They were into Avatar this summer so they enjoyed "fire bending" with them.

These are the moments that I will cherish forever. When all are happy and filled with wonder. When there is nothing better than what is currently happening with the loved ones around them. It's as though my heart will burst with all the love and joy I feel. I hope the boys remember these special moments in time and one day come to realize what a gift these times are.

Holden Beach photo shoot

We were blessed to have my sister's friend, Ellen, take family pictures for us while at the beach. Brett and I had a family picture done when Dawson was a baby. He was teething and didn't smile, the pictures were awful and we've never done it again. We've had random people take pictures but nothing with a great camera where we are all coordinated and all. So I had really high hopes but low expectations. Ellen did not disappoint! 

I explained to my kids that if they would just smile at the beginning and do what was asked of them the whole experience would be over quickly. Man, did that work. Those boys were ready to pose from the instant we stepped out of the car. We got situated for our family photo and I kid you not it was over in ten seconds. And everyone was happy. When I saw the pictures, I got tears in my eyes and literally kissed Ellen out of pure joy. What a blessing!

 Ellen also did some pictures of Haven which I loved. So much fun to change her outfits and try different poses.

Holden Beach 2014

 The Ervins, MacLeans, Pinhos, and Aunt Patricia packed up and headed to the beach in July for some fun in the sun. There was a good bit of sun and we did manage to have some fun thankfully. 7 kids is a lot. There was always a constant rotation of kids at the beach. Not much reading and relaxing was had by the adults as the waves crashed in the distance, but memories were made which is what matters.

We made a ditch like we did several years ago. I was thinking we were going to get to keep the big hole for awhile. But, no, they  I dug it and then they sat in it and filled the hole.

We played some tag football. We could get through usually three or four plays before one or another kid would get upset and the game ended.

The ladies all enjoyed the porch looking out at the ocean.

And to my mother's dismay, technology played a big part in the week. This was a common theme around the house.

And on the last day Miss Haven finally made it out to the beach. It's no fun putting a 4 month old in a bathing suit, lathering her with lotion to take her to sit under a tent with the wind blowing in her face so she can't keep her eyes open. If I'm going to go through the effort to cover her in lotion, I want her or me to enjoy it. So it was just easier to keep her inside or on the covered porch most of the week. But since she was there, we had to at least get pictures of her on the beach at least once so we can pretend we did it everyday.

4th of July

I realize we are now in September but I am a bit behind in the blog world. :) A little baby, a sister and her family leaving the country and then us doing the same thing three weeks later keeps one busy. Intermingled with chaos the last few months were some sweet times that should not be quickly forgotten.

I have truly come to enjoy our little fourth of July celebrations. I loved the whole experience of fireworks as a young adult and I look forward to my kids enjoying them but for now home fireworks done in the early evening when it is still bright outside works for me. :)

Brady was not a fan of the sounds. He got the headphones so he could be with everyone. It was the poppers in his hand that made too much noise.

So when there was actually something making noise, inside with binoculars became the safe bet.

 And what Fourth of July would be complete without watermelon? Love it!