How long???

So, how long has it been since I posted last? Hmmm... way too long. Sorry for the lack of new pictures and play-by-play on my mundane life. We have been soooooo busy lately. Let's see... what's happened since September? Not too much fun stuff. All I can say is God always provides what you need in your time of need... no more, no less. That pretty much describes the past 2 months.

As for me, I've been catching up on my dentist appointments that I've missed for the last 15 years. I think about 5-6 appointments. I just had my last one on Tuesday. Now I don't have to go back until January when we'll figure out when to do the crown on my root canal. I'm wondering now why I put this off for so many years. Oh well... live and learn. The hubby is doing well and healthy. Thankfully no one has been sick with any of the flu that has been going around.

Middle-G had surgery the middle of October. It was a 9 hour surgery and 8 days in the hospital which we are glad to be done with. We'll fine out in January if the surgery was successful in helping his kidney to drain, but otherwise he is healing well and feeling fabulous. He is getting so tall and so smart. He even memorized his birthday which I was surprised about. I love watching him grow. We're just so proud of how well he does. Praise God for him!

Big-G is still going to his home school group on Tuesdays and loving it. We also recently started to go to Rainbows (a Wednesday night group at our church for 4 years olds). He thinks Rainbows is the best thing ever. He is such a quick learner. I have been home schooling him for kindergarten this year, and we are nearly done with the curriculum. He's reading very well, doing addition, subtraction, writing in cursive and can find dozen or so countries on his globe. Definitely our little scholar. I know all of our kids are not going to be this easy to teach so I'm enjoying this while it lasts.

Little-G is bigger than ever. He was recently at the doctor and was only in the 55th percentile for weight, but 85th percentile for height. He is a real stinker. Already climbing on top of the couch and doing everything his brothers do. He isn't saying anything intelligible yet, but he is definitely louder than the other 2 boys put together. I've never heard a child with a voice as loud as his.

Right now they are all outside playing with Papa. It's their absolute favorite thing to do. As soon as he gets here, all 3 boys run to the door to get their shoes. I think it's time for me to put some children down for naps, so I'll leave you with a few pictures, and hopefully be blogging again before too long.

Best Buds.

My three sons in the Cracker Barrel rocking chairs.

Middle-G having a rare quiet moment.

Fun in the Dells.

This is the best toy they ever got. Every time we buy diapers we just tie a string to it and there you go!

This is Big-G's invention from outside. He gathers plants and leaves from the yard and makes a "summer salad" as he calls it. And no it's not edible. It looks nice though.

Middle-G having his first smile after surgery and enjoying a cracker.

Middle-G feeling better at the hospital and having fun with his favorite little visitor.

Mommy and Middle-G looking out the hospital window.

Our view for 8 days at the hospital. Fall colors were nice, but smoke stacks not so much.

End of Summer, Here We Come!

Fall is definitely arriving, and there's nothing I don't like about it. The falling leaves, the cooler temperatures, no humidity, perfect running weather, and Big-G has finally started his "Tuesday School", which means he can stop asking me every day when it's going to be starting. He is going to a program for home school kids once a week for 3 hours. They do art, gym, and writing along with some other fun kindergarten things. He absolutely loved it and can't wait to go back. Unfortunately I didn't get to drop him off because we had to take Middle-G to the hospital for some tests.

Middle-G did surprisingly well with his tests. He handled everything like a pro. He didn't enjoy getting the IV too much, but after they gave him the sedation he got kind of funny. He was holding up his arm with the IV in it and saying, "How did this get on my arm?" He had the weirdest little grin on his face when he was saying it. Then he got to watch the Cars moving for an hour and a half while the test went on. We are so blessed to have a Children's Hospital so near us! He was so relaxed for the second test that he actually fell asleep. I felt like I wanted to also after being there for 8 hours. God was definitely good to us. I looks he will be having surgery on his ureter again next month. It seemed like there might be a blockage, so they are going to have to redo something they did earlier because it didn't heal right. This could be his last surgery for a while, so that feels really good. Just keep him in your prayers. God always answers them.

Here are a few pictures from the past few weeks.

Little-G eating his cake for his 1st birthday. He ate the entire piece and enjoyed it very much.

What is this? It's all the bags of cobs from the approximately 570 cobs of corn we froze in 1 day. Yes... we are nuts.

Here is the kitchen completely covered in corn. On the left, that is one of the 8 bags of corn that we did that day. Our freezer is now completely full of corn.

The pictures above are from the De Young Family Zoo in the UP. The kids loved it! It was a unique place.

Big-G ready for Papa to take him for his first day of school!

Bad Blogger?

I'm sorry to say I have become a very bad blogger. My time has just been vanishing, and the blogging has been sacrificed. It doesn't actually vanish. I think it gets consumed by 3 little munchkins who have been very much enjoying it. We have had such a busy summer. I can't even remember everything we've done. That's why I should have been blogging. I could have looked back over my blog when fall came and remember all the fun we had. I'll just leave you with some pictures of the highlights.

Thankfully, though, the summer has been pretty uneventful. Doctors visits were at a minimum and no hospital admissions. Middle-G is going to have some additional tests done on his kidney in a few weeks. The function seems to be good, and the kidney is growing well (about the size of a 7 year old's!), but it has a little too much fluid in it, and we need to see if it can be fixed. This may or may not lead to another surgery, but we shall see. We're trusting God to give the doctors wisdom. Thankfully God remains in control as I find it much too stressful to control everything on my own.

Unfortunately, Middle-G's tests are falling on the same day as Big-G's first day of kindergarten. I'm pretty sad that I won't be able to drop him off for his first day every, but Papa will be there, which I guess is probably better according to him. I'll be sure to take a picture of him with his backpack before he leaves. We've started the homeschooling about a month ago, and he has been flying through it. He is the fastest learner ever. He told me the other day that he only writes in cursive now, which is true. He has ONLY been writing in cursive since he learned it, and it is actually very legible. I'm sooooooo proud of him. He is already reading the books for that are supposed to be for the end of the school year. I had no idea he could really read until I gave him a book and he knew all the words.

I wish all my children could be taught this easily, but that will not be the case. Middle-G has much to offer the world, but I don't think book learning is going to be his thing. I could be wrong, but as of now it doesn't seem like I am. I was trying to do alphabet flashcards with him, and I held up an "A." I asked him what it was and he said, "three." I held up a "B." I asked him what it was and he said, "choo-choo train." He definitely a more free spirit!

Tomorrow we look forward to a reunion with my mom's side of the family. I'm sure it will be lots of fun, and the boys will love having so many people to play with. We will be celebrating my grandpa's birthday and also I'll be getting a little cupcake for Gibson to dig into since he'll be 1 next week. I've got to get going early to get my run in. I'm going to try to advance to 8 miles. I did 7-1/2 last week, but my toe was hurting me a lot. We'll see how this week goes. I hope I don't die! I'm supposed to run a half-marathon next Saturday, that's a tad over 13 miles. I obviously won't be running the whole thing. My goal was always to do half, but it's in the morning and I'm a night runner. I don't know if I'll be able to run 10 miles after getting up at 4 a.m. We'll see how my toe and my sports hernia hold up to my run tomorrow, and that will predict what I do next weekend.

I've got to get to bed. The G-men don't let me sleep in! Here are a few pictures from this summer.

Little-G having lunch outside, and Middle-G on the big boy swing.

Big-G eating the chocolate covered bacon and loving it at the State Fair.

Me and my boys making bird feeders out of bagels, peanut butter and birdseed at the State Fair.

Big-G bearing arms when we went camping for the 2nd time, and then Big-G "swimming like a fish" at the lake when we were camping.

Little-G sleeping in the tent. Is he relaxed or what?

Here Comes the Bride...

Friday night was the wedding of my very good friend. She is the nicest person in the whole world, and her wedding was beautiful. Everything went smoothly during the ceremony, and the food at the reception was delicious. It was so much less stressful not being the bride!



Right now my husband is up north for his family reunion. It was a little cool, so apparently nobody even went in the lake. I guess they just huddled around the fire to stay warm. I'm just praying he gets home safe tonight, and not too late. It will be nice to have help with the kids again.



Last night I ran a 4 mile race that starts down the road from our house. It was a night race, so I was able to put the kids to bed first, and that way Uncle M didn't have to do much except keep his ear open for them. It was a really fun race. The weather was perfect for it. There was lots of free food and music after, but I was by myself so I didn't stay long. Hopefully next year I can get someone to go with me. I will definitely look forward to running this one again. I never in a million years would have guessed that I would enjoy running. Not that I want to run a marathon right now, but maybe someday.

This week we have a doctor's appointment for Middle-G and then Thursday starts the State Fair. My husband is counting down the hours. I'll just be glad when it's over, but then it will be time to start packing for another camping trip. It will be nice when it's winter again, and we can relax a little!

Here are few more wedding pics. Sorry no pics of the boys today. I guess I should get that camera out again. Little-G is starting to walk along the furniture, so he'll probably be taking his first steps soon.



Miss E, the bride, and the bridesmaids.


He gets the prize for the hairiest bridesmaid.


The wedding party.

Random Summer

Time is just flying by, and we are busier than ever. This week is still going to be a little crazy, but I think we'll finally be able to take a breath next week. I know I haven't been posting often, but this summer we are having a blast. There has been a lot going on for the kids. I'll post a few pictures summarizing our last few weeks. We went to Ottawa Lake near our house where they have a great beach. Big-G just loves to "swim like a fish." I don't think Middle-G is going to end up being the outdoors type, but time will tell.

We also had a fabulous 4th of July. The weather was wonderful. It started out with my running my first 5K. I ran the whole thing and made good time. Very proud of myself! Never in a million years did I think I would be able to do that. Big-G rode his bike in the bike parade, and we had all of our family over to watch and then have a picnic after. It was very enjoyable.

Another thing I didn't think I would do in a million years is go camping, and that is what we just did this past weekend. A friend of mine is the one who decided we would go, so I was going very reluctantly. I am so surprised how well it went, and how much fun we all had. I actually can't wait to go again. Big-G just cried when we had to come home. He said it was as much fun as Disney World.

Other than that, life is just going on and we're all doing well. Little-G is bigger than ever. At 10 months old he's walking along the furniture and sometimes looking like he's about to take off on his own. Middle-G has a routine appointment for his kidney this week, so we will pray all goes well with that. I got Big-G's curriculum for kindergarten, which he is very excited about. I had to hide the books so that he wouldn't try to do them without me. He's going to be the easy one to teach.

Here are some pictures from the past few weeks. Hopefully I'll find time to post again before the month is out!

Big-G at the lake and Middle-G cooling in the pool.

Middle-G with Nana and Little-G with Daddy at the 4th of July duck races.

The big boys got to play with fire for 4th of July.

Big-G posing with the tent and Little-G watching the campfire with Daddy.

Big-G and Mr. L running like crazy.

Is Middle-G having fun?

Middle-G in a little better mood, and Daddy chilling on the campsite with the kiddos.

Good night, sleep tight.

Lovin' the Island

We just got home from yet another fabulous trip to the Island. Big-G cried when it was time to come home. He said he didn't want vacation to end. Middle-G started saying "I don't want to go home" when he recognized our neighborhood. I guess that means they had fun. We walked miles and miles and enjoyed all the beautiful sights of the island. We also spent a lot of time playing in the grass and just running around (or should I say making holes in all their pants!).

We walked around the entire Island only once (8 miles). I did a little extra and took a run for about 3 miles while everybody else threw rocks in the water. I was hoping to get more chances to run, but we ended up always being on the go. It was such a difference from last year. I was pregnant last year and totally exhausted the entire time. It was nice to be in shape and able to enjoy everything without wanting to take a break constantly.

Big-G played his first round of golf on the executive putting course on the island. He absolutely loved it and has talked about nothing else since. He tells us he wants to go mini golf multiple times a day now. I think he likes doing stuff with just him and Daddy. We aren't about ready to give Middle-G a club yet. He's a very destructive boy!

When we got home Thursday night I had to quick clean up and get ready for a wedding shower I was throwing on Saturday. We got to be outside and the weather was pretty nice and most importantly there were no mosquitoes. We had a fabulous time. Now it's only a little over a month to the wedding, and I still need to get my dress hemmed. I better get on that soon!

While I was doing the wedding shower, my hubby took the boys to a birthday party. They had a wonderful time. They went in the sprinkler and decorated their own cupcakes and daddy was watching them, so you can imagine what they looked like when they got home!

This week we are just going to try to get back into routine. Daddy's off work on Tuesday, so Big-G might get his wish and go to the mini-golf course if it's not too hot. Wednesday is a playdate with their friends who they haven't seen for almost 2 weeks. That will definitely be a good time. Also on the list is getting the air conditioning fixed in the van which we found out didn't work when we were driving home on Thursday and it was 87 degrees. Not a good time to find that out.

Here are a few pictures. I am limited to how many I can save on the blog, plus it takes a long time to download to this site. I put a lot more on FaceBook for those of you who have access to that.

Me and the boys at the NEW Zoo.

Me and the Mr. on the Island. Little-G enjoying some time in the grass.

Sugar Loaf on the left and then the view from Arch Rock on the right.

Family picture on the beach. Big-G after golfing for the first time.

Family picture at the Fort Mackinac.