Katy's last year in the single digits!

Wow! She is 9! I really can't believe how quickly she has grown up into a little lady. As you can tell, the girl has style. But she also has many other wonderful qualities that have nothing to do with the fact that she is great at picking out cute outfits.


She is a helper. She has many responsible jobs around our home. She helps with the kitchen clean up daily, keeps her side of the room nice and organzied, and is very helpful in keeping things neat. But she more importantly, enjoys helping with her little brother and reading and sharing her knowledge with her sisters. She says she would like to be a teacher one day and teach her children. She is well on her way.

She is caring. Katy is such a giver. She enjoys preparing gifts for family and friends weeks ahead of time. She especially likes to make things for her little friends and use her crafty abilities. Just the other day, Karoline had incured a head injury from a board book (via Jay) and was hurting badly. Katy went and made her a card and gave her a dollar inside of it. It certainly helped cheer Karoline up (espeically the money). But that is just one of the many sweet things she does for her family.

She is smart. I am partial (as any parent should be), but Katy is pretty quick. Kris and I tried several ways to speak in code around the kids, and Katy seems to always break it! She has really useful ideas around the house to help in organizing different areas. And to boot, she is book smart. She is doing great in her school work and is (usually) very motivated.  It is exciting to be able to teach her more complex ideas now and have deeper conversations.

It is such a privilage to have our sweet Katy. She is a blessing in so many ways and so special to us. As we watch the Lord grow her into a young lady, we look forward to her growth spiritually and intellectually.

The Bear is 4

Our sweet little Klaire bear is offically four, "all day long", as she likes to add.

A few of her favorite things include...

Tinkerbell
Curious George
Pretending to do gymnastics
Following her parental units around and asking a litny of questions
Following her sisters around and getting into mischief.

Klaire is an extremely sweet child accompanied by a very fiery temper. She is know to get in trouble for pushing and hitting, and occasionally spitting (that is if you make her really mad). But all will be forgiven by one of her giant hugs and kisses on the cheek.

A few moments to remember...

When she began to grumble under her breath and then say ,"I am just talking to myself."

Informing people that their hair looked crazy.

Giving driving directions or insisting that whoever is driving is lost.

Then...deciding it was time to become a big girl and stop sleeping in momma and daddy's floor and to sleep in her nice big bed. Now that is something to be proud of.

And of course, there are promises of how when she turns 5 she will no longer need mom to chaperon her to all her church classes :)

Klaire- you gotta love her!

Baby #5

Credit

Back in June, Kris and I found out that we were expecting sweet baby #5. We decided that we would wait till around 12 weeks before we made any announcements of our joyful news. Sadly, on July 4th, at 8 weeks of pregnancy, the Lord saw fit to take our child home.

Since I blog to keep up with our goings on, I believed that it was important to recognize the life that we did not get to know. Kris has decided that the child was a boy and has had several names for him, ranging from Calvin to Rosco, which always helps to keep things light around here. We did tell Katy, for she sensed something was going on and several times had asked if I was having another baby. As time goes on, we will tell the other children, but this will also help document it.

It has been a strange experience, for I have never miscarried. It was one of those fears I always had lurking in the back of my mind. Since we hadn't made our pregnancy public, it was easy to let the miscarriage be between us and a few friends and family. I am thankful for the Lord's blessing of another life, and will praise Him in the sadness of losing that life. It has been a time of drawing closer to Him and relying completely on the Spirits comfort to move forward. I am also thankful for our busy house, which helps to snap you back to reality pretty quick. This experience has certainly made me hold my children tighter and appreciate them more. And after reflecting on this for the past 2 months, I would say that resting in God's providence is what makes going through a loss bearable and then even finding tremendous blessings in it.

Great Awakening in our Schoolroom

After witnessing the baptism of a friend this past Sunday, the girls decided it was time to have their own baptismal service.  Karoline and Katy were doing the baptizing, and Klaire was a willing participant. All the stuffed animals and dolls needed baptizing also. So precious :) I can't wait until the day comes when the Spirit opens their eyes to their sin and draws them into a relationship with our Savior- what a day that will be!

Thanks Katy

As I was looking through a blog the other day, Katy was watching over my shoulder. She noticed a couple of books that I owned on homemaking and cleaning. Then she gave me the zinger. Katy said, "Mom, you should spend as much time cleaning as you do reading those books on cleaning!" Ouch.

Little House in our Big Woods

 Katy has been sporting this bonnet for a while now. It fits her perfectly! It is one from an outfit my mother had made me for old fashion day at church- many many years ago. She can't quite wear the dress yet- but it won't be long.

 I am not sure what Karoline was trying to do, but it was helping the family get food for the winter or maybe the summer- I can't remember. She was doing her part all the same.

And Klaire... I think she was trying to paint these boards (from the swingset Kris build for Christmas). Red Georgia clay works well for many outdoor adventures. So does left over wood.

So this is how it breaks down-

Katy is Mary, Karoline is Laura, and Klaire is Carrie. Jay is sometimes Jack the bulldog. I told Katy that Jay could not be baby Fredrick (who died at about a year old) so he is resigned to being Jack the bulldog. They play their roles well and they all get into the act- and they want Kris and I to get into it and call them by their characters name. Of course, we are Ma and Pa.

Lots of fun :) I love their imaginations- it makes me smile.

A Perpective From the Kids

The girls love the camera and like to grab it when I am not looking. Here are a few pictures from their view of our world.

Photos courtesy of Karoline and Klaire Mullis