All Smiles

With the thought of the new homeschooling year looming in the not-so-distant future, I have been highly motivated to get these babies sleeping through the night and on to a more rigid schedule. I spent several nights "sleeping" on the nursery floor, putting pacifiers back into mouths and rubbing restless backs. But after some persistence and MUCH prayer my three little miracles are finally doing it. In fact, last night they slept from 10:00 - 8:15!!! Praise the Lord!!! On top of that, I'm pretty sure that Drake and Keira could have slept longer, but TAERIK WANTED FOOD. And in our house, when one eats, they all eat. :) We are grateful to have finally reached this major milestone. Smiles all around!

"A joyful heart is good medicine."  (Proverbs 17:22)

In other news, our family enjoyed a wonderful night of memories on Saturday night. Each year the realtor who sold us our house hosts a free family fun night at Rock River Rapids, complete with hot dogs and hamburgers on the grill. Griffen and Rhys LOVED all the swimming! This year, Griffen was even tall enough for the lily pads, water slides and even the diving boards. My little....uh-hum, I mean big fellow even braved the high dive. The only disappointment was that our camera wasn't fast enough to capture the moment. We had a great time and can only imagine the festivities with three more little swimmers someday!

Just a couple more random pictures of regular, day-to-day life at the Fuller's house. Nothing unusual. Just a driveway full of neighborhood bikes, a crazy 8-year old coming up with new tricks, and babies everywhere.

Monday

Monday. What can I say? Judging from the fact that I'm actually getting to this "Monday" post on Tuesday evening truly tells it all. My day began with little more than 4 hours of total sleep. This was followed by breakfast at 9:00 and then three starving babies again at 11:30. Here was the scene.

At the very same time that this was going on, I looked outside to see Griffen and Rhys, along with their two neighborhood accomplices, doing THIS.....

Yup, they turned our side yard into a virtual mud pit. Gonna have to make that landscaping project a bit of a priority!

On top of these eventful happenings, my littlest loves added two complete diaper blowouts and one full bottle throw up all over me!!! Sometimes you just gotta grab the camera.

"Where there are no oxen, the manger is clean,

but abundant crops come by the strength of the ox."

(Proverbs 14:4)

Since Monday was so....uh....tiring, I will take a moment to reflect on Sunday. At my request, my dear sweet husband took the time to paint Princess Keira's fingernails. She was darling in her pretty pink dress and manicure. And you will be hard pressed to find two more handsome little guys than T and D. 

And since I haven't posted in a little while, and since the grandparents are loving all the pics, I will post a few more random happenings from my past few Monday's, Tuesday's, Wednesday's, Thursday's, and Friday's. Enjoy!

Yes, I tell myself this a little too often!

Older brothers!!! What can you do?

Griffen's newest trick.

My time is up. I hear three crying babes in the background and Rhys just announced, "I just can't deal with all these kids." :) 

Holiday Fun

Our family enjoyed a great Fourth of July this year. To think - last year at this time we were preparing for our first embryo transfer. I had already begun all the medications and we eagerly awaited what God had in store for our life. This year we enjoyed the festivities as a family of seven! Plus, my parents were in town for a short visit, thus increasing our brood by two. The day began as it has the past several years with a gourmet breakfast at the Hartzell's house. "Miss Barb" prepared a delicious feast of casseroles and breads. She sent us on our way at 9:00 AM with a collection of patriotic goodies and we headed to the Derby parade. Our family donned our "Jim Howell for Sedgwick County Commissioner" shirts and we all walked along in support of his campaign. The babies got lots of attention in their decorated stroller and Griffen and Rhys energetically passed out candy and cheered. After a very full morning, we arrived home and took a NAP! Yes, this mother of five got a 3 HOUR NAP!!! That was quite possibly the highlight of my entire week. :) The evening found us enjoying a fabulous smoked brisket and watching fireworks from our driveway. Daddy even set up the tent in our backyard, where he spent the night with Griffen and Rhys watching the sky filled with bright bursts of red, white, and blue. As Griffen stated, "This was a perfect family day." I would have to agree!