BUSY!!!

These past few weeks have been crazy around here! I could write paragraphs, including every detail, however I have only 35 minutes before my three little ones are expected to wake up from their afternoon naps. So, here's a recap...

Thursday, August 21
My sister, her four kids, plus my mom all arrived in Kansas for a week-long visit. This increased the household inhabitant count to 13! My dad also came down for a few days, padding our numbers temporarily.

Friday, August 22
We had a Camping Extravaganza themed birthday party for Rhys, who turned six years old! Rob and I, along with our two older boys, their four cousins, 10 church friends, Grandma Bjokne, Aunt Heather, and three other dads all enjoyed the festivities. A dear family from our church actually offered the use of their property to host the big event. In the end, they were an even bigger blessing by planning most of the party, too. The evening started with hot dogs over the campfire, followed by 300 water balloons, a swimming pool, s'mores, glow sticks, a scavenger hunt, and an overnight camp-out in tents. I heard many kids saying it was the best party ever!

Sunday, August 24
What can I say about Sundays? They are quite possibly both the best AND busiest days of the entire week. With so many church responsibilities, our family has been trying to just stay at church all day on Sunday. Each week I pack a suitcase....yes, a SUITCASE... filled with all our necessary gear. Following the morning worship service and all the after-church responsibilities, Rob goes and gets lunch somewhere and brings it back for the family. So far, so good. By cutting out the cooking, packing, loading, and travel time, we usually even have time for a nap before the music rehearsals start up at 4:15.

Monday - Tuesday, August 25-26
Rob, my sister Heather, and myself spent 2 full days recording music for our family ministry venture, Forever Be Sure. As usual, this time was filled with much enjoyment and laughter! Take two stay-at-home moms of NINE children and release them for two days --- it's bound to be a good time! We laughed until we cried and ate lots of great food. Oh yeah, and we recorded some music, too. Check us out on Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/foreverbesure) or our website (http://www.foreverbesure.com) to keep up on our upcoming ministries.

Wednesday, August 27
My dear husband turned 32! We took the kids to Dollar Tree and let them each pick out something special for Rob, giving instructions to think of what HE would like for his birthday. My nephew, Brady, went straight for the toilet plunger. After some guidance, though, Rob ended up with colorful pens, a pool noodle, "Happy Birthday" glasses, a gag rock toy, Hot Tamales, and Snickers. We ended the night with his favorite dessert, apple pie.

Wednesday also marked the first night of AWANA for our church. This year, our family had three participants, as I signed up to help out in T & T (5th and 6th grade girls). This picture was taken BEFORE club started. No sooner had game time begun than I was hit directly in the eye with a dodge ball. Having only one eye to begin with, you guessed it....it was my good eye. Rob came to examine the damage and actually saw a portion of my cornea missing. I had to leave early due to searing pain and inability to see. Unbelievable, isn't it? On top of feeling terrible for not being there for the girls, I spent the next few days in much pain and blurriness. We have finally progressed from blindness and Oxycodone to a little blurriness and Advil. Praise the Lord for his healing, as well as a wonderful friend who came to help out at home!!!

Monday, September 1
After finally recovering from my injury, we were ready to begin the new homeschooling year. (Don't you dare tell my kids it's a holiday.) With three extra "students" this year, we have had to do some schedule revision. We began our day all together with Bible time and prayer. Then, we hit the books and piano lessons. Isn't this just the perfect picture of homeschooling? (Ignore the screaming baby in the middle.)

OK, so there were a few little distractions.... And a couple BIG distractions... 

But, we got through it. And we'll do it all again tomorrow. :)

In my morning pep talk, I was reminding the boys that we are going to be doing things a little differently this year because of the babies. I was explaining that they are a part of our family and not mere distractions. In Griffen's morning prayer, He thanked God for our "three little blessings from Heaven." And they are! I am often reminded of Proverbs 13:12, which says,

"Hope deferred makes the heart sick, but when the desire comes it is a tree of life."

On The Charts

Today marked the triplets 4 month doctor visit and shots. They were all champs, enduring three shots each. Each baby is growing fantastically and they even made it onto the normal growth charts. (Our poor little Rhys, born at 34 weeks, didn't hit this achievement for several years.) We were also given the green light to begin baby food and to begin weaning the breast milk! Yea for all the accomplishments!!!

Taerik "Drew"

13 pounds, 1 ounce (20th percentile)

23.5 inches (8th percentile)

Drake "Xander"

12 pounds, 6 ounces (15th percentile)

23.75 inches (10th percentile)

Keira "Leigh"

13 pounds, 4 ounces (40th percentile)

23.25 inches (20th percentile)

This week our "little" Rhys turns 6! It seems like yesterday that he was a 5 pound, 10 ounce baby. Grandma & Grandpa Bjokne surprised him with a new swimming pool for the backyard. Our other pool had sprung one too many leaks and finally had to be thrown away. So, daddy went outside late at night and put it all together. We then left a birthday card where Rhys would see it first thing in the morning. He (and Griffen) were VERY excited about this new and improved watering hole. It's big enough for the whole family to enjoy! Happy birthday, buddy! 

4 Months Old

This rainy, Saturday morning I just need to brag on my almost 4-month old sweeties. I feared that I may have been knocking on wood with my last post about my 3-month old babes sleeping through the night. Nope! These three little cuties are consistently sleeping 10-12 hours each night!!! All three of them!!! In fact, last night they went to bed at 10:00 PM and I rolled over to hear their first little squeaks at 9:30 AM. This is one happy... and now more well-rested... momma.

Here's a quick view of Saturday morning stretches, smiles, and snuggles.

Last week, we were able to take a one-day family road trip down to Tulsa, OK where we met up with Rob's older sister and her family at the Tulsa Zoo. We hadn't seen them in almost three years, but they were in the area and so we managed a short get-together. It was fun to re-connect and introduce our newest family members.

Lastly, here are a few more pics of the overwhelming cuteness... and craziness... I get to see each and every day. 

The only thing cuter than three clean babies is three smiling clean babies. (There always has to be one crier.)

Mommy & Keira sporting matching nails. :)

I never cease to be amazed at the random selfies that just appear on my camera. 

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.