Five on the 5th {August}

I probably should change the name of my "Five on the 5th" posts to "Let's post a photo of my five boys whenever I get around to it."  But I won't because at least this is keeping me accountable to get all the boys in a picture once a month.  So that's saying something, right?

This one was taken in Lubbock, Texas.... the cotton capital of the world.  It's a mural that is in a random part of town.  The boys were NOT feeling photogenic at all, but we got a picture, and really, this is how they normally look.  Their little stances.  Who would have thought that 5 kids from the same parents could all be so very different, and BE so different?

Asher's 10th

Asher is an easy kid to please.  He gets excited about lots of things.  And so when his birthday comes around, all I have to do is get some of his favorite things and he is beside himself.  I love that about him.

 He loves all things mango and kiwi, so he was super happy to wake up to these treats that were all his own.  When you have four brothers, just having something to yourself is a treat.

A Cry Cry photo bomb

Jopie helped pick out these Ranger pants for him.

Instead of a party, he wanted to go to the Ranger game with his dad, just the two of them, with nicer seats.  Chris happily obliged.  They went a couple days before his birthday so on the actual day, we did some laid back fun things.

Ran some errands.

We went to see a movie with friends.  Do you see the birthday boy?

This one is getting so big and has a big birthday coming up that I've already cried about at least 10 times.  But we'll talk about that later.

That night, we had a few families over for apple crisp (because nothing says July 1 like apple crisp?!).  It was Asher's request, so it's what we had, with mango sorbet on the side.

There's not much I love more than a mess of kids pulled up to my counter.

Blowing out the candles on his birthday crisp.

That sweet face.

And that was it. 

 Now I have two kids in the double digits.  I'm not sure how this happened but it did.  Just yesterday I was lugging them around in a double stroller, and this morning Asher and I jogged a couple of miles together.  It's like I blinked and we are here.

Here he is one day old.

And at three months.  

At four years.

Just before Cry Cry was born.

Five years.

And this is how he's looking these days.  

Happy birthday sweet boy!  You are loved.

We Got a Pool!!

I know you're jealous.  I had second thoughts of posting this because I really didn't want you to covet our pool ;) 

 Seriously though, it's been worth every penny I spent on it (which was $24.99 at Academy).  The boys have played in this thing for HOURS.  I hope you enjoy these pictures of a typical summer night for us at home in the backyard.

All those sweet faces in that one little pool.  It's just too much... love them all.

While the Kids are Away...

Papa and Tandy gave us the most wonderful gift.  They took our boys to Lubbock for a WHOLE WEEK and left us...

All by ourselves....

In our house...

A few of the boys were a little sad when they left.  Jopie was so sad when it was time to get in the van, it nearly made my Mommy heart break.  Nathan was supposed to stay with me... because, of course, I thought he would be a heap of tears without me, but he came to me, sobbing, as the boys were loading in the van, and asked me, "Who will play with me?"  And when I responded, "I will,"  he said, "Then I won't have any BOYS to play with."  So I promptly threw his stuff in a backpack and away they all went.  It was a good choice.  He would NOT have had much fun with me.

So they left and I went and sat on my bed and listened to the quiet.  I was a bit sad and sentimental as I picked up all the mess they left behind.  I thought about the days that they would leave for college.

But I was totally over it by the next morning when I woke up in my own house, with nothing to do but whatever I wanted.  It was the strangest and most amazing feeling.

And now for a photographic journey of what I did all week...

We hung these curtains a year ago, and I've been meaning to hem them ever since.

They went from being this long.

To being a bit more manageable.  If you come over, don't look too close because I'm so not a perfectionist.

I picked up some fun fabrics to make the curtain in my laundry room.  I feel like the laundry room is MY room and I can make it as girly as I want it to be :)  The strawberry fabric I picked up at Craft Weekend last year and it felt good to finally use it for something.

I also made a headband with it.  Sorry about the close-up of my face.

And I made a little curtain for our closet window.  It was a tablecloth so I only had to hem the top and the sides, so it was super simple.

I made mini bunting for a sweet girl named Violet who just arrived home from Ethiopia.  I got to meet her and I cried because her family is beautiful, and she is beautiful.  It's just all beautiful.

We got bookshelves in our playroom.  We still need to paint them, but I had to start some organizing.

Having the space to "rainbowitize" childrens' books made me absolutely giddy.

And a place for photo albums.  I'm still so excited about these shelves a week later.  I get much more excited about organization than design.  I think that's why we have about two things hanging on our walls :)

We looked at a really big van.  Am I crazy?  My three boys in the back row of our minivan drive me bonkers on a longer trip.  This van has a 4th row.  What do you think?  Should we take the plunge to the larger van or just stick to the mini?

I hit the antique mall and found some treasures.

I loved this one but it was too pricey.

I got this one.  It's large and it was $12.  Should I paint the frame?

I love this one but too much $$.

I wanted to find some use for this but couldn't think of one.  

I almost bought this one because it reminded me so much of Nathan.  But I resisted because I have a print from my grandmother's house that is similar.  

I also came away with some vintage tablecloths.  Aren't they lovely?

I exercised every day and took some pics of my running trails.

I also did some home school planning.   I spent time in the Word each day.  We went on dates by ourselves and with friends.  We got rid of some stuff in the garage.  So many things you can get done without distraction.  It was wonderful.

I loved getting photo updates from Papa and Tandy.  These sweet faces having a blast without us.

One spoiled boy :)  Shrimp cocktail is his favorite.

At Daddy's favorite Lubbock restaurant.  Where homemade buttermilk dressing comes in a plastic bottle on the table just like ketchup and mustard, and you dip all your food in it.  Chris said the same people worked there 25 years ago.  Same cook.  Some of the same servers.

This is Chris's childhood house.  They planted this tree when Chris was in grade school and now look how it's grown.

The Westerners have missed Chris, I'm sure.

Golf camp cuties.

Golf cart cutie

Even the drive to go and get the boys was relaxing and wonderful.  We planned some vacations for this next year and talked about ways we wanted to be more intentional as a family this fall.

On the way home, we were back to our crazy life.

Thankful for the noise in this season of my life.  At some point, I may be ready for the quiet, but not yet.  But having a week of it here and there is fine with me :)

Thanks Papa and Tandy for our wonderful {quiet} week!