In a Nut Shell

Our life at this point is not anything I could have imagined 18 months ago.  Keely has completed 2nd grade, Macey has completed 1st grade and Kres is reading.  Wes has had a somewhat significant surgery.  And Josey has completely rocked all our worlds in an awesome way.  Yes when I go out with all five kids I get the looks of "She is crazy."  Or I get asked "Are they all yours?"  "You must be a busy woman?" and of course "Bless your heart."  I just want to reply, "Yes, I am indeed blessed.  I cannot imagine my life without one of them.  They each fill a place in my heart that no other could."  And I am truly reminded of the verse I have on my blog page: "Children are a heritage from the Lord." (Ps. 127)

 Kres is five.  He starts kindergarten at home in the fall.  He loves anything related to sports.  Football and golf are his favorites.  He played basketball for the first time this past winter.  He was the smallest on the team but didn't let that stop him from making an impact.  He played point well, fought for rebounds and even made many goals throughout the season.  Kres also has a sensitive side as you can see in this picture.  He already is so protective of little Josey and I have a feeling that protectiveness will kick in for Keely and Macey when he joins them at school.

 Wes is the definition of adventure.  He just wants to have a good time all the time.  He loves to play in the dirt, make messes, be as loud as possible and leaves and impression every where he goes.  He can make anyone smile and definitely causes the most laughs in our group.  He also loves music.  He has two guitars, a keyboard and drums.  His favorite songs are church songs so it is hard to ask him to stop playing.

 Keely is our smart, sensible child.  She likes to live in reality all the time.  She asks lots of question because she wants to know everything.  And she always has her head in a book (she was top reader of her grade this year).  At school, she plays the peace maker between all her friends wanting to make sure no one is left out or gets their feelings hurt.  She has a heart for the world and even though she doesn't like to work, I know she is reliable and will always come to my aide when I need her.

Macey is our free spirited child.  She loves to play pretend and live in one of her imaginary worlds.  She is super sweet, always wanting to serve whoever is crying, hurt or needy.  She is a social butterfly among her friends.  But she loves being home with her family too.  She thrives for one on one attention.  But Macey also has an adventurous side to her.  She learned how to water ski and loves it. While tubing, she will let go of the handles, stand up and jump off.  She has a sparkle in her eye for life that I hope she never loses.

Josey goes by "Jojo" "Jo Bette" "Josey Bette Bette."  And in her 7 months of life she has been to a Clemson game, Disney World, a Women's retreat, one wedding and one funeral.  As well as tagging along to numerous other activities the others never had to.  But she has such a pleasant demeanor she makes traveling easy.   She sleeps in longer than any of the others have (usually getting up between 9-9:30) and always wakes up happy.  She will even stay in her bed and play for up to an hour.  She is doted on by all her siblings and doesn't know what to do when they aren't around.  She had her first double ear infection ( May 14, 2014) and cut her first tooth (June 1, 2014) and I didn't know because she never acted like anything was wrong.  I know I won't fully know her personality for a while but she is such a joy already.

There are so many other things to catch up on from the last 7 months but I will let this blog be about the kids and save the others for another one.