3 Weeks Old

"Babies are such a great way to start people."

Baby Jacob Edward is 3 weeks old today. Time goes by so fast. He is a beautiful little boy. Such a wonderful baby. He just fits right into our family. All of his siblings adore him. Noah and Rachel tell me I had a very cute baby in my tummy. Ethan likes to tell him stories and Brandon calls Jacob his buddy. He already talks about visiting home when he's in college and taking Jacob out for lunch and spending some one on one with him to make sure he gets to know his brother. Leah loves to hold Jacob and just smiles at him. Sarah loves to hold Jacob too. She still gets a little jealous. She wants to sleep in our room just like Jacob gets to. She wants me to put her in a stroller when we go out just like Jacob gets to. We're going to put a "bed" together for Sarah on our floor so she can sleep there when she wants to - and I guess I might have to get a double stroller. We did buy Sarah her own baby doll stroller and a little baby boy doll for her 2nd birthday. Now she can take care of her own "baby" while I'm taking care of mine.
Today I went to my Bible Study at church. I have missed going. We were on break for the summer. Wonderful group of ladies and friends. Sarah gets to play with a group of children too. She usually cries for a couple of minutes when I first drop her off, but then she starts to play. We are blessed with a wonderful group of volunteers that take care of our children and teach our children about God. I enjoyed introducing Jacob to everyone. Last time I saw most of them, I was still pregnant. There is just a special feeling I get when I'm at church and holding my new baby. I guess it's because I am in God's house and know that He gave me this precious gift.
I don't get to stay and chit chat after Bible Study anymore. I have to hurry and get out as soon as it is over. Leah's bus comes about 20 minutes after Bible Study is scheduled to be done. The one good thing is that Sarah spends all morning playing and comes home ready for a nap. Today, she fell asleep on the floor in our front room while I was writing an email. I got her in a more comfortable position then walked into the kitchen where I found Leah asleep on the floor. Really not sure why she picked that spot. I picked her up and put her on the couch. I nursed Jacob and he napped in his pop-up crib in our Family Room.
All 5 of our oldest are in school. We're off to a pretty good start. A few forgotten assignments here and there, but we'll get on track. Brandon's bus comes first in the morning - an hour before our other children's. Leah's preschool bus now comes next. She looks like such a big girl getting on the bus. She has her purple Tinkerbell messenger bag swung over her shoulder and she just walks proudly to her bus. Today she walked through the boys playing 4-square at the end of our driveway, got hit by the ball, stood still for a moment, then walked to the bus. She stopped for a quick moment to turn back towards all the mommies and daddies and smile with a little bye-bye wave. You can picture her as a professional businesswoman getting onto a bus downtown.
Noah is still trying his best at baseball. He was getting bored at his last game - playing in the dirt while playing outfield, playing with his hat, spinning around,...so the next inning Coach had Noah be catcher. You can't get bored when there's a ball being thrown at you every minute. Noah did well and I think he's found a good position. Rachel is loving her new Power Tumbling and Trampoline class. She wants to go every day. She is so flexible (and loud!) Yesterday she had to bend backwards, put her hands on the wall, and "walk" her hands down the wall to the floor so she's in a bridge position. My back hurt watching her. She did it several times - really enjoyed it. She likes to yell for her coach to watch her and likes to yell out that I'm her mom when she sees me through the window. Rachel is very loving and sweet - hopefully she'll always be that way :o) Thankfully those are the only sports going on in our family right now. I can only do so much running around.
On Wednesdays we will soon have Religious Education too - Brandon will have it on Sundays. He also does activities with Jr. Youth at our church. (This year, his design was chosen for the front of their shirts.) This weekend is Cardboard City. They will build shelters out of cardboard and stay the night in them. They'll have just the clothing they are wearing and they will eat pb&j sandwiches.
Tom and I will start going to our Couple's Bible Study again soon. We also took a summer break. Not only is it nice to meet with other couples, but all of our children get to be together too. There is childcare (If Brandon isn't doing something Jr. Youth that night, he helps do childcare.) and our children enjoy getting to hang-out and getting to know each other. I love that they're making friends with children whose parents I know and who have similar family values.
The first bus of the afternoon is due in a few minutes. I still have 3 little sleepers, so I have to put doggy outside so he doesn't bark indoors at the bus and I have to unlock the front door so the doorbell doesn't get used.
Oh,...2 days ago was my Daddy's birthday. Happy Birthday Dad! Yesterday was my Parents' Anniversary. Happy Anniversary! And today is my mom's birthday. Happy Birthday Mom!
Now it is time to make some tea, put on some music, and take a few deep breaths before I am thrown into the world of homework.