Wednesday, October 06, 2010

Matching boys

It was a little over a year ago when I first tried taking a "matching" picture of our boys. A friend had given me matching shirts for the crew right after William was born and we have loved dressing them the same on fun days out together.
This weekend at Walmart, I noticed a bunch of boys shirts on clearance and was able to replace the shirts, which were becoming quiet small.
Due to the beautiful weather, I decided today was a good day for another photo shoot, although I guess I should have checked with Will, he was not the happiest fellow and it was hard getting him to stay in the pictures, let alone smile! Stair steps
Peek-a-boo!

Smile all together

The older 3 clowns

They seem to know they are just too cute!

Trying to cheer someone up!

There is a smile!
William- 13 months

What a big boy!
Philip- 2 yrs
Marcus-3 1/2 yrs


Paul-4 ("Almost 5, Mom")

Welcome Felicity!

This past weekend we had the pleasure of visiting my Sister Rebecca and her family and help them welcome their new little baby, Felicity Anne. The first grand-daughter on the Ulmer side, I am sure she will not lack in pretty clothes or protective older boys. Our boys were quite delighted to hold a little baby again and can't wait until she is old enough to play with them! Thanks for having us down Shepards! The boys had a great time playing together.... usually something with guns or swords!

The proud big brother


Philip seems not to notice that Felicity is unhappy


Awwww :)


Paul with the magic touch, (Or was he just first in line to hold her? :)
God bless you Felicity!

Wednesday, August 11, 2010

Summer.... hot and busy!

I guess you could all figure out we are busy.... I am so behind in blogging!:)
We have really enjoyed our new home here and being closer to family and friends from the NE Kansas area. And our big yard continues to provide us with hours of fun outdoors. Even when the temps are in the upper 90*s, since we have such great shade, it makes it much nicer to be outside. (Well for some of us! :) Paul has been learning how to ride his two-wheeler bike with training wheels and would gladly be outside at 105* just for a chance to ride!
Here is a smattering of pictures from this summer. I hope you enjoy!
The new umbrellas from Grandma Sue are a huge hit!!

The wild west

Watch out for Indians!

We celebrated Philip's 2 birthday the end of July-

And we had Bryan and Grandma Sue here to share in the fun!

Ummm, cake and ice-cream

Philip LOVES balloons- his favorite part of his birthday!

Paul with all his cut and paste animals. This was Birthday present activity that he has loved all summer long. He was sad when he got all the animals done. He could cut and color and glue all day.

Someone else had a birthday this summer:)

In June we helped my folks set up their pool for the summer. Ahhh, how refreshing!


The boys love this story, "Thunder Cake". About a child who learns not to fear thunder by listening to the storms approach and helping her grandmother bake a cake. The recipe is in the back, and one rainy day we tried it!

Paul enjoys mixing the batter!

Also in June, we had the chance to meet Esther's husband to be- Micah Nelson. The boys decided to test him out and see "If he is a good wrestler" :)


Back in May we enjoyed a great visit with Shepards and had great fun with a cookout.

Paul sharing his smore :)


Enjoying Scott's new ride!


One highlight of the year was a visit to Chicago to see Tony and Lisa and the boys. We were privileged to be with them for the boy's baptisms.




Having fun with a giant bubble wand


And of course, time inside.
Well, it is getting late, hopefully I will get some more pictures on here soon!

Sunday, April 25, 2010

Boys and spring

Well there has been a lot happening since my last post. To put it all short and sweet, Scott took a new job with the Geary County Sheriff's Dept. To those unfamiliar with Kansas geography, this is about 1 1/2 hours closer to my folks- right on I-70. The main town in Junction City, pop. about 22,000. So a bigger department, better pay and the best part- he is working DAYS now!!! He works 12 hour days, 8-8. He works 7 days out of 14, so long days at work, but a lot of days off too! We are really loving it. We moved the first week of March- we are renting a small, (half the size of our Ellsworth house) house in Milford, a small (200 people) town north of Junction City. Although the house is small, the yard is huge and the boys and I have loved having space to run and play. We have our house in Ellsworth on the market and would appreciate your prayers for the whole process of selling out house.
The boys are doing great. Paul is so quick, you have to really watch what you say. He is working hard on his alphabet and can write almost all his letters from memory. He still loves any thing about cowboys or guns and can't wait to do a lot of fishing this summer. (The town of Milford sits on a huge lake, the boat ramp is 2 blocks from our house.)
Marcus is our quiet boy who loves to play by himself. He really enjoys reading with Mom or Dad and learning his letters with Paul. He wears his cowboy hat all the time and loves our daily walk to the post office for mail.
Philip is full of energy and attitude. He has Paul's athletic ability and is always trying to climb things.....yes Mommy gets her exercise chasing him. :) He loves puzzles and balls and Daddy coming home.
William is 8 months old- wow does time fly! He is crawling very well and sits unassisted. He has cut his 2 lower teeth, and likes eating "real" food now. Another Mama's boy, his favorite thing is to be held by Mom during any meal when I am trying to feed myself and at least 2 other people. :)
WEll, that catches you up a little bit! Hopefully I will keep the blog up better this summer!Enjoy the pictures! I was warned there could be snakes here, but nobody said anything about Indians!

The not so lethal bow, with no arrow :)

Every Indian needs a tipee! Or a peeti :)


My warriors


Will getting fussy in the swing

A "cat" sleeping in the tree

Paul all dressed up for church



Paul loving on baby Will


Enjoying a movie together

Philip riding away into the sunset :)

Saturday, January 23, 2010

Feeling a bit poetic tonight.... :)

Tonight I spent the evening
taking care of little boys
I do this every day,
while tripping over toys
There is dirty clothes and dishes
Shoes to put away,
The food to fetch from the freezer,
tomorrow's another day
The pile of mending seems endless,
the time always flies
When patching knees of little pants
between the baby's cries
The bathroom found the mop today
the first time in 2 weeks,
With their enthusiasm to help
it now no longer reeks
Finally the last one nods
quiet steals across the house
I come downstairs to more chaos
want to collapse upon the couch
But instead I grab the tape
and the pile of ripped up books,
I remember the hymnals,
and the loose pages Philip took
And as I sit with my tape
And think how worn things seem,
I reflect on how they get that way
And living out my dream
You see...
I rather have a a bunch of books, all ripped and covers stained,
And know my boys love to read, and will learn with joy some day
I rather have three hymnals that are all missing a favorite page
And know that my boys love to sing and shout their Saviour's praise
I rather have a pile of jeans, not one without much wear
And know that healthy boys are ones that do the wear and tear
I rather have a lot of dishes, stacked almost to the sky
And know that food is plentiful, well-fed they can't deny
I rather have dirty clothes that seem to multiply,
Because they got them dirty helping cook our supper tonight
And
I rather be tired at the end of every day,
I rather be worn out and have no time to play
Than to trade all this work for a life of ease and fun
I am a MOM and that is my dream, I pray its a job well done!
(With great thanks to my Mom who has sacrificed for years and continues to do so daily!
And thanks to my mother-in-law, your bed-time-prayers have become my prayers-come-true!
And even more thanks to my wonderful husband- you enable me to be the woman I am- I would be lost without you! I love you!
And most of all thanks to my Lord, who sees fit to give me another day with my family and help mold these little souls for eternity!)

December in review

Our December was blessed with family and fun- although I battled a head cold, the rest of the family stayed healthy, and that is a huge blessing!
We are so grateful for our family and friends- May the Lord bless you in the New Year!
Growing every day!
Belated Christmas at the Ulmers- chaps made by Nana!


Will enjoying a taste of Noah's hair :)

Book bags from Papa and Nana



The end of the month is very important! Paul turned a long awaited 4!



Cuddles with Aunt Phoebe

And Aunt Elizabeth


Enjoying the heritage chimes (Over Thanksgiving weekend)

Marcus likes these!




William never lacks a willing arm to hold him!


Cuddles with Uncle Moses



Smile! We love Grandma Sue!


Merry Christmas!