the hart's

one hundred seventeen

2010-06-07T17:13:00.000-07:00

this is how many days have passed since we met our boys. it seems a lifetime ago. it is hard to believe they have not always been with us.

the delayed update is due to several things. i.am.busy. can you believe it? we finally got a decent computer. yea b. the main reason....i cannot put into words the past 117 days.

we get the question, "how are things going?" very often. i will start there.

things are going extremely well. crazy well. the boys are amazing. the girls are in love. we feel very blessed. we are thankful everyday that these two have joined our family. life is full and wonderful and loud.

many of you (does anyone even check this anymore???) have had the pleasure of meeting the boys. for those of you who have not....i will tell you a bit about them.

chala is 4 1/2 now. he almost always has a smile on his face. his eyes sparkle in a naughty way. his voice is shrill and high pitched. he never stops talking. he never stops moving. he loves his daddy. he is hilarious. i love that God gave us a son from the other side of the world, with the exact same sense of humor as me!! throughout this process (adoption), i thought about a lot of things. i wondered if chala would be scared, shy, reflective, outgoing....i never considered he would be funny. another blessing. he loves to play. he loves to ride his bike. tonight, he asked for a t.v. in his room. (the answer was no.) he is a joy. he lives life in a big way.

this little boy is lit from within.

jonas is 2 days shy of 11 months old. we have known him for more than half of his life. he is the happiest baby we have ever met. always smiling and laughing. seriously, what a buddy. we are crazy about him. when we returned home from ethiopia 3 1/2 months ago, jonas could not hold his head up. now, he is crawling, pulling up on everything, cruising on furniture. it seems that every day he has a "new trick". he weighed in at about 12 pounds in the middle of february. now, he is 20+ pounds. he will eat everything. this includes beads, woodchips, and the toilet brush. he is ticklish on the back of his neck. he will blow zerberts on your cheek if you'll let him. he prefers his momma to everyone else. his momma prefers it that way, too :)

they make us smile. all six of them. the boys are doing fantastic. the girls are doing fantastic. our hearts are full.

but, this amazing journey has a hard side. at the same time that our new additions make us laugh in some way, and while our love for them is deepening....our heart breaks every day.

for them. for their birth family. for what they have lost.

i wonder if jonas' birthmom ever got to see his huge brown eyes? i wonder if she knew that he has a birthmark on the right side of his chest that looks like a kiss? i wonder if she held her amazing baby?

they don't know that he wrinkles up his nose when he laughs. or that when you rub his left cheek, his eyes roll in a sleepy way.

they have never heard his giggle.

but then i remember that they HAVE heard chala's......and that may hurt worse.

these boys.... that have meshed their lives with ours....who we love more than we thought we could after 117 days....they have a story. and a history. and another family.

they will have questions that we cannot answer. they will have questions that are hard for us to answer.

but we will walk that road with them. we feel honored to be a part of their story.

in the meantime, we will live in the moment. and laugh while they laugh. and hold them when they need us to.

and marvel at how God heals hearts.

Ethiopia Pictures

2010-02-25T19:01:00.000-08:00

Check out some of the pictures from our journey to Ethiopia.

Ethiopia Pictures

Success!

2010-02-11T04:41:00.001-08:00

We are back from the embassy and we are all set!! We sat for quite a bit, but the boys were perfect! ( please be the same on the plane, please be the same on the plane....). We are counting down the hours til we leave. Sitting in a hotel room with a ( very curious and active) 4 year old and a baby is getting old. Especially when one is craving a chocolate brownie and some fresh air! :).

Btw- those who described chala as 'reserved and quiet, an observer', lied to us. Quite the opposite.

This time tomorrow we will be in the Addis Ababa airport! Less than 24 hours now!

Sent from my iPhone

Wow.

2010-02-10T23:44:00.001-08:00

Hello friends and family!!

We are feeling so blessed here today. Chala slept all night, clinging to the photo album of our family! He woke up happy and jabbering. Anna, Claire, Lauren and Emma-- he can say your names!! He LOVES to play, another child to destroy our basement!! :). He picked out a shirt with trucks on it and can count to 5 in English. So far, he is not shy at all, which we were expecting. He is crazy about B. ( of course!!)

Jonas did great as well. He is an easy, happy baby!! So cute. I woke up to his face looking at me with a big grin! What a sweet baby. He only woke for a bottle ( though he is a slow eater!). He went right back to sleep.

We are so happy to say we are heading home tomorrow!! Sone days it felt that wouldn't happen. We will cherish our time here but I never want to be away from my girls that long again!!

Our travel agent told us there are no bassinets available on any of our flights. Hello 36 hours of baby holding!! Please pray that the flights go quickly and well. We are so hoping there is no delays!! Snow, cooperate...we are coming home!!

We are leaving for the embassy in 1 hour. I am praying there are no issues. The paperwork for 2 children was rather complicated!

signing off in Africa!!

Lindsay

Sent from my iPhone

Time to change our blog name

2010-02-10T07:29:00.000-08:00

we have 2 boys!!

after the day we had yesterday, to say we were feeling overwhelmed would be an understatement.

at 2:00 we headed over to Enat Alem. the first things we heard were "here is chala!" he came outside with a shy smile. he is adorable. he quickly took to us (due to the fact that we had a bag of toys). he saw the hotel van and headed out of the courtyard and hopped inside. our driver,sami, told him to go and say goodbye to his friends. he casually flipped his hand and said "caio". currently he is singing to himself and playing with anything he can find that has wheels.

baby jonas is beautiful. he was in his crib, pushing up on his arms when we arrived. he greeted us with a smile! he is napping right now and did not enjoy his bath. the nanny told us that he goes to bed at midnight and wakes for the day at 5am. in between those, he wakes for 3 bottles. so much for a sleeper! the orphanage was such an improvement from the last one! the kids seem happy and well loved! praise God. the nurse director showed us jonas' record and told us that they were told he would likely pass away on the drive from the other orphanage. i wept. she told us that after 20 days she thought he may live.

things are going very well. i am feeling tired and a bit stressed because it is all new....but things are going well. so far chala has been very happy.

jonas is wheezing a lot. it makes me nervous to be so far from our doctor. i am wishing we had a pediatrician traveling with us. please pray this improves and doesn't get worse before we arrive home.

tomorrow is our embassy appointment. they told us it could be quick or it could take all day. hoping for quick.

i am desperately missing the girls. i feel constantly on the verge of tears, and cannot wait to be back home with them. pray for me that these remaining days in africa go quickly and well. we are very much dreading the airplane ride home with 2 kiddos but are looking forward to where it will take us!

please keep us in your prayers. life changes so quickly. we know God has taken us here and know he has his hand on all of this. the big picture can seem too big to digest!

we will try to get pics asap. it is pouring and the power is out. the hotel is running on a generator.

love,

lindsay (and brian and boys)

the meeting

2010-02-09T11:08:00.001-08:00

Hello! Sorry for the lack of info...our hotel struggles to keep the Internet working.

Today, while we were eating lunch, we were informed that we would be meeting the boys dad in 30 minutes. Needless, to say, it was a little stressful.

The meeting itself.....well, we are still reeling. It will take a while to process today. Also, the orphanage ( where the boys were at first) was hard to see. It was a hard afternoon. We would appreciate your prayers as we sort out the meeting and our hearts.

Tomorrow we get the kids! It doesn't seem real! We have been here less than a week, but it seems we've been here for a long time. We won't be heading to Enat Alem until 2:30.

Anna, Claire, Lauren and Emma....we miss you SO much!! I cannot tell how much I want to be back at home with you!

We will update after we meet the boys ( if we are able)!!

Love,

Lindsay

Sent from my iPhone

Pictures from Ethiopia

2010-02-07T11:06:00.000-08:00

Hippos in Lake Awassa

Beautiful Country

Lake Awassa

awassa.

2010-02-07T04:27:00.001-08:00

hello from awassa!

we are 275 kilometers south of addis ababa in a town called awassa. we arrived yesterday after 7 hours in a tightly packed car. last night and today we went to the evado orphanage, which is where the other families children are from. we couldn't find a hotel last night, lets just say it was a struggle for me last night once we finally arrived at our "accomodations". we have a different hotel for tonight, thank goodness!! today we took a small boat out on lake awassa and saw a family of hippos! the weather here is gorgeous....today was a great day! we found out that the boys dad will be arriving in addis on tuesday and we will meet with him on wednesday. we are excited that he is coming, but also feeling nervous about the meeting. we are thankful to get to speak with him, though. tonight we are heading to a coffee farm and tomorrow morning we will head back to addis. it was great to get out of the busy city and see some of Ethiopia's countryside. it seems like we have been here much longer than just a few days. i am missing the girls terribly (especially after endless nights of not sleeping). when we see all of the children here, it makes me sad for chala. we are taking him from all he knows, life here is so different......keep the prayers coming. we have moments of panic and moments of excitement...sometimes not far apart from each other.

that's all for now. we hope all of you are well and we will update again as soon as we can!!

can't wait to see you all soon!!

l.(and b)

africa.

2010-02-05T04:08:00.000-08:00

we have arrived. we are sitting in our hotel lobby and trying to get this email out before they turn the generator off and we lose power. :) brian already made an outlet smoke in our room!! the other families arrived last night and are out at the lion zoo. we are kind of bummed we missed it. we leave tomorrow to head south and won't be back to addis til monday night. wednesday we will go and meet the boys, but not until 2:30. ok, i am having a hard time forming a coherent thought.....time to rest. hope all of you are doing well! we will update as soon as we can.

l

Last leg!

2010-02-04T19:26:00.001-08:00

We are sitting in the Dubai airport, waiting for our last flight! When we land, we will be in the same city as our boys!! It will be hard to have to wait 5 more days to see them, but we are so glad to be almost there!

It looks like a full flight and we are once again in the back! So much for quickly getting off the plane to avoid waiting in line for our visa!

Well, we neglected to pack any bathrooms supplies....we are lookin pretty great today! ;). And I am sportin one of the most unfortunate pair a (dirty) black socks ( with khaki's) that you have ever seen! Africa, here we come!

Sent from my iPhone

long flight done.

2010-02-04T09:10:00.001-08:00

We have arrived in Dubai. The flight went great! It was a beautiful airline and we had an empty seat between us, so we could stretch out a bit! We are waiting for a shuttle to take us to our hotel. Tomorrow at 8:30am our plane takes us to Ethiopia! I cannot believe we are so close!

Thanks for all the comments of support and all of your prayers! 4 more hours on a plane and we will be in our boys country!

lindsay

Sent from my iPhone

sweet chala and baby jonas......

2010-02-03T08:25:00.000-08:00

it's time.

2010-02-03T07:55:00.000-08:00

well, we are sitting in the airport. i truly cannot believe this day has come. we feel overwhelmed by the hugeness of this all, yet remarkably peaceful. we have no doubt that the peace is a result of all of your prayers, so keep it up!! we will update when we get to addis (or from JFK if i am really bored. :) ) on saturday, we will be heading to the southern part of ethiopia and i am guessing we won't have any internet availability. we will be back in the city on sunday or monday and we will try to update then. brian changed our format, so you no longer need to have a gmail account to post a comment on this blog! so, feel free to comment away!!

i tried to email photos of the boys to this blog, but no luck. guess you will have to wait a bit longer to see their beautiful faces!

thanks again to all of our friends and family. we have truly felt your love and support. say a little prayer for our girlies. lauren's tears almost did me in this morning!

love,

brian and lindsay

p.s. we got updated to a bulkhead row on the flight to jfk!! woo-hoo!

the great big update.

2010-01-26T07:01:00.000-08:00

oooh, it has been so long. too long. in my head, i have composed daily blog posts. on the computer, not so much. here it is....a brief recap of the past 9 months!

much here is still the same. anna is freaking hilarious and has grown about 12 feet. the trips are loving kindergarten and growing way too fast. we have been blessed with healthy and amazing children, and we are trying to appreciate all we have. this morning for instance...the girls arrive in our room at 6:59 am and by 7, there is a full fledged fight about claire holding onto the toothpaste, while looking for her toothbrush. meanwhile, emma is toothbrush ready, and so so sad that claire won't release her grip on the glister. so, you know....trying to appreciate life's big moments! :)

in other news- there are 2 more hart children out there!! 2 sweet boys with our last name are awaiting us in Ethiopia. How's that for an update!! Brian and I will be leaving in "8 sleeps" to meet our boys, see their beautiful birthplace, and take them home to their new life here with us. God never ceases to blow our minds!

here is the history, in case you don't know it. last December (2008), we decided to listen to the prompting in our hearts and move forward with adoption. we have a love for africa and that seemed to be our direction. we told our caseworker we were open to a child 0-4 years old, knowing we would probably find a child in the 2-4 year old range. She asked us if we were open to siblings and we said yes we were. we were not anticipating this would happen, because many families are waiting only for siblings. we signed our names, read the books, relied on a God who already knew how this would play out....and we waited.

fast forward to november 2009. i receive a phone call late in the afternoon. caller i.d. reveals that it is, indeed, our agency. I try to remain calm, but am puking a little in my mouth. brian is currently in california (or germany). I answer and she says, "I have a referral to talk to you about". right at that moment, my phone starts beeping 'low battery'. through the beeping i hear "2 boys" and something about 4. umm, let me call you back, and did you say twins? because that would be a real hoot, God!! turns out, no twins. but a beautiful 4 year old and his chubby cheeked 4 month old baby brother. wowzers. i feverishly wrote down the info, squeezed emma tight, called my hubby (who never answers his phone), and ran outside to tackle my neighbor with the news!! brian finally called me back SEVEN HOURS later, and confirmed what i knew as soon as my email loaded those pics....his words "those are my boys". amen to that.

on the 4th of january, we passed court. Chala and Yonas Tesfaye are now officially ours.

rooms were set up. clothes were gathered. a crib was set up (who knew!). prayers continued. and now, in 8 short days...the final leg of this adoption will end and our new (amazing) lives will begin.

there is so much that goes with this story. most of it, too hard to put into words. i will tell you that this has been the most amazing journey that brian and i have ever been invited to walk. God is so good and we have been so thrilled seeing His plan for our family unfold.

so, that is the update. life is changing. we have 6 kiddos. (we still choke and laugh every time we say that.) i will put pics on here as soon as my husband shows me how to access them.

the next updates will be from Ethiopia!! we will spend 10 days there and will send updates as much as we can! we covet your prayers for the boys and their adjustment to another huge life change. and also for our family as we figure out this new life together.

the hart girls + 2 sweet boys=a miracle. we are eternally grateful to be chosen for this.

lindsay

dressing room depression.

2009-05-28T17:09:00.000-07:00

so. have you ever found a pair of jeans and decided to try them on? and then the helpful store clerk says "let me know if you need another size!! that brand tends to run quite big." and then you look over the selected jeans, still on their hanger, and think " they do look enormous." but then decide to try them on anyway, because it will be a good self esteem boost to be able to pull them up, while still buttoned. and oh! how great it will feel to see them hang loosely around your waist. you may even pull them out in the front (while sucking in abnormally) just to see if indeed, 2 of you could fit in these huge-o jeans.

in you step....big over the ankles, as anticipated. all is going well until about 3/4 up the thigh. they must still be buttoned. nope. so you hop a little and kind of wriggle back and forth to get them up and over. you wrestle them on, but make the mistake of looking in the mirror. you could describe the sight as comparable to watching a pile of sausage get stuffed into that skin/sack it comes in. there is serious flesh spillage coming out the top. you then see the posted note "dressing rooms monitored. tapes reviewed every night."

you puke a bit in your mouth.

the tag was probably wrong. skinny clerk probably meant they run really small!

don't bother to put those stupid jeans back on the hanger. step back into black sweatpants that never get stuck on your backside........

not that this has happened to me or anything.

cuz' that would be embarrassing, and nothing you would share with others.
and it may make you wonder how long 5 year olds remember things.

yea-- that has definitely never happened to me, either.

baby girls.

2009-05-13T19:51:00.000-07:00

dear baby girls,

today you turned 5. it cannot be true. of course, i see you growing up and gaining independence...but 5, really?? your dad and i say daily that we wish we could freeze time and stay just like this. believe me when i tell you, we did not think we would ever say that. i realized that i never pictured getting to this stage. i never looked forward enough to imagine you at 5, about to start kindergarten. it didn't seem like it would ever happen...but here it is. even if i had tried, i could never have known how amazing and incredible and different you all would be. to say that you have been a blessing to us, every single day of your 5 years, would not be enough. you have managed to fill in every place in my heart and seeped into places i didn't know. you are miracles. we are so proud of you, and cannot wait to see your life unfold. we pray that you each know that though you arrived together, you came with your own amazing plan from God. we feel privileged to be a part of that. we hope you continue to figure out who you are independently, as well as appreciating the bond that the three of you have. no matter your age, some things will never change. like the fact that we will always feel you are growing too quickly. and that we will always love you. and probably, that your rooms will always be a disaster. (except for you, rosie..you are impressively neat!) so be who you are. continue to love and laugh like you do. and please, stop growing up so fast.

since photos are more than over due..here are the birthday girls at their "luau party".

spring fever.

2009-03-15T16:26:00.000-07:00

I heard a couple of grumblings about my blog neglect. I had no idea it had been a month already. Life is really moving quickly!

Here is a quick story. The main, sharp tongued character is miss anna.

Janie, I will dedicate this to you! :)

We are checking out of old navy with a pile of great deals for the girls. I say, "I didn't even LOOK at clothes for mommy and I am the one who really needs some".

Anna adjusts her new, super cute hat and says:

"do they carry size pretty big here?"

a request from me.

2009-02-14T17:12:00.000-08:00

**to clarify- this post was not intended to bash breastfeeding. This was written ONLY for gymnastics lady, who for whatever reason, wants to nurse for a full hour...which we all know is not needed now nor was it necessary when milk lips was born. My apologies to any who were offended in the writing of this blog. It was truly not my intent.

dear lady at the gymnastics place,

i am truly glad that breastfeeding your 18+ month old has been so "rewarding" for you. i even try to assume the mutual "enjoyment" you speak of is real, even as your child is constantly flailing and trying to escape your infant hold. i even can come up with some good reasons why she needs to be constantly nursed, even into her 2nd year of life, while asking for a cookie or an apple. please, lady with the smallish head, please...just one request. while i try to ignore the whole "forced enjoyment" you two have going on, please dont chase around the escaped toddler yelling... "c'mere, milk lips! c'mere milk lips! mommy gonna get you!" because at that point, there is no safe place for my mind.

thank you. give milk lips my best.

2009-02-09T07:35:00.000-08:00

7a.m. brushing anna's hair.

"mom, were you EVER pretty?"

"why do you ask that?"

"I'm trying, but I just can't picture it!"

Thanks.

blog slacker.

2009-01-07T11:20:00.000-08:00

I have a very good reason for not blogging. Several of them, actually. I have been away from my home for 13 days now. And the sun is so bright down on the beach, that I cannot see my computer screen. Rest assured it has not been ALL sunny Florida bliss... the sun and chlorine have been torture on my hair. AND I have to shave every day! Plus, I have a really lame sunglass tan line. What else?? Nope, that is the only bad stuff... otherwise it has been relaxing and fantastic!! :). Something about waking up to the ocean every morning... therapy for my soul, I tell ya!!

3 more sleeps til the reality of Michigan in the winter. Boo.

homicidal farmer.

2008-12-19T16:37:00.000-08:00

claire is dancing around me singing 'the farmer in the dell'..here is her R rated version.

"the farmer takes a life. The farmer takes a life. Hi-Ho the dairy-o, the farmer takes a life!!"

funny girl.

just a day, just an ordinary day....

2008-12-08T17:29:00.000-08:00

here are a few glimpses of today:

1. at a viciously early time, claire walks in to find me sleeping with my leg above the covers because you know i cannot stand hot feet...she proceeds to tell me this.."you look bad with your body showing out of bed." wow. what a sweetie.

2. in my momentary attempt at organization, i made a meal plan for the week and a grocery list so that i would not have to go to family fare every day this week (not that we don't love ya, mr. pete!) we were there a longer than usual time and lauren and emma put the christmas colored cake topping things into there pants and sang loudly..."i have something in my pants, do ya wanna see?"

over and over and over and over. quality.

3. at 4 o clock i made my shaky self a peanut butter sandwich for lunch. i was multi-tasking- eating and talking to brian on the phone and cleaning up the wrapping scraps...i glance down before taking my 4th big, hungry bite to see the bread is moldy. not great for a girl with a overactive gag reflex. brian, however, thought it was quite funny.

4. at about 4:07, i became convinced that large sores were developing in my mouth as a result of the aforementioned sandwich.

5. the girls are playing downstairs with a friend and i hear lauren say, "oh, we forgot to pray for this baby!" i think to myself what sweet, innocent children i have and then i hear, "c'mon everyone, pray for this one. she's dead. she died. let's pray."
i guess you can't expect much else from the offspring of a girl who cut off her barbies hair and wrapped her in toilet paper and buried her in a shoebox in the backyard..........

i love monday.

december......

2008-12-01T05:16:00.001-08:00

i knew it was time for an update since my last post included the word 'sun' and there is absolutely no sign of my friend, the sun, here in michigan. alas, winter has arrived. since our last visit, i have hosted thanksgiving, made my first turkey ( with the help of my hubby), and completed my christmas shopping and wrapping. whew. my friend and i headed out last friday at 3:45 a.m. to do some shopping. there was nothing we really needed, but decided to go anyway. the lesson I learned from the lady in line at kohls was to take an extra 5 minutes and brush your hair and teeth before heading to the mall, even at an early hour. it just doesn't take that much time. walmart was its own freaky beast. the woman in front of me had kleenex stuffed up both nostrils... and chatted with me like she had no idea or she was glad they were there! in conclusion, I loved it and intend to do it every year. we did make a safety plan and decided to avoid walmart when they first opened, for fear of death by trampling. we will take what we gleaned from this year and avoid walmart all together next year. the crayola bucket is just not worth it. i have a deepish wound on my hand from one aggresive walmart shopper who wanted the high school musical furry crocs something fierce.

I hope you had a great thanksgiving. I was going to share what i am thankful for, but Lauren's whining and hurling herself on me is diminishing my thankful spirit.....

happy december, friends.

florida sun......

2008-11-09T10:59:00.000-08:00

I would update this blog, but the ocean is a bit loud and the sun is a tad too bright. guess I will have to just go back to reading my book and watching porpoises jump in the ocean. I will try to cope......

election day.

2008-11-04T13:31:00.000-08:00

i voted. #434 to be exact. did you??

pics.

2008-10-21T10:46:00.001-07:00

jen, jen - the birthday girl!!

2008-10-14T18:29:00.000-07:00

happy birthday, jen!! may you feel loved on your day. may this next year be one of more sleep, better health and lots of memories!!

lh

seriously dull.

2008-10-14T15:29:00.000-07:00

i wish i had some goods for you. it's not that nothing funny has taken place...because you know it has. i don't know what is wrong with me. am i done blogging or just on hiatus? while i decide, here is a quick story:

the girls and i were at the local spectrum lab. it was super busy and i was playing a rousing game of i spy to keep the kiddos entertained and keep the book/magazine touching to a minimum. the following is true and without exaggeration- I SWEAR!!

this late sixties gentleman (if you could call him that) was sitting across from us and smiling at us. not all that unusual. lauren was having a hard time not staring (as was her mother) because he had on the tightest jean cut offs i had ever in my life seen. seriously, there was unnecessary body outlining going on. gag. gag. then he had on a tank top that hung very low under his arm pits. he topped off his scruffy beard with a veterans hat that had random additional pins on it. (think t.g.i fridays pin bling). he catches my eye, smirks and carefully pulls over his unfortunate tank top and exposes his nipple. i could not believe it. lauren turned and laid her head on my shoulder (therapy, i know). i thought "this cannot be happening. why in the world would he think i want to see that?" sure enough, he is gazing down at the sight himself, his eyes wander up and he smirks at me again, while touching it. honestly. i have never been so appalled. nasty old man. gross.

folks, that's what you get when you ask for an update. hope you ate supper already.

lh

who does that???

2008-09-13T17:34:00.000-07:00

i read a blog where this lady posted the less than great things she did that day (or recently) but stated them in denial form...ok, bad explanation- but you are smart and i know you will catch on. then let me know what you "have NOT done" lately!!

* i did NOT tell lauren to go ahead and eat the sucker she dropped on the floor at costco because the floor there is really clean.

* i did not tell my children that there are children with no food who would be thrilled to eat their supper (because i swore i would never say that..)

* i did not tell emma that if she did not eat her turkey, she would not be going to school that day.

* i did not streak down the stairs to the laundry room in the buff because i was not content with the underwear options in my drawer.

* i did not tell my children that if they keep waking up during the night, their brains will not grow.

* i do not have an unusual love of junk food and i do not, on some days, eat all junk, all day.

that is all i can think of for now..i had a lot more but my brain is not working...i hope i am not the only parent who does not do these things.

welcome #5

2008-08-31T19:11:00.001-07:00

we just arrived home from camping...so this will be brief.

just wanted to inform all of you that we have an addition to our family!! before the rumor mill goes bonkers, let me clarify that he is a 16 year old exchange student who will be living with us for 10 months. we found out he was coming for sure on wednesday and he arrived yesterday. we thought we would break him in to some classy american style by bringing the poor kid camping on his first day in america. he thought ludington was a "beautiful and joyful place"...i asked if he thought he would like to go camping some time and he said "i did not say that much." funny. anyway, i have lots of summer pics to show you now that summer is over...

maybe tomorrow i will get those on here.

HAPPY LABOR DAY!!

is this a bad sign?

2008-08-07T07:35:00.000-07:00

so, the girls and i decided to bake some cookies this morning. (butterscotch oatmeal for those who are curious.) i get all the ingredients into the bowl, plug in my hand mixer and get to mixing. seriously, 3-4 minutes later i say to the girls "what is the deal, these are not mixing very well (or not at all!) i look down and see i never put the beaters into the mixer. it might be a long day around here.

Q & A 1st round answers

2008-08-03T10:10:00.000-07:00

jen came up with some good questions, so instead of a lengthy answer in comments..here is a new post.

A: i have not played any recent practical jokes. though i do have one in mind for my neighbor. i do feel as though i get, on average, one joke played on me by life daily.

A: did the stains come out? i am sort of a rock star of stain removal. you know they did, with the help of some strong (non-toxic) cleaner and a few rounds of me and the rag vs. the carpet, mattress, etc. i did just notice a few more blue glue clumps that i need to cut out of the carpet. another hidden perk of being a hairstylist. :)

A: how is brian's job going? great. this is brian, however, who never complains and enjoys everything he does. he misses some of the old people (i.e. jeff) but overall feels he made the right choice for himself, our family and his future. go b!!

A: what is the noise level in the house? at any given moment if you were to put a glass up to the door ( who am i kidding, you do not need a glass!) there is noise of varying levels of intensity. i will say, it is never quiet. if it was quiet...it would mean a big problem like unconsciousness or weak attempts to get the wood glue off the dresser. there is almost always someone whining, someone crying, someone screaming and someone tattling, and someone hiding smugly. 95% of the time 1 person (starts with an E..) can be making all of the above noises, all by herself. there are good noise days, like when they are outside and getting along, or when they are putting on a show or gymnastics routine. or when all you here is small girl breathing while listening intently to a story i am reading. i love those days.

A: would i be on a reality show? oh sister, you know i would. not even a question. i want to be on the mole the most. i would not do survivor because i have a gag problem and refuse to eat bugs. anything else, i would be up for. i would also like to host wipeout. i truly enjoy watching people wipe out. they would not even have to pay me.

A: my perfect day.....any day on vacation (ok, vacation w/o the kiddos) ..not forever, just a week or so. slow starting mornings, delicious coffee. a quiet shower where i get to shave above the knee and my armpits all in the same day. a good book (or 7 of them) a slight breeze...a yummy drink...a delicious supper...my favorite friends and our spouses... money to do what we want on vacation...perfect weather...a night of great sleep. that would be a great day. i would not come right home after that day. i need 7 of those days in a row.

A: jen, i think you would agree...there is no way i could pick just 1 food to eat forever. some of them (if i would never gain a pound doing it) would be my sister's homemade chocolate cake, pizza (different types, from different places) some yummy fish dish that i did not prepare...brownies (in case the chocolate cake was not enough) fruits and veggies (again not prepared by me) any sort of pasta.....

there you go. i am sure you feel more connected to me than ever before. this is kind of fun...if you think of anymore, i will answer them!!

Q & A

2008-08-01T07:47:00.000-07:00

hello folks..i am here, but feeling a bit brain dead. i decided to use jen's blog idea and allow you all to ask questions about me, the girls, anything you are wondering about....ask away and i will answer as best i can.

hope you are all enjoying this last month of summer!!

lh

lauren.

2008-07-10T07:10:00.000-07:00

happy thursday morning to you. on this blessed, sunny morning- my beautiful daughter walked into my room and informed me that i need to wash her sheets. "an accident?" i ask. she replies "not so much." the light through the curtains allows me to see that her skin appears raw and red.
"what happened?" i sit straight up in bed.

"not much" she replies calmly, yet sheepishly.

"lauren elise...what is up?"

"my ice pack melted, and my sheets are all wet."

(lauren needs an ice pack for one thing or another almost every night.)

"no big deal..i will wash them today."

fast forward 20 minutes. i am now showered and dressed and retrieving my coffee from the freezer. sitting on top of my coffee is a soggy, drippy plastic bag of pureed beets. my stomach contracts.

"lauren....is this what you used for an ice pack?"

"yeah, it melted..."

i can see that. i slowly descend the stairs to assess the damage. though beets on an almost new bedding set does have a lovely color...it is a mess like you have not seen in your life. drips on the carpet. soaked through to the mattress. spread out over the sheets, pillowcases and comforter.

"f.y.i. lauren. beets are not an ice pack."

"but it's my favorite color!"

"that's great...because i am guessing it will be here for a bit."

so help me, child.

a little truth about me.

2008-06-30T10:38:00.000-07:00

my friend, emily, played a blog game of guess the one that is not true. her loyal blog readers were instructed to do the same. my options are not going to be nearly as exciting as hers...but here goes!

**while all of you give your guesses in the comment section of this blog, it would also be a grand time to quench a long time curiosity of mine by letting me know you read this blog. it is fun to see how many times this silly blog gets read, but it would be oh-so much more fun for you to sign your name!! c'mon people...for me?? for instance, alison- i know you read this. if you do not comment...it will be like a knife to your baby sister's heart.

you can do it!! you can do it!! roll call. sign the blog! sign the blog! sign the blog!

wooo-hooo!!

on to the game. guess the one that is not true.

1. most of the car accidents (minor, of course) i have been in, my parents did not know about. (with 89% of them being in my 16th year.)

2. anna was a twin.

3. i was engaged when i was 18.

4. i am addicted to nuts.

5. i am left handed.

6. i can change a diaper while hypnotized.

7. i was hit in the head with a tree.

happy birthday, miss anna.

2008-06-28T16:02:00.000-07:00

six years ago today, at 6:18 pm, we met miss anna for the first time. she was 11 days over due and we were more than anxious to see her face. she was a big girl, 9 lbs. 12 oz.....and she had a mop of dark hair with blond streaks through it. she came into the world checking everyone out. besides her daddy, aunt ali was their in the delivery room. she was there because the probability of brian passing out seemed above average and she is, how shall i say it, more considerate, empathetic and compassionate...o yeah and more attentive than my darling husband whom i love deeply. ( we all have different strengths, brian..don't even worry about it.) becoming anna's mom was everything i had hoped it would be. we were/are crazy about that girl. i had a blast reading to her, shopping with her, snuggling her...all the great things you get to do with your first baby. she was a very early talker, walked a little before 1 and in her parent's eyes, was truly one of the most exceptional children ever created! :) she has grown up too fast. now she is all legs with some attitude. no part of her looks like the little girl i still expect her to be. a first grader in the fall, i know the years with her will not slow down. she loves to hear stories of when she was little. like how she used to call herself "nana-biggy hart" or how we called her biggy-smalls because after her almost 10 lb weigh in...she slimmed down into a petite thing, but she thought she was huge. she could wink at 9 months and answered every question with "ahhh....yeah!" her dark hair has turned strawberry blond and she has a whole nose full of freckles. she loves panda bears and wants to be a veterinarian (in china) when she grows up. she tells us she is never moving out (i am not sure how she will go to china?) and she is never marrying. she feels that being the big sister of triplets is "medium". i asked her what makes her so special and she told me it is the nice heart that God gave her.

happy birthday, sweet anna rae.

how is it possible you are already six......

a day for dad.

2008-06-15T17:22:00.000-07:00

happy father's day, daddy.

you deserve more than a day. (but your weekend golf trip should probably cover it!)

we think you are great because:

*you come home every day. (i am not kidding, some days you want to keep on drivin')

* you are patient. (this will serve you well in the future, do not use it all up.)

*you always play with us when we ask.

*you work hard to take care of us. and with you as our dad, we know we are safe.

*you are "tough and sturdy".

*you ask us how our day was and listen to our stories.

* you show us who God is and how He loves us in the person you are and the way you love us.

we love you, dad.

children are a gift from God......

2008-06-13T11:19:00.000-07:00

children are a gift from God....children are a gift from God....

please pardon my self-reminders. today has been, for lack of a better word- bumpy... at best. a couple of days ago i cleaned and sorted emma and claire's rooms, especially their closets. i headed into anna's room to start hers and it was a total disaster. not in the mood to tackle that, i thought. enter lauren's room and there really are no words. let's just say the child is a hoarder. i.e. a couple of weeks ago i went to change her sheets and found a bunch of stink weed under her covers. she said she put them there because she didn't want me to throw her "flowers" away. i had thoroughly cleaned the playroom on monday and the girls had succeeded in trashing it,so yesterday was 'everybody clean up' day.

you would not believe the moaning.
or the limbs that were now unable to function.

i tried to explain that 2 1/2 days ago it was clean, so with 4 of them working on it- it should not take long. that was 10 am. at 12:40 no one had started. there was a lot of thirst, sadness, rage, and tiredness. lauren actually asked to take a nap until i explained that when she woke up, her pick up duty would be waiting. i also pointed out that i had not made any of the mess and i was cleaning without complaint. point not taken. claire loudly whispered to lauren..'pretty quick she will just do it herself.' lesson on at that point. i gave the children specific jobs and headed into lauren's room. i threw away the plant tags, rocks, toilet paper rolls, used napkins etc. from her shelves and started on the floor. i am on my knees with the garbage bag ready to pick up the carpet debris at top speed. as i round her bed to the left, some of the things are not coming off the floor.

wait.

none of the things are coming off the floor.

upon closer inspection i see that the girl has glued things to her carpet. yes folks...GLUE.
so help me.
it is not just one thing....here are a few items that were displayed. coins, toilet paper, pebbles, stickers, leaves, candy, a chocolate easter egg, the hair of a barbie doll, wadded up napkin, tags from new clothing.
did i mention that it was blue glue?
f.y.i. it does not dry clear on carpet....it stays very blue. when i asked why in the world would she glue things to this lovely 5 month old carpet, she replies "you did not tell me not to". ladies and gentlemen, if this is her defense, i am in for a very long lifetime with her. "you didn't tell me which day i had to be home at 11p.m." (her father actually used this curfew excuse, so i guess we know where she gets it from). that's all i have to share, really. there is your update. i don't' find it funny yet. i have not gotten the glue off yet. it needs to be cut. i cannot yet bring myself to do that. needless to say, lauren has lost her glue privileges.

three 4 year olds...

2008-05-13T16:19:00.000-07:00

happy, happy birthday to my beautiful, non- toddler girls. we have come so far in 4 years and at times i could not even imagine arriving at this point. three very different personalities, voices and looks all from the same, over sized belly.

emma rose (baby a) was the first to arrive at 3:17 pm. she weighed in at 5 lb. 4 oz. she had the least amount of hair of the 3 (emma, emma hair- dilemma). the whole birth ordeal made her a little sad and a little angry.

claire elisabeth (baby b) was the second one out. she followed behind emma by only 1 minute. as the sister squished between her 2 sisters, she was the smallest. she weighed in at 4 lb. 12 oz. and had a mop of dark black hair. her head was so tiny, it looked like a tennis ball.

lauren elise liked the room she gained when her sisters vacated the uterus, so she went hiding under my ribs. the dr. had to climb on the operating table to pull that little girl out. (which involved a frightening amount of reaming on my stomach and him commenting that i will definitely be sore now.) she finally came out at 3:21 pm. she had been sitting on top of the others and she weighed the most. lauren topped the scales at 5 lb. 9 oz. she had these enormous eyes...my sister called her a yard gnome.

since birth, claire has always been the smallest/shortest and lauren the biggest/tallest and emma right in the middle. we have had some long days and some long nights, but when i recall how i was feeling 4 years ago.....terrified about them being okay, overwhelmed about going from 1 child to 4, exhausted from a very hard pregnancy.....we are certainly blessed.

i hope the next 4 years don't go as fast as these last 4 have. i hope they continue to develop their unique personalities. i hope my stretch marks will magically disappear. i hope we can survive 4 teenage girls someday.....

here are some pics of our journey so far....

a happy mother's day.....

2008-05-12T10:31:00.000-07:00

yesterday was a lovely day involving breakfast in bed and a birthday party for the girls in the evening. the girls had done fairly well delivering their gift of a day of no whining or crying or fighting (the best gift ever, really!). we were racing downstairs to surprise daddy by being all ready for bed when he got home...while i was helping lauren on the potty i was recapping the day and thinking how lucky i am and how this smooth day was a good indication of our days to come with the girls almost turning 4....i hear screaming. i run up the stairs. i hear gagging. i hear sobbing. i round the corner and see vomit (at least a half a dozen piles of it) all over the hallway. and running down the walls. i ask anna what happened and she said she was going potty and her pee smelled, so she threw up. seriously, who throws up over the smell of their own pee? and we should have the girl drink more water apparently.) i ask why she didnt throw up in the toilet instead of walking out into the hallway to do it. "MOM, the PEE was in there!!" oh. right. i now realize that claire is sobbing somewhere in the house. i head to the vomit hallway and notice that the piles have footprints in them. i find claire in a ball on the floor of the office. next to her....you guessed it!!! vomit. claire walked down the hall and through the throw-up and when she discovered what her bare feet had ventured into...you bet!! she ran right into the office to puke.

blah, blah get the kids cleaned up and into jammies (or a princess dress with high heels for emma) and into bed. brian arrives home and all appears serene. he comes and sits down by me and i recap the last 15 minutes. he chuckles and says "happy mother's day.". i am pretty sure he was not sad to have missed it!!

will power.

2008-05-09T12:35:00.000-07:00

i do not even like plain m&m's.

but they were in my house. now they are in my stomach.

i ate the whole jar of them.

my self control is amazing.

you can do it!

2008-05-09T04:48:00.000-07:00

check out this website while i try to think of something to post about.

freerice.org

2008-04-30T10:46:00.001-07:00

have you ever had God show up in a big way, right in the middle of your 'situation'? that was my experience today. i sat at my appointment this morning, mindlessly flipping thru an outdated magazine, (everyone already knows marie osmond fainted) and running thru a lengthy checklist in my mind. i looked down at my chewed off nails while going through my questions, my opinions and every possible scenario i could contemplate. i prayed for clarity of thought and of words ( i often leave there saying i have no questions and then get in my car and realize i had temporary mush for brains). i prayed that i would be clear in what i say (i am a rambler, especially in awkward situations) and that he would listen. i also prayed that at the end of this conversation, God would make His plan clear.

the conversation went especially smoothly. he had the info i was looking for. we both were thinking the same thing as far as where to go from here....and wouldn't you know it, that mental checklist of mine- he went right down the list without me even bringing them up.

please don't misunderstand. i knew that God was there in that conversation. and i knew that He already had this worked out....my stress came in wondering when He was going to fill ME in on His plan.

but today...he doubled heaped blessing on me. my best case scenario was blown out of the water by His plan. i did not see that coming. i not only got an answer, i got peace which i know will be followed by a good night of sleep tonight.

there will be bigger conversations. and others have bigger stresses. but isn't nice to know you are held even in the smallish size situation that has your mind all wrapped up today? and you look back at how you had this thing playing out in your mind and you realize that once again, you boxed God in.

i feel grateful that i am not my own best advocate.

i feel blessed to be thought about, considered and interceded for.

i feel overwhelmed by my God, who showed up in a big way today.

i am reminded that this is from God and i will not sell Him short by dismissing it as random things. it worked out because He worked it out.

i didn't even realize how stressed i was feeling, and to be given abundantly more than i even thought to ask about...i think i will just sit in that.

yea God.

shower hymn (emma style)

2008-04-29T07:24:00.000-07:00

today was one of my greatest highlights of parenthood. if i could have videotaped it, it would have made your day as well. this morning, while i was getting ready- emma was in the shower. now, when you shut the shower door for her, she is in a world of her own. a couple of minutes in, she begins to sing...very loudly. so loudly, in fact, that her little voice is squeaking. the lyrics are posted below. i wish i could help you out with the accompaniment, but it was a tune i have never heard. also- the lyrics are original. caution: they don't totally adhere to Calvinist standards.

"Jeeee-sus- died on a cross.
now He es in hea....ven.
grammy harlene's mom is there too.

Jeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee-sus died on a big cross.
not when he was a tiny boy.
when he was a teeny baby he lived in a box.

Jeeeeee-sus died on a cross.
He was a grown up.
like my daaaaaaa-ddy.

He was tough and sturdy (i am not kidding, the girl said tough and sturdy)
when he died on a cross.
He didn't like it.
But now He es in hea------ven
like a tiny baby (?)"

is that not the sweetest (though odd) thing you have ever heard.

6 words or less...

2008-04-23T07:11:00.000-07:00

i heard some people discussing this on t.v. several weeks ago and thought it would be fun to see some of your answers. so, everyone who reads this--post a response!! don't think too hard about it...your 6 word description could change every day.

here is your challenge. describe your life (or day or moment) in 6 words.

i will start...based on my morning-

to state the obvious, i'm outnumbered!!
i can't wait to hear your answers.

blah, blah, blah...

2008-04-04T15:37:00.000-07:00

i truly have nothing to say, but i was browsing around hoping someone had posted something new, and i decided i am tired of my own blog as well. we were just outside playing t-ball. anna starts on tuesday and until 2 days ago, she has never caught a ball (esp. not with a glove), she has also not swung a bat.....this has not deterred her because she wants to stand "way far away from me" while we play catch. she did not catch even one ball at that distance, but apparently as long as you are "way far away" from the person you are playing with- you are considered REALLY good....she told me such. i threw some grounders at her and was telling her to stay behind the ball. she was not listening, so every time i threw one, i reminded her. she says " stop talking!! all i can hear is your voice in my head". i say good. i hope she always hears my voice in her head!!

lauren had sadness on the field, so i was holding her weepy self. she starts giggling like crazy and says.

i wiped snot on you. lots of it.

people will call you snot coat.

last week i walked around with snot on the pocket of my coat until my m-in-l told me it was there. i am sure i will forget about the snot on the back shoulder area of my coat this time too.

that's ok....sticks and stones

a lotta questions.

2008-03-30T16:06:00.000-07:00

this was forwarded to me and since i have nothing else to update--it was an easy post.

1 . WERE YOU NAMED AFTER ANYONE? no.

2 . WHEN WAS THE LAST TIME YOU CRIED? i teared up a bit in church this morning.

3 . DO YOU LIKE YOUR HANDWRITING? not particularly. but i do not despise it either.

4. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE LUNCH MEAT? turkey or chicken, but not the slimy kind.

5 . DO YOU HAVE KIDS? Yes

6 . IF YOU WERE ANOTHER PERSON WOULD YOU BE FRIENDS WITH YOU? sometimes, other times i would run.

7 . DO YOU USE SARCASM A LOT? yes.

8. DO YOU STILL HAVE YOUR TONSILS yes.

9 . WOULD YOU BUNGEE JUMP? not a chance. ever. you know that rope would unhook while i was on it.

10 . WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE CEREAL? grape nuts or smart start

11 . DO YOU UNTIE YOUR SHOES WHEN YOU TAKE THEM OFF? no.

12 . DO YOU THINK YOU ARE STRONG? well physically, i could squash my neighbor like a bug...but that doesn't say much. emotionally...i have not cracked yet!

13 . WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE ICE CREAM? chocolate peanut butter

14 . WHAT IS THE FIRST THING YOU NOTICE ABOUT PEOPLE? their facial expression...happy, sad, worried....

15 . RED OR PINK? pink.

16 . WHAT IS THE LEAST FAVORITE THING ABOUT YOURSELF? hmmm- it is hard to pick one. my nose, most other areas of my body.....

17 . WHO DO YOU MISS THE MOST? my goldfish who were flushed down the toilet (while still alive)

18 . WHAT COLOR PANTS AND SHOES ARE YOU WEARING? black pants and no shoes

19 . WHAT WAS THE LAST THING YOU ATE ? a peanut butter chocolate chip cookie bar. (i am a total health nut!...there is that darn sarcasm again!)

20 . WHAT ARE YOU LISTENING TO RIGHT NOW? my tired children-spatting

21 . IF YOU WERE A CRAYON, WHAT COLOR WOULD YOU BE? green

23 . FAVORITE SMELLS? the ocean, sunday dinner at my mother in laws, hyacinths and lilacs

24 . WHO WAS THE LAST PERSON YOU TALKED TO ON THE PHONE? my friend, emily

25 . DO YOU LIKE THE PERSON WHO SENT THIS TO YOU? it was a forwarded, forwarded, forward from someone from church who sends these to the whole church.

26 . FAVORITE SPORTS TO WATCH? gymnastics and soccer (anna style)

27 . HAIR COLOR? Brown with some blond highlights and 1 misplaced grey one.

28 . EYE COLOR? dark brown

29 . DO YOU WEAR CONTACTS? no.

30. FAVORITE FOOD? pizza. and dessert. and i just really like food- all sorts.

31 . SCARY MOVIES OR HAPPY ENDINGS? Happy endings

32 . LAST MOVIE YOU WATCHED? bee movie

33 . WHAT COLOR SHIRT ARE YOU WEARING? light green

34 . SUMMER OR WINTER? summer, i guess but only after spring and fall

35 . HUGS OR KISSES? hugs

36 . FAVORITE DESSERT? it would be impossible for me to pick just one. c'mon, people!!

37 . WHAT BOOK( s) ARE YOU READING NOW? not reading, though i would love to be. only looking for overdue library books....

38 . WHAT IS ON YOUR MOUSE PAD? no mouse pad.

39 . WHAT DID YOU WATCH ON TV last NIGHT? i played mexican train dominoes last night..wait i caught a bit of snl before falling asleep.

42 . FAVORITE SOUND? my girls singing

43. ROLLING STONES OR BEATLES? beatles (but bring on the country!)

44 . WHAT IS THE FARTHEST YOU HAVE BEEN FROM HOME? belize

45. IF YOU COULD LIVE ANYWHERE, WHERE WOULD YOU LIVE? if i could take some folks with me i would head out to the east coast somewhere.

46 . DO YOU HAVE A SPECIAL TALENT? i can touch my tongue to my nose. (long tongue and big nose)

47 . WHERE WERE YOU BORN? Grand Rapids, Michigan

48. HOW IS LIVE DIFFERENT THAN YOU THOUGHT IT WOULD BE? wow. in every single aspect i can think of.

49. WHAT IS YOUR BEST FEATURE? hmmm...i do not know.

50. HOW WILL LIVE CHANGE IN THE NEXT 6 - 12 MONTHS? how am i supposed to know? my brother in law will wed. my friend and sister will become mom's again. my girls will grow another year older. life will go by too fast.

easter pics

2008-03-24T20:17:00.000-07:00

today's talks

2008-03-18T17:29:00.000-07:00

lauren, claire and emma are heading down the steps; each with a purse slung over their shoulder. i ask where they are off to and they reply to disney world. i ask if i can come along and lauren says that you need money to go there. "how much" i ask. and she replies "one hundy 20 billion" "wow!" i say "that is a lot of money". i have lots of money, she says. "where did you get all that money" i ask. she answers "my kids are all grown, i got my money back".

just now as we were tucking dramatic claire into bed she is on the verge of totally losing it. i am trying to calm her down and explain that she is tired and that if she chooses to act this way, there will be consequences (i.e. her beloved cubbies tomorrow). she says "i feel as though no one loves me". i tell her she knows that is not true and she says "when i close my eyes my head tells me that no one loves me and if i sleep, no one will like me neither." her therapy bill will start at a young age. increase the flex pay for next year.

**marissa- no need to post a comment. i have had enough badgering for one day. ;)

inappropriate behavior

2008-03-18T08:00:00.000-07:00

yesterday, while the girls and i were driving in the car- i decided to go for a giggle. we were listening to the high school musical soundtrack and the song "get your head in the game" came on. i started singing "gotta get your nose in the game" or "get your foot in the game". at first lauren was beside herself trying to correct me....but then she started to giggle. running out of body parts to "get in the game" i sang "gotta get your biscuits in the game". claire coldly stares at me and says "mom!..that is inappropriate" and then averts her eyes out the window, as though she was so disappointed in me that she could not maintain eye contact. the emotional lashing(3 year old style) was so intense that i turned a bit red in the cheeks. the van fell silent and all that loomed in the air were my dirty lyrics. lesson learned. my apologies, girls, for filling your delicate ears with such filth. biscuits are now banned from my vocabulary.

because you are dying to know more about me.....

2008-03-16T16:52:00.001-07:00

Thank you Marissa for your "4 things" tag! I swear that I have done 40 of these..but at least it is an update!!

1. Four jobs that I have had in my life:
-celery planter
-strikers (mini-golf/laser tag girl!)
-hostess at gutheries
-hair stylist

2. Four Movies I would/have watch(ed) over and over:
-beaches
-Fried Green Tomatoes
-50 first dates
-Walk the Line

3. Four places I have lived:
-Hudsonville, MI
-grandville, mi
-mt pleasant, mi
-byron center, mi

4. Four TV shows that I watch:
-CSI
-Criminal Minds (b/c i have the secret soul of a forensics expert.)
-Biggest Loser
-amazing race

5. Four places I have visited:
-belize
-mexico
-puerto rico
-curacao

6. Four people who email me regularly:
-marissa
-ronda
-sherri
-male part enhancement people

7. Four of my favorite foods:
-Pizza
-fish
-any kind of yummy appetizer
-chewy fruity candy

8. Four places I would like to be right now:
-vacation (anywhere with a group of my buddies)
-since my kids are screaming...my front porch would work
-on a cruise ship to an exciting location
-bed is always a happy place for me

9. Four things I'm looking forward to this year:
-hanging out on my porch, watching my kids play
-summer (and holding 2 new tiny babies)
-i can only imagine what God has in store for us.....
-

10. Four people who should post 4 things:
-emily l.
-jen m.
-stacy m.
-i dont know who else reads this...any of you blog readers who never comment (my sister, for instance) and whoever reads this in norway!!

smart as a whip.

2008-03-06T13:25:00.000-08:00

so today, as we are pulling out of our parking spot at the grocery store, lauren is looking out her window. she hollers out "mom!! that car is moving and there is no one in it!!" i shook my head thinking that she will catch on that it is US who is moving, not the empty vehicle. instead she follows up with "whoa-- that was so weird." a bright, bright future to come for that one.

woe is claire.

2008-03-05T10:49:00.000-08:00

poor, poor claire stubbed her toe. she has always had a dramatic flair, and this instance was no different. i carried her balled up body to the couch, kissed her tiny toe and went to get her some ice. when i returned her eyes seemed to be shutting involuntarily (probably from the pain and that darn genetic drama gene!) i smoothed back her hair and asked if she would be all right. she answers, she thought that she would, but she may be unable to attend school next week monday. (followed by a weak whimper) then she says that when she thinks of treats it makes her toe feel happier and that if she could EAT a treat...it would be better for sure. i hand her the treat of her choice (for medicinal purposes, of course.) and she walks away saying...."it will probably hurt again at bedtime, so tell dad that when i cry- he can't put my monkey on timeout." at least she thinks ahead. way to cover all of your bases, claire!

New House

2008-02-25T20:02:00.000-08:00

beyond the tip of your nose.

2008-02-19T14:27:00.003-08:00

a random thought just struck me. we know nothing about our lives; yet we spend a good chunk of them trying to plan life out. i was looking back at some things that were such a huge part of my life, and now- just memories. how can something we used to know so well become something we don't know at all. how many years do we waste formulating how it will be when we are five, 13, sixteen...graduating....dating...getting married..and for us the biggest one- having kids. i was thinking back on some of my plans. wow- if some of the things i planned had come true...my story would have a different name. i would have no idea about the joy that comes from emma needing to always hold my hand. even if it is for a 2 step walk down the hallway. when i was 16, i had no idea that lauren's laugh would make me smile to think about. i didn't know to think about 4 girls calling "mommy" a million times a day. funny, because i could swear i knew it all! none of the things that i thought would happen, happened. the stick band that my childhood best friend and i dreamed up never came to fruition either. luckily, we only focused on that plan for 1 lazy, summer day. i certainly know that God has THE plan for my life, for everyone's life........yet think about all the plans that we try to manipulate for years. more than once i have looked back at my life, the way i intended it to go and thought; "i bet i gave God a good chuckle over that one. or maybe He is thinking, "so help me child...you just do not get it." so when our sight is so short and our grip on the future is so weak...why do we keep trying? why does it feel like we have such a big life picture to paint and we are the only painters to do it? i have no idea what is around the bend for my girls. i make myself crazy thinking about all of the things i need to protect them from..will they listen when i tell them that guy is a bad choice...you dont want to move that far from your loving mother, etc. will they even hear it? lauren cannot even hear me call her for dinner, which may tell me it doesn't look good. i know that their choices willplay a part in their shaping--but oh, if i could protect them from the parts that will make them look back and wince. "For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord...." Maybe it would be helpful if they put the "I" in bold. to remind us there is a difference b/t our plans and His. and praise God that there is!! i had no idea what was up ahead for me. i have no idea what is around the corner. but i am glad that someone does and that He throws all that grace and joy down into my life...even on the days i forget and think that i am still in the lead.

just like her mother.

2008-02-18T13:27:00.000-08:00

i just discovered something about anna. she has inherited my inability to contain a laugh; even when it is inapproriate or rude. she is still cackling as i type. i was helping her with a computer game and she was standing on the chair behind, playing with my hair. she lost her balance and held onto my hair while she fell. i said "ouch! you pulled my hair" she made no response, but i noticed she had walked to the corner of the office and was making some odd noises. i thought that maybe she was upset, so i turned around to find her hunched over covering her mouth. i said "anna rae, are you LAUGHING at me?" she pointed to my hair and says "YOU LOOK JUST LIKE A UNICORN!!" followed by an absolute fallover laughter. it is the darndest problem to have...whenever people trip and fall or walk into things--it totally cracks me up. the more i try to hold it in, the worse it gets. i believe this landed me in the principals office once. that teacher just felt stupid that she walked into the doorframe and she took it out on me. apparently, mr. soodsma has the same problem...he had a smirk on his face too!

snow day.

2008-02-16T07:28:00.000-08:00

claire, emma, anna and our little friend aaliyah went across the street to go sledding. i see anna walking back home, so i walk outside to see what is going on. a weepy anna tells me that as she was going down the hill, emma kicked her elbow. i gave her a hug and said, "honey, you have a big, puffy coat on...it should be feeling ok now?" she responds, "she did it on purpose, and it hurt my heart the most."

good point. a puffy coat offers no protection against that.

bonding.

2008-02-14T13:48:00.000-08:00

miss emma rose decided that she wanted to snuggle with me for a couple of minutes. i turned oprah on and they were doing this valentines show. one particular story made me tear up a bit, and emma, who was sitting on my lap, cranks her head up and says "why you doing this?" and she pulls this face that looks like she is going down a big hill on a scary roller coaster. i say "that is a nice story...mom is crying a little because it is really sweet. just like i cried when you were born, because it was so special." she replies, "oh." i think, that was a good lesson on enjoying the things in life that make us happy. she looks back up at me and says...

"you look ugly when you cry."

HAPPY VALENTINES DAY.

2007 recap

2008-02-12T18:01:00.000-08:00

sorry to say that these events will not be in chronological order....they will be listed as they pop in my head. no offense if i missed some large memory of '07 that involved any of you..."i am feeling rather sleepy.."

*listed and sold our 3rd house
*packed up and moved into our backyard (well, our friends house in the backyard)
*broke ground on our new home!!
*sent my oldest child to kindergarten
*sent my youngest girls to "3" school.
*sat with brian during a church service for the first time since '02. (usually the girls lose their mind and one of us stays in children's church.)
*went to florida/disney for a week!
*anna turned 5, the girls turned 3, brian turned 29 and i turned the big 2-8.
*anna played soccer. (and scored a goal)
*went camping in ludington for labor day weekend.
*we started '07 on a very fun cruise. ( i would really like to be on a cruise right now)
*hanna came home.
*baby jake was born.
*i grew my first gray hair. (with many to follow, i am sure.)
*had my 10 year high school reunion
*celebrated my 9th anniversary.
*met some great new friends.
*had "big fun" with my old (not age-wise) friends.
*started this blog.
*traveled the globe.
*saved 4 lives
*discovered a way to keep my girls from fighting
*won a mother of the year award.
*ran in 3 marathons.

ok...obviously the last ones are my attempt to make '07 look a bit more exciting. i guess that a quiet year is a good one. so far '08 promises to be full of birthdays and babies and big fun. some days are long, but the years fly by......

hellooo elastic waist!!

2008-02-05T07:29:00.000-08:00

seriously...denim is a horrid fabric. even the stretch denim is no longer a friend of mine. earlier in the week i had to suffer through a conversation with 2 of my small framed friends; listening to them go on about how they can't buy stretchy jeans b/c they just fall right off after wearing them for a couple of hours. excuse me!! since the birth of my first, almost 10 lb. child...i cannot say i have had that problem. things shift during pregnancy, and in my case, never return to their place of origin. the give offered by stretch denim has kept me a part of the jean wearing world. i am no longer welcomed in that world. over the last month i have noticed that none of my jeans fit. some are so far from fitting, that i wondered if they ever fit or if it was just a dream. instead of backing off from the costco cake and delicious fountain coca-cola, i decided to buy a new pair of jeans. i humbled myself and went past the size i used to sport and headed to the back of the rack. (they shove that size to the back b/c it is always cuter in the size 0.) i find a pair that look like i could cram 2 of my husband in to them, and i think to myself "these will be way too big...see it is not so bad." not so much. as if jean trying on is not hard enough...is it really necessary that everything from the thighs up gets pulled upward in a jelloish motion? it does not feel good when you need to shove random areas of stretched out skin back into the jeans and do squats to try to get your thighs back in place. the only problem i have with stretchy jeans falling down is when the upper quadrant of my now disfigured backside rides up above the waistline of the jeans....there is no stopping gravity at that point. i have pleaded my case to brian, begging for some repair surgery....trying to remind him that since he has to look at me...it is really for his benefit. no deal. i have considered calling around to see if there are any doctors that need practice in this area..i would be a willing experiment. but for now, i have dug out the overly large gray sweat pants that i wore when i had three children in my uterus. apparently, my skin misses them and stays saggy in their honor. yesterday i picked them up from preschool and they had each made a valentine. my percentage of the class comes running up to me to show me their valentines inside of beautiful pink enevelopes. my soul says "this is why your body is a mess!! how worth it for 3 little valentines." swelling with pride i look at the envelopes, only to see that not 1 is addressed to me. how rude. well, when i come to their school events in my mom jeans and they look humiliated. i will remind them (while busting out old cheerleading moves) that it wasn't always like this. there was a day that i could slide into "front of the rack" size jeans without effort or body part misplacement. these mom jeans are for them!!!

the shower of eden???

2008-01-30T08:19:00.000-08:00

greetings, friends. the hart's have returned to bloggerville and will now be typing from our new home (which we love!!!) i am sitting in my office, drinking some coffee and the children are playing in the basement. who knew such peace could exist? here is a quick story from this morning....

i was finishing up my shower and emma decided she wanted to get in. i hop out, she hops in. claire meanders in and also wants to take a shower. so in she goes with emma. emma clarifies that i will indeed still be in the bathroom "in case the water turns fire hot". yes, i say, i will be right here putting on some make-up. they begin to chatter together, pretending things, etc. i hear claire say, "mommy left the soap in here." my ears perk up (since i am only 2 steps away) because the girls have been known to dump out a whole bottle of hair wash in one shower. 2 gleeful girls start saying "fill up your cup!....it is a bubble land." i am starting to question their intelligence...wondering why they think that because they are in the shower, i cannot hear them. then i hear claire so, "oh..i soapeded up MY hair and now you have to do it too, emma. we both made this bubble land. here is your soap, rub it in your hair." to that my little adam (emma) replies.. "ok. but don't tell mom." brilliant children.

you know you are behind on laundry when....

2007-12-24T07:55:00.000-08:00

*you ask your 3 year old to run upstairs and put on some big girl panties...later that night when you are getting her p.j.'s on, you see she has been wearing a bathing suit bottom all day long.

*your children are taking turns jumping into the dirty clothes pile and saying "WHEE!"

* your daughter's legs are cold and she cannot find any clean pants so she puts on a dress and puts her legs in the arm holes to keep warm.

MERRY CHRISTMAS, EVERYBODY!!!!

conversation with claire.

2007-12-19T15:20:00.000-08:00

claire: "i know the most righteous kangaroo."

me: "the most righteous kangaroo?"

claire: "yes."

me: "wow. who is the most righteous kangaroo?"

claire: "roo."

me: "and what makes roo righteous?"

claire: "he just loves God so much, and is so much nice."

there you have it, my 3 year old has an understanding of rightousness and apparently roo walks with God. who knew?

new (but boring) post

2007-11-28T11:11:00.000-08:00

i have been waiting for something funny or entertaining to happen for me to blog about. so far, no luck. so today, i will share my day thus far. actually, i will back up to last night. i stopped by our house (the one we are building) and had to hike down to the place where the key is hidden. it is dark, and cold, and steep and to my surprise....newly graded!! i start out thinking that i will walk down on the retaining wall. i discover that the steps are too tiny for my foot to fit. no fear, i will descend the mini mountain (in the dark and cold, remember). step 1: i realize that i am sinking into the freshly spread dirt. this is not a small amount of dirt, either. step 2. i realize i am launching downward. the rest is a dirty blur, really...except for the loudish snap/crack noise. i am not going to lie to you...no part of it was coordinated. after looking up (picture on all fours) to see if the neighbors-to-be witnessed my fall; i crawled over to my house and tried to catch my breath. there was a decent amount of pain involved at this point. i was surprised to see my foot was still attached. fearing i would have to spend the night at the bottom of the incline, in the frigid temps...i was relieved to find my cell phone safely in my pocket. (you never know after such a high impact fall!) i call my trusty neighbor to please retrieve me. with her assistance, i hop into the warmth of her basement. i appreciated her looks of concern until a meanish smirk appeared. she comments " i wish i could have seen it". followed by some sort of cackle. the pain subsides a bit. i attribute that to my past in athletics. i decide i am ok. i am thankful i can walk on it, because we are leaving for disney in 2 days. could you imagine 3 triplets, 4 strollers and a wheelchair? no problem, it is fine....fast forward through the night. i roll over in bed and catch a glance at the alarm clock. 7:35 am. anna's school starts at 7:50 am. i quietly curse brian's name (for he forgot to set the alarm) and rocket out of bed. nope. not so fast. the foot is not great this morning. i hobble around, bribing anna with money if she will please put her socks on and brush her teeth. she reminds me it is library day. crap. i know the location of one book, but the other book is MIA. she reminds me again that last week she did not get to check out new books b/c we (me) did not remember library day then, either. nuts. i tell her to hop in the van and i will come back home, locate the book and bring it to school BEFORE library. i hop anna into school, hobble back out (f.y.i no bra, no brushed teeth. not good) head home and get the girls breakfast. hop into the shower. it is now 8:20 and the girls start school at 8:55 and i have a dr.'s appt. in grandville at 9:15. no problem. dress the girls, do their hair, put on shoes, put on coat, warm up van, dress self, do hair...out the door. typical fight about whose day it is, followed by my speech of it is too early for this fighting, everyone is taking a nap today...yada yada yada. backing out...lauren is snack girl today. back into the house. throw some goldfish in a storage bag. lauren cries b/c "that is not a good snack" and ashley's mom made fruit kabobs. if i had a kabob right now, i would poke it in my eye. drop off at school, off to the doctor. flu shot, pnuemonia shot, more blood work. dr. to lindsay "why are you limping?" l replies "i wiped out last night." dr. removes sock, notes the greenish top to my foot and says "that doesnt look good." off to urgent care for x-ray. off to lab for more blood. head back to get the girls. realize anna forgot her hat and gloves..detour at her school. get girls, locate missing library book..back to school. now, i have turned on the fireplace and sit down to blog. the girls are finding "teensy-tiny" things to hide in various places. anna's bus is about to arrive...that means that is all. have a great day!! i will update when i hear the x-ray results.

high school reunion

2007-11-12T10:03:00.000-08:00

my 10 year high school reunion is coming up in 2 weeks. i still have not sent in my response card, because i cannot decide if i am going or not. 98% of the time, i am definitely not going. brian says we should go because i may never see these people again. most of them i have not seen in these past 10 years anyway...will i regret not seeing them for another 10? i would like to see the guest list...that would make my decision easier. i would also like to observe the reunion from a secret room. my motives for going....#1. i am curious. i wonder who will go, what they will look like, what they are up to. that is it, really. one reason. i enjoyed high school...but the me i was then is not the me now. i have nothing to prove. (oh wait, i could show everyone that i discovered eye brow waxing. if only someone had told me back then!!) i have not invented anything. i do not own a helicopter. my claim to fame is that i had triplets. i am not sure i am up to the people pretending they did not know i had triplets (it is hudsonville...everyone knows), followed by "did you KNOW you were having triplets??" (nope, they just kept coming) and "were they natural?" (nope, i had a c-section). i hardly recognize the girl from the class of 1997. will i still feel the need to be the bubbly, joking," keep the conversation going" girl. (ok, so sometimes i still do). i am sure everyone feels like a different person than they used to be. if not, that is a bit sad. so...should i go- should i not? your opinions are appreciated. too bad i can't share some pics from back in the day. wooo-baby. you would be proud to say you knew me.

2007-11-06T08:48:00.000-08:00

last saturday, while brian and i were running some house building errands, the girls spent some time with their beloved harlene. on the way to church on sunday...we drove past the georgetown cemetery. lauren says, " harlene's mom is buried there!! she tooked us to see her.". claire says, "yeah, we had to drive in there, because we were not sure which rock she died on." after stuffing our laughs for sensitive claire, i tried to explain that i don't think harlene's mom died IN the cemetery and she informed me, "yes, harlene told me, she DID die on one of those rocks." i guess we will leave it at that.

summer pics (finally)

2007-10-29T09:46:00.000-07:00

here are some photos from this summer. of course, it went so fast. i am also unable to recall when my girls started to look so grown up. when i think that their next birthdays will make them 4 and 6...i get a little panicky. i don't have enough memories for that many years to have gone by (it doesn't help that i remember almost nothing of their first year). these ages have crept up on me (i was probably doing laundry when it happened). i hope the next couple slow down, but i doubt they will.

cravings.

2007-10-22T13:30:00.000-07:00

claire opened up the refrigerator and said "i want something hel-fee (healthy)".
lauren walks into the pantry and says "i want something chocolaty." it is obvious that lauren is my child, but claire must be a product of one of my alters who almost never surfaces. have a great day, everyone!!

in addition....

2007-10-12T13:39:00.000-07:00

i am also tagging people with blogs that i read. so....emily l., jen m. and stacy m. (sorry em, i stole your sister!!) hope to hear from you soon.

a game of tag.

2007-10-12T11:36:00.000-07:00

my dear friend marissa "tagged" me. so here it is:

1. You have to post these rules before you give the facts.

2. You must list one fact that is somehow relevant to your life for each letter of your middle name. If you don’t have a middle name, use the middle name you would have liked to have had.

3. At the end of your blog post, you need to choose one person for each letter of your middle name to tag. Don’t forget to leave a comment telling them they’re tagged, and to read your blog for the rules.

A: anxious. i am anxious to move into our new house. ( i am quite sure this one will stay miraculously clean.)

N: naughty. i deny this, but my sisters have used this word to describe me in my childhood. again....denied.

N: nuts. mostly, i am only a couple of whines away from pine rest. (i get 3 days there under our insurance coverage. i checked.)

E: enjoying life. i am enjoying having kids in school, and cooler weather and getting ready for what is to come. blessings, blessings all around.

ok, that was harder than you think. the 4 people i am tagging are....emily p., emily f., kelsey and erin. prompt responses, ladies!!

life.

2007-10-05T09:39:00.000-07:00

i have been checking out some of my favorite blogs, wishing that people would update them...hoping to read something new-- then i recalled that my own blog has been lacking as well. there is not a whole lot to report. the past few weeks have been flying by. i find that the girls, school, awana, soccer, bible study and building a house does not leave a lot of extra time. (btw- if this blog doesnt make much sense, it is because i am on hold with the insurance company and they are "working hard to get to my call". i am caller #33. the hold music is a bit distracting.)
here are some snips from our life the past weeks:

yesterday (and today, actually) the fighting and whining in our house (and car and backyard) has been ridiculous. every friday, anna has a memory verse to learn for kindergarten. yesterday she put that scripture to work. she walked in the middle of a spat, spread out her arms and informed her sisters that "even a child is known by his actions." emma replied, "ANNA, that makes me's sad." it still makes me chuckle, though it did not inspire a change in attitude!!!

the girls "3" school teacher informed me that claire requested prayer for the wood floor in our new house. they had come along with me that day to look at flooring samples and i commented that this would be a hard decision. apparently, claire thought she should take it to the Lord!!

anna has started her first year of soccer. she scored the first goal of the first game, but now everytime one of her teammates scores she says "i got another one!!". at the last game, brian's mom brought m&ms. during their water break anna had a couple but then needed to get back out on the field. after a couple minutes of playing, she requested to sit on the sidelines for a break. turns out that she was worried her sisters were going to eat all of the m&m's while she was playing. not real competitive, i guess.

that is really it around here. our house is getting there. the windows are in, the roof is on and the siding starts today. since claire has asked for blessing on the wood floor, it should all come together nicely!!

who said it?

2007-09-19T06:15:00.000-07:00

while playing in the mall play area, an elderly woman walked up. one of my children (you can probably guess which one) says..."mom, did you know really old ladies can do their hair? she is almost dead and look how fancy her hair is!" lucky for me, it appeared that the jazzy senior's ears didn't work too well.

i have been attempting to get some pics on here for your viewing enjoyment- but computers are also not my spiritual gift....stay tuned.

humble thyself

2007-08-16T11:02:00.000-07:00

two quick stories about my lessons in being humble today.
first, i was in the shower (it seemed like it was still dark out...it was too early to be awake, for sure.) anyway, lauren throws back the curtain and starts chattering at me. she pauses for a second and then says " why you got stripes?" i look down and see she is pointing at my stretch marks. nice. my stripes have not faded... no bikini for me, i guess.
second. we are preparing to move this weekend and life has been hectic. the laundry has been neglected, so it became my mission for the last few days. i went to start another load and realized that i could see the bottom of the hamper!! i walked into the kitchen and said to the girls " yeah mommy, i am all caught up on laundry!" feeling inspired i walk into lauren's room and find a hamper crammed full and then walk into our bathroom and see the clothing destruction from the girls' 3 baths this morning. as i pick it up, anna walks up and says ,"guess you cheered too early." apparently so.

love of self.

2007-07-26T10:29:00.000-07:00

so this morning, after the girls got out of the tub for the 4th time- they gave me a little mood brightener. lauren is still not dressed (a.k.a nakers) and she wedges her foot into a too small easter shoe. (picture drizzela from cinderella trying to fit into the glass slipper). she finally gets it, (though her foot is bent in half)puts her hands on her hips and says (insert shrill voice here) "i am NOT going to marry you anymore, claire. i am going to marry myself!" i am giggling out loud at this scene, thinking that something about her 1 shoe-ed, naked self feels so superior that the only option for marriage is herself!! anna scoffs at this and says, "lauren, you just don't get life." apparently from 3 to 5, you figure life out. that gives us a little time to inform lauren that sibling marriage is not the best choice. i am guessing michigan law will back us up.

we are on the move!!

2007-07-16T12:38:00.001-07:00

well, early saturday morning we got our 2nd offer on our house- and this one appears to be a go!! they have inspections on wednesday and we need to close by august 9. i am feverishly trying to find a place for us to go while our house is being built. i woke up early this morning- ready to find us a home, sort and organize and find storage rental all in one day. i went thru 1 house today and it could not have been nastier. seriously, even if they paid me to live there- i would not. after 1.4 minutes in the house these shrill, involuntary noises started coming out of my mouth. it was so bad. anna summed it up by getting back in the car and saying, "well, i dont think THAT is a good fit!" ditto. maybe tuesday will bring more possibilities.

i just returned from another rental option- i told brian that i feared a tiny piece of my soul would die every time i walked into it. we have elected to steer clear of the soul killing rentals.

happy (belated) 4th of july

2007-07-13T12:37:00.001-07:00

ipod woes

2007-07-13T11:11:00.000-07:00

so, i just got a new cell phone that can also work as an ipod. the problem is the earbuds that they sent me are too big for my ears. i am not kidding. brian even tried to cram them into my ears and it is not working. i am hoping that over time my ears will stretch out, like when people put bigger and bigger earrings in to stretch out their lobes. with enough persistence, i am hoping to have earbud ready ears in no time!!

van conversations

2007-07-11T11:43:00.000-07:00

here are 2 conversations the girls had yesterday on the way to and from swimming lessons....

claire was once again recalling an incident from last year in which a boy pushed her down the slide at playworld.

claire: "yesterday, that boy pushed me so hard. i dont not never want that boy to push me again. right anna? right, anna? right, anna?"

anna was not listening (mainly b/c we hear the same story every day)

anna: "that's nice."

claire (outraged): " that IS NOT NICE. THAT HURTS SO BAD. DONT SAY THAT, ANNA! (mumbles ) i am mad at you."

anna ( who is never wrong and is now sporting a smirk):" weeelll, it is nice if you want to go flying fast and land in a pile."

the next conversation was about the pacifiers that we sent to disney for the sad babies. emma was inquiring when she could get hers back. (nuts to the babies) when anna had to give hers up we told her she could have it back when she got married. she informed me that she no longer would want them back and i said that was a good idea b/c moms and dads dont use pipies anyway. she said, when i am a grandma great (great grandma) and i move into one of those really small houses (sunset manor), i will want it back then. i asked why and she replied...it will give me something to do there. i love that girl.

beware of altered blog.

2007-07-10T14:28:00.000-07:00

to those of you who are confused by the following post entitled war of the hart's....my husband altered the content to make it look as though i was the perpetrator and not the victim. try to look past his statements, as i deny them but have no time to re-type this.

war of the hart's

2007-07-09T13:50:00.000-07:00

for the past several days, my husband, who is usually passive and a peacekeeper, has been waging war with me. Unfortunately, I started the war so I am totally to blame. today, for instance- i got into my vehicle with my half a dozen children and the van was near 200 degrees. i had not had any caffeine yet and based on the behavior i had witnessed in the morning, the outing did not look promising. after the usual fight about seating and whose day it is and was and who will sit in which remaining seats ( you get the idea)- we are off and out of the subdivision. i realize that though the air is full blast- i am not cooling off. in fact, i feel as though my insides are burning up. i consider driving us all to the e.r. and then i realize that brian, my devoted and loving husband, has turned my seat heater to high. if i hadn't done the same thing to him several times in the last couple of days to start the war, he would probably feel bad reading ths. the tricky thing about those heaters is that you do not realize they are on until you feel like one of those rotisserie chickens. after being victimized for several days by my spouse (and b/c i am not one to back down from a good prank challenge, expecially when i started it) i decided it was time to get even. this may not seem fair since i started the seat heater prank and got my husband many more times than he got me, but i like to torture my husband with pranks, at least a little. while i was cleaning the girls room, i found anna's pebble collection. i took 5 smallish, not too sharp, pebbles and placed them under the sheets on brian's side of the bed. usually brian works on his computer until the wee hours of the morning- so i accepted the fact that it would be a late night, but worth the wait. i even skipped my dose of ambien to be sure i stayed awake. a few minutes later brian came and sat on the edge of the bed to set the alarm clock. i thought it would be over right then, but the comforter was still covering the rocks and he did not seem to notice. in he crawled and nothing. i say " you are a bit to close to me, can you scootch over to your side please?" over he goes and nothing. i am struggling at this point to keep my giggles quiet...but i quickly realize this is not turning out as i had hoped. there he lies on his stomach- ready to drift off. i am thinking, "he is so skinny, there is no way he cannot feel that." finally i ask, "are you comfy?" he whips his head around and says "why?" i start chuckling and he is not amused. he questions me a few more times about what is so "frickin" funny and because i am a vault- i tell him not. he lays back down and finally feels a pebble, then finds two more. he replies "you put rocks in my bed". that was it. what a let down. i had much, much higher hopes of how this prank would turn out. no drama, no thrashing around, no uncomfortable groans. nothing. shoot. maybe next time. p.s. in the morning i found the remaining 2 rocks on the carpet. i makes me feel better to think that during the night sometime he was digging around to see what was poking him in the thigh. i will cling to that.

big 5

2007-06-29T12:47:00.000-07:00

happy, happy birthday- miss anna! yesterday, june 28, anna turned 5. what did she think of this momentous occasion? "i have been waiting a long time to be 5. when i am 8 can i do flips on the balance beam?" our sweet girl- who is always looking ahead to what is next...what is bigger...what she is currently missing out on. for those who have the pleasure of knowing her, you are aware that she is wise way beyond her 5 years (must be all that waiting she did!). a beautiful heart, amazing perceptions, a contagious giggle and a few new freckles....we can't wait to see what she teaches us this year.

better you than me.

2007-06-28T11:43:00.000-07:00

today at costco i had about 20 people (not really that many) say "are they ALL yours?" or "please tell me that those are not all yours" or one of my favs "are they twins?" seriously, it is not hard to count to 3. these comments are not what bother me, but more in the way they are delivered. it always involves a scrunched up nose and a furrowed brow. and it is always followed with "better you than me". i hate that. i could understand if one of the children were throwing super-sized bananas or punching random employees, but it is when they are being sweet and obedient and saying hello. at the airport yesterday, this family was talking about me and the girls as though we were not 12 inches away. apparently when you have multiples, your ability to overhear is lost. i no longer make eye contact when i hear "look at them! they must be twins." i am unable to tell if they are speaking to me or about me. either way it is a conversation i would rather not have. who says to a total stranger, "i bet you wish that hadn't happened!" i think the "that" is my beautiful girls. and no, so far i have not wished for any of them to not be here. ( well, not permanently, anyway.) i guess they do not know how loud and high pitched lauren can be, and that it makes us laugh every time she talks. or how claire can befriend anyone and loves to wrap around my leg and say "i love you, momma". and how emma would prefer to spend her days curled around you like a koala bear and cannot start her mornings without being cuddled and having her back scratched. and anna- she is like speaking to an adult sometimes. i could have conversations with that kid all day. life is certainly always busy. sometimes i feel it is bigger than i can handle. but they are so cute and growing up so fast...it is better me than them for sure.

hello friends.

2007-06-15T10:54:00.000-07:00

it has been a while. much has happened since we last posted. the weather turned hot, time spent outside has increased (hence the lack of blogging) and the triplets turned 3!! may 13 was their big day and they celebrated at the farm, pony rides and all. they seem to have accepted that they were indeed born on the same day. lauren still tells people she is 5 and then checks to see if i am looking. anna is quickly approaching 5 and so excited to start kindergarten. here is a quick story for you. lauren is a rather loud child. and there is a bit of a sharp tone to her voice. one day while she was talking, anna blurts out "lauren, you are a fog horn". harsh, but accurate. lauren lives for meat and dessert. but she calls it buzzert. after dinner, i broke out a strawberry cream cheese pie. our sweet fog horn bellows... "this buzzert is bulicious!" you have got to love that girl. here are some random pics from the last couple of months.

unfinished business...

2007-05-09T15:52:00.000-07:00

this wretched blog has become another example of the things in my life that i am unable to get done. i wish i had more to tell you- but unless you want more public restroom stories....this pot is dry. hmmm- what to write, what to write. did you know that i cannot bite down into a piece of pizza? something about the sauce creeping up in between my teeth. i have always and will always, rip my pizza into pieces and pop them in my mouth. i wonder how many of you knew that? random, i know. here are some more random facts about me.

1. my most embarassing moment. there have been so many. knocking over an entire trash container of empty pop cans when i was a freshman ranks as a top one. the 8 million pop cans went right into the middle of a group of (heartless) senior guys who were eating their lunch in the hallway. i attempted to run away, but the (cruel) teacher made me walk in the middle of this group and pick them up. here is the part that will make you wince. this group of guys (probably 20 of them) started throwing the empty cans at me while i picked them up. jerks.

2. time i laughed the hardest...well, the last time i laughed so hard that my stomach ached was when my neighbor attempted to prove something by trying out my speed skates. to be fair, she lacks the athletic prowess that comes so naturally to me! anyway, she strapped on anna's bike helmet and tried to sturdy herself. please note: these are no ordinary skates. aside from multi-colored neon laces, they had german bearings. we are talking danger fast here! it was a pathetic start, which she blamed on some pebbles on the sidewalk. she started to gain some speed down the driveway only to have to ditch into the grass to avoid oncoming traffic. it was sad and hilarious. my cheeks still felt fatigued the next day. it taught me an important lesson....some of us are not as gifted as others.

3. most helpless/scared/sad... when the doctors came in and told me that emma had a stroke. seeing them recesitate her. wondering where God was going with that situation.

4.i am most annoyed by: people who cut me off in the grocery store ailse (it is not easy to stop a jumbo cart) and then stop right in the middle of the aisle. completely oblivious to the fact that i want to ram them in the back of the ankles.

5. nothing tastes better than coca-cola from a fountain. mmmmm.

6. i am still scared of "back basements" because my sister and her friend used to wrap emily h. and i up in gymnastics mats and tie us to a pole or on top of the freezer. nice. more therapy for me.

7. i used to tell people that i was the real orphan annie. sad, isn't it?

8. i now, at times, tell my children that there are kids in this world that have no food...so they should eat their's and be grateful. i swore i would never do that.

well, i think i will stop this list now. it is a post. something to read. good enough.

have a great day, everybody!!

hold your judgements

2007-04-25T16:54:00.000-07:00

ok, before i begin- let's get a few things straight. i have received a few less- than- friendly comments on our "inadequate blogging". first of all, i told you that would be the case. secondly, if you have seen my basement- i should not be blogging at all. especially because there is a "for sale" sign in our yard, and our house has a better chance of being condemned than selling! i have also noticed that the only comments we receive on our blog are from other bloggers, they know the hurt of 0 comments and take a stand against "blog-gawkers". so for those of you who are checking our blog 20 times a day (i.e. jeff), this will be your jackpot.

claire, lauren and emma are going to be 3 in a few weeks. shocking, isn't it? i remember breaking life down into weeks those first few months. when the girls were 8 weeks old, i remember thinking "i have made it 8 weeks...in 8 more weeks they will be 16 weeks old" weeks/days/moments at a time made it seem less overwhelming. when i was pregnant with anna, i could picture her at different stages in life. i did not do that with the girls. too many unknowns, i guess. now, i often find myself in moments of "i didn't think of that"....and those are what makes my life so rich. here are a couple of examples...

-3 big bike riders, cruising down the sidewalk. (lauren in a size 6-8year old helmet- she has a larger size head!) i didn't seem like they would ever be independent of me, and just like that....

-i assumed that because of the close proximity in the womb, they would be more alike. not so, completely separate personalities, voices, noses...(so far no one has sported one like mine- may their luck continue).

-who knew that i would know whose hand i am holding without even looking down. it gets me every time.

-they speak. a lot. i never thought beyond the "meet my needs" cries of the first year. along with the whining, they sing and laugh and count. (honesty check, usually there is a least 1 whining while the singing is going on), but a van full of giggles makes it worth it.

anna likes to talk about "how i got to be the mom". she says God knew her and i would be a good fit because she love milkshakes and i drank a lot of them when i was pregnant with her! and because i love her best and most. it is true..my girls and i are a good fit (minus our occasional 'piece the wrong way'). each one of them brings a part that makes up our life and completes it. i wonder if i will be back to 8-week junks of life when they are about 13.....

i want to soak up the sun....

2007-04-12T12:28:00.000-07:00

photo taken on April 12.

i just watched the 10-day for forecast...and for about the 49th day in a row, it shows no sign of improvement. bummer. i have been doing some "last minute deals" searching and feel ready to hop on a plane and head anywhere where there is sun (and no snow). would anyone like to join me?? it can't be winter in the spring everywhere. f.y.i. emma (my sweet, darling 2 year old) is not invited. she is laying with her body in the hallway and her toes in her room (so that she does not violate the "do not leave this room during your timeout" rule) and screaming "I WILL BE GOOD! I WILL BE GOOD". it has been her theme cry today, but has proven false every time. claire and lauren are occupying themselves by also standing in the hallway and reporting to me everytime she lifts a toe off her carpet. claire is chanting "get her mom. she is so bad". anna is making known her desire to attend all day school because she just got home and she is "already so bored" and "sisters are so loud and whiney". a happy household today. even though this post is rather negative- i do still love them and would not trade them (well, maybe emma for a short time!!). sunny location, here i come. have a great day!!

merry christmas!!!!.....

2007-04-08T14:01:00.000-07:00

o wait. happy easter. those who reside in michigan with us understand this title. we had an indoor spring break, due to the weather. we braved playworld (along with most of hudsonville/jenison/grandville), the mall, and best of all....chuck-e-cheese (a.k.a. chunky cheese). it took the girls a good 30 minutes to realize that the rides could move if you inserted a gold coin. it was rather uneventful, as hart outings go. anna hopped up on stage with the dancing/singing chuck-e and was slightly assaulted during one of his pre-recorded hand movements. she didn't seem to notice. we sat down to eat pizza (kevin, i know you are gagging right now) and we noticed emma was missing. she showed up with the coin dispenser operator who informed us that she was trying to break out the front door. thank goodness for those blacklight stamps they place on your left hand!! we also walked through the mall and found a big, bored bunny. anna was feeling beautiful in her winter plaid jumper and hopped right on his lap. the other girls were not so sure, so it became a family photo. emma's red socks and all!

f.y.i. westshore mall was almost empty during spring break, who knew!!


anna and chuck-e	claire on the clock ride	proof...lauren outside the bathroom

here are some easter photos:

the cousins.

left to right:
emma rose
claire elisabeth
anna rae
lauren elise

life in panties

2007-04-05T12:22:00.000-07:00

whoever said that life would get easier once the girls were potty trained, lied to us. apologize as you feel compelled. the triplets have mastered the potty. they also need to "mark their territory" at each and every public restroom. several times at each restroom for lauren.
here is a true story: a couple of saturdays ago, we headed out for our usual saturday trip to sam's club. we picked up the necessities and went for a slice of cheese pizza (cut into 4!) and a vanilla ice cream (with 3 extra cups- yeah big portions!) one of the three saw the potty sign and it was on. all 4 needed to go. anna is not such a problem because she can take care of herself and has an adequate fear of germs. this is not the case for the others. despite my tendency to exaggerate...this is all true. we head in and the clip board indicates that the facilities have not been tended to in a while. i am lifting emma up on the potty and meanwhile the sight of the potty has made it impossible for claire to hold it. she is wet and crying. while i am trying to convince claire that it is ok to be naked in your snowsuit and that it isn't a big deal to have pee in your boots; i look over and see lauren lying on her stomach, head on the nasty floor, licking the tile like it is an ice cream cone. where is emma in all this? i push open her stall door to find her splashing in the toilet. you may find this scenario humorous, but as i type- i still have not cracked a smile. meanwhile- brian is happily munching on his 4-berry ice cream sundae. i think i prefer the diapers.

not sure who is who?? left to right: emma,claire,anna and lauren.