Jack turns 5!

My oldest boy turned 5. Gosh, I can still remember is round little baby face and belly laugh that only his daddy could get out of him.

His daddy can still get the hardest laughs out of him. Jack loves to laugh, and it's pretty easy to get him going. His two year old brother can get him going pretty good, as well as, his cousins Shepard and Kale.

Jack is still just the sweetest little boy. He has a really big heart. Just this year, he came over to me with big puppy dog tears when while he was watching Dumbo… his sensitive little spirit couldn't handle Dumbo's mom getting put in jail.
Last night, Mark was reading to him and there was a part about a boy's best friend moving away. Mark said that Jack tapped on his arm… when Mark looked down at him, he had tears in his eyes and said, "Dad, can we skip this part? It just makes me sad."
As his mother, let me just say, it'll break your heart.

Jack is a pretty independent kid… all throughout the day you can find him playing quietly by himself… he is very into Legos right now. He still loves his horses too. He tends to be a follower in groups… at the park or in playgroups. Anyone is his friend. He'll tell me what he likes about a certain friend, and he'll even tell me his saw a pretty girl. :) The first "pretty girl" to hurt my boy's feelings might want to run from this mama bear. :)

Jack loves the outdoors, as any little boy should! He can name many birds thanks to his daddy. And he's pretty good at identifying types of dogs as well. One thing we have noticed this year with Jack is that he has a pretty remarkable memory. Small details that you wouldn't think he'd remember, he does.

I started school with Jack this year… I knew it would be different than teaching Bella, so we just kind of started slow to get a feel for how it would go. He is doing great and has really surprised me. As I already mentioned, he has a great memory, so that is definitely to his advantage with school. He pays good attention to detail… since starting school, he points out parallel and perpendicular lines around the house or out and about. This morning he put his nerf gun in front of my face to show me how the arrows were lined up, and then he said, "Odd." What he was telling me is that there was an odd number of arrows because not all of them had a pair. Ha! Who knew he would care or notice things like that? Definitely not what his sister is interested in. I am loving seeing their differences in the way they learn and the things that interest them. It's really fun.

Jack's love language is verbal praise and affirmation. And LOTS of hugs. His heart is big and full of affection for people in his life. I pray big things for this 5 year old boy. I pray his kindness and sensitive spirit will reach those that need just what he can offer. And through it, he will show them the love of Christ. He makes me so proud… what a blessing it is for me to be his mother.

EKP



Happy Birthday Jack Anson!!!

FAVW

Finn Allen Van Wart was born July 27, 2014 at 11:37am. 8 lbs 6 oz and 21 inches long. He was our biggest baby by over a pound, although, in both of our families of giants, 8.6 really isn't considered big. Our competition is 9 pounders. :)

I had a fast labor… my doctor broke my water around 8:30, and he was born 3 hours later. His birth was everything I had hoped it would be… it was such an answer to prayer. After three failed (and scary) epidurals and one pain-med free birth with our first three children, I wanted things to go differently this time. My prayer is that I would be able to receive a safe, effective, and complicated-free epidural… and that is just what happened. I am still so thankful when I think back on it.

My mom and two friends were in for the birth… it was so special to have them there with us. And we had his birth photographed… Amazing. The pictures are raw, emotional, and simply beautiful. If you are thinking of having the birth of your child photographed, you must use Erin Blinn. She is DFW photographer, and she is incredible at what she does. I am so happy that we have Finn's first seconds, minutes, and hours held in photographs.

We had lots of family and friends come visit us at the hospital and when we got home. I feel so blessed. It's an incredible feeling to have the birth of your fourth child celebrated as if he was your first. :)

Finn Allen is named after my dad, Mark Allen. A wonderful man to be named after.

*Side-note: Our sons are named after the three most prominent male figures in their lives… Jack Anson after Daddy (Mark Anson), Max Palmer after Grandpa (Thomas Palmer), and Finn Allen after Pop (Mark Allen). I LOVE how that worked out!

Finn fits into our family perfectly. I adore him. Mark adores him. The kids absolutely adore him. He is loved WELL.


And now on to the pictures...

And now Erin Blinn's photos…

Bella turns 7!

Even though I rarely post on my blog… I have to when my babies have a birthday. Speaking of birth day… we celebrated the birth of our fourth child just three weeks ago. But that is a different post. Even though it happened before big sis turned 7. Don't ask me what my reasoning is on writing her post before little brothers.

Bella turned 7. I have to say… this birthday was the hardest one for me to say out loud. It sounds really old. And I just can't believe we've already had 7 years with our girl. 

Bella is still "Bella"… smart, funny, strong-willed, articulate… she's a planner, likes to be organized, enjoys cleaning… definitely has taken after me in that area. 

She still loves crafts, and recently, has really gotten into fashion. She loves clothes, shoes, purses, make-up, and she has a strong opinion on her style. And so it begins. 

This year a few new qualities have emerged in Bella. The first being her compassionate heart. She notices situations or problems and is very sympathetic towards people who are suffering or in need. She doesn't just talk about it… she thinks and prays and writes about it. I've always prayed that she would have a kind and compassionate heart, and it is so wonderful to see that developing in her.

She also has gotten very mature. She understands almost anything… situationally speaking. She mulls things over in her head that she has heard or seen, and then when she talks about it, she is right on the money. It could be a family situation, observing someone's behavior and why they might be acting a certain way, she observes people's dispositions… any number of things… the girl is discerning. We have to be careful what we choose to share with her because we know she will understand it. But do we want her little seven year old mind to have to process it? 

The last big change we've seen in her this year is her extremely sensitive conscience. She becomes greatly burdened by things she's done or said that she knows aren't pleasing to the Lord. She will come into our room late at night, "confessing" a time she lied a year ago (I'm not kidding), and she'll be in tears over it. She is a believer, and I've explained to her that the Holy Spirit living inside of her can give those convictions and pulls to not ignore what we know is right and wrong. And I encourage her that this is a good thing. She is growing so much spiritually… it truly is exciting to see in your child. And a good reminder for me to not ignore the Holy Spirit when I feel checks in my spirit.  

Mark and I are so proud of our girl. At times, she has been tough to "train up", but we are seeing God's blessings in her and are so thankful and overwhelmed by them. What a beautiful little girl she has become… inside and out!

EKP

EKP

Happy Birthday Bella Kathryn!!!