Weird and Weirder

Ben and Luke came to our family first... and I just didn't realize how lucky I was to have such calm, sweet, obedient kids. My two younger boys help me appreciate the two older ones :). Ben and Luke are so kind to one another and set an excellent example for their younger {crazy} brothers. During my third pregnancy, I stressed about having another one... afraid that my relationship with them would change or they would lose the bond they share between one another, but it's still the same, hopefully it always will be. These two are so silly and so giggly. They have a million and one inside jokes and half of the time no one else knows why they're laughing. Last night while setting the table for dinner, they were singing a Christmas duet titled, "Do you pee what I pee?"
They are both so odd-looking... with long, dangley body parts. They move weird, talk weird and look weird. I try not to be annoyed with them (because they are SUCH good boys) but sometimes while watching them, I am reminded of Jeff Bridges and Jim Carey, only they aren't dumb... just weird. Sadly, I have a feeling that this awkward stage isn't going to end any time soon..
If the older boys are Weird and Weirder, then Zack is definitely the Weirdest. He is a ball of fire, spewing one-liners that seem to come out of nowhere. At the park yesterday he recruited a friend by saying, "Come play with us Little Guy." The kid he was talking to was probably 12, but he gladly followed Zack around the playground and the two became instant buddies. Wherever Zack is, a party is waiting to happen. We sure love our Little Guy.
Simon has a Halloween shirt that says, "Here comes TROUBLE" and it speaks the truth! He is becoming quite the handful and knows exactly how to get his way. He loves to sing songs with us in the morning, but he only wants "Wheels on the Bus." When we start singing another song, he screams and hits. We can't help but laugh every time he does it, so bad habits are forming quickly. He's new nickname is "puppy" and it fits him perfectly. He eats the food under the table, gets into garbage cans, begs for attention, will do tricks on command and would drink out of the toilet if we let him. He's the cutest little pet I could have ever hoped for.
Life with these four can be exhausting and mentally draining. But I am so grateful to be their mom. I absolutely love the stage we're in and I wouldn't trade being home with them 24/7 for all the riches in the world. When I am with them--- playing games, reading, teaching, talking, laughing, and even cleaning after them--- I know that I am doing what I was sent here to do. Life isn't perfect, that's for sure. But we are happy and healthy and enjoying one another.. and isn't THAT what matters most?

Since it's Tuesday, I wanted to mention the status of our evening reading adventures. We finished The Legend of Sleepy Hollow and decided to read Rip Van Winkle, too! They were both quirky reads and totally enjoyable. Instead of jumping into Where the Red Fern Grows, we picked up Great Expectations by Charles Dickens. It's spooky and scary and has kept us captivated so far (we're only about 80 pages in). Do we miss the television? Not even a little bit.