Finding Comfort in Daddy's Arms

Grace and Audrey both came down with really high fevers this week. And since Grace has some other stuff going on (and will most likely have to have surgery to repair an inguinal hernia), Daddy stayed home from work one morning to take her to a doctor's appointment. When they got home, they settled in on the couch for a few moments to rest and I just couldn't resist snapping this photo. Gracie and Daddy have always had a very strong and special bond, and just seeing them together like this warms my heart.

Making Music

We bought our very first piano! Robert and I both love music - as children he studied piano and I played the violin. We always have music playing in our home, and no car ride is complete without world music (usually with a latin or african beat) blaring in our van with three kids waving their hands above their heads in the backseat. At church, the first things the kids do is run to the piano, and whenever the kids hear drums, they get so excited and start bouncing up and down. So we decided to look on Craigslist to see if there were any affordable pianos out there (I've always dreamed of having one in my home!) and to our surprise...there were - many! One of the very first ones that I called on and went to see ended up winning my heart, and Robert was willing to make my dream come true, so we bought it! Our good friend Trevor happens to have a moving truck and dollies, so he met Robert and our other good friend Neal at the piano's former home yesterday to pick it up and bring it home! A piano is probably the heaviest thing 3 guys should ever try to move, but they were troopers and got it here without a scratch and still mostly in tune:) And before the guys were even out the door to head home, the triplets had already found it and were slamming away on the keys making beautiful music. I'm actually thinking about taking lessons myself - maybe you really can teach an old dog (I'll be 28 tomorrow!) new tricks. We'll see!

Sandboxes and Flower Patches

I decided to start a new blog dedicated to documenting the kids' time playing outside! It's called Sandboxes and Flower Patches, and you can view it at: http://sandboxesandflowerpatches.blogspot.com/

I will still be posting on this blog as well - but this one seems to be a more eclectic site with posts on the kids, our travels, cooking, life at home, and all other random things. The new blog will be all kids (outside), all the time:)