Not a Compliment

Aunt Debbie came to our house on Wednesday night before the Christmas Tea. She walked into the kitchen and Andrew told me, "Mom, you look so much prettier than Aunt Debbie."

Thankfully, Aunt Debbie wasn't offended. We have been working with Andrew on him not saying things that won't be encouraging to others. We've told him that sometimes, it is better not to say something. This was just one more opportunity for character training.

Jesus' Birthday

I think the first snowfall of the season sparked this conversation.

Evan: "Is today Jesus' birthday?"

Mom: "No, we'll celebrate Jesus' birthday on Christmas."

Evan: "Are we going to make Him a cake?"

Mom: "Do you want to make a birthday cake for Jesus?"

Evan: "Yes. I think He'd like a Star Wars cake."

A few minutes later...

Evan: "When is God's birthday? I think He would like a Darth Vader cake."

To God!

On Saturday, we had the whole Walkush side over for an early Thanksgiving dinner. We had 15 eaters plus 2 babies around our new dining room table. We had a great time sharing things that we were thankful for.

At the beginning of the meal, Uncle Josh offered the blessing. When he was finished, Nathan (unprompted) raised his glass and said loudly, "To God!" We all proceeded to toast to our God.

Nathan's 7th Birthday

Here are a few of my favorite shots from Nathan's 7th Birthday celebration. Aunt Pam, Uncle Jeff, Eliot and Kaden joined us. Elbert and I worked hard to make "Darth Vader's Tie Fighter" for Nathan. The fact that I actually know what that is shows just how much I have grown in my Star Wars knowledge in 7 years.

Happy Birthday, Nathan!

I'm a Men

Evan: "Where is Daddy going?"

Mom: "Daddy is going to Men's Bible Study."

Evan: "I'm a men."

Mom: "Not yet."

Evan: "But, I act like a men."

Marriage

Nathan: "Do you have to get married."

Mom: "No, you don't have to get married. But, I'm glad I'm married."

Nathan: "Why?"

Mom: "Because Daddy is my best friend. I get to spend every day with my best friend."

From the back of the van...

Evan: "And me!"

Andrew: "And me!"

Nathan: "And me!"

Andrew's Future Plans

Andrew: "When I'm older, I want my wife and I to live with you so that my wife can meet you."

Mom: "You don't have to live here in order for me to meet your wife. You can just bring her over to visit."

Andrew: "OK. We'll come over on Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturdays."

I'm praying for his future wife now...

Heaven

We have been talking about heaven around our house. On Tuesday, Andrew told me, "I think heaven is going to be the funnest. I think the second funnest is the Bakers'". The Bakers are a family we know with 9 kids. The boys LOVE spending time with their kids. What a riot!

Innocence

When our boys are in church, I sometimes wonder whether they are actually listening and understanding what they are hearing.

Our text for the sermon this morning was Genesis 4:1-9 where Cain kills Abel and then lies to God about it. As Pastor Eric was reading this, Evan was hugging and kissing me (something he likes to do during worship). As soon as Eric read verse 8, (Now Cain said to his brother Abel, "Let's go out to the field." And while they were in the field, Cain attacked his brother Abel and killed him.) Evan looked at me with questioning eyes and said, "Killed him?" He obviously was shocked that a man would kill his own brother.

He was listening. And, his innocence was refreshing.

Welcome Kyle!

We welcomed Kyle Pei-Ran Yeh into our family on Tuesday, September 14, 2010 at 8:43pm. He was a whopping 9 lbs. 6 oz. and measured 21 inches long. He had round, chubby cheeks and two cute dimples. He is such a joy.

We waited until the boys could come to the hospital all together on Wednesday morning to tell them the sex of the baby. They came into my hospital room, and Nathan immediately began looking for clues. He was searching for anything blue or pink. Thankfully, I had scoped out the room beforehand and hid all the evidence.

We showed them Kyle, and asked them each if they thought the baby looked like a boy or girl. Nathan and Andrew both said "boy". Evan said "girl". We then announced that they had a brother. Nathan started jumping up and down, pumped his fists in the air and yelled "Boy! Boy! Boy!" Then, Andrew and Evan started chanting it, too. They were so excited.

Here are a few pictures of Kyle's first few days.

One of Kyle's first pictures...
Proud Mom and Dad...

Kyle is going to have to be loud in order to make himself heard in our family.
The nurse styled his hair into a faux-hawk after his first bath.

After we told the boys they had a brother, Evan went immediately over to the couch and held out his arms. He was ready to hold his brother for the first time. It was so cute.

My boys!
I never imagined growing up that I would be the Mom to 4 boys. God is so good!

Kyle

Going home...Let the chaos begin!

Milking?

I was just finishing up feeding Kyle when Nathan walked into the room. I was still a bit exposed. Nathan looked at me and said, "I can see that you were just milking." Oh my...

Absolutely!

I was about to read Evan a story this morning. I asked, "Do you want to sit on my lap? My tummy is smaller now." He replied, "Absolutely!"

Nathan: Our 1st Grader

Nathan started 1st grade on Tuesday. How has the time flown so fast? He was so excited to go back to school. But, he did have a complaint. When I told him that his first day was only a half day, he said, "Oh man!" He was bummed it wasn't a full day. I'll have to remind him of that in a few years!


Of course, they wanted to do a silly shot...

Evan's 3rd Birthday

Evan's 3rd Birthday was August 27th. On the morning of his special day, Daddy took him to Forest Hills Foods to pick out a special donut for himself and for the rest of the family. He picked the largest donut there...an apple fritter. It was huge. He ate almost the entire thing for breakfast.
We celebrated with cupcakes after dinner.

He received his first piece of "Star Wars" apparel...a milestone in his life.
He woke up to a decorated bed. He woke up crying, though because some of the streamers had fallen down in the middle of the night. He was really upset when he woke up because they weren't attached to the wall.

Evan wanted a "Big Brother T-Shirt cake". We made one to match a shirt that he owns.

Mom, Dad, and our Big 3-Year Old (and baby)

Evan in the Middle of the Night

Last night, Evan was crying because he was having a hard time breathing. I went in to comfort him. I gave him another pillow and gave him a big hug. I told him, "Mama loves you." He said, "I love you, too. And, I love the baby." It melted my heart.

Evan's Dream

This morning Evan woke up and told me that he had a dream about me.

He said, "Mama, I had a dream that you fell down the stairs and hit your head on the railing. I put my bubba (his blanket) on your head, and you were better."

I asked, "Was the baby okay?"

He replied, "Yes. The baby didn't fall out. It stayed in!"

Civil War Muster

On Saturday, we did something we've never done before. We went to a Civil War Muster in Hastings. They had an artillery demonstration and a reenactment of a Civil War battle. I never liked history in school, but even I thought it was very fun and interesting. All three boys were very excited during the 20+ minute battle. They kept pointing out the Confederate soldiers who were trying to sneak up on the Union soldiers. Evan kept yelling, "That one died! That one died!"

After the battle, the boys got to hold a musket and see the bullets that were used. They also asked questions to both the Union and Confederate soldiers. They even got their picture taken with Abe Lincoln.
I have a feeling with boys who love history so much, this will not be our last experience with something like this!

Watching the battle unfold...

Can you tell that he's excited?

Honest Abe...He even gave us his business card. I guess he's moved into the 21st century.
Talking to a Union soldier. He even let the kids see the bayonet.


Holding the Confederate musket.

Notice Nathan's "soldier" stance...

What an Encourager

On the way to church this morning, I was blowing my nose. From the backseat, Evan said, "Mama, you're a good blower!" Such great encouragement.

Singing Praises

Evan was singing very loudly this afternoon when he was supposed to be napping. We heard him sing, "This is my story, this is my song. Praising my Savior all the way home!" It's so funny how kids interpret certain phrases in songs. What a joy.

Evan Felt the Baby

Evan isn't always very patient when the baby is moving. So, often, he doesn't get to feel the baby move. A few days ago, he happened to catch the baby during a very active time. He put his hand on my tummy and felt movement. He exclaimed, "It bumped me!" Then he said, "Do it again!" He doesn't completely understand what is happening, but I do think he knows a baby is coming.

Flashback Friday - First and Last Day of Kindergarten

It's been a long time since I've done a "Flashback Friday" post. Today is Nathan's last day of kindergarten. It's so hard to believe that I'll have a 1st grader! Here are pictures from Nathan's 1st day of kindergarten back in September and today.

Ready for his 1st day of school...

A confident student...

All 3 boys on the first day...

This morning -- wishing Nathan a great last day...

Andrew's Hopes for a New Baby

This from awhile ago, but I never blogged about it.

Back in October 2009, we were talking to the boys about the possibility of having another baby. We hadn't decided anything at that point and were asking them how they felt about it.

Andrew said, "I hope you don't get a girl because she would have Barbies. I hope you get a boy because he would like knights, swords, Star Wars, Robin Hood..."

Waddling?

I was just talking to Nathan about the size of the baby. I told him that right now (at 24 weeks) the baby is about as long as a cob of corn and weighs a little over a pound.

His response: "Then, you'll probably be waddling now."

Thanks for the encouragement, Nathan.

Mom's Week

Elbert dubbed this week "Mom's Week" because it started with Mother's Day and ends with my birthday tomorrow. He really out-did himself and surprised me.

On Monday, I got an email from him with a video called "Mom's Week Evan". I clicked on it and saw this:




On Tuesday, I got this video in my email:




On Wednesday, I got this video:



I am so blessed! Thank you, Elbert, for a priceless gift.

Evan's Hospital Adventure

We had an interesting weekend over here. On Saturday afternoon, Evan woke up from his nap screaming. He said that his tummy hurt. Elbert held him for awhile, and he seemed fine. About 45 minutes later, he started screaming again and pointing to the same area of his tummy. After another episode before dinner, we called the doctor.

The doctor said to give him clear fluids and a bland dinner and watch him. He wanted us to call back if the pain seemed to move below his belly button. We ate dinner, and Evan played swords with his brothers and seemed fine. We put Evan to bed. He slept for about an hour and a half and woke up screaming again. He started waking up every 20 minutes and then every 10 and then every 5 minutes. We called the doctor again, and he said we needed to bring him to the ER.

Thankfully, my sister Pam and brother-in-law, Jeff live only 5 minutes from us. We called Jeff to come and sleep on our couch so that we could both take Evan to the hospital without waking up Nathan and Andrew.

We got to the hospital around midnight. They got us right in to see the doctor. He ordered an ultrasound to see what was going on. He suspected it was intussuception. This is a condition where the small intestine basically telescopes into itself. When the intestine telescopes, it causes intense pain. When it goes back to normal, the pain is gone. The doctors don't really know exactly what causes it.

The ultrasound confirmed intussuception. So, they ordered a procedure to blow air into his intestine to hopefully fix the problem. They said the procedure works in about 75% of the cases. I couldn't go with Evan because the procedure was guided by x-ray, and I couldn't put the baby at risk. So, Elbert and Evan headed down. Elbert said that while they were doing the procedure Evan said, "No, no! You're hurting me. Please stop hurting me!" It lasted about 5 minutes, and the nurses offered him a prize afterward. He refused; I don't think he wanted anything to do with the people who hurt him. Elbert said the first thing he asked for after they were done was to see his brothers. He missed them!

Thankfully, after the procedure, he had no more bouts of pain. By this time, it was after 3am. They admitted Evan to the hospital for observation. They said there is a risk of it happening again. If it did, they would have to do surgery.

Elbert went home, and I stayed at the hospital with Evan. We each got 1 1/2 - 2 hours of sleep on Saturday night.

Here's Evan in his cute hospital gown.


Evan seemed to enjoy his time in the hospital. He got to eat ice cream for lunch and dinner, which never happens at home. He enjoyed the play room full of toys and games, and we watched more movies than we allow at home. One of his favorite things to do in the hospital was call his brothers and talk to them on the phone. The first thing he said when he woke up on Monday morning was, "Let's call Nathan and Andrew!" I think he felt like such a big boy talking all by himself. He loved sharing his adventures with his brothers (and Dad!).


Nathan and Andrew came to visit on Sunday morning. They all enjoyed watching a movie together.


As you can see, Elbert was exhausted from a long night at the hospital.


We had to stay Sunday night also. On Monday around lunch time, Evan was discharged. Here is the nurse taking Andrew and Evan for a ride in the wagon to the car.


We are so thankful for all the prayers during this time. We felt God's care through the entire time. We have to watch Evan carefully for awhile to make sure it doesn't happen again. But, it appears that he is healed. We are so thankful that the procedure worked and that he didn't have to have surgery!

Evan still says, "Some doctors hurt me." We keep reminding him that they had to do that in order to make him feel better. He can't completely comprehend it all, but I don't think he has a negative view of doctors or hospitals.

Visiting Family Out East

It's been awhile since I've posted. I'm finally starting to feel more normal. It took until 18 weeks with this baby, which is a bit longer than with the others.

Over Spring Break, our family took a road trip out East. We logged 1900 miles on the van in just a week. We were amazed at how well the boys traveled. They had good attitudes even though we spent two 12-hour days in the car. They also adapted well when they didn't get nap time and went to bed late.

On Thursday night, we drove from Grand Rapids to Auburn Hills to pick up Elbert's mom. We left bright and early Friday morning and drove all the way to Potomac, MD. We stayed the night with Elbert's Uncle Herbert and Aunt Flora.

On Saturday, we went to the nursing home to introduce Elbert's grandpa to the boys. His grandma had met the boys last summer, but his grandpa had never met them. Although he can't speak English, we knew he was excited to see the kids. He had a huge smile on his face when the boys came up to give him a hug.


We also visited Elbert's grandma at her apartment. It was fun for me to see some pictures she had of Elbert's mom when she was in elementary, middle and high school.


While in Potomac, we stayed with Uncle Herbert and Aunt Flora. Elbert's cousin, Jessica, came home from college to see us. His cousin Aric joined us for lunch one day.


On Easter, we took a drive from Williamsburg (where we were staying with friends) to Virginia Beach to visit my Aunt Mary, cousins Alyssa and Zach and my grandma. Zach had hid Easter eggs around the front yard for the boys to find. They loved hunting and finding them. They also enjoyed the Easter baskets that Aunt Mary and family had made for them. It had been awhile since we had seen Aunt Mary, so it was fun to catch up.


Andrew and Nathan were in awe when they found out that Alyssa was in the army. The first question that they asked was if she had her gun. Andrew sat next to Alyssa during dinner and peppered her with questions about boot camp and life in the army. She was a great sport and taught us many things. It was fun to hear about her adventures jumping out of airplanes.

Zach taught us about CERT. He and his mom are neighborhood first-responders. It was interesting to hear their stories about training.


It had been 2 years since the boys had seen their Great-grandma. They loved giving her hugs.

Reading to His Brothers

Nathan has been reading books to his brothers for the past 15-20 minutes. What a joy to hear!

What Do Anteaters Eat?

Last week, Evan and I were reading a book about an anteater. I asked him, "What do you think anteaters eat?"

He thought for a moment and said, "Pork!"

My Three Raccoons

We went to a playgroup at a nature center in Lowell on Tuesday. It was a beautiful morning to be outside, sunny and high 30's.

The kids learned all about mammals, especially raccoons. They had storytime, went on a hike to find tracks, and did a raccoon craft.

Here are my 3 little raccoons...