Uppy-datey

I haven't given an update on the kids in awhile. I know some of you enjoy that, and I enjoy remembering what new things they are up to. So I'll begin...

Dressed for summer.

Hudson with a green bean up his nose.
Don't worry, it's organic.

I'll start with Hudson (2 yrs), or our little "pie" as Rachel calls him. She has all sorts of pet names for him. He and Madelynn weigh the same, their heads are the same size, but he is still shorter than her. He enjoys tackling his siblings by running and then pushing them over with his arms wrapped around their waist. It is quite funny to watch as he barrels them over. He's a sturdy kid, for our family anyway. He's laid back, mostly happy, even when he wears his serious face. Hudson is also our parrot. He will mimic whatever you say, usually the last one-two words of your sentence. Which makes communication difficult, but he is getting better. He calls Mommy "cute" and proclaims Mommy is also "cutest". Hudson admits that Josh, Rachel, Meh-meh and Daddy are also "cute". He loves the Piano Guys and plays the "cello" rocking out in the middle of the living room floor. It's just the toy ukulele we have and it's usually upside down. This morning the first thing Hudson said to me was, "Cello Wars!" Hmm-mm. Yes, I think we have a little groupie.

Meh-meh (as Hudson calls her) with some
of her stuffed animals stuffed in her
nightgown.

Madelynn (3.5 yrs) is our little blue-eyed joy. Full of smiles, hugs, cuddles, jumps and wiggles. She is learning a mile a minute along side her older brother and sister. She hates baths (yes, still), shares a double bed with her sister, loves being read to, and loves pancakes. Right now she is in the transition from taking one nap a day to taking zero naps a day. Sometimes it's a hard balance to figure out what she needs. She can rattle off numbers 1-10 in Thai faster than in English. She also is working on her emotional stability and the ability to use her words rather than her emotions. That said, she is like my (Renee) little shadow if she's not running around with Hudson. Unless of course, Nina (Renee's mom) is in the house, then it's Nina's turn to have a shadow!

Stuffed animals and dolls dressed in doll clothes.
These doll clothes my mom made for
my Patty Pumpkin doll when I was a child.
Now they have been given to R and M
and R has had a great time dressing up her "friends".

Rachel (6 yrs) is our growing artist. She loves to draw, decorate, organize, create and tape. Did I say tape? We go through alot of tape. She enjoys keeping a piece of tape on her chin, just in case. Rachel loves to give gifts (another reason for the use of tape) and often gives Joel and/or I something new. She is full of love and hugs and notes full of hearts and stars. She is also learning to read. Rachel is a wonderful big sister to Madelynn, taking care of her when Mommy can't and taking her by the hand in "shy" situations. Madelynn soaks it in and loves being cared for, most of the time.
Rachel is also, no longer gluten free. 

Rachel lifting Hudson up

Yes, you read that correctly. For the last month and a half or more, Rachel has been eating like the rest of the family: wheat toast, cross-contaminated oats, whole wheat noodles, Red River cereal, etc. We haven't gotten her tested again for Celiac Disease, but she is experiencing no symptoms of this disease any longer.
Four years ago Rachel was diagnosed with Celiac and put on a strict gluten free diet. A year ago I came across this article and decided to give it a try after praying about it. What they said in the article made sense and it was how we wanted to eat anyway-more healthy, more whole grains, less processed foods.
Well, all I can say is, I am amazed. It was frightening at first letting Rachel eat a whole slice of wheat bread. But after awhile, I got used to it. And after seeing no ill side effects, it seems natural now for Rachel to eat like us. She loves it by the way. Rachel had her first cinnamon bun and loved unrolling it as she ate it. She also had her first malted milk ball.
Maybe someday down the road we'll get her tested, but right now we are just rejoicing in God's goodness and mercy to us.

Joshua (8 yrs) has really been into building and creating and then taking pictures of what he has created. Whether it's Legos, blocks from wood kindling, Duplos, train and road systems, he enjoys building. (At the moment of this typing he is with his grandpa playing with an old Erector Set) His favorite right now is to create a city and of course add the cars and trucks to his building creations. Here are a few of the photos Joshua took himself:

A recent highlight for Josh was when a long time buddy and his family came to visit. Oliver and Josh have been good pals for their whole lives. This last time they had fun making a way cool robot out of Legos:

Joshua and Oliver with a Robot

After seeing the Piano Guys play music that he likes to listen to, Joshua has expressed interest in learning to play the cello! We were happy to hear that, but in our family, learning piano comes first as it's such a foundational learning instrument. So now Josh is learning piano, and so far, he is motivated to play.

And I will end with a family photo.

Thanks for checking in and reading this far!

May God bless you with His wonderful Presence.

A "hey! everyone's smiling and looking at the camera
and not blinking!" family photo