Do Moms Get A Sick Day?

NEW HAIR STYLE
NEW HAIR STYLE
STORYTIME
ICE CREAM BEFORE BED

So this week has been a not so good week for Amanda, Lukas and Evalin as we have all had the flu. So far, Phil, Kathryn and Isaac have escaped. I was going to go into detail as to ALL the things that Phil had to do on Wednesday, while I was completely bed-ridden, but so many of the things are gross and not topics you want to read about, so we will just leave it at: Phil is amazing! He did so much laundry Wednesday - Thursday (mostly sheets and kids clothes) that he is now on strike for awhile. The answer to my title is "Yes, I did get a sick day." Phil stayed home and gave me the day off, which was great because if he hadn't the kids would have had to fend for themselves which we all know would involve eating ice cream and popcorn and watching 12 continous hours of movies all day long.
I posted a picture of Kathryn's new hair style which she was very pleased about! She has wanted her hair to grow for so long and now that it is juuuuust long enough, she wants me to do it daily! It is a great way for us to bond though, so I gladly sit and do her hair for her. Evalin decide to hold Isaac and read him a story the other day and I thought that their contrasting skin color was soooo beautiful that I had to take a picture and then of course share it with the world. Enjoy!

Princesses and Tiggers and Cowboys...Oh My!

Family Picture

So I am very excited to be able to post a picture of our family! This is our first new family picture - Hooray! (thanks to Phil's mom, who got everyone to look at the camera and smile at the same time!!!) I was able to go shopping by MYSELF yesterday, which was so exciting and wonderful. Phil (aka: superdad/superhusband) stayed home with the kids AND managed to do 3 loads of laundry, clean the house, feed the kids, bathe the kids and get them in their pajamas all before I returned! I told Phil that now I feel really lame for not getting more done everyday while he is away! Everyone needs their own Phil:)

Weekly Update...

So another week has gone by and our lives are returning to "normal" which I have come to realize that "normal" will never be the same again! Lukas went back to school and my mom made it through the day watching 3 kids instead of just 1 (hooray, mom!) Phil and I tried to go on our first date since adding two children to the chaos. (aka: the Lohrer family) and it went okay. Just okay because Kathryn cried for 15 minutes after we left, threw a doll at Evalin and had some other inappropriate behaviors, which I will not write about.
Overall, the adjustment of going from 2 to 4 kids has been easier and so much better than I ever dreamed. And for the most part, the adjustment of all the kids has been way better than I would have imagined. Evalin and Kathryn don't feel a lot of love for each other yet. I say "yet" because I KNOW that they are going to be very close some day. I just hope for the sake of Phil and my sanity, that day is sooner rather than later! Lukas has been an amazing big brother. I learn how to be like Jesus by watching him! And Evalin has had a hard time with the adjustment, but really considering that her whole world changed, she is doing remarkably well. Isaac was a handful in Africa and we thought we were in for a wild ride with him, but he has been amazingly good since coming home and for the most part, he is obedient and really fun to be with. Kathryn loves Lukas, loves to go anywhere in the car and loves clothes!!! Getting to know someone who has 4 1/2 years of memories, pre-conceived ideas and habits has been a little challenging, but we are making HUGE strides very quickly (thanks be to God and His ability to make ALL things good).
The hardest part of this whole experience has been dealing with myself. I will be painfully honest and I am not going to sugar-coat or make things sound better than they are: I thought that I would love all 4 kids the same amount, pretty much right away and I don't. I feel guilty about that. I wish that I was not so human. But, feeling guilty has really only made me a worse mom, so after talking it through with my amazing and supportive guy, I realized that I needed to give myself some time. Time to adjust, time to get to know my 2 new ones, time to take in and process all that has happened, and time to fall in love with them, which, again, I KNOW will happen. Again, I just hope that it will be sooner than later.
I am still trying to figure out our "high tech" digital video camera and as soon I can, I will post some videos. (how a radio works still baffles me, so you can imagine how stressed I am about the digital video recorder!)