What were my kids doing on the quilt in that picture yesterday? Were they tracking an escaped ant from their ant farm? Were they studying the quilt pattern in preparation for making one of their own? Were they praying over their baby brother? Not quite Believe it or not, underneath that pile of circus cast members was our youngest child… You kinda get a little glimpse of him here…

Anyone care to wager a guess as to what is going on in this picture??Winner gets bragging rights

Our conversations used to be about teachers and homework, now they are about how we’re going to school our own kids. We used to discuss boys and dream about our future, now many of us are married to those boys and discuss how many children we plan to have. They were the ones I called when Scott first told me he liked me, and when he first kissed me, and when he asked me to be his wife.

I hear his cries and stumble out of bed. Cradling my son in my arms I make my way down the hall and to the couch where I sit to nurse him. My eyes are burning, begging me to let them close again. Instead I grab my phone and start scrolling through face book trying to keep myself awake while my little guy eagerly chugs down on his 4 am meal.

When I told you of the never ending science lessons going on at the circus this summer, I was excited about my children getting to watch the baby birds grow until they were old enough to fly from the nest. We learned that Daddy Robins help Mommy’s feed their babies, as we saw both the Mom and Dad at the nest at the same time. By day 3 we even started seeing their little beaks peak out over the top of the nest in our “Robin cam.

I can’t believe my little guy is 3 weeks old already. I feel like he is growing up so fast! We’re settling into a routine of sorts here at the circus. We ventured out this week to a friends house for a play date and to gymnastics…even had some friends over a few times. I was reminded of how good it is to fellowship with friends and to let the kids play with their buddies.

I think I’ve mentioned before that my oldest three all share a room. This week the kids have started taking turns sleeping with the baby. Sunday night the boys got to sleep together. My oldest was so excited about sharing a room with his little brother. I couldn’t help but snap a picture as I peeked in on them before going to bed. When I went to look in on the girls I found them both cuddled up together on the floor… it appears they decided to have a sleep over of their ownThe next night my oldest daughter wanted to sleep with the baby.

Just because it is summer, doesn’t mean we have to stop learning here at the circus. God presented us with a wonderful science lesson, right in our back yard. The best part is, I don’t even have to do any prep work for the lessonsA very brave and trusting Momma Robin built a nest under our deck. Apparently, she doesn’t require peace and tranquility to feel safe as our crew stomps back and forth across our deck belting out songs or squeals or tantrums from morning till night.

Last week my mom came and spent the week with us. My parents live 5 hrs away from us and even though they do an awesome job of coming to visit for weekends, it always seems like the visit is over before it starts and I am often left wishing I had some more time to spend with them. Having mom here for a week was such a blessing. Not only did she do my laundry for me all week as well as cook our dinners and even do the dishes, but she also shared my days with me.