Update 5.23.11

It has been such a long time since I have updated.  I figured I would try again and see what happened.  I will start with the littlest one and move up the ladder...

New baby- we saw him sucking his thumb and really getting after it!

Baby # 7:   (I think it is a boy, so I will call it a he- we have never found out the gender of our unborn children and will not with this one either.  We always like to be surprised :)  We are 21 weeks along and he is growing well!  I have been feeling lots of movement and cant wait until the kids get to feel him move when he gets a little bigger.  They all have their favorite names that they think we should name the baby, but Stephen and I have some more praying and searching to do before we are so sure.  We have midwife appointments here at our home once a month, and it is always a highlight to listen to the heartbeat.

Lydia and Papa playing out in the front yard with everyone one evening after supper.

Lydia Elenore:  She is 9 months old now.  We have nicknamed her Iddy Bitty Liddy.  She is a little petite one and is so cuddly.  She is extremely fond of her Papa and loves to ride around in the backpack carrier.  She climbed up the stairs tonight for the first time and didn't really know the extent of what she had accomplished.  She loves to be either on my back or at my feet.  Most of the time in the kitchen, she will make her way over to me and pull herself up and hold on to my legs for balance (which makes it very difficult to maneuver in and around the kitchen).  She does not really like her brothers or sisters to pick her up and carry her around, although I will say that if I instruct them to take her outside for me while I am busy with something, she will last for a good hour.  She finally got down the 4 point crawl which just gets her to her destination a little faster.  She had no problem before getting to where she wanted to go.  She makes some of the funniest faces!  We all just crack up laughing sometimes at the things she does.  She is sitting at the table with us in a high chair now.  I guess we always sit together at the table, but up until about two months ago she was in our arms or in her bouncer on the table.  Now that she eats whatever we eat, she joins us like a big girl and does a pretty good job feeding herself as long as you put just a few bites down in front of her at a time (because they all usually go in the mouth at the same time).  She is so fun and just precious!

James all loaded up in the back of the little red truck, ready to go check cows.

James Hambone Wyatt:  He is 23 months now and will have his 2nd birthday on June 13th.  He is quite the character!  He has gotten to the point that he wants to do tricks for people just like his older siblings.  It just looks so cute coming from a little mini-man.  He wears those fuzzi bunz diapers (actually he and Lydia are the only 2 in diapers during the day, and it has been like that for about a year now- yea!) which are a little bigger than the disposable ones and it makes him look larger than he really is in the britches area.  Now that it is getting hot out, lots of times he just wears a diaper on bottom with a shirt on top.  He can sure ham up a smile.  Occasionally he will look at you and raise and lower his eyebrows really fast smiling the whole time.  He, along with all the kids, love their Uncle Kevin.  He is finally saying the uncle part of his name instead of just saying his name, Kevin.  And now, I think it must be a fun word for him to say because he calls Stephen...Uncle Papa!  He is learning how to control the volume and decibels of his voice, and what it means to whisper and what it means to holler.  It seems as though throughout the day he would always be making noise right along with the other kids, but when it came time to say something important to someone, he would just whisper it.  For Mothers Day this year, all the kids had some verses memorized along with a little song that they presented at church during the morning service.  James isn't quite talking enough to say a whole verse of Scripture, but I figured he could at least stand up there with his brother and sisters.  I told him that his important words to say were `Happy Mamas Day`.  We practiced at home and in front of others a few times and he did well.  Well, when it was his moment to say his words at church, he stood there straight and tall and whispered with all his mite...Happy Mamas Day! with a big smile.  Everyone just laughed.  It melted my heart!

Elaina swinging while playing at the park with our family and the Masters family.

Elaina Marie:  She just celebrated her 3rd birthday on May 19th.  She and the girls love to play `house` and `moms`.  I remember playing that with my sisters growing up.  It does get confusing though when someone is calling for mama and I answer, and they were not talking to me.  Then it is hilarious to see Elaina walk around and call her younger brother Ein (their cousin) instead of James.  The funny thing though is that James answers to Ein without any hesitation.  Elaina loves to do anything her big sisters are doing.  She keeps up with them quite well and doesn't get held up by much.  She still calls herself `Cotton Top Ree Herzog` and still has pretty blonde hair, but I do not think it will last forever.  She loves being a big sister and loves to be in charge of something or someone.  During every meal, I always have 1 designated helper that does things with me while making meals.  Elaina is my snack helper and always asks if what I am making is snacks.  She still dose not get breakfast lunch and dinner straight.  She, as well as all the others, are always so willing to help me out.  Vacuuming, sweeping, doing the dishes, taking care of Lydia, hosing out the dirty diapers...whatever I need, they are always willing.  In fact it is sometimes a race to see who can get the water hose first to spray out the dirty diapers before I wash them. Sometimes I have to divide the sink full of dishes in half so that more than one person can have some to wash.  Elaina is very fun loving and has a great imagination.  Sometimes it is hard for me to believe she just turned only three.  When she feels comfortable around someone, she is very willing to carry on conversation, but if you want her to talk to someone she doesn't know, it is rather difficult although she does obey.  She is my little sunflower and just as precious as they come.

Bella Jane enjoying `Crazy Cookie Dough` ice cream for her birthday.

Bella Jane:  She just celebrated her 4th birthday, so for almost a whole month, she and Millie are the same age!  She is our sweet quiet one.  But it is funny, as I wrote that statement, I was reminded of just how loud she really is.  When she talks to someone and is giving them orders (which she usually does) it is very loud and forceful and most of the time she is right in what she says.  She likes things to be `just so` and doesn't like disorderliness.  She has several bags of things she has collected from around the house, and the items are as random as they come, and she calls it her junk stuff.  She will gladly tote it wherever she is allowed.  I encourage her to leave it at home, upstairs in her bed or in her room where it wont get messed up.  She hates to throw anything away, I mean anything, hence the bags of junk stuff.  Lately she does laps and runs around the front yard in large circles and sings at the top of her lunges just whatever song comes to her mind...Victory In Jesus, Do Re Me, or just ones she makes up.  She is quite the servant and has such a tender heart.  When she has done wrong and she knows she has disappointed us, all you have to do is talk serious to her and she melts, unlike others in the family who need a little more than that.  She is a great helper when it comes to hanging the diapers and clothes out on the clothes line.  She gets everything organized into piles and hands them to me to pin up.  It sure makes things go faster.  She loves to work in the garden with Mo and Paw Paw and is really a good helper.  We are so blessed to have such a precious sensitive, loving daughter.

Millie was learning how to make tamales with Miss Carmen.

Millie: She is still 4 and will turn five next month on June 10th.  She is growing up so fast!  She is good at so many things.  She loves to talk, and if given the opportunity she will talk and talk and talk.  She loves to play outside with Martin or up in their rooms making tents or playing doctors.  She is a great helper with Lydia and will successfully feed her a bowl of food when she is hungry without making to big of a mess.  She will often come up to me and say `Is there anything I can do for you Mama?` with a smile.  If I come up with some chore that isn't exactly what she was hoping for, she will say something like, `Well, thank you Mama, but is there something else I could help you with, like dishes or something?`  Mrs. Carmen Martinez came over to the farm and taught all of us ladies how to make tamales.  She brought the girls little tortilla makers.  They are so cute!  We all had a great time.  She loves to help in the kitchen and make meals with me.  She and Martin can almost make oatmeal all by themselves.  And oatmeal for our family is not just little pre-packaged processed instant Quaker oatmeal, it is organic rolled oats that cook on the stove for 15 minutes.  I usually dont measure, so after I get the water or milk going and add the oats, they take care of the rest.  Her maturity level is growing which means so are her responsibilities.  And the great thing is, she is excited about it and loves growing up and helping.  It is fun seeing our family work together.  Most of the time she is skipping or flitting around the house with a smile on her face.  She is my little butterfly and is such a blessing!

Our little man loves to do stunts and tricks- especially on his bike!

 Martin Wallace is 5 years old and will turn 6 in July.  He is such a responsible young man.  Not to long ago we dug up all the `taters in the garden and put them on some beds of hay in the dairy barn for storage.  Lately, I have been sending him to the farm to run errands for me.  The other day, I asked him to go get some bags of `taters so I could make potato salad to go with supper.  Stephen hooked up the little buggie behind his bike for him to put the bags of `taters in and sent him on his way.  He did exactly what I asked him to do and came back with just enough!  I was so proud.  He has such a sensitive conscience and likes for things to be right and without temptation.  Unfortunately, there is always temptation, and he is growing into such a strong worrier for the Lord every time he resists.  He is grasping the gravity of the lessons he is learning in building character and is excited to talk about it, but doesn't want to praise himself.  He is quite the acrobat and comes up with all kinds of obstacle courses in the front yard using anything he can find...broken boards, picnic table, little tricycle, chairs, just whatever is available.  He has quite an entourage of excited followers willing to follow where he leads, no matter how dangerous it may be.  He loves to dress like his Papa and do things with him.  He also is a great leader and man of the house when Papa is gone.  When it comes time to move the cows to a new paddock, Martin, Millie and Bella are all such awesome helpers.  They all love helping put up posts and electric wire.  It only takes half the time as it would if Stephen were doing it by himself.  We are so grateful to the Lord for him and for each of our children!  They are so fun and we love them so much!!