We are so excited for William's big 4 birthday! What an amazing adventure at life this little, but BIG, guy has had! We are so glad to share that this past year has been incredible. Much has changed for William, and we could not ask for more answers to prayers than have already been answered. His health has improved so well! We are so grateful. He still has a few bumps in the road to overcome, but they are so minor in the scheme of things.

William is one major ball of energy now. Sam and I, even though we are chasing a lot now, are happy and amazed that William can accomplish things, like walking across a soccer field, without needing to be carried 5 feet into it. He even prefers to walk/run at the zoo, and doesn't tire very easily. He loves to jump on the trampoline, and seldom ever coughs at all when doing so. He loves to create and build things, especially with Legos. He is very creative and smart.

William is huge! (At least in our family!) He is 1" shorter than Natalie, and a good 10lbs heavier than her. We are constantly being asked if they are twins. My mom likens him to a puppy. His hand are huge. His feet are huge, and he is not quite graceful with them yet.  That is okay though. We love him just the way he is. He is a very tender little boy. He loves giving hugs and kisses to all of us.  He always brings me flowers, which melts my heart.  We are so happy to have him be part of our family.

William Tidbits:

Favorite Food: Ice Cream

Best Buddy: Dakota

Favorite Discussions: Anything with "Potty Talk" (We are SO trying to change this! Especially announcing when he is going to the bathroom, then play by play accounts of his actions the entire time!)

Favorite Book: Anything Nate likes to read to him

Sometimes, you just have to laugh it off and move on!

Since Raechal had such kind things to say about me in her last post, I wanted to thank her and let her and everyone know how wonderful she is! I could never do enough to show her how thankful I am for her and how awesome of a Mom she really is. You can tell by reading what she said about the kids in her last post how devoted and loving she is toward our family. I see this every day, and every day I am more amazed at what she does day in and day out for us all. Raechal never thinks of herself, always puts the kids' needs first, and never complains about it. I feel so lucky and blessed to have her as my wife, and the mother of our children.

Just this morning I had one of those moments, you know the kind - where in the middle of doing something else you just stop and out of the blue notice something about somebody. I couldn't help but notice how beautiful my wife is ... of course, I notice this all the time, but I don't know what it was about this moment in particular. She just struck me at that moment, and I just had to stop and think about how lucky I am and how much I love her. I love those moments where I am reminded of just how great of a woman she is. I love her so much, and I am so happy for the wonderful times we share together and as a family.

I will be sure to post more often ... I need to talk about Father and Sons Campout still, and I need to make a belated post about Father-Daughter campout so that my daughter does not feel left out anymore!

-Sam

Having Family Home Evenings lately has been a little challenging. Tonight we decided to play baseball. It was a blast! I love these times with the whole family. They are priceless! It makes me so grateful for all my kids, even if we do almost have enough for our own baseball team.

Life at our house has been a bit crazy lately. Since Alex's arrival, things have just seemed to turn upside down. Alex has brought us pure joy, but with him has come all kinds of illness. We have been sick with something every other week. First, from the antibiotics given to me during his birth, both he & I got thrush. Those were not exciting times. Next, everyone except Sam, Natalie, and Alex got a weird stomach bug/headache/fever virus. We were going to surprise my Grandma for Easter by going to visit her, but it is a good thing we decided not to because we would have had sick kids in the car.  No thanks! After that, Sam was working a ton , so to preserve my mobility, I was carrying Alex on me in his Baby Bjorn. What a huge mistake! I aggravated several nerves and muscles in my neck and shoulders and have had to visit the chiropractor several times to feel somewhat normal again and to stop the "pain headaches" I was getting from it all. Then, I got strep and an ear infection. They put me on antibiotics, only to give me and Alex thrush again. Last, and hopefully the last, I got mastitis from pumping in an attempt to take my wonderful daughter to concert that I had bought her tickets for at Christmas. I was trying to do something nice, and ended up sicker than a dog. This week we have been to 4 different doctors' appointments, including one for our indoor rabbit who ended up having ear mites. Poor thing, but Yuck! Craziness all around, and hoping life will be "normal" now.  I have to say though, My Kids ARE Wonderful! Even though our house is a huge mess, their bedrooms could use an overhaul, and we have eaten lunch and dinner out more in 9 weeks than I think I have in my life, they have been a saving grace. They always have helping hands to hold Alex, have made meals, planted gardens, completed piles of laundry, and been absolute saints when we have had to visit our doctors. I am so grateful for them and so happy they are mine! Life might be crazy, but I wouldn't trade it. One day we all will look back and laugh, "What great stories those days made!"