Traveling Circus...

I often refer to our family as the traveling zoo or more recently, the traveling circus. Anyone with more than one kiddo can understand what I mean. They are hungry, thirsty and have to go potty all at the same time! No to mention the need to explore every territory known to man.

So, today we took our show on the road and went to Walla Walla for a check-up for Mommie and the monkey in my belly. The kids were excited to hear their brothers heartbeat and find out how big mommie was getting. Of course the moment we got into the exam room they wanted to know what everything was...needless to say, I kept it all very simple..."that's a special light...those are for the doctor...those are special footrests for mommies..." you get the idea. After being weighed and simultaneously oohed and aaahhhhddd for my great growth (LOL), it was time for Dr. Jake to come in. After some introductions and catching up I was instructed by Alison to "lay down Mommie!". Once the doc found the little monkey and the kids heard the train-like sound coming from my belly, they were quiet with large eyes and mouths open. The kids thought it was so great that they could hear their baby brother.

Afterwards, Daddy took them out to play in the kids area while I finished-up all the details with Dr. Jake. Everything is going great, by the way. Dr. Jake expressed his thanks for bringing in the family for this special treat, to which I replied, "The Traveling Circus is always happy to entertain"...or something like that.

We got everybody piled back into the clown car and made our next stop doing some shopping for Daddy's hunting trip this coming weekend and made it to town in time for a quick stop at Daddy's work to run off some energy and then home for dinner. The kids were completely worn-out, but not nearly as much as we were!

We have learned that this ciaos is our life and we love it. We can change it and we wouldn't want to because it's who we are and what God has for our life. We are so thankful for time together and making the most of it, no matter what. There is no reason to worry about whether or not the nap they missed will affect them in 20 years or if that meal they didn't quite get because of all the snacking is going to create some sort of "issue" in life later for them. The facts are that we don't have the big picture yet...only God knows and so since it's not up to us, we do the best we can and trust Him for the rest.

So here are some pics from our day, some taken be each of us, including the kids....as I'm sure you'll be able to tell!

Here's another funny...Alison and I were taking pictures of my belly last night when she proclaimed "Mommie take a picture of my belly too!"