#4, the end of the Burk baby saga - Natalie Jean! Becoming pregnant with Natalie was a true lesson in being careful what you wish for. I felt the need to add a 4th child to our family by adopting one from the Ukraine (didn't really want to go thru another pregnancy) and within a month of feeling that call I found out I was pregnant! I can not even put into the words what I felt when I found out there was a little one on the way...happiness, shock, anxiety - so many thoughts rolled up into one! I remember one particular doctor's appointment when he asked if I had any questions...."Yes, I do. What am I supposed to do with four children?" (Sounds like a reasonable question, doesn't it?) Being a 37 year old doc with 5 kids of his own at home, he gave me a piece of advice that made the angels in my own little personal heaven sing....."Don't worry about it, any amount of kids over 3 is chaos anyway. You're gonna be yelling alot anyway, so you just have one more name to remember while you're yelling - no big deal." Ok, so therapist he is not, but my god did I feel a whole lot better when he told me that!
would not tolerate milk or soy-based formulas so we had to put her on a prescription-based formula that was from then on referred to at our house as "liquid gold" due to the cost...and she remained on that until her 1st birthday. At 3 months she had a scary bought with RSV that put us in the hospital for 5 days, and from then on caught every respiratory illness known to man. We had the doctors cell number on our speed dial, inaugerated the new children's ER at our hospital, and I'm quite certain that we are the reason our doctor got to put a new addition onto his house! For what we paid in medical bills during Natalie's first year, we could've purchased a small country!
iest and the hardest child to raise! She is sugar and spice and everything nice...when things are going her way! Somewhere along the lines, someone must have called her a princess and she took that title to heart. Many times she thinks that the world is her oyster and we are her loyal subjects. She is bossy and crabby and moody and it is just so hard not to love her when she looks at you with those big blue eyes and says "You listen to me!" But as snotty as she can be (and boy, can she be) she also has a loveable side too. She still loves to be "rocked" and will grab her blankie and curl up on my lap in the rocking chair and lay perfectly still while I hum "Rock-A-Bye-Baby" to her. If I am sick, she is the one child that will sit quietly on the bed and be my nurse. She loves to help me cook and is the only child that will put her things away - a miracle in this house! She loves to dress up in pretty clothes and wear the color pink, but is a tomboy just as much as a girly-girl! If she isn't in the house coloring, she is outside running wild on the farm (usually minus an article of clothing such as a shirt). She loves all of our animals....and they all love her (except for the cat, Natalie just terrifies the cat). If she's outside on her own, the first place that she heads is to the barn. She lets the rabbits out and sits and plays with them, gets in with the goats and chases them around, and climbs into the corral and walks the horses, all the while with the dogs following her around as well - she's like the Pied Piper of the Animals! After getting over the initial heart attack of seeing her walking in front of, behind and even under the horses, it is amazing to just sit back and watch her with them. I could walk out to the pasture and those horses will turn their back to me every time; Natalie walks out there and she has 4 horses walking straight toward her. They put their heads down so she can pet them and they nuzzle up against her....she just has a way with them that I can not explain! They are like putty in her hands.
arn to share, will need to work on the attitude, and will have to get used to doing things on a schedule other than her own! But once the teachers get through those first few life lessons with her, they will discover what we see everyday....a beautiful little flower just waiting to bloom. It is bittersweet to be sending the last of the brood to school this year....a rite of passage for both her and for me. It seems that as she is experiencing a lifetime of firsts, I am experiencing a lifetime of lasts. If I think too much about it, it will make me sad, so I just keep pressing on and looking ahead to all that Natalie has to accomplish as she grows. In 14 years, she will be ready to fly away from this nest, but until then, I'm just going to enjoy every crabby, snotty, sweet, and giggly minute with my baby girl. It is way to early to tell what will come about in her life, but when she was born I had a feeling that she would change peoples lives....my feeling has been right so far, because being her mom has completely changed mine!
ut as active as any child could possibly be, he is actually quite insightful for someone about to turn 6. I love to talk to him and listen for those little expressions he has that change the way I look at the world in many ways. For example, one bright and beautiful day not that long ago, he and I were lying out in the yard looking at the clouds. As he gazed up into the blue sky he said just barely above a whisper, "It's a great day today...." Another time as we were sitting at the local pharmacy's old fashioned soda fountain enjoying an ice cream, he spun himself around on the stool with his cone of cookies n cream and said "I feel so alive today". I think back to that phrase often....I feel so alive today - if only everyone had that outlook, this world would be a different place!
ver, I get excited for what he lies ahead for him. It is far to early to tell what his future holds at this point, but I'm sure he's going to do something to take the world by storm. In talking to his Sunday School teacher (God bless this woman) a few months back, she told me that she can not wait to see what he becomes when he's older. She also said something to me that I will never forget and will cherish for many days ahead - she told me that she has a feeling that Evan is going to change the world someday and that she can't wait to see him do it. (Thank you for that, Kim - as a parent that comment took my breath away)
Because of his willingness to keep the class laughing and his teachers on the verge of tears, we've been to too many "conferences" to mention, had too many arguments that have gone nowhere fast, and come up with "ideas" that never seem to work. The truth of the matter is that Jason is just Jason - he's a talker, a toucher, an exaggerator - but beyond all of that, he's Jason. He's no different now at age 11 than he was at age 3...still has that hyper energy that needs to be burned, still has that craving to be the center of attention, and still is the first one in line for a good night hug before bed. 
ely ALL BOY. He loves living on the farm -and what ADHD kid wouldn't love a few acres to run free on? He has a dirtbike that he drives entirely too fast and is completely reckless on, he loves to ride our horses and "conquer" those that I refuse to get near out of fear, he enjoys playing football and golf and loves to learn new tidbits of information that he can quiz others on. He makes messes, he has legs full of bruises that mysteriously appear, he loves to drive his older sister crazy, and is the reason for 99% of my gray hair. But beyond all of this rough boy exterior, he's got a heart of gold. Jason will give anyone the shirt off his back, will spend all of his money on little gifts for his friends and family and will never intentionally hurt anyone. He has a very compassionate and empathetic heart - a rare find in kids these days, if you ask me.The road to adulthood with Jason is going to be a winding and bumpy road. We'll probably need to take a few detours every now and then, and will probably get a little lost along the way, but I have confidence that this kid is gonna slide sideways across the finish line on two wheels, shouting, "WOW . . . What a ride!" And I guess my job as his mom is to buckle up, sit back, and enjoy the ride!
and was equally excited to watch her up on the dance recital stage that was my home for 13 years. It saddens me to admit that all of those dreams came to a halt in her preschool year of dance lessons....this girl has no beat! She's the one that you see in the crowd clapping to the off beat - a rhythm master she is not! This is also the little girl that we would send outside to sing "so the birdies would get a chance to enjoy her tune". I can laugh and poke fun at this now because she is in total agreement with it and laughs at herself and her awkward "feel for the music." The totally absurd ending to this is that Erin LOVES to play musical instruments, and low and behold with all of her lack of rhythm, she is pretty darn good at it! She started out 2 years ago playing the trumpet, but soon switched (hallelujah!!) to the clarinet. After really getting a grasp on the music of that instrument, she has also taken on the piano, saxophone and bass guitar. I think the reason that she is excelling at playing is because Erin has a remarkable work ethic....she LOVES to practice and will not be caught dead going to band lessons without knowing the music inside and out - quite a life lesson she is picking up there, and she learned that one all by herself!
of Erin's passions is athletics, which is a total shocker to me! I'm the one that can't catch or throw a ball (I was a cheerleader for God's sake) and she completely amazes me when she is on the field playing softball or on the court playing volleyball or basketball. She laughs at me when I talk to her about her games because she knows that I have no idea what I'm talking about....I don't know names of positions, plays...hell, I hardly know the rules for half of the sports! I admire the fact that she isn't afraid to get out there and give it her best during a game and I believe that is another life lesson that she is picking up all on her own - it's not whether you win or lose, but how you play the game.The absolutely cool thing about Erin this summer has been that she has really seemed to grow up. Although I'm still her mom, in some ways I can see that I'm also becoming her friend. We can joke about things together and just enjoy a good laugh every now and then and I love that I don't always have to have my "mom" face on with her. Now, I know she's not "all growed up" yet and I still have to be MOM, but I'm really just savoring in the moment of seeing the person that she is becoming....someone who might look a bit like good ol' Mom, but truly is a person all her own. I can't wait to see what the future holds for her....I have no idea where it's going to take her, but I'm sure it will bring her great things!
