The Line-Up...

Because the main idea of this blog is to document the strange and hilarious things my boys do, and because I think they are so darn cute, I thought it would be appropriate to officially introduce them to you. So, here's the line-up:

This is Noah: our first-born, the one who first made us happy to be parents, the one who still makes us laugh everyday.  It's been amazing to see how all of our kids, but particularly Noah, have embodied the meanings of their names.  Noah means "to bring rest and peace to God's people." And while he is every bit a 5 year old little kid who likes to catch bugs, jump in any puddle he sees, eat worms (yes, you read that right), and play in the dirt, Noah has always had this underlying desire to be peaceful.  He's had more of an opportunity to do this as he now has 2 younger brothers. But even back in the days when it was just me, the husband, and Noah (what sweet days those were!), he had a peaceful spirit.  He really made the transition into parenthood easy for us.  And then along came our next little guy...

Here's boy #2: Jackson. Oh, how to describe Jackson?  Let me just say this about our sweet 2 1/2 year old middle child: he taught us, and continues to teach us, that no two children are the same.  I'm not sure what I expected after having such an easy first child, but I guess I sorta thought they would  have similar personalities.  WRONG.  Dead wrong.  From the blonde curly hair and fair skin, to the strong-headed, do-it-himself personality, Jackson is his own person.  As he's gotten older, it's plain to see that he is taking after his dad.  He loves motorcycles, guitars, and any sport that includes a ball. ( He also loves to dance.  And I have no idea where he gets that from.  My husband denies this trait, but I have my suspicions.) Jackson has taught me patience and more than anything else, grace.  Grace for him, but especially for other parents who have strong-headed children. Gone are the days where I look at people in Wal-Mart with a screaming kid and think "they must be bad parents."  Because, not only has it happened to me, but chances are it will happen again. And I could sure use people looking at me with a little grace as I do my best to teach Jackson, even in Wal-Mart, how to control the fire God has put in him.   And that brings me to our newest little guy...

Meet Seth.  He is 11 months old at the moment and will be celebrating his first birthday in a few short weeks.  He has an uncanny resemblance to his bigger brother, Noah, and his personality, thus far, sure is a lot like Noah, as well. Seth was a surprise for us from the moment we found out I was pregnant to the moment he was born.  Unlike the previous pregnancies, we decided to wait until his birth to find out the gender of this surprise child I was carrying.  My sweet husband was convinced this was our girl.  I, however,  was in limbo the entire time.  I had no idea, much to my frustration, what was inside my belly.  And then, after 9 brutal months of wondering and waiting, he arrived.  My awesome OB let my husband be the first to see the baby's anatomy and then announce it to me.  I will never forget my husband as he said "It's a...a boy? What?"  I love that he phrased it in question form when he announced it to me, as if there may be some dispute about it.   And as I recall I laid there and said "of course it's a boy" as if I'd known the entire time.  Of course, I had no idea, but still it was as if it settled on me in that instant that this was my life. A life destined for camping trips, baseball games, and blue jeans.  Or maybe that was just the morphine talking. I can't be sure.  But Seth, our sweet little Seth, has been the perfect surprise for us.  He is what made us the Friesen Five, after all.

Brothers.