We've arrived!

We're here, safe and sound, in Columbus. The flights and everything were exhausting, but the boys did really, really well -- better than I expected. The TSA agents and all the flight attendants were so patient with us as we got all of our stuff through security and onto the airplane. We were never made to feel rushed or like "difficult travelers" with all our kids and all our stuff.

Our first flight was 4 hours to Detroit, and they weren't able to sit us all together, so David and Jack sat 3 rows up from Thomas, Peter, and me. Thankfully, Peter fell asleep for a little while in his carseat during the flight, and to my relief, never got too loud during the flight. Thomas got a little feisty toward the end, but he really did well. Jack was great for David -- he absorbed and loved every bit of the plane ride.

We had a 3-hour layover in Detroit, which allowed us to get lunch and have the kids run around in a little play area near our gate. There was a big carpeted area and Peter just went crazy crawling all over it. I'm very thankful to whomever had the thoughtfulness to put those play areas in!

The next flight to Columbus was very short -- about an hour -- and that went by very quickly. Thomas fell asleep, and the other boys did well. I had forgotten how much "white noise" there is on an airplane with the engine noise and air vents -- that ended up being very nice, since I think it helped Thomas and Peter fall asleep, and it also muffled Peter when he got a little fussy. Jack was so cute with the flight attendants -- he announced "HI! My name is Jack. I just turned 5 years old." as soon as we got on the plane. And his eyes kept getting big and he'd say "This is SO cool!". :).

We arrived into Columbus about 8:45PM EST, and it took us quite a while to get the baggage together (one of David's popped open and spilled clothes on the floor!), plus the boys were *done* and pretty poky, and we had to get our rental car and install 3 car seats.

But, we were out of the airport at around 10:15PM, and we met Bonnie and Jason for dinner at The Waffle House. The kids ate well, the food was delicious, and it was great to see Bonnie and Jason. The boys were very excited to tell them all about the airplane ride, T-ball, you name it.

We headed for the hotel, took some time getting the boys settled (Jack and Thomas are sharing a full-size foldout bed and Peter is in a port-a-crib in the living area, and David and I have a separate bedroom. They passed out so quickly and we didn't hear anything from them all night.

David and I are still tired, but we should be in good shape after coffee and breakfast.

Thank God for a safe trip, and thank you to everyone who prayed for our safe travels. It's such a relief to here for the first part of our trip!

Fountain at Detroit airport.

Jack and Thomas in front of the fountain.

David and our mound of our carry-on baggage.


The boys enjoying the kids' play area at Detroit.

Peter speed crawled around this area for quite a while -- it was a Godsend!

Bunked!

David (with two eager helpers) set up bunk beds yesterday after Mass. I'm not sure which was more exciting for Jack and Thomas ... the bunk beds themselves, or being able to help David assemble them! David was so patient, letting them bring him tools, putting in screws, etc. They were in heaven.

Last night was the first time they slept in the beds, and after some monkeying around, they did actually settle down in their own beds for the night. So far, no one has tried to taking a flying leap off of the top bunk ... hopefully they never do. Thank you, GG, for the awesome beds!!

Happy Mother's Day!

I consider it a happy coincidence that Jack's and Thomas's birthdays always fall right around Mother's Day. I love celebrating their birthdays while remembering the joy of seeing and holding them for the very first time. G.G. told me recently that a child's birthday is also a "birth day" for the mother, in a sense.

For me, this has been true. My life changes each time we bring a new baby into the world --learning to give more of myself, learning to be happy about giving more of myself :), increasing my capacity for love and patience, increasing my capacity for worry. I am so very grateful for the gift of motherhood and for the privilege of raising three of God's children into men.

With further ado, here are my Mother's Day boys (plus one June rugrat):

Peter tries desperately these days to do whatever the big boys are doing.

Jack and Thomas were very excited about this friendly garter snake that was sunning itself on our front deck. It startled me at first because of its size, but as far as I'm concerned, it can stick around at eat as many bugs and small critters as it wants!

Jack hits for the stands at the baseball game on his birthday (thanks to Grandmom for the great pictures!)

Jack gets ready to score a run.

"So Jack, tell me how you really feel about Legos."

Daddy and Grandpa assembling Legos for the little guys.

Thomas curled up and passed out on the couch after opening presents. If you know Thomas, you know how insane this is!! I can't remember the last time he fell asleep outside of his bed. He was exhausted, plus allergies/a cold were bothering him. Fortunately his nap perked him up enough to get ready for cake and ice cream.

By request, I made a "forest cake" for the boys. They loved it!

Can you guess what song we were singing? No one cried while we sang Happy Birthday this year, but maybe it's because they couldn't hear us singing!

Peter slept for most of the festivities, but I did get a video of him last week tackling the stairs. He has triumphed over what we call "Baby Mount Everest" -- he starts off in the front room and crawls all the way to to front door. Now there's no stopping him!