My sweet little Annabelle can say "Moma" now! Everytime she says it my eyes almost well up with tears of joy............or maybe a little sadness knowing that I will never hear another baby say Moma to me for the first time. I will just enjoy the sweetness of it now because I know soon enough I will hear it 324 times a day as another child summons me to their needs. I actually work very hard to not be their "Mommy-servant" and to teach them to take care of themselves......... and others for that matter. It surely doesn't come to them naturally.

I will take a moment to write a little about Annabelle as a nine month old. She is one active little gal! Sweet, but on the move constantly. She is very entertained by her brothers and follows them (as well as she can) wherever they go. We are all amazed at how often she smiles. And get this-she obeys me when I tell her no! The boys were a constant training session at nine months. They challenged me on everything, however it is not that way with Annabelle. One little smack on the hand and she knows not to do it anymore. She might cry a little, but she won't do it more than a couple of times before she gets the picture.


I will say that I am the busiest I have ever been in my life. I took 15-18 hours of classes in college every semester, waitressed part time and worked out obssessively everyday, which made me think I was busy then. Then I graduated and got a fulltime job where I worked 10 hour days, 6 days a week and thought I was busy again. None of that compares to mothering three kids, taking care of my household, homeschooling the boys, and trying to help out my hubby with the business. I think that showing the house is what is putting me over the top nowadays. Not that I am complaining.......I am just trying to explain how busy I am........as I sit here and write about it..........get up, get going...........Annabelle will be up from that nap soon. But now I will be able to look back at this and probably say to myself, "And I thought I was busy then!"