God's Word

We have been making a more consistent effort to do family devotions after dinner each night. The boys enjoy the time of reading and discussing what we have read. Peter has started reading a chapter each night to us out of his children's Bible. This is something that he decided to do completely on his own. Last night after he read he said, "It feels good to read God's Word". It was so wonderful to hear him say this. I told him that I thought that it makes Jesus smile to hear him reading the Bible. We went on to discuss some of the other people who are in Heaven who were smiling because of his reading. There was a break in the conversation and Peter said, "I feel so happy. I feel like I might cry." It was so wonderful to see my son express such joy for God's Word. I am so proud of my boy.

Big Brother Caleb

Caleb is such a sweet big brother! He just loves giving Joel kisses and hugs and he always tries to comfort Joel when he is crying. A couple of days ago, Joel was crying and Caleb decided to try to cheer him up. He walked over to him and started singing to him. The song he chose is my favorite hymn, "How Great Thou Art." I stood there in the kitchen crying as my sweet boy sang a wonderful song about our awesome God to his baby brother. What a special moment. He has continued to do this (there are a few songs in his repertoire at this point) anytime he hears Joel crying...it is so wonderful to hear.

Brothers!

My mom bought these three shirts shortly after I found out I was having a boy. I have been waiting for months to take these pictures!=) Peter and Caleb were so excited to have shirts that match Joel! They were so excited to hold him and have their picture taken! I love my boys!

Joel is Growing!

Joel is getting bigger everyday! He loves to play on the floor with his daddy! He is such a happy and content little guy. We are all really enjoying getting to know him.

Baby Brother is Here!

Joel Douglas Koontz arrived on July 4th at 5:44 am. Peter and Caleb are so excited to have their little brother here! Peter is especially excited to have a baby to hold, toes to tickle and a little head to kiss. Caleb is a little more stand-offish with him, but he does enjoy holding him occasionally. It is so sweet to watch the boys want to help change diapers and show concern when Joel is crying. We are so excited to watch this little guy grow and play with his brothers!

Mini Golf and Bowling

So, within the past couple months we have taken the boys on two fun outings: Miniature Golfing and Bowling. I must admit I was somewhat nervous about going someplace where my boys would each have the own club or heavy sphere with which to pummel each other. Once again, my boys rose to occasion, followed the rules and had a great time! Here are some pictures for our excursions:

Mother's Day!

I am so blessed to have such fun and creative little boys, who are lead by an even more fun and creative daddy!=) Charles did a fun activity with the boys yesterday which resulted in a very special Mother's Day gift. Here is what they made:
If you can't tell (and it took me a moment this morning before I could tell) what it says, it says, "I love my Mama". I almost cried when Charles gave this to me. He made a huge jumbo sized card out of it and the boys signed it for me. It was just so wonderful to see that they all worked so hard on something special for me.
And if THAT wasn't enough, Peter presented me with my first piece of handmade jewelry from one of my kids. He made a beaded bracelet for me at school and I just love it. I will treasure it always!=)
I love you too, boys!!! Thanks for a great Mother's Day!

Legoland!

We went to Legoland during Peter's Easter break and had such a great time! The boys just love it there! There are so many fun rides and places to explore...it is a little boy's paradise! Here are some pictures from our fun day...enjoy!

My happy boys playing in the fort on Castle Hill.

Playing in the Lego House.
Caleb driving a lego car.
Peter having a blast!
Such a great daddy!

The whole family in front of Miniland USA's version of Washington DC.

Atlanta!

We had a wonderful trip to Atlanta last week. All of Chuck's family was there and it was a really great time! The boys had a blast! The loved flying on an airplane (at least for most of the flight), had a great time visiting the World of Coke, the aquarium, Monkey Joe's and Stone Mountain. Their favorite part of the trip was playing the game their Uncle Craig invented...Ladder Ball!!! It rained the whole time we were there, so Craig came up with this variation on basketball. Each space between the rungs of the ladder was assigned a point value. The boys played down there for HOURS. It's the little thing is life I suppose.=)

Ladder ball!!!

Fun times at the aquarium

Reading with Aunt Laura

Stone Mountain in the rain!

A Very Fun Birthday!!

I am so blessed to have such a fun family! I used my free birthday pass at Disneyland to get into CA Adventure and a friend of ours signed the boys in (thanks, friend!!). We had SUCH a great time!! The boys loved the new Toy Story Mania ride and they had a great time going on the jelly fish, rockets, Soaring over CA, Turtle Talk with Crush and lots more, too! I have to admit that there are times when I really think that my kids are not going to be very well behaved...this was one of those times. It is so wonderful when they prove me wrong!!! They were loving and kind with me, my husband AND each other!=) We had a very fun and special day!!

The whole family having a great time!

My boys having a great time together.=)

Peter and me on Toy Story Mania...such a fun ride!

A Very Fun Valentine's Day!

We decided to do something fun and different for Valentine's Day this year...we went up to Mt Baldy and played in the snow! It was Peter and Caleb's first time to see snow and it was very fun! They kept thinking that we were somehow going to end up with their cousins in Minnesota since that is really their only reference for snow. When we got to the "snowy mountains" they were so excited and couldn't wait to get out of the car and play! They had a snowball fight, made snow angels, ate CLEAN snow, went sledding and had their first hot chocolate. It was a blast!

Peter's First Horn

Peter has been saying for a long time that he wants to learn to play the trumpet. We decided that a good place for him to start would be on a coronet. They are smaller and would be easier for him to handle. Chuck was able to borrow a coronet from our good friend Matt. We gave it to Peter last week and he was so excited!! He figured out how to make a sound on it right away and he is anxious to learn how to play it. It was just so fun to watch him be so excited about it. He has matured so much since he started school and we are so proud of him!