handsful

They look ready for this, right?

Maybe not.

Too bad, kids, the time has come to help our orthodontist put his own kids through college.

Braces for all 3 – at one time. Honestly, we’re getting a great deal. Having triplets has had it’s perks. Free diapers when they were little…discounts on braces now. Plus, they were having a February promotion of a big chunk of money off EACH set of braces. EACH! So, we jumped in.

We invaded the place bright and early. Since it was going to take HOURS of waiting in a boring waiting room, my friend Kelley graciously agreed to take Lainey and Dylan to the mall across the street.

I was equipped with my iphone, bible app, and journal. And, my kindle. Ocassionally, I glanced up at an incredibly old re-run of Rosanne. Did we ever really think that was funny?

The first patient finally showed up…

And, the second…

Finally, Ethan…

Total time at the orthodontist? 3+ hours. Total time they’ll be in braces? 22-26 months. Each.

Today is Day 2, and they’re definitely feeling better than they did Day 1. Ibuprofen is still their friend, and the food is still soft. (though, they did wrestle with pizza today at co-op, since the teacher surprised them with it!) The first week is the hardest.

A friend reminded me of something the other day…when Marley, Payton, and Ethan were little, I decided I’d get myself braces. I knew, down the road, that we’d be faced with putting braces on their sweet, tiny faces, so I figured I’d go ahead and take care of myself. Looks like “down the road” has arrived!

Before, they were just kids.

Now, they’re teenagers. Unfortunately, that word “teenager” can be viewed negatively these days. We prefer to think of Marley, Payton, and Ethan as entering young adulthood. Which, I honestly can’t get my head around.

Has it really been that long since they looked like this?

Care to guess who is who??

Can you stand the cuteness?!

And, today…

Marley becomes more like me everyday. People even say she looks like me. Lover of all animals, rider of horses. Requests regular late night talks with mom. Sweet and quiet, but can be grouchy. (you know it’s true, Marley!)

Giving their best teenager glare

Payton? He’s my height. Already has his own cartoon character (you’ll be seeing Harry the Stick Dude in print one of these days), is learning to play the drums, and has a heart for others.

Ethan desperately wants a growth spurt. He has a style all his own – shaggy hair, shaken just right. Skinny black (never blue) jeans, loafers, and plaid fedora hat. Musician is written all over him. And, he’s good.

All those years ago…coming home from the ultrasound that showed we were expecting three babies. We were so blessed. Given the privilege of carrying those three babies was awesome. I remember Sundays at church, when we would sing “I sing for joy at the work of your hands”…those words made me smile and cry, all at the same time.

How could we have imagined what they’d be like today? 13 and they are such wonderful kids. Such different personalities, and different likes/dislikes. We thought we were blessed back then? We had no idea.

Their day was fairly normal at first, since it was a work day for Randy. I did make them cinnamon rolls for breakfast, of course. When present time rolled around, Marley went first.

Abbey gave her a birds coloring book (the kind for big kids), and we gave her a tee shirt and Toms. Which means I got a new pair, since we wear the same size. Yippee.

Abbey gave the boys coon skin hats (they loved), and we gave them a dad/son day at the shooting range. They’re at the age where anything involving fire or shooting things is cause for excitement.

As a gift to all, they got a new pair of skis and a new knee board. Marley has really been wanting to learn to ski, and we only had adult size. These are junior size. And, our kids are all doing so well on our current knee board, this one will allow them to do more tricks. Everyone was excited over these!

After much discussion, we decided to head to Outb*ck for dinner. Given it was a Thursday night, it wasn’t busy and we got right in.

Big dishes of ice cream with cookies, and the standard quick clapping birthday song.

We were the last to leave. lol…

Another triplet pose…gosh, I like this one.

Heading home for cupcakes…

Directing our rendition of happy birthday…

Make a wish!

And now, it’s true. We really have the Bigs and Littles. I can now say they are the Teens and the Kids.

My alarm went off at 5am. Yawn.

We were out the door by 5:50, and pulling into the church at 6am.

Abbey, Payton, and Ethan left for their Testify Youth Choir tour today…they’ll be in Orlando for about a week, doing concerts and a little sightseeing. They’ll be singing at a youth detention center, Wet and Wild amusement part, a church in St. Augustine, and a home for terminally ill children.

They’re very excited and admittedly a little nervous.

Payton’s family group…his “dad” passed out mustaches for everyone. Perfect for Payton.

I’m thankful there are so many strong Christian adults taking care of my kids. Each kid is in a small group with 1 tour mom or dad. Makes those headcounts much easier to handle, and gives the kids a stand-in parent to help whenever they need it. I can breathe easier because of that.

The boys, being the youngest, also have quite a few big brothers to watch out for them.

Praying that my kids stay safe, of course. But, even more so, praying that God uses them as He sees fit, to further His kingdom and for his glory.

We miss you already!

For as long as I shall live, I will testify to love

I’ll be a witness in the silences when words are not enough

With every breath I take

I will give thanks to God above

For as long as I shall live

I will testify to love

Two homeschool moms in our area must love to dance, because they’ve devoted a lot of their time to arrange fun dances for homeschooled kids in our area.  Abbey has enjoyed two of these so far, and tonight was Marley, Payton, and Ethan’s turn.  The Cherry Blossom Ball is their first dance.  They were excited, but a bit nervous too.  Randy is out picking them up right now.  I can’t wait to hear how it went!

Don’t they look nice?!  And, so grown up.

** Update:  They had a BLAST.  Marley’s comment:  “When is the next one?!?”  And, our boys were two of only FOUR boys.  They quickly realized that being nearly the only boys in a whole room full of girls isn’t such a bad thing ;)

While walking through our little downtown around Christmas time last year, we found out the the local artist’s guild was having a youth art exhibit in March.  Three of our kids decided to get artsy and turn a project in.  Lainey and Dylan weren’t quite old enough, and Ethan…well, he told me when he was 4 that he hated arts and crafts at preschool.  That’s not changed.

Last night was the reception for the artists.

Abbey poses with the beautiful photo she took of a flower in our yard last spring.  A bee is contentedly drinking right on top.

Marley decided to do a colored pencil drawing of her latest passion…birds.  Specifically, a blue crowned conure.

Payton is our cartoonist and he’s good (if we do say so ourselves).  His favorite character is “Harry the Stick Dude” and here he’s drawn Harry in 9 of his favorite personas.   I like the gangster one the best.

Our kids didn’t win any ribbons, but it’s okay.  They got to see some amazing art by other kids like them and hopefully it will inspire them to keep creating, if they so choose.  We’re glad they wanted to have the experience, and we loved seeing their art on display!

Coming soon to a theater near you.