1,460 Days....35,040 hours....2,102,400 minutes

How can 4 years have passed since our wonderful, precious Luke passed away.

So much has happened since that fateful day.  So much that he has missed out on.  Josh is now 12 and is a deacon.  Mike is 10 and has been baptized.  Ben was born and would love to know his brother.

I love him.  I miss him.  I wish he was here.

What else can I possibly say on this 4 year anniversary?

We love you Luker boy!

The Mighty Hunters

Josh has got to be the luckiest kid when it comes to hunting....the first time he goes turkey hunting, he shoots one within 5 minutes of being there......and today he went deer hunting and shot one in the first 5 minutes of being in the area.

Brian went up by himself early this morning to No-Tellum Ridge, and shot his 3 point at 8:30 this morning and he was home by 2:30.  So, when Josh got home from school, Brian asked him if he wanted to go....Josh said sure and they were off by 3:30.  I got a  text at 4:40 saying he had shot his first deer.

Way to go boys.....that'll keep us stocked up on jerky for a while!

Now Don't Start That Again

We have had a few really CRAZY weeks at our house......

It started with this:

Then this:

Then finally this:

So it all started back on August 23rd.....I was helping a friend with a fundraiser for a little boy who has cancer.  We got done with the event and we were dropping some stuff of to his office so he wouldn't have to worry about it.  Well, because, we had so much stuff to take, I had the truck.  It was a dark parking lot and a dark car and I didn't see it and well.......SQUISH.......  I hit the car!  Great way to end the night! (First Picture)

Then 3 days later, Ben was outside with Brian and I.  He was in the stroller and we were trying to get the boat in the garage.  We were almost done and Ben wanted out of his stroller.  I went and got him out and he was playing.  Well, he wandered off so we went to find him......when we did he was holding an open container of antifreeze that Brian had forgotten about.  We didn't know how much he drank so we went to the hospital.  Now, I never thought in my wildest dreams that we would have to stay in the hospital for 3 days while they poked my kid every 4 hours to test his blood and we would have to do 3 rounds of antidote to be able to finally come home.  There is no lab around us to test for the amount of antifreeze in the blood.  The nearest one is Spokane, WA.  But instead of sending his blood to Spokane, the hospital sent it to Virginia.  Nice!  It was a huge reminder of what happened to Luke.....ambulance ride and all.  Needless to say, antifreeze is NO BUENO!!!! (Second Picture)

Finally, one week after we were home from the antifreeze incident, Ben had surgery on his boy parts.......we had to get all his marbles in the right sack so to speak......which he did really well with and he is already back to normal.  (Third Picture)

And, yep, just one more,  two nights ago Brian's wonderful Grandma Whittier passed away at 91 years of age.  She sure lived a great life and raised a good family.  Brian told her last week when he saw her to tell Luke we love him and that he is grounded.  I am hoping she remembered, because he is soooo grounded until at least after the Millennium, and then we'll see.

And I though August would be such a promising month with this:
                                                                                           

    Brian fishing in Alaska for his 40th birthday

And this:

   School Starts!  Mike-5th Grade     Josh-7th Grade

But we made it, and now hopefully only good times are ahead....knock on wood....fingers crossed....picked up a penny.....carrying a rabbit's foot......found a four leaf clover.....throw salt over my shoulder.....and wished upon a star, just to be sure!

Ben's Gots the Giggles

I love love LOVE my children's laughs.....even Josh's 12 year old "giggle under his breath so nobody knows he's happy" laugh. 

This gem I just shot and I think it is the MOST adorable thing of Ben yet.
 

Now, you may watch this and think "WOW, that kid is one happy kid"  and he is......as long as he is doing whatever he wants.  The child hates being told no and will already throw himself to the ground if he doesn't get his way......its hilarious!

School starts tomorrow for the older boys.....I have a middle schooler this year!  Wooohoooo!  I keep telling them I don't know what I will do with Ben while they are at school.  They are great babysitters!

And with school starting that means its freezer corn time......so you must watch this next video......
Let's just say, Ben likes corn.

And He's Up

Ben has taken the longest time to get walking.....okay, I know it only seems like forever....at 13 months he still wasn't on his own.

And then he was......just like that.....one day it was two steps, then three, then four, and then he was off.

It is nice that he can keep up with his brothers now.  He is much happier on two feet!

But I had forgotten the messes they make when they are up and going.....like the dish towel drawer....why do they think it is fun to pull ALL the towels out of that drawer?  Baffling!  I know I don't think its's fun to put them all back.  Dumb drawer!

I do love to watch him though.  I love it when he is fascinated by new things.....how his eyes light up!  It makes me sad in my heart that he will not know his brother Luke, in this life, but so grateful he has two older brothers here that love him so much.

Here are some videos of my boys' super cuteness:

Picture Day!!!

I just got the pictures I had taken of the boys today.......I love them......and I hate them......

Pictures are a terribly wonderful reminder that my kids are growing up.....except for one.

There should be 4 boys in these pictures not 3. 

So therein lies so many unanswered questions:  What would a 5 1/2 Luke be like today?  What would he look like? Act like?  Sound like? 

So with a heart that is grateful for the three, and missing terribly the one, here they are:

One is Fun

Well, we made it to the first year people.... And it has been a blast! I am such a push over when it comes to my baby..... Maybe that's why they say the baby in the family is spoiled (except in my case!). Ben is a great kid and we love him to death. He can say dada, mama, and woof woof. He can make car sounds and his favorite dancing tune is "thatPOWER" by Will.I.Am. We went to my grandparents cabin for his 1st birthday and celebrated with my family! Here are the highlights (bear with me...there is A LOT!)

You gotta love bathing in a bowl 2 sizes too small for you!  He is stinking adorable right?