These make me smile....

Justin is quite the creative artist. Notice the eagle feathers on the Indian's headdress and the low rise pants on Santa. :)

Life with our boys

A little serenade.

My big helpers....even though they think this job is boring!
Our Johnny "reading" in bed.

Enjoying all the yummy meals and desserts from our church family.

Getting our wiggles out.

Judson participating. :)

The boys' pretend camp out.

Another big helper.

It takes all day....

...to make it to the park! At least in this season of life. Waking up to sunshine inspires me to get my boys out of the house. Ideally 10am-ish is a good time, but trying to get myself and seven boys dressed, fed, and chores done can be a challenge. Those couple of hours in between the twins' feedings go really fast. Before I know it, it's time to feed them again. So, park outings are usually after lunch with the older boys tickling Judson on the drive home to keep him awake. His nap time is precious you know!

The twins

When Judson is napping it is nice to give the twins a little "tummy time." Judson seems to like him new brothers by all the loves he gives them. Unfortunately, loves from an almost 2 year old boy can be rough. :)

It is fun to see Joshua and Josiah in the same position. I am amazed by it and wonder if it is a coincidence or a twin thing.
Both of our little guys have receding hair lines as of this week. I knew when they were born that their hair wouldn't last too long.

Joshua Courage

Josiah Christian

Looks who's 4!

August 7th our wonderful John turned 4! I have said this many times, but I can't believe he is 4 already! Johnny brings so much joy to our life. This guy has a fun, unique personality. I love J.R.'s.....

big brown eyes,

missing front tooth,

loud, booming, low voice,

love for tractors and mot-e-cycles,

disdain for anything pink,

sweet words...he always says to me, "I love you too" ...even when I haven't said it yet :)

large vocabulary,

and wiping away of every kiss I give him.

We love you Johnny! We are so glad that the Lord touched you and are looking forward to seeing what He has in store for you.

Joshua???

One Month Old

Our sweet little boys are a month old already. Joshua and Josiah bring a lot of joy to the Kuykendall home. And although it is a lot of work, I couldn't have asked for any less demanding babies. God must have known we would need these two to be a little easier than our one Judson Lee, bless that busy boy's heart. :)
Feeding the boys and getting them to gain weight was a little difficult. I started out exclusively tandem nursing but after 2 1/2 weeks they were still losing weight! So, I started supplementing with formula. I will say, while bottles are a hassle, it did relieve a lot of anxiety about trying to nurse both of them especially when away from home. Tandem nursing is a little tricky. :) Thankfully they are putting on the ounces now.

(I am loving how our twins snuggle.)

I was so blessed by my husband's article for our church's newsletter this month. So sweet, I decided to share it on here. Could this count as my first guest contributor? :)

I am a Rich Man!

Elaine and I were blessed to welcome Joshua Courage and Josiah Christian into this world on July 6th. Even the 6th and 7th time around, the gift of life is truly amazing to me. Bill Gaither said it well in the song Because He Lives, "How sweet to hold a newborn baby..." Children are a heritage from the Lord! All children - regardless of the circumstances greeting their arrival - are precious in the sight of the Lord, and ought to be received as such by HIS people.

That isn't to say that this precious gift comes without responsibility. I have noticed a pattern that the greater the gift- the greater the accompanying duty to carefully manage. If one man received the gift of a tent and another the gift of a house, there is no doubt that the house is the greater gift and further doubtless that home ownership - and all that entails- is the greater responsibility. When was the last time you called the plumber to work on your tent? My wife and I are seeing that principle in DOUBLE right now. Double the blessing, with double the laundry, double the feeding, double the diapers, double the sleep deprivation....

Where no oxen are, the crib is clean: but much increase is by the strength of the ox.

Proverbs 14:4

While it is true that life was easier before Joshua and Josiah arrived, we are so thankful to be their parents. Our prayer is that there will be MUCH increase by the lives of these little ones. May the LORD grow Joshua and Josiah into mature and complete men of God and then use them to GREATLY expand the Kingdom of God.

In Christ,

Pastor B.J. <><

Our little organizer

J.R. is quite the organizer! The only problem is that he likes to arrange the shoes like this and then transfer them to the shoe shelf. An unnecessary extra step, if you ask me. :)

Ants on a Log...

Future Iron Workers?

The boys, with daddy's help, rigged up a "bridge" between the utility trailer and truck. This was one of those activities that had me asking, "Are you sure this is safe?" I now know to take a deep breath, enjoy their creativity, and have the band-aids ready...just in case. :) The boys worked away on this bridge, claiming to be iron workers. They even took a break to sit in a row and eat a snack just like the famous picture. :)

Brotherly love

Foster Lake

Since camping was out again this summer, we visited BJ's family at Foster Lake while they were camping. It is amazing how much we fit into one day. Well, actually the boys...I spent most of the day tandem nursing in the trailer. :) BJ, our boys, and the Thomas 3 went fishing, rode bikes, ate yummy camp food and hung out around the campfire. The twins were almost two weeks old, and it always feels so good to be out of the house. :) I kept thinking back to our trip to Walla Walla with a 2 1/2 week old Judson...definitely wasn't a trip I wanted to try this time around. Looking back, I don't know how I had the energy to make that trip with such a new little one.

Even if for only a day, we thoroughly enjoyed the camping meals (hobo stew) and s'mores.

Thank you Grandma Sally and Papa for such a wonderful day!

More hospital pics

We were blessed by visits from many wonderful friends and family. They help make the hospital stay more enjoyable. :) Here is just a sampling of our guests.....

Judson had a rough time adjusting that first week. We have been through it before and know how hard it is for our current 21 month old to accept such a big change in his life. We also know that in time they adjust just fine. :)

My wonderful sister sacrificed time with her own family to come and stay with my boys while we were in the hospital. BJ and I are so grateful for her willingness to help us... and love on our boys.

Cousins

The Kuykendall Boys

Thank you for sharing our joy!