A little introduction to the frogs in my life!  I always refer to my 6 sons as my frogs, but my dear husband simply cannot be left out, so I’ll give him a lily pad too! 

Prince Charming:  My wonderful husband and an excellent father for all our frogs.  I’ll give you a super duper quick run down on our lives Pre-Frogs:

• We met when I was 18 and he was 23. 
• We began dating Christmas Day 1991 (I was 19)
• He proposed November 17th 1992 ~ he had decorated the living room of his parent’s house with Christmas lights and a little Christmas tree and there was a little package under the tree . . . inside was a heart shaped iridescent ornament with an engagement ring tied to it and the words “Will You Marry Me Shera?” written on it ~ you’re welcome to begin oohing and aaaahing!
• We were married on Saturday July 17th 1993.  

 A couple years after we were married the frogs began arriving. 

CJ ~ Son1: Born in November 1995 he was 9 days late and 10 lbs at birth.  As with all firstborn children there’s a bit of trial and error in his raising, but I can honestly say that he has been a blessing and that for the most part we have enjoyed every bit of his life.  He is a die hard football fanatic and loves anything and everything science and mechanical.  We sometimes see brilliant glimpses of my mechanically and invention minded grandfather in this child.

The Salesman ~ Son2: Born in June of 1998 he was not interested in a “cut and dry” entrance into the world.  Nope, not him!  He felt it was necessary to drag things out by just “springing a leak”.  Needless to say he was an induced delivery, though once labor kicked in he was born in only a few hours.  He is a tad on the dramatic side and does seem to like to make his own entrance in most areas of life.  He is very intelligent and never stops asking questions about everything.  He is also very social, loves having lots of friends and being in the center of it all.  We call him The Salesman because he will try to sell anything and everything (ideas, views, things, opinions, etc) and he is actually pretty good at it . . . sure we know what he’s trying to do everytime, but he has a very persuasive nature.   Another nickname that my dad gave him when he was about 6 is Donald Trump because he does enjoy making, saving, spending, bartering, and otherwise securing himself financially.   This can also be his biggest downfall though and we are trying to make sure he sees money in a balanced way.

Tater: Son3.  Also known as The Boss.  There is really no one way to describe this guy!  He started out a very quiet little boy who didn’t talk until he was three (neither did son2, but once he did you couldn’t get him to stop), and even then he needed to be in a very secure and relaxed situation to open up and talk . . . until the end of Kindergarten . . . then, look out!  About May of that year he finally decided that it was ok to talk to his teacher and others, he has never had a problem since!  He still clams up a bit if he thinks he’s in trouble (or should be haha), or if he wants to remain “under the radar” in order to continue playing his Nintendo DS or get out of chores.  He is very smart and is enjoying math quite a bit, he masters everything new with lightning speed, but takes a while to get his work done as he is a little too much of a perfectionist.  Although he is quite small in stature he more than makes up for it in attitude, personality and opinions that he is happy to share (loudly) with the brother who is challenging his way of doing things.  He is very sensitive and sweet though and we enjoy him very much.

Sir Lion: Son4 ~ The strong-willed one.  The heard-headed one.  The hairy-toe (no he doesn’t have hairy toes, just likes to stick them over the proverbial line drawn in the sand).  I think you get my drift.  He was our second largest baby, weighing in at 9 lbs.  Born in July of 2003, we thought he was going to be our “baby”.  He was a chubby little thing and I definitely doted on him.  After all I wanted to enjoy my time with my last baby (ha ha).  So far he has proved himself to be a tough little cookie and prefers that all things go his way.  If they don’t you may want to look out.  He’s gotten a bit better over the last 6 months, and our constant goal with him is to help him control his frustration when things don’t go according to his plan.  Also how to be ok with the whole “go with the flow” idea . . . as you can imagine that’s not his favorite thing!  But when you are the fourth of 6 boys you really do need to learn to be somewhat flexible at some point.  He’s just not convinced of that yet! 

The Twins as a Pair:  Then came the twins, our shocking double surprise . . . as a pair they are called the Peas, Twinkies, Twinnies, the Dynamic Duo or Double Trouble.  Born 6 weeks early in February of 2006 they spent their first two weeks of life in the NICU.  We have been incredibly blessed that they have had relatively amazing health since then. Together they are capable of things no one child would ever begin to think of, don’t get me wrong they are extremely capable individually, but as a pair it can be a little scary.  They communicate with each other in a very different way from how they communicate with us as parents or with their brothers.   They punish, chastise, defend and protect their twin like their own life depends on it.  They also like to team up on anyone who is beginning to get flustered by them.  They will take on children over twice their size and ultimately they end up “winning” whatever the item it is they were going for.  Until they are caught of course. 

Baby Bug:  Sweet and cuddly yet stubborn and opinionated.   With a twinkle in his eye he loves to “steal” his Daddy’s chair in order to tease him.  He likes to tell people how it should be.  There really is something innately wrong with a child telling their parents off at any age, but when they’re under the age of two it is truly shocking! He has a little bit of everybody in him and is an interesting and fun baby because of it.  Never far behind Monkey Boy in the verbal ability area (or any other area for that matter) he too began talking fluently at a young age.  I look forward to seeing what his personality becomes over the next few years as it is truly shaped.

Monkey Boy: The Drama King!  That really does put him in a nutshell.  He is most similar to “The Salesman” in personality, but an intensified version that began talking up a storm at the ripe old age of 15 months instead of 3 years.  Sentences at 18 months and mom is still trying to catch up.  Everything is either wonderful or horrible and he seems to have no clue that he is the youngest of 6 boys.  He adores his oldest brother and likes to pick at Sir Lion and merely puts up with the antics of The Salesman and Tater.  Will study things for long periods of time to figure out how to conquer or destroy it.

Well, that about wraps it up.  Obviously the story will change as time goes by, but for now this is our “little” corner of the universe.  Bottom line . . . I pray each and every day that the Lord will give me wisdom and guidance to direct these young boys to become honorable, upstanding men who can be depended on and who are an asset to all around them.  Oh, and we have a stong NO victim policy around here!