David's First Trail Race!

This evening, David ran his first trail race. a 5K at Irvine Regional Park in Orange.  Another friend from church, Patrick, also came out for his first trail race, too!  Despite the loose sand and big rocks, these guys still had smiles on their faces at the end!  I'm guessing they're even ready to sign up for the next one!  Below are a few pictures from the evening!

Although David did not finish quite as fast as he hoped, coming in at 22:50, he still managed to place second in his age group (35-44) and 10th overall!  Not too shabby a performance for his first trail race!

David's ready to run!

So is Patrick!

Mary asked me to take her picture.

Twice.

Make that three times.

Maggie asked me to take her picture.

Twice.

Make that three times!

Jonathan made no such request!

Neither did Matthew!

Or Josiah, but who could resist his smile!

Pretty impressive when your kids occupy every swing except one on the swingset!

Congratulations, David and Patrick!  You made it!!

Summer Equals Reorganization!

Part of summertime fun at the Mobleys always involves a bit of reorganization and spring cleaning! I had big plans for David to build cubbies in the laundry room for shoes and bags and jackets. When he realized my plan involved removing the door, he exercised his veto power. Instead, we settled on building cubbies for the entryway.  Bye-bye inexpensive do-it-yourself home improvement.  David was concerned that his carpentry skills were not up to par for the highly noticeable entryway, so we hired the cabinet maker who the University had hired to build other cabinetry in our home.

Because we have set back arches in our entryway, it was a bit tricky coming up with the final design. We tossed around so many iterations, played around with different dimensions, and finally settled on what you see in the picture. Everyone is so pleased with the new cubbies, especially me, since shoes and bags are being put away in their proper places with more consistency.

I decided to use the space between the cubbies to display our unique collection of hats, mostly handmade by my mother-in-law. At least this portion of the project was inexpensive, coming in under $15! I bought three pieces of craft board from Lowe's, painted them with clearance paint, and attached them to the wall with screws. (Yes, another excuse to use David's power tools!!)  I first tried screwing Bulldog clips into the boards for hanging the hats.  Right away, I realized this was not going to work out, since I was the only one who could hang the hats.  Add that to the list of things I need to do on a daily basis?  No, thank you!  So, I replaced the Bulldog clips with clothespins.  Now, everyone can retrieve his/her own hat and everyone, except Josiah, is capable of hanging them back up!

Then, of course, coloring had to be involved, so I made everyone a special sign, like this one, marking their territory!

Here Comes the Caboose!

We are thrilled to announce that we are expecting Baby #6 sometime in February! This is all according to God's wonderful plan for our family and we are ready to embrace every part of it, the joys as well as the challenges, knowing that God will use it to conform us into the image of His Son, Jesus Christ!!

Frequently Asked Questions:
Are you crazy???
Pretty much!  David got up at 4:30 am to run 13 miles to the beach and back.  I take all five kids shopping with me everywhere.  Craziness abounds in this family!  Adding a bit more with a sixth child will be indistinguishable.

When are you going to stop having kids?
Well, we believe #6 will be the caboose, provided she is a beautiful red-head. No, seriously, our van will be at maximum seating capacity and I will turn 40 two months after the baby's birth, so we do believe there are logical reasons to be more proactive in limiting the growth of our family after this child is born. 

How are you feeling?
Well, I feel pretty nauseous most of the day and have trouble eating much until the evening. I also feel really, really tired. Once, I went to bed right after dinner. Yes, that left clean-up and baths and bedtime in David's hands.  I admit it.  I am a really crummy mom. 

What can't you eat/drink?
Well, I try to avoid the typical no-nos, like soft cheese and sushi. I have no reservations about drinking caffeine while pregnant, but a horrible effect pregnancy has on my body is that I detest the smell of coffee.  My stomach churns even at the thought of my typical espresso style beverage of choice.

What kind of cravings do you get?
Milk tea with boba is my number one craving. Number 2 is udon noodle bowl (yea, I hang out with lots of Asians, ha, ha). Number 3 is popcorn with LOTS of salt!

Are you still nursing Josiah?
Yep, the little guy is still nursing about once a day. I take an extra calcium supplement and plan to continue nursing him until he's ready to be done. I'm guessing that's going to be soon as pregnancy causes the taste of the milk to change, but I'm really in no rush to wean him.

Where is the baby going to sleep?
Initially, with us. Then, in our walk-in closet. Then, wherever he/she belongs.  We have three bedrooms, one for the parents, one for the boys, and one for the girls.

Are you going to find out the gender?
Yes, we are. I hate that we won't be surprised this time, but we've got to be practical, so that we can plan for the future arrangement of rooms before we become really sleep-deprived.  Sometimes practicality trumps all.

Do you have a preference?
Honestly, we just want a healthy baby, but it would be icing on the cake if it was a girl. Then, we'd be symmetrical again, four boys and four girls!

How are you going to do it all?
With God's grace! Practically speaking, we are working on teaching the girls to take over more of the cleaning, so that some of their chores can be passed off to the twins. Many hands make light work. The girls have plans to make dinner for six weeks post-partum, too. Mac n cheese and brownies -- the meal of champions.

Where are you going to have the baby? 
We are again planning to birth the baby in the comfort of our own home assisted by the wonderful team at South Coast Midwifery.

Hopefully, that covers it for now!

I Can Use a Power Drill!!!

This is how our Saturday began...
Me: Do you think you'll be able to work on the laundry room today?"
David: (looking very skeptical) "Well, I'm going to take the kids to running club and stop at the Farmer's Market. Then, I was hoping to spend my time with Jonathan and then work on my Sunday School lesson.
David: (quizzical) "Wasn't there something else you wanted me to do today anyways?"
Me: "No."
David: "Well, if that's the case, then I'll make the laundry room a priority."
Me: (There's really noooo way it's gonna get done today.) "OK."

 Now, you can see why I taught myself how to use a power drill today!!! I've watched David do this stuff so much that I wasn't completely clueless, but I was a little worried that I would screw something up and David would come home disappointed! The first step was to find the tools I needed. Power drill. Got it. Drill bits. Searching...searching...still searching...who would imagine they would be in this red walletish-looking thing??? Wall anchors. Got 'em. All supplies in hand, I got out the ironing board hanger and was ready to proceed with gusto until I realized I didn't even know how to put an anchor into the wall. So, I watched a quick YouTube video and then proceeded. My first mistake was to drill the hole too big. So, I tried again a bit higher, repeated three times for the other three holes, screwed the holder into the wall, and, much to my surprise, it didn't fall down. It even stayed up when I set the ironing board and iron in place.

Motivated by this initial success, I proceeded to drill and screw and drill and screw. When it was all done, I really wanted to take a picture and submit it to Better Homes and Gardens because I was just so surprised that I actually did it all myself.  Okay, I know it's not impressive at all really, certainly not the quality of work that is featured in magazines.  David probably would have completed this project in less than an hour.  Me?  Well, it took me the better part of the day. Still, I am thrilled that I have acquired a new skill, and I can't wait to have another opportunity to use it!  I'm also delighted to have my cleaning tools and supplies organized!