A great giveaway

I found this great blog and she is having a super giveaway today! Go check it out!

http://itsthelittlethingsthatmakeahouseahome.blogspot.com/

Energy amongst the sickness

Hard to believe this one had a fever of 104.4 less than 48 hours ago!! This was a happy moment today that has been surrounded by crankiness and I couldn't help but putting this together while she is napping! Hope it makes you smile! =) Oh, and for those of you who are wondering why she is only in a diaper when the weather outside is as it is....well she had footsie pj's on and when she wears footsie pj's she cant put on her "lip lops" so she takes them off! =) She is now fully clothed! =)

Say it ain't so...

The 14th of each month, I find myself saying those words..."Say it ain't so...another month older..." Time is flying by...seems even more so than with the other kids...I guess just because there is so much more going on, time rarely pauses, and this newborn phase is quickly closing and changing to, rolling over, giggles, playing with toys....but for a short bit today, I did press pause. Instead of putting this precious boy down for his afternoon nap. I sunggled him in and just held him for an hour or so, and then took the opportunity to grab a few photos to remember this sweet moment. Our speaker at our retreat had a mantra she would say during a rough period of her life (that lasted 13 years)....THIS is a good moment! She would say that because many of her moments were not good and she wanted to take full advangate of the good ones. For me it is certainly not that most of my moments are bad, in fact, most of them are good. But I want to say it to acknowledge just how precious they are to me....wrestling on the floor, tickeling tummies, sitting around the dinner table as a family, snuggled up watching a movie, bedtime prayers, sweet conversations after discipline, the list could go on and on.....THIS is a good moment....Thank you, Jesus!

He's A Natural...

Andrew is doing so good playing soccer this year. It is his first year and most of the kids on his team, if not all of them, have been playing for at least one year. He really is just a natural at anything he does. He is so coordinated, and just has great instincts. He could be a little more aggressive, but I am convinced he is just being polite and doesn't want to "steal" the ball from another player! =) I guess that's what happens when the concept of sharing is beat into you! =) Brian and I didn't know much about soccer (and still know very little) but we have found that we love it! It is so fast and exciting and I have to keep myself in my chair or I start wandering up and down the field yelling (supportively of course) at Andrew! You can see from these pictures how much Andrew (and his teammates) enjoy playing! It is so fun to see them get so excited!








The only girl on the team...





The little boy with the longer blonde hair scored 5 of the 5 goals of this game! He is a good little player!

Pooped! I couldn't even begin to calculate the actual distance they run in a soccer game!

Our Littlest Bears Fan

Andrew bought this onsie at a garage sale when he was with his grandma and grandpa shortly after Nathan was born. Being size 9-12 months I thought we would have to wait until next bears season for him to wear it...oh how wrong I was! =)

Tummy Time

Andrew, Kelli and Emily all slept on their tummies by 6 weeks and LOVED playing on their tummies and so they had perfectly round little heads, no bald spots on the back and rolled over very early, thus never needing "tummy time". Well my big baby boy whose head is too big for his body sleeps on his back, doesnt like to be on his tummy, is getting a flat head and has a big ol' bald spot! So we have started concentrated tummy time several times a day because the poor guy has a really hard time lifting that big noggin up! =) He doesn't like it, but he is getting better, so we will keep doing it!

Really Mom??? Do I have to do this again?

Kelli could you come down a little closer

Man it is hard work holdin up this head

Look how good I am doing Andrew

It's getting heavy mom


But I sure do like all this attention!


Okay...I'm done...



Proud Momma


This pic is a little bit of a wierd angle, but look at those big blues and the eyelashes...I could eat him up!!!

Too Big

Is it just me or does he look like he is about 8 months old.....it really is ridiculous!!!

Been a while

Wow! It has been a while! Seriously, where does the time go?? Things have definitely settled down around here, but it seems there is always something or someone vying for my attention and thus the absence from my blog, but hopefully soon some sort of routine will exist and that will help! The kitchen is 97.5% done and the 2.5% that need to be completed in no way impeads the kitchen from being fully functional so there is no rush! I knew that having laundry on the main floor would be a big time saver, but I seriously had NO idea what a blessing that would be! I am SOOOOOOO thankful for it! Kelli and Andrew are doing great at school, both love thier teachers and are making new friend and are still enjoying walking too and from school! That is such a blessing for me as both Emily and Nathan are typically still sleeping when school lets out! They have both also started Awana this year and are enjoying that as well! Emily has always been a chatty cathy, but now it is getting easier to understand her as she is speaking english these days instead of her own special dialect! I will have to get a video clip of her talking...it is pretty adorable! Nathan is doing GREAT! He is such a happy boy and sleeps all night (with the exception of tonight when he woke at 245 and I could not get back to sleep...thus this post). He is still chunky and I love it!!! His head is so heavy he has a hard time holding it up when he is on his tummy, so we are doing lots of tummy time to work on strengthening those muscles! He is my first baby that we have had to do that with....all the other three preffered to be on their tummies, but he would much prefer to be on his back. We had put our YMCA membership on hold for the summer because of Brian's hernia surgeries, Emily's ear issues and me being pregnant and then postpartum and we started back up last week. Emily and Nathan go in their childcare and I have been going to workout every morning after Andrew and Kelli get off to school. It feels good and I am DETERMINED to get my body back in shape (not sure why I say back in shape...don't remember when it ever was in shape...maybe when I was 10)! I have a girlfriend that is meeting me there 4 days a week and that is SO helpful!!! Anyway...that is a bit of what has been going on here! I will try to do better at being more regular at posting! Here are some pics of the big boy who seems to be the only child I am taking pictures of these days!!

Can it be so??

Well the day we have been talking about for two years has finally arrived! Each morning when we would drop Andrew off at school for kindergarten and first grade, Kelli would ask; "When can I go to school with my brother?" And today was the day! I really don't think I can remember a time when Kelli was more excited! Last night she seemed she was about to burst with anticipation! Brian took the day off to put shelving in my pantry (bless his heart!!) and so we were able to go as a family to bring them to school. I was so thankful because Brian could drive and I could get some more pictures to chronicle this milestone!!















She could hardly contain her excitement!






When I met them at the end of the day I asked Kelli how it went and she said; "AWESOME!! I smiled the whole day!"

Andrew's "First" Day of 2nd Grade

Actually, this is his 2nd day of 2nd grade...but I forgot to take pictures on the first day! As we were walking to school I realized I had forgotten and he said, very matter of factly..."We can just do it tomorrow morning, it will be exactly the same, Mom." So that is what we did! =)

He has wanted to ride his bike to school for a long time and we just didn't feel like he was ready for that. He has two days this week before Kelli starts school and so we told he he could ride those two days...good thing he got it in yesterday because it was pouring rain today...

He is growing up SO fast!!!







Watch for Kelli's first day photos tomorrow!! She is very excited and says she isn't even a little bit nervous because her big brother is just down the hall! =) So cute!