The Riffle Zoo

Heart Beat

2012-02-11T10:56:00.001-08:00

I love the innocence of children. Everything is not thought out. Everything is told like it is. There is no debate on whether the answer is right or wrong - it is what they want it to be. The other morning I had put my head on Finley's chest. I laughed and told her I heard her heart beating. I asked her what her hearts says - expecting Bump, Bump. "It says Jesus Loves Me This I know!" She proclaimed ever so matter of factly. Such love. There is no well thought out answer to that question, but just a simple phrase that says so much. What a challenge! Does your heart sing Jesus Loves Me This I Know? Or does it harbor so much more. A freed up heart that sings beautiful praises is what I want my heart to say!! I learn so much from these kids. Their eyes are opened to so much more than mine and I often start trying to teach them things, when they just turn and teach me something so much more. Yes, I did not correct Finley's statement of what her heart says. I want her heart to always sing Jesus Loves Me This I know!!!

Finley Cam

2012-02-11T10:48:00.000-08:00

I really wish Finley would walk around with a helmet cam on her head. Just listening and watching everything this child does is hilarious. And I don't even catch half of what she does or says! For instance....Nap times: 12:30 to 3:30 for Finley. Harper and Channing don't go down until 1:30 because she still takes a morning nap too and he doesn't need a long nap. So we were all up on the 3rd floor and Finley was tucked into bed. It was close to 1:30 so I was rounding up Harper and Channing, when here she comes up the stairs with the biggest smile ever on her round little face - "Tada!!!" She shouts - like we were all anticipating her long awaited arrival! She thought for sure this courageous act would get her a free ticket out of bed. I can just see her now plotting this in her bed. Kind of like a dog with one of those invisible fence shock collars on. Waiting and debating. Getting close to the door knob then running back to her bed to see if she could psych herself into doing it. And then the final boost of confidence, the door swinging open, the smile getting bigger and bigger and she climbs 2 flights of stairs hearing our voices getting louder and louder. Her heart just beating ready to make her magnificent entrance - "TADA!!!" Sweetie, it was cute, but you are still taking your nap!! :)

I smell Daddy's Neck

2012-02-09T13:31:00.000-08:00

Finley.....Matt's little hound dog. When all children run downstairs to get to the kitchen no one looks the opposite direction at the office doors ..... Finley does. She has to make sure he is not there. But boy oh boy, when she sees those doors closed, the excitement she has is so sweet! Daddy!! This girl can find him every she goes! If he is around, she will find him. The other morning she had gotten up and I went to take her into my bathroom. As soon as we opened the door, she shouts out, "I smell Daddy's neck!!!" He was sniffed out! Yes, he had left only moments before and she missed him. I love this girl and her obsession with Matt. Yes, she is definitely a mini me :)

The Fog

2012-02-09T12:34:00.001-08:00

Well, the dust has finally settled on a really hard month. First of all, I have always wanted to go on a mission trip. Seeing as I didn't realize how much I really did want to do this until after having children, this makes it a little more difficult. I really wish I had gone on one when we first got married, but I am sure I wasn't ready then, so it probably wasn't a good idea. Well, going on a mission trip has been my desire for a couple of years, but I have always been pregnant when the trips came up. Therefore, no go. I found out about a trip that would take place this summer and I was bound and determined to go. At the first of January, our church sent out an email about a trip to Africa. YAHOO!! This trip would entail that I would go and teach the women there how to teach kids about Jesus.....hello......I would love this! But as soon as I got the email, I got this really depressing feeling. I guess guilt maybe. I'm not sure, but it was not the feeling I thought I would get when I received God's calling to GO! My whole heart wants to go. But then I get this tremendous torn feeling. I feel like right now my calling is right here. Teaching and showing these 5 amazing people what their purpose in life is when living a life for Jesus! I know that I have so much to learn and so much to teach these kids. I have also told Matt that we are going on a family field trip..... on a mission trip when these kids get older - they must go before they leave us! I want them to see serving in all aspects - here and there! I want it to be easy for them to say YES when Jesus calls them. Anyways, so I thought of this trip for weeks....constantly!! I just felt the reason I was feeling this depressing feeling was the devil's attacks. I didn't care about the details of what I was going to do. I wasn't scared about what I was going to do. I wasn't worried about the kids home with Matt. I just didn't feel right. So I decided that in order to solve this problem, I was just going to say yes. So I did. I drove my van full of kids to church to turn in my deposit money. I knew that is what I had to do. I left the church expecting this pure excitement to come over me. But only to find pure numbness! I really didn't have much to say. I wasn't excited - well, I was, but again this crazy feeling of being torn was evident. After a night of just being quiet, Matt and I settled into bed around 10:00 and then it started. Crocodile tears for 2 hours. I was beyond confused. Again, I just kept saying I know the devil is just trying to attack me. I had no reasons not to go. I really was not scared. I just felt like I couldn't go. It wasn't time for me. So I guess out of pity, Matt said he would call Pastor Kenn the next day to talk about it. He told me to think about it and to let him know by Sunday (I turned in my money on Wednesday so I didn't have that long). Of course I drug my feet. Matt went out of town on Monday. I just kept praying for God to give me a clear yes or no, because I needed it crystal clear. My emotions were all over the place. I thought and prayed and just was numb for the whole day. By the time dinner came around, I was solid on my yes. How on earth could I say know to my God - my God who gave me so much more than I deserve?! Who gave me my son back after being hung. Who gave me 5 beautiful children with precious hearts. Who gave me a best friend for a husband. The list goes on and on. I love to serve. I love to help others - even though sometimes I get aggravated that I can't with the amount of responsibilities I have at home. I was ready to tell Matt I was going when he called me that night. Then I get the text that he had talked to his boss and he had told Matt that August would be a tough month for him to take off. What?! When Matt called me that night he told me that his boss said that he didn't want him to take off that month. I was now mad! I had so got my heart ready to say yes, and then the door got slammed in my face. I knew about August being a black out month (no one is supposed to be off) but Matt didn't say anything (he later said he didn't want to tell me no). Again, discouraged that I had made my decision and still not knowing what to do - we enter into Tuesday. Pastor Kenn called Matt first thing that morning and asked him about it. Matt told him about what his boss had said and then Pastor Kenn asked what he wanted us to do with the check. We had decided that it would go to someone going to Africa! He then proceeded to tell Matt that the other girl who was supposed to go on the trip, didn't have the money to go. She had called him to back out because of this. Was this God's plan? I don't know. I do know that I am sure we would not have spent that money on that girl to go if I wasn't planning on going. I know that I had prayed for God to make my answer crystal clear on whether I should go or stay. I do feel like my door got slammed, not closed slightly. I do feel better. I know that I want to go more than ever. I know that I am satisfied with the serving that I am doing right now, with my children. Yes, I want to do more. I always want to do more. But I guess I just have to wait for God's timing, not mine.

I need Mommy!

2012-01-21T08:08:00.001-08:00

Last night I was getting Channing ready for bed and Matt is in charge of getting the big 4 ready. I heard a loud thud followed by crying. I knew Matt had it under control and the crying stopped. I was putting Channing in bed and Matt came in carrying Harper with an ice pack on his eye. He laid him in my bed and said he needed me. I came back in the room, hopped in bed with him, and cuddled. Then Matt told me he fell into the night stand. Matt consoled him and got him an ice pack and when he was done crying he told Matt, "I want Mommy!" Oh, yank at my heart strings! Harper is very tough and usually doesn't need me at all. He will get hurt, may come to me for a kiss, but never a true need for me. So yes, I stayed in that bed, cuddled him, kissed his eye, put a blanket on his cheek so that it wouldn't be cold from the ice pack, read him a story, and prayed for his wound. I will hold onto that memory, because it was so special to hear that he needed me and what I can give him.

Then I sit and think how bad does it have to get for us to cry out "I need my Jesus!" How many times do we fall down, brush ourselves off, and keep going - taking care of our own wounds. How many times when we are so stuffy and can't breathe, do we just run to CVS and get something to just soothe our aches and pains. I am reading an amazing book right now, Kisses From Katie, and she makes things so real. After completing high school she went to go teach Kindergarten in Uganda for a year. She documents what real pain is. She documents what true need is. She documents what true faith is. Within a year she set up a ministry (Amazima) and adopted 14 kids! Yes, she is just out of high school. I am amazed at her obedience to God. I am amazed at how we think we know what pain and heart ache is when the images of innocent children who are starving and long for love are so vivid when reading this book. My mind can't even rest. I keep finding myself trying to hide away in my bedroom to read more. I think I could continue typing for a while, but I must stop and feed my children - remember that Jesus loves you and you can always call out "I need my Jesus!" and He will be there for you!

Busy Week for my Baby

2012-01-12T18:31:00.000-08:00

On January 5th, I sat my 9 month old on the potty for the first time. She was successful!! Here we go again! This sweet baby just grows so fast I can't keep up!

Then she was doing this for the past several weeks. And on January 6th, my 9 month old took her first step! Yes, you read that right......Channing took a step! We are in trouble. She is crazy! Carly and Chloe didn't crawl until 12 months and then walked at 14 months and then her is my sweet little baby ready at 9 months. She was ever so proud taking that first step to me. My heart can't take all this growing up. And then the next day, she crawled up 2 flights of stairs with a pencil (it wasn't sharp) but she did it with such grace (the pencil was on its way to the school room - the girls got it from church - no we don't leave pencils laying around usually). I am in serious trouble with this rascal. She gets everywhere! I couldn't believe she did that and I was telling the girls about it and they said, "Yeah, we know - we taught her to do that!" Thanks girls! Things are going to be getting really interesting around here!

Childhood Ripped Away

2012-01-12T18:07:00.000-08:00

The dreaded event finally happened! The day I have been dreading for quite some time now. The day one of my babies lost one of their baby teeth!!!!!!!!!! It's not fair! Why do they have to grow up? At first its a tooth, then they are out spending the night at friends houses, then its a car, then college and then they are GONE!!! I can't take this!! Their innocence is ripped away from them and can't be replaced - well it will be replaced with a big old ugly chicklet sized tooth (insert picture of Mr. Wilson from Dennis the Menace)!! It is so sad to me to see a hole in my child's sweet little smile. I am not happy about this can you tell?! Here is the culprit:

Yup, the 4 year old looses the first tooth in this house!! January 3, 2012 - Harper Banks is down a tooth. Carly and Chloe were glad he took the first hit with loosing a tooth - they needed to see how this whole process took place before they could loose one :) The above picture is with the tooth still in tact - yes, graphic I know. It was just sitting in his mouth by the last day, so when Matt took it out, it didn't even bleed!

And here is the awful hole left in the cutest smile! I hate it!! For some reason I think this tooth got knocked by Finley's head a long time ago, so I am wondering if that is why he lost it so soon, but, I really hope this is not a trend this year!! I did check the girls' mouths and they each barely have one loose - and of course it is the opposite ones in the center, so that will be really weird if they loose opposite teeth (I am sure everyone else will be glad so they can tell them apart!) He put his tooth in his tooth box (I knew it was coming so I bought little wood boxes from Hobby Lobby that they each painted so they could set it out for the tooth fairy). He put it on his window so she could get it. He wanted me to write a note: "Dear Tooth Fairy, Can you please leave my tooth and my box. Today is Tuesday. Love, Harper"

The next morning we waited to hear him opening his box. He didn't. I finally asked him if he looked and he said the note was still on the box so he didn't think she came. I told him to look anyways (she wrote a response to him) and he found his gold dollar! He was excited. Before he went to bed, he went running out of my room, and then quickly came back and said, "Wait, how is she going to get in the house if the garage door isn't open?" I told him she was magical and would come through the window but couldn't come until he was asleep. He quickly said, "Oh, I think she is in the neighborhood!!" And he ran into bed and snuggled right in! It was a rough day - Oh wait.......Forgot to add something......When Matt pulled the tooth and Harper looked at me, yes I got teary eyed and quickly hugged my baby boy - bad idea. His proud, brave expression turned to tears too as he was sad that it upset me!! Ooopsie. I had to turn off my sadness and let him know how cool he was. We decided to snuggle and watch a little Blue's Clues together to get our minds off it. That sweet baby had his little arm around me the whole time - I know he didn't want to upset me and I guess he can still be my baby :)

A Special Night

2011-12-29T19:43:00.000-08:00

Tonight was special.......We were doing our nightly advent Bible devotion. We have one a night for the month of December. Well, we were a couple nights behind from all the holiday stuff and we really love doing these Bible discussions, so I wanted to make sure we had time to have good conversations every night. We started off with a happy half birthday song to Harper! It's December 29th - he is 4 1/2!!! He was so excited - for some reason those 1/2 birthdays are pretty special for my kids. Then we dove into our discussion. These devotions have a Bible verse, discussion, and an activity every night. They go over the story of Jesus' birth and the reason why Jesus came. They are very informative and the kids have some amazing questions and you can really see their wheels turning. It's not a bunch of Bible stories, it is just one amazing story the whole month- the birth of our Savior! So tonight we were talking about there being no room for Mary and Joseph, that is why Jesus was born in a stable. We talked about how you can't have your heart closed to Jesus. If you close your self off, you won't be able to let Jesus in. Then Harper asked why he didn't have Jesus in his heart. (They have been asking questions like this all month). I told him it was a decision that you have to make if you want Jesus to come into your heart and then he said he had to say a silent prayer and quickly closed his eyes. Carly quickly followed behind in a silent prayer. When he was done, I asked him what he prayed about. He said, "Dear God, Thank you for this day and keeping us safe. Thank you for this beautiful day and have Jesus and God come into my heart. Amen." Then Carly said, "I said, Dear God, Thank you for this day and please have Jesus come into my heart." It was so sweet and innocent. There was no sinners prayer said, no talking them through this decision, they just decided that they did not want to live anymore without Jesus in their hearts. They knew that their lives need Jesus. It was so sweet. Now, I am a big skeptic about kids getting saved so little. I don't like when kids make this decision if they really don't get it and it's not really their decision. But, these 2 really felt that they needed to do this. Now, I still think they aren't fully aware of everything that this involves and here is where our hard work comes in. Matt and I now have a HUGH job on our hands. We have so much to teach them now and show them. Thank you Lord for opening their hearts, now, please be with us so that we can teach them and guide them that will glorify you. What a special night!! I had to take a picture of them all so that they would remember this special night forever. God has big plans for these little people!

Carly prayed just like this. On her Daddy's arm!

Chloe: She informed us that she wanted to go to her bed and pray. She said she was going to say a prayer in bed and let me know how it goes in the morning. So, we shall see what she says in the morning.

I love you

2011-12-29T19:38:00.000-08:00

I always hold my hand up in the I love you sign to the kids. Harper has his own version and it is so cute! I love seeing his cute smile and then him slip up his hand like this. He is such a sweetie!

Christmas 2011

2011-12-29T18:30:00.000-08:00

We started our Christmas festivities on the 23rd at our house. My family all came over and we had a great time being with everyone. Here is Grandpa starting off some festivities with some Christmas trivia - they all did a great job answering questions.

The loot :)

We played some games before opening presents. Reilly was one determined child to get this box open. They had to wear a hat, scarf, and oven mitts and try to open several boxes within each other. They were so funny!

Harper looked awful cute with his stuff on.

Channing's first Christmas present for 2011!

She had to taste the packaging to see if it was good quality :)

Carly, Chloe, and Kaitlyn were all excited about their horses and Jeep!

Chloe loves her horse!

Kris, Gina, Connor, and Kaitlyn all spent the night here that night and in the morning the kids loved playing with their new stuff. Harper spent the entire morning with Gina. He got out all his gifts and they just sat together investigating. He really loved spending some good quality time with her! He loves for someone to just sit with him and this was the best thing in the world - and the fact that was with his awesome Aunt Gina made it even better (and he did get to do some Legos with Uncle Kris - yup, he was on cloud 9).

We mellowed out on Christmas Eve day and that afternoon, Matt's Grandma Thomas and Charlie were able to stop by and see the kids. She was so happy to see them - she hadn't even met Channing yet so it was special. She came in and went right with Finley to check out her train and to help her fix it. She was so sweet with them :)

And here they all are with her (Carly wasn't feeling well so she hadn't gotten dressed yet).

Channing was happy it was Christmas Eve!!

Don't they all look thrilled!

Then Christmas Eve night we went to church. We had to drop Channing off at Mom's house because there was no way she would make it through a service.

Christmas morning looked like this......until 8:00! The kids woke up and really didn't come flying in, they actually didn't even realize it was Christmas morning. So once we got everyone up and ready, I told the kids that it was Jesus' birthday and there was a celebration downstairs to be had in honor of Him!!! Then it clicked what was going on and they all got down there quickly!

Finley got a "boat" - it is a plasma car and it is really fun. She gave Channing some rides to test it out!

Channing wouldn't stop eating paper so we had to put her in the saucer for her own protection :) She clapped.

Finley spent the entire morning on her boat!

And then not long after it was all over, we hear a scream from the 3rd floor and this is how Channing comes downstairs. She slipped off a shelf she was holding onto and banged her lip in 2 spots. So she had a swollen eye, fat lip, and was bleeding everywhere - nice!!! I love how the blood pooled up into a heart over her first Christmas shirt. Classy!

That evening, Matt's parents and brother came over and we had a nice Christmas dinner. The kids got a lot of musical instruments (pics of those will come later). It was an amazing Christmas and we are so very thankful for our friends and family. Happy Birthday Jesus!

A few special moments

2011-12-29T18:25:00.000-08:00

Finley absolutely adores Channing. She constantly hugs her and talks to her. She is proud to say, "She my sister." Channing is so lucky to be loved so much by all these kids! Matt and I just beam everytime we see one of them holding her, talking to her, singing to her, playing with her, and making her laugh! She is more than loved!

We went to kiss Carly the other night and she was sound asleep with her dogs all in a row. I guess they were guarding her while she slept. Oh and little dad is on the end too - he is one of her favorites :)

A Christmas Night

2011-12-29T18:12:00.000-08:00

We took the kids out for a fun Christmas night. We started off in downtown Waxhaw with a free horse and carriage ride. It had been really warm this month, so we waited for a cold night - I mean, it's really hard to be in the Christmas spirit when it's 70 degrees!! Here the kids are waiting for the horse and carriage.

I love this picture of all my favorite people!!! My heart bursts looking at all 6 of these faces. Thank you Lord for each and everyone of them! (we were on the carriage enjoying a fun ride)

This is our horse - Pop Tart :)

Then we headed to the shops at Blakeney for some fun. We found Frosty the snowman. Finley flipped out when I said to stand next to him for a picture. She kept whining, "Him no touch me!!!" So therefore, I had to hold her in each picture!

2 Super Special girls. They are growing up to be such awesome kids!

We then fround Rudolph. Again, Finley did not want him to touch her! She waved and talked about him, but would not get too close!

And alas, the big guy. We had to get Channing's first Christmas documented with St. Nick, so here you have it........she was not impressed!!! Again - look at Finley eyeing the man the entire time. "Me no sit with him!" I really think we have had a screaming child for 6 years in a row with Santa. Good thing we don't celebrate with Santa - I think my kids would be terrified to go to sleep on Christmas Eve for the thought of him coming into their house!

One Determined Child

2011-12-29T18:03:00.000-08:00

Finley is one determined child! She decided it was time to get her finger nails painted. This was what I hold over all my girls heads in order for them to stop sucking their thumbs. So I told her she had to prove to me that she was quitting the whole thumb thing. So I painted her thumb with Mavela Stop and put her to bed with a glove on her hand. Oh yes, she quit cold turkey that night! I really can't believe how she had her mind so set on this. But, alas, it's Finley and if she wants it, she will get her way! So my 27 1/2 month old child put her mind to being done and she did it.......good job Fifi!!

Christmas Concert

2011-12-21T18:08:00.000-08:00

The girls had their Christmas Choir concert at church again this year, and of course, they loved every minute of it. We had to have Harper as our camera man. I was wrestling a 9 month old alligator and Matt was on video patrol and Fifi control. So that left our 4 year old camera man. He did a pretty good job. So if you need to hire a camera man that gets good shots from 3 feet, Harper is you man! I thought this picture of my Mom and Grandma was funny! Pete and Repeat!!

And all his pictures had Reilly's head in it. I thought this one was just super cute!

And here they all are after the performance. As always Carly and Chloe look very underwhelmed, but they love every minute of it and they sang all the songs - but one! My Mom and I were sitting there watching them singing during the concert, then we noticed Carly turn red and look away. She kind of had tears in her eyes. I didn't know what was going on, but she was able to dry it up and get back into singing mode. Later on Matt and I were talking about it, and I asked him if he saw her. He said yes, and it was because of the song. They were singing about the stinky, smelly Shepherds. I do not like them talking like that, and they were going to stand their ground and neither one of them sang that song! They knew it was inappropriate for them to say, so they clammed up and just waited till the next song. How sweet! They are such good girls. The next day I asked them about it and they just hugged me! They told me they didn't want to sing it and I told them I was proud of them for making a good choice in their heart and that they knew what to do. I am so proud of them. I know it sounds crazy, but I just want them to be respectful to others so I don't like them saying stuff like that. I am so proud of these girls ~ and they are growing up way too fast!

Finished Product

2011-12-21T18:00:00.000-08:00

The mantel....yes, same every year, but it works :) Don't mind the Pandora pic in the TV... was in the mood for some great Christmas music and didn't want to turn it off for the pic!

The tree with a party on the top! And yes, I did not realize there was a train remote, toy and DVD player all laying out when I took the picture. I am still in search for a DVD stand and am not finding the perfect piece, so it sits on the box in the corner!

Decorating Time

2011-12-21T17:35:00.000-08:00

We did it! We made the dreaded plunge............................to a FAKE tree!! It is sad not going to get a real tree, but when we looked at the "fun" of a real tree, it just wasn't being remember as fun!! No mountain trip to cut down a tree (Matt works crazy hours after Thanksgiving, so if we hope to have a tree up and lit right after Thanksgiving, that is so out of the picture). We usually went to a tree stand, watched a man untie our beloved imperfect tree from a pole,and then proceed to tie it to the roof of our minivan - which I had to watch the entire ride home through the sunroof window for fear of it flying off the top! Then we had a different tree stand story each year: broken, didn't tighten, cracked, leaked, too small, too big, etc. And don't forget last year with our tree leaning on the wall! Then there were those years where our tree was in full rigor by the time Christmas came, so if you even looked at it, the bristle things would fall off! And oh, the vacuuming and watering. I am not a good caretaker!! I can do kids and that is it. No plants or animals - they all die! Therefore, artificial was looking pretty good. So we got the prelit beauty and I am quite pleased! Just open the box and watch the branches fall into place! With a little fluffing, viola, insta Christmas tree! And I have been very happy not having to upkeep the tree. Harper is in charge of plugging and unplugging it, so I don't have to do anything. We even have our outside lights on a timer and the 2 little trees Harper plugs in, so again, I am scott free! Finley got to take part in the decorating this year. So 8 little hands managed to get the thing decorated in record time. Of course the step stool is such a big hit, so the top half was decorated heavily and we had to even it out after the fact. They love to decorate the tree!

Finley liked the pinecones.

And of course decorating must be done with stocking boots! I still can't believe we have made it with these stocking this long! I bought these for red snowflake ones for the girls 1st Christmas - I bought 5. One for Matt, Carly, Chloe, myself and for 1 more baby that we thought we would have. So after Harper, we were perfect with our 5 stockings. Then came Finley. So I decided to just get solid white ones for the ends and give the kids the red snowflake ones. Then came Channing, and we still have 5 of those, so it worked out perfectly. I always forgot to get them monogrammed after Christmas so they would be ready for the next year. I guess now we can go ahead and monogram them since we have used up all our stockings! I love our crowded mantel!

Scary Reindeer

2011-12-21T17:30:00.000-08:00

I was pulling out the Christmas decorations while the 3 little kids were taking their nap. Later on that night, I asked Harper to go downstairs to get something. His reply, "No! That reindeer camel scares me!!" Ooops....I guess I should have told him the decorations were out - poor kid must have went down there and was scared to death from this thing just sitting in the corner! It was funny - and no he is not really scared of it....just for that day!

Almost Done!

2011-12-21T17:21:00.000-08:00

Well Channing has made it to the end of her time in her "rhino." This lovely contraption replaces her straps that she had several months ago to fix her hip displasia. This is like a big hard diaper - called the rhino. She could have cared less about this thing! She didn't even act like it mattered. She even learned how to roll, sit, stand, you name it, in this thing!! Christmas Eve will be her last night in it and she should be done with this whole hip thing altogether! YAY!

What would you bring the King of Kings?

2011-12-21T17:15:00.000-08:00

One of our advent stories we did this month was about the three Kings and their gifts. So we all had a discussion and afterwards, I told the girls they had to write a story on what they would bring the King of Kings. I left the school room and came back to these stories:

Chloe (left): I would bring Jesus a car so he can drive places. I would give him an ice cream. Hahaha

Carly (right): I would bring Jesus a cup. He would not be thirsty again. If I was a wiseman, that's what I will bring to Jesus.

So cute!

Christmas Card Flop

2011-12-02T20:46:00.001-08:00

This was my original idea for our Christmas card this year. But I just couldn't find the right card to put it on that didn't have stuff written already on it. It just didn't work out, but it could have been super cute - you see where I was going with this don't you? Oh well!

Thanksgiving

2011-12-02T20:36:00.000-08:00

On Thanksgiving day we went to the Riffle's house and had lunch with them. Kay's Mom and 2 brothers came as well.

This was the first year we had Thanksgiving at our house. It was so nice to have dinner with my family all in one spot. We had the nice adult table (minus Matt - he was in charge of the kids table) and we all got to sit and eat and talk - which doesn't usually happen with 9 kids all running around. And I am sad to type that this is the only picture I have of Channing on her first Thanksgiving - yes, that is her way in the back corner :(

And then the kid table! They all had to sit at the table for 30 minutes. They had activities to do so they wouldn't get bored and then once all the adults were done eating, they cleaned the tables and the floors. It was great!! It is getting nice now that they are all getting a little bigger and can help out!

Connor had to have a drumstick and he did a great job polishing it off!

Kris, Gina, Connor, and Kaitlyn spent the night after our Thanksgiving meal (which was actually on the day before) so that they could go to Gina's family on Thanksgiving day. My kids absolutely love their cousins!

Oh Finley

2011-12-02T20:17:00.000-08:00

2 Years old is such a dynamic year. Vocabulary soars, personality shines, and attitude is squashed. My Finley - who definitely lives up to the name - fair haired warrior - keeps me on my toes. She is so full of life and amazes me daily. She can melt your heart and your patience all at one time! Here she is on the stairs. I told this child to get up stairs. She started to cry and preceded to tell me, "Me can't. Me pants are too big." Really? She can think of this stuff way too easily! She will say anything to get out of whatever she doesn't want to do!

She wears herself out as well as everyone else! Have you ever read the book, Olivia? Well, she is definitely my Olivia!

She will not leave her Daddy's side. When this man is home, she is attached to him. So needles to say, he has come up with some interesting ways to get ready and to get things done with his little leach!!

If the shoe fits.............. yes it is a perfect fit Fifi!!! I love you Finley Claire!! You make my life so happy!!

Halloween 2011

2011-12-02T19:54:00.000-08:00

Happy Halloween! Getting a group shot just gets harder and harder, but here is the best we could do! This year we stayed in our neighborhood and around 6:00 everyone walked down to the end and gathered for some festivities. They had a best dressed costume contest (Carly and Chloe won for 8 and under group). The kids all liked to see all the other kids all dressed up in one spot while it was still light. Then after that, everyone went around and trick or treated. We had a table set up at the end of our driveway with the kids carved pumpkins on them. Carly, Chloe, and Harper passed out treats, pencils and a Gospel tract. They loved being able to share Jesus with all the kids in the neighborhood (that is how we celebrate Halloween - we pass out tracks to others and make sure everyone has information about Jesus). The kids enjoyed themselves and it got cold really quick, so the night was over around 7:30! My kind of Halloween!

Our angels - a neighbor of mine told me that her kids love to hear when we come down to their cul-da-sac to ride bikes. Her kids shout out "the angels are coming!" I guess that is a great name to be known for!!

Our little pirate! I had gotten this costume a couple years ago after Halloween and he just now likes to wear it all the time. So, it worked just great!

This was Carly and Chloe's costume when they were 2 and it fits Miss Finley perfectly!! The tag even says Fifi!! She looks just like they did in this costume. So cute!

Another year with this flower costume!! This is our biggest flower and she was awfully cute.

Happy Fall

2011-12-02T19:18:00.000-08:00

I must say that our neighborhood is ABSOLUTELY BEAUTIFUL in the fall! We have very wooded lots with lots of large trees. The leaves were so amazing to look at. So this fall we dove into school full speed ahead and enjoyed just being outside at our home. We love it here. This picture was taken out on a hike we took in the woods. I had Channing strapped to me and I had to hold Finley up because she kept tripping. We got into the woods, crossed a creek (very tricky to do with 5 children), started up these really cool paths, and then I realized - hey, I may get lost. Then I realized, that if I slipped and fell, I would have 5 stranded kids in the woods. So we stopped, had a quick lesson on how to unlock Mommy's cell phone and dial 911. We got it down pat and then my little worry wart Chloe, decided the hike was over and we needed to get back. We made it back across that creek safely and got back to our house. It was really fun, but next time I may take another adult with me :)

Soccer

2011-12-02T18:32:00.000-08:00

Harper started soccer this year (yes, I am an awful mother for just now posting this in December when he started in AUGUST!!) But none the less, I get to talk about his entire season in just one post! He was so excited the first game, he didn't quite know what he was getting himself into, but he was ready to go. (Notice his cheerleaders :)

He was all geared up and so excited to have a sport of his own!! I am sure going to dance lessons his entire life would get rather boring!

It was probably the hottest day ever!!! But they were all ready to go. They got their yellow shirts and they named their team the Hornets. They did a cute little buzz and yelled Hornets before each game.

They had games on Saturday and Sunday. The would practice/warm up for 30 minutes and then have a game for 30 minutes. It was pretty entertaining.

Harper pretty much looked like this the majority of the games! He was NOT aggressive. He barely even ran actually. But he enjoyed going and that is all that mattered. He would never go after the ball and when Matt asked him why he wouldn't kick it during the game, he said, "They weren't giving him a turn." Awwww - what a sweet boy he is! He knows to take turns! I went to all Saturday games and Matt took him to all Sunday games. Matt really enjoyed taking him to the games, and even though it was so hard for me to let go, I did so that they could have Daddy son time. Matt gave him pointers and Harper got more and more confident. And he actually made 1 goal!!! He never really got close, but one game he was on his A game and got one (of course it was on a Sunday game and I wasn't there, I hate that I missed it, but oh well). It gave Harper something fun to look forward to and he is already asking when spring soccer is going to start.

Here is his team. They had a big team of 8 kids and during the games they only played 3 at a time. So he got lots of water breaks. One game he came up to me and said he needed to go to the bathroom. I told him he needed to stop drinking water so he wouldn't have to go and then he said, "but they keep telling me to go get a water break so I have to drink!!" What a little rule follower - he was only doing what he was told. But the water bottle was empty and a trip to the restroom was needed!

Harper did such a great job and I am so proud of him getting into a sport. He was actually given the MIP award - Most Improved Player. This was Coach Frates first year coaching and he said that Harper making his first goal was one of his proudest moments and that he changed so much since the first game. He was so shy and quiet and then at the end he wanted to "take it down" everytime (Matt had to explain what the coach meant when he said that to him, and once Matt told him, Harper was so ready to "take it down" everytime!) Great job Harper!

Dining Room Transformation

2011-12-02T18:24:00.000-08:00

So we move into our brand new WHITE house and I go on auto pilot and choose red for my dining room. I don't know what I was thinking really, but we finished it and I felt that there was bloodshed all over our walls! It did not flow with the down stairs and I felt as if it was screaming at me!!! So I called in my Dad to ......wait for it.......wallpaper!! I know, I know. I was scared, but I just wanted to try it out. And I am so glad we did!!! I love the way it looks and now we have space to feed people when they come over!

My Dad just working away!

See the difference!! The red was just way too loud!

Ahhhh.... tranquil dining!

Girly Love

2011-10-22T11:31:00.000-07:00

Some men are lucky to marry a special woman. Some men are lucky to have a little girl. And then there are some men like Matt who have 5 - FIVE - girls pawning for his love!!! Yes, all 5 of us love this guy so much and I think he has his hands full meeting all of our love and attention needs! But, some how he manages to do it! My brother said it right when he said, "One girl for each of his fingers to be wrapped around!" Yes, we all love our Matt. He is pretty terrific!

No more training wheels

2011-10-22T11:24:00.000-07:00

My little girls decided they wanted to be big girls! A couple of Sundays ago, the girls and I were outside while they were riding the gator. A group of older girls stopped and were riding scooters. They hung out with us for a while and after they left, Carly looked at me and said, "Mom, I'm ready to ride my bike without training wheels!" I told her ok and we went to the garage and removed them. I took her out to the side yard and she jumped on and took off. She was so proud of herself!! I knew it was time to take them off, I just wanted to do it on flat ground. But when I realized the ditch was pretty flat for riding, it worked out great! So it took her all of a few minutes to figure it out. Then Matt came home from Harper's soccer game and she got to show off her skills. I then had Matt take them to the nearby elementary school to let Chloe try it out. She was just as fast learning as Carly. Once I rounded up all the napping babies, I headed to the school and watched them do some laps in the parking lot. Now they love their bikes and that they are big girls! I love how they get their mind fixed on something and they will do it no matter what. It is just a matter of getting them convinced that they can do it!! Great job girls!

Zoo Trip

2011-10-22T11:05:00.000-07:00

We took our zoo to the zoo a couple of weeks ago. It was Channing's first trip to the zoo and the first trip that Finley could enjoy. I was really excited to take Fifi because she loves animals. She absolutely loved the penguins. That is, after she figured out she wasn't going to go through the glass. I had to sit far away from the wall with her in my lap and inch close to the glass. Then I had to force her little hand onto the glass so she would realize that the penguins weren't coming out and she wasn't going in. Then she LOVED it!! She ran back and forth and banged on the glass yelling at the penguins. She talked about them the whole time!

The kangaroos were new and they just hopped around while you were in there. Tiredness was starting to set in along with hunger, so next time I will feed them prior to going in (my kids that is) and maybe there will be a little more excitement :) You can see Chloe with her clip board. This trip was a field trip for the girls. They were graphing and sorting the animals that we saw. It was a fun little activity for them!

And feeding the giraffes were a big highlight. Chloe was brave (Chloe is by far the most skiddish child we have) and she was having fun feeding the baby ones until a big giraffe stuck its head over the top of the rail and his snout was right in her face. It was absolutely hilarious to see the look on the girl's face as she dropped her lettuce. She tried to play it off, but she quickly came over to us and teared up a bit. She is so sensitive :)

And Finley took on the job as the gopher. She feed the giraffe a couple of times, but she wasn't liking it too much. So she decided to make friends with the man handing out the lettuce and she would just ever so cutely waltz over to him and get herself a big handful of lettuce. She was proud of her part in the fun!

I don't know why this picture is sideways, but I don't feel like dealing with it right now. I just had to post my favorite shot after any trip. The heads tilted and zonked out. They had so much fun and we had so much fun having some much needed family time.

I finally did it!

2011-09-29T19:07:00.000-07:00

One thing that has been on my "bucket list" for a long time was to read the Bible from front to back. Well, it took me 3 years, but I finally did it! It took me way longer than I thought it would, but there are some books that were really hard to read, so I would get side tracked with a book and then get back to it. I really thought this would make me feel great to have read the entire Bible, but it actually made me feel even more inadequate (I guess that would be the word). That is the great thing about the Bible, you can read it over and over again and always learn something new. I don't think I will read it again from front to back, but I am excited to just dive into different books of the Bible and study them more. This is one amazing book!!

6 Months

2011-09-19T19:37:00.000-07:00

Really?! 6 Months?! Do we really have to keep growing? Why do all my babies have to keep getting bigger? I want them to be little forever! I am hating seeing Channing grow because that means my baby isn't quite a baby anymore. 6 months is quite a big stepping stone in this house. She can do all sorts of things now. Above she is in her saucer. She really likes her jumper though, but I don't have a picture of her in it so this one will have to do.

She tried her first food - butternut squash. She really didn't care for it at all, but after a couple days, she figured out what the gooey mess was and likes it now.

She got to take a big girl bath. She really liked being able to sit up. I had to do this while Finley was busy or else Channing would have had a visitor!

This was Channing's last day in her brace! These obnoxious pinochio straps are finally gone! They really weren't that bad. She had one bad night the first night, but then she didn't care at all. She now has to wear one at night. It on the other had isn't too cute either, but just at night time isn't that bad.

She can also sit up! Ok - I need to go to bed and get out a box of Kleenex......this is getting too much for me!

3rd Floor

2011-09-17T19:15:00.000-07:00

Here are the before shots of our 3rd floor - AKA the kid zone! It was quite a mess when we moved in back in May, but on the next post you will get to see what we have been doing the past 4 months!

This is the playroom - nice huh?!

The kids did manage to unpack some boxes so they could play!

The school room! Look at how well Harper unpacks boxes! A little too well!

Amazing Grace Academy

2011-09-17T18:41:00.000-07:00

Amazing Grace Academy had its grand opening on September 7th! (Yes, you have to name your homeschool for the state). The girls were so ready to start 1st grade, and I was so ready to have some more structure to our days!

And we started off the year with our schultutes again. I think this is such a fun German tradition and I love seeing how excited the girls get when they get them! Now I do think that mine are larger than the ones in Germany usually get, but I just think they need big ones!!

And they decided a dunce hat would be another fun way to utilize them!

So happy to start!

Ok - I must say, I have the absolutely cutest class EVER!! Yes, Harper and Finley come to school too. I have projects for them to work on while I am busy with the girls. They do their work and then I send them to the playroom after awhile.

Where we do calendar time and group lessons.

This one got out of order, but there is also a full bathroom between the school room and the playroom. This is SOOO handy for when we do projects and paint things. This 3rd floor is fully equipped for our school days. The playroom is right there next to me, so I can keep an eye on the little ones and there is a door to the school room so we can close it when they get too loud!

Matt put up some shelves in the closet for me so all my school supplies are nice and organized! Me and my P-touch (label maker) had a lot of fun time in here together!

And this is the playroom that is right down the little hall from the school room. This is NOT what this room usually looks like!! Imagine lots of toys on the floor and that is a better depiction of what it looks like normally.

Play kitchen area. They love to play babies over here!

And what does a house with 4 girls need?! A STAGE!!! Oh yes, we have a stage! Carly and Chloe live on this thing. They love singing and dancing. We love watching all their shows. Live entertainment always in this house!

And here is the cast!

Happy Birthday Fifi!!!

2011-09-15T13:35:00.000-07:00

August 29, 2011

Wow....... 2 years!!! What would my life be like the past 2 years without this hot little mess?!! Quiet probably! This child is amazing to say the least! She maybe 2 (but for a month before her birthday, if you asked her, she said she was 5), but she sure does have a strong personality! She is opinionated and very vocal about those opinions! She loves being a big girl like everyone else and pretty much won't let anyone slow her down. In the above picture, she is in curlers. Carly and Chloe wanted their hair curled. So did Finley. I told her she had to sleep with them in, and she didn't care. So I left one little piece out for hair twirling with her thumb, and yes, she slept in them all night! Just one example of her determination in life! I absolutely love this child. Her smile and her sweet voice is enough to just make you smile (and her famous scream can do just the opposite :) She is a fabulous child to say the least!

These are her favorite pair of dancing shoes. Courtesy of Build-A-Bear. She can run, climb, dance, you name it, in these shoes! She reminds me of Miss Piggy. If you have ever read the story Olivia - it was written about Finley! I think she wears herself out!

Finley had 2 birthday parties. 1 at our house with Kris, Gina, Connor, and Kaitlyn, since they were in town. She was happy with her cookie cake!

On the morning of her birthday, she picked out her breakfast.......grits! She even sang "Happy Birthday" to herself.

Thank night we had grandparents over and Aunt NiNi and she got another cake. She was really into blowing out the candles this year. Super cute with those fat cheeks!

She loved opening her presents. She made sure she thanked everyone and she even remembered who gave her each gift! It was a little party, but we were celebrating one wonderful birth! Finley Claire Riffle......we love you more than words can express. You add so much to our family! Happy Birthday Fifi!

Egg in it!

2011-08-22T17:56:00.000-07:00

My brother's family came and spent the night with us this past Friday. He brought doughnuts for all the kids for breakfast. The next morning we were getting ready for church, so I told the kids to go eat the last 3 doughnuts for breakfast. The last 3 were filled donuts. Matt and I were upstairs getting ready when Carly came running up to tell us some urgent news. "There is EGG in my doughnut!!" "Egg?" we question. Oh, this girl was totally convinced there was egg in her doughnut. Then I realized it was the filling. I proceeded to tell her that it was kind of like pudding, but there was no telling this girl otherwise. There was egg in her doughnut! So, she went back downstairs, ate all around the center, and then got ready for church. I am guessing I will never buy her a filled doughnut - because these crazy doughnut makers stuff them with egg!!!!

Meet Haoua

2011-08-09T13:34:00.000-07:00

This is Haoua. She lives in Burkino Faso. She is part of our family. How? Through Compassion International we have been sponsoring Haoua since March. You see, we had an Aquatic Center Membership. We used the membership all summer and then didn't really go during the winter. I decided to cancel that pool membership. At the time several people from our church were going on the annual mission trip to Burkino Faso. Right after that I read the book Crazy Love. Through all that God showed me that instead of holding onto that monthly membership money, I was to use it to change someone's life forever! And I think it has changed us even more! I told the kids and Matt all about Compassion International and what they do. And I explained how we could help a child who lives in a home with a dirt floor and no running water. Everyone was on board! We decided to sponsor a child from Burkino Faso since that was so close in the kids minds and they had seen pictures of church members there helping those in need. Then the girls automatically said it had to be a girl and she had to be 5 1/2 like them. So we started looking at the sponsor children listed. Then we picked a number - 29. The child's birthday had to be on the 29th like Harper and Finley. And we were sponsoring the child right when Channing was born. I found a couple candidates, and read their profiles. As soon as Chloe heard the words, "visually impaired" she immediately said, "THAT ONE!!" She knew that Haoua needed medical attention. She knew that Haoua needed a family to love on her and her family. So that is how we chose Haoua. Well, shortly after Channing was born, we got a letter from Haoua. It was neat to see a picture she drew and to hear from her. Come to find out, she is one of 5 kids!! She is the 4th in the line up - Girl, Girl, Boy, Girl, and Boy. Isn't that neat?! It has been such a blessing to know that we are helping her. Please pray for Haoua and her family. I also have the opportunity to help out during VBS at church and I was so excited about Haoua, that we decided to sponsor 2 children with the change the kids brought every night. Their names are Simon (from Burkino Faso) and Maydarlene (from Haiti). We just started getting things from them too, so we will be working with the kids during Awanas this year corresponding to them. Please pray for these children as well. If you have a chance, check out Compassion's website and look into changing someone's life!

www.compassion.com

My little Pinocchio

2011-07-27T12:10:00.000-07:00

I took Channing for her 4 month check up and the Dr. said that her fat creases were not symmetrical. She wanted her to have an ultra sound to see if she had hip displasia. So last week, I took my sweet smiling baby for an ultra sound and then they wanted to x-ray her. And lo and behold, she has mild hip displasia! So off to the Orthopedic Dr. we went today. I was a little surprised at her apparatus. She looks like she has on lederhosen. Matt said she looks like a puppet. So she is our little pinocchio! The point of this thing is to keep her hips turned out so they will grow the right way. Luckily for us, the mall was right across the street, so we went and found some cute onesies so it doesn't rub on her skin and irritate her. She has to only wear it for 6 weeks, but we have to keep going back to the Dr. to get the straps adjusted. She doesn't seem to mind it at all. I even put her down for her nap and she didn't care. Now, she probably won't be able to roll and she just showed me last night for the first time that she could roll from her back to her belly (I guess now I don't have to run out and get that baby gate yet!) My sweet Channing is such a trooper! I love her so much! She just now has "strings to hold me down" :)

Warning

2011-07-18T11:54:00.000-07:00

Warning - due to the craziness of our lives.......the next several posts are not in chronological order! In fact, they are all jumbled around, pretty much like my brain lately. But I think you will be able to figure them out! We are starting to get several projects done around the house and are feeling much more settled, so I will have to start posting some pics of all our work in progress! I hope to start getting better at blogging, but busy is an understatement for this family!

10 YEARS!!!

2011-07-18T11:36:00.001-07:00

10 years ago, on July 7th, we got married!! I cannot believe it has been 10 years! I must say that I am quite please with my choice of partners! So to celebrate the joyous occasion, we went Jet skiing!! I found a groupon for this several months ago, so I wanted to surprise Matt with an adventure. He always comments how he has never ridden a jet ski. He was quite funny driving it. And I can't believe how SLOW he was! We cruised about 15-20 mph all around the shore looking at all the nice houses on Lake Norman. A couple of times he got up to around 40, but he liked cruising, which I did too so we could just talked and looked around. But he would go fast and then completely let off the gas! So then we would go flying forward. I finally gave in and said I would drive. (I didn't want to because he made it look hard). Boy oh boy, did I take him for a ride!! I liked going fast!!! Therefore, he had to pry me from the driver seat. I am usually the cautious one, but on a jet ski, Matt takes that title. It was lots of fun, and spending time with just him and not having to take care of anyone else was nice (well I did have to take care of Matt, but I know that I will always have to take care of him :)

It was a very relaxing day. And we also got to go out to eat and a fast trip to IKEA. I love spending time with my best friend. He sure has made the last 10 years (well 13 years we have been dating) VERY INTERESTING!!!! And I guess we have a lot to show for 10 years of being happily married....... 5 kids :) So here is to the next 10 years of getting closer and closer to my sweet hubby! I love you Matt!

Potty Training #4

2011-07-18T11:27:00.000-07:00

And here we go again! Another child in underwear! We always start off with a pack of panties all wrapped up and the excitement begins as we lock ourselves in the house for a few days. Finley LOVES being a big girl like Carly and Chloe. So she was more than happy to put those panties on and get to work staying dry. Now she isn't quite at the point where she will tell you every time that she has to go, but at least she can stay dry and I take her every hour. So I must say, I am quite proud of you Fifi. You did a great job sweetie!

She really liked the ones with doggies on them ;)

Channing's Dedication

2011-07-18T11:20:00.000-07:00

On Father's Day, June 19th, Channing was dedicated. She was actually dedicated with Bella too, one of Finley's favorite babies in the nursery! I love that our babies all have been raised in church and hopefully that will make good decisions and come to know the Lord when they are ready to make a change in their lives. I know that they are all loved by everyone there and that they are seeing the love of Jesus through them. We pray that we can guide them and direct them through life and give them the tools they need to make good decisions as they get older.

After the big dedication, Channing was just worn out and Sydney was more than happy to hold her! Sydney absolutely loves baby Channing and will do anything to get her hands on her!

Happy 4th Birthday Harper

2011-07-18T11:02:00.000-07:00

I can't believe this handsome boy is only 4! He seems older to me. I am quite happy he is only 4. He is pretty special. Look at that smile! He is my only boy and he is amazing. I love how he loves his sisters. I love how he talks to Channing and holds her. I love how he takes Carly and Chloe places that they are too scared to do alone. I love how he gets into mischief with Finley. I love how he has to get out all his Black and Decker tools out every time Daddy starts to fix anything. I love how he puts his laundry away all the time without being asked. I love how he gives me foot rubs if I am sick. I love how he laughs and talks (with all that extra spit in his mouth). I love how his stories are so incredibly long that I have a hard time following them so I am forced to just say, "wow" at the end of all of them. I love how he sits in bed in the morning and doesn't get out, because he is waiting for Channing to wake up so he can talk to her. I love how he has to wrap himself up like a burrito in bed in order to fall asleep. There are so many things to love about this boy and he has a house full of people that love him lots.

On his birthday, he was just getting over a stomach bug that he shared with Carly and Chloe. We were going to take him to Monkey Joe's that morning, but he couldn't go. We just had a very small family birthday party here at the house. He was so excited to pick out his cake. He went from Thomas, to Woody, to Mickey and then back to Woody again. He chose his cake because he has a Woody figurine that lost its arm so he figured if he got a Woody cake, he could replace that Woody with one with 2 arms! Smart thinking!

Even though he had just been sick, he still was able to manage to eat his cake and cheesy poofs!

And in all true kid fashion, he loved opening his presents!

3 Months

2011-06-27T11:48:00.000-07:00

I feel like I just posted about Channing's birth and here I am posting a picture of her at 3 months! Why does time go so fast. I always thought old people were weird when they said that everything happens quickly, but now I see why they say that. IT DOES!! If I could buy time, I would (of course with a coupon :) But I do have to face the cold hard facts and admit that this sweet angel is 3 months old. In this picture is when she did her 1st roll! She is actually in her soon to be buddy's nursery (little baby Devine will be here in November) and Deanna was taking a few pics of her for me and she just rolled right over. (From belly to back) It was pretty cute and Deanna got it all documented! What can she do? Well, she has an adorable smile that just makes it really hard not to take your eyes off of her. She can laugh, she actually was in Sunday School with us when she was getting cranky, I took her out of the room and she laughed for the first time - I think she was trying to get me out of class! It is a good hardy giggle that makes me beam from ear to ear. She also has found her fingers! All my babies take a passi until they find their thumb, and then they are hooked. This girl is our first finger sucker. I try to force the thumb, but she keeps getting those fingers!! Lately though, the thumb has been finding its way into the mouth, so maybe she will convert! She also can sit up in the activity saucer and she really enjoys watching the girls dance on the stage. She shares a room with Harper at the moment and those two are pretty funny together. They will just lay in their beds smiling at each other and he can get her laughing pretty good in there. She really looks like she favors Harper now, but there really is no mistaking these kids of ours, they all look pretty much alike! Other than that, she just hangs out and blows bubbles. Oh, she did have an ear infection last week :( so hopefully this doesn't become a trend in that right ear of hers! Well, I am sure the posts on Miss Channing will start picking up now that everyday she will be overcoming new life events!

So......I'm 30!

2011-06-20T11:53:00.000-07:00

I cannot believe that this day has finally come! 30 YEARS OLD!!! I am sorry, but that is rather old - I mean, I am half way to 60 and 1/3 of the way to 90!! I stocked up on some anti-aging cream at CVS in hopes to try to reverse this process! I must say that the past 30 years have been wonderful with so many wonderful people in my life to share them with. It is crazy to me that I have been married to Matt for 1/3 of my life - I must really like that hunk! I do at least feel somewhat accomplished: I graduated from preschool, Kindergarten, high school and college! I have 5 spectacular children. I live for the most amazing man in the world - My Heavenly Father. So the last 30 years have been great and I look forward to the next 30 years. But I must admit it does sting a little bit! So to take my mind off of things, I decided to potty train Finley. She has done pretty well today so I can't complain (except for the fact that she only took an hour nap and I will get punished later for that!) Cheers to 30 years!

For the Love of Sleep

2011-06-13T11:32:00.000-07:00

I feel like such a bum! Lately this family of mine has been sleeping so much! I don't know if we all just feel settled finally and this place feels perfect, but whatever it is, it is kind of strange. (Now of course everyone will stop sleeping after I have typed this) No matter what time Matt leaves in the morning, I am so out of it and don't remember him leaving. I am pretty sure I know why I am sleeping so much. It has been almost a year since I have slept through the night and slept great. Being pregnant and then having a tube in your back and sleeping in a recliner, doesn't leave you well rested. Then add in an infant, a move, and lots of up in the air house situations this leaves you not rested either. Now mix in lots of moving and decorating, a king size, brand new mattress, with super comfy sheets, then you get one lady who hits the pillow hard! I must say that having the kids sleeping in so long has been fabulous for me to catch up on my sleep. So if I am looking a little more rested, you will know why :)

Cow

2011-06-06T14:20:00.000-07:00

So now that we live in the "country" somewhat, we see a lot of cows and horses. The other day we were driving past a cow pasture and there were 2 black and white cows. The girls were all breaking their necks tying to see the cows. I told them that those are called dairy cows. We get our milk from those (most cows here are the black angus ones - I think). Chloe then chimes up, "well, do we get water from the other ones?" I love it!

And to finish off a hectic week and a half......Choir Concert!

2011-06-01T13:16:00.000-07:00

And the last event to conclude the crazy 10 days was the girl's choir concert. They absolutely love choir and performing on stage. Which is kind of strange to me, because they are so shy, but getting up there and performing makes them so happy! They really enjoyed themselves and the program was so cute. They love Mrs. Kim so much!

And if moving just isn't enough...... Dance Recital Time!!

2011-06-01T13:05:00.000-07:00

I love dance recitals! I love getting my girls all dolled up and the excitement the stage brings. Even though we were so busy and exhausted, we still had a fabulous time watching these 2 for their 4th dance recital! They said they really knew their tap dance the best, but I thought they did great on both!

They all did very good - big improvement over last year. They were cute all running out onto the stage.

And you know little Miss Priss wouldn't go to the recital without being like all the other girls! A tutu must be worn when going to a recital!! So Finley was apart of the big production. She sat in her seat the entire time shaking her shoulders and dancing to the music. And this is their new friend this year, Ellie.

I couldn't resist taking pictures of little Miss Sassafras!!

They got to change part of their costume this year. The shorts were for tap and the tutu was for ballet. I really liked the red on them. They looked so big!! Great job girls. Another great year of dancing completed!!!

Unpacking

2011-06-01T13:01:00.000-07:00

The kids helped unpacking. I gave them all the boxes with food in them. All the food ended up on the 2nd shelf! They were so fast and did a good job. They got it all unpacked at least and then I just had to go back through and reorganize.

This entire kitchen was unpacked in less than 1 hour. They are such hard workers! They each were given a box and I told them which cabinet to put them in and they were quick to unload. I am glad they got to help. It made it more fun that way!

Getting the KEYS!!

2011-06-01T12:37:00.000-07:00

The day finally came that we had been waiting so long for! On Wednesday, May 18th, we closed on our new house!! It is a little hard to do stuff with so many small kids, so that morning, Harper, Finley, Channing and myself went to the new house to sign off on some paper work and do a final walk through. Matt, Carly, and Chloe stayed at Hawthorne and cleaned the house. We met at the True Homes office and we signed all the paper work. Harper and Finley were taking naps at Mom and Dad's house and Channing, Carly and Chloe came with us to get our keys. It was so excited and wasn't as scary knowing we had renters moving in the old house within 10 days!

The girls were entertained the entire time with games on all Matt's electronic devices. After the papers were signed, we got Harper and Finley and had a family dinner at Firehouse. Then I took all the girls to church and Matt and Harper went to our new house!! They met Kris (my brother) there and the unpacking started!! By the time we got home, those 2 (well 3 including Harper) had the first POD almost emptied out! Our new mattress was also delivered so we all had a mattress to sleep on! Kris spent the night and the next day they got the entire 2nd POD emptied out as well - they had help from Vinnie (a friend from church) too. I would love to post a picture of all of us in front of our house the first day - but that didn't happen! Way to much to juggle but we did get in the house!

Saying Goodbye - Tuesday, May 17th

2011-06-01T12:33:00.000-07:00

So Tuesday consisted of finishing packing the second POD and getting everything ready to MOVE!! The girls had to go over and say goodbye to their friend Kendall. She lives next door and the girls played with her so much. We loved having her around and the girls loved having a friend to play with. We are truly going to miss this sweet girl. She helps me out all the time - when Harper was a baby and with Finley now! It will be sad not having her around anymore!

Monday, May 16th

2011-06-01T12:27:00.000-07:00

And this is their real birthday! What an amazing day it was 6 years ago when Matt and I got the awesome responsibility to be these 2 precious girls' parents. We are so blessed with these two girls. They are so special and we can't love them enough! Matt was actually out of town (yes he was gone a night during this crazy week) so we went over to Grandma and Grandpa's house for a homecooked meal and yet another cake (I had one in the freezer :) So it was nice to celebrate the whole week because lets face, we have so much to celebrate! It definitely kept us positive and smiling the entire week!

Saturday, May 14th

2011-06-01T12:23:00.000-07:00

We had a family birthday party for the girls. Both sets of grandparents and Nichole, Reilly, and Reagan all came over to celebrate their birth!

There wasn't much to their party, since we weren't even supposed to be here, but they loved it none the less!

Tuesday - May 10th and a few more days

2011-06-01T12:10:00.001-07:00

This day was the day that my kidney infection hit full force and I was miserable! I took the girls to dance class - looking just as bad as I felt, but they had to go because the recital was coming up. Then I went to my parents house that evening and that is when we got the call that the buyers back out of our contract! So I was a little emotional to say the least! It wouldn't have been so bad if I didn't feel so bad on top of everything falling apart! So Matt and I talked everything over and he was so positive and comforting and we knew God was in control, we just needed to figure out what to do!! That Wednesday I went to church and Kim Hucks said she would let Tim Carpenter (our new associate pastor) know because they need somewhere to rent. And low and behold, the next morning, Tim called very interested in renting out house for 4-6 months (the length of time we were told it would take to get our title/deed straightened out). Praise God!!! We were 1 week away from closing on a new home and prayers were answered! So our packing continued once again (it is kind of hard to move when you never know whether you are coming or going). We were supposed to close on Thursday the 12th and be homeless for one week. So we were packing to leave on the 12th and then we had to stop because we weren't leaving now until the 18th!! So for the rest of that weekend we packed and tried to get everything straightened out - calling all the utilities several times stopping, transferring, canceling and restarting service. The above picture is how we ate dinner for 2 1/2 weeks! We sold a lot of stuff in our yard sale and I just thought it was funny seeing Matt at the little table!

Monday, May 9th - Birthday Party

2011-06-01T11:36:00.000-07:00

Can you believe these 2 angels are going to be 6?! They are growing up to be such wonderful girls! I decided that since we would be homeless on their real birthday, we would do a party the week before in our "old" house! I needed it to be simple and fun, since they were so excited to have a special party for themselves. I had it on a Monday night and it was pajama party theme. All their friends came and it was our first big kid party. Every Mom dropped their kids off and it was just me and Matt and a house full of kids!!! It was a sad realization that they were getting bigger and Mommies no longer had to stick around! We also realized that a real sleepover is a VERY long way away!!! We were exhausted after a 2 hour party, I don't think I can handle all nighters yet!

The house was practically empty so they had lots of room to run around and get wild! Do you notice who is in the middle of it all?! Yup, wild woman Fifi loved it! They played hide and go seek and ran around trying to not let the balloons touch the ground.

Pizza was done on the floor - we have no table!!! Clean up was a piece of cake and it was fun!

Here is the group we had! Such wonderful kids - each one of them just makes me so happy to be their friends.

Musical Chairs pillow style - tons of fun

They each got their own birthday cake. I feel that sometimes they are grouped together so much that they need a little individualism. But when I asked them if they wanted us to sing to each one of them separately, they said no!!! They wanted to be sung to together. They enjoy being a twin! After cake, we opened presents (which was awesome because for the duration of the time in this house, they had lots of new things to keep them occupied.

Back up 2 days

2011-06-01T11:29:00.000-07:00

Ok - I have a lot of catching up to do!! Let me back up at start off this crazy week and a half over!! It all starts on Mother's Day - May 8th. I had a special day. A special day of packing that is! The kids were all so excited to give me their cards they made and their gifts. They each got me a gift card somewhere so we can go on a date together. Carly got me a gift card to Panera (we both love to eat there). Chloe's was to Chic-fila (she loves cows, so that is where our date will be). Harper (the romantic) got me one to McDonalds :) Finley's was to Baskin Robins for some "cream" and Channings was to CVS - since we have been through the ringer with prescriptions, she thought our date would most likely end up here (and 2 days later I used it :) The rest of the day consisted of packing, packing, and more packing. I didn't mind, because it just a few days we were going to sell our house and our exciting adventure would begin (so I thought). And here is a picture that evening of our 1st POD loaded up and ready to go! The kids were so funny helping us load this. We had boxes everywhere and they were like little ants getting those boxes moved outside. We packed everything that was out in about 1 hour! We decided we were going to start contracting our children out - 5 kids and a POD!!

And Then the Bottom Fell Out

2011-05-14T19:48:00.000-07:00

So after all this preparation for moving, the thick dark clouds rolled in and the bottom fell out. As the buyers closing attorney's were preparing everything for closing, they realized our deed was fraudulent (because of a previous owner of the house) and that the buyers would not be able to close on a house that did not have a clear title. At first they were ok with pushing the closing back a week, but they still wanted to move into the house. Then the whole issue got worse and worse and the buyers decided that they just wanted out all together. So now we are stuck with a house that is now considered "unsellable." LOVELY!! Here our new house is almost done being built and we cannot sell the house that we are currently in - empty! Matt and I were just baffled at the whole situation, but we know that God has a reason for this entire thing. Oh yeah, and during all this, I get a horrific kidney infection that put me down for a couple of days! It was not fun at all. This is a very quick clip of the house situation, but it is really exhausting explaining it all! Long story short, we did not sell our house, and our house is a big headache at the moment, so now we are going to rent the house and see what happens next! So lots of prayers please!

Packing Time

2011-05-14T19:28:00.000-07:00

Then on May 6th, the first POD arrived!

This big empty box was fun to play with at first

Then it was time to start loading! Daddy worked very hard organizing all these boxes. It was a lot of work, but we were going to be homeless for a week before we closed on the new house and these PODS were great to be able to pack and we can just call when we wanted it delivered! Wonderful invention!

And then all of Mother's Day we packed some more. We were beat (well mostly Matt). We had to get it all packed, because the next morning, it was going to be picked up and we would be given an empty one!! Packing is exhausting, especially with 5 kids under way, but it was so nice to be able to do it at our leisure.

Yard Sale

2011-05-14T19:14:00.000-07:00

In preparation for the big move, we had to have a yard sale. We needed to get rid of our kitchen table. It only had 4 chairs, and when we bought it, we did't realize our family would be this big!! So here the kids are dining for one last time around our small table - notice Harper sat on a tool!! We also got rid of our bedroom set, our tv's, all our toy boxes, and a ton more stuff!! I we made a good amount of money and the yard sale lasted 2 days. It was so much work, but we made out well!

Here is the front yard after several hours on Saturday, but we had so many people come Friday that this picture is the picked over stuff!! We sold a lot more after this still!

Our neighbor Kendyll brought her horse over to sell, so the kids just had to try it out! It was pretty fun. Chloe was taking Harper for a walk!

Happy Easter

2011-04-27T12:08:00.000-07:00

Look at all our baskets! I can't believe I found a matching one for Channing, but I did! So now they all match (this is very important to me :) We started our day off at church. Celebrating Jesus' resurrection!

When we got home, I wanted a group shot. And alas, it was too sunny so everyone needed sunglasses!

They got their baskets and Finley got a plate and some Teddy bears. We let her have some on her plate and when we weren't looking, she decided to help herself to the rest of the bag!! Doesn't she look so sweet and innocent!

Then we had an egg hunt. As soon as they got ready to go outside, Carly started complaining that her stomach hurt. We gave her a pepto and told her to go to the bathroom. Well, things went downhill fast!! She started screaming in this ear piercing screech!!! We were so scared because she has never screamed like this before and she couldn't stand, walk, sit, nothing!! I called the pediatricians office a couple of times and the last time, she said, "you need to take her to the ER now!" I am not a person to take their kids to the dr. I hate going! And when she said this, I got nervous. I thought the kids appendix was going to rupture! So off we went to the ER downtown. On the way she started sounding better and I hesitated to keep going, but then she started moaning again, so I just bit the bullet and went in.

They gave her a gown - which I had to take a picture to send to Harper and Chloe. And by the looks of her face doesn't it look so bad?! They made her go to the bathroom in a cup and I made her sit there and try to do a #2. She was successful and then the pain just went away! The dr. said he would test the urine, but didn't think it was her appendix. I told him I was diagnosing her as cured! So after a couple hours in the ER, we were released and all was well with her! I told Matt that was one expensive shewie, but with the way she was acting and screaming, we thought she was going to explode! So it was all worth it.

And since it was Easter, she had some coloring pages and left with a goodie bag!

When we left the hospital, we met up with the rest of the crew to go see our house. It was so exciting to see the paint!! It looks awesome and I am rather excited!

Channing admiring the dust!

Chloe showing how tall the island is. The hardwoods and tile was all done, so it is getting closer and closer!

And look at the room on the driveway - they can all ride bikes and won't be on top of each other!

Packing

2011-04-27T12:00:00.000-07:00

Packing is quite interesting with this many kids always "helping." Here is Finley - she had to be in a box. She actually was helping - she would bring stuff I put into a pile to Matt so he could pack it. After this picture, she fell over backwards and all you saw were her feet and she just said, "whoa!"

Carly had to get in on the action. She was wrapping glass bowls in newspaper and packing them. She did a magnificent job. (never mind the backwards g on the box :)

Our new way of packing is Matt making me 3 boxes at night, and then I fill them. That should get it all packed within the next few weeks!! We are so excited to move, there will probably be lots more posts to come!

1st Trip to the Mall!

2011-04-27T11:34:00.000-07:00

Last Wednesday, April 20th, Channing had a very special day - her very 1st trip to the mall!!! This is a very important event that has to be documented! I almost forgot to take a picture so Carly took this one in the parking lot as we were about to leave! That was a close one!

Finley had to wear her "eyes" as she was ready to hit the stores! How does one go shopping with 5 kids, 5 and under all by herself and still be able to make lots of purchases? Well, first of all - prior to departing the vehicle all rules are laid out and expectations are in place. They know what the schedule of events will be! Second, fast, almost a running pace. Their little legs move so fast - they have to keep up with their Mama. Third, a double stroller. The 2 little ones are buckled up and the 3 big ones have to hold onto the stroller so I have all hands on deck! And fourth, bagged lunches. I make each one a lunch and as we walk they eat. With an infant who eats every 3 hrs., I definitely don't have time to stop and feed everyone, so they eat and shop. All of these together make one wonderful shopping experience for all. And we even topped it off with a carousel ride for Carly and Chloe. (They won't let Harper ride by himself because he is too short - and he doesn't even get upset, so this time I saw a Clifford ride that took quarters and I let him ride that - he thought it was rather special!)

We actually were going to do a group shot with the Easter bunny, but he was not there!! He only is there in the evenings during the week! I was upset that Channing didn't get her picture taken with the big bunny her first year, but she did get a super cute bunny hat made by my Aunt Angela so I think that is a much better bunny picture anyway :) And with gas prices at $3.75 a gallon, I wasn't about to take a trip to the mall just for a bunny picture - sorry Channing!

Jesus

2011-04-26T19:35:00.000-07:00

I got a Jesus doll (kind of like a Ken doll) from the preschool director at church to give to Harper for Easter. Harper opens this doll up and it speaks - he looks up and says excitedly, "Jesus is talking to me!" It was so funny. Matt and I just started laughing. I really like this doll.l I love hearing the kids play with Jesus. They had him dying on the cross, in a tomb, and "flying" to heaven. Now he will have something to play with while the girls are playing Barbies - great gift idea for any boy with sisters :)

Blog Glitch

2011-04-25T19:05:00.000-07:00

Ok - sorry for no posts recently!! I could not get my posts to post :( But luckily I am married to a fiercely intelligent man and he figured out the problem and I will get to blogging again within the next couple of days.

The House With Stairs

2011-04-18T13:50:00.000-07:00

After our contract fell through in January, we had to make a HUGE decision. We couldn't place a contigency on our new house, so we had to either walk away, or build the house in hopes that we sell ours by May. This was such a big decision! We prayed and waited for answers and we both felt that taking the step out in faith was what we needed to do. We bere both confident that God had His hands on this whole situation and we had to show our faith! There was a lot of money on the line, but we knew we were in His hands. At the end of March, we got a contract on our house!! That week we actually had 2 offers and 1 other person say that if we didn't sell, they would give us an offer. What a relief!! We didn't try to get excited about the house the whole time, because we didn't know if it was really going to happen. The week before the offer we went to check on the lot - and the above picture is what we saw!! Holy Moly our house has walls!!! Wow! So now we are set to close on May 12th (lots of prayers here for everything to go smoothly) and our new house is done being built on May 18th! Praise the Lord - Perfect timing! So needless to say,, we are more than excited to begin this new adventure! The kids are so excited too. They have been praying for our house with stairs for 2 years! We have been to the house just about every week since the offer and the kids absolutely love going to see it! We all get so excited to see the progress. Here are some pictures of our trips:

The front door! Welcome to our home!

The tractor thingy that is digging our septic lines!

The girls on the front porch!

Can you sense their excitement?!

3 car garage and the siding was put on (not the right color though - getting painted)

Cabinets were in this week!! I can't wait to get my new pantry!!! Yahoo - space!!!! This week are the hardwoods - I just want to jump up and down!!

1st Smile

2011-04-18T13:43:00.001-07:00

This girl is just super sweet! Channing did her first smile at around 4 weeks and of course, it just melts your heart!! This picture I took the day she did her first smile so this is one of the firsts! I just absolutely love all the firsts and I love being a Mommy! Look at that face!!!! Don't you just want to squeeze her?! Last night she slept through the night (5 weeks and 3 days)!! Have I mentioned how great she is?! I think this post is just going to be repetitive if I keep going - I love you Channing Hope!!

2 Weeks Old

2011-03-24T06:06:00.000-07:00

Channing is 2 weeks old today! Sniffle, sniffle - I want her to be this little forever! She is a wonderful baby. She is very patient and is very easy going. She sleeps great at night. I put her to bed at 9:30, she wakes up around 2:30 and then at 6:30. Yes, she is awesome! She has had a very busy 2 weeks of life. She has been to 3 Dr. apts (1 was for me), to the park, to the library, to Old Time Pottery, to Lowes, to Grandma and Grandpas to play with all 8 other grandkids, church 4 times, dance class, and another hospital. That is quite alot for a little one. We have also has 4 showings and an open house. So needless to say, the past 2 days we have sat at home and it has felt great!!! Carly and Chloe are her other mothers. They love to hold her and take care of her. Sometimes I hear Channing crying and when I go into the room, they have given her a passi and have her to sleep. I love having big helpers! Finley wakes up every morning looking for baby. She has to go give her kisses. Whenever Channing cries, Finley goes running yelling "passi"! She does very good with her and holds her. She places toys around her seat so she can play. Harper holds her every once and a while. He isn't as interested as all the girls are, but he loves to watch her in the car and give us a play by play of all her facial expressions.

Stats on Channing: She looks just like Carly and Chloe when they were babies - more like Carly because her hair spikes up in the back like hers did. (we used to call Carly Spike). She sneezes like Chloe. She snores like Harper. She looks just like Finley in the face, but Finley had all that hair so it made her look different. And like I said before, personality: nice and relaxed! We love our sweet baby!

So long Jane

2011-03-23T14:24:00.000-07:00

Well, it has been 2 weeks since Channing was born and we are starting to get to the bottom of the kidney issues. Right after she was born, I spiked a fever, which was the result of a kidney infection. After a trip to urgent care, a couple of Dr. visits, and 3 medications, I am finally working on getting rid of that. I need to be on an antibiotic for 2 weeks since the infection was pretty rough. Last week, Jane was removed!!! Nothing really went the way it was supposed to. They couldn't insert the dye in the tube since it was clogged, so I had an ultrasound and CT scan so they could see the status of the stones. Then they said they could remove the tube, which they tried to just pull it out, but again, that didn't happen. He made me get on an xray table to try to get a wire up the tube. Didn't work. So they sent me to another room, got another Dr. in there to help, shot up my back with numbing meds, and with lots of pain later, the tube was removed!! It didn't feel so good because I could feel every tug inside my body - YIKES!! But after a week of that thing gone, I feel great!! Do you know how wonderful it is to sleep in your own bed?! 9 weeks in the recliner left me very appreciative for my bed! Also, I have been able to take a regular shower! I can just walk in and shower - no more covering the patch and having my tube hang from the wall and not letting my back get wet. I am so thankful Jane is gone! Next week I go for an xray and they will decided what to do with the 13 kidney stones I have - 8 in the left and 5 in the right! I can't believe I have that many, but hopefully they can break them up or something and this kidney issue will all be history!

Channing Hope's Arrival

2011-03-15T12:51:00.000-07:00

March 10th was the date God had planned out all along for our Channing Hope to be born. I woke up around 2:30 am and started having contractions. There is a contraction calculator site online that all you have to do is click the timer and it times how long and how far apart your contractions are, so I just laid in my lovely recliner (that I have slept in for 9 long weeks) partially asleep and clicked the button every time I had one. At around 4:30 am, I decided to finish folding the last load of laundry in our room. Matt woke up and said, "What are you doing?" I told him today was the day and that he wasn't going to work that day. He said, "Oh, you ok?" (I replied yes) "Well, I'm going back to sleep." I am so glad he knows how to relax at all times! Around 6 am I called my Mom so she would know that at some point in the morning Channing would be coming. So she started working on getting a sub and getting things tied up at work. I then asked my sister, Nichole, to come over after she dropped her kids off at school. I worked on packing my bags, Matt packed up the car, I got all the kids clothes picked out, and did all my finishing that I had to do. I then made it back to my recliner and just chilled out having contractions. It was so relaxing. The kids all sat in the living room and played with some trains and whispered the entire time. So I was entertained and it was peaceful. Well, Nichole was getting worried and she told me I needed to leave! I decided to call the Dr. when they were 4-6 min apart.

And here I am ready to depart. This is the last picture of Channing in womb! We left the house and I told Matt that I was so relaxed I didn't think that I was close enough. Matt was going to turn around and then he said we could go to Target!! He said or we could go to Walmart and have her and call her Americus (from the movie Where the Heart Is). I decided that it would probably take them a while to get me all checked in so I decided to just go to the hospital. We were even driving behind a car on 485 going 45! We were just chatting away and then I asked Matt if he realized we were only going 45. So we passed them :) Matt dropped me off at the front door and I stood and waited in the lobby. All the little ladies at the desk kept wanting to get me a wheelchair. I told them I was fine, I was just waiting for my husband. So Matt and I walked hand in hand to labor and delivery.
Before we walked into labor and delivery, I wanted a picture together. (I didn't even know I was 10 cm at this point :) We walked up to the desk and told them we were checking in. The nurse took me to the room while Matt signed me in. I got changed into the lovely gown and she called the Dr. - I was ready!! We walked in the door at 9:49 am and she was born at 10:23 am. Not bad at all!! It was the absolute, most calm delivery.

And then Channing Hope was here! As soon as I saw her, I couldn't believe how much she looked the all the others - especially Carly. She was absolutely beautiful!

She weighed 7 lbs. 12 oz. and she looked great! I was so relieved she was healthy. I thought she was going to come out with green hair from all the medication I was on in January.

And of course that instant love overwhelms you the first time you hold your precious child. I am always amazed at how much you love this little person you just met!

She got her bath and the nurse decided to give her a rooster hair do. She looked so cute.

She got all dressed up and this is what I had been waiting for - the first hugs of a freshly washed and clothed baby - AHHHH, such a heavenly smell!!

Daddy with his 4th daughter!!! He has a lot of love to give out, but I know he is perfectly capable.

My sweet girl! She was worth every bit of the last 9 months!

So cute!

Our first family picture! I can't believe that all these sweet angels are all depending on Matt and myself for everything!! What an honor it is for God to entrust us with them. We love each and everyone of you with all our hearts!!

Carly - the oldest - she has a very important job taking care of all these kids. I know she is perfect for the job! She is so caring and was so excited to meet Channing. This is one proud sister.

Harper - what a job this boy has!! 2 sisters older than him and 2 sisters younger than him. He is such a loving boy and I am sure he will take his job seriously!

Chloe!! Oh this girl is precious!! She has absolutely fallen in love with taking care of Channing. We even got to spend some extra time together in the hospital which was the best time ever!!! After the entire crew came up to visit - which was fun all these little kids in 1 little room - I had Matt take Harper and Finley home to feed them dinner and put them to bed. My Mom was with me, so she left later on to sit at home while Matt came back to see Channing and pick the big girls up. Carly and Grandma went to the cafeteria to get dinner and Chloe just sat and held Channing. She sang to her and talked to her. It was very special. After they ate, Carly sat in bed with me and held Channing and we just chilled out and watched a little Diego. I absolutely cherished this time with my big girls and my baby. It was so sweet and relaxing and they loved it.

Daddy came to pick them up and brought their pjs and brushed their teeth, because he foresaw sleeping girls when he got home. We had fun just us 5. And yes, Carly was out cold when he got home!

The night was ok, but the accommodations aren't the most comfortable in the hospital!! The next day Matt came with the girls again around 1:30 to pick us up! I was ready to get out of there. We need our team together in one place. It is so much work juggling all the kids and Matt having to be back and forth. So home is where we needed to be! Here Carly and Chloe are babysitting for the first time. I needed help so they got to "babysit" for me! They loved it.

Channing was buckled and ready to go!

At 3:30 in the afternoon, Carly and Chloe were exhausted! These 2 days were just so overwhelming that they passed right out! I knew they would be crashing. They were just so excited for this baby they couldn't handle it! So once we got home, we wanted operation chill!!

Finley absolutely loves this baby! She is so cute with her. She wants to hold her and she is very gentle. She gives her kisses and like to show her things. She keeps her distance and doesn't smother her. I am very pleased with her reaction to all this.

All of our children! Amazing!

Getting ready to go to her 3 day check up. She got to wear her braclet we made for her.

So everything that deals with Miss Channing has been wonderful. Me, on the other hand has been a different story. When we were getting ready to leave, I was sweating alot. I couldn't believe how hot I was. Well, I started a fever of 103. It continued until Sunday and then I went to Urgent Care and they figured out I had a kidney infection. So I got on some meds and the next day headed to the urologist. So as of right now, I feel much better. The fever is gone, but we still have the whole kidney tube thing to deal with. That will be another post!!

Asian Angel

2011-03-08T03:28:00.000-08:00

I don't know if I posted about this before, but it is a cool story with a new twist. After I woke up from anesthesia from 1 of my surgeries in January, I woke up to an Asian Anesthesiaologists standing next to me and all I saw was him and lots of super bright lights. All he said was, "My wife and I will be praying for you." And he walked away. Pretty strange. I thought I was dreaming that he was an angel telling me this. So several weeks ago, I was talking to Matt and I asked him if I told him abou this man. He said yes and that I pointed him out to him afterwards. I wasn't dreaming - this really happened and I told Matt all about it (and if you know me and anesthesia, I can say some crazy stuff and not know what is going on!) So my story seemed true. I had told my friend Courtney about it too not too long ago. Well, this past Wednesday Courtney called me and said she had a cool story for me. She told me about a couple in our church whose daughter was sick and had a surgery and they were doing praise reports and the parents were telling everyone how it went well and then about this Asian Anesthesialologist that came to her after her surgery and said, "My wife and I will be praying for you." She said she couldn't believe it. She called me to compare facts and it probably was the same man that was there for both of us. Now how awesome is God to send his angels to us in that type of situation!!! It makes me so comforted to know that this man is in surgeries everyday and he makes sure that everyone knows that God is there! What an awesome way to touch people's lives. Now I know that God was with me during that time. But imagine an unbeliever waking up to this Asian Angel with bright lights all around him and hearing the words come from his mouth that he and his wife will be praying for them. What an impact! It gives me chills just thinking about it. So, pray for people like this man who come in contact with people everyday willing to touch their lives in someway.

Our new schedule

2011-03-08T02:49:00.000-08:00

We got a new book this week, Radical, by David Platt. It is so good! Well seeing how we have been trapped in the house for an entire week, and the kids have been going to bed super early due to being so sick, our household chores have been done every night before their bedtime. Usually, once they go to bed, the kitchen gets cleaned up (this is Matt's area of expertise - I clock out at bed time, but sometimes, if it is a real disaster, I will go help). Well, this week we were able to change up our routine and I like it alot better! Before they go to bed, we read them a Bible story, say their prayers and then we tuck them in. So the last thing they hear from us is a Bible story, pray for them and anything on their little hearts, and then told that they are loved. Then they lay in bed and I know they can hear everything coming from our mouths. Most nights it was cleaning the kitchen and we would chat and catch up from the day, so they just heard us talking or I would talk to my Mom on the phone. I am so glad TV isn't an issue anymore (well I will say I have been watching TV the past couple of weeks due to the large circumstances of my body, but I know I won't have time soon with my new sweetie coming!), but imagine what they would be hearing if the TV was on at 8:00 (now Survivor is our only weekly program and I do turn the volume way down because this is constantly on my mind). There is so much junk that is said on TV and who knows what they are hearing and getting out of it while going to bed. Anyways, this week we have been able to tuck them in and come straight to the living room and read Radical together. So they fall asleep listening to me read to their Daddy about how we should be better followers of Jesus Christ. Pretty cool if you ask me. If we read a book like this everynight together as adults, what does this tell our children about what we are teaching them? Exactly - that a relationship with Jesus Christ takes love, time, effort, and a constant drive to learn. After this book, I think we will read a couples book - this tells them that marriage takes work, dedication, and a whole lot of love to work at it together. Not sure what the next book will be, but if we choose a parenting book - tells them that they are loved, their parents are working towards raising them in an informed way, etc. Now they may or may not really be listening to us that intently, but we have all seen movies where the kids go to bed listening to screaming parents having their arguments and how they lay crying in their beds. I love starting our evening together with a good read. It sparks conversations and Matt and I end up spending the entire evening just chatting with each other - which is why I married my best friend, I love talking to him :) So hopefully we can keep up our new schedule - it may be shaken up a bit in the next few weeks with little Missy coming, but we are going to try (it may be perfect so Daddy can have time to just sit and hold his new baby, because you know he won't be able to when he gets home from work - he has 4 monkeys who absolutely adore him and need to play with him).

For the Love of Music

2011-03-07T09:58:00.000-08:00

When the girls were little, I started constantly playing music. We listen to kid songs, tons of Bible songs, nature songs, classical songs, etc. I just think it is soothing to hear music playing softly in the background while they play. I think it relaxes them and they play better with each other with some nice music on. Now when they were 1, they fell in love with the Wiggles. We had 2 DVD's that they would watch and dance to. Then they got into the Doodlebop's. Another group that plays music and sings. They have 1 DVD that they have and reinact almost daily. And of course, everyone in our family is named after someone on the show. They have all the costumes too, so we have alot of shows. Well a couple of weeks ago, I turned on the TV for them for a treat and we watched a show called the Fresh Beat Band (with my finger on the off switch if it wasn't any good). They really enjoyed this group of singers/dancers. So this is now their newest passion!! I have watched all the episodes and it is a good show and they are allowed to watch it and it has come at a wonderul time!! We are going on a week now of some very sick kiddos and all they want to do is lay around (I don't blame them when they have such high fevers)! I think it is very interesting how these guys have really loved music band groups. They have a passion for singing (chior is their absolute favorite thing to do) and I have no clue how to deal with this!! I can not sing, Matt doesn't even know the words to twinkle twinkle, let alone hold a tune to it, so we are at a loss. I definitely see music lessons in their future!! We may even have our own little Rifflet band!! Here they are enjoying an episode online!!

Lions

2011-03-03T09:55:00.000-08:00

Since our storm the other night and we had our discussion about Daniel and the Lion's Den, we decided to make some Dandy-lions! We have been cooped up in the house with the sickness, so a little fresh air is what we needed. They picked lots of flowers and then came home and made some lions - you know, since March comes in like a lion and out like a lamb :) I thought they were awful cute!

Hello and Goodbye Due Date

2011-03-03T07:13:00.000-08:00

Well, Tuesday, March 1st was my due date and alas once again, no baby!! My children just love me oh so much that they just want to snuggle with me longer. On Tuesday I was very down that I still hadn't had her. I am mentally done - well, just with this tube and my desire to sleep in my bed again! But now I have 2 sick girls (Carly and Chloe) with 102 fevers, so I guess I can wait a few more days until they are feeling better. Today's objective is to get out for a walk to air them out, and then lysol everything in this house! And we also have to go through these toy boxes for yard sale items - all the boxes are breaking and I think it is because they are absolutely jammed packed. These ideas all seem very ambitious, so I guess I have to get up and actually do something!! We are doing a very light load of school work this week for several reasons - 1. a lazy teacher ;) 2. we have finished alot of our work. The girls have finished K and 1st grade reading as well as their math curriculum too. So the rest of the year we will concentrate on things I don't think that they hit on and enjoy our time with the new baby - have I mentioned how much I really like homeschooling?! Anyways, just wanted to update in case anyone was checking in to see if we had a new baby yet!

Stormy Conversations

2011-02-28T16:40:00.000-08:00

Tonight we had a pretty good thunder and lightning storm. Most of the time these storms are later at night, so our kids miss out. We never talk about thunder and lightning, frankly because we have the biggest chicken of kids, so I never want to give them more information than needed :) Well Matt gets home (I was giving Chloe a shower) and Harper, Carly, and Finley were at the back glass door looking out. They informed Matt that it was blinking outside. No fears, they just thought it was cool that it was blinking. Well, then the power goes out. They were all assigned different rooms to clean, therefore, we had children spread out all over the house and we were trying to collect them all through all the loud screaming. Finley was in the furthest room and by the time I got a flashlight and got down there she was really loud! She was fine as soon as she could get out of the room and she made sure her necklace was still on!! Chloe would not stop crying, but the lights were only off for a few minutes and she calmed down. So we sat down for our Bible story, and we just so happened to be at Daniel and the lions den. After reading it, we discussed what we should do when we are scared and worried. That we can pray and God will hear us and protect us. They were really excited about that option!! So we were having a great conversation and somehow Harper's accident came up. I can't believe how much Carly and Chloe still remember from 2 years ago! We got alot of information tonight about what actually happened. The girls said that they brought the rope up in the tree house and Chloe was holding it up for them to go under. Carly went once and ducked under the rope and then Harper went down but didn't duck. They said it just wrapped around his neck and they wanted to help him. They couldn't go down the ladder, so they tried to pull the rope but he just screamed. They said they just couldn't do anything to get him off the slide. Poor things! They tried to help him, but they were stuck in the house with no option! So we talked about it all and how thankful we are for God to help us in a time of need. So all in all, a little black out stemmed some great conversations!

A little of this and that

2011-02-25T18:17:00.000-08:00

Finley's new favorite spot. If I can't find her, I know to look in the play kitchen for her. She just sits in the cabinet and pokes her little head out and smiles at me.
This girl is attached to her Daddy at the hip! He comes home from work to do some vacuuming, and she has to hold his hand while she vacuums. So cute!!!

These two crack me up. Yes they are outside playing and all their toys are in the one little tree we have in the front yard! They sure do know how to entertain themselves.

Finley has to wear her hat when she rides her horse.

And here she is dressed to impress. A dress must be worn with beads at all times! She is such a girly girl - but I don't expect anything less from all these little ladies!

Harper Goes to the Dentist

2011-02-25T17:58:00.000-08:00

On the 16th, Harper went to the dentist for the first time. He was a little nervous and told me that he was going to cry. Of course, I straightened out his way of thinking and told him he could watch the girls before he went. We practiced the night before so he knew what to expect. When we got there, he was excited!
And of course he picked the blue sunglasses to wear! He was so brave and sat very still. The hygentist couldn't get over how good he was.

He followed every direction to a T and when she left to get the dentist, he just laid there with his mouth wide open. I had to tell him to close it! He is such a big 3 year old, sometimes I forget that he is still so little, but he sure does act like a big boy! I love this boy!

100

2011-02-25T09:49:00.001-08:00

Today, February 25th, my grandma turns 100!! I have never known someone who has actually lived that long, but my grandma has done it!! When I was little, I wanted to grow up to be 100, but now that seems like a long life :) I can't imagine being that old - I mean, I am having a little difficulty on the big 30 this year! She had 6 kids - Mary Alice, Peggy, Betsy, Alberta, Ella May, and Stanley (my Dad). She has 20 grandkids (I think - I will check on this), Channing will be her 49th Great Grandchild, and 2 great great grandkids. That's alot of people! She lived through both World Wars and the Great Depression. Those just seem so long ago that it doesn't seem real that she could possibly live through that. She saw the first TV, spaceship, and was born not too many years after the Wright Brothers' first flight!! I am not a history buff by any means, these are just some of the major history events that are amazing to me to know she lived through them. Well, Happy Birthday Grandma!
I had this picture made into a card for her - Hallmark had only 1 card to choose from for 100, so I figured she would get a bunch of those :)

Oh, the Comments

2011-02-17T20:25:00.000-08:00

I love being pregnant. I love feeling my little baby do some crazy gymnastic flips in my belly and I love sharing it all with my kiddos and hubby. I love feeling the girls gently rub my stomach and the baby responding with lots of kicks. I love Finley kissing the baby and all the joy that this member already brings into our family. Yes, being pregnant is fun, but this time around and these last 2 months have been difficult to say the least. And of course with my ever growing body, the increase of comments sky rockets! This has been my latest favorite comment, "You look tired." Well, thank you! I have slept in a recliner for the past 2 months, I have a tube coming out of my back and I take care of 4 kids all day long, so thank you for the affirmation that I look tired, I needed to hear that! Or I like, "When are you due?" followed by my response, which their response is, "Man, are you sure it's not twins again?" Thank you for highlighting that I am extremely large. I didn't realize how big I was, so thanks for pointing that out for me! I know people have absolutely no idea what their words really sound like, so I don't let it get to me. There are those that do know how to speak to a pregnant lady, and to them I am greatly appreciative. Those kind words of how great you look (even if they are just being nice) means alot when you feel like you have been dragged behind a bus. And on days like today when it is 70 plus degrees out and all you want to do is put on a cute little t-shirt and play with your kids at the park, but in reality, you take your kids to the park wearing a grungy t-shirt because it is the longest one you have and still doesn't cover your entire belly, stand and watch your kids play, because the thought of getting up into that play set sounds torturous, and then come back home with blood all over it because your 18 month old busted her lip and your shoulder is where she finds her comfort. Ah, the joys of pregnancy - come on 40 weeks!!!!

(disclaimer.... this post was started at 11pm, in which I fell asleep in the middle of writing, so it may be a little jumbled and emotional, but hey, I will claim the "I'm entitled to feel this way" card!)

Crazy Love

2011-02-10T13:16:00.001-08:00

Matt and I finished reading an awesome book this past week called Crazy Love, by Francis Chan. It was very impactful to say the least. If the Holy Spirit doesn't get you while reading it, you must not have read the whole thing!! As we started to read, immediately we felt like selling everything we owned and living out of a single wide trailer! But towards the end, I realized what the book was really telling me. Crazy love inspires you not to be a lukewarm christian, but rather live life on this planet embracing each day as it comes and living it like Jesus would. Yes, some are called to go to other countries to share the gospel, some are called into ministry, and then there are people like me, whom I had to sit back and really think what my calling really is. My children. I have been given 5 sinful lives. 5 people that live with me that do not know Jesus Christ and are perfect sinners like the rest of us. Who else is supposed to teach them? I have embarked on this homeschooling journey this year and I have to say, that I have learned a lot! This is my calling right now. I am to raise these children to know the Lord and to show them how to live a Jesus centered life. Does that mean that I will never be able to go share the gospel? Absolutely not! I need to do it daily to these children and to the children of our church that I spend a lot of time with. I have full intentions of taking all our children with us on a family mission trip once they are all big enough to understand everything. So, yes at first while reading this book, I wanted to move mountains, but I am going to have to start off with my 5 mountains here at home! Deuteronomy 6:5-9 Love the Lord your God with all your heart with all your soul and with all your strength. These commandments that I give you today are to be on your hearts. Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. Tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. Write them on the doorframes of your houses and on your gates.

So now we are faced with our house decision. Do we sell or do we go? Do we buy the house that has all the space we would like at the price we need? We have decided to take our faith in the Lord and know that He has been preparing us for this journey all along. We know that we will be taken care of and that having some more space will allow me to work with these children as they get bigger and I have to teach more of them! We feel this is God's calling for our family so we are taking our giant leap of faith!! Please pray for us as we begin this journey and for the strength that we need!

Constantly Being Watched

2011-01-29T11:36:00.000-08:00

Not only am I watched 24/7 by my own children, but when out in public I am often glared down. I know I am a sight - the crazy lady with 4 little kids and one on the way, but sometimes the stares burn in the back of your head!! I went to the mall this morning (something that is never usually done on the weekends, but I had a few things I needed to do so we were just going to be in and out). So there were alot more people around than usual. I felt like I had to be on my toes at all times because of how much I am watched! I have gotten used to it over the years, I mean when you start off with twins, they are automatic head turners to begin with. The only thing that I have figured out how to deal with it, is to smile! Often seeing my family makes old people smile, so why not stop and let them chat with us and let them have their looks, they just want to enjoy my kids like I do! When people ask really silly questions, I don't get irritated, I just answer and smile and tell them a fun fact about what they are asking about. When people comment that I am: crazy, have my hands full, brave, don't know how I do it, or better you than me (yes people say these things) I simply smile and say I love it! (Side note: my favorite comments are when you compliment my children!) When the girls were little I did get a little annoyed that any shopping trip required extra time because I would get stopped. Now I know that any trip requires longer because I will get asked lots of questions. I actually do enjoy speaking to lots of strangers, because these are actually the only people I come in contact with now besides friends and church members. And I do like letting them know that I truly am happy, yes, I love my family like crazy!! I know my actions and interactions with my kiddos speak louder than words, so I know that I have to be on my toes. So now add extremely large pregnant and the stares and conversations intensify!! Every single person needed to know when I was due and what I was having! And now add a bit of a "handicap" look to me. Wow!! It was stare after stare. I never really realized how you can tell what people look at when they begin their conversations. I get looked at in the face then they look at my bag strapped to my leg and then back up at me. I don't mind it, because I know it is not permanent and I usually tell them what it is for (you know they are dying to know), but I wonder how many times we actually do that to people with handicaps. I bet that would bother people a lot if it was something that you had to live with and your situation was constantly being looked at. I have quickly become aware of it and I am going to try very hard next time I speak with someone with a handicap to constantly look at them in the eye and not "check out" what is wrong.

Are you trying to shine?

2011-01-26T13:08:00.000-08:00

I read an article today and it was really cool. I would cut and paste the article, but for some reason blogspot doesn't let me do that. Here is the jist: This boy came to a realization that the moon has no light of its own. It simply reflects the light from the sun. After a few minutes, he comments to his Mom: "That is the same way we would be without Jesus." ~Yet the good news is that you have Christ, the Light of the World in you (John 9:5)~ It made me think of this question: How do you let your light shine? Do you try to shine by yourself and think that you have your own light, or do you let Jesus shine through you? It is hard to make yourself basically transparent and just let Jesus do all the shining for you. There are times when you think you can do it all alone with no assistance or that you may not need God on this one. But the truth is we should always be letting Jesus shine through us. And I don't know about you, but I would prefer to be a full moon at that!!! None of this half moon business and the light is only partially seen. Anyways, just some food for thought and definitely a challenge for myself!

Finley and Bed

2011-01-24T09:57:00.000-08:00

Finley loves her bed. The girl stays in it all the time (which I love because with a girl that is as crazy as Miss Finley, it is nice to have a break)! We put her to bed at 7:30 - I wake her up at 8:30 - most of the time she is awake, just quietly laying down relaxing, but she doesn't make a sound so I don't know if she is awake or not. I put her down for a nap at 12:30 and I go get her around 4:30. She just loves to roll around and relax. Sometimes I go in there and she will pull a dress up dress from the floor into her bed and when I walk in, she tells me how pretty it is. The other day I went to find her to put her down for her nap and I found her in Harper's bed (above picture) snuggling and relaxing. This girl won't lay and snuggle with you at all, but if she is in her bed, she is the best snuggler in the world. The only time she will sit still is with Matt - sometimes - she LOVES her Daddy! I just had to document Finley and her love for her bed. I am a little nervous when it comes to the teenage years with her. I foresee noon wake ups and then hours in the bathroom doing her hair!! Yikes!

A shout out to my Hubby

2011-01-24T09:42:00.000-08:00

I noticed on my previous posts that I did not get to shine my hubby's halo at the past weeks events. My Matt did such a great job taking care of me as well as the kiddos. He always knows how to make me feel better and how to help me out (even if I am being cranky because of pain). He worked very hard jumping up and helping me out every time I asked and even when I didn't. He knew how to step it up to get me going and on my feet again. I love how he loves me! I am so blessed to have such a wonderful husband and I know God had us picked out for each other a long time ago. He is so caring and we all love him to pieces! We are getting ready to celebrate our 10 year anniversary this July and it is funny that 10 years ago we were battling me being in the hospital with a tube coming out of my body!!! It was chest tubes then and a kidney tube now!
Thank you Matt for always being here for me and trying your hardest to make me better, even when you have absolutely no clue what to do! I love when you do little things to help me out and that you come straight home from work, love on your family and then sit in the kitchen cleaning so I don't have to. You never let us know that you are run down or need a break, you just do everything and anything to make the five of us happy! We love you Matt and THANK YOU!

Update

2011-01-20T12:23:00.000-08:00

Well, I have been home for a little over a week now, and I must say, I have been needing to get back into my groove! I have been sleeping great - actually better than before because I don't have to get up 5 times in the night to go to the bathroom!! I can pretty much do everything now, I just take a couple breaks during the day to rest my body! I will have my tube for about 2 weeks after I have the baby and then they will look into these kidney stones and how to get rid of them - hopefully forever!!! So life over here is getting back to normal and school is back in session.

Our offer on our house has fallen through, so we are back to square one! Everything was going so smoothly and the people were even going to let us rent back until our house was done being built, but they heard that there was some drama with the sewer plant in this neighborhood (something that doesn't effect us at all) so they didn't want to have to deal with it. Such a bummer!! I really don't want to have to start cleaning for showings again!!! But it looks like I will have to. My heart was so ready to be done here and to start at our new house, but those just weren't the right people and our house is getting ready to start year #3 on the market - yipee!! Well, that is enough of getting down on this, I need to go get my sweet Finley out of her bed, take her outside, and then later on I will open my Bible and be ready for what the Lord has to tell me about all this. I know it will be exactly what I need!!! I'm so glad I have Him to turn to for guidance, because I know that I wouldn't be able to do this on my own!

My latest Adventure

2011-01-12T07:19:00.000-08:00

Well, if you haven't figured it out by now, nothing that I do is small scale by any means! It all started Monday (the 3rd) night around 11:30. I woke up with this pain in my lower left back. I could not get relief! I was up all night. I went in the recliner and tried laying there, still no relief. I did sleep 1 hour when Matt made me take a Tylenol and put a heating pad on it. I had a Dr. apt that morning anyways, so I knew I just had to make it to then. I drove to the Dr.'s - in the worst pain and waited. The receptionist asked if I was ok - I told her no and they scooted me back. Well, the Dr. told me I had a bladder infection and sent me home with some pain relievers and an antibiotic. I got them filled immediately trying to get some type of relief. I called my sister, Nichole, to meet me at my parents to help me with the kids because I was in so much pain (our inspection on the house was taking place that morning and we couldn't go home). After lunch, I took them home (screaming and crying the entire drive - I don't know how I drove at this point) I put the 2 little ones to bed, and then sat crying not knowing how to get rid of this pain. Well, Mom and Matt had called at this point and both came to my rescue. I called the Dr. office to see what to do and they scheduled me an ultrasound to see if it was kidney stones. I could not wait for that appointment due to the amount of pain, so Matt and I took off and went to the hospital. We waited and got the ultrasound done and then mysteriously my pain subsided. Well, the ultra sound tech girl came and told me that I did have stones (2 on each side- at least they couldn't tell too well) and that I had to go up to labor and delivery. At this time, I felt good and I wanted to go home, but they admitted me and I spent the night. I got out Wednesday morning around 9:00 am. We then proceeded to make our appointment for that day and go pick out all the stuff for our new house. Right before we left, the pain kicked in again. I filled the pain killers, took one, and sat for 3 hours choosing the things for the house. (Our house may have carpet on the ceiling :) The pain was getting intense and I knew things were going to get worse. So at 7:30 that night, we called in back up and Matt and I went to the hospital. (I was about to leave the door unlocked with all the kids in bed and just leave them until my parents got there, but Dad arrived quickly) I was admitted and given pain meds. Thursday: pain all day, tried to figure out what to do. Spoke with a urologist and scheduled a surgery for Friday morning. Friday: Stint put in via surgery in the am and then I was ok that day. We thought we had the problem solved. Friday night, severe pain came in!!! I felt like I was going to explode! I felt like a growing tick! Pain killers weren't working so they had to put another IV in and I was given a clicker to click every 10 minutes to give me medicine. I woke up every 30 min for the rest of the night clicking for meds. Saturday: I was so drugged up that I just slept and we knew that we still had a problem. Sunday: They tried to get me on oral meds - I was given pills that were supposed to last 4 hours and after 1 I was in severe pain. We called the urologist and told him the Neph tube was what we would have to do. The best part of this day was that I had to get an ultrasound of my kidneys and bladder and when the sweetest ultrasound lady scanned my bladder, the baby was just smiling away (ok, I just pretended she was smiling at me). It was the best to see her and know that she was ok in there and to see her little heart beating away. Next step:
Ambulance ride to Presby downtown where they would have to do the surgery. They brought me right to the operating room. The reason why all these Kidney stone issues were mysterious was because I am pregnant and they can't do all the xrays and regular stone procedures on me. They did have to xray me for this surgery but they said they would be fast and do as minimal as possible. Ok - so this procedure was horrific!! I had to be awake!! Sedated, but I felt alot! Now, it also had to be done on my STOMACH!!!! Yes, at 34 weeks pregnant I had to lay face down. I was on the stretcher and the PA guy said, we are just going to roll you like a log onto the table and he put down like 2 folded pillow cases down like they were pads. I was yelling!!!! Luckily they didn't shut the door and Matt came flying to my rescue. He took control and grabbed my bottom and they shoved pillows under me, then he said, "Becca your doing a pushup!" They then stuck more pillows and made a nice little nest. That was stressful! The medic guy even had to assist! What a production. As soon as it was over, I was put back on the stretcher and got a ride back to Presby Matthews. That night the pain was subsiding! Monday: Stint removal surgery. That afternoon the pain was all gone and Matt and I worked on getting me mobile. I was extremely sore and weak but no horrible pain!!! I left Tuesday - in the ice from the snow storm.

The Baby? Well she did great the whole time. Her heart rate was wonderful. I did have to get a shot twice to calm down my contractions, but that is probably just from all the trauma. So all in all, hopefully she will be ok from all the meds, but she is fully developed so that is a good thing!

We are so lucky to have such wonderful friends and family. There were people supporting my troops left and right here at home. Dinner was brought every night so my Mom didn't have to cook and worry about that. Chloe asked me about it tonight and was wondering why everyone brought food. I explained to her they were helping everyone out and then she said, "And did they pray for you to get better Mom?" I love it! They know that I got better because of all the prayers - it is so great to know there were so many people out there praying for me! The kids were happy and well taken care of by Grandma and Grandpa. (I knew Mom would get in the grove, she is very qualified for the job :) I will have to admit, I was very scared to come home. I have this tube coming out of my side with a drain bag attached to it. (I will post a pic of this later once I am clean - I can't take a shower either so Matt and I are tackling this cleaning thing tonight!) It is hard to move around. I can't bend. I can't get out of chairs. But sitting at the dinner table together last night was the greatest!! Yes, I cried all night because I finally had time to react to everything, but now I am ready to heal! The big kids have alot of questions, but understand. Finley is a little off, but that is completely understandable for a 17 month old (not to say that she still has to spend alot of time on the naughty mat now to get back to reality)! I am so thankful to not be in that pain anymore! It was awful! So I will have this tube coming out of my side until I deliver the baby (not sure when they will take it out) and I just have to adjust how we do things around here for the next few weeks. But awesome thing is we don't have to move!!! We have prayed the past 2 years for the right people to buy our house, and these people are going to let us close on this house in 2 weeks and then rent it back to them until our house is built!!! God answers our prayers in the best ways, the waiting is just tough sometimes!! It is so great that in times like these, when it is all over, you can just sit back and reflect and smile because you know you were well taken care of in HIS hands! The healing process is going to be tricky because my belly is only getting bigger and the end of pregnancy comes with its own set of fun complications, but we sure are going to have a wonderful baby by the end of all this and I CAN NOT WAIT to hold her now especially!

Angels

2010-12-31T11:02:00.000-08:00

We had a lot of discussions recently about angels. The girls were very interested in them. So we looked them up in the Bible, I read stories about them and they learned quite a bit about angels. The other morning we were laying in bed together - Matt had already gone to work. Chloe asked me, "Where's Daddy?" "At work" I said. After a while she said, "Well, it's very early I bet there is an angel watching him. It is dark outside." It was so sweet. She wanted to make sure her Daddy was protected since he had to leave so early in the morning. They have said it other times when we are in the car and I just love to hear them!

Poem

2010-12-30T13:55:00.000-08:00

A poem I found:

Twas the night before Jesus Came

'Twas the night before Jesus came and all through the house

Not a creature was praying, not one in the house.

Their Bibles were lain on the shelf without care

In hopes that Jesus would not come there.

The children were dressing to crawl into bed,

Not once ever kneeling or bowing a head.

And Mom in her rocker with baby on her lap

Was watching the Late Show while I took a nap.

When out of the East there arose such a clatter,

I sprang to my feet to see what was the matter.

Away to the window I flew like a flash

Tore open the shutters and threw up the sash!

When what to my wondering eyes should appear

But angels proclaiming that Jesus was here.

With a light like the sun sending forth a bright ray

I knew in a moment this must be The Day!

The light of His face made me cover my head

It was Jesus! returning just like He had said.

And though I possessed wordly wisdom and wealth

I cried when I saw Him in spite of myself.

In the Book of Life which He held in His hand

Was written the name of every saved man.

He spoke not a word as He searched for my name;

When He said "It's not here" my head hung in shame.

The people whose names had been written with love

He gathered to take His Father above.

With those who were ready He rose without a sound

While all the rest were left standing around.

I fell to my knees, but it was too late;

I had waited too long and this sealed my fate.

I stood and I cried as they rose out of sight;

Oh, if only I had been ready tonight.

In the words of this poem the meaning is clear;

The coming of Jesus is drawing near.

There's only one life and when comes the last call

We'll find that the Bible was true after all!

Are you ready?

White Christmas Night

2010-12-26T11:16:00.000-08:00

For the first time since I have lived in the south, it snowed on Christmas Day!! It started around 8:00 pm and this is what it looked like this morning (the day after Christmas). I made Matt go out and take a picture of the house with the Christmas lights on! It was so pretty out and I wanted to remember our last Christmas in this house with a beautiful picture! The kids were so excited to see the winter wonderland when they woke up! And they know the drill - outside first thing!! You never know when it will melt away down here, so as soon as you are up, you need to be out!!
The big three were out first with Daddy (he didn't have to leave for work right away so he got to stay and play too)!
Finley got dressed next. She was cracking me up. She wouldn't put her arms down - I guess with this many layers of clothing you can't. She was excited to step foot in the fluffy white stuff. She didn't walk far, but she was interested!

Carly had to take Finley down the hill in the sled! Finley loved it and wanted to do more. She is a trooper. I was able to put my snow bibs on even though I couldn't zip them!

The snow was as deep as her boots!

Lots of Snow fun!

Christmas Day

2010-12-26T10:47:00.000-08:00

Carly and Chloe got Leapster's from Uncle Kris and Aunt Gina on Christmas Eve so we told them that when they woke up in the morning they could play them in our room. They got up around 7:15 and played them for a good 45 minutes. Matt and I got to relax with them. Then around 8:00 we brought Harper into our room and told them we were going into the living room. Chloe said, "Oh, to open presents." I love how it wasn't a big mad obnoxious rush to go get gifts. We spent the next hour or so opening presents. The first ones they opened were the ones they bought each other and us. We had taken them to the Dollar tree to go shopping and they each bought each other some very thoughtful gifts. They also bought everyone gifts from Sparks. I love the looks on their faces as we all opened them. Daddy also took them shopping for me and they got some very thoughtful things. Chloe bought be a plate because a while back I broke the one on the counter. She remembered that and told Matt that is what she wanted to buy me! So thoughtful! We enjoyed our morning watching them open everything.

Finley got a baby in her stocking! She loves it! She kept hugging and kissing it.

Harper got a bike! They walked into the living room and he was so excited! Especially since it was blue! The girls escorted him around the house and were so excited for him. They didn't even care about unwrapping something. They were just so happy to show him the ropes of a bike!
This about sums it up for Christmas morning. Lots of busy bodies (see why there aren't very many pictures)! Finley got new cups and she sat in the kitchen feeding her new dog she got from Grandma and Grandpa. She was not about to let those cups go!

Carly and Chloe decided to decorate themselves while we went to Grandma Kay's and Grandpa Eddie's house. They always find a way to entertain themselves!! We spent the morning over there and having lunch. Lots of Christmas fun!

Finley before bed. She loves this hat so we had to take a picture of her in it. Don't you just want to squeeze her!

Christmas Eve 2010

2010-12-26T10:28:00.000-08:00

Our Christmas Eve festivities started around 11:00. We went over to Mom and Dads and all the kids got to play for a while. Finley took a nap at Oma's while I went with Nichole, Kris and Gina to the new neighborhood to show them. We had a very nice time with everyone and the kids were nice and worn out after all that playing. We snacked all day! I love spending time with them. Here is our family!! I cannot believe this picture turned out as good as it did! Love it!

Finley - words can't describe her!

Daddy with his girls!

All the kids - 8 grandkids, 8 and under and growing!

Uncle Matt thought he was tricky wrapping Connor's present. He wanted to give him a run using every different type of tape he owned. Connor was up for the challenge until the end and he had his Daddy do it!

My Dad made Harper this gift. He absolutely LOVES it! It is just a piece of wood with screws in it. He uses a screwdriver and unscrews them and then screws them back. Great idea Grandma and Grandpa!!

A little Random

2010-12-26T10:15:00.000-08:00

Here are just a few random shots

Harper insists on sleeping like he is in a cacoon. He wraps up so tight! I think it is cute :)
Finley got suckered into playing dress up with the girls! She kept saying pretty, but it didn't last too long!

One thing that I will not miss is this!! Our printer is on the shelf in the laundry room - we have stuff crammed everywhere. So in order for me to copy something, I have to get out the step stool, step on the dryer and then make my copies! It will be very nice to have an office for all this stuff!!!

Hair

2010-12-26T10:06:00.000-08:00

Carly and Chloe spend hours a day doing their Barbies and babies' hair putting as many hair bows as possible in them. So I decided that they could do mine. They accomplished putting an entire tub of hair accessories in my hair within a few minutes. I love the way it felt! I had my eyes closed the whole time. They kept asking me why they were closed and I told them that is what you do when you get pampered. So relaxing!
Carly strategically placing a clip!

The Call!

2010-12-26T09:47:00.000-08:00

On December 17th, we got the call from Carol, our Realtor! We have an offer on our house!!!! I couldn't believe it! Shocked doesn't even describe it. We countered their offer and they accepted it the next day. So on the 18th we officially went under contract! We have been waiting for 2 years (in February) and it amazes me how God's timing is perfect. This whole time we have been praying for the right people to find our house and they seem pretty great so far. They even called us on Monday and told us that we could rent back our house after we close on January 26th!!! An option I didn't even know existed! So we can have extra time in our home! Now we haven't discussed all the details yet, we may know more this week, but that would be amazing if we could at least stay here until the baby comes! We went looking for houses that were for sale that weekend and we just couldn't find the right fit for us. We kept thinking of Houston Ridge - the neighborhood we found last year that we actually had a contract on a house, but it went up because we didn't sell ours. There are only 35 lots in there. We were the second ones in the neighborhood last year! Now, well there are only 6 lots left!! 4 of which haven't been released so we were calling them trying to figure out if we could get one. Well, the day we got the offer, one lot became available. We thought we would get it, but it wouldn't accommodate a pool that we want. So, unfortunately we had to swipe a lot out from under someone who was under contingency and Christmas Eve we got the call that the lot was ours!!!! YAY!! We will have room for our little tribe! The lot itself is 1.5 acres! We have a contract on it and it looks like it won't be done until May! Yikes! But so worth the wait!! I'll take waiting for months if we can get exactly what we want. The kids are so excited and so are we. This will be an eventful few months! Here are some pictures of the lot

Lot 23 is a corner lot - not our prime location, but like I said there are only 35 houses in this neighborhood and this lot is in the back, so traffic shouldn't be bad on the road. But I will sacrifice location for everything else we get!
This is where the driveway will be and the house clearing - did I mention there are trees!!! I love wooded lots! It is just way to hot down here to not have shade!

Annual Tree Campout

2010-12-26T09:40:00.000-08:00

It has been tricky trying to plan our annual Christmas Tree Camp out this year! We actually had 7 showings on our house in 1 week, so pitching a tent in the living room wasn't going to happen. But we managed to squeeze in the fun night right before Christmas. The kids blew up their own air mattresses and got themselves all ready. They had books, flashlights, animals, etc. all in their little corners of the tent. They love sleeping next to the tree with the lights on! They all slept great and are waiting for the next camp out!

The annual Santa Outing

2010-12-17T13:07:00.000-08:00

We took the kids to the annual bravery outing! Each year they have to pump themselves up for this 1 picture with Santa. It is rather amusing. They don't speak to the man, they don't hang around at all actually, they just smile and take off!

Reilly and Reagan always go with us, so here they are! They are getting so big, they barely could fit on his lap!
And here is our crew. Finley was waving to Santa the whole time, but as soon as I put her on his lap, she SCREAMED!! I took her off, and she turned around and waved some more. She was not sitting with that man! So now all 3 girls will not sit with Santa! That works for me - no sitting on old men with beards laps!! Harper on the other hand, has to show his bravery and do the impossible!!

Then we always ride the train after Santa. Harper is too little to ride by himself, so the man MADE me ride the train! I tried to get out of it, but he wouldn't bend the rules. He was going to let him ride in a car with another family, but Harper was about to break down when he realized no one would be with him. So I sucked it up and paid the extra $3 for myself (yes, I had to pay) and I took my boy in the blue train! There are just some things you have to do for your kids and for this boy, I guess I could ride the train!

And all the girls! They were talking the entire time to everyone around, except Reilly. She barked!! Another year of fun memories with their cousins!

The Nutcracker

2010-12-17T12:45:00.000-08:00

I had the opportunity to take the girls to see the Nutcracker yesterday! We got free tickets from someone in our homeschool group. It was so fun to take my big girls out and about doing something just for them. It made me realize how big they are getting! They are such funny girls and we really enjoyed our day together. I was nervous about the weather, but it ended up being fine and we only got lost walking to the theatre! We ended up ice skating down the sidewalks of Charlotte only to wind up back where we started. It was an adventure!

Getting ready to get our seats. They were so excited to go to the ballet!

T minus 10 minutes! The show was beautiful. It even had a snow scene that was breath taking. It was an educational performance, so it was only and hour and 15 minutes, which was perfect for their attention span. Now, of course, they want to be in the Nutcracker!

A huge Christmas tree in Bank of America - they made be get the whole tree in the picture so they could show Dad and Harper how big it was! After the show, we went out to lunch and finished our girls day with full bellies. I love my sweet Carly and Chloe!

Christmas Time is Coming

2010-12-17T12:25:00.001-08:00

December 15th was a big day for Carly and Chloe! They started choir at our church, and this was the big Christmas performance. They absolutely LOVE Ms. Kim and singing with her. For the past few months, Wednesdays have been their favorite day of the week, because they get to see her! So, needless to say, this performance was so exciting for them!

They had to make sure they looked their absolute best, so they called on Oma to come and paint their nails red to match their outfit! Oma was happy to come at their request!
Getting ready to leave!

During the show they had puppets - they thought they were silly!

All the boys played instruments during the first and last song. It was rather humorous!

The choir! They all did so well!

And their favorite person - Ms. Kim!!

Aww

2010-12-17T12:09:00.000-08:00

We actually got all 4 kids to look at the camera and look decent the other morning before church!! Just had to share!!

Can you Imagine?

2010-12-14T05:56:00.000-08:00

After telling the Christmas story a million times, I realized something. Imagine holding your sweet baby as it is wrapped in swaddling clothes. What are swaddling clothes? Well, they are used to wrap the limbs of the dead! (They also believed that the swaddling clothes would help their babies bodies grow straight). Crazy! Holding your baby and marveling at his beauty but to have that visual of his death right away! And what about the gifts you get when you have a baby? Diapers, wipes, cute outfits, essentials, etc. Mary got Myrrh, an incense you burn at a burial, to represent His death. So from the get go, the miracle of Jesus was reminding the world that He came to die for OUR sins. Awesome!