Folding Laundry

K's, 2's and J's

2012-02-01T10:54:00.000-06:00

I love the moments that just "happen". It wasn't a planned "fun night", just Brookie asking me to play slapjack with her. I think one of my sisters taught her, because she knew how to play and I'm not much of a game person so I definitely didn't teach her. Nate was gone for the evening so it was just me and the kids home.

"Ok, we are slapping K's, 2's and J's".

As usual, he wanted to be as involved as possible.

She got this adorable set of cards for Christmas :)

After a little while, we got all crazy with the camera...

Right before a baby comes I usually get frantic about spending time with who is here now, before life drastically changes. Seems I should always make more of an effort to spend more time with my loves--it's a lot of fun!

Wide angle lenses are NOT good for close ups--but it's the only way to get fun shots like this.

Joe was very possessive of his cards. We skipped about 20 turns for him because he just wanted to hold onto them. The reasoning of a 2 year old cannot be understood!

Later on, when daddy came home, we all played a game with him and then Nate played a few more with the kids. I love the ages my kids are right now--it's easy and fun! In about a month there will be a newborn thrown into the mix so I'm enjoying this time while I can. :)

By the way, Happy February! My January was full of lots of scripture and gospel music and the spirit of our home was so enjoyable. I want to keep the momentum going, but more on that later.

Enjoy your Wednesday!

A Day in the Life: Week 4

2012-01-30T13:12:00.000-06:00

Wow--we are already completing week 4 of the photo a day project! So far, the pictures are staying organized in a folder on my computer and I'm keeping up with blogging, posting the day's as they come and publishing when the week is complete. I hope I can keep it up for the next 48 weeks! :)

Monday, January 23rd: The kids climbed right up wanting to do the dishes after dinner, and daddy was helping too. Going into month 9 of pregnancy, I'll take all the help I can get! :)

Tuesday, January 24th: Reading to my sweet babies before bed (and looking like a chipmunk!)

Wednesday, January 25th: Breakfast for dinner :)

Thursday, January 26th: Someone got into the lip gloss and was very proud of themselves

Friday, January 27th: Playing Slap-jack with my kids...hilarious and so much fun!

Saturday, January 28th: He found the warm sunny spot on the stairs

Sunday, January 29th: Because of how involved I am in music at church, I'm not often able to work in the nursery. Tonight I did and it was a lot of fun :)

If any of my readers are doing this, I would love to see a link to where you post it--it's a lot of fun!

The Balancing Act, Good Coffee and Sweet Kids

2012-01-25T17:17:00.001-06:00

It seems my photography business has taken off--which after over 2 years is a wonderful thing. I couldn't be more thrilled. However, I need to find a good balance in the whole owning a business/mothering kids/cleaning house, etc.I'm feeling a little overwhelmed with it all (I think overwhelmed is my favorite word these days) but I'll get there. And the most important thing is, my walk with God is stronger than it has been in while and that is what keeps me going most of the time!

So, because it's Wednesday, because it's raining and because this post must be more random than it already is, a few photos to share...

This coffee is absolutely amazing. My friend Feli discovered it at Wal Mart and bought it while she was here. I highly recommend it if you have a Keurig! Best part--she left me the leftovers :)

I'm branching out in the hair department these days. Oh Yes. You never knew my sweet moves were all about two-braids-connected-in-the-middle. Still don't have the whole "french" thing down yet, but we're working on it. I figure if I only have 1 girl (for now) I better get the cuteness factor down in this area.

Brookie told me the other day I needed to get some "huger shirts." Not sure how much "huger" than this you can get--but at 34 weeks I still have at least 4-5 weeks of growing to go. Hmm. Not sure where that baby is gonna go! If it makes it any more to my face than it already has I'm sure it (my face--not the baby) will explode!

This guy continues to entertain, talk continually and call every restaurant "chik-a-lay" in the cutest voice possible. Can't believe he'll be a big brother soon!

Lastly, my kids have been playing-alone-a lot lately. I'm "working" almost every day (editing sessions) and I'm so thankful that they are best friends and play so well together!

Happy Wednesday!

A Day in the Life: Week 3

2012-01-23T11:26:00.000-06:00

I am loving the picture a day challenge. Having a little memory from every single day, no matter how small, is really special! It hasn't even been a month, but it's already becoming a habit of something I'm conscious of doing each day.

So without further ado... Week Three!

Monday, January 16th: The kids were "drinking" coffee..and now we see where they got it :)

Tuesday, January 17th: Happy 25th birthday to me! In my lap sits the 3 ;) most precious gifts God could have ever given me.

Wednesday, January 18th: A birthday dinner at my favorite Mexican place and free dessert nachos...doesn't get much better than that!

Thursday, January 19th: Enjoying a beautiful, sunny, 75 degree day at the park

Friday, January 20th: All day outlet shopping--they were so good!

Saturday, January 21st: Who can resist that tiny pink nose?

Sunday, January 22nd: Celebrating my 25th birthday with sweet friends--a great way to end the week :)

My Birthday Week

2012-01-22T16:20:00.000-06:00

I celebrated my 25th birthday this week. 25 is a big deal to me--you know, that whole quarter of a century thing. I feel old, but then in another way, I've been married for 5 1/2 years and we have almost 3 kids. So maybe it's about time I became a little older. :) I got to celebrate for the whole week because one of my best friends, Felicia, was here for a visit!

This is what happens when friends visit for your birthday. They make chocolate butter cookies with peanut butter frosting...they were as good as they sound. No, better, actually.

My sweetest gifts of all :).

My birthday itself was pretty uneventful. We shopped for few hours, had lunch, and had a little party that night. The week itself was the best part--I love having other adults around to talk to all day (which she may not have as appreciated as much;).

Another night, we made these deep dish chocolate chip cookies. Tip: make a few more than the recipe calls for, because they are better just a little thinnner. And chill the dough! It makes a diffference! They are amazing!

Proof that I'm still trying to eat somewhat healthy, despite the previous pictures. (Hey, it was my birthday!) This "Skinny Cheeseburger soup" was awesome. (Can't find the link right now--I'll insert it later). I used part ground turkey and part 96/4 ground beef, added zuchinni, topped it off with low fat cheese and tons of cayenne--which, of course, is optional.

The weather here was unseasonably warm this week. We walked to the park and let the kids play while we talked and solved the worlds problems.

When we came home for lunch, the kids had a little picnic outside. Seriously, 75 and sunny in January?! How can you beat that?!

The day before Feli had to leave, we went out for breakfast and then a nice long day of Outlet shopping. Having Nate at breakfast with us was a real treat. :)

It was such a fun week. I have SO much to be grateful for--I'm so blessed! :) Have a great week, everyone!

Baby #3, Months 7 & 8!

2012-01-19T16:40:00.000-06:00

Once again, I've gotten a little behind in pregnancy updates, so I'm posting 2 months in 1. :)

Month 7

28.5 weeks :)

At my 28 week glucose test I tested positive for gestational diabetes, but it's pretty common to get a false positive after the one hour test. I knew this was probably the case since I was only about 3 points over, but of course I had to test again. Since I was going out of town I had to prick my finger, read my sugar levels and record them 4 times a day for a week. This happened to be over Christmas week so I was eating more sugar than normal and I never once was high. Sometimes I was even a little lower than the "normal" range! Praise the Lord everything was normal! I grew a lot in month 7, and right around 30 weeks started noticing Braxton Hicks pretty often. I get so happy each time I have one because I know my body is preparing and practicing to get that baby out. :)

Month 8

32.5 weeks

I officially.feel.huge. :) Although I've measured 2 weeks behind for the last few months, I still feel like I'm a lot bigger than I usually am. I'm hoping that the fact that I'm measuring small might mean I'll have a small baby, but by the looks of me I can't be so sure. ;)

I'm still feeling great, besides the normal sore feet/tiredness. (I'm sure staying up until 1am doesn't help that). One thing I'm SO thankful for is that my back has not hurt more than it normally does. Two years ago at this time I was in excruciating pain with a herniated disk and the fact that I can still function like normal and even exercise on an almost daily basis at 8 months pregnant is truly a gift from God that I do not take for granted.

Nothing else has changed much since last month, other than braxton hicks becoming occasionally crampy (which my Dr. said is fine, as long as it's not regular) and this also makes me happy to know that my body is preparing to get this baby out in a month and a half or so. The more prep it does now, the easier it will be later! :) Or at least I hope so!

Until next month...

A Day in the Life: Week 1 and 2

2012-01-17T15:46:00.000-06:00

I wrote about my project to take a photo a day for the whole year. I titled it "A Day in the Life" because they will mostly be fun candid shots from our daily life. I'm hoping to post weekly, but since I was out of town, here are the first two weeks. Enjoy!

January 1: Michael was reaching for Granpy's hand and I happened to catch the candid moment of him leaning down to hold his hand and talk to him.

January 2nd: Watching the snow fall at Poppy and Nonnie's

January 3rd: Sweet, laughing Lydia

January 4th: He wanted chocolate but had to take a bite of his salad first. This is his distraught face. Sadly, he never got the chocolate and just ended up going to bed because he wouldn't nibble on a tiny piece of lettuce. ;p

January 5th: There was NO snow, but Poppy took us to a place that makes snow and there wasn't anyone else there! Fake snow is really icy so the kids had more fun sliding down on their rear ends. :)

January 6th: My growing, 31.5 week belly.

January 7th: Our annual bestie's weekend! Full of laughs, the best talks at 4:00am, shopping, chick food...and Starbucks, of course :)

January 8th: Dad's incredible homemade Italian bread. Accompanied by Sunday sauce of course :)

January 9th: Dinner with my family. We are serious about our food.

January 10th: On our way back home to Texas! We are happy that daddy is here or we might just stay at Poppy and Nonnie's forever ;)

January 11th: I'll admit it. I forgot to take a (good) picture this day. Instead, I had taken this and texted it to one of my friends because we have a common love for hummus and sun dried tomatoes. So, needless to say, it had to become my picture of the day! ;)

January 12th: I had actually already taken a super cute picture on my camera, but when I saw my kids waiting for daddy to come home like this, I snapped the picture on my phone and couldn't resist making it the POTD. It makes me smile.

January 13th: After a Dr.'s appointment, we stopped at Chick-fil-A for lunch before grocery shopping. The firetruck parked out front was pretty cool...and Joe insisted that his leftover chicken strips be in the picture too. Seriously, he wouldn't take the picture unless he was holding them!

January 14th: Brookie wants a picture of her, Joe and her new tea set. Joe has other plans for how the picture should turn out.

January 15th: My handsome little stud in his new fedora hat

Sure, Dude

2012-01-12T15:07:00.000-06:00

This little guy is full of it. He is constantly coming up with new phrases and words that make me do a double take, like, "did he really just say that?" Here's a few things he said recently that I wanted to write down so I didn't forget.

On the flights this week, the kids were really good. I can say that because it's not always the case. I even fell asleep for a few minutes while they sat quietly and read! Anyway, a lady turned around when the plane landed and commented on how good they were. Then she looked at Joe and said, "You are SO cute!"

Without skipping a beat, he replied, "I know."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

One of our landings was a little rough and we"crashed" to the ground pretty suddenly. "I LOVE IT!" yelled my crazy 2 year old.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Brookie was very tired and started crying in the car at one point because she had unbuckled herself and Nate told her she needed to get buckled. She got a hold of herself pretty quickly, and Joe Joe reported, "sissy doesn't have an at-er-tude".

~~~~~~~~~~~

Driving in the car on the way home from church, the kids and I were having a conversation about the verse "be ye kind," and what it means. I told them we needed to be kind and sweet when we talk to each other.

"OK?" I said.

"OK," Joe Joe replied. And then louder, "SISSY! SAY OK!" (hmm..well that was kind)

I told them that it makes Jesus very happy when we are sweet to each other, so God was obviously on their minds.

After a few minutes of silence, Joe said, "Mommy I'm happy! God made me happy." Then, he talked to God about it.

"GOD?!!" (God obviously replied, because Joey's next words were) "Sure. Sure dude."

We may have the kindness thing down, but we might need to work on respect in the area of talking to God.

Goals for 2012

2012-01-11T13:29:00.000-06:00

Ahh...the New Year. There is nothing like it. A fresh start, a clean slate, lots of ambitions and plans to do better and really change this year. Physically and spiritually. Time to forget the better person we didn't become and look forward to how we hope to transform our lives in the coming 365 days.

Mary and I on New Year's Eve after our festivities had died down :)

But that's just it--it is 365 days. That's a lot of days, especially if you make big plans to exercise and lose weight, or read your Bible more, pray more, memorize more, etc, etc. By January third, it's easy to get overwhelmed at the big plans you had to get healthy while stuffed full of pizza and sugar cookies. New Years resolutions usually take a lot of commitment and a real determination to truly change your daily life.

Anna and I on NYE

I've learned with myself to "aim low". That might sound awful, but if I really want to get accomplished what I promise myself I will on January 1st, I need to set realistic goals for myself. This year I have 3 things I really want to do. They aren't big things, but just a few things that I would love to accomplish this year.

The kiddo's and I on the plane, going to Poppy and Nonnie's a few weeks ago

My goals for 2012:
1) Listen to Psalms 119 each day in January. (on top of my regular reading). I was very convicted about the word of God in a message by one of my Pastor's on the last Wednesday of the year, so I thought this would be a really good way to get more of the word pumped into me. It takes about 20 minutes a day and so far I'm really enjoying it! I can do it while I clean up or do laundry, but if I can read and listen at the same time? Even better! This isn't a "yearly" goal, but I'll see how it goes for January and I may pick a different chapter/chapters for every month this year!
2) Take a photo a day and make it into an album at the end of the year. This is one of those things I've always been scared of doing because I *knew* I would fail. I've decided that this is the year and I'm going to try my very best to do it. Some days are easy, because I take dozens of pictures. Other days my camera doesn't leave the bag. However, I do always have my phone with me, so phone pictures count as well. :)

Homemade tomato soup with parmesan cheese and lots of crushed red pepper--perfect lunch on a cold day.

My third goal (but I should have written it first) is to draw closer to God so he will draw closer to me and ultimately I'll be able to be more sensitive to the Holy Spirit this way. It sounds cliche', I know, because everyone wants to draw closer to the Lord, but it's a goal so I'm putting it on here no matter how similar it may be to everyone else's.

My adorable little nephew and I on Christmas Eve

I have other things I want to change, of course. I assure you I'll have big weight loss/get in shape goals starting in March. ;) I want to re-do a few things around the house and who doesn't want to be a better wife and Mom? But I'm taking it in stride, one thing at a time, to slowly change over the course of this year.

My Christmas present from my kids--Brooklynne picked out this sterling silver ring all by herself. It's now one of my most prized possessions!

Who knows--I'll probably come back next year with the same goals for 2013 because I didn't accomplish them in 2012, but good intentions are better than none, right? ;) I realize it's only January 11th, but I'm still excited about the small changes I'm working on in my life right now.

The only time I had to drive "in snow"--if you can call it that because the roads were so clear. The weather in NY has been unseasonably warm with almost no snow!

If you would like to share some of your resolutions for this coming year in a comment, I would love to read it! (As I love to read each and every one of your comments!)

Cookies and Christmas Eve

2012-01-02T13:11:00.000-06:00

As soon as I arrive home we get right to Christmas festivities.

First things first--baking!

(a break to throw in a picture of our Christmas stockings to be filled for 2 parents, 9 kids, 2 sons-in-law and 3 grandkids. Probably our favorite part of opening gifts :)

A small part of what we made in 2 days of baking!

Poppy loves to tell stories, and the kids love to listen. And I love this picture.

On Christmas Eve morning, we opened presents from siblings. Each year we draw names and pick one person to buy for. Because there are 11 of us, including our husbands, it takes a while to open them. :)

We always go one person at a time (even the kids) so that everyone can see and enjoy what the others are receiving.

Nate and I had our kids open their gifts from us, and they gave daddy his presents too.

And what would Christmas be without one good family picture?!

Michael giving Nonnie her present from him

My kids LOVE their Uncle Pat :)

Our Christmas Eve tradition is having an open house for the whole church. This year was the first year my dad made pizzas. He also smoked pork and a turkey...yum! All of the guest bring their best side dishes, desserts and drinks and it turns into quite the feast!

Brooklynne has made a few friends here now that she's a little older. Really special!

The feast all laid out. The food eventually grew to fill another whole table and even onto the counters. There was a lot.

Of course, spending the holidays with my family and best friends is really special for me, too. Not sure how much longer it will last so I cherish every year that we are able to make it!

Christmas day is a whole 'nother post in itself...I will slowly but surely get my holidays posted!

The long Awaited White Stuff

2011-12-28T16:08:00.000-06:00

I hope you all had a very Merry Christmas this year! Leading up to ours was a little bit of a whirlwind, but once the plane landed and I saw my family I breathed a sigh of relief--time to relax and really enjoy the week before Christmas! We baked cookies, wrapped presents, enjoyed their anual church concert (with many visitors in attendance!), did a little last minute shopping and just enjoyed the Christmas spirit. The strange thing was, it was all done with fairly warm weather and no snow! We had a green, sunny, beautiful Christmas and finally today--over a week later--we saw the beautiful white stuff on the ground. My kids were so excited and actually played outside much longer than I thought they would. They loved it!

I just love this one, because anyone who has bundled up little kids knows how stiff and awkward they can be with all their layers on. It's too cute. :)

I'll be doing a nice, long post of our Christmas--eventually. :) For now, enjoy your week and Happy New Year!

The Cookie Project (Part 1)

2011-12-14T16:30:00.000-06:00

I rarely bake for just us. I don't buy pre-packaged cookies, either, so we don't have many sweets around here. The extent of what we get is "Mommy's Chocolate" because I always have a stash of that in the freezer. However, around this time of year, I go all out. I actually started mid-November this year in preparation to make cookie trays, put them with tracts and give them to friends and neighbors. At this point I have around 20 dozen assorted cookies in my freezer. Peanut Butter Blossoms, Toffee, Peanut Butter Balls, Chocolate Pretzel bites, Russian tea cakes and sugar cookies are all tightly packed in my extra freezer right now. The last thing to do before we could complete the trays was frost the cookies.

The kids each got their own little plate to frost and decorate.

This is some serious business right here.

So neat and precise...

and so 2 year old looking. Love it.

It wasn't long before he was eating frosting. I think he is becoming famous for eating while we are cooking!

Her finished product

and his :)

In the meantime, I was frosting snowflakes--and look at the pile I had left!

I just bought the snowflake cookie cutter this year. I love it!

I seriously could not fit all of the cookies in the frame of my camera. It took me hours to do all these. I can't wait to see the trays all put together, spreading the good news about what Christmas is all about!

We are really enjoying our Christmas centerpiece this year. At least I am :)

A funny story, that night we went out to do some Christmas shopping and left the cookies just like this. When we got home I immediately noticed a few cookies were overturned and upon further inspection, a few eaten, some licked and some with tiny paw prints in them. There were tiny frosted paw prints on the kitchen table as well. Somehow Buddy weaseled his way up there and got into the cookies! Thankfully the damage was minimal and I was able to laugh-not cry-after all that hard work!

I am hoping to get to post the finished trays that we assemble before I leave, but if not, it will be up here soon. :)

A Marshmallow World

2011-12-10T19:46:00.000-06:00

"Stop and get some twigs off a tree," I texted Nate on his way home. "We can roast marshmallows!" We have to appreciate the cold days around here because they are few and far between. Starting a fire and enjoying it in our decorated living room is just one of the ways we love doing that--so roasting marshmallows would just make it better. :)

While the fire rose to a good marshmallow-roasting-temperature, we broke out some locally made kettle corn that Nate brought home from a church event and snacked on it. Yummy!

Little popcorn face

I love this picture. She adores her daddy more than anyone else in the world!

Brooklynne was the first one to get to roast her marshmallow. As you can see by the look on her face, she was delighted!

Roasting marshmallows is serious business

Our poor, poor, poor doggie got shaved. And by shaved I do mean shaved. His face looks cute but his body is tiny and rat-like, and I mean that in the nicest rat-like way possible. We still love him though...enough to buy him a Christmas sweater so he won't freeze!

I think this may have been the first time my kids have ever tasted roasted marshmallows. The loved them--what kid doesn't?!

Buddy get's a lot of people food around here. :)

Mommy gets a lot of people food too--I could just eat my babies all day, one tiny nibble at a time. They make my life! This night was so special, because in the very busy Christmas season, I love making time to make memories with the most important people in my life. Parties and Christmas concerts and shopping are great--but this is what really makes the holidays for me.

And the icing on the cake? A little Frank Sinatra and Bing Crosby, belting out the classic's I grew to love at a very young age.

In all of your business this season, don't forget to take time to make lasting memories with the ones you love the most. This was something as simple as a $1.00 bag of marshmallows but it was one of the best things I'll do in the month of December!

Pizza's, Parties and Pounding Headache's

2011-12-07T15:34:00.002-06:00

We are SA-LAMMED this year with parties, photo shoots, church events, extra music practices, Dr.'s appointments and just the normal life on top of it all. It's easy to get overwhelmed with all I have going on, especially because I leave 6 days before Christmas so I have to cram even more into the time I'm here.

However, I'm really trying to make this a fun Christmas season for the kids since they are both old enough to really understand--and, they're at easy ages, so we aren't as tied down by nap times, bed times, etc. I found a cute idea online about making Christmas-shaped pizza's and thought it would be so much fun to do with the kids.

(click on any picture to see all the pictures in this post in album form)

An awesome part about these pizza's was that I made whole wheat dough and the veggie's were the decorations--so they were super healthy!

First up was our snowman

I gave the kids piles of "snow" (aka mozzarella cheese) and they covered him well.

He kept eating the cheese. What a surprise.

Olives, carrots and zuchinni finished off our edible guy.

Isn't he cute?

Next was the Christmas tree, which in my opinion was oddly shaped, but I did the best I could.

Us with our finished products...the kids LOVED making (and eating) them!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

On Monday evening we had a big young couple's party at our house. This is the second year in a row we've hosted it, and while it's a lot of work, it's so worth it for the great time we have!

Another cool centerpiece idea! Fill a vase with ornaments, water and floating candle. I put mine on a platter and put greenery and berries around it too.

This year I found lots of cute "Christmas" recipes to pass around for people to make. This one actually came out of taste of home--it was a delicious ranch dip. The funny thing was, no one wanted to mess him up and eat him! :)

Because there were so many people, I wasn't able to get pictures of everything, but a little while into the food line I grabbed a picture of this veggie tray Christmas tree...

A caramel cheesecake dip with heath and chocolate...this recipe is a keeper for sure!

A chocolate mint roll made with andies mints--beautiful and delicious!

I think including our babysitters who were upstairs wit the kids, we had 50 people in the house. So much fun!

The gift exchange was fun because gifts could be stolen, but only 3 times. As usual there were the popular gifts that everyone wanted, like an ipod docking station, ULTA gift card, TX Roadhouse gift card, etc!

Hosting and being a photographer doesn't really work too well, but I did manage to get someone to take a quick picture of me and my man :)

Steve and Kelly

Anthony and Nicholle

Sadly, I have no other "couple" pictures of the wonderful friends who filled our home that evening, but it was a great night filled with lots of laughs, way too much food (I woke up with a pounding headache the next morning from all of it--sugar, fat and salt--not a good combo when I don't normally eat much of it) and a great devotional by our Pastor about what we can add to our marriage to make it sweeter.

Christmas Decorating

2011-12-03T21:30:00.001-06:00

This year we had to wait a few days longer than we like to decorate because of travelling, but as soon as we got home I pulled out the totes, boxes and bags and started the long process. I forget how much work it is, but it's always so rewarding and enjoyable in the end!

I got so many good ideas off pinterest this year! Mason jar, greenery, cranberries and floating candle. Beautiful.

I love his little face here, putting the first ornament on the tree and so excited!

Next year there will be another little boy helping us decorate the tree, already 9 months old! :)

The kids had a blast decorating the tree this year--it was so much fun seeing their faces while we were putting everything up!

There is something so much more special about the holidays when you have a mantle to decorate. I love how mine turned out this year! (Once again, thanks to pinterest for the inspiration!)

Putting the star on the top

After our decorating, we made peanut butter pretzel bites. Brooklynne is very meticulous when it comes to just about anything, so when we cook and bake together, she is the perfect little partner!

She rolled perfect little peanut butter balls...

...and flattened them between pretzels perfectly. Nate and I were laughing at how serious and determined she was--it was so cute :)

Well, the picture is a good memory of our night...sadly, I was sporting the "I got 4 hours of sleep last night on a 16 hour road trip" look. :p

These babies are the perfect combination of sweet, salty, crunchy and creamy--and they were super easy to make! A nice addition to my Christmas baking this year!

A few picture of the kiddos before bed...what could be better than kids, jammies and Christmas?

OK, kids, jammies, Christmas...and a cute little doggie :)

Shopping, Waffles and Vikings

2011-12-02T08:59:00.000-06:00

Thanksgiving weekend 2011 will always be very special to us. Visiting Nate's side of the family is rare--as in, they've never met our kids. This year we wanted to make a little effort to take a road trip to visit them for the holiday.

The supposed to be 16 hour trip took 18 on the way there, because of awful traffic, but here are the kids after about 12 hours of it! As you can see, they did great!

Grandpa P. uses a magnifying glass a lot, and the kids loved it.

Ahh...Thanksgiving "eve". There is something so cozy about the eve of any winter holiday. After we put the kids to bed, I curled up with dark chocolate...

...and my man and we watched a movie together. One thing that was great about this trip was that Nate's parents went as well, meaning we had free babysitting a lot. We took advantage, maybe a little more than we should have ;), but it was so nice!

After our huge Thanksgiving feast, we walked to the park with the kids. It was unseasonably warm that day, but nothing like Texas, so I was happy! My kids got to play in leaves for the first time in their little lives!

Me and my little "pumpkin" on Thanksgiving! (25 weeks). Throughout the trip, I felt great and my back didn't really bother me until halfway through the drive home! That was amazing!

Headed shopping on Black Friday! We don't get up super early to get all the crazy lines and door busters, but I do like Christmas shopping on that day. Something about the first day of the Christmas season that's so festive and fun! The great thing is, I got a lot of good deals and almost got all of my shopping done!

Joey kept us very entertained on the trip. He is a riot--I don't know how else to put it. He talks constantly in full, clear-as-day sentences, (When your almost 90 year old grandparents understand 99% of what he says, you know it's clear!) and he is truly hilarious. He is exactly, 100% like my dad. I just hope he preaches like him someday! What a dream come true that would be!

Nate's Mom and her parents are very strongly Danish and we were able to visit a windmill that was brought over from Denmark in pieces and re-assembled. The gift shop was fun too--look at those little vikings! :)

One day, we drove a few hours to meet my Father-in-laws Mom and sister for lunch. They were so sweet, and I was disappointed we didn't get to spend more time with them!

Saturday evening tradition: Grandpa makes waffles.

They. Were. Delicious. (I'm typing this before breakfast and could really go for some right now!)

That completes my phone pictures while we were there. Thankfully the ride home seemed much shorter than the first one, although Nate and I didn't really sleep at all through the night (he was driving, so that was a good thing!). We got home at 6am, put the kids right to bed and we all crashed for about 4 hours. Let's just say we all slept really good the next night!
I am so thankful we got to make this trip and that my kids got to meet their other great grandparents. I don't know if we'll make it there again, so these memories will last us forever!

Overwhelmed with Thanksgiving

2011-11-24T18:51:00.000-06:00

"I feel overwhelmed with thankfulness with my whole life in general right now..." was one of my first thanksgiving text's this morning to a close friend. Overwhelmed is the only word I can think of to describe how blessed and thankful I feel. "My cup runneth over" might be another good way to say it.

This year we were able to travel out of state to visit my husband's grandparents who we haven't seen in over 4 years. It was a long 18 hour drive (during which, the kids were so good!! Another thing to be thankful about!) but it was something that my husband really wanted to do since they've never even met our kids. It's been wonderful spending time here and letting them get to know their other great grandparents, great aunts, uncles and 2nd cousins.

This morning started with a trip to the grocery store to buy the ingredients for our famous, favorite stuffing that we make every year. Grandma P. was gracious enough to let me add it to her already long long list of delicious foods.

Brooklynne has carried on the tradition of our favorite job at Thanksgiving--tearing the bread into small peices and putting it into the big bowl. This year was Joe's first year helping (he may have "helped" last year) but he was caught sneaking bites of bread so his job did not last long. ;)

His sneaky little face with crumbs on it says it all!

(Above^^^) Working in the kitchen with my mother-in-law and grandmother-in-law was a special memory for me. I'm not sure if it will ever happen again so I enjoyed it today. :)

My cute little man while we were getting ready to take our Thanksgiving picture.

The table was set beautifully and the food was delicious. It's interesting to see what recipies other families come up with that we don't normally have! Smoked turkey, cranberry sauce, caramelized sweet potatoes (some of the best sweet potatoes I've ever had), "square potoatoes" (family name for a cheesy, creamy potato recipe), broccoli salad, garlic bread, stuffing and 2 sweet salads made with pudding, cookies, whipped cream, marshmallows, etc. I. Am. Stuffed.

The big, long, beautiful table. We don't often eat at such a long table with so many people on Thanksgiving so it was something different that I really enjoyed. :)

I hope your Thanksgiving was overhwhelming as well--in a good way!

Tomorrow Nate is taking me black Friday shopping-nothing too crazy early, just something I really enjoy the day after Thanksgiving. Bring on the Christmas season and all it's festivities!

Baby #3, Month 5 & 6!

2011-11-22T12:16:00.000-06:00

Month 5 is always an exciting month for me--20 weeks is halfway and a big milestone! It's also the time that my belly really starts popping, I start wearing maternity almost full time and I actually LOOK pregnant! :)

20 Weeks

As you know from this post, , we found out in a very fun way that we were having a boy! it was very unexpected as I thought for sure it was a girl--and had convinced everyone else of the same thing! :)

My whole family got to be here for it which was so special to me--and even though it took a little while, I am very excited about another little boy entering our family in a few months. :)

MONTH 6!

Now I am really starting to "feel" pregnant. My belly is getting in the way of everyday chores (like holding laundry baskets) :), it's harder to roll over in bed (although I'm still sleeping great!) and I have the "oh my word, I'm HUGE" days. However, I'm not complaining one bit! I love being pregnant, love feeling my baby move inside me, love fun maternity outfits and feel so blessed that God has chosen to give me yet another child to raise and nurture for his glory. Boys scare me, because I wonder how I'll know when I need to step out of my role as Mom and let them be men, but I'm thankful for a wonderful husband who is very wise. I have no doubt he'll be able to handle that when the time comes. :)

24.5 Weeks

Last week, Brookie really got to feel the baby move a lot. Usually she doesn't have the patience to sit and wait, but this time he was really moving a lot and she loved it. Joe is just way too impatient to try, although he does kiss my belly all the time. Sometimes I wonder how much the kids really grasp that there is really a baby in there, but soon it will be very real and they won't have to wonder any more!
I'm 25 weeks tomorrow, so only 15 until my due date! I would, of course, love to go 2 weeks early again but I would never plan on it because you never know and I don't want to be disappointed. :) My Mom went anywhere from 8 days-3 weeks early, and one right on the due date, so all 9 of us were different and I'm sure I'll be the same way!
Anyway, the weeks are just flying and I know it's going to get even faster with the holidays and how busy I'll be with photo shoots, travelling and shooting a wedding. So, until next time...!

A Re-Cap!

2011-11-16T12:25:00.000-06:00

I am still alive and well...this blog has been neglected because I have had family here for almost 2 months and I have not taken the time to blog like normal! This post is a little re-cap of what has gone on around here for the past month or so. Enjoy!

We took the kids to the pumpkin patch and picked out little pumpkins...

The kids spent time with their grandparents and cousin...

My sisters and I laughed...and talked...and ate...and laughed...way too much...

I soaked in every moment I could of my little nephew...

We made memories sitting outside in the sun talking and playing...

We rode the scooter around the neighborhood, making a scene and having a blast (with only minor injuries ;)...

My babies were just too sweet to handle while they waited for a ride...

And in typical boy fashion, all he wants is to "GO FASTER"...

We went sledding...TX style...

It provided literally hours of entertainment around here!

I found my kids reading together..Mom's love moments like this...

We squished in the car a lot...

We took the kids to the children's museum...

We made Fall sugar cookies...

I cuddled when he needed it...

We welcomed our first "cold day"...

We had cheeto parties...

Brooklynne dressed up for the annual missions dress up night and was a very cute little Indian...

My dad made his amazing pizza...

I swear you have never eaten anything like it...

My little man got very, very sick but thankfully it was over in 3 days. On the third day he was feeling a little better and we took a walk to the mailbox...

We did A LOT of shopping, and going with my little girl is the best...

We had a sister day that started with going out for a huge breakfast...

... and shopping...

We drank lots of Dunkin doughnuts pumpkin spice coffee...

had our first fire of the season...

made more Fall sugar cookies...

took pictures after grocery shopping... ;)

Shared coffee with my kids--they love it for some reason...

and lastly, said goodbye to my sweet little man that had to leave me yesterday :(

Shew. I can breathe now. I would have loved to do a few detailed post's in there, but I figured a re-cap is better than nothing. This next week is going to be absolutely insane--how is it so busy and it's not even Thanksgiving yet?! Anyway, I hope to post again soon. For now, have a great day and enjoy the start of the Christmas season! :)

The Gender Revealed

2011-10-25T12:09:00.000-05:00

It was a "gender party". My dad made homemade pizza and bread (which deserves a post in itself, but I don't have the time right now) and after we gorged on an ungodly amount of carbs, we found out that...

We...

are having...

ANOTHER BOY!

This whole pregnancy I really felt like it was a girl, because I had a few of the same small different symptoms like I did with Brooklynne. We were shocked!

Brookie was very upset and cried for a long time. She prayed for a sister since before I was pregnant. By the next morning, she was (and still is) very excited about having another baby brother. :)

My nephew and new little boy will only be 8 months apart!

The ultrasound tech printed many "boy" pictures and put them in a sealed envelope for us. There is NO mistake! heehee.

We don't have a name picked out as of yet, but thankfully we still have almost 5 months to decide! This week is our missions conference, and my family is in town, so normal blogging will resume in a few weeks. :)

Ribs the size of Texas. Almost.

2011-10-13T11:59:00.000-05:00

Columbus Day Weekend was filled with fun outings, boat rides, plates of beef ribs the size of Texas, glorious rain, birthday parties and saying goodbye. After a wonderful 5 day visit, my grandparents left to go back to N.Y. I am so glad that made the effort to come all the way down here just to visit us--it means so much to me and we had the best time!

The San Antonio River walk is, as always, the best place to take people who have never been here before. It's beautiful with lots of good places to eat and shop. Our first stop was The County Line where we devoured bbq like there was no tomorrow.

The kids coloring pages could be done with fingers--you didn't need crayons!
It was pretty cool!

Deciding what to order...ribs, sausage, brisket, mixed meat plate? Now that's a TX kids menu if I ever saw one. (They also offered chicken strips, hamburgers and corn dogs for the less adventurous among children)

A wonderful meal, the best family--what more could I ask for?

Don't let my thin, fit, beautiful Mother fool you. She can put down some ribs if she needs to! ;)

Grandpa getting his first taste of real TX bbq!

Seriously. I love NY but you can't get food like this there.

Me and my 3 babies on the beautiful river walk. (Joe is starting to get that fake smile down pat)

One of the first times I actually looked pregnant! 18.5 weeks--getting close to halfway :)

The kids patiently waiting for the boat which seemed to take forever to come. I think they were backed up because of the downpour we had that day. Trust me, NONE of us were complaining about the rain--it was such a relief!

Finally on the boat and ready for our tour.

My sweet girl

He finally crashed on Lydia's shoulder--it was so cute! He was so tired and would only go to Lydia and as soon as she got him he fell fast asleep. We put him in the stroller and he slept while we shopped--it was so nice. :)

Next time will be more of our weekend. I hope everyone is enjoying the beautiful Fall weather--I know we are!

Special Memories in the Making

2011-10-07T13:41:00.000-05:00

My Mom, 2 little sisters and Grandparents are in town right now. In a few weeks, my entire family will be here, but for now I am enjoying this special time with just them! Brookie loves having her aunts around as they are only a few years older than her, and Joe-Joe is entertaining everyone with his hilarious 2 year old comments!

Nate set up the girls with a game of Frisbee golf and I just love the looks on their faces here... :)

My house is full of chips, cookies, trail mix, caramel popcorn--all things that I normally don't have around. You can tell Grandma is in town!

A memory I will cherish forever. Grandpa and Joe were sharing a bedtime snack, and Joe was picking out each individual piece of the trail mix and asking what each one was. After a little while, he had it down--cranberry, cashew, peanuts, etc. I loved watching them have a little conversation together!

Sweet Lydia was at the right place at the right time for me to take this of her--isn't she pretty?

Speaking of pretty, my wonderful Mom who is loving and spoiling her grand kids--and I'm not sure who is enjoying it more!

As you can see, Brookie is in her glory! I love that her and my sisters are best friends :)

I hope to be posting more while my family is here, so stay tuned!

Friends and Fondue

2011-10-04T13:23:00.000-05:00

My sister-in-law Joanna recently gave birth to her 5th child--which in my book calls for a celebration! I've wanted to do a chocolate-themed-something for a while now, and this was the perfect excuse! A fondue fountain--surrounded by strawberries, pound cake, rice krispie treats, pretzels, marshmallows and pinapple--was perfect for a fun night with girl friends.

My friend Hannah (Joanna's sister) was in charge of something fun we could do and give to Jo at the end of the night. She came up with an awesome idea to decorate a big felt storage box with flowers and creative things we would all make and sew onto it.

She showed us how to make simple flowers and we started tracing, cutting, stitching and having a grand time.

It reminded me of an Amish quilting bee--except we weren't quite experts, laughing about our mistakes and how inexperienced we were at this type of thing.

Talking, laughing, all working together for a finished product--it was SO fun, even if we were a little confused at first!

Beautiful new Mom five times over

The great master-mind behind it ;)

Even little Bryan got in on the fun! :)

Focus, focus, focus

"I don't remember the last time I threaded a needle". Or something like that.

A pink pom pom and a pink nose.

The chocolate was on all night, and we made several trips to the kitchen to get more...

Girl clothes are really so much fun. And so cute.

Starting to come together!

Liberty Love, the guest of honor at 2 weeks old.

Some people are just way too creative. I am very proud that my flower is the "dot" for the "i" on Liberty. It is one of my biggest accomplishments in life.

A darling little bib...

Flowers and buttons and bows...a labor of love from all her friends that will be special for years to come!

Congratulations to Joanna on baby #5 and for being a wonderful Mom to all of them!

I'll end with this picture: Almost 18 weeks--starting to show a little more! :)

I hope this will prompt you to have a fun night with friends, whether it's 2 girls or 20. Women need each other, even if it's just an evening once or twice a year. To get away from the normal life and have a night without kids is a refreshing experience. A new baby, birthday, new season (think Fall!) is a great excuse to get together! Eat lots of sugar, plan a fun activity and talk and laugh the whole night. You won't regret it!

Plastic Pizza Party

2011-10-01T19:47:00.000-05:00

It's great to find your kids like this. Playing on your bed while you are cleaning away and not paying attention. But they are not just playing. No, they are having a pizza party. Complete with one of Mommy's hats--sideways of course--and not being fully dressed. It's a plastic pizza party, but they are really chowing down like it's real.

I really couldn't get over him in this hat. It was so cute. Yeah it's a girls hat but he still looks masculine...don't you think?

Even without the hat he's a doll.

Oh, and she's a doll too. She is the sweetest big sister.

Just a random little post to brighten your weekend. Hope you all are having a great one!

Baby # 3, Month 4!

2011-09-26T20:26:00.000-05:00

This past month has gone faster than the first trimester combined. I'm feeling so much better, despite some serious energy defiancy that I didn't really experience in my other pregnancies. I think it has to do with having 2 other kids and not ever slowing down! I'm learning to handle it a little better, make sure I'm taking my vitamins and looking into pregnancy herbal teas that will help. A 15-20 minute power nap a day usually helps, too. :)

Here's my official 16 week picture! I'm wearing a black shirt each month so I can put them all together later in a collage,something I've wanted to do in the past but never did.

Funny how outfits can change the way you look--here I am at 15 weeks, wearing about the only maternity skirt that fits so far! I'm ready to be done with the in between stage, which will probably happen around 20 weeks when I'll start looking more round and pregnant and maternity will fit better. I've been selling old clothes I don't really care for anymore on ebay and using the money to get some cute new things for Fall. I'm really excited about that!

Other than that, not much to report this month! I'm getting into a better workout routine, finding a balance in resting and not over-doing it and still looking a little awkward around the mid-section. That will change soon--I hope!
My next report will be at 20 weeks, and I'm still debating if I want to find out the gender because I really do not like it at all. It's very anti-climatic and boring to me to find out in the u/s room. However, for Brookie's sake I think we will, but I'll have the tech write it down and we'll do it a little more special than discovering the gender at the Dr.'s office. We shall see--I guess you'll find out next month!

Joey is Two!

2011-09-22T21:28:00.000-05:00

Today, my son turned 2. Because I've been sick all day and I'm completely exhausted right now, this won't be a full birthday post, but I just wanted to post this comparison picture really quick. Time goes by way too fast! I re-read my birth story post and looked at all the pictures from the day he was born. I love every stage my children go through, but like any Mom, it always makes me a little melancholy to see them growing up and getting bigger.

Of course Joe-Joe has been acting way more like a 2 year old than a 1 year old for a while now, but it's official now and I have just a little twinge of sadness. This is when I'm so happy to have another little one on the way--makes the other one's growing up seem a little easier when I'll have another infant in my arms soon enough. (Lord Willing.)

Well, until a more extensive post on his 2nd birthday...goodnight for now. :)

Rekindling the Spark

2011-09-15T18:08:00.000-05:00

It was time. Time for some moments alone, time to look at each other and talk, time to rekindle the flame and remember why we got married in the first place. No kids, no friends, just us. It had been to long and it was time for a night out.

Nate took me to a new upscale pizza place and we immediately loved it when we walked in the door. It was quiet and romantic but fun at the same time. We had looked at the menu before hand (of course) and knew what we wanted--a white special. White pizza with ricotta, mozzarella, sausage, fresh tomatoes and garlic.

They brought crushed red pepper, Parmesan and something green. I only had eyes for the red pepper, which I cannot get enough of these days. I douse everything with a generous portion. I'm telling you, it made that pizza.

Look at that. Look. At. That. Thin and bendable, chewy and crispy, greasy and cheesy and melt in your mouth amazing. I dare say it was one of the best pizza's I had ever had. One piece was all I could handle!

But enough about the pizza...this night was about us. We talked and laughed and ate, walked around downtown and made out in an alley. Oh yes we did. It was wonderful. Sometimes life gets the best of us--the every day cleaning and cooking and taking care of kids and laundry and feeding kids and changing kids and bathing kids and doing laundry and vacuuming and picking up toys and wiping counter tops and doing dishes. Falling into bed at night exhausted and getting up the next day to do it all over again and losing sight of our love that started it all. Making arrangements for the kids is a small price to pay to focus on each other for an evening. Mmmm. I am so in love with this man,.

After our dinner, Nate took me to the top of one of his buildings where we saw a gorgeous view of the city and our capitol. I'm a country girl at heart, but if I had to choose a city view, this one isn't too bad... ;)

Our night ended with a free venti caramel frapp, which was lovingly shared by two very, very happy, in love people.

Dinner with my husband: $30.00. Time spent together as lovers: Priceless.

The Joy of Reading

2011-09-10T23:30:00.000-05:00

It's been way, way too long since I've gone to the library. As in, my almost 2 year old has never stepped foot in one. I finally took the kids last weekend and we had a great time. Other than the fact that Joey is way to LOUD to behave how you are supposed to in a library, which is pretty much how you should act at a catholic funeral. Yeah, that wasn't happening.

Brooklynne, however, was the perfect little library poster child.

Then the train came by outside, which was quite a highlight of the day!

See? Sweet Girl.

Believe it or not, he sat for 3 seconds to read "Skippy Jon Jones."

I love them. The little joys of my life!

I plan on making library trips a tradition--the way I grew up. It's great that I can get books too-- I love to read and haven't done it much in the last few years. I am excited about that changing now. :) Who are some of your favorite authors?

Texas Fall

2011-09-06T21:17:00.000-05:00

Fall is arriving in central Texas. This simply means that the tempature's are dropping below the 100's during the day and the mornings and evening are in the 60's and 70's. This feels so amazing to us that have been hating the heat for the past several months. This morning I went and ate breakfast outside--wearing a hoodie! It was probably 70 degrees which is very cool for us. The sad part was, I could smell the smoke from the awful wildfires which actually came within a mile of our house today. It passed and we were ok, but many people are not ok and almost 1000 homes have been destroyed. Firefighters are tirelessly to try to control it and are going way too long without sleep. God bless them!

With "fall" comes the things that most of us do in the summer...walks, picnics, playing outside--anything that has to do with "outside" makes me happy, since we've been cooped up for a few months!

How I have missed our nightly (or at least 4 times a week nightly) walks! Nate pushing the kids and me walking the dog. Or the dog walking me.

Our little piece of "country"---a beautiful bike trail that we love to walk on, talk and solve all of life's problems.

The kids have been wanting to get out and walk, which slows us down and makes me wonder how many less calories I'm burning, but they are burning more. So good for them!

Coming out of the trail, this was the beautiful view I saw. Texas skies are gorgeous. Almost as good as New York skies. Almost. (I underexposed a little here to get the beauty of the sunset )

I'm trying to get in more pictures with my kids, and their doll...and Buddy...for memories sake, you know.

Watching my daughter run ahead with the sunset in the background--just beautiful. Way to make my heart happy. And a beautiful way to end one of our last night's of summer.

I am jealous of the beautiful fall weather my northern friends are starting to enjoy, but I realize in about 2.5 months when they get their boots full of snow just walking out of the house, scraping off ice from their windshield, so frozen they can hardly move, seeing nothing but white while they drive and sliding on ice, they will be jealous of me. So, bring it on, Texas fall. After that comes Texas winter and I can hardly wait!

P.S. I realize that Joe seems to be a bit neglected in this post. It's not "second child syndrome", I promise. It's "he doesn't want his picture taken" syndrome, thus the lack of his face in these pictures. ;)

Creating Beautiful Spaces: The Heart of the Home

2011-09-02T15:56:00.000-05:00

Some of you can interior decorate in your sleep. I, on the other hand, take years to hang a simple picture on the wall. 6 months to get the picture printed, another 6 to buy a frame, and another year to hang it. I am serious--my friends can attest to this.

Well, I've had enough of my bare walls, naked windows and boring spaces. I want them to be beautiful, and I don't want to spend a lot of money while I'm doing it.

Here is my kitchen before. I didn't have much wall space to work with, so decided to do something simple above the refrigerator.

and tada...after! Simple but lovely. A call to eat with a huge fork to emphasize it. Creative, right? I wish I could take the credit for the idea, but I can't. I still love it anyway. We bought cheap, wooden (or more like cardboard) letters and painted them red and the big fork was 50% off at Hobby Lobby.

Before: Secondly was my sad little area above my table. Does this welcome you to eat? Make you want to be there? No.

After: But this, on the other hand. A fat little man holding a huge plate of spaghetti and meatballs? I'll take some right now, please.

I didn't want the focus to be on the curtains so I just bought a simple valance. The picture was also 50% off at Hobby Lobby--score!

Before: I can't stand cluttered counters one bit. But I wanted to tie in the "fat chef" theme with something simple...

After: cookie jar from a friend and a candle that I will never burn (ha) from another friend! So, this one was free for me. Thanks, friends.

Before: The cookie jar was on this counter, which was cute but I had some other stuff that would go good there...

After: A friend had also bought me the plate and little jar, but I never got a stand to set the plate on. Who knew they were $2.99? Since it was the only thing not on sale, I used my 40% off coupon on the plate stand. Hey, I love saving pennies. Looks classier now, I think ;)

I hope this wasn't too horribly boring for you. Next up is my playroom and living room and next year I'm going to work on my bedroom.

Baby #3, Month 3!

2011-08-31T13:51:00.000-05:00

I am SO thankful to be out of the awful 1st trimester and into the second! Around my 11th week I started having better days (which is how I normally am) and at 12 the nausea and all that goes along with it was almost non existent! I feel like I can start enjoying my pregnancy now, and I have stopped wishing that it would "hurry up". As long as I feel decent, I love being pregnant and I am enjoying every minute with my 2 little ones who are here already. No, not wishing away these months at all! I'm working out again, eating normal, cooking nice healthy meals and keeping up with my house and laundry! (I'm sure my hubby is praising the Lord about that one.)

I felt the baby move at the beginning of week 11, which is amazing. I had no idea you could feel a baby that early (although, I felt Joey in week 12) but my Dr. says with the third it's normal. Since then, the baby has been very active and I feel it all the time! No matter how many times I carry a child, the feeling of it swimming and kicking inside of me will never cease to amaze me.

I got to see my little pumpkin on u/s again this month because of a little scare we went through. Praise the Lord everything was ok, but it shook me a little to be having issues at almost 12 weeks. Come to find out my placenta is very low to my cervix right now and that is why I was having the problems I was. It's a common problem and most placentas move to where they are supposed to be by the time 20 weeks come. If it doesn't, it could be serious (placenta previa) but right now I am not going to worry about that. The Lord knows what he is doing and if that happens, we'll take it as it comes! I read that only about 1% of women develop P.P so I'm not counting on it. ;)

As you can see, my belly is growing! Here I look a little bigger than normal (maybe the outfit?) but I like it because I look pregnant and not just thick around the waist. ;) I'm still at an awkward stage--not really able to wear maternity, but normal shirts look a little strange Every pregnant woman's favorite stage, right?

The kids love the baby and are constantly kissing it. Joe calls it a "baby button"--I think he's confused about a baby and a belly button! Brookie is very much hoping for a sister, but we shall see!

Just wanted to share a few pictures from the last week or so:

Waiting for dinner to come out of the oven...

It was delicous! Spinach Lasagna Rolls...I made them with whole wheat lasagna noodles, low fat ricotta and a jar of alfredo I had in my pantry because it's all I had and added some fresh tomatoes for color and more nutrition Next time I would do tomato sauce to make it much lower fat. Everyone in our house loved it!

This month I took pictures of the kids and this was my favorite. I'm sorry, but could they be any cuter?!

This one isn't edited yet (thus the carpet sticking out ;) but I love Joe's face here!

Oh, my. Just darling.

The weather here is still in the 100's, and since I'm feeling better we're finally going to the pool again and actually doing things other than lay around the house. Preschool starts next week for Brooklynne (at home) and I'm very excited about it. Other than that, I'm just happy and blessed to be back into a routine again!

Blogging Catch Up

2011-08-24T09:09:00.001-05:00

I've been on a roll with blogging for a while, but I fell off the wagon this week. Hopefully not for long. I love blogging. Even if I didn't have one reader, to have an online journal of our lives that I can go and look back on is so special to me!

So besides not blogging, here is what we've been up to. My poor bare windows finally got curtains after almost 2 years of living in this house!

Me and my (at the time) 9.5 week belly ironed all 3 huge sets. Brookie was very intrigued by an iron and ironing board and what they do. Apparently she has never seen her Mother iron before in her life.

The kids help was enlisted to hold everything up and I couldn't resist snapping a picture of their poor little hard working selves.

Trust me, this did not last long.

Annnnnd....a little peek at what my windows now look like! I'll be doing a full "Before and After" of the rooms in my house when I'm done so I didn't quite want to show the whole thing. But you get the idea.

Also on the agenda has been trying new recipes. I recently joined pinterest and have never been more inspired in my life! Recipes, home decorating ideas, photo shoot inspiration, etc, etc, etc. This week we'll be trying Grilled Balsamic Bruschetta Chicken, Healthy Spinach Lasagna Rolls, and picture here is Chicken Enchilada soup which was SO easy (done in the crock pot) and delicious! I doused mine with a good bit of cayenne pepper. Seems that I can't get enough spice in my food these days. :)I served it with cornbread and tada, a 15 minute prep-time meal! Click on the links and try some new recipes!

Of other things we've been up to--taking pictures of our son who peeled off the foil that was over the leftover cornbread, plopped himself down Indian Style in the corner of the kitchen and proceeded to help himself. He did this without a chair or assistance and I still can't figure out how he reached it.

The dog ate the crumbs.

In our spare time we like to wrestle. Or at least daddy does. Mommy watches and smiles and feels very blessed to see such a happy family playing on the floor.

Devotions every night before bed are just about our favorite time of the night. Brookie always says, "daddy, can you read long"? Every single night. Nate normally just reads a chapter or so and then they all pray.

Sometimes certain children do not sit very well...

...and must be corrected.

Brookie loves to cuddle and listen to the Bible being read by her daddy.

And speaking of recipes, I think I might have finally perfected a delicious chicken stir fry! Served with brown rice and baked egg rolls, a delicious "take out" night without the fat, salt and msg! :)

As I said before, I'm working on creating beautiful spaces in my home. We're doing one space at a time and as money allows. We got some letters for the kitchen,

and the kids were very involved in watching and "helping". And here I was again, in the middle of cleaning up dinner but taking pictures instead!

When Nate said they could paint when he was done, someone was just a little thrilled

and someone else was not

But then he got a turn and everything was all better.

I realize I need to get on the other side of the camera more, so here's a 3 month belly shot for you. I'll be doing my 3 month post soon, but just wanted to leave you with my growing bump!

The kids love Mommy's belly and always kiss it and ask about the baby. Joe Joe says it's a "girl boy" so we shall see! :)

I think that is all the news for now. I'm finally caught up and will see you all in a few days for a pregnancy update! Have a wonderful week, friends!

The best Sandwiches in the World

2011-08-17T08:23:00.000-05:00

Ok, so you might not think so, but when I saw a recipe for "Roasted Red Pepper, Eggplant and Ricotta sandwiches with Pesto" I knew I had to try them.

You'll Need:

Some kind of ciabatta or sub roll

1 Eggplant

1-2 roasted red peppers

Ricotta Cheese

Pesto

Olive Oil

Salt and Pepper

I sliced the eggplant very thin, brushed it with olive oil on both sides, sprinkled with salt and pepper and grilled them in the broiler. Then I opened a jar of roasted red peppers and put them on the plate. It was cheaper than buying them fresh!

You can use any bread you want, but I bought a multigrain sub roll, brushed it with olive oil and toasted it in the broiler.

Spread pesto on one side (later, I added it on the other side because it needed more!)

Layer on eggplant...

Smear the eggplant with ricotta cheese. Don't skimp! (I used 2% because it's less fat)

Place your beautiful roasted red peppers so they can pose pretty for their picture...

Close, and enjoy!

My kids loved it...

... as you can see :)

Nate and I loved them too. They were bursting with so much flavor and very healthy! Of course, to make it lower calorie, use low fat pesto, low fat ricotta (low fat milk products are just made with low fat milk--it's not chemicals!) and less olive oil. However, you want to get olive oil as a healthy fat, so measure to make sure you're getting your daily amount needed. Enjoy!

A Happy Little Story

2011-08-11T13:24:00.000-05:00

I had a date the other night with a very cute guy.

Most of the time he was more interested in his food than me, but it gave me a good chance to sneak peeks at his gorgeous face.

Oops...I think he caught me staring at him.

His dad was gone and so was his sister. So it was just me and him, left all alone with the chicken pot pie.

It was some delicious pot pie, if I do say so myself.

Just when I was beginning to wonder what he thought of me, he gave me the sweetest smile I have ever seen. I was hooked.

And we lived happily ever after. The end.

Inside Fun

2011-08-09T14:02:00.001-05:00

This summer is getting to me. It's above 105 degrees EVERY SINGLE DAY, sunny and humid. I love summer but enough is enough--I'm ready for beautiful, cool fall. Although here it's not beautiful and it's not cool but it's cooler than now so I'll take it! Any day, please!

Anyway, enough complaining from me. The other day I decided we better make the most of being inside so we did some crafts. Really, it was just making pretty cards, but for a -2 year old and 4 year old that's about as crafty as we get right now.

She drew this duck. I can't believe she has these skills. She didn't get them from me!

I guess he wanted to color...his lips?

So yes, even I, the ever non-crafty person got a little creative and had some fun ;)

The good news is, the cards are actually in an envelope and going to the mailbox today! I am very proud of myself. :)

In other news, I'm taking on a new challenge of making my home as beautiful as possible with a limited budget. God has blessed me with a beautiful home and I don't have the best decorating skills, but I am determined to try and make beautiful spaces out of each area. Starting with the living room, but more on that later.

I hope you all are enjoying your summer and that it isn't quite as hot as it is here. :)

Documenting the Moments

2011-08-05T22:58:00.000-05:00

I want to hire a full time photographer and videographer to document my life. Seriously, I wish I could. There are so many moments throughout my days that I never want to forget. I don't want to forget what his laugh sounded at age almost 2, or the sound of her little voice telling me stories at age just turned 4. The teasing and giggling, the made up songs, the fights, screaming and crying. I don't want to forget any of it.

I don't want to forget paper bag mask's that the kids loved but the dog hated , barking and growling every time he saw it.

I want to hear this little laugh forever.

I don't want to forget the clinking on the piano amidst toys strewn all over the play room.

I don't want to forget what his chubby hands looked like playing with his Little People.

I don't want to forget the excitement in her face when I said it was time to paint her nails,

...or how cute her little toes looked when we were all done

The way he looks at his sister, copies everything she does and says, admires her...I want it etched in my memory forever.

I don't want to forget how his face looked when I showed him his picture in the camera

Or how her little fingers so proudly displayed the finished product of our manicure

And speaking of copying, I don't want to forget how he wanted to show off his fingers too...after all, I had just clipped his nails.

There will be a lot I forget. I've probably forgotten a lot of what happened yesterday, but I'm documenting what I can in pictures and video's. Like every Mom I mourn that they can't stay little forever, but then again I embrace and love every stage they are in. That's life I guess. And I'm loving, enjoying and trying my best to document all our little moments--on camera and in my mind.

Have a great weekend, friends! Go make and preserve some memories today!

The Weekend with Strawberry & Crandle Soup

2011-08-04T09:29:00.000-05:00

This was supposed to be posted earlier in the week, but is just now getting there. Seeing it's almost this weekend it's a little late, but I thought I would post it anyway.

This weekend was pretty uneventful--we spent Friday night with friends, and Nate had to work most of the morning and afternoon on Saturday. I had made a big crockpot of beans and greens for dinner, Brooklynne's favorite.

The kids made "soup"--strawberry and "crandle". Not sure where "crandle" came from, but It was delicious ;)

Nate broke out some games to play...

...operation was a little complicated for the kids. There was a lot of buzzing going on.

My hubby bought me some of my favorite cookes--oh, what a happy Saturday it was! A few hours later my friend knocked on the door with another package--what are the odds? Needless to say I indulged this weekend on the pink frosted goodness. The indulging has carried into the week.

"Trouble" was a lot easier for the kids...

...and competitive between Mommy and Daddy. Brookie won, fair and square and I insisted we keep playing after that. And then I won. Just thought I would throw that in there.

Do you remember this game as a kid? It's awesome.

Saturday night ended with a walk which hasn't happened in a while because of us being gone and how I've been feeling these days. But it was a beautiful night and I couldn't resist.

What a life.

My Saturday night snack was strawberries that I cut up and put in the freezer so they would be icy cold. I topped them with a little whipped cream....heavenly!

Our Saturday night ended with prayer before bed, as every night does. Joe Joe's famous prayer, "Thank you Jesus.....thank you Jesus.....thank you Jesus....(smiles and look around..giggles...)... Daddy helps him finish the prayer while we all smile and hold back the laughs. Oh, the faith of a child. ;)

Baby #3, Month 2!

2011-08-02T09:32:00.000-05:00

Well, I'll be 9 weeks tomorrow. Morning sickness is in full swing and a lot more vicious than I can remember. Not sure if it's worse than the other ones, which is what it seems like, or if I just don't remember what it was really like! I have a bad/good day about every other day. I'm thankful for the good days because it allows me to get some stuff done that I really couldn't the day before. Because of the sickness I haven't really been able to exercise or eat too healthy, which is killing me--but I know that as soon as I hit 12/13 weeks that will all change and I'll be back to normal again.
My belly is already popping out, something else that is different from the others. Right at about 7 weeks is when I started to notice it and in the last week it's gotten more noticeable. Normally I can hide my belly until 20 weeks or so but not this time! I guess that must come with the third pregnancy territory. :)

Yesterday I had my first appointment and it basically confirmed everything that I had been planning on--my due date is March 7th and I'll be 9 weeks tomorrow. The baby measures just a few days ahead, so I'm not planning on going quite as early as I did last time. With Joe he measured a week ahead so I think that's why I went 2 weeks early.
Anyway, it was quite a surprise to get an early ultrasound! My practice didn't used to do that, so I was pleasantly surprised to get to see my tiny little baby and see the heart beating! I took a video and picture so that I could show Nate and the kids. The kids especially loved it. :)

Well, I'll be very happy when next month comes so I can be back to normal! :)

Answered Prayer and The Beverly Hillbillies

2011-07-27T11:28:00.000-05:00

Yesterday we started the long journey home after a wonderful month of vacation, and I was very nervous about how it would go. Morning sickness is still going strong and since Joe is under 2, he's still a lap child. The thought of him climbing all over me while I felt like I was going to barf wasn't really the best thought. I've also been getting very motion sick from the morning sickness, so everything combined was scaring me. I prayed and asked my friends to pray and what a surprise--the Lord answered our prayers! He worked it out so that we had 3 seats on each flight so that Joe could sit by himself and we had room to spread out. The kids were SO good--hilarious, really and made me laugh the entire time. We landed a half hour early and Nate wasn't there yet, so I got me, 2 kids, a double stroller and 5 suitcases outside by myself to wait for him. We were quite a sight! (Think Jed Clampett and family ;)

When I walked outside--or rather stumbled with all our stuff-- I thought I must have been crazy to leave that gorgeous East Coast weather for this, but when I saw my handsome husband drive up I remembered the reason that I came back home. ;) We are all happily reunited and glad to be home--and counting down the days until our next visit!

The kids and I before our last flight took off--Joe Joe was really happier than he looks ;)

Sub's, Swimming and Sunset's

2011-07-22T11:42:00.000-05:00

I may start to make it a tradition to spend a lot of my summer's up north. The weather is gorgeous, I have my own apartment at my parents, I get free babysitting and tons of fun with my family. Only one monumental part of my life is missing when I'm here--my husband--which makes it bitter-sweet. Sweet because I did get to spend almost 2 weeks with him here, and sweet because when he leaves I'm almost too busy to focus on how much I miss him. Bitter because I do miss him. A lot. And thus is the life of a girl living 2000 miles away from family.

Anyway, this month has been filled with lots of fun memories, like orange popsicle's dripping down chubby cheeks and a chubby belly...

My daughter, playing all day long with her aunts who are 3 and 5 years older than her. They are inseparable and best friends.

A trip to my favorite grocery store, Wegmans, for fresh fruit and snacks. Because I miss it and because I must show my children what they are missing out on life. Texas grocery stores just do not compare.

While I was at Wegman's I bought a sub, because they are really the best around. Here was the end of mine before I thought to get a picture. When I go home I will mourn that I can no longer shop at Wegman's and no longer get good subs.

What would summer memories be without swimming? We look like Indians, all brown from the sun, our skin is dry from chlorine and our hair is suffering...but that is what summer is all about.

I think the best memory of him from this summer will be him in his diaper all day long. Between being in and out of the pool all day and the heat, it's easier to keep him this way. And little babies in diapers are just plain adorable, if I do say so myself!

Crispy, delicious green apples are my best friend these days. Pregnancy is making me crave cold and fruity things and these apples are perfect. Yum.

Brooklynne has loved the huge trampoline and jumps and jumps and jumps on it when she's not in the pool. I have been banned from jumping with her because I bounce her too high, thus creating meltdowns, complete with tears and genuine sadness. So I snap pictures instead, and when she's not on, I jump and laugh and squeal like a little girl. ;)

And meals like this...plums, strawberries, pita chips with roasted red pepper hummus and a boiled egg? This makes a pregnant lady very happy. That meal was a beautiful memory right there.

Ahh....reading! I've actually had time to read this summer! It's been wonderful. Soaking up the sun on the deck while reading a really good book...Heaven. My Mom is the one who gets some awesome books from the library and my sisters and I all fight over them. And talk about the characters as if they were our long lost friends.

This summer has been full of breezy nights on the deck, talking and snacking and hoping against hope that the mosquito's would stay away.

And this one is probably my best memory of this summer--my adorable little nephew. He is so calm and chill and let's me take lots of pictures of him.

Sisters and summer. Is there anything better?

The sunset's here are phenomenal. I have a lot of pictures on my camera of them, because almost every day ends with a gorgeous view like this one.

Happy Summer.

Every Day is a Celebration

2011-07-19T11:34:00.001-05:00

The first time I saw him I couldn't eat.

Which is a miracle in itself--me, not able to eat?

He sat across from me at dinner and talked to my dad. I stared at my plate and picked at my food, afraid to look at him. He was the most beautiful male creature I had ever seen!
It was the first time we had visited this church for their missions conference and they put on quite a spread. For all the visitors there was housing provided, 3 hot meals daily, and great services with excellent music, plays and preaching. I was quite impressed. But even more than the smoked brisket (it was Texas, after all), I was impressed with that guy with the blonde hair and the blue eyes. I was impressed with the way he listened to godly men of God speak. When the teens were talking and goofing around at one end of the table, he was leaning in to hear what the preachers had to say--probably hoping to glean a little wisdom from their years of experience. I was impressed with his sweet personality, his friendliness and the fact that he wasn't just plain immature like a lot of the guys I knew. I noticed that he was a servant, always helping people.

So maybe I'm a little embarrassed when I think back and remember that I noticed all this stuff about a guy I hardly talked to, but I guess it was good because a year later he wanted to get to know me. I was in complete shock. I cried, actually. He was the perfect guy. He loved God, sang, had a great personality, played sports and was good looking to boot! These are the guys you snatch up without question because they are rare breeds in the day that we live.
Well, I did have a few questions and thus began hours of phone conversation. We asked each other everything we could think of to get to know the other as much as possible. We laughed and joked but we talked seriously too. I was afraid that something bad would happen--that it was all too good to be true--so I tried to keep my heart to myself as much as I could. It wasn't working and I was falling for him fast. Every day I prayed and asked the Lord if it wasn't his will that he would take away my feelings, please stop it now before we got in to far. All he did was make my feelings stronger and show me verses in the Bible confirming that this was the man he wanted me to be with.

A few months later, my dad bought him a plane ticket and worked it out for Nate to surprise me for Christmas. Our family sat at a resturuant for breakfast and as I talked to Nate on the phone for a minute, he walked up to our table with pink roses. ( I later learned that my dad had prompted him to get the roses because white is for friendship, pink is for something more than friendship and red is for love. They were perfect!)
After the shock wore off, my dad said, "he came here to ask if you would court him," because Nate was a little flustered to say it himself. ;)
I said yes, and once again I couldn't eat that morning at breakfast as I sat in awe, still hardly able to look into those piercing blue eyes. God hadn't given me the man of my dreams, he had exceeded what I ever dreamed I would get in a man.
Over the next almost 2 years, we had a long distance relationship that consisted of hours of talking, web cam, emails and online chatting. Our visits were every few months and every time I grew closer and closer to him and knew I could not spend the rest of my life without him.
In August we were engaged and the following June, I walked down the aisle to meet him at the altar where we held hands for the first time, hugged for the first time and kissed for the very first time. As I looked into his eyes and said my vows, I didn't think there was any way I could possibly love him any more than I did at that moment.

5 years, 2 kids-and-one-on-the-way later, my love for this man has grown stronger than anything I ever thought possible. Every day he continues to exceed my dreams. And I'm being honest--I know that everyone says that they "have the best spouse in the world", but this one is truly a rare breed. The best things about him are his patience, care, love and respect for me, his servants heart and the way he helps me with the kids and loves to please me. His walk with the Lord and sensitivity to the Holy Spirit convict me almost daily to strengthen my walk with Jesus Christ.

2 weeks ago we celebrated our 5th anniversary. It was a very different day from the one we had celebrated 5 years before but our love, commitment and respect for each other far exceeded that day. Because we were travelling, we stayed in a friend's house with my sister in the room and I wore baggy pink p.j. pants that night, but we weren't dependent on a fancy hotel and bubble bath to prove that we loved each other, that we had something to celebrate. The wonderful life that we share together, the daily chores, talks, watching our kids grow, laughing all the while, is something that is worth celebrating every single day. I am living a dream that I never really thought was possible. My husband loves God, me and our children. Yes, each day is a celebration in my book.
Happy Anniversary, baby. Because of you I have something to celebrate every day. I love you.

P.S.: The following week, we were able to spend a night away in a beautiful hotel and take time to focus on each other--so no feeling sorry for us ;)

Baby #3, Month 1!

2011-07-14T13:45:00.000-05:00

I can't believe I am starting pregnancy post's again. It seems like such a short time ago that I was posting about "baby #2", but it couldn't have been because that little man is now 21 months old!

This post will be long and without pictures since they are all on my computer at home. If you are interested in the details, read on and if not you are more than welcome to skip this post. ;)

On June 22nd, I took a pregnancy test and it was negative pretty quickly. I set it on the counter and forgot about it. About 10-15 minutes later I went back to clean the bathroom, saw it sitting there, picked it up and saw a second faint pink line. In my experience you don't get a second faint pink line unless it's truly positive. It was early so I wasn't 100% sure.
But I was sure.
It was weird.

Anyway, Nate wasn't home so I ran out and burst out to Brookie, "MOMMY IS HAVING A BABY!" I had my phone there to video the whole thing. She smiled and asked, "is it a girl?" (She's been praying for a baby sister).

We planned on how we would tell daddy and this is how it went:

When Nate came home, Brookie told him that she made him something in the oven. The oven was off. He opened it and inside was a bun on a silver platter. He was like, "ohh...wow", not really getting it.
I said, "Brookie, tell him what it is!"
Brookie said, "it's a bun in the oven"
Nate, "A bun in the oven?"
Me, "A Bun in Mommy's oven, right Brookie?"
A look of understanding came over Nate's face as he looked at me with a huge smile. "Are you honest?" He said as he walked towards me and gave me a huge hug. I was, of course, squealing and saying, "can you believe it?!"
The next morning I took another test and got a second pink line about 10-15 minutes later. The morning after that, I bit the bullet, went to Target and bought a digital test. I had to know 100% for sure. I bought it and went right into the bathroom at Target to take the test. I normally don't take more than one, but because I was only 3 weeks along and the lines were so faint I had to be sure. I waited while the little hourglass on the screen turned for what seemed like forever and then the word popped up, "PREGNANT."
I had never taken a digital test before and it was so exciting to see that word!

To my surprise, Brookie was able to keep it a secret for a whole entire week until we came home because I wanted to tell my family in person. Brookie handed them a little gift bag and my Mom was the one who opened it to find tiny mittens with "March, 2012" written on the package. She knew right away and everyone caught on quickly and we were all so excited! Everyone then kept it a secret for 4 more days (no small feat in my huge family) until we had a chance to call Nate's parents, who were thrilled as well. I had a few more friends I needed to tell first and then almost 2 weeks after I found out it was made "public".

One funny thing that happened was that Brookie told me that her friend Trenton knew I was having a baby. I asked her how he knows and she said, "he just does, I didn't tell him!" When I questioned her further she confessed that she had told him, "My Mom's getting big". LOL! She knows that my belly will get bigger and I guess that was her way of telling without really telling. Of course he had no clue by what she had said. I am very proud of her for keeping it a secret even though she was SO excited!

I've had a rough few days morning sickness-wise, but yesterday and today have been more manageable. I don't throw up for which I am VERY thankful, but I do get extremely nauseous in my throat and always feel like I'm going to. I have to eat often, go to bed early and sleep late to keep it under control. Being at my family's house has been great because they take Joe in the morning and let me sleep in (Brookie sleeps in with me :). That has been a huge blessing! I've still been able to eat fairly healthy and workout on a pretty regular basis. Not as much as I would like, but it's better than nothing!

And there is the very, very long introduction to my third pregnancy. As I did in the past I will be posting each month about how everything is going, along with the pictures of my growing belly. :) I am so thankful to God that he has chosen to bless us with another child. I do not deserve it and I do not take it for granted in the least bit. We are so thankful!

Of Babies and Things

2011-07-09T12:05:00.002-05:00

On Wednesday June 29th, we arrived safe and sound at my parents house, excited to be there but exhausted from the early morning flight. The next day we planned on leaving for a friends wedding and wouldn't return home until 1am Friday night. After that it would be sit back, relax and wait for my sister to give birth. We had 3 weeks until her due date.
At 1am we were still awake, talking and enjoying time with family when my sister called.
A very pregnant sister who should be sleeping doesn't call at 1 in the morning unless something is up. And it was. Her water had broke, 3 weeks and 1 day before her due date. The next hour was rushed, packing my camera, laptop, phone and charger, pillows and blankets (in preparation for an all-nighter) and just general butterflies in my stomach knowing that I was going to experience my sister give birth to her first child within 24 hours.
When we arrived, she was checked in and 2 Cm. It would be a while. She was nervous and felt unprepared since it was so early. Since she wanted to go natural with no pain medication, my Mom talked to her about breathing techniques and how labor would most likely go.

We sat and talked until she was finally allowed to stand up and then we started walking the halls. That hurried things right along, but the beginning stages or labor are still pretty slow and uneventful.

We decided to rest for a while until things picked up a little, but she couldn't sleep because of contractions every 10 minutes or so. We slept in the waiting room for a while and when I woke up and checked on her, active labor had begun.

Over the next several hours, she progressed very well but when it came time to push had some problems. The baby was stuck against her pelvic bone and every time she pushed the pain was excruciating. It was a very unnatural feeling for her to do so because of that awful pain. After about 2 hours of pushing and getting no where, (we couldn't even see the head) Greg sent a prayer chain out and I called my dad to pray.

Within minutes the baby slid into position and about a half hour later Michael Joseph arrived, 7lbs, 19.5 inches with a head full of dark hair. There were lots of tears of joy in the room as all the tension from the last few hours was released. Mommy and baby (and daddy :) are doing well and Michael just get's cuter every day!

I am so proud of Claire and the wonderful job she did through her labor. Even at the end when she kept saying she couldn't do it any more, somehow she focused and made it through! Being there was such an emotional experience for me. That day we had announced my 3rd pregnancy to my family :) and that I night watched my sister give birth. Being so tired from the trip, not sleeping all night, the tension from watching my best friend go through a hard labor and pregnancy hormones made a pretty rough trip for me as we left the hospital to drive to the wedding. I cried most of the way, slept a little bit and then felt much better.

On the 4th of July, we all got together and went outside for a few pictures. They will be on my photography blog later but for now I just wanted to share a few.

As you can see, Mom is beaming and looks wonderful!

Very proud of his little boy

We are both Mommie's now! It's hard to imagine, because life seems the same as it always was. We are still best friends and share hearts about everything and nothing can come between us.

Later, I will share the details of pregnancy/baby #3 and how I told Nate and our families. :)

Travelling

2011-06-28T10:48:00.001-05:00

Well, tomorrow starts our big trip home! Our flight leaves at 6:00am (Blah--make that a 3:30am wake up call!) and we'll be in at 12:00pm. Packing for the kids and I for a month has been a little overwhelming. I don't want to under pack and I don't want to over pack, but I think I finally have it figured out.
I am SO excited to be travelling with my husband! I haven't been on a flight with him since Brookie was 3 months old. Since then I've done close to 70 flights and 40 layovers by myself with the kids. I don't mind it, but having my hubby along is a HUGE help.
Determined to eat healthy while we travel (and not spend a fortune on airport food) I have whole wheat bagels, fruit and yogurt for breakfast and wheat thins and fiber one bars for snacks if we need it. I am never lacking for food when we travel...in fact, I usually pack too much food! I'm particular about having a lot of healthy options and not be subject to whatever is the cheapest in the airport, which is normally Chinese food or pizza.
When we get there we'll be driving a few hours away for a friend's wedding. Nate is a groomsman and I'm the photographer. I'm looking forward to it! We'll also be celebrating our 5th anniversary, but won't get to do much on that day since we'll be driving, so we're planning for something later in the year.
Well, it's off to finish packing and straighten the house a little. Because of our travels, wedding and 4th of July celebrations, I probably won't be posting until later next week. Hope you all have a wonderful week and fun time celebrating our countries freedom!

Monday Morning Memories

2011-06-26T15:55:00.000-05:00

It was of those Do I finish the dishes or be a fun Mom and make jewelry with my daughter? moments. I picked the latter, partly out of guilt because she had been asking me for a few days to help her and we hadn't gotten around to it yet. It was a quiet Monday morning and Joe wasn't awake yet so it was a perfect time to spend a few minutes with my little girl.

"I'll make one for you and you make one for me, Mommy", she said excitedly, so that's what we did.

I don't sew. I don't craft. I'm not proud of it, but I'm just not creative like that. I'm sure you were supposed to do something other than string the beads on the stretchy string and tie a knot to close it, but she's 4. Who cares? I'm bringing knotted necklace claps back in, baby. Just you wait.

Talking and Stringing beads. The breakfast dishes are on the table and so is the box of cereal but Brookie is more important.

It was no more than 10 minutes. We were done with our beautiful pieces and she was ready for something else. She went off, happy and I finished the dishes. No harm done, just a little memory to start off our Monday morning!

Ahh...Summer!

2011-06-23T21:56:00.000-05:00

Summer has been around here for a while now as we've been experiencing temp's in the high 90's and 100's for several weeks. But when June 21st rolls around, it's officially summer and you must celebrate. My plan was to organize most of the day, but after naps we headed down to the pool to soak up a little vitamin D.

Our snacks were peaches and string cheese and Joe took his peach and sat right down in the middle of the fountain to eat it--too hot to eat it anywhere else I guess! :)

Even though summer here can be unbearably hot, we still love it. Lots of cookouts, fresh fruit and veggies, swimming, sun and nightly walks. Hope you all are making the best of your summer days as well!

A little Tuesday Randomness

2011-06-21T14:40:00.000-05:00

Nothing like some good old Tuesday randomness to break up your day, right? My camera has been out more and more lately. I want to perfect my shots and I don't want it to be something I just get out for photo shoots or a special occasion and my kids are the perfect subjects. I don't make them pose or say cheese because I love capturing them in whatever they happen to be doing at the time.

Like smashing his nose with a banana...yes, Mommy is here to capture the moment!

Nothing says summer more than a juicy tomato sandwich. We grew up on tomato sandwiches and I can't get enough of them!

This one was dressed up with spicy hummus spread on the bread, 2% cheese, spinach and red onion. Yum! (Those on Weight Watchers, this sandwich is only 4 points plus--comment if you want to know details.)

I love watching Brookie be a "Mom". During lunch she wasn't eating, but feeding her baby instead, talking to her and being so sweet. I'm sure about the poor doll on the table, naked and neglected, though. We'll have to work on that.

And speaking of summer, these chips say summer the minute you bite into them. It reminds me of bbq chicken, baked beans and every summer picnic I've ever been to. The Lay's brand does not compare to these, trust me. They are SO good and my kids love them too!

To end, some crazy little faces from my loves...

Happy Tuesday!

The Perfect Fried Egg

2011-06-18T23:01:00.000-05:00

Dad,

Almost every time I fry an egg I think of you. I think of the most amazing breakfast's you make us--the potatoes with just the right amount of grease and crispiness, the bacon cooked to perfection, toast lathered with butter and of course the ever perfect fried egg. To this day I can't cook them right. I flip them too early or too late and when I do, they fold into a weird shape and the yolk runs out into the pan. As I dump the blob of what used to be an egg onto my plate I wonder if I'll ever be able to cook them like you do.

There are a lot of other things I wonder if I'll ever be able to do like you. I wonder if I'll ever be able to look at anything and put a spiritual application into it. I wonder if I'll ever have the boldness to declare the name of Jesus Christ like you do. I wonder if I'll have the walk with God like you do, and the heart to help people like you do.

I wonder if you know what an impact the missions trips, special meetings all over the country, the street preaching, door knocking, prayer meetings, devotions and family rap sessions had on my life. I wonder if you know how much I loved our heart-to-heart talks, hung on every word, and even when I disagreed, look back now and think, "he was right."

I wonder if you know how much I appreciate and admire the love and passion you have for my Mom, even after 27 years of marriage. I wonder if you remember the best birthday of my life--when I turned 17. You woke me up at 5 in the morning after driving an hour in the snow to come back from the men's meeting and take me out to breakfast. For the next few hours we talked and laughed and I thought, "I can't believe he came back for my birthday".

Just 3 years later, I took your arm, the doors opened and the crowd stood as the bridal march was played. It was all a blur but I remember thinking, "this is the day I've dreamed of. My daddy is walking me down the aisle....these are my last moments with him." You gave me away to the new man in my life. My new authority, the one who would take care of me now. I wonder how hard that was for you but I know you were content knowing it was God's will.

Now we live thousands of miles apart but our hearts are more bonded than ever, cherishing the emails, phone calls and visits. And I know that this sounds cliche', but no matter how far apart we are, you're always so close to my heart.
Today, I watched as my little girl sat and waited while her daddy cooked her a fried egg sandwich. She ate it with abandon, the same way I would eat your eggs. Maybe someday she'll write a love letter to him, remembering the eggs, the talks, the trips. I can only pray they have the same relationship that we have.
I love you, dad. I wish I could be with you on this Father's Day, just like I wish I could be with you on every Father's Day. But for now this will have to do.

Always your little girl,

Jen

Tea Party

2011-06-15T14:15:00.000-05:00

A few months' before Brooke's 4th birthday, I had the idea to have a just girls tea party at a tea room. After a little Google and calling around, I found the perfect place just a few minutes from my house! I'm not sure who was more excited--me or her! :)

All dressed up!

With some friends and grandma who were there early before we went inside...forgot to get pictures with everyone else!

They had it decorated SO cute for the girls. The started with peach/strawberry tea...

...and then got a scone and fruit cup and after that, chicken salad, egg salad, crackers and quiche.

Having a Blast!

SO lady-like!

Lastly, they got strawberry shortcake for dessert, which I did not expect. It was so nice!

More friends :)

Getting Ready to Open Presents

Before we left, I got a picture with all the girls. They are such sweet friends/cousins to Brookie and she had so much fun! Afterwards we all came back and went swimming--icing on the cake. :)

A picture right before swimming, because I forgot to get one before! Me and My precious little 4 year old who is growing up SO fast.

Walk-A-Thon 2011

2011-06-13T14:07:00.001-05:00

Every year, our church host's a walk-a-thon for younger kids and bike rally for the older ones to raise money for their clubs program throughout the year, activities, camping trips, youth camp, missions trips, etc. They go out for a few weeks before to get sponsorship. It's a lot of hard work but it's a great way for the kids to help pay for some of the many expenses it takes to run the programs.

Brookie did so good asking for sponsorship--I was SO proud of her! She is very shy, but she looked each person in the eye and explained what she was doing and who could resist? :)

The morning of her walk

I planned on Joey walking as well...Brookie did it when she was 2 I figured he could too :)

We filled them up with lots of carbs and protein (and chemicals, saturated fat and grease--but oh well, it was a special day!)

That belly on the left? That's why little brother was walking too ;)

We were blessed with a beautiful day! It was partly cloudy, didn't get much above the 90's and there was a beautiful breeze!

Love their little shadows

Walking can be very distracting for little boys...so many trees, and rocks and grass!

Come to find out, a mile is a little long for a 1.5 year old to walk (without it taking hours). More than anything he was way too distracted! He walked half a mile and daddy rescued him while Brookie and I finished

So excited to be nearing the finish line! She did a great job!

Later, Nate and I took advantage of the beautiful trail and rode our bikes 6 miles. He was pulling the kids in the trailer on the back.

All that riding wore him out :)

I'm so proud of my little girl! She raised several hundred dollars for her walk-a-thon and was a real trooper!

Next year he'll be walking the whole mile too!

On the way home, the kids were rewarded with a special treat--a cream slush from sonic. Of course it was grape because purple is Brooklynne's favorite color!

When we came home, we ate lunch, took naps and then went swimming. It was such a fun day!

My Favorite Time of Day

2011-06-07T23:06:00.000-05:00

Mornings can be pretty crazy. Breakfast, devotions, cleaning, laundry, breaking up 1 and 4 year old's arguments, lunch prep--normal daily Mommy stuff. Naps are usually around 1, so after we have lunch and clean up we head upstairs to read before I lay them down. It is one of my favorite times of the day. We lay on my bed and the kids bring in the stack of books and we choose a few to read. Joe Joe doesn't stay still for very long--he climbs all over, reads books to himself and throws them on the floor. Brookie is calm and quiet and lays very still, listening to every word. They are so different from each other but I love them for their differences. It's a few minutes out of the day that I get to relax, unwind a little and enjoy my sweet babies.

I've tried a few times to take self-portraits with my phone and this is about the best I got.I love it and I'll cherish this memory of us reading together forever.

Healthy Living Tips: Planning Ahead

2011-06-02T21:23:00.000-05:00

At the beginning of the year, I bought a marker board and it changed my life. True story. I have everything in one place--my meal plan for that week, grocery needs that come up so I don't forget to put them on my main list, upcoming events, etc, etc. I'm learning that to eat the way I want and need to, it doesn't just happen. I have to plan out how my week will go.
For instance, I have music practice once a week on Tuesdays at 6:00pm. That means I have to be out the door with the kids at 5:30 and this interferes with us eating dinner at a normal time. If I wait until afterwards, I'll be starving and tempted to pull through a fast food drive-through and blow it on a burger and fries. So Tuesdays is my Crockpot or soup day. I make a meal in the morning and it either cooks in the crockpot or simmers on the stove all day. That evening, we'll eat a little earlier than normal but this way I know dinner will be ready, I can get out the door when I need to and stick to the food that I want to eat.
Sunday's are the same way. We eat a big lunch after church and then leave for the evening service around 5:00. At that time, I'm not hungry, but after church I'm famished and more than willing to eat the first thing that comes along! So I've started snacking on the way to church. It might be veggies and dip, fruit and some cheese or crackers with peanut butter. It's always small, but it's something to curb the hunger so after church I can eat a normal sized meal rather than gorging on everything in sight. ;)
Eating and living a healthy lifestyle is not always convenient. It's way too easy to grab pre-packaged, processed foods to snack on or run through a drive-through and have a meal in 1.8 minutes. Making a well rounded, nourishing meal takes planning and time, but if we are willing to think and plan ahead, it will be well worth it in the end!

Memorial Day, 2011

2011-05-31T08:34:00.000-05:00

The morning after big party days are always a bit sluggish around here. We sleep in and the morning is slow as we try to recover from picnic food overload and clean up the aftermath. Yes, having big groups of people over is a lot of work--before, during and after--but so worth it for the fun times, the laughs and lots of memories made. Our Memorial Day was filled with all of those, but also a spirit of remembrance of those who have given their lives and are still serving our great country.

I hope you enjoy a little peek into our day yesterday, and I hope you all had a wonderful one as well!

(Remember you can click on any picture to see it bigger and clearer!)

Cousins decked out in Patriotic wear

My sweet decorating skills came to life on the food table. 3 flags, a bandanna and a vase? Bet you didn't know I had it in me!

Getting a little patriotic with the brownies

My cute little Kiddos enjoying their meal

Trying to stick to somewhat of a healthy meal--turkey burger on a whole wheat bun, strawberry spinach salad, cherries and whole wheat macaroni salad. Yum!

Too Many Cheetos!

One of the Grill Masters (My hubby was the other one and he did a great job!)

He (above) made these gourmet Hot Dogs that he saw on a cooking show that morning! They were amazing!

Wearing the same shirt from last year...she's grown a few inches this year but only gained 3 pounds so not much different! ;)

Love that Man!

We are blessed with a yard big enough to play volley ball in, great for big groups

Cousins and best Friends

Pretty like her Mommy :)

More Volley Ball!

Of course he had to be patriotic too!

Peek-A-Boo!

And last, our little family at the end of the day. We are so thankful for our country and the wonderful freedom to celebrate with friends and family because of so many who sacrificed their lives! God Bless America!

The Big Four

2011-05-26T14:21:00.000-05:00

Dear Brooklynne Nicole,

Yesterday was your fourth birthday. The whole day before I mourned your "last day being 3" but you would have none of it. You were so excited to be 4 that there was no delaying it any further. Poppy and Nonnie sent you a big box of presents that you opened on your last night of being 3. The next day you woke up and got showered with kisses and hugs from me and a phone call from daddy at work to wish you happy birthday. After your requested breakfast of honey-nut cheerios (which you request every day) you played with your new letter puzzle from Nonnie and Poppy.

Lunch was a butterfly cheese sandwich, chips and melon.

Joe-Joe wished you "Happy Birthday" in only a language he could come up with and you guys shared a sweet hug

The paper towel on the fridge tradition has been passed down from my family, and we of course continued it on your birthday.

You helped Mommy make your cake (really it was brownies, but I didn't tell you ;) and because it was your birthday, I let you lick the batter.

We frosted your cake together...it ended with a bit of a meltdown and being sent to your room, but it was fun while it lasted.

Buddy joined in the festivities by having cake batter dripped on his poor white head

You got all the special "treats", but you were so sweet and shared with your brother! Brownie batter, pink frosting and a juice box. You are such a kind big sister!

You love your new doll from Poppy and Nonnie and played with her a lot

After your little meltdown, I finished frosting your cake and put on sprinkles that you requested. We went to church and had to wait until we came home to have your party.

Pizza with olives on it and orange pop was the dinner request, but we got a hot-and-ready, so no olives were available Never fear, I saved the day and bought you a can of them instead. I chopped them up and put them right on top. Plus, you got to eat lots of whole ones too!

After dinner it was present time! You had presents from your Grammy in N.Y. and Daddy and Mommy...so many!

And after presents, time for cake!

You hardly ate any of it--to many presents to play with ;)

Joe Joe of course enjoyed his cake while you played!

And Mommy had some too--it was delicious if I say so myself.

I hope that you know that Mommy loves you with all of her heart. Despite the daily mistakes and apologies I have to make to you, I try my best to be the mommy that you deserve. I can't believe you are 4 and I am so proud of the sweet little girl you are becoming! I pray that you always love and serve Jesus with your whole heart! Happy, Happy Birthday.

Love,

Mommy

(Mothers Day, 2011)

Enjoying the Small Things...

2011-05-17T20:33:00.000-05:00

Not too much going on around here besides the normal busy-ness of life. :) I don't bring my camera with me wherever I go because it's too much to carry when we're just going about our normal lives with the kids, but my phone is always with me and I'm constantly snapping away! Tonight I copied a bunch of pictures off my phone on to my computer, just to show the small things we've been doing lately--and enjoying every minute of it!

Watching the kids play in the driveway on a warm night...

An impromptu picnic one Sunday after church...

Happy for creative lunch ideas (spinach salad, pita chips and carrots with hummus)...

Date Night to spend a little time focusing on our marriage and each other...

Treating myself on date night with a mini cupcake... ;) It was worth every single 180 calorie!

And a treat from the ice cream truck for the first time ever!

It's still "spring" here but feels like summer--in the 80's and sometimes 90's every day. Soon we'll be in the 100's and won't be spending much time outside unless there is swimming involved, so I'm enjoying this gorgeous weather while I can!

Hope you all are enjoying the little moments that make up our days and not letting them slip by! Life passes to quickly and we tend to take it for granted. Enjoy your small things!

To Mom

2011-05-07T20:44:00.000-05:00

Happy Mother's Day to the wonderful woman who birthed me into this world! You fed, changed, bathed, clothed, rocked, taught me how to eat macaroni, helped me learn to walk and go potty in the big girl toilet. You taught me to read, write, add, subtract, multiply and divide. You gave your best efforts to teach me that a plus b equals c even though I cried every day those first few weeks of Algebra. By example, you taught me how a wife and mother should keep her house, treat her husband, nourish her children, hold her tongue and love her Jesus. You were there when I became a Mom and at my side those first few weeks when I had no idea what I was doing with a newborn. The day I had Brookie, my love and appreciation for you grew more as we now had a special bond--we were both Mommies. I can call you anytime and you always ease my fears--whether one of the kids is sick, has a weird rash, is getting up at night, or being just plain bad, you always have the right thing to say. Not surprisingly, you are always right! You have wisdom beyond any woman I have ever known and I don't know what I would do without your quiet and gentle support in my life. I've said it before but I'll say it again: You are my hero, Mom. I love you more than you know. I rise up and call you blessed and wish you the happiest Mother's Day today!

So This is Love...

2011-04-25T09:28:00.001-05:00

He was laying in the sand, mostly covered in it from the kids burying their daddy. The kids had lost interest and moved on to something else while I watched them, making sure they didn't wander too far away or go too deep into the water. Most of the morning had been like that and it was fine with me--we brought the kids to the beach for Easter weekend and I was more than happy to focus on them and make sure they were safe and having fun. I couldn't help but think of our honeymoon and the fun we had playing in the waves, his strong arms wrapped around me, keeping me from floating too far away from him. It's different now--we have kids to take care of and can't just leave them to fend for themselves so there was no swimming and playing for us yet.
But he just looked so handsome and strong and I couldn't resist. I thought of our honeymoon and I didn't want that spark to be any different than it was at this moment.
I jumped out of my chair, went and leaned over and started making out with my husband.
(Yes, I did. I'm married and we are allowed and as our Pastor says, "Christians should be the most making out couples in the world" :)
Nate was surprised and laughed as I kissed him for a few more seconds and then ran into the water, squealing because it was so cold. He got out from under the pile of sand and ran after me, his blue eyes twinkling while he smiled and looked and me with so much love in his eyes I felt like my heart could burst. He wrapped his arms around me as he carried me a little deeper in to the water to protect me from floating too far away from him. My sister was with us so she kept an eye on the kids while we played in the the waves, getting sprayed with salt water, flirting, laughing and yes-kissing a little more. It was different than 5 years ago when we did it--my eyes wandered to the kids occasionally, making sure they were OK. We couldn't stay out there as long as we wanted, but the love and the passion between us was just as strong as it was when we were first married. Really, it's much stronger than it was then but sometimes it takes a little moment like that to realize it.
Our lives get very wrapped up in our kids--feeding, bathing, entertaining, training and loving--but sometimes you just have to get up, realize the kids will be fine and go make out with that handsome man you married. Because he deserves it, you deserve it and your marriage deserves it.

Healthy Living Tips #4: Get Movin', Baby!

2011-04-20T00:03:00.001-05:00

Healthy living isn't all just about the way you eat. It is just as important to exercise to keep your metabolism going, strengthen your heart, tone and strengthen muscles, shape your body--there are so many positives that come from getting your body up and moving!

I don't want to make this one of those long, boring articles on exercise, ;) so I'll just give you a few pointers that I've learned over the past 10 years. I started working out when I was 14--running a mile every day--and have constantly been changing it up since then. Besides running, I've done stationary bikes, elliptical machines, treadmill's, aerobics and weight training classes, Pilate's classes, a rebounder and walking. At this point I have my system down pretty good--60 minutes on the elliptical and intervals of strength training every day. I realize that spending 65-70 minutes every day is a lot and not everyone can do that, but you should put yourself first for at least 30 minutes during the day. I do it during my kids nap time and if my daughter doesn't sleep, I tell her she has to stay in her room while Mommy has some time alone so that I can be a better Mommy. :)
Anyway, here are some tips...

Beginners:
Start with walking! Walking is one of the best exercises a person can do. It requires no equipment and it burns calories. It also uses just about every muscle in the body! Start with 10 minutes a day and work up 10 extra minutes a week until you are at 30 minutes a day, 3-5 times a week. Eventually you can add in strength training which will tone specific areas--and it burns longer than cardio so it can boost your metabolism even more!

If you are already working out:
Change it up! It's so important to keep your body guessing so that it doesn't get used to the same thing every day. If you are walking a mile in 15 minutes, aim to walk it in 10, or add 10 extra minutes to your work out. Throw in some squats, lunges and push-ups. I've found that the more I switch up my workouts, the better my metabolism is and the more toned I get.

Don't have a treadmill or elliptical or gym membership?
Do a workout dvd! There are work out's that can get you started at walking a mile or 2, or there are workouts that will seriously leave you wanting to DIE. :) When the weather is good, take a walk around your neighborhood. I have a double jogger that we use at least 3-4 times a week in the summer, so I'm walking and pushing my kids at the same time which burns even more calories. Either way, anything that get's your heart rate up and gets your body moving is better than sitting on the couch, and it's SO good for you!

Candid Moments

2011-04-13T14:18:00.000-05:00

...my little butterfly princess playing the piano...

...my crazy little guy before we cut his hair, happy to find a sock on the floor...

...his chubby hand holding his favorite "baw"

...the little moments between 2 best friends...

the angle that tells a cute story...

...and a little reminder of Buddy, who needs a haircut and who is the kids best playmate every day.

These pictures usually don't get framed or noticed much, but I'm appreciating them more and more as they tell a story of the daily moments in their lives. They grow up too fast and I want to capture even the "non Kodak moments", because sometimes they are the ones I want to remember the most.

Reunited

2011-04-05T13:14:00.000-05:00

My trip to Florida was wonderful, but I missed my husband and babies SO much and knew we needed to spend time together as soon as I got back. I got home on a Wednesday, so we planned a family night on Thursday. The weather was absolutely gorgeous for a picnic. We picked up subs, then walked to sit near the river and eat. I set up my self timer for this picture because it was such a perfect evening and I wished that someone was there to get a candid shot of us eating and enjoying each other. :)

Subs and cheetos--of course she's smiling! :)

I almost had several heart attacks that evening when Joe went way too close to the water, but thankfully there were no tragedies and we all lived happily ever after.... ;)

The 2 men in my life. Joe Joe LOVES his daddy. He sobs when Nate walks out the door!

When we ordered dinner, there were some fresh chocolate chip cookies there so we picked up 2 to share between us. Someone was very happy :)

Best Friends

Yes...this made me extremely dizzy. When I was a kid I used to be able to twirl for hours it seemed. Not anymore! It was fun, though, and made us laugh :)

After the picnic and playing, we took a beautiful walk along the river. We didn't notice how far we had gone, but the kids did great and we even found a little park along the way for them to play on. :)

It was a perfect way to spend my first night at home, back with my family where I belong. Vacation was wonderful but there is nothing like being surrounded by the loves of my life!