Samuel

Please pray for my friend, Karole Ann and her newborn son Samuel. They were in Maine with her family over Christmas when Samuel got sick. They thought it was possibly RSV, but he had a Dr's apt the next day so decided to try and make it till then. When they got home they took him to the Dr. , but when they reached the office Samuel was blue and having sever difficulty breathing, and was rushed to the ER. From there he was tubed and life flighted to a different hospital 1 1/2 hours away. He is still on a ventilator and will be for a few days. He has a very severe case of RSV. Please keep Heath, Karole Ann, Daniel, Andrew and especially Samuel in your prayers.

Hip HIp Hooray!

Well we are home from Indiana. We had a great time with our family. The kids made out like bandits (like always), but not so much with toys. They got some new ones, but Caleb and Ian got one huge gift together. Lee and Linda got them the Cars tv. They are loving it. Aunt Heather got the boys they completely awesome dress up things. Ian has a lion and Caleb a Dino. You have tails, hands, feet and heads. They make noise when you push the paw. So I now have a dinosaur and lion in the house. That is what they do when they are not playing with Riley's gift. Heather got her a Little Mermaid stroller, pack-n-play and play mat with a baby. It is really cute and Riley loves it. She was crawling in the stroller and playing with the baby. The boys love it too which I find hiralious! Caleb and Ian fight over who gets the stroller and they pretend to change her diaper and then to bounce her to sleep while singing to her! I am going to try and get some pictures of it. Caleb tells me that I can't take too many because I will wake up baby Kate (Scott and Heathers baby). It is pretty cute. I think they will be good dads someday. We just have to get through the toddler years and then the teenage years alive!

We are heading out to mom and dads tomorrow to spend time with family that has traveled in. We hope you all have a wonderful Christmas and a great time with friends and family!

Just her size

As you can tell from my previous posts, Riley loves to get into cabinets. But the fun part for her on this one, was the fact that she could sit on the edge and tap her feet. She will do thins on any step in the house. It is the perfect size for her to sit and have her feet touch. Aside from this fact, she loves to play with the things inside. Yesterday it was a bag of chinese noodles, today who knows!

Santa?...how did he.....?

*Daddy and his baby girl*
*the beginings of a messy room*
*we have this down pat now*
*Cool new stuff*
*How does this work?*
* Our Little Drummer boy*


Well last night we celebrated Christmas at our house. The kids and I made cookies yesterday afternoon and then piled some on a plate to put by the tree. We had to get the kids out of the house so we could get the presents under the tree. So we did what any family would do- we went to see Santa. Now you have to realize we have not taken the kids to see Santa before. I know, I know- you are sitting there with your mouth gaping opes, that we have never taken our 4 year old before. We were always going out of town or had a small infant with us, and really never wanted to try the whole screaming thing. Last night was great. There was a little line, but it moved pretty quickly (for a Santa line). The boys went right up and sat next to him, but Riley??? NOOOOO was her comment. It came more in the form of a terrified look on her face and a huge wail. So we have pictures of Santa and the boys. No need to torture the little girl. He was not a really good Santa, by the way. There was a better one there a few weekends ago. This one didn't really interact with the kids at all. He just sat there to pose for the pictures. I was kind of sad. While we looked at the toy train next to Santa's house, we got a phone call that someone had been in our house. So we head home to see what had happened. only to find presents under the tree and stockings all filled up. The boys ate the rest of the cookies Santa left behind and then dove into the presents. It was so much fun. The boys opened one gift after another and then settled on their music sets to play with. Riley had fun with Daddy opening her gifts. She actually started opening them herself. At her 1st birthday, she was unsure what to do. She has got it now! We really only got the kids one toy this year. I knew they would get some from the grandparents, so we got them books and clothing. But they love to get clothes! They will put all their new things on and have fun trying them on. Makes it easier on me! So now today I am doing laundry and packing for our Christmas up in Kentuckiana. From our family to yours- May you have a blessed time with family and friends, filled with love and laughter. Merry Christmas!!

This is what happens..

when mommy forgets to make sure the bathroom door is closed. I was loading the dishwasher and I hear the laugh, only to find my precious daughter on the floor pulling bandaids out of boxes and tossing them in the air. She was so upset when I cleaned up her artwork.

Family going on's

Well there have been a few interesting things happening around here. On Saturday morning, Caleb woke up at 6:30 and was whimpering as he came in our room. When I asked him what was wrong he said that Santa didn't come- there were no presents under the tree. I just looked at him and said -it's not time for Christmas presents yet. We still have a few days, Santa will come later, not today-don't worry. That seemed to make things better, but instead of going back to bed, we were up for the day (grr...). It really was a sweet moment, marred by the early morning rise. :)

Riley has begun saying more things. She says whats this or whats that. She can also say Christmas tree (ismus tee), snowman (sowmn), daddy, hie ya (think power rangers/martial arts), and bop. Unfortunately there is still no mama. One day I will be called by her. She loves to dance too! You put music on and she will find the rhythm and go to town. I will try to catch her on video to put on here. Once she and the boys see the camera it is all cheese and no play. :)

On the other hand the boys have begun calling me mom. How sad is that? A 4 and 2 1/2 year old saying mom instead of mommy. I am really not ready for that but sometimes it sounds pretty cute. The other day I told Caleb not to do something and his response was "Awww, mom!". Made me laugh. Now that Caleb is getting older, I am sure there will be may more changes.

We are having Christmas here tomorrow night, that way we can get our family presents done before heading up to Indiana. I think we will get the boys in the car for church and then put the presents under the tree so it looks like Santa came while we were at church. Then we will leave to Indiana on Thursday. I will post some pictures before we eave on Thursday of our cookie making time and then of our Christmas.

A Wonderful Visit

We were blessed to have our friends, The Noel's, stop and stay with us for a night on their way to Kentucky. The boys were so excited to see Claire and Emilyn. They had such a wonderful time playing together. We got to meet Allie Ann for the first time and as you can see in the pictures Caleb had fun playing with her and Ian helped to change her diaper and get her dressed. WE tried letting them sleep in the same room, but they were just to excited to be back together to even try and sleep. The boys were sad when they left this morning, but they perked up when we told them they would get to see Claire, Emi and Allie when we went to Grandmas house. So that made the goodbyes so much easier. We are so glad that we will still be able to see the Noel's often. IT may not be the same as it was before, but we will take it!

New Adventure

Nothing huge, but I gave all 3 kids a bath at the same time this morning. I did it in their tub, but from now on will do it in ours. It was a little tight. They had fun. The boys played like they always do and Riley either watched or read books. After I got the boys hair washed I did Riley's and for once she didn't fight me. I laid her back and she watched the boys as they talked to her. I got her hair rinsed and the only bad thing was when Ian splashed and it got on Riley's face. All in all it was pretty easy. So maybe we will do a 3 kid bath for a while, at least till Riley is old enough to notice there is something different about the boys. :) I didn't get to take any pictures of it. Our camera is draining batteries like crazy, so not sure what is wrong with it. Hopefully I can get it fixed and get some on here. Have a wonderful day everyone!

Caleb's Birthday Party

We celebrated Caleb's birthday on the 9th. Most of our families came down for the party and then a trip to Chuck E. Cheese. He made out like a bandit this year. He got cool stuff from everyone. He was so funny when opening presents. He would unwrap the gift, go "wow, that's cool- Thanks!" and then put them in a pile and move on. I think it really only took him maybe 10 min to open all the gifts. There was no admiring them or playing with them. He was on a mission. Then we had cake. He decided he wanted a Spider-man cake, so I attempted the craziness and it turned out pretty good. It takes a long time to decorate and your hand will get tired, so be prepared if you decide to make it! I got the candles on the cake and I put it down in front of him and he started singing Happy Birthday to himself, so we all joined in. I guess he thought we were taking to long. :)
There is a picture of him in his new bike/skateboard helmet and pads. He loves them and was so happy when he got them all scuffed up. I didn't get any pictures at Chuck E. Cheese, but they had a blast. They danced to the music and played tons of games. We still have plenty of tokens left over for the next trip. It turned out to be a great first TN birthday. Next year I am sure we will have tons of kids in the pictures too!

Blogger beta

well I have changed our site over to the beta version. So it may take me a little bit to see what I can do on here, near. There may be a few updates coming and some site changes in the near future. Since I have little time during the day to explore and experiment, it may be gradual! If you have changed over to the beta version, what is your favorite thing about it?

How do you..

get a clingy baby to uncling to you? This may sound like an odd question coming from a mom of 3, but the boys were pretty much independent and did their own thing. Little miss on the other hand...well- we are going nuts!! If I am not holding her, she is crying. If I leave the room, she is screaming and crying. When we drop her off for bible class, she is crying. Now I am not talking boo hoo hoo crying, I am talking full fledged screaming, red in the face, not going to stop till you cave in and hold me kind of crying. I love her to death and don't mind holding her, but there comes a time when Mommy needs a break and has to take care of the other kids. She gets so jealous when the boys give me a hug or come near me. So for all you other moms out there- if your child was a tad clingy, how did you deal?

Our home

* Kitchen*
*Master Bedroom*
*Family Room*
*Overstuffed Garage (empty and random boxes)*
* Kids Playroom*
*Boys Room*
*Riley's Room*
*Boys Room*
*Office/ Living Room*

I have gotten a few requests, so here are a few pictures of our home. We are still in the unpacking process and probably will be until the first of the year. It is harder to get things unpacked and put away with 3 kids. But we have our Christmas decorations up and the kids are enjoying them. We don't have any lights outside yet, and not sure if we will this year. It is a really steep room and we don't have a ladder tall enough to get the lights up. I'm not a crazy fan of Matt tying a rope around the chimney and himself to put them up. So maybe next year we will have some pictures of our home all light up.

We are really excited to have Tommy, Michelle, Claire, Emilyn and Allie Ann Noel stopping by on their way to and from KY. We also have the best opportunity to get together with them while we are all up there. I am so glad that Tom and Matt's family are good friends. Caleb and Ian will be so happy to see Claire and Emi. Then We have the Welches stopping by on their long drive back from Boston. So we will get to see Emma and Garrett too! Caleb, Ian and Riley get the best Christmas presents this year! So do Matt and I- getting to see some of our best friends. It is the little things that make us happy!

Pre-K Ho-Hum's

I had a disapointing day yesterday. TN has this great program that they are implementing across the state: They have public pre-k's at just about every elm school. That is accept for the elm school that our kids will go to! They are unsure when they will recieve the funding to get one, so I have begun researching to find a private pre-k place. Most have waiting lists so there is no gureentee that Caleb will be able to go in the fall. I haven't said anything to him yet as not to disapoint him since I am still looking. So far the prices are pretty reasonable for 2 or 3 days. I am now trying to decide if I can put Ian in a 2 year old program too. We had already planned on that before, when we thought we would be able to get free pre-k for Caleb. It will just be a ton of fun looing around trying to find a good place to put Caleb. The church we have been visiting has a 2year-kindergarten program, but a LONG waiting list so we will have to see how it all works out. Maybe Ian or Riley will get to take advantage of the free pre-k later on!

Things to Ponder

I just read two posts that left me, how should I say, amazed.

Jen always has a wonderful way of articulating her innermost feelings. But they also articulate the things I feel. Her insight and thoughts show me God in her. I know she is a huge blessing to those that know her. Jon is truly a lucky man to have such a wonderful wife! In her post she discusses how many times our sevice to God can "focus on the "what" of activities rather than the service of the Lord Jesus."

In another post that was linked on Indies blog, Jarred quotes a poem and then discusses it. It was a reminder to me that God is everywhere and in everything. In every person I see, god is there. God is in me, and I can be a reminder to someone else or the thing that shows God to them. He is a grad student at ACU.

Hope you enjoy these posts as much as I did. Maybe they will cause some thought processes among you! :)

Prayers

As you noticed, Caleb's birthday post was a tad late. I was laid up at mom and dads on some mighty strong muscle relaxers, pin meds, and something else. Aparently I lifted more than I should have and hurt my siatic nerve. It was quite funny actually- I was hobbled over like an older woman and couldn't stand up for a while. But I am better now and hoping not to do that again. I was worried about a slipped disc or something elase, so hopefully I can learn to not try and do everything and ask for help. Andrea Manor was wonderful and watched the kids for a long time so I could go to the ER. I was so thankful to have friends here to help me out! What a blessing Andrea and Abby were. Caleb can't stop talking about Mrs. Andrea and her Abby.


I have a special prayer request. Please keep the Welches in your prayers. Emma has been sick and Garrett has RSV. Marti is not getting much sleep and the kids are pretty fussy. To top it all off, Matt has not been feeling well either. I know it is tiring when your kids are ill and you don't get much sleep. Please pray for the kids to begin feeling better. Garrett has to do breating treatments, which for a 9 month old is not to easy. Pray for Marti's sanity as she is loosing sleep and is "on demand" every second, plus the worry for her children.

My grandpa is staying with my parents for a while as my grandma heals in NY. She had an infection and became altered so her daughter has Grandma living with her. Grandpa has trouble with his short term memory and has had some trouble adjusting to living with mom and dad for a month. I got to see him while I was there for my back and he is struggling and it is very hard for us all to see him like this. Please pray that he begins to adjust well and that what ever God has planned for him will come to pass in an easy manner.

The Mccord family. I never did an update, but Keith passed away and the memorial and funeral were this past week. I cannot even fathom what Stephanie is feeling or going through. Please pray that God will sustain her faith and strength through this time. Pray that she and Lincoln will find peace and comfort in God and strength in family and friends.

Caleb is 4!

4 years ago I was watching my first child so intently, making sure I did everything right and trying to be the perfect mommy. Who knew 4 years later I would have made several mistakes, faced several challenges and realized- there is no perfect mommy or child. Now I am a proud mommy of a pre-schooler. Caleb is such a joy, a challenge at times, and a wonderful big brother. I couldn't have asked God for a more perfect fit for our family. He is so much like Matt it cracks me up, yet he is just as stubborn as me. We are celebrating his birthday tomorrow with family. He decided on a Spider-man theme so I am making a Spider-man cake. Caleb, you are a pure blessing to our family and we all love you very much!

We're in

What a crazy week this has been! We are officially home owners again. It is nice to have a place to spread out in and call our own. Although the garage is full of boxes and trying to unpack with 3 little ones running around can be a tad insane, we are happy. The neighborhood is great and there are several kids the boys age around us.. Every place we would need to go is with in a 5-10 min drive. Riley has mastered going up the stairs- now only if she would let us teach her how to go down, I wouldn't be as worried. That is a long way to fall and wooden steps make some big bumps. The boys have been asking to get the tree and lights up so I think that will get done before the unpacking! They have been pretty disappointed that the weather has not been good enough to go play in the yard, but they have gotten to use their imaginations well since most of the toys are hidden somewhere in the garage. And let me tell you- Caleb has a good one and Ian is not far behind. Caleb is more of an intellectual imagination while Ian has more of the creative. The things they come up with crack me up.
Caleb is constantly trying to be the parent and tell Ian what to do. When Matt or I call him on it, he tells us that God told him to do it. This afternoon he was getting on to Ian and I asked him to be a good big brother and treat Ian with love and respect. He then tells me that last night God told him in a dream to be mean to Ian, and God wouldn't be happy if he didn't follow directions. :) I thought that was a good one and tried to explain that I was pretty sure that God didn't want him to treat his brother that way. He is turning 4 this week and I am wondering what is in store for the next year! Hope it is as much fun as this one! :)


Lisa has a "Quirk List" on her blog and even though I wasn't tagged I thought it would be neat to do that. I have to ask Matt what is quirky about me, though. I know a few so you will have to look at the next post to read them.