Just A Day, Just An Ordinary Day....

Today was such a regular, plain day! We ended up not doing much of anything and it kinda rocked! We moved out of our first family home last week and into a rental for a month. It's been interesting for sure!  It's been a long process but we are ready to get into our new house in a few weeks. In the meantime, we are enjoying this nice little rental for the month.

I'm wanting to gather my thoughts and blog a little later on about our house and all the memories we made there! 

Back to today, I've always wanted to do a "day in the life" post mainly for myself so I can remember what it was like being home all day with my littles. Some days are bad, some are sweet and some are just so. so. so hard with multiple kids 6 and under! So, for myself and the 10s of readers I have here is our day.....

Jordan got up early with JM because he has school today and Jordan takes him to school. He found both Matthew and JM in the den working on Matthew's flash cards that we had started the night before.

John Michael was helping him and it was so very sweet! Noah slept in today (never happens!) and Matthew declared he wanted to wait for me so we could eat together! Miss Emma Kate woke up surprisingly early today and was all smiles as usual.

At breakfast we read our Bible stories and devotionals and then it was time for Emma to go back down for nap. I gave the boys their iPad time while I got her down. As usual, her nap only lasted about 30 minutes, even so, it was enough time to get the boys dressed and  their teeth and hair brushed. I also finished my Bible/devotional time with my coffee as well before she woke up! 

Our dryer had been out of service for days so today was massive catch up day for laundry! 

I started on the dishwasher and then sat down to feed Emma and was treated to a puppet show by Matthew! 

The boys played a bit and then it was really obvious Emma was ready for her nap but a real one this time...

Bless her, she was so tired! After I got her down I worked on some vegetable soup. It was the only thing that sounded good today.

I've discovered THE perfect combination for a great vegetable beef soup: all of this with a 1/2 pound of ground beef and some salt and pepper and it's just such a great soup. And did I mention it is SO easy?! It's just like Jordan's mom makes for me when she visits!

We ate some lunch together and chatted about life and what they wanted to be when they grew up. Matthew and Noah both declared a race car driver and a fighter! 

 We did some drawing and cutting....

And then the unbelievable happened...Emma Kate was still asleep so I left the dishes and the mess and laundry and crawled onto the floor and just played with these boys. I'm going to freely admit that this is something I have to force myself to do. It's hard to leave the laundry or school work that needs to be dealt with and just BE with them. Man, did I enjoy it today! 

We rolled and played and just had a good time! It was a sweet afternoon, of which, I need to do a lot more of. It's really hard to just ignore the dishes or piles of laundry and enjoy them and bask in their sweet little smiles, hugs and funny things they do as they make up their own games. We played Transformers and airplane.

I was shocked that Emma was still asleep so we cuddled up on the couch and watched a DVD that came with one of the boys' devotional books. Matthew laid his head in my lap and Noah cuddled up next to me. It was just such a sweet, unrushed, sweet day with my little boys!

After this it was time to wake sister up so we could go get Jm from school! Turn the day took a much faster pace. We got our drive-thru groceries on the way home so we got home about 4:30 and had to leave around 5:00 to get to JM's upward basketball game, so it was rushed. I had prepped poppyseed chicken casserole earlier so I just had to assemble it and get it in the oven on low so it would bake while we were gone.

Everyone was so tired from the day but Jm had a great game and we enjoyed watching him. He loves sports so much and this is his very first year to play basketball! We came home, ate and then herded these children off to bed quickly!

As usual, the kitchen was a wreck so Jordan and I worked on dishes, the floor and counter before we sat down together to watch some TV. It's true, the days are long but the years are short with littles. Today was an especially fun day of memories. I realize more and more I have to be intentional with them, I pray that I am most days!

Snow, Snow, Snow!

We were blessed with a snow day this past week! Jordan worked from home and it was wonderful! Mid-morning we started the process of getting 7,000 layers of clothes on, 6 gloves, 6 hats, and  6 snow boots!

We got everyone dressed and made them smile for a picture for a very special reason.....it's our last snow day in this house!

We sold our house before it was ever officially on the market! It happened pretty fast, so needless to say this has been THE busiest and craziest winter of our lives! But, back to the snow.....

These boys know how to have fun in the snow! They loved it! 

Meanwhile inside, Emma Kate hung out with daddy while he worked!

We cut the fireplace on when everyone was done playing and I made hot chocolate and they all warmed up! It was a fun day to spend together inside! 

3 Months.....

Well, Emma Kate turned 3 months this week. In a way, it seems to have flown by but as usual I just can't remember her not being here. 

I am so biased, but she is so stinkin' sweet and cute to boot! I have gotten a few almost laughs this week so I think we are close. We definitely get sweet smiles all day long and they just melt my heart! 

The boys are still just smitten with her. I could lose count of how many kisses and hugs she gets everyday from them! We all just love her so! So far she seems pretty chill but does like to be held! She likes tummy time, is a great nurser, and stopped sleeping great after she was diagnosed with the flu last week. She pulled through with the help of Tamiflu so I hope we are all on the mend around here! Happy 3 Months, Emma Kate! We love your squishy, sweet smile!

2 Months!

Today Emma Kate is 2 months old! It seems fast in a way, but then it seems kind of slow as well. Because it's winter we really haven't been anywhere at all. I'm still not back at church yet so everything feels a bit out of the ordinary.

This week Emma Kate really gave us some great social smiles!

It doesn't get any better than waking up to smiles all of a sudden. I've just been melting inside all week every single time she does it!

I think because I had all boys, it does feel different in a way to have a girl. It's not something you can really explain, it just feels different in some way! She sure is a blessing to us....John Michael enjoyed reading to her this week. They all sure do love her but I think she holds a special place in his heart!

So far she can coo and make "a-goo" sounds and "a-boo" sounds. She's generally sleeping through the night (let me tell you I am in SHOCK over this). She's a fantastic nurser and likes to sleep in in the mornings; just like her mom ;)

She really has changed a good bit over the month!

A Gift in January

My resolution every year is to blog and, well, I never get around to it! I've decided to try to do a better job and stop worrying about the things I haven't posted and just post when I can and just show the randomness of our lives this winter with a new baby!

I decided to skip MOPS this morning and instead opt for a slow, laid back morning of pjs, pancakes, and coffee! Noah was my kitchen helper this morning! He loves to cook!

Next, little miss sunshine woke up! She started smiling this week and I just totally melt inside when I can get smiles from her. I know we are heading out of newborn territory and entering real baby territory! I mean, really, look at her!

 

I decided to put this verse on my lock screen that I read this morning. What a great place to be reminded of the joy we can have in Him!

We cleaned a bit and played with toys and worked on a bit of school work then packed up to go have lunch with Jordan.

What a gift we were given today; when we got outside it was sunny and kind of warm! I couldn't believe it!

We played outside after lunch for quote awhile!

I didn't want to come back inside it was just so wonderful!

The boys watched the Lego Movie on the couch and Emma Kate napped so I was able to sit at the kitchen table and menu plan. I even got some coupons printed out after not using any for about a year!

I made spaghetti for dinner and tried 100 Days of Real Food Apple Crisp for dessert.....only Noah would eat it though (no shocker!)

Happy Friday, indeed! We have a busy weekend planned!

Oh, What A Surprise!!

Starting in my 37th week of this 4th pregnancy my blood pressure started going up. It wasn't awful but still steadily going up. I had one more check on Friday November 14th and it was still up, so my doctor decided to go ahead and induce me that next Monday! I was stunned because I felt like we still had so much to do. Would the baby be ok at 37 1/2 weeks, was this wise to do it early? We frantically called family to go ahead and come into town so they could watch the boys for us.

We spent our last weekend as a family of 5 finishing up the last minute things that we had to do and praying this baby would be well and healthy for an induction. It was a very bittersweet weekend as we prepared for our lives to change. Would we be a family of all boys or would a little princess come along and rock our world?! My blood pressure remained high through the weekend so I felt better about inducing early!

On Sunday afternoon Jordan and I had a sweet last date for a while and walked in the snow and did a bit of shopping for baby before we checked into the hospital.

I was blessed with massive amounts of nausea/heartburn this time around and I only gained around 13 pounds and put on a few more the last 3 days as my blood pressure went up. 

I felt sad leaving the boys for a few nights but I knew they were in good hands with their grandparents! I didn't sleep much Sunday night and was up with the frozen sunset knowing this was the day The Lord had ordained for us to meet this precious new baby!

The day progressed along and I didn't progress very quickly at all. We prayed that my labor wouldn't stall out and end up with a c-section! We had SO many friends and family praying for us throughout the day and we were so thankful!

The boys planned to visit around dinner time and it just so happened I started to really come along quickly and knew the baby would be coming soon! As the boys went downstairs to eat dinner it was time to push! I literally thought my heart would explode with excitement to see what we were having!

You see that.....it's a Pink bow!!! I just about lost it as she came out, my doctor held her up and Jordan looked and announced that it was a GIRL!!! We cried and cried and I thanked God for this precious gift that I didn't even know that I wanted or needed. 

What a blessing!! The boys came up from waiting downstairs and we let it be a surprise for them too as they walked in! They were all really, really excited to see a pink bow! They are completely obsessed with her and love her so much already!

Emma Katherine (she'll go by Emma Kate!) was 8 pounds 10 ounces and 20 inches long. She is amazing, beautiful, perfect and such a wonderful surprise to us! 

 Another surprise is that she has lots of very light hair and maybe blue eyes....it's hard to tell quite yet! We are nearly 3 weeks in and I still am in shock that we have pink and bows in our house! It feels strange for this boy mom!

We just love her so much and we are so thankful that we have a healthy, beautiful baby to snuggle on!

More pictures to come! Welcome to our family Emma Kate!

36 Weeks and Counting....

So just a quick check in, since I never, ever make time to blog! We are currently at almost 37 weeks along with this 4th pregnancy!

The baby dropped a few weeks ago and all of my 7 and a half months of nausea/heartburn went away. I am so thankful everyday that I feel better and am not dealing with that nausea anymore!

We had a 3D ultrasound several weeks ago and I am just obsessed with these cheeks! Obsessed! We still don't know if we are having a boy or a girl. We are so excited to meet this baby and see what God has planned for our family: will I be an ALL boy mom or will we have a little girl to bring some pink into this house?!

We are getting everything ready....

Packing up the hospital bag with boy stuff and girl stuff! Because this pregnancy was so hard and different from the others, I have to admit that I have a decent amount of pink stuff this time around, just in case!

Because our babies always hang in our room for the first few months and this baby doesn't have a "real" room right now anyway, we fixed a corner of our room into the tiniest, quaintest little nursery nook ever. The boys have their step stool ready so they can peek into the crib, it's very sweet! A long time ago it would have bothered me that I didn't have a "real" nursery ready yet, but as you live and learn you learn a tiny baby just doesn't have to have everything perfect!

So for now, we just have a sweet little second hand Pottery Barn cream/yellow/green set with sweet little sheep on it. We are so excited to finish out this pregnancy and meet this precious new one!

So, Just A Bit of News......

Seeing as how I haven't posted in months, I have a pretty good reason!

We are joyfully expecting baby number 4!!! I am almost to 22 weeks. It's been a very different kind of pregnancy ( is it a girl?!!!) with massive amounts of heart burn and nausea but I'm still thrilled to be given the chance to do this again!

Here's a sweet picture at our ultrasound last week. I can't tell if it's a girl profile or if it looks like a boy!? We decided not to find out just like with the last two! It will definitely be a wonderful surprise for our family!

The boys are really excited and curious about everything this time around. Two out of 3 are rooting for a girl! I can't wait to get through the rest of this pregnancy safely and see this precious new baby!