Caboose

I thought this post deserved to be alone. :)

The biggest reason of all for not blogging much lately?



This little blessing...baby number four, and {we think, at least} our caboose.

I'm in my second trimester, due sometime late May or early June (June 1 c-section if I can maneuver it!). Thoughts on this pregnancy...I haven't felt amazing, but I've felt worse. I still think of my pregnancy with Anna-Kate as being my sickest, but I also wonder if, when pregnant with your first, I had nothing better to think about than how not normal and icky I felt? Who knows.

It was so fun when we told the kids! They are all very excited, well, Jack was excited that he got to open a present (a big brother shirt) and that the kids were happy). Anna-Kate was jumping up and down with {happy} tears in her eyes and said, "is this my sister or is it another boy in there, because we don't need any more boys in this family!" {on that note, we are praying for a sister, or for peace in our girls' heart with another brother. As she has been praying very regularly over the last 3 years for a sister, we certainly don't want her to experience doubts on the power of prayer!}

We have zero consensus on names...figure we'll cross that bridge in a few weeks when we can cross off a whole gender's worth of names.

As this will be my fourth c-section, we plan on this being our last...if for no other reason than than strong medical recommendation. I've found myself savoring each thing, even morning sickness, and as I pass each milestone lamenting and seeking closure as I will never do X again (ie, take a pregnancy test, hear a heartbeat for the first time, see that little peanut ultrasound...etc). I'm such a sappy mess!

I've really struggled with excitement. Not my own, but others. We are thrilled and have prayed for this baby since before its conception, but in a world of two, maybe three, kid families, it seems that many consider this pregnancy (and frankly, Jack, as I already had one of each) to be overkill.

Regardless, we are thrilled to be expecting and are praying for this sweet little one to grow healthy and strong and for the Lord to prepare us to parent it, along with our others. We feel so blessed!

Catch up...big time

So, in case you are a casual observer, I've been pretty MIA since, oh, October. We've been busy...(I know, I'm ashamed it's this late). So, without further ado, I present, the month of October.

We went to the state fair...we may or may not have gone early in the morning to get in free and partake in free rides for an hour and then left.

Love the overpowering joy on their faces!



Anna-Kate and Adam



I love how I told Ryan to hold on to Jack...and he sure did!



All of the kids



Jack on the {knock-off} "Nemo" ride. All of my kids have loved this ride!



Jack and Sadie. They are so sweet. :)



The next weekend, we made our annual trek with our {same!} friends to the pumpkin patch. Sweet memories! Unfortunately, per usual, it was hot, so took a bit from the festivities of hunting for a pumpkin, but the kids got into it--especially the hay ride and picking their own little pumpkins and gourds for the cornucopia.

In front of the petting zoo



Waiting to board the hay ride!



Always ready to pose for a picture.



My strong boy!



Jack wasn't particularly interested in picking up a pumpkin until highly encouraged to do so. {sharply contrasted by Ryan...can you see him in the top left of this picture?)



Smiling Jack



Best of about 25 pictures. :)



Rare smile on demand from Ryan.



We thought it would be fun to add a bit more to the weekend so went to my parents' for a long weekend and to visit the state fair near them. The kids LOVED it, and Jack was a complete trooper! He napped in the car, we drove down there and didn't come home until after bed time (in the rain!). We enjoyed seeing the animals, {such city folks we are...} riding horses, playing on tractors and playing on the playground as Nana and Poppy bed shopped. :) Highlight for everyone was the {free} circus we went to.

Riding the horse...she loves it.



He LOVED his first horse ride!



His first lollipop, on a tractor. Good life for a little boy. :)



Watching the horse show.



Love this picture of my happy boys. :)



The Grands and their grandbabies



On the tractor



Catching a lift.



"JACK LOOK AT THE CAMERA!"



The (big) kids each got to pick one ride (since they rode a lot the weekend before...at the other fair. Ha!). Ryan chose the bee.



I was SO proud of Anna-Kate for choosing the {mini} scrambler. One of my all-time favorites! She'll do spins but not roller coasters, for now. :)



We found out Jack is allergic to penicilin {I'll spare you the photos of that. You're welcome.}

I spent a good part of the month (well, August, September, AND October) going 3 times a week to the chiropractor. I feel a lot better (and am still going once a week). My faithful little helper. :)



So between going out of town/general fall busyness I found myself in charge of the cupcake reception (and decoration for) a huge musical our church put on. Anna-Kate was old enough to participate and she loved it (we are still listening to the music...I may or may not be ready to take a break from Creation songs...). The show was fabulous, and I was very happy with how my vision for the reception came to fruition.

(urg, can't get this to turn...)Anna-Kate's painting. They used the children's art for part of the set decoration.



The reception {post decoration and icing of 625 cupcakes. Had AMAZING help from Megan, Leigh-Ann and Christy!! Leigh-Ann and I spent hours making those hanging "puffs" and topiaries. My vision has no distinction for time required, evidently.)





Creation: A Big God Celebration! It was a highly interactive show for the kids viewing from the "green and grassy garden" on the front row. We had over 550 people in attendance that one show.



Nana and Poppy came up for the show. It was a special surprise for Anna-Kate, and I was so glad for them to see the show and all of my work!



Anna-Kate and Adam with their kindergarten teacher, Ms. Miller. They were so surprised and happy to see her come!



Singing!

Retreating

Last weekend my mom came up to help me and keep the kids until Chris could get home from work Friday so that I could get away for our church womens retreat. We do it every other year and it is always a fun trip of fellowship, food, and spiritual "filling up". This weekend did not disappoint. The theme was walking with the Lord one day at a time. Completely applicable to me...and I would venture for most multitasking superwomen out there.

We had a fun room, though my friend Katie may have grown a little weary of giggles and whispers that first night. Megan, Leigh-Ann and I were so excited about a slumber party we just couldn't sleep. :) We also each brought tons of yummy snacks, and well, we all know that food is one of my love languages, so I was set. :)

My iphone failed me. It didn't come near capturing the beauty of our surroundings.

Katie, me, Leigh-Ann and Megan



I returned to a husband who had delighted in his children this weekend. He took them to a birthday party, out to dinner and to the Disney store to play. They weren't dressed as I would have dressed them, nor was their hair brushed, but they were well loved and had an awesome weekend with their amazing dad. I bragged on facebook that I also came home to mopped floors. He mopped! I didn't even ask! What a man!

It's November

So, let's just forget about that whole not-blogging-the-month-of-October thing, ok? Great. So, moving on.

Catch up time. I think I'll start current and work back through our busy month. So, Happy Halloween!

We've been planning a Toy Story theme all year. Thankfully, I was able to talk Anna-Kate into being Jessie instead of Bo Peep, her original choice {the only costume I could find was on etsy and was selling for...wait for it...$500. Yep, not a typo. Since I didn't want to embark on long petticoats and boning, we went for Jessie.}. Her one condition on being Jessie was that it not be pants. I thought I'd do a jean skirt and call it good. Nope, further stipulations stated dress. So, I began searching, and came up with, nada. Another etsy find, $65. Clearly, I'm too cheap for all that, so I copied the etsy one I found, with a little help from pinterest thrown in for good measure. So, despite this month being absolutely

c-a-r-azy, I eeked it out Saturday night before Halloween. She was very excited about it, which ultimately, made it all worth while. I found her boots at Gymboree on sale from last winter, with a coupon for $8 to complete the look! The boys' costumes I totally lucked in to! We had some money left on our Disney points card from our trip last year (a miracle in itself). When I got to the Disney store I found the pj's to be exact replicas of the costumes, for 1/4 the price! So, I got the boys jammies for $26 for both and they have been happily sleeping in them since. Ha! I found Jack's Woody boots at consignment for $3, borrowed his hat and Ryan's wings and noise thing were borrowed as well.

This picture makes me laugh. He didn't want his picture taken. He didn't want to be taken out of the wagon. He didn't want his hat on. But, the show must go on. So Daddy improvised...and handed him a lollipop.



My sweet littles. {post lollipop bribe}



Sadly, the best family picture we got. Amazingly hard to get 3 kids looking at the same place, at the same time, and smiling. Requires a perfect storm that did not happen that night. {Side note, I want credit for being guilted into, err, being a fun mom and dressing up. Well, I put cat ears on. ha!}



Our neighbors have an annual potluck, bounce house, pre trick-or-treating thing each year. It's grown. Ha! This is most of the kids preasent.



Anna-Kate with her sweet friend, Campbell, aka, the Statue of Liberty. Her brother was a "big apple". Brilliant.



"I got more candy!!!!"



Loading up on the loot...



Trick-or-treating. Jack really got in to it! He was so fun to watch, and the big kids, of course, knew what they were doing. Jack kept up right with them and when we got to houses that had a bowl of candy out front he walked right up and started loading up his basket. Lol. He carried it the whole time too, never tried to hand it off. I love this skill of my third child!



Buzz Lightyear. He was on cloud nine to be able to borrow wings and an arm band noisemaker thing. I'm not gonna lie, I'm not sad about giving that guy back to its owner. :)



After trick-or-treating, we let the kids help pass out candy. Ryan loved it, Jack just tried to put it in his own basket.



The girls



Jack eating his third (3rd!!! Shame on me!) lollipop of the night. Ryan was crying to go to bed. Haha.