Oh Pickles

Big girl bed

2012-01-30T21:32:00.004-06:00

Since Alayna and Chandler are less then 15 months apart, we have to do some things a bit earlier than normal.
We only have one crib and it's Alayna's for now. She just turned 18 months and I thought I would just try taking the side off her bed to see if she would stay in bed. She has a twin bed already in her room, but I didn't want to take the entire crib apart move it to Chandler's room and have trouble with her at night to the point where she needed back in the crib. BTW why don't they make cribs so they can fit through a standard door??? I have to take the crib apart just to put it back together again. Gee Whiz!

So anyway we are on her fourth night and she is doing great. Yes, she gets out once and a while and sits and plays with books, but we just put her back in her bed. She doesn't scream or cry, in fact she is pretty quite and kinda sneaks out of her bed. I really wish we had a video monitor in her room to see what she is really doing.

We are going to take the crib out in the middle of February so Chandler can finally have a bed. He has a pack and play to sleep in, but he doesn't sleep in it. He is still in his car seat, but that is all coming to an end. This mommy is cracking down!

I am about to have only one left in a crib, I am going to miss these baby stages. I have been telling my self "these are the best days" one day I am going to look back and only remember the joy and the fun little things I do with the children, I'll forget that I had to say "no" 200 times in one day or that I had to send someone to time out just so they could learn how to be behave. I'll remember their smiles, the cute little things they say and the way their hand feels so little in mine. These are the best days!

Eyes

2012-01-24T08:21:00.006-06:00

Last week was kinda crazy around here. Taylynn scratched her eye with an unsharpened pencil and cried off and on for four hours before I took her to the Dr. We just went to express care and they checked her after I paid the co pay and said they couldn't see anything because they don't have the right equipment to check eyes. So they sent us to a specialist where we had to pay an even higher co pay to get in. He confirmed she had a scratch and because of the scratch her vision was really blurred. She could only see the letter on the top of the chart, nothing else. When it comes to eyes, it's pretty scary. We never really think about being able to see, but it is such a blessing. She got an ointment that helped the corneal abrasion, but she hated it!

One of my friends is married to an eye Dr. He is my friend too. I actually set them up and they ended up getting married.....anyway.....We went and saw him a couple days later for Preston's first eye appointment and he went ahead and checked Taylynn and her eye was great and she COULD see! Yay! Dr. Swader is the best Dr. he explains things and lets me know what he is doing and looking for when he checks their eyes. I really appreciate Dr. that take their time rather than rushing just to get done. Plus I know him as a really great daddy so of course he is going to be great with my kids. He even checked Alayna's eyes so she didn't feel left out :)
Here are some pictures of the visit:

The eye is the lamp of the body. If your eyes are good, your whole body will be full of light.
Matthew 6:22

Hand full of Prayers

2012-01-22T21:07:00.004-06:00

Last night while I was up with Chandler just enjoying the quite moments of the night with him, I held his hand and began praying for each of his fingers and how God will use them when he is a man. It was one of those moments I don't ever want to forget. A moment where I recognized that Chandler is not just MINE, he is God's child and I am just a temporary parent. I have chosen to be the best parent I can and raise Chandler to be the man God has planned for him to be. All I can do is set the foundation and pray for him. So Chandler dear, this is my prayer:

Left hand

pinky finger:

Lord, I pray that you will hold Chandler's hand when he is in a time of need. Guide him through a smooth path and allow him to feel the comfort of your hand.

ring finger:

God, my prayer is that Chandler will find other believers in his life and spend time hand in hand with them, as he walks them through rough moments and they walk him through his rough moments.

middle finger:

God I pray that Chandler can bring unbelievers to you. I pray that he will share his love for you with everyone he knows.

pointer finger:

Lord, I know its important to know your word. I pray that Chandler will search and discover your word, leaving his fingerprints among all your stories.

thumb:

Lord I pray that Chandler will come to you with his hand clutched together in prayer and with thankfulness. I pray that he uses prayer in all moments of joy and sadness.

Right hand

thumb:

God, I pray that Chandler's hands will often be found in his wive's hands. I pray for their love for each other and many years together.

pointer finger:

God I pray these hands will be used to serve you. I pray he uses the gifts you have given him to surpass his expectations where they will meet yours.

middle finger:

Lord I pray that he will lead his family. That he will step up and be a godly father and husband.

ring finger:

Lord, I pray that these hands will often be lifted up to you in praise. I pray he won't be timid about lifting his hands up you.

pinky finger:

God, I pray that one day Chandler will have a little baby of his own whose hand will be wrapped around his pinky. Bless those tiny hands and those sweet moments Chandler will have with his children. I pray Lord that one day Chandler will be on his knees praying these things for his own children.

To all my children, These are just some of my prayers for you. I have dreams and hopes for you, but on top of it all I just want you to know Jesus and build a relationship with Him. He will then guide you and be with you and take you beyond your dreams and hopes.
Love you much!
Mommy

Let us lift up our heart with our hands unto God in the heavens. Lamentations 3:41

68 years

2012-01-15T19:46:00.005-06:00

I know of a great love, one that has lasted 68 years. Although I have only seen 28 of these years, I know true love when I see it.
After being married myself I have learned that a true love really does grow stronger through the years. Love always hits rough spots, but from pain and hardships comes understanding and a great sense of life. If a love can stand through these trials it can grow into something beautiful, something my grandparents have.
I pray that one day Aaron and I will get to share our 68th anniversary. I know that if we put God first then our marriage will always go in the direction God wants it and even if life only gives us 20 more years those years are the best years ever!

Happy 68th Anniversary to a couple with a treasure loved and a beautiful life. I love you Grandma and Paw-Paw. Thank you for teaching my parents how to love and showing me how to love. You have something so special. You are so loved by all of us. Have a great day, love you so so much!!!

Alayna is a year and a half

2012-01-13T20:20:00.003-06:00

Alayna,
It is hard for me to let you grow and get older, but with much reluctance I am! From about 6 months I have said "this is my favorite age" and I still say that. I love these last "baby" months. The months where you still need and WANT me. I love when you walk up to me and grab my hand, or when music comes on you come up and put your hands out to dance with me. I know I will always be special to you, but it makes me feel so special and loved just by you wanting me.

I sometimes stare at you and say "I just can't get enough"; now this isn't always the case. You have your stubborn side and since you don't talk the only way to communicate that your upset is by your scream/cry. And you don't stop!!! I still love you. I will always love you even when you aggravated me or do something I don't like. My love for you will not fail. Even more so God will and does love you more than I can imagine. His love goes beyond the moon and back, it reaches further than the length of our arms. When I say I love you to pieces, God loves you to a billion pieces.

Alayna you live in a world with so much hurt and pain, but your life right now is perfect. You know no hurt of the world, you typically feel no pain (unless Preston is around). You are precious and innocent and it is beautiful to think that you don't lay in bed and worry or stress about anything. You just get to be you and be happy. This period is short, it's the period of time before you realize this world isn't perfect. I will use this time to surround you in happiness and show you that right here in this house is love. I promise to dance with you every time you ask. I promise to hold you when you need me to. I promise to drop anything I am doing to give you a hug. I promise to share with you what a personal relationship with Jesus looks like through my own example. I promise I will fail at times, but I will never hurt you on purpose, I will always love you, I will own up to my mistakes and I will be honest with you. I love you Alayna and the best way to teach you how to love others is by loving you the best I can.

I want to remember this special age so I will fill you in on the things you are doing lately.

You just started climbing onto the table. I am not so happy about this because you don't listen when I tell you to get down. Your first climbing experience happened about 6 months ago when I found you on Preston's queen size bed. That was a shocker, but now here you are climbing on anything and everything.

You say, momma, dadda, uh huh!, all done, and up clearly. You say about 100 other things that only mommy and daddy can typically understand. You do have a bit of a made up language. We ask you to say something and you repeat it in your own way and then smile. Since daddy and I laugh so much when you do this, you seem to think it's funny too and you do it all the time.

You love Barney and you get so excited when he comes on TV. Your a music girl just like your brother and sister, so you love that it's mostly music. You love the itsy bitsy spider and you know all the motions to that and three little ducks and patty cake. You have just started to try and sing when songs come on.

I sometimes wake you up at night just to hold you. I don't try to wake you up, but you easilly wake up. I will hold you for a bit and sometimes take you into my room and lay down with you, but you don't ever want to lay, so I don't do this often.

You are a lover. You will kiss everyone goodnight if we ask you to and they are the sweetest kisses.

Speaking of goodnights, you go to bed like an angel. We stopped your morning nap about 2 months ago so now you take one nap somewhere between 12 and 2 and you sleep anywhere from 1 hour to 3 hours. You go to bed at 7 and you are quite as a mouse. You wake up around 7, just in time for daddy to get done with his work out and for the two of you to have some time together. You have this purple blanket that you love and you cannot sleep without (assuming, I have never taken it away from you). Taylynn shares a room with you, but you have to fall asleep before she goes in or you won't sleep a wink. You don't wake up at night, unless it's my fault.

You love to eat, although the past two days it's been a challenge getting you to eat your veggies, but I would say that's pretty normal. You favorite thing to eat would probably be bananas, but you love donuts too :)

You love playing with the kids leapfrog games, but when I say play I mean turn on and touch the screen until it does something cool. You also love books, your elephant toy you got for Christmas, baby dolls. You hate animals that talk or move and Preston's noisy guns and whoopee cushion.

You wear size 5 diaper. You have gone potty on the toilet, but it's been a while. You think it is fun to sit on your little potty, but not for more than 4 seconds.

You weigh 32 pounds and your growing taller everyday. You wear mostly size 2T and size 6 shoe.

I cannot imagine the changes you will make in the next six months. It's bitter sweet, I want you to grow up and see you grow as a child of God, but I also want you to stay little for a little while longer.

Mommy and Daddy love you, along with many many other people. You are surrounded by love Alayna. Kisses....lots and lots of kisses!

Mommy

Silhouettes DIY

2012-01-11T15:31:00.012-06:00

My friend Kim made some really adorable silhouettes of her family and I LOVE it so I decided to make some too!

My intentions were to walk you through the process with pictures, but when I get going stopping to take pictures is the last thing on my mind. With four children my craft time is short so I have to move fast. I do have a couple pictures to help you get an idea, but really this was a cheap fairly easy project.

Supplies:

-wooded quilt hoop (any size works)
-child
-camera
-printer
-wonder under fusible transfer paper
-cotton fabric of your choice for the face
-fabric of your choice for the backing Kim used canvas, I used burlap, but anything works
-iron
-tea towel
-scissors
-pencil

I got all my supplies first so I would know how big I needed to print the face.

When taking the picture of the child first make sure their hair is fixed the way you want. ..hint turn bows to the side so you don't just see their profile.
Set the child in front of a window an take the picture without the flash.
I had to take about 20 pictures of each child until I got the correct one.
I download the picture then put it on Microsoft word

Make a box shape and set it the size you want the head. I made a six inch head for a 8 inch hoop, but make sure if you do younger siblings you make them smaller the younger they get. Add your picture an enlarge it so the top of the head to the neck fit in the box and print on your printer.

I printed on cardstock so it was easier to cut and trace.

Once the face is printed cut out very carefully

Trace the face BACKWARDS on the smooth side of the transfer paper.

Iron the transfer paper on the backside of the fabric (follow iron directions that come with transfer paper)

Cut out face

Peel off transfer paper

Place face on back fabric and cover with damp cloth and iron (again following directions that come with your transfer paper)

Enclose the face with backing into your quilt hoop tighten and cut off excess fabric. I hot glued the burlap around to make a clean look.

I hung them with knobs from Hobby Lobby and fell in love with this wall. So happy an I am going to love it even more years from now.

If you are ready to take some pintrest ideas and blog about it be sure to link up here!! Their is a time line so get crafting.

Twine Lamp

2012-01-08T21:48:00.005-06:00

DIY twine lamp. So simple and quick if your ready to jazz up your lamp shade.

You will need:
Lamp shade
twine
burlap or fabric
buttons
hot glue
needle and thread

I bought a thick twine from Hobby Lobby. The thicker, the quicker when winding around craft projects.
I start from the top and go to the bottom, hot gluing as I go.

For the flowers I used fabric around the house and then I spray painted some burlap blue. To form the flowers you can cut a strip of fabric 1 inch wide and about 40 inches long. Make a fold in the fabric and one stitch. Along the bottom of the fabric you need to make stitches all the way across then pull the thread so the fabric bunches up.
You the shape the fabric into a flower shape and stitch to secure it.
Hot glue a button and hot glue to the lamp and you're done!

If you are ready to take some pintrest ideas and blog about it be sure to link up here!! Their is a time line so get crafting.

Anniversary and New Years Eve

2012-01-07T22:45:00.002-06:00

December 26th Aaron and I celebrated our 6th anniversary while in Bentonville. We stayed in a hotel went to dinner, did some shopping and had some great time to reconnect and enjoy the peace.

On New Years Eve we went to our Pastors house for dinner and some games. Then came back home and put Alayna to bed. Ryan, Heather Brody, Alyssa and Katie came over to ring in the new year. We let Taylynn and Preston stay up, and they did. It was so much fun that I didn't even think to take pictures, but the memories were made!

Chandler 3 months

2012-01-04T20:25:00.005-06:00

Chandler you're three months today!
I have really been soaking in my time with you. I am really going to miss having a baby around, so I am not taking your first year for granted.

This month was a busy one, but a lot of changes for you Mr. Chandler. You love looking around and playing with your toys dangling from your car seat. You smile all the time and you are such a happy boy. You talk a lot, especially when you're sleepy. It sounds like you are singing yourself to sleep.

You have been sleeping well at night. You get up once or twice to eat, but always go right back to sleep. You still sleep in the car seat at night.

Your favorite thing to do is have your legs naked and lay down. You just kick them all around and coo like the world is perfect and it is.

You wear size three diaper and 3-6 / 6-9 month clothing.

You're 16 pounds.

Your mommy and daddy love you to pieces. We are excited to see the man you grow to be and the plans God has for you. I pray for you every night, and I pray that one day you will know your God and have a strong relationship with Jesus.
Love you Chandler Dean!!!

Christmas day!

2012-01-03T14:47:00.008-06:00

Happy Birthday Jesus!
WE WILL REJOICE AND BE GLAD IN IT! PSALMS 118:24

Santa arrived and ate the cookies. He left some goodies too!

Alayna was the first up and when we brought her in our room she woke up Taylynn and Preston. It didn't take Taylynn but 4 seconds to realize it was finally Christmas morning.

We headed down stairs and the excitement began. Actually everyone is quite mellow and they first walk around and look at everything then they finally sit down and check out all the goods Santa brought.

Since this Christmas was on a Sunday we had to quickly get ready for church then head out the door. I love it when Christmas ends up on Sunday, the service was beautiful and so was the music.

When we got back to the house my Grandparents came over and My brother's family came from Springfield. It was great to have everyone together and it was my first time meeting my brothers daughter Kaitlyn. She is about 6 weeks earlier than Chandler, so the two of them are going to have lots of fun in the future.

We had a wonderful prime rib dinner and then opened some presents.

It was a wonderful Christmas! A wonderful LIFE!

Christmas Eve

2012-01-01T01:01:00.001-06:00

Christmas eve was a really fun day! We started the morning with a pedicure, a special treat from my mom. It was wonderful!!!

Then we did a little shopping just my mom, sister and I. We picked up Paw Paw and went to lunch. My dad and Grandma always go shopping and go to lunch on Christmas eve, but this year we got to meet up with them at the mall to visit Santa. It was a long wait so I took some pictures while we waited.

We got some good pictures then afterwards that Santa was flirting with my Grandma. Yes, she is beautiful, but that is her husband right behind her. I guess Santa didn't look over his books very well.

After the pictures we went shopping for a bit. I love this one of Alayna and my mom

It was an outdoor mall so we had to stop and treat the kids to some hot chocolate

After shopping we met my dad at the skating rink, but it was closed although we could still get in the rink. The kids went in and played a little bit and had some fun.

My dad took this great family picture of usThat night we relaxed, opened a present or two
Before bed all the children put out some reindeer food and some cookies and milk for Santa

Cookies for Santa, but Jack thought they were cookies for him.

Bedtime!

I love this one.

Christmas Eve and Christmas Day

2011-12-30T21:04:00.012-06:00

Christmas eve was a really fun day! We started the morning with a pedicure, a special treat from my mom. It was wonderful!!!

We got some good pictures then afterwards that Santa was flirting with my Grandma. Yes, she is beautiful, but that is her husband right behind her. I guess Santa didn't look over his books very well.

After the pictures we went shopping for a bit. I love this one of Alayna and my mom

It was an outdoor mall so we had to stop and treat the kids to some hot chocolate

After shopping we met my dad at the skating rink, but it was closed although we could still get in the rink. The kids went in and played a little bit and had some fun.

My dad took this great family picture of usThat night we relaxed, opened a present or two
Before bed all the children put out some reindeer food and some cookies and milk for Santa

Cookies for Santa, but Jack thought they were cookies for him.

Bedtime!

I love this one.

CHRISTMAS DAY

Christmas 2011

2011-12-30T04:35:00.009-06:00

Well as we all know Christmas has come and gone. It flies by so quick for being the most wonderful time of the year.

I think I take a million pictures so I can make the moments last. One day the children will thank me....I think.

We had the Bivens' Family Christmas on the 22nd at our house.

Here is a picture of all the nieces and nephewsA

It took Alayna awhile, but she finally realized that some pretty cool toys were under all the cute wrapping and she got pretty excited!

Preston got a little upset when he opened a dress and some tights.

Taylynn got lots of new girly things to play with

Chandler just loved being held

The next day we left early in the morning for Arkansas. My grandparents were already there and my sister and her family were also arriving the same day. It seemed like a long car ride. Alayna seemed to wine/cry the entire time, but we made it.

We did make a stop on the way to the Precious Moments Chapel. The kids got to get out and run which made them tired which meant they might sleep the rest of the way. And they did!

This was Chandler's first trip to Bentonville and his first time meeting His Paw Paw and GG (who he is named after).
He was so content with my Grandma, just always relaxed and happy. I need her to come stay at my house so she can hold him and love him while I get some things done. Sound good Grandma??? :)

Here are the Chandler's meeting Chandler

LOVE THIS ONE!!

Tomorrow I will blog about Christmas Eve. I just took so many pictures I need to split it up.
I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas and made some lasting memories.

Today Aaron and I are celebrating our 6th Anniversary, we're not doing much, just staying at home and spending time together. It has been the best 6 years of my life, I am so blessed!

Christmas Catch up!

2011-12-23T21:53:00.011-06:00

Since Christmas Eve is tomorrow and I want to focus on spending time with my family and not worry about how behind I am on this blog I am going to do a HUGE catch post.

Let's start with Taylynn's Christmas concert. It is a first for our family and it was really special. Taylynn had a pretty scratchy throat in the morning, but she seemed to sing her heart out. One of her friends (Kate) sat right next to her and they were being awfully silly before the program began. I got a few snaps of them.....

OOPS!

After the sing a long we celebrated Jesus' Birthday with a cake and the kids got to see Santa.

This is Taylynn with her class.

Then Santa asking Taylynn why she was distracting Kate before the sing a long.

We were so proud of her.

KANSAS CITY

We headed to Kansas City do to some furniture shopping and then headed to the Plaza. We stopped in Nebraska Furniture Mart and saw Santa and a possibly our future sofa, we're waiting on fabric samples.

Then we headed to the Plaza; I love going to the Plaza during Christmas. The lights are beautiful and although it is busy, I love all the energy.
We got bundled up and shopped and ate at the Cheesecake Factory.

SAM

Sam has been a great way to get the kids out of bed and in a good mood. Even Alayna gets up and looks for him.

Sam must have gotten tired because he found a sleeping bag just his size.

He also knows that the true meaning is JESUS!

He loves breakfast too!

A special treat and message for the kids.

He brought back special reindeer food for the kids to make.

He will be missed when he leaves. I think I'll miss him just as much as the kids.

FAMILY PHOTO

Just a picture before church

Gingerbread

2011-12-22T07:07:00.007-06:00

We have been having some gingerbread fun this Christmas. I bought some houses for Taylynn and Preston to decorate. They did so great and they had so much fun doing it. The bonus of the event was they were so busy they couldn't fight or argue with each other. Thank goodness the kits were on sale so they could each have their own.

Preston and Taylynn were both invited to a Gingerbread party, but Taylynn was not allowed to go because of her behavior at a party a week before. So it was Preston and 7 girls, he LOVED it!

My friend Lynette made all the houses from scratch and they were beautiful. And let me tell you her house smelled so good. Nothing beats a real gingerbread house.

My two friends at the party, Lynette and Lara

OLD traditions....NEW traditions

2011-12-18T18:44:00.002-06:00

Looking back on all my Christmas' as a little girl I have some of the best memories EVER! My parents were really good about traditions and making special memories for us. I have memories I will never forget because we did the same things every year.

One special tradition was the Nutcracker. My mom would always take my sister and I. We would get dressed up and go see the show and although I might have fallen asleep a few times, it is marked as one of my best Christmas memories.

I am now going to carry on the tradition with my girls. I took Taylynn this year and she loved it and surprisingly didn't fall asleep. We had some friends in the show.....Caroline, who is one of my youth girls (she played Clara) and some of Taylynn's friends: Audrey, Keira and Kaelyn.

Hopefully next year my mom and sister can join us like the good ol' times.

Thank you mom and dad for all the great memories, we had some special times and I plan on carrying them on. I love you!

Show us your life CHRISTMAS!

2011-12-15T15:34:00.011-06:00

Kelly is doing a Christmas Show us your life. You can link up HERE.

I have been leaning towards a more vintage theme for Christmas. I love using lime green rather than a dark green and I am starting to tie in more light blues.

I got my stockings from on etsy shop called Hand Made Pretties. I absolutely LOVE them!

I use about anything else I have to fill these shelves.

The kitchen is really low key this year. I just hung some cookie cutters from the chandelier and colored on the chalkboard. It's not easy with four kids.

I have a mini tree (you can see it in the first picture on the right side). I needed mini ornaments and couldn't find any so here is my DIY project:

I bought some jewlery pieces, the ones that were 50% off of course.

I used the packaging to measure and cut out scrapbook paper. Wrapping paper is good to use also.

I used a modpod like glue to glue the paper on then added some string or ribbon.

Thanks for stopping in. MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!

MOPS cookies exchange- my first cookie exchange

2011-12-15T10:26:00.008-06:00

I hosted my first cookie exchange party. My MOPS group put it on, but I got to have it at my house.
I made yummy cocktails.

Some yummy food (not all of this is mine, but I made the bruschetta and cheese tray.

We played some games like movie trivia and find the pickle.

And some good fellowship

And lots of cookies

Even a few babies got to enjoy the fun!

Santa and Crafts

2011-12-11T08:52:00.006-06:00

I LOVE my MOPS group! We have been doing some really fun things and we have more fun things planned this month.
The other day we got to bring the kids and meet Santa. He sang to us and read us some books. It was wonderful!

We are doing craft nights now where we bring our own projects and work on them and have some great fellowship.

We had a sleepyhead in our group.

Sam

2011-12-09T11:08:00.007-06:00

Sam has been back now for a while, but someone did the UNTHINKABLE.........a little boy TOUCHED HIM!!!!!

Sam lost his magic when he was touched, so Preston thought it would be best to write to him and send him our Christmas card.

That did the trick! The next day we found Sam and he left a note of his own along with a mess!

And the next day he drank all our milk......

But he replenished it while the kids had their naps. For some reason it was green. They must have green milk in the North Pole.

Other birthday celebrations

2011-12-08T21:31:00.009-06:00

The Friday before Taylynn's birthday she got to take treats to her school. She brought sugar cookies iced with a cream cheese frosting and a cup of fruit so the kids could make their own fruit pizza. She was really excited to have a treat for everyone. I must say there were a few who weren't so happy with the treat and they let everyone know. Taylynn didn't mind as long as all the girls liked the treat, which they did.

Taylynn got some birthday money and she got to go buy something fun at Toys R' Us. She had the best time ever shopping. She bought a new game, some jewelery and a coloring book. She still has some money to spend so we'll have another shopping trip soon.

After shopping we went to Texas Road house for some dinner. Taylynn even got to sit on the birthday saddle and get some ice cream.

After dinner we went to look at Christmas lights. I loved this house, so beautiful.

When Aaron was tucking her in he asked if she enjoyed looking at the lights and she said "we didn't go look at lights." Turns out she slept through it all. Oh well, we'll do it again.

The next day Aaron had his Children's Christmas work party so we went and the kids got to see Santa and Mrs Claus and then got to the movie Arther Christmas, which was so cute!

When we got home we got to decorate for Christmas...finally. It was hard waiting until the party was over, but I did.

It was nice having some extra hands this year, we had some good little helpers.That evening we had some family over for a little pizza and a little cake.

These are the kind of weekends I am going to miss one day when the kids are all grown. It's busy but they are filled with so much excitement and fun. That's what its all about right?

Taylynn's Birthday Party

2011-12-07T22:12:00.002-06:00

Taylynn had her birthday party last week and it was wonderful. During nap time I started making all the mini cakes and when Taylynn got up, she was so excited and so grateful for the beautiful cakes I made. That made all the hard work worth it.

She couldn't wait for her friends to arrive and when they did the excitement didn't stop. She didn't even eat her own cake because she was too excited.

It was a wonderful party and I hope it is something she'll remember forever.

The girls made necklaces and wands and got to put all their goodies in these totes as their favors.
You can see the wand project here.
Totes project here.
The DIY cake stands here.
The chicken wire bulletin board here.

I am not sure I have ever seen Taylynn so happy; makes me want to do this everyday.

Chandler Two Months

2011-12-05T19:27:00.005-06:00

Chandler you are two months old. It seems like the more babies we have the faster time goes. I am really soaking in some special moments with you and really making them meaningful I hope to always remember.

I took you to a baby message class last month and learned some things you like. So now once in a while when we get one on one time you get a little baby message. You really love to lay on your tummy and have me rub your back.

During the day when everyone else goes down for a nap, you are always awake, that never fails. I think you make yourself stay awake because you know it is mommy time. I enjoy it!

You didn't do so well sleeping at night this last month, you would get up to eat but you wouldn't go back to sleep. By the time daddy or I got you to fall asleep it was almost feeding time again.
Things have changed in the last couple weeks and you're doing better. We discovered if you sleep in your car seat you'll sleep about 7 straight hours. If you do wake up wanting to eat you easily go back to sleep.

You wear size 2 diapers and you wear 0-3 and 3-6 month clothes. You weigh 15 pounds. And you eat about every 2-4 hours.

You still smile more than any baby I have ever seen. Your smile can always make me feel better when I am feeling tired or just worn out.

Do you know you're a blessing? You are and I hope you always remember that. I pray that you will go out and be a blessing to the world. I pray that you will have a servant heart and love on everyone. When I am not here, God always will be. I will fail, God will NEVER fail. I promise to work hard and be the best mom I can for you and your sisters and brother.

I can't imagine that one day you'll be old enough to read this. It's bitter sweet because your my baby, but I am so excited to see the man God has planned for you to be. I love you over and over again!

Mommy

For Miss Taylynn Rae

2011-12-03T19:51:00.003-06:00

Taylynn,
I know it will be a while before you're reading this, but if you could read this today this is what I would say:

Tomorrow is your 5th birthday and it brings bitter sweet tears to my eyes. I am so thankful to the Lord that He blessed me with you for five years, but FIVE years...already. Wow! You are such a beautiful, wonderful girl and you are so loved. So loved!

I have loved you since I was a little girl, in my dreams and in my pretend play with my dolls. I dreamed of having a little girl and I practiced with my baby dolls. You not only have fulfilled my dreams, but you made them better than I ever imagined.

It is true that you don't know a mom's love until your a mom. The day you were born my heart grew an enormous amount, in fact I think it filled my whole body. I am crazy about you and full of love....sometimes tough love, but it's all love.

I have some really fond memories of times we shared in the last five years. When you were a wee little baby, well you were never a wee little baby, but when you were a baby I would lay in bed and want you to wake up and eat just so I could be with you and hold you; those were some really special moments for me. I was in tears when it was time for me to stop nursing, but I will savor those special moments in the middle of the night.

When you were a year we spent a lot of time just hanging out in your room and one thing we loved to do is dance. I would hold you in my arms and we would dance through a whole cd. I even remember loving the moment so much that it would bring me to tears. Those were moments I prayed I would never forget and to this day I can still go back to those moments and feel you in my arms and hear It's a Big World CD by Renee and Jeremy playing in the background.

Also when you were two you really wanted to learn so we made lots of memories while doing little things together. I would involve you in almost everything I did. We painted, cooked, did our nails, you basically wanted to be just like me. And when you would walk with me and want to hold my hand, you didn't know this then, but you could have gotten away with ANYTHING! The way you told me you loved me was not through your words, but through your heart and showing me true love.

When you turned three, things began to change. You wanted to be independent and a grown up; with this came quite a bit of line crossing. For most three year olds they get to stay "young" a bit longer, but with two siblings younger than you, you held a bit more responsibility. I would have loved to have had three years of just you and me time, but God had other plans. The memories we made together were walking through those times of independence together. I would let you walk ahead a little farther while going on a walk, I would give you responsibilities and tasks but always be right behind you if and when you needed me. This was the first process of letting go. You see my attachment to you was so tight and for me to let you go to college in 15 years the process had to start then. I will slowly be letting you make your own decision here or there and when you make a mistake or need me, I will always be a couple steps behind just in case. And although I try not to be so noticeably attached, my heart will always be.

When you were a four year old, I struggled with wanting more one on one time with you. We began to make special "dates" with each other. We would leave once daddy was home from work and get our purses and head out the door. Sometime we would just go to the mall or get something yummy to eat, but more importantly we just had quality time together. You are such a different person when you are not around your brother or sister, I guess because you have no one to fight with. I look forward to many years where we can just get out and do girly things together and do some mother and daughter bonding.

Sometimes I look at you and see you older than you really are. It is hard for me to remember you're still a little girl. I want you to be my little girl forever and you will be as long as I can help it. These days are precious and they fly by so quickly. I will hold on to these memories forever and pray that God will bless us with many more.

My dreams came true Taylynn Rae just because of you!

Happy Birthday, may all your dreams come true.

I love you more,
Mommy

Taylynn's Party Part 5

2011-11-30T09:32:00.006-06:00

Today I just worked on some glittery projects. It is better to do it all at once and then clean up rather than work on things here and there and cleaning up a million times. The glitter I like to use is the real fine glitter so it is hard to clean.

I made the name plates for the girls so they know where to sit at the table. I thought I would just use my clear plates and decorate under them. I used a fine glue pen, wrote the names and covered with glitter.

After the girls eat I will use the name plate for the back of their wands they will make.
Wands:
These wands just include a lot of layers. I wanted one layer to have a fun embellishment added to it. I used cupcake liner and cut it up and them glued it on.

I also bought a wooden number five at Hobby Lobby and made it all glitter with painters tape and spray adhesive.

Christmas Card

2011-11-27T21:04:00.005-06:00

For our Christmas card photo I wanted something different so I went with a manger scene since we had a baby to play the role of Jesus.
This was all last minute so I had to use things around the house to create the background and costumes. Let's just say it's a good thing I have lots of fabric around the house.

I had to kill a pillow to make Alayna's angel wings and I used Taylynn's baby mobile for the halo. You won't see the halo much because this angel thought it looked better on the ground rather than her head :)

I took lots of picture (you'll see all the outtakes in the next post) and this is the one I liked best.

I always do postcards because it's almost half the price to send them and I get them for free from vistaprint.com. I ordered them along with their black friday sale so my uploading was free. I got 100 cards for only the price of shipping $6.45 SCORE!!!!!

Thanksgiving

2011-11-25T19:55:00.010-06:00

Our Thanksgiving was wonderful. It was a beautiful day so we went on an adventure in the woods by us. There are some really cool trails and they remind me so much of my Grandparent's land where I would spend all my Thanksgivings.
Everyone had fun, but Preston couldn't stop smiling, what a great time he had!

Around noon Oma, Alyssa, Jason and Katie came over. We had some wonderful Thanksgiving food, yummy!!!We cleaned up and the kiddos played some games on the wii.

Then we gave the kids a gift, which is a new tradition for us. Every Thanksgiving before baths they get some new Christmas pajamas.
We had some wonderful time with our family
Black Friday we went out and did some shopping, nothing major, but we had a good time getting out.
Alayna was excited with all the ads v These shirts the girls are wearing I made using the same process as the bags HERE

Taylynn's Party part 4 Favor Bags

2011-11-22T13:45:00.006-06:00

For the party favors we will have lots of little things so I wanted cute bags to put their goodies in. I made these bags for the girls.

They are pretty easy to make. You will need a canvas tote, doily, paint (I used house paint, but fabric paint is best), spray adhesive, freezer paper, iron, xacto knife and sponge brush.

You will start by spraying adhesive onto the doily and place on your bag.

With your sponge brush paint over the doily and on the rim of the doily.

Slowly remove the doily.
Trace your initial onto your freezer paper. wax side down and with an xacto knife cut out your initial.

Then with a hot iron and freezer paper wax side down, iron the paper until it sealed on your bag.

You can then paint your letter and peel off the paper

Taylynn's Party part 3 Cake Stands

2011-11-21T21:05:00.003-06:00

Every party has to have a cake....but how about eight cakes? Yes Taylynn is going to have eight cakes at her party, but they will be mini cakes. I wanted to display them really cute, but I didn't have any mini cake stands so I made some. I used some pillar candle stands that I already had and I bought some unfinished wood candle sticks from Micheal's Craft store. I also bought some round plywood and round plaque boards.
First I painted

Then I glued. I did one with wood glue and the rest I used E6000 (E6000 is so easy to use)

I added some trim to a few of the cake stands just to add more charm.

Now I just can't wait to add the cakes!

Taylynn's party part 2

2011-11-18T20:09:00.007-06:00

This week I have been working on banners for the party. I must explain that I am also in the process of redesigning the girls room so all these banners will be used in their room.

I first started with fabric choices. There is this great fabric shop in Lawrence called Sarah's Fabrics and I LOVE it. They have so many patterns it makes it hard to decide, but it leaves lots of room for inspiration. I bought a few patterns there and some at Joann's.

I began by making the big white frame in the girl's room into a chicken wire bulletin board.

BEFORE
AFTER
I failed to take pictures of the process, but I can explain it pretty easy:

Step 1: Staple the chicken wire to the back from the frame.
Step 2: Hot glue the fabric to the back of the frame and cut off the excess.
It's that simple!

I have a place ready for this in the kitchen during the party. We have a big black framed mirror in the kitchen and that doesn't work with this shabby chic party. All I had to do was add a frame hook on the back of the chicken wire frame and it fits!

Once the frame was done I made the banners. Some I attached the chicken wire frame above, the others are on the ends of the bunk beds.
The other banner above the bed was my new project. I am tired of just triangle banners, I wanted something new so I did half ovals.

Here is the step by step process:

Step 1: Find something you can trace your shape with. I used a cake plate and marked the bottom with a sharpie so I could line them up on the fabric and they would all be the same size.
Step 2: Using all different trimmings I pinned then hot glued (I don't sew!) them to the fabric.
Step 3: You can use ribbon, twine, rope.....anything to hang your banner up. I chose to use a lacy trim and back it with ribbon. With this trim typically you string the ribbon through it, but this was 3 yards and that would have taken me forever. I decided to just glue it on the back and you still get the same effect.Step 4: You need to lay out your ribbon and place your fabric upside down in the spot you want. This will keep your banner even when you begin to glue.Step 5: Slowly glue the pieces on one at a time. And let dry.I have the perfect place for the banner to go during the party, but its permanent place is in the girl's room.

Taylynn's Party part 1

2011-11-16T18:00:00.003-06:00

Taylynn is turning 5 and the planning has begun.

The theme is something between princess party, tea party, girly party, but lets just call it a shabby chic party.

Every post I will show you a different part of the planning process. So lets start with the invitation.

I was at a loss at what to do because this party is a bit of everything. I thought about purchasing invitations and taking the the easy way out, but when do I ever take the easy way out??? I guess never!

I began the process of making her invitations and I do a lot of designing and deleting to get where I want to go. After a couple hours I arrived to my final destination:
Once I finished the invite I designed the envelopes, and of course they have to be just as fun as the invitation:
Taylynn is really excited. It's going to be a small party. We're just inviting girls in her class and some MOPS friends along with one friend from church. So if everyone comes it will be a group of 8 girls, it could be a little crazy, but I have a little helper from church coming to assist me.

Stay tuned more to come...........

Christmas Shopping

2011-11-13T19:13:00.001-06:00

I have been doing a lot of etsy buying over the last couple months and wanted to share with you. I love buying homemade products because it usually supports stay at home moms.

I knew I wanted some Baby Be Blessed dolls for the girls for Christmas and I won one through a giveaway and bought the other, so essentially it was half price for me. I got the dolls in a month ago and I have them hidden away, but I can show you on here as long as no one tells the girls :)
Tina also has a great blog, you should check it out here!I also ordered pillows for Christmas gifts (I think I am still in that stage where I can get away with not buying a bunch of toys and just getting cute things for them) so lets keep this quiet too!
These came from Whimseyco on Etsy and I LOVE them, they are perfect! I wish I could put them on their bed now!!! I also had Whimseyco make me a onesie for Chandler.......pictures to come!Alayna was in need of some shoes and Gracious May has some adorable ones! I will say I wasn't completly satisfied, but they were really cute before she wore them. I think wool just looks really worn once they are used a couple times, so if you are going to order some shoes sick to a cotton fabric or something that wont ball up.

These are the ones I ordered, cute aren't they!

These are the ones I REALLY REALLY want for Alayna!
These red shoes would have gone great with her Halloween costume! She was Super girl with a cute pettiskirt. I also ordered a pettiskirt for Taylynn so the girls to wear around Christmas time. They came from Hong Kong so i was nervous, but I think for $19.99 I got a great deal. Here is the seller and they do ship really fast.

A friend of mine from church has an etsy shop and she makes the cutest things. You must go check out her shop. She made these adorable shirts for the kids. Not only are they cute they are the best quality.She is a HUGE Nebraska fan and make lots of Nebraska clothes too!

I hope your getting your Christmas shopping done, I think it is always great ordering from etsy because in most cases your helping a stay at home mom, stay home!

Happy Holidays!

Preston's Thriller dance

2011-11-09T20:03:00.003-06:00

Preston has been asking to play the thriller song everyday for the entire month of October, so when they played Thriller at the wedding he was ready to show off his moves.

Towards the end you'll see who he gets his moves from. Hint...it's not me :)

Jason and Katie

2011-11-09T13:19:00.010-06:00

On saturday we gained a new sister in law and aunt. Jason and Katie got married!!!!
Taylynn and Preston were the flower girl and ring bearer and Aaron was one of the best men.
It was a beautiful day, and they seemed so happy. Praying God blesses their marriage with many years of joy.
With four children it's not easy taking pictures, but I did the best I could:
Stay tuned for Preston's dance clip!

Chandler Dean one month

2011-11-04T16:16:00.009-05:00

Chandler you are one month today! I cannot believe it.
You weigh
You wear size one diaper.
You have not lost any hair....yet.
You are the most smiley baby I have ever seen.
You don't sleep well at night, possibly caused by gas.
When you do sleep at night it is mostly in mommy and daddy's arms.
You love to swing in your swing.
You have so many people that love you, you're one lucky boy!

Chandler I love you and you have completed our family. I will miss these days when you just lay and sleep in my arms. You're beautiful and I catch myself just dazed in the amazement that your MINE.

I love you so much!

Halloween

2011-11-04T16:15:00.009-05:00

Halloween came and went pretty fast.
We spent the morning at Taylynn's preschool to watch the children perform some songs they have learned. It was really neat to see Taylynn up there singing and dancing. I am so proud of her.Taylynn's class Taylynn and Kate

After the sing along we went home and began decorating our porch for the night.

For dinner we went to the Garcia's house for dinner then back home to get dressed up. Preston got a kick out of handing candy to the kids.

Brighton came over to trick or treat with us and Chase joined us as well.I couldn't capture pictures of Taylynn and Preston while they were trick or treating, they moved too fast. I got one of Alayna though. Alayna, Chandler and I went home early and Alayna got to check out all of her candy.

Halloween all week long......

2011-10-30T18:53:00.013-05:00

I feel like we have been celebrating Halloween everyday for about a week now.

Tuesday, my MOPS group had a Halloween party for the kiddos; they got to do some crafts, color and have yummy snacks.

Thursday, Aaron's office had a Halloween party, so once again everyone got dressed up and had some Halloween fun!

Friday, Taylynn went to school with treat bags for all her friends and a special gift for her teacher. Then, Preston got a phone call on my cell from the Spooky Pumpkin Face from IHOP. He told him that he could come in and get a free scary face pancake, so we headed to IHOP.
Both Alayna and Preston had a great time decorating their pancake and then eating it, of course.

After breakfast we went to a local shopping mall and did some trick or treating. Alayna was really timid at first, but then she understood and would reach out for the candy. So fun watching her learn.

Saturday evening we carved our pumpkin; both Taylynn and Preston enjoyed pulling out the insides. Aaron did the yucky work, then I carved the pumpkin face.Today (Sunday), we went to Taylynn's preschool for their Trunk or Treat
Then, we came home and I made them a "spooky" bathtub. I just added some bubbles and glow sticks to the water, put our carved pumpkin on the counter top and played some kids Halloween music. They loved it!
Then I set up a popcorn bar

and we watched Hocus Pocus. It has been fun, but I am ready for Halloween to be over.....it's a lot of work!

Big golfer/little golfer

2011-10-25T13:09:00.003-05:00

Aaron took Preston to go golf one day while he was off work taking care of Chandler and I. Taylynn went to preschool and Alayna, Chandler and I stayed home.
I think Preston had the time of his life!

Two Weeks!

2011-10-19T20:36:00.006-05:00

I cannot believe how the time has gone by. I am holding on to October 4th hoping to fully remember the miracles of the day. But I know with my memory, the more time that goes by, the more memory I lose. Thank goodness for the blog world, I can record little moments that I will most likely one day forget.

I was just thinking today about that first moment I met Chandler. He was all wrapped up with his face next to mine and I could see his hand popping out from his swaddled blanket. I slipped my finger in and without hesitation he wrapped his fingers around mine. Little moments like that are so beautiful. I took it and I can still see it and feel like it just happened.

Now Chandler is two weeks. He had his first Doctors appointment and other than him pooping all over the Doctor and all over me, he is perfect. Here are some facts:

Weight: 9 lb, 8 ounces
Height: 21 1/4 inches
He smiles ALL THE TIME, at least compared to the other three when they were babies.
He rarely cries.
He doesn't let me sleep much at night.
He loves to be held and snuggle (I think this is why he doesn't sleep well at night).
He fits well into newborn clothes. 0-3 months are somewhat big on him.
He has stole my heart!!!!

The longer I have been a mom....or is it the older I get??? I have really learned to soak it and and take every moment and be thankful. Pausing and giving thanks really brings me back to life and helps me be present in the moment. I don't want to live life in fast forward....I want to be in slow motion. So if you notice me doing less, that's because I am holding my babies.

Week one

2011-10-14T19:48:00.003-05:00

(Originally written on Friday, but not posted until today!)

Today concludes one week at home with Chandler. Next Monday Aaron goes back to work and I am on my own. Physically I am fine and recovering from the surgery as normal, but I am emotionally not prepared. I am so afraid with four children running around the house that I can't be the mom I want to be, but more importantly the mom God created me to be. I know that through Christ I can do all things and I know I can give him all my cares and that I don't have to spend my time worrying. I "know" it's all true, but do I believe God will provide for ME? In the end He will, even if life is rough for awhile, I know my God will come through....He always does, even with my unbelief.

Since this was our first week at home and very special to all of us I wanted to document it.

Friday:
We got home from the hospital around 2:30pm
Everyone was so excited and got to hold baby Chandler.
Nothing productive happened, but staring at the baby and smiling all day.

Saturday:
I had an appointment at the breastfeeding clinic. Aaron dropped Chandler and I off and then he took the kids to the library.

Sunday:
Our first real family outing was at church. It was good to get out and show off Chandler.
We took the kids out for pizza, we all had a great time.
Target run after pizza, we had some things we needed. Everyone was good :)

Monday:
We all took Taylynn to Preschool, then we headed back to Target to get some things we forgot.
Then Toy's R us and TJ Maxx.
We picked up Taylynn and headed home for the day.

Tuesday:
Aaron took everyone but Chandler to the Discovery Center so I could relax a bit. The quiet was nice, but after an hour I missed the noise.
I had my first mommy of four failure......I missed Chandler's doctor's appointment.Ooops!
My friend Taylor came by to meet Chandler.
We watched a really bad Halloween movie with the kids.

Wednesday:
We stayed in the house all day and relaxed.

Thursday:
I was ready to get out of the house. We took the kids to the mall for some Chick-fil-a and some shopping. We were there for four hours, but everyone behaved!

Friday:
Aaron and Preston took Taylynn to school then they went golfing (pictures to come)
Alayna, Chandler and I stayed home. While Chandler slept Alayna and I had so much fun! We played and colored and sang and dance. It was so wonderful to spend time with just her, I wish I had more of an opportunity to do that.

After Aaron picked us up after getting Taylynn, we went to lunch; I was craving some mexican food.

What a wonderful week! I love our family of six, so many adventures to come!

Home Sweet Home

2011-10-14T19:46:00.001-05:00

Last Friday we came home from the hospital. I was nice to be home and start life as a family of six although I could have stayed at the hospital another week. I loved getting waited on and I loved the food.

My mom was home with Taylynn, Preston and Alayna. She was keeping them up from their nap so they could all greet us, it was nice to be home We have had a great week, but that is all in the next post!

Hospital stay

2011-10-12T13:05:00.009-05:00

We are so blessed with family and friends that love Chandler and celebrated with us at the hospital. I made special treats for the hospital staff and all our guest, I do this as a thank you. It really means a lot to us to have friends and family come and love on Chandler.Thank you to all those who came to see us. And we know we have family and friends who live far away and couldn't come, but we know your thinking of us and we appreciate it.

From our eyes

2011-10-11T12:52:00.003-05:00

I decided to record Chandler's birth story from my eyes and have Aaron record his story through his eyes.

Daddy's Story:

Waiting outside the operating room has always been an odd experience. You walk through locked doors to get to the hallway which leads to the operating room. In that hallway is one lone chair, and I have to sit their while they prepare Caroline in the operating room. That wait is about 10 – 15 minutes of pretty much complete silence except for some nurses going in and out of the operating room. When Preston was born, I decided to quell some of that silence by video taping myself and basically giving an update of what was going on and the awkwardness I was experiencing. I did the same with Alayna. For Chandler, I made another video, but this time I made a message directly to Chandler to listen to when he is older.

Part of that wait makes you think a lot too. I thought about the births of our other children and how beautiful they were when they came out (Taylynn was a little beat up, but she was still a beautiful baby). I prayed about keeping Chandler healthy, just like our other children, and that no matter what, Caroline and I would love him as much as all our other children. As part of this C-Section, Caroline and I had decided to get her tubes tied as we felt comfortable that God told us four children was the right number. However, sitting there waiting just made me start second guessing. At one point, I debated running into the room real quick just to tell them to NOT tie her tubes (though I knew they wouldn’t do that until a good time after I was already in the room). I came to my senses though and realized that it was time for us to stop. At any rate, the nervous excitement I had all day was about to come to an end as I was called into the room.

Going into the operating room, I expected to see Caroline groggy and pretty much out of it, though still awake, as that is how she was with Preston and Alayna. However, this time, when I walked in, she was talking and pretty much alert as if she wasn’t even on any drugs. It was a surprise, but a pleasant one. It was nice to be able to talk to her and listen to her response; it made it even more special. It also calmed my nervousness down being able to talk to her about how excited we were and how much God has blessed us. I was just sitting there waiting to be able to look over the screen when Chandler was coming out in order to take some pictures. It seemed to take a long time and nobody told me the policy of taking pictures while the doctors were working, so eventually I stood up and watched as the doctors were still preparing Caroline. I’m not too much into the bloody doctor thing, but it was so interesting to see your wife’s stomach opened up on the table in front of you. I couldn’t really see insider her, but I still couldn’t help but watch. Then, it was time.

Once I saw the doctor get the tool to help pull Caroline’s stomach open, I knew it was time, so I readied the camera. In no time, little (or should I say not so little?) Chandler came out as I started snapping photos. It’s a pretty amazing feeling to see God’s gift come into this world. I looked at Caroline, smiled and told her “She did it”. Then, I was off to watch them start cleaning Chandler and doing his exam. At this point, I’m pretty overwhelmed, not only with joy and excitement, but because I have a video camera rolling in one hand and a digital camera snapping pictures in the other. I inspected Chandler with my own eyes just making sure he had all of his fingers and toes and no extra arms or anything. He was a beautiful and perfect baby boy. I could only watch in amazement as I had no words at that moment. At that moment, I just admired what a beautiful gift God had given us. I basically would go back and forth between admiring Chandler and checking in on Caroline to make sure she was doing OK. She had to get her tubes tied, which was supposed to only take a couple extra minutes, but it seemed like we were in the room for a lot longer than any of the other deliveries. Once the doctor was done checking Chandler, it was time to finally hold him. By the way, he was quite the screamer while he was being checked. It made us worry that we were going to have a loud child.

It’s pretty amazing to think 9 months ago, you planted a seed that you are now holding in your arms, nothing short of awesome. I took him to show to Caroline and to spend our first moments together. The anesthesiologist took some of our first family pictures for us. Eventually, Caroline was ready to go to the recovery room and Chandler and I followed.

I was really excited because at that point I went to get the kids to come see Chandler. I know Preston was so excited to meet him. As we were walking to the room, Preston asked me if baby Chandler was here and I told him that he was and we were on our way to see him. It was so cute to see Preston’s excitement as he had been waiting a long time to meet his brother. Once we got to the room, it was overwhelming and that part is pretty much a blur in my mind as I can’t even remember the reactions of the kids. I’m pretty sure we have it on video or at least on the digital camera. I wish I remembered it better, so hopefully God brings that memory back to me.

Eventually, the kids went home and things calmed down. Caroline fed Chandler for the first time and the nurse gave him his first bath. Then, it was off to our room. Finally, there was time to be able to hold him and just relax, cherish the moment, gaze at God’s glory and the beauty he provides us. It is just an awesome feeling to know that you have, not only four beautiful children, but four healthy children.

It has been hard for our kids to realize mom and dad are staying at the hospital and they can’t stay. Every night they have left, Preston has thrown a fit because he didn’t want us to stay. It makes it really hard, but I did go home and spend some time with Preston and Alayna one day. I was excited to go home and I think the kids couldn't wait for us to be home with them. I can’t wait for us to start this new chapter in our lives with our complete family. Crazy to think that when Caroline and I met for the first time in 2001, that 10 years later we would be married with four children. I couldn’t ask for a better wife or better kids. God has truly blessed me and I can’t praise Him enough for all He has done.

Mamma's story:

Tuesday finally rolled around and I was up and at 'em at four o'clock. Four was my cutoff for any food or drink so I had to get something in my stomach before it was too late. The day seemed unreal. I had been counting down for 9 months and now I was out of days to count. I am not sure if I was in a state of shock, excitement or just numb, but I wasn't all there. I was nervous, that was clear.

As we were driving to the hospital I was calm. Aaron had prayed a beautiful prayer for us the night before and I held on to his words and repeated them in my head. My calmness comes from the Lord in times when I would normally be anything but calm.

After we checked in and got settled we were told our c-section was going to be delayed. We could either wait for my Dr. to come back after five or we could use the on-call Dr. and go in as soon as the room was available. I was hungry and ready to meet my baby boy, so I went with the on-call Dr. The thought of switching Dr.'s made me nervous, but I just gave my fears and nerves up to the Lord. I had about 30 minutes of quiet while Aaron went and got lunch. I could have turned on the TV and filled my head with distractions, but instead I decided to sit still. I wanted to pray and let God speak to me. I wanted to dream of what Chandler would look like and the little man he would one day be. I just sat there; it was nice.

Before we headed back to the operating room my mom and sister brought Taylynn, Preston and Alayna to see us. It was a quick hello and a couple photo snaps and we headed off to the OR. The walk there is short. I get a sweet kiss from Aaron and I head into the room. I know this room all too well. It seems very empty this time around which brought me peace. I am asked to hop up on the table and the process of my spinal begins. I expect the worse. This has been really painful in the past. In fact the last time I got my spinal it hurt so bad my body jolted away from the anesthesiologist. As they asked me to arch my back as much as I could, I tried to find a focus point. A song came to my head.....we'll a few lyrics came to my head and I repeated them over and over again. "My heart will sing, no other name, Jesus, Jesus." Before I knew it the spinal was over and honestly I felt no pain from it. I had to ask if they did anything, they did I began to feel the tingle in my toes.

After the spinal the process began. I was just waiting to feel nauseous, but I actually felt pretty good. Before I knew it they said we're starting and Aaron wasn't even there yet, but they assured me he was on his way.

I couldn't tell what they were doing so with Aaron by my side I just began praying and praising the Lord. I continued to sing the song I had sang during the spinal (not aloud...to my self of course).

Within moments, or what seemed like moments I heard a cry.......I think maybe he came out crying :) I was told to look up and there he was. The Dr. held Chandler up over the screen so I can see him. I didn't expect this, usually I don't get to see my babies until they are all wrapped up and cleaned up. This doctor surprised me and it brought me to tears. Such a beautiful moment, from that first glance I was in love, COMPLETELY in love!

Once he was cleaned up Aaron brought him over to me and I got to get a closer look, smell and touch. I began whispering in his ear, this is what I remember saying "Chandler, I am your mommy and I love you so much. There is so much I want to tell you and teach you, but you first need to know about the wonderful God that has brought you here and gave you to me. He loves you even more than this love I feel right now for you. You also have a brother and two sisters that are waiting to meet you and love you like crazy." At this point Chandler began to cry so I began to sing " My heart will sing no other name, Jesus, Jesus" and he stopped. I kissed him and put my cheek next to his. This is one of the best moments of my life.

From the OR we went to the recovery room, from here I don't recall much. I know My mom and sister brought in Taylynn, Preston and Alayna and the feel of the room was excitement all around. I do have this time recorded on video so I am looking forward to watching it and seeing what I can't remember. Once everyone was gone I nursed Chandler and just stared at him. I was a lone in the room (other than the nurse) while Aaron ran to get some things from the car. The moment was still and I praised the Lord for the miracle I was now holding in my arms.
We moved to our hospital room and get all settled. We had lots of visitors during our stay. We are so blessed that so many people care and love for Chandler, it's a great feeling.

Aaron and I had a very special moment with Chandler Thursday night. We were both laying on the bed with Chandler laying on our legs facing us. We both held on to him and prayed aloud for Chandler and our family of six. We then just talked , laughed and I cried a little. It was a special moment with Aaron, one I won't ever forget.

I cried a little the morning we were leaving just thinking how this is our last baby and the last time to bring a baby into this world. I am excited to have our family complete and I am excited to see where God takes us on His journey.

Chandler

2011-10-09T20:53:00.007-05:00

Happy Birthday Chandler!

2011-10-07T07:11:00.007-05:00

2011-10-04T21:11:00.003-05:00

Grandma and Paw-paw this is for you.....

More to come!

8 hours!

2011-10-04T04:14:00.003-05:00

It's four in the morning and I am up because I am not supposed to eat or drink past four and I am too excited to sleep!

In 8 hours Chandler will be making his arrival. I can't believe I am down to counting hours and not months, weeks and days.

The house is still and everyone is sound asleep. The quiet is rare and almost lonely, but it gives me time to think and be thankful. I am thankful this will be my last few moments being pregnant, but I will miss the movement of life, the constant reminder that God is the creator of all things. For God to pick me to have this family is a blessing I overlook everyday. And the more children I have, the more blessed I am, the harder giving God praise becomes. I need moments like this. In the still of the night where I can just be thankful and praise God.
Everything is packed and ready. We have to be at the hospital at 10, so we'll still get a good chunk of the morning with Taylynn and Preston. Alayna will be up around 7, but we'll put her back down for a nap at 9ish.

I held Taylynn last night after rubbing her feet with lotion (something she has loved since she was a baby) and we prayed. Normally she'll pray on her own, but she said since Chandler was coming she wanted us both to pray. She gets it. She has been through this two other times and she knows this baby is real and he's coming. I can't believe my four year old is going to be a big, big, big sister.

Preston might be just as excited as I am...except he can sleep at night :) I can already see him holding Chandler with his "I am so happy, I am going to try not to smile" grin on his face. Preston has so much love for others. He reminds me how to love when I am so caught up in this world.

Poor Alayna, she has no idea. My heart breaks a little, ok a lot knowing things are going to flip up side down in her world. I will run my self ragged before I let her feel less loved or lonely. Even if this requires no down time for me. I have been through this before with Taylynn and Preston and it's not an easy adjustment, but I will do the very best I can.

That's a mom's job right? To do the very best she can. I know I fail a lot, but I try really hard everyday to show my children what love is and to teach them the greatest love of all. Four children might be hard, but I am going to do the best that I can. I am looking forward to it (with a huge smile on my face).

Chandler- I am so excited to seeing you. I already know you and I have held you for nine months, but I am ready to see you and whisper in your ear how great you are and tell you how awesome our God is. I can only guarantee one thing in this life........you will be loved. You already are loved. I promise as your mommy to do the best I can, but know I will fail from time to time as we all do. I will love you forever. I can't wait to meet you! - Your Mama

Aaron, for us, this feels like nothing new. We've almost been married six years and having babies seems to be all we know. I promise to you I won't take love from you and divide it throughout the children. I love you most and I always will. You are my other half. Your are the laughter that comes from me, the smile upon my face. Your my one love and we are on a beautiful journey. Thank you for loving me at all times and holding my hand through it all. I love you! I love you
like crazy!

Well, it's now 5 in the morning. I ate some multi-grain Cheerios and I will spend some time in prayer then I am off to shower and possibly go back to sleep for another hour. We would appreciate your prayers, prayers for a healthy baby and smooth surgery. Also prayers of an easy adjustment for all of us.

I'll be back with updates shortly after he arrives.

Pumpkin Patch part II

2011-10-03T15:34:00.009-05:00

Farm Animals

Feeding the goat
Train Ride

Tractor Ride

P
Photo Opp

Pumpkin Patch

Slide

Pumpkin Patch 2011

2011-10-02T16:13:00.006-05:00

It is a tradition to go to the pumpkin patch every fall. We just went this last Saturday and had a great time. I took so many pictures I am splitting this post into two days.
One thing we always do is take a family pictures and pictures of just the kids. I took 216 pictures!!!! Here are some of the good ones I kept:

This one I had to keep because this is what it looks like between all the "good" pictures
A few seconds later.......
And that is why I take 216 pictures!

One more day and our littlest pumpkin will be here! I cannot wait to hold him in my arms!

Fall Decorations!!!

2011-09-27T19:29:00.012-05:00

I spent last week getting the kids excited to decorate for fall/Halloween. So once Saturday hit we were all really excited!
I planned to start the morning all festive and continue throughout the day.

We started with some pumpkin pancakesThe we let the kids put on their Halloween clothes for the first time this year.

Then after Alayna went down for her morning nap I made Chai Tea for Aaron and I and hot chocolate for Taylynn and Preston. And we sat and talked about where the decorations should go. Ok, this wasn't much of a conversation, but it was fun.I also made chocolate chip scones to go along with the drinks. It was a treat for all of us!
Then began the decorating and we were all really excited to bring up all the goodies boxed up. It was like Christmas because it had been so long since we'd seen our decorations.

At this point I didn't take a lot of pictures, but I did get one of Preston helping.

After we got a some decorating done, I just wasn't feeling it and really wanted to be more creative.......so I talked the gang into going to Paxico, Kansas and go Antique shopping. I only got a couple pictures of the girls:
I didn't plan on finding but a few goodies......but let me just say....... I TOTALLY SCORED!!!!

One of the shops was going out of business and they had things marked cheaper than a garage sale would have. I got a old vintage suitcase (I'll be using this for newborn pictures) for a dollar, some REALLY old books 6 for a dollar, large fancy picture frames twenty five cents each, an old comforter to use as fabric.... also twenty five cents, and lots of other great deals! I still can't get over the steals I got.

I plan on using a lot of those items for some fall decorating and I'll let you know when I do.

When we got home we went to Our niece Brighton's school carnival, the kids had a great time and it was such a beautiful day!

Once we got home it was craft time for me!!!!!

I took the bedding I bought for a quarter and used it for the backing of this banner:

I needed a more festive sign so I hit up Hobby Lobby and bought this FAMILY sign and painted it our fall color scheme.
I made some more button art using one of the quarter frames I bought:
I typed up a fall word sign and added it to a frame I already had up This is what our mantel looks like:

And here is one of our bookcases that is complete:

We do have other decorations around the house....ones the kids enjoy like sparkly spiders and pumpkins along with some other things. For now I'll just share these things, but there is more to come!

Fun filled weekend!

2011-09-26T17:04:00.010-05:00

Not last weekend.....but the one before that (yes, I am behind) was very eventful for us.

Thursday my friend Keri invited the typical girls over for a girls night to celebrate baby Chandler. It was fun just to hang out with the girls and relax a bit. Oh and EAT!!!!

I didn't get a picture of the girls :( But just imagine Keri, Kim, Cyndi, Katie and I standing there looking skinny and all put together smiling big :)

Thanks girls for such a great night!
.....................................................

Friday Night Jen from my church also threw a girls night for me. Lots of friends from church came and it was so wonderful!

Here are some of the women that were there to celebrate. I am so blessed to have such a great group of women from my church.
.....................................................

Saturday we headed to Manhattan......KANSAS......to celebrate my nephew Jack's first birthday. My sister had an adorable circus themed party, everything was really cute and yummy!

.....................................................

After the party Aaron and I went to dinner together, which was really nice to have that time alone. It is pretty rare, but we appreciate it more when we get it.
After dinner we went to my 10 year reunion. I didn't take many pictures, but I did get two. One with my best friend Lindsey and I and one with Aaron and I.
The countdown is on! One week from tomorrow!!!! We are so excited to meet baby Chandler!

Go BODS!

2011-09-22T08:35:00.007-05:00

Aaron and I both graduated from Washburn University in 2005 and the other day we went to a football game at home.
We decided to skip out on paying $20 and we watched a little from the fence and walked around campus a bit.
It was good to be back, it brought back so many memories. I didn't meet Aaron until my freshman year at Washburn. I was also a cheerleader and living in the dorms, so I had some great memories that year and being there brought it all back.
I took some pictures of the kids playing on campus. Maybe one day this will be their college too!

First Day of Preschool

2011-09-19T15:27:00.003-05:00

Taylynn had her first day of preschool on September 9th. She loved it of course! Her teachers name is Mrs. Strole and I think it is going to be GREAT class.
She goes Monday, Wednesday and Fridays and so far has loved every moment.

I thought I would ask her a few questions and let her give the answers:

What is your favorite thing to do at preschool?
Go outside and play

What have you learned?
"f" and "t"'s

What do you do at preschool that you don't do here at home?
Well....I don't know

Who is in your class?
Kate and Emma, just two girls that's all

Do you obey your teacher?
Yes, if you don't be nice you go in the uh oh chair.

Have you been in the chair?
No, I haven't been naughty to my friends

Are you kind?
Yes, I didn't take any toys from them

Do you think about your mommy while your at school?
Yeah.

I love that she loves school. I miss her during those two hours, but when we get home Alayna takes a nap and it's just Preston and I. It has NEVER been just Preston and I on a regular basis so I have really enjoyed it. We play games and color and have lots of fun. Only two weeks left so we'll be spending some great time together.

I honestly have no clue how I am going to let Taylynn go to school all day next year. It makes me sad thinking about it, so I won't be thinking of that yet!

Devo's and Bible studies

2011-09-16T17:10:00.004-05:00

Show us your life Favorite Bible study and devotion books! Check out Kelly's blog for other bloggers linking up!

What a fun one!

I love anything Beth Moore. I am really wanting to do this devotion book, Beth Moore, Feathers from My Nest.
But for now I have James Dobson, Night Light for Parents. Love this one, it's great because It will be good for years, something I can do over and over and hear God telling me different things every time.

Some other great books:

Ann Voskamp One Thousand Gifts. Love this book. Ann truly has a gift for writing, her words are BEAUTIFUL! I was changed after the first three chapters, and I look at EVERYTHING with thanks.

I also love anything Angie Smith! I finished her first book, I will Carry you. And I ordered her new book What Women Fear, so I am excited to start that one.

Looking forward to seeing what books have helped you experience God.

Little BIG girl!

2011-09-14T15:03:00.002-05:00

I just wanted to do an update on Alayna because she is changing so fast.

A couple days ago we had her one year check up. She is 29 lbs and 30 1/2 inches. So she has slowed down on the weight gain and is getting taller everyday.

On August 23rd, she made the decision to walk and she hasn't stopped. I could tell by the look in her eyes that she was on a mission to walk all day and she did. I was so proud of her. I love how when she walks a few steps then falls and doesn't get aggravated, she just gets back up. Let's hope when she is older and falls that she'll just pick herself back up and try again.

Alayna eats everything we eat for our meals, she LOVES to drink water. She is no longer on the bottle as of the beginning of August. She still sleeps in her crib and would prefer two naps a day, but I stopped her morning nap. We'll probably try to put her in a big girl bed early because she is sleeping in what will soon be Chandler's bed.

Alayna loves music and will dance along to it, I'll even catch her grooving in her car seat.

She is a daddy's girl 100%. When he comes home from work all she wants is to be held by her daddy. She'll rest her head on his shoulder and she refuses to be put down. This process last at least ten minutes.

She can say:
Dog Dog
Ma Ma
Da Da
Thank you

She can:
blow her nose in a tissue
Make an elephant sound
give sweet kisses
wave hello and goodbye
give things back when I ask (most of the time)

I love this girl!!!!!

Lost pictures August

2011-09-13T13:00:00.007-05:00

I was going through my pictures today and realized I had some lost photos and needed to file them into their months. I also needed to add them to the pictures on here.

These are from August:

Alayna

Matching outfits sisters

Trip to the park and zoo
Back to school bash at church

Kitchen Shower

2011-09-12T13:54:00.007-05:00

On Saturday I threw my soon to be sister-in-law a bridal shower. I went with a kitchen theme, using anything red I had in my own kitchen.

I used red, blue/aqua, orange and green for the colors.

For decorations I used small kitchen items to make a kitchen garland. I used banners that I already had around the house. The food was displayed in things from my own kitchen.....mixer, blender even my toaster oven. The cracker box was something I received after my grandparents on my dad's side passed away. It was something they had in their kitchen for as long as I can remember.

We played a couple games. I had all the guest bring a recipe for Katie. I took the recipes and read off the ingredients until someone guessed what the recipe was. The one with the most correct guesses won.

The other game required the bridal to wear many different kitchen items and walk around the room for a couple minutes. When she left the room they guest had to write down as many items as they could remember. The one with the most won.

Food: Cherry cheddar crackers, Chocolate dipped strawberries, feta cherry tomatoes, sausage cups, bruchetta and cake.

Drinks: White wine orange sangria, virgin sangria and water

Party favors: Large pumpkin chocolate chip muffin with recipe

I think everyone had a great time! The wedding is in 2 months....the countdown is on!

Poor Alayna

2011-09-08T14:47:00.003-05:00

So Alayna knocked over a can of white wall paint and had a fun moment playing in white goop. This was probably 1/2 of the can all over her and the floor. Luckily it was inches away from our new kitchen table.

She was so mad in this picture because I had just cleaned some paint out of her mouth (it wasn't much). Taylynn and Preston were laughing too, I think this upset her.

I wrapped her up in my painting tarp, which just happened to be on the table and grabbed some soap and went outside. I washed her off with the hose then brought her back inside. She had to sit wet on the cold tile so I could clean the floor. I was trying to hurry so it didn't dry, poor Alayna, she was not happy. I couldn't help but laugh, it was quite funny!

I got the floor cleaned up and got her in the bath. It probably sounds like a lot of work, but we were all back and running in 15 minutes.

Next time I won't be leaving any paint cans on the floor :)

Getting things done. And DIY ideas.

2011-09-03T21:50:00.009-05:00

I have been doing A LOT lately to get things done before Chandler comes.....btw one month from tomorrow we'll get to meet our sweet boy!

Anyway I thought I would share some of my projects with you and maybe it will inspire you to get crafty in your own home.

It all started when Aaron stayed home while I went to Arkansas in July. He painted the living room, hall way and entry way. Since everything was coming off the walls I decided to keep them off and start from scratch.

So with fresh green walls, I began the transformation. I started with the wall that is in the living room, but leads to the basement.

This was before (say hi to my friends Ali and Aaron) :

After

I also had to redo the letters in Preston's room because soon it won't just be Preston's room. I decided it would be easier to just have the wall say Brothers rather than each of their names.
I also wanted to keep with the animal feel, so I made an alligator with the letters.

Before

After

Next I decided to decorate the wall between the kitchen a living room. I don't have a before picture, but all that was there was a picture of Taylynn when she was six months old.
My Grandma and Paw-Paw gave me an egg mold that they have had in their house for years. It was something I always really liked and wanted and now it is in my house and brings me good memories every time I see it.

So the egg mold was the first to go up in this spot and then I came up with another other idea to piece it all together.

First, I made a wreath and this is an easy DIY idea. I just bought a wreath at Michael's, used twine and hot glue and wrapped the wreath then added some embellishments.
Another DIY idea would be using small frames with letters in them to spell something. I bought these frames for $1.99 each and painted them to look more shabby chic.
Then added letters cut from scrapbook paper with a burlap backing.
The next step to this wall was getting a large open back frame and painting it, then I added chicken wire to the back so I could use it as a bulletin board. I did have a rough go at trying to make the frame look distressed, it does take a few days and lots of steps. A tip I learned was to paint one coat for the bottom color then once it dries add Vaseline on the spots you want the distressed look to pop out then paint your top color over that. The paint wont stick to the Vaseline, so it makes sanding real easy.For attaching items to the chicken wire I just use little clothes pins and you can hot glue anything on them for more detail.

I also made a fall wreath last night. I have enjoyed trying new things and if your on pintrest at all you have probably seen a lot of yarn wreaths. They are actually real easy and you can be as creative as you want.

I am working on a wall in the living room and I have started it, but I am still working on somethings. I thought I would go ahead and show you the "art work" I made for the center of the wall.

Here I just backed the frame with burlap and laid out what seemed like hundreds of buttons to form a design. I decided to do a tree because it's a simple shape. Once I got all the buttons where I wanted I began to glue them all on. I didn't use hot glue, but a multipurpose craft glue.

Last but not least I made a family name collage and framed it in a table top frame. I will probably be making a lot of these with different wording for the holidays coming up.

Things are getting checked off the list, but I seem to also be adding more :)

I am throwing a Kitchen Bridal Shower next weekend so be ready for some fun pictures coming up!

Update on Kaitlyn

2011-08-31T12:21:00.003-05:00

My sister in law, Deborah (Kaitlyn's mom) sent this email so I thought I would pass it along to you:

"Yesterday the doctor read over her EKG results and found that the hole was only moderate in size and somewhat restrictive. It's not a hole in the heart itself, it's what is known as a PDA which most newborns have until birth when it closes up. He thinks her's has already started to close up now so he's opted to forego the medication and see if it will close on it's own. The nurses told me today that the doctor is going to resume her feedings today. So it looks like we're back on track and the doctor said that he doesn't believe she will stay all the way until her due date at all. She's progressing much faster than that. I will see the doctor again at noon to find out exactly when and how much her feeds will be."

Yay! Thank you for those who prayed, keep praying if you will.

I can't wait to meet Kaitlyn, I don't think it will be until October, but we're planning to go once Chandler is born.