Just a small glimps into my life...

Life with four little ones is...well...wonderfully hectic. I have mentioned this before, but having two babies to care for is going a lot better than I anticipated. Life is extremely busy, but we are managing! We are beginning to develop a routine! I crave routine! I feel like everyone is happier when we have a schedule and set routine. Having a newborn though throws any sense of routine right out the window. Slowly we are working our way back on schedule!
It takes time though--this I know!

Here is a picture of my calendar that is upstairs in our family room.


Notice that it's stuck on the month of April! That's really how my life feels.
The months are just flying by!!! Some days I wake up and literally wonder what day it is!
Isn't it going to be June soon?
Where of where has the time gone?

...and this is how I spend most of my day!
I surprise myself with what I am still able to accomplish while holding two babies.
I do wonder however, why the Lord didn't give mothers one extra arm though.
Oh the things I could do if I just had one more arm!?!? LOL

Yes... life is crazy right now, however, I am learning to love the noise, manage the clutter and chaos, but most importantly, enjoy the blessing of it all!!!!!

Things that made me smile...

I hope you enjoyed your Memorial Day weekend. We sure did! Even though we experienced quite a bit of rain, we still managed to get outside and enjoy the outdoors. We biked, went for walks, went to the pool, and picnicked at the park. Monday was actually supposed to be a snow make up day at school for Corban. Shane and I went back and forth on whether or not we should make him go. We decided to let him stay home. Most of our neighbors did the same thing. This is Shane's last week at home on paternity leave, so he enjoyed having Corban home.

Here's a few things that made me smile this weekend...

Riley's feeling better!
We hadn't really seen Riley's sweet smile since his surgery on Wednesday!! Since he was feeling a little better Saturday, Shane decided to take the boys on a bike ride!

Corban had his last soccer game of the season on Saturday! We celebrated with his team at Marble Slab Creamery. Each child was awarded a medal for their hard work this season! Here's Cor, proudly showing off his medal!!

My boys playing together!

Having fun at the playground!

Snugglin' with Hudson at the park!

A sleeping baby! He only woke up one time last night!!!!
I couldn't believe it! He is seriously such a GREAT baby!!!


I LOVE watching Shane with Sophie!
He is so.......sweet and totally adores her!!! She is the apple of his eye!

Sophie learned how to play ball.
She LOVES to hold the ball and then roll it back to you!

Playin' with my girl at the park!

I hope you had a great weekend too and got to enjoy some time with family and friends!!

An evening for a princess!

Last night Shane and I attended A Touch of Elegance Finishing School (aka Manners and More ) graduation celebration! For those of you who are maybe new to my blog and don't know, I have been an instructor with Manners and More Finishing School for the past ten years.

I had the privilege of teaching the preteen girls this year. Our class met every other Tuesday afternoon for nine months. Each class covered a new topic and the girls are instructed in a wide variety of skills. These classes include table manners, social conversation skills, modest and proper attire, public speaking, and how to choose and be a good friend--- just to name a few. All skills taught are from a Biblical perspective! The end of the year celebration is a formal event, held at a lovely country club. The evening provides an opportunity for the girls to "show off" some of the skills they have learned over the past nine months. During the evening, each graduate is required to deliver a short (2-3 minute) speech about their favorite bible verse and why. It is always so impressive to see these precious 9, 10, 11, and 12 year old girls get up in front of a crowd and deliver a speech with such confidence, grace, and poise! Most adults have a hard time doing that!!!! I am always so proud of them!!!

Here is a picture of my girls from our photo posing class!

Shane and I dressed up for the evening!

My girls at the finale-- - a beautiful candle light presentation!
It truly is a night fit for a princess!

Home and resting!

I just have a second, but I wanted to take a moment and thank you all for praying for my sweet RiRi. Surgery went well!! We are now home and he is resting. Thanks again for your sweet comments and prayers. You just don't know how much it means to me to know that you were praying for us!!!

Tonsillectomy

Would you please pray for us? Riley is going to have his tonsils removed Wednesday (tomorrow) morning at 9:00am. We had an appointment with the ENT doctor yesterday (Monday) and they confirmed that he did indeed need to have the surgery and scheduled it for Wed. I am really anxious about it, but know it will help him feel and sleep so much better. I guess I am more worried about the recovery period. I've heard it can be really hard.

Anyway, would you just pray for my little guy? Pray that the surgery will go well and that the he will recover quickly and not be in too much pain?

I'll let you know how it goes!!!

Sophie and Hudson

I can't believe that Hudson is one month old already and sweet Sophie is 8 months old!!! This month has literally just flown by. Maybe it's because I'm not sleeping much, so the days just seem to be running all together =). Actually, Hudson is beginning to do a lot better at night. Last night he only got up 3 times to eat and went right back to sleep after he was finished.

Having two babies is going a lot better than I anticipated. Shane is still home on paternity leave, so that is SO... helpful! We are slowly easing back into life and into a routine! Sophie is doing GREAT with Hudson. Honestly, I don't even think she notices him. If he is fussing, she looks over at him, but usually she doesn't pay him much attention.
She knows she is still the little princess around here!!

What has our little princess been up to this last month?

~She's loves to play patty cake and will clap her hands together when we start the rhyme.

~She also claps her hands when we say "Yay Sophie!"
~She throws her little arms in the air when we play the game "How big is Sophie... So...big!"
~She LOVES to go for long walks in her stroller.
~She just got her first tooth!!!
~She is trying her best to crawl, but right now she only manages to move backwards.
~She LOVES to eat!!!! She now enjoys almost all her baby food. She is still not a fan of peas or squash, but everything else she just gobbles up!

~She is saying "Mama" and "Dada" now too!!! Melts our hearts!!!

Hudson is doing GREAT!!! He is such a sweet, sweet, baby boy! We are just loving having a newborn in this house again!! There is nothing in the entire world like the smell, cuddles, and snuggles of a newborn!

NOTHING like it!!!

What do you get...?

when you have a rainy day, three rowdy boys, marshmallows, and some pvc pipe?

A marshmallow gun fight in the living room!!!
I think Shane looks like he was having the most fun!
He is definitely just one BIG kid himself!!lol

Riley was named the winner ;)
Love that grin!!

YES, this is life with boys!!!!

Can you believe this!?!?

Who would of thought that the day I choose to blog about my new van, this happened...

No...thankfully we were not in an accident, but we did have a little incident yesterday afternoon.

We hang a tennis ball from the ceiling of the garage as a way of knowing where to stop when we are pulling the car into the garage. Since the van is a little bit longer than my Jeep, we needed to move the tennis ball to accommodate the van. Yesterday afternoon, Shane climbed onto the roof of my car in order to move the string. He sat down and placed the ball in the new spot. He then slid down the windshield to in order to hop off the car. Well, as you can see his... um....... rear end cracked the windshield. Thankfully he wasn't hurt!!!! The only thing hurting is our pocketbook because now we have to pay to replace the entire windshield!!!
Can you believe it!?!?!?

I'm a mini van mommy!!!

Yes...it's true I am now the proud owner of a mini van!



We bought a Toyota Sienna and I LOVE it!!

I have to tell you though, it was bittersweet having to say goodbye to my Jeep.
I LOVED my Jeep and it was really special to me.
Ever since I was 16 and got my license I had always wanted to drive a Jeep.
So about three years ago, while I was on a trip with my boys and my parents, Shane surprised me by buying me a new Jeep Commander!!
When I came home from vacation, there parked in my parents driveway was my new Jeep complete with a big red bow on top!!!! I couldn't believe it!!!
Anyway, needless to say it was not fun having to give up my jeep, but it was time! With four kiddo's now, the Jeep just wasn't working for us anymore!

I do love my van and appreciate all the room we have.
I am now truly a proud member of the minivan club!!!

Mother's Day

I can't believe that this year I am the mother of four. My crew has doubled in size since last Mother's Day =)!!! Crazy huh!?!? Anyway, I had a super sweet day filled with lots of love from my little ones. Corban was the first to get up this morning. He came and found me feeding Hudson on the couch. He eagerly presented me with a picture he had drawn and wished me a "Happy Mothers Day!" He had already given me a beautiful flower pot and a special book which he had made at school.

In the book he had to draw pictures of me and answer questions. He did an great job and it was adorable! I loved it!!
Here is what he wrote...

My mom makes me feel better when...
"She helps me feel better when I am sick!"
My mom cooks the best...
"Hamburgers"
My mom looks the prettiest when...
" She has earrings on"
I had the best day with my mom when we...
"When we play together"

When Sophie woke up this morning, I went into her room to get her and I found my other Mother's day gift along with a sweet, sweet, card from my husband!

Shane had placed it in her room knowing I would find it first thing in the morning!

It was a new Vera Bradley pocket book that I have had my eye on for a while now.
I LOVE Vera Bradley pocket books and have wanted to get two new ones to use as diaper bags for the babies. I wanted both the cupcake pink one for Sophie and the cupcake green one for Hudson.

Shane went all over town, but was unable to find the cupcake green bag, so I have to wait for that one to come in. Aren't they cute though?!?! I decided a while ago that it was much easier to carry two separate diaper bags for the babies. Because they are in different size diapers, on different formula, and take different size bottles, it just easier, and I stay more organized if I carry two bags.
I am really excited and LOVE my new bag!!

Later in the afternoon, we headed over to my parents house to not only celebrate Mothers Day, but also my sister KK's (Kelly) graduation from high school!

We love you KK and are SO....... proud of you!!!!
Congratulations!!!!

Here's my WONDERFUL mom and my little RiRi!!!

Mom you are AWESOME and I love you more than anything!!!

Happy Mothers Day to my precious Grandma too!!!
I love you Grandma!!!
Here are all my brothers and sisters (6 of us in all) and most of our kids.
Hudson was in the house napping on Shane when we took this picture.


Shane enjoying some snuggle time with Hudson!!

I hope you enjoyed a wonderful and relaxing Mother's Day!!

Weekend

When I was growing up, we lived in a neighborhood with lots of kids. Some of my favorite memories as a child are long summer days just playing outside with my friends. I love the fact that our neighborhood now is so FULL of young families. It's such a blessing to have so many kids running around here, and there is ALWAYS someone for my kids to play with.

Friday afternoon, Shane turned on the sprinkler. Corban and his friends has a BLAST running through it.

Saturday morning Corban had a soccer game. Being able to get out of the house and be on time are two things we are still working on. We are getting more proficient at it the more we do it, but WOW, it's a job!!

My sweet grandparents came to watch the game and to help me out with the babies.

My grandma ended up holding Hudson most of the time...
I don't think she minded!

Me and my Sophie girl!

Corban scored 6 goals at his game! We were so proud of him! He is becoming quit the little athlete!

KK ( my sister) and Sophie at the game

My sweet Riley and my brother Tim!