thoughts on daily life within our family of SIX....each child in her own phase of childhood....

Thursday, July 30, 2009

Wordless



















Sleeping boy and one of the joys of my life......

She's All Grown Up....


My niece, that is....

We attended her beautiful wedding this past weekend. It was a lot of fun! There was a small town church, a reception at a sweet little bed and breakfast, great food, children running around...all in all, it must have been a dream come true.







My niece married this man....a kind, down-to-earth Mississippi man who is a welcome addition to our family. I think she chose wisely.




And our kiddos? Beautiful, if I do say so myself!






A good time was had by all!







Our best wishes and prayers for you as you begin your married life!

Tuesday, July 21, 2009

That Face

(This post was written three weeks ago, but due to scanner difficulties, it the pictures could not accompany the post until today.)
Baby girl's face in 4-D...if you look closely you can see her little nose, closed eyes, and sweet mouth...

Today we had a date with the newest member of our family. The whole family piled into the little ultrasound room at my OB's office. And then the fun started. Baby Girl was pushing against my side, and we could actually see that it was her foot doing the pushing.



There was lots of commentary from the peanut gallery....Little Miss Sunshine commented that the baby sister looked like a monster in there sometimes. And, "ew, gross" what was that clear stuff the tech squeezed on my belly before the show even started?

The little man chewed his orange lolli to bits as he watched, and after it was all over, he asked me if the baby was now in the box that I was carrying (a cord blood box). Such a mystery, how that baby is gonna' get out of his mama's belly...

The tech commented that Baby Girl was very active, and the biggest big sister, her daddy and I had to laugh because that's what Big Sis said when she saw the ultrasound of Little Man. And she was sure right. He is constant motion.

And baby's weight at 31 weeks? <drumroll please> Baby Girl is now a healthy (and hefty) 4 lb., 14 oz. Supposed to double her weight by the time she is 40 weeks. The sweet ultrasound tech tried to make me feel better by saying, "That's only about 8 lbs..." To which I had to say "Yeah, but she's 4 lbs. AND 14 oz. That's almost 5 lbs. Which is 10 pounds when you double it..."

Well, that's why I found a new doctor, right? So that he will induce me early (provided that Baby Girl's lungs are ready). I'll just be praying, trusting and reminding my doctor of what he said he would do. I'd appreciate your prayers, too, as we round the corner to Baby Girl's birthday.

Monday, July 20, 2009

Saturday, July 18, 2009

I Love Summer


I really do love it...time with my kiddos that seems hard to find during the school year, time for Daddy to hang out with the kiddos a little more. Dollar movies, vacation Bible school, swimming, more play time, crafts with the kiddos....what's not to love?

But where we live, heat is not a refreshing change from a long, icy winter. It is a way of life, with few exceptions. Where I live, most years have consisted of two seasons....summer and not quite as hot as summer.

Okay, that's a little extreme. Sometimes there is a need for a sweater when we go to evening mass on Christmas Eve. And my children have been known to wear gloves or mittens...when a local church ships in ice, I mean snow, during the Christmas season.

But now as I sit inside at 33 1/2 weeks pregnant with my darling girl already weighing in at 5 1/2-6 pounds, our a/c turned down to 65 degrees, I'm finding summer very oppressive. Even inside with the a/c turned down that low and the ceiling fans on, I'm hot. Sweating kind of hot. And I can think of nothing fun and exciting to do with the kiddos. Okay, nothing fun and exciting that my pregnant body wants to do.

My pregnant body especially doesn't want to do the laundry. My pregnant arms would rather just shut the door to the laundry room so that my pregnant eyes don't have to see all that laundry piled up on the floor (a lot of that laundry being the result of two or three showers that I am taking a day because I feel so sweaty).

And have I mentioned that I hate, hate, hate letting my children watch tv? I think I mentioned it here.

So I feel guilty when my children ask, "What can we dooooooooo?" And I feel guilty when my oldest daughter becomes a playwrite and directs her brother and sister in the play (I know I shouldn't; I know that's really what's good for them--to come up with something creative and fun to do, but I do feel like I should be directing every activity...)

And I already nested. Several weeks ago my hubby took the kiddos to see their grandparents, and I had a week of nesting. Everything was ready for this little bird to arrive when they came home. But she's not here yet.

Now I am behind in the laundry, and there are certainly a million things that I could do that I will surely be wondering why I didn't do once the little one arrives and there is sleep deprivation and the demand of caring for a newborn around the clock.

I think I'm whining.

But one more thing....did I mention that 2/3 of my children have strep? They've been on antibiotics for 2 days which is good because something fun for them is just around the bend.

Vacation Bible School starts Monday.

Wednesday, July 15, 2009

Tuesday, July 14, 2009

Little Gems


Recently....

Miss Sunshine: "When Daddy grows up, is he going to grow a real beard?"

Monday, July 13, 2009

33 weeks


Precious baby girl, I can't wait to hold you!!! I am truly a blessed woman to have the opportunity to carry you, feel your arms and legs kick around inside of me and wait on your arrival.

Your big brother promises that he is going to "love on you" and frequently gives you kisses and sings to you! And your biggest big sister says that she is going to spoil you. Miss Sunshine is going to read lots of stories to you! And Daddy? He talks to you most days and pokes my belly with his whiskers. He loves you already and tells me daily that he can't wait for you to get here!

Sunday, July 12, 2009

Friends to Grow Up With.....



Today is a sad, sad day....We have some friends--some great friends--that came for a visit on Friday and left today. They come for a visit once every three months or so, and it gets harder and harder for our two girls to leave each other on Sunday.

Those two girls are two peas in a pod, girls cut from the same cloth, friends forever.



Today, after some fun in the sun and a five more minutes reminder, my daughter's BFF was stashed here...



in the laundry sorter.

But, as with all good things, even the hiding came to an end....We miss you guys already! Come back soon!

Thursday, July 9, 2009

Wordless





My niece will be married two weeks from Saturday. But in my mind, she is still the same 4 year old little girl who pulled a pair of her mama's underwear out of her purse on one of my first dates with the boy who is now my husband! Best wishes to Caddie and Cortney!

For more Wordless Thursday posts, go here.

Wednesday, July 1, 2009

30 Weeks


I have to say that I love this picture. Not because of wonderful quality or great composition, but because it makes me look smaller than most pictures (gasp!). And smaller than I feel. At 30 weeks, I am the kind of pregnant mama that people ask, "Are you sure it's just one?" (And who ever said that was a polite kind of question, anyway???? It's somehow akin to HOW MANY children do you have?)

However, I can understand wanting to ask that question, because at 30 weeks, I am also the kind of mama that feels like I am packing a bowling ball in my belly. Not just an air-inflated basketball. And I can no longer bend over to pick up a dropped pen. No siree, dropped pens just stay dropped until a more slender member of my family comes along. I am trying to walk most days, but it is a completely forced effort. I just want to sit. Don't really want to lay anywhere because of terrible indigestion and ribs that threaten to pop at any moment when I lay on my side.

Despite all of the complaints, however, I know that in just a few short weeks, I'll be holding our new baby girl in my arms and wiping tears from my eyes. This will all be worth it. And tomorrow, I'm one step closer to her...I'm having an ultrasound and will see her beautiful face. Will post pictures as soon as I can.

Now I am actually 31 weeks along.

For more Wordless Wednesday posts (without words!), go here and here.