Mystery Baby Pic

It's kind of a funny picture but if you
look close the you can make out the face
and the arm and a big mish mash of some other
parts on the left side of the photo... :)

Today we saw our Mystery baby at the doctor's office... Everything looks great... We brought the kids to the appointment today so that they could see their little brother or sister on the big screen... When Dr.Biter tried to point out the baby to the kids, Josiah so profoundly said, "Mama, why you have a dolphin in your tummy?" I tried to explain that it was a baby in there but he persisted in asking "why mama? Why you have dolphin in there?" So our idea of trying to help the kids understand a little better that we were having a baby didn't quite turn out as planned but it was fun and funny... always an adventure with them and I love every minute of it :)

Babies and Motherhood

Our friend Shauna's beautiful decorating...
Anna and I in our tea attire...
Shauna, Anna, Myself, & Monique... The party planners...
Me and Mystery baby at 29 weeks...

Last weekend we had a garden tea shower for my friend Anna... she is due six weeks before me (and I must admit i am a little jealous that she gets to go first cuz it's been crazy HOT here, and being big and hot is not my favorite thing :) But I can hardly wait to meet this baby so I will endure with great joy :)

Anyways it was a real treat to celebrate with her and all our friends... As we are in the time in our lives when friends have been married for a few years and are having kids left and right, I feel so grateful for each baby that he brings... thankful for quick, easy labor... thankful for precious new life... thankful for kind, loving friends who overwhelm with love and support and good food and laughter...

Yesterday i went to visit my friend Miranda who nearly lost her life in childbirth a few weeks ago... and My God performed a HUGE miracle and literally brought her back to life. She had something called an amniotic ambulism (you can look it up online for all the details)... Anyways, every time I look at the girl, I am in awe of God's amazing power and hand in our lives... He clearly has a plan for my friend... The love between her and her husband is such a treat to watch.. When I was there yesterday my friend Beth was playing worship and Bryce (Miranda's husband) got up and walked across the room to his wife and squeezed himself in between her and another friend that was sitting next to her, then as we continued to sing, he just gazed at her like there was nothing else in the world that he would rather be doing than looking at her beautiful face!!!! It blessed my little heart so much!!!

When worship and prayer were over, Miranda started telling us about some of the things that had happened to her in the hospital, one being a visit from those lovely lactation consultants... I know that although they are often very helpful you have to admit that some of the things that they do are flat out hilarious... And of course when she started talking about (and demonstrating:) some of the things that they were doing to "help" her I totally got the giggles again... I was laughing so hard that I was crying... Thank you Lord that there is humor in the "new" things of motherhood... I feel like when we become mothers we have two choices of how to respond to all the newness... we can cry (which happens inevitably, no matter how strong of a person you are) or we can laugh until we cry :)... The latter is a lot more fun... So thank you Miranda for letting me laugh until I cried... And thank you Anna for letting me be a part of this amazing time in your life when you welcome your "fearfully and wonderfully made" daughter into your family!!! I love you both...

Happy 3rd Birthday Sweet Boy!

Happy Birthday kiddos...

Halee's new playhouse...
Here's my new Jeep...
Oops, I crashed...
Fun for the whole family...
"I LOVE CHOCOLATE!"

Happy Birthday Josiah Malachi!!! We love you so much and can hardly believe the gift that God has given us in your little life!!!

All the grandparents pitched in this year and we got the kids 2 bigger gifts... We got Halee a playhouse and Josiah an electric car... We gave Halee her playhouse several weeks ago around her birthday we gave Josiah his car a few days ago so that Granny and Gramps and Uncle Jason and aunt Mindy could join us in the fun... Josiah caught on so fast... he figured out how to make it go forward and backward and turn it and everything... he still needs to get used to it a little bit... Some days he feels more brave on it than other days but with a little practice he'll be a professional driver in no time :)

Happy Birthday Buddy, We Love You,
Papa, Mommy, Halee, & Mystery Baby :)

A beautiful day in CA...

Today was so beautiful and sunny... we ate lunch outside at the kids table... Josiah said that there was to much sun for his eyes and he couldn't eat his lunch without his sunglasses... So of course then Halee couldn't eat her lunch without her sunglasses... Then they both told me that i couldn't eat my lunch without my lunch without my sunglasses... Five minutes later we found everyone's sunglasses and we finally ate our lunch in the beautiful sunshine....

Later we drew on the patio with chalk and Josiah asked me to take a picture so that he could show Aunt Kristin his art... So I posted a few pictures of his drawings for Aunt Kristin :)

Just a side story...
Halee hurt her head today and Siah was so sweet, he said the funniest thing to Joey and I while we were trying to comfort Halee... we couldn't get her to stop crying and he said, "don't worry, I kiss her all over her BIG head and she be better".... Ok, maybe it's not that funny but for some reason i thought it was hilarious. And sometimes when I'm pregnant this funny thing happens to me and I get the giggles and I can't stop... and most of the time it's over something that wasn't really that funny to begin with... So when Josiah said that, I couldn't stop laughing, which makes Joey laugh, which makes the kids laugh... It's so fun to laugh with my little family :)

Anyways, it was a good day... Thank you Lord for the little things that bring joy into my life :)

Las Vegas Babies:)

Reading books with Grandma...

Silly Face...
Halee Tickling Siah...


This week Mama took us to Las Vegas to visit our Great Grandma... We had so much fun... WE played in the back yard and got REALLY dirty :)... We read books and played with all of grandma's singing stuffed animals... We sang silly songs and did silly dances... We went shopping and grandma got us some clothes for our birthdays... we love clothes... okay... not so much :)... but Mama was more than grateful for grandma's generosity :) THANK YOU GRANDMA!!!

Anyways... this morning we went to Lake Mead and fed the ducks and the fish popcorn... I have never seen anything like it... we threw the popcorn in the water and like 50 giant fish came to the surface and started fighting over the popcorn and the ducks would just crawl over the fish as if the fish weren't even there, to try to get their fair share of the popcorn... Mama accidently forgot the camera in the car so we didn't get any pictures but it was a really cool thing to watch!!!

But we did post a few pictures from grandma's house... and we also posted a video of us doing a silly dance that we learned from watching WAY TO MUCH Dora the Explorer lately :)

Toodles for now

Wyatt and the Beach

Last weekend we had two friends with birthdays, Luke and Wyatt... Wyatt's party was at the beach and Luke had a guitar party at his house... At the beach we found a giant hole and filled it up with water then we would jump in it with our friend Wyatt and splash each other... It was super fun until the tide came in... then Halee got toppled over and got kinda sad.. or OK... she got really sad... But Papa swept her up in his arms and saved her from being swept away by the ocean... WAY TO GO PAPA :)

And the best part of the day... We got to sing happy birthday and cake twice in one day... I think that every time I sing Happy Birthday I get cake.. So Halee and I sang Happy birthday over and over again on the way to Luke's party and then we would ask for our cake... I couldn't understand why I Mama and Papa weren't giving me cake... I sang the song... where's my cake?????

Later for now.. Josiah

Videos of the Kids and the Pinata :)

Birthday Party at the Park

Today was one of those days that I wish would last forever... It was one of those days with our kids, our family, our friends that felt so perfect... straight from above... " Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights" (James 1:17) I feel like God just made this verse come completely alive to me today... It was one of those days that I looked at my kids and could hardly believe that they were really mine... that the Lord has more than blessed me by putting them in my life. They are the most amazing little people...

When we were opening gifts at our house after the party Halee had on some new sunglasses and a pair of princess dress up shoes that were twice the size of her feet and she was walking around the house with a smile and a glow that would melt anyone's heart... Siah has been talking about his cake for weeks now and today when he got his cake he sat in an oversized beach chair and tuned the rest of the world out and ate every last bite of that cake... There is a picture of it above... it's one of those moments that I will always love... i love how the simplest things just light up the lives of my kiddos... It doesn't take much to make their hearts soooo happy...

Thank you to all the people in our lives that love on our children and on our whole family... we are so blessed by each and every one of you... thank you for being a part of this VERY SPECIAL DAY each year when we celebrate the great gift that God has given us in our children... Thank you Lord for sweet days like this... :)

*Papaw (Joey's Dad) took some video of the party and opening presents that we will try to post in the next few days... so keep an eye out :)

Happy 2nd Birthday Halee Jayden

Today it is our sweet Halee's birthday!!! She's already 2 and I can barely believe it!!! We woke up early and went to her favorite place for breakfast... Pipes Cafe... She LOVES pancakes... she ate hers and half of Papa's... We put a candle in her pancake and got her a birthday hat but she really wasn't in to either one... The only way I could get her to wear the hat for a picture was to let her drink some of my orange juice while I put it on... And every time I pulled out the camera she would start sobbing so we didn't get that many good pictures... But we had a sweet time as a family celebrating our little treasure...

So sweet Halee-bell... WE WISH YOU THE MOST HAPPIEST BIRTHDAY !!!!!

Thank you Lord for the gift you have given us in Halee :) You have truly blessed us!!!!!

25 weeks and counting...

So, many of you have asked lately what my belly looks like these days so here is a lovely picture... I am 25 weeks this Saturday... we're getting closer!!! Hooray!!! i can't wait to meet this little one :)
This baby moves more than any of the other ones ever did... and at the wee hours of the morning is it's favorite time to do jumping jacks...

But I can't complain... This has been, by far, the easiest pregnancy yet... So THANKS BE TO GOD!!! He knows what we need just when we need it :)

alrighty... toodles for now...