Christmas 2009

We had a great time celebrating Christmas with our family this year. We were able to spend time with both of our families while also incorporating some of our own traditions into the mix. The new tradition that we started this year was having a birthday celebration for Jesus. We went to the Christmas Eve service at our church - all 4 kids acted amazingly well and enjoyed it. Then we headed home for creamy tacos and a birthday cookie cake for baby Jesus. After the kids went to bed, it was time for games with the family. Then on Christmas morning, Ben added his own special twist to the morning by waking the kids up singing Christmas songs and reading the Christmas story from Luke before we opened presents. Christmas was a whirlwind of opening and assembling toys, eating yummy food and spending time with family. By the time we got home last night, Ben and I were exhausted. The kids had a great time. The boys loved their Trio building sets and their motorcycle toys. Olivia loved the bitty baby that her daddy got her at the American Girl store and her dvd player from g-daddy and cece. And I am sure Caroline loved her new hair bows and bow bands. This morning, the WHO have been playing with their new toys, and Caroline has been enjoying being held by her mommy on her 2 month birthday.

better late than never

Well, I have been a terrible blogger lately. But we have had a lot going on here. Six weeks ago, we welcomed Caroline Elise. She was born on October 26th and weighed 7 pounds 14 ounces. She is such a blessing to our family. Will, Hayes and Olivia love her so much and enjoy helping take care of her. Since she has been born we celebrated an early Thanksgiving and Christmas with my sister and brother-in-law before they moved to Japan. Then Ben, Caroline and I went to Birmingham, AL for Ben to interview for a fellowship. He then went to New Haven, CT for another interview. We also celebrated the real Thanksgiving with our family. Ben spent a week in Chicago at a radiology conference and got home this past weekend. While he was there he accepted the fellowship position in Birmingham, so in July 2011 we will be packing our bags and moving to Birmingham for Ben to finish his training.

soccer

Will - you are growing up before our very eyes. You started playing soccer this fall and are absolutely loving it. You have been such a big boy out on the field. Mommy and Daddy are so proud of you. You picked up on the game really quickly and scored 3 goals in your first game. You followed that up by another 3 goals in your second game. After your second game, you told us that your favorite part is trying to get the ball away from the other team - hahaha! During your first game, some of the boys would cry when it was their time to stand on the sidelines, but you walked over and said "mom, it's ok, I am just going to rest for a few minutes and drink some water so that I can have more energy." I was so proud of you. Hayes and Olivia love watching you play. And you have had lots of fans at your games - Mommy, Daddy, Hayes, Livi, G-daddy, CeCe, LaLa, PaPa, Aunt Rachel and Uncle Kenny. We love you and are so proud of our little soccer star!!!

Hayes and Livi enjoying a snack at the game

getting ready for a big kick

trying to score a goal

such a big boy

better late than never

I finally have some pictures to post! I have been so bad lately about getting the pics onto the computer.

Olivia getting her first haircut - notice the before picture below - it was definitely time!

On Hayes's 3rd birthday, we took the kids to the fire station to see the fire trucks. Hayes absolutely LOVES fire trucks!

My big 3 year old boy on his birthday

He loved the new fire truck that he got from mommy and daddy

Not to mention the fire helmet - he runs through the house responding to fire emergencies on a daily basis.

quite possibly the most adorable fireman ever!

In other news, baby Caroline is due in 8 weeks! We are getting so excited about her arrival. There is still lots to do to prepare, but we cannnot wait to meet her. Will, Hayes and Olivia are all loving school. They have an amazing group of friends and teachers, and we are so blessed to have them in such a special program. Olivia is continuing to do great in speech. Her new speech therapist is really happy with her progress, and she is talking more and more at home.

Ben is gearing up to take his written boards next week. He has been studying really hard, and I am so proud of him. He has been doing a great job of being chief - every time I see faculty or other residents they brag on him. After he takes his boards, we will start the process of applying for fellowships. This has been such a journey, but we are getting closer and closer to the end.

God has been showing me a lot lately on how to be a better parent. It has been quite a humbling experience. Hopefully in the near future, I will post about some of the new things we are doing at home. Right now, I am just trusting that God will show me how to teach and train the children He has entrusted to Ben and me.

at the dinner table

There is never a dull moment at our house - especially at dinner time. The kids were sitting down to eat a gourmet dinner of chicken nuggets, pretzels and carrot sticks complete with plenty of ranch dressing for dipping! We were talking about their day today and what we had planned for tomorrow. Tomorrow is "school" - which is definitely a highlight for the the boys. Hayes stood up from the table and let out an excited squeal and said, " oh my goodness, this is great! I am going to play with Drew and Kylie and Ms. Joy. But mom, I don't think that Ms. Joy is 3 like me and Drew and Kylie. I think she may be 5." I told him that he was right - Ms. Joy is not 3, but she may be a little older than 5. At that, Will chimed in, "yeah Hayes - I bet she may be 10 'cause I think Ms. Brittany is 10 too. Ms. Brittany can stay in the lines so good when she colors and she can cut with safety scissors." From there, the boys kept talking back and forth about what each teacher could do until I finally changed the topic. All of that excitement is from only 1 week of "school". I can't wait to see what exciting things we have to talk about tomorrow night.

big week

What a week! Our air conditioner broke last week for the 3rd time this summer - and this time it required a large repair. So, we packed our bags and headed to G-daddy and CeCe's house for a little relief from the heat. We ended up staying there on and off through Wednesday when they were able to get our air back up and running. The kids had a blast staying at G-daddy and CeCe's, and I loved being in a nice comfortable house. Wednesday was the first day of FKDO. The kids had a great time. There was not a single tear as I dropped them off, and they were all smiling when I picked them up - talk about a successful morning. They went back today and had a great time. The boys are already looking forward to next week.

Last week was the repeat of my glucose tolerance test, and I failed it... So last Friday I headed to the hospital for information on gestational diabetes and the monitoring that I need to do for the rest of the pregnancy. I felt completely overwhelmed with fear and frustration. After a week of practice, I am getting good at pricking my finger to test my blood sugar - but my blood sugar is not necessarily cooperating very well. That has led to a lot of anxiety for me. I feel a bit overwhelmed. My blood sugar is not cooperating very well. Today when I was really frustrated and concerned for Caroline's development, God place Psalm 139 on my heart. As I read those verses, God reminded me that He has created Caroline perfectly according to his plan and that none of my fears are going to change who God has created her to be. So, for the next 10 weeks, I am going to limit my carbs, poke my finger, check my urine and trust God with my precious baby girl.

parenting

Parenting can be such a challenge. The past few weeks have been rough. Maybe I'm just worn out, maybe it is too hot outside, maybe I am 12 weeks away from having baby #4, or maybe my strong willed child is just testing the limits. Whatever the reasons are, the last few weeks have been some of the toughest in my parenting journey. I have cried more, felt like giving up more and lost my patience more - not a glamorous view of parenting, but a view of reality none the less. God has been showing me a lot about parenting lately. The biggest thing is that I cannot do it on my own. He has shown me that my only hope is to rely totally on Him. It sounds so easy, but it is definitely not. I am having to remind myself constantly to trust Him and look to Him for guidance in how to be a better and more effective parent. He has also been showing me to look at the potential in my children. My struggle lately has been seeing the blessings of raising a strong willed child. The day to day struggles we have been facing lately have been taking a lot of the joy out of my day. But I am learning that the things that seem so negative right now can be a great asset to my strong willed child in the future. There is so much potential for him to be a great leader among his peers. I just need to keep pouring Jesus into his life so that it will be positive things that he is leading people to. He has so much determination that he will have great opportunities to succeed if I can teach him the balance between determination and defiance. Teaching a respect for authority is so critical for him right now, and that is a huge struggle right now. He thinks he is in charge. He cannot wrap his 4 year old mind around that fact that in our house, mommy and daddy are in charge and that ultimately God is in charge. It is a constant struggle. I am praying for the perseverance to not give up - there have been a lot of days lately that I am ready to give up. I am trying to teach him how God wants him to live and how to pray that God will show him good choices to make. But I am human, and I am sinful, and lately I feel like I am losing control. I know that persistence will pay off, but there is no light at the end of the tunnel yet. I am praying that God will help me understand how his little heart and mind are working. When I have asked him lately why he is disobeying so much his frequent response is " being good is not part of the plan for today, only being bad is part of the plan." I ask him if he understands that being bad has bad consequences and he says "yes, but that is still the plan." We have been praying that God would give him good plans and that he would have the courage to stick to the good plan. I want to be a good mom, and I want to pour Jesus into the hearts and lives of my children. But right now, I just want a few easy parenting days with fewer broken toys, temper tantrums and bedtime battles. This is not what I ever dreamed parenting would look like. This is hard. But I love all three of my kids more than I ever dreamed possible. I just pray that God will let me see the good in them even when parenting is so hard.