Wednesday, October 30, 2013

Reminiscing on Years Past

My last post on our trip to the pumpkin patch has me thinking on the years gone by. It sure does go by fast! 
One reason I began blogging was a way to capture and remember these special little times. I hate that I never seem to find time to blog anymore. 
My life is full, and I am so happy. I am thankful for my four little blessings God has given us. 
Can you even believe my girls were this little? Crazy!

                                  


Playing in the Pumpkin Patch

A couple of weekends ago Josh and I loaded up the van with the four coolest kids we knew and headed to the pumpkin patch!
Earlier that week, Josh actually won a gift certificate to the pumpkin patch through a local radio contest. I am glad he did! We had never heard of the place, and it was so close to home. 
We couldn't have asked for more perfect weather. It was so nice, we decided to walk out to the patch and pick our pumpkins, and carry them back. We went on a hay ride later. 
I am thankful for this time in the busyness of the fall semester just to get out and enjoy each other and nature. 

                                            
Josie and Emma found their perfect pumpkins. 




                     
Addie and Daddy with their pick. 



                       
The cutest pumpkin in the patch!




Tuesday, October 1, 2013

Autumn Camping

We decided to take the camper out one last time before we put it up for the winter. Autumn is my favorite time to go camping. The air was crisp, and the leaves started to change colors. 
We camped with seven other families from New Tribes at a wonderful campground not too far from home. We had a lot of fun just hanging out together, and I can't forget eating! We had a yummy fish fry from one of the staff guy's bountiful summer of walleye fishing!
 
 
 
My guys. 
 
 
                  

Our weekend home (just before packing up. I forgot to take a picture while we camped)

        
Tavy, Adelaide, and Adelaide. That's right, two Adelaides. :)


Me and my sweet boy!
 


Lovely campfire.  
 
 
 
 

Friday, September 27, 2013

Sporties for My Shorties



I am not one you would call "athletic". Hey, I'm not even considered coordinated. Clumsy is more often used to describe me. 
Thankfully that is not so for my offspring. 
Last spring Josie and Adelaide participated in gymnastics that the local rec department puts on. At $15 for six weeks, it is a deal not to be passed up! The girls both enjoyed it. 
This summer, all three of them joined some friends at a kids fun run, and ran in the race just down the street from out house. Emma won second place! (You can't tell from the photo but there was a lot of kids, and she was not the oldest).
Speaking of Emma, she has left the rec soccer days behind her and now plays for her school team. She plays on a 5-8th co-ed team, who play mostly middle school boy teams. She is one tough cookie on the soccer field. 
Isaac isn't playing anything yet, but he sure is a fan of football! He will sit and watch with daddy, and loves it. "Football" is one of the few words he says, and he calls all other balls just "ball". It's pretty cute. 


              
Josie's cartwheel.  



Addie working the trampoline. 
 



Getting ready to run. 
 
 



Go Emma! Go!
 



We love number 22!!!



                             
Cheering on our favorite team! Go Blue!



Thursday, September 26, 2013

Starting A New Year



It's hard to believe we are almost a month into the new school year. The last time I blogged I hadn't even gotten to summer yet! I fear I will always be behind as I am one busy lady!
I don't want to miss these moments, so I like to write them on this "online scrapbook" of sorts to preserve them for the years to come. I already enjoy looking back to when I first started blogging. Adelaide was just a baby!
Our children are growing so quickly before our eyes! 
Emma (age ten) is now in fifth grade! She is in the middle school wing at her school and does fun things that middle schoolers do like playing a clarinet in band, and playing for the school's soccer team. She sure is growing fast, and likes to remind us of that. "Hey mom, did you know that I am closer to the age you got married than you are?" *gulp* Does that make her old, or me? Or both of us? 
Our sweet Josephine is eight now, and loving third grade. She has become quite the little bookworm as of late. If she would just finish one before she starts another! Josie has a very creative mind. We had a lot of fun playing mermaids this summer, and she always had some interesting story lines. 
Dear Adelaide is my toothless six year old first grader. She is smart and is picking up math pretty quick. She is definitely still a snuggle bug, and for that I am thankful!
Isaac is such a mover! He is ten months old now, and is such a fast crawler! He is always into whatever he can get at fast enough and keeps momma on her toes for sure! He even took his first steps, from the couch to the dog) on Saturday!
There is a little update on the four cutest members of our home. I hope to be able to pick up blogging more often soon. 

The four blessings from God in our lives. 
 
 

 
All ready for the first day of first, third, and fifth grade!
 
 
 
 

Monday, July 8, 2013

My Flower Girl's Flower Girl

This past May something very special happened. 
My flower girl walked down the aisle as a bride herself, and she asked if Adelaide would be her flower girl. 
We felt so honored to share in Josh and Carissa's special day.  

This was my cute little flower girl in 2000. 


This was their cute little flower girl. :)


Here is Addie and the bride. 



*photo credit to Jack, and Cody, and Martha. 

Saturday, July 6, 2013

Learning the Art of Eating

Isaac is such a sweet boy. I am so thankful he is part of our family. 
I have had so much fun watching him learn how to eat. I forgot that it was something you learn. Babies don't automatically know how to eat (at least mine didn't) so there is a little bit of a process to it. 
First waiting until they are showing interest ( in Isaac's case, he would grab at my fork or plate when I ate.)
It's so fun! 
There have been foods he has loved (squash, and banana) and foods that he outright hated (avocado actually made him shutter!)
He is now learning about textures and how to self feed. 
I can't wait to see what his favorite foods will be. 


  
  First bite of rice cereal. Not too sure about it. 


Eating with the boy cousins. 


Learning how to pick up his own food. 


Practicing to use a cup. 



Tuesday, June 25, 2013

Tamara Had A Little Lamb

This spring, Adelaide took part in the kindergarten musical performance of E-I-E-I- OOPS! It was really cute! Addie had a special singing part (a duet, and the only one in the whole performance) and I have to say, she rocked it!
I am so proud of her. I think she was the cutest little barn yard animal there ever was!  
 
 My little lamb.
 
 
 My what a big grin you have!
 
 
Addie had a huge part she memorized. 
 She sang:
"The whole barnyard is singing. It is a funny song. The cattle bells are ringing, and the pigs are piggin' around.
The rooster's singing tenor. The mule chimes in the bass.  The chicks are pretty good altos, but the sheep are all over the place!"
 
 
 


Thursday, March 28, 2013

My Four Blessings

I am so busy these days with these sweet ones. I want to share more, and one day I will have time.  Until then, a little picture of what fills my days. :)
 
 

Friday, February 8, 2013

How Isaac Entered Our World

I wanted to write the story of Isaac's birth for a while now. I mean, the little guy will be 12 weeks tomorrow. I want to write it all out before I forget the little details that made his birth unique to him.
 
It started out like any other Friday. I was at the end of my pregnancy with a c-section scheduled for the following Monday. I had an appointment the previous Monday, but the doctor wanted to see me again Friday. I asked Josh if he wouldn't mind going with me. I had a feeling that the doctor might just want to do the c-section earlier, and I wanted to be all ready to go.
You see, I had been on bed rest because my blood pressure had spiked towards the end of my pregnancy. I knew that he was keeping a close eye on it for my safety, and also for the safety of Isaac (or lil' dude as we referred to him at that point). My appointment was at 1pm, and I decided not to eat that morning just in case, that way we could not have to wait. When I went into labor with Josie, the nurse told me to eat a cracker to see if that would slow down the contractions. After two bites of a saltine, my doctor made me wait EIGHT HOURS before doing the c-section. Waiting until after my appointment to eat was not going to kill me.
Well, I was right. At the doctor's office he said he would like me to go straight over to labor and delivery because my blood pressure was up again. He said he would be over at three to check me out and see what we should do. When he came at three he said "okay, you are not leaving this hospital without having your baby, so sit tight." He told us he just had to deliver a baby and we would be next.
Josh and I were SO excited! Josh made the call to his parents (who were going to watch the girls for us) and we got a sitter arranged for when they got home from school before Grandma and Grandpa got there. The nurses got me in a gown and that's when it happened.
Apparently everyone in town was going to deliver that night. It was as if a bus dropped off a load of pregnant laboring women! Our doctor was the doctor on call for the weekend, and I guess he is known for having a lot of deliveries on his weekends. Combine that with the fact that this was the weekend before Thanksgiving and you have a very full labor and delivery.
It was so full in fact that we kept getting bumped back further and further down the line. I really didn't mind this since I was not actually in labor like the rest of these women, and by all means, let them deliver first! My only problems were the fact that I decided not to eat (and now was not allowed to) and the fact that I never made it out of the triage room, so I was very uncomfortable on the gurney and Josh was even more uncomfortable on the metal folding chair! Thankfully a sweet nurse finally was able to find a chair a little more comfortable than what he had.
We spent the afternoon into the night there. Getting ready to go, and then being stopped again. I had my I.V. in and was ready to go for a while. We killed time by trying to sleep, which was pretty impossible with how uncomfortable we were, how excited we were, and how often we were told this was it, only to be told to wait again. We also found a Duck Dynasty marathon to pass the time. :)
This whole time we had some of the most amazing nurses we could have asked for. I got to know quite a few of them while going in twice a week for my Non Stress Tests, and they were excited that we were going to have our little one too!
Finally at about 5 AM on Saturday they said it was time. They rushed me to the operating room to get my spinal (they didn't want someone else to take my spot! ha!). I remember being nervous about the surgery. It is really not that comfortable, and now Josh was away in the other room waiting to be called in, and I was all of a sudden terrified. I sat there on the table just praying for God to calm my nerves and help me to enjoy this birth. Praying he would help me remember all the little details.
Josh came in and it was like a happy party. Our doctor was up all night having delivered seven babies before Isaac. The nurses were tired too, but everyone was happy. When Isaac was born I just cried! I told them this was by far the happiest moment in my life, and it was. You see, when Emma was born it was incredible, as with Josie and Addie. This was the best though, because I already had my three girls in my life, and now my son! Each birth of my children kept becoming better and better because the other ones were already with me. Does that make sense?
The doctor and the nurses all said they enjoyed being apart of his birth so much, because Isaac was so loved and wanted by us. Josh brought him to me and I kissed his precious face. He was SO cute!
When my surgery was over, they wheeled me into the recovery room where Josh had Isaac. He was SO proud of his little guy. He gave him to me and I was able to hold my son for the first time. I dreamt of that moment for nine long months, but it was even better than I thought. I was SO happy! He was here!
After I fed him, the nurse came in and bathed him. This was the first time I was able to be there when they gave my baby a bath. With the girls they had already done that while I was still in surgery.  I was glad I got to witness this. This is also the first birth where it was just Josh and I at the hospital. That was kind of nice. We spent a nice little time with just Isaac before we called and announced his birth. Such a special time.
I want to share more of his time in the hospital, but I will do that later.
 
Daddy holding his son. He was so proud!
 

Not the most flattering picture, but I love it because this is the very first time I got to hold Isaac. I was SO happy! Look how cute he is!