Katelyn Rose

well, the last blog update was posted 4 days before our blessed event. She is now 2 months old! I am really, really amazed at women, especially busy moms with bustling households who can blog! As hard as I try, I never get the thoughts from my hands to the keyboard to the blog. I make up these great blog entries in my head almost everyday, I've even written this little baby girl's birth story out in my head 10 times, but have not written it down, and I'm afraid the details are fading.... I hate to write but I love when I do if that makes sense. I actually want to write a book, well, books really. I just don't know how to get it from my head to paper (o;
So, it's kind of silly almost to post this entry since most everyone who reads this has seen oodles of pictures on facebook, or have been here to hold her in person, oh and one of you are the one who caught her for me at birth! But, just in case there is anyone else~I'll post her stats and send out a picture of our newest little baby doll. She is a real sweetie. we are in total love.

Katelyn Rose
born June 17th, one day before her mommy and daddy's 15th anniversary~
9 lbs even, 22.5 inches
wonderful home waterbirth

a birth story is sure to come, I promise. I have been dealing with some....maybe~ possibly~ baby blues the last month, nothing major, but probably just adjusting, and trying to stay on top of not feeling too terribly overwhelmed. It shouldn't even be called baby blues because it has nothing to do with that little person, she's a total dream baby, it's just the trying to keep everyone else happy while all I wanted to do is spin myself a cocoon and hide away with my new little doll. But~ laundry piles up, kids get hungry, husband gets lonely, dog chews things up, all if mom hides away too much....oh, and postpartum belly doesn't go away on it's own. So, I'm trying to enjoy some of this sunshine while it's still here and get out walking. That seems to rejuvenate me. Exercise is like writing to me~ I procrastinate getting started, and then once I do, I LoVe It!
I am so blessed. everyday there is something to be thankful for, e v e r y single day ~ I love my little Katie Rose and am so so happy to be her mama~

Things I never tire of

Here's a small list, not in any particular order, but I was just thinking of it while pulling fresh bread from the oven....so that shall be #1 on this list. I'm sure I'll think of more things later~feel free to comment and we'll add to this list (o:

1. Hot fresh bread from the oven.....mmmmmmmm........
2. I love you's
3. letters~the old fashioned way
4. a nursing baby snuggled up contently next to you
5. baby breath
6. freshly bathed children
7. snuggly jammies, and kids in snuggly jammies all fighting for my lap
8. puppies
9. sunny days and rainbows after wet ones
10. God's everlasting, unconditional love ~ AMAZING!
11. friends!
12. even internet friends!! lol
13. God's love radiating through others
14. hugs
15. selfless acts
16. RAK (random acts of kindness)
17. peanut butter
18. mochas
19. a sprouting garden
20. chickens quietly clucking while they are bedding down for the night. (its the sweetest noise if you've never heard it)
21. the sound of crackling fire around a campfire~and people singing silly songs or praise songs
22. I love you's~ I think I already said that, but it's important (o:
23. your husbands strong arms around you
24. slumber parties
25. seeing your children being best friends
26. seeing your children walk in the truth of the Lord~ there is no Greater Joy!
27. seeing your children finish their peas (I can dream can't I?)
28. A Godly Heritage (thanks ma and pa, gramma and grampa, and those before.....)
29. God's promises
30. a clean house, I WOULD never tire of a clean house, lol
31. honest people
32. organic food (hhmm funny how honest people reminded me of organic food!)
33. short lines
34. optimism
35. love for all humanity
36. green traffic lights
37. fields of daisies
38. above rubies magazines
39. in the womb baby movements, I even love the hiccups
40. my children's artwork
41. good music
42. a good story
43. laughing~ you really can't laugh too much in life
44. feeding people~ there is a joy to nourishing the ones you love, and the ones you force food on who happen to stop by while the above mentioned are being fed. (o:
45. government employees that smile
46. of people telling me how full my hands are so that I can smile and tell them how full my heart is.
47. Good news
48. my husband treating me special~like the candlelight dinner he surprised me with tonight AND cooked while I was out grocery shopping. I could never tire of that, lol
49. peace
50. Being Home

that's all for now, more bread about to come out of the oven and a 3 & 4 year old that have gotten oddly quiet.............. (o:

FREE HUGS!!!!!

So, I decorated a new shirt for Josiah today. nothing fancy~ tell me what you think (o; Look again if you didn't pay attention to the words (o: heehee
yep, that's right for those of you with your mouths hanging open saying how can it be???? (o: One month to the day of losing our last little one to miscarriage I got a call from the clinic saying Congratulations! How cool is that?! I started suspecting a few days ago that something was going on, just feeling a little different and extremely tired at night. I had some pregnancy tests still around and on Oct. 1st took one. It right away came back positive. I was baffled! So, I took another one, the last one I had. and same results instantly!! I NEVER expected to be blessed again so quickly! God is so good, ALL the time! wow!!!! My first thought was that I would keep this quiet for a little while just to *make sure* baby was going to be sticking around, but my husband's response to that (oh, and I love it too) was It's a pregnancy, it's a baby, it's a Life~ this is cause for celebration, we're not hiding nothing!!!!!! So, yeah, Celebrate with us!!!!!!
(o: (o: (o: can't stop smilin'

Special moments with our children..........

I try to get in a LOT of snuggling time with my kids, especially as they are stretching into big kids right off of my lap~ those moments are so precious, let me share the two we had together today.

Me & Grace about 7am~ I'm holding her baby style on my lap even though she is tall for a 6 yr old, she tries to resist at first, but quickly succumbs to the attention (o:

Me "Grace, did you know what a wonderful sweet girl you are and how incredibly proud I am of you?"
Grace "yes, mom you told me that a lot of times"
Me "Well Grace, I sure love you and you'll always be my sweet baby girl, alright?"
Grace "Okay Mom, but your breathe smells really bad, have you been drinking that coffee again?"

Thanks for the heads up Grace (o:

Me & Ben about 8:30 pm tonight post bath~ he LOVES it when he'll surprise me and put on his footie pj's and they are so soft and cuddly and he'll run straight to me with them on and say Mom, you're snuggle bug is here! So, I'll scoop him up and kiss all over his neck and tell him what a sweet snuggle bug he is, and he'll let me rock him, even though he is 4 (oh, and a half) and tough and super strong like Dad, (his exact words) and never stops moving, except to let me rock him. He melts in my arms and is the one of all the kids that asks nightly if I will snuggle with him. So, anyways, I'm rocking him in my arms and telling him how much I love him, and he stops me to say, "Mom, have you ever seen a chicken poop, cuz I have"
Oh, the things that must run through a little boys mind (o: But, if I had to sell all my worldly possesions, besides my Bible and photographs, the very last thing to go would be my rocking chair. Mighty Men of God were raised in rocking chairs I suspect (o:(Here's my boy in motion, who asked me to take a hundred pictures of him jumping off of a rock. I need a picture of him being rocked........... :o)

Party Hardy

We party hard around here, hahahaha

Wordless Wednesday

Josiah (jojo) just being cute
















Don't judge, you don't know him~ trust me it's for his safety and yours. hehehe














sisterly love, I just love it.

wish I had a picture.....

for what I saw on the interstate today~
Picture gramps on one of those cruiser bikes, the kind of motorcycle that you take trips on, with all the bells and whistles. Looks as comfortable as one could be on 2 wheels at the speed of 70 mph, he was practically lounging. He looked to be the age of all the men you see driving motorhomes, except he looked more comfortable than the men driving the giant wobbly home on wheels between the semi's around here. Here's the best part though~ he was not alone. Oh no, his lady was right there beside him. that's right~beside him, not behind him. She was in a recliner position in a little side car attached to his bike. She had her drink holder, her little headset where she can converse with gramps, and here's the best part~ she had her walker strapped to the back of her sidecar. No kidding~ a walker! Obviously age is catching up to these folks still out enjoying themselves, which I highly admire~and it appears that it'll take a lot to slow these two down! I wanted to give them a big thumbs up and yell AWESOME out my van window as I drove by, but I didn't want to embarras them, or more likely just embarras myself. (o:

Busy Bees

We've been so busy here my head's spinning. I have most my garden planted, we are finishing up the new stairs to our daylight basement, contractor is coming Monday for the carpet estimate, and hubby and I are going to paint the wainscotting and new walls. Maybe I spelled wainscoating wrong, either way spell check doesn't like it (o: anyone have any suggestions besides white? I'm really into country decor. I thought a wheat yellow for the walls and a cornflower blue on the wainscotting would be real country, but I don't know if I'm that brave. I like the look of white wainscotting though, but it goes up and down our stairs which means little dirty finger prints all the time to drive me crazy!
My brother was here from Hawaii and left this morning. It's always fun when he's around, he'll be back soon as he gets married 4th of July weekend! F I N A L L Y Crystal will officially be part of our family! I'm suppose to be helping my sister make the invitations to Crystal's bridal shower, I mean lingerie shower...ohhlala, lol
Our oldest (turns 18 tomorrow!) and our 4th daughter (turns 6 on Monday) are celebrating birthdays tomorrow and we're having a house full. It's been so hot lately too and we found out our central air is not working! fun, fun for a houseful of party guests! We're leaving in the evening with everyone to see the new Chronicles of Narnia movie. I'm leaving Josiah with a babysitter for the first time ever with some people from church, our old neighbors. I'll probably be thinking of him through the whole movie! (o: We have graduation party for the 18yr old (Martin would be his name, lol) on the 8th and his graduation is on the 10th, my 2nd cake decorating course is suppose to start in June, but seriously my calendar is SOOOO full like every other day that I'm going to have to cancel )o: and my sister flies in from Hawaii with her kids on the 7th. My Dad flies out to Sudan this Friday morning, and my other sister flies in from Hungary. My family is big missions oriented, can you tell, lol? And here I am raising my army from solid ground still having never stepped foot on an airplane~ Although I do fly in my dreams (o:
I'm so excited to have my siblings all together on this side of the globe again! yayayayayay!! I'm just a LITTLE excited. I love my family (o:
Sorry that I haven't been posting much, life's happenin' (o: