Apples Anyone?

So...I gave my kids each a muffin...buying some time for me to go outside and clean up some toys from an afternoon of outside play with their cousin...and hold off dinner until Matt got in from the chicken houses...so we could see him before his "next" appointment...might have been gone 5 minutes, 7 minutes tops, and came in to find my 19 month old Campbell, sitting ON TOP of her high chair tray, with 7 apples sitting in front of her, each with a few bites out of them. Granted she does LOVE apples, and she has an ear infection, so how hard could I be on her? And, I, afterall am the one who didn't strap her in, just figuring the muffin would be all I needed...Boy was I wrong. Came in to see Kaden on the floor talking sweetly to Calli, and Kaycee upstairs playing "dolly" completely oblivious to anything that was going on, and Campbell eating some good apples.

So, we all grabbed an apple, and started munching...and took the opportunity for a photo shoot. :) Life is too short not to take full advantage of this funny moment...(just as long as it doesn't happen again anytime soon).

And, I couldn't leave Calli out...Calli at 9 days old with Kaden loving her.

More JOY!

Kaycee and Calli posing for a quick shot with Auntie Meg...

Me...looking a bit tired?...posing with my cute kids...Kaden (5), Kaycee (3 1/2), Campbell (19 months), and Calli (4 days old)...This has all been a bit chaotic, but today was a much better day...I was feeling a lot better and much more like myself. Look at all my BLESSINGS...We're just missing daddy here. :)
My uncle Galen and Aunt Deborah, from California, just happened to be in town...they don't usually get a glimpse of my babies until they are a bit more grown. How special they could visit Calli.

Kaycee spending time singing to her little sister.

Meet our new sister!

The kids returned home last evening, and we had time to fit in a quick photo shoot. They are loving every minute of her, and love to hold her and give her kisses...we'll see how long that lasts. :) She is such a content baby, I hope that continues too. :)

She's Here...

We wanted to share our precious angel with you. We welcomed Calli Ann into the world this morning at 10:34 a.m. She weighed in at 9 lbs. 3.5 oz. and was 21 inches long. My labor was short and sweet, even though it was 11 days off the mark. :) She really does not look to be overdue at all. Thanks for all of your thoughts and prayers. We are so thankful and excited she is here, and can't wait for you to catch a glimpse.

no news.

No news. No baby. Thanks for checking. Matt had hay to bale anyway. :)

Children are a heritage from the Lord. Psalm 127:3

Update.

1 week late. Still no baby. Slow but steady progress. Trying to smile. :) Can't wait for the day.

Thank you.

Just wanted to say THANK YOU for everyone who has been praying for my dad, and mom, and my family in general. It was a unnerving, stressful 24 hours to say the least. All of his tests have been coming back "normal", so we are hoping he will return home from the hospital today. Praise the Lord! How easy it is to take our good health for granted! Doctors think it will not happen again, and it was something called "hyperglobal amnesia". There continues to be a small period of time he cannot remember, and probably never will, but the rest of his memory has returned. Very weird. :) Anyway, thanks again. It's so reassuring to know we have such good friends to hold us up in prayer, when we are sometimes too tired and worn out to do it for ourselves. Thank you. We love you all. And when is this baby coming again? Tomorrow is the big Due Date, but that will surely come and go without a trace of our precious one we can't WAIT to meet! Love, Mis.

Fun on the Farm...

We had some friends over for lunch today after church...what a beautiful day for that. The kids had some fun expending some energy in the barn on the hay stacks. Just a quick shot of some of them taking a break.

Due in 10 days...

For those of you who are not able to see me in my last days of carrying our fourth child to term, here you go. No need to tell me how tired I look, or how huge I am, as I get those things at least once daily by someone. Really, I am feeling good, just ready to be done with this stage of the game. I long to hold my baby...let the CHAOS begin!

I was preparing the baby book, and it asked for a picture of "mommy" pregnant, and sure enough I didn't have one. Now that that's taken care of, surely I could go into labor at any moment. :) Most of you know my track record is not very good when it comes to delivering early babies. Infact, Kaden was a day late, Kaycee was 8 days late, and Campbell was a mere 12 days late, but I can still hope (and pray) for an early delivery, and certainly do everything in my power to enable that to happen. :)

I anticipate the birth of this new child. When will my labor begin? Will the hot water heater be working at Birth Care this time? :) Will the delivery be fast or hard and long? Will the baby be large or small? Will it be healthy? So many questions can drive one crazy. One thing is for sure...I will deliver. I will give birth. One thing is for certain-the baby will come when it's ready. So, as I reflect on my life so far, I am grateful for the wonderful man I call my husband, and my 3 precious healthy children that make up my family. And am so excited to meet this new peanut. Surely I can pray this prayer more fervently than ever, as I prepare for bringing another child into the world...tomorrow, or 2 weeks late. :)

I can do everything God asks me to with the help of Christ who gives me the strength and power. -Philippians 4:13.

Check this out!

No wonder we got such reactions from people...this is what we looked like riding down at the beach!

We took one last vacation from Monday thru Wednesday to Ocean City, N.J. before the peeps come on Monday...The weather was gorgeous, so beautiful I wanted to stay a little longer :( We had lots of fun...highlights would be:

Kaden (5) said: "getting cotton candy for the first time, riding bike on the boardwalk,
swimming in the pool, seeing the dophins, and riding the waves"
Kaycee (3 1/2) said: "digging and making pools, going in the warm water and finding some
seashells and seeing the dolphins in the ocean"
Campbell (18 mo) said: "Playing with 2 little girls we met on the beach, Gianna and Jessica,
(who were exactly her and Kaycee's ages...which meant
playing with new beach toys), also walking on the
boardwalk at night, holding daddy's hand, and stopping to dance in front of all the
arcades"...she put on quite a show for everyone.
Mommy (30) said: "not cooking, relaxing on the beach getting a last minute tan, riding bike
with my family...we were quite a scream (tandem, tag a long, and trailer)
breakfast with Scott, Ang and Addalie...always fun talking about life with them. :),
and seeing the dolphins"...
Daddy (now 34 !) said: "riding bike on the boards, breakfast with Scott and Ang, seeing the
dolphins, and building sand castles with the kids"

Here's some pictures that captured our time away from home...

The last few hours on the beach on Wed. we saw 4-5 dolphins...they were right in front of us...up really close. The lifeguards pulled everyone out of the water. Talk on the beach, (from this fun family we met), was that there was a shark, and these dolphins came in to chase the shark out. Now Matt and I couldn't say we saw the shark, but these other people say they definately saw it, and that's why everyone had to get out of the water, and that's the only reason these dolphins came in so close. Who knows? But, it was fun excitement, and so much fun to watch Kaden and Kaycee taking in these dolphins...they starting doing jumps out of the waves, it was really cool. God is so, so good!