Tag Archives: The Kids 2012

Introducing…

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Our new stove!

Papa & Grandmere came up the Wednesday before Malachi was born, and wouldn’t you know it, our new stove was in so Mark & Papa could install it.  I know Papa was thrilled at all this manual labor (the next day, he continued with the hard labor to get our yard cleaned up…he did an awesome job…although our yard needs cutting again)!

Okay, I know it’s a stove…but my dear friends if you like to bake and cook for your family, you’ll totally get why I’m so excited.  It’s a convection oven!  How cool is that?!  And it’s a glass top.  Which means, no more cleaning out the catchers for the heating elements!  Or underneath them.  Oh, and it also has a “slow cook” function on it.  I can use my stove as a slow cooker…that is so cool!  And will come in handy since my kids have decided they like my barbecue made from Boston Butts…I don’t think one will cut it the next time I make it!

So, here’s the process of how the swap out occurred.

Out with the old.  In all fairness…it was time for the stove to go.  The broiler was broken and one of the heating elements was overheating.

The kids weren’t really anxious to see the new stove…they wanted to play with the box!

Daddy always has a helper…or two.
A few little cuts and Papa had transformed the box into a house.

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Ceili Rain’s Birthday Weeks

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We ventured out a week before Ceili Rain’s birthday to start off her celebrations.  Mark felt we needed to do it then rather than trying to get out on the day of her birthday.  Good thoughts considering Malachi and I came home from the hospital on her birthday.  And, she’s three, and doesn’t really care when or where we celebrate.   The longer the celebrations the better!

They proved to be longer too.  She received gifts from Ge & Granddaddy while we were in the hospital and was able to celebrate with Papa and Grandmere on her actual birthday.  As far as the cake…which we were informed was very important when singing “Happy Birthday!”  Well, that came the day after her birthday.  Mom just wasn’t up to snuff to decorate on the day of.  She didn’t seem to mind having to wait one more day for her cake though!

So, for her birthday, we took her to Build-a-Bear.  We thought, at three, she would surely enjoy making her own decision and decorating a bear to go with it!  She did.  She was in total heaven!

 She had a lot of help picking out an animal to stuff.  
But, in the end, she knew what she wanted… pink bunny with daisies all over it.
She still wasn’t quite sure what was going on.
But, then she saw the almost finished product.
We all stuffed her full of hearts.  

Then Ceili Rain took her to bathe her.  A job she took very seriously.
And, then she choose her name.  Daisy…how appropriate.  When we got home though, she told us her name was Prissy…except she couldn’t add the ‘r’ in Prissy so it came out…well, you know.  I think she’s since stuck with Daisy.

Celebrating at the hospital with Ge & Granddaddy!
And here at our family celebration the day after.  Ace took these pictures and I think he did a good job if I do say so myself.
As, I decorated her cake, she informed me that she wanted a “queen” to go on her head…not just her cake.
I didn’t take this in to account and had not gotten her a crown.  We quickly remembered that Zoe had this tiara from a long time ago and she promptly got it and plopped it on Ceili Rain’s head.  Happy Princess!
When we were discussing cakes, she first told me she wanted a chocolate
cake in the shape of a “queen” (that’d be a crown), but then, by no
coercion on my part, decided she wanted a chocolate cake with chocolate
icing and m&ms and a crown.  I’m still patting myself on my back
that I remembered to pick up Valentine’s M&M’s in February…and
that I hid them from myself and the kids until her birthday.  So, here
is her cake request in all it’s glory!

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Malachi…for the relatives

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Our Chi (like the greek letter…at least that’s how I think you spell it…anyway), is growing and doing all the baby things he should.  And, apparently, I did not plan any baby pics for this week…so, to satisfy the family…here’s some more pics of Malachi!

Relaxing before hitting the road…that was the calm before the storm (of siblings)!
There is a baby in there…#6 was not feeling up to snuff so he didn’t make the pic.
 For some reason, Malachi’s head is the favorite resting spot for several siblings.
More cuddles.
Josiah totally rocked the baby holding.  Malachi was a bit cranky about being passed around but Grandmere helped Josiah get him to sleep.  It never phased Josiah that Chi was crying.
Of course, Aunt Tracy had to get her hands on him!
And so did some friends from church.  J was able to get Malachi asleep as well!
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Dive In

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We’re going on vacation really soon, so Mark and I decided that it wouldn’t be a bad idea for some of our non-swimmers to take some swim lessons and hopefully keep a few from drowning. Ace and Liam are so close to swimming so they were a must. What we weren’t sure of was Josiah. He had never had a swim lesson by himself before and I really don’t count the “mommy & me” class we took. Although, that was fun. So, we weren’t sure whether to put him in or not. We finally decided to give it a try.

Here’s how it went down (again, didn’t get pictures except the last night).

The first night, Josiah cried. The whole time. And did everything they said, while crying. We were really wondering if this was going to be worth the money.

The second lesson, Josiah cried but only when he had to do something. And he still did it. Hmm, this might work after all.

By the third lesson, he was smiling and informed us that he was having fun! He spent the rest of the lessons smiling and listening and doing all that was asked. He’s getting pretty good at floating and pretty good at swimming on his back! Not something any of our other 4 year olds have been able to do!

As for Ace & Liam, well, they had a wonderful teacher!  Ace is at independent swimming status and Liam is so close but needs a bit more confidence.  His teacher didn’t make it to the last class until the very end and Liam all but refused to do anything for his substitute teachers.  He was really scared and just didn’t trust these total strangers.  But, as soon as Mr. Eric walked in, he did everything that was asked.  I talked with his instructor afterwards and it really all boils down to his confidence in being able to do things.  Hopefully, when summer gets here (and at least our vacation), he’ll have that confidence.

We were really proud of all of them and how hard they worked!

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Settling in

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My stamina is increasing each day but I’m still trying to take it easy.

Next week, we may add a bit of school to keep our sanity about us…but don’t think I’m going to be pushing it.  Totally am planning on taking it one day at a time.

The kids are all enjoying having Malachi around.  However, some of them are turning into Loraxes!

Courtesy of Target’s Reading time they had in February!

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Picture update

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Fresh out of the womb, and not terribly excited about it.  As soon as he came out, he gave a nice, loud cry to make Mommy feel extra special and relieved.

After being cleaned up a little, Daddy got to love on him on the way to see Mommy.
Daddy got to show him to Mommy up close and personal.  She was delighted.
Special thanks to the anesthesia personnel in the OR with us who took these pictures and seemed to really enjoy doing it.
Papa & Grandmere brought the kids over after the all clear was given and they were fed.
Ge & Granddaddy arrived just after he was born and got to love on him before Abbie made it back from the surgery suite.
Daddy got to carry him back to our labor room and watch the nurse finish the cleanup and checkout procedures.  She also weighed him at this point and we found out just how big this stinker is!

He thought it would be really cool to show just how big his feet are by spreading his toes as far apart as possible.

More Ge and Granddaddy love for Mommy and Malachi.

Mom’s first words as she rolled into the room: “Give me my baby!”  So we did!  
Malachi meets his brothers and sisters!

Ace was very excited.

Ceili Rain holds Malachi.

Liam was pretty curious about his new buddy.

Josiah was very sweet and all smiles.

Zoe is checking him out.

Bryant wasn’t sure what to think.  Zoe starting to warm up to him.
By the way, did you notice the common thread among the Malachi-meets-his-siblings pictures?
Go look.  Now.  Closely. But don’t worry about the last one….
Did you look yet?  Really.  Do it.
OK, Ceili Rain is the common denominator.  She stayed put in that chair until forced out so she could keep an eye on Malachi.
OK, more pictures…
Mommy love…

Bryant got to play with Granddaddy.

Mom, Dad, and Malachi.
Thank you, God, for this new blessing in our family.

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The Destructo Duo at their Cutest

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A couple of weekends ago, I braided Zoe’s hair in small braids so that when she woke up on Sunday and took them out she had wavy hair. She loves that! Ceili Rain saw it and asked for braids too. Braiding a two year old’s hair in tiny braids…um, yeah, she doesn’t stay still…wasn’t happening. So, I curled it in sponge rollers instead. And while she fussed at night, she didn’t take them down. And this was the result. Too precious!And it stayed curly for two days.

 We’re big Awana buffs…since Mark is now the sole Commander of our club!  Bryant’s ready to be a Cubbie if he can figure out how to get the vest on.

Wednesday’s trash day.  It doesn’t matter where Ceili Rain and Bryant are, when the trash truck comes through they come running to our school room and sit at the window.  And sometimes, they get along and do this!  Josiah’s pretty excited to watch too but not as much as the Destructo Duo is!

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What a Weekend!

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We started the weekend off like we normally do…cleaning the house.  I know.  That’s really exciting.

However, Saturday afternoon, the women at our church (and my dear “little sister”) helped us celebrate Malachi’s coming arrival with a prayer shower.  It is such a blessing to gather with women and know that they are there to pray for our sweet baby and to celebrate  how God has already blessed us with him!  So much fun!

 How adorable is that???
 And, if you must know it was a chocolate cake thankyouverymuch!
 The spread!  We girls like to eat 🙂
We ate, we prayed and we played games…then some very gracious ladies gave Malachi some sweet gifts!  Ceili Rain was my on again off again helper.  
Okay, I don’t care who you are…baby clothes with little appliques on the back are just too cute!
And, of course, my weakness for homemade gifts…and he got quite a few…I was giddy!  One of them, that I didn’t include was a hat Tracy made.  I purposefully didn’t include it because I know she’ll work her camera magic on Malachi and the hat and I can’t wait to share those pictures.

Right before Zoe, Ceili Rain and I left on Saturday, Mark got a call from work.  He texted me to let me know he was on alert but didn’t have to go in.  Now, it’s very, very rare that he actually has to go in, but it can happen.

I was very thankful he did not have to go in at all on Saturday.  Because…when we got home from the shower, I was showing Mark all the sweet gifts when Ceili Rain and Bryant apparently took off with the baby bath soap…you know where this is going right?

I’m taking tags off and sorting and showing and we hear this blood curdling scream from Bryant.  The Destructo Duo had struck again.  They had gotten the top off of one of the soaps and was in the bathtub where, Ceili Rain felt it was her responsibility to bathe her brother.  With his clothes on.  She dumped about half a bottle of baby bath soap on his head.  Which trickled down.  Into his eyes and on his face.  She even got some on herself as well.  They got their baths early and praise God…yet again…no one was seriously hurt.  And Ceili Rain now understands that it is not her job to bathe her baby brother.  I’m not entirely sure that Bryant didn’t help her out a bit on the whole opening and dumping thing.  I apologize that we didn’t get pictures…it was a bit of a crisis moment, but I wouldn’t be a good blogger if I didn’t think throughout the crisis that this was going to make for a good post.

Then Sunday rolled around…Mark got a call before church that the same problem was going on.  Again, we praise God that he didn’t have any problems during church that would cause him to go in but he as soon as church was over…well, he got he call.  And he had to go in.  We even had to turn down a pizza invite from a visiting family and everything. (who really turns down pizza???)

The other problem came in that I had a pass to attend a pre-sale for a “friend shop” at a semi-annual children’s consignment sale for Sunday.  Now, I could have just gone with the crowds on Monday but noooo, stubborn me wanted to get it over with today.  We had a gracious friend who willingly went with me.  And all six kids.  We divided and conquered…and found some cute cheap outfits to boot!

And we shopped…for three hours (including standing in line to check out).  And the kids were awesome.  Well, as awesome as they can be when they were plum tired and hungry.

When we all got home (Even Mark was able to get home at a decent hour), we cooked up hot dogs and settled in to watch a movie.  Now, I’m not saying that Mars Needs Moms is a bad movie…just that I’m wondering, as I type this on Sunday, how many of the kids are going to come in to our room tonight to check and see if I’ve been beamed up to another planet.

And we capped off our busy weekend with Zoe (the one who doesn’t get sick) feeling congested and a bit feverish…hmmm.

I’m very grateful to have busy weekends to pass the time before Malachi comes…wonder what we’ll do next weekend?!

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Why I Don’t Complain (okay, try not to at least)

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We’re nearing the end here.  The pregnancy that began with so much uncertainty and a bit of worry is now nearing 40 weeks and  a very healthy and probably large, baby boy! 

I love a lot of the comments I get.  They include:
“You’re huge!”
“Are you sure there’s just one?”
“Looks like you’ve dropped!”  That’s an easy response:  “No, I just carry really low”
“Are you going to make it to your due date?”  (Um, pretty sure…it’s only a couple of weeks away…remember, February only has 29 days this year???)
“Aren’t you miserable?”
And a great comment last month from a lady at the check out line, “I hurt just looking at you!”  (to which I wanted to respond, it hurts looking at you too!)

I’m happy being pregnant.  Happy carrying my mover and shaker around.  Happy to have these aches and pains.  Even happy that I’m so low now my shirts don’t cover up my belly (okay, so I think my pukefest last week did cause me to drop a tad bit). 

Because I know every day he’s in there growing is another day he’s getting stronger and healthier.  We fought and prayed to keep him in there growing throughout the first trimester so keeping him in there until God’s ready for him to come out, well, I’m okay with that. 

It’s so hard hearing other women who complain about how hard it is being pregnant.  I’m not talking the casual chat but every time I see them, they want to complain about how awful pregnancy was and how ready they were at 30 weeks or so to get their kid out.  That just drives me batty. 

Especially when I turn around and talk to a dear mother who may have lost a child before she was ever able to hold them and cuddle them.  Or those who, for some reason or another, God has never allowed to carry a baby inside their womb.  I think about these women when I hear the complaints or start to complain to others.  My heart aches for them and I know that some of them would long, for just once, to experience the kind of discomfort I’m going through to get this little guy here.  I realize quickly that I have no room to complain. 

Now, I’m not saying I’m a saint.  Ask Mark.  He knows the aches I go through.  He tries to massage them out every night.  And, I do get a little short tempered with my kids during the day as I try to hobble over and teach a life lesson or an academic one for the one millionth time.

For the most part though, at the end of the day, I remember that it’s not just an every day occurence to have a child growing inside of me.  This little one is a gift (like his brothers and sisters before him) from God.  A tiny miracle God has placed in our family and I want to cherish each day I have him all to myself. 

Because, pretty soon, Mr. Malachi is going to be smothered with sloppy wet kisses and sweet little hands that are so anxious to meet, hold and love on their little brother!  And for that day, I have to say I’m truly excited!

And yes, as the day grows ever nearer, I will be expounding more and more on this little guy.  We’re playing the waiting game now…37 weeks and counting!

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