4/30/07: You can play an on going game ( for the next 7 months and 3 days to be exact) to guess the stats of our Baby #4. Click on the link below to put your guesses into the game. Fun, Fun, Fun!!
4/27/07: Having a little boy in the car is sooo much different than having little girls. We never get more than 20 feet without Landon shouting happily about a vehicle that he sees. He gets excited about so many different modes of transportation. His favorites are firetrucks, ambulance, and trash trucks. But, he also screams when he sees: motorcycles, big rigs, school busses, cement trucks, UPS trucks, mail trucks, planes, helicoptors, police cars, trains and of course "Hug bugs". Going for a drive with Landon is never boring!
4/27/07: Madeline has an imaginary friend named Angela. Angela has been her friend since Madeline turned two-years-old. You may have heard me talk about or write about her before... after all, she and Reena (Emma's imaginary friend) are part of the family.
The other day our neighbor, Andrea had a friend over to play. Emma and Maddy often play with Andrea. Andrea came over to our house to say hi to the girls and to let them meet her new friend. She introduced her new friend, Angela to Emma. Emma got all excited and shouted across the house, "Maddy, Your imagination is here!!" We laughed so hard!
4/19/07: I have been feeling really sleepy lately. I am normally a night owl, but lately I've been asleep by 9:30. Even in the middle of the day I am so tired! I remember this quite well with the last three pregnancies, but I thought I remembered feeling rested after naps.... not so much now. I am just tired all day long! Only a few more weeks and I'll be out of my first trimester and hopefully I'll have my energy back.
I have lost 7 pounds so far this pregnancy. Luckily, the most weight gained in a pregnancy was with Emma and that was 2 pounds. If I follow the same weight pattern as the other three times I will lose about 20 in the first 4-5 months and then gain it back in the next 4-5 months. Breaking close to even in the end. With Landon somehow I ended up losing 15 pounds total?? Go Figure?!? I guess having the extra pounds in the beginning works in my favor for once!
We are thinking that we are not going to find out the sex of the baby this time around- being our last baby. We think it would be fun to have a surprise this time. Our friends and family seem to think we won't be able to pass up the chance of finding out...we'll see?!?
4/15/07: We are now home from vacation. It was a great week! San Fransisco was a lot of fun; the girls enjoyed it there. The Aquarium by the Bay was really cool! The girls each had souveniour money to spend at John Muir Forest and at San Fransisco. At the Forest they both chose to buy shiny rocks and in S.F. Maddy bought a headband and Emma bought an adorable purse. The way home was a very long drive. It helped staying in a hotel in Soledad so we didn't have to do the whole 9 hour trip in one day. Having a DVD player in the van was great..they didn't use it all the time, but it was there when they had enough of the scenery (and eachother). Funny story...when we were driving the scenic route of Bodega Bay, we saw all kinds of orchards. We saw tons of grapes and almonds, and occasioally peaches and apples. The funny time was when we saw a huge Christmas tree farm. Emma asked why someone would be growing Christmas trees now when it wasn't even close to Christmas. While we were explaining it to her Landon kept going "Ho, Ho, Ho!!"
We stopped by to and visited my parents and sisters for a little bit on the way home. We stretched our legs there and then continued the last hour and a half to get home just after 7PM last night. Wow...I've never spent so much time in the car. But it was truly a fabulous week!!
4/13/07: We had a great day at Wolf Mountain! Christian really enjoyed looking at all the new things that have changed at the camp. Christian worked at Wolf Mountain Camp as a wrangler in the horsemanship program during college in the summers of 95 and 96. That's how he met Norm and Sylvia Jones. Norm was the Director of the program there for 10 years, but now he is at Mount Gilead. The kids and I all rode horses in the arena for awhile. Then, Norm and Christian took two of their favorite horses for a long ride around the camp and onto the mountain trails for a few hours. Christian was in heaven!! We spent the day in downtown Grass Valley and Auburn and then returned back to Mount Gilead in the evening. It was a fun and exhausting day!
This is our last morning at the camp; we are headed out to San Fransisco today. After we spend the day there, we will drive a couple of hours and then stop at a hotel for the night. We will finish the rest of our drive home tomorrow. This week has flown by! It has been so fun to spend so much time with Christian and be able to have our whole family together for an entire week. Vacations are wonderful!!
4/11/07: Last night we had a bonfire at Norm and Sylvia's. We are staying at their house here at Mount Gilead Christian Camp. They have a home on the grounds of the camp. Norm is the Director of Operations here. The bonfire was fun, the girls loved making s'mores and sitting around the warm fire. It has been pretty cold here.
We took off pretty early this morning for a day trip down the coast to John Muir National Park. The drive was beautiful down Bodega Bay to Point Reyes and beyond. Absolutely gorgeous!! We walked around the park for awhile and had lunch there. The scenic route of Pacific Coast Highway took us 2 hours to get there, but only 1/2 hour back on the 101. It's nice to be able to take our time and be gone however long we want... no schedules to follow. Tomorrow we will be going to Grass Valley to ride horses and then Friday we will go to San Francisco for the day. What fun!!
4/10/07: We are now in Sebastopol at Norm and Sylvia Jones house. On Easter Sunday we went to visit Tyler and Dusti Jones and their girls, Michah and Asher. We spent Easter day with them and their extended family. We had a lot of fun. We stayed the night there in Tulare at Tyler's house and then headed out to Petaluma to visit two different families that used to live in O.C. We saw the Tamplins for a couple of hours and then we went to the Pologeorgis' for dinner and stay the night there. Everywhere we have visited so far has been great! We are having a really fun time! The kids have been super in the car- having a DVD player in the van is awesome!! We will return home on Saturday. We have so much more to do and see... on the road again....
04/06/07: I'm starting to feel a bit queezy throughout the day. I have not thrown up yet, but I have felt like it at times. I have been really sleepy in the middle of the day, and even with three kids I've manged to get in a 45 minute nap most days. Landon and Emma still nap every day and Maddy can play Barbies or Polly's quietly while I catch a few zzzz's.
We are getting ready for our vacation- we leave on Sunday after the Easter service. We have a very busy weekend until we leave. Tonight is the Good Friday service, tomorrow is the Egg-stravaganza and Maddy's game. I also have snack bar duty from 2- 5PM. We will come home and finish up laundry and picking up the house for our departure. I can't wait to leave!! The girls are really excited too... It's going to be so much fun!
04/03/07: Today I had my first prenatal check-up. It was not a fun appointment. Just the invasive appointment to check on the insides. They also did some bloodwork, but no ultrasound. I was hoping to see the baby and/or hear the heartbeat...not today. My next appointment won't be for 4 weeks, so I'll have to wait patiently to see the baby. The due date was confirmed for December 3rd. Only 8 months to go from today.
04/02/07: At last Saturday's game Madeline got three hits without using the tee. The way tee ball works is the girls get 5 pitches from the coach and if they don't hit one of those pitches, then the tee is brought out for them to hit off of. That way all the girls are sure to get on base. Well, Maddy hit all 3 times without the tee!! She was the "MVP" of the game. She earned the game ball which is a gold ball as a little trophy for her shelf. She was sooo proud of herself. This was her first real hit of the season (not using the tee). I was crying as she was running to first base! She is improving so much with every game and practice. She's doing great! We are so proud of her.
03/30/07: I have been battling a nasty cold the last few days. It completely knocked me out on Wednesday with a fever, body aches, and the works! I was out of it. Slowly I am getting back on my feet and now all three of the kids have it too- minus the fever. Hopefully it will all pass before we leave for vacation next week.
On Easter Sunday we will be leaving on a week long vacation to Northern California. We will drive the first three hours on Sunday and then visit friends in Tulare. We will stay in a motel there over night and then do the next 5 hours on Monday. We will stop in Petaluma to visit more friends and stay the night with them. Then on Tuesday morning we will land at our final destination of Mt. Gideon Christian Camp where we will be staying through Saturday. We have some very good friends that work at the camp and they are letting us use one of the cabins there as our vacation spot. From there, we can take day trips to San Fransisco, Grass Valley and other places. We are all looking forward to our trip. It may not seem like much, but for us, it's a major endeavor! Woo hoo...Family Road Trip!
3/27/07: I'm pregnant!! My body doesn't feel any different yet. I feel totally normal. The last three pregnancies I didn't really get sick that much. I didn't get the whole morning sickness thing, but the pre-natal viatamins nauseate me. So, I take the vitamins at night and hope I fall asleep before the side affects kick in. I love being pregnant! I love telling people that I'm expecting... the looks I get now with my 3 kids along side me... Ooh Wee! Some people think we're crazy to want a big family. I think it's wonderful; I can't wait to be a family of six.
NOT!!! This blinkie will no longer be accurate because we are expecting another Baby! This pregnancy was just as planned as each of our other three. Christian and I are 4 for 4 when it comes to conceiving a baby on the first month trying.We can't wait for the arrival of our this little bundle of joy to call our family complete! It's unbelievable!! Our due date is December 3rd, my sister Tina's birthday. Woo hoo.... 8 1/2 months to go!
03/23/07: Landon is completely a walker now. He really started taking off last Sunday and since then he has been doing better and better every day. Even since I did that last video clip 2 days ago... he has improved a ton! He now is walking all the way from the kitchen to his bedroom without falling. He is choosing to walk instead of crawl. It's so cool! I actually went out yesterday for a bit without a stroller because he can hold my hand and be just fine. Yippee! The doctor said it is completely normal for a child to start walking anywhere from 8 - 18 months. Well, Landon took it to that very last moment! He kept us wondering... Cutie Pie!
3/22/07: The festivities of birthday partying is now over. Maddy definitely got her fair share of parties! We had a nice little party with my family and Jen on Sunday. Just a simple little BBQ with ice cream and cake. It was nice to have all the kids here to play together and all the adults to visit with as well. Maddy and Christian both enjoyed their day!
Madeline's party at Libby Lu was a lot of fun. They even got to dress up and do a choreographed dance for us. Madeline was in her element! She absolutely loved it. She is really into make-up, hair, and fashion! The outfits they dressed in were a little much, in fact Emma told me, "These are inappropriate for little girls!". I told her she was right, but they could wear them for that special day. They all had a blast! I'll post the pictures soon...I posted all the ones from over the weekend. Libby Lu ones will come up later today or tomorrow.
3/16/07: I can't believe my little Pumpkin Pie is going to be 6 in just a few days!! This time has just flown by!! She is so excited about her birthday. The first thing she says every morning is the countdown til her birthday. We celebrated at her school yesterday with cupcakes.
She received $20 cash in the mail yesterday. She was thrilled!! She knew exactly what she wanted to buy. She wanted a new Disney Channel magazine and a skirt. When we got to the store, not only were there Disney Channel magazines, but there was a magazine called "Miley". The entire magazine is about the life of Miley Cyrus (Hannah Montana). Of course that's the one she picked. She has been reading the stories and looking at all the pictures since we got it. All I have been hearing is, "Mom, did you know that Hannah Montana.....?" The skirt that she picked is cream and brown gingham from Children's Place. A magazine and clothes- not what you would expect a 6-year-old to go and spend her birthday money on... but it was her very own to choose whatever she wanted.
Miley Cyrus or Hannah Montana when she has on the blonde wig. You'd have to see the Disney channel TV show to get it. Too cute!
3/13/07: I went out birthday shopping for Christian today while Maddy was at school. Tomorrow is his 32nd birthday. We celebrated with his family last weekend for his and Maddy's birthdays. It was a lot of fun to be together for the afternoon. They both got nice presents. Spoiled as usual! :)
Although Nana bought a toy for Emma and Landon, Emma had a REALLY hard time with Madeline getting to open all the presents and do a fashion show for us. Emma wanted to model new clothes too. We kept telling her that her birthday would come next and she would get lots of presents then, but that didn't seem to ease the pain at all. It's tough being the un-birthday girl at 3-years-old.
We will do another birthday get-together this weekend with my side of the family. Hopefully Emma won't have such a hard time again.
We will go out to dinner tomorrow night for Christian's birthday. He hasn't decided where he wants to go. It may be just us with Landon (the girls have Awana). Or we may keep them out of Awana tomorrow night to have a family dinner with all of us. It's up to Daddy.
3/8/07: Our family is just truckin' along. I had a wonderful time at winter camp last weekend and Christian did awesome at home with the kids (of course!).
Our church just recently agreed to take on a Hispanic congregation on our campus as a "merge" of two congregations. It was voted on by our church people and agreed that it is God's will to extend the use of our building and friendship with them. My job as children's minister (and all of our awesome volunteers!!) will expand from a group of about 40 children to over 100 children with the two churches combined. It seems quite overwhelming right now!! But, as time goes on, I'm sure things will settle down. They have a children's ministry team too, but they are looking at me to be their leader. Please pray for our children's ministry teams as we unite to teach all of the children about God. Our first day together on the same campus will be April 15th, the Sunday after Easter.
Madeline, Emma, and Landon are doing well. Maddy is really looking forward to her birthday in 11 days. She has invited two friends from school for a day at Club Libby Lu. They will get their hair, nails, and make-up done for a party day! Emma will participate too. Maddy is looking so forward to it!
3-1-07: Landon is putting two words together now to form two word phrases and compound words. It's pretty cool to hear it! He can repeat just about any 1 syllable word. He does that all day long. But he has added these two word combos: fire truck, hotdog, nevermind, flip flop, playdough, backpack, and Hi Mama, Hi Dada.... He is growing up way too fast for me!!
2/25/07: I am here at the Children's Ministry conference. They have computers wtih internet access in the lobby of the hotel. I have talked to Christian a couple of times today. He had a rough night!! It started off wtih Emma wetting the bed (which she hasn't done in months!) So, he had to get up and get her cleaned up. Instead of dealing with the sheets in the middle of the night, he let her sleep in his bed (which meant of course Maddy went too). A couple of hours later, Maddy got sick and threw up in the bed. So, he was up again this time changing the bedding of our Cal King and bathing Maddy. When I talked to him he had a good attitude about it and told me to enjoy my conference. I think Christian has earned the "Daddy (and husband) of the Year Award".
Maddy is doing OK now, hopefully it's just a 24 hour bug!
My conference is going really well! I have learned so many new things to bring home and implement at church. My roommate is great. Her name is Ebuduwala (she goes by "Ebu"). She traveled here from Nigeria to go to this conference. There are over 6000 people attending; it's incredible!!
2/23/07: This has been a long and BUSY week!! I started teaching my college class which kinda kept a bit on edge until it was over. I get a little nervous every week- but especially nervous for the first one. It went very well. I have 16 students.
Tomorrow is the Diamond Divas first game. Tonight was their parade and opening ceremonies. The parade was cute. All of the girls had matching diamond studded warm up suits, and it even said "Divas" across their little bums. They were adorable! I can't wait to see the game tomorrow!
My sister (Tina) and my friend (Cheryl) came over on Monday with all of their girls. We had such a great time together and so did the kids- all except for Emily's and Landon's fall from the swing. Emily was swinging with Landon in her lap. She fell backwards and she was so concerned about holding Landon tight, that nothing broke her fall. The back of Landon's head crashed into Emily's mouth and tore open her lip really good! Landon hardly had a scratch on him. What a brave and caring cousin Landon has! Emily is on the mend now, she probably could have had a stitch or two, but she's healing just fine. Thanks for protecting my baby Emily- So sorry he hurt your mouth!
I am leaving tomorrow afternoon and coming back late Monday night to go to the CPC (Children's Pastor's Conference) in San Diego. It is a conference for Children's Ministry workers to find out about new curriculum, worship music for kids, and different teaching techniques, and lots more. I am looking forward to it- especially the VBS part. I will have a roommate, whom I have never met before. I hope she's nice!
Not only am I gone this weekend, but next weekend too. I will be going to Forest Home Winter Camp with a few girls from our church. My kids are too little to go. So, this puts Christian home with the kids two weekends in a row. I owe him big time!! Thanks Babe!!
2/22/07: I caught Landon walking on video. He loves to walk on the sidewalk for some reason. He walks so much more outside than he does in the house.... and he loves the sidewalk more than the grass or anywhere else. In this video clip, he falls toward Maddy and luckily she catches him. It's usually me or Christian that he walks to, Maddy wasn't quite ready. Click on the film strip below to see our walking boy.
2/19/06: We are into a new phase with the girls playing together. They have always played OK together- not fabulous. They fight over little things here and there. Lately though, it has gotten worse. I can see exactly why. Since Maddy is the first born, she got pretty used to playing with whatever toys she wants. Emma went along with that just fine as a baby. When Emma turned two and three it got progressivly more difficult for Maddy to get her way so she resorted to manipulation. She got pretty good at it. Maddy could convince Emma to let Maddy play with her favorite things and Emma would usually go along with it. Emma no longer falls for the manipulation anymore- she has become wise to it. Maddy is not used to having to play fairly with Emma. It has caused many problems. Emma definitely has her own opinion about what she wants to play with, and no amount of manipulation from her sister changes her mind. This has caused LOTS of arguments. As a parent we would often stick up for Emma when Maddy would get too bossy, but Emma can hold her own now. Hopefully they will learn to play fairly together and work out their arguments without fighting, but this is going to take some time.... and then we throw Landon in the mix!
NOT!!! This blinkie will no longer be accurate because we are expecting another Baby! This pregnancy was just as planned as each of our other three. Christian and I are 4 for 4 when it comes to conceiving a baby on the first month trying.
We can't wait for the arrival of our this little bundle of joy to call our family complete! It's unbelievable!! Our due date is December 3rd, my sister Tina's birthday. Woo hoo.... 8 1/2 months to go!
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