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All the Latest

aprilmomoffour — Sun, 18 Aug 2013 03:47:00 +0000

Look who’s 8 weeks old!!!

weight: 14 lbs. height: no idea

We got back from vacation Tuesday night. Wednesday and Thursday we got a few things done, such as Daniel’s physical/ 2 year old check-up. We finally got around to it because he has to have it to start preschool! He did have to get one shot, which left a big fat bruise, but he handled it very well. Dan’s stats: 30 lb. 37 inches. Just a few months ago, he was 33 inches, so this boy has hit a serious growth spurt this summer. This is also the first time he’s hit the 30 lb mark. He is now in the 75% for weight and 90% for height. BAAAAAAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!! The whole rest of this year he was 30% for height, and I just thought we’d finally produced a short child, but actually he just was growing at a different rate. Who knows. Caleb (our biggest kid of all) could end up being the shortest but just an early bloomer. You just never know with these things!

We also resumed bicycle lessons this week, and I have to say this was by far the easiest thing I’ve ever taught them to do. Joshua took two lessons, and now he’s got it. Caleb needs one more lesson to gain confidence, but he was going about six feet at a time without training wheels or Mommy. He just lost interest a lot quicker than Joshua, so I didn’t get as much time with him.

I proudly proclaimed to Alan, “YES!! YES, YES, YES! I can’t believe I did it. I taught Joshua how to ride a bike!!!” Alan looked at me, shook his head, and said what I should be excited about is that Joshua did it. Joshua learned how to ride a bike. Then Joshua told me, again, “Noooo, I already knew how to ride a bike. Now I learned how to ride with no training wheels!”

Oh, well, whatever, so glad to finally have this accomplished!

I did not do the old suddenly-let-go trick. Instead, I walked along side of them while they practiced, holding them steady with one hand. After doing that a while, I put them on the grass, told them I would give them a push and then let go, did just as I said, and they did great.

cheering Joshua on

One morning I got up, and Alan had made this! I was like, “Whaaa???” Fruity Pebbles Treats. They were really yummy, but I had just never seen Alan bake before! Of course, they were all gobbled up within 24 hours.

future BFFs

School is starting back soon, so we are getting ready. In this photo, Joshua was doing a Spiderman addition workbook page, Dan was coloring, and Caleb was practicing his writing in his Lightning McQueen Phonics workbook.

Roll Tide.

Vacation Day Trip: the Potomac River

On Friday, I pumped out some milk, hired Megan to babysit John David, and we all headed into Washington, D.C. to do some boating on the Potomac River. It did not disappoint.

Megan brought her stepsister Cara with her, so I had a 2:1 babysitter ratio. You could say John David was super duper well cared for! They said he slept most of the time. That’s our boy! Babies grow in their sleep, and this one does a lot of growing.

Daniel got his hippo out and kept making us swaddle the hippo, which he carried around like a baby. He was so adorable.

By the time we got the boat in the water, we were all starving, so Alan docked the boat at a marina near our old house. We had lunch at a restaurant on the river and even took the boys to see the playground where they used to play.

The boys are beginning to get more comfortable with the boat. They loved going under bridges.

You can see several of the monuments from the water. The Washington Monument has been under construction for about two years now, ever since that earthquake.

Thomas Jefferson Memorial

How cool is this boat?

and the Lincoln Memorial

I would say Alan’s two weeks of vacation was a smashing success!!! I’m so thankful we were able to do all this! Now this coming week my mom is coming back. Wahoo! Mom, I think you will find that I have changed completely since I have gotten the anemia under control! Can’t wait!

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Father’s Day: Birth Week 2013

aprilmomoffour — Sun, 16 Jun 2013 22:10:00 +0000

My boys are so ridiculously blessed. Here’s what they did with their dad for Father’s Day:

1. gave Daddy his presents

2. went to church with Daddy

3. picked up Papa John’s pizza for lunch with Daddy

4. went out on the BOAT with Daddy– for the second day in a row (um wow)– AND even got to take along some friends with them on the boat today. I wonder if Alan took pictures….

I don’t know if I’ve mentioned before, but Alan is an amazing dad. THANK YOU, Alan for taking such good care of us and being so patient and wonderful. Alan, I’m so thankful that YOU are my boys’ dad!!! Love you, Alan!

We are doubly blessed this Father’s Day b/c my dad is also here with us. Love you, Dad!

Alan also has a fantastic father, and we love you too, DaddyO!

THE BOAT

Alan was so exited to have my dad here to take out on the boat because my dad has owned a boat off and on for years. Alan figured he’d have some good expertise to share, and he did.

They had a great time. Dad came back from the river yesterday feeling rejuvenated, Alan felt happier about his purchase, Caleb had a BLAST, and Joshua finally seems to be over the boat-fear.

Awesomeness.

They even have found this beach area where the kids can get out and play in the water and the sand.

OH! And Caleb even did some tubing behind the boat with Mr. Sean today. Way to go Caleb!!

Now normally, I do love boating. When I was a kid, we used to go out on Dad’s ski boat, and it was always so much fun.

Alan and I took some sort of Marriage Inventory early on in our marriage, and it turned out that we have all of ONE interest in common…….boating…..so this purchase really does make sense for our family.

This weekend marks the beginning of something super exciting: BIRTH WEEK. Unfortunately, for me that means that this weekend I’m not feeling so good. I have opted to spend the weekend mostly in the comfort of my home. I’ll be more FUN in a few more months!

Yesterday I was mostly just cranky. Today I’ve had a lot of pain, but I’m not quite in labor yet. The good news is we’re putting an end to this show on Wednesday.

I CAN’T WAIT!!!!!

Lesson learned: Peek in the boys’ Father’s Day bags in advance to make sure no one feels left out. I’m sure Joshua would have really enjoyed making some creative coupons for Daddy. Joshua’s class DID make a really cute card for their dads, shaped like a tie.

HaPpY FaThEr’S DaY!!!!!

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The Boat, The Family, and The Achy Belly

aprilmomoffour — Mon, 06 May 2013 02:30:00 +0000

We did finally get to take the boat we bought two weeks ago out on the water this afternoon. Everything worked perfectly, and it was really exciting for the boys, well for all of us.

I was feeling so much better for most of the day. I taught my Sunday School class, etc. etc. with no problems. But after going out on the boat and then putting Daniel to bed, the good feelings were gone. Something just doesn’t feel right in the lower abdominal and also right hip region. It seems like I’ve just pulled or strained some muscles or something, just trying to do my job with a big giant belly. I’m going to take it super easy tomorrow, and hopefully I’ll feel better by Tuesday.

I hate admitting it, but at this point I’m really too big to live as normally as I’d like. Carrying around a chubby 2-year-old is just not easy anymore.

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We also found out that my dad is now in the hospital. So ya’ll add him to your prayer list too. I know my dad’s health isn’t as good as it used to be, but it always takes me by surprise and scares me a bit when one of our family members is in the hospital. You know?

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And here are numerous pictures of our family, taking the boat out for the first time. This was a good time, everyone was excited, and the pregnant lady was not having any issues, always a plus!

We had an awesome boat captain, named Daddy. : )

There were moments when I caught Daniel with a large, genuine smile on his face. He loved it. He hated the life vest, but of course that is a must. With Daniel it is best to move the boat fast, so you don’t have to fight him to make him sit down. When the boat moves slowly, he wants to stand up and look around–that did drive me a little crazy!

Does he look a little seasick to you?

Yep, that would be the 5 year old driving!

Alan bought me this drink for the boat ride at Walmart. Yum! It was delicious.

6 weeks of pregnancy left to go, and I already want to lay down and quit life for a while. That’s not good, is it? I wonder when the normal time is to feel like not doing anything anymore? I still have energy. That’s not the problem. It’s this bowling ball belly and the low riding infant inside it. Things are just not the same now. Weah, weah, weah, sorry guys! I’ll try my best to suck it up and drive on, and if I didn’t have this 30 pound, while adorable, sidekick, I think I could still be very actively involved in my community. But Daniel is a handful to carry, chase, potty train, keep out of trouble etc. with this belly! He needs to just stay in our semi- baby proofed house for a while. Out in public I have to work much harder to keep him from mischief, and you know, mostly from bothering other people!

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In other news…..

–Alan is really enjoying his new job, and that makes us both so happy. It’s always best for your spouse to be happy. You really do become one when you marry! “If momma ain’t happy, ain’t nobody happy”, sure, but also I’d like to add that a dissatisfied daddy is a downer as well. His stress is my stress, you know? Sure, his new job has it’s share of stress, but when it’s a job you enjoy you can handle that. I like seeing him happy with work.

–Caleb only has one more soccer game, and his current swimming session is done, so life is about to get a little less busy. Hurray!!!

–Joshua still has a month of baseball left. His fielding has greatly improved, but he goofs off when he’s at bat, and I’m really not sure why he does that. Will I ever fully understand these boys? Probably not.

We hope everyone has a good week, and we will be praying for all our family members going through hard times. The list keeps growing. : (

I’ve always said, “Life is just a series of problems to solve.” I’m glad we have a God who cares, that we can call on during times like these.

“Blessed is the man who trusts in the LORD And whose trust is the LORD. “For he will be like a tree planted by the water, That extends its roots by a stream And will not fear when the heat comes; But its leaves will be green, And it will not be anxious in a year of drought Nor cease to yield fruit.

Jeremiah 17:7-8

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The Importance of The Day of Rest

aprilmomoffour — Mon, 29 Apr 2013 01:04:00 +0000

The Day of Rest

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Sunday is the Lord’s Day here at our house.

This is the day that we go to church, and ideally this is also the day we finally get some quiet rest at home. Isn’t it annoying when organizations try to take that restful day away from you with ideas of work you can do instead?? Bleh. I was afraid this was going to be one of those kind of Sundays, as both Alan and I had meetings to attend at church, but it didn’t turn out to be too bad. My meeting wasn’t too long, so I still got in some recliner time. : )

Don’t you think Sundays can be the most awesome day or the most stressful day? Can’t you just picture the stressful Sunday that occurs when everything goes wrong–when it’s like you’re trying too hard and everything is falling apart. Kids whining over wearing church clothes, missing church shoes, parents arguing over whose fault it is that you’re running late (not that that would ever happen here….), stressing over all the things that really don’t even matter!

Thankfully, this was not one of those stressful kinds of Sundays.

We were all on time. I have to be on time because if I’m not there, parents won’t have a place to leave their kindergarteners! We just take two separate cars so that if anyone is running late they can just ride in the other car. I suppose once the baby comes, Alan will be the early leaving car, and I’m sure I’ll be the late car!

Today was an especially exciting Sunday for the boys. Since Mommy, the provider of all food, was gone to a meeting, Daddy took them all to McDonalds for lunch. Talk about an exciting day! Does everyone else’s children get as excited about that notorious little fast food restaurant as our children do!??

After that, Joshua went down the street to play with one of his buddies, so Alan took Caleb out to see the boat while I stayed home with napping Dan.

Caleb was SO EXCITED about going to see the boat. They didn’t get to ride today because it was raining, and also the boat needs a new battery. You should have seen Caleb dragging Alan out the door. It was so cute and unusual. Caleb is our homebody child, and the only time he ever drags anyone out the door to go anywhere is for swimming lessons or a playdate with his best buddy, Nicholas.

Caleb spent the rest of the afternoon carrying around his Lightning McQueen fishing pole. He proudly told me, “I’m going to get to go fishing on the boat!” grinning from ear to ear.

Our New Boat

Of course, we’re planning to change the name from Bambino to Gracie.

I told my friends that the other night, but Alan and I had not had time to discuss it yet. Tonight Alan said to me, “I was thinking we could change the name to Gracie.” : ) I love it when we think the same thing!!!! Gracie is the name we’ve planned for our little girl for 10 years now….but of course, we never actually had a little girl! Who knew Gracie would be a boat!?

Right now it’s 7pm, and poor Alan is still at that church leader’s meeting while the boys and I are enjoying a nice, quiet evening with no ball games, no where we are required to be. I even vacuumed and baked cookies. : )

I think restful days at home are of the utmost importance.

The Sabbath (which of course is actually Saturday) was instituted by God.

He never said we should not still do good works on our day of rest, but he does want us to use that day to honor him and renew our bodies for the rest of the week. I think the fact that God would create a day dedicated to rest is just another sign of how much he loves people.

Then Jesus said to them, “The Sabbath was made to meet the needs of people, and not people to meet the requirements of the Sabbath. Mark 2:27

“Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days you shall labor, and do all your work, but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the LORD your God. On it you shall not do any work, you, or your son, or your daughter, your male servant, or your female servant, or your livestock, or the sojourner who is within your gates. For in six days the LORD made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and rested on the seventh day. Therefore the LORD blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy.”

Exodus 20: 8-11

Of course, Christians meet together and honor Sunday rather than Saturday. That began after the resurrection of Christ when his followers gathered together on the first day of the week, and in Revelation it is referred to as “The Lord’s Day.” The Sabbath was a Jewish custom, much like circumcision.

Still, I think it’s wonderful to have a day devoted to rest and relaxation, no matter which day of the week it is. I mean raising children is exhausting. I for one need some guilt- free down time! Who doesn’t!?

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