Catching up.....Again...

Yes...I am still here!!  Wow have things been busy lately.  For starters, Jason went to youth camp last week...and he took our cell phone charger with him.  Well, that's what I use to download all my pictures onto here...SO I couldn't blog.  And this week has been VBS week...and well, I don't have to tell most of you how busy VBS week is!  Anyway....so last week, like I said, Jason went to youth camp.  The kids and I were originally going to take a trip to Tennessee, but we had some issues with our car that prevented us from being able to go, so for the first time ever...it was just me and the kiddos for a whole week!  I was a little nervous about it, but we ended up staying pretty busy, and we managed pretty well!  Here are a few pics from our week at home without Jason...

 It is VERY rare for my children to fall asleep in the car anymore (especially Lily).  But of course, this day, Lily and Austin both fell asleep about 3 minutes before we got to the store we needed to go in.  That was fun.

 The Monday that Jason was gone was Lily's 5th birthday!!  Since he was out of town we decided not to have her party that day.  But some sweet friends from church came by and surprised Lily for her birthday with a little play-date!  She was so surprised and it was a lot of fun.  But now that Daddy's home and VBS week is coming to a close, tomorrow is party time!

 Since Jason left on Father's Day, we decided to wait and give him his presents when he got back.  The kids made him a wooden airplane (with my help), and painted it (that they did by themselves). 

 We went back to the CARC center and swam one day.

 And this would be the outfit that Austin must wear everyday.  The shirt is almost too small, but according to him its the only shirt he has that really fits him.  And he must have the shirt tucked into the shorts and the shorts rolled up.  You've gotta love 3 year old boys who are picky about their clothes...

 Enjoying a healthy snack...berries were buy 1 get 2 free!!!

 This would be the black eye that Lily gave Austin.  She hit him with a baseball bat because he wouldn't move out of the way.  I was not in the backyard with them when this happened, so I don't know if she saw him and swung anyway, or if she didn't see him.  Either could easily be the story...

 Austin found a frog!

 My big boy and his lego creation...

So there you have it.  A few snapshots of our week.  I hope you had a great week as well.  Oh...and Wednesday began my last year in my 20's....we celebrated my 29th birthday.  It was fun and I got to eat a really ymmy lunch at Chili's...that ended with Molten Chocolate Cake.  It's not often that the person with the birthday offers that information to the waitor...unless she's pregnant and knows they give you a free dessert if it's your birthday and they sing to you...then she does.  :)  Ok, well that's all for now!  Hope you have a wonderful weekend!  VBS and Lily's birthday party pics to come soon!

Happy Birthday Jordan!

One of my little nephews Jordan turned 4 years old yesterday!  We planned a sort of last minute trip to Tennessee to visit our families while Jason was at youth camp.  And on this trip, it was going to work out for us to make it to the birthday boy's party.  However due to difficulties with our car, our trip was cancelled.  So, we weren't able to make it to the party.  It was definitely a disappointment.  But I came across this picture of the birthday boy and just had to share it!  Hope you had a great birthday Jordan!  We miss you!
P.S. I do realize (b/c I am OCD like that)....that I've never given Daniel the proper blog about his birthday (which was back in December btw).  My camera card that has the pictures from his little party is currently missing.  So one of these days you will probably get a random post about a sweet little boy's birthday back in December.  It will probably be after we move into our new house this summer....because I am praying that the card will turn up when we start packing up.  Ok, that is all! :)

Only 10 More Weeks to Go!

Well, I am 30 weeks along now!  I can't believe we're only 10 weeks out!  Thirty weeks of pregnancy definitely brings a few discomforts.  Things like tying my shoes, bending down for any reason, carrying 30 pound children, and painting my toe-nails are becoming a little more challenging.  It is getting to that point where rolling over in the middle of the night is enough of a task to wake me up.  And of course, bathroom breaks happen very frequently as well.  However, I am still thoroughly enjoying every bit of this pregnancy!  I love feeling this little boy kick.  I love how food tastes so good (yes, I had to throw that in).  I love how my other 3 children want to feel the baby move and give the baby kisses.  I love thinking about what this little boy is going to look like and what we are going to name him (that has ALWAYS been a task for us).  I have just been really excited to be pregnant this time.  Not that I wasn't the previous 3 times, but by the time Austin came along, I felt like I had been pregnant for 3 straight years (and I practically was).  I do love that our first 3 are so close in age, but having 3 kids 3 years old and under can also be quite a task!  I feel like the 3 1/2 year break has given me a fresh new excitement for having another baby.  Yes, we will be starting ALL over.  Diapers have been non-existent in our house for 8 months (Austin was a little late potty training).  But, I still feel like I just can't wait to have a little newborn again.  So....30 weeks....a little discomfort, but a lot of love!

Missing Some Little Faces!

Just wanted to share a few pics I've gotten my hands on lately of some little people that I really miss...

My niece Ashlynn (my sister's little girl)...

 My nephew Andy (Jason's brother's little boy).  I was told he wasn't quite able to stay up for the Grandmaw/bestie party...

 My niece Lucy (Jason's brother's little girl...and my mother-in-law, Jan) being silly...

 My niece and nephew Jordan and Ashlynn (my sister's kids) also being silly...

 My little nephew Logan (my sister's baby boy)...

And my niece Ruthy (Jason's brother's baby girl)...

Aren't they precious?  It's been over six months since we've gotten to see them all and we are missing them bunches!  Jason and I love all our little nieces and nephews and our kids sure love their cousins!  They have a LOT of people to keep them busy when our families get together!  It is quite a show!  Our new little baby boy will make for the 7th grandchild on both sides of our family.  Anyway....just thought I'd share some of the cute little faces we love so much!

Swimming

Wednesday a friend from church came over and spent the day with us.  He and his family are members at the CARC center....the local college's recreation center.  They have a huge indoor pool facility, and during the summers on Wednesdays they have "community day" where guests can go for $5 a person and then children under 18 get free lunch afterwards.  So, since they told us all about it, we decided to go!  The kids had a blast!

I'm sitting here trying to think if it's really so, but I really think this is the first time my kids have been in a swimming pool since last summer (other than Daniel swimming here with his school this past November).  Anyway...they have missed it and Lily girl even swam around in the pool!  Last year she stuck pretty close to the stairs.  And of course Austin had a ball jumping off the side and going under water.  He did have a brief pity party because he was not allowed to stand on the swimming wall in the middle of the pool.  He did NOT understand why the lifeguard was allowed to and he wasn't.  :)  And Daniel had gotten really good at swimming without water wings last summer, but since he hasn't practiced in 7 months he was a little unsure of himself.  We will have to continue working on that a lot this summer.  Anyway...enough babbling...it was a fun day, and we hope to do it again soon!  Thanks Spurrier's for the heads up!  :)

Walking

We live about a mile from our church.  Now that it's warm outside Jason will walk to the church a lot of days. Daniel and Austin have been asking for awhile when they are going to get to walk to the church with Daddy.  Well, right accross from our church is a little market called Arrowhead.  Our kids LOVE going to Arrowhead to get "special drinks" (usually....orange soda or bug juice).  So yesterday, on Jason's day off, we decided to walk down the road to Arrowhead.  However when we got to McDonalds (which is just a little bit shy of Arrowhead and the church)...the kids decided they were hungry for dinner, so we just ended up going there instead.

 The road we live on is kinda busy so we had to all hold hands.  The boys walking...

 And the girls walking...

 And this is how Austin ended up some of the time...

All in all, it was a great little trip!  Of course Jason said it took twice as long walking with all the kiddos.  But it was fun, and it was great exercise!  I'm sure the McDonalds we had kinda off-set the exercise, but that's ok, right?  Right. :)  Hopefully we'll have many more little adventures now that the weather is warming up!

We're still here...

There's been lots going on here in our household, but not a whole lot to really blog about...if that makes sense. So I'll just share a few snapshots I've taken over the last week or so.  Just of little moments throughout the day.  Like coffee/tea parties (where they mostly eat the sugar)...

 Or like one of the first times I actually noticed Austin actually playing by himself with a toy (usually he's into something, playing with/bothering the other 2, or playing with a ball)...

 Or when Miss Lily girl got herself some new glasses b/c her other ones broke.  I actually like these much better anyway...

 And when we stopped by the Lakeside Creamery to see Miss Madison and her calf.  (I would also like to quickly point out the attire of the children in this picture...only because this picture was taken on the 2nd of JUNE...yes, we have hit a cold front here in Maryland).

 And the morning when I walked into the living room and found this laying on the floor.  There's that "Kindergarten learning to read and write" at its best!  I later found out that Daniel was not happy because Jason would not let him buy his lunch at school that day.

 And finally, little Austin discovering how to write an "A."  It amazes me how much quicker the 3rd child learns due to what the first 2 teach him!  In this case, it's a good thing.

 So, anyway...there's a few snapshots of our life the last week or two.

Before I end, I would like to ask one favor to any of you prayer warriors that are reading.  Please pray for the Krull Family.  I do not know them personally, but I know many people who do as they live in the same small little county that Jason and I lived in for the first 5 years of our marriage.  Lucy Krull is 6 years old and was diagnosed with a very rare form of brain cancer last February.  She has fought hard this last year and has faced extensive chemo and radiation treatments and was for several months cancer-free.  I have been following her mother's blog for some time now, and just yesterday learned that Lucy's cancer has returned.  There is nothing more they can do.  Her parents are very strong Christians and have a very strong faith.  Lucy also has two siblings...an older sister, and a 1 year old brother.  I have never felt so close to a family I don't even know.  I am just passing the word along for all of you to please say a prayer for this family.  My heart is broken for them and I simply CANNOT imagine what they are going through.