Most years, I LOVE the holidays. I like to cook Thanksgiving dinner and have everyone over at my house. I love decorating the tree and doing our Christmas traditions with the kids. I usually always send out Christmas cards and prepare for Christmas day all of December. This year, it just wasn't there. I was avoiding the holiday season like the plague. All I could think about was trying to afford all the Christmas gifts for my kids on our salary or disappointing/upsetting someone when we chose when/where we were spending Christmas. I spend most of my days very tired and all the extra work did not sound fun to me this year. My idea of a good Christmas, was my warm bed and a good book. I basically had turned into a Grinch. Well, obviously God had other plans for me.

It began with a Christmas concert Jeremy and I had bought tickets to about 2 months before. It was a Chris Tomlin concert with Christy Nockels and Louie Giglio (sp?) was speaking. We almost didn't make the concert, Caroline came home from school that day with strep. The music was wonderful and it helped me remember how much I love teaching my children all of the Christmas carols. Then Louie stood up and spoke. He basically hit home. He spoke of the true meaning of Christmas in a way I had never heard it presented. He spoke about the verse in Luke that talks about God's word becoming flesh. I immediately felt humble, realizing how many things I should be grateful far and how my complaints had little to do with the actual meaning of Christmas. I went home from that concert with a more open feeling about Christmas and a desire to make sure my kids understood the true meaning.

To be honest, I would have been good with just that kind of reminder, but there was more. A few days later, I find out that an internet buddy, with whom I had met while pregnant with Thatcher, little boy (who is the same age as Thatch) was diganosed with leukemia. Now, I am watching through Facebook this family battle this news so bravely. They seem to be taking it all in stride and all I could feel at first was guilt. My problems with Christmas seemed to be so insignificant now.

The last thing that happened was so heart wrenching that I still tear up thinking about it. I grew up with a couple who were not family by blood but helped my mother raise me. Pud and JC were like a second set of parents for me and I always knew that they love me like one of thier own. Because we were so close to Pud and JC, we were also close to thier relatives. Last Saturday, Pud's brother Pat was in a hunting accident. Pat was not injured but he accidentally shot his 42 yr old son, Kyle. Kyle died leaving a wife and 2 sons.

All of these events, have affected me in so many ways but most of all I am no longer a Grinch. I look around my house, with the Christmas tree and stockings hung from my fireplace, and I have so many things to be grateful for. I have a husband who is so wonderful and loves me unconditionally. I have five healthy, sweet, beautiful children who think I am the greatest mom in the world. But most of all, I have a God that sent his only Son as an infant into a world full of sin. This Son, Jesus, gave his life as the ultimate sacrifice for my sins, so that I could live an eternity with God.

Life is too short for us to spend the holiday stressing about buying the "perfect" gifts, what parties to go too or how much we will get from everyone. We should spend our holidays, enjoying family traditions, making strangers smile and most of all spreading the love that Christ brought to earth for all of us.
So from my family to yours

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

Basketball Season has begun!

Since the time I found out Caroline was a girl, I have waited for this moment in life. It is winter basketball season, Caroline is playing and I get to coach her!! I don't know what I would have done if she really didn't like sports. I am so excited about coaching. The age group is 7/8 yr old girls and I have 8 girls varying in skill level. I only knew a few girls from our summer session, so I basically guessed on who to pick. There are 9 teams, and only 2 other female coaches. The men coaches seem to be a little competitive, but they seem very nice.

As far as teams go, my team seems to be decent. We have only had 2 practices. My girls are sweet and mostly well behaved. The parents seem to be very nice too. I have so much I want to teach my girls. I want them to be great ball players, but I also hope to show them how much fun basketball is. I am so nervous about our first game, it is a little over a week away and I am already planning. LOL! Part of me doesn't care if we win, because all I want is my girls to learn and improve. The other, more competive me, wants to wipe the floor with all the other teams. Especially the teams coached by the guys. I get the impression that they think the "chunky girls coach" doesn't know much about basketball. Now that is just a feeling I get, no one has said anything outright. Maybe it is my insecurities playing out, not sure. All I know is that this is gonna be FUN!!

The TV Monster

I know it has been awhile and I should probably do an update but this is a topic that I would like some help on.

Our summer was a complicated one, with me being pregnant and Ayden getting HFM disease. We spent alot of time inside or with company here to help me with the kids. One of the results of this past summer is Thatcher watches way too much TV. And of course, Ayden is not far behind him. Now that I am feeling better and getting a handle on having 3 little ones at home, I would really like to cut down the TV watching time during the day. That is where I am stumped!! I run out of things for them to do. I need things that they can do while I clean or take care of Blake and also things we can do together. Also these things need to be things we can do at home.(taking all 3 to the park by myself is a task I only take on occasionally) Any suggestions?

Here are some things we already do together:
playdough
coloring
They both "help" me clean when I can let them.

Please post your comments on things for us to do, any help would be greatly appreciated!!

Blake's Story

A week before Blake arrived, I started having strange symptoms. I felt achy and would break out in cold sweats. After a day in the hospital, I was diagnosed with pregnancy induce hypertension and sent home on bedrest. I have to say, that bedrest, is AWFUL! My mom was at my house to help. It was very hard to watch her do everything while I sat in a chair and did nothing. I did not feel bad unless I got up and moved around. The dr. told me when I was released from the hospital that, he was gonna induce at 37 weeks because of my PIH. Well, 37 weeks also happened to be the week before school started for my older girls and we still needed school supplies and uniforms. So Monday afternoon, August 2nd, I went to Target to get uniforms with Jeremy and the girls. I was suppose to ride one of those carts that you drive around but they were both being charged and I figured if I started to feel bad I would just sit down. The shopping trip went well and I had no trouble.

The next morning about 3 am, I woke up to go pee and when I sat on the pot, there was gush, that was not me peeing. I was a little confused but still half asleep so I ignored it and went back to bed. Well, at 5 am when I woke up again to go to the bathroom, the gush happened again. A little light went off in my head and I realized my bag of water had a leak. So I woke Jeremy up and we headed to the hospital. There we found out that, my water was leaking and I was admitted. My dr. let me go until noon, to see if I was going to start labor without any medication to help. At about 1 pm they started me on pitocen. Somewhere in the trips to the bathroom, my bag of water broke completely. It wasn't until about 7 that I started to really feel the contractions. I got my epidural at about 8:30 or 9:00 pm when I was about 5 to 6 cm dialated. I was ready to push at about 11:45 pm but the dr. didn't get there until 12:20 am, so I waited. Once everything was set up, I pushed 3 or 4 times and Blake came!! It was my easiest delivery!

We came home about 2 days later. Life has been hectic since. We have had Ayden's 1st birthday, party, since Blake was born on his birthday. Lots of people came to visit and see our new baby. Now it is just us! It goes pretty smoothly most days. Jeremy caught a cold, now Ayden has it. The girls started school. OH! And Caroline's team won thier league tournament, after placing 4 out of 5 for the season. Hopefully with all that is going on, I can keep up with the blog too!

And then there were 5

At 12:40 am on August 4, 2010, Blake Mykal was born. She came into this world weighing 7lbs 2ozs and was 18 1/2 inches long. She is a beautiful baby. Her due date was August 23 but obviously she doesn't like schedules. We are home and doing well. My family has left so now I get to experience the joys and hustle of being a mother to 5 children 8 and under. We are so in love with this little miracle that I can not imagine how we ever thought we were done with Ayden. Her birth story will show up in the next few blogs. I am just too tired to blog anymore.

So very excited!!

God has played a very HUGE role in both Jeremy and I's life. But I have to admit, as far as church attendance, we have not been the greatest. In Monroe,we had a student ministry that we were very involved in. When we moved to Jennings, we tried Bethel, where the girls eventually went to school. I hate to admit it but Bethel was never really a church home for us. We always felt like we didn't quite fit in and so it was a real struggle to attend church on Sunday or Wednesdays. Jeremy became a member at Bethel because that is where he was baptized. I still remained a member at the church I grew up in.

This past Sunday, we joined a new church. We have visited it several times and it was so welcoming from the start. Everytime I would leave thier church services, I always wanted to go back for more. I wanted to join after the second visit but Jeremy was a little more cautious. Finally, Sunday, he was ready to join too. The people there are so nice and welcoming. I am ready to become involved and meet people. It hasn't been since high school (at the church where I grew up) that I had a REAL church home. I miss the friendships and the learning experiences that come with going to church regularly. I also want my kids to grow up with a church family that will teach them and support them.

Finding a church is another step towards making Mandeville our home. We are still adjusting to this new home town and hopefully this is a good step forward.

Thank goodness June is over!!

Well our June started off really nice with our vacation but then everything went down hill. The last day and a half of our vacation, Ayden began to run a pretty high fever. It got to where we were rotating Motrin and Tylenol every 2hrs just to keep his fever down. On the 3rd day of this fever(we were home by this time), his lips broke out with what looked like fever blisters. I had never seen a baby have fever blisters so young but I am prone to having them and so is Caroline so I thought maybe b/c his fever had gotten so high he broke out. At the end of the 3rd day, we realized that not only were the blisters on his lips but also all over the inside of his mouth.
So the next morning, Jeremy brought Ayden to the dr. He had hand, foot, and mouth disease. If you don't know what that is, LOOK IT UP, if you have kiddos or want them in the near future. Caroline had it when she was little but not nearly as bad as Ayden. I didn't think it could get that bad. For a week, unless he was sleeping he was crying or laying on my lap. He was HORRIBLY sick!! It actually took 2 weeks before he was getting back to normal. But let me take a step back, a week after Ayden started running fever, Thatcher started. So I had two sick kids for another week. Thatcher was not nearly as sick as Ayden but he ran the high fever and was miserable for about 2 weeks.
Now everything was getting back to normal this week when our A/C went out. It has been HOT HOT HOT at our house for about 3 days. The guys are here today fixing it. So yesterday, we used some of Jeremy's hotel points and stayed at a hotel with an indoor swimming pool so the kids could swim and sleep in a cool room. We all had a blast!!
July started yesterday and I am looking forward to this month being a little easier. Caroline has started basketball and is loving it. By the end of the month, I will have a nephew, Gabriel and next month Blake comes. We got some good news about Blake. They are looking at an induction date of Aug 15th or around there. I am really looking forward to the last part of our summer being less stressful than the first part!

Our trip to the beach and a Baby Blake update.

Today, I am 30 weeks pregnant. Everything seems to be going great. I lost 11lbs at the very begining of this pregnancy then gained it back. Today, I found out I lost 2lbs of the 11lbs that have returned. As far as weight gain, this has been my best pregnancy so far. I also found out Blake sounds healthy but is measuring at 33 weeks. Looks like we are gonna have another big baby. SURPRISE!! No, not really. Blake is measuring like Caroline did and Caroline was 9lbs 7ozs, which is big but not Thatcher big. So I am okay with it. It is very strange to thing in September, Jeremy and I will be the parents of 5 children.

On to our beach trip... WE HAD A BLAST!! We spent a ton of time in the pool and on the beach. Thatcher and Kylie loved the pool b/c the waves were extremely high on the days we were there. The red flag was out everyday except the last day when it was a yellow flag. The vacation started out with Kylie clinging to us in the pool scared to let go. By the end of it, she was doggie paddling across the whole pool without holding on to anyone. This was Thatch's first time in a big pool and he loved swimming with his daddy. He was very relaxed in the water. Caroline is our little water bug. She could swim constantly. She went out on the beach with me and I taught her how to body surf and the next day, Jeremy taught her how to dive under the waves to see what fish were swimming around through her goggles. Ayden was not bad but did not enjoy the water all that much. He had a hard time with the sun being so bright. He ended up running a high fever the last day but that is a whole other post in itself.

Since we have returned from vacation, life has been hectic to say the least. But that story is for another day.

Summer has begun

Well, it is official school is out. I am loving it. I like not having to be up at a certain time in the morning or having to be home at a certain time to see the girls off the bus. My big girls also help alot at home. Now I can go to the bathroom and Caroline can watch Ayden. They also help me pick up. I have horrible back pain with this pregnancy so bending and picking up toys or anything else kills me. The girls do most of the picking up for me.

We have been on our own pretty much for the last two weeks. Jeremy has a job that is last minute, so basically, all he has been doing it working either from home or at the office. It has been a bit overwhelming for me. Jeremy is a HUGE help. He takes a lot of stress off of me when he gets home from work. Lately, he gets home, eats, and gets back on his laptop to work some more. The kids are having a hard time b/c they miss playing with Daddy. Thank goodness it will all be over in a couple of days.

We are all very excited about going to the beach. My wonderful inlaws have rented a condo for a week on the beach and we are going to stay with them for 4 days. The kids are so excited!! Jeremy will be finished with this project so we will all be able to relax for a little while and enjoy each others company.

Right now, my mom and younger sister are visiting. It has been nice b/c they are helping out when Jeremy is working. My kids love when Granny and thier aunts come to visit. Another exciting news is Jeremy's sister will be coming home for awhile. She may even get a job here and stay. YIPEE!!

So as you can see our summer is moving forward pretty nicely. For our Baby Blake update, she is doing well and such a wiggle worm. I think she may be a soccer player. She kicks hard for only 28 weeks. Thatcher seems to have taken to this pregnancy much better than with Ayden's. He kisses my belly and asks what Blake is doing all the time. I am feeling okay. I have started walking more and it helps alot. I still have days where I feel very overwhelmed and totally exhausted but they seem to come less.

Our First visit Home..

As most of you know, we moved across the state over last Christmas. Since then we have been extremely busy unpacking, adjusting, and trying to make new friends. A couple of weeks ago, I took the boys with me for a couple of days during the week and went back home to visit my mom and her family. Well this past weekend, we were suppose to go back. It started with a canoe trip, that I desperately wanted to go on. The problem is that I can not, at 6 1/2 months preggo, sit in a canoe for 8 hours. My hips and back would not like me for awhile after that. So it was decided that Caroline (she didn't want to go canoeing), Ayden (he is too small),and I would travel home while Jeremy, Kylie, and Thatch went camping and canoeing over the weekend. That was the plan anyway, until Tuesday of last week when Kylie woke up with a horrible stomach virus that lasted 2 almost 3 days. We then decided that the canoe trip would be cancelled and Kylie and Caroline would come home with me. Being in a canoe all day, would have been too hot for Kylie after a week of being so sick. Jeremy would stay in Mandeville with the boys. Somehow, when our car left on Friday at 4pm, my whole family was in the car.

Our weekend was such a good one. Caroline was able to meet with her old school friends for lunch. We hung out with my mom and sisters and other close family friends. On the trip over there, when we got into Jennings (the town where the girls attended school), it was like they were at Disney World pointing out all of the sites that interested them. They squeeled when they saw thier old school. I overheard Kylie telling Caroline "Sissy, Mandeville is our fake home but Roanoke is our real home!".

It is so hard as a parent to hear things like that. My kids did a wonderful job adjusting to thier new school and home, but I know if they had a choice, they would jump at moving back. In my heart, I know that God's plan is for us to live here. I know that having thier Daddy home every afternoon means the world to my children. I just wish there was a way I could save them from the heartbreak. I wish I could save them from the tears and cries as we pull out the driveway to head back to Mandeville. I guess as a mother, I just want to shelter them from any hurt or ache. The reality of it is that all I can do is show them that sometimes we don't understand why God puts us in places until much later in life, sometimes we never know. But no matter what, He is there holding our hands and helping us through every step.

Mothers' Day

My Mothers'Day weekend was wonderful!! I recieved everything I wanted. Jeremy came home early the Friday before to hang out with me. Being a stay at home mom, I get very bored for adult company sometimes. Well while he was home, I got a delivery from FEDEX. It was a beautiful bouquet of tulips.(they are my favorite!!). Saturday we did softball games in the morning. After we came home and napped from the very HOT morning at the park, we went shopping. Our favorite place to shop is Target, so of course, we had a blast. I had been thinking of getting a Shark steam mop for our kitchen and bathroom floors. Well Jeremy, got the mop while we were at Target. That mop is AWESOME!! It uses just water, no chemicals and cleans like a fool!! I have had it for about a week and I have mopped my floors 3xs.(this is coming from someone who hates to mop) On Sunday, we spent the day at my inlaws. My kids played in thier sandbox and the little plastic pool they have. Jeremy and I fished for a little while. The weekend was so wonderful.

Being a mother, has taught me so many things. But most importantly, it has taught me to value every single moment, all of the hugs, kisses, and "i love yous". I love the "AH HA" moments when they figure out something on thier own. I have also learned that no matter how old you are or how many kids you have, you can never be an "expert mother" and know everything. Every day and every child is a new learning experience.

Softball Season

Let me start off by saying that for those that don't know, Rich baby #5 is a GIRL!! We are so excited and can't wait to hold our little girl. Her name will be Blake Mychal. Secondly, I know in my last post I mentioned writing a blog on just Caroline my oldest. I can't seem to have the time to do it and I wonder about security for my child. So I am postponing any blogs about individual kids until I think about it much further.

Now on to the topic of the day. Softball season in our house has begun. Neither of my girls were too excited that Mommy forced them to play this year. I felt they needed something besides school to keep them busy and help them make friends. Well needless to say we are very busy.

Kylie is playing t-ball. She is (if you don't already know) our girlie girl. But she seems to be handling it pretty well. She enjoys her practices and games. She daydreams ALOT and we have to remind her to run or watch the ball continuously. Most of the other little girls are about the same in skill level, so Kylie doesn't stand out as a good or bad player. Even though she whined when I told her she was going to play, now she asks when her games are and gets excited.

Caroline is our athlete, so I thought when I mentioned softball she would be so excited. I was completely wrong, all she cared about at the time was soccer. Caroline is playing 7/8 yr old girl coach pitch. She took to catching and throwing naturally. Her batting needed a little work but Caroline has the knack of being taught something only once and remembering it always. It took us one afternoon to get her to understand when she batted to swing not just with her arms but with her hips too. She has played about 4 or 5 games and has fallen in love with the sport. She is begining to get all of the rules. She is an above average player for a first year. (if I do say so myself) She usually plays 1st base, 3rd base, and occasionally left field. She was so excited the other night, she tagged a runner that had stepped off of first and got an out.

Now I know you have to go be thinking what about the other two Rich kids. Well the boys are being toted to the field frequently. They do pretty well. Where Caroline plays there is a little playground with slide and monkey bars and that keeps Thatcher pretty entertained. Ayden usually naps or snacks and watches the game.

As far as Jeremy and I, we are usually exhausted at the end of softball days. If the girls games overlap then we each grab a girl and a boy go to a game. One afternoon, Jeremy was late getting home from work so I had all 4 at the park by myself. That was a very unique afternoon. I had two on the playground, one playing softball on the field, and a fourth demanding my attention.(all of this being 6 month preggo.)

But to be honest, with as exhausting as it is, we love every minute of it. We love forward to practices and game days. The smiles on our girls faces when they get an out or hit the ball, is priceless.

An update

Since my last post, I have to admit my mood has brighten. I have started to feel much better and not so exhausted all the time. We have had some bumps along the way but I seem to be handling everything a lot better than I was. My normal optimistic self is returning.

So I finally made it to the dr. for baby #5. I called one dr. last Monday and they had to approve me, so I waited for a call back. I called back Wednesday, just to make sure they had not forgotten me and they promised to call me back that afternoon. Needless to say, this Monday I finally, just called another dr. They got me in very quickly b/c I was already about 17 weeks. So Tuesday, we met my dr.'s nurse practitioner. She is AWESOME!! The office is not csection happy, which is great since I tend to have large babies and most dr.'s want to csection large babies. She worked over time with the doppler to hear our little one's heartbeat b/c he/she would not keep still. I felt very comfortable and am scheduled for a ultrasound Monday. So maybe Monday, we will know what baby #5 is. We are all hopeing for a girl but will be blessed with whatever God gives us. I am also measuring a little bigger (19 weeks) so they may move my due date up.

I am sick with a sinus infection so my mom and little sis, Madison came for a couple of days to help me out. Pud (an old family friend) is coming tomorrow to help out with the rest of the week and weekend.

Big news for our family, Jeremy's brother Jason and his wife, Sheri are having a baby BOY!! My first nephew, I am so excited about having a nephew!!

The rest of my crew is doing really well. My next blog will be about my big girl, Caroline. She is growing up so fast and accomplishing so much. I need to give her a whole entry.

Lately....

Lately, I have been in what you may call a funk. My life, since Ayden has been born, has been extremely hectic. I was sick, then Ayden was sick, then we packed up and moved across the state. When we moved, I was so excited. I would be were there was daycare available at the gym, so I could actually go work out. I was done having babies, so now I would have time to make friends. I would have neighbors that were my age and not retirees. My husband would be home every night. All of these bubbles were popped in about 2 weeks time.

I guess my biggest blow was finding out I was pregnant again. I know it is a blessing but it is still very hard for me to wrap my mind around. In my head, I was done. I had my family and was quite content. I still get very overwhelmed thinking about have an infant, a 1 yr. old, a 3 yr old, a 6 yr old and an 8 yr. old. Right now there never seems to be enough of me to go around. To add someone else who needs me just blows my mind. Add to this, that now Jeremy works in Houma and it just gets more overwhelming by the minute. Now don't get me wrong, Jeremy is home every night but Houma is 2 hours from our house. So he is lucky to be home by 5:30 or 6 in the afternoon.

Now I know my life is not horrible and I have tons to be grateful for but these few things really sent me down. I have a hard time thinking about making friends because I would be a horrible friend. I spend so much time taking care of my family, I barely have time for myself. So I have basically pouted for the last month.

Next week starts a new week and hopefully a new outlook for me. I will be 15 weeks pregnant and I can not spend the rest of this pregnancy feeling sorry for myself. I am going to work harder at trying new things around here and being more active. God has blessed me in an abundance and I am very grateful for all of it.

I am not sure why I have written all of this. Maybe just so those other mom's out there that feel overwhelmed like me know that they are not alone. Maybe I feel like if I write down my new outlook, I am more likely to follow through with it. My new verse is
" I can do all things through Christ who strengtheneth me." Philippians 4:13

Saying Good bye

Last week we lost a very important member of our family. Our dog, Ava. Ava has been Caroline's dog for 4 yrs now. We got her for Caroline's 4th birthday from some people down the street who were giving away free puppies. She was the sweetest dog any of us have every had. This was Jeremy and I 's first experience of parenting a child through the loss of a beloved pet. It was definitely one of those days, we wished our kid came with a manuel.

Her day started out normal with us letting her out of the garage to go back to the back yard. I looked out several times that day and saw her playing in the backyard. That night Jeremy went out to feed her and everything seemed fine. 15 minutes later, he went back out to bring her in for the night and she was dead. The best the vet can figure without autopsy is that her intestines flipped and she died suddenly.

We all cried! In fact, we still tear up b/c she is not there when we open our back door. She was so wonderfully obedient and sweet. When we would bring the boys outside when they were babies, she would sit at the foot of thier jumpers or swings like she was babysitting them. She is and always will be missed.

Here are some memories of our favorite pooch:

Exhaustion

I remember being pregnant for Caroline and thinking I was so exhausted. I was working full time and going to school. I thought there was no way I could get any more tired. Then I discovered a whole new realm of tired when I was pregnant for Kylie and chasing a two yr old Caroline through the house. Each pregnancy has taught me new things about myself. This one is teaching me how tired I can actually be and still function. Jeremy is a wonderful help and gets up most night but I am at that point in pregnancy that you are always tired. Add to that two school age kids with homework, a toddler that likes to climb, and a clingy 5 month old and you get a very exhausted Mom. I am not a a very good house wife to begin with, never really wanted to be one just kinda fell into it. So add in my exhaustion and that is not a good combo. Thank God, I have a wonderful husband that doesn't expect a perfect household.

And then there were 5

Alot of things have happend since my last post. We are now in our new home and the girls have start thier new school. We celebrated Christmas and New Years with wonderful family. Then we found out the astounding news. We are expecting..... AGAIN!! No this was not planned and yes we know how it happens. BUT... we also know all those proventive methods and were using all of them. We don't have insurance so we were saving for Jeremy to get snipped. Well... obviously God had other plans. I have to admit, excitement was not my first reaction. I have been pregnant for 3 of the 8 yrs we have been married. I was looking forward to getting back in shape and enjoying my family, that felt complete. The hope that I cling on to is God knows what he is doing. He has a great big plan for our family and we should always trust in Him. Now this is all being said after about a week of prayer and doubts going His way. Jeremy and I have always said that our verse is "Walk by faith, not by sight". God seems to remind us of that alot.