Missing Ava!

It's been a bit more quiet.

There has been noticeably less art up on the fridge, walls, nightstands etc.

There has also been less arguing between siblings.

There has been a dress up princess sidekick missing her dress up princess leader, because brother's just aren't the same when it comes to donning twirly dresses, sparkly crowns, and high heel shoes.

Our car quartet has now become a trio when it comes to belting out our musical numbers in the van.

The strong spirited girl with a huge chunk of my heart is being missed (even if her brother doesn't admit to this and says with absolute conviction that she can just stay with Nana)!

We are happy she is having some great one on one time with family and being loved and spoiled. She deserves it!

Although next time she plans to leave I think we truly wont be able to let her go, "we'll eat her up we love her so!"

WE LOVE YOU AVA!!! We cannot wait to see you in a week and a half when you get back!! Expect to be tackled with kisses, squeezes, and possibly some spicy kisses from daddy!! xoxoxo

Destin and Big News!

So I realize that I actually took a vacation when we were in Florida two weeks ago and only had my camera out for the first 20 minutes we arrived and then it stayed in my hotel room the rest of the time. I'm sad I didn't take more pictures, but think maybe it's time to invest in a pretty good point and shoot because my love is way to heavy to lug around and not to mention I was paranoid of sand, water, algae, etc getting in it.

With that said we had an AMAZING time in Sandestin. Debbie looked absolutely gorgeous at the wedding, by far one of the prettiest brides ever (seriously sad I didn't even take out my camera for the reception, guess that's what happens when you are having fun!)

Thankfully, there was no oil on the beach when we were there (although lots of algae). Our resort was great and the kids had so much fun spending lots of time in the pool!

Onto our big news. We are moving back to Washington. Yes, you read that right. We LOVE Lawrence, and I mean really love it here and have some amazing friends we have met, but Steve's job (once again) had some changes take place after being bought out by an investment company. We lost a week of time off, but the biggest (and main problem) is that all the travel. I'm so thankful that my husband is a family man and not a workaholic. So in order to keep us number one above work, we decided that we should go back to the shipyard.

We would love to move back east with my parents but we are done with the new job hunt, expectations, reliability, etc. We know exactly what we are getting at the shipyard, the benefits really cannot be beat - all paid holidays, paid overtime, better retirement (and we are planning on staying at least until the kids graduate from school), and what little travel there is to great places like San Diego (not that I'm saying Hutchinson, KS isn't great, it's just not our ideal vacation spot.) Steve will be going into the Nuclear Facilities group, and should be doing a lot of the same work he does now.

It's beautiful out there (which is an understatement), we have great friends there, know the area, and the weather is much more mild. I'm pretty sure I can live without the tornadoes, craziest thunderstorms I have ever seen, the 110 degree on the heat index summer days, and the negative thirty degree weather. Oh and the bugs, way less freaky bugs there!

We are starting to figure out where we will live: Bremerton, Silverdale, Poulsbo, Seabeck, or Port Orchard (sorta toying with Bainbridge). We will be leaving Lawrence about the 28th of July. It really will be bittersweet - Steve has enjoyed the work he's done (minus the travel) and
we will absolutely miss some really great friends we have met out here and you can bet that we will be back to visit!

Here are some of the very few snapshots from Destin (mainly of Ava who likes the camera 99% more than my other two lovies).

Catching Up!

Happy Father's Day!!!
I'm so very thankful for the amazing husband, we are pretty crazy about him in this house!!

I thought I would try and come out of hibernation and start posting again. My poor blog has been so neglected this past year, with only random posts here and there. I can't promise it still won't be random, but I'm going to do my best to try and post as much as possible.
The biggest reason for this long past hiatus was that I was feeling super crummy for a couple months. I was exhausted beyond belief and not able to eat much of anything because we are pregnant!! Number four will be making his or her debut in November! We are beyond thrilled for this new little blessing in our life.
I will go ahead and answer the most popular questions being asked of us.
1) Was this a surprise? Yes and No. Yes in the fact that we got pregnant so quickly and no, because at the beginning of the year we decided after a year of praying about it and two years of discussing it on and off that we did indeed want to go ahead and add one more to our bunch.

2) Are you going to find out the sex? Nope, we did not find out with Gia and we loved the added surprise at the end of the pregnancy. We found out with both Ava and Mateo. Although I do think it is exciting to know both ways, we kind of feel like it's comparable to knowing what you are getting for Christmas. You are still excited for that present but when Christmas actually comes there isn't that element of surprise there. We also get to guess whether we will end up with another blondie like Ava or brunette like Teo and Gia.

3) Will you being have this one at home? Yes, as of now that is the plan. I personally cannot imagine having it any other way. As long as this pregnancy continues to go smoothly and everyone is healthy we plan on having a home birth with a midwife.

4) What do the kids think? They are so very excited!! They talk about the baby all the time, ask if the baby is hungry when I'm eating, pray for the baby at night. It's very sweet listening to them.

5) Four kids!! Are you Crazy?! Um.... have you met us? As was said in Alice in Wonderland, "I'm afraid so. We're entirely bonkers. But I'll tell you a secret. All the best people are." As I said before we really did pray about this, and it was not a decision taken lightly. We like leaving decisions up to God in our family, it makes the most sense for us, and life although not always easy seems to run better when it's in His hands and not our own!

Well it's late but I wanted to post our news and update the blog. I also hope to be sharing some other big news of ours this week, we are just waiting on something first!

I'll leave you with a picture my talented photographer friend Kim took of me while we were at a conference in Banff.

Three

3 years ago today we met the eyes of a beautiful baby girl for the first time. I still remember how anxious we all were waiting for her to finally come. Gianna's due date came and went and so did my patience. I wanted to take in all of those last moments of being pregnant, feeling her move, but I was so ready to finally hold her, and she was most definitely worth the wait.
Her birth was such an amazing experience. Both Mateo and Gia were born at home (yes on purpose) with a midwife. It was beautiful having her at home surrounded by my husband and kids. It was like almost any other day at home, except we had a baby. I couldn't imagine doing it any other way.

Today our littlest blessing is turning three and it's somewhat hard for me to comprehend. Time is most definitely fleeting. She is a little daredevil and has always believed herself to be just as big as the other two. She makes us laugh with her fashion sense and her contagious laughter or smile. She is an amazing gift from God, and everyday I thank Him for sending her to us. I can't wait to see how she turns out and the road she takes. I know God has huge plans for her.

Happy Birthday Squeaker! Thank you for your kisses, your laughter, and the way you pull at our heart strings with those big brown eyes of yours! "You cannot go, we'll eat you up, we love you so!"

Beautiful Life!

I'm working on revamping up and restarting this blog, but couldn't wait to post about the most amazing birth story I have ever read.

It is so full of honest raw emotion, so wonderfully written (you will hang on to her every word) and is truly beautiful! Make sure you grab your Kleenex box for this one, trust me you will need it. This post will move you beyond words!


http://enjoyingthesmallthings.blogspot.com/2010/01/nella-cordelia-birth-story.html

Writing Again, Discovering Me.

I used to write all the time. In college and high school I always kept a journal, it was a great outlet for me. I miss writing. I haven't really written out my innermost thoughts in awhile. I miss how my thumb hurts after I finish writing a really good entry (I hold my pen/pencil differently than most people and it kills my thumb if I have to write for a long period of time). I think the past couple of months I've gotten caught up in the hustle and bustle that we have been living. There has been so much going on the past 6 months.
Moving to Lawrence.
Steve traveling or working overtime
Getting the kids back in a schedule
Trying to meet new friends
Getting back in the gym
Getting my Photography business off the ground
trying to find a church family
having friends and family visit
Visiting friends and family out of state.
waiting for our house to sell
keeping up with the housework and laundry
trying to budget our finances
trying not to bite off more than we can chew.
and now fall is here. I need to breathe. I need to let go of all of these things that are running through my head. I need to remind myself that tomorrow is never promised, and that I don't need to be a super hero, I need to be me. I need to take in the moments around me. I need to learn to say no. I need live more simply, I need to show my husband and kids each day how much I love them, I need to show my kids how blessed we are by God's amazing grace and I think maybe it's time to pick up a new journal again and write.

Blessed.

Even though Steve is gone
Even though the kids weren't listening to well today
Even though the laundry pile has grown into a mountain again
Even though I miss my friends
Even though our house is still for sale
Even though money is tight
Even though I'm exhausted

I am forgiven, I am loved, I have true riches, and I am truly BLESSED.