Fun Fall Festivities

Our weekend was filled with all kinds of Fall fun. On Saturday evening, we met a bunch of friends at the local pumpkin patch. All day the kids were excited to go, so by the time they got there, they were full of energy. Emery wanted to ride the ponies and Moses wanted to go down a massive inflatable tiger slide. Both of these events were ridiculously overpriced, but sometimes you have to give in and it is totally worth seeing the smiles on your kids' faces.  was busy attending to Miss Amariah, so I didn't get too many pictures...

Emery rode Oats and she didn't want Daddy' s help. She is getting so big!

On Monday evening, some friends through a spectacular Halloween party. Everything about it was very planned out and it was so fun. We played games, had yummy treats, made our own caramel apples, trick or treated at each person's bedroom door, and took fun photos. I really wished that we could have stayed longer, but it started late and the kids were melting down quickly. 

Moses and Devon with their mustaches

Moses showing off his caramel apple. 

Their little bags of candy. Thanks friends for thinking of the kids!

I laughed when I saw these lips...anyone remember these? I am trying really hard to get a picture with one of the kids using them, but they are a little freaked out by them.

On Monday evening, some friends through a spectacular Halloween party. Everything about it was well planned out and it was so fun. We played games, had yummy treats, made our own caramel apples, trick or treated at each person's bedroom door, and took fun photos. I really wished that we could have stayed longer, but it started late and the kids were melting down quickly. Tomorrow we are taking the kids to a Fall Festival at a local church to wrap up all the fun. They are more excited to play the games than to get the candy and I am sure they will have a blast. I hope that you all have a safe and fun Halloween.

J-E-L-L-O

I have already said this, but I absolutely love being home. I enjoy doing activities with the kids and just spending time with them. I had to run into Walmart the other day to pick something up and found this Jello Mold, which is all the characters of Phineas and Ferb, for $1.00 I knew Moses would love it. We have already used it four times and when we finish Moses always brainstorms what color we are going to do next.  I wish they sold these in Princess or Hello Kitty style, but couldn't seem to find any on the internet. 

We have been trying to spend a lot of time outside because winter will be coming here soon and the kids don't get out much after the snow falls. The other day we went on an adventure at camp across the Suspension Bridge. It was a pretty big deal. Moses loved it, Emery wasn't so sure. I am always amazed at what the kids notice that I don't and how the smallest things can bring them so much joy. Moses' favorite part of the trip was drawing in the sand with a stick. So simple. 

Now that the cooler weather is coming, I need your help...What are some of your favorite indoor activities to do with your kids?

They Fit!

I can't even begin to tell you all how ecstatic I am right now! As some of you read, this morning I decided to put on some of my pre-pregnancy jeans and they fit! I didn't even have to try and squeeze myself into them or anything. When I picked them up off the ground, I was not expecting them to fit at all, I was just simply curious as to how long it could potentially be until I wore them again. Now before some of you freak out, I am not on a crazy diet or anything like that. I am not on a diet at all. In fact, I am eating more now than ever. I attribute being able to wear my pants again to a few things: I didn't gain much weight at all in my pregnancy, I was extremely active the whole time, I ate fairly well, and Amariah is a power eater. All of these things didn't happen in my last pregnancies. 

I am very aware of the fact that I just had a baby, so I know that my body has some limitations right now, but I am intentionally planning on how I will live after those limitations are removed. I am setting very distinct goals and methods on how I plan to reach them, all being very healthy and realistic. The reason that I am doing this is because pre-Amariah I was very unhappy with my body and with myself. I had gained 20 pounds post-Emery and was the biggest I had ever been. I had a million excuses, I had two kids, I worked full time, I didn't have time to exercise, my eating habits weren't that bad, etc. All I have to say to that is those were all lies I told myself and I will not live by them any longer.

The fact of the matter is this, I love food and struggle with moderation. One of my bosses always used to say, "If you say yes to something, you are saying no to something else." In this case, I was saying yes to food and no to being healthy. I was saying yes to chocolate and peanut butter (a deadly combo for me) and no to being able to wear the clothes that I wanted to. 

So what is my end goal? My first goal is to lose all of the weight I had gained with Amariah. I don't have a scale nor plan on owning one for awhile, so I don't know if I have achieved that yet or not. My second goal is to lose the extra 20 pounds I gained after I had Emery. My last goal is to get into a healthy range of weight for my height. The end number doesn't matter to me. I just want to be healthy which means I will exercise regularly and consistently make healthy eating choices. 

Once I really begin this journey, which will be when my doctor releases me to exercise and when he recommends that I can safely reduce my calorie intake (in a way that doesn't affect nursing) I will be posting regularly about my progress. At the bottom I have included a goal picture of what I want to look like when than process is done. Mind you, this is not a time in my life when I was at my thinnest, yet a time when I regularly exercised and practiced some decent eating habits. I understand however, that I have had three children since this picture and my body may not be capable of reaching this point, so this is just an idea. (This isn't the best example either, but I seriously have very few pictures that show my body):

  

Coal into Diamonds

Since Amariah was born early in the morning, we only had to spend one night in the hospital with her, so I was discharged when she was a day and a half old. The next morning I woke up and was feeling great physically and emotionally, so I went on with a normal morning routine. I was in the kitchen warming some food up when all of a sudden I felt lightheaded, dizzy, and lost vision in my left eye. It was one of the craziest things I have experienced with my body. Frantically I started searching for my discharge papers, because I remember them mentioning something like this. After I found them I called my doctor right away, which is what the papers instructed, and he told me to go the emergency room immediately. I tried to convince him to allow me to come to his office, since I had a two day old baby and didn't want to expose her to the germs in the ER, but he insisted that was where I needed to be and casually mentioned something about a stroke due to post delivery preclampsia. At that moment, I freaked out a little bit because during a point in my pregnancy they were worried about this.

We made it down to the ER and had quite the frustrating experience. The other local hospital had experienced a chemical leak and was shut down, so everyone was being directed to the ER of our hospital, so it was crazy busy. With all of this being said, they did test upon test and ruled out all major post delivery complications and attributed it to a migraine (which I get frequently). 

This experience illuminated some faulty thinking that I had regarding God. See, during my whole pregnancy I was fearful of having a baby that had some sort of complications or serious medical problems. I thought that God had already given me two healthy babies, so I ran a higher risk of having one that wasn't healthy. How twisted is that thinking? That God would only allow me to have so much good in my life before He authored some bad. So when this experience happened, my mind immediately jumped to the worst possible diagnosis because I felt like it was what I deserved. How is it that I could think this? God loves me and has good plans for my life. Even if he allowed me to experience challenges in labor or the birth of a child with serious complications, it would be okay.

I know several people that have children with severe medical issues and all of them have said that their lives are better off because of it. Would they have ever planned for those things? Absolutely not, but they are better people because of the limitations of their children. So often we run from things that we are scared of, but don't realize that those things can become the deepest growing areas of our lives. That God can use those areas to shape our lives in deeper, more meaningful ways than we could ever realize.   Some of the most amazing people that I have met in life, are people that have embraced their circumstances (good and bad) and have allowed God to use those. It is a messy process, but it is a worthwhile process.

I will never be able to fully understand the horrible things that happen in this world. I will never be able to comprehend why innocent people are victimized in horrible ways. I will never be able to understand why sicknesses and illnesses happen. So often we blame those things on God. I have been there and done that in my life. The fact of the matter is this. God is good. He is love. He has incredible plans for each and every single one of our lives. Even when we don't understand, when we doubt, when we are afraid, when we feel like our heart is in a million pieces, we can find rest and peace in knowing that God is good and that He is in control.

I read this quote on someone's Facebook or Pinterest the other day and it really seems to fit:

Being Home

One of the best parts about having Amariah, besides Amariah herself, is that I will be staying at home for the next two months! While I am at home, I am going to make the most of it spending as much time as possible with the kids, catching up at stuff around the house, and trying out new recipes. I have already adjusted to the slower pace and love it very much. Today Jarrell stayed with Amariah while the kids and I went on a date. It was good to be able to give them all my focus and attention. Our first stop was to pick up some hot chocolate for the slightly chilly morning. After we left the coffeehouse, we headed out on a nature walk. One of the best things about where we live is that it is conducive to all kinds of outdoor adventures.

We started our walk by talking about the seasons, particularly fall. 

Next we played a game of Which is Bigger with pinecones, sticks, leaves, rocks, etc.

Our next activity was collecting acorns so we could practice our counting.

The final stop was the playground for some free play. I love listening to my kids, they have the biggest imaginations. While we were out we went on a bear hunt, played house, had a birthday party (of course), tip toed up to a witches' house and knocked on the door, and went rock climbing up a mountain. I can't wait to see what other adventures are in store for us while I am home. 

Happy Birthday Amariah

My kids love birthdays. For them it isn't just about the presents or the cake. They love the decorations, people gathering together, balloons, the singing, but their favorite part is the candles. Almost every night they thank Jesus for birthdays (even if we haven't been to or had a party for weeks). We were really hesitant about the transition of Baby Amariah coming, so we always explained it as her birthday. Since it was her birthday, of course it called for a party. In my mind I thought we would bring home a cake, throw some candles on it, and sing Happy Birthday. 

I should have known better. The day that Amariah was coming home Moses asked a ton of questions about her party. Who was coming? What food would be there? What type of decorations? What type of cake? Jarrell quickly realized that both kids were expecting a full out party. When he got to the hospital, he relayed the information to me. The day the kids met Amariah was really hard on Mimi (she hid in a closet from the baby almost the whole time), so we decided that we needed to have this party for her and Moses. We knew that it would help them bond in a special way. So once we left the hospital, our first stop was Target where we picked up all the essentials. Hello Kitty became the decorations of choice. We were hoping that if Amariah liked Hello Kitty (which is Mimi's favorite) that Mimi would relate to her in some way. At this point,  I know that we probably sound crazy and like we over thought this whole thing, but in the end, it really was great for the kids. 

The party ended up being close to perfect, minus the fact that some very special people were missing. The kids loved celebrating Amariah and helping her blow out her candle:

Amariah's First Birthday Cake, with one candle (for one day old)

Singing Happy Birthday and getting ready to blow out the candle. (Thanks for the picture Jacob Kaiser)

Happy Birthday Amariah

Falling In Love With Fall

We have been so busy lately and there were so many things that I wanted to update all of you on, but never got around to. Basically, we have been enjoying the wonderful fall weather and spending our last month together as a family of four. I feel like it is such a bittersweet transition, definitely more sweet than bitter though :) Amariah will be joining us in approximately 5 days. I have already progressed quite a bit, so I am surprised that she hasn't made her entrance into the world yet. 

Some of the kids' favorite things to do right now are: skateboarding and bike riding, going down to the river, playing at the park, anything to do with Halloween (Moses wants to be a cowboy and Mimi wants to be Hello Kitty), and waiting for the snow (the kids are so excited to make snowmen). Also, Emery is really into dressing herself and the things that she comes up with are amazing! I can't believe I don't have any pictures to show you, but if you can imagine every type of accessory possible paired with pants, a tutu, a long sleeve shirt, and a short sleeve shirt, and two different shoes that is Emery's style. I always joke that if Heidi, Michael, or Nina saw her they would be seriously concerned about her styling and editing choices. (That is for all your Project Runway Lovers)

Here are some pictures to catch you all up... 

If you can't tell Emery was super excited for the pumpkin lollipop. She said, "Thank you mommy for getting this for me" at least twenty times

Emery is still super excited. Moses has never really understood the concept of lollipops

Emery conquering the monkey bars triangles (as she refers to them) with Daddy's help

Trying to do the climbing wall like Bubba.

Moses is proud of himself for making it to the top of the climbing wall

Daddy showed Moses a new way to go down the slide

I hope that you all are enjoying the fall weather as much as us!

Chocolate Covered, Mickey Mouse Strawberries

Yesterday I knew that I had a limited amount of time at home from the time that I got off work until I was leaving to go spend some time with girlfriends. As much as I need time away by myself, I can feel guilty taking that time away from the kids, but I know that balance for myself is important and healthy. Since this was planned, earlier in the week I thought of a special project that I knew that I could quickly do with Moses before I left, to spend some one on one time with him and make it a "special night" even though I was leaving. 

Thanks to inspiration of a friend, I picked up some strawberries, chocolate dip, and Mickey Mouse toothpicks to make chocolate covered strawberries, kid style. This is a super easy process that allows little hands to do the whole thing. Moses kept talking about future possibilites such as sprinkles, marshmallows, etc. so I feel like this will be a regular occurrence in our house. 

Here are some fun pictures:

Of course our Strawberries had to have Mickey Mouse toothpicks in them! This was such a fun project and it only took ten minutes total. We even threw in a little education in the mix with colors and counting, which is always good with Moses because I think that he is a kinesthetic learner. 

What are some activities that you enjoy doing with your children? I am always looking for fun little projects.