Christmas Shopping

Yes, I've already started our Christmas shopping. About a month ago I did some shopping on Amazon. Worked out great- free shipping, arrives in a couple of days, and oh. so. easy. . I L.O.V.E. Internet shopping, especially with the fact that we have 4 children 5 and under . . . 3 of which are under 3! :-) Anyway, I have my little spreadsheet in Excel that has all the kid's names and what they're getting. Helps for several reasons:
1. Reminds me what I've gotten, if for some reason everything isn't in the same spot when it comes time to wrap or put out on Christmas Eve.
2. Helps make sure everything is equal cost wise, because we do believe in that. We love them (the kids) all the same right?!?! And, it isn't hard to do. So, why not?
3. We give each child 3 presents and a stocking, then they get one combined present from their siblings. The other siblings get to pick it out- it will be more fun as they grow older. Then, they exchange the presents on Christmas Eve- great tradition and wasn't started Austin's 1st Christmas at home.  Not sure if I wrote last year about the 3 presents, but we hope it will help our children remember the reason for the season. Our children get so much from all 3 sets of grandparents, aunt/uncles, friends, etc.. . so we just don't want their memory of the holidays to be all about the massive number of presents. So, the spreadsheet helps me make sure everyone has the same number as well.
4. Then, I also lists the other people we buy for and list what they're getting as well. I try to keep all the grandparents equal as well as our nieces/nephew.
So my spreadsheet may be a little crazy, but it really helps me stay organized and with 4 little ones that is absolutely necessary. :-)
So, yes I've started shopping and not too far away form being done.  Want to know what other awesome website I'm using? Zulily It's pretty cool. Everyday at 9am they have a new lists of deals in housewares, personalized items, kids and women's attire, books, toys etc. Most everything has been a good deal. Then, you buy it . . . tax free, ship it, and it arrives on your doorstep with no hassle. I use paypal to pay which is another awesome site, but you may also just use a credit card, which is what paypal is- I just don't have to take the time to type in my info over and over. So, check out the link and see what you find. How awesome would it be to finish your shopping before Thanksgiving, so you can sit back, worship God, and just enjoy the holidays with your family?!??! By the way, their is a free app for the site on my phone- too cool when I can exercise and shop at the same time? It's all about multi tasking these days.

Mommy "Down" Time

(courtesy of Amanda Joy Photography)



So, when these precious little things aren't taking up every minute and I need some ME time I've been checking out this new found obsession: Pinterest! It's very cool. It has everything from crafts to recipes, holiday ideas, fun stuff for the kids, decorating tips, and I've even found some great exercises on there to help get me back in shape. Chris and I've been on there hunting for ideas for the new house, and it has given us some fun couple, quality time together day dreaming.  :-) Pinterest is a virtual pin board that allows people to post something cool they found on the Internet to this one home site. Then, your friends can copy the idea to their boards to keep. You can sync the website with Facebook, Google, Twitter, etc to find your friends or you can go on the main board and look at people's, that you don't know, pins. It's a pretty cool concept. However, I have to limit my time on there or else I could spend waaaaayy TOO much time on the site. Enjoy!

TWO months

Yes, it has been over 2 months since I posted my last post. And, I'm so sorry but life is very busy and I'm just trying to soak in these moments to remember for the rest of my life. Davis Matthew arrived on July 29th a healthy 8 pounds 1 ounce and 20.75 inches. He was our biggest baby at only 37 weeks (no that isn't early, but he was our earliest term baby so I didn't expect him to be that big). However, the ultrasonographer warned that he would be big the day before- and I should have known to trust this woman because she is awesome! Davis did great with absolutely no issues at birth. The delivery at Lexington was awesome and truly a wonderful way for us to finish off our family. . . yes I just said that. . . yes, I'm crazy and saddened by it becasue we were planning to shoot for #5 before we finished off our bunch. However, we can't say for sure that God won't bring another child into our hearts another way. There were complications, with me, during the delivery involving uterine windows that were close to uterine rupture, scar tissue, and hemorrahging from the uterine arteries. The doctor also had trouble closing up my uterus (getting the stitches to hold), so it bought me a night with close monitoring in L&D and the suggestion to not have anymore kids if I wanted to be around to raise them. It's rather hard to come to terms with when you aren't allowed to make the decision on your own, but we're enjoying our 4 children that God has given us to raise and trying to make the most of every moment. I'm praying that God gives us peace about it and that this was just his BIG way to say that no more children were going to come from our bodies. We've been blessed beyond meausre to have bore SIX children and it's absolutely amazing to watch these 4 together. I have to say that I LOVE having 4 kids. It's awesome and definitely fufills the desire that God has always placed in our hearts.
The last 2 months has been a whirlwind of sleep deprivation, fun, and craziness- but all in wonderful ways. Davis has grown exponentially regardless of the protein allergies that all of our babies have. His started later than any of the others, but alas it reared it's ugly head. I was able to nurse him for a month and tried the dairy free diet, but every day that passed with the diet he worsened leading us to believe that he also had a soy protein allergy.  That diet would be almost impossible for me to do, take in enough calories to nurse, with our busy lives of having 4 children. At Davis' well visit he was in the 95% for his height and weight at 24+ inches and over 13 pounds. Yay! I love big babies with all their sweet rolls. He moved to his room to start sleeping at night and for some naps last week when he was almost 10 weeks old. And, has improved a lot with his sleep. He is putting him to sleep for naps as well as at bedtime at night. He sleeps most night till 3am and then will go again to 6am on a good night. And, then gets up for good at about 730.  His naps are about an hour long and are frequently throughtout the day- some in his crib and some in the swing downstairs.
The bigger kids have adjusted well to our new addition. Bradley started school when Davis was 2 weeks old. And, the whole family has done great on our new "early" schedule. School has been good for Bradley as well as the rest of the family. I'll have to talk more about school later. Austin and Cameron have a lot of fun playing together during the day. We've been busy with Bradley's soccer, Chris' work, and getting our house ready to sale. Yes, we always have so much going on. We love our neighborhood and neighbors so much, but it's time to move on to a house that better fits our big family. AKA bigger laundry room, a mudroom, no wasted space such as a study/living room, and 2 bathrooms for the kids instead of the one with only one sink. The house may even be a little smaller than our current one. We meet with the designer in a couple of weeks. Chris and I have started to diet- more like make a lifestyle change and eat healthier. We're eating at home almost all the time at dinner and that has been good as well. We also have started serving the kids the same meal we're having. The 2 middle one have been very receptive to it, but the big one NOT. SO. MUCH. He is sooo picky. I hope he will come around eventually; until then he just has to be hungry until the next morning. No worries though as he is still maintaining his weight somehow. He is served whole milk and we be sure that they all have fruit as well.
There is a lot more going on around here too- plans for pumpkin and apple picking, the fair, the zoo, picnics, and walks. We've enjoyed the wonderful fall weather with lots of time outdoors. I've started exercising again and it's WONDERFUL. I still have a lot of work to do, but I'm just happy to be trying. We have birthdays coming up: Daddy and Austin. So, there is party planning going on. Halloween and the holidays are right around the corner, and we've started Christmas shopping. LOVE this time of year, and we get to enjoy it with our newest little blessing and well as the other 3!. Can't get any better than that. Just wanted to let everyone know that we are alive and well. Sorry this is so quick, but more WILL come later!