Someone stole my spot!

It looks like I'm not the only one that likes to sleep in his arms.....

 

 

Toes in the water!

Well, we did it! We went on vacation. Yes, we drove to Myrtle Beach last week. We have gone with our family for the last 3 years, and we just had to try it. Many people said we were crazy. Heck, I thought we were crazy.

Did I mention that Hannah HATES the car! I mean HATE! She usually screams the second she gets in the car. We did everything to get ready for this. We bought a new carseat, a portable DVD player, new toys. Yes, we realize she us already spoiled, and at this point we're alright with that. We live by the strict philosophy that we only get to have our kids for a little while. They grow way too fast, so we make the most of it! Anyway, we did it all, including pray that she would have an uneventful trip and leave at 4:30 in the morning. It all started off on the wrong foot. She screamed from our door to Huntington. Caleb was carsick; I was ready to turn back. However, Jamie stepped in and saved the day. He adjusted her carseat to make it a little more comfortable, gave her some magic Daddy love, and she was nearly perfect the rest of the way. :) the dramamine kicked in for caleb. You can't imagine my relief.

See, I love my kiddos and my life, but we NEEDED a vacation. Even though I would classify this summer as amazing with our new addition, it has been extremely stressful!
I mean:
*We have a new baby.
*Jamie finished his principalship in record time this summer in hopes of getting job this summer. When that didn't work out, we were disappointed to say the least.
*I have not rebounded like I had hoped since having Hannah. Who would have thought that 8 years and 4 kids would take such a toll on a person. I mean, we really needed to relax.
*Did I mention we have 3 rotten boys that keep us on our toes at least 16 of the 24 hours in a day.

So, when we arrived and found a beautiful home, on a private beach with happy kiddos, we were beyond happy.

Hannah in her bikini.  Daddy said it is her first and last trip to the beach in a bikini ;)

The whole gang!

Cuties!

He is so wrapped!

Buddies!

He's still my fave!

Imagine that....wrestling!

Hannah's trip to the ocean.

She really liked it.

We spent the week soaking up some family time, eating too much, laughing, playing cards, and even managed to get some time in with our toes in the sand.

Flutters

Today, I have been married to my amazing husband for 13 wonderful years. So, I must start by saying thank you to the man that has managed to tolerate, love, and even appreciate me all this time. Trust me, I know I'm not all sunshine and lollipops. :) he deserves a medal for living with me and all these rascals.

Today, I was really thinking about the day I was married, and how I felt. I was truly excited to begin a new chapter of my life. I never for one second second-guessed if I was making a good decision. I knew he was the one!!! I was thinking about our love back then, and how it felt, and how it's changed. You know, I used to think it sounded so sappy that love grows over time. I now know what that means.

Back then, I got what I like to call the flutters. You know, the way it feels when you get that first kiss. Your stomach gets tight, and the world seems to tilt slightly off axis as your head swims. I mean this all in a good way for those that have never experienced it. I got the flutters when I heard his voice on my voicemail, the sight of him walking to my dorm room, the feeling of seeing him on one knee at Cave Run Lake. The flutters!

It's a little different now. A friend of mine is going through a difficult time right now in her marriage. She says, "It just feels different now. The excitement is gone." Well, I would agree its not the same now. We've experienced a lot of firsts together, and sometimes we have to work to keep keep excitement in our marriage, but our love has grown beyond that new love and developed into a lasting love!
See, now my flutters are not every time I hear his voice. Sometimes, it's the quiet way I catch him watching me walk through our house; or the caring way he holds our daughter; or the way I see him try to mold my little men into a man or honor. Oh, trust me, I still get the flutters when we stop enough for a kiss, and when I see him emerge from the bathroom cleanly shaven and dressed for church. So, I would say it is different now. It is so much better!

Happy Anniversary! I love you so much!

I believe in miracles!

I was looking at pinterest today and I saw a tattoo that said I believe in miracles. I thought, if i ever got a tattoo that would be the one for me! So, that got me thinking about some of the miracles in my life.

I have so many, I'm not sure I can even count! Some of them include my kiddos. For those that may not know our story.... Here it is.

Jamie and I couldn't get pregnant. We went to the doctor several times, and after about a year and a half he finally sent us to Cincinnati to see Dr. Hofmann. When we went to see him, he said we had a better chance of winning the lottery than having a baby on our own. We tried many medicines, had dozens of tests and visits to the doctor, and we finally got pregnant. However, that wasn't our miracle. We lost the baby very early. Needless to say, we were devastated, totally crushed. We were emotionally drained. I was physically tired, and our bank account had all that we could handle. So, we talked to the doctor. He said when we were ready to try again, just let him know. In just a few weeks, we got a call from the Dr. Saying that someone that was getting ready to have a baby dropped off over 1/2 of the meds we would need to try again. Infertility medicine is very expensive, and cannot be returned to the pharmacy. Even though it was in tamper-proof glass vials. SFNow that may not sound like much, but is was about $2,000 worth of medicine. I was hesitant to try again so early but it seemed as though God was opening a window for us. Jamie and I talked about it and prayed about it, and it felt right to try again. So, we started the process all over again. Now, I should mention the medicine and process that we used do not have a high risk for high order multiples. As a matter of fact, we were one of only a handful of triplets our doctor ever produced.
When we got pregnant again, I was so scared the same thing would happen. When we went back, you could say we were definitely surprised to find out we were having triplets. The doctor told us then that we didn't have a good chance of carrying them. Now, don't get me wrong, the pregnancy was not easy, but they all made it here. We had an uphill battle at first, but we were all safe and sound! Three little miracles.

Now, it was easy to see why Hannah was such a wonderful surprise. We had been told more than once we would never have a baby on our own. Boy, we're they wrong. Jamie and I had always hoped for one more, but never in our best dreams did we think it would happen. Miracle number 4, I say!

I would include finding the love of my life as a true miracle as well. In todays world where people are getting divorced every day, I think our love is a miracle. Now would be a great time to mention that divorce rates of parents with multiples is even higher than the national average. Jamie and I have already weathered some pretty big hurdles and came out stronger. I think he's a keeper!

That's just some of the miracles in my life. I could go in any on. So if you ask, if I believe in miracles. I sure do! Some of them call me Mom.

Empty sinks, empty beds, and full bellies!

So, my husband asked me tonight why I have never posted a picture of our empty sink.  That was a little confusing to me, even after living with him all these years.  I of course asked why on earth I would do that.  He goes on to explain to me that a lot of people of Facebook post pictures or posts about some work that their husband does around the house.  Examples include: I can't believe my husband cleaned the kitchen all by himself; I can't believe I came home to all the laundry in our house done, etc.  You get the point. That really got me thinking...... why don't I do that?  Then I remembered it's because he does it so often, it would be ridiculous that I would do that. 
It is not uncommon for him to wash the dishes.  It is also not uncommon that I wake up in an empty bed.  Even before I hear Hannah, he often gets up and feeds her at 3AM.(He says it's his favorite time with her.  No one says a word if he rocks her even when she is asleep.)  It is also very common that he cooks our dinner.  See, we are partners.  He does just as much as I do around the house.  We work hard to keep this place going.  Now, I don't want you to believe that he is perfect.  He could never dream of organizing our closet, or matching Hannah's clothes, but he will try to help out with whatever needs to be done.

I do not have a picture of my empty sink. As a matter of fact, I almost never have an empty sink.  Someone is always eating something here.  I do, however, have a picture of the love of my life.  He is the sink "emptyier", the trash-taker outer, the dinner cooker, the baby rocker(spoiler), athlete, super-dad, amazing husband.  Sorry ladies, he's all MINE!!!  I think that is way better than an empty sink picture anyway!

You are my sunshine!

Tonight I was sitting in the rocker with Hannah I look over to see all my men on the couch snuggled up watching the Reds play.  I was singing You are my Sunshine to Hannah in an effort to put her to sleep.  Now, let me be clear.... we have not had the best day.  Hannah got two shots yesterday.  So, today she had a low grade temperature and has been a big cranky mess.  She has hardly smiled one second and whined, cried,or slept most of the day.  For the first time, she was really wearing on the boys nerves.  So, don't believe it's all rainbows and lollipops at our house. 
But, tonight as I sat singing to Hannah, and watching my men, I can honestly say I just fell in love all over again with these people that I call my family.  Jamie's ability to love all of us beyond measure, and be the best Dad in the entire world; the boys undying love for each other, Hannah, and us; and Hannah's soft features as she lays snuggled in my arms.  So, even on a difficult day, they are my sunshine!!!!  If life gets any better I will need a bathtub because my cup runneth over!

The Least

This week, we had the pleasure of camping with some family and dear friends.  It was Hannah's first camping trip.  Although my shoulder was still hurting, and I was very hesitant to believe that Hannah could do it, we did it.  Hannah did marvelous, the boys had a blast, and my shoulder is slowly, but surely getting better.  I'll post some pictures if I can get around to it. 

Now, on to the important part of the blog.....I saw the most amazing thing.  We camped with Plum Grove church.  On Saturday night, a crazy game of kids verses parents tenni-ball wall was started.  For those of you new to the sport, it is just baseball played with a tennis ball.  Into the first inning, a few campground stragglers wandered up and wanted to join.  They were of course invited to join in the fun.

In the second inning, we had another visitor.  A young man with down-syndrome named Jay walked up and grabbed the bat.  No one asked him to join, he didn't ask for permission, he just grabbed the bat.  You might think the kids would say something but not a word was spoken, the kids just pitched the ball.  The little girl pitching threw probably 40 pitches while everyone cheered him on.  He never got a hit, so some very crafty men managed to create a hit for him.  He ran the bases for a home-run, everyone cheered,and all was right in the world  It was easy to see that he needed some help.

So, now for the best part.  When it was his turn to take the field, he asked to pitch.  Of course he was allowed.  The first batter came to the plate, 5 year-old Carson.  Jay wound up like a major league pitcher.  You could see all the parents cringe, because we just knew that Carson was going to get hit with the tennis ball.  However, that big wind up ended in a beautiful lob right across the plate where Carson had a great hit.  There was a huge collective sigh of relief.  Jay went on to pitch to several more kids with the same expertise.  Then, at the plate comes 4 year old Gavin.  Jay pitches well over a dozen pitches, and Gavin fails to make a hit.  I look up to see Jay scoot up to Gavin, crouch down, and perfect the slowest lob right over the plate.  It is the perfect pitch for a 4 year old.  Jay pitches about 8-10 more pitches and Gavin still doesn't have a hit.

So, what happens next, brought tears to my eyes.  Jay walks over to Gavin takes off his glove and begins coaching him.  He kneels down, places Gavin's hands of the bat, tells him to choke up on the bat and watch the ball.  He even double-checks his hand placement on the bat, gives Gavin a pat and a thumbs-up and walks back to the pitchers mound.  Now honestly, Jay's speech was terrible.  I'm not sure Gavin understood a word that he said, but he got the point with the gestures.  Most importantly, Gavin felt encouraged.  So, wouldn't you know it just a few more pitches, and Gavin nailed the ball.  Of course, he got a home-run.

I was reminded of a very important lesson on Saturday.  See, everyone needs a little help and encouragement every now and again.  The question is, will we be smart enough to recognize it like Jay did, and brave enough to do something about it.  Most people would say that Jay was lacking in so many ways.  I recognize that he has some pretty special needs, but I think he has a clear vision of the big picture.

"And the King will say, "I tell you the truth, when you did it to one of the least of these my brothers and sisters, you were doing it to me!"  Matthew 25:40 NLT