Our little Elmer

Yesterday we were blessed to be able to see the Children of the World choir perform at our church. This is the 3rd or 4th time we've seen them and they are amazing every time!!! They are connected to World Help, a sponsorship program that helps children around the world. We told the girls that they could pick one child that we could support, so they picked Elmer. Chloe was so excited about it...when we were filling out all the paperwork, she asked when we would be bringing him home. :) I told her that he wouldn't be living with us, but that we would be sending him money so that he could have food and clothes and hear about Jesus. Well, later that day, Mariah, one of my nieces, asked Chloe how church was and she told Mariah that we were gonna sell a little boy to give him food and clothes. :D Mariah said "Do you mean, you're gonna send money to him?" Chloe said "Oh, yeah. That's what I meant." She's so funny! :) She talked about it all day! When I was reading the info about the little boy, that he was living in a chldren's home and that he had alot of medical problems...things like that, Laney started tearing up. She has such a soft heart ;) Here's a picture of the sweet little pumkin!

Elijah's video

Isaac's Video

Circus

We took the girls to the circus last Thursday. It was fantastic! The girls had so much fun!! Laney has been once or twice before and although she really enjoyed it then, she just LOVED it this time! Chloe wasn't as into it as Laney was. I mean, she had a really good time, but she got a little bored at the end and kept asking Mike if it was almost over. We got there an hour before it started, for the pre-show, and that was almost as good as the circus itself! I think Chloe really liked that part! A word of warning to anyone going to the Sprint Center for the first time - if you park in one of the garages, find a place near the exit! We sat in the parking garage for literally 30 minutes. In the same spot. Unable to move an inch. It's at those times that I'm incredibly grateful that our van has a DVD player. We did have a great time though, and it was fun to do something with just the girls!


This was at the pre-show




The girls trying on costumes




The elephant painting.


She got a loaf of bread as a treat :) They had fun facts that said that all of the horses were male and all of the elephants were female.




Bello!!!




Everyone (including the animals :D) was wearing Bello hair!




You can't go to the circus and not have cotton candy!


Yum!


The hat they got with their cotton candy




Catching the confetti






Chinese acrobats

Isaac's story

We always knew we wanted 4 kids, but when we found out we were pregnant with Isaac, I was less than thrilled. We were planning on going to Disneyworld that year, and I wasn't going to be pregnant for the second time there (I was pregnant with Elijah when we went before). I was sad that Elijah didn't get to be the baby for very long. I was sad that we didn't really get to "try". I was sad that we weren't going to Disneyworld....which was stupid, I know. And all the while, I was mad at myself for being upset about it. It wasn't this poor little baby's fault. So, with the help of my husband, I snapped out of my self-centered, wallowing pity party. I started getting excited that God had blessed us with another beautiful little life. I was excited that we had decided to not find out what we were having. I was excited that Elijah was going to be a big brother and to possibly a baby boy! Yeah, it crossed my mind that this technically could be another boy, although probably not. I mean, one boy was a miracle...could we really be that lucky? I know, luck has nothing to do with it...it was all God!! Although I absolutely LOVED my OB that I had with the previous 3 pregnancies (I even referred my best friend to her last summer), I decided to go with a midwife for this one, because I had heard really good things about them and I had heard of one here in Independence that was supposed to be very good. I originally planned on having a water birth, but my insurance didn't cover the only midwife in the area that does them. I really enjoyed going to a midwife and I'll most likely be seeing her for the next one. She was so down to earth and she would definitely be the one delivering the baby, if she was on call or not. I had my regular 20 week u/s and we were able to hold off on finding out what was cooking in there. To be honest, it wasn't that hard for me. We already had one of each, so I didn't really care what we had. I was actually afraid to look at the screen, because I was afraid I would see something.












I was due Oct. 26th, but by Friday, Oct. 12th she checked me and I was already at 4cm dilated! She decided that, on that coming Monday, the 15th, she would break my water. I kinda asked her to actually. I really wanted Mike's parents to be here for the birth since they weren't able to be here for the previous 3, and that was a good time for them to come, so she allowed it. I was planning on having the baby without any pain medication (which is another reason I went with a midwife), but while walking the halls to get my labor going, I heard a woman screaming like she was dying, and once again, the vivid memories of painful pushing were flooding in. So I decided on the epidural...and it worked like a charm, thank you very much! :) Mike was able to announce what he was right when he came out, and we were all so excited! My mom, Mike's mom and my Aunt Barb were also in the room. Isaac was born at 5:16pm and weighed 8lbs. 1oz.! Almost 2 lbs. more than Elijah!! He had alot of hair...at least for one of our kids...and gray eyes. He was such a sweet little thing!! I couldn't believe I had another boy!!! I was thrilled! It was love at first sight when I saw him! Words can't describe the joy you feel when you see your baby for the 1st time. Even though he was my 4th, it was like having my 1st. He was a miracle. They all are.









Like Chloe, Isaac had to be on the bili-blanket, and I think it was alot longer than Chloe too. Oh how I despise those bili-blankets!







He was probably the biggest cry-baby of them all as a newborn. He's much better now, although he's still a momma's boy! He doesn't like when I walk out of the room. or when he has to go to the nursery. or generally when I'm not around him. That's fine by me though. I'll take it! He's a little snuggle baby and loves to give kisses. He just gives them to me out of the blue. He's such a sweetheart! I love him more than words can describe and I couldn't imagine my life without him!

Elijah's story

Well, after Chloe was born, we knew we wanted to wait a while to get pregnant again. In the Spring of '05, I had noticed something just wasn't right with me, so I decided I had better take a pregnancy test just in case...completely not expecting it to come out positive. That second line didn't take it's time showing up. I was a little bit disappointed. I had wanted to wait a little while longer, seeing that we were still living in a 2 bedroom house. We decided to put the house up for sale that August and start looking for a place that our growing family would fit into. On August 15th, Laney's 4th birthday, we went in for our 20 week u/s. I had just resigned myself to the fact that we were gonna have another girl. It was our destiny. It was just how it was gonna be. It ran in my family. I have 2 sisters and ZERO brothers. Out of my mom's 7 grandkids, only 1 of them was a boy. And he was the oldest. So I readied myself for the u/s technician to tell me what I already knew. When the words "it looks like a boy to me" came out of her mouth, I thought she was playing a horrible trick. I made her repeat herself and within the 30-45 minutes that we were in there, I made her show me the goods approximately 20-30 times. I should add that up to this point, Laney had always said that it was a boy. Well when she heard the u/s tech. say that it was a boy, she said "I told you it was a boy mom!". I just couldn't believe it! I couldn't believe I was growing a boy inside of me! I have always always always wanted a boy, but I just figured my body was incapable of carrying them or something. I was in utter shock. really. I didn't know what to do. Do I cry? Do I laugh? Are you sure it's a boy? My sister was in the waiting room watching Chloe and my mom was due to arrive any minute, so Mike went out to see if she was there yet. Well, when Mike got out to the waiting room, my mom was just walking in and he looked at her and yelled out "IT'S A BOY!!!!" They say (since I was still in the u/s room, I had no idea what was going on) that everyone in the waiting room started laughing. They probably saw us there with a bunch of girls (my neices were there too) and thought, that poor guy needs a son in this estrogen ocean! So my mom's grandkids were as follows: boy, girl, girl, girl, girl, girl, girl, and boy!!!!!! finally! We went straight to Babies r us and registered for all the stuff I would previously just walk right on by.






I was induced 2 days before my due date (apparently Dr. Lemberger loves the pitocin) and had a pretty easy labor up until the end. My epidural started wearing off and I was starting to feel every bit of those contractions. I can vividly remember at one point, it hit me all of the sudden, and I just looked at Mike and said "He's coming out NOW!" My dad was in the room at the time, and right when he heard me, he rushed out and I could hear him going down the hallway saying "She's pushing in there". Before I knew it, there was an army of nurses all around me telling me not to push. If you've been there before, you know that it's completely impossible to not push when you're pretty much crowning. All of the memories of Chloe's horrible birth came flooding back to me! I remember thinking (and I think I said it outloud...it might even be on the video) I can't do this without an epidural again!! My dr. told me that it was too late to do anything about it, and I'd have to have him without it. Well, I kept telling myself that I wasn't gonna scream like a psycho again, and I didn't. I just beared down and pushed past the pain...oh the horrible, horrible pain. After 2 or 3 good pushes, my precious baby boy entered the world. I was in awe! He was the tiniest baby...6lbs. 8oz. I kept saying "He's too small". Everyone reassured me that he was perfectly healthy and that he was just little. He was here! I had my baby boy! Wow! He was everything I dreamed he would be and more! I remember being in the hospital and getting up in the middle of the night to feed him. I loved it! I loved when they would bring him to me! I seriously could not get enough of this kid! I would just stare at the "I'm a Boy" sign on his bassinet and think Wow, and he belongs to me.



We came home and he's been one big ball of energy ever since. He only knows one speed...FAST. He is all boy for sure! He was a little slower, well, alot slower to talk than the girls, but he's picking it up really well now. He loves cars. The boy is obsessed with them! seriously. He loves watching NASCAR...which doesn't really thrill me or his dad, but whatever. He is so rough and tumble!!! He likes to annoy his sisters...which makes for some funny entertainment at times. :) He totally into Mickey Mouse Clubhouse and Wow Wow Wubzy...they're his favorites!!



To this day, I still can't believe I have a boy...and now I have 2!!! Since Elijah was really little, I've always called him my knight in shining diapers. :) And soon he'll be my knight in shining big-boy underpants. :D Well, hopefully soon. I love my little boy so much!! He's my dream come true!

Chloe's story

We started thinking about having another baby pretty much right after Laney was born. We decided to wait until Laney was about 1 to start trying, because we figured it might take us a couple of months to get pregnant! We started trying in September and I thought that maybe, just maybe I had gotten pregnant that very first month...and the due date would be on Mike's birthday-June 5th! I was a little late, so I decided to take a pregnancy test. It was negative and I started my period a couple of days later...I was extremely sad! Looking back now, I know that was pretty naive of me...there are people who try for years and years and finally have to resort to extreme measures to be parents! We are truly blessed in that area and I do not take that for granted! Anyway, we ended up getting pregnant in November and I was due August 10th...another August baby!! Yikes! I remembered being so miserable the last couple months of pregnancy with Laney. The summer weather here in Missouri is torturous...especially on a pregnant woman! Oh well, I thought...at least we're pregnant! I had another normal, text-book pregnancy and we found out that we were having another girl!! I was really wanting a boy at this point, but again, looking back, I can see God's hand in all of this. Chloe and Laney wouldn't be the best friends that they are now. I'm so happy they have each other!

I started having contractions early in the morning on July 29th, and we went in to the hospital to be checked. My dr. (the very awesome Dr. Lemberger!) new at this point how miserable I was, so she said that she would go ahead and break my water. I was beyond thrilled! Yes, she was coming 12 days early, but I didn't care...I knew she would be okay. After 11 hours of labor (with the epidural wearing off for the last hour) and the most excruciating 20 minutes of pushing (my family in the waiting room could hear me screaming), she was born in all her blonde-headed, blue eyed glory! The first time I saw her I was so shocked. She had blonde hair?? What?? And she was so tiny! She weighed 6lbs. 12oz. and looked NOTHING like Laney! I guess I just figured all of my kids would look alike...wrong! They cleaned her up and the first time I held her, I just couldn't stop looking at her! I was in love!!!! She was here!!









When we were set to go home from the hospital, they checked her biliruben levels and they were slightly elevated, so we had to take her back every day for the next few days to get her blood drawn. The levels weren't going down, so we had to put her on a biliblanket. It's shaped like a paddle with a big hose coming out the end that hooks to the actual machine. We had to keep this paddle-thing right next to her skin as much as possible. It's terribly inconvenient, especially when you're trying to breastfeed and this big, long hose is coming out the end of your baby!!



She was a little bit of a cry baby, but she was so darned cute, we didn't care :) She is definitely your typical middle child! She's very outgoing and extremely creative! She says the funniest things. She loves to be around men!! She adores her daddy and loves wrestling with him! She is a little hard-headed and stubborn, but at times, that can be a good thing. I know she won't let people push her around and she will always stand up for what she believes in! She's very into video games...just like her daddy! She's taking karate right now and she's doing really well...she's a yellow belt! She just started Kindergarten this year and she loves it! Her teacher has yellow hair, just like her. :) This was something she noticed right away when we met her. She's made a few friends that she talks about every once in a while.








I love my Chloe and even though I'm sure she'll be my strong independent girl, I also know that she'll always need me! She's made my life better just by being here!

My Children

I've decided to create a post about each of my kids...my pregnancies, the birth and just a little about them from birth till now.

The first one is Laney's.
It's a little long...they're all a little long.
But I wanted to have these, mostly for me.
Enjoy!

Laney's story

We found out we were expecting our first baby on Dec. 8th, 2000, after my dr. called with results from a blood test. It was just a routine blood test to check cholesterol and all that and she said they would test it for pregnancy. She told me she would call the next week with the results, so imagine my surprise when the phone rang the next day and it was my dr. on the other end. We had no idea...we weren't expecting it at all!! Well, of course we were thrilled!!! We found out we were having a girl around the middle of March and we were so excited! I'll admit that I always wanted to have a boy first, but when you see that little face, everything changes and you know that God gave you the exact one you needed.I was set to be induced on my due date, so after 10 hours of labor and 45 minutes of painless pushing (thank you epidural), she was born on August 15th at 6:43pm. She weighed 7lbs. 6oz. and she had some dark brown hair and a very olive complexion. People kept telling me that she kinda looked like a little Indian (Native American :D) baby.I'm so happy I had a girl first!






She was an extremely good baby...smiley and all...and didn't cry hardly ever. She did have a problem with Mike making the sound of a car, however. She would pooch out her bottom lip, and get so upset...it was funny! She's always been a little snuggle bug and still comes up to me and just wants to sit together, or snuggle. She likes to act like a baby, which gets a little annoying at times...and she still sucks on her finger and plays with her hair when she's tired. She is our girly girl and she's a little scholar. She loves school and was in the advanced reading groups last year! She loves to learn!!! Right now she is in karate, and although she sometimes doesn't want to get out of bed (at 7:30 on a Saturday...I mean, who does, right) to go, she loves it and will probably stay in it for a long time! She was in ballet for a little while, and really liked it, so we're thinking about putting her back in it. She's the type that hates to quit...she tries to finish everything she starts. She's very sensitive and has such a soft, kind heart. We were at the store earlier this year when it was still chilly outside, and I didn't have a coat on, and she was so worried about me being cold. She kept asking me if I was okay since I didn't have a coat or jacket or anything. She's such a sweet little girl, and although she does fight with Chloe sometimes, she usually does think about other people first. I hope she keeps her sweet disposition all through life. She's very into animals (especially horses) and says she wants to be a veterinarian when she grows up. :) She's such an awesome big sister and such an amazing help to me! She thinks she's Elijah and Isaac's other mommy...she baby talks to them and tries to calm them down when they're upset. They both love her so much! Her and Chloe are very close and I'm sure they'll be best friends growing up! I love to sneak down the hall and listen to them playing in their room. They say the funniest things when they don't know I'm watching :)





I couldn't imagine my life without my snuggle-bug Laney! I love her so much and every day I'm thankful that she's in my life and that I was blessed to be her mommy!

Laney's birthday pictures

These are extremely belated, but I'm still gonna post them. I had to take them with my mom's camera because I forgot mine (we had her party at my mom's) and I haven't been able to find her camera since that day. Well, the other day, I had Laney go look for something in the van and she found the camera, so here they are!

Checking out her present from mommy and daddy



A Littlest Pet Shop VIP



She's been wanting one of these!



Yummy chocolate cake that Grandma made!



Happy 7th Birthday Laney!



Blowing out her candles



Opening gifts...



A Webkinz from Aunt Angie! Angie gave Chloe her b-day present too!



A pink horse! Her favorite things :)



A little too excited about a pair of jeans :D






Reading her cards!



I won tickets to the Ringling Bros. circus from KC Parent magazine, so we'll be taking Laney and Chloe next Thursday. I actually only won 2 tickets, so we had to go down to the Sprint Center box office and purchase 2 more. I had a 50% off coupon for up to 8 tickets, so we bought 2-$20 tickets and were able to get awesome seats...right in the center, 14 rows back!!! So we spent $20 for four tickets to the circus...and really good seats at that! Not too shabby! :) We thought about taking Elijah, but I'm afraid he'll get bored after the first 5 minutes, so him and Isaac are gonna stay with my mom while we go. We're all pretty excited. The last time we went was when Laney was 3 or 4...so it's been a while!