Familia Castañeda

And the moment you've all been waiting for...

2011-08-03T16:57:00.000-05:00

I had my 20 week ultrasound yesterday and since we didn't take the kids with us this time, we wanted to do something fun for them to tell them whether we were having a boy or girl. What better way to do it than with cupcakes!

The answer lies within the cupcake!

IT'S A BOY!!!

A New Friend

2011-08-03T16:46:00.000-05:00

This past weekend we had the pleasure of hosting a girl from Afghanistan. She is here for a month with a program at the University of Arkansas. We weren't sure what to expect, but it was so much fun to have her in our home and hear about her country. She was a little nervous about it, too. She was afraid she would miss her family a lot. When she learned we had 4 kids (and another on the way) she was very excited. She comes from a large family and many of her siblings have kids. She was great with them! All our kids got lots of hugs and kisses from her. Her other big concern was with food. She is muslim and they have strict guidelines about what they should and should not eat. Her first meal with us was to a pupusaria! She loved it! We wanted to show her a little bit of the area so we drove out to Beaver Lake and to the War Eagle Mill. She really enjoyed the mill.

Our family with our new friend Malalai.

At War Eagle Mill

Malalai with two other girls here from Afghanistan.

Megan liked Malalai's head wrap.

We really enjoyed having Malalai in our home. Hopefully we'll have a chance to see her again before she returns home to Afghanistan!

Happy Birthday Girls!!!

2011-08-03T16:16:00.001-05:00

All 3 of our girls have birthdays close together. This year we decided to celebrate with one big party!

We rented a giant bounce house. The kids all loved it!

Happy birthday Girls! We love you!!!

It was HOT, but they had FUN!

Pausing for a picture

Sofia was ready to tear that piñata apart!

Ali is ONE!

My sister stuffing her face with an ice cream sandwich!

We are so blessed with our three wonderful girls! We love each of them so much. They bring so much joy, love and laughter to our home. We can't imagine life without them!

Annual Float Trip

2011-06-10T11:10:00.000-05:00

Jaime a three of his buddies left this morning for their annual float trip they do each summer. Usually they go to the Buffalo River but this year they decided to float the Ouachita River. In anticipation of the trip, Jaime and David wanted to make sure their flat bottom boat didn't have any leaks...

So tired...

2011-06-10T11:04:00.002-05:00

AWANA program

2011-06-10T11:01:00.003-05:00

A few weeks ago the kids finished up AWANA for the year. Megan was in her last year of Sparks and Joshua was in his first year of Cubbies. It was a great year for both of them. AWANA is such a wonderful program. We love participating in it each year!

So proud of my Sparkie and my Cubbie!

Joshua heading up on stage

That boy had his fingers in his mouth the entire time. UGH!

Megan really enjoyed her last year of Sparks

Our Honduras Trip - Part 3

2011-05-29T16:33:00.000-05:00

After spending a week in Siguatepeque, our family plus my mother-in-law headed up to the north coast for a few days on the beach before our flight back to the states.

We had to take a little detour since this bridge was a little bit broken! Not sure if this happened during Hurricane Mitch or not but it was in bad shape and the alternate route was a single lane bridge. We had to wait a while for the traffic to clear so our side could have an opportunity to drive across.

It was really smokey across the entire country while we were there so we didn't have good views of the beautiful mountains.

We thought this sign was hilarious. We couldn't pass up getting a picture of it.

Watch out for monkeys!

We made it to the beach and literally had the place to. our. selves. It was wonderful!!!

Not a soul in sight...

...in either direction!

There were coconuts everywhere!

The kids loved the ocean!

And the pool too...which we also had all to ourselves!

We rented a cute two bedroom house. It was perfect for our family!

Breakfast with the kids!

He couldn't wait to get back to the beach!

We had another beautiful day at the beach and pool.

Our family of six... soon to be seven!

Our precious kids!

We had a wonderful time in Honduras. It was so nice to visit with family and friends who we hadn't seen in many years. God truly blessed our time down there, kept us safe, and healthy too! Thank you Lord!

Our Honduras Trip - Part 2

2011-05-29T14:55:00.001-05:00

I know it's about time I sit down and write a little more about our trip. I have a list a mile long as to why it has taken me so long, but I won't bore you with that.

So... we FINALLY made it to Siguatepeque, Honduras, the town where Jaime grew up, his mom and sister still live, and where we lived 3 out of our 4 years in Honduras. A lot had changed since I was last down there but it still felt very familiar and normal to be there.

We spent the first week mostly just spending time with everyone, hanging out, and letting all the cousins play together. It was a nice relaxing week for us! Here is our week in pictures.

Megan with her cousin Fiorella

Jaime and his brother Kike with their baby girls.
The girls are about a month and a half apart.

Jaime's 99 year old grandmother holding Ali.

Lots of new things to see!

Joshua was riding a bike every second he was allowed.
He LOVED these mud puddles!

Jaime's sister rented this bounce house for the kids.
It was a big hit! They all loved it!

Enjoying the bounce house with friends.

Love this picture!

We took the kids to a cave not too far away.
That's me, Jaime's brother, and all the kids.

They had fun in the cave.

Jaime has told the kids stories of riding his bike
around these banana trees. It was fun to take the kids
to see old memories that they have only heard about.

We got to celebrate Fiorella's 4th birthday!

All 7 cousins together for the first time!

Our Honduras Trip - Part 1

2011-05-03T15:32:00.000-05:00

Our trip to Honduras was very full, so there is no way I can put it all into one post. Right now I'm not sure how many posts it will take, so we'll just see.

We started our trip by taking a long drive north to Libertyville, IL (Chicago area) where my sister lives. What normally is a 10 hour drive (without kids) took us 13.5 hours (with 4 kids)! About 3/4 of the way there, Joshua (our 4 year old) couldn't take it anymore and wanted to turn around and go home. How do you explain to a 4 year old that we were closer to our destination than to our home? Poor boy! He just wanted out of that vehicle! We finally made it and were glad to have some time to rest, relax, and stretch our legs.

The next day we were able to be with my sister, her family, and many other family and friends to celebrate my nephews first birthday. He is an adorable little boy! I'm so glad we got to be a part of this special day in his life!

Jude's 1st Birthday!

Sofia, Jude and Ali taking a bath together!

The following day was our day to fly to Honduras - but of course not without a few bumps along the way.
(1) We woke up to snow! Poor Joshua was so confused. He has been looking forward to summer for so long. How in the world could there be snow on the ground?

(2) Dead car battery! That was my fault. I was out in the car the night before looking for some things and left the interior lights on. Oops!

Oops! That would be my fault! Sorry honey!

At O'Hare airport

(3) Delayed flight! I'm not just talking about a little delay. We waited and waited and waited. Boarded the plane. Deplaned. Waited and waited a while more. Then FINALLY left.

We waited...

...and waited...

...and waited!

Got on the plane

Got off the plane.

Got on the plane again.

(4) Missed connection! We knew there was pretty much no way we were going to make our connection. We landed in Miami about 5 minutes before our next flight took off. We were still taxiing to the gate when they left.

(5) Unexpected overnight stay in Miami! All we had were our toothbrushes! I'm so glad we at least had that.

Hotel in Miami

Sweet Ali is always so happy!

Wishing they had their suits!

We finally made it to San Pedro Sula, Honduras as did all our luggage. I'm actually still surprised about the luggage making it. I was certain something was going to get lost along the way! We were so glad to finally be there! Well, kind of. Once we landed we still had a two hour drive to my MIL's house, but after everything that had already happened that was no biggie.

Finally heading to Honduras

We made it!
Waiting to get through immigration.

On our way to Siguatepeque! WooHoo!

Busy, busy, busy...

2011-04-14T16:01:00.000-05:00

Life can be so busy. I'm not talking about the "Drop one kid off at soccer practice while the other is at piano lessons. Then grab dinner at McDonald's on our way to church Wednesday night" kind of busy.

I'm talking about "trying to discipline the two-year-old for the twentieth time TODAY for being nasty to the four-year-old. Then needing to discipline the four-year-old for being nasty back. Meanwhile, changing the baby (clothes and all) for what feels like the 500 time because the antibiotics she's on gives her diarrhea. Which leads me to wonder if I even remembered to give the baby her antibiotic today, or last night for that matter. Jumping to start another load of laundry so as to not stain every article of clothing the baby has. Not to mention attempting to keep up with homeschooling the seven-year-old. And, of course, let's not forget the everyday kinds of things like cleaning, cooking, grocery shopping, laundry... The list could go forever." That's the kind of busy I'm refering to!

AHHH! It makes my head spin just thinking about it. I, of course, love all my kids and wouldn't trade all this for the world. In a few days, however, we are heading to Honduras to visit family and friends. We are really looking forward to this trip. I'm praying it is a restful and relaxing break from our norm. The Lord definately knows Jaime and I are really in need of some rest.

Sewing

2011-04-11T12:00:00.000-05:00

I wanted to try my hands on a few sewing projects and was thankfully able to borrow a wonderful sewing maching for a few weeks (Thanks Taylor!) Here is what I was able to make:

Using a tutorial found here, I was able to turn this...

... into this!

My new living room couch pillows!

I had so much fun with these two projects and now have a whole list of other things I'd love to make. Unforunately. my friend is moving so I've got to return her machine. I guess I'll just have to buy my own now!

Pictures

2011-03-20T15:51:00.000-05:00

I am so terrible at this blogging thing, especially since our 4th child was born. I'm a busy momma, but... since a dear friend, who lives WAY far away asked to see some pictures I thought I would honor her request and try to get some one here.

Last night Jaime just happened to grab the camera and turned it on. We had the most random group of pictures left on our camera, So that is what I will share with you today, plus a few bonus pictures of our sweet baby girl from just a few minutes ago.

Enjoy!

Me and my adorable Sofia.

Joshua at the entrance to Jaime's igloo, in short sleeves mind you!
What kind of mother am I?

My oldest and my youngest.
I love these girls!

This is how fabulous Sofia is!
This girl keeps us laughing!

Megan, Joshua and myself at Shogun's for my birthday.
I love Joshua's smile in this picture. It makes me laugh!

Last weekend at Withrow Springs State Park.

My living room last night. The tent is still up!

The kids slept in here all night! They were so excited about going "camping"!

BONUS PICTURES!

My "sweet, already-seven-months-old, happiest-baby-EVER" Ali!

Just looking at her makes my heart happy.
I love this baby so much!

Holy Cow! That was so easy. One of the big reasons I have been so bad about blogging is that I didn't have the time or patience to deal with uploading pictures. It was the biggest headache! They sure have improved blogger! I love it!!!

I just realized when I looked at the preview that I still have a Christmas background on here. Has it really been that long? That is sad. So sorry everyone. I really do hope to be better about posting on this blog, especially if uploading pictures is now as easy as it seems to be.

Happy Thanksgiving!

2010-11-25T16:55:00.003-06:00

It has been WAY too long since I last posted anything. Ali's birth was the last thing I wrote about and she's almost 4 months old now! WOW! Unbelievable!

Today is Thanksgiving and we have so much to be thankful for. God has blessed our family so much!

Ali's first Thanksgiving

Happy Thanksgiving Everyone!

Welcome Alison Grace!

2010-08-01T10:53:00.005-05:00

Alison Grace joined our family on Friday July 30th. Jaime and I arrived at the hospital very early that morning to start the induction. My blood pressure had been high and since I was already past 38 weeks, my doctor felt it best to go ahead and induce labor. I wasn't too excited about doing that since my last induction, with Sofia, was long and intense! I didn't want to go through that again but thankfully everything went really well this time. My labor was much more gradual that what I had with Sofia and not as long. The hard, intense contractions didn't start until around 2:00pm and she was here 2 1/2 hours later! I'm so thankful for the way everything went. It couldn't have been better!

Alison Grace Castaneda
Born: July 30, 2010 @ 4:26pm
6lbs 13ozs, 19in long

Each of the kids wanted their turn with their new baby sister! She is definately loved!!!

We came home Saturday afternoon around 5:00pm. I'm always anxious to get home from the hospital after having my babies.

Welcome home baby Ali! We are so glad you're here!!!

Ours Girls!

2010-07-26T06:00:00.005-05:00

This year we decided to celebrate the girls birthdays together since my due date is only 3 days before Megan's birthday. Sofia turned 2 on July 3rd and Megan will be 7 on August 10th. We invited our closest friends and family for a cookout in our backyard. It was HOT but I think everyone had a good time.

Our Newest Citizen!

2010-07-26T05:49:00.005-05:00

Jaime officially became a US citizen on July 9th. They had a small ceremony down in Ft Smith, AR for about 40 people. It was a special afternoon for our family!

Taking the oath.

It's official!

6 weeks to go

2010-07-01T14:31:00.003-05:00

I haven't posted any pictures of me pregnant here or on facebook, mostly because I don't like seeing pictures of myself pregnant. I'm not sure if I ever had a picture taken of me pregnant with Sofia. I made myself do it this time... so, here you go.

Father's Day Camping Trip

2010-06-27T05:06:00.012-05:00

My friend Sara and I decided, along with our kiddos, to take the daddy's camping for Father's Day weekend. We made reservations at Bull Shoals-White River State Park. It was HOT!!!!! all weekend, but we found ways to cool down (see pictures below). Once the guys found out about the trip they started spending every spare minute working on the boat to get it ready for the trip, which almost didn't come with us. But, they pushed through getting her ready to go at 2am the day we were leaving!

The guys, proud of their hard work!

Bull Shoals Damn

Our family - the kids hate pictures in the sun, so this is the best we could get.

Taking the boat out for the first time.

So proud!

Megan wanted a turn to drive "Daddy's new boat"!

The four kids enjoying a snack.

Mommy with the little kids.

Daddy with the little kids.

Aren't we cute!

We had to get some skiing time in. (In case you can't tell, that's Sara, not me. I was forbidden from skiing, for now...)

Jaime skiing on Bull Shoals Lake.

Showing off how redneck we can be down here in Arkansas! (Yes, that is an air mattress!)

The White River in the morning.

The guys got up early on Sunday morning to do some fishing in the crystal clear water of the White River. (Nate Harlan, I know you're jealous. You guys need to get down here some time!!!)

Jaime caught his first Walleye! We fried him up and ate him at home the next day. (The fish, that is, not Jaime!)

We all had such a great time there just might be a repeat trip next year.

Sidewalk Painting

2010-06-08T11:31:00.005-05:00

I got this great idea from a friend on how to make sidewalk paint. This morning we made up a quick muffin tin full of colors and spent the next hour outside painting. The kids had a blast!

Add about 2 Tablespoons of corn starch in each section of the muffin tin.

Add about 5 drops of food coloring.

Add water.

Have fun!

Yes - it is that easy!!!

Megan was so proud of her painting.

Joshua got a little bored using a paint brush after a while and decided to paint with his hands instead. Thankfully Megan was pretty much finished painting when Joshua came up this brilliant idea.

31 Weeks and Counting...

2010-06-08T10:46:00.004-05:00

As of today I have 9 weeks left to get ready for baby #4! It feels so close yet so far too. I'm feeling really good, most days. That third trimester, I-feel-like-an-elephant;-wish-I-could-tie-my-own-shoes;-pure-exhaustion, is setting in at little more each day.

We are completely at a loss as what to name this child. We have tried to talk about it. Our conversation goes something like this:

Me: Honey, we've got to decide on a name for this baby. Do you have any thoughts or suggestions?

Jaime: Ummm...

(End of conversation.)

I know we'll come up with something, but we are beginning to run short on time.

Riding Bikes

2010-05-29T06:46:00.004-05:00

The weather has been beautiful the past few weeks around here and the kids are enjoying their bikes. Sofia loves to ride Joshua's bike or scooter. Joshua will ride on anything he can. And Megan has finally learned to ride without training wheels. One evening we loaded up the kids and the bikes to head over to a nice path close to our house to let the kids ride.

Awana

2010-05-29T06:16:00.005-05:00

Awana ended for another year. This is Megan's 4th year and Joshua's 1st. Megan just finished her second year of Sparks and the church just added the Puggles program for the 2s and young 3s. In the fall Joshua will begin in Cubbies.

When we arrived at the church Joshua said he wanted to wear his sunglasses inside to show his teacher. Fine. I only forgot to get them from him once I dropped him off in his room. So here he is being the "cool dude" up on stage. That boy cracks us up.

Megan had to say a verse when the Sparks went up to recieve their awards. She did great!

Here the kids are with their friend Ryan.

Our New Nephew

2010-05-29T05:51:00.003-05:00

Two weeks ago I got a last minute ticket up to Chicago to visit my sister Lisa and her new baby boy, Jude. This is the first time in FOREVER that I've had a chance to do something KID FREE!!! It was wonderful!!! Lisa and I spent lots of time just hanging out and catching up. Our days were not filled with tons to do, like it often is when I go back "home". Jude is adorable. It was so wonderful to hold a newborn again.

Lisa and me at the Cubs game.

Smilie Jude

Jude loves his Tia.

So, we're having a little...

2010-03-31T10:08:00.002-05:00

GIRL!

It definately was a Weekend we'll always Remember!

2010-03-31T09:32:00.005-05:00

We had a wonderful time at the Weekend to Remember conference this past weekend. It was a FULL weekend, but we so enjoyed our kid-free time together. We were both a little unsure what it would be like and what kinds of things we would be encouraged to talk about. It was very good! Some things were hard for us. Some issues were brought up. But, in the end I think our marraige will be better for it!

A very special thank you to each of our friends who helped us out by watching our kiddos. We are SOOO sorry they all ended up getting sick while we were away. We definately owe each of you - BIG TIME!

Thank you! We love you!

Weekend to Remember

2010-03-25T16:33:00.003-05:00

Tomorrow we are dropping off all the kids to stay with friends and family. Megan will be staying with her friend Grace, Joshua will stay with his friend Ryan, and Sofia will stay with her cousin Bekah. After all the child transfers happen, Jaime and I will be dashing off to Branson, MO for a Weekend to Remember. This should be a great opportunity for us to spend some time together before baby #4 graces us with his/her appearance. (We find out next week what we're having so, stay tuned..!)

First Sleep Over

2010-03-25T16:25:00.004-05:00

Tuesday night Megan had her first sleep over with her friends Brenna and Amber. She had a wonderful time but was completely exhausted when she got home. Here are some pictures:

Giveaways are so fun!

2010-02-23T15:28:00.002-06:00

Lindsay over at Passionate Homemaking is giving away an Envibum cloth diaper. If you'd like to try and win head over here and enter too!

Brayden is Home!!!

2010-02-08T16:44:00.002-06:00

This past Saturday Brayden was able to come home from the hospital. Andrea had been at the hospital the previous two nights so the doctors could see how Brayden would do if he was just nursing. He did really well and was discharged the next day!

Holding my new nephew!

Andrea with her two boys - Benjamin (2 years) and Brayden (1 month)

Megan, the proud older cousin. She was so excited to hold Brayden for the first time.

Randomness of Today

2010-02-08T09:08:00.004-06:00

This morning Sofia wanted to color like big sister Megan was coloring... with markers! She usually does ok with a marker for a minute or two but this morning decided to color her face instead of the paper.

Megan had a loose tooth (#3!) but it wasn't quite ready to come out yet. Last night, however, while Megan and Joshua were playing they had a little head to mouth bump and out the tooth came. There was a little blood and LOTS of drama. What else would you expect from a 6 year old girl. She's fine now and proud of her new smile.

Unfortunately, the tooth fairy didn't make it to our house last night. Probably due to the 1/4" of snow we recieved over night. (Because Arkansas slams to a halt on the prediction of snow, which will forever make me laugh!) I tend to think the tooth fairy was really tired because she's pregnant right now and just plum forgot. Megan was a little disappointed but sweet about it and very willing to give the tooth fairy another chance.

This is what we woke up to. It's very pretty, right now. We are expecting 4-8" more throughout the day. Who knows what we'll really end up getting.

Ready or Not...

2010-01-28T08:22:00.002-06:00

...it's coming, AGAIN!!! A year ago, this week, we got the worst ice storm Arkansas has seen in twenty years, or something like that. (I don't remember the exact stat.) Sometime this afternoon we're going to get hit again with what they are saying could be the #2 or #3 storm in twenty years. We'll see what the weather actually ends up doing. We're praying it's not as bad as they are saying it could be.

Here is my blog post from last year's storm. We have plenty of food and firewood and are about as prepared as we can be.

I'm a little jealous of some friends of ours who are down in Florida right now. They are scheduled to fly back to NWA tonight but my guess is they won't be able to fly home today and will be "stuck" down there a few extra days.

We'll see what happens...

My new nephew!

2010-01-05T16:12:00.006-06:00

My sister, Andrea, was pregnant with her 2nd little boy. She was due March 2nd. On January 2nd she ended up at the hospital having an emergency c-section, due to preclamsia. Brayden Seth was born 8 weeks early! He weighs only 3lbs. 2 oz. and is 16 1/4 inches long.

Andrea is doing well. She is still in the hospital but is feeling much better and may go home tomorrow. Brayden is also doing well, all things considered. He's breathing on his own and not loosing any weight. He will be in the NICU at Washington Regional Hospital for probably about 3-4 weeks.

Keep Andrea, her husband Brian, their 1st son Benjamin, and their new little one Brayden in your prayers.

Blogging Failure

2009-11-28T16:04:00.002-06:00

I know I have been failing at blogging lately, but I'm not a drop-out...yet! There is so much I haven't blogged about and that overwhelming feeling of needing to catch-up on it is probably what has kept me from it most of all. It is on my mental "to do list" and little by little I hope to work on it.

Some of the things that I have wanted to blog about are:
(1) Megan's first soccer season - Jaime was the coach
(2) Megan lost her first tooth
(3) Joshua's third birthday collage
(4) Joshua's third birthday party
(5) Thanksgiving

Here's hoping I can get to this sooner rather than later!

A New Look for Fall

2009-09-28T15:31:00.003-05:00

I know I haven't updated the blog in a while. Since school started things have been pretty busy around here for me. Trying to keep up with household chores, take care of three kids, and school Megan is more than enough to fill my days - all of them!

I did decide it was time for a new look on the blog, since it is officially fall. It doesn't quite feel like fall here in Arkansas. The days have been cooler but the leaves aren't really changing yet. I love fall and all the beautiful color and aromas that comes with this season! I'm hopefully for a very beautiful fall this year!

Hopefully soon I'll have some time to do some new posts about soccer and pumpkins and other fall activities. Until then enjoy the new look!

Megan - 6 Wonderful Years

2009-08-13T23:00:00.001-05:00

Make an on-line slideshow at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Eating Corn

2009-08-12T08:44:00.004-05:00

I was changing my son's poopy diaper this morning and I noticed it had some corn in it, which I mentioned to him. So, of course, he asks to see it. I show it him to which he says, "Can I eat that corn, mommy?"

"No, son. You already did!"

What Can An Engineering Degree Get You?

2009-08-12T08:30:00.000-05:00

The ability to do THIS:

Cooking and Canning

2009-08-12T08:00:00.000-05:00

This past weekend we made a big batch of salsa using tomatoes, yellow peppers, and onions from our garden. Once we finished preparing it, we canned most of it. We are looking forward to enjoying our salsa over the next few months.

We also went blackberry picking this past weekend which I turned into blackberry jam. I canned it as well.

I wish we had more and better pictures of our time at the blackberry farm. Those of you who know Joshua, also know he can be a handful in situations like this. It was all we could do to maintain control of that boy! His white shirt was completely purple by the end of our time there, as well as his hands, arms, and mouth!

We had a good time and are enjoying our homemade jam!

Happy 1st Birthday (+ 1 week) Sofia!!!

2009-07-10T15:21:00.004-05:00

If couldn't tell by the title, this post is a week late. Last Friday Sofia turned one! Boy, how time flies. In so many ways this past year has just flown by, in other ways it hasn't. It also has been a wonderful year, as well as one of the hardest for me as a mom. Needless to say, Sofia is a joy to have in our family. Although she has only been a part of it for a year, it truely is hard to remember life before her. She fits into our family so well. Her little personality is coming out more and more each day. One of my favorite things is how she cracks up at her brother and sister. She absolutely adores them and they adore her as well.

This past Sunday (July 5th) my cousin Kristen and I had a party for our two girls together. They were both born the same day, July 3rd. We reserved a room at The Jones Center in Springdale and had a cute little party for the two girls. It was a great day!

(I will post some pictures as soon as I can find where Jaime saved them.)

Backyard Fun

2009-06-20T23:20:00.004-05:00

We enjoyed a beautiful day today, working/playing outside. Jaime got some work done in our garden, cleaned up the weeds around the swing set, and did some other misc. things. Joshua and Megan enjoyed the pool, sprinkler, and spraying each other with the hose. Sofia even had fun playing in her pack and play in the backyard.

Our tomato plants are huge and needed to get cages around them. We finally got that done today.

Clearing the swing set of weeds.

This is one way to stay hydrated on a hot summer day!

Fun times!

What a sweetie!

This boy loves the water.

Sofia enjoyed being outside with the rest of us.

Pure exhaustion after a long day of playing.

Our trip to North Carolina

2009-06-20T13:47:00.005-05:00

Lori with her two boys, Caleb (4) and Titus (2), and Baby Ruth #3 (due July 20th).

Titus was always playing in this mud puddle. He loves to get dirty!

Megan and Caleb became instant friends.

We couldn't get Sofia off this rocking horse. She loved it!

We were given some free zoo passes and decided to make the trip to Columbia, SC with all the kids. They had a great time. Joshua is still telling his daddy, multiple times a day, that he saw elephants and lions and monkeys at the zoo.

The kids looking at some fish.

Our best attempt to get a group shot of the kids.

Our two two-year-olds. The temper tantrums were frequent!

Our meals together.

Another attempt at a group shot.

Joshua got a summer buzz cut courtesy of Lori.
The before shot.

After. What a cutie!

Thanks Lori, for letting us come visit. We had a wonderful time. Can't wait to see you in the fall!

Hello from NC

2009-06-14T14:12:00.003-05:00

Some of you may have been wondering why it seems as though I have fallen off the face of the Earth; why I haven't been answering my phone, why I haven't been returning e-mails, etc. Well... last week, somewhat on the spur of the moment, I decided it would be fun to throw the kiddos in the car and drive almost 1000 miles across the country to Waxhaw, NC. Why Waxhaw, NC? Let me tell you! My dear friend Lori is here. Her and her husband are missionaries in Southeast Asia and are back on furlow. Her husband had to leave for a 10 day training, so I called and asked if I could come over and play! She said "Sure!" and here we are. It has been great to catch up with her and see our kids interact together. I will post pictures of our week together when we get back home... that is, if we make it home. I told her I might need to stay a few more weeks because I'm not looking forward to doing that drive again, so we'll see!

11 Months Old

2009-06-03T08:30:00.003-05:00

Today Sofia (and Bekah too!) turns 11 months old. It's so hard to imagine that she has been with us for 11 months already. It feels so fast but also like she has been around forever. It truely is hard to remember what our family was like before she came along. While she has been the most difficult baby of my three, she is little by little out growing most of those difficulties. She definately has a sweet personality which melts my heart and I adore that about her.

Some stats about Sofia:

She has 7 teeth and #8 is just about to break through.

She loves to lay her head on my shoulder while I hold her for a minute before falling asleep.

She still isn't crawling.

She loves to walk, if someone will hold her hands to help her.

She just learned to wave and clap her hands. (See video below)

Family Camp 2009

2009-06-02T10:06:00.001-05:00

Over Memorial Day weekend we went to Family Camp with our church out at New Life Ranch. The kids had a lot of fun and were completely exhausted by the end of the weekend. Megan says her favorite things were the craft, swimming, and canoeing. Joshua says "Camp! Camp!" whenever he sees any of the pictures.

Make an on-line slide show at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Check out this video Jaime caught of Joshua. The poor boy was so exhausted by the end of the second day.

I didn't believe this could ever really happen until I saw it with my own eyes. The funniest part is what we didn't catch on camera. A few minutes after this video he briefly woke up and tried to take a bite of his breadstick (unsuccessfully, I might add), then fell right back asleep again. I was laughing so hard I had tears in my eyes.

Tonight's Dinner

2009-05-17T22:42:00.004-05:00

This is what we had for dinner tonight. It was excellent! If you're interested, click here for the recipe. These are the Grilled Rainbow Beef Kabobs. We had the Pineapple Chicken Kabobs yesterday. They are both super good and super easy. You can even save a little dinero here on the dressing used for these recipes.

The grill master!

My mother's day gift

2009-05-17T22:17:00.008-05:00

For Mother's Day I asked for 2 new storm doors (I know, exciting stuff!) for the front and back doors. Jaime told me I could only get one for the front door. So, last weekend we picked out a door and brought it home. Yesterday, Jaime got started and the project quickly went from a simple storm door installation to a major project. The wood under the door was completely rotten and needed to be replaced. The more he took out the more he found that needed to come out. It just got worse and worse. In the end I ended up with two new doors, just not the two I initially wanted. He ended up deciding to replace the front door too! The project isn't completed yet. It will take him a while to get all the wood under the house replaced. (He's super busy at work so this project will have to wait until next weekend, I think.) For now the new front door is only wedged in place, no nails, no nothin'. Just the deadbolt!

Before:

During:

It just kept getting worse and worse!

I'll post some after pictures once it's all done!

Awana Awards Ceremony

2009-05-17T22:09:00.004-05:00

This past Wednesday night was the end of AWANA for this year. Megan finished her book and got through the entire review as well. She worked so hard and did such a great job each week working on her verses. I was so impressed with her, because once she finished her book and we began the review I could tell she really learned them since she was able to say 4-5 review verses each week!

The Sparks did a little presentation during the ceremony. Megan's part was reciting John 3:16. She did an excellent job. I wish we had a little video clip of it, but our camera doesn't have sound with the video. For now this picture will have to do!

Resurrection Rolls

2009-04-10T14:21:00.004-05:00

When Megan came home from AWANA on Wednesday she had an Easter newsletter from the church. In it was a recipe for "Resurrection Rolls". It's such a sweet and simple recipe and perfect for younger children. Yesterday I picked up the few items I needed for the rolls and this afternoon we made them. Megan loved helping and she was so interested in how the rolls were like the story of Jesus' resurrection. When I asked her what she thought of it, her response was, "Cool, mommy. That was cool!"

Here is the recipe if you're interested.

Ingredients:
1 can refrigerated crescent roll dough
8 large marshmallows
melted butter
cinnamon
sugar

Directions:
1. Give each child one triangle shaped section of crescent roll. This represents the tomb.
2. Each child takes one marshmallow which represents the body of Christ.
3. Dip the marshmallow in the butter and roll in cinnamon and sugar mixture. This represents the oils and spices the body was anointed with upon burial.
4. Lay the marshmallow on the dough and carefully wrap it around the marshmallow.
5. Make sure all seams are pinched together well. (Otherwise the marshmallow will ooze out of the seams.) Talk about how the tomb was sealed.
6. Bake according to package directions.
7. Cool then break open the tomb and the body of Christ is no longer there!

I thought we had pinched the seams of the dough well enough, but we didn't. All the marshmallow had oozed out. Thankfully Megan and I talked about what was going to happen while the rolls were still in the oven. So, when it didn't work quite right she wasn't too disappointed.

I took some pictures but I'm not sure what's going on with my camera. If I can get to the pictures I'll try to add a few to this post. Let me know if you try making the rolls too!

Happy Easter!

Nine Months Old

2009-04-04T20:03:00.002-05:00

Mommy's birthday

2009-04-04T13:09:00.008-05:00

So, I know these posts are a bit late, but... better late than never! Right?

My birthday fell on a Wednesday this year so we waited until Friday to get out and do something special as a family. After dinner we had fun dipping strawberries, bananas, pretzels, and marshmallows in chocolate.

I had been wanting to take the kids bowling, so after we cleaned up the mess we headed to the Rogers Bowling Center. The kids loved it! We all had a fun time together. It was a pretty good birthday, I'd say!

The Frugal Muse

2009-03-08T22:17:00.003-05:00

A family friend just started a new blog all about saving money. It is a great resource for finding sales and how to make coupons work the best they can. She often gets many of her products free! Check it out, here!

RSV, Bald Eagles and Eyes

2009-03-03T14:34:00.006-06:00

Sofia:
Today I ended up taking Sofia to the doctor. She has had a cold for a few days but each day it seems to get a little bit worse. This morning I could tell she was absolutely miserable! I called the doctor and got her in. It turns out she has a double ear infection and RSV, which basically has symptoms of a really bad cold. Our doctor said it seems to be a mild case. I'm thankful to hear that since she is only 8 months old (today!).

Joshua:

Joshua cracks me up. Little by little he is talking more. Almost everyday he is saying at least one new word. His newest thing to say is bald eagle, which he pronounces "Ball. Geagle." Two very separate words. I laugh every time I hear him say it. If we had a digital camera with video AND sound I would get a video so you all could hear him. It's funny! Part of what makes it even funnier, to me, is that he won't say simple things like please or thank you, but he'll say "ball geagle".

Megan:
Back when Megan was just starting to get mischievous I told her that when a girl becomes a mom they grow eyes on the back of their heads. (In other words, don't do anything foolish because mommmy see's everything.) I remember my mom telling my sisters and me this when we were little. She has never forgotten this and completely believes me. Today she was behind me, jumping around and wanted me to watch her. So she said,"Mommy, watch me with your back eyes."

Happy Birthday Chichi!

2009-03-02T09:03:00.001-06:00

Sofia - 8 months old

2009-03-02T08:42:00.003-06:00

Here are some recent pictures of Sofia. My sister Lisa commented recently that I don't send out enough pictures (or any, for that matter) of Sofia. Unfortunately, the accusations are true. Sofia will be 8 months old tomorrow and we are still very much in survival mode around here. She is quite a difficult baby. She doesn't like much of anything, most of the time.

You can see here how much she loves being on her tummy, especially since she can now sit up! (See video above)

She usually is a good napper. She'll go down pretty easily most of the time. Now if we could just get her to do that all night long. I'd like to take this opportunity to say "Thank you" to my husband for voluntarily taking the night shift last night so I could get a little more sleep than I have been. I actually feel semi-human today.

AWANA Grand Prix Race

2009-02-25T21:11:00.004-06:00

Tonight was Megan's AWANA Grand Prix race. Jaime came home early from work to help her get her car all ready to go and then, when it was time, we headed to the church to check in and weigh in her car. The car was a little heavy so Jaime made some minor adjustments. She got to race several times and ended up winning third place! She didn't even realize she had won until we told her. She got a trophy, a ribbon and lots of hugs and kisses from mommy and daddy. It was very exciting. As soon as we got home she put her trophy on display up on her dresser.

Congratulations Megan! We're so proud of you!

Pajama Day

2009-02-10T11:15:00.001-06:00

Yesterday was a rainy day around here, so we declared it was pajama day around our house. We all stayed in pj's the whole day. It was great. Hope you had a great day too!

Praise the Lord!

2009-02-08T11:21:00.010-06:00

Our electricity finally came back on Thursday evening. It was a surprise blessing. We weren't expecting it back until yesterday or today. It was out for a total of 9 days, 7 1/2 hours! God took great care of us! We were definately blessed during this time. Unaware that this storm was on it's way, I started cooking like crazy, stocking my freezer, about two weeks before the storm hit. We have a gas stove so we had lots of great food to eat! For the first few days, we kept the house warm with our wood burning stove. We pulled all our mattresses into the family room and basicly lived there. We were able to borrow a generator and Jaime connected the whole house to it so, for the most part, we were able to live normal after that. I just had to turn off the heat to use the washing machine or coffee maker, make sure we didn't have too many lights on at once, and the microwave and dryer were off limits. I must say, if it wasn't for my time in Honduras I probably would have struggled through those 9 days. In my four years down there I got used to the power going out unexpectedly and having no idea when it might be back on, living without using a dryer (I had one, but chose not to use it most of the time), and learning to improvise during times such as these. It has been a little strange trying to get back into the swing of things now that the power is back. I've let so much slide (mostly laundry and house cleaning). I have a ton of laundry to catch up on and I'm trying to do some more cooking to stock my freezer again.

Here are some picture from our yard during the storm.

Ice, ice, ice.

Solid ice around everything.

We couldn't get into our cars!

Poor tree.

The branch that took out our electricity line.

An inch of ice!

The next morning.

Trying to save our peach tree.

The kids coloring by candlelight.

Ice Is On The Way

2009-01-26T14:25:00.003-06:00

Over the past few days the meteorologists have been predicting ice/snow for today and tomorrow. I just went online to check the current conditions since I noticed my car was wet and my cousin's facebook status said something about her son's school closing. When I checked it I noticed that all the area schools had closed around 1:00. I started telling Megan about it and she said with great excitement and enthusiasm, "Mommy, all the other kids have to go home from school and I get to still have school because we do school at home!!! I love homeschool mommy!" Yet, another confirmation that this is the right thing for us.

On a different note, here is a picture to share.

We love you Mark, Michelle, Micah, and Arianna. Hope you are doing well in Siguat!

Blessings

2009-01-22T14:55:00.005-06:00

Last week was a hard week for me. I was feeling quite down. I was frustrated with my kids, my husband, the lack of organization around my house, the lack of time to clean, cook, wash, fold, put away, etc... The list could go on and on. Thankfully, I made it through the week and we got away for the weekend (see previous post).

This week, in contrast, has been full of blessings.

(1) Megan and I have stayed on track with school and she has been so great with it. She mostly loves doing school but once in a while she just isn't in the mood. She has had such a great attitude about getting her work done.

(2) I got to do my grocery shopping for the week... BY MYSELF!!! It was kind of late Monday night, but I went alone and actually semi-enjoyed myself. I bought the things I needed to do quite a bit of homemade meals to eat this week as well as freeze portions for future meals.

(3) I have already done a good amount of my cooking. It feels good to see my freezer filling up with good homemade food rather than things like Tyson chicken nuggets and chimichangas.

(4) I exercised at home on Tuesday morning (the kids joined me and it was quite funny!) and went to Body & Soul on Wednesday morning. Despite the fact that I feel like I'm struggling to learn the routines, I had a good time being there.

(5) I got a call from a friend that I rarely get to see. She was going to be in the area and wanted to have lunch together. Even though we had to bring my little zoo with us, we had a wonderful time catching up and visiting.

(6) Megan got invited to have a play date with her friend Grace for a few hours this afternoon. So after lunch I dropped her off. She has missed spending time playing with Grace so I know the girls will have a wonderful time together.

(7) While Megan has been with her friend, I got both Joshua and Sofia down for naps. When I started this post they were both asleep. Joshua is now sitting in my lap watching me type and Sofia just started crying. That's ok though. I got about 45 minutes of quiet time. Enough to feel refreshed for the rest of the day.

(8) This afternoon while I was in my car the temperature said 68. 68 in January!!! The windows are open in my house and it feels so good! I believe God sent this warm day just for me! It's exactly what I needed. Everyone else in this part of the country is getting to benefit from my extra special blessing! Your welcome!!!

(9) Tonight I get to go to a bible study that has been "on-hold" since before Christmas. Many complications have come up among the group of ladies that I meet with. We are having a casual get together tonight to catch up with one another. I have missed these ladies so much and look forward to spending some much needed time with each of them. Even if I have to bring all three kiddos with me, it will be great to see everyone.

So, that is a little about my week... and it's only Thursday. I'm sure tomorrow will be wonderful too. I have plans to get together with another friend and her son. The kids love playing together and I know Sara and I will enjoy some time to visit too.

Here are a few pictures of the kids from this week.

Hope you had a wonderful week too!!!

Weekend Family Getaway

2009-01-20T13:33:00.009-06:00

This past weekend we took off to Branson to have some much needed family together time. We stayed two nights at the Grand Country Inn. The hotel has an indoor water park, which is free to hotel guests. We all had a great time playing in the water, even Sofia. Here are some pictures and a few videos of our time there. (Sorry there's no sound for the videos. We have an old camera.)

Catching Up - Christmas

2009-01-12T08:14:00.002-06:00

This is my third attempt at posting pictures from Christmas. So I'm gonna keep it short so I can get something up on this blog.

Catching Up - Thanksgiving

2008-12-28T13:54:00.005-06:00

I know Christmas is past and I haven't even posted pictures about our Thanksgiving trip to Michigan and Illinois. We had a wonderful time. It was well worth the long road trip. We first went to visit Jaime's aunt and uncle in Holland, MI. There was snow, which the kids enjoyed. Being that we live in Arkansas, it's possible that is the only snow they will get all winter. We'll see, I guess. Here are some pictures from Michigan.

After a few days of fun in Holland we drove down and around Lake Michigan to my sisters house in Libertyville, IL. These first few pictures are posted just because I think they are cute!

This is a picture of my grandma with 6 of her 7 great-grandchildren.

These next few pictures are from our day down in Chicago.

We also went to Millenium park to see the Chrome Bean. I thought I had pictures from that but I can't find them. If you're ever in Chicago I recommend going to see it. It was really neat!

Pay-It-Forward

2008-12-22T09:07:00.003-06:00

I recently won a pay-it-forward giveaway from my dear friend, Elizabeth. Thanks girlie!!! I will enjoy every moment of my whatever-I-want-to-get-and-eat/drink-it-all-by-myself Sonic item. So, since I won I now get to bless three of my readers with something. Since it's so close to Christmas and I don't have a lot of time on my hands to get creative I'm going to keep it simple and give something close to my heart - coffee! I will give a $5 Starbucks gift card to three people. All you need to do is leave me a comment by Christmas day of what your favorite Starbucks drink is and agree to keep this going. You don't need to spend a lot of money. It can be anything. Be creative if you want. Just agree to bless three of your readers! Thanks. I look forward to hearing from you!

Redneck Fun!

2008-12-13T16:15:00.004-06:00

Oh the fun that can be had on a Saturday afternoon!

(Just in case you can't tell...David is watching Jaime's shot through binoculars, the diaper box is FULL of hickory nuts for the sling shot, and on the ground are golf clubs and a bow and arrows. Thankfully all children were asleep during this activity.)

I just had to share...

2008-11-17T12:46:00.003-06:00

...this story about my kids. I have finally stopped laughing enough to be able to sit and write it down. After lunch today I put Megan and Joshua in the tub for, what should have been, a quick bath. Sofia likes to be entertained so I strapped her in her seat and put her in the bathroom as well to watch them. Since all three were "contained" I decided to dust and sweep both of the kids rooms real quick. I was almost done when I started hearing hysterical crying coming from the bathroom. I heard both Megan and Joshua's voices so I determined no one was in serious harm but ran to see what it was all about. When I got in there I nearly fell over with laughter. There were brown chunks everywhere. Joshua pooped in the tub!!! He and Megan were both so upset about it and their shreaking cries upset Sofia as well, so all three were crying! I ran to get my phone and call Jaime. When he answered all he heard was hysteria for the first few minutes until I could stop laughing enough to talk. When I told him what happened he joined me in the laughter.

Ahhh, life with three kids. Gotta love it!

This is an after-the-poop shot.

It's been a while

2008-11-17T10:32:00.003-06:00

I know it's been a while since my last post. I, like my friend Holly, have about 10 posts in my head but haven't had the chance to get them on here. Mostly due to the fact that I wanted to include pictures but couldn't until yesterday. Jaime reinstalled windows on the computer recently and just yesterday he installed the software needed to get the pictures from the camera to the computer. So now I can add pictures. Yahoo!

Much has been happening around here. Two weeks ago today, Sofia (and Bekah) turned 4 months old. A week ago yesterday, Joshua turned two. Yesterday was Sara and David Leiffer's 6th anniversary. And today is Jaime's 32nd birthday!!! This year November has been (and will continue to be) a full month. On Saturday we are heading north. First to visit Jaime's aunt and uncle in Holland, MI then down and around Lake Michigan to spend a few days with my sister and brother-in-law.

As time (and children) permit, I will try to post more about all these different events that have been happening around our house.

What can you do this holiday season?

2008-11-05T14:10:00.004-06:00

As the weather turns colder and the leaves begin to fall, I'm reminded each day that Christmas is just around the corner. Almost as a constant these days are my thoughts of what to buy my kids for Christmas gifts. What do they need? What do they wish for? Nothing of any great value comes to mind. We, as a family, have so much. God has blessed us greatly. We would be buying things just for the point of buying things. Which brings me to my point of this post. Should I even buy much or anything at all for my kids this year?

I love the idea, that has become popular among many ministry organizations, such as CAM or Samaritan's Purse, to "buy" gifts for others around the world, often times in place of buying something for your own friends and family. Although I have never participated in something like this, each year I have the desire to do so, as I see the enormous need around the world. Instead of buying my son a new toy car why couldn't I buy a soccer ball for kids who have not one toy. Or instead of buying my new baby another cute outfit, that money could be used to buy blankets for a cold family or milk for hungry kids. I'm sure my 5 year old would love the idea of knowing she helped poor Honduran children have a healthy meal at school. It would be something that would impress on her so much more than another doll to add the collection of 20 or so we already have. Wouldn't your husband just love fish or a llama this christmas? Or how about a bridge, some water or a floor for your in-laws?

So... we each can ask ourselves, "What can I do?" or the bigger question "What SHOULD I do?"

What would Jesus do?

School

2008-10-21T12:17:00.004-05:00

Megan has completed her first quarter of kindergarten and her teacher said she's doing great. I believe that's true because she already learned everything they're doing when she was in preschool. I think she's bored at school and incredibly tired from the long days. (She's at school 7 hours a day. That's 35 hours a week!) So, Jaime and I have decided we'd like to have her home more, while she's still interested in being home with us, and I'm going to begin homeschooling her. I'm a little nervous but excited. God has been teaching me to cherish these moments I have with my kids, because all too soon, they will be gone and I will wish I had them back. By recommendation from a friend, I bought an internet based phonics program for her to use. She has already done two of the lessons and LOVED them. This morning before heading out the door to school she asked if she could do one more really quick. You can go here to take a look at it. There is also a link on the right column of my blog. I will keep you updated as to how things are going with homeschool.

Family visitors

2008-10-21T11:54:00.004-05:00

This past weekend was craft fair weekend in NWA. My grandma, Aunt Linda, and Uncle Hal came down to visit us and do some crafting. They had not seen the kids for a little over a year and this was their first time to meet Sofia. We all had a wonderful time together. Here is a picture of gram, holding Sofia, and Aunt Linda, holding Joshua. Megan had already gone to school, so she missed out on the pictures.

Rainbow

2008-10-21T11:50:00.004-05:00

This is what we saw out our window one evening right after dinner!

Pumpkin Patch

2008-10-21T11:39:00.004-05:00

A few weeks ago we went to a pumpkin patch with our community group from church. We all had a great time together. Here are a few pictures from our afternoon.

Three Months Old

2008-10-03T20:04:00.001-05:00

Has it really been three months already? The time has gone by so quickly. Sofia started out as a somewhat difficult baby. Much more difficult than my first two. But, thankfully, she is doing so much better now and we are having so much fun with her. She's smiling a ton and we all just love that!

My cousing Kristen came over today and, of course, brought her camera. We got pictures of the girls together. What cuties!

Rebekah is a bit stronger than Sofia and she likes being on her tummy. Sofia HATES it!!! When I look at this picture I think Bekah is looking at Sofia wishing she could say, "Come on girl, hold that head up! Quit suckin' on my blankie!"

Sick Day

2008-10-01T14:41:00.003-05:00

For the past few weeks a not-so-fun cold has been making its way through our household. Megan is the last to get it. Monday morning she ended up in our bed saying her ear was hurting, which, of course, means ear infection. Later that afternoon we were at the pediatrician's office. Throughout the day yesterday she was showing signs of feeling a little bit worse. This morning she was coughing more and wasn't acting like she was all that well. So, I made the decision to have a "sick day". I think my husband was less than thrilled about the idea of keeping her home but he didn't say not to. The way I see it, she's only in kindergarten, she hasn't learned anything new...yet, and the more we push her to keep going the longer it will take to get over this cold.

I was glad I made the decision to keep her home when at 11:00am she was laying on the living room floor saying, "I'm tired, mommy." Those of you who know Megan, know that is a rarity for her. She is like the energizer bunny. She just keeps going and going and going and... well, you get the picture.

It's almost 3:00pm and we are all still in our pj's. It has been a fun day at home chillin' with my kiddos.

A beautiful day in the Ozarks!

2008-09-28T08:54:00.010-05:00

Yesterday we spent some time working around the house but decided to get out and have some fun in the afternoon. It was such a beautiful day! We first headed out toward Garfield, AR to see the view of the Ozarks and Beaver Lake from Whitney Mountain Lodge.

After our visit to the lodge we drove around the area a little bit. Then headed toward a pick-your-own raspberry farm. The kids had a great time picking raspberries. I think they ate more than they picked!

Once we got home and got everyone bathed and in bed, I made some raspberry sauce which Jaime and I enjoyed over some vanilla ice cream. Then this morning we all had french toast topped with raspberries and raspberry sauce and vanilla yogurt topped with raspberries. Yum!

Cloth Diapers

2008-09-24T10:31:00.008-05:00

So, some of you already know that I have been using cloth diapers with Sofia. Those of you who didn't know this are probably going...WHAT!!! Yes. It's true. I use cloth diapers and I love it! I did a lot of research on the internet to learn as much as I could about this whole concept and, in the process, fell in love with the idea. After doing some reading and more reading and more reading about the different types of diapers I decided this is what I was willing to try. The bumGenius 3.0. It's a one-size diaper, which means that you can adjust the size as your baby grows, so there's no need to buy more diapers over the 3 years or so your child is in diapers.

I found a store in Fayetteville that sold these diapers and bought one. At almost $20 a piece I didn't want to buy more than one until I was sure I would really stick with it. I eventually ordered 6 more from this website, with plans to buy about 5 more, for a total of 12. I think that should be a good amount to have for Sofia. Unfortunately, Joshua is too big. I can get them on him but he gets so mad. He is a big boy and the diaper is too tight around his chubby thighs.

Maybe now you're wondering what I liked about it so much. There are several reasons. (1) Disposable diapers are so expensive! Research shows that over the coarse of a childs lifetime in diapers a family will spend between $1500 - 2000 in diapers compared to about $300 or so (depending on the type of diaper you purchase) in cloth diapers. (2) Environmental reasons. Disposable diapers take years and years to decompose. I like knowing I can do my part, albeit small, to help the environment. (3) Health reasons. There are so many chemicals used in disposable diapers to make them so absorbant. I feel it's better to have cloth around such a sensitive area of my baby's body instead of all the chemicals that are in disposable diapers.

Here are a few pictures of Sofia in her bumGenius diapers! What a cutie!!!

If you have ever considered using cloth diapers I would encourage you to give it a try. If you want to go super cheap, it can be as hard as it's reputation says but it doesn't have to be! Cloth diapers have come a LONG way from when our mom's and grandma's used them. If you are interested here is some more information about cloth diapers. Give it a read. I'm so glad I did!

I am thankful for...

2008-09-01T09:13:00.004-05:00

...Big Momma shopping carts at Wal-mart!!!

Patient and Productive

2008-08-27T09:34:00.002-05:00

I did not have the greatest start to this day. Sofia woke up hungry at 4:45. I drug myself out of bed and nursed her. She nursed well for about 30 minutes or so. Afterward, she was sleeping in my arms (or so I thought) so I put her back in her crib. Then the trouble began! I was already back in bed with the blankets pulled up over me. And just in the moment I was able to get into that comfortable "ahhhh!!!" position... Sofia started fussing. I let her fuss for a minute or two because I couldn't bring myself to get out of bed again, but I finally got up. I didn't want her to wake up Joshua. I went into her room and she had her eyes wide open. Immediately I thought, "Great! There goes the rest of my sleep." I changed her diaper. She doesn't like being poopy. I rocked her. Burped her. Tried nursing her a little more. Held her in every position possible. But she just was not happy. So I figured, if I'm going to be awake with her I might as well be comfortable. So, we climbed in my bed, which made her MAD!!! By this point she is crying pretty hard. Jaime tried holding her, bouncing her, giving her gas drops, etc. Nothing worked!

At 6:15 she was still crying and now Joshua was up. So I went to the kitchen to make coffee. This was definately a lets-make-twice-as-much-coffee-as-normal kind of morning. By this time I needed to get Megan up to start getting ready for kindergarten. So, I put Sofia in her bouncy chair, which she generally hates being in, but I had to help Megan and take care of Joshua too. Now she is all out screaming! But, while Megan and Joshua were eating breakfast, she FINALLY fell asleep. From the pure, total exhaustion of the previous 2 hours she fell asleep. Ahhhh! The house was more or less quiet!

A while later Jaime and Megan were out the door on their way to work and school. Joshua was playing with cars and I was drinking some coffee. Sofia was still sleeping. Around 9:00 Joshua went down for his morning nap and Sofia was still sleeping! Now, the house was really quiet.

While all of this was going on I kept thinking, I'm tired and frustrated. I just want to be lazy and do nothing today. Normally on a day like today that's what I would do... nothing but the minimal to survive! But that still small voice in my head told me that's not the best use of my time. So, my prayer for this day is to be patient and productive. "Lord, help me make this day the best it can be. Despite the fact that I'm as tired and frustrate as can be, I have a job to do. Help me do it well!"

Cars

2008-08-20T08:32:00.004-05:00

Apparently, Joshua thought Sofia needed to play with some cars while she was taking a nap in the swing this morning.

First Day of Kindergarten

2008-08-18T19:41:00.001-05:00

Today was Megan's first day of Kindergarten. We loaded the whole family up in the minivan to take her this morning. She was a little nervous but also very excited.

We helped her find her classroom and when she saw her teacher, Mrs. Conner, Megan gave her a big hug. (Megan met her teacher at a "meet and greet" event the previous Thursday.)

She found her name on the table and sat down to play with blocks. She seemed completely comfortable being there and hardly noticed when we left.

When I picked her up in the afternoon, I was excited to hear what she did all day. She told me she learned how to walk in a straight line and drink out of the water fountain. Exciting stuff!!! My prayer for her as she begins this new part of her life is that she will develope a lifelong love of learning that never goes away.

Demolition Derby

2008-08-17T20:01:00.000-05:00

Jaime and Joshua went to a demolition derby on Saturday with our friends David and Ryan. It looks like they all had a great time!

Megan is Five!!!

2008-08-13T11:42:00.001-05:00

It's hard to image that Megan is 5! How has that many years gone by already? Jaime and I were talking about our first moments and days with her. Wasn't that just yesterday? It sure feels like it!

She has been a joy to have in our lives. She is a sweet little girl. She loves her little brother and sister so much. She's really into dance and music. I'm hoping to enroll her in ballet this fall. She loves playing with friends too! Her first day of kindergarten is on Monday, August 18th.

We had her birthday party at JumpZone in Bentonville, AR on August 8th. She invited several friends to celebrate with her. Lita (Jaime's mom) and Chichi (my sister Lisa) were able to make it from out of town. Here are some pictures from her special day!

Bye-bye Lita

2008-08-12T21:54:00.004-05:00

Some of you may not have known that my mother-in-law was here visiting and helping out with the kids after Sofia was born. She was here for a whole month!!! It was wonderful to have her here with us. I can't thank her enough for all her hard work with the kids and house. I was definately spoiled!

It was such a sacrifice by so many people for her to make the trip from Siguatepeque, Honduras to Rogers, AR. She left many responsibilities in the hands of others to come help me with my three kids. What a blessing she was to me during that time. Thank you everyone who made this possible. We love you all!!!

It was also great for her and the kids to have some time together. It had been over a year since we last went down to Honduras. Megan remembers Lita and all the family. Joshua was only 6 months old, though. It took him a little bit to warm up to having her around, but he came around. I'm so glad she got to see Joshua at this time. He's at such a cute age.

What great memories we all have from this past month!

Oh, How time flies!

2008-08-07T08:02:00.003-05:00

Here are some pictures of Sofia at one month old. She is 5 weeks old today and I hate that I'm just getting around to posting these pictures. Oh well. Such is life with three kids. We are all enjoying Sofia. She is a sweet and beautiful baby. God has blessed us abundantly through the lives of each of our three kids.

This quilt was made for Sofia by Mary Gatto (my sister's mother-in-law).
Thank you, Mary. We love it!

Living the Vida Loca

2008-08-06T16:11:00.003-05:00

Life is pretty crazy around our house right now. There's not much of a schedule to anything. We eat when we can. We get showers/baths when we can. We attempt to get as much sleep as we can. We try to stay on top of making sure Joshua gets a consistent nap each day. Etc, etc, etc... Some days we are successful. Some days not so much...

This day I was in the kitchen doing something. Megan was playing on the computer and Joshua was near her playing with his cars. After a while I noticed it was really quiet in the other room. So I asked Megan, "What is Joshua doing?" She replied, "He's sleeping on the floor!" So I ran to get the camera. He's never done this before. He must have been so exhausted! Poor little boy! He never even woke up while I picked him up from the floor and carried him to his bed.

Cousins!!!

2008-08-04T18:44:00.003-05:00

I know it's been a month since Sofia was born and I haven't yet shared with many of you an interesting piece of info. My cousin, who lives in Siloam Springs, AR, was pregnant the same time as I was. Our due dates were three days apart. It was fun to share this pregnancy experience with her. When the end was drawing near we were continuously talking and guessing as to who would go into labor first. Officially I was in labor first but it's irrelavant now because our babies were born the SAME DAY!!!

Here is a picture of me with both Sofia and Bekah.

Fun in the Sun

2008-07-26T16:36:00.003-05:00

This morning we decided to get outside, before it was 100 degrees, and play for a while. Our friend Ryan came over to play with us. All the kids had a great time, especially Ryan. Sometimes he isn't crazy about playing in the pool, but today he was all about it!

This picture was too cute, I just had to put it on here as well. Joshua is 20 months old and loves to show us where all the different parts of his face are. His newest thing is showing us his teeth. Here he is showing off his pearly whites. (Note: Please disregard daddy's feet and hairy legs in the background.)

Kidz Kamp 2008

2008-07-26T16:28:00.004-05:00

This was Megan's first year to participate in Kidz Kamp at our church. This is the group of Kindergarten through 2nd graders. They sang three songs. Megan had quite a crowd watching her. Besides Jaime, myself, Joshua and Sofia, Jaime's mom was with us as well as my sister Andrea, her husband Brian, and their son, Benjamin. We all had a wonderful time watching her perform. She did great!!!

Sofia - Three Weeks Old

2008-07-25T09:24:00.007-05:00

Yesterday Sofia was three weeks old. I had great intentions of writing a new post yesterday but it didn't happen. I'm sure most of you will forgive me! :-)

Here is a picture of her from yesterday. It isn't great but it's all I have. We can definately tell she has grown over these past three weeks. She is fitting into her clothes so much better, from her first days, at less than 6 lbs, until now.

One of our favorite things to do is hold her. She is such a sweet baby. There is no lack of attention for her in our household. Here are some pictures of us with Sofia.

Extended Family

2008-07-22T21:08:00.002-05:00

This is a picture from a brunch we were invited to. The group pictured here are all relatives of Jaime, most of whom live in the Rogers/Bentonville area. It has been fun to get to know more and more of his family over the years. He has a wonderful extended family, so full of life and great stories. I am so blessed to be a part of it!

When I grow up...

2008-07-22T21:00:00.001-05:00

...I want to be just like my daddy!

One Week Old

2008-07-10T14:14:00.003-05:00

It's hard to believe our Sofia is one week old already! She has been such a joy to add to our household. Both Megan and Joshua are doing great with her. Joshua is learning to be more and more gentle with her each day.

On Monday I needed to take her in to see the pediatrician. They wanted to check her and make sure her jaundice was not coming back. We were so happy to learn that not only was she doing great with the jaundice but that she had gained 6oz. in only 4 days! She had gained her birth weight back plus 2oz. more!

Here are the three of them together.
So Sweet!!!

Snoopy?

2008-07-10T14:04:00.005-05:00

After only a few days of life, Sofia has already been granted a few nicknames. In our house we sometimes call her Sofie. Her uncle Brian calls her Sopapilla. The funniest nicknames, though, have come from our 2 year old friend Ryan. He refers to Sofia as "Snoopy" or "Soapy". It's a good thing she's too young to care yet!

Here is a picture of Ryan with his mom, Sara, and "Snoopy".

It's a Girl!!

2008-07-05T15:29:00.015-05:00

God has blessed us with a third child... a beautiful little girl. Sofia Isabelle was born at 1:08 am on July 3, 08 (4 short days after our trek in the back woods of Arkansas...scary. look at our previous posting). She realized how much fun she had missed while in the belly and decided to come out. Not really, she was induced a couple weeks before her due date, to her Momma's relief and answer to prayers. She was not growing as much as they would have liked in the belly and thought she would do better out here in the real world.

Here I am! I put up a fight but I'm happy with the outcome.

This is my Mommy. I think she looks great even after pushing me out.

This is my Daddy! I think he's alright.

These are my siblings, Megan and Joshua. I'm gonna have to keep a close eye on them cuz they are trouble. Megan is so excited that she has a little sister. Joshua could care less about me. He ran right past me to the window and just sat there looking at the cars below and making car sounds, Boys! I think he's going to be a lot of fun though. I here he is a little crazy. I'll make sure he stays out of trouble.

And here is all of us. Mommy and Daddy have their hands full. Daddy says they are trying to catch up with the Duggers (I don't know what that means). Mommy says she's closing shop (I don't know what that means either).

Testing my peepers. Doing some recon.

The Doc said I had to sit in a tanning bed for a few hours to get some kind of levels down. My Daddy was checking out the LED technology of the lamp. What a nerd!

These jammies are so comfy!

And here we are all lined up in a minivan on our way home. I think this is the beginning of a whole lot of fun! I'll keep you updated on my discoveries. Thanks for reading.

Osage Creek Resort and Spa 6-29-08

2008-07-05T14:01:00.014-05:00

We had a great time at this exclusive tourist destination. The kids enjoyed floating down the rapids, wading in the water, catching fish and playing with rocks. Joshua took a nose dive into the deep-end while his daddy was distracted reeling in a huge fish. Megan enjoyed throwing the fish back in the water. And Mommy hauled her 38 week belly across field and stream to get to the pristine shores.

Floating the white water rapids

Megan loves to swim into the deep pools and Joshua kept leaning to the side trying to drink the muddy creek water.

Megan always asks to pet the fish Daddy catches. She also like to hold them and throw them back in the water.

She's always a little worried that the fish might bite her.

Joshua and his best friend Ryan Leiffer taking turns on the rapids.

The women and children gathered firewood and the men started the fire. We roasted hot-dogs and marshmellows. Joshua kept trying to steal food from Megan and Ryan.

Bentonville Fire Station

2008-06-28T17:40:00.004-05:00

The new Bentonville Fire Station had an open house last weekend. We got a tour of the building and the kids got to see and climb inside all the fire trucks. Afterwards, we went for ice cream at Chick-fil-a. What a fun Saturday afternoon!

Father's Day 2008

2008-06-28T17:29:00.002-05:00

For Father's day this year the kids and I took Jaime camping. I was super exhausted by the end of our trip and was very ready to head home. Camping while 36 weeks pregnant was a challenge, but everyone had a great time!

Try, try again!

2008-06-27T12:34:00.002-05:00

So, I know it's been like 18 months since I even tried to post anything. I had more frustrations trying to post pictures that I just gave up. Well, since I am 2 1/2 weeks from delivering baby #3 I thought I needed to give it another try. It looks like blogger has changed/updated a lot of elements to their program so hopefully I will have better luck this time. I have enjoyed reading so many of your blogs. Thank you for keeping up with them. I will try to do better myself. Blessings to each of you!

Joshua Daniel is Here!!

2006-11-13T10:28:00.000-06:00

Mijo!!!

Ice Skating

2006-10-27T14:28:00.000-05:00

Jaime, Annie, Uncle Brian and Megan all went ice skating at the Jones Center in Springdale. Jen wasn't allowed to skate so she just took pictures. We all had a lot of fun!

Megan's 3rd Birthday Party!

2006-08-13T16:47:00.000-05:00

Daddy had to test out the Slip n' Slide before any of the kids could go on it.

Megan and her friend Alexis had fun playing in the swimming pool. It was so hot outside, the cool water felt great!

Megan waited so patiently to blow out her candles while everyone sang happy birthday.

She got all three candles in one blow!!!

Megan loved all the gifts she received. Here she is playing with some of her new dress up clothes.