Batter Up

Look at the focus and attention of my boy! (Notice the boys in the background :))

That smile is for Mommy!! I'm a lucky lady!

Check out that form!!

I'm not a proud mama am I?! Well, we entered the "world of sports"...finally. I have wanted to be a sports mom for as long as I can remember. I always wanted 4 sons...and I pictured Saturdays spent on the field or at a ball park. So needless to say, I am thrilled that the time has come to introduce Aiden to organized sports. Now, that I think about it, it's kinda strange that I'm so excited. I'm not sporty, nor do I understand most sports...but it just seems so "All American". Aiden is a pretty athletic kid...definitely gets that from his Dad....so he has picked up Tball pretty quickly, and LOVES it. And I LOVE that. I hated PE as a kid...so I'm glad that Aiden has a totally different attitude towards all things sporty.

Flashback

Announcing our pregnancy with Grier

Fall '07

Turning 1 & 2

A sweet moment...Spring '07 -turning 2 & 3

Moving to Austin...saying goodbye to our Dallas home

Simple Pleasures

Bath time

I'm not real sure what the point of this posting is...I was just feeling sentimental. Aiden and Gracen wanted to look at old pictures of themselves. They love that. Do your kids? Anyways, they wanted to see pictures of us in Dallas, and so we started scrolling through picture after picture...and I got sentimental. It was a sweet time for us. While we were there, it seemed so hard. Blake was so busy with school and all of his jobs. I was pretty much pregnant the entire time. We had very little money, and very little space for that matter. We lived in an old house that was about 1,000 square feet. I just couldn't wait until we graduated and "moved on" to something better. Well, now we have been "moved on" for almost 2 years now...and life still feels pretty much the same. It is actually busier now, with the kids getting older, and needing more from us...and of course we've added to our family as well. But you know, life was pretty simple. When you don't have much, life is pretty simple...and we were blessed. The last year of seminary God opened our eyes to see how blessed we were. We started keeping a list of the ways God had blessed us...and we were overwhelmed. It got to be really exciting. We would be doing something like yard work, laundry, or studying, and one of us would blurt out a blessing. It was constantly on our minds. It's amazing how your perspective changes when you look at your day this way. We are truly blessed people. We have so much to be thankful for. God has lavished us with many good things...a relationship with Him, a pretty great marriage, 4 healthy children, a roof over our heads, food, 2 running cars (one of which was a gift to us), a church we love and can openly worship at, good friends, supportive and loving family, health insurance, a working washer, dryer, and dish washer (seriously!)...our list goes on and on and gets much more specific. It doesn't matter what season of life I'm in or what I have or don't have...it's about living in the present (not dreaming about the future), making a choice about being content, and thankful for ALL that God has given me today. What are you thankful for?

Daddy and His Girls

Waiting for the doctor in the "Keep Austin Weird" Room
How fun is that?!

Getting Weighed-2 year check up

Totally unware she's about to get a couple of shots

Visiting Aiden at preschool




Because Blake works on Saturdays he has off on Wednesdays...which has its advantages...although hear me now: I would much rather have him home on Saturdays. Anyways, we get to tag team errands, and appts...etc. Grier went for her 2 year check up and I got to have Daddy as back up. Afterwards we headed up to Aiden's preschool that he goes to M/W. He has been asking us to come and hear him sing. So we loaded up the girls and made a day of it. Nothing warms my heart faster then to see my husband cuddling with his precious girls. It's just a cool contrast...his masculinity up against their daintiness.

Meal Idea

Box of pizza crusts

pizza just the way we like it

So in the snack bar of Sam's (probably Costco too) you can purchase a case of already made pizza crusts. They are $17.00 for 14 crusts. It comes out to be like $1.20/crust. They are frozen and have to stay frozen until you need one...so you have to have some freezer room. We recently bought an upright freezer for our garage...so this was one of my first purchases. It has been so fun and so easy. They are great for a fast, and inexpensive dinner. It's also a great way to get the family involved. Aiden helped me make this pizza. They take 5 minutes to defrost and about 10 minutes to bake. I made a BBQ Chicken pizza last week, and it was a hit. Just thought I'd pass the savings on to you...if you don't have a Sam's card, let me know and we can meet up there.

Our Spring Snowstorm....Or Not

Front Door

Front Yard

Backyard. Chairs knocked down by the wind.

Backyard

We had the craziest storm this evening. We were at my parents when we found out there was a tornado warning in effect, and a big storm on the way. We frantically threw the kids in the car and hauled out of there, hoping to beat the storm, and live to tell about it (giving it a little dramatic flair). Anyways, the sky was BLACK. I usually don't worry about that kind of thing...but knowing that the people I love most in the world were all in the same car, freaked me out a bit. I prayed the whole way home. We were about a mile from our house and our car started shaking from the wind...we raced home, pulled into the garage...and no joke, as soon as we got out of the car, the sky fell open...talk about timing! Thank you Lord. The hail started quickly after...and man was it fierce. So I insisted that we hang out in our closet, fearing that a window or two was going to shatter. It lasted a good 10 minutes...and then it was over. The kids loved the excitement of it all...so I guess I pulled off my laid back effort. And look at that...I lived to tell about it.

Evan-3 Months and Counting

My doll baby

All Smiles

Evan's typical open mouth

She loves the camera

Check out her dimples

Oh, my sweet sweet Evan...where do I start. Well, I meant to do a 2 month update on her and time totally got away from me. And now she is 3 months, oh well. Here are some things that we have found out and adore about Evan in her tiny 3 months of life.

*You like to sleep on your back, and hate tummy time. You get kinda panicky when I put you on your tummy.

*You love your Mommy. I will just walk past you and you start smiling and kicking. You immediately turn your head when you hear me talking. I love it!

*You love to be held by Daddy. Daddy seems to have this calming effect on you and your siblings when they were babies. You totally relax in his arms. It's a sight.

*You adore your brother and sisters...they can get you to smile and laugh pretty easily. You perk up when you hear their voices.

*You are a thumb sucker. I have never had one of those before...or even a paci kid. As soon as we put you in bed, you stick your thumb in your mouth. It's pretty cute...but not looking forward to breaking that habit in the future.

*You like your sleep...a lot. It's great. You started sleeping through the night when you were about 8 weeks old. It's the same age as the other 3...I think that's kinda interesting. But you were the easiest to sleep train out of all our kids.

*Your favorite place to sleep is your bed. It's almost as if you sigh with relief when we lay you down in there...maybe because you are finally alone. :)

*You like to ride in the car, and the stroller. You also like to be worn.

*You are a pretty laid back, go with the flow, flexible baby. I really hope you turn out to be like Daddy. Daddy is SO laid back, and was as a kid too...No such luck with the other 3. So far so good with you.

*You love you to observe your crazy family, but get over stimulated pretty easily...sorry.

*You really like to eat, but kinda eat like a bird.

You are a total blessing. You have made the transition from 3 to 4 kids so easy for us. All 5 of us love you so much, and we didn't even have to deal with any jealousy. You are the picture of God's grace.

A Little Braggin' Never Hurt

Little Elijah-3 months

Okay, so my BFF Kendall, is a budding photographer. She's the one who did my prego pics. She is really an amazing photographer. Anyways, she had told me that her cousin was hiring her to take her son's 3 month pics. And I just saw them for the first time on her blog, and snatched them to show you how incredible she is!! Don't be mad KC. :) She's way too humble to advertise herself yet, but I think she is totally ready to be hired out. So I'm taking it upon myself to put a link to her blog, so you can see the pics she takes of her girls...and so you can contact her about taking pic of your precious kids. Seriously don't be mad KC. :) Anyways, I just had to brag on her because I am so impressed with her artistic eye. Isn't she awesome?? I'm so proud of you KC!

http://athomeinaustin-kc.blogspot.com/

I Mean Really...

...does this look comfortable to you? I think I'm gonna start a whole section on this blog that features Gracen's wild sleep habits. Did I mention that 2 weeks ago, we woke up at 3:00 in the morning to her screaming. It was the type of scary cry that sounded like she was in trouble. Blake got up and went to her room, but she wasn't there. She was standing with the front door wide open...in the middle of the night...crying! I'm so glad I didn't see it. I would have really freaked out. Hearing about it was bad enough. Praise God she was okay. She claims she was looking for her water. I think she was sleep walking and woke up when the cold air hit her. That's another thing, it was really cold that night. Poor baby, standing there confused, scared, and shivering. Since then Blake has been putting a chair up against both doors.

I could go on and on with sleep stories on Gracen...so stop me now. Okay, one more...one morning Blake got up really early, like at 5:00 for men's bible study. He was getting ready, and went into our rather big walk-in closet. He saw some movement out of the corner of his eye...and there is Gracen laying in the closet with her blankie...no idea how long she had been in a pitch dark closet...freaky.

Scrumptious

Evan Lane-3 months

Playing around with my new camera. Couldn't you just eat her up??

Happy Birthday Aiden

Birthday Breakfast -He's a whole hand!

Tough guy in camo

Aiden's Build A Bear date with my parents, and his new friend Sam.

Happy Birthday Aiden!

Burning some of that sugar off.


Wow, my oldest child just turned 5...that makes me a mom for 5 years now. Time has gone by so fast. I am teary as I reflect on our time together. I just knew I was having a girl, before we found out we were having you at 20 weeks, and I am so glad I was wrong. God had such a sweet plan for our family Aiden, as He made you the big brother of 3 little sisters. You are such a great example to your sisters (most of the time). You are kind, and compassionate. You really try hard to do the right thing. You have a servant's heart, just like your Daddy. You love people, and are sensitive to other's needs. You are passionate and fiery just like your name. You are a deep thinker, always stumping me with your questions, mostly about God. You are a learner, and that excites Daddy and I so much. We see your wheels turning all the time. Daddy and I talk a lot about what you're good at and what you might be when you grow up. What we hope most for you is a vibrant, growing relationship with Jesus Christ. We pray that you will follow God's leading in your life above anything else. We pray that you will lead a life of integrity and purpose. Aiden you are so dear to us. You have taught us so much as your parents. You have shown us what unconditional love looks like. You have put a face to sacrifice. You have shown us our deep deep need for God's love and mercy. You are a treasure and we praise God for the gift of your life. Thank you for making us parents 5 years ago. We are better for it. We love you son. Happy 5th Birthday little man.

Happy Birthday Grier 3/9

She just opened her tea set. She's pretty excited.

Suddenly bashful as we sang Happy Birthday to her at breakfast.

Her fake smile.

She didn't want me to take pictures...yeah, she's only 2.

Enjoying her birthday cupcake.

Camp out in their "tent"

Happy Birthday my sweet Grier. You just turned 2, and mommy can hardly believe it. I remember your birth like it was yesterday...maybe because my epidural didn't work. You are a complete joy for Daddy and I. You make us laugh on a regular basis with your goofy faces, and dances. You love to be the family clown, and you brighten our day with your smile alone. You want to be a big girl so badly, doing everything that Gracen does. You are a quick learner watching your older siblings. That is not always a good thing. You really like to use the word "no" and we are continuously showing you that that is not a good choice. :) On a positive note you have learned to undress yourself already, and you walk like a pro in your dress up high heels...even better then your big sister, and probably Mommy too. I love to listen at the door when nap time is over and hear the little conversations you have with all your little "friends" in your crib. You are such a character...and so quirky. I can't wait to see what God does in your life little firecracker. I pray that you love God and enjoy going to church with your family. I pray that you make a decision early on to place your faith in Jesus. I pray that you have a love for people, and you let your little light shine. I am so proud of the big sister you have become. You are so sensitive to your baby sister's needs, and I love the way you try to help me all the time...burping Evan, bringing me a diaper or her burp cloth, trying to put a pacifier in her mouth...and even rocking her in her carseat. Our family would not be complete without you, my precious Grier. Happy Birthday...You are loved.

Smiles

Could that smile be any bigger??? Her shirt is so fitting. Evan is a happy girl...she is the sweetest baby! God has blessed us tremendously. She smiles all the time. All of our kids as babies smiled so easily and frequently. But Gracen was the smiliest of them all...until Evan came along...she might just give Gracen a run for her money.