She's here!

My neice, that is. Janelle got here on Saturday afternoon and the kids are beside themselves with excitment. She will be here all week. This is the first time she has seen Maddie.



Brent and the older 3 kids picked her up at the airport and Maddie and I met them at Macaroni grill for dinner. It was an hour and half wait for a table for 6 so we cozied up at a table for 4! We enjoyed our dinner and then headed home for bed.
Sunday was a great day worshipping with our family at Living Hope. It is always such a blessing to be there. Sunday night we started a new study in our small group called Balanced (by Andy Stanley). I'm looking forward to seeing what he has to share about balancing your finances based on God's word.
Today, the girls had school so I asked Miles what we should do with Nellie. He suggested we take her to Target because she might want a new toy and a cherry icey! Hmmm, wonder who wants a new toy and cherry icey! So, we got dressed, met Brent for lunch at White Castle (Janelle's choice) and then headed to Target where Miles got his icey and a few little things.

Maddie has been really fussy these past few days, so I took her to the dr this afternoon to make sure her ear infections had cleared up. She weighed 12 pounds 11 ounces. What a big girl! She had a great doctor's visit and he could not find anything wrong. Which is a great blessing! So, basically, my sweet baby girl is spoiled! I'm going to work on that! :) Tonight Maddie tried cereal for the first time. I don't think she cared for it much. She cried and kept spitting it out. I guess we will try again tomorrow. Here are a few pics of Maddie trying to eat her cereal!




I decided that I was going to work on getting her to go to sleep on her own in her own bed. I got her ready for bed, put her pacifier in, and put her in her bed. She cried for a few minutes, a few different times, but I kept putting her pacifier in her mouth. She went to sleep on her own!!!! Yay, Maddie! Hopefully, she will get some good sleep.
Today was beautiful day outside and we are predicted to have another one tomorrow. We are going to the zoo and chick-fil-a for lunch.
Here are a few more pictures from the past few days...

Miles "shaking his booty!"

A little bit of time!

A little bit of time is all I need to update my blog but it is so hard to find! I like to update at night after the kids go to bed so that I can take my time and think about what I want to post. Especially since I'm not blogging every day. Well, this past week and a half Maddie has been a little clingy. She doesn't want to sleep in her bed. So that means, at night I'm holding her. It is a little hard to hold a baby and blog at the same time! :)
Well, this morning for some reason Maddie decided that when I tried to put her in her bed for a nap, she would cooperate! Yay for answered prayers! I'm so thankful that God hears my prayers, even the tiniest little prayer about my baby's sleep habits!
Last Thursday, Brent and I took Maddie to Children's Hospital to meet her surgeon. We were really pleased with him and were thankful for all the time he spent with us. I'm going to use my blog to keep everyone udated when she has her surgery. I think that will be the best way to keep everyone informed!
We have had a pretty good week and seem to be on the mend from all of our ear infections! I started back to our Ladies' Bible study this week. We are studying John 15 through Denise Glenn's Freedom for Mothers Bible study. I've already done this study before but I"m so excited to be doing it again! God is already teaching me new things and reminding me of things I already know. Funny how He knows of the things we need to be reminded of, right when we need to be reminded!
Tomorrow my niece is coming in town for a week. We are all looking forward to the time we get to spend with her! She is a precious young lady and my kids just love her!
Well, I hear my sweet baby calling me from her bed so I better run! Here are a few pictures from this past week...

Maddie and I went to the mall. I think she is a great shopper!...



The kids at our small group Sunday night. We ate dinner together since it was our week off.



Maddie is 4 months old!




Brent is helping the girls paint their toenails because they couldn't wait until I finished feeding Maddie! What a great dad!!!

What a week!

I guess you could say this week started off with a bang! Over the weekend, we took Molly to the urgent care and she had an ear infection. By Tuesday, Brent and Miles were not feeling well so we decided to go to sick bay that morning. I am so thankful for our pediatricians office. They have sick bay in the morning from 8 until 9 and you can drop in without an appointment. I decided to go ahead and let the doctor take a look at Maddie too because she had been really fussy for a few days. Turns out, Maddie had a double ear infection, Miles had an ear infection and a bit of a respiratory infection, and Brent had a very red throat (possibly strep.) So 4 out of 6 members of our family are on antibiotics! Emma and I are trying to stay clear of the germs!!! Everyone seems to be feeling better these days but Maddie is still really fussy and wants to be held. On top of that, she doesn't want to sleep at night. We have had a few tough nights, but I'm hoping they get better really soon!
On Monday, (before Miles got sick!) we went over to Jennifer's for a little while. Miles got to play with Caden, which is one of his favorite things to do! Ashley came and brought Annabelle and Adelyn too! Here is a picture of Maddie and Adelyn...(I am sure not all of their playdates will be this calm :)! )



Because Maddie has not been feeling well these past few days, we have been holding her alot. Right before she falls asleep she sometimes cries really hard. One night she was really upset and Brent was holding her. For some reason he had to go upstairs for something and the second he started walking on the stairs, she stopped crying and fell asleep. Soooo, now if we have trouble getting her to calm down and go to sleep, guess what we do!!! We walk up and down the stairs until she falls asleep! I know...it sounds crazy, but, it works! Here are a few pictures of Brent "walking the stairs!" And, hey, what a great way for me to lose the rest of my baby weight! But that is a whole other story!!!




Here are a few pictures from when my mom was here. I couldn't get the pics posted on the other blog entry!

The end is here

Well, I can't believe that tomorrow is Saturday. My mom has been here for a week and we have had a great time. The kids were out of school on Monday for President's Day and then they were out on Tuesday and Wednesday for a snow day. By Wednesday we were pretty stir crazy so we went to the mall. The main roads were not too bad but I think my mom was still a little nervous. We did some shopping and ate at the mall. On Thursday, Maddie had a cardiology appointment so we took Miles over to Maly's house. Luckily we did not get stuck as we were pulling in their driveway! Thursday night, my mom stayed with the kids so Brent and I could go to dinner. It was so nice to be able to eat dinner together and be able to have a conversation that was not interrupted 20 times! :) We ate at a restaurant here in Marysville called Doc Henderson's. It was wonderful! We, then, went over to Starbuck's and we were able to talk some more without any kids needing anything. Emma, Molly, and Miles were in bed and Maddie was just hanging out with her Gigi when we got back. Today (which is Friday) we went shopping again. Miles needed a new carseat and Babies r us was having a trade in on old carseats to get 25% off a new one. So, Miles got a new carseat and we also went in Carter's and Old Navy. I have had such a fun time with my mom and I'm so sad that she has to leave tomorrow. But, I guess she needs to go home and take care of Dad.

Here are a few pictures from our week...

I'll post the pictures later. For some reason they will not upload!

This weekend and Valentine's Day

This past weekend was lots of fun. My mom flew in town and the kids did not know! Brent took the older 3 sledding and I took Maddie to the airport with me to pick up my mom. When Brent came home with the kids, Miles came in first. My mom was on the couch and I was in the chair across from her. Miles came running toward me and saw my mom out of the corner of his eyes. His eyes bugged and he about fell over his feet. He was so surprised! It was too funny! The girls were so excited, too. Emma could not stop hugging my mom. So fun!
Since Valentine's Day was on Sunday it was pretty much like all of our other Sundays! We went to worship with our family at Living Hope which is always such a blessing. We went out to eat for lunch and by the time we got home Brent had to leave for a meeting and my mom and I got the house ready for small group. I had time for a 15 minute power nap and then it was time for everyone to get here. We met for small group, then had dinner, and went to bed.
Today it has been snowing all day. It started about 8 this morning and it is still snowing tonight. Maybe my mom will get snowed in and she'll have to stay two weeks instead of one! My dad would probably have a fit! :)
We've been enjoying watching the olympics and are looking forward to the next few days of seeing more! These athletes are so amazing to me. I find myself sitting on the edge of my seat cheering for the USA!
Here are a few pictures of my youngest Valentine...

Maymay and Snow Buggies

Well, I still can't believe how much snow we have here in Ohio. I think it totals somewhere between 15 and 20 inches. I love to look out the window and see all of the snow but driving in it is not so much fun! I am glad the kids got to go to school today. They were getting a little stir crazy.
We did have a great day yesterday. Brent was off work yesterday and we enjoyed the unexpected day with him. We had lots of playing in the snow. Brent decided he was going to build the kids a snow fort or "igloo!" Here is a picture of the beginning of his work. He is still perfecting his masterpiece and I'll post a picture when he is finished!



The kids wanted to go sledding so we put all of our snow clothes on and headed over to the High School. There is a great big hill over there and the kids had a blast. Maddie got to stay with Mrs. Carol so she didn't have to get out in the cold, although she does have a snow suit! Miles only went down a few times. The hill was a little bit big for him! He did keep calling the sled a snow buggy and I loved everytime he said it! After his few times down the hill, I took him to the car to wait until the girls and Brent were finished sledding. He ended up playing with my phone and wanting to take pictures. Here is a picture of Maddie in her snow suit and a few of the pictures of Miles and me in the car.







I guess I will wrap up this post. One final thing to mention is Maddie's new nickname. Yesterday, I kept hearing Miles talk to Maddie and I wasn't really sure what he was saying. So, I decided to get closer and listen to what he was saying. When I listened closer I realized he was saying Maymay. When I asked him why he was calling her that, he told me that was her nickname. Now, all the kids are calling her Maymay. So sweet.

Here are a few pictures of the kids before bed...