6 weeks of Life with 4 Kids.....

Joel is 6 weeks old this week and doing well. Growing like a weed. He is huge!!! We are all adjusting to having 4 kids in the house. We have been ever so busy with homeschooling and just plain life. Get ready for a picture overload as I catch up on our life for the last 6 weeks.

Joel is 1 week old here, his shirt says 'Everyone knows I was born this cool!" The Grandma and Great Grandma holding the 2 baby cousins. My mom is holding Joel and her mom is holding my Nephew Jeremiah. Jeremiah and Joel are exactly 1 month apart.

Lindsy in one of her more crazy fashions. If you can't get your cape to stay on, just use your winter hat.

Clayton loving on his brother.

A bad case of the stinkbugs in this house! Maybe those are just showoffs instead.

2 Weeks old and full of smiles!

We love our Moby Wrap!

Daddy helped the kids build a gingerbread train.

Rub a Dub Dub....kids in the tub.

Joel's first real bath. It took 3 weeks for his cord stump to fall off. He is 3 weeks old here and loves the bath.

Great Grandpa Cliff holding Joel on Christmas Day.

Lindsy was beginning to feel a bit left out. So I decided that she was old enough to have her first 'REAL' haircut. The woman who did it was so sweet with her. I took her to the Style place in our local Walmart. Lindsy loved it and felt quite pampered...I may have created a monster!

Sleeping with Daddy

A Costco Shopping Cart full of Kids. I had to push a cart of kids while Wilfred pushed the cart of goods. Thank goodness for HUGE shopping carts!

Kaleb playing with his workbench.

Joel 4 weeks old.

Wild Man.....he goes like this all day long. He is a walking natural disaster....leaving a trail of destruction in his wake.

1 Month old!

Like I said WILD!

Clayton sent us to the Emergency Room on 1/13. This was our first ER trip for a child. We made it 6 years without one....hopefully we will make at least another 6 years. Clayton fell and hit his head on the tile at my mom's office. He didn't brace for impact or anything...just full force crash to the side of his head. His ear swelled and turned purple immediately. It also left an imprint on his skull. I was scared good as he had a bit of a hard time remembering things. They did a CT scan at the hospital and all looked fine. We have one VERY EXPENSIVE picture of Clayton's brain on our fridge. His ear is purple and quite large and flappy. Other than a good concussion he seems to be fine. Scared us all good!

Baby Joel 6 weeks old fresh from a bath with lots of cute baby chubs!

Also on Monday, Kaleb took a tumble down our flight of 13 stairs. He hit every one on the way down. Clayton screamed and cried certain that Kaleb would be dead. I was prepared to head for the ER again. But he seems fine, a bit bumped and bruised,but fine. He still has no fear of the stairs, but we all hold our breath when he goes near them.

Hope you have enjoyed all our pictures.

Meet JOEL...

Joel Matthew was born (finally!!!) on Monday, December 6 at 1:19 am. Much to the shock and awe of the Doctors and Nurses, he arrived without the c-section I had been prepped for. Several times he came down and tried to get through my pelvis and then ended up going back up, flipping between face down and face up. After hours and hours of hard labor and his inability to get through my pelvis the decision was made to prep me for a c-section. As we were waiting and the doctors were busy delivering 2 other babies, Joel made his appearance. I for the first time in my life am absolutely grateful for the hospital and doctors. Without them I would not have survived, nor would have Joel. His birth story is a miracle, made possible only by the hand of God.

The minute he was out, he was placed skin to skin on mom. A big boy....8 lbs 14 oz and 22 inches long. His head measured 15 inches around.
Amma....love at first sight with her 5th grand baby!

Daddy and Joel with their identical noses!

One day old.....

I love this outfit...we were finally going HOME!

I am well...I feel a bit like I was in a boxing match from the inside out. My back is a mess, as are my hips and pelvis. In an odd way I am thankful for the pain....It just reminds me that I am alive and can feel it. I'm am glad to be home with all my children under my roof.

Joel's birth story is very long but amazing. My one hope was that the glory of God could be seen in Joel's birth. I really feel like his life is a gift to truly be treasured.

Hi-Ho-Hi-HO......

It's off to the hospital we go. No sign of baby on his own. Doctor says time is up, he must come out...ready or not.

Did I Mention.........

That we are STILL WAITING!!!!


We watched and waved as my due date flew by several days ago. My midwife says enough is enough and scheduled me for an induction on Sunday. I really don't want to be induced....so for my sake this stubborn one had better come before then!!!!

Until then we will continue waiting, and twiddling our thumbs, and watching the paint peel off the walls, and any other activity that requires insane amounts of waiting!

The Waiting Game and a Post of Pictures........

We are just playing the baby waiting game this week. I am 39 weeks and waiting. Baby will come when he is ready.....I hope! :) To help pass the time I thought I would get caught up with some pictures. We have many more to share, but these are the ones from my cell phone. Sorry for the quality in some, but they still get the idea across.

In September we went to Wyoming for a week. In that week we also went to a Cow Sale. The kids and I have never been before....We are hooked!!!! Kaleb was clapping as the cows ran through, so his hands are blurry. Pens full of cows as far as the eye can see.....smelled like money to me!
One of Grandma's puppies wouldn't quit following Lindsy around.

When we got back home a friend of Wilfred's gave him a basket of apples. Kaleb ate several right away. When I say he ate them I mean he ate them completely leaves, stems, cores, all of it. We finally had to hide them so he would stay out of them.

What are you looking at???? (Aunt Judy Cronk this is the towel you sent for Kaleb, Thanks so much!!)

A watermelon harvest!

I got a new backpack carrier for Kaleb. We love the Ergo Baby Carrier! I also love my hubby who hauls my kids around through Walmart, while I waddle behind. I had many people stop me to comment how cute my husband and kids were....I totally agree!!!!!

Clayton is working on basic fractions already!

In October we had a Birthday Princess in the house. My mom bought her this dress with one to match her dolly.

Someone left the back door unlatched. Kaleb loves being outside and he took full advantage of the opportunity. I found the escapee out back wearing nothing but a diaper.

This is why we keep all pens put away up high. The little tattoo artist and his work. He was so proud of himself!

Like I said we had a Birthday Princess in October. Her crown (from my sis) says Birthday girl. She turned 4!

Showing off some of her loot....new Tinkerbell jammies with matching slippers and a princess scooter.

What????? I was hungry! You'll notice the empty bread bag under his feet.

Playing on the grass with Amma and her doggies.

Here Amma have a sniff.

This picture is so SWEET!!!

This girl LOVES Shopping. This is proof....2 different pairs of pink boots in one day! S.P.O.I.L.E.D. by Amma!

One evening this month we stopped to get gas at our local gas station. While Wilfred was out pumping I watched this swaggering cowboy come out with a few newly purchased bottles of Whiskey. As he packed them away in his saddle bags and lit a smoke, I couldn't help but get the giggles. He pulled a small mini bottle of whiskey out his jacket and chugged it. I couldn't take it any longer I had to take a picture. His horse is tied off at the vacuums.

He may be too drunk to drive....But apparently there is no such thing as too drunk to ride!!!

Boys in matching Jammies.....How CUTE!

Of course Lindsy felt a bit left out...she is wondering why they don't make equipment Jammie's in pink!

Who can resist a sleeping baby? Not me!

Wilfred's newest addition to his garage.....yes, he scoops the cat pan! But I will admit she is pretty sweet.

The quilt I made for our baby boy to come.

He is a shopper also! I love how he is holding Lindsy's Tinkerbell purse on his arm. He is just mimicking what his mommy does at Costco!

He can feed himself cereal with milk and not spill....now if only he could teach Clayton.

I'll have one of everything! Kaleb knows exactly what to do with a menu!

I hope you've enjoyed the pictures....check back soon....maybe our waiting game will finally be over!

Kids and the Things They Say....

Yesterday as I was getting dressed I had 4 extra hands and eyes. They claimed that they were helping me out, but mostly I felt like a fish in a fish bowl.
As they watched my every move Clayton pipes up with a very innocent question. "Mommy why is your belly button so big? It's ugly."

What do I say to that??? As my self confidence quickly evaporated I replied, "Uh, well, uh, I am kinda pregnant! This sweet boy is so big he his making my belly get big, which is stretching out my belly button. "

Clayton "Well, it's still ugly."
Lindsy "Look guys I can stick my belly out too, See my belly buttons all stretched out. Ewww"
Clayton "Oh Yeah? Look I can stretch out my belly more"
Lindsy "EWWW! Your belly button is gross. Mine is still stretched more."
Clayton "No, yours is grosser. Mine stretches more cuz I am bigger."

And so the competition was born. I quietly slunk away and left them to compare while I tried to go repair my self esteem.

Whoa! Look At THAT Belly....

These are a bit blurry because they were taken by my mom with her cell phone. It is very rare for me to post pictures of myself but I couldn't help posting these.

Here is a rare "family" photo. I think this shows what we are really like. Forget those posed portraits. We were having some snuggle time before bed. Clayton was climbing on my back and pulling my hair up, so I was making a goofy face to go with it. Wilfred is playing his harmonica on the couch. Kaleb was up to mischief behind me, while Lindsy was trying to snuggle in as close as possible. Even our unnamed 4th child made himself known. Notice the bulge in my belly up against Lindsy? That is his butt pressing out. Yep, My belly is huge! That is no understatement. I have scooted my seat in the car back as far as it will go, this week I am once again rubbing up against the steering wheel. That makes it a bit hard to make turns. My maternity shirts are no longer long enough....thank goodness for that bright blue maternity panel on all my jeans....maybe I will start a new fashion trend!
We are a goofy family, this is proof. I may regret posting these...so enjoy them before my sanity returns!

BTW, I still have 5 weeks to go...should we start taking bets on how much bigger my aching belly can get? It is pretty much stretched, maybe it will just explode! :)

No, Mr. President: John Piper's Response to President Obama on Abortion

This is pretty good. I never wept for Joy over this president, but I do think this message is right.

Pumpkin Ideas....

Fellow Bloggers I need your help! We have an abundance of Sugar Pumpkins....I am not complaining, but I am out of ideas. I have canned up 15 quarts of pumpkin which will make 30 pies. I still have a wagon full of pumpkins sitting in my dining room. I love pumpkin cream cheese muffins, pumpkin bread, pie, and just baking and eating pumpkin. Can you give me any other ideas for using pumpkin? I would love a pumpkin coffee cake recipe or anything else you can come up with. In fact lets make this a pumpkin recipe exchange.... Leave your recipe in the comments below!

Baked Pumpkin

Cut the top off a pumpkin and scrape out the seeds. Fill cavity with quartered apples, a bit of butter, brown sugar, salt, pepper, and cinnamon. Replace top. Place filled pumpkin in baking dish and bake at 375 for an hour. Your house will smell great and there will be arm wrestling competitions for every last bit of it!

Are Parental Rights About to Be Taken?

http://www.oneplace.com/player-custom/family-talk/parental-rights-at-risk-in-america-138426.html

This begs the question;

Are parental rights at risk in America? You really should listen at the link and find out for yourself. I will just say I am appalled....I think you may be too. Leave me a comment and let me know what you think!