Birthday Bash!!

Today we celebrated the kids birthdays. My first three kids are all summer babies - June and July. My sister's son is a July baby as well. (Drew is the odd man out - but we have already decided we will be celebrating his half birthday next year!) So rather than have an individual party for mine and hers we combine them and today was the day. We met at my mom's house - she always puts on an incredible spread - fruit, salad, stuffed shells, shredded roast beef sandwiches! It's incredible! My Aunt Cheryl and Uncle Doug as well as my mom's friends Marie and Jim all joined in the fun. We had a great time and the kids really enjoyed celebrating their day. Here are a few shots of the fun!

Each kid got their own little cake. Matt and Daniel ripped into theirs pretty quick so I didn't get a shot of theirs - but Sarah was savouring hers!Daniel enjoyed his cake!!!
My mom made a giant cupcake for the rest of us and for the kids to blow out candles. Each candles flame burned the color of the candle! It was pretty cool!Daniel got a new bike for his gift from my parents. He was pretty excited!My family from left to right - my sister Lisa, nephew Sam, Bruce, Mom, Daniel, Sarah, Drew, me, Andy and Matt.My parents with the grands!!!
It was a great day!!!

We have a tooth!!!

Yes, it is official! He has his first tooth. I knew it was coming - he has been a drooling Drew for over a month now - but I felt it last Friday - on his fifth month birthday. I was finally able to get a picture of it. Here it is!!! He has been rather grumpy the past few days and waking up at night again - so I believe the second one is on the move. He is my earliest teether - and my grumpiest! None of my other kids were really phased by teething so this is a new experience. I am hoping it will pass quickly!

Here are a few pictures I snapped while he was happy for a few brief moments!

He was "talking" in this one. He "talks" A LOT now!!!!!

This is why we call him "Drooling Drew" - do you see all that drool!?!?!He sneezed during our photo shoot! I thought it was cute!!!

I know, I know.....

I said I was going to blog last week - especially because I had two kids with birthdays - but I failed!! This is why I failed: I had been working on these portfolio for weeks and had to turn them into the school by June 21st - as that was the last day of school for Philly and all the staff leaves for the summer. Technically we have until June 30th to report our work - but why fight it? There is no sense and I don't want to be targeted as a "problem homeschooler". So, I worked hard, got the evaluations done and turned them it. Oh! It felt so good to be done with another year.

So that was a week ago - and I think my brain went on vacation! I have been so tired and have done nothing but the necessities - feed the baby, play with the baby, play with the almost 5 yo, feed the crew, and SLEEP!!!! I have done a few loads of laundry and cleaned, but that's about it!! I will start my major cleaning this week - I just needed a break!

My sweet baby turned 5 MONTHS OLD yesterday!!! I can't believe he is that old!! He also presented his first tooth yesterday!! It is gleaming white in his cute little mouth! It made me kinda sad - I so love those gummy smiles!!! He's growing up way to fast! He also tried to roll over to his belly today!!! (I grabbed the camera, but it was on the wrong setting so it didn't turn out that well - but I got a shot!) I so don't want him to grow up!! I love this sweet baby and his grins and giggles!!! Before I know it he will be 5 - just like my third child - or 11 or 13 like my older two. I do love watching them grow and learn - but so miss those days where I could hug and cuddle and whisper lullabies in their ears to calm their tears. Knowing Drew is our last I find myself holding and cuddling all the more - trying to memorize each moment in my heart.

Drew also went in the pool for the first time today. All our other kids are summer babies and have been in the pool as soon as their umbilical cord fell off. It's funny to put a 5 month old in the water! They have more of a reaction than infants!! See what he thought of it.....

But by the end he was smiling!

I'm still tired. Reading Rocks starts next week and I am so not ready for it. I am thankful that I have a lot of the school supply shopping done as I don't know if I have the energy to do it all this summer. Hopefully, Staples will have their deals and I'll be able to get most of the supplies in one spot.

So sorry!

I know it has been FOREVER since I have last blogged. End of the school year details have been keeping me away. I WILL WRITE more - especially Wednesday and Thursday as I have two children having birthdays! I have so much going on this week. In the mean time - enjoy some sweetness I caught with my camera today. He is really becoming quite a little guy! He's 20 weeks old today!!! I am so in love!!!

17 Weeks/ 4 Months!

Today Drew is 17 weeks old. Tomorrow he will be 4 months old! WOW!!! Time is just flying and I can't seem to catch up! I know I haven't blogged much lately - I'm really trying to organize the house so that I can have some breathing room this summer. I finally got all the kids winter clothes put away and summer ones out. The nice thing now is that I know I don't have to keep anything Sarah has outgrown as there is no other girl to pass it down to! So I get rid of it - QUICKLY!!!! Matt's stuff I also give away as it will be EIGHT years before Daniel would fit into it and with our limited room that's just too long to keep - plus elastic and stuff doesn't last too long. I have a friend who has kids just a year after ours and they get good use of the stuff. The only stuff I keep now is Daniel's. Drew will be able to wear it in about three years - so I can handle keeping it for that long. Ever since the whole bed bug incident I am not into holding onto things for a long period of time. If it is not in use - WATCH OUT!!!!!Drew has turned into a little person right before our eyes! He is "talking" and playing and just becoming interested in everything! Sarah has just realized that that everything he grabs goes into his mouth! It's funny to see what the older kids notice about Drew that they didn't notice about Daniel since they are so much older now. She is also very into his "talking" and talks to him constantly! I believe he will be speaking full sentences by the time he is 18 months thanks to Sarah's interaction! He is sleeping 11-12 hours at night - which I love! Now I just need to get myself to bed at a decent hour! I also believe that Drew has started the teething process! We currently call him "Drooling Drew!" as he is full of drool! He also has boughts of screaming that are unexplainable and nursing has become quite a challenge at times. I had to take him to the doctor last week for a rash I couldn't get rid of and he now weighs 15 pounds 11 ounces. In almost 4 months he has gained almost 5 pounds! He is one ounce shy of a full five pounds which I believe he has probably gained by today! Needless to say he is doing well!

Our crazy summer schedule begins next Tuesday. I am not looking forward to this summer - there are a lot of changes happening and I don't do well with change. The biggest change is that Matt will be turning 13 and going up to Teen Club and God Squad. Daniel will also start attending 5 & 6 Year Olds. So many people going in so many different directions! It's going to be a crazy summer!

One Year Ago.....

I couldn't imagine my life as it is today. One year ago today we found our last bed bug - dead! One year ago today I couldn't imagine loving another sweet boy let alone adding one to our family. One year ago today I was still in tears and stressed about the condition of our house.

But SO MUCH has changed in just one year!

First - the bed bugs are gone. Technically we still have 6 months before we can officially declare them GONE as they can live 18 months without a feeding - but we are trusting God for an answered prayer - which I will talk about in the next paragraph. We still look for them and check every fuzzy we find on the floor - but we haven't seen one in a year. PRAISE GOD! I honestly didn't believe we would ever be rid of them and thought we would have to endure life with them forever - but God is faithful even to those without strong faith. I learned a great deal about myself and my God and am more in love with Him this year than last. He is strong and can handle my tears, anger and frustration and still love me with a fierce love that can get me through the toughest trials! I also learned that less is more. I don't need a lot of stuff cluttering up my life. I am still de-cluttering our house but it is in far better condition than it was when the whole bed bug thing started in October of 2008!

Second - we have a new son! He is perfect (well in MY eyes!) and adorable and so sweet I just want to eat him up! Last spring I remember praying that if God would allow it to bless us with another child. But I put a condition on that child - that He wouldn't allow us to get pregnant until the bed bugs were gone. I knew (and so did He!) that I could not handle the stress of bed bugs and pregnancy at the same time! When I took the home pregnancy test on May 29th - I knew the bed bugs were gone. God is faithful and loving and I viewed that pregnancy as a sort of promise that the bed bugs were gone. The pregnancy had a lot of ups and downs - and was my most stressful pregnancy right up to the end - but God is so good to me and brought us all through it safely and having learned much! We are all in love with Drew and view him as a miraculous gift from God!

Third - I never thought our house would look THIS GOOD! It is completely different! Andy did an amazing job and I continue to love the house I live in (though I sometime wish it were in a different area!). I know I haven't posted many pictures of it all new and what not. Right now it is a disaster area with just getting back from vacation and getting the clothes all switched over. Since school is done I will have time to totally clean it from top to bottom and then I will post the before and after shots - you will be amazed! So the biggest blessing from the bed bugs is a new house from the inside out!

It is fun (now) to look back on last year and see how God has carried me through some of the toughest trials I have faced in my life. I am glad my friend encouraged me to start a blog so that I have a chronicle of exactly how I felt during those times and can look back and see God's faithfulness. I know I will face other trials - but I can also look back and see God's faithfulness and KNOW without a doubt He will continue to be faithful. Thank you, Father, for your deep love for me!

LIFE!!!

I have been falling behind on my blog posting. Life is a bit crazy with trying to wrap school up for the year and get portfolios together. Plus taking care of this cutie takes up a lot of time!I am also really trying to keep up on all the housework - namely laundry! I can't believe how much laundry we produce! But the wonderful thing is that I now have a a washer and dryer UPSTAIRS!!!! See ~ Isn't it great! I am SO thankful that I don't have to trudge down to the basement and lug everything back upstairs! Thank you, Andy! Never in my wildest dreams did I ever imagine that I could have a laundry room upstairs! But Andy made it possible when he had to gut the entire hallway in February 2009 due to the wicked bed bugs. So something GOOD did come from that dreadful situation!Drew is now 3 months old! Goodness! Time is just flying but we are so enjoying him! He has the greatest smiles! He cries far less now a days and is getting into quite a routine. He sleeps through the night and is ready for bed at 6:30 pm! I still wake him at 11:00 pm to feed him one last time, but he then sleeps until 7-7:30 am! He is a dream! Sarah and Daniel still fight over who can hold him and love to talk with him and play with him. We all love seeing who can get the biggest smile out of him! Daniel is doing well and is constantly begging to do school! I think I have discovered the secret to having kids like school - don't do it with them! Daniel begs to do math and reading. He would do a workbook everyday if I let him! But trying to deal with Matt and Sarah sometimes leaves little time with my preschooler. However, he knows all his letters and numbers and can count up through 20. He is also writing his name (with a little help with the N)! He is drawing really cute pictures of us and we love the explanations behind each one! His current passion is Lego's! He is constantly building something with the many that he finds around the house!

I am planning on doing the preschool program I was suppose to do with him this past year, this summer. I have decided to school year round. As you may have guessed this is an EXTREMELY popular decision with the older two! I don't believe Daniel will fuss at all and Drew will never know the difference! I think it will be easier in the long run and I can then break some of the subjects down into "semesters". I often find it difficult to fit both science and history in together. It will also give us a little wiggle room throughout the year so if I feel I (or the kids) needs a day off we can do so without the pressure of finishing on time! So pray for me and the kids - that we would be able to do the work and really learn. Pray especially for Matt as he is really struggling with motivation and making the school work his own. I have stopped nagging him this week and in the past two days he has only gotten spelling done. Andy and I are frustrated. But the nagging was just causing strife between us and wasn't really working. Until Matt decides to do the work, it won't get done. He's always been that way - he has to decide things and when he does things happen. It is a waiting game at this point. If he doesn't finish his work by June 1st he may be repeating 7th grade. So pray for him and us!

Sarah is almost finished her 5th grade year. All her course work will be done this week! It wasn't our best school year as I feel I wasn't really the teacher I wanted, or needed, to be. I already have plans in the works for changing next year. I really need to focus on spelling and math with her. One reason we are doing school year round is because she tends to lose a lot of information even over a short period of time. She needs constant repetition to remember all that she has been taught. She is excited for the summer as we just registered her to go to Camp Sankanac! I grew up at that camp and I am so glad she loves going there! She really wanted to go for two weeks, but our summer is looking really busy, so we told her next year she can go for two weeks.

Thanks for all your prayers. Next week we head to Williamsburg, VA! It is our final field trip of the year! So be looking out for some fun posts of our time there! Also pray for our travels as this is Drew's first LONG trip and I have no idea how it will go! Thanks!