Our princess is 4

Four years ago today we were on a plane somewhere near the grand canyon. (It looks really small from 35000 feet, off the topic...sorry) anyway... We landed in Las Vegas and received a phone call that our baby girl had been born.. 8lbs 9 oz. We screamed on the plane and all of the Southwest Airlines' crew and passengers cheered and clapped for us. After what seemed like a 2 day layover (it was 2 hours) we were on our final flight to Portland Oregon. We landed, rented a car (it had a flat tire), changed vehicles and were on our way to Salem. We arrived at Salem Hospital very nervous and anxious. Our Bethany case worker introduced herself and took us to meet the birth grandmother and great grandmother. They followed us into the nursery where we saw the most beautiful baby in the world. We both burst into tears, as did everyone around us. David started singing to her, I just stood and cried. I will never forget how full my arms felt when I held her for the first time. I had never known such completeness. All of our prayers had been answered. After a week in a hotel in Portland, we flew home and introduced our daughter to her brother, grandparents and a church full of wonderful people who had helped us get her into our arms.

Skip forward 4 years... our princess is a live wire. She never stops talking or moving. And if there were ever a girl who was in charge and knew what she wanted in life..it is Olivia. She has the vocabulary of a teenager and the reasoning skills of a graduate student. Beauty, intelligence and spirit...what blessings God has poured out on her! There are times when she wears me out, she gives new definition to "strong willed". But when I look at her and remember all that God orchestrated to bring her into our family, my heart overflows.

I love you sweet Olivia, you are my precious princess and I treasure you. Happy Birthday to the greatest daughter in the world!

I Can't Believe It...

A few years ago when Alex was in 3rd grade our Children's minister excitedly told him that he was old enough to go to Kids camp the following summer. Alex said "That's really cool, but don't tell my mom because she will cry." I have always been a little emotional when it came to Alex growing up. To me he will always be my baby. Being married to a youth minister, I knew when Alex was born that he would one day be a "youth". Tonight it happened, he donned his "True Dog" t-shirt, put on his hat (a little off sided) and was gone. Tonight my baby joined the youth group. I can't believe it has happened already. I was busy with kids programs so I couldn't go peek in and spy on him. When I finally saw him, he was happy and having a great time. He didn't stop talking the entire way home. His daddy is not the youth minister but we are so blessed to have a great youth ministry at our church.
On another note... we start homeschooling tomorrow. Say a prayer!

Big Boy Beds

Last night in cribs...




Big Boy Beds



Last night, there were no baby cribs in our house. Yes that is right, all of our babies are now out of cribs and in real beds. We have been trying to get the twins excited about moving into bunk beds for about a month now. Yesterday we took the plunge and dismantled the cribs. It was a little sad to think that there are no more babies, just "big boys" as they tell me. All of the babies helped take down the beds (quite the ordeal, with all that help). It was even more "helpful" to have them help assemble the bunk beds. But David managed to accomplish the task. I took down all of the baby decorations and replaced them with big boy sports decorations.



Their first night in the big bed was great. They stayed in bed and did not get up until I went to get them this morning. Nap time...was another story...an hour and a half after I put them down I went in and they were still awake...destroying their room. I was not a happy mommy :( It is quiet in there now so I hope they learned their lesson and are sleeping peacefully.

Olivia's perfect sport

Olivia started gymnastics this week. This is definitely her "thing". She was so excited that she never stopped smiling and laughing. She ran around the gym jumping and bouncing and flipping like a pro. I was so happy for her that I almost cried... well, I did shed a tear or two when she carefully moved along the balance beam, jumped off of the end and threw her hands in the air like an Olympic champion. She even threw herself backwards over a large padded roll to do a back handspring. Mrs. Donna, the teacher, said her biggest strength was her fearlessness...anyone surprised?? Watch Olympians of 2020, Livi Ann is on her way!

You better sit down...

No we're not pregnant but if you know us our news is just as surprising....We have decided to homeschool Alex this year.


For those of you who just fainted...take a few deep breaths

For those who just screamed in disbelieving anger... take a few deep breaths

For those of you who just laughed out loud... take a few deep breaths






We are all very excited and believe it or not..peaceful about this. We know this is what God wants us to do for our family. Alex is a different child since we told him our decision. He is happy and joyful and talkative. He is the child we haven't seen since last summer.

As for the babies... Joshua and Lucas will be in Pre-school 2 days a week. Olivia is going to be "homeschooling" with me this year since this is the last year she has at home before she starts kindergarten. Her special treat is that she is going to take gymnastics. She is beyond excited!

This is going to be a whole new world for us but we know God has brought us to this and we are excited about what He is going to do.

Triathalon Tough

It has been a week of ups and downs here. After a great vacation in Hilton Head we spent a few days with extended family. (side note... family is one of God's greatest blessings) The day after we came home Alex fainted in the upstairs bathroom. We took him to the ER and he was admitted to the hospital. It was a scary time and we have no definitive answers as to why or what happened. They did a lot of tests and we know what is not wrong. So the docs told us to go on with life as normal. So....today Alex ran his first triathalon. The course was 200 meter swim, 2 mile bike ride and a 1 mile run. He was great. He finished in just over 29 minutes. We are so very proud!!

Here we are in blogland...

Never say never... here I am entering the world of blogging. This is bit strange to me and since I am more than a little neurotic, we'll take a "wait and see" approach to this whole blog-thing.