The Busy Month of February...

And it's not even over with yet!!! What a whirlwind month we have had thus far. It started out with my parents coming up to watch the kiddos while we went on a date to "MONSTER TRUCK RALLY"(say it in the voice....) This was their Christmas present to us and we loved getting away for a brief moment. We went to dinner the Rally and then to a hotel. Slept for 9 hours straight...ah...bliss....then back home.



Our cute cousins came over for a backyard picnic....how fun to enjoy the weather on our smooth new grass....


We took a family day and went to the Zoo...the boys did really well and the girls had a good time....So many fun things to see. Here are a few highlights....















Grant hurt his finger Super-bowl Sunday(see post below) and the following Sat was V-day! Doug surprised me with tickets to go see "Mary Poppins" at Gamage. The play was good and we loved hanging out with our friends the Youngs....


Sunday night Grant was not doing well so I decided to listen to my Mommy voice and take him in. He was lethargic and had a high fever. I thought his finger might have been infected but no....he had RSV. We waited at the urgent care for almost 2 hours before we were seen....and after breathing treatments, steriods shots, and other meds he was not improving. By this time I noticed that he was having trouble breathing and was breathing really fast. 40 times per minute is the average, he was doing around 65 times per minute. Because the Urgent care was closing and he was not improving they took Grant by Ambulance to Carden's Children's Hospital. Once there he got hooked up to an IV and got a deep suction down his nose and he started to improve. We were released at 4am and given instructions on what to watch for. Well I was an idiot and rode in the ambulance with him so we had to take a taxi home.....We were home by 5 and sleeping. The next day was a hard one...I'm not going to lie. I was exhausted, Clark was being a stinker and the girls were especially hard that day. Of course Doug had to work so I cried and said many prayers that I would make it. We did and my mom thankfully was in town so she helped us the next day. Grant slept all day. Literally....he would wake up for 15 minutes drink a bottle, have a breathing treatment and then fall asleep on me.

The next day he woke and was so lethargic he wouldn't drink his bottle. This worried me. Also his breaths per minute were 75....also a bad sign. I took him to our Pediatrician and then he sent me back to the Children's Hospital ER.
Once there we found out that he had an ear infection, pneumonia, and RSV. The doctor admitted him and we were in a room by 4pm that day.

We stayed a total of 4 days and he was such a trooper. He had to be poked a total of 8 times for IV's and had many deep suction's down his nose. Mostly he just slept and healed. What a blessing. By the 3rd day he was sitting up and wanting to play. I stayed with him most of the time and enjoyed my time with him there.....is it sad to say that? I read books and magazines, took naps with him, and enjoyed bonding with my Grantie.
I am so grateful that he is back home with us. What a blessing it is to have my sweet children in our humble home....

I should have listened to myself

You know when that little voice in your head tells you, "Hey don't do that!" or "You should call this friend." Call it Mother's intuition, or the Spirit whispering to your heart, I didn't listen to my inner voice this past Sunday.

We were getting ready for church this past Sunday with all of the hustle and bustle that comes with it. We were having some friends over that evening so we decided to put the leaf into our solid oak table. I got the leaf out and was about to lean it up against the wall, when the little voice said, "YOU SHOULD NOT LEAVE THIS HERE, ONE OF THE BOYS IS GOING TO COME AND TOUCH THIS AND IT WILL FALL ON THEM."

I then left the leaf there and took the boys high chair trays around the corner to the sink. Just as I was rinsing the trays I heard a loud crash and a scream. My heart sank......I knew it. One of my sweet baby boys had touched the giant leaf and it had coming crashing down on them.

I ran around the corner to see my sweetest Grant with blood dripping everywhere. I lost it. I was hysterical and I ran to the sink to wet a washcloth. His pointer finger was mangled and it looked pretty bad. Olivia ran to her room crying. Audree was shouting, "I saw it fall on him mom!" And of course Clark was crying with all the chaos.

9 Month Boy Pics....courtesy of Sarah Goodman

http://sarahgoodmanphotography.com/blog/ ETA....hopefully it works now...scroll down to the second post...
My good photog friend asked if she could take some pictures of the boys before they were able to run away. We went to her home studio and got some cute pics of the boys around 9 months old....I loved watching her creative mind work.....thanks again Sarah!

The Backyard of my dreams

A few months ago we tried to get a bigger home. We got all the way to the end of the process and they told us that we hadn't been in business long enough. We were sad but grateful we had a home at all. To make this home a little easier for us we decided to spend some money on the backyard and make it the way we want it.
I had many pictures of this project along the way, but sadly our computer crashed and most of our pictures were lost. I am so thankful for bloggin and that I keep up on it. I will print this and these will be the only pictures my children have from 2009.
Anyways, our backyard had tons of dirt, old grass and random small trees growing everywhere. Don't forget the GIANT bugambilia plant overtaking the whole yard.
Sweet Doug and his good friend and co worker Albert spent countless hours digging, moving dirt, getting the forms ready for the cement, laying the cement, and laying beautiful fake grass in our backyard.
Now my backyard is maintance free. No watering, no dirt, no mowing, just a fun great time. The girls love to ride their bikes around the grass in the cement circle and the boys love exploring.


Dad and Albert laying the grass...




The awesome payvers that Doug layed....we want to plant a garden back here..



The other side of the yard. With a trampoline and a broken Jacuzzi.





Grant learned how to clap this week.

Last night after dinner we sat out there as a family and play duck duck goose and layed around. Ah....happy times.

Just too cute not to share....

Olivia is definatly our little mom around the house. She likes to help feed the brothers and entertain them and dare I say boss them around already! On this day she was playing peek a boo and the boys had the giggles....Grant was laughing so hard his face was turning red! What a cute moment...





These little men are growing up to quickly if you ask me. Their little personalities are starting to show more and more...doesn't it just seem like I was announcing that there was 2?!! Sigh...cute big boys....

Sweet Moment

Tonight as we were getting the girls ready for bed Audree couldn't find Bunny had a little tail. We searched and searched for about 10 minutes to no avail. She then said, "Mom let's say a prayer so that we can find Bunny had a little tail." Just melt my heart. We stopped right then and there and said a prayer. We found it shortly afterwards. What a sweet reminder of our Saviors Love and the beauty of learning in the home.

That was a fast 4 years....Audree and Olivia turned 4!

Think of all that you can do in 4 years...Attend H.S and graduate. Obtain a College Education. But raising my girls has probably been the best out of all those things. I have been a little weepy thinking about them growing up. The night before their birthday I was telling them about the day they were born. What a special day that is for mothers. I had a scheduled C-Section at 4pm and they both came out big and crying. Audree was 7lbs. 3 oz. and Olivia was 5lbs. 10oz. Throughout these past 4 years we have had a great time. Dancing, dressing up, playing games, taking family vacations, reading books and welcoming some little brothers.

Here they are in the hospital....sweet little profiles.


Audree did this all on her own....I looked over and she was giving her sissy a hug...


This year we had our first friend party. Everyone wore their favorite dress-ups.
Audree told me these were her Binoculars.


Our 4 little friends over to play....cute girlies...



We made pipe cleaner/bead braclets....so fancy!


We had some yummy cake and ice cream


The Brothers woke up from their nap and we excited about the fun times.


We opened presents and of course DANCED!


Audree is my tenderhearted girl. She loves to talk to me and says "So" "Beautiful" and "Perfect" while she is explaining about what is happening. She loves to laugh and tries to wrestle with her brothers. She often is found giving in to Olivia and doesn't like to see her sissy sad. What a blessing she is to our family.


Little Liv likes to run the show. She has a sassy personlity and is very observant of the world around her. She has a great memory and brings things up that I have long forgot. She loves helping with the brothers and is very curious about the world around her. We are so grateful for your Livvy Lou


Happy birthday big girls!

Disney on Ice

We took the girls to Disney on Ice for their birthday this year. We went the day before their birthday and had a great time. It was an awesome show. The costumes were amazing and the girls loved every second of it. Our sweet friend Jodi came and watched the boys and we had some special time with our big girls.

The Brothers are 10 Months Old

Can you even believe it? Time is just flying by with these 2 sweet boys. Here is what they are doing now.



Grant- He is my sunshine boy. He is so go with the flow it's crazy. He laughs at anything the girls do. He looks at you with the sweetest little face and scrunches his nose. He says "Mamama" and crawls like an inch worm slowly around the house. He is content to watch what is going on around him. He has just stared pulling up and stands on his toes while standing. We love our sweetie guy.


Clark- He is our busy body. He love to snuggle and is shy towards people. He won't hold still for a diaper change and is already throwing mini temper tantrums. He crawls at full speed and love to take baths. He is walking the couch and I have no doubt he will be walkind sooner than we want. He says "Uh-oh" He melts my little heart with his craziness....we love our Clarkie Malarkie.

Some things we just can't live without

This is Bunny had a little tail and Butterfly bunny. These are Audree's favorite teddy's. Especially Bunny had a little tail.



This is Bunny had a little tail with her Woobie(I know...I probably shouldn't have called it that when they first got them)
These two things go on vacations with her, comfort her when she is sad and most of all sleep with her at night.


Have we ever lost these precious things? Yes.....is is devestating? Oh yes!!!
I wanted to remember the cute things that my almost 4 year olds love...so I had to take a picture of sweet Mr. Bunny had a little tail.


And here are my precious talk all day long drama girls....whew!! Can you see their fancy dress ups? They wear dressup's like 70% of the time....sweeties.

Audree is senstive and kind. Every night in her prayers she says " And I love my Mom and Dad so much....." She laughs freely and is quick to help.


Olivia is my observant spit fire. The other day she sang "Boots with the fur..." She is always listening in the background and remember details like no one else.
I asked her to go and get her favorite teddys for a pic...she brought out another bunny had a little tail and a monkey. But honestly she has new favorite teddy every day.