Happy Birthday, Jesus!

 Happy Birthday to you.

Happy Birthday to you.

 Happy Birthday Dear Jesus!

 Happy Birthday to YOU!

We had a Birthday Party for Jesus on Christmas Eve before going to church for the Christmas Service. It is very important to Chris and I to focus on the true meaning of Christmas, the birth of Christ.

I hope everyone had a Blessed Christmas!

Lighting of the Christmas Tree

 We took the kids downtown to the lighting of the Christmas Tree.  It was cold but we toughed it out. Santa came in on a horse drawn carriage but the kids do not really like the big guy. We don't really talk about Santa much in our house. But they were excited about the FREE cookies and hot chocolate from the South Bend Chocolate Cafe that we waiting in line for a LONG time to get. It is too bad that right before we reached the table they ran out! Haha. We ran inside to buy some and the lines were sooooo long that we just decided to get goodies another time. They kids didn't really seem to care. They were just enjoying all the activity going on.

We are gearing up for Christmas this weekend and very excited that Daddy actually gets some time off work. The kids will be thrilled to see him 2 days in a row! Mommy is happy too! :o)

Mommy's TIRED...

A few weeks ago I hired a Personal Trainer. I need to get this extra weight off and get back into shape. I have been feeling very tired since the kids were born and I just assumed it was because my life has changed a lot. Taking care of 4 kiddos and a house and all that goes with it is a lot of work. I just figured I was getting older and the tiredness was just a part of life.

After working with the Trainer of couple of times I had some severe muscle soreness. I have been doing cardio a few times a week for a long time but I had just started adding in strength training and stretching. I was having some lower abdominal pain around my C-section scar that was not getting better so I went to the Doctor. After some blood testing the Dr. discover that my hemoglobin is down to 7. This is considered very low. Like low enough that I am going into the Hospital for IV iron infusions once a week for the next 3 weeks. I also have a vitamin D deficiency.

I am soooo relieved that the way I have been feeling for months is not the way I am going to feel for the rest of my life...THIS IS NOT NORMAL! The Dr. said I should feel a huge difference in the next 2-3 weeks. Just in time for Christmas. I cannot tell you how Thankful I am to have found this out just in time to avoid a blood transfusion or Hospitalization. I did have to stop working with my Trainer just for 3 weeks until I am a little more stable. The Doctor and Nurses were suprised that I was doing a vigorous work-out on top of my daily routine with my levels so low.

I now have HOPE that I will feel good again. I am Praising God that in just a few weeks I will have renewed strength to face this next year. We are so excited to be celebrating our 4th Christmas as a big happy family!

Mommy's Helpers

The kids were a great help when we were putting the Christmas Tree up in their playroom?!? Haha.

They spent most of the night playing with a Mickey and Minnie Snowglobe.

Oh...and mixing up the branches after I already had them all sorted by color.

Sophia ran off with Charlie Brown's Christmas Tree.

We did finally get it all together and lit. The decorations came later of course they will not leave them alone. I decided to put all the Disney ornament on their tree so I guess it is partly my fault. They just cannot resist! :o)

Shipshewana Light Parade

Several weeks ago we took the kids to Shipshewana for their Light Parade and the Lighting of the Christmas Tree. It was cold so we all bundled up and headed out.

The line for Santa was too long so we headed inside one of the local bake shops and got the kids some cookies...as always they didn't really like them and saw some veggie chips in the store and went nuts. Yup, that's my kiddos. Sophia is really the only one that likes sweets. They like Oatmeal Cookies and Snickerdoodles sometimes but throw icing or chocolate at them and you can forget it.

 

Overall we had a good time the parade had many floats covered in Christmas Lights. I made for a late night but well worth it. We were definately all in the Christams Spirit by the end of the night. The next day the kids wanted to put a tree up. This was November 13 by the way. So we did. They have had a tree down in their playroom for well over a month.

Now it they would just leave it alone!!!!

That's MINE!

We assigned colors for the kids when they were born.

They have each become very attached to their color. 



Henry Sophia Sean and Edi

Edi is always pink. If it is pink she thinks it belongs to her.

Sophia's color is purple.

Henry's color is green.

Sean's color is blue.

Sometimes having their own color is a real pain in the .... but

it gives them something that is just theirs. There is NO question as to

which kid it belongs to if it is their color.

We are always trying to do things that will make life just a little easier. You would not believe

how much some things help.

Our new playroom!

We moved into a much bigger house a couple of months ago. We have a lot more room and the kids have a huge playroom in the basement. The house is a 4 bedroom with 3 full baths and a huge laundry/storage room in the fully finished basement. Oh, how quickly the sanity returns.

We are all enjoying the new house. Hopefully it will make the winter a lot easier! Mommy loves all the extra space because it makes the house MUCH less noisy. Peace and calm...Ahhhhhh!

We are finally getting settled in and it is feeling like home! I could not feel more blessed! I am getting ready to start pre-school with the kids. I found some great teaching guides at our local school supply store and I am setting up the spare bedroom as our school.

We are looking forward to the upcoming Holiday Season and spending time with family!

God Bless!

I LOVE my cousins!

My mom brought my niece and nephew to visit for the night. We had a GREAT time!

"Mommy, God made it snow!"

So we moved to Southern Alabama when the kids we just a little over 1 year old. It does not snow in Foley, Alabama, the temperatures rarely fall below freezing and if they do it is only for a night NEVER during the day. Chris had a job transfer at the beginning of the year and we all ended up in Northern Indiana. We are about 4 miles South of Michigan...YES, a very big change for us.

Anyway on Saturday the sun was shinning and all of a sudden it started thundering. Then came the rain which quickly turned into a mixture of snow and sleet. Needless to say the kids were very excited. Ummmm, Mommy, not so much!

The view from our dining room.

The whole time the kids were yelling, "Mommy, look God is making it snow."

Ya gotta love those kids even though they have no idea what we are in for this winter. We have been told that we will be having a lot of snow. Because of Lake Michigan being so close we are subect to the Lake Effect. Thank Goodness we recently moved to a much larger home so we will not go too stir crazy being stuck inside. I have also decided to start doing pre-school with the kids when the weather gets bad.

Luckily it was all melted by the time nap was over. Oh and just in time for the BIG Notre Dame game...but that's another story!

Gulf Shores Vacation

We did not get as many pictures of our vacation as I would have liked. By the time we got to our condo on the beach we were all feeling a little under the weather. We spent most of the week not feeling well. The kids were sleeping with their puke buckets for several nights and both Chris and I were sick also. It lasted for about 4 days. We had a good time, during the times that we felt better, spending time with Grandma, Grandpa, Uncle Joe, Aunt Rosie, and Uncle Brent. We did not however get to spend much time with our friends down in Southern Alabama. It was a little disappointing!

We stopped on the way down South for a snack.

A picnic lunch.

The kids loved the pool. They were a little timid and Sean and Henry were the only ones that ventured out on their own. Sophia stepped in the pool while trying to get a ball and went under. From then on she did not want to get off the steps. One of the kids knocked Edi into the pool and she was very cautious from then on also.

The kids had a great time playing with Aunt Rose and Uncle Brent. I have always been very close to them but we haven't lived close to them since the kids were about 1. It was nice to see them bond so quickly!

I am so thankful to God for the awsome family he has blessed us with!