<3 my new house shoes

Funnies

Halle was going to take a nap in my bed while we were in TN.  I was laying with her and nursing Levi.  I told her to lay down and go to sleep because she needed to take a nap in order for us to attend a party that night.  She said, "mom, I'll go to sleep with Levi gets off the boob".

She also wanted to me to do something with her but Levi was crying.  She said, "Levi wants the boob? You should just go upstairs and pump Mimi a bottle and come back down."  She is starting to out smart us all!

To address Halle's horrible attitude for not obeying with a positive attitude we told her she would have to pick a toy to give away if she responded to a request with a poor attitude.  She pitched a fit on our way home tonight, so we get home and ask her to pick out a toy.  She was devastated.  She is very stingy  clingy with her toys so she does not willingly part with anything, not even a rock!  I tried it with Luke as well.  He on the other hand could not care less about loosing his toys.  I took a car.  He put his head down, while looking at his red jacket he was wearing, and said, "that car is for a boy in a red jacket."  HAM!  He is hilarious.

Dear Santa....

Most of you know David and I have been purging like crazy since we bought a house with NO storage.  We have been getting rid of clothes we don't wear, and toys the kids don't play with.  We are trying to only have toys that were around before/during the 50's.  Cars, trucks, dolls, balls, etc.  So, Christmas time rolls around and we are faced with what to do for gifts without going overboard.  I always think back to Little House on the Prairie when they got a single truck, a pair of socks and an orange.  Period.  These days, they receive gifts from aunts and uncles and great aunts and great uncles and cousins, and so forth.  We are so blessed to have such an enormous family which whom we see and spend time with over the holidays.  We are thankful for their generosity and thoughtfulness.  They receive a lot of their clothes from our family for Christmas.

So, we decided to cut back.  It was nice to keep it simple, not spend TONS of money while running around like crazy.  We exchanged our gifts within our family on Sunday before we left for TN.  All David wanted was a Lowe's gift card.  I decided to get creative.... I redeemed credit card points for Lowe's gift cards so I could also buy him a gift.  I used a Bed Bath & Beyond coupon(saved $30) to get him a Keurig coffee pot.  He LOVES it.  At least that's what he is saying:)  The kids got Disney t-shirts, Halle a barbie, Luke Toy Story figurines, and we got them an easel from Ikea with Melissa and Doug trimmings (paint brushes, chalk, no-spill cups, etc.)  He gave me Acorn house shoes, earring from On A Whim that Halle picked out, a Table Topics cube, and gift cards in my stocking to Starbucks and Amazon.  From Santa, Halle got a mini van for her doll house, undershirts, a toothbrush, a pillow case, a book, pin wheels and a horn for her bike.  Luke got a scooter, white "wife beaters", socks, and a toothbrush.  They received much, much more from my mom, Katie & Danny, Sandy, Kathryn & Stephen, cousins and aunts and uncles and grandparents.

Halle told David Santa did not leave her enough toys.  She also went crawling, literally, under the tree looking for more gifts Santa was suppose to leave under the tree.  Needless to say we are working on her attitude!  Pray for us!

TN Snow!

Yesterday it started snowing and it hasn't really stopped.  I never thought it would snow while we were home for Christmas.  I bought the kids bibs last week so that I would have them if it snowed this winter like it did last winter.  FAIL on my part because bibs in VA do us NO good for snow in TN!  

My father-in-law HATES warm weather in the winter, especially during the holidays.  If it is warm he complains about the "balmy weather" the ENTIRE time!  This year, we have been surrounded by Christmas cheer!  

White Christmas!

Our Big Boy

All smiles and pure JOY!

Stockings are hung on the chimney with care!

My wonderful mother was in town this week helping me around the house! Therefore I/we got ALOT done!!!

Christmas Dinner

Halle and Luke hosted a dinner under the tree for all of their friends today!

1st Snow!

Here is a picture of our white Saturday!

Paint job

Seriously people....be honest and tell me what you think about this color!!!

3.5 Months

I am dying over the fact Levi is growing so fast. It seems like it took forever for Halle to get to 4 months and Levi is 2 weeks shy. I feel confident we are done but it has been really hard lately knowing he is my last baby. He is Sooo sweet and truly perfect. He is so content all the time and just a bundle of joy. I feel so blessed to have 3 amazing children. I am so thankful Levi is doing so well after such a rough start....we know he is lucky to be alive and we are so thankful God gave us him!! Some may not know, but when he arrived in Roanoke ( after his birth) his lung had collapsed and he made it just in the knick of time!

Awwww

There is still a lot of work to be done but here is our new dining room.  We are going to paint soon and of course get something on the walls.  We are soooooo thrilled to be getting rid of the glass.  Glass and boys are a not a good combination.  We L-O-V-E our new table!  

80's bangs.....oh yeah!

Halle wanted her bangs in a bun and these are the results after the fact!

"I'm a Boy"

Luke has to do everything David is doing these days because he says he is a boy and boys work.  He usually makes a mess or breaks something but is darn cute while he does it!  

Movie Night

David and I finally had a movie night tonight with the kids.  Levi even refused to sleep so he could participate!  Halle demanded pop corn so popcorn it was!!  You say, "pop popcorn" so Halle asked for some pops with her popcorn.....hilarious!  

Helper Luke

David and I went to Ikea on Friday and bought some furniture. Today I spent 2 hours putting together our TV stand only to realize something was backwards. Unfortunately, I was furious because I wasted the whole AM. David came home and fixed it only to put something else on backwards. Sometime today we will have a new TV stand.

Gigi Moo Moo

Halle randomly created the name Gigi Moo for Levi. Crazy and random but sadly it has stuck. He has recently become like a cute little 3 month old instead of looking like a newborn. He is so precious and such a joy to our family.

Levi Babbling

Ready to Play!

Luke in his get up ready to go out and play. Take note of his socks and shoes! He has on his Witten jersey "football player shirt". He mushed up a banana so I peeled it and l told him he had to eat it. He said no in his usual whiney voice then looked at me and said, "football players don't eat bananas". I told him they would make him run faster and he took it!

Finally Complete

Here is David's 1st built-in complete!

Happy Halloween!

Crazy Hair Night

Here is a picture Shannon sent me of Halle with her 2 BFFs! It was crazy hair night at Awanas. Shannon is such a dear to take Halle to Awanas every wednesday.

David decided to build a built in cabinet for under the fireplace. It is not finished yet but is already looking good! He is actually pretty talented. He's been holding out on me! He has decided to take on the mudroom himself as well. Who knows when that will be. I will post a picture when he finishes it.

Halle and Luke put their "people" on books by couple to dance and then sleep! So funny!

Halle's friends "dancing"!!!

Halle at the dentist!  She is so sweet and was a perfect angel.  I am so thankful for her and her sweet spirit.

Luke was so funny.  He kept grabbing the hygienist's gloves and feeling them.  Needless to say he went home with a pair!  He wears them everyday.....although they went in the trash today(dad said they aren't a good toy:).

Love 'Em

 I LOVE this picture of Luke and Levi.  Luke is so precious and has the sweetest smile.  Levi is packing them on!  He is super long so he doesn't look as chunky.  Halle loves to have her picture taken with Levi.  She calls him Gigi-moo.  She says it over and over in this obnoxiously precious voice.  We have no idea where that came from.  She says she just thought of it.

Today we went to the toy store.  Luke peed his pants as soon as we walked in the door.  My bad for thinking he didn't need to go when we got up from his nap an hour and a half before.  NEVER trust a 3 year olds word about going to the bathroom!  Halle has been picking out gifts and asking me to take her picture with the gift so I don't forget about it!  Such a ham!

Notice Halle's shirt!  I tell her weekly Luke is her BFF!  She often says she like Levi better.  I remind her when he starts stealing her toys she will realize how great Luke is.  Also, what a smile she has:)  That is hard to capture.  We usually get the princess pose.  

Little Update

I think about blogging everyday.  I think about what I would blog about if I had 10 minutes and a computer in reach.  I think about all kinds of "blogging stuff".  I really want to be a consistent blogger but I do not have a computer or the time.  I know blogging would be therapeutic for me if I could just DO IT!

Levi will be 2 months tomorrow.  I think it is safe to say he is an amazing baby!  He is so content and so unbelievably precious.  He would be a perfect baby if would sleep longer stretches at night.  He enjoys Halle and Luke sooo much.  His face lights up when they come around.  He is smiling like crazy now too!  He is finally getting some chunk on his thighs.  I say finally because Halle and Luke both came home from the hospital with chunk.  He is really long and although it is not noticeable he is in the process of graduating to 3-6 month sleepers.  All of a sudden today I noticed he can barely stretch out his legs.

I am feeling more and more confident these days that we are DONE having children....at least giving birth to another one.  Levi is so amazing and I am enjoying him sooo much.  Halle was amazing but she was the 1st so I stressed EVERYTHING.  Luke was easier but was a pill so he was not that pleasant.  We held Luke all the time.  He was screaming if he was tired, screamed when we changed his diaper, screamed to eat.....you all know Luke.  He is the sweetest little child but lives on the dramatic side!  Levi on the other hand never screams.  Well, he may scream a few times a week and fuss once or twice a day.  He is laying in his crib, awake, quiet as a church mouse, suppose to be going to sleep.  He is happy in his chair or his swing or just laying on the bed.  I could not ask for a more pleasant baby.  I am so thankful.  I think the Lord new I needed Levi just as he is.  He melts my heart.  It is such a reminder of His love for us.  The love that consumes every inch of my heart does not hold a light to the love Christ feels for his children.  I am trying to soak in every second of every day.  Enjoy every minute I am nursing and staring at his precious face, so innocent and pure.  I love to hold him and feel his tiny little hand lay on my chest.  I would love to hold Halle and Luke at this age for just a minute or 2.

Luke turned 3 on Saturday.  It is amazing how your heart is capable of loving each child differently yet loving them the same.  LT, Bam Bam, Dash, Lukey, Bud, Buddy......the kid of many nicknames.  Luke is so full of life and love.  He is ALL boy....crazy and rough yet surprisingly gentle.  A wheel broke off one of his cars.  David showed him and told him it was broken.  Luke's face lit up and said, "Dad, you can fix it because you fix stuff.  You are a good fixer.  Let me go get your tools".  He is so animated and full of life.  He loves Halle and she is already the apple of his eye.  He does occasionally throw a shoe at her for not getting his way but overall he adores her.  She for the most part does great with him as well.  She is patient with him, mindful of him, and can hang with him physically.  Lastly, I do not have time to proof read this so pardon my grammatical errors!

Well, here are all 3 of the kids, each at 1 month. Putting them all together you can see they all kinda look the same. Levi is 9 lbs and 9 oz. Luke was 12 lbs and 14 oz and Halle was 11 lbs and 9 oz. Fun stuff!

Dead Batteries

On the way to Awana's on Wednesday I was helping Halle practice her verse and was asking her questions about it. Gen 1:31 "All He had made was very good." I asked her to tell me some things He made. She talked for a few minutes and then said, "mom, the batteries in my mouth are going dead".

David yelled to Luke to come upstairs. He said he couldn't so David just went down. Luke was standing on the sink.....one foot on each side with his hands on the mirror. That morning Luke brought David his poopy pull-up and sat it on his pillow! Luke has been bonkers this week!

TGIF? I am not sure if I am excited about it being Friday or not. Tomorrow is game day in Blacksburg and Sunday is David watches NFL Sunday ticket all day. My bad for encouraging that one! I enjoy some football but in case you aren't familiar with Sunday ticket......we have access to EVERY game that is being played.

The cabinets are coming along! David has one wall of uppers hung with doors on!! We just need to add the hardware and they are DONE! We haven't been super productive this week. By the time Halle and Luke are in bed and I feed Levi we are wiped! Levi did great last night. I am waiting for the day I put him down and wake up 5-6 hours later wondering what time it is. I guess that is expecting a miracle from a 4 week old.....at least a child of mine. Although I am thankful for 3-4 hours of consecutive sleep!

Being 4 weeks out from a C-section I feel really good and can not really tell I was sliced 4 weeks ago. I still would choose a natural birth hands down!! Do NOT plan on having to make that decision again. Pretty sure this last experience sealed the deal on that one!!

My 1st Attempt of Being Back....

I have great intentions of being a "blogger" but it may take a few attempts to accomplish it! I can't believe today is my official due date and Levi has been here for 2 weeks and 3 days. I have been pleasantly surprised at how well my 1st week of a mom of 3 has gone. Luke has been our most difficult one. We made the mistake of potty training the Saturday before my section....obviously not knowing I only had 5 days with Luke instead of the 2-3 weeks I was hoping for. Poor little guy's world was a little shaken. The kids are super sweet to Levi and are very excited to have him here. I feel like our expectations from the kids automatically were raised to a higher level which is NOT fair to them. Mr. Levi has been a very easy baby thus far and we are keeping our fingers crossed that he doesn't wake up a terror in the next few weeks. He just eats and sleeps! If he is awake he just chills and looks around. Luke was screaming or fussing if he was awake so we are truly enjoying our delightful newborn!

Yesterday the kids had a make-up gymnastics and then David took Halle to Lowe's to get her princess gardening gloves for her to wear to pick up apples. David is really enjoying mowing our yard.....I think he mowed it 3 times this week:) He put the kids to work picking up apples and paying them 1 cent per apple. They each earned $1.25. They found a little frog in the process that they carried around and tortured (not really)! It was a great Saturday, perfect weather, a mid-morning walk, and the smell of fresh cut grass!

David is making great progress on the basement. He is finishing the drop ceiling and wiring the electrical. I hope to start the process of putting together the Ikea cabinets this week. I have the most wonderful husband and I am so thankful for him! He has been amazing, he has been my rock and my brain!

Try This Again....

So I haven't blogged since December. I am not sure where to start.....we returned home from Clearwater Monday afternoon. Luke went to bed with a fever on Sunday and it is still lingering now. He and Halle both have nasty coughs as well. I am just praying his fever breaks tonight!!

A funny from the beach......I will start by saying Luke loves the David and Golitha story from his little storybook Bible. We have read it 100 times and Halle can recite it from another room without even seeing the pages. So, we were on the beach and Katie was down at the water with Luke and Halle. She brings Luke up to me and ask him to tell me what did. He says, "threw rock".....Katie tells him to tell me where he threw the rock and he says, "threw the rock at the giant".....the giant being the elderly man walking down the beach.