Kynzee and Kenna

I decided before spring break was even here that I was going to take Easter pictures and Kynzee and Kenna’s birthday pictures during their spring break. It was a long day but we got it accomplished. I am slowly trying to go through all of them to pick out the ones I love the most. These are some of my favorites of Kynzee and Kenna together. Our month of April is so busy that I have decided to have their family birthday party on the same day so I wanted a cute picture of them together for their invitation. I think their pictures turned out beautiful. When Josh bought me my camera my main purpose was to take pictures of my kids and maybe do a little for other people as I am asked. And it has worked out wonderful because I get to take as many pictures of my kids as I want and I don’t have to pay anyone to do them for me. It sure saves me a lot of money, especially with four kids! I sure love these two cute little girls and I am excited for their birthdays. We have been planning some fun friend birthday parties and we can’t wait!

A Good Week!!

 

 

I really have been feeling very overwhelmed with so much lately and most days I feel like I am barely making it. I pray every night for help to just get me through my days and I know that my prayers are being answered, especially because of how my week turned out. First I got news from the Dr that my thyroid levels are completely normal now which I was thrilled over!! It was parent teacher conference this week which means report cards as well. I had scheduled times with Maddy and Kynzee’s teachers to go visit with them. I got a letter earlier this week from Kynzee’s teacher saying the nicest things about her, she told me what a kind, sweet girl she was and how she had a calming, sweet spirit about her that has made her class this year wonderful and it has made her want to be a better teacher. She went on and on about how smart she was and how there really was no need to meet with her because there were no concerns at all and that I should be proud of her. I was in tears reading this letter. How nice of her teacher to say those things about Kynzee and to tell me that I didn’t need to go to parent teacher conference was just a bonus. Seriously it made my week. I was so glad that she loves Kynzee so much because I sure miss her when she is at school so I am glad her teacher is enjoying her. So I now had just one teacher to visit with for Maddy and I had lined out someone to watch my kids for me so I could go and I received an email that same day from Maddy’s teacher. She told me that I didn’t need to visit with her and that Maddy is doing really well in her class and she is a joy to have as her student etc etc. I couldn’t believe it, I was so excited I mean seriously how often does that happen? I was so proud of my girls. I got their report cards and they had straight A’s and have all year. I know I don’t give them enough credit or tell them often enough how great they are but they really are good girls. I have never had them struggle in school which is such a blessing. I am lucky to have them as my daughters and I am so blessed that they are so willing to learn and do their school work. I don’t have to sit and beg them to do homework, they just do it and that helps me out so much. I love that they love to read because I hate reading!! I would never tell them that but I really do. I think it is a waste of time, I know it really isn’t but to me it feels like it is,  and you really have to force me to do it because I can’t sit still long enough to even try to open a book. My girls will get their noses into their American girl books and they will read and read and read, they love it!! Needless to say we really had a wonderful week full of all kinds of good things. I took the girls to go see the movie the Lorax for their good report cards and good reports from their teachers, it was so much fun to go with them!! It was a really good show and even I enjoyed sitting and watching it!!

27 Weeks

I know this picture is a little scary, Kenna took it for me!! Gotta love that sweet girl when she is trying to hold my heavy camera and take a picture at the same time, we were just lucky she didn’t chop off half my body in this picture because that was happening quite a bit. If I look like a tired Mommy its because I am! I am 27 weeks pregnant and doing really well considering everything I have going on. My thyroid levels as of this week are now completely normal and that makes me so happy, not only because of how I feel but because it saves me a lot of time going in to have my blood drawn. I was really excited for that news this week. I am feeling this baby girl move around all the time she is so active and my girls sure love to feel her move. I have her bedroom colors and bedding all bought and I am just getting ready to paint and decorate her room. The time is flying by and I feel like 11 weeks isn’t enough time to get everything done that I need to. I have made a huge list of things I need to do before she comes and I have been working really hard to get some things crossed off that list. I always like to be very prepared so after I have the baby I wont worry that I have things to do. And any of you who have c-sections knows how hard it is to get anything done for quite a while after after the baby because of the pain you are in. I am getting nervous but at the same time very excited. I can’t believe March is already coming to an end…I am telling you time is really flying!!!

Pretend Motorbikes

These three were suppose to be brushing their teeth getting ready for bed and instead they came up stairs making all kinds of crazy sounds and they were running around like wild!! They were looking for their Dad and he had already left for work for the night. They wanted to show him their homemade motorbikes they made..pretty creative if you ask me. Hangers for the handlebars and blankets on their heads for their helmets….silly girls. I love their creative minds!!

Happy St. Patrick's Day

I lined my little munchkins up against the fire place again for another holiday picture!! They were wind blown from being at school all day and we were going to be late for ballet but I did manage to get a picture of their cute smiles. I love seeing my handsome boy in the middle of all those pretty girls, isn’t he the luckiest boy to have three sisters and another on the way? I sure think he is! I love these sweet kids of mine they bring me so much joy I cannot imagine my life without them. I often wonder how people can decide they don’t want children and love their job instead…job and kids just don’t compare. These little people are way better than any job you could ever have :) I love them so much!!

Our baby girl has a name..

First of all I better tell you we did have another ultrasound and there is no “maybe” on if it’s a girl, it is 100% a girl!!! Everyone keeps asking me if we have a name..and we do!! Of course we do, we always have a name before the baby comes, if you know me very well you know I am a planner and all of this has to be thought out and done before the baby comes. When we found out we were having a baby before Maddy I made a typed list of girl names in pink and boy names in boy. I had a lot more boys names than girls names that I liked for some reason. There have been some removed because immediate family members have used them, some that Josh did not like at all so I had to cross them off my list, and I put stars by those that we both really liked. I have been lucky to have used so many girl names on my list!! Raegan was a name we almost used for every one of our girls and for some reason we changed it and decided on another name. But with this girl we know without a doubt that her name is suppose to be Raegan. Ruth is her middle name for two special reasons. First off all Josh’s Grandma Ruth who passed away almost two years ago was the sweetest person I have ever met. I loved her so much. She was so good to me and I knew every Sunday I would receive a phone call to see how I was and how my family was. She was always checking on Josh and always asked him if he was making good choices and reminding him of his beautiful little family he had started. She always had a hug and a smile for us. She was so kind to my kids and she left a huge imprint in my heart. When she died I told myself that if I ever had another girl I would name her after Grandma Ruth and I am!! Grandma’s birthday was the only one in June from the Williams side of the family at the time and my baby is due in June so I think it is special. Another reason is my Great Grandma Sylvia Ruth Swisher who was my Mom’s Grandma always wanted someone in the family to name a baby after her and no one ever did…well I am now!! She was another one of those wonderful women in my life who was so kind to me. We are excited that our baby girl now has a name :) Jaxon calls her Baby Rae and I love it, I love how he says it, it is so cute! He touches my belly and wants to lift my shirt up and then he pats my belly with a not very soft pat and says Baby Rae, he knows she is in there. My brother Jesse’s middle name is Ray and a lot of us call him Ray so that is a good name for sure because we all love Jesse. We can’t wait for Raegan to come, it feels like it isn’t too far away!! I have been feeling really good as far as the pregnancy goes. I have a few aches and complaints but nothing too big, so I am grateful for that. I feel like this pregnancy is just flying by so fast. My kids are all very excited, I find them touching my belly quite often so they can feel the baby move, they love it when she kicks and they feel it. It is fun to have some of my kids older now because they understand more and they are just so excited about every little thing. My belly is growing and I am excited, what an adventure having a 5th baby will be. I am lucky to have such good kids who are so willing to help me out around the house and with anything I need, they sure make being pregnant easier on me. I have been so blessed and so watched over I am so thankful each day for all that I have been given.

Wacky Day at Preschool

Kenna has started Preschool back up and it is a really good thing. I pulled her out of preschool at the end of September because of many reasons, it was sad but it had to be done. I had another preschool teacher  (the same one who taught my other girls) tell me that she had an opening after Christmas and that I should put her back in school, so I decided to give it a try. Kenna has loved it!! I am so glad I put her in. I was worried she would be behind without having preschool but I started teaching her at home after I pulled her out of the other one and soon realized she knew so much and that she was already ready for kindergarten so I didn’t worry about it. I have enjoyed having her home and so has Jaxon. She keeps me going and she is so full of energy it is amazing!! Well, it was wacky day today at school and this is how we dressed her…so fun!!! This cute little thing is a ball of fire seriously, I am so glad her preschool teacher loves her personality, because you get what you get with Kenna!!

Riding Motorbikes

This weekend was so nice that Josh got the motorbikes out and de winterized so the kids could ride. Josh had to work on each bike to get it started because they had been sitting for so long. The girls loved it, they had a ton of fun in the sunshine, it was sure nice to have a day with no snow. Jaxon loved riding with his Daddy, he thought that was the best thing ever and he talked about it all night!! I am looking forward to summer and some warmer weather.

Dance Competition

The girls had a dance competition at the Civic on Saturday and it was a busy, fun day. They all danced very pretty and I can tell all their hard work and practice pays off, it’s amazing how much better their dances get at every performance. Maddy and Kynzee took 1st place in their Jazz dance and second place in their lyrical dance. Kenna took second place in both of her dances. They all did great and I had so much fun watching them like always!! We were in tight quarters in a room before the girls went on stage and we were not allowed to take pictures on the stage so these pictures are as good as they get. We have so many fun dance competitions and performances coming up and many of them we have to travel for and I am looking forward to getting away and having a fun time with the girls, it will be a fun Spring!!

Happy Birthday Daddy

The kids love birthdays, and they always make sure to make it a special day no matter what. They were so excited for their Dad’s birthday!! We didn’t do anything big or fancy but we did get him a gift and a fun birthday card that the kids all signed or wrote him a special note. They had fun watching Daddy open his gift and I got this cute picture of all of them together. Happy 29th birthday Josh!!!

Jaxon’s allergic reaction

My kids have stayed well all winter, we have been so blessed so I really cannot complain. I guess my strict hand washing, vitamins, an apple everyday after school and seven o’ clock bedtime has done us good. Well, Maddy brought a nasty bug home to us a couple weeks ago and it was miserable! Jaxon had never been on antibiotics before so they put him on amoxicillin and I should have known better because all my kids and I am allergic to that stuff. Well he had been on it for 8 days and then all of a sudden broke out in this bad rash of hives. None of my kids had a reaction this bad, it was so sad. I felt so bad for him, he was really miserable!! Jaxon is such a happy boy that he just kept going and tried his best to be in a good mood for Mommy. The spots are finally gone and he is back to his normal self again thank goodness.

Maddy being Maddy…

This girl puts a smile on our face everyday!! She is always making us laugh by doing or saying silly things. She came upstairs looking like this one day and I couldn’t help but take a picture of her. I don’t get to take very many pictures of my older kids because they are at school all day so I take advantage of it when I get a chance. I hope Maddy is always a happy, fun, easygoing  girl like this!!