8/31/13

Mader Mania

Hey there, Friends...Beware of the lengthy post!
Life is being lived & I haven't had much time to blog about it.
All is well and I'm thanking the Lord everyone's healthy.

Rilyn: She went in for her 6 month appointment after my last blog and she is a big, healthy girl! She is in the 74% for weight & 95% for height. Doesn't surprise me, as this child loves to eat and we're in the stage of her preferring to feed herself. She began crawling on August 13th, and there's no stopping her!! She is the speedy, silent type. She wants to do all that her older sisters can do! Already trying to pull herself up to a standing position and loves to hold hands & walk! Still an incredibly sweet, smiley baby!

The twins: Karis and Kelsie have been complaining of regular tummy aches for almost 3 weeks. They hadn't thrown up or had a fever, so I thought it was a cry for attention and just gave them a tums. But the discomfort continued and they would even cry in pain during the day and at night. They also weren't eating very well. I decided to try an experiment to see if they're lactose intolerant. We are on day 2 with no dairy products and I haven't heard one complaint yet!! I have them on Soy and they seem to like it, so we will continue this for a while and see if it indeed fixes the issue. Oh...I'm excited to announce that I will have a couple of cubbies starting tomorrow!! Karis & Kelsie are beginning AWANA and I am so thrilled! I think they will love it!! Every Sunday night from 5-6:45. Also, on Sunday mornings, the twins worship with me in the sanctuary and then after offering, I take them to their class. It has been such a sweet thing for me to sing with my girls, especially since Ian can't always make it to church with me. They have also enjoyed seeing/learning how things are done in "big" church and their favorite thing to do is put their "piggy food in Jesus' bowl"! ;) 

Ian: He still works the 4pm-2am shift. It's the schedule that works the best for our family right now so that he can see his girls for a few hours before going to work. A&M students are back and that keeps the town hoppin' and Ian very busy. He is still an FTO(field training officer) and is training the new recruits. He is also president of the Police Officer's Association here in College Station and those duties require his attentions/involvement quite often. I was able to attend the TMPA(Texas Municipal Police Association) conference with him the end of July for 3 days while my amazing Mom-in-law had the 3 girls. It was a much needed, refreshing time with my love...and I got to wear a pretty dress!! ;)  

Brag-on-Ian moment: we have new neighbors. We thought it was an adult couple, mid-40's because they were on the property fixing things up, however...now they're gone & 3 college age girls moved in. Me thinks the older couple bought the property to rent it out to students. Didn't know for sure til one evening, I am awoken by loud noises at 3:40 in the morning. A bit frazzled as to what that could be, come to find out that our new neighbors are having a party in their backyard. "Ummm, NO!" That won't fly. Sleep is precious to a deprived Mama with 3 littles. So...I texted my personal officer who was on duty & let him know the goings-on. Luckily, he was just getting off work. He texted me back, "Their party will be done in 5". MY HERO!! In less than 5 min. I heard silence! He met the neighbors...they fear him...all is now well in our hood. I'm so very thankful & proud of my husband! 

Lowlight: Ian's truck is on it's last leg. It's a 1999 ford ranger, and the AC went out, so we took it in to the shop and they ran a full diagnostic...bad news. The truck has leaks everywhere! In order to keep it running, we need to do some major repairs...over $900 worth. Replacing the AC would be another $750, and we need a new computer chip in it, which adds another $530. 
Long story short, we can barely afford to get the truck run-able again, let alone fix the AC...just thankful that we are entering the Fall season! 

Me: The highlights far outweigh the lowlights. There have been a few tears this month, mostly due to just plain femininity. But I am counting my blessings and they are many! Right now, the Lord is working on me specifically in the area of 1)being respectful to my husband(I have a sarcasm problem), and 2)my struggle in effective communication...striving to say what I mean without being hurtful. 
I was able to attend a church function with my best friend and it was SO fun cuz it was targeted toward college girls and there were MANY!! We felt SO old!! The energy in the sanctuary was unbelievable! When we observed all these beautiful ladies, all of them were engaging in small group conversation and it sounded like hundreds of cackling hens. My ears have missed that sound!! Then when we worshiped together, the overwhelming sense of Christ in the room soaking up the adoration left me feeling almost giddy and goose-bumped! ;) So refreshing!
The Lord knows just what we need when we need it! All in all, I am so thankful for His love & provision!

A few pictures to end with. 














7/3/13

All about Rilyn!

Happy 6 months to my baby girl!! I can not imagine a more perfect baby! 
Rilyn Kaylee, you are such a dream!
You have 2 bottom teeth.
You adore your sisters and squeal in delight when watching them play.
You love to eat. Your favorites are bananas, pears & sweet potatoes. 
If I had a dollar for every smile you gave, I'd be a millionaire by now! 
Your pure joy and love of life blesses my heart!
You laugh out loud, make funny sounds & babble all the time.
You really like being upright; whether sitting up or
standing in your saucer or walker.
When something bothers you(which is a rarity), you definitely let us know.
You are a GREAT sleeper! 
Your biggest and favorite feature is your feet. You love chewin' on your toesies! Me thinks you will be tall.
You're best friend is Rhyder Ratliff! He is only 7 weeks older than you, so you have a lot in common. You really like hangin' out with him and do so often because his mommy is your mommy's best friend!!
You find your world fascinating and are such a li'l sponge.
I love watching you absorb it all! 
You have your "Mommy moments" and your "Daddy days"!
Your baby blue eyes are stunning!
You've captured our hearts and we can't imagine
how we ever got along without you!
Nuthin' quite like Dad!
Hey there, Beautiful!
"Does this walker make me look fat?!"
Belly laugh

 ("magic pop"! Great for teething. crunchy, but dissolves fast)

Mama's shoppin' buddy
 High five...we're awesome!

Sweet buddies!
Reading with big sisters! 
You & your puppy! 
Ptthhh! 

Yeah, Food!!

6/24/13

:)

Happy Father's Day to a wonderful Dad of 3 lovely ladies!!
The absolutely ADORE him!
Rilyn watching the kids play in the pool!
 Swim day at Nana's with the cousins! SO fun!
 I've got a couple of fish!
Rilyn's typical face after eating! She is such a happy, smiley girl
and has enjoyed everything I've introduced to her. 
She is growing up entirely too fast!
These girls love home "school"!!

 
We took Daddy out to ice cream for Father's Day 
& Kare was most excited about it!
Me & my baby dancin' 
 I love waking up to this in the morning! 
She loves her sisters & vice versa
 Sweet love!

6/7/13

Mader Mania!

We have been having a lot of fun lately!! Rilyn is 5 months old and she is such a joy! She is eating homemade baby food now and enjoys it. Her twin sisters adore her and we've had many precious moments between them!
Rilyn is close to sitting on her own without support!
She LOVES her Daddy!
I cut the twins' hair the end of May! It was getting quite long & unruly.
With summer's  heat rapidly approaching, the shorter the better; 
and now I can leave it down & it still looks cute!
Our smiley baby loves tummy time and really wants to crawl!
We got to go to the baseball field & watch Dad play on the PD team! 
He's amazing & we think he's the best player they have!
Karis, wearing Dad's glove!
New swimsuits! Summertime means swimtime & these girls love the water!
We're so thankful that Nana has a pool for us to enjoy!
Rilyn is happy to watch her sisters play in the water!
This is what I woke up to one morning! 
They're favorite movie right now is the Music Man
She daily steals my heart!
My 3 treasures!
One blessed Mama!