Winter...

Little Girl w/ a curl...and Laundry!

These pictures don't really do Madeline's hair justice...but it was so curly...and there was one in the middle of her forehead!

On another note...

Laundry...

Some days, I think I could hire a laundress...ah wishful thinking!

W/ the birth of each child, I've been amazed at the volume increase in laundry (and the H2O bill,even!)

My solution: dump it all on the bed...out of sight, out of mind...till bedtime, that is.

And at which point, my husband, who never does laundry unless I'm not home, actually helped me fold it all! There were several loads of baby laundry and the regular laundry had gotten severely backed up. It was wonderful to have help...the boys even wandered out of their beds to help...but I can't say their motive was entirely pure. They've all of a sudden decided that laundry and dishes are fun to help w/ after they're supposed to be in bed. :)

I can't imagine families that are 2 or 3 times the size of ours...laundry everywhere! Or maybe there's a better system?? :)

Seriously it was a mountain...and this is only 1d. :)

Warning: End-of-Pregnancy-Pictures...

When ya have a triple chin...use the crop button... My sister popped by on her way home and we had to snap a few pictures pre-babies. I have wet hair and no make-up...but hey, we got the pictures. :) (Thanks to Samuel)
George and Krista went away for a few days, so Grace was down at my parents' being thoroughly entertained. Unfortunately, the kids and I came down w/ a flu bug, so we didn't get to hang out w/ Grace. :(
Well, I have 2 weeks and Krista has 4 weeks + or -...who knows!?!
I've definitely reached the end-of-pregnancy look...puffy face, and all! :) And, yep, I think I win the bigness contest. :) I thought I'd be able to do the 25 lb weight gain...but...it's lookin' more like 35. :) That must be my "normal"...I will be saying "Hello treadmill" asap! (and I did find some links for exercise workouts online...I did one today...it was great! Ever seen a pregnant lady kickboxing? haahaha!)
Finally documented: 38 weeks...and feeling GREAT!
Mommy and Madeline...
I still feel comfortably pregnant (mostly)...and am thinking it'll be a few more weeks. This time around has been great...comparable to my 2nd pregnancy. I've felt very good, overall, thankfully! I don't want to take new life for granted...or uncomplicated pregnancies...either!

My pregnancies have had no pattern for delivering, so we'll see what this lil' guy decides to do. I'm hoping we can get good and healthy before he comes! The up-every-2-hr-thing takes it's toll w/ being sick...I'm not wanting to practice wakefulness, till I really have to. :) I gave the kids a pep talk last night, and I think it worked! Everyone slept soundly all night!

A few pictures of our recent adventures...

WaterPark...
Some action shots:





Picnic at the hotel...

Children's Museum...


(I can't wait to take them to the Creation Museum! Maybe next year!)


Winter fun: bowling :)
Score! I was afraid we'd have to roll another ball down to move William's along...

Wow, I'm due for an update!

So, this past month hasn't been too interesting. We've enjoyed being a family with Justin home. I feel like I'm on easy street, just to have another adult around. Justin helps so much with the kids...especially with taking the boys out and getting them to work or get fresh air!
We went to Indy for a few days with the kids. We enjoyed the indoor waterpark and the children's museum. And up until this week, we've stayed healthy. I have been reluctant to tell people, when they ask if we're staying healthy, b/c it seems that as soon as I say, "Oh, yeah, we're healthy...my kids haven't caught a thing!" that we get sick. Same goes for a baby sleeping though the night. Those 2 subjects, I should not brag about. :)
Baby #4 is due in 2 1/2 weeks. The midwife reports are good and they're predicting an 8.5 lb baby, if he waits till his due date. This pregnancy has been my best one...maybe b/c it's not the dead of summer?? :) I'm very thankful for an uncomplicated pregnancy. Everything is a go for avoiding another c-section, so hopefully all will go smoothly. I suppose I should take some end-of-pregnancy pictures. Maybe if I'm still plumply pregnant when my photographing sister gets home, I'll have her snap a few.
Samuel is reading more fluently and steadily progressing on piano. We're spending some time each day on reading, phonics, and piano...although, he's not technically in kindergarten yet. The other project we're tackling as a family is reading through the Bible in a year. It has been a great blessing so far. The kids ask lots of questions and there's some great vocabulary in the KJV version! I think Genesis is packed full of some great stories!
I've gotten lots of things done on my "to-do" list before the baby comes. I still have more to do, though. It's funny how I get in the mode of wanting things "just so" before a new baby comes. When really, they're not going to know whether the house is a wreck or the laundry is piled up. I suppose it's b/c I know I won't get to certain projects if I don't do them now.
Well, that's about all I can think of for now. I think I've lacked motivation for posting pictures b/c of the time of year...pasty white, around-the-house pictures. :) I need to read the instructions for my new camera/video camera so I can post those, and get ready for some newborn baby pictures!
I can't get pictures to upload, so I'll have to try later...