Meet Someone New

We decided to try for baby number four, and New Years Eve found out that I was pregnant.

Yesterday I had my first ultrasound...just 8 weeks along. Everything is looking good, so we decided to tell people.

I'm very excited, but feeling very sick. It's a bit rough here right now.

Baby is due September 8th....1 day after Daphne's birthday. Wowzers:)

My Baby is Three

Daphne and Maisie started back to school on Monday, January 3rd...and Ruby celebrated her third birthday.

I threw her a little party with around 9 of her little girlfriends, and their mommies - my friends. I planned it during Daph and Maisie's school hours so that Ruby could be the star of her party with no competition from her sisters. She ate up the attention!!!

They enjoyed Dora cake courtesy of Grandma Pam, played with toys and opened presents. It was really a fun morning!

Then that night we celebrated again with the grandparents.

Unfortunately that is around when the fun stopped for me. I had begun to feel very icky after the big morning gathering and by dinner time I was stuck in my chair...not much of a hostess. Maisie soon curled into my lap with aches and pains too. Her and I went to bed together at 7:30...me with nausea, body aches and chills, and Maisie throwing up every 30 minutes to an hour! Ruby threw up around 3am. I slept very little that night and by the morning about 80% of our household bedding was thrown in my bathtub, ready to be washed when I felt better.

What a Monday! And so much for getting back into a school, homework, New Years resolutions rhythm. Mostly all I got done was laundry!

BUT a side note is that Ruby is now potty trained...that alone is such a wonderful milestone:)

Christmas Scrapbook 2010

Quick Documentation

The other day I was cleaning and found one of the many Christmas cards Daphne has made this season. This one in particular was for me.

Inside it read, "Mom, I love you more than deviled eggs and Christmas time"

Wow, how do I rate?! Glad to know she likes me more than her favorite appetizer.



On that note of recording funny things these girls say and do, The other night Mike got on Ruby's pretend phone and said, "Santa, Ruby is on the naughty list." Ruby walked away and in a low voice we heard her say back into her phone, (whispers...)"Santa, it's me Ruby. My daddy just kidding. Me no on naughty list"


Now, that one is at a fun age!

The Best Story of all

Tonight at our candlelight service I will have the privilege of reading the nativity story to a whole bunch of pajama-clad kids IN FRONT of the entire congregation. I've got butterflies already. I'm hoping it goes really well and that I remember it's not about if my voice sounds funny or if the crowd isn't even engaged. I am praying the little ones understand the significance of that little baby.

I created this slideshow, even though we decided to go with a normal power point. I couldn't let it go to waste though...so sit your kids down sometime around the computer and let them watch. I believe you can pause and read along:)

Create a free greeting card

A Fabulous Gift

I can't be lengthy here, cuz it's midnight and I need to start doing some wrapping.

But I have to just document that my sister gave me a wonderful gift this Christmas. She asked to take my girls for a night. I got to drop them off at 2ish today, and will pick em up tomorrow around noon. They were going to do some baking with her:) Oh my goodness, I so needed this!

I finished my shopping...two hours after entering Target's doors this afternoon.

Then I picked up take-out and sat down with Mike to eat, watch a movie and work on my Christmas cards. I'm almost done with them.

Now to start wrapping.

I figure even if I stay up til 2AM, I can sleep in a bit.

Thank you Lesley!!!

Baby It's Cold Outside (and a little sick one inside)

Maisie is still throwing up everybody. Last night at one point when she was laying in the middle of the hallway, bent over with stomach pain, she said, "mom, I think I am going to die"...and then in a quiet voice to she said, "oh, Jesus, please..." And then later when Mike and I were both laying with her after another round at the toilet, she said, "I just don't know what I would do without my family." Oh honey!

So far we've had to cancel a regular kids swap date, not attend Maisie's music program, miss out on Maisie's Christmas party at preschool today and I won't make Daphne's party, even though I planned and prepped it all and sent it all in a tub today with Daph. Needless to say, it's been a week out of my control.

It reminds me a little bit of the year before last when we had that BIG snowstorm and everything got canceled. In both situations, I felt God saying, "Wow, Stefanie you need to SLOW way down and stop DOING so much and concentrate on what matters most." SNOW and PUKE both are show stoppers!

We have spent a lot of time in front of the tv (something we previously gave up for advent but got reinstated in survival mode)...watching holiday movies, and listening to Christmas music, and me doing lots of laundry and dishes. We even still made our gingerbread houses...although I could tell Maisie was so not herself when she wanted me to do it for her and she didn't want to eat any of the candy!!!

It's not quite over, but I feel like it's FRIDAY and I made it!!!


Here's a little Maisie story that just happened on our way to take D to school. My good friend, Leah, made me a great Christmas cd, and the first song is "Baby it's cold outside". Today it started to play and Ruby said, "not this one mom"...to which Maisie responded, "I like it. It's about a girl who wants to go out in the snow, but her father won't let her". Ha! Even sick, she's crackin' me up!