It's Official!...

We have our first Thumb Sucker!!! Yep, 2 days ago, Monday, Cohen finally found it. And I don't mean found it and then lost it...I mean, he found his thumb (the right hand) and took a 2 1/2 hour nap sucking on it. And then later that day found it again and did the same thing. And then on Tuesday he did the same thing. And today again. I think we can quit wondering whether he will take a passy any more or not. He never really did like that thing much anyway. You could ask his Nanna-D about that (when she stayed with us while Chris was at camp earlier this summer, Cohen would make her stand up, swaying and bouncing while holding the passy in his mouth so he couldn't spit it out! Little Booger). At least he can console himself now on his own. I need hime to be able to do that since I have 4 of them to take care of every day. Who knows, this could be more of a blessing than anything. So here we go again, like mommy like son...that's right, I was a thumb sucker too. I guess it'll be payback time when I'm trying to get him to stop sucking on his. My parents had to hide my favorite blankie and tell me it was gone so I would quit...isn't that just mean! :-) We'll see what strategies we have to come up with! We've got 4 fingers and a thumb to get 3 little chillin's to quit sucking on eventually. You can start praying for us now! HeeHee! :-) Enjoy the photo shoot below, I'm just a MaMa who LOVES picks of her kidos!So content and so out!
Just doesn't get much sweeter than this!
You know it!!! At least my Mommy, Daddy and Brothers think so!!! :-)
Snug as a bug in a rug!

Summer Tour

Hey all
Kara gave me permission to post on here every now and then despite the girly theme and all... ha! She wanted me to chime in with whats been going on in my world, so here I go. As most of you know I released a new CD back in June so my band and I have been out on tour supporting that record. Its been a great summer and God really moved in many people's lives. Some of you I saw while we were out on the road. Thanks to everyone who prayed for us and prayed for Kara and the boys while I was out. Here are some pics....and now...back to girl blog land.

Roll Call...

So, this post is two fold. First, I'm just a bit curious to how many friends and family out there really are reading our blog from time to time. Not that it really matters but it does take time to update it and keep it going (and you know time is something that is more than precious to me since I don't have much of it left over for things like this after taking care of our 4 precious boys all day!). I thought I would just check to see if people are truly 'keeping up with us', so to say, by reading this. It is fun and I am enjoying it, I guess I just need a bit of encouragement that my time is not going to waste. Second, we love reading your blogs too! I'm sure some of you who are keeping up with us have blogs that we don't even know about yet. So, if you don't mind, leave us a comment and let us know your out there! :-) THANKS!

Big Boy Bed #3!

It's true, like it or not, our sweet 'baby' Cade is growing up and is not much of a baby any more! He will be 2 (I can hardly even believe that!) in August but I have to admit, we still sometimes call him 'baby Cade'. Even harder to believe, Cohen is already 11 1/2 weeks old and has almost outgrown his little bassinet (I posted about that last week). I thought he would be able to stay in it until he was about 5 months old but there is no way! We'll be lucky, I should say blessed, if we can leave him in it until he is 4 months old. When he does finally outgrow it, he is going to move into Cade's room with him, therefore making it Cade and Cohen's room. Cade is very excited about getting to share his room with Cohen, I'm sure because his big brothers Corbin and Callen already share a room and he kinda feels left out sometimes when they are all going to bed. Not much longer and he will have company! We had decided that it would be best to start Cade's transition a month or so before moving Cohen into their room though so that he would not feel as if Cohen was 'stealing' his bed or kicking him out of it.

So, this last Thursday I went to Wal-mart and bought him a toddler bed so we could begin to transition him from the crib to the big boy bed. We made it quite the big deal when I got it home and carried it in the house. He was already so very excited...I kinda wonder if he really knew what was about to occur. :-) That night we put it together, me and all my little helpers! Would you believe that an expensive cherry wood sleigh crib and an inexspensive cherry wood sleigh toddler bed look as if they were made by the same people and meant to go together?! I could hardly believe it and we were all very excited. We had to rearange the room a bit to make everything fit but we figured it out and it looks great! He LOVES his new bed and so do his big brothers...they are so proud of him in his big boy bed. He slept in his new bed that night and has slept ALL NIGHT long all but one night since then! He is doing so well. Naptime is a little tricky since he can get out of bed on his own now but when he gets sleepy enough, he crashed anywhere!

Here are some pics we took that night so we can cherish this milestone in his sweet little life!

I LOVE Magic Erasors!!!!

So I just have to share my exciting morning I had! We moved Cade into a toddler bed (I'll write about and post pics of that soon!) last night. This morning all 3 older boys wanted to sit on his new bed, just talking about how cool it was that Cade was a big boy now and giggling away at each other! It was quite cute of course. I was sitting on the floor next to the bed watching them and having fun with them when I started looking at the empty crib across the room from us (the mattress that was in it is a two sided crib/toddler mattress so we moved that into the toddler bed for Cade).

I was being a normal (crazy!) mom, feeling guilty that Cohen has to sleep in the same crib all the other boys used...not because it is not a nice crib (it actually is from a furniture store and was a bit pricy), but because it has gotten paint scratches from their toys all over the front of it over the past 5 years. I was just kinda wishing that he has a newer looking crib to use for the next couple of years but new I was NOT going to go buy a new one!

Then it hit me...why in the world have I not tried a Magic Erasor on that bed???? I use those for everything that I can't get off with a normal rag and cleaner! I buy them buy the box of four and when I am using the next to last one I buy another box so I will not run out and not have one for a disaster that may occur, wait...will occur! :-) Seriously, there are four little boys in this house, you know I need those things quite often! But for some crazy reason I had not thought to try one to get those paint marks off.

Soooooo, drum role please....it took off EVERY DAD GUM MARK on that sweet little crib!!!! I think I almost threw a party I was so excited. Then, after all the paint marks were off, I started to notice the little scratches and dents in the actual wood/stain of the crib. So I got out my Old English Scratch cover and went to town on it. OH MY GOODNESS!!! The crib just almost looks brand new and I can hardly wait to get his new bedding (which a friend of mine is making for him) and mattress in there and take pictures of it to post. He probably won't start sleeping in it for about another month or so but at least it is almost ready for him.

I just LOVE that God cares about the little things in life! He knew I really wanted that crib to have a face lift and He knew my brain was failing me so He so kindly reminded me (and I'm not joking or kidding around here...I truly do believe that it was Him that reminded me!) of one of my favorite things I have...the Magic Erasor!

Lastly, if you've never tried one...GO GET ONE...you'll love it! :-)

Growin' Like A Weed!

Cohen is growing so fast! He already hardly seems like our little tiny newborn any more. This first picture is of him sleeping in his bassinet when he was only a few days old. As you can see, he's got quite a bit of extra room, even enough for his little stuffed friends! :-) At his 2 month appointment he weighed in at 11 pounds 15 oz and had grown a full 3 inches since he was born. Poor little guy had a small ear infection though and had to take an antibiotic for 10 days. Today I took him for his two weeks check up on his ears.
I took this next picture right before we left for the appointment. They weighed him today and he has gained 13 ounces in just two weeks!!! Must have hit a growth spurt or something! I knew he felt heavier! I had just told my mom that over the phone on my way to the doctor. Mama knows! Praise the Lord for healing in his sweet little ear! Every day is bittersweet as I watch him grow, we're doing our best to cherish each moment!

Baths...Bubbles...Boys!

It's official!...ALL 4 of our boys LOVE bathtime! Each time I say "time for a bath" they all come running and screaming and squealing with laughter. It is so cute and never gets old. Today we took some fun pics while they played in the bubbles...boy that bathtub is getting quite full! And there are only 3 in there right now. I think when Cohen gets big enough to sit up we are going to have to bathe them in shifts. :-) The thought of 4 little boys all in the same bathtub kinda brings to mind a bunch of fish caught in a net, flapping and hitting all over each other...I'm pretty sure that's what would happen!













In this picture, Corbin stuck bubbles on his face to look like he had a beard. They all think that is so funny!













Cade loves to play peek-a-boo over the side of the bathtub...that's what he is doing here.













One of Callen's new favorite things to do is make silly faces. He thinks it's funny to practice making them in the relection of the silver drain thing on the side of the bathtub. They really are all 3 so stinkin' cute while they play in their own special ways in the water!













Sweet little Cohen is following in big brother's footsteps...he loves the water! He can be screaming and if you put him in the bath he will settle down and start talking and smiling.













I have been giving him baths in my sink because it is easier and convenient. He just kicks and slips and slides all over the place.













As you can see, he is about to outgrow the sink, he fills it up already!

On The Shorter Side.

Like Mother, Like Son? Well, I took Cade today for a doctor's checkup...he's a bit behind, we're caught up now though! And of course one of the first things they do is measure and weigh your child. Believe it or not, for the first time ever for us, one of our boys measured in under the 75% in height. Not only that, he measured in right underneath the 50% mark! I could hardly believe it when they told me! All of the boys have always been so tall. I really didn't think much of it, then the doctor came in and was talking to me and said he thought it was kinda odd that he has never measured under the 75% mark until now. He seems to think we caught him before a growth spurt and that by his 2 year appointment he will catch back up. I told him that I'm one of the only truly short people in our families...with a brother who's already 6'3" and a 14 year old sister who's 5'9". We'll see. But for now, I can actually say I'm not alone! I doubt that's gonna last! :-)

Changed Again!?

Well, the last heading...All-Purpose Mama...just didn't seem to fit. Why? I don't know, just a gut feeling I guess. Shabby Mama is a heading that I've been mulling over since I changed it last time but didn't use then. Once again why? Who knows. I just feel like it fits me better than the one before. Let me explain. First of all, for those of you who've been to my home, Shabby Chic probably comes to mind. The more beat up the better in my book! :-) I just love the history of unique and beautiful antique pieces! Some of you are now thinking "huh?". Well the other reason I picked this is because Shabby is the way I feel I am on this earth. Made in the image of Christ yet human. Tired, aging, flawed...well, kinda like a shabby chic antique if you ask me. Worn out and flawed (in some way or another, that looks different for each of us as well as all my antiques!) on the outside but yet there is still something beautiful about it/us! It's all in the eye of the beholder, you've heard/said that many a time I'm sure. For me, I LOVE shabby chic 'stuff' and quite frankly, think it's beautiful. I also pray that each one of us sees each other through God's eyes and looks past the shabbyness (is that really a word? I do like making them up sometimes.) straight to the heart which has been purified by Christ and is truly beautiful because He made it that way! You know what I mean! And then one day...I (along with each and every believer) will be rescued from this broken world and taken to live in a Glorious Heaven with my God and Savior, Jesus Christ, and will be given a New and Pefect 'Body' (not sure what that will be like). Can't hardly wait!!! But for now, it's just shabby old me (although I am thankful for how God created me and do believe that God "fearfully and wonderfully" makes each and every one of us)!

New Norm?

You've heard of that before, right? Finding your new norm after a big change has occured in your life. Well, having baby #4 was the biggest change I think I've experienced since getting married and having my first child! To be really honest, it actually felt like a crazy fast curve ball that I wasn't quite ready for. :-) I guess there really wasn't anything anybody could have said or done to really and truly prepare me for the changes that have occured in our family. Don't get me wrong, these are great changes, they can just get a bit overwhelming at times right now. My sweet and very wise mother keeps encouraging me that this is just one of many stages and that it is one of the busiest busiest and/or physically taxing ones for sure...since ALL 4 of them still need me to do so many things for them. I know one day when they are grown I'm going to look back on these days/years and wish for a few more cuddle moments and sweet kisses and hugs from little ones so I'm doing my best to cherish each moment I have with them! As far as the new norm? It's sinking in (actually the Holy Spirit so kindly reminds me) that I just need to accept the fact that I'm gonna wash at least 7 loads of laundry each week, cook and grocery shop for what feels like a small army, never have a quite home again until their grown (possibly out of the house and maybe not then either cause I'll start having grandchildren I pray), not be able to shop for extreme bargains as much as I used too (bummer! Lord's just gonna have to lead me to 'em!), clean house all the time and still have more to clean, and have to let go and let God do a whole lot of things that I would like to think I can do on my own but really can't! So here's to staying in God's Word daily, having a Girl's Night Out every once in a while, and many more dates with my hubby to help me keep sane, energized and excited about being the wife and mother God created me to be...in the midst of a Brand New Norm!