Tuesday, December 17, 2013

5 Years Old!

My little boy is 5!  Wow!  He is such a smart, sweet boy who definitely has a strong personality.  He keeps me on my toes and has no problems telling it how he sees it.  But he is also such a little sweetheart.  He loves to cuddle with me, he can be so sweet to his sisters, and really all he wants to do is play.  For the most part he is a happy little guy.  Right now we are just dealing with why we don't always get to do exactly what we want and how to react to situations that makes him upset.  Drake is also such a smart kid!  I taught him to read this summer and was so proud of how quickly he picked that up.  We have kind of slacked on keeping up with the reading the last couple months but he still does a great job. I think I am going to start working on math with him after the holidays.  He loves school and can't wait to start Kindergarten next year.  His teachers say that he is at the top of his class even though he is the youngest so we are really proud of him (he is in a special class for kids who turn 5 by December to get them ready for Kindergarten).  He is such a social little guy!  He wants to play with his friends all the time!  He even set up a few play dates at school with his friends without either of them talking to the adults about it.  We got home from school and Drake asked where his friend was and how he was supposed to follow us home.  His friends mom and I had no idea about it.  Haha!  I love watching the Drake grow and be the boy that he is turning into.  Sometimes I look at him and can't believe that he is so big!  And to be honest there are other times when I look at him and wonder why he is acting so young.  Haha. 

Drake - you are my favorite little boy! I love you so much and you have played a huge role in making me the person I am today.  You are only 5 but you have changed my life in so many ways.  I love watching you play with Sonja and help with Lucy. I love seeing how smart and fun you are.  And I even love it when you are fighting back because that means you have a strong personality and are not afraid to be you.  Happy Birthday Drakey!

Birthday Party!

 I can't believe my little boy is going to be 5 tomorrow!  We had a super hero party for him this past weekend with some of his friends. We had pizza, cupcakes and played some super hero games.

present time!






Yummy cupcakes!  Sonja had so much fun playing with all the big kids.


playing "save the lady" where the kids had to go through a obstacle course to save the lady (a doll).

It's Christmas time!!!

 I don't know why but I sure have been slacking!  I haven't blogged hardly at all and to be honest, I am not even really taking pictures.  I am sure I am missing a ton of memories so I need to do better!  Anyways, here are some pictures of the kids playing in the snow and going to see Santa.






I finally am getting some pictures of Lucy!  Poor thing, I hardly have any pictures of her.  I only have 2 pictures of her in my house and my mom has been complaining to me that I haven't sent her any pictures of Lucy.  Oops!  Guess the 3rd child really does get left out in some cases...
She is just so sweet!

My girls!



Seeing Santa!
Sonja was a little nervous while waiting in line so Drake told her he would hold her hand.



The kids also had a Christmas program at our church which was so cute!  The pictures didn't really turn out though so sorry I am not posting it.  Drake has a program at his school coming up so hopefully I will get some good pictures from that.

Tuesday, December 3, 2013

Sunday, December 1, 2013

My Baptism!

I don't usually write a lot about myself but thought this warranted a little post.  A couple weekends ago I decided to get baptized at my Christian church.  I am so happy that I decided to do this and am so thankful for the support that Chris has given me.  As soon as I told him what I was thinking he gave me a big hug and told me he thought that this was a great idea.  I am so lucky to have such a wonderful, loving and supportive husband who challenges and pushes me to continue on my journey with Christ. 

I was baptized when I was 8 into the Mormon church.  My family never went to church but my parents didn't want me to be left out and so they decided to baptize my sister and me.  We never really went to church after that either and honestly I don't remember much about it.  I don't really think that I entirely understood what it all meant. Fast forward to after I had Drake, (almost 5 years ago) I started to have the desire to learn more about Jesus, for myself and to answer the future questions of my child.  I didn't actually start striving for answers and a relationship with Jesus until we moved to Wisconsin (4 years ago).  I started out by going to a bible study and found myself really enjoying it.  Then we found a Christian church that we quickly fell in love with.  Throughout the 3 years of going to that church I heard and saw a lot of people get baptized (young and old).  I always felt extremely emotional witnessing and hearing about it but it wasn't until we moved here, to Indiana that I felt like I should take that step.  We found a Christian church extremely similar to our Wisconsin church fairly quickly after we moved here.  At this church we joined a small group, and I am in a Moms group that also does a bible study. In that bible study we talk quite a bit about paying attention to those little "nudges" that God could be putting on our hearts.  After some reflection I decided that He was pushing me to get baptized.  Our church says that if you have been baptized in any other church by full immersion there is no need to get re-baptized unless you want to.  Chris was baptized when he was 8 and felt like with his background there was no need to get re-baptized.  I, on the other hand felt like I needed to take this step.  Now that I have a better relationship with Jesus, understand what baptism is all about, and am making the decision for myself.  I was also excited that my kids would be there to witness it. Although they are young, I think they will remember the experience (especially Drake).  I am hoping that when they are getting ready to make this step for themselves I can call upon this day and use it as an example.  On the day of my baptism I felt so loved and supported by friends and family, it truly was such a wonderful experience.  Chris and I have only lived here for 5 months, but we have already made great friends who were so excited to support me in my decision.  They gave up their Saturday night to come and witness the service and then come over for some dinner afterwards.  I am so lucky to have such great people in my life and I definitely have God to thank for that.  I also felt very loved from my family who called me on that day to give me words of encouragement and support, even though they couldn't be here.  I am truly grateful for this adventure that Chris and I have been on for the last 4 1/2 years.  It definitely is hard at times but we know that God has a plan for us and right now His plan is for us to be here in Indiana.  We miss our families terribly but are making the most of this experience by meeting amazing people and growing our relationship with Christ.


Saturday, November 23, 2013

Proud momma!

So proud of little Lucy! She is such a champ. I sleep trained her this week and she did awesome. I really don't even feel like I did anything. The first night she cried for about a half hour and that was it. Now I can put her down for naps and bedtime awake (but drowsy) and she puts herself to sleep. Now I can actually get things done around the house, well if the other two let me. Before I felt like I was holding her all the time. And now I can get her on a schedule. Whew! I feel like I can breath again. :) I can't believe she is 4 months. It is bittersweet. I want her to be a baby forever but I also love that I can get her on a schedule and not feel permanently attached to a newborn anymore.

Sunday, November 17, 2013

Dedicating Lucy

Last Sunday we dedicated Lucy at our church.  Basically it is a promise that we, as parents, will teach our child about Jesus and bring her up in a Christian home.  Our pastor prays over all the families that are dedicating while we stand in front of everyone.  It is a small thing but still very special! We didn't get very good pictures of us in church but here are some after the service.





Saturday, November 2, 2013

Halloween





 We had a fun Halloween season this year!  We had a few party's to go to, the kids were lucky to have a couple chances to get candy, and we just had fun!  Our small group had a little Halloween Party so Chris and I dressed up too.  I was a football player and Chris was a soccer player (creative huh?). 


 Chris was determined to make our yard spooky this year and it turned out so cute!  I loved it, and we definitely had some scared kids coming up to our door trick or treating. :)




Their scary faces, haha!









 We also got invited to a trunk or treat.  The kids loved it!








And some pics of trick or treating with friends!

Pumpkin carving







Drake, Sonja and drakes friend Brayden with their pumpkins!

Saturday, October 26, 2013

Sonja is 2!

I can't believe Sonja is 2. Crazy! She is such a funny little girl. She is quirky, sweet, sassy, tough, smart, and just fun. She is a little chatterbox and talks so well. Drake is her idol and follows him around everywhere. But she also knows how to push his buttons. He definitely is making her a tough little one though. Sonja is so full of life and happiness and she just makes Chris and I laugh all the time. We just love her so much! Our sweet, chunky little girl. (At her check up she was 20% height and 80% weight.)
Helping "make" her birthday cupcakes.



Birthday princess! She wanted a pink princess party. At least that is what drake convinced her that she should want.


Playing with drakes super hero costumes. She runs around saying Super Sonja. So cute!