9 months old....

It was 90 degrees outside the last time I blogged. The month we said goodbye to our first house and hello to neighborhood life. Moving is seriously hard work. Physically and emotionally. I have come to terms with the fact that we may never completely unpack. There are things that I have no room for in our house, yet I cannot bring myself to throw away.
The babes are growing up before my eyes. I can't believe Manning is halfway through the first grade. Or that today Ruby Kate is 9 months old.

Time passes so quickly in the world of babies, toddlers, preschoolers, and children. This is the first time we have had a child in each stage. God is teaching us a lot in this season. We do not have all the answers. We must cry out to Him and constantly seek His instruction as we parent these four.

"Then you will call on me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart." Jeremiah 29:12-13

They make me laugh. They bring me to tears. They teach me every single day. Our lives are so full.
Thank you, Jesus, for these precious treasures.

Happy 9 months, Ruby Kate! We love you so much and praise God for you!

 

Bachelor Pad Goodbyes

I heard the song "Strawberry Wine" on the radio the other day and was amazed when I realized I remembered every line. I did a little research and realized that this song was released in August 1996. 18 years ago. I can vividly recall singing "I still remember when 30 was old." At 14, thirty sounded ancient. If only I knew then what I know now. For starters, 30 is not old.
Time passes so quickly. Days fly by and years go by in the blink of an eye. Kevin built our house 11 years ago as his bachelor pad. I am sure God chuckled at Kevin's plan when he allowed us to meet the following year.  We married two years after the creation of the "bachelor pad." Together we have been here a little over 9 years. We have brought 4 of the most precious blessings home here. This house has watched 1 single man become a family of 6.
And tonight we sleep here for the last time.
We officially move into our new house tomorrow.
Excitement and sadness mingle as we close this chapter and begin a new journey.  Tomorrow we focus on getting settled in the new house that holds our future. But today we hold tightly to the past. Thank you little house in the country for all the sweet memories.

Sibling Rivalry

I never had a sibling. (Not from a lack of asking begging on my part.) Since I was my parent's only child, I knew little about sibling rivalry. Boy, am I catching up on lost time and learning ALL about it.

These two oldest of ours fight like there is no tomorrow. I spend half my time feeling like a judge in a courtroom deciding who is to blame. The rest of the time I am a referee in a boxing match. Until I surrender, throw my hands up, and let them battle it out. They argue about everything. Who has more. Who has less. That is mine. No, it's mine. I had it first. He hit me. It goes on and on. At the very best, everything is a competition. At the worst, it's an all out war. No one is innocent. They are equally guilty in the matter of brother vs. brother.
The craziest part is that they love each other so much. If one gets a treat, they immediately ask if the other one can have one too. They defend each other and play so well together (when they want to.)
I need some tactics to help both them get along and me to effectively manage their disagreements.

What's your opinion:

What are some ways you help your children work things out when they argue?

Are certain ages more likely to fight?

Do same gender or opposite gender siblings fuss more?

Doing better

I promised myself I would do better with my blogging this year. We are over half way in and so far I am failing! It is so easy to neglect. It is so easy to think I will always be able to remember these days. The little things that make this season so special. But I won't. I won't remember the thoughtful comments of my first born, the deep belly laughs of the second, the squeal of the third when he sees me, or the soft breath of the newborn as she falls asleep on my chest. This time is fleeting and I never want to forget the joy I feel right now. So I commit to doing better at documenting. Even in the midst of moving. Yes- I said it. We are moving!
We close next Friday on both our house and the house we are buying. It is a true adventure to pack up an entire house with the help of these four little people. As sad as I am about leaving this house, I am so excited about being closer to town. I love our house and the time we have shared here. However, no matter how many memories these walls hold for us, this structure is not home.

 

This is home.

These 5 people.

No matter the place. As long as I am with them I am at home.

So thankful that God gave me each of them.

 

“I don't care if we have our house, or a cliff ledge, or a cardboard box. Home is wherever we all are, together,”   - James Patterson

 

 



 

Keeping it Real

Life with 4 kids is busy and chaotic. But so much fun. They make us laugh, keep us young, and remind us to keep it real. We have only been a family of 6 for two weeks but I have already learned some lessons on our new reality.

1. 60% of my house is clean and clutter-free. Don't ask to see the other 40% for at least the next 10 years. There will be a time in my life when everything is in it's place. Now is NOT that season. I am working hard to be ok with this. I like things neat. I enjoy vacuuming. However, organizing a play-room is absolutely futile in my world. I have seriously considered taking our clothes to the laundromat. The idea of having multiple loads of laundry washing and drying at the same time is hard to resist. I am learning to deal with the idea that I will always be 5 loads behind.

2. 3 floor length mirrors + a badly lit dressing room + a 2 week postpartum body = A BAD idea
If you ever consider doing this, let me give you some sound advice. (Yes, I did this. Lesson learned.) You do not need new jeans. You definitely do not need a new bathing suit- even if you plan to go to the beach in the next month. Wear a cover-up. Wear sweat pants. But for goodness sake- Do not try on bathing suits 2 weeks after delivery especially in front of mirrors that allow you to see yourself from every angle.

3. The best way for my husband to express his love is by changing the middle of the night diaper. It's the little things.

4. We have the best family and friends. They rock. They have shown us so much love and support over the last few weeks. They have brought food, watched our kids, and kept us company. God did not mean for us to do this life alone and we are so thankful for the people He has given us.

5. I could not be any happier. There is absolutely nothing that could be better than this life.

Pop tart Kisses

We are all in love with this little girl. She has stolen our hearts. Every single one of us. She is such a sweet baby and has brought so much joy into our lives.

I am incredibly thankful that God gave us Ruby Kate. She is a daughter of the King and I praise Him for her. I am so grateful that I get to be her momma.

I never think I can love my husband anymore and then we have a baby. Again and again, I fall deeper in love with this man as I watch him with our babies. He is smitten with baby girl. Over protective. Madly in love. It makes me that much more crazy about him. 

I was slightly concerned about bringing a new baby into our world of rough and tough boys. I quickly found I had absolutely no reason to worry. Our boys love their sister and are so amazingly good with her. Even tiniest boy, who I did not know had a gentle bone in his body, is careful with Ruby Kate. He is quick to put her pacifier in when she cries and is so attentive to her needs.

Manning asked me everyday for months when I was going to have Ruby Kate and he was beside himself with excitement the day she was born. His teacher told me that he journals about her all the time!

Of the three, Myers is the most "into" his baby sister. He constantly helps me take care of her and always wants to hold her. Just this morning, as soon as he finished breakfast, he asked to hold her. As I laid her in his lap, he covered her face with kisses. A few minutes later, I noticed she had pop tart crumbs all over her forehead. Sweet boy left evidence of his love.

We are so incredibly blessed with the gift of our 4 children. God is so good. So faithful.

Counting days

 

39 weeks 2 days. I cannot believe she's almost here. I am at the point where complete strangers ask how much longer I have and my husband teases me about my sausage-like toes. I have 3 friends who were due the same week as me. I am the last man standing. The only one still pregnant. I tend to always win the "who can stay pregnant the longest" contest. My body seems to like being in the state of pregnancy. I do not take this for granted. I am so thankful that we conceive easily and carry to term. The other night as we watched her squirm in my belly, Kevin commented, "She looks uncomfortable in there." To which I exclaimed, "She looks uncomfortable? What about me?" Just like my last 2 pregnancies, I have gained between 40 and 50 lbs. Ok- so this time it is a little closer to 50. (With Manning, I only gained 28lbs and he weighed 7lbs 8oz. By far, my smallest baby.) I have an ultrasound on Tuesday, to determine an estimated fetal weight. I look forward to seeing what size she measures, although I know these ultrasounds are not always 100% accurate. I feel pretty confident that my dr. could simply write: BIG in the blank for estimated fetal weight. She feels like my biggest baby yet and Myers was 8lbs 14 ounces so I know what big feels like.

If she has not arrived by Thursday- that will be induction day. March 20th sounds like a great day to have a baby, doesn't it?

People ask me if I still get nervous about labor and delivery. The simple answer- YES! I think I could do this 10 times and I would still be a little apprehensive about the process. I told someone the other day that having a baby is a lot like knowing you have to stump your toe tomorrow but afterwards someone is going to give you a $100. (Yes, I am way more excited about having my baby than getting $100 and I realize that stumping your toe in no way compares to the pain of delivery) But you see my point. I know the pain of childbirth, but I also know the complete and utter joy of new life.

 

 

          Almost 6 years ago,  we experienced this for the first time. Manning Ryan made us parents and changed our world forever.

 

 

 

 

Kevin and I look like babies ourselves.

 

 

 

22 months later we welcomed Myers Wilson. Proof that your heart can double in an instant. There is room to love two in just the same way.

 
We induced at exactly 39 weeks with Myers and I am glad we did. He was a BIG guy. His momma might not should have eaten ice cream everyday. We laugh about his size at birth because now he is so small.

 

 

21 months later we met this little guy- McCann Riggs stole our hearts from the moment he entered this world.

 

 

 

 

 

 

I am hoping the next time I post, it will be filled with pictures of our sweet girl. Please pray that we have an easy labor and delivery and most importantly that Ruby Kate will be healthy.

"For You formed my inward parts; You wove me in my mother's womb. I will give thanks to You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made; Wonderful are Your works, And my soul knows it very well." Psalm 139:13-15