We leave for Arkansas on Friday and I'll be gone for 3 weeks...so, before I head out, I wanted to post some pics of the past weekend. Friday night we carved pumpkins, Saturday morning we got together with the Moore's for a bridal brunch for Mindy, Saturday night was spent with the Howard's trick-or-treating and we ended the evening with smore's at the Eason's house. It was a great weekend with friends and family!

Mindy's Bridal Brunch

Trick-Or-Treating with the Howards


S'mores w/ the Easons

My girls...


Rauly had her "Farm Day" Festival at Sharing Tree Preschool yesterday! Unfortunately, I was unable to attend with her due to Lillie Anna's MRI, so I made sure to get a picture of her before leaving the house. She was so excited - I just love that girl! :)

After dropping Rauly off, I raced home to start making Spinach Bread for Mindy's Wedding Brunch on Saturday...it came out of the oven about 5 minutes before we left for the hospital. Jenny got off work early to help us with Shepherd (thank you Jenny!), and Lillie Anna was admitted at Wolfsons around noon. I posted some pictures of our time there. We haven't gotten the results yet, but are hoping we'll know something today. Thank you for everyone who remembered our little girl in prayer - we are grateful!

Waiting so patiently after she was admitted. She hadn't eaten for about 6 hours at this point and she was still so sweet and calm. By the end of the day, she wound up going about 10 hours without eating...she never cried, and the rare moment when she fussed at all, a paci would quiet her immediately. I'm tellin' ya...she's a dream baby!

This was taken about 3 minutes before the nurses took her back for her MRI. She was given an oral sedative which tasted like cinnamon red-hots...she gagged and cried for about 5 minutes while they gave her the sedative. I couldn't even speak to comfort her b/c I was so emotional. Thankfully the sedative worked though, and they did not have to give her any i.v. anesthetic! Praise God!

Trying to wake up after her MRI...it took nearly two hours for her to open her eyes.

Itty-bitty Blood Pressure cuff...


On a different note, Jenny was scrolling through old blog posts from when Rauly Marie was a baby, and found this picture of her. She emailed the comparison of her and Lillie Anna and we were surprised at how much they look alike! What do YOU think??
Rauly-Marie...

Lillie Anna

Connor's A-Maize-ing Acres

You may be wondering why Rauly has such a sad, frustrated face...

And you may be wondering why Lillie Anna is only wearing a diaper and her green Trumpette socks.....


Well, I guess I'm getting ahead of myself...maybe I should start with the beginning of the story. I'll begin with this morning. :) Rauly-Marie was doing what she does best!...lovin' on her baby sister! I just love how Lillie Anna is staring at her with wide eyes! :)

Shep and Rauly were sooooo excited! Why? B/c today was Shepherd's very first homeschool field trip,...our entire family went to support him! :)

...so where did we go? Connor's A-Maize-ing Acres! A farm that has a HUGE corn maze and many other activities for kids!

The kids started the field trip by sitting together and learning about agriculture and how it's evolved over the past 50 years...

Then we went on a hayride...

Rauly sat with Maureen and her daughter Allie...Allie and Rauly go to Sharing Tree Preschool together.

And the kids fed the cows when the driver stopped the tractor...

They played in the hay (yes, I realize it isn't the best activity for a child with Pneumonia....)

and then we divided our group up and found our way through the corn maze...

Our family of five...

The kids rode a cow train which took them to a petting farm...

but before we got to the petting farm, Chad and I got a big laugh when we realized which cart Rauly had chosen to sit in...bully...hmmm.....




SO....after a VERY full day of playing and learning outside in the sun with friends...Rauly was exhausted and compleeetly done. She fell asleep within a matter of seconds after I took this photo.

And Lillie Anna?...well, my little love was hungry, so I crawled in the van before we drove home to nurse her. No sooner had I begun burping her and she threw up (nope...not spit-up...trust me, there's a difference)...she threw up all over me and all over herself. YUCK YUCK!! She wound up driving home in a diaper, and I drove home wrapped up in a beach towel in the back seat (lesson learned...start carrying a spare shirt just incase).

Despite the first few minutes back in our van on the way home, we all had an incredible experience today and are now very much looking forward to Shepherd's next field trip - it's a GREAT group of mom's a dad's and a great group of children!

The past 7 weeks have been the most marvelous weeks of my life...I have fully felt the blessings that come with being a mother and being able to stay home with my children. I've basted in the glory of the Lord and have spent time loving on Shep, Rauly and Lillie Anna. Of course, with all those blessings that come with having three children, also comes the "mommy brain" that causes me to fumble my way through the day. I have such good intentions of documenting things like: Lillie Anna's first laugh, first smile, first bath, etc....but if I'm interrupted (and I am interrupted probably 50x throughout the day), then I completely forget what I was intending to do. Which means I have a long lists of to-do's that are left to be done! I'm surviving on STRONG coffee in between giving baths, teaching Kindergarten, wiping noses, kissing away tears and nursing. I rarely stop (unless I'm checking Facebook statuses...come on, I have to keep my priorities in check! lol!), and when I do stop, my brain keeps going. But I can say with all honesty that I am exactly where I want to be - at home, with my children, growing as a wife and as a mother and as a child of God! I am experiencing peace in my life that I haven't felt in a while,...ok, so some of that peaceful easy feeling may be coming from the percaset-like effect that breastfeeding gives me!

So, Shep may have burned his ear on our car motor and blistered his ear terribly, he may also have Pneumonia,...Rauly may be wetting the bed every night, and I may be sore as all-get-out from finally getting to exercise and operating on a brain that's half-functioning. BUT, life is good and I'm thankful! And did I mention I am still deeply in love with my dream baby?....be careful - being around this little angel will make your ovaries hurt! ;)

Her onesie reads: "This is my little black dress"

Jewel (aka Granny) giving Lillie Anna some lovin' at Brecken and Kinsey's b-day party. Aren't those leg warmers hysterical?!

Our lil' pumpkin...laughing out loud. :)

Doting big sis, getting ready to leave for the Fall Festival!


Just for my own personal memory...Lillie weighed 11.9 lbs (75%) and was 22.5 inches long (65%) at her 6 week check-up.

Mr. Sandman....bring me a dream...




I know...don't we all wish we could sleep like THIS?!?! Well...almost like this...Rauly has completely forgotten how to get up in the middle of the night to go potty. On this particular night, I walked in to cover her up with her comforter and just happened to see a very large wet spot on her sheets! I've tried just about everything (except for the "pee alarm"). Any suggestions from all you seasoned mommies?!?!



While she may have digressed at night with potty training, she grew up so much the day she became a big sister! My heart swells when I see how tender and sweet she is with Lillie Anna. I've never seen a more doting and loving "little momma'". Often throughout the day, she will gaze at her little sister and whisper to me "mommy...she is soooooo cute"! When Lillie Anna cries, she immediately tries to find the cause of her sister's discomfort by locating her pacifier and placing it in her mouth, checking her diaper and if neither of those things satisfy Lillie Anna, she will quickly notify me that "Lillie needs to nurse!". :) I'm very proud of the protective and tender-hearted little girl she is growing up to be!

Fall is here!!!




This little stinker is keeping us on our toes! She is getting cuter and cuter each day...Chad and I find ourselves falling more in love with her. She has more personality than she knows what to do with and tries to make us laugh constantly. On top of being mischevious, she's become so tender...she's extremely gentle with Lillie Anna and for the first time, her sweet motherly instincts have come out. She tells me probably 20x daily how cute her little sister is and whenever Lillie cries, she is the first to try and figure out what's wrong. She'd hold her all day if I would let her (which I don't!) and I'm thinking she and Lillie are going to be very good friends one day!


This is what I find all day every day...the kids hovering over Lillie Anna. Notice Shep's pained expression?...whenever Lillie Anna cries (which isn't very often), he literally thinks she's going to die! Not sure why he thinks that, but it's a real fear for him. Notice Rauly getting Lillie Anna's paci?...such a little mommy!


Paci in mouth = happy baby, Lillie no longer crying = happy Shepherd, baby and Shep happy = happy Rauly! :)


Lillie Anna is 4 wks old! I can hardly believe it. The depth of love I have for this little cherub still amazes me...I'm enjoying every moment of being her mother and am thankful beyond words that God gave her to us. She is nursing beautifully and is getting big (as you can probably see in the pictures). :) She laughed for the very first time this morning while I was changing her diaper - Rauly and I both heard it and was the most adorable sound - I told her to run and get her daddy (Chad works in an office from our home), but by the time he came in, she was just smiling. I was excited though that she's beginning to interact more with us as her "alert" time lasts a little longer each day.




As for life with a 5 yr old, 3 yr old, and 4 wk old,...I wake up every day expecting things to be "hard". I was told by so many people that adding a 3rd would be very challenging and to be prepared to really struggle. And I realize we're only 4 weeks in to it, but I have to admit that it hasn't been rough. Ok...I would love to get more sleep, but it hasn't been all that hard to adjust to waking up to nurse her. And she's so pleasant throughout the day that I can lay her down while I teach Shep...it helps too that Shep is so laid back and he is very patient. :) Homeschooling is going really well - Shep is an excellent student! We're right on track...it's hard to believe we've been doing this for 2 months now.

Hey everyone,
Lillie Anna's MRI has been scheduled for 11am tomorrow morning at Wolfson's. I've put in a call to the MRI nurse to make sure she's aware of the congestion Lillie has had this week, but am waiting to hear back.

Please pray for her protection and for Chad and my peace of mind. Also pray that her congestion will clear up (or that the doctor's will postpone the MRI if the congestion will put her at risk). We'll let you know the results once we receive them.

SCRATCH THAT! It's been rescheduled for October 29th due to her congestion. Chad and I are very relieved...we were given less than 24 hours notice today and weren't thrilled about that...a month is much more time to mentally prepare. :)