Why I am thankful!

In the spirit of the season I thought I should write down why I am thankful.

I am so thankful to know a God who is loving, kind, forgiving, almighty, enduring, faithful, awesome, and the list could go on forever! Without Him all things are meaningless!

I am thankful for my husband. For gifts that God has given to him. For the happiness he brings to my life. For the way he challenges me to become a better person (even though it hurts sometimes). I am thankful that he also knows the Lord. I'm thankful that he has given me three beautiful sons!

I am thankful for my sons! Nathan, Elijah and Samuel. I am so thankful that you have come into my life. I feel so priviledged to be your mommy. Everyday you teach me new things. It's the little things in life that really matter. Drawing with chalk on the sidewalk, stopping to watch the ant, picking flowers, snuggling on the couch. Thank you so much for all you have taught me.

I am thankful for my parents. They have taught me so much in my life. They have been examples to me. How to be a good mother. How to pick a good husband. How to have a wonderful marriage. I'm thankful that they raised me in a Christian home and introduced me to Jesus. As crazy as it may sound, I am thankful for the People Code. For what it has taught me over the last year. For the way it has changed every relationship in my life. For the way it is making me a better person.

I'm thankful for my inlaws that they taught Greg about Jesus. I'm thankful for the way they love us. For the way they adore my kids.

I'm thankful for my sisters (inlaws included)! Not only are they my sisters, but they are my best friends!

I'm thankful for my home and all the wonderful things that God has given me!

I'm thankful for my friends everywhere! I don't know what I would do without you guys!


Looking back on my list, I have a lot to be thankful for. God has blessed me beyond measure! Take a moment to stop and thank God for what he has given to you!

Blessings to all and have a wonderful thanksgiving!!!!

Time flies!!

I just got on here and it says I haven't written since May 4th!!!! I guess time flies whether you are having fun or not! Ok, well, a little update.

Things are crazy here right now. We've had sickness in the house for the last 2 weeks. First Sam had a fever, then I got sick, then Nate and Eli, then Sam had an ear infection and Eli had strep throat. We went back to the dr. yesterday because after 6 days on antibiotics Eli still had a fever. Apparently he is immune to ammoxicilin since he was given it so much when he was a baby for ear infections. So the dr. gave him zithromax lastnight. He is still pretty miserable. His temp was 102.5 this morning at 5am. Hopefully by tonight he will feel better.

Nate is doing homeschool still. I haven't been very good about doing it everyday, but I think part of the first year is getting to know what works and what doesn't. He knows his letters and can sound out some words on his own. He wants to draw and write all the time. He is doing simple addition and knows who the first president was and who our president is now. He is also playing soccer and loving it. He has his last game of the season on Saturday. Here is a picture of him with some of his team mates. He has really improved since the beginning of the season. He actually scored a goal a few weeks ago. It was after the ref blew the wistle, but it went in, so we are counting it.

Eli is also learning with homeschool. He can write his name now and his pictures are actually looking like something. He is wanting to learn right a long with Nate and I find that encouraging. Eli can't wait until the next fall soccer season when he can play too. Whenever we go to the field he always tells us he is sooooo hungry. He loves to eat the snacks from the consession stand. Right now he thinks kisses are yucky! I keep trying to tell him that mommy kisses aren't yucky, but I have yet to convince him.

Sam is growing and learning more everyday. He is starting to take steps on his own. He hates being away from his brothers. He wants to be right in the middle of all the action. I can't believe he will be one year old in a month. CRAZY!!! He is such a happy baby. It's nice because I know that if he cries something is wrong. He doesn't just cry to cry. He weighs 18lbs. 8 oz. and is 31 inches long. I guess that means he is kind of small weight wise, but you definately can't tell. He is such a joy as are all of my kids.

Things with the church have been good. We are getting ready to go calling tomorrow (if everyone is well) and hand out cookies to the people in the church. We want them to know that just like cookies have different ingredients to make them taste good, our church has to have different people to make it function right. We want them to know that our church wouldn't be the same without them.

With the holidays coming up things are getting crazy for Greg. He has so many different things to do this time of year. We just got finished with the fall festival on Sunday. The turnout was great. I heard over 400 people came! Here are the kids in their costumes. They looked so cute and loved dressing up. Nate wanted to wear his spiderman all the time!!! Greg is already starting to focus on the Christmas eve service. I am in charge of the "little angels" this year. Its 4 and 5 year olds and Eli dressed up as angels. We will sing a couple of songs before the older kids come out to do the Christmas program.

I am kind of sad this year we won't have any family here for Thanksgiving, but I am also looking forward to getting together with our friends the Ridgeways and the Deysels. Neither of these families has family nearby. All of the Ridgeways family is either in Florida or Indiana and the Deysels family is all in South Africa. We really get along well together and it is nice that we have each other to hang out with. Greg's family is coming around the 16th of December for a week. That will be nice to see them. And my mom is coming next week!!!! YAY!!! I wish my dad could come too though, but it will be nice to see my mom.

My photography business is somewhat taking off. I have done a couple shoots for friends. Hopefully soon I will feel confident enough to venture out and take pictures for actual clients and not just friends who are nice enough to humor me.

I guess that's about it. Hopefully it won't be 5 months before I write again. Blessings!!!!

Emily

LIFE IS GOOD!!

Life is good! A little crazy, but good. Life with 3 boys is awesome. Nate and Eli have adjusted very well to Sam. They love him so much! Sam is growing like crazy. He was 15lbs. 14 oz. at his last dr. appt. I had to take him in for pinkeye. His eye was completely swollen shut. Not a pretty sight. Thankfully he has recovered. He will be five months old tomorrow. It's amazing how quickly time passes! He is rolling over now. He loves to look at himself in the mirror. His newest thing is grabbing faces and pulling you toward him. I like to think that these are kisses. Sweet kisses!

Eli is doing great too! Growing everyday. He has turned 3 since I last wrote. He's gone from a baby to a little boy. He has slimmed down and is talking so well. He is very strong willed and we often butt heads. He likes to have the sippy cup he wants, if I give him the yellow plate he will cry until I give him the green plate (or whatever color he wants at the moment) or until I put my foot down. Sometimes the battle isn't worth it. As strongwilled as he is he is also so loving. I can't even count the number of times during the day he will come up to me and give hugs and kisses. Actually he is doing it as I type. So sweet!

Nate is getting ready to turn 5 next month. When did that happen?! He has learned all the letters in the alphabet and can recognize all of the capital letters. We are still working on the lower case. We will be driving around and he will ask, "Mom, what does VOGUE spell?" I was really impressed with that one! He is also learning what sounds the letters make. He is even reading Dick and Jane. What a smart kid!!

Greg and I are doing well too. We will be married 7 years next month! We've been together for 13 years in October! That's a long time. I guess that officially means I have been with him 1/2 of my life! That's crazy!!!!

I have decided to homeschool Nathan. I'm just taking it one year at a time. I'll will homeschool kindergarten and if it turns out to be too hard for me or if he doesn't like it, he will go to public school for first grade. If things go well, we will continue. I have many reasons for doing this and the more I pray about it and think about it the more convinced I become that it is the right thing for my family. I am really excited about taking this on.

Well, anyway, I have to get out the door for MOPS. I just wanted to give a quick update. I will try to write more often.

LIfe with 3 boys!

Well, Samuel is now 2 1/2 months old. I was really nervous about adjusting to life with 3 kids. I had heard both sides of the spectrum, that going from 2 to 3 was horrible and that it wasn't that bad. Thankfully I think I am one of the lucky ones. It has been a very smooth transition for me. It helps that Sam is just a wonderful baby. He only cries if he is tired. Then it's not really a cry, just griping. I have done a lot of reading this time around and I think that has made my life a lot easier. I've learned what signs to watch for from Sam. He has hungry signs, tired signs, I want to stretch signs, cuddle me signs. I know all babies do, but I don't feel like I was as in tune to the other boys signs as I am to Sam's. Nursing has been so much easier this time around. He has yet to have any formula and I'm going to try to keep it that way. He sleeps great at night. As a matter of fact, lastnight he slept from 10pm to 7am. Didn't wake up at all during the night. Usually he will go to bed around 10pm and sleep to 4 or 5 am, eat and then go back to sleep. Today he got up at 7 am, ate and went back down. He is just starting to stir again and it's 10:45am!!! What a good boy! Sam weighed in at 13lbs. 5oz. at his 2 month check up. Big boy!

Nate and Eli are adjusting well too. They love their little brother so much. They have been very gentle with him. They love to give him hugs and kisses. Nate likes to hold him, but only for about 2 seconds at a time. They are all three such good kids. Here is the latest picture of them.