Well, things have been super busy since my last post. We went to Joplin on Sunday July 2nd. After church we came home to take quick naps before our flight left at 5:40. I was trying to sleep but heard Greg talking to Nate. I went in to see what was going on. Greg was taking sheets off Nate's bed and putting them in the washing machine. Apparently Nate threw up. I thought it was just a fluke and maybe he was just excited. He was running around acting fine. Then I was in the bathroom doing my hair when he ran in and said "Mommy I have to throw up". Luckily he made it to the toilet. Then he was running around again. He threw up a couple more times before we left for the airport. Thankfully Greg had enough foresight to put a trashcan in the car for the 30 minute drive to the airport. More throwing up in the car by Nate and this time I joined him. I think mine was just motion sickness and baby. We were standing in line to board when we again had to make a mad dash for the bathroom. I think we used about 8 barf bags on the planes. We finally arrived in Tulsa around 9:30pm. Nate was so excited to see Grandmama and Grandaddy. He was walking really fast down the long hallway when out of the blue, BARF AGAIN!!! UGGGGG!!!! Thankfully that was the last of it. He fell asleep on the way home and the next morning was perfectly fine.



The morning of the 3rd Val came over with her family. It was the first time I got to meet my new neice Addelyn Demetria. She was one month old. She is absolutely beautiful and looks just like her momma. Ari had grown so much and it was so fun to have her say "Auntie Em!" and then reach up for me. I miss them both terribly. Greg's mom and dad came over in the morning. His mom made a breakfast casserole for us. It was great!

The night of the 3rd we were having all of our best friends over to my parents for a BBQ. Valery and Stef and I went to get some fireworks for that night. On the way there I started feeling queasy. I figured it was motion sickness again. I get it really bad! We got home again and the friends were starting to arrive. I started hugging everyone, but couldn't shake the queasiness. About an hour later it was my turn!! I was so sick all night and some of the next day. It was miserable. I almost had my dad take me to the hospital because I was scared of dehydration with the baby. I missed all of the fun with the friends that night. I was so disappointed. Everyone seemed to still have a good time though.

On the 4th the whole Benson clan was there. Mom and Dad, Me and my family, Val and her family, Holly and hubby and Stef. We had so much fun. Just being together was awesome. Eli had gotten sick early in the morning, but his only lasted about 3 hours and he was fine. While shooting off fireworks Greg got sick. He only threw up once though and he was finished. We thought about cancelling his flight that was supposed to leave the next morning, but he assured us he would be fine.

The next days were full of shopping, hanging out at the pool, Texas Hold 'Em, and just enjoying each others company.

Another Precious Baby Boy!!

We found out yesterday that we are expecting another baby BOY!!!! I really thought this baby was a girl, but it's pretty obvious that I was wrong. His name will be Samuel Malachi. People keep saying, "Aww, I know you wanted that girl."
No, not necessarily. How could I go wrong with another boy! I just wanted a healthy baby and it looks like God is giving me that, so I am thrilled!!!

My new business idea!

I'm going to work on my photography skills. I love taking pictures of the kids and some of them are pretty good! Here's an example. It's just something I like to do and a few people have told me they are pretty good. Anyway, here it is.

We've made a decision!

We decided on names for the baby. For those of you who say they will change, THEY WILL NOT!!! (Valery)
Ok, so here they are.








Are you ready?








Are you sure?












Do you really want to know?











Oh, never mind!












Just Kidding!!


We will be finding out at the end of July if this baby is a boy or girl. If it is a boy his name will be



Samuel Malachi

and if its a girl her name will be

Claire Elizabeth


So, what do you think? Answer: You love both names. No seriously, let me know what you think. WARNING: Your opinion will not change the names!!

We actually gave the boys the choice of the boy name (we gave them 2 to choose from) and they picked Samuel. Elizabeth was my great-great grandmothers middle name. Claire and Malachi just because I like them.

6 years!!

Six years ago on June 3rd. I married the love of my life!! I can't believe it's been six years!! How time flies!! It's been a great six years and I feel so blessed to have such a wonderful man to share my life with. I love you Greg!

I'm an Aunt again!!!

Valery had her second daughter on June 1st!!! Addelyn Demetria. She is beautiful!!! It's hard to be so far away, but I will get to see her in 4 weeks!! I can't wait!! Ari seems so proud to be a big sister!! What fun!!! Valery had an all natural labor. Her water was broken at 8:00 and she delivered at 10:37!!! That's fast!! No medicine! MY HERO! Here is a picture of the new beautiful sweetheart!! Auntie Em loves you Addy! And Ari!!

Almost there!!

Well, we finally moved into our new house this week. Greg's parents came to help while he was in Chicago at a ministry seminar. It looks pretty good if I do say so myself. I'm anxious for Greg to see it! It looks so different from when he left. I'm picking him up at the airport at 7:15 tonight. The kids are going to be there to greet him, but then his parents will take the kids home and put them in bed. Greg and I will go out and eat for our 6th anniversary (June 3rd). Then I am going to surprise him by taking him to South Padre for the night. His parents are paying for it for our anniversary. How nice!! He's gonna be so surprised!!!


I had a dr. appt today for the baby! Greg's mom went with me. The dr. told me she was going to try to find the heart beat with the doppler and if she didn't hear it she would do an ultrasound. I told her I hoped she couldn't hear it so we could see the baby. She did find the heartbeat with the doppler, but gave me an ultrasound anyway since grandma was there. The baby was moving so much! I mean literally doing flips and rolling around. It was so amazing!!! The heart beat was between 160-170 which according to old wives tales means girl. I will be happy either way. Boy or girl! I just want a healthy baby! I am anxious to find out who this little one is though. Greg and I have talked about names, and we think we've decided, but he told me not to share them yet. Sorry! You'll just have to wait!

For my Mom

Well it's Mother's Day and I'm 1000 miles away from my mom. I so wish I could be there to give her a big hug and thank her for all she does for me and my family. My mom is an amazing woman. She is my hero. When I grow up I want to be just like her. She is always supportive (even when it hurts to be). She's always there to listen when I'm having a bad day or when Nate dresses himself for the first time and I go on a mommy bragging spree. She loves me with an unconditional love that I'm understand more and more each day. As my children grow I understand just how hard it must have been to have 3 kids is 3 1/2 years! Somedays you just want to crawl under the blankets and pretend the kids aren't there. Then when you feel those little hands on your arm and those little lips on your cheek the whole world seems perfect! Mom, thank you for everything. I don't know how to put into words the gratitude and respect I have for you! I know you know though because you feel the same way about your mom. I love you and miss you and can't wait to see you very soon!! God Bless you today and everyday of the year!!!

Well, it's been a few weeks since I updated. I've been so tired that nothing is getting done. My house is a wreck and laundry is piled up and I don't have the energy to do anything!!! Morning sickness has starting kicking in too. I'm sick if I don't eat and I'm sick if I do!!! UGGG!!!

I found a wonderful OB doctor thanks to the boy's pediatrician who did a little research for me. She is in Harlingen which is about 20 minutes away, so when I go into labor I'll have to make sure I can make it to the hospital!! I went to my first appointment with her on Thursday. She did an ultrasound and I was so thrilled to see that little heart beating away!! I have never had a ultrasound that early with the boys so it was so neat to see such a tiny little baby!! I have a picture, but you can't really see anything. She did confirm my due date for December 18th, but said that with my history of early deliveries she expected the baby around the 1st of December. Maybe the baby will come on Greg's birthday (December 2nd). That would be neat since I found out I was pregnant on my birthday.

We are supposed to close on our house on May 8th. Things are crazy!! So many last things to take care of. Hopefully we can get it all done in time so we don't lose the house! The sellers are already threatening to put it back on the market. I'm going to be working on all of that today!

The boys are doing good! Eli is really getting an attitude. He has started hitting his brother when he is mad. Just now Nate took a drink of Eli's water and Eli yelled "NOOOOO" then hit Nate. I made Eli tell Nate he was sorry and then give him a kiss. Sometimes Nate just asks to be hit though. Nate can be the typical "big brother bully". Eli has been giving such wonderful greetings lately. When I come into the room he will either run to me saying "HIIIII" or "Momma". Then he comes and hugs my legs. It's so sweet!!
Nate is learning so much every day. At church on Sunday they were talking about obeying God's word in his class. He told his teacher that Bubba (Eli) needed to learn to obey God's word because he yelled at Nate in the store!! The teacher thought that was so cute. Nate is really sensitive to spiritual things it seems like. He gets real emotional when he sees Jesus dying on the cross (in Greg's videos for his concerts). He is a really sweet kid too! Always coming up and telling me he loves me. I love hearing those words!!!

Well, just wanted to give you a quick update! God Bless you all!

What a birthday!!!

Well, first to update on the house situation. We didn't get the house we offered on in my last post, but we went to see another one and made an offer on it the same day and they ACCEPTED!!! Yeah we have a house! We are scheduled to close on it May 1st.

Today is my birthday and it has been a great day! Greg brought me flowers and a very sweet card. Beth (my friend here) brought me a present of sweets, coffee, candy and a coffee mug all in a cute basket with beautiful napkins. She is so sweet. I'm so glad to have found a friend like her. But the greatest present of all has to be one I got this afternoon. A POSITIVE PREGNANCY TEST!!!!!! Yes, baby #3 is on it's way!! Although this baby was surprise we are so excited!!!!! We couldn't be happier. Nate is excited too! Eli doesn't understand yet, but I think as I start to show and he gets a little older he will understand more. Fish baby #3 is due to arrive sometime in mid December. Oh my gosh, I can't believe I'm having another baby! It's still sinking in. God has given us so many blessings and we feel honored that he has entrusted to our care another precious little one.

We made an offer on another house yesterday. The realtor is actually presenting our offer to the sellers right now. I love the house. Hopefully this is the one God has for us. It's 4 bedroom, 2 bath. It has a nice fenced back yard. It just seems pretty perfect for us. I'm a little nervous, but again I know that God has the perfect house for us. Greg has started a blog. His is a lot deeper than mine.
I had to seperate the boys this week. They were just playing in their room when it was bedtime. Finally I told them if they didn't settle down and go to sleep that I was going to split them up. The didn't settle down, so I put Eli's bed in the playroom. They have been sleeping so much better. They actually went down at 8:15 lastnight and slept until 8:30 this morning!!!! That never happens. It's awesome. I also took Eli's passy away last week. He was doing ok with out except when it was bedtime. I decided to give it back to him when he was going to sleep, but when he gets up he has to leave it in his bed. He's done a lot better with things like that. Well, Eli is crying wanting to be held, so I'm gonna go. Hopefully soon I will get some links to videos and pics like Greg has. We'll see!

We have been back from Joplin for a week now. It's been a fast week. We had a great time!!! It was so good to see everyone! It was great to see all of the new babies in our group of friends. SO many boys! We need some more girls that's for sure!!

I had a revelation while I was there. I don't really know what triggered it, but I have realized tI need to rearrange my priorities. Before my trip I was so focused on how to keep my house clean all the time. I was getting stressed out everyday because I couldn't keep the house clean with the boys running around. I could clean something up and 10 minutes later it was a mess again. Because they were messing things up I was getting mad at them and yelling. I didn't want to yell at them, but I was so frustrated!! I decided that I wan't going to clean anything in the house until later in the afternoons. I was going to take the mornings and be with the kids, playing and watching TV. So far I think it is working out pretty well. The kids and I are getting along well and there is a lot less yelling. Greg did tell me I needed to remember to clean in the afternoon though. Laundry had gotten a little out of control, but I think I've got most of it caught up. I've realized the cleaning will wait, the kids won't. They grow up day by day, minute by minute whether we are there or not. I don't want to miss that because I'm too busy with the dishes!! I'm glad I've realized this while my kids are still little. I haven't lost a lot of time. Hopefully I can remember this while I raise them.

Today is the anniversary of my granny's death. She died 9 years ago today. I miss her a lot. I remember going to the cemetary and talking to her right after I got engaged. I told her all about how Greg proposed and about my wedding plans. I wished so bad that she could be at my wedding. I know she is watching over me though. I've always wished that she was around to meet my boys. Tonight I realized that she had met them. When I kissed my kids good night tonight, the smell of her perfume was on their cheeks. I smiled when I smelled it. I knew she had been there loving on them just like she were still alive. It comforts me to know that. I am going to start telling my kids about her and tell them the stories she used to tell me. She was a very special lady!

Well, I leave tomorrow for Joplin. I am excited and nervous! I always get nervous when flying after 9/11. I know it's crazy, but I can't help it. Today in Greg's sermon he read Phillipians 4:6-7, "Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transends all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus." That is comforting to know even though we are a little nervous that God can give us peace. Greg's sermon was really good today. The Scripture reminded me of a lot of things I need to do in my life. We've been going through Phillipians for a few weeks now and I am really liking this book. I had read it before, but not really "in depth". My Bible has highlights and pen marks all over the book of Phillipians. Moving to Brownsville has been really good for both Greg and I. We are both really growing in our spiritual walk (which is good since we are the ministers). I really the people here and they seem to really like us. Time has gone so fast too. I can't believe we have already been here 6 months! CRAZY! God is teaching us a lot of lessons here and He is always faithful!

I can't wait to see my family tomorrow. Ari called me yesterday. She is so sweet! Oh, I can't wait to pick her up and hug her and kiss her. Val is pregnant with another precious baby girl! I can't wait to see if she looks like Ari. I wish they would decide on a name. I don't want to keep calling her baby girl. It is supposed to be really nice in Joplin the next couple of days. Thank goodness, because I will be leaving behind 80 degree weather here in Brownsville. It is supposed to be 80 in Joplin on Wednesday!!!! Unheard of at the beginning of March! Anyway, I've got to get packing and clean up my house so it is nice for Greg while we are gone.

Okay I've been away for awhile. I need an update post. Things have been busy. The boys and I are going to Joplin on Monday for 10 days. I've been trying to get everything ready for the trip. I was doing laundry yesterday and packing when my washing machine broke. UGGGG! I'm going to take the rest of the laundry to the church tomorrow to finish it. Today we went to Mexico to get medicine for Greg's dad. We also bought some gifts for friends in Tulsa and Arianna. I'm taking some jewelry to Joplin. My mom's hairdresser is going to display some of it and sell it for me. I'm excited about that. Hopefully that will get me some more business. We made an offer on a house. Still haven't heard back from the realtor though. I've been praying a lot that things would work out with this house. God knows best and if we aren't ment to have this house, he will have something better for us! Well, gotta keep packing!

What's up?

We'll here is whats up. Or what' s been going on the last couple of days. Friday the boys were invited to a birthday party. Our first kids party since moving to Brownsville. It was for a little boy named Quientin. He turned 3. His party was a Thomas the Train theme. It was really cute. There is a lot to live up to when it comes to birthday parties here. I'm a little worried that I won't do a good enough job at Eli's in March. Quientin's mom made all of the kids Thomas pillows for their goodie gift. They were really cute!!! After the party we went and looked at a house again. We really like this hosue. We really think these is the one!! i think this week we are going to talk to our mortgage guy and then make an offer on it. I'm excited, but also a little scared. It helped to have mom and dad say they thought it looked like a good deal. It's still a big step though.

Saturday night Greg and I went to a Valentines dinner with the Spanish church. Greg reserved a room at Shoney's. I made fun of him because we went to Shoney's but it was actually pretty good. I apologized! It was pretty fun! I minister from mexico came and spoke.

Sunday we got up and went to church. They had a brunch for the Winter Texans, so our service didn't start until 10:30. After church they were giving away the leftover food so we took home sandwiches that we are for lunch and we will eat for dinner. I took a nap while the kids slept. Now the kids are watching Dora the Explorer and Greg is watching some movie while I am typing. It's just another restful Sunday!

It's been a agreat day!

Well, I guess this is my first post. I'm kind of excited about doing this. I really want to put down special things for my kids. It's hard to write them down. It's much easier to sit at the computer and type. Today has been a great day so far. The kids and I got up and ate breakfast and then went to Target. We bought Greg a pair of slacks, toothbrushes for the kids and some toothpaste that was on the clearance shelf. Then we went to Sonic. The kids ate and played on the toys while I talked to Sheri. Then we came home and Eli went to sleep. Nate and I cleaned up the play room and my room and now we are watching "An American Tale" together. (while I'm typing) Tonight we are going to church as usual on a Wednesday night. I think the meal is Italian. YUMMMM! I have to remember to tape American Idol while we are gone. I think we are finally going to be able to buy a house. We're going to work a little more on teh specifics, but it's looking good!