Christmas & New Years

Christmas was so much fun this year as Joshua and Jenna really began to understand the meaning of Christmas and enjoyed opening their presents. We went to Christmas Eve service at our church where the kids were with us in "big church". It was really nice too - we sang old and new Christmas songs and told the story of Jesus' birth out of the book of Luke. At the end we also turned all the lights off and had a candelight singing of Silent Night to remind us to bring our lights into the world around us and to contunue to spread the joy.

We stayed home for New Years - seems like each year its a little harder to go out somewhere having a lot of friends with older kids, or no kids. Last year the kids had RSV, so we were house bound, and thankfully this year everyone was healthy. It was just REALLY cold and windy outside, so we stayed in. Maybe next year.....

Christmas Traditions...

I've always wondered what I would want to do with the kids as they get older as far as starting Christmas traditions... Growing up I remember always going to my grandma's house, or to my auntie's house for Christmas day celebrations. I remember opening presents with my mom on Christmas eve and spending the day in our jammies and baking while listening to Christmas music. I also remember going to look at Christmas lights on Thoroughbred street with my mom on Christmas eve eve. Christmas is my favorite holiday, and its always hard to be so far away from the family when you've grown up with such awesome traditions.

But then that means time to start some new traditions with our growing family...

We started some cool things last year, and this year we've decided to really put some thought into making traditions meaningful and memorable. Here's some things we've decided to do with our kids during this wonderful season:

• Make snowman shaped pancakes on Christmas morning with blueberry "buttons" and eyes
• See Christmas Lights on Christmas eve on our way home from church
• Make sugar cookies cut out in Christmas shapes on Christmas eve
• Read the Christmas Story out of Luke 2 on Christmas morning
• Make a birthday cake and sing Happy Birthday to Jesus on Christmas day
• Open our presents Christmas morning after breakfast

And of course Jason and I will be watching our two favorite Christmas movies on Christmas eve and Christmas night after the kids go to bed: "A Christmas Story" and "Home Alone"

I'll post pictures and tell all after Christmas...

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!!!!!!!

Jenna's Two

This past week was Jenna's second birthday....Hard to believe that I have a three-year old, a two-year old and an eight-month old. Where has the time gone?! I know now the pricelessness of each little moment, laugh, giggle, and smile. They are so important to me and I treasure them so much.

We celebrated Jenna's birthday this weekend with a princess party. I'll post some of those pics later - I have to edit them first. :) To celebrate as a family though, we made her favorite dinner (but we had it as a side dish) - mac and cheese. We sang Happy Birthday, and of course we let her open her present from us. She really likes Ariel and Cinderella, so we got her an Ariel doll that can also go in the water with her. She loves it and takes it everywhere.

Jessica was so nice and took some pictures of Jenna when we took the grandkids picture for Sherrie's mom. They turned out SO good! The one at the top is my favorite. Here's a glance at some of my other favorites she took:

Snow Day

Yesterday we had our first snow day of the season. Texas gets snow - just not usually where we are. We are about an hour north of Houston, and it gets cold here in the winter, but never usually snow. We have El Nino to thank this year for our likely white Christmas. Yesterday was the earliest recordable amount of snowfall in the area on record, making it a high possiblity of a white Christmas, or at least another snow fall before 2009 is over. Some places experienced 4 inches! We had encough to make everything beautiful and it stuck for a little while. The next morning was GORGEOUS outside! School got out at half day, and when we got home, I let Josh play outside for a little as the girls fell asleep on the way home. Here's a video of what we did:

Here's a few pictures from the next day:

A Time To Catch Up...

finally..... Thanksgiving break is finally here. I have been looking forward to this week since my surgery as I've been about a week and a half behind not only at school, but here at home. It's amazing how much happens in our household over a single day, let alone 11 days of having to pretty much do NOTHING. This is my week to finally catch up on laundry, on dishes, on playtime and cookies with kids. This is my week to catch up on lesson plans, grading and school stuff. This is my week to relax and breathe as I have so many things to be thankful for. Below are some pictures of the past few weeks that I haven't been able to blog....because there's not 36 hours to a day!

Juilianna is 7 months old and can pull up on EVERYTHING she can. She is almost walking and I bet she will be on her own by Christmas

Our little pumpkin on holloween

Jason helped the kids carve their pumpkins that we picked out at the pumpkin patch. Jenna made a castle and Joshie made a wolf

And all the grandkids together for a picture with Sherrie -
(L) - (R):

Caitlyn (18 mo), Elisha (26 mo), Jenna (24 mo), Ezekiel (4.5 mo), Lindi (2.5 mo), Julianna (8 mo) and Joshua (3 yr)

Incredibly Blessed

It's been about a week and a half since my surgery to remove my right fallopian tube due to an ectopic pregnancy. I've actually felt pretty goof the last couple of days, but last week was TOUGH! Talk about humbling. I was so thankful though as my mom was able to fly out from California and help take care of the kids for us. The simplest tasks I wasn't able to do - picking something off of the floor, climb stairs, pick up the baby, lift a gallon of milk. But I was here to at least enjoy the smiles of my kids' faces....

The emotional strain of dealing with a loss of pregnancy wasn't too bad, as I didn't know I was pregnant, however we do often wonder "what if". To calm those feelings though we have to remember that God is in control and that He needed that little one with Him to sing and be an angel. We know that God has promised us one more child - a little boy, and we hold on to that promise in the hard times....

My Dr., Doctor Reed, is amazing.... she was able to save my life and also do an amazing surgery. I will probably have a minimal scar. I am so thankful for her and the work she does. She is like family to us - not to mention that Joshie LOVES her! She said that I am recovering well and that we will be fine to have more kids - in a while of course.... Not even wanting to think about that right now. She also took some pretty awesome pictures of the surgery. I'll have to post them later.

"Tomorrow is always fresh, with no mistakes in them"

Still Half Full

A lot of times it is so easy to look at the glass "half empty" when things don't go as planned. As long as there's a drop in that glass - there's still hope! This weekend was an easy weekend to be discouraged, down and depressed - but the glass is still half full!

Friday, Jason left for the annual Men's Retreat with our church group. I was actually looking forward to a weekend of "bonding" between the kids and I. Friday night wen't well, and I was excited about Saturday.

Saturday morning I awoke with severe abdominal pain. I seriously thought it was appendicitis. It hurt to sit, move and especially get kids dressed. I really prayed about seeking medical attention, or just "waiting" until Monday to see my regular physician. Around 8:00am, we drove to the nearest Urgent Care Clinic. I got right in and the doctor was of course NOT a people person and made me find someone to take the big kids. He said that it was likely I had kidney stones and set me up with an ultrasound.

My friend, Amanda, from school came and picked up the munchkins and I had several ultrasounds done. The sonographer concluded that it was fluid in my intestines and that was causing the pain on the right side. He said to just take a laxative but wait for the doctor to be sure. The doctor had a totally different opinion. He came in and told me I was pregnant and was having a miscarriage. He sent me home, after 5 hours of being there, with instructions to come back Monday for a check on my HcG levels.

Something just didn't sit right with that diagnosis, so as the day went on, I continued to pray for wisdom in the situation. I knew that God had promised me a pregnancy this month, so I was thankful as I was a little more watchful than normal, and really wasn't surprised at the pregnancy result. I was surprised though as to the miscarriage synompsis. We too often thing pregnancy will always equal baby. As the day went on, I still felt real faint and weak with a lot of pain. Around 5:00pm my shoulder blade began to hurt on the right side. Being the "researcher" that I am, I logged on to Webmd.com and searched my symptoms. The main result was Ectopic Pregnancy. It said that if there's pain the tip of the scapula (shoulder blade) that immediate medical attention should be sought as it can be fatal if not caught in time.

I called my OB, just hoping to get a message to her about what was going on. She called me from dinner and told me to go to the ER and a room would be ready so she could personally monitor and check me out. I called me dear, sweet friend, Kim Juarez, to come out and watch my sleeping kids while I went to the hospital. I ended up being admitted and Jason left early from the retreat to meet me in my room. I had tests and ultrasounds done until 1:00am. Finally, I could sleep - until 5:00am

5 am rolls around and my nurse and OB, Dr. Jane Reed, come in to tell me that it is an Ectopic Pregnancy and that I will be needing surgery. The easiest scenario is laproscopically removing the fertilized egg and leaving my tubes in tact. The other scenario is if it is too far along, or the tube has ruptured to then make a "bikini cut" and take out my falopian tube.

Surgery was at 6:00 am, and I awoke in my room at about 10:00am. Still drowsy and a little confused, Jason told me the news. The surgery was a sucess, although it had ruptued my tube, hence all of the bleeding earlier. The ovaries are both still perfect and we should still be able to concieve any future kids from the other side. Dr. Reed had to remove my right falopian tube, but thankfully we came in when we did as Monday would have been too late.

Praise God for the warning signs and wisdom. I know that this little angel will be singing in heaven and we will meet him/her one day in the future. I am so thankful though for His provision and for His protection!

Pumpkins

This past weekend it felt like fall. Growing up in Southern California, fall is like summer, just cooler at night. Its usually in the 80's to 90's until Christmas time. Each year I am so thankful that we moved out here to Texas. We've been here now a little over 4 years and God has blessed us so much here.

So Jason and I decided to take the kids to the pumpkin patch down the street from us. It was the perfect day - 60's degree weather and cloudy outside. It was definately pumpkin pickin' weather... Here's some pictures from our outing:

The pumkin patch was a success - I think we might have to make this a tradition from now one... Our three little pumpkins :)

It's about time....

When you have three kids 3 and under, you do tend to get a little busy. I appologize for not blogging! I've had so much to write about too and will try my best to blog through pictures of the past 3 weeks....

Julianna:

6 months old

sits up, stands with assist, "froggy" crawls

no teeth (but working on one!)

LOVES eating baby food

favorite toy: the walker and "freddy the firefly"

I can't believe that Julianna is 1/2 of a year old. It seems like just yesterday that she was born! She has grown so much, and loves interacting with her brother and sister. I can see it in her eyes that she cannot wait to start chasing after them and playing with them. On September 20, she was dedicated at our church, The Crossing. A baby dedication is when you as parents are aggreeing to the responsibility of raising that child in the best way you can for the Lord and showing them how to grow spiritually as well. We have dedicated Joshie and Jenna too and its really cool to start and see that come about when Joshie sings "This little light of mine" and wants to pray at dinner time. My dad and his wife were able to join us for this special day, as well as Joshie and Jenna. We went up as a family to recieve the blessing of being Julianna's parents.

Jenna:

22 months old

still our "drama queen" and "life of the party" girl

loves to be silly and make silly faces

loves to love on her little sister

big brother is her hero (along with daddy)

favorite toy: Ariel mermaid doll

Jenna-girl is growing liek a weed these days. She has changed so much this past year. She is definately is not a little baby girl any more, but is becoming quite the "little lady". She is constantly "borrowing" my purse and sticking her goldfish crackers in them and putting on my work shoes and of course she wouldn't be Jenna if that also didn't involve finding my gum and trying to chew the whole pack.

Joshua:

3 years old

fully potty trained (shortly after 2 1/2)

can spell his name and count to 10

loves to write - he can write his name by himself

can't wait to be in school!

Favorite toy: Buzz Lightyear and any "cars and trains"

Joshua has truely filled the role of "big brother" to a tee. He is so proud to be Jenna and Julianna's big brother and is always wantin to help out and take care of them. In fact, whenever we see another baby, he wants to take it home with us! His best friend is his sister Jenna (and the feeling is mutual with her) and wants to play baseball 24/7.

Our friends, Kim and Orlando, are moving to Tulsa, OK to start a church and a school and gave us their trampoline...yes, I said trampoline...

The kids LOVE it! Of course they are not allowed to jump without me or Jason out there with them, but it has been a blessing as it wears them out enough to where they actually have a decent nap time on home-days! Yay!! Thank you Mrs. Kim and Mr. Orlando!

Above is the most recent picture of all the grandkids - minus my sister's new baby: Lindi Mae. This was taken right before Josh and Elisha's birthday smash and about 2 weeks before the new cousin arrived. Lindi was born on the 18th of September, making the 7th grandchild (and Josh is the eldest!) Here they are in order of their birth:

Joshua (9/15/06); Elisha (9/17/07); Jenna (12/1/07); Caitlyn (6/12/08); Julianna (4/1/09) and Ezekiel (7/2009)

My baby boy

"And her children will rise up and call her blessed"
~Proverbs 31:28

I have always loved this chapter of Proverbs, and am proud to say that I am truely blessed with my three munchkins. I never knew I could love like this and soon, my little Joshie will be a "big boy"... I can't believe three years have gone by so quickly.

Make an on-line slide show at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Je T'aimes avec tout mon coeur mon petit bebe - je t'aimes.... xoxoxo

School Update

We've been in school now for about three weeks and so far, its been a great three weeks. I've probably had more adjusting to do than the kids. Joshie is in the older of the two nursery classes and loves his "classroom". He is in with other three and four year-olds and most of his friends. He has one more year after this year until he can go to pre-K because of when his birthday falls. But I think that will be nice since then he and Jenna will be a yea apart in school and Jenna and Julianna will also be a year apart in school.

Joshie is learning his letters and can spell his name! I am so proud of him as he is growing so fast. He loves imaginative play and tells the funniest stories sometimes.

Jenna is in the younger classroom with Julianna. At first I was going to see about moving her up with Josh since she LOVES her big brother, and can be a little rough with the babies, but I am glad she's in that room because she is learning to be more gentle and her best friend, Sage, is also in that room with her. She also enjoys going to school.

This year I have four math classes and one elective class I am teaching. It makes a jammed packed day, but I love the feeling of accomplishment and exhaustion at the end of the day. It's a good exhaustion. A lot of people think that since I am on campus only three days a week that I have Tuesday and Thursdays to play around. It is called "University Model Schooling" not just for the kids. The advantage is that I get to do all my lesson preparing, grading, etc. at home with the kids so that I have the freedom to also be with my kids and spend time with them. I LOVE IT!

Going back to school also means getting a haircut. Joshie's hair was starting to get a little long,; and you know its long when he asks you to cut his hair! Here's the befor and after. I am quite proud of my money-saving haircuts!

before:

after:

Yay for school!

One of Joshie's "Birthday" presents this year for turning three is transitioning him from the toddler bed that is in the above picture to a "big boy" bed that our dear, sweet friends the Juarez's gave us. Kim Juarez is one of my best friends here in Texas and I have grown to love their family in so many ways. I began teaching at Legacy with Kim and had her daughter, Tori in my 6th grade math class. Tori is now in my 8th grade class and having her the past three years has been a blessing. Well, they are moving to Oklahoma to start a Legacy of Tulsa there and to also start a church with her husband, Orlando called The Bridge.

Kim blessed us with her son Joshua's twin bed as he is married and has no need of it. We were so honored to have it and we told Josh that for his third birthday we would move the bed upstairs to his room and he could sleep on it then. We would then move his bed to Jenna's room so Jenna could be a big girl now too. That way Julianna could move from the pack and play to the crib. Sounds like musical beds, but that's what happens when you have "Irish Triplets".

Thankfully the transition was awesome. Joshie LOVED his bed, and the only thing we have to worry about is he loves jumping off of it onto the floor. He's upstairs, so it shakes the whole house! He says he's "falling with style"....from Toy Story. Jenna has been awesome in her bed. She knows she can get out, but knows she shouldn't get out if she doesn't want to be in trouble. Here's a photo journal of our jouney....

Jason putting the "big boy bed" together

Joshie's new room:

Asleep at last...

Jenna's new bed:

Nite-nite, little girl

Here's Joshie's reaction to his new room when he and Jenna see it for the first time:

Boys

Boys will be boys....and of course we have TWO boys in our house...Joshua and DADDY....LOLAnd you wonder where he gets those funny faces...hmmm....I wonder....

5 Months

Hello! This is Julianna writing my very first blog on mommy's blogsite. Today is my 5 month birthday and I am growing so fast! Here's a few stats on me:

• I can sit up on my own for a few seconds
• I am crawling, rolling, you name it. Whatever I need to do to catch up with my big brother and sister
• I love to eat butternut squash and bananas (baby food, of course)
• My doggie Ginger makes me laugh
• My favorite thing to do is be on the floor and playing with toys or my brother and sister

My bib brother is so awesome. He loves to play with me and is showing me lots of new things. He is so thoughtful and is always trying to protect me. He brings me cars to play with and shares all his toys with me. I can't wait to be big enough to play with him all the time.

Mommy tried to take our picture together this morning....it didn't work out too well. Jenna was "all done" and walked off. When she got her back and was ready to take our picture, Joshie decided he was too tired and just laid down. We all fell back on him and laughed. I guess mommy needs to take us to get our picture done soon.

I love being a part of this family and am excited to be growing up. There's such a great world around me that God made, and I can't wait to start exploring it!

All I have to say is "Stitch" (aka Jenna-girl) strikes again....

Hiding

I don't like stating the obvious here, but I think Jenna needs to find a better hiding spot....

She got into my wallet and ran to hide. I couldn't help but laugh as you see her little feet sticking out and her standing super still as to not be noticed. Hey, if she can't see me, then she must be invisible! LOL

Oh, my Jenna-girl....you make us laugh so much. Thank you for being you.

Growing Again

We are moving Josh's "big boy bed" from the downstairs (my informal school work room) to his room this weekend and moving the toddler bed that he currently sleeps in to Jenna's room so she can sleep in it and the baby can move out of the pack n' play and into the crib. Whew! That sounds complicated! And it is....that's what happens I guess when you have Irish triplets. Works out perfect though as Julianna's more mobile and is growing out of the pack n' play. Josh is also getting a little big (finally) for the toddler bed.

It's his birthday bed. That's my present to him. I really wanted to be able to paint his room and set it up like a "big boy" room since he's going to be three and not a toddler anymore, but that's going to wait a little longer until we are able to do that. I think he'll like the transition though. As you can see from the pictures, he's getting a little big for the litttle bed.

It's funny because he looks so small when compared to other three year-olds. Jenna's catching up to him and I get asked quite frequently if they are twins. He is just getting into 24 month or 2T clothes and wears a size 7 shoe. That's what most 2 year-olds wear. But.....he's special. He can count to ten, knows his shapes and colors and has an astounding vocabulary and understanding of the world around him. On this he is light years ahead of most three year olds, and that's how God has made him special. Small, yet mighty.

I love my little tyke. He's my munchkin. And I love it when I tuck him in and he yells back "I love you my mommy."