Tis the Season...

Tis the season for finals, Christmas parties, baking, and just business. Normally I love this time of the year - the lights, scents, and the overal joy people have. I find though that having a baby one week before Thanksgiving leaves you exhauseted with catching up to do!

I took three weeks off from teaching to stay home with my munchkins and get adjusted as well as adjust all the other kids to their new baby brother. It was such a sweet, blessed time, but going back to school for the last two weeks of the semester was, to say the least, CRAZY! I came back to finals, five Christmas parties, and all the while my laundry was trying to compete with Mount Everest to see who was taller. So, needless to say, in an effort to make a more concious effort to keep everyone intune with our adventures, I will start with filling you in on the past month's happenings...

Joshua

Joshua has been growing up so much before my eyes. It seems like yesterday he was my baby boy and I was navigating through being a mom for the first time. He LOVES going to school and cannot wait to start Pre-K in the fall next year. All of his buddies, with the exception of Jenna's friend Sage, started Pre-K this year, and he reminds me almost daily that he will be a "big kid" next year. He even got the priveledge to sit with his friends at my school Christmas party, away from us! I have to admit that it was a little weird not having him at our table, but I suppose I'd better get used to it since he's our "outgoing" one. Here he is with his friend Nate dancing on-stage for all to see to "Jingle Bell Rock".... Yes, the WHOLE school was there with their families and my son was up there showing off....All I can say is, at least he's not shy!

Joshie is also our tender-hearted child. He is the one that prayed for a baby long before we did and knew that he would have a baby brother. He's shown us so much about "having faith like a child". He loves to play with Jayden and help me out with taking care of him. I can tell that they share a special bond and I can't wait to see how this develops as they grow.

Jenna

Jenna-girl recently turned three years old and has grown-up overnight. She's become such a little lover and has such a vivid imagination. She's also our creative one. She might be shy at first, but the wheels are turning inside her head! She has become quite the "little mommy" with her dollies and taking care of them. Since her birthday is December 1st and we didn't know when Jayden was to arrive, we couldn't plan a party for her. She was SO excited for her birthday this year and so after Jayden was born, we had dad and Sherrie over to sing and make her feel special. She thought the Tinkerbell cake her grandma made was the best cake ever and the look on her face was priceless.

I am thankful that Jenna is also very good around Jayden and is very accepting of him. She likes to "hold him" and gets concerned when he crys. She has always taken care of Julianna and is developing a lot of natural "mothering" instincts. Of course she and Joshie are still inseperable and are best friends - something I am grateful for.

Julianna

Our little "Nanna" has changed so much in the past few months. It's hard to believe she'll be two years old in a little more than three months. Where has the time gone?! She's definately the one that has grown the fastest - bust a lot of that is that she has two older siblings that she wants so desperatly to play along side and keep up with. She turned 20-months on December 1st and has transitioned into toddlerhood full force. She's a lot like Josh, personality wise, but also has a sillier side to her. Here she is trying to walk in my "work boots"...She didn't get too far and she looked like she was going to wade in waist deep water in them!

Julianna is currently getting the last of her teeth in - four on the bottom, and thus has had a terrible time with that. She also loves her baby brother, but had a tough time transitioning from being the "baby" to now a big sister. She was used to being called "baby" and we definitley dropped the ball in encouraging her to be the baby for so long. But she transitioned well and now we're working on losing the paci. Come the New Year, all the ends will be snipped from her paci's and only Jayden will have them. Below is a picture of her playing with Jayden today in his new bouncer.

Jayden

I cannot believe a month has past since my little munchkin was born. Time is going by too quickly! Sure it's chaos and we have our moments as a family of six, but not only would I not trade it for the world, but I want to cherish these times I have with "four kids four and under". Part of me is sad that Jayden is the last baby - I cherish each moment I get to look into his eyes and to hold him. Knowing that our family is complete though is priceless - now is the time to "train up a child in the way he should go" and to really focus on what matters in this life.

Jayden has grown since he was born quite a bit! I am going to weigh him tomorrow, and will be writing a more detailed blog about him, but at his two-week check-up he weighed 7 lbs 11 oz and was 21 inches! So far he is such a sweet baby and is so content to be wherever he is.

And now our family is complete and we embark on this journey....what started as two people five years ago has flourished into six hearts intertwined and headed out to make a difference...why? Because we're "Made From Above"...