Bliss & That: May 2010

Saturday, May 15, 2010

I Have a Secret...

So does anybody notice anything

{different} in my sidebar?

On your mark...

Get set...

Go!

Thursday, May 13, 2010

Rent! {and I'm not talking about the musical...}

Do you remember when last month I asked for some thoughts and prayers for our home situation in Ohio? Well, I know that I didn't get right back and report with you like I thought, but that's because all of your extra prayers and positive thoughts for us worked, just with a bit of extra processing time! God has answered back bringing an agreement even better than originally thought!

Our home in Ohio will be rented, but by another woman and her two teenage daughters. She also wanted the home for not only one year, but just over two years with renting month-to-month beyond that! She agreed to our monthly rental rate also! Our realtor will be managing the property and renters, so we just "write the checks" from afar when we need to. :)

We feel beyond blessed as this will work out so well for us! {Not to mention that it's still our home...} This wasn't something we were trying to do {renting}, but it just sort of fell in our laps. It was something on Mark's mind that he wanted to do when we put the house on the market, though, but ultimately felt that we needed to "get rid of it" instead of trying to manage a rental property from 1,500 miles away. We just had to get through some stressful and frustrating house showings to get here! ;) Anyways, I thank you so much from the bottom of my heart {we both do!} for keeping us in your thoughts and prayers. Please let me know if I can return the favor!

P.S. Don't forget about the ultrasound tomorrow... You just might get to find out what this little one is! ;)

Tuesday, May 11, 2010

Questions...

Why do some days {lots of days}

require a bath before lunchtime?

Why do boys {and my girl!} like to get

so dirty all.of.the.time?

Will these days ever end?

Or can they {please} go on forever?

Wednesday, May 5, 2010

This is What Happens When One Tries to Take a Pregnancy Photo of Oneself

When asked by a few people for a picture of my baby belly, I thought matters could be taken into my own hands without the assistance of my hubby or daughter. This picture isn't great in some ways, namely the fact that I'm pretty much covering the poor baby up with my hand. {I typically don't get along with camera timers either, but hey at least I'm looking and smiling at the right time...} The angle isn't very good to see my tummy from the side, but maybe you can get a little idea. BUT, what I do love about this picture is that it shows how happy I am about this little blessing already in our family, and that is what really does matter, not if the camera angle is good or not. I can feel the baby move multiple times a day, so I am rejoicing in that! Just another 9 days until we meet him or her too! I'm so excited to put a gender to this baby, as I'm feeling a bit guilty for giving it a number all of the time! So, here's the baby for another week by number...

{Baby #4, 17.5 weeks}

Saturday, May 1, 2010

We are Not Traitors

Other than a few obvious people {you know who you are!}, does anybody else see a conflict of interests here? :) No, we have not jumped ship on the Buckeyes. We will always bleed Scarlet & Gray... But, the Longhorns are pretty cool too, especially since they have a little hand sign that the kids can flash up. {At least Bella...} The bad thing about living in Texas when you're a Buckeye fan, though: We don't live in Ohio anymore, and for some reason, they don't seem to care if they broadcast the Buckeye games on TV down here. Hmmph. We've also taught the kids very well, though, so don't worry fellow Buckeyes.

The Rule: We can cheer for the Longhorns as long as they're not playing OSU, but we ALWAYS cheer for the Buckeyes. Period. The end.

Daddy {Mark}

Both my high school and modern-day sweetheart {he claims he's loved me since seventh grade}, Daddy’s the reason we’re on this awesome journey around the U.S. {Truth be told, the kids and I would happily follow him anywhere. We’re pretty fond of him…} So hardworking, he's always busy putting others to sleep. Huh? You see, he really is quite an interesting and diverse person, it's just that he's now an Army Officer schooling in anesthesia. :) For enjoyment and down-time from school and being at the hospital he loves to cook. {What, Honey? You want to make supper? Uhm... okay!} In addition to cooking, he also enjoys hunting and gardening. {See, diverse...} He’s doing a wonderful job already teaching our young boys what is expected of them to develop into a good man and our only daughter what it takes to avoid those good men for the next 30 years or so.

Mommy {Kate}

I'm Kate, spending day and night molding precious lives and trying to keep up with the laundry and dishes. I'm always wondering how I could do things better at home, trying to learn through grace to be the best wife and mother for OUR family, even if others think I'm off my rocker. :) This is still a big work in progress, though, but I'm just so thankful to be doing the only thing I've always wanted to do- be a wife and mama! My newest label other than Army wife is being a homeschooling mommy. I find being in charge of my children’s education just as daunting as being in charge of their haircuts, and I always joke with Mark that I’ll take care of the English if he’ll help out with the higher level math and science. {He's intensely brainy. Yes, the whole package...} Little by little, I'd like to pretend I'm doing ok with teaching them and figuring it out s-l-o-w-l-y. My will-power is next to nothing when it comes to Dr Pepper, spoonfuls of homemade buttercream frosting, my husband's cooking, and a good home décor magazine. I dream of a little hobby farm with a big garden, clothes line, goats {love!}, pasture, and chickens {again} one day...

{Isabella Grace 8}

Our four little ones keep us busy, happy, frustrated, inspired, tired, and loved. Leading the pack is our first and only daughter, Isabella. We should have known from the start that she'd always be our loud and bubbly one, arriving as a tiny peanut four weeks early, surprising us all. She holds her own quite well to say the least with the boys, and is many times the mastermind behind trouble. Her loves are reading and cooking, but not in that order. Bella is turning into quite the beautiful young lady right before our eyes, and is a natural leader and big sister. It’s wonderful to have a big helper at home now too, as mommies of all little ones know how tough it is without “of-age” helpers. We now also find ourselves calling her "Little Mommy" to the boys very often.

{Lincoln Noah 6}

Next there's oldest of the brothers Lincoln, who makes parenting seem way too easy. :) Lincoln’s a lover of monster trucks and sports, though not in that order either. He also recently got bit by the hunting bug, and just got his first compound bow, much to Daddy's delight. Always counting down the years, he can’t wait until he is old enough to be in charge of mowing and “pooper scooping” on our future farm, which is great, since he's a natural at driving. He's also the most affectionate, soft-spoken little boy, always hugging and kissing us while saying, "I love you in the whole wide world."

{Brigham Isaac 4}

Brigham, Little Brother #2, is just a riot lately, and has Mommy and Daddy wrapped around his little finger. {Part of that may be thanks to the fact that he has possibly the longest eyelashes you will ever find on human or beast. We affectionately call them his face blankets.} There's no possible way that he's four years old already, but with that, he has emerged this year as the "class clown" of the family and is always cracking himself or us up with his antics. He is in love with being a big brother to Little Brother #3, but man, can they argue over toys already! His new love is riding his bike on two wheels after getting rid of those nasty training wheels that slowed him down too much. :)

{Griffin Silas 2}

In September 2010, God blessed us with another little boy in our family, who was born at home- a waterbirth. {Loved it!} Griffin's been such a joy and wonderful fit for our family since the beginning. Riding out the gallons of spit-up and thousands of overnight wakings during the first year have all been worth it, and we are enjoying his full-speed approach to toddlerhood now. He keeps up amazingly well with his older siblings and is still at the cutie-patootie age where nobody can stay mad at him. His fluffy blond curls and perfect kisses may have something to do with that. We are all anxious to see how Finn's personality takes shape, making up the sixth piece of our family puzzle.

Bliss & That