Happy (super, super, super belated) Papa's Day!

There are so many things I love about my husband. But, one of those things at the top of the list, is what an incredible father he is. Eric loves the boys in such an incredible way. He holds them, hugs them, kisses the tops of their heads and right on their lips, wrestles with them, takes them to work, and disciplines them with love. When he's disciplining them sometimes I can't help but snicker (always where the kids can't see me), because I'm proud of him for being strong.

We had such a fun Father's day, although I completely forgot my camera. (We've been doing a lot of fun things the last couple of weeks and every time we're driving away I remember the camera. When it's too late!)

We went out to breakfast at one of Eric's favorite places (Cafe Coda, for Chico people) and ate a delicious breakfast.

Because the wait for our food was so long we were a few minutes late to church (we're going to a new church, by the way...more on that later!), but it wasn't a big deal.

After church we raced home, grabbed our swimsuits, and headed over for a 60th surprise luau for one of the men at church. They had a gorgeous saltwater pool with a rock waterfall. The boys LOVED swimming! We eventually dragged them out of the pool and home around 5pm. Silas took a late nap and we relaxed, enjoyed our evening, and the best man in the world!

Just the three of us

With three boys one-on-one time is rare, but very special. (And, I'm sure it will be even more so with four kids!)

A few weeks ago Samuel and Silas spent the evening with my mother in law and Eric, Judah, and I went to see UP.

It was only Judah's second time in the theatre. The first time ended abruptly when Judah got scared of the lady yelling at Curious George. So, we were hesitant to try it again.

The second time was a total success! We loved the movie, but most of all we loved the special time with our oldest boy.


Judah is so funny- I told him to smile, but he didn't want to look away from the screen. Even though it was just the ads before the previews!

Hole in the mouth

Last night Samuel fell with his toothbrush in his mouth.

As soon as I saw him laying on the floor, with the toothbrush in his mouth, I knew it wouldn't be good. Then, we took him in the bathroom and I saw the blood and I started freaking out. And, Judah started freaking out, too. And, Eric told me to pull myself together.

Every night Eric reads allt he boys their Bible story. Then, he gets their toothbrushes ready, hands them to them, and they bring them out to the living room where I help them brush. Judah and Samuel will usually only let me help them.

So, I was brushing Judah's teeth when The Fall happened. We got out the flashlight and could see a hole that the toothbrush created. We tried giving him a popsicle, but he wanted to go in his bed and sleep.

So, at 8:30, after he had fallen asleep I called the emergency line at the doctor's office. The doctor on call said not to wake him up.



At 9:00 he woke up on his own screaming and crying. I brought him into my bed, he fell asleep in my arms, and then I put him back in his bed. He woke up again around 10. I gave him Motrin and put him back in his bed. At 12:30 when he woke up I brought him in my bed and called the emergency line. This time I had to wait until 1:30am for a nurse from pediatrics at the hospital to call me back.

The nurse was so sweet, but I had no clue what she was talking about. She kept saying, "don't give him xyz amount of mg of tylenol and, hold on, let me get my calculator.....don't let him have, xyz mg of motrin in a 24 hour period, and hold on, let me ask my colleague....." The main thing I got from the call was that someone is available to talk to in the middle of the night when you feel all alone, nervous, and your husband is asleep in the living room.

So, after several more crying while waking episodes, and another dose of motrin at 4am we made is to this morning. I called the doctor and he had us come in.

He said it looked bad. I'm really glad I took him in! Poor Sammy Whammy is on antibiotics so he doesn't get an infection and they , also, gave us tylenol with codeine for pain (which, I really don't want to give him and probably won't. The motrin seems to be doing fine.)

He enjoyed his ice cream for lunch, smoothie for dinner, and icee for an evening snack. And, I'm enjoying that my boy is back to his happy, talkative self. Seeing him crying and upset all night and morning was not fun- not fun at all!

Random pregnancy stuff

I had my first midwife appointment yesterday. I really wanted a home birth, but unfortunately our insurance does not cover home birth midwives, so the whole thing would be out of pocket.

I wanted a home birth so I wouldn't have to be induced. I'm induced (I was with Judah and Silas) because I have super fast labor and deliveries and my midwife doesn't want me to deliver on the side of the road (I almost did with Samuel!). The hospital we go to is about 20 minutes up the mountain, as opposed to the one 5 minutes down the street. The farther one is way nicer and uses midwives, so it's worth the tradeoff.

With my pregnancy with Silas my favorite midwife, Cheryl, "primaried" me, which means that I only saw her for all of my appointments, she schedules my induction (based on when I'm already dilated 4-5 cm. I do that in advance, which is why my deliveries are so quick), and then she delivers me. This is all counting on the fact that I don't go into labor on my own before the induction. In that case she told me to deliver the baby and then continue on to the hospital.

Okay, then.

I'm not hoping for that and I'm sure Eric isn't really wanting to deliver a baby.

I have an ultrasound next week to determine my exact due date. That will be fun!

Like with my pregnancies with the boys, I have felt moderate queasiness all day, every day. I don't throw up, so I feel like I shouldn't complain, but it stinks feeling like you're on the verge of it all the time. I constantly eat because it's worse when my stomach is empty. I'm really looking forward to the end of this part, though.

And, I have to commend my little man, Judah. He has been an incredible, incredible help to me. I'm so thankful for him! When I'm not feeling well he'll get water for him and Samuel, shut the bathroom door, so Silas can't crawl in, move Silas, and just do general small chores. And, the best part? He does it all happily, with a smile. What a servant! I can't tell you how much I love that guy! And, of course, Samuel and Silas, too.

Which, is why we decided to have another. Why not, right? The world needs more smart, cute, Jesus loving kids! :)

6 Years

Today is my 6th anniversary.

Six years ago I was a 20 year old bride, married to my 23 year old husband. So young. We've been through so much in the past 6 years. Some amazing, some hard, some life changing. three (and a half) beautiful kids. Jesus is the glue that binds us together. I look forward to living the rest of my life with you, Eric Paul.

We had a great, relaxing weekend together. We did a little walking, a lot of eating, and a lot of resting. Exactly how I wanted it! I've written the sweet (sappy) posts before and they're still true. If you're interested you can read one here.

But, I'd love to hear your marriage advice. What keeps your marriage strong? What do you wish someone would have told you before you got married? What did someone tell you and you're so glad they did? What would you say to an engaged or newlywed couple? Please leave a comment. I want to know what you all have to say!

Being a Mom

I love being a mom! So many times I look at my kids or think about them and my heart overflows with love. Yesterday Judah and Samuel played outside for hours together. I just watched them outside the sliding glass door, so happy that they are already best friends. Every time I look at Silas I can't help but say out loud how cute he is. Today, much of my house got cleaned. All by Judah! My three boys are just so amazing and so special.

A few weeks ago I asked on twitter what people thought of as a big/large family. There were several different answers, but the majority said 4+ kids. I agree with that. Three seems average to me and four or more kids seems like a big family. I always knew I'd want a large family. I don't ever remember wanting less than four kids. And, thank goodness, I married a man who also loves kids and wants a large family.

On Sunday, April 26th, we were all driving in the car home from my mom's house. Samuel was saying random people's names. I can't remember who now. And, Judah says, "No! Only people in our family! Papa, Mama, Judah, Samuel, Silas, and the baby in Mama's tummy."

I asked Eric if he heard what Judah said. He said he did, we laughed, and didn't say anything more about it.

I just so happened to have a couple pregnancies tests at home, so because of Judah's little comment I decided to take one. I really did not think I was pregnant, so I completely forgot about it. I took a shower, got the boys ready for bed, then when I was going to brush my teeth before bed I looked down at the test.

And, yeah, you know where this is going. Two lines!! I totally started shaking and pulled out my second test. I took it and the two lines appeared right away. I called Eric in and showed him.

We're so excited for our fourth little baby. I can't believe I'm going to have FOUR kids!!

I will be 11 weeks tomorrow and I'm due right around Christmas.

Oh, the Fair!

We're not fair people. I think I've gone to the fair twice in the last 15 years. Both of those times when Judah was old enough to want to go.

We weren't planning on going this year, but Judah saw a carnival on some show and had been wanting to go. When we drove by the fairgrounds and saw the ferris wheel he really wanted to go.



I'm a sucker for "experience" for the kids and Eric agreed, so Memorial Day we headed over there.

I think the reason why I don't like the fair is they seem so dirty to me. People sweaty and dirty. Carnies making your food and taking your money. People getting off rides and throwing up.

(Totally random traumatic experience. I was on that spinning ride -do you know which I mean? Kind of like the teacups, but in a half dome thing- with my step-grandpa Bill at a parking lot carnival. And, in the middle of the ride he starts throwing up. That was probably the worst experience of my life.)

Anyway, just gross and dirty. And, expensive at that. But, obviously, we went anyway.



The boys went on two rides. I told them they could ride the ponies, but preferred rather ride the merry go round. Because Samuel was a little below the line Eric had to ride with them. Silas and I just watched.



We looked at the animals, petted a few, and sanitized the hands. :) The baby animals were so cute.



We looked at the $4 corn dogs, but Eric wouldn't let me buy any, looked at the ice cream, but went home and ate the ice cream home. And, of course, took pictures in the photobooth. My personal favorite part!

We probably won't go back anytime soon, so I hope the boys enjoyed their experience!

A Papa and his Boys

Last weekend Eric, Judah,and Samuel went to a Father/Son camping trip. They have been doing this trip for 26 years, but it was my boys' first year participating. It is men (and boys) from churches all over the city. The focus is to build strong relationships between fathers and sons. The fathers are encouraged to stay with their sons the entire time, which isn't hard with a four and three year old, but how neat for a father and his teenage son?

I told them to take lots of pictures and from what I can see (and what I heard) it looked like they had a great time. They came home dirty and tired, but with lots of fun stories of their first Rockport experience. Judah is already talking about how next year when he goes he'll be five!






In the tent - taken by Judah, my budding photographer. There were probably about 50 pictures on the camera that Judah took.