Brotherly Love

Beautiful Baby Boy

Welcome to the world,

Avery Richard!

July 5th at 4:59 am

8 lbs., 5 oz., 19 in.

Here we go!

I know I said I wasn't going to post again until I had pictures of the new babe, but I thought I should take this last opportunity to post a belly picture! So, here is the "before", taken just today! And now we are off to the hospital to have a baby!

Where's the cat?

Sorry kitty...You're not going to be the baby any more!

39 Weeks!

Sorry I've been such a blogging slacker! This post is going to be short and sweet, though, as I am hot and big and swollen and uncomfortable sitting at the computer! (I think I'll post before and after pictures of my ankles in a week or so!) I just figured that I should probably post some baby shower pictures real quick since my next post will be new baby pictures! (Yea!) Thank you, Kim, for throwing me such a nice shower! You're the best! And thank you to everyone else who came! It was such a blessing to be surrounded by so many great friends! Love you all!

A Post for Chris and Evey (and Bryan)...

Great Wolf Lodge

We spent the night at Great Wolf Lodge for Mother's Day. It was so much fun! (Two days of playing at the water park!) It combined a few of my favorite things: being in the water, spending time with my family, and watching my kids have fun! I couldn't have asked for a better Mother's Day! (Except maybe if I had had time to go to the spa, too...ha!) Enjoy the pics!

Basketball

In honor of the Final Four... Just kidding! I really don't care! Ha! Seriously, though... I figured since baseball season is now in full swing, I should get the basketball pictures posted! I wasn't able to get any good action shots, but here are a couple pictures from the end of season awards assembly. (They always get a fun, practical "award" like a basketball or sport bag, instead of a trophy.)

Snack Time

I was flipping through a Woman's Day magazine and ran across this article (written by Paula Spencer) that cracked me up! This is how the article begins...

I'm standing in one of those parent-meeting clusters listening to my daughter's new soccer coach go over uniforms, practice times and contact info. "Is there anything else?" she asks, looking around...

"What about the snack schedule?" a mom pipes up. Heads nod in agreement.

My heart sinks. Ten-year-old girls can't run around for an hour without needing a juice box and crackers? I spend enough money feeding my own kids. And it's just one more thing I have to remember! No wonder obesity is a problem, when kids can't do an activity without the inevitable snack at the end of it!"

I'm not quite that extreme, but I did find it funny to see this in print when I have had similar thoughts! I don't mind having a schedule and bringing snacks. For those of you with kids in sports, you can probably attest to the fact that the kids do look forward to the snack almost more than playing the sport itself! Ha! Where I do agree that it gets a little ridiculous, though, is when the snack person isn't there or forgets to bring it and all the other parents FREAK OUT because there is no snack! And inevitably one of them volunteers to run to the store real quick to get something! Good grief! How about letting the kids (gasp) deal with a minor disappointment and wait five minutes until they can get a snack at home! (I realize that, since I'm saying this, it will probably be one of my children that throws the biggest fit the next time there's no snack... Ha!)

Happy snacking!

Truth be told...

This might be one of those, "You had to be there" moments, but Bryan and I cracked up when we over heard this little conversation the other day: The boys were playing X-Box and Gavin said, "My guy is weak!" Trevor said, "There are no weak guys in snowboarding. You're just not good!" Gavin said, "That's not nice! How would you like it if I told you that you weren't good!?" Trevor said, "I would feel good about that."

Bryan's Birthday

Our co-op field trip to the zoo was cancelled today due to...SNOW! (What the..!?) Yes, that's right. We got about two inches last night and more is expected tonight! So, since the boys are happily playing in a warm bath after playing outside in the cold snow, I thought I'd take this opportunity to play catch up! I know that I have been a bloggin' slacker, lately.

Here are some pictures from Bryan's birthday party a couple weeks ago. We went to dinner at The Rock. He has always wanted to give it a try, so we did! It was fun and yummy! The best part was when Bryan's brother, Chris, showed up from Boston to surprise him! (I was a nervous wreck waiting for him to show up and trying to pull off the surprise!) It worked, though! He was so surprised! They got to hang out all night! I think it was a great birthday present for him! Thank you to everyone who came out to celebrate with us...Chris, Zach, Mom and Dad, Devin and Kelli, Gavin and Trevor...we love and appreciate you all!

Honduras

For those of you who don't know, the Cunninghams are back from their mission trip to Honduras! Check out their blog link to the right (Kim) to see some great pictures and read about some of their adventures!

They say the mind is the first to go...

I had a pregnancy moment last night when we went to my mom's house for dinner. After we ate we were all just sitting around visiting and watching a show on channel 663; the HD History Channel. After a while of that I started getting tired and yawning, so I looked over at the cable box and said, "Is it really only 6:63? It feels much later than that!" (It was actually almost 8:00. Ha!) And, yes, ladies and gentleman, I do homeschool my children.

Brothers

Trevor just informed me that he's "not excited to get a baby brother." He just wants "a small brother that's, like, 4"! Ha ha!

Half Way Done!

20 weeks and counting! I was going to post a belly picture for my "fans", but I haven't felt like getting prettied up for a picture. (I know, I know.) I will try to post one this week, though. The half way mark seems as good a time as any, huh!? I must say, I am definately starting to feel pregnant. Not that I haven't (morning sickness!) but I'm talking in the sense of more difficulty manuvuering and getting comfortable! (I've fallen and I can't get up!) I told Bryan that this means I'm going to have to get a pedicure soon, as I won't be able to reach my toes for much longer! Hee hee hee! I read somewhere that my weight gain should be at about 10 pounds right now. I haven't actually weighed myself in a while, but that's got to be wrong! Am I right, ladies!? Ha ha! (I kid.) On a side note, have any of you noticed that blogger's spell check isn't working, lately? I don't know about you, but for me that spells TROUBLE! So, forgive any spelling errors, eh? I gave it my best.

Happy Valentine's Day!

Bryan and I and Zach and Kim went to The Melting Pot (http://www.meltingpot.com/) for Valentine's Day, on Saturday night. (It's too hard for us to plan on going out on a week night, with Bryan's work schedule.) It was SO much fun! We always laugh so hard when we are all together! For those of you who don't know, The Melting Pot is a fondue restaurant. Kim and I thought it would be a fun experience for Valentine's Day, which it was. Although, Bryan and Zach said it was a "fon-don't"! Whatever. They're men, what do they know!? Kim said, "the next time we have a date night, we're leaving the guys at home with the kids!" Ha! We're all just kidding, of course. We had such a great time! Unfortunately, every picture I took of Zach and Kim, Zach had his eyes closed! (I think he couldn't handle the steam from the fondue pot! Ha!) This picture isn't the greatest of me, either, but it is what it is. (Am I glowing? I'm kidding!) Hopefully Kim will put some pictures up on her blog. Oh, and yeah...that is a piece of celery that Bryan is dipping in the cheese. I'm not sure what that's all about! Thank you all for a fun night!

Happy Valentine's Day!

The results are in...

It's a Boy!!!

Super Tuesday

The polls are open... My "Super Tuesday" is next Tuesday, the 12th, when we get to find out if we're having a boy or a girl! Cast your vote, now...

A Quote for the Day...

"There is simplicity to life that can only be found in surrendering and reducing the many things that complicate life."

Kara Murphy; Homeschooling Today Magazine

This jumped out at me when I opened up my magazine, today.

I can really relate to it right now!

Field Trip

We went on a field trip to a local bakery, today, with our homeschool co-op. The kids got to learn how to make donuts and then they got to eat them! Yummmmm!

Lamentations 3:22-25

"The unfailing love of the Lord never ends! By His mercies we have been kept from complete destruction. Great is His faithfulness; His mercies begin afresh each day. I say to myself, 'The Lord is my inheritance; therefore, I will hope in Him!'

The Lord is wonderfully good to those who wait

for Him and seek Him."

Quick Update

Wow! Has it really been a month since I last blogged? Well, I think I actually have a pretty good excuse this time. For those of you who don't know, I am now 13 weeks pregnant! (Whoo Hoo!) So, my excuse is that I have been really sick! I think whoever decided to call it "morning sickness" was a man! Ha! I have had ALL day sickness, really bad! The doctor finally put me on a prescription a couple weeks ago, which is enabling me to actually keep food down (yea!), but it completely knocks me out! I'm really hoping and praying that I will be coming out of this soon! So, as you can see, since I've hardly been able to get off the couch to take care of my family, blogging has not been on the top of my priority list! Ha! I do hope you all had a great Christmas and New Years! I will really try to get some pictures posted on here, soon. Hopefully it won't be another month! Although, in another month I might even be able to announce if we're having a boy or a girl! Stay tuned!

Trevor's 6th Birthday!

Trevor wanted to celebrate his birthday at Chuck E. Cheese's this year. The kids all had a great time, of course!

Best Buds, Trevor and Cami! Gavin, Justice, Sloan and Jafe...I think they were mesmerized by the terrible dancing on the big screen! Mmmm...cupcakes! Happy Birthday, my sweet boy! The grown-ups...having so much fun at Chuck E. Cheese's, too! Zach and Kim, you are such good sports to come along! "Are we done, yet?"

The World is our Playground...and our Classroom!

We went running and bike riding on the trail, yesterday! It was so beautiful and fun! The boys even got to see a few remaining salmon swimming up stream!

The End of Soccer Season

Time has really gotten away from me! I forgot to post pictures from Trevor's end of soccer season party! I guess there's not much to tell, but there are some cute pictures, of course!Trevor and Cami Sloan, Gavin, and Justice Trevor with his coach! Justice and Gavin had to snuggle to stay warm at the last game, it was so freezing! Trevor in goal. Look how foggy it was!