Mia's 9 month checkup

Mia went in today for her well child visit. She is still growing like a weed! She is 29 in long (90%), 20.3 lbs (72%) and her head is 78% for kids her age. Her eye is still giving her fits. She continues to get conjunctivis often. She also has a lot of drainage in her nose, throat, and eye. The doctor wants to see if any of this is caused by allergies. She put Mia on her 3rd eye ointment (the first 2 were drops) and wants Mia to take Singulair everyday until her 1 year checkup. If her eye doesn't clear up by the next month or so, I am supposed to take her to see an eye doctor who will evaluate her eye. She may need a procedure done to open her tear duct. I really don't want my daughter to have a shunt put it or anything so I am praying that this new ointment takes care of it. The other drops worked too, but she keeps getting reoccurring discharge, redness and swelling. Because none of the rest of us have gotten pinkeye from her, the dr think that it could be viral or allergies that is causing it. Mia also has a nasty diaper rash that she has had to weeks. I have tried some many things. The dr took one look and said that Mia has a yeast infection. I am thankful that Mia doesn't seem very uncomfortable from it. All in all she is very healthy! She is eating more and more table food and LOVES everything she has had so far.

On a side note, I weighed in today and haven't lost anymore weight this week. I am ok with that with having 6 Festival of Light performances and only exercising once and eating out lots this week. I need to try harder this week though! Here's to a great week!

Kian's echo

At Mia's 9 mo checkup, I asked the doctor about the results to Kian's echocardiogram. She said that she would have someone call me today and that she was 99% sure the results were normal.

I came home and received a call from the nurse and it went something like this:
Nurse: "I don't know why no one has called you yet to tell you the results."
Me: "ok"
Nurse: "It says here that Kian has a patent foramen ovale vs a small secundum type atrial septal defect. It must not be bad because he would set up another appt with Kian if it was."
Me: "Can you spell that all out for me? What was it again?"

That was about it! I was very confused when I got off the phone. The nurse didn't know what everything meant and was just passing on the info, so I couldn't get any explanation from her. I went to the internet to try and figure it all out. Here's what I think it is: it's a small opening in the atrial septum of the heart which allows a small amount of blood to pass through from the left atrium to the right atrium. It may close spontaneously as Kian grows and should be monitored to see if it is. A few of the symptoms are: shortness of breath, fatigue, lack of growth, sweating. He doesn't have any of these except the sweating (which is this case he is half Hibbard, half Billman-enough said). The one site I said that usually these are repaired if it doesn't close on its own by the time he starts school to prevent lung problems that will develop from long time exposure to extra blood flow.
Kian's however, is small which is good, so I think it's all pretty normal. I will keep checking everytime we go to the doctor for anything and look for symptoms in Kian as well. I was just a little annoyed that they gave me all of these foreign words and gave no explanation except that the doctor didn't schedule another appointment with Kian! I am glad we know now what it is and we will continue to monitor him.

Update

This is a picture of my good friend Jami and I during Festival of Lights. We also had to wear Santa dresses, but I never got a picture of that one. FOL was a huge success! Thanks so much for praying. 10 people made decisions for Christ! We have had a lot of positive feedback. God also gave me a lot of grace to remember all of my words while I was singing!

Monday night we were putting the boys to bed and we asked them what we should thank God for today. Aiden replied, "We should thank God that everyone tried their best at FOL." Kian replied, "I thank God that after FOL, I got a cookie." Chad and I immediately started laughing.

Last night I was coming home with the kids from one of Chad's basketball games and the trunk flew open while we were on the highway. I pulled over and the trunk latch was completely out. Thankfully I made it home safely. The car is at the mechanics right now. Apparently, it is completely rusted, so he is trying to weld the latch on. It reminded me of how I need to keep praying that God will provide a minivan for us. God has reminded me multiple times this week how He is the God that provides. I am trying to be patient and thankful for the car that God has for us right now.

Aiden is having a rough time right now. He is struggling with multiple things. Yesterday he had a complete breakdown on the way home from the game and cried for probably 45 min. Please pray that God works in this little boy's heart. I think he is close to understanding what a relationship with Christ means. We had a great conversation before the trunk flew open. He is specifically struggling with friends. He is so competitive and wants to be first. That doesn't bode well for making lots of friends. We are working with him to see that and reminding him to reach out to others and be a friend first. It's a hard lesson to learn! It really breaks my heart to see him hurt. I love him SO much.

Mia has her 9 month check up tomorrow. I think she is sick. Her nose is a draining so badly and she vomitted today and isn't really napping. Her countenance is still great though! I will try and post again tomorrow with another update of her checkup and also of my weigh in!

weigh in

I haven't weighed in since a week before Thanksgiving, so I decided to bite the bullet and just do it. My weight watchers expired, so now I just have my trusty scale. I didn't think that I gained weight, but didn't necessarily think that I had lost either. I was SO nervous and was just hoping not to gain. Well, I lost 7 pounds since my last weigh in!!!! I was so excited! My weigh loss since starting is now 21 pounds! Now, realize that it was a different scale and I weighed myself in the morning (after breakfast) in comparison to in the evening like weight watchers. I also didn't have clothes on. Taking all of those into account, I probably lost around 4 pounds actually. Still...I was happy! Weighing myself once a week is so good for me, because even if I can't see the weight gain or loss in my clothes, it's a good motivator. I have 11 pounds to go to be where I was before I ever had kids. I would still like to lose another 15-20 though. Chad and I are having a contest to see who can lose the most weight before we leave for Christmas break. I think I am now winning! My goal for next week is 2 pounds.

siblings

This was taken this morning in the bathtub. I am so thankful that my kids love each other and enjoy being together! When we brought Mia home, I was a little nervous about how Kian would respond to her. I knew Aiden would be a fantastic brother. Kian has surprised me. He loves his sister so much and is quite gentle with her. Aiden and Kian love to play together and also love to tackle (what brothers don't!). It is such a joy for me to see my kids interact with each other!

Family pics

We had family pictures taken a few weeks ago. The kids didn't cooperate oh so much, but we still got a few that I really liked. Here are a couple of them. Enjoy!

Thanksgiving

I know I am one week overdue with a post. Sorry. I ended up getting strep too and was very sick. I decided that I really shouldn't run the 4 mile race (seeing that the previous 2 weeks were hit or miss with exercise due to everyone's sickness and I was sick myself). I also didn't go to the weigh in because of having to go to the doctor's for Kian and Mia. However, I am happy to say that we currently are sick free in our house! So, I really don't know if I've lost any weight. I don't think I've gained or lost really (which based on the holidays, I am ok with that). My goal is to lose another 7 by the time we leave for Chad's family on the 24th.
Thanksgiving break was great! Chad's mom came to visit for about 6 days and we all had a great time. I went shopping on Black Friday and got most of our Christmas shopping done. I put up the tree on Friday as well. We truly had a great break.
However, now on to "real" life again. I am in a Christmas concert called Festival of Lights. It's a huge production and has 6 performances. It's 1 week from today and rehearsals are CRAZY! Chad has tons of basketball this week, so we are quite busy right now!
I just took Kian to the doctor today to recheck his ears to see if his ear infection was cleared up. It was, but she still heard the heart murmor so she wants us to get an echocardiogram just to be safe. Tomorrow we go in to the hospital to have it done. Please pray for Kian. He has to be very still while he has it done. If you know Kian, he doesn't like to sit still all that often! Thanks!

Weigh-in

Last night was my Weight Watchers meeting. I lost 1.8 lbs this last week. So I've lost almost 15 lbs. My goal is another 10 by Christmas. Sometimes it's a little frustrating seeing how far I still need to go, by my focus needs to be the journey and making the right choices a little at a time. It just comes off SO SLOWLY! I know, I know, celebrate the loss, right?!
It was been another week of sickness in our household. I took Kian and Mia to the doctor yesterday. Kian had had a fever for 4 days and Mia's pinkeye wasn't going away even on medication. Well, Kian has strep throat, and ear infection, and the nurse practitioner heard a heart murmur too. Mia still has the pinkeye and also has an upper respiratory infection. Both now are on antibiotics as well as Mia is on a dfferent eyedrop. Maybe by Thanksgiving we will all be healthy again! I am really praying that Chad doesn't get it. He is already so busy with basketball and teaching.
Chad and I have to make a decision soon if he is going to continue his masters at the speed he has or if he should slow it down. It needs to be made soon, as he would have 2 classes during basketball season. He only has 4 classes left (I think) and I just want it done with! However, there are lots to consider: finances, time (being the busiest time of the year for us), etc. Please pray we make the right decision!
Anyways, Tuesday is going to be my next weigh-in, so Wedsnesday I will update!

new day, new beginnings

I am thankful for new days and new beginnings. I just read my last post and I am so thankful that emotions pass, but God's faithfulness endures. To give a quick update, I went to the dentist on Thursday and he found that my roots were very inflamed, but there was no infection. So no root canal. YAY! He determined that my pain was being caused because my bite was off because my new crown was too high. He tried to numb me twice, but it didn't take. Instead of shaving that tooth down (which would have been ridiculously painful), he shaved my bottom teeth. Now when I bite down, it's not the first tooth I feel. Who new something so trivial could cause so much pain? Anyways, he thinks the pain will subside over the next couple of weeks and he wants me on a strict ibuprofen schedule. It has been feeling SO much better since then. Thanks for praying!

Aiden is fully healed from strep and it seems like we may (knock on wood) be healthy again in our household. He has his first loose tooth. It will be interesting to see how he responds to pulling out his loose teeth. What are teeth going for from the tooth fairy now-a-days? :) It's kinda hard sometimes for me to see my kids continue to grow up. Aiden is getting so tall and he now wears size 7 and size 1 shoes. My mom was right, time goes by faster the older I get!

Mia is quite the mover, although her crawl is quite unorthodox. It's hilarious to watch, but it gets her where she wants to go. She still doesn't have any teeth, but has started eating a little of "real" food. She loves cheerios!

Kian's vocabulary continues to improve which tends to make him even funnier. He can be quite the stinker, but he is one funny boy.

I took most of last week off from exercising because of my tooth, so today was my first day back to the gym at 6 am. I have not been very motivated this last week. Exercising really does keep me more motivated for the rest of the day. Why does it seem to be so hard to lose weight, but so wasy to put it on! Discipline in all areas of life can be so difficult, but I know it is well worth it. Thursday is my next weight watchers meeting, and I promise to post my results from it on Friday. Here's to being disciplined!

One of those days

Today has been...oh just one of those days. One of those days you hope quickly passes, one of those days you pray for extra patience, one of those days you just try and keep your head above water. My head is currently above it, but barely. Where do I start....hmmmm.

Well, it started with Mia getting up at 5:00 for the first time and then Kian coming in at 6:00 saying he was soaked because he had wet himself. Not the start I was hoping for!

Aiden yesterday was diagnosed with strep throat which meant he had to stay home from school today as well to get the antibiotic in him for 24 hours before exposing him to kids. You would of never known that he was sick yesterday or today. In fact, I almost cancelled his appointment yesterday because he seemed fine. The doctor took one look and knew he had it. He only once said his throat was sore and that was the day before. Anyways, he is on the mend and seriously stir crazy.

I have been really struggling with pain in my tooth that the dentist just put a crown on a month ago. It is hurting so badly, that my tongue can't even touch it and forget about chewing anything. I am so frustrated and worn out by this pain. I am on an antibiotic to see if it's an infection, but I finally called the dentist's office and asked to be seen as soon as possible. I have a great dentist, but I have horrible teeth. I have been taking 2 extra strength tylenol and 4 ibuprofen every 4 hours for the past 3 days (which if you know me, you know I do NOT like taking pills unless it's necessary). Today the meds haven't touched the pain. Tomorrow afternoon I am going to Goshen to go see him.

All that to say, we have run out of food and I needed to get groceries, so I decided (stupidly) to go grocery shopping with all 3 kids since I will be gone all day tomorrow. I dropped lunch off to Chad and off we were to Krogers. I had tried to organize myself with a list and had all of my coupons ready, but Krogers is in the process of a major renovation, so everything is not where it used to be. Mind you, Aiden and Kian are completely stir crazy and Mia is now hungry because this trip is taking so stinking long. Mia is screaming in the cart, Aiden and Kian keep touching each just to bother the other and I am painfully walking every aisle trying to find what I need. I had a bottle with me so I gave that to Mia as we walked along. We finally made it to the checkout with my ridiculously full cart and the cashier asks me for my Kroger card (which is attached to my keys). I look in the diaper bag and my keys are gone. I had given them to Mia to play with when she was fussy and Aiden told me she dropped them in one of the aisles. SERIOUSLY? Could this trip get much worse??!! There are now people in line behind me and all of my stuff is on the counter and I go to start to look for them. Thankfully I found them about a minute later in an extra pocket in the diaper bag. I go back to the checkout all the while Aiden and Kian are basically trying to tackle each other in the cart. "just get out of here, just get out of here" was my thought process. I was praying that God would give me a large amount of patience.

We left, had lunch and now the boys are having quiet time in my bedroom and Mia is taking a nap. I really shouldn't say "quiet" time with Kian, who I just told to stop jumping on the bed. Bedtime is going to be early tonight!

All that to say, it's been a rough day and I am holding back the tears as I write this. Please pray for me to have patience with our kids especially since I am in a lot of pain. Please also pray for my mouth, it's hard to focus on much else right now. I go to the dentist tomorrow at 1:45. I have a feeling I will be getting a root canal, but we'll see. Thanks friends!

and it begins!

Basketball season has officially started. Yesterday was Chad's first practice. I think it went pretty well overall. Life now becomes crazy for our family! I love basketball season though. I love Chad's players and love going to the basketball games with our kids. This year may be pretty difficult for us though. 1. We have a third child 2. Aiden is now in kindergarten and shouldn't consistently be out late 3. Chad's practices are around 3 hours this year which means seeing him less. I really pray that God allows Chad to have a fantastic season. He loves coaching.

This past weekend my mom, sister, and I went to Chicago. As usual, we had a BLAST. I love spending time with these women! We laughed so much and it was so refreshing. While I was gone, Chad had the 3 kids and Aiden got sick and was sick the entire time I was gone. I am taking him to the doctor today, since this is day 5 of being sick. His fever broke last night and he hasn't vomitted in a few days, so I am hoping he is on the mend. He acts like he is at least and has started to eat again. I still kept him out of school though and am taking him to the doctor just in case.

I am still in the process of trying to lose weight. I am down 13 lbs, but have recently been discouraged at how long it has taken me to lose the weight. I lost the pregnancy weight much quicker with the boys, but I guess I am years older with Mia. I have been exercising about 6 days a week and am trying to stick with the weight watchers program. I would love to lose another 15 by Christmas. I signed up for a 4 mile race on Thanksgiving morning. I figured that it would give me more motivation to exercise if i was training for something. I will try and keep you updated on any progress! Have a great week!

trick or treat!

What a fun night of trick or treating! Chad's dad and stepmom were here to visit and were able to come with us too, which was a special treat for the kids. I normally buy the kids costumes after halloween for the next halloween. Well, this year, Aiden was Ironman, Kian was Dash from the Incredibles and Mia was a ladybug. They had a blast going from house to house. Aiden is a pro while Kian is still learning the "proper" way to trick or treat. It was fun to see the joy on their faces. Mia did great too. Chad likes to say that this was Mia's first time "contributing" to our family, by getting us lots of candy! It was a GREAT night!

Baby laughter

I thought, "who doesn't like a video of a baby laughing?" seriously, is there a greater sound? I took this today of Mia laughing and thought you may enjoy it! Also the pictures above are of Mia in her new hat. It's so cute, isn't it! Can't believe that I found it at Sears!

blessed

There are days I find it very easy to get overwhelmed by circumstances and forget how blessed I am. Well, today was one of those days where I just sat back and realized how extremely blessed I am. I have a husband who works so hard so that I can stay home with our kids. I have three beautiful kids who I absolutely am nuts about. I have a great home and have wonderful friends and family. Lastly, I have a wonderful God who has for some reason allowed all of my dreams to come true! Seriously, it doesn't get any better than that!
Today I was in task mode. Chad thinks I am often in this mode, however, it's not too often about cleaning! Today I got so much done around the house. I cleaned windows, vaccuumed, cleaned the ceiling fan, swiffered the walls (they were SO dusty!), washed and put away 2 loads of laundry, cleaned the kitchen, washed and put away all of the dishes, and sorted through the kids clothes for clothes they have outgrown. I have too admit, I am kinda proud of myself. This afternoon, I am listening to Pandora. If you have never been on pandora.com, you are missing out. You can put any type of genre or artist in and pandora will make you an entire radio station of just those types of songs. Anyway, I am listening to Michael Buble Christmas music, so all of the crooners basically. I am in heaven. I know, I know... it's only October (which is why I NEVER listen to it with Chad). Anyways, I was singing some of the Christmas songs and Mia was playing in her exersaucer and this was the look she was giving me:



Apparently, she enjoyed the concert! Blessed, blessed, blessed!

September update

Life officially changes in our household because Mia is now doing an army crawl. Looks like the legos need to stay in the boys room! She is an active little girl. She definitely likes to be where the action is! She still is such a sweetheart and very content overall except in the sleeping department. I don't know what is going on but she does NOT nap well. I put her down 3 times a day for a nap and maybe one of them is over an hour and a half. Not only that, she is waking up in the wee hours of the morning too! I am not getting her up, but she is awake none the less. Frustrating for this mom! She had her 6 month checkup and is doing great. She is big for her age, which is just like her older brothers!
Aiden is enjoying kindergarten. He comes home and tells me everyone who got into trouble and what was for lunch, however when I ask him what he learned, it's always, "I don't know." Typical boy! This week is apple week for his class. Tonight he and I are making sugar cookies that are shaped like apples and we are going to decorate them and bring them in for the class. He is super excited. He was asked to sleep over at a friend's house for the first time. We knew the family, so decided to let him go after talking to him about it. Well, Aiden called us and asked for us to pick him up. In his words, "I was just really freaked out and wanted to come home." Immediately after we said yes, I regretted the decision anyways. Chad and I have decided that our kids won't be going to sleepovers at least until like middle school. First of all, 5 is young anyways, but we just feel like it's better to sleep in our own home. Our kids are welcome to go over to homes on playdates (if we know the family well). I didn't think that we would have to talk about this so early!
Kian is doing great. Not much new in his department. He still continues to make us laugh daily. He still loves playing with cars. He pretty much does this most of the day. In fact everywhere we go, he brings 2-3 matchbox cars with him. He continues to not eat much. I wonder if he eats fine, but am basing how much he eats on how much Aiden eats, cause that kid can put it away!
Chad and I are doing great. We both are giving plasma twice a week. We are saving for Christmas with it and then are saving for our 10 year anniversary next summer. Our hope is to get away for a week together (which we haven't done since our honeymoon).
I enrolled in weight watchers 2 weeks ago and have lost 7 pounds since! My goal is 3 more this week to hit 10 pounds in 3 weeks. It's going pretty well! Chad also has lost about 10 pounds in 3 weeks. It feels so good to be healthier! God has given us some cool opportunities the last few weeks and its been neat seeing God work! We are thankful for His love and provision in our lives!

6 months old already????

On September 9th, my sweet girl turned 6 months old! Last night we went to the park, so I figured it might be a good time to take her picture. Mia had other ideas. She was way too interested in everything else that was going on!

We are so thankful for this little girl! I praise God for blessing us with her. It's hard to tell what her personality is going to be, but right now, she is very observant, happy, and easy going. She is super close to crawling. She gets up on all fours and rocks and ends up scooting backwards. She loves her cereal and is starting to eat green beans and carrots too.

Here are a couple of pictures from last night:

Daddy and Mia watching her brothers on the playground. She likes being held so she can see everything or she twists her body like this to make it happen.

Daddy was throwing her up in the air to get her to smile.


"Look Mom, I'm on all 4's!" . I have a feeling once she starts really moving, she's not going to stop!

She kept turning around trying to watch everything that was going on...who cares about the camera!

Happy 6 months Mia! We love you so very much!

summer and school

I know it has been ridiculously too long since my last post, but we've sorta been busy. Summer went great. Chad got A's on all of his grad school classes and we had a great time visiting family. We spent a week with Chad's family and had a blast. We all went to a waterpark in Rochester called Seabreeze. Oh my goodness, the boys had SO much fun. Kian was tall enough to go down the body slides with one of us and wow, we must have gone down about 15 times. He loved it. I asked Aiden what his favorite thing of the whole summer was and his reply was, "Seabreeze". Kian said, " I liked the beach and the water." My boys love being in the water!

After visiting the east coast, we spent 4 days at home and then went to Goshen to visit all of my family. It was a little crazy with 7 little kids in my parents' house, but we had a great time. Aiden and Kian LOVE their cousins and can't WAIT to see them again. We all spent 3 days and 2 nights in Chicago, where Chad and I took the kids to Navy Pier. It was quite interesting taking a double stroller on public transit. Let's just say, I probably won't ever do that again. We went to the children's museum there and it was great. I wish we could spend more time with my family...we have such a good time together!

After we returned we had a week until school started. Crazy that my Aiden is in kindergarten and is gone ALL DAY! How did this happen??? He was very excited to start school and was even more pumped that I let him get a superhero backpack. :) After 3 days however, he was all ready saying how he wished he was still in pre-k. I think it's kind of a hard adjustment to be gone all day long now! He is doing great though. Chad has an even crazier schedule than last year, which if you knew what his schedule was last year, that's sayin' something. On Tuesdays he teaches 10 classes with only a 30 minute lunch break! He has a new appreciation for weekends! We are thankful though, for a great job at a great school.

Kian is I think enjoying having it a little quieter at home during the day. I try and make sure to get more cuddling time with him in the morning. I love that he still wants to cuddle. This past week we were a little concerned with how much he was going to the bathroom. Like, I mean, 15 times a day seems a little much and he was having accidents too (which he hasn't for months). We took him to the doctor and he doesn't have a UTI which is good, but if it continues for another week, the doctor want to draw blood to rule out diabetes. We are praying this doesn't happen, but we just have to wait and see. He has done better the last couple of days , but he still goes 10-15 times a day. I'm hoping his bladder is just stretching etc.

Mia is doing great. Weird that in a couple of weeks she will be half a year old! She is a delight! She is rolling and starting to scoot. She LOVES her brothers and is so content! One battle we are having right now is trying to figure out what to do about her pacifier. She loves it and sleeps with it. However, she wakes up and wants it in, so she is up a couple of times a night! All I have to do is put it back in and she falls right back asleep, but I hate having to get up! We aren't sure what to do... just wait til she outgrows this, or stop letting her have the pacifier and have several rough nights and days.

I am doing well. The weight loss is still a struggle. I am trying really hard, but don't see much progress. I have been getting up several days a week at 6 to run with a friend and then try on the other days to exercise too. Chad has told me to just stop weighing myself for a while and just be disciplined, so that is what I am doing. This is my first season for not coaching, but we have been so busy I have hardly noticed. I do miss the girls though! However, I know that this is where God has us right now.

Here are several pictures from our summer and school year.

My sister Shannon and her daughter Evie. Evie has one of the most beautiful smiles...she is a pill though!

The boys at the waterworks exhibit at the children's museum.

Kian and Evie hugging. They are buds.

All of the cousins (minus Mia who was sleeping in the stroller) waiting to get on the subway into downtown Chicago

Mia yesterday

Love her to death!

Mia started by her toy and then rolled under the bunk bed.

Aiden on his first day on kindergarten! We are so thankful he can go to a great Christian school where his teachers love God!

Happy Monday!

The boys have had a great time using our slip and slide. Also a couple of new pics of Mia. Isn't she getting big? I can't believe how fast time goes!

Well, I didn't reach my 4 pound goal for the week. I did lose 2.5 pounds though. I exercised great, but only ate so-so. By Saturday I would like to try and lose 2 lbs. That's my new goal for this week!

grad school

Chad is ALMOST finished with his class. He has one paper to go and he is DONE!! I am so proud of the work he has put in! His paper is due Wednesday, but he and I are going to Cedar Point for our anniversary on Tuesday and Wednesday. He wants to get it finished before then. I am SO excited to get away with Chad for a couple of days. We both LOVE roller coasters.

I went to the dentist for the first time in 2 years this week. Chad did too. He, however, has great teeth (no cavities, strong enamel). I think I got my dad's teeth. I need a crown (maybe 2) and have 3 cavities that need to be filled. It's so discouraging. The dentist told me that my teeth are very worn for how old I am. Now we have to come up with $1,000 (most likely) to pay for it all. I was telling Chad this week about how God has always provided for us. I guess this is just another time for us to trust him!

It's been a challenging month for us. However, I think God is teaching both of us so much through it. Chad did not get the AD job. God has really encouraged him through various people though. He has been such a trooper this month. I am so blessed to have him as my husband. I have grown to appreciate him even more through all of this.

Huge praise... Chad months ago told me that he was praying that God would supply a minivan for us to take to BBC. I told him that I didn't think it would even be a possibility and that my faith wasn't that strong. Well, 2 days a friend of ours called Chad and told him that there was no way our 5 could fit in our Malibu with also our luggage and he wants us to use their minivan for our entire time away. Talk about amazing! Yet another time that God has provided!!

I have done very well exercising this week. My friend Lisa and I have been getting up every morning to exercise. My eating has been decent, but there is still room for improvement. I stepped on the scale this morning and I had lost about 3 pounds for the week! My official weigh in is Monday, so it would be great if I don't gain any of that back!

week 1

Today I had my first official weigh-in since going cyber. I lost 3 pounds! I tried to be conscious of my portions and I tried to stay away from sugar. I still ate sugar twice though. I didn't exercise as much as I wanted (only 3 times), but I was at my parents without Chad for most of the week. I am excited about the loss though! My goal for this next week is 4 pounds. I know it seems like a lot, but I KNOW I can do it! For those wondering, this is not going to become an obsession with me and I am not going to go too extreme. I just want to lose it the healthy way and become disciplined. It is amazing how much better I feel about myself just knowing that I am starting to make better choices. This morning I ran/walked with a friend for 3.5 miles. We hope to continue that. Our goal is to run 4 miles and be able to talk at the same time. I told her it would be about 6 months before I could do that! This morning we walked 2 1/2 min. and ran 1 1/2 min. I figured we can start it slowly and build up. Here's to another good week!
Chad took Aiden golfing yesterday and Aiden did great! He actually scored his first legit par ever! It was a par 3 over water and Aiden hit his 2nd shot on and then sunk a 20 foot putt for par! Aiden and Chad were so excited! I find it a little sad that my 5 year old is better than golf than me!

weight loss

It has been so hard for me to lose my pregnancy weight! This baby weight has been by far the hardest. I think I need more accountability so I am reaching out to cyberworld. Every Monday I am going to post my goal weight to lose and hopefully by the end of the summer I will be close to where I want to be. This past Monday I made my goal a 3 pound loss for the week. I also not eating sugar, so I will also post how I am doing on that. Lastly, I will post how I am doing exercising. This whole thing is very daunting to me, but I KNOW I can do it! My overall goal is 40 by 32. I want to lose 40 pounds by the time I turn 32 (Oct.3). Here's to a good week!

new pics

Thought you might enjoy some updated pics of the kids. This one was actually taken a couple of weeks ago. If Mia was smiling it would be perfect!

Taken today...my blue eyed girl!

you can see some of her curls in these 2 pics. I LOVE her curls.

Hanging with Mommy in dunkin donuts while daddy gave plasma.

grad school

I know I am not blogging on a consistent basis, but we don't have the internet right now which means I have to go to a Wifi spot to use the internet not easy with 3 kids). Chad is in the midst of his first online course of the summer. Please pray for him! He is swamped with deadlines. It is hard for him right now, considering that our school year is not done yet. His first paper is due tomorrow by midnight. Let's just say he's not getting a whole lot of sleep this week (he came home at 3:00am this morning from working at school). Chad also has applied for the AD position at Lakewood. He had his first interview on Tuesday. He said it went well, so now we wait to see if he is going to the next step (which is another interview).
Sorry I haven't posted any pics of the kids. They are doing great. Mia is wonderful. She has started to laugh, it's SO cute. I found her ticklish spot. She is sleeping wonderfully. Her hair is starting to grow out and its quite curly. I LOVE it. Red little curls, could that be much cuter? Aiden is kinda sick right now, but otherwise he is good. His last day of school was last week, so now's he's home all day too. It's hard to believe that he will be in kindergarten all day next year!
Kian is FINALLY potty trained! Need I say how happy this makes me!!?? He is doing great! We are all looking forward to summer officially starting!

Crazy May

I know right, 2 posts in one day??!! This is probably the craziest month we have had on our household. Chad started an online course this month that requires a TON of work and our internet is not working, so he has to go to school to work on it. He is busy quite a bit right now. He is also in charge of elementary field day this next Tuesday. It is a great day for the kids, but it takes a lot of work! He is playing in a basketball league on Thursday nights as well. He is giving plasma twice a week in Fort Wayne for a little extra money too! I know that this craziness isn't forever, so I just figure we need to just get through it right now!
Aiden is almost done with his first year of school. He has had a great time in school and has really flourished. He loves his friends and his teacher. He is already talking about going to school all day next year and is looking forward to eating lunch at school!
Kian and Mia are wonderful. Mia is smiling and cooing and is so much fun! She just had her 2 month checkup and she is 12 lbs, 1 oz (75%) and 24 in (92%). She is tall! We LOVE having her apart of our family!

Happy birthday Kian!

I know this is super late, but better late than never! Kian turned 3 on May 6th. What joy this littel boy has brought to our family! I am so humbled that God allowed us to be his parents!

Kian is finally starting to potty train. If you know Kian, he is a strong willed little stinker. I wasn't sure if he would be potty trained by the time he went to school! He also loves playing with his big brother and toys. He is great at imagining and his favorite thing to eat is mac and cheese. My prayer is that this little man uses his leadership to lead people towards Christ. We love you Kian!

update

My cousin Jessica came over to our house a couple of weeks ago and took our family pictures. We LOVE them. I only posted 3, but Jess really captured our kids personalities!

We have had a busy house the last few weeks. For the past 3 extended weekends, we have had out of town family visiting. We love having family visit, but at the same time, it is also nice to get back to our routine and get our house back. This past Easter weekend, our family went to the Fort Wayne zoo and then went to the playground. We are so thankful that after a very rainy week, the weather was perfect! We had a great time and Mia was perfect all day long!

Mia seems to be doing well. She has started sleeping up to 8 hours a night! This makes me VERY happy! She is cooing and smiling every day and she's just a sweetie. She physically is growing and her acid reflux is doing well.

Aiden and Kian are both doing great. Aiden is reading and writing and loving it. School is getting closer to being finished for the year, which ALL of us are looking forward to. Kian is going to be 3 in less than 2 weeks! Where has the time gone? He still refuses to potty train, but hopefully soon he will want to.

Chad is going to continue his graduate studies this summer. He is taking 2 courses online and he is taking 2 classes at BBC.

I am doing well. SO happy to not be pregnant anymore! One big change for me is that I will not be coaching volleyball anymore at Lakewood. We are just too busy and I need to focus my time on my family right now, especially with having Mia and Chad doing grad school. I have LOVED coaching though and I will miss my girls!

I hope you all had a wonderful Easter focusing on our Risen Savior!

dr's appt.

Mia had her appointment with her pediatrician yesterday. She has grown to 10 lbs, 5oz which is great. The doctor wants her to have an EEG to rule out any possible issues with her brain. It will be this Thursday at a hospital in Fort Wayne. Hopefully this will be the last test given to her and the results will come back negative for anything abnormal. Meanwhile the boys have been great. They actually are playing better together than they ever have. I started praying about a month ago that the boys would start to get along better and play well together. It's amazing to me how God has answered! It makes me think about how many other things do I not take the time to pray about that God is just waiting for me to come to Him about! He delights in answering His children's prayers. Why do I think some things are not important enough to God to pray about? I am thankful I have a God who cares about EVERY part about me!!

update on Mia

It has become harder and harder to blog because the time in each day seems shorter and shorter! Anyways, We have had a difficult week with Mia so I thought I should update on how she is doing.

On Monday night, Mia was sleeping in her swing and I went to wake her up to feed her. I put her on our ottoman to change her diaper. Immediately after putting her head down, she started to vomit. Chad quickly picked her up and I patted her back. I then noticed she wasn't breathing, her eyes had rolled back, her body was shaking, and her mouth was locked shut. I told Chad that I thought she was having a seizure. It seemed to last a long time, but in reality it was probably around 10 seconds. We woke up the boys and immediately went to the ER. Mia had a CAT scan, several x-rays and lots of bloodwork. Everything came back negative except for the bloodwork which seems to confirm a seizure occurred. It was cool how God made us calm and at peace.

The Dr. admitted Mia into the hospital Monday night for observation. She seemed to be doing much better Monday night. Mia has had problems with spitting up excessively and although she was continuing to spit up, her breathing was much better (it was labored after the seizure). Her pediatrician was scheduled to come see her Wednesday morning, but became sick herself, so Mia saw a new doctor. He believes that Mia has severe acid reflux and basically that the seizure was the way her body responded when she was choking. It's kinda hard to explain. He thinks she will outgrow it. He put her on Zantac and hopefully it will help the excess acid that is in her stomach. She came home Tuesday afternoon from the hospital. She has been on Zantac now for 3 days and although she continues to spit up, its not nearly as much. She also isn't screaming as much as she was. It has been very difficult for me to hear her scream and cry. When she gets like that, she is inconsolable. Knowing she is in pain and not being able to help in anyway, makes for a very emotional mama! She had hours where she would just scream, but it seems to be much less now. We are praying that this is the answer and that she does not have another seizure. We go tomorrow to her pedicatrician to evaluate if the Zantac is working and discuss having further tests such as a MRI etc to see if the seizure was caused by something else.

It's hard to believe that Mia is already over 3 weeks old! Where has the time gone?! She was measured in the hospital and she has already grown 3 inches! She is our little doll and overall has been a great baby. She sleeps great and our transition from 2 to 3 kids has been easier for us than 1 to 2 kids. With that said, it is crazy busy and I, by the end of the day, am exhausted. I am so thankful for my 3 kids. Each one is so different, but just as awesome!

One more thing, I am so thankful for the body of Christ and how supportive they have been for us. Whether it was praying, writing us a note of encouragement, visiting us in the hospital, bringing us food, or watching the boys, it was AWESOME and we are so extremely thankful for you!