More wedding pictures

My Beautiful Little Sister

Pre-Wedding Picture

All of my children were clean and dressed at the same time~ I had to take pictures!These were the only ones that turned out "ok".

Auntie Cait came to visit...

Thank you Aunt Rebecca!

(I've become so so awful at thank you notes that I've decided to do a blog thank you note~ this way it's instant and I can include a picture or two.)


Dear Rebecca,
How thoughtful of you to send gifts for Joshua! We love the romper- so cute- but all the excitement has come form the sweet elephant towel. Of course we use it for bathtime, but when Joshua is not all snug and warm in it, Dabney (with David in tow) is running around with it on her head saying, "Call me Elephant, Mama!" What a girl! *She wants to be an animal when she grows up.* And you were so kind to not leave out Dabney and David (and me) with your gift giving~ Dabney carries her princess case around a lot (candy has been long gone) and we will definitely be trying David's balloon rockets soon. (And I love the bath salts! What a treat.)
I'm sorry this note is so late, it seems that these kids have me on my toes all the live long day and I even find myself dozing off during the 10 o'clock news. Last night, I actually dropped the book I was reading because I fell asleep! Excuses, excuses. I should have written you a hand written note, but I will post this anyway out of fear the former will never come into existence.
I check your blog almost every day and I love every picture and story~ I really must post more comments. As you well know, my blog is definitely lacking but I hope that one day soon when things level out around here, I will catch up and I'll be back to normal. I've got piles and piles of scrapbook pages to do and books to read and letters to write and recipes to try, but I think the Lord is humbling me some and I must be content if the toys are picked, the laundry and diapers are clean, my family had a hot dinner and I've read at least one book with my kids. I think about you and your sweet little ones out in "Happy Valley" and I know one day our girls will be playing dress up together and our sons will be playfully wrestling together or catching frogs and you and I will be sipping coffee and watching them all with smiles on our faces. Gotta go for now~ there's at least one diaper to change and (thank goodness) it's almost naptime.

Love,
Mandie

P.S. Now that you have high speed internet, I am officially the last person on the planet with dial-up!

Haircuts All Around

(He didn't need a haircut...He's just cute)

Family Hike- Waldo Canyon

A week ago Saturday we took a hike up Waldo Canyon and really enjoyed ourselves and the creation around us. We got about 1.5 miles up before someone with little legs (not me) started complaining, "My legs are broken! I need water for my legs!"


Yep, Davey took the easy way up.

This picture is at the top of the hill that overlooks the highway. When we lived in Divide, we'd see hikers here at the top and after 9 years of living in Colorado, it was nice for me and my family to be at the top, looking down at the car whizzing by on the highway.

I hear what you're saying, "Where are you, Mandie"? Well, my husband did in fact take a picture of me on the trail~ remember, I'm 5 weeks postpartum in this picture. Here I am.

"this is the dawning of the age of plumeria" (and ti)

"Let the sunshine in!"

My own little piece of Kauai! James brought us the plumeria and ti cuttings that I tried to find when we were in Hawaii and now after a lot of water and sunlight, they've bloomed! I have pink, yellow and white plumeria plants and 2 green ti plants and 1 red ti plant (the other red hasn't grown roots yet.) Aren't they cool? Yea! I have my own tropical plants~ praise the Lord for making them grow!

And this is one of the ti plants, that came along with the plumeria. Ti plants are everywhere in the landscape of Kauai~ actually, hula skirts are traditionally made with green ti leaves. This is a green ti. (Green tea is a totally different plant.)

Our Little Sweetheart

Baby Tarzan

Another mama diaper
(Although I have to say, I'm really kicking myself for not having him wear the newborn diapers I made before he was born~ he was too big for them way too soon!)

Pictures from July

Yes, this cowgirl is riding my birthing ball...

"Cheese!!!!"

I told you he's a genius...

I hear Alton is making a show on marshmallows.

I really need to name a child after that wonderful man.

Diaper Heaven!

Our sweet church ladies threw Joshua a baby shower last Saturday. Our good friend Shalyn Roach gave a great devotional about childrearing that was very encouraging and it is always so good to see the other ladies form church during the week~ Sundays at church don't give us a lot of time for fellowship with everyone we would like to speak to. At the shower, most of the ladies went in together and bought us exactly what we needed- 11 one-size diapers! We are so thankful for them. With 2 little ones in diapers, they are the best investment that could have been made. (Learn more about the diapers here)

Baby Josh getting ready for bath time in his new diaper.

Tub Time for Joshua

Bath time with Joshua is so sweet. I put Dabney and David to bed so we can have some quiet time and Joshua can have a relaxing bath~just me and my baby. Usually we do our bath routine somewhat late at night so the house is peaceful. I love to spread out the soft towels and lavender baby wash and the clean pajamas on the kitchen floor next to the baby tub. I remember giving Baby David baths like this not too long ago. I began the kitchen floor thing when David was a newborn in the middle of winter~ I set the tub by the heating vent in the kitchen to keep him warm. Now it's my Baby Josh who's bonding with mommy in the late hours before the last feeding of the night. I wouldn't trade bath time for all the money in the world.

A satisfied (and sweet-smelling) customer!

Party of 5

First off, let's just say that 3 kids 3 and under is a lot harder than I imagined! We're continuing to adjust and that's why I haven't visited the blog for a while.

Joshua Caleb was born on July 22at 5:47pm! (I know I know, he's almost 3 weeks old, but I feel Like I'm only now getting my brain back). He weighed 7 lbs 7oz and 20" long. He is the sweetest thing ever! He's been a pretty good sleeper so far and he caught on to nursing really well from the moment he was born.

As for a labor story, thankfully there was nothing too dramatic. On the 22nd (Sunday morning) the real contractions began around 9:30 am but I was able to labor at home until 1:30pm, when the contractions got to be about 5 mins apart. We all went to the hospital (Grandma Iris was there to watch the kids) and Tim was able to stay with me for the whole thing- I'm so thankful. I had an epidural, but , boy having an epidural certainly does not mean a pain-free birth! When I arrived at the hospital I was about 6 cms and it took about 4 hours and a little bit of pitocin to get me complete. I pushed for 11 minutes (so said the nurse) but I could have sworn it was an hour and a half. 11 minutes of torture~ I thought I would rip in half! Funny though, as soon as I heard that little fella's cry, I was completely better. I couldn't believe how great I felt! He's so sweet and soft. Living in Colorado, I think I forgot how soft skin can be. My favorite thing to do these days is to lay on the couch with him on my chest and watch a movie while the bigger kids are napping.

The coolest thing is that he has blue eyes (still~ and they're getting lighter!!!) and BLOND peach fuzz! As you all know, my side of the family is relatively dark and Tim is 100% German, but I never thought we'd actually get a fair child! I'm so excited! The other kids were born with more hair than Josh and their eyes turned brown pretty quickly after they were born, so I love to wake up and see that his eyes are still blue~ and I'm praying they stay blue!

The other kids are doing well, too. They love him to death- literally! They are constantly touching him and wanting to hug him and kiss him. David is now a middle child, poor thing. He's looking for any attention he can get- positive or negative. So, Tim and I have been trying to dish out the positive as much as possible. The other thing we are struggling with is getting out of the house. Ok, not Tim so much as me. A couple nights ago, I went shopping, but I only took Joshua with me. I have a feeling I won't be attempting to leave the house with the three of them for quite a while.

We had a fabulous time with Gwamma Lloyd and we're so thankful she was able to fly halfway around the planet to be with us and help out. And help she did! She was able to keep me sane and give me lots of great advice for dealing with 3 kids 3 years old and under. She gave the kids baths and read stories to them and helped with dinner and made the best cheese grits for breakfast! (And yes we stayed up late talking, but hey, as the motto for Caribou Coffee says, "Life is short~ stay awake for it!") I think just her presence brought a normal-ness to our house. She was also here for Joshua's baptism and everyone at church was so happy to see her again. We only wish she could have stayed longer, but it makes us realize how much her family must have missed her while she was here.

The New Man in my Life...

Whose kid is this? He can't be mine~ check out that hair!

I had to add this one, too, it just turned out so well!