Here's the picture

Here's a picture of our cat Buttons sitting on my chest while I'm feeding Eliana and talking to my grandmother. She used to do this ALL the time when I was nursing Zachary, but back then, she was half this size!



And since it didn't work this morning, I had the opportunity to take more pictures and I think this one is too cute not to share!

Our Weekend

Friday night Sheila (a.k.a. Grandma Sheila) and Chris and their kids came over for dinner. We had yummy Chicken Tetrazini, except this time I used sweet Italian sausage in place of chicken. It's a good thing I made 2 9x13 pans of it! It was a hit. While the kids watched a Veggie Tales movie and played in the boys' room, us adults and the 13 year old gathered around the table to play Bible Trivia. The guys won, but we held our own! After the kids went to sleep, we played Worst Case Scenario (which none of us liked). The women won that game and then it was another game of Bible Trivia (guys won, but this time, we were 1 question away from beating them) and eating Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip cookies and peanut M&Ms.

After getting to sleep about 1:30 am, we were up and out of the house for our 11 am appointment at a friends house for a photo shoot. She has her own studio at her house and as a baby shower gift, she gave me a free shoot with a free 8x10, plus a $50 gift certficate towards pictures. So, we spent a little over an hour there and then we headed back up to Lake of the Ozarks outlet malls to do some more shopping. This time at Osh Kosh B'Gosh, I saved $245 and some change! We got a few things for the boys, but mostly some stuff for Eliana. I love these sales!!! We went to a few other stores, but there's no need to bore you with those details.

Sunday of course was church day, but this day was a little different. We had our annual business meeting last night and I had to get up in front of the congregation and talk about Missionettes since I'm the coordinator. I'm also NOT a public speaker and I can't stand to be the center of attention. The worst of it, I was first!!! Steve said I didn't stutter, I sounded great and I even manage to make them laugh. Still, this is not something I plan on taking up! Also, I managed to lose my daughter twice, well actually 3 times. Once before the service, once during the morning service and again during the evening service. I got her back before the morning service, but Debbie (a.ka. adopted Nana--her grandaughter was born the same day as Eliana, but she lives in Minnesota) held her during the morning and evening service until Eliana was ready to eat and then we had to meet in the hall because we were sitting on different sides of the church. Yesterday morning, I about had a fight in the hall. I was talking to someone and this super sweet older man came up to me and pulled out his knife and was about to cut off Eliana's headband 'cause he think it squeezes her head to tight. Of course, we were just having fun, but I'm sure the visitors thought we were serious until we started laughing.

Sara, your mom was so cute last night. As soon as Steve put Eliana's car seat down on the seat, your mom and Debbie were right there and Debbie was ready to take off with her. Your mom got this sad look on her face and Debbie told her it was ok for your mom to hold her first. She held her for a while and told me "I can't wait until Sara has a baby."

I've been trying to add a picture, but for some reason, there's a problem, so that will have to wait.

My babies

Here's the most beautiful baby girl in the world accompanied by the most handsome boys in the world!

Tag

Four Jobs I Have Had:
tax preparer
The PX
babysitting
billeting (for non-military, that's like a motel)

Four Movies I Could Watch Over and Over Again:
Sound of Music
Anne of Green Gables/Avonlea
Cinderella
Thoroughly Modern Millie

Four Books I Could Read Over and Over:
Left Behind series (there's 12 of them)

Four Places I Have Lived:
Travis AFB, CA
Fort Huachuca, AZ
Fort Leonard Wood, MO
Germany/The Netherlands

Four TV Shows I Watch:
E.R.
Extreme Home Makeover

Four Places I Have Been On Vacation:
Australia
Italy
Scotland
Switzerland

Four Websites I visit Daily:
my friend's blogs

Four Favorite Foods:
Pasta
Pizza
cheese
quesadillas

Four Places I'd Like To Be Now:
with my family in Heaven

Four Bloggers I'm Tagging:
Meghan
Steve
Jen
Sara

Math

I got this in email this morning and thought it was too good to pass up...

Little David, who was Jewish, was failing math. His parents
Tried everything. Tutors, mentors, flash cards, special learning
centers, and nothing helped.

As a last resort, someone told them to try a Catholic school.
"Those nuns are tough" they said. David was soon enrolled at St.
Mary's. After school on the very first day David ran through the door
And straight to his room, without even kissing his mother hello. He
Started studying furiously, books and papers spread out all over his room.
Right after dinner he ran upstairs without mentioning TV, and hit the books
harder than before.

His parents were amazed. This behavior continued for weeks, until report
card day arrived. David quietly laid the envelope on the table, and went to
his room. With great trepidation, his mother opened the report. David had
gotten an A in math!

She ran up to his room, threw her arms around him and asked, "David honey,
how did this happen? Was it the nuns? "No!", said David. "On the first day
of school when I saw that guy nailed to the plus sign, I knew they weren't
fooling around!"

Shopping

Normally, I'm not much into shopping. I feel guilty about spending money, but not today! I love a good deal! I got a wild idea to take my 3 kids, on my own, up to Lake of the Ozarks to the outlet mall.

First stop, Carters. The whole reason I wanted to go is because I had a coupon that expires on Wednesday and I wanted to use it. I ended up buying a couple outfits for our Youth pastor & family and a friend's baby boy, plus a dress, 3 bodysuits & 2 sleepers for Eliana. I used to like Carter's, but after the deal & variety of stop #2, there's a new favorite place to shop for kids clothes.

Second stop, Osh Kosh B'Gosh. This is where I got my best deals of the day at. I bought 2 skirts, 2 pairs of velour pants, 3 dresses, jumper, sweater, and long sleeve body suit. Normally this would have cost me $260, but today I saved a little over $180, spending (with tax) just $85!!! All but 2 things are 12 months and the other 2 are 18 months. And because they do not have a time limit to return things, if these clothes are too small, I can return them. As long as I keep my receipt...

3rd stop found us at The Children's Place and although they had an awesome sale going on as well (50% off the lowest ticketed price), I didn't get to take advantage of it like I did at OKBG. Eliana was starting to get fussy cause she wanted to eat and it wasn't very easy pushing a stroller around in there with the racks as close as they were. You would think with it being a CHILDREN'S clothing store, children might come in there in a stroller..anyway, I'm not here to complain. I was able to buy a couple pairs of footy pj (3T) for $4 and a couple other things. Total there, $23 and change.

Guess where I'm going Saturday. Yep, right back there. You see, after the accident, they said the car was a total, paid us for it, we got a new car less than what the check is for, so that gives us a little extra money. I'm thinking...you have extra money you weren't planning on having, I've never had a girl, so I don't have all kinds of girl clothes laying around, so I need to buy. What better time to buy than when they are on sale and such low prices? This time though, Steve will go with me and I'll be looking at boy clothes too.

What a great day!

On a side note...has it really been 6 weeks since my princess was born? If someone ever figures out a way to stop time...let me know. My babies are growing up way to fast for my likin'.

Here's a recent picture of our beautiful princess in her outfit that she wore to church yesterday.













After church, Eliana and her daddy got to sit and watch beat up on Denver to advance to the Super Bowl against Seattle in 2 weeks.

Congratulations!

My friend Meghan has a new addition to her family. Avery was born on the 20th and was welcomed by her big brothers and big sister and a wonderful surprise, her daddy, since he's in training, getting ready to head to Iraq. Meghan, she definitely looks like a Pilch baby!

Congrats Pilch family and Brian, STAY SAFE!!!

Head over to her page to read her birth story and say congrats!

Out of the mouth of babes

This morning my friend was bringing over her kids for me to watch while she went to a meeting. My boys were told last night that they weren't going to be able to play with them if their room wasn't done. They would spend their morning (and however long it took) to clean it up. This morning, when Christian woke up, he came in my room and told me that he was going to clean it up so that he can play.

I said, "yah right".

He said, "I promise."

I said, "just like when you promised to not get out more than one toy at a time."

He said, "it must be the devil."

I laughed so hard I about peed my pants!

Philosophy of Life

GREAT TRUTHS THAT LITTLE CHILDREN HAVE LEARNED:
1) No matter how hard you try, you can't baptize cats.
2) When your Mom is mad at your Dad, don't let her brush your hair.
3) If your sister hits you, don't hit her back. They always catch the second person
4) Never ask your 3-year old brother to hold a tomato.
5) You can't trust dogs to watch your food.
6) Don't sneeze when someone is cutting your hair.
7) Never hold a Dust-Buster and a cat at the same time.
8) You can't hide a piece of broccoli in a glass of milk.
9) Don't wear polka-dot underwear under white shorts.
10) The best place to be when you're sad is Grandpa's lap.

GREAT TRUTHS THAT ADULTS HAVE LEARNED:
1) Raising teenagers is like nailing Jell-O to a tree.
2) Wrinkles don't hurt.
3) Families are like fudge...mostly sweet, with a few nuts.
4) Today's mighty oak is just yesterday's nut that held its ground
5) Laughing is good exercise. It's like jogging on the inside.
6) Middle age is when you choose your cereal for the fiber, not the toy.

GREAT TRUTHS ABOUT GROWING OLD
1) Growing up is mandatory; growing old is optional.
2) Forget the health food. I need all the preservatives I can get.
3) When you fall down, you wonder what else you can do while you're down there.
4) You're getting old when you get the same sensation from a rocking chair that you once got from a roller coaster.
5) It's frustrating when you know all the answers but nobody bothers to ask you the questions.
6) Time may be a great healer, but it's a lousy beautician.
7) Wisdom comes with age, but sometimes age comes alone.

THE FOUR STAGES OF LIFE:
1) You believe in Santa Claus.
2) You don't believe in Santa Claus.
3) You are Santa Claus.
4) You look like Santa Claus.

SUCCESS:
At age 4 success is . not peeing in your pants.
At age 12 success is . . having friends.
At age 16 success is . . having a drivers license.
At age 35 success is having money.
At age 50 success is . . . having money.
At age 70 success is . . . having a drivers license.
At age 75 success is . having friends.
At age 80 success is . not peeing in your pants.

Sleep

How can kids sleep in the most awkward positions?

Eliana sleeping with Buttons sleeping on her legs. This would drive me nuts. Steve would kick the cat off. Eliana, she kept on sleeping, not a peep from her!











Zachary fell asleep on my lap while waiting for the Power Team to make their entrance.

Next Generation Power Force

The Next Generation Power Force Crusade is done! They were great to watch, but man is it exhausting being at the church 4 nights in a row until 9:30 - 10pm every night. These guys were done well before that, but we were always one of the last ones to leave. You know, the clean up, autographs, talking, etc...stuff that has to be done. :-)

Our church can hold around 1000 (legally) between the main floor and balcony of the sanctuary. It may be a tad more. Last night, we had over 1700 hundred people in the church and had to turn a few hundred people away because there was absolutely NO room anywhere. The floor between the pews and the stage were covered, the aisles were covered, and the foyer was covered. Our youth room which can seat about 300 had more than that squeezed in there. That was our overflow room for the night. We had over 500 decisions for Christ which is outstanding for our small town! We had drug dealers there, some hard core criminals, some guys who recently got out of jail (one of them held my daughter and believe me, my heart was racing and me, Steve and our friend Chris were all ready to grab her, just in case...) and there was even a couple demon posessed men. One of them was standing in front of where I was sitting and Chris and Jeff went over and prayed for him. That was an experience!!

I'm putting up a couple action shots and then the team with my kids.


Caesar breaking a stack of bricks with his head












Caesar breaking bricks with his arm while they're on fire












Kevin getting read to break a stack of bricks with both arms at the same time and then Caesar is going to jump 47" and break a stack of bricks












Kevin lifting a telephone pole over 300 pounds












Caesar pressing the telephone pole, laying on Kevin's back while Kevin does push ups. Total weight that Kevin is pushing...over 800 pounds, probably close to 900! Did I mention that Kevin was my favorite team member?












This is Caesar (from Venezuala) with Eliana.












Caesar and Zachary












Caesar and Christian












Kevin and Eliana. He actually held her on Tuesday night. I didn't take my camera with me to the back 'cause I didn't ever think he'd request to hold her. As soon as I walked into the cafe (where they were being fed), he lit up and asked to hold her. He sat there just looking at her and smiling and she sat there and smiled at him (WAY TO PRECIOUS!!!). He even put his nose to her nose. Caesar walked in and there just happened to be a girl with a camera and took a picture of them. I saw her last night and asked her for a copy. Hopefully she'll drop it off with me friend at church so that I can have it! When we were leaving Tuesday night, Kevin told me to bring my camera so that I can take a picture of them together. So last night, I found him as he was talking to someone else and he said "the baby" and walked back to the back and took her. This man is the strongest man on earth (lifting almost 900 pounds) yet is so gentle with the baby.












Kevin and all 3












Kathy and the kids (unfortunately with me) sans Zachary...he got a little too close to her and she's a stranger, so that makes him very uncomfortable.

Happy Birthday (for yesterday) and I hope a CONGRATULATIONS on the birth of your daughter Meghan! I can't wait to hear about the birth. You know your stories are always interesting!

We've barely been home the last couple days. Friday we were up at Fort Leonard Wood all day. Saturday we were getting the new car. Sunday of course is church and then the Power Force (formerly known as the Power Team) started their crusade. They were at it again last night, tonight and tomorrow night. They're also going to all 12 schools in the area, except for the high school. And then yesterday, we were in Springfield to get the license plate off the Kia and then Christian & I both got a pair of shoes. Nothing too exciting.

Now for the Power Force...These guys are amazing at what they can do. They are not wrestlers. They break stacks of bricks and wood with their hands (and in Caesars case, his head). Kathy broke them while they were on fire. They break wooden bats. Last night, John broke two of them, ducked taped together. Kathy bent a 1/2" thick steel pole, 3 times. She struggled, but she eventually got it! Casear and Kevin both broke hammers. And last night, John broke a pair of police issued handcuffs. Of course, this all is a tool to get sinners there so that they can hear the message of Jesus Christ and the power He has to break any "chain" in your life.

Now, for those who don't have any boys, let me just clue you in on something. I KNEW before the Power Force showed up that my boys were going to try what these guys do. So, what has my morning been like. All the blocks were in the kitchen, set up so that they could be "broken" and the boys could prove to me how "strong" they really are. I need to take my camera tonight so that you can see how massive these people are and to get my boys in action on the stage. Also, if this is the night where they're going to have my pastor on stage breaking bricks, I need to capture that on film!

Also, Steve got to see Eliana rolling over last night. He missed it the first time because he was at work. This morning, I put her on the floor for some tummy time, but I guess she wasn't in the mood becuase she flipped over, not once, but twice! She's definitely a determined little one!

Also, we like to decide what we're going to do with our tax money before we file. We don't have any car payments, we don't have all kinds of credit card debt so there's nothing to really "pay off" with the money. So, instead of taking money out of savings, we're going to use our tax money to rip up the carpet in the living room and put hard wood flooring down. Now to decide what kind I want is going to be the difficult decision.

Now it's time for school...

Productivity...gotta love it!

The boys room is cleaned (I really should have taken a before and after picture). We're talking HURRICANE. It was so bad that Steve told the boys that I was not going to come in there until they cleaned up their room. Well, being that they're 5 & 3, they still need supervision when it comes to cleaning their room. They did fairly well this morning on their own; enough so that I could walk in there. Then momma got a hold of their room. I brought in 2 huge trash bags to fill. I only filled one, but I did manage to get rid of quite a bit of toys.

We also got our new car to replace our Kia. If you haven't read the story, here it is. The Kia is a total, so the insurance is cutting us a check. Steve has been driving a rental, Chevy Malibu, and really liked it. He found a Toyota Camry, 2003, fully loaded, top of the line, but once he test drove it, didn't like it as much as the Malibu. So, we went to a local dealer around here who had a Malibu (2005) and when we went there yesterday, he told us to take it home and bring it back sometime today before he got off of work. We were able to talk him down on the price (allowing us to pocket a little bit of money!) and he let Steve drive off the lot with it. And they won't be getting their money for probably 2 weeks or so. What a deal! The best part of all this is that we still won't have to be making car payments! 2 cars, completely paid for!

I also managed to get a bunch of stuff up into the attic and get the baby toys down. Lots of clothes have been washed and the boys played outside and burned off some energy. Steve and the boys are out driving the new car, gonna take it through the car wash and allowing me a break.

These guys are here. They will "perform" at our church tomorrow night through Wednesday night. The boys are really looking forward to it. My only fear...they're going to try and do what these guys do. Boys will be boys.

Now, I'm off to put my feet up.

1 Month Old

What a month! I cannot believe my little girl is 1 month old today! I wish I could freeze time and keep her like this for awhile. But, this is life! She's has grown and changed so much in this month, she does not look like the baby I brought home from the hospital.

This is what we know about her so far:
~favorite person is Mommy
~recognizes big brothers & daddy
~smiles all the time
~doesn't want to go to sleep for fear that she's going to miss something
~very alert and curious about her surroundings
~sleeps very well in her car seat, even when it's not in the car
~HATES pacifiers (and I've tried quite a few different ones)
~great nurser
~favorite place to sleep...Mommy's arms or on Mommy's chest
~likes to "talk"
~funny & entertaining
~doesn't seem to care about all the other people who are crazy about her
~sleeps great at night
~chocolate makes her tummy hurt
~very determined...didn't want to be on her stomach so she rolled over
~has red hair
~looks like Mommy and big brother Zachary
~very content and laid back
~the object of quite a few arguements...goes something like this: "I want to hold her", "you held her already", etc...you get the point

She's the best and perfect baby! I couldn't asked for anything more! And in this month, I've realized that our family wasn't complete until she came along. We can't imagine life without her!

News

First of all...Eliana, my dear sweet 4 week old, decided that she was too mad to be on her stomach this morning and flipped herself over onto her back. This can't be happening to me. I'm not ready for my baby to grow so fast!

Also, if you want to see pictures of our Kia, Steve has them posted on his site.

Sleeping Beauty

Sleeping Beauty was never one of my favorite Disney movies, but this sleeping beauty I can watch every day!

Rough morning (actually, started last night)

After church last night, we had a fundraiser for the Royal Rangers. They stayed at church all day making chilli. They made some money, lots of people ate and I stayed because Steve is a RR commander, so he had to be there with his boys. Well, I forgot that we had both vehicles out there last night because I was NOT staying there all day. I finally remember that I had his Kia, so I go to leave with my friend and her girls. Well, she ended up being parked right next to me, at an angle, and while I was still putting Eliana into the car, she started pulling away and my car door got imbedded into her side. Her teenage foster daughter thought that she hit me, but I was fine. My friend got out of her car, made sure we were alright, checked that the sliding door still opened and the whole time, I'm laughing. What made this so funny, is that about a month and a half ago, Steve backed into their van, while it was parked in our driveway and he hit the other side and we had to get it fixed. Now she's running into our car...

So, we got home and I went to bed with a migraine and as usual, there was the residual effects this morning. I didn't sleep well, Steve goes to work and then my cell was ringing about 7:15 this morning. It's Steve informing me that he was in a bad car accident on his way to work. (He drives for about 30 minutes on the highway to get to work.) Well, the Kia is in pretty bad shape but thank GOD Steve is fine. He went under a semi, bounced off the real tires, spun around quite a few times and ended up on the median on the other side. He escaped without a scratch. That's what we call Divine intervention! I called my friend and her husband went and picked him up so that I wouldn't have to pile the kids into the car. Steve thinks that the Kia can't be fixed, but our friend thinks he can...so we'll see.

It's 9:30 and I've had all the excitement I can handle for the day.

A few pictures

Friday...Here's Eliana with Princess Leigh.











Saturday...Pretty in pink (& purple & white). But then again, she's a beautiful baby, so it doesn't matter what she wears!











Sunday...I had a picture of her with me, but since I don't like the way I look in it (nothing new), I'm not posting that picture. The first one is her all snug in her car seat with her blanket. The next one is the outfit she wore to church today. Can you see the really cute bracelet on her left wrist?

Rest of the update...

I forgot to mention that Steve received his Bachelor's degree on December 17th! Now on to Masters...

While my parents were here, we had another day of opening presents. Eliana had her 2 week appointment. She weighed in at 8 lbs. 9 oz. and was still perfect, according to the doctor. But then again, I'm not arguing that point, she is perfect! She is everything we prayed for, from the color of her hair to her disposition. God is good!

We went to the Lake of the Ozarks outlet malls and bought some clothes for Eliana and some pants for me that won't hurt my stomach. We also went to Springfield to the Build-A-Bear workshop (actually this was independently owned, same sort of thing, but better choices). Christian made a turtle, Freddy Ticklish Richards. Zachary made a white tiger, Aslan Richards. I made a bear, Leigh, for Eliana. My mom made the same bear for my nephew. I'll have to add the pictures later. The day before my parents left we had a girls day out, while the guys stayed in. The boys also went to the theater for the first time with my parents and saw "Narnia". Christian talked about it for quite some time and Zachary said he liked it, but that was about it. I personally don't think he cared too much one way or the other, but he did enjoy his first theater experience.

Steve went back to work on Tuesday, so now I'm left by myself and trying to figure out a routine with the kids now. It seems to be going ok. When I'm allowed to do more, it'll probably be easier. I got my new drier delivered yesterday (no more screaching mom!).

I'm including a couple pics I took this morning. The boys always want to hold Eliana, but Zachary especially. And then, when he does have her, he wants me to take a picture. So, these are because my 3 year old told me to take them. And because I couldn't decide which ones I liked the most, I'm putting my 3 favorites.

New Look

Thanks to my wonderful, talented and AWESOME husband, I have a new look.

I love it!

Thanks hon!

I love you!

Life update

Busy, busy, busy...that's how life has been! We got out of the hospital, went and got Christian's cast off, came home and laid down. Wow, that seems so long ago now. I don't remember a whole lot about our first weekend out of the hospital. I do remember that I did not go to church Sunday morning, but I did go Sunday night because we had our Christmas play. I wasn't going to miss my boys in the play! They did great and were so adorable in there donkey costumes.

That Monday, I had to take Eliana to the pediatrician. It's routine with this office, especially breast-fed babies. Our pediatrician couldn't get over how perfect Eliana was. She kept saying "she's perfect", "you're doing a great job", "she's perfect", "she's beautiful". Eliana had no jaundice and she even gained quite a bit of weight. We left the hospital on Thursday with her weighing 7 lbs. 4 oz. and on Monday she weighed 8 lbs. 3 oz. One would say she's quite the little piggy, but she actually eats less often than the boys did. She's on a great schedule, sleeps at night and spends quite a few hours awake during the day. One thing I can say about all 3 of my kids is that I'm blessed that they knew when it was day and night (therefore when it was time to sleep).

(Left: This is Eliana at 1 week and also what she wore to church on Christmas, minus the hat plus a really pretty red bow. Right: Christmas morning (13 days old) in the outfit from JCL and family. Thanks JCL!!)

Christmas came and went really fast. We had a shortened service at church, but stayed just as long after so that everyone could look at Eliana. Sara got to see her for the first time and won't get to see her again for quite some time. (Sara, I can't wait until you come back home! I sure do miss you around here!) My friend's husband held her (and then didn't want to give her up) and we were told that he doesn't hold babies very often. They both held Eliana, Christian fell off the pew and bumped his head, more friends came over, we chatted and then we had to go to a friend's house and check on the bunny since they were out of town for Christmas. We finally got home, took a couple pics and then we opened presents. I can honestly say that 1pm is the latest I've ever opened Christmas presents! Eliana slept through it all. I don't think she cared too much. The boys loved their presents and the fact that they had 2 "christmases".

My parents came into town on the 26th, bringing with them a bunch of presents. One of them was this outfit...just perfect!

My mom, me and Eliana...3 generations of ladies. Her royal majesty (that's what my mom calls herself), the queen (me) and the little princess.

When introducing her to her grandparents, this is what she had to say...

More to the update another time...I have 3 kids that need my attention right now...