Late pictures

Here are some pictures off of our nicer camera...its been MIA for a while so there are some pictures of baby boy at 2 and 3 weeks old...my oh my has he grown!!!

Daddy burping baby boy...so little.

 Hey mommmmmaaa!!!

 Family Dinner...baby brother is in the bouncer beside me.

 Look at this little guy..if we put him in that right now he would pop right back out!

 This pictures are just plain ridiculous...Adam and I cracked up when we saw them.
First, I look like a hoity toity housewife..why oh why did I hold my elbows up like that?
Second, Ribbit has on these weird sunglasses, upside down and is begging me to hold her instead of baby brother.
Third, Goober is so stinking cute and looks like a little Denzel Washington.
Fourth, Adam had to haul butt to get in, thus the awkward pose :)

 This one is ten times better because Goober looks very chill and still oh so handsome...and now Ribbit is frowning....at least baby brother is looking at the camera....I think we will frame this just for kicks :)

Ribbit's big day

So, about 1/2 way into the day on Thursday we got a very scary call from Ribbit's daycare owner, a closer friend of mine saying that Ribbit was basically being unresponsive..couldn't catch her breath, wouldn't eat, wouldn't talk and had a rapid heartbeat. We went straight to the Peds ER and they took her back straight away. To make a long story short she had low oxygen levels, was very congested and has an ear infection. Her blood tests showed pneumonia, her chest x-rays did not. She is so chunky that it took them 5 times to stick her and find blood...which was just plain awesome. She wet herself, would make the heartrate machine go crazy..over 205 at some points and I had to restrain her the whole time..it was plain awful. They even gave her 3 breathing treatments, the same we gave her at home, back to back with steroids and only saw little improvement. Therefore, to add to our nightly routine we are now giving her a breathing treatment every 4 to 5 hours, steroids twice and antibiotics once. It was pretty scary and for those of you who know Ribbit, you know that no talking equals a very sick child.

Here are some pictures from the glass blowing field trip I took my advanced art students on last week .

Look at those sweet faces....I think they are just excited to be missing school :)

 The furnaces and the laurie...or glory, does anyone remember?

 One of my students picking out her colors and dipping the hot glass in.

 Another sweet boy choosing colors.

 My student, neighbor and babysitter :)

 Headed down the street to visit the local blacksmith.

 

One of the neatest things ever...he talked about how he builds using God's perfect ratios...something we teach our students. He told them that God is perfect and that even the organic things in nature are based off this golden measurement. It's how Noah's ark was built as well!

 Testing to see if they are proportionate.

 He told us to stand in this spot and he would get our picture.

 Then he told us to look up and see what we were standing under ..haha, apparently I was the only one who thought it was real. My students told me later that it was painted styrofoam.

 The bellows he built himself.

 Some of his work.

 He and the glass blowing studio got together and made this beautiful piece.

Today was much better. A large church hosted an event for all families who had ever fostered children or who are currently foster parents. It was all free. They had valet parking and washed our car while we were there. They had hot dogs, chic fil a, cotton candy, sno cones, lemonade, water and tea. They had about 10 different bounce houses and about 10 other booths were the kids could play games for prizes. They also had a free hair cutting station, free manicure station and a masseuse for parents. We took advantage of almost everything and the kids walked away with face paintings, gobs of toys, full full bellies (goober had 3 sno cones) and Ribbit got her nails painted. It was a pretty nice day outside and little brother did great. We were there for over 3 hours so I am hoping this means long and deep sleep tonight :). 

M BARRASSING!!!

So to start with, THANK YA JESUS for mommas. Momma Harvell is coming out for a week on Friday and my mom is going to follow her pretty soon after that. I think I may actually let them cook, clean, care for my children and i will just chill. Normally that is very hard for me, to let anyone do anything for me that I am perfectly capable of doing but heck, a girl has got to sleep...at least for a day!!!

In other news, I am pretty sure Goober is out to get me.
First, in church on Sunday I was holding Izzy and he was passing gas left and right. He let out a big one and Goob looked up, smiled at several people and then pointed to me several times...WHAT? Way to make me blush and feel the need to make sure everyone around knew my 8 week old was passing major farts and not me!
Second, he and I were looking through our wedding album and he pointed to a picture and said " woah, mom that's you? you look so skinny". I kinda gave him a look that said he better stop talking and he smiled and said " from now on I will eat some of your food and help you get skinny again". Little twerp.
Third, while I was bathing Izzy tonight he ran in, took one look at me and said " your acne is getting ugly". I asked him to show me what he was talking about and he pointed to a mole on my chin and said " gross, they are turning brown". I explained to him that it was a mole, not acne and he said " ohhhhhhh, so that is why brock had to move out of his house, too many moles"..bwa h ah ah.

In Ribbit news, she has started to make different stuffed animals her "baby broder" and they must lay down, swing and be fed whenever Izzy is. Its really cute and she is starting to be sweet to Izzy. She also has started talking complete gibberish between well pronounced phrases. I think its just to hold the attention on her a little bit longer.....the best example is during mealtime. We will say " who wants to pray" and she quickly says " let me talk and says "do ba goo doo re tae GOD do she lad lah BABY BRODER do fee mane enew THANKS FOR THE FOOD meh mew taly new GOD AMEN"...then looks up proudly!

                                          Some good ole princess dancing and bossy talking :)

One of those .... well 6 of those weeks

I think for me today was the straw that broke the camels back.
 I AM getting used to little sleep but my students today were just not on task..including cleaning up after themselves.
I AM getting used to ribbit wanting my attention 24/7 even though I am holding her chunk of a brother, but today she seemed super needy and didn't STOP TALKING for like 6 straight hours.
I AM getting used to Goober getting good behavior stickers BUT today he got moved to RED....he has never done that before. I had a nice chat with his teacher and was very embarrassed by his behavior..he cried the minute he walked into my classroom after school...he knew he was in for it. It kills me to punish him right now because I know exactly why he is acting out and to take away even more time for us just seems cruel. He is now going to be my cleaning assistant tomorrow so that he gets to hang out with me but he can also see how much work it takes to be an adult and hopefully respect them a little more :).
I also had to stay at home and miss a women's event at church tonight because there was no way I was leaving Adam at home with a cranky baby, needy 2 year old and upset 7 year old. It stinks that our closest family is 12 hours away because tonight would have been one of those nights when I would have asked a momma to come over and feed my kids while Adam and I both took naps, with earplugs in, locks on the door and a sound proof wall between our bedroom and the living room :).

So now that I have complained about my very blessed life let me share some pictures that show how we love our life every other day of the week :).

So on Monday night, since Daddy had class til 9 I decided that we needed a big distraction. Cookies with tons of icing and sprinkles sounded like the best idea to me :) Yes she is pouring an obscene amount of icing on that cookie and licking her hand at the same time :)

 Loving on baby broder....there is no denying that Ribbit and Goober are siblings...look at that face!

My two little men! I love that Izzy is making such an awful face :)

                                             Ready to cheer on the Texas Rangers!

 Heading to go watch Big Brother be the Narrator for the Peter Rabbit play.

Mrs. Thing had to have her picture taken too!

         One of my favorite pictures yet...me with all of my carmel/mocha/creme kiddos! LOVE THEM!

 Izzy lives in this sling...I have mastered cooking, doing Ribbit's hair and eating with it on. Of course he does end up catching lots of crumbs though.

See that cute little bunny? Thats my Goober....he knew his lines perfectly and was a great little narrator!

Goob with the other narrators!

Funny things to document:

Goober- you never ever put your belt through any of the back loops....so therefore its a waste to even wear it )
Ribbit-when we ask who wants to pray at dinner you say " let me talk " and then speed pray before anyone else gets a chance to start.
Izzy-you are starting to mimic mom and dad...you smile at us and make the "ooo" shape with your mouth. Daddy thinks you say mama sometimes too....silly guy.

Lazy Weekend

After last weekends 3 days of crazy we definitely took the last two days to be super lazy. Adam and I went on a date last night to my school's auction and had grown up time.....better than that grown up time all decked out. Someone asked Adam how did it feel to be on a date again and he said " this is the best date ever, I don't have to talk "...hardy har har. No really, it was a great time to watch so many families brag on, love on and give to our school. I left in shock and was very inspired. I just don't know where else in the world you would find another school like ours....I'm afraid that we would never find another job, family, school environment that would even compare to it.
Gone are the days where we can hire just one of my students to babysit. Nope, we had Izzy's normal caregiver watch him and then one of my students watched Goober and Ribbit here. While she was watching the kids her mother (a dear friend and fellow teacher) snuck over and cleaned our home. Yup, the biggest blessing ever. Floors are picked up, vacuumed, swept. Laundry is folded :), Dishes are done and the kitchen was spotless.......even the play room is clean. We were so grateful to her....what a true friend. Its once again so neat to see the church be the church during our "crazy life" moments.
Last night at the auction, everyone knew us as the crazy young kids who had adopted 3 kids within 13 months. It is so nice to be lifted up and told that you are being prayed for but to be honest Adam and I get a little queasy at all the praise we sometimes get. I have only said this to one person but most of the time I want to say " well we are just being obedient". I feel like that is too "self righteous" though and that I should just thank people when they compliment our "effort" or are "calling"....but really its just something we felt led to and Adam finally said to one person last night ....Hey, its just like anything else God calls you to, he gives you the strength to get through it and we are just wanting to be in His will. In all honesty, we have received the greatest blessing...I mean have you seen the sweet little faces that call us mommy and daddy :)?
 Baby brother is doing well, still quite fussy when things aren't going his way but he is allowing us to get longer stretches of sleep at night. He is definitely making better eye contact, head butting us alot with his powerful little body and giving us more smiles. He is a chunk, now weighing in at 10 lbs 3 oz...have I posted this recently?
Ribbit is definitely developing a great imagination and has been handing us fake ice cream cones that she makes and loves talking to her animals. In fact the other morning she was in the bathroom with me while I was taking a shower. She normally sits on the rug right outside the tub and reads a book or sings and talks with me. Anyways, all of sudden she started scolding my pile of dirty clothes. She said " all right, you not listen to me first time, you go to time out" and she moved my clothes to the corner of the room. Then she pointed to my clothes and said " you not cry or you go back to time out"....BWA HA HA HAH....i guess she has been listening to our discipline words :)
Goober is starting to be a little Adam and starting to side with his dad a lot more than he used to. WHen he and I were on our way to school the other day he looked at me and with the most adult look said " so mom, why did you make this decision" and then proceeded to argue Adam's case from a conversation he and I had the night before...I mean I was trying to be serious with Goober but was having a hard time not laughing. He loves loves loves that our family is now "boy-trapped" and that he is the "big man" :).

Here is a video of little man.

Artsy Fartsy

Once again I must say how much I love my job...its my dream one...well I have another dream job that is starting to form but God would have to work that one out :).
Anyways, here are pictures from a recent competition we went to and where 13 of our kids took home medals..YAY!!

What a handsome little artist!!!!

 2nd place in Sculpture-Middle School

 2nd Place in Relief -MIddle School

 2nd place in Ceramics-MIddle School

 3rd place in Ceramics-High School

2nd place in Sculpture- High School

 1st place in Printmaking-High School

 1st place in Paper Art- High School

 1st place in Printmaking-Middle School

 2nd place painting-Middle School

 2nd place-Mixed Media middle school

Grandparent's Day

This past Thursday was Grandparent's Day at Goober's school. They memorized Psalm 1 and a poem for their part of the assembly. Goober is very blessed to have 2 sets of awesome grandparents and even more great great grandparents. I videotaped a lot of it since they could not be there for it.

The 1st grade class reciting Psalm 1,( Goober is front and center), then some of a song, then Goober being completely embarrassed by his mother's presence :), then Goober reciting Psalm 1 just for you, then Ribbit doing her own scripture recitation :)

LIFE

It's almost too good to be true....all 3 kids have been asleep now for 1.5 hours. I have done dishes, my bible study, watched a dvd for school and have surfed Facebook. That must mean tomorrow is going to be a whammy :).

To catch up life here has been pretty good. Adam and I are getting good at night feedings, meaning we dont' miss the sleep that much and just adjust by either going to bed earlier or drinking more coffee. Little man is sleeping for 4 to 5 hours at a time at night but gets real hungry right before bed and normally has a bottle at 7 and at 9 and then is out. We are also getting smiles out of him, lots of eye contact...he definitely knows when you are beside his crib...one night he was starting to fuss after i had rocked him for about 20 minutes and i just walked slowly up the crib and when he saw me he stopped and went right back to sleep :). He is also starting to spit up more and have more um....shall we say big man # 2's.

Ribbit is definitely more adjusted and now calls him her baby broder and asks where he is all the time. She will also say " baby broder es crying again" when ever he starts to fuss. She still isn't too keen on sharing me but most of the time can be easily comforted. She is starting to understand to be careful around little man, but still doesn't understand how to whisper. She got a new big girl seat...graduated into a semi-booster and she thinks she is hot stuff. She looks so little in that seat!

Goober has testing all this week at school but says he isn't nervous. He is such a huge help to us and loves to help us soothe baby brother. He is also starting to love to play outside with our neighbor more too. I guess since homework is dwindling and the weather is nicer he has become super attached to playing with his friend. They both love to battle beyblades and are constantly saying " let er rip". I walked into his room on Sunday and got my answer as to how he always knows when are neighbors are home. His blinds were pulled all the way up and his window aligns perfectly with their dining room window. I walked into his room with a towel on my head and a tank top only to see the sweet family of 4 smiling and waving across the tiny side yard. We had a talk about privacy with Goob and now the blinds are down.

So you know how we bought a new van Friday. Well I got rear ended today on the way to school. Its very minimal damage, she hit me at a red light...like a medium love tap. Her front plates indented my bumper but that was it. She had insurance and was nice enough to hopefully won't be too much of headache. At least I wasn't at fault :). Goober was so interested in the cop though that I about had to staple him to his seat the whole time.

We will post something later for her present, but HAPPY BIRTHDAY AUNT ERIKA..hope to see you soon!

My 1st Easter...thank you Krista for the onesie!!

 These are her cool dude glasses, wait til you see our easter pictures from church...yup, she has them on :) yup, she wears them upside down everytime.

 Look what we found at the park....ducklings..perfect for Easter weekend.

 Typical boy, jumps in the gross water after the ducklings.

 Got it!

 First of many captured ducklings...we couldn't find a momma but there was a dead duck down the way :(

 So before I could take a picture of her petting it she touched it and bolted :)

 The loot...the easter bunny is in cahoots with Santa and after much deliberation decided that from now on the kids will get an easter outfit, one small toy, 5 eggs and a LOVE BOOK for Easter. I decided that since Easter was our first big holiday with the kids that each year I will make them a Love Book with all the things we love about them from that past year in it. They both enjoyed looking at all the pictures and reading about themselves.