Letter for Cupcake~

My Precious Cupcake, Mama doesn't really know what is all about to happen that will finally bring you into our world, but she is very excited to finally get to hold you in her arms.  We do not know if today will be your birthday or tomorrow, but we do know there are a great number of wonderful people praying for you to join us safely!  Your big brother and sister are very excited to meet you and I think they even have a gift for you when they do! 

Sweetheart, you are a miracle.  Mommy and Daddy were told many time that you would never be...we believed them!  I think back to August 1st 2010, the day that wonderful test had the two lines and remember how much disbelief I was in!  It was a Sunday morning before church and I couldn't even talk to tell your Daddy....all I could do was show him the test and he looked at it and asked what it meant!  It was so hard to believe that after church Mama went to Walgreens in Grandpas convertable and bought a digital test so I could specifically read 'pregnant'!  The next day I begged the receptionist at the doctor to see me right away and we did get in that day. 

There have been scary points in the last 9 months, but alot of happiness and some disbelief!  Mama even now is having a difficult time sitting here thinking about the fact that God is about to bring you into our world!  We have been taking pictures of Mama's belly almost every Sunday since 15 weeks and you have made my belly VERY big!  That is why the doctors decided to induce Mama two weeks early!  But your Daddy and I think that this is right in time!  I remember the first time I felt your tiny little flutter inside me, and have been in awe lately as you don't really kick but more just 'adjust' yourself while making my belly funny shape in the process!

Sweetheart, you are coming into a family that will love you more than you can ever imagine!  We are a special family that God has pieced together in His own way and in His own time!  I cannot wait to see if you look like Mama or if you look like Daddy.   If you really have as chubby of cheeks as it looks like on the ultrasound!  If you have hair or not and all those other things! 

My precious baby girl, I do not know how long we have left until we get to hold you in our arms....but one thing is for sure....when that does happen we will NEVER let you go.  Sweetest Cupcake....we are excited to welcome you into our world and looking forward to the days and weeks and years ahead with you!

With all my love,
Your Mama


Happy Birthday Cupcake!

Mama Thoughts

 Something has hit me over the past 12 hours that I wasn't ready for.  Something that has brought tears to my eyes several times in that short time!  Last night as we were having Princess and Sunshine say their verse and sing to Cupcake one last time before she is born and then we have bedtime prayers with them I couldn't keep my tears away!  All these thoughts started running through my mind, thoughts that I had not even really considered before then.  You see our children are leaving at noon today with our Pastor and family and will be with them until after Cupcake is born (hopefully sometime tomorrow if the induction goes well!)  So the next time we will all be together we will be a family of fine.  Something we are all very excited about, and I believe Princess and Sunshine are very excited too.  But no one knows how bringing Cupcake into our home will effect our 4 year olds! 

I am sure there will be a transition time where things will be less than lovely with attitudes and behaviors...but I am also sure that big brother and sister will love their baby sister VERY much!  But as a Mama you start thinking about things like 'have I used my time with JUST them well enough' 'have I loved them enough that they know I will still love them even with a baby?' and things of that sort.  They just started creeping into my head!  We have had 'extra' kids around most of their lives through the Patch and also foster care, but all of those children end up going home at some point...they do not stick around!  We are still a very spontaneous family...there are times when at the spur of the moment we decide to run out of the house to get ice cream for fun and with a baby you need to be a little more prepared than that.  So things are going to change.

Anyway, just some thoughts on the day before my induction.  The day my big kids will leave my home with people I fully trust to care for them, but the day that they will take a piece of my heart and a life that will no longer be the same with them only to return to an entirely different situation in a matter of 72ish hours.  So I cry, I cry because I am so happy that we are so blessed.  I cry because I am sad that their lives will change (though in a good way, they may not see it as good at first) and I cry because I am still pregnant and that is what pregnant ladies do! 

But I want Princess and Sunshine to know how very much their Mama and Daddy love them...we love them today, we love them tomorrow, and we love them forever....and bringing Cupcake into our home isn't going to change that! 

34/36 Weeks!

 14 weeks!

 15 weeks!

 16 weeks!

 17 weeks!

 18 weeks!

 20 weeks!

 22 weeks!

 23 weeks!

 24 weeks!

 25 weeks!

 28 weeks!

 29 weeks!

 30 weeks!

 32 weeks!

33 weeks!

The weeks until we get to meet Cupcake are getting less and less!  What an amazing thought to have!  The weeks listed under the pictures coordinate with our April 2nd due date, but would could be 2 weeks farther along than that so that is why the post title says '34/36 weeks!'  We are trying to be patient in waiting for her arrival, but it is getting more and more difficult!  Just cannot wait to see our chubby little Cupcake!

Valentines Weekend

 Pottery 2 Paint ~ Princess making a pizza plate!

 Sunshine making a piggy bank!

 Hard work on everyone's part!

 She put red 'polk-E-dots' on top for pepperoni!

 Sunshine thought his piggie needed glasses, so Handsome put some on...would have been a really cute pig without them!

 Psalm 119:105 is their very first Sunday School memory verse! 

Every Valentines weekend for the last 3 or maybe even 4 years we have had a 'family weekend.'  We usually take the Friday before V-day off and get a hotel for two nights so we can swim and just have a fun family day!  This year with me being SO pregnant I didn't want to sleep in a bed other than my own and really didn't feel like swimming so we just spent Saturday together as a family.  We went to the local pottery store and the kids each picked a project...Daddy broke the rules by helping Sunshine way MORE than he was supposed to, but the kids had fun any way!  We were given OliveGarden giftcards for Christmas so we used them for our lunch date and then we did a little shopping!  It was a fun LONG day (we actually closed down the mall!) 

While we are not huge on traditions, our kids are starting to remember certain things and that is fun to me!  Valentines family weekend, I believe, will be sticking around for years to come! 

"You Are MY Sunshine"

When Princess and Sunshine were little tiny babies, I sang 'You Are My Sunshine' to them every morning when they first woke up.  Over the years it has become 'Sunshine's Song' so much so that he heard it on my Patch blog the other day and said, "Mommy, it is MY song!"  I think it is cute...we all know the words to the chorus, and maybe the first verse...but did you know there is A LOT more to this song?

You Are My Sunshine

My only sunshine.
You make me happy
When skies are grey.
You'll never know, dear,
How much I love you.
Please don't take my sunshine away


The other nite, dear,
As I lay sleeping
I dreamed I held you in my arms.
When I awoke, dear,
I was mistaken
And I hung my head and cried.


You are my sunshine,
My only sunshine.
You make me happy
When skies are grey.
You'll never know, dear,
How much I love you.
Please don't take my sunshine away.


I'll always love you
And make you happy
If you will only say the same
But if you leave me
To love another
You'll regret it all some day;


You are my sunshine,
My only sunshine.
You make me happy
When skies are grey.
You'll never know, dear,
How much I love you.
Please don't take my sunshine away.


You told me once, dear
You really loved me
And no one else could come between
But now you've left me
And love another
You have shattered all my dreams;


You are my sunshine,
My only sunshine.
You make me happy
When skies are grey.
You'll never know, dear,
How much I love you.
Please don't take my sunshine away.


Louisiana my Louisiana
the place where I was borne.
White fields of cotton
-- green fields clover,
the best fishing
and long tall corn;


You are my sunshine,
My only sunshine.
You make me happy
When skies are grey.
You'll never know, dear,
How much I love you.
Please don't take my sunshine away.


Crawfish gumbo and jambalaya
the biggest shrimp and sugar cane,
the finest oysters
and sweet strawberries
from Toledo Bend to New Orleans;


You are my sunshine,
My only sunshine.
You make me happy
When skies are grey.
You'll never know, dear,
How much I love you.
Please don't take my sunshine away


When I first read the rest of the song I was bummed, because it is about two people that go different ways after being in love....how could that be a song I have 'given' to my son.  But then as both are getting excited about being 5 next, they do grow up quickly and before we know it they will be married and not need us as much as they do now!  So it can still apply!  I love that my son and I have this special thing between us.  He is my handsome little man, and his smile really does bring sunshine to my life! 

Love you Sunshine!

My kids!

I have to say, once again, that I LOVE being a mama!  There are days that are trying and difficult, but at the end of the day when these two precious kiddos say their verses and share what is important to them that we pray about it just melts my heart every time!  Or the best is when they are REALLY tired and do not really know what they are talking about and start saying stuff that doesn't make any sense!

While I have to admit 4 isn't my favorite year, it has been fun so far!  Their minds, imagination, thoughts, hearts, playtime, and love for people and tasks is encouraging and amazing!  I love listening to them play and talk to each other just to hear what is going on in their minds!

I have been blessed beyond measure with these two beautiful people....they are everything to my husband and myself!

Round Two, Day One

As round 2 started outside... It was C r A z Y inside!Princess has an opinion about everything these days and since I knew we wouldn't be going anywhere, she was able to pick her entire outfit...what do you think? Crazy flowers on top, and crazy snowflakes on the bottom! At least the pinks were the same shade!As I said in a previous post, he is really into hats right now and it doesn't matter if they are boy, girl, or baby hats...anything that ever COULD be a hat he tries! Silly Boy!

Case & Point!

We try not to work too hard on anything other than spending time as a family on snow days...and it looks like we may be in for round 3 sometime in the next week or so...what do you do with surprise days off?

Needed some time to wiggle!

After having snow from Sunday (22nd) ~ Wednesday (25th) the kiddos & Mommy needed to get out of the house. We all went to see our wonderful chiropractor and the kids got their stickers for letting Dr. S work on their backs with no fussing we went and visited our dear lawyer friend E. Had some paperwork to sign, and then brought it to our dear car friend MG as he had to sign it too! These two guys are just adored by our kids and they make themselves at home whenever they are around! Anyway, we decided to go out to our fav G.uadalajaras for supper, since we heard snow round 2 was coming!

Sunshine took the chance to look over the menu to see if there was anything other than Chicken & French Fries that he could eat...

Princess did it just like a big person, she looked at the pictures and pointed! He is still hard at work looking for something on the menu he can have...the jury is still out on that one!We then went for a short drive and Sunshine tried to charm Mommy with his smiles...Take 2...

Our evening at the PARK!

So I guess Princess can spell now, because on Thursday talking to Mom on the phone I told her that if baby M went home early enough I was going to take Princess & Sunshine to the P-A-R-K...spelled it out so we wouldn't have little ones looking forward to it if it didn't work. WELL, my 2.5 year old daughter very quickly spouts off..."Go to the park when M goes home, swing, slide, FUN!" Well M actually went home kind of late, but we were able to take us with her and her daddy picked her up at the park so it all worked out well! (Thanks C for doing that!)

It had been the first time in a LONG time that the kids and I had done something FUN together just the three of us so I took about 165 pictures, don't worry they are not ALL going to make it on here...just my favorites...about 120 of them...lol! Heehe

They did really well considering it was the first time that they 'played' by themselves at the park. Usually one of us (Handsome or myself) goes up onto the playground and the other stays down so we can 'help' them up and catch them at the bottom of the slide. After Ms dad picked her up I joined in on the fun right up there with them!

~ Checking something interesting out ~~ Just thought this was kind of a neat picture ~ ~ So who gets 70* days to play at the park in March, but ALSO gets to look at scenery like this EVERY time they go to the park?!?! That's right! We are blessed! ~~ We played till the sun went down ~~ There is a fun bridge that goes over the creek and we had to stop by and drop some pinecones before we went home, I think the scenery made for some cute pictures ~
~After leaving the park we needed to run to the store and the kids are very excited because they both got a new set of 1 spoon and 1 fork..with M.icky (for Sunshine) and M.innie (for Princess) on them, their favorite show is Micky.Mouse.Club.House! ~

Come back over the next 2 days to see more pictures from our night at the park!

Valentine Family Fun Time

Over Valentines Day we took the opportunity as a family to have a restful & relaxing weekend. We went to the hotel in R.C. that has the big water park and the kids had a blast, plus Mommy & Daddy were able to feel a little rest in the process! ***Lots of pictures!!!***

The hotel room was a king suite with TALL ceilings!

We had a little sitting area with an extra TV, this is where the kids slept.Not that big of deal to most, but I thought this little display area when you walked into the room was pretty!Nothing fancy, but thought you might like the full tour!We checked out the water park right away on the 13th after checking in. Handsome and I both tried the yellow & blue/red slide...I liked the blue/red one better! We didn't try the green one.This is the kids area, but unfortunately our kids were too little to do it by themselves and parents couldn't go on it with them. If you have a teen that could help out I think Princess & Sunshine would have gotten some giggles out of it!This was after swimming night #1, as you can see Princess was very happy...Sunshine was too, just couldn't get him to look at the camera!On Valentines Day we slept in and went to the mall to look for some updated clothes for Handsome & myself. Apparently after being married for 6 years it is clear that our clothes were not recently bought and we needed to change this. We hadn't brought a stroller and the kids hoofed it most of the time which led to distractions and doing silly things! They liked to look in the storefronts and smoosh their little faces up against the glass!They also discovered they could 'kiss' each other through the windows!Before leaving Handsome & I decided to let them 'drive' one of the cars! Sunshine wasn't so sure about it, but Princess loved it and was trying to drive and dance to the music at the same time! Handsome asked me where I wanted to go for lunch and we decided on R.uby T.uesday. They had a great kids meal menu, Princess got some little turkeys burgers with fries. Sunshine actually had more options than chicken strips, he had a mini steak with 'smashed taTOES'...he was in heaven!I was in heaven with my blackberry tea that had real blackberries in it! I loved it so much I had to take a picture of it!As long as I took a picture of the tea, thought I would take one of the best steak I had in a long time!After a long day of shopping (mostly for Daddy) they boys needed to relax a little... Heading to the water park day #2, they just woke up and were not completely with it yetIt didn't take Princess long to wake up once she hit the waterShe cracks me up She was trying to sit on the water like a chair!

They decided this was swimming in water all by themselves

Sunshine really got into the splashing
She was loving the water...a little fish she is!

There was a bucket of water on the kids part that would fill up and just before dumping all this water all over it would make a ton of noise with flashing lights and they were not to keen on that!

Speaking of Keen, we finally decided to buy each other Keen Sandals for Valentines day...I think there will be lots of hiking in order this summer to make them worth their while! I would suggest them to anyone though, very comfortable! It also allowed us to chance to check out the new S.cheels store on opening day! Very nice, and will be good competition for the C.abelas store that opened last fall.

More pictures to come of out goofy the kids were once we got back to the room AFTER swimming!