Big news for the Folsoms!

For those of you that went to this post already thinking I'm posting about being pregnant, shame on you! :)  No, that's not our news this time!  We have another exciting adventure we are about to embark upon. 

WE ARE MOVING! To Nashville, Tennessee!!!!   Even as I type these sentences, I can't even believe it's true.  It's literally blowing my mind! 

Anyways, here's the story.  We have literally been feeling a drawing towards Nashville for some time now.  Almost 2+ years of a constant yearning.  We've actually been talking about it since before we were married.  And we kinda felt like eventually it would come about.  But it never really felt right, so we just kept trusting God to let us know.  Well, all of a sudden the yearning came!  And we knew it was time to do something.  We also knew that we had a lot to deal with here before it could happen, so for the last year and a half we've been in transition mode. Fixing the house, fixing our finances, finishing up jobs. 

So Josh has been working an amazing job, that a very kind friend, recommended him for. But it is now coming to an end.  This week actually.  So about a month ago, we took a trip up to Nashville to see about a few prospective jobs.  Denise, with her amazing connections, set up a meeting with a father and son company.  Josh went to meet with them, and when he came back, he said he felt like God had ordained that meeting. It went so well, and it was everything he wanted.  They had not hired him on the spot, but they were very positive about seeing if the position they wanted him for would work out. So Josh kept in touch, and we waited.  SO very hard to do. 

So, for a few weeks there we were just waiting.  Working on the house as much as we could, but still really just waiting.  (Again, VERY hard to do when your income is about to cease, and there's 5 of us to support!) But God is sooo very faithful!  The company contacted Josh, and wants him to come be the manager over all the rental property maintenance!  AND they are putting him on SALARY!  Such a big change.  And, they are understanding of us trying to move our family up there by being lenient on his actual start date!  But as of now, his actual start date is October 15!

Actual move date is still really iffy.  Right now, we are just working our butts off on the house to get it ready to sale.  Josh is putting up vinyl siding on the outside, and I am, literally, painting every single surface in this house.  (at least it feels like it!) Josh might go up and work and commute back down on the weekends for a few weeks, so we can get the house done and have some time to actually pack the house! But that could change too.  We are still trying to get it all figured out. 

But we are making progress.  We've gotten a lot done on the house, even with a few major setbacks.  But now we are all sick, which has hindered progress a little. I really think that we are experiencing some major attacks.  I mean, we are working hard on the house, and even with the setbacks, we are getting a lot done!  Then, out of nowhere, we ALL get sick.  And not just a little cold.  We are all sick with different things.  I've had a really bad cold, with debilitating headaches. Elijah had a sore throat, but was nauseous and throwing up.  Hannah and Rachel had runny noses, with major diarrhea. And Josh has had awful stomach cramping and upset stomach.  It's just been so weird.  But we are all on the mend, with a lot of prayer! 

So, like I said, Josh's job ends this week.  And we were a little nervous about the next two weeks being jobless, because we didn't want to spend any savings.  But again, I don't know why we worry, God is ever faithful.  He's gotten so many sidejobs, that it will definitely keep him busy!  So busy, in fact, that he's going to be working hard to get it all done!

So, that's our story.  We are going to be very busy for the next few weeks!  So anytime you'd like to say a little prayer for us, it would be greatly appreciated.  Wisdom on what to do with this house, prospective buyers to be sent our way, and grace for the move! 

I'm going to miss south Georgia though!  I've only lived in about a 45 mile radius my WHOLE life, so this is definitely something new and different!  But we are VERY excited about what God has planned for us!  Can't Wait!  :D

I"ll keep you posted!

Horrible Weekend.

****Foreword: I am a control freak, and usually a very organized person.  When things don't go the way planned, it can literally seem like the end of the world.  I know this is a flaw, and it is being worked on. That being said, this was just a weekend of a string of unfortunate events.****

The saying "When it rains, it pours."  Yeah, that applies.  This weekend, or past 5 days really, have seemed like that saying.  Let's go back to Friday.  The weekend seemed very promising.  It was supposed to be sunny for like 4 days!  Anyone who lives in South Ga knows that this has been a very uncommon thing for us.  It has literally rained every day for the last 2 months!  So, with this sunny forecast came a sidejob for Josh that he's been waiting on the weather to accomplish:  rebuilding a roof.  It was a difficult roof.  It has been leaking for years, on a building downtown.  And no one can find the reason for the leak.  So it was decided just to rebuild a completely new roof.  So Josh and two other guys started that on Friday.  They had done most of the construction part of the job, and just had to put down the metal.  Seemed like a good day, probably would be able to finish on Saturday. Great!

The problem started when Josh realized at 5, that the place he needed to rent a piece of equipment for had already closed.  He thought they would be open Saturday morning, but were not.  Saturday morning comes along, and the only place close to us that was open had already rented that particular peice of equipment.  So, he does all that he can without it.  And decided he would have to finish it Monday morning.  Which would not be ideal, but would work. We were also dealing with Hurricane Isaac proposed to make an appearance on Tuesday, so this had to get done!

Well, during all of this Rachel is starting to get sick.  She's running a temp of around 100-102 and just not herself at all.  And it just won't break.  I mean I tried everything. Giving Motrin and Tylenol alternately.  Giving her lukewarm baths.  It would not break.  So I was getting worried about her.  And she wasn't sleeping at night at all.  Everytime I'd go to get her...she was just soaking wet, and miserable.

Sunday comes along, and we are watching the weather and looks like rain on Monday, around lunch.  Not good.  So Josh goes and tries to do all the prep work he can do, so that he can get it done first thing Monday.  He does, but on his way home his truck starts acting up. Really? 

Well, Sunday night was rough!  I put the kids to bed, and then around 1, Rachel wakes up.  She's not acting like herself at all, just totally out of it.   And she's soaked!  I take her in the kitchen, and take her temp and it's 105.2!  Her usual temp is like 97.8, so this just feels really bad. And I'm kinda freaking out now.  I give her some more medicine, and it just wouldn't come down.  After that, we decided that maybe this was something really bad going on, so I took her to the ER.  We arrived around 2:15. They did lots of tests on her!  X-rays, urinalysis, bloodwork.  And nothing showed up, which was great! So they think it was just viral.  But I felt like an awful mother making her go through all of that! Not to mention the nurse from hell that I was dealing with.   After 5+ hours, I was more than ready to go home!  We got home around 8. Josh's mom had come over to watch the kids, so Josh could go finish a roof.   I put Rachel to bed, but by this time my other two were awake.

I'm also worrying about Josh and the roof.  Turns out the piece of equipment he rented was not doing what he needed it too, so he had to change plans. And we are just praying the rain holds off.  So he eventually does finish around 2, and God held the rain back until the last minute they were finishing up! So naptime comes, and I am more than ready.  We all lay down, and at around 3 I get a phone call from Josh.  His truck is really acting up, and he needs us to come get him.  No naptime....So we head out, and get him.  He talks to my step-dad, a mechanic, and decided that it would be safe to drive it to him.  So that's what we do.  Me and the kids go hang out with my mom while they work on the truck.  And they do get it fixed!  So that was great!  It felt like things were getting better!  I'm utterly exhausted by this point, and just wanting sleep.

Tuesday.  I wake up to find the business account overdrawn.  Poop.  This is completely my job.  I take care of the finances.  I had put money in there for the job, but with all the extra things going on- refiguring the roof, and the cost of the truck parts- we were under. It had not even crossed my mind to check on it.  Then, we find out that the roof is still leaking (IN THE SAME SPOT!). Seriously?

Not to mention, we are running low on groceries, and very important toiletries (i.e. toilet paper) and the house is a complete mess.  Good news, we went for a recheck on Rachel and everything looked good!  And she's almost back to her normal self now!

Like I said earlier, this was not as bad as life gets, but for a control freak it felt pretty bad.  I felt like I had failed at every turn. But we are trusting God that He has things undercontrol.  And it isn't my place to worry about it.

 Things are not completely resolved, but I know now I just can't control it all.  I did get groceries the morning, and the house is getting cleaned today!  And that's all I can do. Lesson learned.  Worrying only makes it worse. And life is far from awful.  Rachel is much better, and we are all safe and healthy. Josh gave some much needed work to some guys that needed it. And the truck is fixed!

Prayers are definitely appreciated though.  Especially for wisdom to deal with this roof situation!    

Rachel turns 18 months

Well, Rachel turned 18 months on April 7. I honestly can't believe it's already been that long. I know everyone says that, but she is still so much like a baby (still breastfeeding and very petite)...it's really hard to believe.

We went to the doctor today for her check-up and he said she looked good. She weighed 20.4 pounds, 30 inches long, and her head was 17.5 inches. Still in the petite range for sure. Like I said, she is still breastfeeding, but we have cut it down to a morning and night feeding. I, honestly, would love to quit right now. But she loves it so much, and also I can't get her to drink milk. She just throws her cup down and screams. Yikes!

And speaking of screaming, I think this age might be one of my least favorites. The attitude paired with her not being able to communicate effectively usually results in a screaming fest. It's out of control right now. And it is more than frustrating. Trying to figure out the best way to handle it right now. Other than that, she's a really sweet child. Very much still a momma's girl though. She has NEVER successfully stayed in the nursery at church. She has just recently been more affectionate towards our families, which has allowed us to have a couple of dates! :)

Not a talker by any means. She can say: mama, dada, cat, cheese, bye, dog (kinda), and that's pretty much it. She knows how to shake her head for yes and no, and she knows how to use that little finger to show what she wants! But even though she isn't talking, she knows a lot of words. She can show you all her body parts and she can point out tons of stuff in books. Mostly animals- her favorite.

She has only had 6 teeth up until this month. The front 4 on the top, and 2 on the bottom. Just this week, she's been super fussy and waking at night so I do believe more are coming. There is one little piece of white popping through the bottom. Why can't they get more than one tooth at a time? It would be a lot quicker of a process for her to deal with, and, also, I would like to conserve the Ibuprofen!

What she likes to do most days: feeding the cat, then watching her while she eats; playing outside; swinging; watching Little Bear; and playing with her big brother and sister (when they allow it). Their most common game is pretending Rachel is the "monster" and running away from her. Rachel enjoys it, so I'll allow it. :)

Favorite foods (not very many, or she keeps changing on me!): yogurt, cheese, vegetable soup, and goldfish. She eats a lot if things, but I usually have to do some coaxing. Anyways, I think that is a good update on Rachel at least!

                                                   Playing with her big sister!
                                

                                                  Hunting Easter eggs.

                                                   First time getting her toe nails painted!

                                                     Saying "cheese" for the camera. :)

Jesus loves the children...

I know it's been a while since I've blogged, but this subject has just been burning within me.  I'll write an updating post soon!

As I was reading some bible stories to the kids, we recently began reading about how Jesus loves the children.  As Jesus was teaching, in a couple of instances it tells how the small children try and come up to Him.  As they came near, the disciples began to rebuke them and told the mothers to take their children away.  But Jesus was not pleased, and told them to let the children come to Him.

I've read these stories many times, and it was always "yeah, Jesus loves the children."  But as I was reading it this time, the tears began to fall, and I realized He not only was showing love to the children, but to the MOTHERS as well! 

Oh, how many instances I've been in situations where I felt my children were bothering people. And in my need to not feel like a nuisance with my children, how utterly neglected I've felt as well.  Sitting alone in a room away from everyone else.  But Jesus told the children to come, which also invited the mothers to come!  He wanted them to experience His love too, when most of the time they probably felt neglected as well.  How happy it makes me when people love on my children- in many ways it's a direct connection to loving me!  I love being around family, because they genuinely love and want to be with my children.

Jesus was very important, and many people came to hear Him speak.  But He wasn't too important for the children or their mothers.  He loved them all, and as a mother...I really needed to hear this!

Absent from this world...

From the bloggin world, that is. :)  LOTS of things have been going on.  We've had 4 birthdays since I've blogged last (And that's just in our immediate family!), we've fixed the van, Rachel has gotten 4 teeth and started taking steps, we've finished part of the addition (the laundry room),  we've gone to Nashville for a week, and many other activities.  All things I wanted to eventually blog about, but just thinking about blogging all of that has made me wary and not wanting to blog at all.  Ironic, huh?

Anyways, all is well with us.  Josh's job is still going great.  It's a temporary job, and we thought it would be over by now, but it's been extended for at least a few more months, so we are feeling super blessed by that.  We are trying to get all of our financial affairs in order.  Credit cards paid off, emergency fund funded, and other different funds started.  So having this job be extended gives us more time to do just that!  

The kids are doing awesome.  They are getting so much better at playing with one another, and they are exceptionally careful and nice to Rachel.  They have their scuffles, but who doesn't? :)

We've been using alot of our spare time to work on the house.  We finished the laundry room like I said, and we are now working on the living room.  Next is the kitchen, then the master bedroom addition.  And the outside is also a big to-do!  But we are getting closer.  I've really felt an urgency to work on it, and to get it all complete.   

This whole year has really felt like a year of preparation.  Preparing for what you might ask?  I have NO IDEA.  Which is frustrating. (I'm a planner.)  But I've really felt God leading us in this.  He keeps saying "You need to get ready."  So I know he's working out something awesome for us.  So we are doing like he says...getting our finances ready, the house ready, and anything else in order that needs to be.   Josh and I have been starting to feel "uncomfortable"  in our lives, which feels like a sign God is pushing us towards something new.  So I'm trying to just wait, and do what we are called to do right now.  I guess there's a lesson in patience that's being wrapped in as well! :)

Updates...

Sorry I've been missing from the blogging world.  Life always takes precedence, and lately I've been overwhelmed with life right now.  I have been missing blogging though.  I've had several topics I wanted to write about, but I just need more time! :)

Kids are all doing great right now.  The older two are still struggling with playing nice with one another.  We have constant battles all day.  But realistically, most of the day they play very well together.  I just always seem to remember the fights!  We also started doing "school".  We just read bible stories, do little workbooks, and a lot of coloring.  Just getting them used to sitting still and listening.  They've really been doing very good.  And every morning they ask when we are going to start school, so I guess they are enjoying it!

Rachel is now crawling on her hands and knees, and she's very fast! She's into EVERYTHING!  I think I clean up more after her than Elijah and Hannah.  She's also pulling up on everything, and starting to cruise around the furniture.  She's getting better at going to other people, but she's predominantly still a mama's girl! (One day, I'll get some alone time!)

We are without a van right now.  Well, we still have it, it's just currently not running.  We found out that it has a bad cyclinder head valve that is leaking.  I don't understand all this lingo, but apparantly it has something to do with the motor, and it's bad.  Josh is currently spending all his free time taking the engine apart.  He's been thinking about getting into mechanics lately, and everyone says to just get your hands on it and try. So we figured this was a good chance!  So that's what we've been up too.  Following an instructional book.  And honestly it's been enjoyable.  We've been doing it together, and it's nice to just have an opportunity to be with him.  Any opportunity!  But it does stink going back to one vehicle.

In other news, Josh and I both got smartphones. And I'd like to stay that I'm completely blown away by how advanced this phone is.  I mean, my old phone, which was not a bad phone, is absolutely outdated!  I just can't believe how far phones have come in two years.  It seems so crazy.  But it's nice to be able to do EVERYTHING from my phone.  Except for blog..I haven't figured that out yet.. So I'm still using the old desktop.  That's partly the reason for not blogging lately.  I just never get on here anymore.

Need to run!  Well, I really just need a shower while everyone's happy! :)

Boy oh Boy! Where does the time go?

It's been a month since I blogged last?  Actually, I know exactly where the time went.  Into some precious kiddos!  Into potty training, playing outside alot, playing inside alot lately due to the heat, and much more. Oh, and I can't forget those 3 amazing weeks of us all having an AWFUL stomach bug.  It was great fun! NOT!   It slowly but surely went through all of us, and I was even lucky to get it twice!  Taking care of kids, and being sick yourself is seriously one of the hardest things about being a mother.  There's never any time to rest, so you just have to soldier through.  BUT...we are all in complete health once again, and it really makes me appreciate not being sick! :)

Updates on us: 

Hannah and Elijah are becoming the best of friends. They play together all day.  And although they do have some scuffles throughout the day, they seem to really enjoy one another!  One of my favorite (and not so favorite) things they do is when they are going to bed at night.  I can hear their little voices carrying on a little conversation! It's super adorable!  Well, until it goes on for an hour and then it has to be stopped.  But I still love it just the same.

Hannah is pretty much potty trained! After a long period of trying to wait until she was ready, I finally just dug in my heels and told her it was time!  I said I would write a blog about that ordeal, but time just got away from me!  It took about 3 VERY frustrating days.  Almost to the point of wanting to give up completely.  But then, it was like it just clicked in her head! And she was potty trained from then on out.  She's only had a few accidents, and she even stays dry most nights!  YAY!!!  She still wears a pull up at night, because she's not completely reliable...but she's doing amazing! I'm so very proud of her!

Rachel turned 9 months, and she's changing every day!  We just had a check-up and she weighed 15.8 pounds.  She's 27.5 inches long, and her head is 16.5 inches.  Still very small, but the doctor said she was healthy, and looked really good.  Her size is no indication of how she eats though.  She's ravenous at every meal, and eats almost everything I give her!  I've also started making her food.  Usually I just puree what we have for dinner, and then I also have some days where I just make a lot of her baby food.  She seems to really be liking it!  She's still breastfeeding about 4 times day also.

Rachel's sleeping through the night! This has been the best improvement of all!  Being able to sleep again really changes your outlook on life! haha :)

She's been crawling for about a month now.  And she can go from crawling to sitting up now too.  This makes it easier on her and me! Not easier on the other two though.  haha.  She's usually following them around, and getting into "their" toys.  :)  Recently, she's been trying to pull up on the couch and other furniture as well.  She only gets to about her knees, but she's really trying hard!

Other tricks-  She really likes to dance!  It's adorable.  Anytime I sing or she hears music, she'll sit up and start grooving! I need to get a video, because it's so funny!   She's clapping too, and we are still working on waving bye-bye. 

I've been doing little odds and ends fix-its around the house.  Like painting, and caulking, and anything else I can do. We still have a long way to go, but one day!  Josh has been so busy with work and side jobs, that we've really only been seeing him at night!  But I can't complain about the work!  Our next big project is to finish the addition- starting with the laundry room!  That space is much needed, so I'm getting excited! 

Anyways, i have a little pair of hands pulling at me wanting some attention, so I"ll try to blog again soon!

Sleep training 101

I don't know if anyone else is like this, but I can't remember the hard times of having babies/children. For example, I can't remember how I potty trained Elijah.   I remember it as a distant memory of me going through it, but I can't remember the emotions/feelings or how I even went about it.  I don't know if it's my mind blocking out stressful times, or most likely God allowing the memories to fade so I'll actually have more children! :)

The same goes for sleep training.  You would think that I'd be somewhat of an expert being on my third baby.  This is nowhere near true!  It feels like I'm having to relearn everything.  And every child is different in how they handle it, so I guess you just have to do what you feel is right. 

So, saying all that, the title of this post is in NO WAY trying to tell other people how to get their babies to sleep through the night.  This is just what we did this time, and I would like it as a reference point for myself for the future. :)

Well, we got to that point where something had to be done with Rachel.  Early on, she was actually sleeping through the night.  I thought I was blessed to have a baby that just learned it on her own.  Well then she started waking up once (not a big deal) then it started getting worse and worse and I knew it was just her waking up to be held and comforted (nursed) back to sleep.

So I started researching a lot of different ways of sleep training, and I think I kinda took a little bit of everything. So here's the plan we followed:

After she eats dinner, I let her nurse as much as she wants.  Off and on all evening.  Then about an hour before bedtime, I turn down all the lights and (usually) do a bath.  Then she gets pajamas on, and I nurse her some more if she wants it.  When I see that she starts to get sleepy (she usually starts rubbing her eyes), I lay her in her bed awake and tell her "I love you" and "Goodnight." And then leave the room.

The first night, she did not like this at all.  She cried for a little while.  I think I only can go about 10 minutes before I have to go in to check on her.  And if she gets really upset, I'll go in before that.  But when I do go in, I usually try not to pick her up.  I rub her head and her back until she's calmed down again, and then I leave the room. Then we repeat this process.  The same thing goes for the middle of the night. 

The first night was definitely hard.  It took her about 30 minutes to go to sleep the first time. Then she woke up twice during the night.  The first time it took her about an hour to go back to sleep.  The second time, I caved and just nursed her.  But at least we had cut out one nursing session.

The second night was hard too, but she went to sleep the first time a lot easier.  And then she only woke up once during the night, and it took about an hour to get her back to sleep again.  But then she slept the rest of the night.  And I didn't nurse her at all!

The third night, I think was the hardest.  It was like she was realizing what was going on, and just wanted to see how far she could go before I would break. haha.  I think she woke a total of three times, each taking about 30-45 minutes to get her back to sleep.  I think I even picked her up and rocked her a couple of times that night, but I had decided I was going to cut out nursing all together.  And we did it! 

Since then she's really done awesome!  She goes to bed A LOT easier, and IF she wakes it's like once during the night and we pat her back and she's back asleep!  She usually goes to bed around 9, and then wakes up anywhere between 6-7:30 in the morning in which I will get up and nurse her. If she sleeps during the night, I am TOTALLY ok with that! :)

And we do have hard nights here and there.  One night, she woke up and it took me about 2 hours to get her to sleep.  But I think she was having some gas issues.   But nights like that will just happen sometimes. All in all, it's been a major improvement in the sleep department!   And the other night, when I was up all night with Hannah getting sick, she didn't wake once!  That was definitely a blessing in itself!

And since she's been sleeping through the night better, she's been a much happier baby!  That's been the best thing of all.  She's happier and plays better during the day, instead of just wanting to nurse and be held all day.  I think she was just tired before, all the time!  I understand that, though, because I was too!  Things are definitely looking better!

Next time, I'll post on how Hannah's potty training is going!  We've been busy around here!

Progress is always good

So, lately I've felt pretty emotionally beat up.  I was feeling lonely and unproductive.  And like nothing in life was going my way.  I really was throwing myself a pity party.  I was drained. I have huge self esteem issues, and they always seem to come back when you are at your lowest.  The devil doesn't play fair folks!

I really started feeling it last week, and I felt like everything was spiralling out of control.  I finally had a break-down and confessed to Josh how I was feeling. How I didn't feel like I was getting anything accomplished in life. (I know, I know- Motherhood is a huge responsibility! But sometimes you get to the point where you don't even think you're good at that.) That's where I was.  I function better when I have a goal in mind, and I can see progress.

Josh sat down with me and we talked.  He pointed some very important things out to me.  For one- I wasn't sleeping.  Rachel has literally been getting worse and worse at night.  Waking 3-4 times at night, and staying up for over an hour. Not fun, and I was too drained to even deal with it.  But he convinced me that this is definitely the root of all the issues. And he was right.

I didn't have any energy.  No energy to manage the house, no energy to make friends, no energy for projects. I was just functioning on a very basic level.  If I could get the kids fed and bathed and in bed that was good.  But that's not enough for me. 

So last week, we started some sleep training with Rachel. And to really makes things hard, it felt like the time to start potty training Hannah as well.  Talk about a rough week.  Why not compile it all in one week? haha
So that's what we've been dealing with.  And we are starting to see progress.  In both areas.  And progress is always very, very good! 

I'll write a litte more when I have another chance!

Much needed trip!

Josh and I decided that as soon as the Valdosta house was finished, we would drop everything and take a trip down to the River house. So that's what we did this past weekend! It was so awesome, and very much needed. We just relaxed all weekend. We did some swimming, a lot of playing outside, and took naps as well! It was nice to just be together as a family. And we had a few "adventures" as well. We saw an alligator, a snake, and some deer. We really had a good time- the kids are already asking when we'll be going back! :)

Rachel hanging out on the dock after swimming.

Ready to fish with Daddy.

Trying to fish- nothing was biting.

Ready for lunch- swimming makes you hungry!

I told him if he gave me a REALLY big smile, he could have some more chips. :)

Josh did alot of grilling out!

The kids found a small grill and were cooking us dinner!

Rachel is such a cheeser!

Rachel Grace

I can't believe Rachel is 8 months old now.  In some ways it feels like it's flown by, but in other ways it feels like its dragging.  She's taking her time in reaching milestones, so in some ways it still feels like I still have a newborn.  I really don't think anything is developmentally wrong, I just think she just doesn't really care about doing some things.  I honestly can't believe that she's nearing 1- only 4 more months!  It doesn't seem possible.  I was looking at a developmental chart the other day, and by age 1 they are supposed to be standing and saying a few words--that seems so far away for her!

Here's some new things for her though:

She's finally sitting up on her own!!  This one thing has made life so much easier.  I no longer have to tote her bumbo everywhere we go, or lay a blanket out for her to play on.  I can just sit her down.  This one thing takes away so much pressure and backache!

She's trying to crawl.  I don't think we are very close yet though. She get's up on her elbows, but hasn't got gotten up on her knees.  She keeps her back legs straight, and then kinda pushes with her toes on the floor.  So she kinda just rocks a little in that position.  She's still a roller though.  She just rolls everywhere she wants to go.

She's still doing great eating solids.  Right now her favorite foods are squash and carrots.  She likes them more than any other fruit.  She has been refusing bananas and peaches lately.  And I've never been able to get her to eat peas and green beans.  The faces she makes when I give her foods she dislikes is hilarious though.  She definitely knows how to show emotions!

She's started to imitate us.  She does this cute scrunchy thing with her nose, and blows air out at the same time.  If we do it first, she'll do it too. I tried doing something else with her yesterday.  I was shaking my head, and she started doing it too.  And then she started laughing and smiling, like she understood that she did it.  It was super cute!

She "talks" a lot.  She can say "mamama" and  "dadada" regularly.  I don't really think she knows what she's saying, but we like to pretend she does. :)

Her sleeping at night is still pretty sporadic.  I never know what the night has in store.  We are definitely not sleeping through the night anymore. Sometimes she just wakes up once, and then early in the morning.  Other times we are up several times.  I'm going to have to crack down soon and figure some way to teach her to sleep through the night.  Haven't quite decided what method to use this time.  It's just so easy to nurse her and put her back down.  But it's definitely a large part of her just wanting me.  As soon as I pick her up, she just clings to me.  Kinda like a hug. So, I'm not sure what to do just yet about it.

She is extremely attached to Josh and I these days.  She really doesn't let anyone else hold her.  Which is so frustrating.  It would be nice to get a little break, or for Josh and I to have a date alone.  But...she screams..alot.  I would hate to put anyone through that.  One day...

She's very social. I found out recently, that she's usually crying because no one is right next to her.  If she's sitting at the table with us, or if the kids are playing on the floor with her..she's so content.  But as soon as they leave her, she has a fit.  So usually she's just moved around to different rooms and different apparati. That way she really stays very happy! :)

Otherwise, she's pretty laid back.  She likes to just watch Elijah and Hannah. And she'll just laugh and laugh if they play with her. 

 Playing on the floor with Elijah

 Getting really good at sitting up!

 Now that she's sitting up better, we started putting her in the high chair.  She seems to like it!

Helping mommy and daddy work in Valdosta!

I can't keep up!

I have so many things I've been wanting to say lately, but never enough time to just sit down and write.  I write these few sentences now as the kids are cleaning up their toys before naptime.  Then when they wake up, we are all going to my mom's for dinner.  Tomorrow, we have a play date.  Thursday, we might be getting together with a couple who Josh works with.  And Friday, we are leaving to go to the RIVER!  Friday can't come soon enough.  We have not had a family vacation for a while.  I honestly can't remember a time where we've spent the whole weekend together.  I am beyond excited!!

Updates-

Rachel turned 8 months today!  I can't believe it.  When I have some time, I'll write a whole blog on what's been going on with her.

We finished the rental house in Valdosta!!!!  Josh and I went on Sunday, and worked all day on it.  Painting, cleaning, and just a lot of last minute stuff.  And a young guy came by and talked to us about renting, so I think we may have it rented as well.  This is such a load off!  This has been the most stressful thing in our lives right now.  Hence the vacation to the river this weekend!  But it looks AMAZING!  Josh did such a good job.  It looks WAY better than when we even lived there...go figure!

Oh, I got a van! I don't think i've updated about that!  It's another Odyssey.  A year older than my other one, and a few more miles.  But almost everything else is the same, and I love it!  And the best part- It's paid for!!!  We have definitely been blessed through that whole situation.

Anyways, life is pretty normal otherwise! Lots of playing outside and swimming. Summer always seems so hectic, why is that? 

Well, I gotta go and get some kiddos in the bed!

Sweet moments with Hannah

I've known for a while now that Hannah's love language is touch.  She's always in my lap or touching me in some way.  And she's really the best cuddler!  When she's sitting with me on the couch, she's either rubbing my arm or my back.  And she absolutely loves hugs and kisses!

I spend a good portion of the day in the kitchen, and she's usually right between my legs.  If not there, then she's never very far.  It can get frustrating at times, because she makes it hard to get things done.  But I try to remember that this is how she's expressing love to me. 

The other day I was making dinner, and she was in there with me.  She kept pushing on my legs, and I was playing with her by putting my knee up and pushing back.  She thought that was funny for a while, and then she wanted to stop.  She kept calling "Mama?" and I would say "What?" without really looking down at her.  That wasn't satisfying her, and she kept calling my name. I finally looked down, and said "Yes, baby?" and she looked right in my eyes and said "Me wuvs you." 

Talk about heart melting.  This was the best moment.  I just sat down right there and just held her and cried. 

The expression of love from your children is absolutely the best gift a mother can recieve.

7 months!

Wow! I cannot believe 7 months has gone by so quickly!  Rachel just turned 7 months old this past Saturday, and it's so hard to believe.

She's a little behind on her doctors' appointments, so we just had her 6 month check-up about 2 weeks ago.  She weighed 13.9 pounds, and was 26 inches long.  And her head was 15.75 inches.  Still pretty small on her weight and head size, like 5th percentile.  But she's in the 50th percentile for her length.  The doctor wasn't concerned though, because everything else looked really good.

Here's a glimpse at what Rachel has been up to:

• She's started "talking" a lot more.  She now says more consonant sounds.  Her favorite sayings are:  "ma ma ma ma"  and "ba ba ba ba."  She says "ma ma" a lot when she's crying.  It really sounds like she knows what she's saying, and trying to call me.
• She is a rolling machine.  I've never had a baby like this, but she will roll all over the floor.  And so quickly! She really has no interest in the process of crawling. I guess she gets around fine, so why should she try anything else!
• She's a great eater!  She's still nursing really well, and the majority of the time.  But we've been doing solids as well at night.  She eats most everything.  The only things she doesn't seem to like are peas, green beans, and bananas.  We've only been doing solids once a day so far, but I think I'm going to start doing it twice a day soon.
• I'd say she's gone from being a great sleeper to an average sleeper.  She usually goes to sleep around 9 now.  Sometimes she wakes up once around 2, and sometimes she'll sleep through until about 6:30.  It goes about half and half.  Sometimes when she wakes up in the night, I can rub her back and she'll go back to sleep for a while, but most of time she just wants to be nursed.  It's not too awful, so usually I'll just nurse her back to sleep. She takes pretty good naps though.  
• She's still not sitting up. I'm not too concerned, because it seems as though she's just not interested.  It would certainly make my life a lot easier though.  We "practice" every day, and she'll sit up for a few seconds but then she rears back like she would just rather be laying down. And rolling. :)
• She does like to sit up in her bumbo, and her new favorite thing is playing in her exersaucer.  She plays with all the toys, and jumps and squeals. 
• She's still very much a mama's girl.  She definitely prefers me, but she will easily go to Josh as well.  But most of the time, if anyone else even gets close, she sticks out her bottom lip and starts crying.  We've been trying to leave her in the nursery at church, and she only lasts for about 5 minutes!  She does love her older brother and sister though, and sometimes they can get her laughing hysterically. It's so cute!
• The latest, not so cute, thing she's doing is screaming when we take something away from her.  I've been noticing it for a while, but last night when she was taking her bath she got ahold of the cup.  I was letting her hold it, but then I needed it to rinse her off.  I took it away, and she started screaming.  Then if I would give it back, she would immediately calm down.  I tried this several times and she did it every time!  How do they learn this behavior so quickly!?!

                                             Playing outside                       

                             She fell asleep with her knees up, so cute!

 

Hanging out with Daddy

Smile!

Conclusion - Tweeking..

Recently, I've felt like everything in our lives was not working. But through everything that has been happening the last few weeks, I feel like God is using it all to change me.  For the better.  I like to call it "tweeking."  And although it's been hard and emotional, I know that it's for the best.

I know that God gave me the desire to read The Total Money Makeover.  I tried so many times before, and this time I just couldn't put it down.  And ever since my mindset changed about money, it feels like things began to work out.  I haven't been worried about finances for the last month, and this is so foreign.  I've literally worried about money for a year now.  And now there's freedom.  And hope.  I'm so excited about the future.  One of Dave Ramsey's sayings is "Live like no one else, so you can live like no one else."  Meaning you might make sacrifices now, but eventually you'll be able to have more and not be in debt.  I had to have a total mind change.  I was always seeing what other people had, and wanting it.  We live in a small two bedroom house, and I was always thinking about new houses or bigger houses.  And yes, it's hard.  But I'd rather live here, than worry about how the mortgage is going to be paid.  And more importantly, I'm blessed to have a home!

The accident really made me realize how important life is.  I know it sounds corny.  But things can happen so quickly.  I've never been in an accident going at high speeds, and it could have easily been a lot worse.  I've also never been in an accident with my children.  I'm so very thankful that they were all ok.  I can't even imagine my life without them.  It has really made me treasure all the moments with them- good and bad.

Hannah's tooth adventure really made me realize that I don't have control.  Life just happens, and I can't be afraid of it.  It may not have happened the way I wanted it too, but she's completely fine!  And she was so brave.  I would have never guessed that about her.  :)

I've been reading another blog called the "Time-warp Wife."  It's all about how to be a godly wife in modern times. What really got me interested was the cleaning section.  I do love to clean, but my house felt like it was overtaking me.  Not being here for a week started it all.  I love how she breaks things down by the day, so that you aren't overwhelmed.  And she even has lists to do deep cleaning every 6 months or so.  I love it!  But she also talks about how as a wife, we should have duties.  And I completely agree.  Josh works so hard all day, that I want him to be comfortable when he comes home.  That's the job God has given me as a stay at home mom.  Well, that and taking care of my children.  And I'm not perfect, and on bad days things might get neglected.  But I want to try my hardest. With cleaning the house, with making dinner, and especially with my children. 

So, yeah,  God is definitely tweeking me.  As a wife, as a mother, as a person.  But I still have a long way to go.  I still have a lot to do to get to the place I want to be.  And I'm still struggling in other areas.  Like in friendships.  (I honestly don't feel like we have any close friends.)  And in my self-image of myself.  (I'm trying desperately to shed some weight that just won't budge. I'm partly to blame. I eat when stressed.)

So, in conclusion to these crazy weeks, I'm going to work on better planning of my time. I need to start practicing self-control.  I think I'm going to give facebook a rest for a while too.  It's just a distraction for me.  And not even a good one. It makes me feel lonely.  And fake.  I will blog sometimes though, because it helps me to get my thoughts out! 

But that's all for now.  Thank you to all who followed our crazy adventures! I'm going to go enjoy this wonderful weather with my children! :)

Part 6 - Things happen!

We found out that the van was totalled, but we were still waiting on the insurance company to give us a check.  During this time, Josh's mom was letting us borrow her van some of the time.  She had to use it herself some too, so we were passing it back and forth. 

I don't really need a vehicle most days anyways.  It's only there for conveinence really, and for emergencies.  Last week, I didn't have much going on, so she came and got it on Tuesday and was going to keep it.  I told her I didn't need it.  Never say never.

Tuesday afternoon, Elijah and Hannah were playing outside on the trampoline.  I was watching them and they were playing very well together.  I told them to be nice, while I went to check on Rachel inside.  She had woken up, so I was getting her out of her bed when I heard them crying.  I went to check, and Elijah said that they had bumped heads.  This happens so much around here, I just looked at his head and sent him on.  I checked Hannah next, and saw that she had a little blood on her lip.  I started checking her mouth, and found that she had cracked a tooth!!!  One of her front bottom ones. 

I called the dentist to see what I needed to do about it, and they made me an appointment for in the morning.  Josh's mom came and picked us up the next morning, and off we went.  She wouldn't let me touch it alot the night before, but she let me look at it that morning..and it was worse than I thought.  That poor little tooth was shattered, and on Eli's head!

We got to the dentist, and she did so good!  She sat still for the X-rays, and didn't cry at all.  She hadn't even complained about the tooth up to this point.  She's such a trooper!  The dentist came in, and said that it was indeed cracked and that we were going to have to go to a specialist because of her age.  They made us an appointment that afternoon in Tifton. 

We went home and ate lunch and got ready to leave again.  Abbie came over to watch Elijah, and Mom came over to take us to Tifton. 

The dentist was incredibly nice.  He told me that it was going to have to be pulled eventually, and it could either happen today or later. I decided that we should go ahead, because I didn't want it to cause her any pain. They got started right away.  They numbed her gums with a swab, then started her on the laughing gas.  She was so silly. She kept putting her hands on my face, and laughing hysterically.  Then he came back and numbed her gums some more with the needle.  She did soo good.  She was impressing me greatly!

They let that sit for a while, and then he came in to pull it. They had to put a thing in her mouth to hold it open, and she didn't like that at all.  She did start getting antsy then.  We had to hold her down a little. But he pulled it really quickly!  He said it was good that we went ahead and pulled it, because it had cracked very close to the root and would have caused her some pain.   But she cried a little, and as soon as they let her get up and I could hold her, she immediately calmed down.  And not once has she complained about it!

This was one of the hardest moments I've experienced as a mom though.  I was an emotional wreck that day.  The fear of the unknown and if it would cause her to be emotionally damaged from it all.  I HATE dentists, so seeing my child go through that was very rough.  I just felt guilty, and sad.  Guilty that I had let this happen. Even though, I know things will always happen.  You can't have that kind of fear!  I was also sad, because she was missing a tooth.  I know, it sounds so vain.  But it's much deeper than that.  They come out of the womb so perfect.  Everything is perfect. No scars, no bruises.  And then life happens. They get hurt, they bump their head, sometimes they even have to get stitches.  But when those things happen for the first time, it's hard.  Their little perfect bodies have to go through pain, and the scars show what they went through.  I feel silly even admitting this.  But I'll leave it at - it was a hard day!

Hannah is completely fine though.  I honestly don't even think she knows she's missing a tooth. It hasn't caused her any problems at all!!  And because the dentist said she couldn't use a sippy cup, we've been mastering the skill of using real cups this week! :) 

Still a cutie, even without the tooth!

Part 5 - The surprise!

After the state patrolman finally got there and asked me what happened, and surveyed the scene, they finally let us go.  The babies and I rode home with Josh's parents.  On the way, I realized that they hadn't been home yet!  For some reason I thought they went home, and then came to the accident.  So they still had no clue what we had been up to!

We arrived, and Josh's dad went in first.  I just saw his back as he was going in, and he really didn't look overjoyed.  Uh oh.  Josh and I and his mom were getting the kids out of the van, and we came in a little before his mom.  She was speechless!  She came in so hesitantly. (It was probably the amount of people that had gathered and were the first thing you saw when you came in!)  But she just stood there for a long time, with her mouth open!  She just kept walking around with her mouth open a little looking at everything!  I'm so glad that she liked it.  (It was mostly for her anyways!)  Dad eventually came around and said that he liked it too though. I'm sure it was a lot to handle seeing it for the first time!

Here are some after pictures of the house:

So, we stayed the rest of the evening and just hung out with his family.  Denise and Jacob, and Rebekah were still in town so we just sat around and talked mostly.  We went home a little later, and I was exhausted.  The full week of work, plus the emotions of the wreck and the surprise.  I just fell in bed that night!

The next week was full of dealing with the van situation.  Thankfully, we had full coverage on it!  I spent most of the week talking to several people from State Farm.  And I had to go up to the body shop alot to sign alot of papers.  All week, we didn't know what was going to happen with it.  They finally got the estimate to fix it finalized on Friday.  Monday, we heard from State Farm.  They were totalling it.

I can't believe the emotions I had towards that car.  But I was seriously so sad to lose it.  The previous week, it came into my thoughts several times that we just needed to sell it.  I know that was God asking me to give it up, but I kept resisting.  And looking back, it feels like it just took physical force to just take it away from me!  But it really worked out great.  We got WAY more than we paid for it!  And we were able to pay off the rest of the loan, and have enough left over to buy another car outright! Praise God! No more car payments!  Now we are just in the process of finding another car. 

TO BE CONTINUED...

Part 4- It happens so fast...

***Sidenote:  I really don't mean to drag this out and irritate you all! Rachel's bed and the computer are in the same room, and I only have limited times of being on it.  Ideally I would write when she's sleeping, but it just doesn't work! Please forgive me :)  ***

We have left the party, I had all the kids in their carseats, about to pull out, when Josh calls and says that his parents are about 45 minutes away and I need to leave now.  Already on top of it, I feel like I'll be there in plenty of time!

For extra time though, I decided to take a back road that is more of a straight shot to their house.  This road always makes me a little nervous. It's got alot of curves, and it's real narrow. On top of that, I didn't realize that they had just repaved a portion of it.  I was nearing the end of the road, and my phone rang.  I glanced down for a second to find my phone, and my right tire went a little off the road.  This happens sometimes because the road is so narrow, so it wasn't a big deal.  But I was on the new portion that was recently paved, and there was a big drop off.  When I tried to get back on smoothly, there was a lip and I just couldn't get it back on the road. 

All of a sudden, I tried to pull it back on and I swerved back onto the road.  Out of fear, I swerved back the other way and overcorrected. I went off the right side of the road again, and then lost all control.  We swerved back into the road almost sideways, went several feet, hit a curve in the road sign, and into the right ditch and hit a fence.

It happened so fast. So fast actually, that my phone was still ringing.  I was in shock of what just happened.  I picked up my phone, saw that it was Denise and answered.  The babies were screaming, and I was freaking out.  I tried to open my door, and I couldn't.  I just remember saying to her, "We just wrecked, and I'm stuck in the car.  Send somebody." This must have freaked her out, looking back on it.  But all I could think about was getting to the babies and getting out, and I was stuck!  I knew she would let Josh know. 

I tried opening the passenger door, and it was stuck too!  I climbed over the seat, and went back to the babies. They were all crying.  Hannah was hysterical, and Elijah was starting to calm down when I got back to him.  I got them both out of their seats, and saw that they were ok.  The only door I could get open was the left sliding door.  I got it open and then got the two older ones out.  Rachel was wimpering the whole time, and when I got to her I realized that her side door was what hit the sign.  The window had busted, and she was completely covered in glass.  I just grabbed her whole seat, and we all made it to the side of the road.  I just wanted to be as far away from the van as possible, because I didn't know what was damaged or if it would catch on fire or what.  (maybe I watch too many action movies..)

We got far enough away, and I picked Hannah up.  Eli and Rachel were calm now, but Hannah was still screaming.  I realized she was physically ok, and just real scared.  I held her for a while, and she calmed down.  I sat her down on the grass, so I could check on Rachel.  She was laying there perfectly content, but with glass covering her.  I carefully got her out of her seat, and got most of the glass off of her.  I looked her over for cuts, and she had one small scrape on her forehead.  Otherwise she seemed to be fine!

At that time, a man came walking up.  He said that he lived a little ways down, and he was outside and heard it all.  He had called 911.  Another man pulled over to help.  These two men were soooo nice.  They just talked to me and calmed me down.  Hannah was still crying a little, and I realized that she had lost a shoe in the whole ordeal.  One of the men saw and went and found it for her.  They got me to sit down. And then Josh came.  I started to calm down then. 

A policeman showed up, and I told him what happened.  Then an ambulance came.  They looked over everyone, and looked over Rachel.  He cleaned up the spot on her forehead, and said that it was just a small scrape.  Everyone was very friendly and just wanted to help.  Josh's parents came too, because we were going to need a ride home.  The policeman came back over and said that looking at my tire marks, it looked like I just overcorrected like I said.  But because we were in the county, we had to wait for the State Patrol to come before we could leave.  So we just all sat and talked for a while waiting.

The policeman also said that I held control really good, because looking at my tire marks we should have flipped.  I know this isn't true.  Because I remember when we were going sideways, I just let go of the wheel.  I wasn't controlling anything.  I know God was there protecting us.  He was holding His hand on top of the van.  And looking at where we landed, He guided us into that ditch.  We landed RIGHT between two large trees. Directly in between so that I couldn't open either side door.  It would have been so much worse if we had hit a tree.  We hit the sign so hard, that it crushed the side door and shattered the glass, but I honestly don't really remember hitting it.  And He placed a shield over Rachel.  She was literally covered in glass, but had one nick that never bled again after it was cleaned.  We all walked away with not even a bruise.  God was definitely protecting us.

 

TO BE CONTINUED...

Part 3- Finishing up the makeover!

Ok, so where did we leave off?

We had worked all day Friday, and I left around 9 that night. There was still a hole in the wall, but Josh was going to stay late and work on it.  All of the painting was pretty much completed, except of course for the rail that hadn't been built yet. The only other things needed to be done were moving furniture back into place, hanging pictures on the walls, and of course, ALOT of clean-up.  I needed to go home and get the kids in bed.  They did super awesome all week, but I could see that it was starting to wear on them.  We also had a birthday party to go to the next day, so I wanted them to be refreshed for that.

So, the plan for me was to go home that night, and not come back in the morning.  They could do a lot of work themselves, and I could give the babies a much needed break and an early nap before the party.  Then I would go over there after the party to help with last minute cleaning, and picture hanging. We had plenty of time because we didn't expect his parents back until late the next night.  Seemed like a great plan!

Josh stayed and worked on the rail until late that night, and then woke up and went back over there in the morning to finish.  Everything seemed to be going smoothly, and we just did our own thing at the house.  Until I got a text message from Abbie.  They had just heard from her parents, and they were going to be home around 4. "Um, what???"  "4 in the afternoon?" "Yep."  We weren't ready! 

So, the only thing they needed me to help with was hanging the pictures, so Rebekah came over and watched the babies and I ran over there.  Jacob and I were flying around the house! We were a great team! I told him where, and he would just put a screw in, and up went the picture!  Probably not the best way to do picture hanging, but it was working!  We got all the pictures up in record time, and I came back home to get the kids ready for the party.  Rebekah had fed them and put them down for naps, so things were still running rather smoothly for this bump in the road!


Oh yeah, and they had finished the rail AND painted it the night before! This was what I walked in on, and was so proud of my husband. It looked amazing!

 
As Josh was finishing up with the rail, and Abbie was cleaning, me and Jacob hung pics!

.

So off we went to Thomasville for the party.  It was kinda nice getting out of the chaos for a little while. I had just planned on leaving the party a little early so I could make it back in time. The kids had a great time! They played on the swing set and ran around, but the most fun was had on the bouncy house! (But only when all the other kids were off of it! haha)  We had cake, did presents, and then it was time to leave.  I left around 3:30, and Josh called as I was pulling out and said his parents were about 45 minutes away.  So I had plenty of time to get there right when they came in! 

TO BE CONTINUED...