A Petting Zoo Like No Other!

     A few days ago, my sweet children were playing outside. It was a good day for catching critters, so they decided to set up a petting zoo. When they had everything together, they called my husband and me over for the grand opening. And boy was it grand!!!
     Across the entrance, they had a ribbon tied (some bias tape from my sewing stash). Silas cut the "ribbon" and we all clapped! Oh, but that wasn't all! You know how sometimes doves are released? Well, Silas opened his net and out flew a dragonfly across the clear blue sky! He worked with what he had, you know. Ha! We gasped in amazement!
      Then we were allowed to enter and see the exhibits. First up was a beautiful turtle which Camden named Vinder, because his coloring reminded Camden of a vine. Yes, my kids are awesome!

 Next, was a cup of worms. Oookay then.

 Finally, were two "racing lizards" named Lightning and Cutie. They caught lightning (the super sized one) the day before, but didn't want to let him go until they caught another racing lizard to race him against. (I have a policy that we only keep wild critters for 24 to 48 hours. There have been a couple exceptions though. Thankfully another racing lizard was found the next day, and I didn't have to think about making an exception.)
Lightning is on the top left and Cutie is on the bottom left.

 The kids are constantly catching little animals around our place, but I enjoyed seeing them make them a part of their creative play! They have also used them for their emergency animal rescue, but sadly bugs (especially grasshoppers) usually don't make it out of the rescue station alive. I wish I had caught pictures of the ribbon cutting and the dragonfly release, but I wasn't expecting all of that. But oh how I love their creativity!

A Bliss Post

Today...A post for Bliss.
Age: 3 years 7 months

1. Bliss' current favorite book is Inside, Outside, Upside Down. It's a Bernstein Bear book. Her favorite quote, "Momma! Momma! I went to town, inside, outside, upside down!" She has to say that part. Her hand usually goes over my mouth just in case I might try to steal her part!

2. She likes "the ice song" (Frozen Heart) from Frozen, and wants to listen to it over and over and over. The other three kids like it even more than she does. Pretty sure most people just skip over that one on the sound track.

3. Jungle Book 2 is a favorite movie right now. She likes the bear and the girl.

4. She loves to sing songs. I love to hear her sing, but am not sure others can appreciate it quite like I do. Ha! Ha!
5. Bliss has some cysts on her vocal chords. That is what causes her to sound so raspy. The doctors are working on a plan to get to the bottom of everything so that she can begin to heal.
6. Bliss is in Speech Therapy and, though she still has a long way to go, she's making huge progress!
7. When she needs to use the restroom she says, "I need to go peep."
8. She nicknames people. Sometimes on purpose, and sometimes because she can't pronounce their real name and it comes out pretty comical!
9. Bliss loves wearing leggings, but calls them panty hose.
10. Her current favorite color is purple.
11. She got a cute little haircut.

12. She likes both, but prefers almond milk to cow's milk.
13. She has one volume. LOUD!
14. Bugs and lizards fear her.
15. She has a My Little Pony towel her dad surprised her with. She calls it her towel blanket. That way she can cover up with it at night. She will not use it as a towel.

 

16. She is uncomfortable being complimented on her looks. Not sure why. That is a bit difficult for me. Love everything about my baby girl. And that includes her physical appearance.

 

Ta Ta for now!



 

 

Little Miss Bliss Turned Three!

 

    Well, better late than never. A month and a half ago,  my baby girl had her third birthday. I will post about her little party later. But today, I celebrate my Lovely and her past year. When I found out I was carrying a little girl, I prayed for her to be all of the things I thought a little girl should be. Thankfully, God gave me everything He knew our His little girl should be. We feel so blessed that God chose us to be her parents. As I did every time I was expecting, I prayed that this sweet little child would grow to do BIG things for the Lord. I can't wait to see what He has in store for Miss Bliss.
   
    So what has she been up to this past year? Well, she grew hair! Yay!! This is her on Christmas just a couple months after her second birthday.

 

 

    And this is her, in the first part of August, just a couple of months before her third birthday!  What a difference seven and a half months make!  

 

     And she even had two trims between these pictures to keep things even. This is a picture of her first hair cut!

 

 

It's even longer now!

 

 

     With the arrival of Zeb, she has become quite the little momma. She likes to do everything with him and for him and to him, but she does not understand gentle, so we really have to watch her with him. She really enjoys her baby dolls too, but will tell you that Zebby is her baby!

 

     She likes a little tea party and a good book before bed most nights. She likes books with real pictures that we can point to and label. My boys preferred this during their second year too. She also likes her purse book and pony books. When being tucked in at night, she has an order to how she wants her blankets stacked. We never know what she is going to sleep with, but she always has to have something. Sometimes, she wants a purse and a book, sometimes a doll, sometimes Curious George, sometimes My Little Ponies or La Loopsy Ponies (they are just so cute!).We just never know.
     Bliss is a little meat eater. She can do without the bread, which is something she did NOT get from me. She also loves fruit like all of my kids, and would eat it all day long. She likes chocolate too.
     Her favorite color is pink, which makes me happy. We were looking through a jewelry catalog a few weeks back, and when we turned to the pages full of pink jewelry, I thought I was going to have to get a paper sack for her to breathe into. She was beyond excited! When asking her what flavor of something she wants, she says pink. Ha! Ha! I wasn't aware pink was a flavor, but that is all that matters to her. Crazy girl!
     Having three brothers, she is rough and tough and doesn't take much from anyone. Anything they can do, she can do too!

     Her favorite DVDs are Curious George and one of our Scholastic DVDs that has "Dry Bones" on it. I think that song seems like an odd choice for a little girl, but she can't get enough of it.

            
     She likes to wear boots and has many pairs. She is wearing legwarmers over these boots. I just love legwarmers!

 

 She likes playing outside, and doesn't mind getting dirty. Here, she stole my "healthy" ice cream cone! Stinker!

 

 Bliss also likes going to town, only when she wants to leave home, she says she wants to "go home". I think she is driving to T.J. Maxx in this picture. Ha! Ha!

     She is obsessed with her dad right now, and that is fine with Matt. He loves it! When we got home from therapy one day, she woke up from a small nap refusing to get out of the van until Daddy could unbuckle her. He was at work. I think she would have waited too, if I had let her. Here she is that day crying for her daddy. Just pitiful.

 

She is also a loud talker. I think that comes from the Parker side of the family. Ha! Ha! She has some phrases that she says that are sooo cute. "Close your eyes...." is our favorite phrase. You would just have to hear her say it to understand! She does has some articulation issues and is taking speech therapy for them. We have heard from more than one person that she sounds like a little minion. I...would have to agree! Sweet girl!

 

     While this does not cover all about how Bliss has changed and grown and stayed the same this past year, it is a pretty good start. Oh yeah! I almost forgot. I like her little "cheese" face too!!! 





 

 

Can we keep 'em?

     When we were expecting our first born, we planned for his arrival. We decorated his nursery and thought of a name. We bought his little clothes and hung them up on little hangers. We collected tiny diapers and soft little blankets. We were blessed with baby showers and had pretty much everything we needed. We even secured his carseat in the car so it would be ready for him. All that, and I guess we still didn't truly understand what was about to happen.
     When Silas was born, we were instantly amazed and in love. I NEVER wanted to put him down. When someone else was holding him, I missed him SO much. Matt and I did everything together, because we didn't want to miss out. We changed his tiny diapers, and put on the tiny little hospital shirt, and heard the tiny little baby noises, and I just remember thinking, "Wow! I am so completely overwhelmed with love for this little chunk of precious." He was so soft and smoochable and beautiful. I just. never. dreamed.
     Then the day came to be discharged. We were loading our cart with all of our things, and I remember Matt and I just looking a each other both knowing that we were thinking the same thing..."This is it? He's ours? We get to take him home?" It was. He is. We could. I knew this because I asked the nurse as much when she returned. She confirmed that he was in fact ours to take home and keep and raise. We were the most blessed parents in the world. The most precious thing ever, and he was ours! There are no words...

Silas

Then we were blessed enough to repeat this process again...

Camden

 

 

And again...

Bliss

 

 

 

And again.



Zeb

 

 

While we knew what to expect after our first experience of labor and delivery and postpartum, it was still such an amazing and overwhelming feeling with the others. I don't take it for granted. I thank the Lord for my babies, and for the special kind of love He gives to daddys and mommas.

 

 



Softening the Blow... with Trout

     Camping is always great fun for our family. We only go once a year (so far anyway) as a family, but Matt and the big boys also go on a camping trip in the spring. They have a blast, and are always looking forward to the next. Recently, though, my husband has been preparing to go on a camping trip with his brother and a friend…without the boys.
      When Camden saw Matt making some “new inventions” to try while fishing, he got so excited! He knew that kind of fishing meant camping. A few days later, when Matt found out about Camden’s assumption and broke the news to the boys that he would be leaving them at home this time, the reactions were pitiful. Silas got a bit teary eyed, but tried not to let it show, and handled the news with integrity. I was proud of him.
      Then there was Camden, who had already built his excitement up thinking he was going camping. Oh, how the tears flowed! It was a silent cry at that. When Camden gets upset, he usually runs off to someone’s bed (this time Bliss’) and lies there for a long while. He just laid silently, tears flowing. When Camden’s heart is broken, the look on his face does a number on us (especially me). Our hearts break too. This is true with all of our children, of course. But Camden has the most pitiful heartbroken look, by far, when he is sad.
      Since Matt was going to be gone for a couple days, he wanted to do some things with the kids before he left. The final thing he decided he would do was take us all trout fishing, which requires a little bit of traveling for us to get to. The first spot we reached had too many people, so we tried another. Not one single bite the whole time we were there, but the kids did work hard making a “frog habitat”. I know the frogs are forever grateful.
     After a while, we decided to pack up and go to another city and try some fishing spots there. When we reached our favorite spot, the water was too low. So, we moved on to our final option. Matt said there was one area that might be deep enough to fish in. We decided to give it a shot and unloaded our gear.
    The shore was made of soggy, muddy sand. Camden decided to pick some up to feel, and then he washed his hands in the water. He loved watching how the sand mixture dispersed into the water. He said it looked like what a sting ray does, whatever that means. He then decided to scoop more up and repeat over and over just to watch it in the water. Then Bliss joined in.

 Before we knew it, Camden and Bliss were each using one of Camden’s shoes as a pail.
They would scoop up water and pour it out.

 

They got wet! The water was cold by the way, but the kids didn’t let it bother them. At least somebody was actually doing what they came to do.

Matt did catch something not too long after we got there. Someone else's lure.

 Zeb just had a great time exploring! He played with rocks and sticks and rocks and dirt and rocks and water (and a shoe)!

 

  Sister bear put a little mud on Zeb’s back.

  Zeb put a little mud in his mouth.

  Once when he was on all fours trying to pick up another find out of the water, he slipped and took a face dive into the water. I picked him up promptly, but he was not happy. The water was cold, so that’s why he is stripped down to his diaper. He recovered quickly, but when Bliss slipped and fell, and got a bit more wet than she had planned, I took her and Zeb to our van and changed them into something dry. Of course, when we made it back down to where the boys were, they had caught a fish while I was gone. Matt took a picture for me, and then they let it go. It was too small to keep.

 

 

      I heard Matt say to the boys something like, “Now, when did we catch a fish?” Their answers were “When we were quiet.”, and “When we were out of the water.” Ha! Ha!

 

      When Camden slipped and fell, he was ready to go change too. So, he and the littles came with me to the van. Everyone got dry and seated, and then we waited for the devoted fishermen to catch “one last fish.” After a while, up they came. Silas, got all dry, Matt packed up, and we headed home.

     So, though the actual fishing was not successful, the fishing trip was very successful. The kids had a great time, and almost everyone fell asleep on the way home after a hard day of play.  We got some quality time with Matt before his trip, and, while it didn’t make up for the boys not getting to go camping, I think it lessened the blow a little. A little.

A Huge Surprise! - Bliss' Birth Story

     When I went to my post-natal check-up after Camden was born, my doctor told me that when Matt and I were ready for another little one, to let him know.  There were certain medicines that I would need to take to keep the baby healthy right from the start. We kept that in mind.
     In the mean time, after much discussion and prayer, we decided to become foster parents (I will dedicate another post to this story later on). During our second placement, I began to feel really weird. I thought my body was really messed up. At one point (because I'm usually pretty in tune with my body), I even thought, "If I didn't know any better, I'd think I was pregnant...Nah!" After a while, Matt became concerned too, and told me to make a doctor's appointment. I was planning on it, but decided to take a pregnancy test before I called, knowing that would be the first question they would ask. I wanted to have my ducks in a row. When two lines immediatly showed up, I handed the test to Matt, speechless. He looked at it and said, "Test again." So, I did, getting the same result.
     Tears just flowed, because it was too late in the evening to call a doctor. I felt like a horrible mom. I just kept thinking, " If only I had tested a couple of weeks ago. I could already have been on medicine." It's just that it seemed impossible. Things just didn't add up. After puttings all of the kids to bed, I sank into my own bed with a heavy heart, praying for my baby.
     The next morning, Matt woke me up before leaving for work. He said, "Take another test." I did (Thank goodness for three packs). I gave it to him while he was standing by the door ready to leave. He looked at the two lines, turned around and left for work without uttering a word. I'm telling you, we were shocked!
     I called my OB as soon as the office opened. I told them I was pregnant, and needed some medicine. They told me that the doctor was out of town, and that I'd have to wait for him to write the prescription when he got back. I couldn't make anyone understand. I cried to them, letting them know that I could not lose another baby. They said they couldn't help me. I had to figure something out. That's it! My Mom! I try to wait to tell people that I'm expecting when I'm further along, but I also needed help. I didn't want to tell her over the phone, so I drove to the hospital where she works. I told her I was expecting, and that I couldn't get in touch with my doctor to get meds. She stepped up handled things. She called another doctor, explained the situation, and got my medicine prescribed right then. She also got me in to see the doctor very quickly. I took my sister-in-law with me to my first appointment. Matt couldn't get off work, and I didn't want to go by myself in case there may have been bad news.
     The doctor gave me an ultrasound. Do you know what? Everything was fine. [ INSERT GIANT SIGH AND TEARS OF RELIEF HERE] The baby looked great! Since it was nothing short of God's divine intervention that I was pregnant, then why hadn't I figured out that God had this handled too?
      To let you know how much more of a God thing this was, you should know that out of my grandmother-in-law's three grandkids, every single one of their wives were expecting. My due date was October 27, another's was also October 27th, and the other's was November 27th. That's crazy to me!
     When I started showing, we decided to share the news by sending out invitations. The card said something like:

You're Invited

What: A Birthday Party

When: Sometime around October 27th

Where: Baptist Medical Center

R.S.V.P.: (I put our phone numbers here)

     We stuck them in the mail, and headed off to Branson. You wouldn't believe the calls we got while we were there. Some people called with uncontrolled laughter, some with shock, some with disbelief, some were like, "Is this saying what I think it's saying?" The cards were a success! When each person called, it was like we got to celebrate all over again. It was definitely my favorite reveal!
     The rest of the pregnancy went great as usual. Toward the end, my doctor started talking about an early induction. If you've read my other posts, you know that I have big babies. She was just trying to save me from a c-section. I really like to go into labor on my own, though, so I begged my doctor to give me a little longer. She agreed, but gave me a deadline. I had been having contractions for a few weeks, but they were changing me slowly. 
     On a Sunday, when we got home from church, Mom called me up. She was bored, so we decided to go to the hospital and have someone check on my progress. We stopped and ate Subway on the way. We got there around 2:00 or 2:30. When the nurse checked me, she said, "Raven, what were you dialated  at your check-up the other day?"
     Me: "She said a two. Why? What am I? Still a two?"
     Nurse: "Six."
     Um...say what? Did she just say six? Breathe Raven. Collect yourself. "Okay. We'll go home, so I can help Matt get the boys ready. Then I'll ride back with him." 
     Nurse: "You can't leave. You're in labor."
     Me: "I don't feel in labor. Can I hang out in Little Rock for a while?"
     Nurse: "I am going to go call the doctor." [Exit Nurse]
     I scrambled to get myself together and then marched myself right out to that desk. I heard the nurse tell my doctor my status, and then that I wanted to go home and get everything together and come back. Then I heard my doctor laugh. I figured that meant I wasn't going anywhere.
     I called Matt to let him know that I was aparently in labor, and that he would need to put the clothes in the dryer and get the boys ready and head my way. Well,... Matt flipped out. The boys weren't dressed, and Camden had just poured Kool-Aid in his hair. This was not going as planned. I hoped Matt remembered to put the clothes in the dryer. He got there a little after 4:00 I think (about the time I  actually started  feeling like I was in labor), and about two and a half hours later I was complete. A few minutes after that, my daughter was born.

This is my living doll.

Bliss Elaine
8 pounds 9 ounces
20 inches long
Born at 6:43 P.M.

This is her a couple hours later after her first bath. She's wearing an outfit that I made for her.

Of course, you know this experience surfaced a few reminders.
1. Surprises are indeed surprises!
     - I always thought a surprise pregnancy would really neat. What I didn't think about, was that in order to be surprised, it couldn't be planned.

2. A mother will go any lenth to protect her child.
     - My mom jokes around that I sounded like an addict
contacting whomever I had to in order to get my meds.

3.If God has a will for your life, he will provide a door.
     - God arranged our pregnancy and he took care of my baby girl. Trust me, I know that things don't always turn out happy or what we see as perfect, but I do know that God has a perfect will.

4.God's plan's are always the best plans. Period.
     -While another baby was not in our plans at the time, I don't even want to think about life any other way. I cannot look at this baby without smiling. She truly live's up to her name. She IS an overwhelming joy. This is the face I get to see every day of my life!

Here is Little Miss Priss Bliss at her First Birthday Party.



Introducing...

The first thing I should do is introduce you to my family.

This is me. Yes I'm big and pregnant here, but I like this picture. I feel I have a certain glow. LOL! I love my life. I stay home and homeschool my little ones. Everyday is a new adventure that I can't wait to explore. I cherish each day, and have made it my goal to not take any time with them for granted.

This is my husband, Matt. He is great for me. He is almost always doing something fun with us or planning something fun to do with us. He likes to help with anything. He is a servant. That is his love language. If I need something for a home project or a homeschool project, he almost always makes it for us. He LOVES a challenge! When he does something, he does it BIG! Ooh, how I love this man!

This is Silas. He is six. He is an old soul. He loves talking to anyone he meets. He has a story for everything. He likes food that you wouldn't think a six year old would like. He loves old movies. Silas loves the Lord with his everything. He can often be caught stopping everything to pray, even if it's in the middle of Walmart. He is my cuddler, my list maker, my dreamer. The only problem is he is a bit of a hoarder. YIKES! I'll get more into that when it's his turn for my "Silas" blog.

This is Camden. He is three. Camden is his daddy in EVERY way. He looks like Matt, acts like Matt, and even walks like him. He is rough and tumble. His smile will make you melt. He can often be found copying everything his brother does, because he is obsessed with him. Strangly enough, at the same time, he doesn't do anything he doesn't want to do. He marches to the beat of his own drum. Camden is extremely technology savvy and great with numbers (for a three year old that is). He likes to "wash" dishes, help cook, and eat lots and lots of ketchup (oh, and apples).

And this...this is little Miss Bliss Elaine. She is one. This picture, taken by my wonderful sister-in-law, captures this little one's personality perfectly.  I really didn't know what to expect with a girl. It is COMPLETELY different. I know that I have completely intensified it, but she seems to love it, and so do I. She is my "Lovely". Matt and the boys are completely wrapped. I love to watch their exchanges with her. Bliss is dainty when she needs to be, and a firecracker when lifes "trials" need her to be so. She loves her purses, music, baby dolls, and glowworms. Black beans are her favorite food. Fairy Colors is her favorite book. Bliss loves her bed. And I love my girl!!!