Best St. Patrick's Day...EVER!

I remember the days when I was....oh, say...21 years old when the best St. Patrick's day ever would NOT involve a day at the hospital! But March 17, 2011 will go down in our family history as the best St. Patrick's Day ever.

We received a precious gift from God at 10:14 when sweet baby Elise Susanne came into this world weighing in at 7 pounds 10 ounces and measuring 20 & 1/2 inches long.


Here she is just minutes after her arrival...and yes, that is my sister-in-love who actually birthed her!! And now I will share the story that this little girl will hear every year on the day of her birth.

Her birthday had been on the calendar for about a week. Thanks to modern medicine we knew she would be a St. Patrick's day baby. We also knew that the Pitocin (used to start labor) would be the only modern day medicine used because my girl Ashley, is Super Momma. I woke up with a spring in my step and a song in my heart because I KNEW it was going to be a beautiful day! It was in fact a GORGEOUS day. The sun was shining and the warm wind was blowing...a great day for a baby. We dressed in our green and headed to school. Claire was on Spring Break but our amazing Pre-school family insisted that she stay and help in class with the littles. She was thrilled and LOVED every second she was there. As we left the school we told everyone we saw, "We have to go!!! We are getting a baby today!!!" My mom went on to the hospital and I ran up to grab a special lunch to take back to Claire and Cohen. (Special lunch means, mommy didn't have time to make lunches before we left the house.) I dropped them off and kissed all the kids one more time. I thought about stopping to grab an iced tea on the way to the hospital, but decided to wait. THANK GOODNESS!!!

I arrived at the hospital and walked in with Nee Nee and Pa (Ashley's parents) and we strolled into labor and delivery. The receptionist pointed us in the right direction and told us to knock before we went in. Assuming my mom and dad were in the birthing suite just chatting up the soon to be parents of two, we knocked and waited. To my surprise, a nurse poked her head out and said, "Sorry, she is actually getting ready to push!" WWHHHAAAATTT????? Just then my parents returned from grabbing a snack and we all did a little happy dance in the hallway! They hooked Ashley up at 7:00 and just 3 hours later she was pushing....then 14 minutes later, she delivered a perfect baby girl.


I heard her first cry and was overcome with emotion. I was there for the birth of my nephew Hunter, Drew, Levi, Alivia and of course my own children...but this emotion was different. With the older kids, I remember my main emotions were excitement and pure love that I could hardly contain. This time was different. I was flooded with gratitude. As I made my way into the room and the grandparents snatched up that sweet girl, my focus was on my brother and sister-in-law. I closed my eyes and thanked God for these two people....for so many reasons. I looked at Jarad, and couldn't keep the tears at bay. I am so proud of him and the man he has become. I am so thankful for our friendship...and for his flawless wife picking abilities.

When it was finally my turn to hold the baby, I remember silence....and then a song started playing on the ipod.

I'm finding myself at a loss for words
And the funny thing is it's okay.
The last thing I need is to be heard
But to hear what You would say.


Word of God speak.
Would You pour down like rain.
Washing my eyes to see
Your majesty.
To be still and know
That You're in this place
Please let me stay and rest
In Your holiness,
Word of God speak.


I'm finding myself in the midst of You.
Beyond the music, beyond the noise
All that I need is to be with You
And in the quiet hear Your voice.


Word of God speak.
Would You pour down like rain.
Washing my eyes to see
Your majesty.
To be still and know
That You're in this place
Please let me stay and rest
In Your holiness,
Word of God speak.


I'm finding myself at a loss for words
And the funny thing is it's okay

-Mercy Me
Word of God Speak

The tears could not be stopped. As I cried I looked at this precious girl and was overwhelmed with gratitude. Our God is so good. He is SO, so good.

As the song ended, I heard whistles in the background and turned to see the NCAA tournament just starting....and I knew Steph was watching.

PoopTastic!

This post comes with a disclaimer. If you don't want to hear a story about dog poo....stop reading now.

This is Major. He's a good boy. He is also a BIG boy. Weighing in at approximately 145 pounds, nothing he does is small. We rescued him at the end of the summer and he has fit perfectly into our family. When we got him he was already house trained and he is wonderful with the kids.

This morning, I had just gotten up and was returning to my bedroom after picking out the kids clothes for the day. I was walking across the landing between our bedrooms and heard something spill. I whipped around because I seriously thought one of the kids had dumped a giant cup of water on the rug in the middle of the landing. To my dismay, a dump certainly had occurred. Unfortunately, the dump came from Mr. Major. His name has never been more fitting. As I tried to guide him AWAY from the rug and to the nearest door, I realized that maybe we should just stay put....I will spare you the details, but man...it was BAD.

I led the poor guy out the door onto our deck that is off our bedroom. (This would be the first time I went outside. This will be important to another part of this story.) I went back in and began securing the scene. The children were instructed to stay in their rooms, which really wasn't a problem. They were both gagging. I was trying to only breathe through my mouth. I also have allergies, which causes a runny nose, which I could not sniff for fear I may lose it...so I was looking SUPER SEXY with that going on. I started mopping and disinfecting. I scrubbed a little on the rug, but realized I would not have time if I was going to get Claire to school on time. I made the decision to take the rug out and hang it on the deck. As I was flipping it over the rail, I felt quite a breeze only to realize...I was still in my pajamas. My pajamas were a short t-shirt....and that's about it. I quickly took a survey of my surroundings and prayed there were no golfers that might have been subjected to my morning glory. I thought I was off the hook until I looked to my left where the maintenance shed for the course is located. OH. MY. GOODNESS. There stood an entire crew of workers. There I stood in a t-shirt and my scoobies.

As I hung my head in shame and cowered back to the safety of my bedroom I thought to myself, "The good news about starting a day like this...It really can only get better from here."

The Facebook.

I have a few addictions that I am walking a fine line with. One is caffeine, the other is Facebook. It doesn't seem like the end of either addiction is near...not even close. I love Facebook for so many reasons. I have reconnected with some seriously awesome people and many of them helped me through a VERY hard time in my life. I enjoy posting funny little quips about my silly little life, because let's face it...I'm a crack up. People comment, tell me I'm a crack up, I get my daily affirmations and I don't even have to call Stewart Smalley. I love to check in with my friends who moved away and watch their children grow up album by album. Every once in a while, someone will throw in a video of their kid doing something awesome so I watch, love it and comment on what a treasure that child is. (AND mean it with all my heart!) I get to read about medical issues this person is having, what people are having for dinner, how many days until that persons vacation, who has a teething child, what movies people are seeing and what sporting events are on the schedule. All this is fine. POSSIBLY a time suck...but harmless. The stalker in me LOVES it.

THEN, there is the other side of Facebook (and the Internet for that matter) that I fear is going to be the demise of a technology dependent generation. The negativity is sometimes stifling. From complaining about the weather to griping about the state of the union. People get behind their keyboards and seem to lose all sense of what is polite. I have honestly considered deleting my page, but I would miss keeping up with some of the seriously awesome people on my friends list. I would also be depriving the Facebook world of my hilarity...and I know you would all just hate that. Any suggestions? Thoughts on the matter?

Pancakes With Pop!

Today was "Pancakes With Pop" at the preschool. Due to a scheduling conflict (and a MAJOR lack of communication on my part) Big Daddy was not able to attend. However, in our family...no need to worry!! There's always extra love to go around! Scot and Uncle came and had breakfast with our littles. They loved it and we weren't the least bit surprised to find Scot cleaning up after everyone when they were done!!

Cohen-isms.

I MUST document some stories from our sweet Coco. He is in that stage that just cracks me up on a daily. I remember Claire going through the same phase. I have to document these stories, because I know I will forget them next month! If you follow me on facebook, you've already heard these, so bear with me!

After the Blizzard of 2011, we went out to play in the snow. We had been sledding, digging, sliding and crunching away in the snow for about 30 minutes. Cohen came around the corner and said, "HOLY COW MOMMA! Those icicles are WILLY SAWTY!" (Cohen speak for "really salty") Wondering where on earth he was able to reach an icicle I asked, "What icicles?" He looked and me and so sweetly said, "The ones from your twuck." Um gross.

Last weekend, we were dropping Levi, Drew and Nanny off at Nanny and Papa's house. Cohen started to unbuckle and I told him to stay buckled in, we were not going in. He said, "But MOMMA! I have to go talk to a man about a horse!" I asked him what he was talking about and he replied, "I have to PEEEE!"

He couldn't wait for our "Lumber" party tonight with the Phillips boys.

He calls the Power Ranger's weapons, their "webbins."

He tips his cowboy hat and says, "Howdy Ma'am" when I walk into the room.

He calls me his best mommy.

He has me wrapped around his finger.

First Game.

The torch has been passed. Cohen started playing basketball. And let me say, he started with a bang!! The first play of the game, he took off and scored the first basket of the season...and of his life!

By complete chance, his jersey (the only size medium) was number 34. This number is special because 34 was Big Daddy's number in high school and college. Cohen was SO EXCITED!!!

Our littles...Levi (31), Cohen (34) and Livi (33), were very excited to be in a real live huddle!


This was such a fun morning. A little emotional at times because Levi's momma should have been there to watch his very first game. However, I'm sure she was watching from Heaven and I know she was so thankful to Coach Melody and Coach Lori for taking the time to coach their team.

I was so proud of my guy. The best part, he is actually EXCITED about basketball. We are trying to be very careful about burning the kids out at a young age, but it doesn't look like that will be a problem for Mr. Coco!! We were ALL proud of him...but I don't think anyone was as proud as Big Daddy.

Happy Valentine's Day!!

From Levi, Cohen, Drew, Alivia and Claire!

(Drew decided that the boys would all strike that pose...they all did it, and looked at the camera so we weren't asking questions.)