Pictures of Adison

I've been told I stink at putting new pictures of Adison up, so here are a few!

 She LOVES my mom!

 She's looking at the toy dangling from her swing.

 This is during one of her colicky crying session, luckily the past few nights have been scream free, crossing my fingers it's over! And don't look at my piles of laundry in the back ground.

She's one scrumptious bub!

One Amazing Night!

Last month Dave and some other members of the Lacey 5th ward (plus a few from other wards thrown in) put on a fantastic performance of songs about Joseph Smith and those that knew and loved him.  I forget the name of the man that wrote the songs from the CD - (speak up if you know his name). It was amazing though! Let me back up a few years.  One of the things that first drew me to Dave was how humble he was about his guitar playing skills - and he is awesome by the way! He even has a CD that he and a couple of guys recorded a few years before we were married, with songs that HE wrote! I have a song called Carried Away that he wrote and recorded for me while we were dating.  Back to the present! Since January, Dave and these people practiced every Tuesday night for hours, and quite a few Saturday mornings too.  For a long time I was a bit upset that he was gone so much while I was pregnant and having to put 3 kids to bed by myself.  After months of rehearsals I finally got to hear what took my husband away for so many months.  And it was great! Seeing Dave up there performing again was fantastic.  It was wonderful to see him doing something that he loves and is so dang good at!   Way to go Dave!

 The girls loved seeing their dad play.  Emma said,"Wow, Dad's a rock star!"

He looks pretty hot here...just sayin'!

Humbled

Last night as Adison woke up for the third time crying her tiny in the middle of the night cry, I found myself unable to go back to sleep.  I thought about the last almost five weeks of my life.  Another child brought into my life that I had the awesome job of raising, protecting, teaching, loving... Four girls.  Never in my wildest dreams did I think I would have four girls.  I remember when Dave and I were trying to conceive Emma, I prayed that I wouldn't have girls.  I always felt like I did so many things wrong as a young girl/woman that I had no idea how to raise a girl.  Things happen to girls that don't happen as often to boys.  Girls can be hurtful and awful to each other, the world is a harsh place where horrible and unfair things happen to girls.  Why did Heavenly Father trust such beautiful tiny spirits to me? How do I teach them to love themselves? Protect themselves? Have confidence in themselves? I lay there for a good hour thinking of these things.  I think what prompted all this thinking was an invitation for Claire to sleep over at a friend's house.  I'm not a fan of sleep overs.  Most of the ones I went to something happened that was not good.  Inappropriate movies put on, parents not home when promised they would be...etc.  I told the mom that sorry, we don't do sleep overs.  6 months ago Claire was 4! And I was told by this mom that the girl already has food issues.  She thinks she's fat.  6 years old and thinks she's fat! How sad... I second guessed myself afterwards.  Did I make the right decision? Am I being overly cautious? But a beautiful thing happened.  I prayed...I prayed and a warm feeling fled over my body.  I knew that I made a good decision, I knew that as long as I stay close to Heavenly Father and consult/talk/ask Him for help I will get that help.  Having four little spirits to raise is an awesome responsibility, He wants me to succeed, He wants my daughters to succeed.  It's scary, but it's not an impossible task - and the girls have the best dad that I could ask for them.  Dave is warm, funny, loving, protective - everything a dad of 4 baby girls should have.  I'm not alone in this.  After discovering all of this I could finally sleep.  :)  In the morning I woke the girls up to get them ready for school (they usually wake me up!) and gave each one a huge hug and kiss - their invisible shield against the world they face every time they leave me for school.  I know that as long as they know they can talk to me and their dad and that their home is a refuge, we'll be ok.  I always remind them of how lucky and blessed they are to have sisters that are their built in friends and defenders, and that they'll have that forever.  They always smile and say, "I know mom."  :)

Be Kind...

"Be kind, for everyone you meet is battling a hard battle."   -Plato

Thanks so much!

I just wanted to thank all of my fabulous friends and family who have called to check up on me, given darling gifts, brought over dinner and goodies, etc.  Going from 3 to 4 has been tough, something that only I can go through (obviously) and figure out how to do without going nuts-o.  I honestly can say that if I didn't have the support that I do from all of you I probably would have committed myself by now! So Thank-you THANK-you THANK-YOU to everyone who has made this transition easier! I feel so blessed! Muah!

The end of Summer

So technically summer ended 2 weeks ago, so this post isn't THAT late.  Ok, it is.  Let's just say I was a little out of it the end of August/beginning of September, so here's a little catch up.

Claire took golf this summer.  She LOVED it! She wouldn't wear pants or shorts this summer, so golf was the sport for this girl! (she'll wear them now for some reason)

 Hallie was goofing off and kept jumping in front of the camera...silly kid.

 Emma took swimming lessons a couple sessions in a row and even though she hated it the first couple days, ended up just loving it.  I posted about this already, but I had to include a picture of her jumping off the diving board into the deep end.

 Hallie being a good sport during Em's lesson.

 Go Emma!

 Look at the smile on that girl's face! Priceless!

 A get - together at the end of summer with Em's school friends and siblings at her friend Peyton's house.

 All of us moms took the kids on a walk and found blackberry bushes along the way.  The kids loved eating and filling their cups.

 The following pictures crack me up.  This was during one of Claire's golf lessons.  Hallie was trying to occupy herself, so she posed over and over and demanded I take pictures.  This honestly is just a FEW of her poses!

Love this picture! They look like they love life!

First week with Adison

I don't know if it's because I know she's my last baby, but I have really enjoyed this first week and a half with Adie.  The hormones are raging still, but there's a calmness to it all that I didn't experience with the other girls.  Having my next oldest be 3 1/2 years older than Adie helps too.  I always had one in diapers with a newborn, so that was always stressful.  I'm not saying this is a breeze by any means, but I'm just enjoying having her around.  The girls are in heaven too.  This baby does not lack in the smooches department.  Diapers materialize in my hands before I ask for them! Offers of burping pop up right and left.  This poor child has 4 mothers, not just one! What a lucky baby! :)