Grateful...

...my kids are healthy
...the weather is cooling off
...my kids sleep like logs (turned on their lights and vacuumed in their bedrooms again last night and they never woke up)
...for the new baby. He's a complete joy and I'm in love with him.
...I have money to go grocery shopping
...and money to pay the bills...most of them :)
...I can be back to exercising
...Pops didn't totally wreck the brand new stroller when he ran over it the other day.
...it wasn't me that ran over it. :)
...for my computer...even if it is old and slow.
...for friends
...for good health
...my husband
...two vehicles that still run like champs
...my floors are clean
...a baby that sleeps great already
...kids being recognized for their hard work at school
...for five minutes to spend blogging.

My next blogging goal...writing the birth story.

Crate's two!

I might be biased, but I think this is the cutest redhead boy I know. I can't believe he's two already! He sure loves his little brother.



We celebrated Crates birthday be going to a pumpkin patch. I think we picked the perfect day...it was 75 degrees and there was hardly anyone at the pumpkin patch!

On his birthday Crate rode a horse for the first time and was very excited. I think the most exciting part for him was wearing the helmet, he had a hard time giving it back.


He played on a tractor and didn't want to get off...or have his picture taken.


Took pictures with his brothers...again not his most favorite thing.


Visited the petting zoo



Played in the dirt


Got lost in a huge hay maze


Had his first hay ride


Sat in his first outhouse (Funny thing is that is how each of them sits on the toilet here at home)


Got his picture taken some more


And finally got to pick out a pumpkin at the patch!


We all enjoyed celebrating Crates birthday with him. He is a special boy and our family wouldn't be the same without his sweet and fun personality.

So much to report on...

~Lumber Jack is 13lbs 2oz and 23 inches long now. These official measurements came from the doctor at his one month check up. He's in the 97th percentile for his weight and 95th for height.

~Crate is now 2 and had his check up also. He is weighing in at 30 lbs and 35inches (i think). He is in the 65th percentile for his height and weight. Both kids are healthy and growing like weeds.

~A few weeks ago Lumber had his manhood rearranged and it healed great! Hopefully no more knives touch his body for the rest of his life.

~Buster received the "Student of the Month" for his class for the month of September. The family was invited to have breakfast with the other students of the month before school started and then we celebrated that night by having pizza and watching a movie together as a family. This makes it the fourth year in a row he's received the Student of the Month award.

~Having four kids has helped me to loose my insanity. I feel like I'm living in a whole different world now. My sane world was much more organized than this insane world I now know.

~Tony Horton and I are back together. I have a love/hate relationship with him. (A.K.A. P90X has started around here again)

~Boss continues to be so sweet to Lumber. He has a true love for babies.

~Lumber has visited the zoo three times since he was born, been to the mall once, the grocery store many times, church, school, the park and many other places. I don't think I took child #1 out for 90 days after he was born. Not possible with child #4.

~I REALLY enjoyed having meals come in. It made life very easy. I think spouse enjoyed it A LOT also.

~After catching a cold for a few days I think my body is adjusting to the new sleep schedule. Although I can't complain for about 2 weeks now he only gets up once at night and the last few nights he has slept for a solid 7 hours before waking and eating and then sleeping 4 more solid hours. Let's hope this keeps up. And since about the 5th night home he wakes up to eat and falls right back asleep...he's defiantly an easy baby. I also think the Lord knows I need sleep to survive or my children would ask for a new mother because of my behavior so he sends angles to help my babies sleep really well. To Him I am very thankful.

~Regarding the cold. If it wasn't for the essential oils I have, namely peppermint and a load of vitamin C and Zinc, I don't think I would have been able to kick the sickness as fast as I did. I don't care to take medication while nursing and was very grateful to avoid any of that and feel great with natural remedies.

~Halloween costumes are ready to go and the boys are very excited.

~The days are passing too quickly I must write more often before I forget this stage of my life.

Tonight was parent teacher conferences with Boss' teacher. I was excited to hear what she thought of Boss and how he was doing. Let's just say all is well... Hallelujah! She loves Boss and he is more than excelling at all he does. I hope his enthusiasm for school keeps up. He amazes me with what he learns each day and I love when he comes home because there is always a funny story he is waiting to tell. His teacher did confirm that he is a ladies man and continues to chase the girls at each recess and eat lunch with all the girls. Hmmmm...let's hope he doesn't want "girlfriends" anytime in the near future.

Once I came home I was just starting dinner when Pops suggested we take the boys out to celebrate their awesome achievements this first quarter. He reminded me that at Rumbi grill kids eat free on Monday and Tuesday (makes for a cheap meal if you're looking to take out the family)so we loaded up and headed out. Let's just say I don't think we'll be doing that again for a while. As the parents, we were out numbered and it defiantly showed. Crate was as busy and noisy as ever, the two older ones were hyper, excited and giggly and the baby was fussy and wanted to go to sleep. Luckily for us the place is really casual and it was not super busy tonight...I am surprised they didn't kick us out but waited patiently until we left. As much as I love not having to cook I'm pretty convinced that taking them out was more work than fixing a meal. We might try again in six months and see how it goes.

For now life is good. Kids are healthy. Pops is staying busy and the mom has a stress fracture on the foot that she is praying will heal really soon. Lovely timing on the stress fracture, right when I'm starting P90X again. Oh well, no pain no gain, right? I opted to not purchase the boot and nurse it back to health myself. This means I'll have to switch to good supportive tennis shoes during the day, not exactly my style. If wearing tennis shoes is the worst of my problems then I got nothing to complain about.

One day I'll get back to blogging. As for now other little people have taken over my life. Speaking of little people...it's amazing how one little person could create more laundry than any other person in the house. That's alright though, I'm glad he's here and more than happy to do his laundry.

For now enjoy the new pics of this precious little guy. This is the little lumber Jack at 13 days old.





I swear...either he's the perfect baby or since he's the fourth I'm much more relaxed with having him around. I think in some ways it's easier to be a parent the fourth time instead of the first...you worry a lot less and enjoy it a lot more.







No newborn pics are complete with out a picture of the sweet little feet! (I should patten that line and sell it to photographers...I could make millions!)



If you're looking for a photographer in the valley check Brian out at shutteroptic.com

I think it's back to reality...

Bathrooms, laundry, vacuuming, sweeping, cooking dinner, homework all the usual stuff done today. I just kept telling myself: "I can do this." "I can handle four kids." "I am not tired." Now the day is over all four are sleep, one currently asleep on my chest as I type and I survived. I didn't get a shower and am still in my pajama pants with my hair tied on top of my head but at least I'm alive.

This little one is super sweet. He doesn't seem to be high maintenance, last night he only woke up to eat once between 8pm and 6:30am...I'm hoping that wasn't a fluke. He smiles when you talk to him and is pure joy to have. Now if I could say only say that about the other three. :)

Now it's time for bed for me.

Introducing...

Our little "Lumber Jack"


He arrived on Saturday September 10, 2011 at 5:26pm and like I said before weighed in at 11lbs 2oz and was 22inches long. I will record the details of his birth in the days to come. Each of his older brothers really enjoy him. They all like to take turns holding him and thus far we have yet to see any jealousy issues.

He seems to have a very calm demeanor about him and doesn't mind sleeping as long as he sleeps in my arms or Pops' arms at night. Needless to say we've been sharing our bed with him and could have skipped on setting up the crib...hopefully he'll use it eventually. :) For the mean time I don't mind having him next to us each night.



It's nice to once again look down and see my toes and now that he's out I will paint them once again. I wanted to get a pedicure before he came but never got around to it. Now I don't have an excuse as to why I can't paint the toenails.

I had the most amazing nurse during labor...she deserves her own post. For now I'll just say that when your going through transition during labor and your nurse is right there rubbing your feet you know you got it good.

And for Pops...Again he deserves his own post but having an amazing birthing partner is what makes a natural birth doable. Since this is the fourth it's like he new exactly what to do or what not to do.



The boys got to meet him for the first time the following day. It was so neat to watch them and their reactions to their new brother.


Boss wanted to be the first to hold him...the still camera wasn't quite ready yet. He found great enjoyment with the gloves at the hospital...as did his cousins. It made for quite the giggle fest.


Crate LOVES to kiss his little brother and always has to take a turn holding him too!


Alright, Mr. Lumber Jack needs me. I will be posting the birth story shortly. For now a quick word of thanks to:
My mother, who so kindly came and stayed here at the house and made the first week with four kids a breeze. I didn't do a load of laundry all week thanks to her. The boys already miss her tons.
The three very kind sisters in the ward who brought meals...what a big act of service this was to our family.
The many people from the ward who popped in with freezer meals, gifts and sweet messages for the new arrival.
And for Pops and the boys who have been very helpful and patient with me throughout the week.

When I look at the family Heavenly Father has blessed me with I feel overwhelmed with gratitude. It is a beautiful thing.