An Evenings Reflection

I just realized tonight, when I noticed that Ezra had lost his pacifier and was trying to suck his thumb, that my little girl doesn't really suck her thumb anymore. Now although in the long run this is a good thing (I can remember all the "remedies" my mom tried to get me to quit) it made me a little sad. She is growing up so quickly and becoming such a little girl and almost all the toddler is gone. I work at enjoying all the times I have of rocking Ezra and just holding him because I am realizing how fleeting that time is. So although the cleaning may not get done or I may lose sleep I remind myself it is all worth it and I try to soak up everything that goes with those moments--the sniffly sounds, the little cries, the deep breathing, that great baby smell, the feel of their skin. I pray it stays in my memory forever. It is so difficult to remind myself to slow down and enjoy each stage of my childrens' lives. Silas is a wonderful 6 year old that I can have great, deep conversations with. Mary loves her girl time and playing that we are friends getting together with our babies. Nehemiah is my cuddly little monkey that loves to get us laughing at him--even if it means putting a blanket over his head while walking, and therefore running into things. Ezra is my sweet little baby boy who is starting to smile and loves to be held and rocked.

Thank you Lord "my boys" and my princess and for "forcing" me to quit my job so that I can enjoy these moments. Help me to trust that you are going to provide because you have guided us to this place.

Pictures for Fun

The kids love it when I take pictures of them, so here are a few:

Mary is trying to keep the sun out of her eyes--her solution is to close her eyes and to have make sure and tell her when we get there--is she worried we will leave her in the car?


Here is our little space cadet with a colander on his head.

This is what happens when I try to take a picture of myself--my arms aren't quite long enough. Believe it or not, it took three tries to get it this good.

I am trying to remember to take pictures of me with the kids, so years from now they see that I was around, and I can lament on how young I was:), even though I always dislike pictures of me :)

Grandpa Stubbert and Nehemiah on Saturday when we celebrated Uncle Brian's and Scott's birthdays.

2 Months

Ezra had his 2 month check-up today--he is officially 2 months tomorrow, but let's not get technical!

I was very excited to hear that at 9lbs 6oz he made the charts at the 7%!!! Ok, so 93% of all children weigh more than him, but still he was on the chart. He is 22 1/4" long, which puts him in the 25%. At this age Silas weighed about a pound more and was the same height, Mary weighed slightly less at 9lbs 2oz, Nehemiah weighed less at 8 lbs 8oz, and I weighed the lest at 8lbs 2oz--so obviously, this low weight thing runs in the family :) Most importantly, he is healthy and doing well. We love all our "little" munchkins.

Apple Hill

Last Sunday, we took a family trip to Apple Hill (applehill.com). It is located up in the foothills of Sacramento. We had originally planned on going on Saturday but the forecast called for rain, so we rescheduled for Sunday. It turned out to be a beautiful day full of sunshine and with temperatures in the low 70's--a nice early fall day. We enjoyed a nice picnic on the grass while we watched a clown show--Silas laughed the whole time and Nehemiah was quite entralled as well. We took a little nature hike--an umbrella stroller is probably not made for "off roading"! For dessert we had apple wedges with carmel sauce and M&Ms--yummy! There were animals to pet, a tire swing, and lots of apples. The kids all did great and it was a great family time. This is a tradition we started when Silas was 2--just before Mary was born--and we try to go yearly. I brought home some apples and made a very delicious apple cake. Thank you God for a wonderful day of memories!

Fast asleep on the way home.

Silas on the giant tire swing--I was surprised he gave it a try, since he is not a risk-taker. I was proud to see him try something a little scary and enjoy it.

Nehemiah enjoying his carmel apple.

A tractor named after me--don't I feel special!


Mary and Scott did a trust walk with Mary covering Daddy's eyes and telling where to walk--not sure I would trust her.


Silas was a big help in pushing Nehemiah.

Update

Yes, we are still here. Ezra is now 8 weeks old and doing well! He has his 2 month check up on Monday--at which time I am sure I will hear how he is not gaining as much weight as they would like...at least, with my fourth I am prepared for this and not overly concerned. Scott and I made the decision to not have me return to work and I am not udjusting to being home. It is very nice to not be stressed about that and to be home with the kids. It has also allowed me time to start going back to the gym. So far I have made it everyday this week. I truly enjoy it and it feels good to be exercising. It takes some work to get all the kids dressed and out the door early in the morning, but it is worth it. Silas is enjoying 1st grade and becoming quite a good reader--I am so proud of him, but a little sad that my little boy is growing up. It makes me take more time to sit an enjoy my youngest, since they do grow so quickly. Mary is home with me and sometimes she gets a little bored without her big brother, but she is hanging in there. She loves having girl time, so I am working to make more time for her and me. Nehemiah is developing his own little personality and has adjusted to having a new little brother. I love the age that he is at! Scott has moved into a new position at our church. He is still the Singles Pastor but has taken on the role of Pastor of Recovery as well. This is a good fit for him. We are both very passionate about recovery. Well, a baby is crying and another one is due up from his nap, so I must go. Here are some pictures.


Fun in a Box!


Ezra at 6 weeks. His eyes are a beautiful blue and I hoping they will stay that color.




We took my parents to the Raiders vs. Chargers game on Sept. 28th. Ezra came along and was a great little boy--slept most of the time. A true Raider fan probably would have made a little more noise!


Father and Son at the game.


Back in June I took the oldest two to the beach with my mom and sister. We all had a great time! They loved the water. I had to keep a close eye on Mary--she doesn't have much fear and I could just see one of those waves taking her out. It was a beautiful day even though I got sunburned and was sick the whole next day.


Nehemiah turned 1 on June 29th. Happy Birthday little "monkey man"


This is from the 4th of July--before baby number four! Everyone loved the fireworks. We had all the family over for a bbq and homemade ice cream. It is such a blessing to have home to have people over to.


Silas and his friend Christian on the first day of 1st grade.

Double Post

Ok, not sure what happend there. The first post didn't seem to go thru sucessfully, but obviously it did!! Oh, well, you can't see my cute little boy too much--even if the pictures are the same :)

Ezra Paul Stubbert

Our newest family member has arrived. Ezra Paul was born August 13th at 11:26am and he weighed 7 lbs 3 oz and was 19.3 inches long. He is doing great and we are heading home today. I will try to update this blog over the next few weeks, since I know I am behind.

NEW BABY!!

Please join us in welcoming the newest member of our family! Little Ezra Paul was born on August 13th at 11:26am. He weighed 7 lbs 3 oz and was 19.3 inches long. Both mommy and baby are doing well and we are heading home today. I have definately been behind in my blogging lately and will try to update what has been going on in the past months, but wanted at least to show our newest little boy.

Henry & Mudge

I drove (5 kindergarten boys!) for Silas' field trip today to the Gallo Center for the Arts. His class went to see a musical production of the popular children's book "Henry and Mudge." The boys did great and enjoyed the show. We were in the very front row--thanks to my good driving! This was the first field trip I had been able to go on and since it was the last for the year, I was glad I was able to go. We may not make a big deal out of my being there while with his class, but outside of that he was definately glad I was able to go. Less than 30 days of kindergarten to go!

All the boys (Silas, Christian, Benjamin, Gavin, & Daniel) waiting to go in.

Silas, Daniel (according to Silas he is one of the funny kids in class), and Christian

Benjamin Harless and Gavin Boone

Christian and his mom, Kim Estes (she was my co-pilot).

Silas and me.

Mary Goes To The Dentist

Mary had her first dentist appointment today. Silas also had an appt., so he went first and showed Mary how it was done. Mary did great and got a princess toothbrush and a glitter pen for being so good. I am very thankful to have such a great dentist for my kids, who is also a friend of mine. Thank you Dr. Amethyst!

Princess Minnie, seen above, came along just in case. Silas also told Mary that she could hold his hand if she needed to. What a good brother!

Water Fun

The weather has been heating up and the kids, and Scott, are startimg to have fun with their water guns and the wading pool that we have. I plan on using the pool myself as the weather gets hotter and I get bigger!

Silly Mary

Silly Silas


Don't Mess With Mary

Wading Pool Fun

Sick Kids

Last week all the kids took their turn at being sick. It was some kind of stomach thing that, thankfully only last about 24 hours per child. Also, very nice was the fact that each child took their turn and none were sick at the same time. Nehemiah was the hardest because, being a baby, he can't tell you when he is about to throw up. Also, he wouldn't let me put him down so we spent the day rocking--maybe God allows these small sicknesses to make us take time out and just sit with our children. It is so easy to just be busy. Here is a picture of little Nehemiah on Daddy's shoulder. The first picture even shows a little tear on his check.

I was tagged so I guess I will respond--I am one of those annoying people who usually never respond :)

Where was I 10 years ago?
In Modesto working on my Biology degree at Stanislaus State, starting a new job in property management, moving into my first apartment, and helping in the juinor high group at my church.

5 Things on Tomorrow's To Do List
go to the office from 9-12
pick Silas up from school
clean house/laundry
make a bank deposit
drop off a DHL package for work

5 Snacks I Enjoy
chips and salsa
flammin' hot cheetos
white peaches
popcorn
Coke

5 Things I Would Do If I Became A Billionaire
Pay off my house
Remodel my house (the carpet in our playroom sometimes smells of pet urine and we don't have a pet, this is really grossing me out)
Pay off school loans
Invest so we could live off the money and Scott could do ministry without the stress of needing to get paid
Be able to give a lot more to the church and missions

5 Bad Habits
drinking soda
chewing on lips when I am upset
giving my opinion too loudly and quickly
being quick to judge
not being thankful enough

5 Places I've Lived
Livermore,California
Virginia
Alaska
Modesto, CA
Fairfield, CA

5 Jobs I've Had
sno cone maker
waitress
medical billing
intern for stanislaus county dairy advisor
property management

Wisdom from Silas

I had made blueberry muffins for breakfast and told Mary that she could have one. Her response, "I don't like them." Silas came in the room and he was very excited about the muffins (at least someone appreciates my cooking). I told Silas that Mary didn't think she would like the muffins, but that she was going to try one. To which Silas stated, "That is a good observation Mary. You never know if you like something until you try it. Remember, it is just like the strawberries from last night." It is always good to have a 3rd parent around to reinforce these types of things:)

Silas also made sure that Mary understood the truth about a Earth Day commercial that recently came on while watching Dora. The commercial stated that we need to take of the Earth because it made the animals and lakes, trees, etc. Silas told Mary, "We do need to take of the Earth but God is the one who made everything. That is a silly commercial." AMEN

Our Beautiful Backyard and Other Misc Things

We are so thankful for the wonderful house that God provided for us. We especially love our backyard and are looking forward to having many people over to enjoy it with us. For the first 7 years of our marriage we lived in apartments and it is so great to have our own space. The kids are still getting used to it and sometimes we have to force them outside, but they will adjust. Here are some pictures of the beautiful flowers that were already here when we moved in. While I am waiting for my pictures to upload I have a quick prayer request: We are holding our 2nd annual "Blues on the Field" concert on Saturday, May 3rd. This is a free concert that our Singles ministry hosts. This year we have added an optional Crab Feed that we are selling tickets to. Please pray for great weather and that we sell the needed tickets to the Crab Feed. Thanks

Mary took a bath the other night and I didn't want to have to do her hair that night (something you don't experience with boys and makes me glad I have only 1 little girl), so I put a shower cap on her. I couldn't resist snapping a few pics.




Nehemiah will be 10 months on Tuesday. For some reason this outfit just makes him look like a little boy!