The LATE, LATE post...

Yes, I am up doing this post at 12:45am, and YES, I AM crazy! But I have some mamas that I know are anxiously awaiting the photos that I took of their precious babies today- uh, I mean yesterday ;-) I was so excited to have the opportunity to work with 3 different families and, although it was a bit overwhelming, I had a great time!! So, check them out, and if you like these sweeties, be sure to check my photo blog tomorrow for the rest!

Beans, beans, good for the heart.....

...the more you eat, the more you _______!!!!! I'll let you fill in the blank ;-) Actually, as much as I hate being gassy ;-), I have discovered some burgers that are worth the flatulence! Check these out.... If you love beans, like food that has a little "kick" to it, like to eat healthy, want something fast and easy, and have a Costco membership, then this is the product for you! I discovered these a few months ago in the freezer section of Costco, and while I'm not a big fan of veggie burgers, these are really great! I probably wouldn't have even bought them, but they were doing the free samples (you know those days when you take your husband shopping with you and it takes 5x as long because he makes a complete meal out of stopping to eat each and every sample he comes across!!), and they were REALLY yummy- and nothing like a veggie burger! So, we brought them home and discovered that even some of the kids like them- now that's saying something! They're super easy to prepare too- simply pop them on a plate and then into the microwave (about 3 minutes for two patties) and that's it!
Zack adds salsa to his (he likes lots of spice), but I add sour cream (cools them down a little!). But honestly, they are so yummy that you can eat them plain!

Do YOU have any Costco faves?! It's always nice to get recommendations before purchasing the ginormous box that gets left untouched in the freezer for 6 mos! Leave me a comment and tell me what I need to try next!!!

Props.... check!

Well, I'm gearing up to do my first photo shoot with some very sweet neighbors who have a bunch of darling kiddos! So, can you guess what this is?! It's the start of my travelling prop tub! And here's some of the stuff in it.... I've got some scarves.....
some feather boas......
fun hats for teens (or little ones!)....
And here we have Jacob demonstrating how to use the little stool prop.....
and what little girl doesn't like to play with beads, boas and sunglasses?!
Needless to say, I'm very excited about getting to work with little ones that don't belong to me!! And I am anxiously awaiting the arrival of my beautiful yellow tutu! Wish me luck....!!!

Let the games begin!!

Oh yeah, I remember now! I think I'd almost forgotten..... forgotten about the symptoms. You know, the constipation, exhaustion, sore boobs, moodiness, cravings, weird dreams, hunger, strange pains, clumsiness, and general not yourselfness!! Yep, it was almost a distant memory, but it's alllllll coming back to me- LET THE GAMES..... BEGIN!!!!

But enough about me! Here's a quick update on the girls and all their medical "stuff." Emily received a nice care-package in the mail a few days ago from gramma and grampa- it definitely lifted her spirits ;-)

She is currently attending school all day long, and is finally on minimal pain meds- yay! She will be getting the pins and stitches out of her toes tomorrow and then will go into her 3rd cast for 2 more weeks.

And then there's Allie. We finally got some test results back, but still no answers- only more questions and new doctors to make appointments with! The tests revealed that her prolactin levels are high, and this could be the cause of her irregular cycles. She will have to see an endocrinologist to sort out where we go from here, but first we have to see her pediatrician to get a referral to see a pediatric endocrinologist because endocrinologists do not see children under 18- you have to go to a special one! As far as her abdominal pain, her OBG doc thinks it sounds like IBS (irritable bowel syndrome), and wants her to be evaluated for that before she even checks for endometriosis- I think she's wrong about the IBS, but I can't imagine what else it might be! So, again, we wait....! The one good thing that came out of this round is that she was taken off the birth control pills- yay! If it IS the prolactin, then the bc pills won't do anything to change her cycles. Maybe one mystery solved?!?!

But none of that stuff bothers Jacob. Nope, he's just happy to pick the little marshmallows out of his cereal, one-by-one!
Why even have a spoon?

A quiver full....

Every good and perfect gift is from above- James 1:7

He gives the barren woman a home, making her the joyous mother of children. Praise the Lord- Psalms 113:9

For you formed my inward parts; you knitted me together in my mother's womb. I praise you for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. My frame was not hidden from you, when I was being made in secret, intricately woven in the depths of the earth. Your eyes saw my unformed substance; in your book were written, every one of them, the days that were formed for me, when as yet there were none of them- Psalm 139:13-16

Behold, children are a gift from the LORD, the fruit of the womb is his reward. Blessed is the man who FILLS HIS QUIVER with them! Psalms 127:3-5

Are you sensing a theme here? Well, if not, then let me show you my new t-shirt- the one that I bought to wear as an early birthday gift for Zack (who is turning 40 in just over a week!!)...... Well, for those of you that are still wondering, here's one final clue......
YES, YES, YES!!!!!! YES that is a pregnancy test and YES we are expecting BABY #8!!!!!! Our quiver is cram-packed!!!!!!!

Yesterday, I took this pregnancy test and wasn't too surprised to see the result. I was already "late" and was having a few "symptoms," so I finally decided to test. When Allie got home from school yesterday, I asked her if she'd help me with an early b-day gift for her dad. I showed her the t-shirt, so she'd know what was going on, and, needless to say, she was speechless (quite unusual for Allie!). When Zack got home from work, I already had the t-shirt on and just walked around, waiting for him to notice. Allie had the video camera and captured not only his reaction, but also the reactions of all of our kids. Unfortunately, we weren't able to get the video uploaded last night, but I will try to get that posted in a couple of days- it's really fun! After the kids got the news, they proceeded to go door-to-door telling all our neighbors about the good news! Surely they were abducted and brainwashed, "on something," out of their minds, flat out crazy very excited and just couldn't control themselves. And now I have to email all of my neighbors and apologize for my children- or maybe we'll just move..... just kidding of course!! I'm thrilled that they are so excited ;-)

So, now on to the details- well, there aren't many! We are expecting a baby on or around May 2nd, and I am about 4 weeks pregnant- aren't you all thrilled to be getting in on this sooooo early?! I'm not one of those people who believes in waiting to make an announcement. You see, this baby is already here. This baby has already been created. This baby has already had an impact on many lives. And this baby, no matter what the future holds, will always be a part of our family.

I can't even begin to tell you how honored, excited, and truly blessed we feel about this amazing gift from God.

Every good and perfect gift is from above.

Lock 'em up!

Last week, I told you about my little hooligans and how I'm having a terrible time keeping the two escape artists in the house! Well, today, for the first time ever, those same two hoodlums were secured in our house, unable to get out! And here's why.... Yep, Zack got busy installing the same kind of locks you find on hotel room doors on our garage door and our front door. It was quite a process too! The door going out to the garage had nothing solid to screw the latch into, so he had to rip the frame right off and hammer a block of wood into the space behind the door frame- yeah, he's clever like that!
It was kind of a mess......
But the end result was AWESOME!!!!!
And now we have locks on the front door.....
And the garage door.....
We'll see how long it takes for them to figure it out- I'll KEEP YOU POSTED!!

Laughing Quads!

Ok everyone- ready for a good belly laugh? Here is a Youtube video that my kids love to watch- and if you've never seen it, you're in for a treat!!



Almost makes me want 4 ;-) Have a GREAT week!!

I've got the bug...

Yep, I'm definitely in trouble. You see, I'm pretty sure I've caught the "photography bug!" Just look what I bought on Ebay yesterday..... Yeah, yeah, I know, I don't have any little girls to wear this! I got this because I thought it would be so cute on one of the little girls in my neighborhood- and gee, then I could take her picture in it! (BTW- 14 bucks on Ebay!) See, I told you I was sick ;-) I was actually on Ebay looking for muslin to use as a backdrop for my photos, and I happened to find this. Now I just need one in pink and one in blue.......!!!!

So, yesterday, I got to go out "on a shoot." I was so excited because the weather had been in the 70's all day and the air was so clear. I knew that the light in the early evening was going to be perfect, and although I have yet to find a great spot to take my pictures, it's really about the light. So, I headed out with a few of my kids and some of our good friends, and I got some pretty good shots. The most important thing is that, every time I do this, I learn something new!











aaaahhhhhh- light, perfect light!

So, if you like these, be sure you head over to my photoblog and check out the rest!!!

Mad scientists on the loose....

I think that some mad scientist got his hands on my second-born!!! Just LOOK at her foot..... SEE! I told you- that surely must be the work of some demented, wacked-out scientist that is determined to take over the world by turning teenagers into pin cushions!!!
Seriously, I get the chills just looking at it! And I took those two with my phone- not even very good quality ;-) Wanna see what the inside of her toes look like? Here's the x-ray showing the rest of the pins..... oh, and you can also see the staples on the right side of her big toe.....
As you probably already guessed, Emily had her one-week, post-surgery check-up, and we got to see what actually happened to her poor foot- after the mad scientist got through with her, that is! After getting her wounds checked and having some x-rays taken, Emily was taken into the cast room where she was able to choose a new cast color. Can you guess what color she picked?! Her favorite and mine.......
Yep, she now has a kermit-the-frog-leg!!! So, after spending several hours at the doctor's office, with 2 extremely crabby toddlers, we headed home- Emily with her green cast and Jacob and Matthew with their new balloon hands!
Can't wait to go back next week where we get to do it all over again- plus get the pins and stitches out! Then she will be re-casted for at least two more weeks. From there, she will go into a walking cast, and eventually, when she is completely weight-bearing and walking normally again, we will get to work on the OTHER foot! POOR EMILY! Unfortunately, she was in a lot of pain today and missed the whole day of school, and it looks as if tomorrow will be at least as bad- if not worse- so no school tomorrow either. It's gonna be a long year!