Willa Elizabeth

September 10, 2014 

7 lbs. 8 oz. 

19 inches 

Mr. Big Brother

I cannot get enough of this photo of Samuel. We were outside taking photos of all the kids and their capes since Rosie had just gotten hers and he wanted me to take one of him by himself. He then strikes this pose. I am rarely able to capture his personality very well in photos, but this one screams "Samuel" to me. His shirt says "It's MR. Big Brother to you!" Haha!

Rosie's Cape

It just so happens that, besides Samuel, I have sewn each child a cape around their 18 month birthday. Rosie had earned this rite of passage and she is quite thrilled to join her siblings with this honor.

Rosie Turns 18 Months

We Have Names!

Andy and I have had a boy name chosen for a few weeks, but hadn't really gotten very far on a girl name. The two girl names he absolutely adores I am not a major fan of. So, yesterday the kids and I sat down and hashed out all of the options of girl names. It's amazing how opinionated and passionate they are about names. We found a girl name, first and middle that we all loved and that I knew Andy would approve of too. He did. So unless someone has some huge revelation I think we've settled on names. Such a wonderful feeling!

Since we are not finding out the gender until the birth, we are not sharing our names with anyone either. The kids obviously know the girl name, but have promised to keep it a secret. We don't trust them enough with the boy name, so we're keeping that to ourselves. So different from the others, and definitely exciting. Probably will do it this way again if given the opportunity. Yay for New Baby having a name no matter what gender it is!

Under 100 Days Until New Baby is 40 Weeks!

I completed my 26th week of the pregnancy today. That means I have 98 days left until I am 40 weeks. Wow - that flew! I am so incredibly thankful that God has seen fit to give me so many amazing pregnancies. I feel fantastic! I feel like I am gaining a lot of weight, like I did with the girls, but feel very strongly it's a boy.

I'd honestly rather gain a lot of weight than be sick and miserable any day. I have no idea how I would have survived if I had been sick during any of my pregnancies. The Lord knows how little I can handle in that department, probably. Chances are we'd just have Samuel running around all alone had I gone through what some others I know went through. I am so thankful my pregnancies have been non-eventful so far. As I'm sure Sam is, too. I do not take this lightly. I am aware there are countless number of women around the world who cannot even bear a child, so gaining more weight than desirable seems like it should be a pretty petty issue in my mind.

People are certainly not making comments along the lines of "oh, wow, you don't even look like you're pregnant unless you look at your belly!" or "My! You are so tiny!" And, for all the selfish and superficial reasons in the world, a part of me wants to hear those comments. I want numerous perfect pregnancies and births and look amazing through it all. HA! Oh first world problems...

I don't really ever stress about my body, except when I'm pregnant, so having to go to a big fancy wedding last weekend surely put my self esteem to the test. I was going to be seeing people I haven't seen in years and didn't like how I looked. But, I really didn't want to let a few extra pounds ruin my mood. Instead I wanted to embrace this season of life and enjoy myself and others. I think I did okay for the most part.

Looking at these pictures below, I honestly cringe at how fat I feel like I look. But, I know I'm the only one who truly thinks about it at all. Andy tells me every day how beautiful I am and how adorable I look pregnant. But, he's not the one carrying all the extra weight, so it's easier for him, I'm well aware. But, I still wish I had the same perspective he does. I'm working on it.

I lose all the baby weight eventually, so that is my comfort, but with each pregnancy I wonder if this time will be the time it never comes off. We shall see. But, for now, I want to embrace this life I've been blessed with, and not grow bitter at the effects that come with this miracle growing in my womb. And, I know this precious baby is surely going to want pictures of his/her mama when they were growing in her belly. So, here they are...

**************

I adore this picture of my mom. She looks so happy and beautiful. She just radiates.

My love and me.

The stunning bride and me. I kinda have another sister... and she is awesome!

Recent Kid Quotes

Andy: "I love you, Ebba."
Annabelle: "I love you, too, Daddy."
Andy: "You love me as good as you can, can't you sweetie?"
Annabelle "Yes, I love you all the way."

This conversation came after she had recently told me she loves me "as good as I can."

Rain Reds the Raspberries
-Sam - May 2014

Late Night Tea Party

Andy took the boys to the park to play some baseball while I stayed home with the girls, which is a very common occurrence these days. (Our yard is too small for baseball, but we are so thankful we have so many fantastic parks so close to our house to enjoy).

While they were gone Annabelle and I decided it was a great night for a nice quiet tea party. So we played with Rosie a bit, did some other stuff and then put Rosie to bed. We got all set up and of course just as we are sitting down to enjoy our tea the boys come trampling home. We had a decision to make... warmly welcome them to join us or request that they let it be a girls only tea party that night.

When we noticed the smiles on their faces and saw how ecstatic they were that a tea party was about to start and they hadn't missed out, our decision was made. We told them they were more than welcome to join us, they just had to not be smelly and dirty :) So as cute as they possibly could be, they quietly went upstairs. They then came down hands and faces washed and completely dressed up in collared shirts and dress shorts! It was adorable. They were beaming - speaking so prime and proper to top it off. We got the extra tea and snacks all set up and laughed the evening away. We even found time to get through another chapter of Little Town on the Prairie.

I've retired to my room for the night to start a friend's second book that was just released yesterday, and I even just ordered myself my Mother's Day gift, a new sewing machine! It's quite simply an ideal way to end a wonderful evening.

The dishes didn't get done, a-gain, but I'm certain they will be patiently waiting for me in the morning. For now, I'm cherishing a rare, quiet and restful evening alone (Andy is out running with a friend) and thanking God for the gift of motherhood that not all who desire get to enjoy.

Is it possible I get to call them all mine?!

Snuggle with Siblings

Joseph woke up pretty grumpy this morning. After giving him a chance to go back to bed and start his day over he was still struggling to have a happy heart about anything. I was determined to not let his grouchy mood put a damper on the rest of our cheerful attitudes. So, I made him tell me 5 things that make him happy before he went on with his day. A huge smile lit up his face... he said "Posey," One of the many nicknames we have for Rosemary. Then I asked him what else... he couldn't think of anything.. Haha. So, I told him to think of 5 things about Posey that he loves... oh the list quickly gained momentum after that.

I love so much that even in the worst of moods, our precious Posey puts a smile on anyone of our faces.

The story above is not new to Joseph one bit. He has been requesting for weeks that I add "snuggle with Annabelle" as a chore for his chore board. I thought it humorous that he would want to add yet another "chore" to his list, but he insisted. Why would I ever argue with this sort of request?! So, I made it a bit broader since everyone else jumped on board with the idea to "snuggle with siblings". Not surprisingly it's all of their favorite chore of the day.

The Best of Days

There are just those days in life that I never ever want to forget. In the grand scheme of things, there was very little noteworthy news to outsiders, but it was salve for this mama's weary soul. After a very full couple weeks of schooling, housework, errands, and a million other things, I was just craving a day to relax with my family.

Joe had an early baseball game this morning, so it forced us to be up and out the door by 8:40. This is not typically smiled upon by any of us, but we did it and once we were out the door, I was glad to have even more of the day ahead of us to just be together on such a beautiful day.

We stopped at Whole Foods on the way home from the game, then the boys went to the park to play some more baseball after Joe's game, the girls and I took a nap, we read, we played, we sang, we cooked out. Then after dinner the boys cleaned up and then did some building project together while Annabelle and I went to the fabric store, then had some frozen yogurt. Now Andy and I are off to watch a movie.

My life is simple, and I wouldn't trade it for the world. I am so grateful that God has given me Andy and through us has created this precious little family to love and raise to serve Him.

***************

Some highlights of the day:

~ Watching Joseph and Rosie play together as I did the dishes. They were so content and just eating up the time together. Nothing was really different or unique about their interactions, but I was able to pause and cherish it a little more today.

~ My time out with Annabelle. She is growing up so fast. While she is still very much my child, she is becoming a friend. We laugh, we joke and we just get each other. I love just enjoying life with her.

~ Seeing Samuel and Joseph just love playing baseball together. They have really gotten into it at the same time and it brings my heart a lot of joy to see their friendship find new hobbies to share together. Plus, Andy loves playing with them, too.

Puddle Jumping

Poor pathetic duo stuck inside to watch everyone else having fun in the rain.

Sam has a pretty loose top tooth. He's going to look so cute once it falls out.

Rosie's cuteness finally won out and she joined the big kids outside. Her first puddle experience I believe.

Quite thrilled!

New Baby - 20 Weeks

And She's Off!

Rosie has decided it's finally time to enter the world of walking!

Maymont Park

Ebba in Mama's Dress

My mom sent a few dresses from when I was Ebba's age. Here she is in one of them!

Judo Joe

Andy and Joseph are taking Judo together and his gi just arrived. How handsome does he look?!

Greensboro Gymnastics Invitational

Sam put on quite the performance! He did so well. He could not contain his excitement. I got comment after comment from complete strangers saying that he looks like he's the happiest boy there and how much he just makes people smile looking at him. He is such a joy and it's so contagious.

I am so proud of him for how hard he's worked and how much he has improved over the season.

Nana and Poppy were just beaming the whole weekend!

Greensboro Science Center

Nana and Poppy met us in Greensboro, NC for one of Samuel's gymnastics meets. It wasn't until the evening, so we spent the day at the Greensboro Science Center. It was fantastic! A zoo, aquarium and science center all in one!

Annabelle giving us her best penguin pose.

This was the strangest thing. This fish was completely smitten with Rosie. He would swim right up to her and just sit there watching her. She would put her hand up to the glass and he would put his nose on the glass. We would walk away and the fish would swim away. There were so many people standing and looking into the tank, but this fish showed no interest in anyone but her. Very cool.

Joseph Turns 6!

We all had such a fun day celebrating Joseph turning 6. We are so blessed by this kid and amazed at what God is doing in his life. He chose to go to the Children's Museum in Lynchburg. And of course wanted a baseball cake.

7,5,3,1

VA Beach Gymnastics Competition

Sledding