11 Month Pumpkin

Joshua is 11 months old. His first birthday is just around the corner. He can stand up without holing onto anything. He has taken a few steps independently and is really good with a walker, or a laundry basket, or the kitchen bench turned upside down. He is fast! He has learned to go down stairs properly (with supervision of corse)!
He is a had full, but so much fun! Love him!

Pumpkin Patch

 



The kids had a field trip at Hazelmere Pumpkin Patch today. It was lots of fun! Got some cute pictures of Joshua too which I will share next in an 11 month post.

First Day of School 2015

Today is the first day of school for David (Grade 4), Angeline (Grade 1), and Samara (Kindergarten). David will be attending class once a week as well as Nature School once a month. He attended his first Nature School last week and spent a whole day in the woods. Angeline and Samara will be attending twice a week together in a K/1 split class. We have already began our school work at home with much enthusiasm but today is their first day in class.

10 Months

As predicted these 10 month pictures were even more difficult to capture then the 9 month ones. At his last check up (about 4 weeks ago) Joshua weighed 20 lbs 2 oz and is charted at 50th percentile for hight and weight. As you can tell from the pictures he is growing a lot each month. His hair has gotten lighter, though not as light as David's was at 10 months. He LOVES driving cars. He LOVES buttons. He also LOVES his sock monkey from Oma and Opa. He does not LOVE nap time, being fed, or having his diaper changed. But he does finally LOVE baths! And we LOVE our little man.

Last few weeks of Summer Fun

We had a really enjoyable time at the cabin as our summer vacation neared its end. The weather was good and the mosquitos weren't bad so what more can you ask for in 100 Mile? David enjoyed riding his new quad as well as doing tricks on his dirt bike. Angeline made a caterpillar friend and enjoyed helping in the garden. We discovered Samara is part puzzle master and part animal whisperer... I think Daddy might have to take her on his next hunting trip as she seems to have a knack for spotting animals. Rebekah enjoyed all the extra outdoor time, making (pretend) tea for everyone and playing cards with her grandmas and sisters. Joshua, well he really enjoyed the pine cones... there was no shortage of things to put in his mouth. Jonathan and I enjoyed watching our children enjoy themselves and we snuck in a few board games and quad rides ourselves.

We spent 2 days at home and then headed to Port Alberni for 1 week. We took in the fireworks and the kids fished at the bullhead derby. Samara got skunked but entered one of her siblings extra fish and won a prize. Rebekah caught the biggest fish out of our four with no prize to be had and David who was convinced he wouldn't win anything got the very last prize.
We enjoyed a lot of visiting time during the week and then had one last adventure at the Fall Fair. Enjoy the pictures and if you want to see more just click on one and it will bring you to our flickr page.

Joshua 9 months

This was the most challenging set of monthly pictures to capture so far. Joshua won't sit still! I was actually amazed to see how much he has changed in appearance this last month. Now that he has started his 10th month he is finally saying "Mom"... he has been saying "Dada" for a long time. His 5th tooth also recently poked through. As summer draws closer to its end these next few weeks are going to go by really fast and I will soon be updating with his 10 month pics. Soaking up all his baby love while I can.

Rebekah

Rebekah JUST turned 3 and hasn't finished celebrating yet (family party postponed since mommy got sick). She did share some "Frozen" cupcakes with her Sunday School class who sang her happy birthday.
3 weeks before her Birthday she tripped and did a header. Instant goose egg, two black eyes and 3 weeks later she is fully recovered. Not much stops her or slows her down.
She is a good mix of stubborn, funny, determined, sensitive and adorable (of course).

David

David turned 9 at the end of June and celebrated with a handful of friends in early July. This Birthday was one of the hardest for me knowing that my Baby will hit double digits next year and that he is 1/2 way though to graduating high school (though he still currently claims that he wants to live with me even after he grows up).
He is currently reading through the Star Wars series and also continues to enjoy lego, bionicles, pokemon, minecraft, and board games. He is also continuing in Karate though his attendance has been more sporadic during the summer months.
If I could have a birthday wish granted and his behalf it would be that he wouldn't take life so seriously (sometimes) and that he would just enjoy being a kid... but alas, he is a first born.

Angeline

In March we celebrated Angeline's 6th birthday but we only recently added her party pictures to the computer. Even though she is nearly 6 1/2 I had to share an update and some pictures of our oldest daughter. Mature beyond her age (most of the time) she in an amazing helper with Joshua and her other siblings. She loves having a baby brother and if she had her way would have a bay sister next! (Tried explaining to her that she already has 2 baby sisters but "they aren't little anymore"). She does plan to grow up, get married and have five kids of her own. David has nicknamed her "second mom" and she carries that title proudly. She thoroughly enjoyed her first year of school (attending 2 days/week of class at HomeQuest) and is eagerly waiting to start Grade 1 in September.

Joshua 8 Months

As of yesterday Joshua is 9 months old! I am hoping to take his 9 month sticker photo's today but since I haven't posted some 8 month pictures yet I decided to do that first! The last day of his 7th month he pulled himself up to stand for the first time and there has been no stoping him since. He's not that motivated to cruise furniture but he does occasionally take a few steps. He crawls everywhere at full speed including up stairs. Baby proofing is now in full swing. He naps in his crib but continues to co-sleep with us once he wakes up during the night. His hair is getting thicker and seems to have some curl to it. He likes to wrestle and play peek-a-boo with David and he has his sisters wrapped around his little finger. As always he is growing up too fast. Love, love, loving our littlest man.

Joshua 7 Months

Joshua is 7 months old! I caught a picture of his new trick... clapping! He is very proud of this accomplishment. He often claps to show he is happy about something. When we had him dedicated on Sunday he clapped when we got up in front of everyone. In his smilie picture you can see his two bottom teeth which have come in nicely. He is working every day on the next ones but for the most part  isn't overly bothered by them.
He is continuing to try new foods and also new means of transportation. I was trying to coax him to crawl for the camera earlier today but no such luck.
I'm sure these summer months will all go by in a blur as he starts to crawl, gains speed, starts cruising furniture and learns more words. We are just trying to take it all in and we are certainly enjoying our littlest man and his older brother and sisters too. Feeling very blessed!

Joshua's Dedication

 

Joshua,
your name has been a favourite of ours since we first started choosing baby names more then 10 years ago. Along with the significance of its meaning we are also reminded of Joshua's declaration found in Joshua 24:15 which is the very same declaration we are making today "As for me and my house we will serve the Lord."
We thank God for the gift you are to us and the joy you bring to our family. We pray that your knowledge of the scriptures, your faith and you love for God will grow as you grow. That when the time comes and you find yourself at a crossroad your declaration would also be "As for me and my house we will serve the Lord."
The scripture we have chosen for your dedication is God's commissioning of Joshua (Joshua 1:7-9).
 
"Be strong and very courageous. Be careful to obey all the law my servant Moses gave you; do not turn from it to the right or to the left, that you may be successful wherever you go. Keep this book of the law always on your lips; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful. Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the LORD your God will be with you wherever you go.
 
Be Strong and Courageous son, and may the Lord your God be with you wherever you go.

Love,
Mom & Dad

Joshua 6 months

While we were away at Tad Lake earlier this month Joshua hit the 1/2 year mark. He is continuing to do well, weighing 17 lbs 8 oz. He is in the 50% for weight and 60% for hight which is the same as David at that age. His ability to sit on his own is improving everyday. On Saturday he got his first tooth and I am sure the second is close behind. He is wriggling everywhere but not quite crawling. He likes to babble... especially "Dadadadadadda." We are looking forward to having him Dedicated on June 14th. We love you little man!

10 years ago...

10 years ago (yesterday) Jonathan and I were celebrating out 6 month anniversary when he proposed at White Rock Beach. We decided it would be fun to go back with the kids and show them the spot where it all took place. The tide was in so we couldn't exactly replicate it and neither one of us could really remember his exact speech but it was nice to reminisce. So, here we are 10 years later!

Joshua 5 months

Lots of firsts between 4 and 5 months old. We have started him on solids, mostly rice cereal but he LOVES bits of bread or plain rice from our plates. He got his cereal into his mouth with a spoon on his own so that gives you a bit of an idea how eager he is.
He also likes to spend a bit of time in his exercauser and enjoys longer bouts of playtime on the floor.
Joshua is a full fledged thumb sucker but will humer us by taking his soother once and a while.
It seems like he is always discovering a new voice and has recently started making a car sound when we are in the van.
Joshua is continuing to grow well weighing 17lbs 1oz at his 5 month weigh in (that's exactly 1 pound gained in one month).

Joshua 4 Months

Joshua had his 4 month check up today and weighed in at 16 lbs 1oz. When I compared his 4 month picture to his 3 month picture I could see that he hasn't changed as drastically in the last month as he has from month to month previously. He roles onto his tummy more often (he used to just roll onto his side and lay that way), he takes his soother a bit better (but won't have anything to do with a Nuk), and he is a thumb sucker. He still LOVES his swing and he is starting to go in his exersauser for short amounts of time. We have made it a morning routine to sing him his favorite songs "My God is SO BIG" and "Running Over" and we also like to sing these to him after diaper changes and throughout the day. He has found some new voices and loves to talk... sometimes sounding quite growly. He loves kisses and will kiss you back. We are enjoying him and soaking up all the baby goodness we can get, knowing all to well how soon he will grow up.

Joshua 3 months

Joshua is now 3 months old which means he is 1/4 of the way to his 1st Birthday! I took him to the health unit on his 3 month birthday so see how much weight he has gained since last month. He is now 14 lbs 14 oz! What can I say about our little man? He is no longer taking a bottle and is not fond of his soother either. He seems to have quite the temper at times, though he is most often easy going (gets this from Daddy?). He has started giggling, especially if we tickle him. He LOVES to talk and be talked to. He sleeps well at night for the most part (yay), but he hasn't really settled into a day time nap routine.
He is wearing size 3-6month and 6 month clothing and since we recently finished a pack of size 2 diapers we went right to size 3's since he grows fast and I am worried we wouldn't make it through another pack of size 2's. Hope you enjoy the pics and quick update.

Joshua 2 Months

I just wanted to take a few minutes to post Joshua's official 2 month picture. I am including his 1 month picture so that yo can see how much he has grown over the last month. At his 2 month check up he weighed 13 lbs 6 oz. He is doing really well. He does seem to have a bit of a fussy tummy and can sometimes be a challenge to get to sleep. He loves his swing (we ALL love his swing)!
What is fun about 2 months? We are loving his smiles, giggles and coo's.

6 weeks

Joshua 5 weeks

I also just wanted to take a few minutes to share some updated pictures of Joshua. He is now in his 5th week!

Samara is 4!

Our lovely Princess Samara is now 4 years old. Here are a few pictures of her celebrating with friends. She had a fun time at her Frozen themed party. She is looking forward to her "Blossoming Ballerinas" class in January and can often be found tip toeing around the house. She was really excited for her Birthday this year and is still referring to herself as "the Birthday Girl." Apparently she will remain the birthday girl until all her presents are opened (one more get together with family still to come).

We love our Sweet Samara... Happy Birthday "Birthday Girl!"

Christmas Letter 2014

December 1, 2014

Merry Christmas and Happy (soon to be) New Year 2015!

     For us this year began with plans for a new addition to our family and much of the year was spend focused on this goal. We were very happy to welcome Joshua on November 6^th. For the first time we feel as though our family is complete as we marvel at our new born baby boy. David couldn't be happier to have a brother and the same goes for the girls.

     Rebekah (our baby girl) turned 2 in August and with that came the realization that our last baby girl is growing up. She now attends Sunday School and does just about everything else her sisters do too. We love her sentences... she says anything she wants to say. She is loving, funny, competitive and helpful. She will often help David with his chore of unloading the dishwasher.

     Samara is about to turn 4 and is eager to do all things big girls do. I am thankful she is only one school grade behind Angeline because she likes to keep up with her big sister. It seems I am always having to tell her she she has to wait until she is in kindergarten. She can write her name and several other words but mostly just likes putting random letters together and asking “what does this say”? We are looking forward to celebrating her December Birthday with a Disney Frozen theme.

     Angeline started kindergarten in September at 5 1/2 years old. I was wondering how I would handle homeschooling 2 but it has been going really well. She is eager and works efficiently and quickly... just have to remind her to slow down and work on her tidiness! She attends class on Tuesdays and has the following activities planned for the new year... ballet, swimming lessons, and soccer. She loves to help around the house and is our official egg cracker. She is also a big help with her sisters and baby Joshua.

      David is almost 8 1/2 and is continuing to thrive at home in Grade 3. He loves to read chapter books and his favourite subject is math. He recently finished the Geronimo Stilton Fantasy series (6 chapter books) and has read every Captain Underpants book he can get his hands on. He is planning to start Karate Class in the New Year and is also looking forward to swimming lessons and soccer in the Spring. He is also starting his first job (a paper route) to earn some spending money and save up for his next motor cycle.

     Jonathan has been enjoying playing floor hockey on Tuesday nights and is looking forward to another Spring Season of Soccer. He recently took 3 weeks off work to help out at home when baby Joshua arrived. We are going to miss having him home full time since he has to go back to work tomorrow.

     I am doing well and am very happy to have Joshua in my arms and no longer in my womb! I am looking forward to getting back in shape as I shed these baby pounds for the final time. We recently celebrated our 9 year wedding anniversary and look forward to celebrating our 10^th in a special way next year. Lots to look forward to in 2015!

     Love,

           the Neufelds

PS- Here are our new photo's taken on November 27th by Charlie Vowels. These are the runners up... saving our favourites for Christmas pictures... Enjoy!

3 weeks

Joshua is 3 weeks old! Today we had our pictures taken by Charlie Vowels. Here are a few of her pictures of Joshua. At his doctors appointment yesterday he weighed 9 lbs 10.5 oz! He gained 1 whole pound in 12 days. He is continuing to do well and we are continuing to enjoy our baby boy!

1 week pictures

I just wanted to share a few pictures of Joshua from last Wednesday when he was 1 day shy of 1 week. The last picture was one my Dad caught of him smiling in his sleep on Sunday at 1 1/2 weeks. He is doing really well... already having passed his birth weight by 3 ounces at 1 week old. We are loving him and wishing time would slow down so that we could better enjoy every moment. He will be 2 weeks old already on Thursday.

Joshua Peter

Joshua Peter Neufeld

November 6, 2014

8lbs 7oz

Here he is! We were so happy to welcome our son into the world on Thursday night. If he would have waited another 28 minutes he would have been born on Friday but I was glad not to have another 32 minutes of pain! He holds the record for our heaviest baby at 8lbs 7oz! I can tell you the extra pound makes a lot of difference! He was also born with his hand at the side of his face and his shoulders got stuck which didn't help matters. Thankfully we are both happy and healthy. I am definitely taking it easy this next little while.

Joshua also hold the record for longest time without a name. It took us over 10 hours to name him which may not seem long to some people but we have had all of our other babies named in the first 30 minutes. Joshua was on our favourite name list... it just took us a while to decide if it suited him. The meaning of Joshua is "God is Salvation." Peter is Jonathan's middle name, the name of one of the twins I nannied when I lived in Switzerland and the name of Joshua's Great, Great-Grandpa.

I just wanted to take a few minutes to share some pictures. I hope you enjoy them. We are all very much enjoying Baby Joshua.

38 Weeks

I have now been pregnant about a total of 228 weeks. We are currently partway through our 38th week in this pregnancy (by my original due date) or just about starting our 38th week (by my ultrasound date). I have never made it to my due date (though I know I should never say never) and my last 3 babies have been born at exactly 38 weeks. So, we are ready to welcome this baby boy into the world!

At my last doctors appointment my cervix was stretchy and I was 3-4 cm dilated. I have a doctors appointment this afternoon so we will see if that has changed any. To some people this seems like a lot but it is pretty typical of me to dilate before labour begins. With Samara I was 5cm dilated for a week. I have had several bouts of contractions over the last several weeks even lasting for up to 6 hours! This makes it difficult for me to predict if I am just having another round of practice contractions or if Baby is on his way. With Rebekah I had 6 hours of contractions before I was mostly confident that it was actually kicking in to the second stage of labour and that she was indeed on her way.

The last few weeks have been difficult. It spends a lot of emotional energy wondering if I am just up for another sleepless night or if it is baby day. I try to ignore the contractions for the most part but the question is always in my mind. You would think that with this being my 6th baby I would relax a bit about the whole labour and birth but I think I feel more stress and anxiety with this one then I have with any of the others.

I am looking forward to my mom coming for the long weekend. It will be nice to have the extra hands to distract the kids and some visiting and help to distract me. Jonathan is taking the rest of November off and works his last day on Saturday. I feel less overwhelmed knowing that soon I won't be on my own.

I may include a pregnancy picture later on if I get one. Hoping rather to be posting some baby pictures soon. We will likely put our first pictures of baby on Flickr when we are in hospital. You can view them by clicking on this link:

Neufeld Flickr Page

First Day of School

Last week Angeline had her first day of Kindergarten and David had his first day of Grade 3. We have a lot of new things going on with school this year. While we are continuing to Homeschool we have changed which school we Homeschool through and with that comes a number of changes because there are many differences in how they operate. We were formally homeschooling though RCOA which is a Private Christian School. We are now currently homeschooling with HomeQuest which is part of Delta School District. HomeQuest operates out of PineWood Elementary School in Delta. So far we are really happy we made the switch.
Currently Angeline and David attend class on Tuesdays with the option of attending twice a week. We have decided to attend once a week for now and will look at attending 2 full days a week when school starts up in January.
One of the advantages of HomeQuest that we are really excited about is that they offer many field trips. We all visited Hazelmere Pumpkin Patch on Friday and are looking forward to "Learn to Fish" near the end of October. There are 1-2 field trips each week so you can pick and choose which ones to participate in (for free). The above picture was taken at the Pumpkin Patch and the kids each brought home a different colour pumpkin. We are looking forward to tasting the blue, white and red pumpkins we brought home which are supposedly much tastier then the average orange pumpkin.
I was not sure what to expect having 2 students when the last 3 years it has been 1 on 1 but much to my surprise we have transitioned very well. We are looking forward to another great year of learning, family time, and many memories made.

Bekah is 2!

Rebekah is now 26 months so her 2 year update is overdue. The main reason for the delay is I have been hoping to capture some special pictures of her to celebrate this special milestone. She doesn't really like to pose for the camera at the moment and her two year birthday pictures are out since singing her "Happy Birthday" puts her in tears. I'd like to say that they are happy tears but the truth is she really doesn't like it. She broke out crying for her first birthday as well.

Regardless of whether or not I am able to capture the perfect posed picture I have in mind, her birthday has come and gone. She is transforming more and more every day into a little girl and the only thing really holding her back as a baby is her diapers. Jonathan and I are both finding it difficult that she is growing up so fast, I think this is particularly the case since she is our last baby girl. In another month or so she will be a big sister!

We love her so much... she gives the BEST cuddles and LOVES to make us laugh. She did promise Daddy that she would stay little forever but we know there is no stopping the inevitable. So we will catch snap shots when we can and cherish the moments as we attempt to enjoy the present without longing for the past or fretting about the future.

Tad Lake August 26- September 5

We got back yesterday from our trip to Tad Lake. Now we are busy getting things organized before we start school Monday. The next few months are sure to pass quickly and we are anticipating the end of term one along with the arrival of our new addition.

Our time at Tad Lake went well. The kids didn't want to come home... though they are happy to be reunited with their toys and they all slept extra well in their own beds. There was lots to do as always. Tire swing, walk to the cattle guard, bikes, motorbikes, quad rides, play house, rock panting, gardening, frog hunting... just to name a few.
David learned to drive the big quad and is hoping to get one his own size before our next visit in the Spring.
We spent the first week there without Daddy since he was hunting outside Fort Nelson. It was good to have lots to occupy us and lots of family around while he was away.
Just wanted to share a few pictures from our trip.

Baby Boy 27 weeks

Here is another sneak peak of our Baby Boy. I am 27 weeks pregnant and he is measuring 28 weeks (over 2 lbs now)  which probably just means my original due date of November 17th is more accurate (always is). We had to have another scan because the doctor was concerned he was big or I had too much amniotic fluid but the measurements came back fine.

My guess is that he will arrive November 7th and weigh 8lbs 2 oz.

Port Alberni - Summer 2014

This month we were able to spend a week on Vancouver Island visiting family. We started off our trip with a day at Parksville Beach which has become an annual tradition. This year we brought Angeline's kite which David enjoyed flying. We also enjoyed Roger Creek Park Trails and Water Park where we were able to get an updated family picture. Another highlight is always Sprout Lake and we were able to spend time at Taylor Arm and at my Aunt & Uncles Place. The kids enjoyed swimming in the lake... Rebekah was so comfortable in the water she decided it was a good place for a nap! While we were there we were able to celebrate David and Rebekah's Birthdays twice... lots of fun was had by all. I will share a few highlights but if you want to see more pictures just click on one of the pictures and it will bring you to our flickr page where you can view lots more.

VBS 2014

Vacation Bible School is always a summer highlight for us. This was Samara's 1st year so she was really excited to be able to take part. It took her a little while to warm up to the new experience but she had a great week and by the last day she had lots of hugs and smiles for her leaders. Grammy & Grandpa volunteered their time to help make VBS a success and they loved seeing them every day.

Baby Gender Reveal

Yesterday we had our 20 week ultrasound and a little get together to share with some family and friends the gender or our baby on the way. We are very thankful for a healthy baby! And we must admit it is going to be nice to have a change from pink and bring out some of our blue again! So that's our news... Baby BOY Neufeld coming soon. We are all very excited... the kids didn't go to bed until 10pm last night. Hope you enjoy the pictures!

David's 8th Birthday - Lego Party

Well, it has been a busy few weeks. It is actually July 4th but I wanted to back post David's Birthday before I continued blogging with our Baby News from yesterday.
David chose a Lego Movie theme this year and had a fun party with 5 friends (Joel is missing from the pictures as he had to leave early). Thank you to everyone for coming and for the special gifts!

8 isn't one of those milestone Birthdays that brings tears to a mothers eyes but I am still in awe that my Baby (my first baby that is) is 8 years old! That is only 2 years away from 10! As part of turning 8 David got to move into his own bedroom which he is going to have to share eventually when his new room mate arrives. He love, love, loves Lego as you may have guessed from his party's theme. He has also recently developed an interest in Pokemon. A new age came with a bit of new attitude but he continues to be our loving, considerate, generous & happy first born son. We love you David!

It's A...

Chinese Gender Prediction Calendar = BOY
Baking Soda / Urine = GIRL
Ring over belly = BOY
Sweet VS Spicy= BOY
Heart Rate = GIRL
Cold Feet = BOY
Belly Shape = BOY
Face Shape= BOY
SKIN = BOY
Morning Sickness = GIRL

As our ultrasound date approaches I am finding myself more and more anxious to find out the gender of our newest family member. If any of these predictions were accurate we wouldn't need an ultrasound to find out baby's gender but I thought it would be fun just the same to see what we came up with. There are a few tricks I haven't tried... like mixing urine with drano crystals or boiled water from red cabbage... and I haven't bought an at home gender prediction kit (because again none of these methods prove to be accurate) but here are some results from the few things I have tried. Do I think I am having a BOY based on these results? No! Still waiting to see what the ultrasound tech says in just less then 2 weeks. If you are curious to find out check our blog on Sunday, July 6 (it should be posted by then if not earlier... though I would like to keep it a secret so I can announce it myself at church to those who haven't found out already). We will be having a small gender reveal party on Thursday after the ultrasound.

Samara's Hospital Stay

Thank you to everyone who has been keeping Samara in their thoughts and prayers. We got home from the hospital this morning. Her heart rate was a little high before we left but she was getting more anxious about being at the hospital the longer we stayed. She also refused liquid medicine so she could only take the chewable tylenol they had rather then alternating between tylenol and advil like she is supposed to. Now that she is home we have both in chewable form so pain management should be less of an issue though it is supposed to get worse before it gets better. That being said she is doing well. She is happy to be home. She is currently playing a board game with her siblings.
After her surgery she had to stay in recovery for 2 hours which is a little bit longer then usual. There were no major complications she just had a bit of a hard time waking up, some blood in her saliva and needed some oxygen for the first little bit. Please continue to pray for her since pain tends to peak on day four and she the risk for bleeding is its highest between day seven and day ten.
We are very happy to have her home.

Samara's 1st Operation

Samara is having her tonsils and adenoids removed tomorrow. I will be spending the day and night with her at the hospital. We are pretty much ready to go bright and early Friday morning, just a few more things to pack. Not sure what time she will get discharged on Saturday but once we've settled in at home I plan to update the blog to let everyone know how she is doing. We will be checking in at 7:10am and her surgery is schedule for 9:10am. Please pray that she responds well to the anesthetic and that there are no complications. Thank you.






We spent a fun day together at Bear Creek Park and then to Menchies for frozen yogurt. I am glad it worked out that Jonathan had today off. Once Samara has recovered we will have to celebrate with another fun family adventure. Until then we wish her a speedy recovery.

16 Weeks

At 16 Weeks Pregnant "Pumpkin" is about the size of an avocado (hence the picture) and we are half way through our 4th month. The half way mark for us (19 weeks) is just around the corner. "Pumpkin" is scheduled for a growth spurt... and should be doubling his weight in the next few weeks (which means I am scheduled for another growth spurt too).
I am feeling pretty good... second trimester is everyone's favorite. I have started an iron supplement to bring my iron up and I am having some difficulty sleeping but that is mostly because I have to keep getting up to pee. Nothing truly to complain about.
In just less then 4 weeks we will be having another ultrasound and if "Pumpkin" cooperates we are planning to find out his (or her) gender.
I am beginning to wonder if this baby might be part Mexican (not seriously) because I seem to want the spicy version of anything and everything. I've been adding jalapeno's and hot sauce to most of my meals which has culminated in some very interesting and tasty discoveries.

Summer Challenges

Well... we have nearly wrapped up another year of home schooling... and so I am finding myself in need of another challenge... not that my life doesn't have enough challenges on its own but I think it might do me some good to have a project. I have several to choose from... always things on the to do list I don't have time for but I have decided to choose the challenge of Angeline's Baby Book. David's is done... though I think I may add a few things here and there. Rebekah's is done (because I did her's online... one month at a time). But Angeline's and Samara's remain. I would do theirs online too but I already have the albums, paper, stickers and pictures printed so all I need now is a little determination. I'm not setting a timed challenge because I really don't know how long it will take me to complete it. But I want to have it done by the end of summer if I can manage. The challenge really is to get started and make time to work on it. It is nice to have some uninterrupted time where I can feel like I am accomplishing something. Lately I am feeling a bit overwhelmed by all the "lather, rinse, repeat" duties of motherhood. To complete her album will be a big check mark off my list, a sure sense of accomplishment.
I am also hoping to host a book club for 8 weeks in July and August on Monday nights from 7:30-9:00pm. We will be discussing Kevin Leman's book, "Have a New Husband by Friday."Don't worry... I'm not actually planning to trade Jonathan in. Truth be told it has more to do with changes we can make as wives to better our marriages but if there is enough interest it should prove to be a fun and informative weekly girls night out.
When I think about challenges there has been one thing in particular on my mind lately that really challenges my heart. Samara (our 3/12 year old) is schedule for surgery to have her tonsils and adenoids removed on June 13th. It is a routine day surgery but because of her age I will be staying with her overnight and I am grateful that they will be monitoring her at the hospital for the first 24 hours. You might say I am struggling with it because she is my first child to have surgery. Or maybe it is because at the adorable age of 3 1/2 she pulls on my heart strings a little more strongly then her syblings. But I think the real reason is I'm afraid my decision could turn out to be the worst thing for her when it is meant to be the best. There is the complication of the anesthesia and the possibility of bleeding for up to 3 weeks afterwards though the odds are in her favour that she will recover quickly and be as good as new in no time. Like any parent I just can't bare the thought of having to say good-bye. Unlike most parents I have had to do it before. I know the reality is that each and every day could be any one of our lasts. I am trying to be logical and remind myself of all the ways she will benefit once she has recovered and somedays I can almost convince myself but my reality remains that sending her off into the hands of her sergeant will be the second most difficult thing I have ever had to do.

Adam and Eve and Peanuts

This morning in the van on the way to David's soccer game Angeline asks
"Mommy why am I allergic to dust mites?"
(Me) "I don't know why but I am too."
(David) "Angeline... you want to know why people have allergies?... Adam sinned in the garden and that is why we have allergies. If Adam and Eve would have obeyed then he would still be alive and I could eat peanuts."

Introducing Pumpkin

For the most part our news is out but I was waiting to officially blog our new addition until after today's ultrasound so that I could include another picture of Pumpkin. The above picture was taken in April at 8 weeks, 2 days pregnant and the below picture was taken today at 12 weeks and 5 days pregnant! We are officially Due November 22, 2014 and as usual we are anticipating an early arrival by about 2 weeks which make's Pumpkins likely arrival sometime around November 8th. I wasn't able to get our scanner to cooperate so I had to take pictures of the pictures which doesn't make for the best quality but you kind of have to use your imagination a bit anyway. Regardless you can see how much Pumpkin has changed in the last 4 weeks. We have our next doctors appointment on Tuesday and we are looking forward to booking our 19-20 week ultrasound then. Which brings us to the big question... Should we find out Pumpkins gender at our next ultrasound OR leave it a surprise for his/her arrival in November?



Here is a picture of how we announced Pumpkin to some of our family members...

David's Dirt Bike

Tad Lake - May 2014

We recently spent a week at the family cabin at Tad Lake near 100 Mile House. It's still a bit cold in early May but the nice thing is there aren't many mosquitos yet (we saw the odd one but no bites). We had a great time and made lots of nice memories.
David had some big highlights this trip. We got him his first dirt bike (YAMAHA PW50) which he spent most of his time on! He also went fishing and caught his first fish, a rainbow trout.
The kids didn't want to come home and are already looking forward to our next rip.
I hope you enjoy these few pictures from our week.

21 Months

Rebekah is now 21 months old. Usually by this time the newest sibling has arrived. She IS going to be BIG SISTER to our new addition in November 2014. These pictures were taken during our week at Tad Lake. She loved spending time at the family cabin. She would have spent the entire time outside if she could have. "Outside" is one of her favourite words to say. She also says "downstairs" often... that is where we have our play room and where her siblings can usually be found. She is now saying small sentences... things like "I want juice." Her best friend is Samara and she LOVES following her around. They are often holding hands off on an adventure together. If Samara is climbing the rocks at the front of our house she has to do it too... same with the run bike etc. We love our Bekah... she is so much fun and adds lots of joy to our family.

Palm Springs

More March...

Angeline's Princess Party

3 Sisters at 19 months

Angeline & Rebekah

Samara & Rebekah


Rebekah is now 19 months old. Lately she has been reminding me a lot of Angeline when she was that age. Looking back at pictures the resemblance isn't as striking as I thought but I think a lot of it has to do with facial expressions. Most often I think they look similar when sleeping. Personality wise they are similar and David and Samara are similar as well. Interesting because Samara looks the most like David out of the 3 girls at 19 months... they both have a rounder face at this age. Anyway, thought I would take these pics as I was making comparissons. Enjoy!

January 2014 Family Portraits

18 Months

Time has not slowed down for us. Was going to post some pictures when Rebekah reached 18 months and she is now 18 1/2 months old. We have been so busy that I actually haven't taken too many pictures since Chrsitmas. Here are a few recent ones of Bekah and her buddy Gunnar taken last weekend.
Not much of an update since my last blog. She hasn't made any leaps and bounds with her words. She is continually working on new teeth and almost has a whole mouth full. She is growing up so much though. I love watching her sing and dance and play with her sisters. And I love watching her with David. He often gets her when she wakes up in the morning... so sweet! The other night when I was tucking him in he asked me if Bekah was going to wake up during the night. I said that she might wake up once and he told me that he would go get her for me. LOVE all my kids.