Avalie Annabelle is here!

Avalie (pronounced A-vuh-lee) decided to make an early appearance- two weeks early in fact! She is my first truly early baby. Isabella was one day but I think of that as on time. :)

She is beautiful and perfect! She weighed 7 1/2 lbs and was born on the 1st of July. She is such a blessing to us. I was so wrapped up in the pregnancy worries that I think I forgot how wonderful newborns are!

She is nursing like a champ- she sleeps well at night, only waking to eat and then falls asleep again. I love having babies! I can't believe how much I love her already.

We are slowly getting back into a routine again. The rest of the year will be much different now that she is here and we are starting homeschooling in the fall. We also have a family wedding and some other big events happening before the holidays. Life is never dull around here! :)

Amazing Once a Month Cooking Resource!

I haven't done OAMC before, but since we got a new to us freezer in January, I have been trying to stock it before the baby comes. I stumbled upon Once a Month Mom, where they have complete menus, grocery lists, instructions and even LABELS!! What an incredible find- and it's all free! Be sure to check it out! I linked directly to the June menu so you can see what they have to offer. How awesome are those two mommas that put all that together!

Baby Avalie is almost here!!

Only 37 more days until this little one is supposed to arrive! I am so excited and ready to meet her! We will have two boys and two girls in just a little over a month. The fourth pregnancy is really funny because you really don't think much about being pregnant. I've been pregnant for nearly three years at this point! :) This pregnancy has been so very easy and enjoyable, yet somehow I am ready to be done with it and meet my little girl. Here's to hoping that the next 4-6 weeks go by quickly!

Quo Vadis Planner Review

From the desk of my wonderful husband:

I have been using the Visual Weekly Desk Planner from Quo Vadis Planners since January. This is an excellent planner, it has a very professional appearance and is also very functional. The black cover is made of genuine leather and has the appearance of fine craftsmanship. The extra thick pages give the planner a robust feeling and also keep the previous weeks events from showing through the page. The weekly desk planner has 1 week spread across 2 pages with an 8 a.m. - 9 p.m. daily layout in 30 minute increments. The planner also includes Saturday and Sunday so you can keep up with your weekends as well. Being concise is key because very little space is available for each 30 minute time slot. Each page has a designated location for making notes about phone calls and emails. I find this particularly convenient and use it for both keeping a record and for planning purposes. Thumb tear outs provide a quick way to navigate to the current week without having to flip pages repeatedly to find your spot.

The back of the planner has a phone directory insert complete with alphabetic thumb tabs for quickly turning to the desired page. The Visual planner is loaded with other features that include a holiday schedule for 2009 and 2010, weights a measures conversion tables, international telephone access codes, time zone map and North and South American maps. With the included Semi-Annual planner section you can keep up with major daily events and the one month per page section comes in really handy when you want to keep track of appointments and upcoming events.

The Visual Planner from Quo Vadis is an all around excellent product. The high quality construction and its aesthetic appeal are sure to represent you in a professional and organized manner. The thoughtfulness and completeness of its contents really goes to show the amount of work that was put into the making of such a high quality planner. I am convinced that you will be more than satisfied with this product and that your productivity level is sure to increase as a result of using this planner.

January Update

Life is busy these days! I am finally feeling more energetic and less sick since reaching the second trimester. I am trying to get the house organized and ready to sell hopefully by the end of the month.

I heard our little baby's heartbeat this week. It's so much fun. We've almost decided we think it's a girl based on symptoms alone, but we have to wait until March to find out for sure!

Although I enjoy being pregnant, I find the more children I have, the more difficult the tiredness, nausea, and hormones are to deal with. Not that the symptoms are much worse in themselves, just that all three children require more attention and individual responses, more time to get ready, more clothes to wash, all of which doesn't allow this mama time to rest much. :) Feeling the baby move has been very encouraging to me- a good and happy reason that I've been feeling the way I have for the past few weeks. It's exciting to see my belly growing a little every day.

In other news, we became DEBT FREE in December!!!! Praise the Lord. He is merciful and provided extra jobs for us even though the debt was our fault to begin with. When I find I am not as merciful as I should be (often!) I remember how good God has been to us. We never went hungry or with a bill unpaid, even though we made the bad decisions that we did. We only have our mortgage left, and we are working on selling this one and building with cash. How exciting would that be!! God is good!

I hope you are having a great January!

Baking and Preparation Day

We are busy today! In between cleaning and baking, we are wrapping presents! Tomorrow we get to see my husband's family and then on Christmas we have my family over to our house. I cook and bake for days in preparation. :) Today, we've made Neiman Marcus cake, Magic cookie bars, banana crumb mini loaves, fudge, and we still have to make apple pie, red velvet cake and taco soup tonight. I also have to finish my last fleece blanket for Isabella. I thought a no sew fringe blanket would be fast! Thankfully my hubby helped me last night and did a whole blanket in about 2 hours. He is a sweetie. Today we have to make mugs with orange spice tea mix for tomorrow's gifts. I hope you have a merry (and less busy!) Christmas! Thank you Lord, for bringing your Son into this world! Please help us not to forget You in the midst of all the excitement.

How Quickly They Grow and Make You Laugh

Noah, my 3 1/2 year old is growing up. You notice the growing so much more with the first one because you are carefully watching their every move, but subsequent children enjoy a little less scrutiny I think. And so, it seems they often take you by surprise when they show signs of maturing. I was in Lowe's shopping for the hubby when such a moment happened to me.

As we placed our item on the counter to check out, the cashier said, "I bet Santa Claus is going to come see you for Christmas!" My children looked at her with blank stares and said nothing, so she repeated it two more times in the course of checking us out. And still no response from the boys, just blank stares and half smiles, like why does this lady keep saying that?

I smiled too, said nothing about Santa and we thanked her and left the store. As we walked out the door, Noah whispered to me,

"Mommy, that lady thinks Santa Claus is real!"

I couldn't stop laughing all the way to the car. It's fun being a mommy.

The Greatest Milestone

A good reminder of the most important milestone for our children. (hint: it's not walking) :)

Coming soon- baby #4!!

I am so happy to announce that we are having baby #4! :)

We are so excited, although, the fourth time doesn't seem quite as "new" as the first two did. It's very surreal still at this point, so it's hard to imagine life with the newest member of our family. Right now, I am almost 8 weeks, so the baby is about 1/2 of an inch. I have been a little sick off and on, but for the most part feeling great, and not terribly pregnant feeling.

This new little one is due mid-July. Isabella will turn two in August, so I feel blessed to have been given such a wonderfully long break from pregnancy. My boys are 18 months apart, which would have made me 6 months pregnant right now.

Only two weeks from today we get to see this precious new baby on the ultrasound. I am definitely looking forward to that! And in 12 weeks from now we find out the gender. The weeks seem to go by a little more quickly when you have three children to take care of! :)

Thoughts on Clutter Reduction

I am in a constant battle of clutter removal- I really prefer a minimalist look in our home. We don't have too many trinkets or things laying around, but toys, papers, clothes, and books seem to pile up quickly somehow in our house. I am always looking for useful articles filled with information on clutter reduction. I really enjoyed reading this article at Zen Habits on decluttering:
Living Simply: The Ultimate Guide to Conquering Your Clutter.

Babylon Reborn and Birth Pangs

With the G20 meeting this weekend to reform international monetary standards, and Russia and Iran in alliance (Gog and Magog), we should be aware of these "birth pangs of a new world order." Also, check out this article- end times prophecy is coming alive: Babylon Dreams.

Matthew 24:3-8
3 As He was sitting on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to Him privately, saying, "Tell us, when will these things happen, and what will be the sign of Your coming, and of the end of the age?"
4 And Jesus answered and said to them, "See to it that no one misleads you. 5 "For many will come in My name, saying, 'I am the Christ,' and will mislead many. 6 "You will be hearing of wars and rumors of wars. See that you are not frightened, for those things must take place, but that is not yet the end. 7 "For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom, and in various places there will be famines and earthquakes. 8 "But all these things are merely the beginning of birth pangs.