These make me extremely happy!

I've wanted a drum set for years and years. 

I was finally able to break down a buy a set. 

These will come in very handy for the times I need to play that are coming up soon.

They have some personality to them, which makes them awesome. And they sound freaking amazing!

I'm pretty overwhelmed by the events of this weekend. It took a turn that none of us expected.

The inflatables after bible school commencement put Makenna in the ER for the rest of the night. She landed wrong on her elbow which dislocated her radius and broke her ulna. We got to the ER by 8:30pm and left at 3:00am, getting us in bed by 4:00am. They put her in a temporary hard splint and told us to follow up with a pediatric orthopedic doctor on Monday and we were okay with that because of the good splint she had. Well...the doctor she would see Monday actually called me on Saturday morning and said she looked at the x-ray and the ER missed the dislocation and she needed to go in Sunday morning to have surgery to relocate it. What?!?!

So we didn't sleep Friday night. We got to rest some Saturday. Got in bed just after midnight at had to be in pre-op at 6:45. All this with a newborn attached to my side. It's hard to leave him anywhere when I'm nursing him. He isn't a hassle at all. He just takes extra care that only I can give him. I've been able to rest some but I'm still tired.

Makenna made it through her surgery and did SO good! She's such a brave little girl. They were able to fix the dislocation without cutting her and we are so thankful for that. If it didn't work the way it did, they would have had to go in and hold it in place with screws and pins which also meant that they would have to go in at another time and take them back out. I'm glad it didn't result in that and was very simple. She now has a beautiful rainbow cast from her fingers to her arm pit that she will have through her 5th birthday party and start kindergarten with.

Isaiah is in need of extra attention because he hasn't been with us much over the past 2 days. He loves his sister and has been worried about her. It's probably drained him a little bit emotionally and he has been acting out a little bit at home because of it.

I was prepared for the extra attention required of me for a newborn. I was not prepared for the extra attention of a newborn, a daughter requiring surgery and lots of extra care at home, and a son that wants extra attention because of lacking attention due to the extra care given to the other two. That's a mouthful.

I guess I've tried to be too strong this weekend. I want to meet everyones needs and be sure my family is taken care of. Nate has done a wonderful job tending to Makenna while I tend to the baby but I don't want him overwhelmed so I've been trying to let him rest also. I can't pick Makenna up off the couch. She's only 38 pounds. This time 3 years ago I was able to complete the Firefighter Combat Challenge in 5 minutes which made me carry a 185 pound dummy backwards about 100 yards and that was at the END of it. I consider that my biggest physical achievement but after hurting my neck, I can't lift my 38 pound daughter off the couch without hurting.

I need to keep myself healthy. Physically and emotionally. I'm fading a little. I just need to sleep and rest and be really careful about what I lift for the next few days. I go back to my pain management doctor is 2 days to follow up on the last set of injections I had. I'm sure there will be more in my near future. This next set will be around my hair line and that will be the worst of all of them. It's such a weird feeling. And, of course, it hurts.

Anyway, enough rambling. I'm tired. I'm going to go to bed, only to get up very soon to feed a hungry baby. But he's worth it <3



Did I mention I want to go to an all you can eat buffet right now? I'm so hungry!

Only 11 more pounds until I'm back to my pre-Hayden weight! Wahoo!!

This has been one of the best summers I've had since I was a kid. Isaiah and Makenna are at such a great age to be able to go places, have loads of fun and not be too high maintenance. Hayden does pretty good also. Since he is so small, he only needs food and changing and the rest of the time is fairly easy, unless he has an upset belly. Don't get me wrong. Having 3 kids is challenging and I definitely have my work cut out for me but it's so wonderful.
Our summer fun began with swimming lessons at the Y. They both did so great! I wish they could continue through the remainder of the summer but at the same time I'm happy it's over because it was hard to get everyone there by 9:30 since we're on the baby's eating schedule. Since swimming lessons are over, Makenna is going to G-Gmaw's (great grandma's) for art lessons once a week. It's pretty much the most priceless thing in the world. Not many kids get the opportunity to spend quality time like that with a great grand parent. I hope she gets to keep doing it as long as grandma's health doesn't get any worse than it is now.
As a reward for doing so well with swimming lessons, we're going on a mini-vacation to spend a couple days at a water park. It's coming up real quick! I have to get myself prepared for this. I'm excited to be able to go but it will be my first time getting things ready for 5 people to be away from home for 4 days. Hopefully we won't forget anything...or anyone...ha!
I'm looking forward to the next month!

Party of Five

What a great journey this is turning out to be! I love being a mother of 3 kids. It's has its ups and downs but it sure is great. I wouldn't trade it for anything at all.
Some days are really hard with Nate still working 24 hour shifts but I'm learning how to handle the different things that come. It's pretty much just a process of learning everything about this new little boy and learning how to meet the needs of everyone else at the same time. It's kind of like juggling I guess. It's difficult, takes a lot of practice, but if you're serious about learning, you'll get it. Then, once you've learned, you can add more things and do better! So, I'm learning to juggle this party of five.
Did I mention how precious Hayden is? I love him so much. He's such a great baby. His hair is red like Makenna's was when she was a baby. I'm hoping it either stays red or turns darker so I'm not totally surrounded by blondies (:
It's not fun trying to keep up with this lack of sleep but we're making it. He lets me get a good 3 hours of straight sleep some nights with a couple other stretches that run 1 1/2 - 2 hours. This, too, shall pass. Hopefully before school starts back in August.
...I'm in love and another piece of my heart has been stolen. I love him <3

I'm really blessed to be a part of this party of five!

I feel like I'm about to pop but I've only gained 20 pounds. I thought I had gained more but I can't remember how much I weighed 9 months ago. It's ok. This extra weight will be gone soon. Hopefully tomorrow will be the last full day of pregnancy I will ever experience. That's a rather bitter sweet thought actually. I love being able to give life to someone but this is probably the last time because my body has had a really hard time with it this time. The end is near! But then it all begins :)

I'm ready...as ready as I can be. Please, baby boy, come out and let us meet you. We are all four more anxious than we can stand. I've read all there is to read about breast feeding and how to make it work the best for us, I've sewn and made every possible thing I can think to make, all the bills are paid until June gets here, the refrigerator is spotless, there's always laundry to do..., sleep isn't working out all that well anyway, I have everything beside my bed that I might need when I'm awaken through the night, the rocking chair looks and feels amazing since I've redone the cushions. Anything else? Oh yes, I guess we might want the kitchen table to be finished. That project got a little bit bigger than I intended. It should be finished tomorrow hopefully.
Come on little guy. We just want to love on you!