My Family

I have a lot of pictures from the holidays. I still need to catch up from all the activities over the last month. Please accept my apologies for the broken time line in all the posts. The pictures above are from Christmas at Da and Mama Z's. Look at all the smiling faces. We had a wonderful time just being together. The boys put on a good show for us and keep us entertained. It was good to have everyone there.

Our time in Paris was very busy. We tried to spend time with everyone and still fell short of that. We spent a lot of time with Granny and Papa helping them with things that needed to be done. It was good to see them smiling.

Braxton enjoyed his time playing with Da. He looked forward to when Da would get home so they could get on the 4-wheeler and go feed the sheep. He still loves to talk about that. Every time he see Da's picture or hears his name we have to call and talk about he sheep. He loves to ride the 4-wheeler and tractors. He also enjoyed spending some time with Mama Z at school. He enjoyed being around the kids and talks about going back.

We enjoyed our stay very much and look forward to going back. Our plans are to go to Paris again in March around spring break. Thanks for all the memories!

Thursday Thirteen

I have no idea what to do my 13 over today. Everything I think to do I have already done or just don't have the energy to do today. So i guess as you read we can be surprised together!

Okay after sitting here for a while. I think I have a topic. I only knew one set of my great-grandparents. But I knew them fairly well. Let's say I remember them both and I was a senor in high school when I my great-grandfather passed away. They were known as Da and Mother to most. They had 7 boys. My dad thought a lot of them, so much so that he wanted his grand kids to call him Da as well. I think it fits rather well. They were Christians first and knew real well how to put others first. All of that said here is a list of 13 questions I would love to ask them if I could see them again.

1. How in the world did you raise 7 boys and remain sane?
2. How much did you spend on groceries a week?
3. Was it hard to keep them all going to church?
4. How many pews did you take up for your family?
5. What was it like when the first boy came home with a girl?
6. How many loads of laundry did you do a week?
7. What is your favorite memory with your family?
8. What makes you smile?
9. Did you really plan on having 7 kids (boys)?
10. Were there ever any left overs after a meal?
11. How often did you have to buy shoes and clothes?
12. I know they were all very different, what is one special thing about each child?
13. Would you do it all over again?

I can only think the answers I would get. I can just see them all running wild and having good time. I thank God that I have had such wonderful leaders in my life. A family full of Christian men and women. Godly people who knew how to teach their children. I am so blessed.

We are glad to be back and in the swing of things again. It is always good to go on a visit and always good to come home. The boys are recovering from the virus that they got when we got home. It was not pretty at all. There is nothing worse than seeing your kids really sick and not being able to do anything about it. It was a good three day process. We should be back to 100% real soon. We are back on schedule and the boys are doing well. Brazos has slept all but one night in his bed (all night long). And Braxton has made it the whole time in his bed. I think he was really glad to have his room and toys back.

Brazos is growing and really likes to take it all in. He is very observant. He does not miss much! He will be an engineer like Braxton and Andy. He likes to be where the action is and gets upset when he is left alone in a room. He will be 9 months old soon. I just can't believe how time flies.

Braxton is growing by leaps and bounds. He is turning into such a good young man. This week we took our bed/nap time friend away (our pacifier). On Tuesday when we got home we had a talk about being a big boy and how we did not need the pacifier any more. I got the scissors and let him cut the end off. He went to town on it. At bed time when he asked for it I gave him the one that he cut up. He put it in his mouth and quickly pulled it back out and said I want my paccy. I told him that was his paccy. It put it to the side and cried for awhile. After about 45 minutes of crying he went to sleep. He has asked for it once in the last 7 days and then I gave him the one that he cut up. He likes to leave it in his bed but has been great. He is such a big boy!!

One new thing while we were gone is that Braxton has decided he likes to ride horses. We had tried before and he did not want anything to do with it but this time it was a hit. He could not get enough. So I put a picture out here to show you how big he was riding the horse all by his self.

Tagged!

I have officially been tagged by Robinson County Post. Susan tagged me a while back and I never got it done. I figure that I need to do this one before I get on one of those lists that people have of people who never participate.

Here are the directions:
1)Grab the book closest to you
2)Open to page 123, go down to the fourth sentence
3)Post the text of the following 3 sentences on your blog
4)Name the author and book title
5)Tag three people to do the same

There is much useful information in Nicolosi's book, of course. If you as a parent have an effeminate boy or a masculinized girl, I urge you to get a copy and then seek immediate professional help. Be very careful whom you consult, however. Getting the wrong advise at this stage could be most unfortunate, solidifying the tendencies that are developing.

Dr. James Dobson - bringing up BOYS

I tag Andrea, Amy, and Jen for this one. Maybe your will be better than mine. What a great chapter to pull information from!

Thursday Thirteen

We are back in business. We are home and things are going well. We are slowly getting back into routine. Braxton was sick all day yesterday with a bug and today Brazos has a touch of it. Maybe by weekend we will be back to normal and ready to go. So in honor of our return to Iowa and our home here is a list of 13 things we were glad to see in no particular order.

1. My husband
2. Brazos sleeping all night in his bed
3. Braxton sleeping all night in his bed
4. My new oven (my Christmas present from my loving husband)
5. My computer - did you miss me?
6. My Church family
7. Our friends
8. Routine for my boys
9. My car - I really do like my car
10. My bed
11. My comfort zone - it is always nice to be somewhere else - and always nice to come home
12. My house
13. My family back together

Special thanks to the family for letting us spend time with you. I know it is hard to have people impose on you for such a long time, but we do appreciate it. We had a lovely time and are glad that we could enjoy our time together. We look forward to seeing everyone again soon.

I am back and have a lot of updates to do this week. Stay tuned!!!

Cousin Korbin Bryce Schmidt has arrived!

Here is a note from Andy's sister about the arrival of their new son:

Karson is finally a big brother. We welcomed Korbin Bryce into the world on Thursday, Jan.11 at 7:57 am. He weighs 7 lbs 7 oz and was 20 1/2 inches long. As you can see from the pictures, he has a head of black hair. It is extremely thick and long all over. So far he has been a great baby and good eater. Mom is doing great and recovering quickly, especially after another short labor. Dad is relaxing and a big help. Karson is finally beginning to get used to the idea after not being so sure seeing mom holding a baby and being in the hospital bed with an IV still attached. I think he will be a huge help-in more ways than one!! More pictures to come when we get home.

more to come

Let's just say that things have been a little crazy. We are well past the half way mark of our trip and things are going well. The boys have been sick with the crud but we are on the back end of that. Brazos is feeling better today and more active. That makes me feel better when they feel good. Cheryl (Andy's sister) is due on the 17th we are hoping that he will make his entrance soon (while we are here). I will try to do better at posting- I will have a ton of pictures to post when I get time. Thanks for not giving up on me. More to come I promise!