Fist week: COMPLETE!

She's got her first week of school under her belt, and she seems to be loving it a bit more everyday! How do I know?? Well, let's just say Monday after school when I picked her up, she was very quiet and didn't share very much. Today when I picked her up, she was a little chatterbox and telling me all about her day, her teacher, her classmates, etc etc. I am thankful that she's enjoying school and hope she continues to do so...

I really thought that she would be exhausted after school each day, but apparently 45 mins of quiet/alone time in her room playing is enough to recharge her batteries. She's not napping anymore, just playing or doing something goofy while she's in her room. Today, she came downstairs with a new "do"...check it out--she pulled her hair to the side all by herself.

and another one of my goofball, just because it's a fun pic!

Just me and this guy....for a few days!

So, until baby arrives it's just me and this little guy on school days. Oliver is such a big boy, no baby about him anymore. He's holding his own, and wants so much independence. He LOVES to play, he LOVES to smile, he LOVES to climb, and he LOVES to copy his big brother in everything that he does. So, I mentioned earlier that Oliver and I dropped off Joshua at school this morning. Since we arrived at school a bit early, there was time for them to play for a bit outside. So, Oliver watched Joshua as he climbed the tree...and guess what his next move was?? Yep, he was right behind his big brother trying to climb that tree and loving the adventure. I LOVE watching my kids play together, I love watching huge grins on their faces, and couldn't pass up taking a few snapshots of my little guy. He was great company while the big kids were away this morning. I really enjoyed some one on one with him playing cars, watching him in the "jump jump", reading and eating lunch just the two of us. Guess until baby decides to come, it will just be little "O" and I on school days, and I'm going to relish in every second of it...

Joshua is off to PreK!

I cannot believe that my big 4 year old is off to school already! I really struggled with the decision of sending him to school this year, but decided that I was being a bit selfish if I didn't send him. He was more than ready. In fact, he was so excited, and there was NOT a tear in sight when Oliver and I dropped him off this morning! He looked so dapper, and so grown up. We arrived a bit early so he had some time to just play outside before having to go inside. Here are some pics from my little man's first day! I love this little guy!! He did NOT forget to tell mommy "I love you mommy, and I'm going to miss you"

Knitting for baby's photos completed...

I knitted my first baby hats in the round...yay!! This project was so fun to make and I LOVE how they turned out! Bring it on baby...we are ready now! :) If you know me, you know I LOVE surprises. That's why each pregnancy we've been "surprised" to find out baby's gender on baby's birthday rather than at the ultrasound. With each pregnancy, I get an urge to knit or crochet something, and usually I just stick to yellows and greens. This time though, I want the project to be more gender specific, without finding out baby's sex prior to his/her bday of course. So, I had to make TWO baby hats, a pink and a blue one. They took a little longer to make, as I had to get used to knitting hats on circular needles, rather than learning how to do double pointed needles. I love the way they turned out.
In case it's a girl...

In case it's a boy...

and here they are together...

First day of Kindergarten

Katherine started Kindergarten yesterday morning! I cannot believe that she's now in school, five days a week, ALL day! Seems like such a long day to me. She begins school at 7:45 and pick up is not until 2:50pm. I thought she would be exhausted after her first day, but she proved me wrong. She's got TONS of energy!

She was not too excited to go to school, at least not the same enthusiasm that she showed when she started Pre-K last year. I think she realized towards the end of her pre-K year that school is a lot of work, and much less play that she has at home. Bless her heart, she kept telling me "Mommy, I don't want to go to school. I won't get to be with you or play with Joshua and Oliver all day" Broke my heart to hear that, especially because now that she is in school, the majority of her awake time IS in fact spent at school! We just have to make the MOST of the time we have at home, and enjoy our time together. She didn't say very much after school, except that she did like her teacher. That is a praise!!

When Katherine was born, I had plans of her going to one of the two spanish immersion programs in Tulsa. Well, we all know that OUR plans are NOT God's plans, and so this year He made that clear. I was devastated when Katherine did not get accepted into the spanish program, but after some prayer and thought, I came to the conclusion that HE has a plan, that's bigger than I can ever imagine; she's needed somewhere else. So, with little time to figure out where Katherine would go to school this year, daddy and I wrestled with the choice of public vs private school. We decided public school would be her place, at least for this year. In fact, the night before school started daddy came downstairs telling me that she had asked "daddy, we used to pray at preschool before we ate. Will we pray at this school?" My prayer is, and I ask you to pray with me, that she have the courage to do just that...to bow her head in prayer as she sits down to lunch, and that she bring the light of Jesus into that school, through the way that she carries herself. Through her actions, her obedience, responsibility, and love towards those around her. I pray that she have the courage to be a leader, to question, to speak out and to be herself. She's growing up too fast. Yesterday was the first day of Kindergarten, and somehow I know that before I know it, she'll be graduating high school....WOW!!!

and just as a sidenote, as we were leaving the school there was a firetruck outside. So, the boys enjoyed getting a little "tour" of it, and talking to one of the firefighters! :)

37 weeks in waiting....

Yep, today I hit the 37week mark in this pregnancy and getting anxious to meet our fourth little Marshy!! While this picture is blurry, and not the best image technically, it does capture a special emotion.

and this one, again it's a bit out of focus but notice baby pushing out...if you look at the shadow pattern, you can see a little tiny bulge where the arrow points. Baby was SUPER active while I was trying to take a couple of shots, and I got this. It's VERY subtle, so you have to look closely....

Joshua Turns FOUR!

We recently celebrated little man "J's" fourth birthday! He was so excited to be turning four and catching up to his big sister. I know I've said this many times, and I'm sure I'll never get tired of saying it, but time sure does fly. Sure seems like just yesterday, I was holding him in my arms, meeting him for the very first time. He came quickly, he was in a hurry to meet his mommy, daddy and his big sister. He's still in a hurry to do things, not necessarily ALL things, especially those that require immediate obedience, but those things that interest him. He's quick to do things that excite him, like ride his bike fast, ride his scooter down hills fast (he's already wiped out and face planted once, so let's hope that slows him down a bit), ride in daddy's "fast car" and things like that...When it comes to doing things that have been asked of him though, he is easily distracted and takes his time doing them. Nonetheless, we are blessed to have little man J in our life. He is a joy, a delight, and a fun person to have around. He's tender, and knows just when to give a hug or when to say "mommy, I love you"....I love this little man!