August Fields

merry christmas. you are loved.

From my family to yours.

what a wonderful year it has been.  so much to be thankful for.  so much to look forward to.

God continues to show Himself through good times and hard times.  i look back on this past year and honestly, if i didn’t have a relationship with Jesus and assurance that I am HIS, certain “bumps” in the road would have been waaay less manageable.

a few of the things in my life that i will choose to be thankful for and dwell on:

saving grace.  my hardworking husband.  growing family.  my children.  health.  parents and inlaws. the Bible.  sisters and sisters in law.  praise and worship music.  church and our smallgroup. air conditioning during my pregnancy.  laughter.  forgiveness.  date nights.  homeschooling.  hugs.

God’s love and the fact that He has never moved away from me…  when i feel unloved it is always me shutting Him out.  being stubborn.  thinking my way is better.  but it always leaves me feeling blah.  when i embrace prayer, worship, the word and HIM its like i went on an amazing run and feel energized and LOVED!!  (some will even say i’m more lovable!)  He never moves.  He is always there with His arms waiting to embrace me and my messiness, my repentance, and my sin.  That is the saving grace that I’m talking about!  I’m a better wife, mom, daughter, sister and friend when I believe I am loved.  and I am.  I am very very loved.  and so are you. God loves you dearly…will you love Him?

MERRY CHRISTMAS

baby is here!

its a BOY!  
our 9lb. 10oz. little miracle made a grand entrance into this world.  while we did make it to the hospital,
he was born just under an hour after we arrived!
for now we’ll refer to him as little A, here on the blog, until a more suitable nickname emerges 🙂

he was a big baby, but not my biggest!  hank (the blonde) was 10lbs. even.  and deanie (our oldest) was only 6lb. 4oz.

so i’ve experienced it all 🙂

we are all adjusting very well at home and all the kids are smitten with little A.  

for the past couple of days little A has been in a feeding frenzy!  i’m nursing about every 2 hours…yikes!  i’m also pumping in the mornings and he takes a bottle and a paci.  bonus!

this was his first bath at home 🙂  now he practically sleeps through his baths and loves the warm water. and i love a delicious smelling newborn! 🙂

look at those lips! 🙂  little A tends to be a bit gassy so holding him face down on our arm and swaying brings his little tummy relief and as you can see, a very sound sleep.

the girls are having too much fun taking pictures of all his funny expressions!

i hope to post more but must honestly say that for awhile they may be far a few between.  we just have to wait and see how it goes. 🙂

thank you for all the kind comments throughout my pregnancy!!

its almost baby time!

its almost baby time!!!  i have three more weeks.
i would love to go early.
can i just say THANK YOU to all of you that have taken the time to email me words of encouragement,  inquiring of my well being, and overall awesome comments.  you are all so kind and i really appreciate it!
my lower back is super sore, but i’m not contracting regularly which is a huge answer to prayer!  the hospital bag is on the stool at the end of the bed and i’m adding things to it as i think of them.
the nursery has had a few cute updates too 🙂
we are all ready for baby #6!

i have been taking the kids to the library a lot this summer.  this is so typical of dubs….and of mama.
i didn’t realize, until we’re in the parking lot, that he was wearing huuuge tennis shoes, a total mismatched outfit and had snuck his silky into the land of books 🙂  
seriously…..is he not the cutest little 3 year old ever???  he kisses my tummy all.  the.  time.  and is super pumped to be a big brother.
i’m throwing this picture in from father’s day this year.  the kids were all giving daddy a smooch.  
we gave him a tent.  but its been so blazing hot that they have yet to camp out in the woods….
we had a family wedding last weekend!  hank was the ring bearer and the girls handed out programs.
it was wonderful.
my ankles became non existent by the end of the weekend but they have re-emerged and all is good.
me and two of my sister in laws.  i’m not going to lie, its a decent shot of my ginormous belly so i wanted to include this picture…plus i love these girls!!!!!
having never been pregnant in the summer i must admit this super hot, record breaking summer is not awesome on the energy level.   but on the other hand i really think this had been my best pregnancy yet!  i am SO thankful for a healthy baby inside me, we’re praying for a quick, healthy delivery.

a glittery 9th birthday.

happy 9th birthday to my sweet little girl.  
keeping with tradition at least 3 themes were chosen by my creative little one.
this year:  1. glittery  2. princess  3. colorful

you got it.  ðŸ™‚  
the pantry door was properly adorned. 
glittery favor boxes for the girls from hobby lobby.  

glittery paper circles hanging from the chandelier and the easiest decor ever…balloons.  
when there is time for nothing else……go get some balloons.  

 i love that one of her top gift requests was a belle dress.  
 her other favorite gift?  a new camera.  endless pictures like the ones below being captured. 

happy birthday to my beautiful daughter.   🙂

christmas 2011.

christmas was wonderful!  we lacked any snow on the ground (which was unusual) yet loading and unloading the car and carrying stuff inside without worry of anyone slipping was sure nice. 🙂

i continued the tradition of matching pajamas for the kids this year.  they opened them on christmas eve.  the iron on letters are from hobby lobby, the tshirts were $3! at the hanna andersson outlet this past summer and the bottoms are from children’s place.

little dubs especially got a kick out of saying “i’m number 5!” 🙂

someone asked me about how to handle simplicity of gifts when it comes to extended family.  my answer to that is…..i let grandparents do what they want.  i figure when i’m a grandparent i’ll want to do it my way, and if they want to purchase gifts for my kids and watch the excitement i’m good with it.

its a blessing that all of our parents are still with us and the kids can add memories of christmas with them to their hearts.

this was THE cutest / craziest / best photo op moment of the day……  american girl bonanza!  my adorable nieces along with my girls, all expressed their delight and surprise carrying much emotion….

nana was toppled with hugs and ‘thank yous’…..

oh yes we did.  boone’s ‘want’ this year was a red ryder bb.  there have already been walks out to the woods and target shooting with daddy.  i’m pretty sure the two of them were shooting of the back deck the other day… 🙂

we went to our church christmas morning, and spent the weekend with our families.  
i always enjoy the unrushed days of conversation, visiting and making memories with our family.