1-2-3

The number of kids each family has is always a hard desicion, and sometimes not even made by us....in our case. We knew we wanted more than one. I always wanted three. My hubby was fine with two. We were in the middle of "figuring out" if we were stopping with 2 when God said "surprise" and sent us #3. And of course we were happy and love her to peices.

For me personally, going from zero children to one child was easy. I wanted to be a mommy for as long as I could remember. We hadn't really planned the timing (well we actually did for my first born but I miscarried right before her and that one wasn't planned). But it worked out great. Avery was a super easy baby, and just a whole lot of fun.

Going from 1 to 2, was much harder. They are 2 years 2 months apart. Sage was a gassy baby so because of that she was upset a lot, not colicy (she didn't scream for hours or anything), but she slept great. I don't know if it was the stress of having two kids or what, but I went through MAJOR post pardum depression. It was worse that most people, other than myself and my hubby, will ever know. I wasn't me for what felt like years and years. It didn't start really until Sage was about 6-8 months old, but it lasted until she was about 16-18 months old. It really was just a hard time emotionally for me, and our marriage. And still to this day is something that I am always aware of.

Going from 2 to 3, knock on wood, has been easy and so much fun. Capri is a happy little thing who rarely cries. Although lately at 16 months old she is showing a bit of a temper when she doesn't get her way. But she sure is full of snuggles and kisses. And with the other two being 6, and 4 it's really pretty nice. I am really enjoying the ages and stages they are in.

But what I have learned from now having three kids is this.

1. For some, like me, having three kids isn't any harder than having two.

2. Each child is different

3. If you haven't had a "difficult" child, you really don't understand what some of us have had to deal with.

4. PPD is real, and VERY hard to deal with

5. I love my kids more than I can express

6. There is nothing better in the world than to see your hubby snuggling/singing to/dancing with, one of your kids.

7. The quickest way to bring tears to my eyes is to listen to my kids say their prayers at night

8. I love being a mommy as much as I thought I would.

9. Being a mommy is the most difficult and rewarding job in the world.

10. Grandparents are lifesavers. :)

The highest point

Capri is a climber. She tries to get to the highest point that she can get to. Her three favorite places to climb are the kitchen table, the computer desk, and up to Avery's bunk bed (on top). She can pretty much get to the top of the ladder now. For some reason she just wants to be up high. Maybe it's because she sees the girls sitting at the kitchen table coloring, which she also likes to do), or because I sit at the computer desk a lot (not as much now that I have my netbook), or because the girls like to sit on Avery's bed and watch movies. Who knows? All I know is mommy is getting gray hairs from all the times I have to pull her down from one of those high places. :)

Summer

Summer is really fun! Sage has had a blast having Avery home to play with everyday. And although they fight like cats and dogs some days, they really do have fun together. We have been going to the free movie at the mall, the YMCA (the girls go to childewatch), or the YMCA to swim. Avery has been to church camp twice. They are in their second week at VBS, the first time at the Presbyterian church here in LW but now the one at our church. They LOVE it! We've been to the lake to swim with friends, had a few playdates, and just had an all around fun time together. Oh and the best part is that we sleep until 8 a.m. every morning. I am really going to miss this time when they go back to school this fall.

Happy 4th of July

On Saturday morning I ran my 5K. Avery ran a 100 meter dash, and did awesome and got a medal. Sage choose not to run, and I wasn't going to make her. Nick hurt is back while stretching and couldn't run (he is at the doctor as I type this). It was a great morning.

We kind of just hung around the house in the afternoon. Nick's back was really hurting and the girls played with the neighbor boys. Then we went to Saturday 5:01 church. After church they had a Tailgate party. We came home and watched the lake fireworks from our backyard, and did the sparklers. It was a fun day.

Here are a few pictures.

My 5K

I ran my 5K yesterday. My goal was to do it in under 40 minutes. I did it in 37 minutes 58 seconds. Yes 2 minutes faster that my goal and almost 3 minutes faster that me previous best time. I had to walk some of it which I was annoyed with, but I think I ran faster when I was running to make up for the walking. It was hard since I didn't know where the half point was or anything, so I was a bit dissappointed while running, but when I got to the end and realized I still had pleanty of time to finish under my goal I was thrilled. I foud a little extra energy and sped up at the end. Then I was so happy when I looked down at my watch and saw that I did indeed reach my goal. I will be doing more of these in the future. It really was a lot of fun!!

For anyone wanting to give it a try, I say go for it. It's a great feeling of accomplishment.

Tomorrow

Tomorrow is "the run". Tomorrow and 9 a.m. I will be running my very first 5K. I am a bit nervous. It's not really about the running. I know I will do fine with that part. I've been running for a little over 4 months now. I might now run the whole thing (there in a nasty hill that I might walk up), and I might now run it in less than 40 minutes (my goal), but I know I will do just fine regardless. I think my biggest issue is that I want to enjoy it. I've kind of been working toward this goal for 4 months now, and I want to like it. When I finish tomorrow I want to feel a sense of satisfaction. I want to WANT to run another one. I really want to make running part of my weekly life. That thing that I just "do". So I know that if I have fun tomorrow I will want to do more of these races. Maybe even a 10K someday. So I have been praying about it, and asking for prayer about it. Tonight I am going to get pleanty of rest and do my best tomorrow morning. I'll let you know how it goes.

I woke up grouchy

I woke up grouchy........do you ever have one of those days? No reason to be grouchy. My house is clean, my kids are happy, we are getting some rain (which I like). No real stresses in my life. Lots and lots of blessings in life. Yet I'm still a bit grouchy. Maybe I'll stop reading my "self help" book and read a novel for a bit today and see if that will help my mood. :) Or do something else just for me. The girls are at a great age for a little bit of me time. I can put the baby down for a nap and get the girls started on an art project (playdoh, painting, beading....) and I can usually get an hour or so to myself. :)

So I hope today will get better..............