Thanks Kate!

Kate had the honor of two helping toddlers in a cookie making process. After Sam dumped the entire cylinder of oats on the ground and the boys had ingested more sugar than the cookies themselves contain.... I felt like she truly understood what it was like to have two boys 4 and under helping.
But in all seriousness -she has been such great help and we couldn't have made it the last few weeks without her! Thank you so much Kate for all you've done for us.

Shower of Ruffles and Lace

Once again, this is going to be a post bragging on how blessed I've been! Some of my friends threw me a small shower at my house last weekend. They had planned it long before I went on bed rest, and they decided to bring it to me. China, silver, chicken salad, pink, and lace. It was so much fun and was such a blessing to me emotionally. One of the harder parts of being on bed rest for me (being as outgoing as I am) has been the lack of social interaction. This was a day where I felt almost normal (other than that the group picture is surrounding a sitting mother)! It was so much fun and I think they even enjoyed it, as the husbands were all at home with the kids and we all had a chance to eat on fine china. Thanks guys.

Her first tutu!

My friend Hannah is incredibly talented and she painted canvases to match the quilt I picked out for our girl several months ago. I didn't actually get the baby quilt; I got the twin quilt so that I can drape it over my rocking chair and she can use it when she moves into a "big girl bed." Therefore I asked Hannah to create me something I could put on the wall around the crib to tie in the theme. She went above and beyond! They are AMAZING! We spent at least 15 minutes of the shower trying to convince her that she should start her own business! On the floor you can see the pillow sham and the quilt that I picked out and resting against the hearth, you can see the set of four canvases she created to match it. It looks like I ordered them straight out of the catalog! Thanks Hannah!

While Momma Sits....

Here are some of the activities my boys have done!

Gymnastics Class

Now that I'm housebound, my neighbor takes my boys to gymnastics for me each week. This week she was kind enough to send me pictures from her smart phone so I could feel like I was a part of it all. Wasn't that kind! The one of Sam in the foam pit was too cute for me not to share.

Steven Turns 4!

Today was Steven's 4th Birthday. I know every mother says this in these situations... but I seriously can't believe that he is 4.

We have decided to have parties only on alternating years, so this year was our family birthday celebration. We tossed out lots of different ideas and options, but based on our current circumstances we stayed close to home for the day. Daddy spent the day creating homemade activities that our boys thought were great.

We started with a homemade pin-the-tail on the donkey. Then the boys got to color our donkey!

After that we did some finger painting on the deck with our neighbor,

and we finished with a scavenger hunt around the living room.

After dinner we topped it all off with a cake a good friend made for Steven, modeled after Lightning McQueen (one of his FAVORITES!)




In case you were wondering about the "current circumstances," I have been on bedrest for about 2 weeks and will continue to be on the couch or bed until the end.... May 11th. So my dear husband chose to do birthday things that I could be a part of from a distance. Bedrest has had it's challenges, but we have been overwhelmed by the amount of love and support we've received. We have had lots food, someone to clean my house, and lots of support in helping with the boys during the day. It has been humbling, but an amazing way to see the provisions of God on a daily basis.


I have found lots of ways to be involved from the couch - reading, puzzles, games.



We would love your prayers for the health of our baby girl, that my body is a safe place for her to grow, and for the added stress on my husband and the boys as I have to watch from the couch. Thanks everyone for your love, support and prayers.