Big Girl Anna!

She mastered it!  Anna can now ride her bike very well without training wheels.  She's been working at it all summer and this weekend the training wheels came off and she literally hopped on and took off.  She's so proud of herself and so are we!  We promised her a new bike once she was able to ride without new training wheels as you can see she's outgrown this one, but we're thinking we'll probably wait till next spring to get one as she's definitely going to grow more over the winter months.

Visit with our Buddies

Last Thursday we were blessed with a visit from our West Virginia friends.  Crystal, Addison, and newborn Hadley Joy came to spend the day with us while Ezra went to a conference in Pittsburgh.  It was WONDERFUL to see them and get to spend time with them.  The day went by too quickly of course but the girls played great together and Crystal and I got to chat and catch up which was so nice.

 Audrey and Addison are only two weeks apart and have been best buddies ever since the first time we went to church in West Virginia.  They play so well together and are both such stinkers!  Audrey cried and cried when Addison left that afternoon and I was fighting tears as well.  It's so hard to say "good bye" to good friends, we miss them so much!

 Good thing they're both petite... they made a car created for 1 work for 2.  =)

Making Progress

Our little guy is getting better and we know it's due to the Lord answering our many prayers. Thank you all for praying!  I talked with the doctor yesterday and she said that he did test positive for MRSA.  I'm so thankful we had a great Urgent Care doctor on Thursday evening who treated him for that and got him going on the right medicine without knowing for sure that it was MRSA.  His sores don't look a ton better, they're actually more red than they were, but that's due to the pushing and pinching we've had to do to drain them.  We can tell a difference in the actual center of each sore as they're not full of pus anymore or oozing.  His skin is also broke out from the bandages we've used to cover his sores.  Now that they're not oozing or bleeding, we're not putting them on anymore.  Poor boy has such sensitive skin but it definitely runs in the family! 

While the last few days have been exhausting and stressful, I'm so thankful this was just a short "upset" in our lives. I know of two other families who are dealing with much more tragic events in their sons' lives and I know they would appreciate you praying for them. The first prayer request is for good friends of our's who just recently found out that their 5 month old son has down syndrome. They are strong Christians and I know they will cling to the Lord as they learn how to deal with this situation but I can't imagine how devastating this news is to them. The second prayer request is for baby Carson. He is the nephew of my friend Susanna and is a newborn struggling to live. His parents brought him home from the hospital last week and when they took him back to the doctor a few days later for a check-up (he was jaundiced), they realized his little body wasn't working like it should. They flew him to a NICU in Wisconsin close to where they live and he's been struggling to survive ever since. This family is praying for a miracle and I know they would appreciate it if you would join them.

Sick Baby

This morning Noah had Michael and I very worried.  He's had two sores, one on each hip, for the past 2 weeks that have continued to look worse and worse each day.  Last night we decided they weren't looking good at all and decided to take him to Urgent Care.  We had looked at some info on the internet and saw a few pictures of MRSA which looked exactly like his sores.  Panic!  The Urgent Care doctor drained the one that looked worse (awful for our poor little guy) and then took the pus to the lab for a culture.  We'll have those results by Sunday which will tell us for sure if it is MRSA or not.  We saw our pediatrcian this morning who had to drain the same sore again and she too thought it looked like MRSA.  Noah was very lethargic this morning and was not smiley or playful at all.  He had a fever and was a very sick little boy.  After we got home from the doctor, I fed him, gave him Motrin and then put him down for a nap.  It's amazing what a 3 1/2 hour nap, Motrin, and 2 rounds of antibiotic can do for a sick boy!  Here's a video I just took of him playing with Michael acting more like his happy little self.  Praise the Lord for his improvement already!  We're hoping that whatever this is, MRSA or not, that it clears up quick and he's feeling 100% again very soon.  We greatly appreciate your prayers!

The first three pictures are of the worst sore on his left side.  It's looking better in these than it did this morning thankfully.

 This next picture is of the sore on his right side that's not so bad but is getting worse.  It's not as big as the other but I can tell from feeling around it that it's getting harder and filling up with more pus.  The doctor said to give him lots of warm soaking baths to draw the pus out and open the sores up to drain.  We're then supposed to squeeze them if they look like they're leaking.  Ugh!  Not fun for anyone but especially Noah who's already had enough of that!  We've got lots of cleaning to do if he tests positive for MRSA as it can live for MONTHS on surfaces (counter tops, door handles, bath tubs, toilets, floors, furniture, etc.) and all clothing, towels, bedding or anything that touches the skin has to be washed in hot water.  I've already started cleaning and washing just to make sure we're not spreading anything.

Going for a ride

Tonight we put Noah in the bike trailer with Audrey for the first time and he loved it.  All of our kids have LOVED riding in the bike trailer.  It's been a great investment!

 Anna is really close to riding without training wheels.  Michael moved her training wheels up as high as they go and we've been encouraging her to balance on her bike while riding and not let her training wheels touch the ground.  She's been doing very good and our goal is to have her riding without training wheels by this weekend. 

Coming soon...

It's August which means school starts which means excitement and sadness all in one!  The girls are so excited to go to school and I'm excited for them plus I'm looking forward to some one-on-one time with Noah (library here we come!) but I'm sad because I'll miss the girls while they're gone.  Anna will be gone all day this year. That'll be tough for Mommy to adjust to in the first few weeks.  We really prayed hard about homeschooling and don't feel like now is the right time for our family to take that on.  The younger two kiddos are still very needy and would create a lot of interruptions during "school" time if we were to try to homeschool.  I can barely keep up with laundry and the dishes right now let alone adding "teaching" to my list of tasks.  Anna is excited to see her friends from last year and we were pleased with her school last year.  Michael and I have high expectations and no school is going to be perfect.  You can check out her school at http://www.ccaschool.com/. 

Audrey's Salon Haircut

Audrey got her first haircut in the salon a few days ago.  She did so good!  I hate to pay just to have her and Anna's hair trimmed but it's so much easier!  They both sit still better for someone else and the beautician is so much faster than I am, plus she has sharper scissors.  =) 

 We had about 2 inches trimmed off of each of the girls' hair and it looks so much healthier and tangles a lot less now too.  Audrey was so excited to go get her hair cut.  We'll be doing it regularly now for sure!

Vacation!

It's been over a month now since we went on vacation.  I'd love to go back today but I guess we'll have to wait till next year.  :)  We went to Virginia Beach again this year just like last summer as Michael had a conference there again.  Grandma Smith and cousin Bayli joined us to help with the kiddos and they were great!  I can't imagine how stressful it would've been without them!  The girls and I were sad to leave, maybe next year we'll stay a few more days.  I think it'll always be hard to leave the beach, it's just a great place to be! 

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9 Months Old

Our little/big boy is 9 months old today.  He doesn't even seem like a baby anymore because he's so big.  Michael's sister weighed him a few weeks ago when we were in Indiana and he weighed 25 pounds!  My back and shoulders believe it!  =)  He's still a happy, easy-going little guy and we are beyond grateful for that.

 He's starting to get mobile... scooting all over on his behind, pulling up to things, and rolling all over.  He gets up on his knees and pushes himself backwards.  We're guessing he'll probably master crawling within the next few weeks.

 His sisters love to torture him.  :)  He wears headbands, crowns, hats... pretty much whatever they can dress him up in before I catch them.  He just smiles and goes along with whatever their plan is.  I'm sure he'll get them back someday.  He loves to grab handfuls of their hair so they're learning to keep their distance.

 He's still a great sleeper!  He sleeps about 11 hours each night and 2-3 hours during the day spread out between 2 naps.  He wakes up happy and lays in his bed chatting away until we go get him. 

 He loves to stand up to things and is close to pulling up to a standing position.  It's about time to get the baby gates out! 

He has two teeth on the bottom but drools consistently and has been a bit fussy at times so we're guessing more teeth will soon pop through.  He loves to eat just about anything, bananas are his favorite.  He's doing great with table food although we have to watch him because he'll quickly stuff lots in his mouth and then gag on it.  He started clapping, waving, and holding his bottle last month.  We're working on baby signs, mainly "eat" and "all done".  He's done the sign for "eat" a few times but not consistently.  He'll say "Bubba" (that's what we call him)every now and then and clap for himself.  Overall, he's learning and growing and such a joy to all of us.  He definitely has quite the cheering section in our house! 

Grandma Murphy

 Three weeks ago my Grandma passed away.  Today she would've been 83 years old.  I'm so happy that she's no longer suffering but I do miss her and it seems so weird to think that the next time we go visit my family, she won't be there.  She was a fun Grandma with lots of spunk!  She never minced a word and you never had to guess what she was thinking as she would gladly tell you.  =)  I see a lot of her spirit and spunk in our girls.  Below are pictures of her with each of the kids.  I'm so glad they each had some time with her even though Anna will probably be the only one who will remember her.  The girls prayed for her often as she was in and out of the hospital a lot over the past 6+ years.  My Mom and Aunt Carol did a wonderful job caring for her in their homes.  What blessings they were and what servant hearts they modeled for the rest of us to see.

 Anna (14 months old) trying out Grandma's walker 

 Audrey (5 months old) with Grandma Murphy and Grandma Kathy at Grandma Murphy's 80th birthday party

Noah (5 months old) with Grandma this past April.  We had a very good visit with her and I'm so thankful for that!

Grandma in December of 2009.  She was beautiful as an older woman and beautiful as a young woman too! 

Love and miss you Grandma!

Say "Cheese"!

This is Noah's "cheese" face.  He cracks me up every time he does this!  And he seems to know just when to do it too. 

 He's such a sweetie and quite the "ham" when it comes to taking pictures.  Love this boy so much... he's getting ornerier by the day!

PJ Days

The girls love to have pajama days so when we've had rainy days this summer (they've been few and far between after such a wet, nasty spring), I've let them stay in their pj's for the day.  Something about being in pajamas all day brings out the silliness in them. 

 Good thing Audrey's such a peanut... Anna loves to give her piggie back rides and Audrey loves to get them!

 Here's another deal for Audrey... sit on a blanket and let Anna pull her around the house on the hardwood floors.  Score!  =) Guess they gotta burn energy somehow on days when they can't play outside.

Eating out!

We have had some very nice evenings this summer that have allowed us to eat outside on the deck at dinnertime.  It's so nice to have the sun on the front of the house in the afternoon/evening so that we can enjoy the shade at that time of the day.  The girls ask to eat outside almost every night.

 The next two pictures were taken over the 4th of July weekend.  Anna was way into her fried chicken... nothing was stopping her from eating!  :)

 I love eating on the deck because 1- I love to be outside and 2- it's much easier clean up.  Noah tends to be a messy eater and it's not as big of a deal if he throws something off his tray when we're eating outside.  :)

Cool Shades

I got the kids each a new pair of sunglasses on clearance and they've loved playing in them.  Noah leaves his on just a few seconds and then takes them off but usually giggles when they're on too.  The girls of course will wear theirs to eat, play, go to the bathroom, whatever!  =)

Happy 4th of July!

We had a fairly low key July 4th weekend which was ok.  Holidays spent without family and friends are tough but we try to make the best of them by doing special things just the 5 of us.  We enjoyed watching the fireworks our neighbors shot off.  It was great to not have to deal with traffic and large crowds.  We made a few red, white, and blue desserts and had a cookout with some of Michael's co-workers.  It was especially nice to have Michael home for a long weekend!

Anna's 6th Birthday

I'm so behind with blogging... here's a few pictures from Anna's birthday celebration on June 28th.  She had a great day and loved getting phone calls from our families. 

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3 Sweeties!

Whether they're playing down by the pond or soaking the dirt off in the bathtub, our 3 munchkins love being together!  Of course the girls argue and fight, but thankfully they are quick to make up and are openly affectionate and loving with one another.  And poor Noah... I'm sure his cheeks get so tired of kisses but his sisters can't resist just the like we can't.  We are so blessed by these 3 miracles!

Happy Father's Day!

What a great day to celebrate the God-fearing father my children are blessed to have!  He patiently teaches them, plays with them, and loves them unconditionally.  Below are a few of my favorite pictures of Michael with the kids. 

I'm also celebrating my dad today!  He's taught me what it means to work hard and how to get back on your feet after life knocks you down.  He's a fighter - must be where our girls get it!  :)  Thank you dad for sharing with us your love of music and for never being afraid to say, "I love you!"  Lots of hugs to you!