In search of the elusive burp...

Daddy says, "Is it in here?"

Sophia says, "NO!"

She's not really sleeping in this photo either, it's her ploy to get us to quit trying to burp her. Of course, if we don't get the burp, we get soaked later.LOL

Blessings,

Lisa

I have to update you all on the Little's sleeping arrangement. WHAT A BLESSING!!! The littles have slept in their OWN beds for the past 4 nights without getting up! If you all only knew how amazing this statement was.lolol We've been playing the "revolving door" game every night for the past 4.5 years and to go this long without one of them waking us up is a huge accomplishment.

Their beds...

Their new closet...

I just wish I'd have thought of this sooner!!!



Blessings,



Lisa

Isaac being cute...

Blessings,

Lisa

Pictures from this morning...


Genevieve posing..

Allison waiting for her breakfast to pop up from the toaster...
Sophia actually sleeping, broken out with baby acne. Poor dear...

Blessings,

Lisa

Garlic-Shrimp Pasta

3 tbsp butter
3 tbsp olive oil
3 cloves garlic

Heat oil and butter over med heat. Add chopped garlic and saute for a minute.

1 lb shrimp, peeled and deveined

Add shrimp and cook til done.

3/4 lb linguine

Cook pasta til al dente, add to shrimp and toss

1/2 cup grated parmesian cheese
salt and pepper to taste

Add cheese and season to taste.

Serve with salad and bread.

enjoy!

Lisa

Here is my new range!!! We have now replaced every single appliance in this kitchen. What a deal we thought we were getting moving into a fairly new house.lol Little did we know....and yes, that's a new can opener, toaster, and rice cooker in the photo also.LOL


Note the cool blue interior...lol

So far, I've cooked dinner on the cooktop, Garlic-shrimp pasta, and it worked wonderfully! Not even one flame.lol I may get spoiled.lol

Here's Jon's room somewhat put back together. He even made the bed.LOL

Blessings,

Lisa

Here is my new LG Super Capacity Washing Machine. This baby does everything except cook your dinner.LOL

Blessings,

Lisa

Here is Jon's newly painted room...we don't have it all put back together but I think the color really turned out nice.

The wall with the air register used to be a bright red and now it's all a nice tranquil green. It looks so bright and cheery now. I'll post some pictures of the room once its clean, whenever THAT will be.lol

Blessings,

Lisa

My menu for this week...

Lunch

sandwiches
mac and cheese
leftovers



Dinner

Hamburgers, fries, and salad or fruit
Grilled Chicken, rice, and salad
Pasta w/shrimp and garlic, salad
Chicken salad and bread
Roast w/carrots and potatoes and salad
Tuna noodle casserole and salad


So we got the shelving for the littles rooms, the paint for Jon's room, and my new range coming on Thursday. Today the kids and I cleaned the whole house, did some laundry, I went to the grocery store while Sophia slept, I cleaned out the freezer, did the dishes, bathed Sophia, and the kids vacuumed. Whew!

The gas drops have helped Sophia's tummy a lot! What a praise! It doesn't mean she's sleeping, lol, but at least she isn't screaming all day.

My dh is going to take Wed off and put up the shelves and I'll probably paint Jon's room.

I guess that's it for today. I'm pretty tired but it feels good to get so much done.

Blessings,

Lisa

Allison said she had a great day yesterday! I'm so happy that everything turned out.lol We ended up getting her a microphone stand and cord, the titantic dvd, the Narnia dvd, and two necklaces (the kind that are made from shells that were popular when I was a kid, she's allergic to metal). She went skating with my dad and Jon all day and then my mom took her to get a pretty dress for today. Today my mil and my mom took the kids to The Lion King musical after sunday school. I'm hoping that they are having a good time. It looked like a lot of fun and if I wasn't brea$tfeeding, I would have gone also. So overall, I think she had a nice birthday. We also had her favorite Carvel Icecream Cake last night. I think next year I'll make my own ice cream cake, those things are expensive and made out of mostly artificial things. yuck.

I just can't believe that Allison is 15 now. It makes me sad and happy at the same time. She's really growing into a wonderful young lady but it's happening way too fast. I am so grateful that I have been able to spend all these years getting to know her and seeing her grow. I think it would be very hard to handle her growing if I had sent her to school and not had as much time with her. It will be hard to let her go in a few years but having this time is extra special and hopefully will help when it's time.

On the home front, lol, I have my poor sleep deprived dh rearranging the little's bedrooms. We are moving Evie into Isaac's room and that will be the bedroom for them both. Evie's bedroom will be turned into a playroom/toyroom. Eric is going to put another shelf in Isaac's closet so that their clothes will hang lower and I'll store the baby clothes on the top shelf. We are going to put a bunch of shelves in Evie's closet for the toy bins. We are hoping to get the toys cleaned out and organized so that I can rotate them during school times. Right now, Evie's room is a complete mess.

When we go to Home Depot today for the shelving and for Jon's paint, we'll also be getting me my new oven! Whoohoo! No more fires!!lol I've decided on the LG 5.6 cu ft freestanding range. It even has a bread rising feature so you always have a warm place for baking. It sounds great and I'm hoping it'll be a good one.

I've started Sophia on the gas drops in hopes of a happier baby. I don't think I've ever had a gassier brea$tfed baby. Eric and I think she sounds like a grumpy old man. Always, grunting and groaning. Poor girl. Evidently whatever I eat doesn't agree with her. Now, if I wasn't on such a restricted diet just to keep me healthy I'd try eliminating things but I'm at the point where I have to eat SOMETHING!!! So she either has to start feeling better with the drops or we may move to a bottle. I hate to see her so unhappy and uncomfortable.

Well, I guess I'd better get to work!

blessings,

Lisa

Isaac is finally starting to feel better today! What a blessing to have my little boy back. We are all taking it easy today since I think we all feel like we've been rung through a ringer.

Allison's 15th birthday is tomorrow!! We still have no idea what to get her. As Eric said, "Something between a box of chocolates and a new car."lol We're so sleep deprived and she got so much for Christmas that it's close to impossible to think of anything. I'm hoping something hits me by tomorrow.

I think I've decided on a light green for Jon's walls and I'm going to accent it with a navy blue comforter and curtains. It should look nice when it's done. We are also going to find some photos for his walls and some of those storage cubes that you hang on the wall for some of his keep-sakes and for school supplies. We already bought 3 desks for his room that we'll set up once the paint is done. We are also in the process of buying a computer so that they will have a computer for school up there. The plan is to give them my old computer and buy me a new one with way more hard drive space. That will make us a 3 computer family.lol

I did finish the laundry but now need to start it all over again.lol

Blessings,

Lisa

Isaac last week...

Blessings,

Lisa

Jon and Sophia spending some time together...

Sophia 3 weeks old...

Blessings,

Lisa

Well, we were doing so well.lol Isaac had his 11th laser surgery on Tuesday and we've pretty much been at a stand still ever since. His last couple surgeries have gone so well that I didn't think this one would be a big deal, I didn't even ask for prayer. Things were not good this time around. The doctor decided to treat him more aggressively and go over his face twice instead of just once and then the hospital didn't give him tylenol or anti-nausea meds and he ended up throwing up in the car on the way home and on my couch and then couldn't handle tylenol and so the pain got ahead of us. He's been in a lot of pain and his face looks like it hurts quite a bit. I just hate these surgeries. I can only pray that the dr's decision was a good one and that we'll see some major improvement, which would mean less surgeries total and from now on, we'll be more diligent about getting him the meds he needs. For now, I'm on comfort and love duty and learning a lot about patience. Nothing like having a 2 yo with anger management issues who is in pain. It doesn't help to have a big sister who likes to instigate and has major "justice issues" who feels that even though she taunted him, he should get in more trouble since he hit her.lolol I'm beginning to realize I don't have enough hands now that Sophia's here. It's hard to pull those guys apart while holding a newborn. I'm just hoping no one ends up with a black eye.lolol (mainly me.lol) Oh, and the three hours of sleep I got last night just don't seem to be enough for me so maybe I am a wimp.lolol

Blessings,

Lisa

Here is Allison's paper...

The Importance of the Third Commandment
by Allison G.

The Third Commandment is, ‘Remember the Sabbath by keeping it holy.’ It was one of the Ten Commandments given to Moses by God, on two stone tablets while he was on Mt. Sinai. Remember the Sabbath by keeping it holy does not necessarily mean keep the specific day holy, what it does mean is we should love and honor the sacred Word of God by willingly learning it, and sharing it through out the world. The Sabbath day is the seventh day of creation or Saturday, the day of rest; because he is our rest, it was also a sign pointing to Jesus. Due to the fact Jesus died for us, we no longer have to recognize Saturday, or any of the Old Testament holidays for that matter. How we can honor the Third Commandment is by going to church, respecting the teachings of God’s word, by helping to spread the good news, and by worshiping as a congregation under God.
The Third Commandment is important to the entire world, because without it people would not study the Word of God so there would be chaos everywhere. We should obey the Bible because it tells us what we should and should not do, so if we did not study, learn, and respect it, we would just go around doing whatever we wanted. In addition to that, by respecting the Word of God we are also respecting God. After all that He’s done for us, we should want to study His teachings, and gather together to learn how to be more like Him, so that we can let the rest of the world know of His awesome love and forgiveness. What the Third Commandment means to me is it makes me think before I act, I think about what the Godly thing to do is, or how I can best show the amazing love and forgiveness that God has given me through what I say, and do. I try to obey the Third Commandment because I want to show God that I am grateful for what He has done for me. I have trouble keeping the Third Commandment all the time because sometimes I get angry and just want to yell at someone, like my brother, or I don’t want to wake up to go to church. It is tempting and sometimes I cave into the temptation, O.K. most of the time I cave, but I try to think about what the better choice is, and then I try to make that better choice instead of just thinking about it.There are many ways you can use the Third Commandment to share your faith with your friends or people you know who do not go to church. You can openly talk about how God has helped you in your life, and how he takes care of you every day. You can spread your faith by standing up for what God has done for you whenever someone tries to say something bad about Christians or God. Do not be afraid to be different, do not be afraid to dress different, or act different, and don’t be afraid to discourage anyone who uses bad language. If all else fails there is always the fool proof plan of inviting your friends to church so they can hear the word of God and then maybe they will enjoy church and keep coming back. Only 33% of the world’s population is Christian and that percent is dropping, and I do not think that, that is enough, we need to spread the word of God through all of the nations of the world so that everyone can have God’s wonderful love and forgiveness in their lives. That is why the Third Commandment is important to the entire world.

Blessings,

Lisa

My Menu for this week...

Lunch

Mac and Cheese
Tortilla Pizzas
Leftovers
Sandwiches


Dinner

Beef Stew, biscuits, salad and fruit
BBQ chicken, rice, and salad
Crockpot Beef sandwiches and salad
Crockpot Chicken Spaghetti, rolls and salad or fruit
Beef Stroganoff and salad
Porkchops, noodles, and salad


This week and this past weekend so far I've cleaned two out of three bathrooms, including scrubbing the floors, cleaned Jon's room (ugh.), cleaned most of the house, fed the baby 3.65 million times, went grocery shopping for the first time since Sophia arrived, worked on the laundry (which is taking forever because I didn't realize that the kids had used some of my good towels and then I washed them and got oil in my brand new washing machine. ugh.), and decluttered a few more areas in the house. My plans include for the rest of the week; finishing the laundry, making two crockpot meals that are doubled so I can freeze half, rearranging both little bedrooms in hopes of making those rooms easier to find things in, and picking out a good color paint for Jon's room/school room. I'm thinking blue, but may go with green. LOL We'll have to see how much I really get done. Sophia is getting a little fussy lately and I'm wondering if it's something I'm eating or just a phase. I've had to spend a lot of time bicycling her legs and bouncing her. Some days, that's all I accomplish in a day.lol Also, I'm only getting about 5 hours of severely interrupted sleep lately and it's wearing on me. I'm getting tired and cranky. Well, at least I already know that sleep is for wimps.LOL I'm doing o.k. though and I'm choosing JOY in all things.

I was given a real blessing at church yesterday. I had the woman in charge of the youth in church come and tell me that Allison is a real blessing and an amazing young lady. I also had the pastor write on her confirmation paper that her paper was excellent and honest. Sometimes, you NEED outside confirmation that your kids are turning out o.k. and what a timely moment! I've really been worrying about my older kids lately and wondering if they would ever be anything or do well in "real life" and this was just what I needed. I'll post her paper in a separate post.

Well, that's it for now. This has been the only time today when Sophia hasn't been fussy and I don't want to spend the whole time on the computer. Time is precious when you don't have much to spare.lol

Blessings,

Lisa

Some pictures of Sophia...

She's a WIDE awake baby!

So did you all hear that scream of frustration from Florida? That was me.lol I took a nap and woke to the Little Green Machine. Now, that's not something that usually worries me because we use it often around here but when it kept running and running and, well, RUNNING!! I started to worry. Evidently, no one was watching Isaac and he found my gallon of imported olive oil and dumped it onto my carpet. ARGH!!! It's looking as though the carpet may not come clean, we're working on it now with the big carpet cleaner but it was a GALLON of oil and it's not looking good. I don't know what I'm going to do. I was hoping to keep the carpet for at least another year before replacing it but it's right in front of the kitchen and I'm afraid someone is going to crack their head on the floor from slipping. Have I already said ARGH? Well, I'm saying it over and over right now. No more naps for me. I can't afford them.lol

Blessings,

Lisa

Not the best picture of Sophia but this was taken last night right after her bath. She is the most wide awake baby I think I've ever had.lol

Pictures of Allison and Jon...they both got new haircuts this past weekend.

Blessings,

Lisa

Here's some pictures of Isaac and Genevieve taken today...

Blessings,

Lisa

I spent all day yesterday cleaning. What a mess my house has gotten into! I worked on my neglected closet, putting away all my maternity clothes and putting things on the top shelf that I couldn't reach the last few months of pregnancy. I can finally walk into my walk-in closet again! I also did the laundry. Now that I've used my washer for 3 wash sessions I can finally say that I like it.LOL It has cut my laundry in half because I can shove so much into the new washer. I also like how clean everything is. The wash times are longer but I'm only doing about 5 loads a day so it isn't too bad. The dryer is drying things MUCH faster also.

I decluttered the dining room today. That's our school room right now and it really needs cleaned at least once a week but I just didn't have the energy so it was pretty cluttered. We are moving the school stuff upstairs to Jon's room in a few weeks so my dining room should be easier to keep up after that. Speaking of Jon's room...ugh! I went up there for the first time in MONTHS and was horrified!!! I just couldn't climb those stairs during the last half of my pregnancy and Jon knew it and pretty much destroyed his room. We are taking everything except his dresser and bed away from him and will use the extra space as a class room for the older kids so that they will have a quiet place to study. Seriously, he destroyed the room. We are going to spend the next 2 weeks cleaning out the room, repainting it, and cleaning the carpet. We are also going to need to re-caulk the bathroom. It'll make a nice classroom though. We are going to purchase three small desks and a new computer for upstairs. That way the kids can do their work up there uninterrupted by little ones. Allison, especially, has had a hard time concentrating with the little ones around and I think this may be the best thing to do.

Basically, my plan is to concentrate on different parts of the house until everything is back in order. Then I'll start our school back up and concentrate on just spending time with my little ones. Eric is going to be waking the older kids up at 6am and they will begin their school work by 7 and hopefully finish by 12. I'm hoping that this will give us plenty of time in the afternoon for extra curricular activities. Allison wants to continue everything that she's currently doing and I'd like to get Jon involved in SOMETHING in the next few weeks. I'm thinking Tae Kwon Do. He's getting to the age where he really needs physical activity daily. Of course the next 2 weeks he'll be cleaning and redoing his room...ugh.

Well, got to go. Sophia is calling for me.LOL

Blessings,

Lisa

My Menu for this week...


Dinner

Fried Chicken, mashed potatoes, and salad
Pea Soup w/french bread and salad
Hamburgers and Hotdogs on the grill w/french fries and salad
Homemade Pizza w/salad
Oriental Pepper Steak w/rice and salad
Taco Stuff


Today was "Doctor Day." Can I just say that I hate doctor's offices?!?! It is probably the only place on earth where they can keep you waiting forever and you can't just walk out and leave. My appt took an hour and the little ones appt took TWO HOURS!!! Who keeps a newborn waiting that long? I definitely feel like they just don't respect our time. Rant over.LOL

Blessings,

Lisa

Here are the latest pictures of Sophia. She sure does keep us busy!

I'm having a hard time blogging. This little girl is a BIG eater. She eats every 2 hours non-stop 'round the clock.LOL Her favorite awake times are first thing in the morning and around 4am. So far, she's been up since 8am and it's 11am right now. I took these pictures while Allison was trying unsuccessfully to put her to sleep.LOL She looks really tired doesn't she? I know that I AM.lol

So far this week has been going pretty well. We haven't forgotten to take the kids to the various different activities yet and we even remembered to pick them up and didn't fall asleep and leave them at church last night which was a BIG fear of mine.lol

Today the kids will be skating and if my mom is up to it, she'll have the two little ones. I am hoping to go out to Target today and get a new diaper pail. I forgot exactly how many diapers tiny babies go through and have been putting them in the trash. I don't recommend it.LOL She may look sweet but those diapers sure don't smell sweet.lol I also want to find a nice shirt for church tomorrow. I don't seem to fit into my old clothes very well yet. I'm hoping that it's temporary.lol

Well, I guess that's it for now. Nothing too exciting.lol

Blessings,

Lisa

What a contented little lady! Sophia is soooo sweet.

This week is going by pretty fast. I guess when you are constantly doing something you don't have time to be bored.lol Yesterday I got my new washer and I've been trying it out. I definitely like how much it holds and it really cleans things well. I'm not sure that it's saving me any time though. I didn't get it until almost 2pm and I was able to do 4 loads yesterday. Normally what I did would have been 5-6 loads and the dryer would have had a hard time drying the loads but yesterday the dryer was able to dry each load in one dry time. I am definitely saving on electricity since the washer really gets the clothes wrung out. Anyway, I think I'll save the official review for next week when I've used the washer a couple more times.

Starting tomorrow, we're going to be pretty busy. Allison loves the dance classes so much that she's asked to stay for the next class after hers. She'll be there for 2 hours from now on. This Friday is confirmation class and it starts at 6pm and doesn't end until 11pm. Allison has been working on her final term paper that's due then. Each of the confirmands got a commandment that they had to explain in their paper and they will read these papers in front of the church sometime in the next 2 months. Afterwards they will be tested and then confirmed on May 20th.

Saturday is skating for the big kids and play day for the littles with my parents. Afterwards we'll be lucky to get Allison fed before she needs to be at the Jam session at the church. I just wish I could find more for Jon to do. He'll be at the confirmation class but has no interest in dance or music. Too bad the church isn't offering a ballistics course.lol

Sunday will be our first day at church with EVERYONE.lol We'll see how that goes. I am sooo glad to have a pastor who loves the challenge of talking over the little ones. Eric said that there were quite a few babies in the service last week so Sophia should fit right in.lol What a blessing this whole church is! I'm hoping to get more involved now that Sophia's here.

Monday is my dr's appt and we also have appts for Sophia and Isaac. Isaac will be having his next surgery on the 20th so we have to have a well child check up before then. I sure wish these surgeries would work faster. It seems like such a long road ahead of us.

Allison's birthday is on the 24th! I can't believe that she's going to be 15!!! I have no idea what we're going to do. Jon's birthday is April 10th and that's just around the corner also. He'll be the big 13! I'll have TWO young adults in the house. What a scary/amazing time.

Well, that's it. I'm looking forward to the weekend and getting busier. I'm still going to take it easy but just getting out occasionally would be nice.lol

Blessings,

Lisa

My Menu for the week

Lunch

pulled pork sandwiches
various different sandwiches
mac and cheese

Dinner

Minestra Soup, salad, and bread
Baked chicken, mashed taters, and salad
Hamburgers, french fries, and salad or fruit
Roast w/potatoes and carrots and salad
Soup (either beef veggie or chicken noodle)
Pizza


Enjoy!

Lisa

Here is a picture of Evie and Sophia taken yesterday.

I can't believe that it's been a whole week already since Sophia was born! It seemed as though the weeks before her birth went so slow and now life is rushing along. My dh has been off all this week and it's been really nice having the extra help and him to have some time to get to know our new baby. Monday starts my new life with 5 kids. I'm guessing that it's going to be tough to juggle everyone at first. I'm hoping that the little ones will give me a little grace as I figure out how to meet everyone's needs. Sophia is a wonderful little girl! She's a good eater and a great sleeper. I'm getting more rest now then I was before she was born. Isaac was upset at me when we first all got home. It has taken all week for him to forgive me for leaving like that.lol Just last night was the first time that he would let me love on him. I'm thankful that he's o.k. now. He really doesn't think too much about Sophia, I think he's just young and as long as she's not taking his toys, he's fine with her.lol Evie loves HER new baby, as she calls her.lol She's wonderfully gentle and just loves to hold her. She loves to tell visitors not to touch Sophia's head, as "it's still squishy."LOL Isaac loves to rub his nose on her head. He says her head tickles him.lol Allison loves to hold the baby and is a wonderful help. Eric was not feeling well for a few days and Allison just took right over. Poor Jon has been sick since I was in the hospital and is staying with my parents. We're hoping he'll feel well enough to come home today. I'm sure he's dying to spend some time with the new baby.

I've been feeling great! It's really hard to take it easy when I feel good.lol I did over do it once and realized that even though I feel good, it doesn't mean that I'm all healed up. I've been taking it easy ever since, even though the house is a mess and I really want to clean it.lol

We finally decided on a washing machine.lol I hate buying appliances. It seems like a process more geared toward my dh's disposition. He loves to research and hunt out the best machine whereas I just want one that works. I really didn't want a front loader because they take forever and I have so much to wash that I was looking for capacity and speed but Eric found that the newest front washers can fit twice as much in them as my old washer and the one we bought has the lowest wash time for front loaders. We ended up with the high priced LG model. It is supposed to save us a lot of money in water and electricity. We'll see. My biggest issue is; will it make my life easier? If so, then it's worth it.lol We get it on Tuesday, so I'll let you all know how I like it.

Well, I'll post our menu later today once Allison has had a chance to make it. I need to help get everything ready for church now. I wish I was going but I've committed to staying home until next weekend. I think it's best anyway since it's cold today and I don't want the baby out in it. I'm really trying not to overdo it.lolol I've never felt this good after having a baby and it sure is hard to sit around.lol

Blessings,

Lisa

Sophia Marie!

We think she's going to be a blondie! She's so sweet and always sleeping...what a blessing she is!

Lisa

Isaac happy to be home!



Allison happy to be holding her sister.

My three girls. What a blessing they are!