A girl and her daddy.

It's been fun to see each of our kiddos grow up. They each have their favorite parent, and for the most part Dahrran and Kaitlynn have mommy as a favorite. MacKenzie and Addysen by far have Daddy wrapped around their fingers.

When the big kids were growing up Joel worked a factory job where his day started sometimes as early as 4am. We didn't see him until after nap time in the afternoons. Morning routine was left up to me, and we managed. When Joel took his new job last October our routine changed. For the better.

His hours are now anywhere from 7:30/8:00am-7:30/8:00pm. It's so nice for him to be able to be here with us in the mornings. We all wake up as a family, and get to spend a little time together. His job is also only 4 miles away from home! Which is great because it means that he doesn't have a long commute.

With the big kids now in school full time, it now means they usually leave with daddy who takes them to the bus stop and waits while the bus comes. For Addysen this is probably the hardest part of her day. She loves all the big kids, and loves her daddy so much more. Almost every morning there are snuggles that commence.

Laundry

You know how they say you don't know what you have till it's gone? Yeah that's kind of how I feel now about my laundry. Except that I don't know how I did it before with my crappy washer!!! It felt soooo good today to get my laundry room all back in order. It's been a crazy few days not doing any laundry.

I was telling Joel tonight (after putting the 4th load of laundry in for the day!!) that I didn't realize just how bad our laundry situation SUCKED until we got the "new" ones in place. Before I would spend all day doing laundry sometimes only getting 1 load done. If I was lucky I could get 3 loads done a day. Those loads also were about half the size of a "normal" load because our washer would not drain if it was any bigger!! When you're a family of 6 this just doesn't cut it.

What type of person are you when it comes to cleaning for company to come over?

I'm the type that cleans the areas no one see's ..... because I know they will STAY clean. I always feel like cleaning our main living areas days/weeks before company comes is pointless. But when I clean closets and basements, (and laundry rooms) I feel like my house is really clean even though you can't see my living room floor!

So this being said, I had to show you some pictures of my clean laundry room. It's the only room in our basement (besides the dinky storage room) that is unfinished. I wish there was a way to finish it, but for now we'll love it the way it is.

Of course in the middle of me taking a few pictures MacKenzie decided she needed to hop up on the dryer. Silly Girl!

Kaitlynn got to celebrate  her birthday today at school and she looked so cute! It also happened to be picture day so she got the royal treatment before we walked out the door. I was even nice enough to take her to school. On the ride in she asked me if I could take her every day!

While the big kids were in school Addysen and I met my sister in Seward to pick up Kailtynn's birthday present and get some lunch. When we got lunch Addysen was sleeping so peacefully. I love how she has found her fingers and will suck on the two of them to help soothe her.

Life as we know it

What a week it's been at our house, crazy as it sounds I thought this week wasn't going to be that bad!

Sunday we didn't do a whole lot except can tomatoes and green beans from our garden. I'm so thankful for our garden and even more thankful when in the winter months I can enjoy the harvest still. Believe it or not, Joel does most of the canning. I don't mind doing small batches of jelly but when it comes down to doing the rest, it honestly bores me. We make a pretty good team though when it comes down to it!

Monday was spent trying to get caught up on laundry. Our washing machine has been on the fritz for a couple months now and I had finally had enough. Thankfully my dad was nice enough to let us do some laundry at his house and I was able to get about 4 loads done. Unfortunately there were at least 8-10 loads left. Our washer would go all wonky and not spin out the water if you put too much in it....and it's idea of too much was 1/2 of the capacity. Leaving me 16-20 loads of laundry and if I was lucky it would all spin out. I'd had enough. Joel called his mom and dad because they had gotten a new set for the dairy, and asked if we could buy the old set. Thankfully it worked out and we were able to!!

That evening Dahrran asked us if he could play football. It came as a complete and udder shock to both Joel and myself. We had gotten a call from the coach about a month ago wondering if Dahrran would be interested. After much talking it over he had decided that he didn't want to play. This would've been his first year and honestly I think he was just nervous about trying a contact sport. 

Tuesday brought me scrambling to try and find Dahrran some football cleats at the last moment and thankfully we were able to get a pair from a family in the school district who's son decided not to play. Practice was thankfully uneventful and he said he loved every minute of it!! Guess we'll see. :) 

While Dahrran was at practice we headed down to Joel's parents to get the washer and dryer. While grandma was spending some time with Addysen she started screaming bloody murder as if she was being hurt. This is the second time in a week when she has done this cry while I'm not around. Of course the minute that Joel's mom came outside with her she stopped crying. I hate to admit it but I think we have a bit of separation anxiety coming on. 

Wednesday morning Kaitlynn and I decided to run to town to get the few things we needed to go about putting the "new" washer and dryer in place. We have quite a long dryer vent and had replaced a piece of it a year ago, but the rest was 7+ years old and so I decided the night before that we would just buy all new dryer vent tubing. Turns out it was a good idea, the old tubing didn't have much of a space in the middle and was all clogged up with dryer lint. It's amazing we hadn't had a dryer fire yet.

Joel and I worked to get the old set out of the basement. It became more of a challenge than I remember it being before. Time crept up on us and I needed to get to Joel's brothers house to babysit his niece and nephew for a bit. While I was gone Joel got the help of my step brother, and together they got the dryer out and the new set in only to come up with more problems. The new drain hose was too short and wouldn't reach our drain pipe. Another trip to town and we now have a washer. It was all we got put together last night because Joel wanted to get a few other things for the dryer while we were in town. 

I have a house to clean and here I sit blogging. Kaitlynn's birthday is this weekend, and we have our families coming over. Better get to it!!

First Day of School 2012

It's that time of year again where I send my babies off to school. This year Dahrran will be a 4th grader....someone PLEASE tell me where the time has went! He hit a growth spurt shortly before school started, and is now wearing size 14 pants, 10/12 shirts, and a 7 (yes I said 7) shoe!! In a few short months I fear we will be able to wear the same shoes.

MacKenzie is going to be a 2nd grader this year and couldn't be more excited. Sadly she is still able to wear most of her clothes from last year, and her sister will pass her up in no time. Poor girl will be short like her mama!

Kaitlynn started the 4 year old preschool class this year. This means that she is home in the mornings, and goes in the afternoons. It was a bit of an adjustment for her to not have to get on the bus with the big kids this morning. When it came time to go to school she informed me we NEEDED to go about 20 minutes before it was time. We also "probably missed my bus already!"

Sweet Addysen doesn't quite know what to do with all the quiet time. She has been talking lots, and getting an interrupted nap!!

Addysen's Baptisim

Not many people know this. It took us a long time to conceive Addysen. There were times where I had given up the hope of ever having a 4th child. I thought we would always be a family of 5. This was something that had weighed on my heart heavily. I have this thing with odd numbers you see....and being a family of 5 was killing me. But really, I felt like we weren't complete. Something Someone was missing.

Shortly before we found out we were pregnant, we had decided to go down the foster care/foster adopt path. We were just starting to get our ducks in a row, and had the chance to go to an informational meeting on getting started. Something in my heart told me we weren't quite ready just yet, and so we decided to hold off on going to the meeting and would attend the next months'. Just a few short weeks later, and I found out I was pregnant. I'm one who believes God has a plan for us, and this was his plan. Three long years of waiting and we were finally going to add to our family.

During our TTC journey I'd grown closer to finding my faith. It has been a long path over the last 10 years. Joel is Catholic, and I was raised in a Presbyterian family who really only went to church on major holidays. The journey to figure out where I fit in has been a tough one. I finally had decided I was ready to become Catholic, and raise our children the same way. It's such a blessing to be able to see our children grow in the love and faith of God.

The day of Addysen's baptisim was a beautiful day, we had all of Joel's family and some of mine present. Joel's sister and brother-in-law are Addysen's godparents and I'm so proud to call them my family as well.

Welcome!

If you're here you've made the switch with us! It's been so long since I blogged that I just decided it was time to start fresh with the correct blog link. Hopefully someday we'll buy our own website, but until then here we are!!

If you're new here, Welcome!! Thanks for stopping by, we're anxious to get started blogging again as well as documenting our lives! Here's a little bit about us!

Joel & Amanda: We began dating the last day of Joel's senior year in High School .  Joel had been asking me out for years and I'd always said no. Finally I emailed him and asked him to go out with me. Later that summer, we found out I was pregnant and expecting a boy! Things could've gone so many ways, but I'm thankful for everything we had that summer. Joel went off to college, and I completed my senior year in High School (pregnant and all!). After graduating High School, we moved in together while Joel completed his degree. 

I've been a SAHM for the last 9 years and have loved almost every minute of it! We got married in 2004, bought a house in 2005 and added to our family since! Sure the last 10 years of togetherness have had their ups and downs, but we've persevered through and work on our marriage daily.

Dahrran: An average 9 year old boy who has started to eat us out of house and home. He loves legos, tractors, and anything farm related. One of his biggest loves is John Deere and even got his wish to have his room painted yellow and green this last year!


MacKenzie: 7 going on 17, and always a joy to be around. She can be such a lover and at the same time such a drama queen. She is for sure our strong willed child. She loves all things purple, has a large heart for Horses, and is an avid reader.


Kaitlynn: Such a tall girl for her age. She is almost 5 but just about as tall as her older sister. She loves all things Hello Kitty, loves her baby sister, and all babies in general. She is such a sweetheart and loves to cuddle and give kisses.


Addysen: Our newest addition. Having a baby in the house again is such a refreshing joy. Born the smallest of all our kids, and with the most hair, she is such a pleasure to enjoy. She doesn't mind trying out all the different types of cloth diapers her mom puts on her!


Our family also includes 3 pets! Jackson our 8 year old chocolate lab, Izzy our 3 year old Schnauzer, and Telly our 6 year old "fat" cat!


Thanks for coming along our ride as we try to get through the every day life as a family of 6!

Daddy's girl

It's so fun to see Joel holding a teeny tiny baby again. I forgot how much it makes me love him even more when he has such a little baby in his arms. Now don't let him fool you, he will act like he doesn't love it. The minute you put her in his arms his heart melts into a squishy puddle and his fingers turn purple!

Addysen's first outing

Yesterday we headed to Joel's parents farm for Easter with his family! It was great to get out of the house and see family! Addysen did great too and enjoyed spending the day sleeping in grandma's arms!!