Welcome Number Four

Juliet Rae Gregory.  Named after my mom Colleen Rae and best friend, Kimme Rae💕.  She is 7 and a half pounds of baby chub and we are in heaven.  It was a long day of labor, but we are so thankful she is here.  Healthy and safe with no C-section🙌🏻! Yesterday was surreal.  Four years ago I was on the same floor in a different wing finishing my last chemo.  Every time a baby is born at my hospital they play a chime over the intercom.  I listened to that chime 100 times longing to be in labor and delivery instead of treatment.  Yesterday that dream came true.  I am thankful to my Heavenly Father for knowing my heart and completing our family.  Juliet, you are our Rae of sunshine and have given us so much joy.  Today we are celebrating John’s birthday, with endless cuddles and very little sleep.  We can’t wait to go home and introduce her to the kids.  Hopefully this evening.  Thank you Peggy for taking such good care of our other three.  We are forever grateful for your friendship 💗.

One proud papa!  The nurses gave her a hat with a mermaid tail on it.  Perfect fit for a girl whose mama spent so much time in the pool, lake, and hot tub while she was pregnant.  

Lots of happy tears.  It was so wonderful to finally see and hold our healthy sweet baby girl.  Before I began pushing we found out she had her cord wrapped around her neck.  It gave me so much motivation to push.  Luckily she came quick and the doctor was able to work fast to free her.   I know she is a going to be a special girl, coming to earth during a world pandemic and civil unrest.  I look forward to watching her grow and know she will make the world a better place.  She has already brought so much happiness to our family.  

Euphoric to have another baby! We are so thankful for this little spirit.  

Barefoot, pregnant and as big as a boat.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?feature=youtu.be&v=6TK07GRHxKg

 We are so looking forward to our new arrival.  Hopefully in the next week or two.  I've probably spent half of the last nine months in water.  It just feels so nice on my baby bump.  I am thankful to have had such a healthy pregnancy.   Maternity always seems like an eternity but I am grateful for the miracle and all the prayers that have been answered.

Frog Princess

Around the beginning of quarantine, we were sent a plague of chirping frogs around our swimming pool.  Their decibel level gets to be maddening from about dusk till midnight.  Luckily we've found a way to solve this problem.  We have the kids go on a frog hunt every couple of weeks and then relocate them down the street.  After they catch about ten that are in close proximity to the pool our backyard sounds more like a relaxing nature soundtrack instead of an amphitheater of cheering amphibians.  We are calling Clarissa our frog princess because she is best at spotting and catching the little critters.  The silver lining is that the abundance of frogs keep the mosquitoes numbers down, and that is always something to be thankful for! 

Metamorphosing

We've been catching caterpillars and and attaching their cocoons to our kitchen chandelier.  They emerge as brilliant orange Monarchs as we eat our morning breakfast.  Butterflies are one of my favorite phenomenons in the world and it always gives me a high to release them and watch them flutter into the blue Texas sky.  

Happy 6th Birthday to Tommy Lane.

Tommy has been talking about his birthday every day since his last birthday, so we wanted to make it  extra special despite the quarantine.  He asked for an Alien/Beach birthday party.  I was reminded of the quote "necessity is the mother of invention" as we had to get creative with stuff around the house.  The kids all worked so hard on preparations.  We made an alien piñata, Clarissa and I had fun making a spaceship crash-landing cake, and John cooked up a delicious bbq lunch.  The day ended up feeling like a vacation.  We listened to Hawaiian music, floated around the heated pool, and played dress-up with photo ops.  I never want to forget the evening ambiance, with the ukulele music,  outdoor lights, sounds of frogs, and blow-up unicorn floating around the pool.  It was such a sweet family day sandwiched between some pretty stressful times.  I am so thankful for the respite and especially grateful for this incredible little guy. 

Some things we love about Tommy:

He loves to be outside like his mama and often reminds me to sit and enjoy the little things like a sparkly rock or the moving clouds.

He will eat ANYTHING.  He loves veggies and even loves raw whole fish like fresh Herring, or sardines from a can.  His favorite is Catfish and asks to eat it every year for his birthday.

He is crazy strong and can keep up with his older siblings.  Lots of people have said he is a ball of muscle.

He gives me the "I love you sign" about ten times a day.  It always melts my heart.

He is our "fancy dresser" and loves to look nice.  He is my only kid who will put on a button up shirt and blue jeans all on his own.

He is crazy stubborn but that side is coming out less and less these days and we are seeing more and more of what we call "sweet Tommy."

Some of his favorite things and obsessions are aliens, Elvis, ninjas, his grandparents, riding his motorcycle, brushing his teeth, jumping in the pool in his underwear, catching bugs, and Stretch Armstrong.

He has a curious fear of running water... toilet, dishwasher, washing machine... you name it.  He always thinks the house is going to flood.

He loves to cuddle and always has to sleep with someone to fall asleep.

We are so grateful for this kid and the immeasurable amount of joy he brings all of us. 

 

Gone Fishing

 The kids have been spending lots of time outside in the backyard camping and catching fish.  I feel so thankful to be at our new house during this time of quarantine for Covid 19.   The lake is beautiful and always changing.  One minute it will be like glass and the next there will be big ripples from the wind.  I love watching the birds, the fish jump, and the excited expressions on the kids faces when they hook a fish.  Praising my Heavenly Father and the angels in heaven for leading us to this house!

I told James I would cook him waffles if he caught a fish this morning and he delivered.

Lake Azure City

The last couple of weeks the kids have incorporated a new township in our house complete with Monopoly money and an elected mayor. We named it Lake Azure City. They have been really into it and have all turned into little entrepreneurs. James runs a restaurant, Clarissa has a spa/hotel, and Tommy owns a pet shop where he sells all the crazy creatures he catches. The best part is John and I have endless money which works great whenever we want a foot massage (a business they all do on the side:). It's been lots of fun and a good learning experience...mixed in with some fighting about fair pricing.