A FREE Bouncy House

Did you know that one of my favorite words is FREE?  Yup… I am a free girl.  I LOVE getting FREE clothes, FREE samples, FREE food, FREE books, FREE admission, FREE babysitting (ha, ha)…I am just a FREE girl.  We have been blessed over and over again with FREE things from our church family and friends, but this weekend we were given one of the BIGGEST free things yet… our very own BOUNCY HOUSE!!  Our friends’ kids had outgrown it and they decided to pass it on to us!  We were so surprised and thankful.  Danny set it up on Saturday morning and the girls had a BLAST playing in it.  Josiah was a little apprehensive about it, but as always he will warm up to it and be the craziest one of the bunch in no time!  It is going to provide MANY, MANY hours of fun in the next few years! 

Thank you, Fryrear Family!!!!!

Silly Sisters!

And Here He Is…

The girls have been waiting and waiting to meet their new brother… Grace would kiss my belly and talk to the baby, while Hannah would ask a hundred questions about the new boy.  They were both VERY curious and anxious for the day of his arrival.  Before we left for the hospital, we told the girls that we would probably have the baby by the time they woke up in the morning.  They were SO EXCITED!  I am not sure if Grace was able to sleep much… she was grinning from ear to ear and was literally BOUNCING on the bed for several minutes.  She wanted to touch my belly, so I let her CAREFULLY kiss my tummy between contractions!

Josiah knew that there was a baby in my tummy, but he didn’t really understand.  He called the baby… baby Ball… which was really funny.  He literally thought that I had a ball under my shirt… so cute!  He liked to kiss my tummy, too, and blow raspberries all over it making it really wet!  Such great memories!!

Once morning came Danny went back to the house to take care of the kids – Sherri had an appointment to get to – and brought the kids to the hospital after Josiah’s nap.  They were in LOVE at first sight… actually they were in love BEFORE the first sight.  Just the thought of him in my tummy made them fall in love!

Opening a present from Caleb to the rest of the kids – a bubble maker, fruit snacks and lollipops!

Josiah needed a little mommy-time so he sat with me while he ate fruit snacks.

Just a cute one of Hannah

Our first family picture as a family of SIX

Me with my oldest and my youngest…so sweet!

 

PS… I thought my time was limited when I was the mom of three, but now that I have four (including a newborn) I am REALLY limited.  SO… I will try to post when I can.  It may be several more days until I get more pictures up.  Sorry…sleep and special times with each precious child have been winning over posting.

The Time Has Come…

Our last soccer game of the season was very memorable…we had all of our players there, we played really well, we had great snacks (I made gluten-free Rice Krispie Treats and others brought freeze pops and fruit snacks), Grace scored TWO goals!!!, AND MY WATER BROKE DURING THE SECOND QUARTER!!  For those who know my family, it was quite poetic that I would have that happen on the soccer field and that I would finish the whole game out on the field as coach without telling anyone (except Danny).  This picture was taken right after the game… we socialized a little and then headed home to asses my health, get the kids to bed and call Sherri to come watch the kids while we headed to the hospital. 

And then SEVEN hours later…

Caleb Andrew Lightner was born.  8 pounds, 2 ounces, and 20.25 inches!  What a cutie!

His Apgar Scores were 7 and 9.

Right after delivery…my handsome Danny is now a FATHER OF FOUR!!!!

The relieved Momma with her son

Ready to be transferred to the Post Partum Rooms

It was a very eventful night… we didn’t get back to our real room until around 4.  We were very tired, but felt so blessed. We praised the Lord together for this little miracle and then tried to get some rest before Danny headed home to take care of the kids and then bring them all to meet Caleb! 

Mothers Day

Just thinking back to the days that were so special…. the days that I delivered my babies…

Looking forward to meeting this new one too!

Grace Elizabeth – 2/07

Hannah Joy – 3/09

Josiah James 10/10

It is SO special to be blessed to be a mommy!  I am thankful that God has blessed me so incredibly.  It is the hardest job that I could have but the rewards are endless! I am constantly trying to improve my skills, knowledge and Biblical discipline in order to be a better mommy…. I want to be used of the Lord in these children’s lives… they were given to ME for only a short time!  How will I spend those days… what will I try to add to their hearts and minds?

I am reminded of something a more experienced mother told me a few years ago… these preschool times have the longest days but the shortest years!  Make the most of those LONG days!

Last Field Official Trip of the School Year

Thursday was the last day of school in the classroom, but we wanted to end the year with a fun and educational field trip with the whole family.  Since it was National Public Gardens Day, we were able to download free tickets to the Botanical Center in Des Moines for a fun morning with the plants, fish and turtles.  It has both indoor and outdoor gardens which are BEAUTIFUL and so much fun to see the variety that God created!

 

Upon entering the front desk gave us a backpack with activities for kids ages 4-7 to do… we basically used it for the kid-friendly map that was inside as well as a few special coloring pages and a slide viewer. 

Josiah loved looking at all of the fish and turtles swimming in the ponds…”Look, daddy!”

Grace and Danny looking at the pond…

Hannah and me…

Taking a closer look at interesting plants with curly leaves

We found a BANANA TREE… maybe our monkeys could climb up and get those for us!

Hannah took a turn with the backpack!  Then we went to a special room that had Gnomes hidden… Grace was GREAT at finding them!

Water…all of the fountains were a big hit… we stayed relatively dry, though!

Coloring pictures at a special Kids Station….

Crown of Thorns… interesting for all of us!

More fish and turtles…

Josiah LOVED the turtles and waterfall

Yup… licking her lips at the thought of a chocolate tree… she IS her daddy’s and mommy’s daughter!

IVY… for some reason she NEEDED her picture with this wall of leaves!

More water…

We found someone to take our picture… it was really bright so we didn’t get a good one!

Relaxing in the Gazebo!

It was a fun, relaxing, and SLOW PACED morning which was really nice for all of us, especially me!  It is hard to believe that we are already done school for the year… Monday will seem really strange, but there will be enough life-change soon for our family!  :)  We are ALEADY planning for next year!!