Gabriel Joel

On April 20th, 2012 God blessed us with another big, healthy beautiful boy!!!  From the beginning, Gabe has done things on his own time and his own pace.  I once told my pediatrician that he is lazy... she told me he's just laid back!  I think both!!  Haha!!!  During my pregnancy, I would go to bed around 11pm and would not feel him move again until 9am (hours after orange juice and coffee).  I knew he was okay, but I still told my OB to keep her informed.  We did an ultrasound and everything measured okay, and I began to see his personality!!

I was scheduled for a C-section on April 20th at 9:30am, and on the 19th we took Hannah and Sam over to my in-laws and headed out for one last date before our family grew.  By this time I had called my parents and said I would call in the morning when Gabe arrived and told everyone else we would see them at the hospital the next morning.  We were at Joe's Crab Shack when my contractions started and the seats were super uncomfortable and I was getting miserable.  On the way home, the contractions were 4-5 minutes apart and I just kept thinking that this was unbelievable.  I mean, can't the kid wait 12 hours??  We went home and finished packing and I tried taking a bath and resting to see if the contractions would stop.  by 10pm I was calling the OB.  She told me to come in, and if I wasn't in labor, they would just keep me to the next morning.  Well, one look at me and the nurse told me I was having this baby tonight!!!  Praise the Lord!!!  I was not meant to labor naturally!!

When I was on the table, the OB asked be about what the sizes of my other babies were (6'11 and 8'5)  and she told me that this baby wouldn't be as big... she was guessing upper 7 lbs.  By this time I had been working on postpartum for just about a year, and when they pulled him out and showed him to me, I kept thinking that he was no 7 lb baby!!

Gabriel Joel was born at 1:45am weighing in at 9 lbs 1 oz and 20.25 inch long.  And his head was 14.5 inches around (the newborn hats would not stay on his head!).  The thing was, no one in my family knew about it until 6 or 7am.  I tried calling and calling everyone I knew, but they had silenced their phones!!  It was fun to surprise everybody when they woke up to find they had 100 missed calls and Gabe had arrived in the middle of the night!

Part of the fun of having Gabe on the 20th, was that we were able to celebrate Hannah's 3rd Birthday at the hospital on the 21st!!  So fun to have kids birthdays at the same time :)

Gabe was the most easy going, laid back baby.  I feel like he was the least held, and he was so content to be in his swing or bouncy seat and watch the world go around him!  He hardly cried... and when he did it was for a reason (dirty diaper, hungry, etc.)

This maternity leave was the best!  By the end the house was clean, meals had been prepared and I was well rested!!  And it was the hardest to end... because this time I was no longer leaving 1 or 2 kids but 3.  And I just love being at home with my kids!  Some day I will be able to cut back to Part time, but I'm pretty confident I'll never get to be a stay at home mom... but I can dream!

So speed forward 22 months and I can tell you that this little guy has been such a blessing to our family!  He is still a laid back, happy little guy!!  This last year has really shown us a look into his character and personality... At One year, he was only army crawling and not pulling up on furniture.  He was mostly eating baby food and barely eating "big people" food.  He would not feed himself and would not put toys to his mouth.  However, he was saying about 10-15 words but would not say Mama or Mommy.  Just as we were talking about First Steps for him, he took off cruising furniture at 13 months and walking at 14 months.  He started feeding himself around the same time.  He said Mama at about 17-18 months after trying to get him to say it for a year!!  He slowed way down and hardly grew at all between 15 months and 18 months, but now he is taking off growing like crazy!

He is totally obsessed with Mickey Mouse Clubhouse and is not happy unless it is playing on the TV, iPad and iPhone at the same time!!  When he wants to watch Mickey he says, "Disney!"  He says 2 to 3 word sentences, but then again my kids learn their words in phrases!!  He loves playing with the big kids... well, let me rephrase that... he loves taking there toys when they are playing quietly!  He likes to run with the big kids and chase them around and he loves to dance and sing.  Right now, he really likes to watch "Let it Go" on you tube and throughout the song you can hear him say "Let Go".  He still sleeps in the crib at night (but will move out of it this summer) and still sleeps with a pacifier.  I think we missed our mark in taking that away.  But, at least he sleeps through the night!!  He also is obsessed with eating banana's and when he wants fruit he tries to open the fridge and says "Apple".  He absolutely adores our dogs and thinks it is so funny when they run around the back yard.  And speaking of funny, he has the best laugh.  It is one of those deep gut laughs that I can listen too all day!

Gabe will turn 2 on Easter Sunday this year... where has the time gone??  In so many ways he is still my little baby but it has been so much fun to watch him grow and start to play with the other two kiddos!!  I pray daily for my kids that they will grow to love the Lord and serve him more faithfully than I do... but I feel deep in my heart that God has something special in store for Gabe.  Gabriel means "God is my Strength" and Joel means "the Lord is willing".  I pray that Gabe will always rely on God to be is strength and his everything!!

I love you Gabers!!!!!

Sammy Owens

Ah.... my middle child, Samuel Edward Owens....

He is one awesome kid!!  When we first found out we were having a boy, I was not sure how this was going to turn out. I mean, I am the oldest of 3... my sister is 4 years younger than me and my brother is 8 years younger than me.  So, half way grew up with a brother, he was always so much younger than me and did whatever we did.  Well, Sam is teaching me what it means to have a boy... he is ALL boy!!

A few weeks ago when we went to the Doctors for a limp he had, he wouldn't let Dr. Santos (a female pediatrician) examine him!  He told her, "I want the boy Dr!!"  This cracked her up :)  She said she doesn't usually hear that until they are about 11 years old.  I've noticed lately that he has really started attaching himself to Josh and other males in the family.  From some of the books I read, I know this is a mile stone for boys... they begin to un-attach themselves from their moms.  I feel like this is a bit early and a little sad, but it is awesome to see him growing!!  Don't worry, he still loves to cuddle and give me kisses and wants me around... it's just neat to see him looking up to the awesome men in our lives!

Sam has really had a great year too!!  This kid grows like no other!  In January he was wearing 3T clothes and a size 7 shoe... At the end of the year he was wearing 5T shirts, 4T pants and a size 10 shoe!  He's off the charts in height and was around the 50 percentile in weight, which gave him a BMI in the 15 percentile.  He's tall and thin!

I think Sam loved Disney!!  He now talks about wanting to go back, but when we were there He was really not into the Characters that were in costume, but he did okay with the "face" characters (like Belle and Cinderella).  The only Characters he hugged were Jake and Pluto (whom he calls "his dog").  He loved the rides that were more like people movers and hated Dumbo :)  Of course, A Small World was one of his favorites!!

One of the fun things about Sam is that you never know what he is going to do!  He never really gets into trouble (like pouring flour all over or getting into something that he knows he is not suppose too), but he does like to make a mess.  He keeps us on our toes but makes us laugh at the same time!!

Over the Summer, I decided to start potty training him.  I really wanted to wait until he turned three, but for some reason I felt like it was a good time to start.  It took him 4 days to finally pee on the potty chair, and basically anytime I sit him on a potty he can pee.  But 6 months later we are no further than that week!  He just doesn't care if he goes in his diaper.... I don't know what to do with him!  But that is, in a way, part of his personality.  He has a stubbornness to him and an "I'll do things my own way in my own time."  Don't worry little man, we will conquer this before we go to Disney!!

Sam loves salad and that is no lie... he goes crazy when we bring him home a chicken avocado salad from Panera.  He can almost eat a half portion of that salad by himself!  But really, he will eat anything and everything.  He's the kid with best appetite!  His favorite show is Jake and the Neverland Pirates on Disney Junior.  He loves to play with those plastic army men (he carries them all over the house).  He also LOVES to watch Josh play Disney Infinity and the Marvel Avengers Lego game.  So much so that I think Josh is finally tired of playing Xbox!

On of our favorite things to do to Sam is call him something different...  "Hey Jake!!"  He always replies,

    "I'm not Jake.  I'm Sammy Owens!!!"

Hannah Marie

This has been a big year for Hannah... or more or less for Josh and I with Hannah!  She is really growing an maturing everyday!  Her little mind is absorbing and taking in the world around her and she learns so quickly!!!

In April she turned 4 years old while we were in Disney World.  I asked her what princess she wanted to dress like for her birthday, and when I showed her the dresses she picked Minnie Mouse.  Over the weeks, the outfit came together nicely... shoes and all!  And because she hardly grows, she was Minnie Mouse for Halloween.  And if we are lucky, we may get another use of it this April...

One of the big decisions we've made is to the homeschool the kids.  So this Fall we started doing a little home schooling with preschool (challenging, because the kids think school is arts & crafts and I am doing all my own lesson planning).  Hannah also started her 2nd year of Cubbies and she started Ballet!  I can tell that Ballet has helped with her coordination (which is something all my kids lack on!).  AWANA has been a huge blessing to our family, and I am amazed by how much the kids retain.  We have met some amazing people and and I am so thankful for the teachers and table leaders that minister to the kids every Wednesday!!!

Hannah loves the color pink, her favorite TV show is either Doc McStuffins or Princess Sofia (I can't tell which one she likes more), and her favorite movie is now Frozen.  I think this is my new Disney favorite as well.

Hannah also has one of the sweetest, caring hearts that I have ever seen in a little girl!  She is always very concerned about those around her... "Are they sad?" "Are they hurting?"  She is very inquisitive and is starting to ask "the hard questions"!!  "How did a baby get in your tummy?" "How did they come out?"  She loves having play dates with other kids... especially other girls.  She always telling me about her little sister, so I think that she longs for another girl to play barbies and baby dolls with!

We continue to work on first time obedience, listening to the teacher and sharing with her brothers.  All things a typical 4 year has issues with!  Because we have decided to homeschool and she does not go to preschool, she struggles at times with organized activities... however, I do feel I have seen an improvement over the last year and a half.

I am challenged as a mom to consistently and lovingly discipline in a biblical way.  I can see her heart softening and she is absorbing so much from Sunday school and AWANA.  My prayer for her over this next year is that she realizes her need for a Savior and that she would grow to love Christ and have an amazing life of faith and obedience in Jesus!

Jeremiah 29:11-13
 "For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope.  Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will hear you.  You will seek me and find me, when you seek me with all your heart.

2013

A new year is starting and the one thing I want to do is keep track of what my kids are doing!  I wish I could put each day into a time capsule and relive the fun moments I have with my children!!  I could never imagine what a blessing and joy these little ones could give us!!

It's been 2 1/2 years (I think) since I last blogged... and so much has happened in that time!  In May of 2011 I took a leap of faith and changed jobs.  I went from being a Cardiac Nurse to a Postpartum Nurse... and it's a choice I will never regret!  My job brings me such joy and less stress then my last job, and the people I work with are AMAZING!  I hope to be that nurse that has been on her unit for 40 years!

In April of 2012 we welcomed Gabriel Joel into our family!  Yes, we are now a family of 5 and we are crazy and busy and enjoying every moment of it!!  Gabe came on the day of his scheduled C-section... but at his own time :)  We dropped the kids off at Grandma and Grandpa's on the 19th and Josh and I went out on one last date.  Well, contractions started during dinner and just intensified and got closer together within hours.  So, at 11:00 that night we headed off to the hospital.  Around 2 in the morning, Gabe was born weighing in at 9lbs 1oz and 20 1/4 inches long.  He was a laid back baby  and not very demanding, which is good because we were very busy with the other two!

Through all of this, Josh and I continued to serve in the grOve (our church's youth group) and grow together as a couple serving God.  I actually took the 2012 year off for 2 reasons: my kids and my job.  I had taken a new position on my unit that had me working on Wednesdays, and with only Hannah in AWANA and a new baby, it was a commitment I couldn't make 100%.  Josh stayed on as a youth sponsor and I supported him and went to some of the activities we had.  In May of 2013 we graduated our first class!!  After a year off, I felt like God was calling me to head back into the grOve and serve... once again, my job had changed and I am able to make sure I have Wednesdays off.  Hannah is in Cubbies, Sam is in Puggles and Gabe is able to go to Nursery... so Wednesday nights are really a family event now!!  Being part of the grOve has changed and challenged me in so many ways.  Believe it or not, I am not an outgoing person.  I am most definitely an introvert and would prefer to stay out my house with my family!!  But God is growing me... challenging me weekly through the teens to look outside of myself to serve others for Christ and grow and know him more!  It's amazing how God works!!

This past April, for Gabe's 1st birthday and Hannah's 4th birthday, we were given the privilege of going to Disney World for the first time as a family!  Oh what fun we had!!  I will have to write some of my thoughts and things I learned in another blog.  We are taking the plunge and going again in 2014 with just our family.  Last trip we went as a group of 12, which was fun and challenging at the same time.  This time it is just us 5... Josh and I are on our own and I am really looking forward to it!

And the kids are amazing... each child deserves their own post!!  We are daily stretched and challenged as parents to raise the children in a loving and God fearing way... and I feel we fail at this all the time.  But I keep pressing forward, knowing God can work in amazing ways!  Christmas this year was so much fun with them!  They are at the age where they are so thankful for anything they get and do not demand certain toys or gifts from us!!  And I also realized that this is the year that they begin to form opinions about what Christmas is about... and that is overwhelming!  I'm sure I don't always keep that in perspective!  Thanks to Disney, Hannah thinks Christmas is about Friends & Family... and although I don't want her to think it is about just presents, I do want her to know that Christmas is about the greatest gift... JESUS!!  I want her to know that he came from heaven to earth to die for our sins!!  Pray with me that her heart will be open to the gospel and that she will realize her need for a Savior!!!  I pray that for all of my children, but I really feel like she is coming to that time of understanding.

 So, 2014 is one day away!!  I'm not making a goal about blogging... I won't keep to it!  I'm not really making any goals... because I won't keep them.  I'm just praying this year... praying that God will give me a heart more like Jesus and that I will grow closer to him every day of this year.  That is my only New Years Resolution... to be more like Jesus!!

Goodbye 2013... It's been an AWESOME YEAR!!!!

I'm Back!

Well, it's been almost two years since the last time I blogged!  I kept meaning to get back to it... but it never seemed like a good time.  I dropped off blogging in March of 2011 because there were some big changes happening in my life and I wasn't sure what to do except pray!  In May of 2011 I had a big job change... going from a Cardiac nurse manager to being Postpartum (after you have a baby) floor nurse! And it was the best change I ever made!  God was definitely working in my plans out!!  I now work with a bunch of awesome nurses and I get to hold little creations of God every day I work... it's amazing.  I'm once again back in management and working three days a week (instead of the two night shifts on weekend option) and so thankful for the opportunity I have to serve others!

In April of 2012, we welcomed the 5th addition to our family, Gabriel Joel.  By far the happiest and most content baby of all and unbelievably cute!!

He makes parenting easy... well, they all make parenting easy!  They are such good kids.  Of course, they have their moments (don't we all?) but all in all they are so well behaved :)  In the days to come, I will update you on each kid.

So excited to be back!!