Picture this:

Are you ready?? Got your imaginations in gear. OK.

So you got 3 kids, the first 2 are 13 months apart, and #2 and #3 are 11 months apart. You just move to a new town far from your family/help and familiarity... and your son is sick, so you take him to the Dr. right?? Right.

Get to the Dr. office at 1:45... which also just so happens to be NAP TIME! The waiting room is packed full and the kind people sitting next to you tell you good luck with the wait cuz they had already been there an hour and a half. And you very quietly think to yourself that you have pretty much just signed up for a death sentence... oh, and that I did! Like I've said before, going out with all 3 kids is a chore in itself.. and on top of that, not having my double stroller was the cherry on top. After about 10 minutes of playing with the 1 toy in the waiting room, the girls were done with being content. Payton's walking around "love tapping" other children... which could possibly come across as a slap, but I as her mother know that thats just her way to show love. Madelynn's taking the chair from a (very big bully of a kid) little boy who wanted to, and just might have beat her up for it had his mom not stopped him. Payton falls and busts her lip and screams her head off while bleeding everywhere. The whole entire waiting room is staring at me like I'm a nut case (have I ever told you how much I HATE when people sit and stare???) Several people say to me "wow, you got your hands full" I just grin and say "yes ma'am" but inside I think with desperation "won't you please just offer me some HELP. Can I trust you to watch my son as I chase my daughter out the front door???? PLEASE!!!" ....Oh yes she did take off out the front door, LAUGHING, my little 2 year old put on a show like no other. I have never in my life been so embarrassed! She ran up and down the waiting room area screaming "LEE ME LONE MOMMA" I was in awe of how she behaved. At one point, she went back into the back, ya know, where the patients go to wait on the Dr... ya she opened the door and went back there and WENT INTO THE PATIENT ROOMS. Oh my gosh I was so embarrassed and mad. Meanwhile, remember the other 2 kids, ya, there all the way at the OTHER end of the waiting room as I am chasing Madelynn down the halls and whooping her little butt... hoping and praying there are good people in this world that are seeing my situation and kinda sorta looking out for my other 2. I very kindly appologize to the dear soul sitting next to us and she was ok with it so that made the whole ordeal a little bearable, knowing that my kids weren't driving this poor lady up the wall. Who knows, maybe she went home and soaked in the tub cuz she needed to relax after the whole ordeal. Lord knows thats what I needed to do.

TWO HOURS later, we finally go back to a room and I'm just about ready to bust out and cry. I am willing to do anything to keep them quite and content in this little room so I let Madelynn have the paci and lay in the stroller. There was no helping Payton at this point in the game so she literally just screamed all the way through Stetson's appointment. Half the time I couldn't even hear the Dr.

I heard her enough to hear that Stetson will more than likely have asthma like his daddy. I kinda sorta pretty much knew thats what she was gonna say just cuz I've seen Nat struggle with asthma, and knew that's what Stetson was doing. We got the mister all hooked up with some good meds so hopefully we can nip this in the bud. She said that they'll wanna see him have 2 more wheezing episodes like this to diagnose him with asthma. He's on breathing treatments every 4 hours for 10 days. She also told me something that I did not know. Eczema is related to asthma (which he has spots on his forehead, and his head.) so that kinda answered my question about all the severe scratching he is doing to his forehead. It itches him, so therefore he is scratching the ever lovin daylights outta it! She gave us some cream and shampoo for his head and already today it looks soooo much better and he has not scratched himself once. So I am sad that we possibly have a long road ahead of us with asthma, but I am so grateful 1.) that I have a husband and mother in law that can answer any questions, and help me with him at any time and that I'm not doing it blindly. I am also thankful for Doctors and medicine to help him to breath better.

my little man does so good with his treatments.

Just like his daddy. :) I love my 2 boys.

At the end of the day, we were home and Nat talked to Madelynn about her behavior while we were out and she came up to me and apologized as her daddy had told her too, but what he didn't tell her was what to apologize for, so when she came up to me and said "I sowy momma for scweamin" I kinda sorta melted my heart and made the previous happenings go away.

Pitchers.

I'm gonna try to blog and put as many pictures up as I can for my family back home so that everyone can keep track of the kiddos... so If I just have a random picture only post, you'll know why.

this is her mischievous look. "What mom... I'm not doing anything I'm not supposed to be doin."

Little ham.

now if this doesn't melt your heart, I don't know what will. I know i've said this a million times, but I am so glad they've always got each other. Some days they drive me nuts fussin and fightin, but then times like this just makes it all worth it. There's just nothin like a sister.

Nat surprised us with a little Christmas tree when we got here and we all set it up on Thanksgiving.

If you know Madelynn, you know how hard she concentrates and thinks things through before she does them. You can see in the pictures how she is concentrating very intently on what she's doing. She had so much fun decorating the tree with us.

Payton on the other hand just kept saying "ball" and throwing the ornaments all over the place. She did manage to get one on the tree. :)

It turned out cute. I love the light blue and the silver together.

I was sitting on the ground with Stetson giving him a breathing treatment while he was in his bumbo. I had put a little rattle on the tray so he could "play" with it, as only a 3 month old can, and I caught these series of photos. It was so neat to watch him do this.

thats some serious concentration right there.

I was so proud of him and was cheering him on as only a goofy mom would do as her 3 month old baby boy picks up a rattle. Ahhh the things that make a momma's clock tick.

I'M ALIVE!

I know you were thinking I dropped off the face of the earth, but I promise I didn't. This is the first time I've been able to sit down long enough to write! We got everything moved, and now we are officially New Mexicans... well not officially, but kinda. The day my drivers license says New Mexico, It will be official. We had a long day on Tuesday, lots of packing, lots of swimming through our storage room to find stuff we needed, lots of tears and goodbyes... and we made it here around 1 am Wed. morning. Nat and I unloaded everything and got to bed by 4 am! I am still so not caught up and probably should be napping with the girls instead of sitting her typing away...

Were all doing great!! The girls are surprising us left and right with how well they're doing. I was thinking this was going to be a complete disaster judging by the way things went when we moved into my parents house. We moved Payton into a big girl bed with Madelynn (full size) and let me just say WOW!! What a blessing it is to hear them talking and giggling together before bed. She is doing awesome and she now LOVES to get in bed and gets a big grin on her face when we walk in their bedroom for bed time. Madelynn is doing so good too. She has adapted well already. She was just talkin away to everyone yesterday when we were around strange (to them) people. She didn't even show an ounce of shyness. Nat and I just looked at each other and couldn't believe how she was acting. The girls have lots of little cousins here to play with so thats nice. Stetson has been sick and I think he is slowly on the mend. One things for sure, him being a preemie and all, he has caught EVERYTHING. He barely got over the stomach bug and then was onto this congestion crap. Poor little guy, I feel so bad for him. We gave him a breathing treatment and he has been doing sooo much better since then.

(sorry no pics, I don't wanna get up and get my camera!)

Today was Nat's first day back at work since we've been here and lets just say he has been here with us more than he's actually been out working!! I knew this was gonna happen... not that its a bad thing or anything. We are so enjoying him being around. He came home earlier and told me it was just to hard to leave when he knows were here. He has done sooo much work on our little house and it looks so nice and cozy. I'm proud of everything that he has done getting this place ready for us. He even surprised me and went out and bought us a Christmas tree. He's a good guy.

I'm doing pretty well also, aside from being seriously tired and not being able to do anything about it, I think I'll make it. I told Nat the other day that this was a day that I would probably call my mother in law, or my mom so I could have a nap that I so desperately need!! Ha!! Guess I gotta get outta that habit. I did get a tad spoiled while Nat was away. :) I even missed black friday shopping this morning cuz I just couldn't lose that much more sleep. That was a bummer. I got online this morning to order a few things I had wanted to get from the sales, and everything I had planned out to get was sold out. Oh well.. guess it just wasn't meant to be!

Thankful- day 7/8

Should have known when Nat got here, It would be more of a struggle to sit down and blog... so today I am soooooooooooo eternally grateful for this that It takes up 2 days.

Today I am thankful for my FAMILY!!

My dad, my mom, my big brother, my wonderful SIL, my handsome 2 nephews (and the little princess that is on her way!!) and my 3 little sisters whom I love so much, Liz, kay kay, and Naomi. First off, I am so grateful that God was gracious enough to bring me into a God fearing, church going, christian home to grow up in. Secondly, Im thankful to have grown up in a solid home, growing up with good, strong morals made me the person I am today. I see so many people my age that I went to school with and they're all into drinking, partying, the "college" life... I see that and Im just so thankful that I never became "that" that which is of this world and not of God. I'm sure gonna miss all these guys when we move... but I am so thankful to call them my family.

Thankful- day 6

Today I am thankful for........ are you ready for this??

IN-LAWS!!!!!

So many people dis-like, or don't get along with their in-laws, but boy have I got it made!! Not only do I have the greatest mother-in-law on the face of the earth... (sorry, all her sons are taken) but even all the brothers, sisters aunts, uncles, and cousin in- laws have been great since Nat and I have been together. I grew up with no extended family. My dad being in the air force and all, we did not get to see aunts, uncles, or cousins very much. So I've enjoyed kinda sorta having the opportunity now. Thank you Lord for great in-laws, and great nanas, papas, aunts and uncles for my kids.

Interuption

Pardon me while I interrupt my thankfulness....well, or just add to the list. I just wanted to share some pictures and updates on my beautiful kids. Haven't bragged on them enough here lately.

We just been hangin out and keepin busy.

Here's a few pics from our trip to the park.

1 swing. We compromise!

My little dare devil.

Chocolate nose

The other day I went in the bedroom to get something and was shocked to see this:

Then I was reminded of this:

Little turkeys. They were just about the same exact age too. Now we keep our pants on for nap/bed time. :)

1 Samuel 1:27

my most absolute favoritest time of the day. Winding down right after bath time, got those fresh jammies on and they're calm and sleepy.

Madelynn already, at the age of 2, has a HORRIBLE habit of biting her nails... AND her toenails. HELP!! How can I stop this??

This picture cracks me up. The girls are really starting to appreciate each others existence which is so fun to watch. Here, Madelynns got the ball and is runnin from Payton. You can see Payton's little pink arm in the background chasing her.

Does this picture not say:

"momma, do I really have to sit in this silly thing and hold this heavy thing up??

He pretty much acts like its the end of the world when I put him in the bumbo.

The girls have enjoyed when their nana takes them to the mall to play. Awesome, wonderful, fantastic idea for these cold winter days we got comin... not that we'll be here or anything, but I can always think about it.

Payton pretty much just tries to escape and doesn't appreciate the "fun" thats all around her.

This has become a common thing to see around here. Its most definitely been frustrating. What do I do????????? There have been several times that I have known she has it at bed time and just let her fall asleep with it to keep the peace. Is that horrible??

Stetson has had some sort of stomach bug goin on. He was throwin up for a couple days, but still has the diarriah part of it. I have been washing clothes like crazy lately with all his blow out diapers. I even went out and bought him some more jammies so I wouldn't run out in between loads!! (he really needed some anyways... that was just a good excuse to go ahead and get 'em)

Dang that kid is cute.

My babies now.

and then.

Notice one thing in these pictures... how much weight Payton has lost in just 3 months. Its been quite concerning to everyone and when I put her on the scale this morning she was down to 18lbs!! That means she's lost 5 lbs (give or take with weighing on different scales) in 3 months. :/ She has her 15 month check up comin up so we'll see what the Dr. says.

My BEAUTIFUL girls now. (NO!!! They're not twins. Can't even begin to tell you how many times I've been asked that!)

and then.

CHEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEESSSSSSEEEEEEE!!!

Payton loves her some sunglasses! She thinks.. (and she IS) hott stuff!!

Sorry to bombard you with pictures... but I think that catches up our life for now.

Thankful- day 5

Today I am thankful for together-ness.

I went to hobby lobby a couple weeks ago to get some decor with my birthday money and their was a picture frame that said together is a great place to be... and after all this, that meant so much to me.. so much so that I had to buy it so I can hang it on my wall, and always remember how sweet it is to be together. I am pleased to tell you that there is some light at the end of the tunnel. We will soon be together as a family again. Nat will be here Saturday to come help pack up my stuff, and on Tuesday, we are headed to our new home in New Mexico... and we will be............ I can't even say it, I don't wanna speak it over my family, I'm having a hard time grasping this..... a NEW MEXICAN!!!!!!!!! Nat's brother has a little house on his property thats just sittin there, so all 5 of us shall occupy it until our house is ready in a few months!! Never take for granted being together with your loved ones.

Thankful- day 4

Today I am thankful for this guy:

What a roller coaster ride of a life we have been on together. We've been put through the ringer, me and him. We got married young and had 3 babies young. We didn't do things the "ideal" way. Most people wait to have kids till they've been married a few years, and that was Nat and my idea also. (Not that I would trade my life and the way its been layed out for anything in the world)... but I can see how waiting to have kids is an important thing in a relationship. We've had to learn each other, while at the same time learn to be parents, learn to live together, learn each others likes and dislikes...all the while throwing another baby, and another baby into the mix. We were married 3 years in August... and had 3 kids by our 3rd anniversary. Thats awesome, and thats rough. We've had our ups and our downs... but I wouldn't want to live the rest of my life with anyone else. I'm thankful for his desire to provide for his family. He has such a heart for us and lives and breathes for me and our kids. What a blessing that is!! I love you baby, and I'm thankful to be yours.

Thankful- day 3

Today I'm thankful for my 3rd baby. What a blessing he is to our family.

Oh my little man, how you complete our perfect little family. You and your dark hair and long dark eyelashes. Your such a handsome little guy. Your smile is piercing. Everytime you look at me with a smile on your face, It makes what I do every day worth it. I love to hear you coo and talk. I can't wait till you get a little bigger and I get to see you and your sisters running around playing. I love you my stetsy boy. I'm so thankful to be your momma!

Thankful- day 2

Today I am thankful for this girl:

My sweet little middle child. How I relate to you more than your brother or your sister. Your like me. The middle child, quiet, an introvert, to the point, sweet and cautious. Not to mention you and me are the blankie queens!! Sometimes I wann grab you up and lay in bed with you and your blankie all day. Your slowly starting to come around and talk and I have enjoyed finally hearing you say momma. Your perfect little smile with your adorable round teeth, I love your teeth. I love to see you smile because I know when you smile, you are truly HAPPY. People like you and me don't walk around smiling all day long so your smile means alot to me. Love you my P-bug... and I'm so thankful to be your momma.

Thankful- day 1

As we approach thanksgiving, my goal is to write a "thankful" post each day until then.

I've been feeling so grateful for my kids lately... and I know that its a given that I'm thankful for my kids.. but serisouly, honestly, I have 3 perfect, HEALTHY, wonderful babies. Today I am thankful for my 2 year old.


My big girl. So sweet. Your 2 years old... going on 25. You strut when you walk, your my little Ms. Priss. You make me smile with your precious little smile. Its contagious, and your sweet little girly laugh. You're passioinate about what you love.. if your gonna do something, its gonna be with your whole heart. I love that about you. You come up to me and say "I love you, my momma" and it makes my heart so happy. That makes all the bad days and nights worth it. You tell everyone that I am your momma. I'm so thankful to be your momma. Love you big sis.