They're Back!!!

Last year...October 16, 2010

Our Nana and Papa moved far, far away to Arizona :-(

This year...October 16, 2011

Our Nana and Papa moved BACK!!!  

It's been wonderful getting to see them whenever we want!  It was a long year without them, but we're counting our blessings that they got to come home!  

We had an "unloading party" when they got back.  Nate, Alli, Zora and Lily were all very helpful in unloading boxes off the truck while the adults moved out the heavy stuff.

Alli and Zora also helped by folding the furniture blankets

Seth wasn't much help, though :-)

Everyone was so excited when the truck was empty!

Welcome Home Nana and Papa!!!

We LOVE you :-)

We're Getting Closer!

We were hoping that by this time we would be living in our new house, but not yet...

Joel has been VERY busy with his yards and weedeating highways, then he goes out to work on the house until he just about drops...not to mention that he has been helping me with a newborn and trying to keep up on housework.  He's a real trooper!

Right now we're getting close to the final stages of construction!  The sheet rock and painting are finished.  Joel has almost all of the lighting and fans installed.  He has built in all the shelving in the closets and is working on hanging interior doors.  Next will come flooring, cabinetry, trim work and hardware, toilets, etc.  I was really patient for a long time, but now I'm getting really anxious and ready to move!!!  I can't wait to live in my OWN house with my OWN furniture!  I'm trying hard to hold on to some patience, but it's getting more and more difficult. I just hope we get to move in time to decorate for Christmas and have our first Christmas as a family of 5 there!  If not, we won't even have a tree because all our decorations are buried in the storage building :-(

In all of Joel's hard work, he's managed to come home with a few injuries, but this week was the prize winner (beware if you have a weak stomach!)...

He actually shot himself in the finger with a nail gun! OUCH!  His finger was actually nailed to a board, so he had to get dikes to cut the nail out of the board so that he could pull the nail out of his finger.  He didn't want to go to the doctor, but since my friend Kristy (who is an ER doctor) insisted, he finally went!  He had to get a tetanus shot and some antibiotics to make sure it doesn't get infected, but other than that he'll be fine!

School Update!

Seth's arrival in August meant that we took the month off from school so that we could adjust to life with an infant.  The girls started "back to school" after labor day.  Lily is in kindergarten this year which means that she is doing the same curriculum that Zora was doing when I started this blog!  So hard to believe!  Zora is in 3rd grade this year.  Both of them are doing so well!  We started out with only 3 days a week because it was all this exhausted Momma could handle.  Now we are up to 4 days a week and that's where we're going to keep it for the rest of the year.  Fridays are a break for all of us :-)

The theme for Lily's year is "A Trip Around God's World".  We're learning about this wonderful world God has created and all of the wonders in it...the solar system, continents, landforms, oceans, animals, plants, weather and much more!  We're studying a continent each month and the history, culture, climate, etc. of each.  She's doing very well in handwriting and math (her favorite subject), and she's progressing very nicely in reading/phonics (her least favorite subject).  When we first started back it took her a while to get into the routine, but now we're into the swing of things!

This picture is of Lily learning about how the moon gets craters - from rocks hitting its surface.  We demonstrated by holding a rock over a bowl of flour and dropping it.  We experimented with different heights to see how big or small the craters would be.

 We also touched a little on earth science - fossils, rocks, etc.  Here is Lily excavating rocks with her mallet and dowel rod.  She found six rocks and was able to identify which types she had discovered.  This experiment was perfect for her...she got to hammer stuff, make noise, make a mess and not get in trouble for it!!!

 The first continent we are studying is North America.  We learned about all the countries in North America, but we have spent the most time on our own country, the good 'ol USA.  She made a bald eagle craft with her handprint (don't know why the picture keeps loading sideways...).

 I'm still using the same curricula with Zora in most subjects, but this year we've made two changes.  She's no longer doing a "Phonics and Reading" program because the one we were using stops after 2nd grade.  In place of that we are doing novel studies and book reports this semester.  Next semester we are going to study poetry and short stories.  She is loving it so far!  In September she read "Paint the Wind" by Pam Munoz Ryan and in October she read "The Misadventures of Maude March" by Audrey Couloumbias.  This month she is reading "The Wolves of Willoughby Chase" by Joan Aiken.  I'll make a separate post with her book reports and the projects she's done to go with them. 

Zora making a shadow box as one of her book report projects

Another exciting change we made this year was in her science.  Every year I have struggled trying to find a science program that is exciting AND affordable.  Each year we've tried something different and ended up unimpressed.  Well, thanks to my friend Sarah, we heard about Real Science 4 Kids.  It is affordable (especially when you find a brand new set on ebay!) and very fun!  Right now we're doing chemistry.  The lessons are very informative and the labs are fun!  So far we've learned about atoms, molecules, acids, bases and chemical reactions.

Zora's marshmallow molecule

We have a lot more exciting things to share about school coming soon...hopefully I'll get the time to post :-)  Until then...

Baby Shower

Having a new little guy around the house has really thrown me for a loop!  I'm so busy all the time that I don't know whether I'm coming or going!  That's why I've only made ONE post in the three months since he's been born.  So, I'm going to try to catch up on everything that's gone on since Seth's arrival into the world...

On August 27 Seth was given an AWESOME baby shower by Kristy, Aunt Gina, and Jennifer.  Since his room will be decorated in cowboy/western, that was the theme of the shower.  It was the cutest baby shower ever!  Here are some highlights!!!

Jennifer, Gina, Me & Seth, Kristy

 The food was absolutely delicious and the table was adorable!

Love the cow print!

 They made signs that were too cute...

 And we drank out of mason jars.  The straws say "Wet Yer Whistle"

 Donuts with a welcome message :-)

 Name Banner

 Gift LOOT table :-)

The cake was seriously the cutest cake ever and it was as delicious as it was cute!!!  It was made by my friend Amanda.  If you live in the area and ever need an awesome cake give me a call and I'll pass along her information. 

I got so many incredible gifts I cannot even begin to list them all.  Seth got lots of clothes and homemade gifts which are so special!  I have so many talented friends and family members!  Thanks to everyone who made that day so memorable!

The Month of Celebrations

Around here August is a pretty busy month. And this August just got busier...

We welcomed our son

Seth Ryan Summers

August 4, 2011

7 lbs 7 oz, 20 1/8 in

Here are some of his first few moments of life...

Checking vitals

 After his first bath...LOVE the mohawk :-)

 My handsome little man

 Seth with his sweet "Big Sisters"

 Snuggle time with Daddy

And I LOVE the hospital pics that they took!  Hospital pictures have come a LONG way since my girls were born :-)  Here's my favorites:

 My little cowboy :-)

He is now 3 weeks old!  I can't even believe how the time is already flying!  We are both doing well.  Everything has not gone as I had planned, but I am trying to be flexible.  Right now I'm just grateful that he is a healthy little guy!  Here are some of my favorite moments over the past few weeks...

The girls love to hold him

This pic is of Seth's first Sunday to go to church.  The overalls he wore were Joel's overalls when he was a baby!

I love the way he lays all curled up when he sleeps :-)

Precious face - I love to kiss his little cheeks and lips!

 Hanging out in the swing

 Love these little feet!

My favorite times - snuggling him close...what a precious gift from God

Zora and I also celebrated birthdays this month :-)  Zora chose to have cinnamon rolls for her birthday breakfast, Braum's for lunch, and Chinese buffet for dinner.  On her actual birthday we went to see the Smurfs in 3D. Then that weekend we took her to roller skate.  She had a blast!  Both girls were all smiles as they skated. 

For my birthday my husband and mother tried to convince me that I needed to leave all 3 kids and go out for a date.  Honestly, all I wanted was a nice quiet day at home in my pjs with no where to go.  And that's just what I did.  I stayed in my comfy pjs all day and just enjoyed my family.  What a blessing :-)

On Sunday, August 21, we had another celebration at our church.  Joel and I dedicated Seth to the Lord.  We acknowledge that Seth is truly a gift from God to us.  We vowed before our family and friends that we would do our best as his parents to always raise him according to God's Word and teach him how to live a godly life.  It was a precious time for us.

Seth's dedication

Seth made quite the statement in his tuxedo!

He slept through the entire service

I'm sure I'll have more pictures of my new little man soon.  I'll try to post pics of him often...it's just hard to find the time to sit at the computer!  Right now my life is a never-ending cycle of feeding, changing diapers, pumping, and trying to spend time with the girls, too!  Until next time...

The Waiting Game

So we're still waiting on little Mr. Seth to make his appearance into the world.  I'm actually still 8 days from my due date, but quite honestly I'm getting really tired and feeling pretty miserable!  And the fact that the past 27 days have been over 100 degrees isn't helping!

I have told the doctor that I do not want to be induced, so we have been trying "natural" ways to induce labor on our own... the list I found on the internet of things to try was quite interesting, but desperate times call for desperate measures!

Here's what we've tried thus far:

Laughing hard

I went to watch a comedian last Friday night.  I almost wet my pants from laughing hard, but no labor...

Walking

At the mall...at Walmart at midnight...at the aquarium...

Italian food

Specifically the herbs oregano and basil

Spicy food

Mexican to be specific - it only gave me a bellyache, not labor :-(

Acupressure 

Massaging pressure points on the hands, legs, feet and back... at least that one felt good :-)

Swinging 

Have you ever tried to swing with a watermelon strapped on your belly?!?!?!  Very interesting, I must say!

So, despite all of our efforts, still no baby.  While waiting, however, we've had a lot of fun.  We've been trying to cram in all kinds of fun activities that will cease when little one arrives.  And we're so happy to finally have our Nana back to enjoy some fun with us!

Here are some of the fun things we've been up to:

Purple Glaze field trip with Playgroup

Alli, Zora and Lily painting

 Lily drinking from her mug

 Zora's mug

Gilcrease Museum field trip with Homeschool group

First the kids learned about the Peace Medals that the US Government gave to the Native Americans.  They got to make their own version of the Peace Medal.  Then we got a guided tour of the museum artifacts that dealt with the early days of American history. 

Lily making Peace Medal

 Zora making Peace Medal

 Our little group :-)

Jenks Aquarium with cousins

We had a great time at the aquarium with Nana, Aunt Jenny, Uncle Jamie, and cousins Kerry and Alli! Plus, it was nice and cool inside :-)

Zora, Kerry, Lily and Alli

 Jellyfish - I love watching these creatures!  So beautiful!

 Starfish

 Horseshoe Crabs

 Stonefish

 Shark eating something...that poor thing died a slow miserable death!

 Giant Turtles

 Alligator

 Beautiful lily pads

 Giant Bullfrogs

 Beavers enjoying their meal

 I don't remember the actual name of this fish, but we called it "Big Lips"

We thought it was beautiful :-)

 Stingrays

 Lily and Zora petting the stingrays

 Albino shark

 The shark tank!!!

We've also spent a lot of time in the pool working on our tans :-)  Other than that we've been passing the days indoors watching movies, going bowling, etc.

So for now, we're still just hanging out trying to think of things to do until Seth arrives.  Anybody got any other tricks (that are safe, of course) to try to get this baby here?!?!?!?