Kenli A.K.A the little tornado!

This little mess! I love her so much, but she is a little tornado! We are all constantly taking turns cleaning up after her. Everyone is ready for her to learn to clean up after herself :) except me...they grow up too fast. Love this little mess!

Easter

We had a great Easter! We went to church and enjoyed a great service, although Kenli was very fussy so I had to sit out with her the whole time. After service they had an egg hunt for all the kiddos, which was a blast! They got too much candy! We then went over to Pop's for lunch and another egg hunt. We had a very blessed day. Love family days!

Kenli's first birthday (February 18)

I can't believe it's already been one year since this sweet little girl came into this world. Time really flies by. When she was first born she wouldn't nurse well so I had to use a shield in order for her to latch on. I thought she was getting milk fine. She wouldn't fuss about being hungry or anything (she didn't have the strength to). We went in for her 2 week check up and she had lost weight. The doctor was very concerned about it and told me to supplement with formula. This was very hard for me to hear. I cried and cried. I had to make a decision on what was best for her. I ended up pumping that night and giving her a bottle and she gulped it down like it was the first time she had eaten since birth! Poor baby was starving! It was then that I figured out that she wasn't able to get anything to come out of the shield! So I then tried again to get her to latch on and she wouldn't. I DID NOT want to use a bottle! So, I had someone else watching the other kids on this day, and I just spent the day with her skin to skin in bed. I tried again to get her to nurse and she wouldn't latch on.....so I begin to pray. God is so amazing and faithful. I prayed with all of my heart and soul that she would latch on and stay on. When I finished that prayer, she immediately latched on and nursed for a full 20 min!!! It gave me chill bumps. I was so happy I was crying. She finally latched on to me for the first time at 2 weeks old :) For the following couple of weeks I ate very "healthy fatty" foods so she would gain some weight and it worked! We went back to the doctor a week later and she had put on almost a whole pound. Now, this sweet baby girl is 13 months old and still LOVES to nurse, quit often!

Update on Miscarriage

Praise God! I ended up NOT having to have the D&C! My body took care of things naturally. It has been 3 weeks now since the miscarriage. I went to the doctor 3 days ago and all is clear. We pray for another sweet little blessing soon. If it doesn't happen that's OK too. It's all in God's hands :)
Not sure how to take the lilly ticker off of my blog....anyone know how? It gets kind of depressing looking at how big the baby would be now :(
Nevermind! Figured it out!

Miscarriage

Well, I went in for my OB appointment last week expecting to see a little fluttering heartbeat on the sono.......and nothing. They had me come back a couple of days later to check again and....nothing. The only thing they could see was a small sac. I would have been 10 weeks along now. I have been praying and waiting to pass everything naturally, but haven't been very productive. So, I made an appointment to have a D&C done on Monday. I'm very nervous about it. I have never had surgery, broken a bone, or anything like that. I'm also still nursing my 12 month old, so I don't like the thought of having to have anesthesia. Plus the fact that I won't be able to eat all day before the procedure, which is at 6 pm. I'm at peace with the miscarriage....a lot of prayer has helped with that, now it's just the thought of the D&C. I know everything will be OK and God has a plan. I pray for another sweet little blessing soon, as soon as all is well.

Things I've learned about parenting

Not that I am the perfect parent, but just something I've learned along the way.

Your children are a reflection of you. A hard to pill to swallow, I know. The way you act and speak is trickled down to them. They are copycats and will watch and listen to everything you say and do. YOU are their biggest fan. So, act the way you want them to act, speak the way you want them to speak. These sweet little blessings look up to you and wait for you to guide them through life. Don't ever forget that. Not only do they mimic you, they mimic the things you let them watch and hear. Guard your sweet little blessings and raise them to guard their little hearts, always.

Something I came across while reading the other day...when you juice an orange, you get orange juice. Nothing else. When you juice a lemon, you get lemon juice. That's it. So, what you let your kids hear or see will seep out of them. The way you treat them is how they will treat others. Remember the golden rule? Treat others the way you want to be treated. Yes, that goes for the way you treat your children too. Don't treat them like they are "just kids" they are little human beings and deserve to be treated the way you would want to be treated.

I decided to write this because, I was listening to Karli (my second born) help Gavin (my third born) with his math and he got something right and she immediately said, "Good job Gavin!" She praised him. He got the biggest smile on his face. It was so cute. I often praise my kids. They love it! You know how good it feels to be told "good job" at something you did! So praise them often, even the little things. You will see them beam when you do.

Some say I overprotect and shelter them.....get over it they're my kids and I think they are pretty darn good kids! I am so proud of them and love their innocence.

Checking In!

This is my first blog! So I am new to this. I have had people tell me I should blog....so here it goes! My oldest, Kelsi, came up with the name for the blog "more than rubies". She said it should be called this because it will mostly be about the them and they are more important than any gem :) So true that is.
That's it for now....stay tuned. Gotta go rescue a crying baby!