a quick HI!

Oh, I have sooooo much to tell you!

Like how my darling Mia got baptized this weekend.

And my Bugg started 1st grade.

And my baby is rolling over & grabbing her toes.

And stuff like that.

But I'm still feeling swamped & just can't figure out how to 

take care of all my kidlings & breathe & blog.

Alas.

So I thought I'd just say "Hi".

Look closely at Picture B

Whoops-ey!

Have a fun summer Monday!

tgif!!!!

Adeline Mae

& the bunch of us

wish you a super fun weekend!

There will always be cookies

 

Dear Blog readers (if you're still there)~~

Oh, hi there!

Isn't it so annoying when bloggers

drop out for weeks on end

with no word whatsoever?

Yeah, sorry about that.

I've been sorta.......Busy.

Capital "B" Busy.

The hoppin' lemonade & cookie stand outside right now

There have been so many

wonderful, sweet, & fun moments these past

couple of months.

There have also been lots of crazy frazzling times, too.

I'm totally overwhelmed with these 4 children of ours.

And so,

while I'm trying to catch my breath & enjoy the summer with my family,

I may not be back to blogging regularly for awhile.

But I'll still be taking pictures, celebrating, & baking cookies.

Love, Bree

for giggles

That was fun!

I'm so very happy

It all seems like a dream now......

 

 One that I love to think about

all the time.

How we had a sweet little celebration

when Addie's siblings 

came to meet her.

The giddy grins from adoring

big sisters & brother.

How the SIX of us were finally all together.

How exhausted the Hunk & I were

but so happy as we napped together on my 

hospital bed.

How fun it was to have family

come meet our gem.

How I melted every time I looked at her.

And melt, 

I still do!

Now, we're back to real life.

It is oh, so wonderful.

Still kinda dream-like.

Maybe it's the lack of sleep....

nah.

Most definitely,

it's this sweet babe 

that fills our house with extra love & amusement.

We are easing back into routines.

Sorta.

It's been tricky getting meals made,

getting to bed on time,

getting up on time,

getting kids to school at all.

Like when we had french toast for dinner

at 8pm,

then stayed up for a couple hours watching

the hospital home videos.

On a school night.

So fun, so memorable.

Who cares about schedules?!

first walk

The every day around here

isn't much different than before 

Adeline came.

But it is so much more awesome because

she is here with us!

We've had millions of visitors

from family & friends.

And lots of meals.

Thank you!!!

 

Yep, just the regular ol' day-to-day.

Beautiful stuff!

and hey!

I even got to slip away for a couple hours

and watch the BYU Women's Conference concert.

INcredibly inspiring.

Did I mention that I'm happy?

'Cause I am.

a Labor Day story

 I read this today:

"Wherefore, all things which are good

cometh of God..."

(Moroni 7:12)

Babies are definitely among the most good things!

And our Gem is so so precious.

I just cry when I cuddle her.

I can't put her down.

She is so fresh from heaven.

Such a blessing from God.

So good. 

And already a week old!!!

 To think that my due date is still another week away!

 Labor Day eve - but I didn't know it

You all love labor stories, right?

Okay!

Here we go:

 I've always delivered during the 38th week.

It's how my body rolls.

So when I hit 38 weeks with Gem,

I knew this was the week we'd get to meet her.

I also knew I'd been dilated to 4cm

since my 37 week appointment.

Just for fun, 

I decided to take pics of my 38 week OB visit,

figuring it would just be another routine appointment.

And after all that, 

they tell us the doc is stuck at the hospital

and to come back in the afternoon.

grumble, grumble....

 Ella & I went home and had a tea party.

Real tea,

real cream,

real flowers.

The good stuff.

Did some more nesting ~ laundry, cleaning, baby prep.

Had a visit with Wyatt's vision teacher.

Took a nap.

Then went to my appointment again.

This time, my Hunk joined us!

 juggling in the waiting room

 Doc checks baby's heartbeat.

I always love to hear that sweet little sound.

Then she checks me and says,

"You need to go to the hospital.

You're a 5 and I can stretch you to a 6."

At which point I squeal with delight!

I can't believe it,

I feel perfectly fine.

Nothing out of the ordinary.

I ask her,

"Do we have time to go home first?"

"No,"

she replies.

WHAT?!

This is happening so fast.

So we jump back in the car,

send out a text,

call my mom,

call the kids' schools & my neighbor to make arrangements til Grandma can get there

and.......

run home to grab my bag & drop off Ella Rose.  :)

 On the way to the hospital,

I'm thinking,

I'm just going to sit there forever.

I don't feel any different!

No consistent contractions, nothing!

But we had such a blast during the whole

skidaddle-to-the-hospital-in-a-jiffy

'cause we get to meet our new babe!

 My L&D room

There's plenty of time for pictures, right?

I'm only in labor here!

I got all hooked up,

set up,

epiduraled up.

And sat there for a couple of hours

with no change.

 But it was so special

to be there with my husband and anticipate

the arrival of our baby girl.

 The view was lovely.

I could see the mountains & Utah Lake out my window.

The doc broke my water at 6pm,

at which point my 7 cm went immediately to 8cm.

And then,

just 15 minutes later, 

I was ready to meet this sweet babe!

2 pushes later........

 We meet our sweet Adeline!

Each time we've welcomed our children to our lives,

heaven & earth collide

and the purest joy fills my soul.

I replay these moments over & over.

They are so beautiful.

And I cry.  Lots.

 Wearing the "New Dad" shirt for the 4th time

Addie hardly moved from this position

our whole hospital stay.

 

 And to end our special day,

we got to do Facetime on the Ipad

with our children who were staying with G&G.

That was fun.

 That is the story.

The story of Addie Mae.

A very good thing from God.