Trust in what The Lord has planned

Weeks have went by like seconds. I seriously cannot get over how fast the time is ticking by! It might be slow for some of you, but for my family it is going crazy fast!

Basically the middle of the semester!!!!

So we are now in the sixth week of school! Yeah!! Take that school!!! :) seriously though we are both going awesome. There is one class I'm not doing so hot in but I'm just going to dig in my heels and work harder!

This week we are getting family pictures done outside so I am super stoked! I went shopping yesterday with three of the girls to get our colors to match well....that was a feat! I mean, you never really know what the store has and then you have to match it in your head and all, plus while having three kids! Whew!

Another thing that's going on right now is that we are " sleep training" baby Rydia right now. Two nights in a row and she has been a champ!!! First night she hardly cried and didn't need us to calm her down. She just has one feeding. Last night she slept the entire night!!! No feeding! I'm so happy she is able to do this :) I'm also glad we are doing this sooner rather than later. And it's a big deal because she used to sleep in our bed(just the way we do it. It makes the whole breast feeding thing waaaay easier in the beginning:)

So gots to run! Everyone is waking up!

TEXAN POTATOES OUT!!!

Sent from my iPhone

Source: uptowncountryhome.com via Kim on Pinterest

I do not feel the best right now. I do not mean I am sick or anything, but I a little stuffy. :) I just do not feel like I have been giving my 100% plues 10. School is really killing this semester. It just takes up so much time with Arthur and I. I shouldn't complain. I have a great opportunity. I think I am just really tired from this week. I always have these "I wish" statements. They have seemed to get bigger and bigger each day. I have decided that I need to stop that. I always pray, but I need to be ever more grateful for what I have. And happy. I need to be WAYYY more happy. or is it happier? I am taking a business english class so I should know that one :P I love being silly. I love being crazy. Most of all, I love being me. Even if people think it is strange sometimes. But, if they wouldn't want to be my friend when I am crazy, why would I want them around right? I am extremely happy where we are right now. In about 6 1/2 months we will be moving back so yay!!! Just gotta keep it bright around here, what with the weather turning cold! So God Bless and be happy. Just like that little birdie with the french fry....because you never know when that'll be the only thing to get you through the day. :)

TEXAN POTATOES OUT!!!

Straw maze or rather craze maze

Well, the maze was fun. In fact it was a lot of fun for the girls and I. But I honestly have to tell you,

Just checking to see if this works. I sure hope it does . It would just make things easier for me to post and you know how you all love that!!

Sent from my iPhone

I mean its highly unlikely.....but you never know:)

We're going to a corn maze tonight for Claudia's Girl Scout activity. Should be fun. Hopefully some crazed maniac doesn't come out and kill us.

Sad face. I don't know why my posts are not posting from my phone

Hey!!

Howdy ya'll

I hope to be able to finsh this post in one setting, but that may be a difficult thing to do. Mostly because of our four daughters and my darling husband who is currently resting his head on my shoulder :P There are so many things that have happened since my last post! I do not think any of them are like Wow! That happened? kind of things, but things that happen none the less. Hmm. I believe the last time I wrote was when Arthur and I were both in the spring semester back in BYU-I. We have finished that and are so glad that we survived. We are both getting ready to start the fall semester. Both of us have a full load, but Arthur does have more credits than me. He is getting everything done as soon as possible so that he can graduate earlier! The plan is right now, for him to graduate in two semesters!!! So we will officially be done here in April of 2013. That is just amazing for us to even think about! Rydia is growing well. I sometimes worry about her development, but I know that every baby is different. Even though we have had three others, it is oftentimes hard to compare her to our other children. She is doing really well sitting up by herslef now. She hasn't shown any real interest in crawling though. She really likes to have me pull her up to a standing position a whole lot more than trying to crawl. Every time I put her on the floor to crawl, she always turns over instantaneously. It'll happen sooner or later I know. :) Just have to be patient I suppose. Claudia finished Kindergarten at the end of May. She had a great year and a wonderful teacher. She has since had summer break and started first grade. She just finished three days worth of it, and she is loving it. Now she goes for a full day which is nice I might say. After Arthur and I finished this last semester, we decided to make a trip down to Texas!!! It was soooo wonderful to do! We were gone from Idaho for about three weeks. We got to spend four days and three nights in Corpus Christi down by the beach so it was like a vacation in a vacation!! We got to swim in the ocean and the pool. Then we stayed at my mother-in-law's house which is so amazingly beautiful! We were all so sad to go "home" to Idaho, but we know that we will be back soon. We were going to be moving back once Claudia finished school, but we just cannot wait that long. Plus we will save on rent a bit. :) Every day is a day closer. I mean come on! August is almost done with!!!! In our church, our ward was split. Our ward is basically just another word for congregation. Ours was so huge that they built another building to accomodate all the growing in and around Rexburg. We attended our first day there today and it was a really nice building! It is very sad to not see people that I FINALLY got around to memorizing their names and faces,but oh well. Another chapter in our life right? I will stop writing for now because I am afraid Rydia might wake up soon and I want to lay down for a tiny bit :) Well, I wanted to upload pictures but it is not working so I will be on that soon.

TEXAN POTATOES OUT!!!!

Post I am doing because I do not want to do school work :P

I know I know....I really should be starting my schoolwork and all but boy has it been tough these past couple of nights. And not really because of Rydia. Summer is still waking up in the middle of the night wanting something to drink. We have just about had it!! And it isn't just once it is either two or three times. This sincerely does not help when Rydia's "bedtime" right now is about midnight. Oy Vei!
Well here are some cute pics I have been wanting to upload.

Do you see what I was trying to do there? Her hat and onesie :)

And here is Rydia when we came home from church.

Hmm. I really thought I had more pictures to put up but maybe not. Oh well. Just need to keep taking more. On another note...Arthur did wonderful on his DAT!!! That is his dental admissions test. He starts applying the first of May which is literally in like two weeks!!! So exciting but so daunting. We really do not like to wait for anything, but of course, after he applies the real waiting starts because he has to wait to see if he is contacted for an interview or not. He plans to apply to the three schools in Texas, Oklahoma, Georgie, Florida, South Carolina, and that is it I think. He is working on another semester and all his application stuff this semester. I am just taking one class. I did have a full course load, but after the first day(all my classes were going to be online) I kind of freaked and just decided to do one. I really do not even want to do that, but if I want to be a dental hygienist, I really need to take them. Another thing that has really been speaking to me lately spiritually, is the life of the prophet Joseph Smith. I guess I really am thinking about it because Arthur and I are reading the doctrine and covenants with the girls. It really makes me sad sometimes about what he went through. It also makes me extremely grateful that he still put forth the work. Everytime we play our Vocal point cd that has Praise to the Man on it, I just want to start crying. I mean everytime I hear that hymn I just think about what we are so lucky to have back on the Earth. All the girls are doing well. Claudia has about a month left of Kindergarten!! Aeris is being a great big sister and helper. Summer...wells Summer turns 2 in two days! She is kind of being a meanie butt sometimes to her other sisters, but she is learning and talking more and more. Rydia is ever growing!! She is getting so big and so fast! I cannot believe it sometimes! Well, that is about it for now. I better go :(

TEXAN POTATOES OUT!!



So I suppose a lot had happened in the first month of Rydia's life. At the current moment she is, of course, 2 months old, but I just not have been great at keeping up the blog at the same time:)

Here is her pic I took of her when she was one month old! Time had went by soo fast then! Look how tiny she was!!!

Rydia sleeping on her daddy. Oh the joys of being so small

This was the day we blessed Ryida. Her sisters Summer and Claudia all ready to head to church.

Aeris was not too happy at the moment this picture was taken because she had just thrown a fit. :P

Here was Ryida asleep on her blessing day. I love her bow I made for her. Although it is more of a rose headband than a bow.

Here she is napping away!

I am so grateful for our friends letting us borrow this swing. It has been such a great thing!! I love this sleep halo sack. This is a preemie size which she has now outgrown, but luckily she has another! We got to have two from the hospital since she was so small :)

Then of course, some days you need a break from being inside. This day I ventured with all of them to the park.

Hehe look at that duck!

Running away from the duck

Yes finally! Some ducks that wanted to be fed! (There were a lot of people there that day because it had been a while for it to be nice outside, so I suppose EVERYONE had been feeding them all day)

Saying goodbye to the ducks so we could go play

This was all Summer kept doing.

Going up the stairs to the slide.

Making sure I am watching

And then Wheeeeee!!!!

Another random pic of Rydia. I am sure this is past the one month age because she is looking more chunky

Tummy time!!(although from the angle of the camera it looks like she would be on the wall or something :P)

Yes, she is wearing blue....my incessant want for a boy? No. It is because my mother sent this one piece and hey it has a pink cupcake on it! What boy would wear that? I sure wouldn't dress my son in it :P

Summer trying to figure out the computer...or trying to mess up daddy's hard work for school.

Nope, pretty sure she wants to watch her favorite show "Small Potatoes"

Again naptime for Rydia!! Must be nice to lay on Daddy. :)

So there are more pics that I found and have finally posted. Hope you are all happy now. More posts to come soon! Promise!

TEXAN POTATOES OUT!!!

April showers!!!.....(but not like Texas) :)

So I recently realized that I have not been the best at posting which makes me sad because I love to post! I also was not good and did not post the pictures of Rydia's earliest days! We sure have been growing and loving on her! Here are some pictures for you to see what it was like from the moment she was born. BIG THANKS to the Wylers for letting us use their camera on these days! We couldn't find ours! :P

 

These first two are of Rydia's first bath. Getting all clean!

She really liked the "tub" which was actually a bucket type thing. She just chilled there for a while.

She was a very content baby right from the start.

Daddy holding his newest daughter :)

Relaxing at the hospital in our room.

Right before we were leaving for home!!

Claudia was the first one to see her. And boy was she ever excited!

Another pic with the biggest sister

Holding her for the first time.

And of course we could not leave out Aeris on holding her.

I think that night was such a wonderful night!!! I loved being home with my beautiful family. I knew that it was going to be tough getting in the hang of things, but it really was not that bad! I know a big part of it is because I have a wonderful, loving, caring husband and such sweet daughters to help me. I could not feel at ease without their help! I love my family and I absolutely adore everyone!!

TEXAN POTATOES OUT!!!

 

Spring is almost Sprung!...well...almost ;)

So here is another post without any pictures :( I know 'tis sad, but hey at least I am writing right?? lol
Things have been going by in such a blur here nowadays! A wonderful blur, but still a blur all the same! Things that have been going on include: Rydia's first appointments of her precious life! Claudia's school of course still going wonderful and strong, Arthur doing well in his classes ( worrying about every grade, but he does exceptionally well!!!) Aeris and Summer getting closer (finally!) Rydia being just about the best darndest baby ever!!!! Church activites sloooowly coming back to me! It has been a challenge shuttling around everyone-this is what I do almost everyday! Arthur drives to school, he comes home then I take him with all the kids back home. We eat and get ready for Claudia's school. Then we take Claudia to school and then come back to the apartment. Then we stay for about 30 minutes and then leave again to pick up Arthur from school. Then come back!!! And that is all before 1! crazy days! I have also done my best to do weekly lessons with the girls. I know I have not ever been great about this, but I am trying! We go over a letter each week and each week has a lesson associated with it! We always do a craft each week. For sure at least one!!! But if you define crafts as anything with craft material that is everyday! I just meant a crafy you really make like constructin paper crabs, or pasta skeletons! We always paint, play-doh, color, cut--all kinds of stuff! We go over an article of faith every week and review that one every day of the week. We have science experiments that we do about once or twice a week. Writing is something as well. Number review is usually on Monday, but of course we do problems just out of the blue. For a month we are working on addition. But--I will just stop about our lesson stuff. :) Rydia has been growing so much! She is still VERY tiny, but we can tell she has put on at least a pound! She is the best baby. She actually eats well and sleeps wonderfully!  It is kind of sad that Summer has been a worse problem at night versus Rydia!!! I sure hope this pattern stays. All my girls looks so much bigger now that I have Rydia in my life. I have come to realize that this time only happens now in the present so I am trying my best to be a better mother to them all the time. Sure I get frustrated and angry sometimes and downright dead tired, but my body isn't giving out on my yet! These things are only short-lived. I especially know that if I make a mistake, I must do my best to correct it! That is why repentance is so great. I have also made a continual effort to be more Christ-like in my doings. I think watching others around me has really helped. Something I have read a lot from church magazines and talks is that I should try hard and not be offended by people or allow myself to be angry at silly things. It is extremely hard because I am easily offended, but I am trying once again! I have been bad and have not done my visiting teaching for quite some time. One reason is because one of the ladies I visit is my neighbor. You might wonder,why? Shouldn't that be easy peasy for you? Well, yes and no. When my neighbors moved in I tried, even though I am bad at putting myself out there,to really be nice and introduce myself to them and let them know we were friendly and we were willing to do anything for them anytime. I did not get the reaction I expected and since then have avoided them. I also noticed that the wife never seems to have a smile on her face. I took this as she was always angry or in a bad mood(which didn't help me want to befriend her) so I stayed away. Well, today this changes. I must make an effort to be nice and kind to people despite what I have felt or thought about them. She might be having a really hard time and I have misjudged that. All I can do is try and act Christ-like because Heavenly Father loves her and so should I! Well, sorry to ramble on so much, but I wanted to get that out because that is what has been going on in my mind! Take care everyone and hopefully we get pictures the next time I post! I am getting better at juggling four kids!!! :)

TEXAN POTATOES OUT!!!

Here's Rydia Kate DeJean - 5 lbs 2 oz. Born 6:13pm on February 7, 2012.

So here are the two pictures I have for right now. I don't want to take anymore pictures because of Rydia's location (in other words, she's breastfeeding)

End of January

January has sure flown by! We can hardly believe that February is upon us! We wish that we could say that the warmer temperatures of spring are hinting at our heels, but we cannot. This past week we had real snowfall! It was quite a bit of snow for us this winter. The snowflakes fell with such ease; it was almost as if they were falling with all their might to bring joy to boys and girls everywhere! I did enjoy it though. We have been having fun here at the house getting ready for baby to make her arrival anytime now. We really like messing with the girls' hair! I have found some great tutorial websites and cannot help but try them! I can only wait for their hair to grow even longer! Even Summer loves it! Arthur is doing really well with school. He works so hard for our growing family and we love him and thank him sooo much for it. :) He enjoys seeing the baby move around in my belly. It is quite the phenomenon?sp Arthur was wonderful two days ago and really encouraged the girls to go play outside. I do not like getting all dressed up in the cold, but it was quite fun. Earlier in the day it was warmer, but it the evening had quite a chill to it when were out there.I have also been having fun look at the website pinterest. It has many great ideas for making all kinds of things!!! I just recently started and already have made some neat things! I am posting some pics of a minestrone that I made the other day for dinner. It wasn't a BIG hit, but everyone did eat it and liked it well enough that their tummies were full which was AWESOME!!! I added chicken to it to make it a meal because you need that meat! lol We actually enjoyed it the same day that we played in the snow! It was so nice to eat a warm soup on that chilly day. Well, that was January!! Enjoy!!!

Venturing out into the snow!!!

Claudia and Aeris were used to it! :)

Oh she is starting to get it and have fun!

Snowy Rexburg

Making the snowman

Getting more snow for those crevices in the snowman

Claudia is starting to make another one I believe

Our snowman!!!Love the buck teeth.

Yup! There he is

mmmmm minestrone soup!

Claudia's hairstyle!

Different view

She really liked this one

Summer HAD to have her hair put up!

Aeris's hair!

Back view of her hair

Another view

Letting her hair down! Crinkles!!!

Pretty crinkles!

Wow! Claudia's hair down from the hairstyle...she has CURLY hair!!!

It is so crazy seeing this!!!

Well, there we have it!

TEXAN POTATOES OUT!!!