Sunday School Party

Today after church, Nick and Mark's Sunday school class came over for a party. He is a 2nd grade teacher and they only have 4 students this year! Nick has really enjoyed being a teacher and feels like he is learning right along with the children...(mostly patience...and that he could have been a bit more compliant and teachable when he was a student! :) ) Not at ALL that his students aren't good - they are!

preparation for a water balloon fight

the water balloon fight

The "tough" faces

Aren't they a good-looking crew?

I had to add in this pic of Bria - what a cutie! This was her first experience with watermelon! She loved it! :)

I know God will be teaching Nick and I many things through Nick's involvement in Sunday School. One that I learned today is how important it is to be careful of what I say to my children and the things I teach them.

As two of the boys were talking Carter wanted to be involved! He looked at one of them and asked, "What did you just say?" and the boy, in a kind voice said, "Nothing you need to know". (I honestly feel like he said the right thing)

I had to think of what I would have said to Carter had he asked me what I said. I think I would have responded with the rude and insensitive, "None of your business!". He then - would have picked up on that phrase (as this student picked up on the "nothing you need to know" phrase that his mom has probably said to him) and then potentially used it to someone else later. Therefore, lesson learned. I will try to speak to my children as I would want them to speak to others. After all - they are constantly listening and learning!

Advice for sleepy parents?

So - someone surely has some good tips for a sleepy mom and pop, right????

Now - I am sooooo NOT complaining Adalynn does wonderful at night. But - even so this blog post is a product of a 2:00 am feeding. (That's right, I CAN multitask!!) Honestly, I don't even think our tiredness is all from having a newborn. I have always struggled with being tired and sluggish in the mornings and I seem to have "rubbed off" on Nick.

You see, we both just struggle with the ability to jump out of bed when the alarm clock goes off. Normal, you say? Weeeeelllllll....how about hitting the snooze for an entire hour? Or telling your 4 year old, "yeah, okay mommy is coming"...only to find a bored-out-of-his-mind-hungry-yet-very-patient little boy laying on the couch, legs in the air talking to himself an hour after your initial conversation!?!?!?!!

Yikes! I have to make some changes!

We get to bed at a decent time normally. Like between 9:00 and 10:00 and sleep until 7:00 (for me - Nick is 5:00) We both usually drink a cup of coffee once we are awake and that helps. I try to have some sort of exercise in my day (how can you not with 3 children to care for!)... I even take naps when the kiddos do usually - which is another thing I'd like to stop doing (precious work/me time, ya know?).

So - currently, Nick is trying something he heard about on the internet - he is drinking a quick cup of coffee RIGHT before bed. This is supposed to help him wake up. So - I gave it a try just now. I'm drinking a cup during my nighttime feeding. Hmm...we'll see!

Any suggestions? (like healthier, caffeine free ones?)

Picture Overload - Seriously!!

This post really has no subject - except that I'm a proud momma!! (in a good way, right?)

Ya think the hat is a bit big?

LOVE this swim suit ( her her "trunks" as Carter would put it!)

Our first swim day of the year!

Adalynn's first day to spend outside ~ She wasn't sure about the breeze...

Probably b/c she couldn't breath!

Cookies and swimming? Life is good!

All bundled up for bedtime!

Also ready for bed - my guess is they are reading Noah - because Mason begs for Noah EVERY night! :)

All ready for her 3rd Sunday at church - I love dresses! SO fun!

Okay - I usually don't like to post pics of myself - but the focal point is me holding a little baby girl!!! I'm still in shock. :)

I can almost cry seeing my baby boys all grown up! Carter does so well holding Adalynn!

Birthday party for Gma F.

Life is good.

Headbands/hair accessories are my 2nd fav. thing now - next to dresses! :)

Big brother trying to hold Adalynn...EEK!

There has been LOTS of Chutes and Ladders lately - ask Nick (the handsome nerd, as I like to think of him :) ) about his Chutes and Ladders Excel file.

Sink bath. My mom was famous for sink baths. If mom babysat for your baby - he/she would always come home bathed! :) Miss her! She would LOVE Adalynn. First - she had an obsession with shopping - girls are more fun to shop for. Second - she LOVED babies with lots of dark hair. Adalynn has beautiful dark hair. Nani would be in LOVE! :)

Two Weeks

Already, my little girl is 2 weeks old! I'm trying to cherish each moment - because theey are gone so quickly!

Just a few pictures fom the last few weeks...

Houseguests

We have had some friends stopping by everyday for some time now and this just has to STOP!!

(no, I'm not talking about those of you stopping by to meet Adalynn (and bringing us food!! :))))) ) . You are all still welcome!)

I haven't been the best hostess and Nick...Well Nick has even tried to get rid of them! Yep. Our hospitality has run dry. VERY DRY!

Introducing, our guest -

At first, Nick gently asked them to leave by covering up their hole.

Nope. Didn't work.

Then he firmly told them to leave by blocking their hole.

Nope. Those stinkers! (lol - pun intended)

Then - he became frustrated. He blocked their home even better and set his alarm clock to battle this critter.

9:00 pm - hole covered

midnight - they made it out.... covered and blocked hole really well. That should take care of it.

2:30am - BACK IN AGAIN? WHAT?!?!?!? Cover. Block. Set out antifreeze.

4:30am - Alright. Now we're ticked. We already get up at all hours of the night for our sweet, beautiful pleasanty fragrant Adalynn Marie - a guest we WANT....But a stinky, ugly, PEST!?!? No. NO! We are NOT happy.

7:00am - Nick must leave for work. I must leave for an appointment. Forget about the skunk for the day, right? *sigh*

I met Nick for lunch that day - shortly after meeting up and sitting down for lunch, I noticed Nick seemed to be in deep thought...I asked him, " What are you thinking about, honey?" (hoping he'd say - you are so beautiful or I'm thinking about how wonderful our family is...HA! NOPE!)

The SKUNK. He was thinking about the skunk. On our lunch date. Argh!

Now - I am serious about tackling this pest. Called Animal Control. Way too expensive!! $150 fee + $50 per catch!!! We have no idea how many there are!

Researched on the internet. Discovered that the homeowners before us didn't just have bad taste in lawn ornaments. We got rid of a hideous owl statue early on - now we are hoping to recover it from Dad F's lawn where we hid it. :) Apparently skunks are terrified of owls.

We may have to just get used to our new guests.

Stay tuned...We'll be updating soon - unless we are in search of some tomato juice and a temporary new home due to being SPRAYED!!!

We're Home!

Whew! What a weekend! We've only been home 10 minutes and already I feel relaxed and comfortable.

BUT - forget about me - look at my beautiful baby girl! I'm soooooooo in love!

The boys adored their little sister!

Not sure why they have their "cross" faces on!

Looking forward to our first full day home.......without daddy (eek!) tomorrow! I'm sure I'll have some help! :-)

Welcome Little One

We are thankful to announce our first daughter has finally arrived!

Adalynn Marie Fiechter

Born April 30th, 2010

10:14 A.M.

Weighing in at 7.8 lbs

20 in. long

All is well with mom and baby!

Pictures coming soon...

Too Funny!

***Clarification***

I thought I better straighten this out before I get turned in to the child services!

Our trampoline is in our basement!

No, I did not leave a 2, 3, and 4 year old outside to sleep all night by themselves! :)

I laughed out loud when I talked to several different people who thought we let the boys sleep outside! :)

Another quick funny story -

My conversation with Nick's 7 year old cousin:

G: "Man, Jessica! You're gonna have a baby soon!"

(As his bulging eyes stare at my bulging belly!)

Me: "Yep, I sure am and I can't wait!"

G: *slight groan* "That's reaaaallllyyyy gonna hurt!!!!!"

Me: *shock* followed by lots of laughter!!!!!

Have a great weekend ~ come back for a possible announcement! :)

Slumber Party

Last weekend, we had a slumber party with one of Carter's best friends!

We had tons of fun - but I only took one picture! I guess even just one picture is worth posting!

Nick (the coolest dad ever, in C & M's opinion, mine too :) ) built a fort on top of the trampoline out of couch cushions and blankets for the boys to sleep in. After he left them and came upstairs we listed on the monitor to them talking. After a while, Kaden and Mason seemed to be getting scared, so Carter comforted them. It was soooooooo stinking adorable! Carter kept saying, "It's okay - don't be scared - God is with us!" Then he'd sing every song he knows including some made up ones! I was so proud! :)

Before church on Sunday

Jen and I had planned out that we would take Kaden home on Sunday morning so that he could go to church with his own mom and dad. BUT, at the breakfast table, it was mentioned that we have doughnuts and cookies for lunch at our church...

Kaden looked at me and said, "Sometimes we have doughnuts at our church too, but not all the time....I wanna come to your church today!!!!!"

LOL! So - we made the call and got permission for him to come to church with us.

C & M were THRILLED!

Who doesn't love a good, clean joke??

That is pointed at her husband?!? Hehe...I'm feeling a bit ornry!

These jokes were sent to Nick by one of his friends and I couldn't resist posting them!

Three men are sentenced to die by guillotine. The first man steps up, places his head in the hole, the executioner release the knife, and miraculously the knife stops inches above the man's neck. The king says, "Under the laws of our country, if the guillotine fails to do its job, you are declared free." So the first man gets up, relieved, and the second man takes his place. Again, the guillotine knife stops inches away from the man's neck. The king says again, "Under the laws of our country, if the guillotine fails to do its job, you are declared free." So the second man gets up, free. The third man, who is an actuary, puts his head in the guillotine hole, looks up, and says, "I think I see what the problem is ... "

Two actuaries are duck hunting. They see a duck in the air and they both shoot. The first actuary's shot is 20 feet wide to the left. The second actuary's shot is 20 feet wide to the right. The actuaries give each other high fives, because on average they shot it. What did God say when he created Actuaries? He scratched his head and said, "Go figure!" They took it literally... A patient was at her doctor's office after undergoing a complete physical exam. The doctor said, "I have some very grave news for you. You only have six months to live." The patient asked, "Oh doctor, what should I do?" The doctor replied, "Marry an actuary." "Will that make me live longer?" asked the patient. "No," said the doctor, "but it will SEEM longer." The ACTUARY's PRAYER Our model, which art in nowhere. Guessing be thy name. Thy assumptions come, Thy will be done in future as it was in the past. Give us this day our premium rates, and forgive us our lousy estimates, as we forgive those who supply us with crappy data. Lead us not into insolvencies, and deliver us from auditors. For thine is the #NAME?, #DIV/0!, and #VALUE!, forever and ever. Amen. An actuary and a farmer were traveling by train. When they passed a flock of sheep in a meadow, the actuary said, "There are 1,248 sheep out there." The farmer replied, "Amazing. By chance, I know the owner, and the figure is absolutely correct. How did you count them so quickly?" The actuary answered, "Easy, I just counted the number of legs and divided by four." Several actuaries were sitting around at an actuaries joke telling convention. These actuaries knew their jokes so well that they assigned numbers to them. In order to save time, instead of telling the joke they would just shout out the number. "387" shouted out one actuary. The others all laughed loudly in approval of the joke. "834 shouted another of the actuaries. The others laughed mildly at this one. "1,023" shouted another of the actuaries. Most of the others laughed mildly at this one. There was one young actuary in the group who was rolling on the floor and laughing hysterically at that joke. The actuary who shouted out "1,023" settled the young actuary who had been rolling on the floor and then asked him "What is it about joke 1,023 that is so funny?" "I never heard that one before", replied the young actuary. :) hehe...Love you honey!