Emily saves the day!

So last Monday Kyle had dropped me off over where we hunt for a few hours. He came back at dark to pick me up with Brayden and Emily. As I was walking across the field towards the truck I saw Kyle and Brayden get out of the front seats and then I saw Kyle try to open the back hatch and then go to the front door with no success! Apparently when Brayden got out of the front passenger side door he hit the lock button! (the truck was not running) So where were the keys? Locked in the truck! So where was Emily? Locked in the truck in her car seat! When I got to the truck and found out for sure that this what happened I started to panic! It gets better though! We have an extra set of keys! Where were the extra set of keys? Locked in the truck!! It just so happened that very day when we were leaving the house I grabbed a set of keys and Kyle grabbed the other set! So he used one and the other set was left lying in the cup holder. Ok, so we knew we could not call someone to go to our house to get our extra set of keys!

Kyle decides at this point to try to get Emily to unlock her door! Now one of the first things that Emily does when she gets in the truck lately is to take off her shoes and socks! Don't ask, I don't know why, she just does it. Well this past summer she discovered that she could use her cute little toes to roll her window up and down! He thought just maybe that we could get her to unlock her door using her toes! So he took my flashlight that I had used to walk out of the woods with and pointed it at the door lock button and we kept asking, kept begging her to unlock the door! She was very calm and thought we wanted her to open her window so she kept trying to do that. About 5 minutes into this I started to think that maybe we should just break one of the windows! I wanted my baby girl out! She was of course fine, not freaking out or anything. She was pretty amused by the whole thing. Then Kyle said we should probably call a tow truck since we have free lock out service. But he kept trying to get her to open the door. Then one last try and "click" she flipped the lock and I quickly opened her door! SUCCESS!

We made a big deal about it and of course she was very excited and happy. She is such a smart little 2 year old! I was very relieved that we did not have to wait for a tow truck or break a window. So moral of the story keys need to come out of the truck whenever you get out! What a crazy night. Anyone else have a funny story like that?

Happy 11th Birthday James!

Today is my oldest James' 11th birthday! I can't believe that he is 11! Wow, how did that happen so fast! It seems like just yesterday I was rocking him to sleep and making up silly little songs to sing to him in the middle of the night or taking him to a Farm Machinery store to sit on the tractors! He is growing into such a fine young man. We love you James. Have a great birthday!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Wishing everyone a happy Thanksgiving! Enjoy your day this year. Make sure you take a moment to think about what you are thankful for.

A few things I am Thankful for this year!

God, He loves me unconditionally

My family! I have an awesome loving Husband and 4 great kids!

Health. I am thankful for my health. I had a pretty rough 8 months earlier this year with my gallbladder problems, but now I am feeling much better!

My family's health.

A warm, dry roof over my head! It might not be the biggest or prettiest but it is filled with lots of love!

My extended family. We are so lucky to be surrounded by so much family that loves us.

Our great friends!

For being a stay at home mom!

Our Freedom.

There is so much more that I am thankful for! What are you thankful for this year?

Our Weekend

Had a nice weekend. James and Hannah did not have school on Friday so I got to spend some extra time with them. :) The weather was beautiful and we spent a lot of time outside playing in the leaves, woods and the kids rode their go karts! Friday night we stayed home and watched a movie with the kids. Saturday Kyle had to work and we were pretty lazy in the morning, just hanging out in our pj's. Made some yummy cinnamon rolls for breakfast. Finally watched the Hannah Montana Movie and was pleasantly surprised! I really enjoyed the movie and would recommend that you watch it. I took some pics of the kids playing in our big leaf pile and I got a couple good ones that I think will work good for our Christmas card this year.








Sunday was opening day for firearms for deer here in Michigan. Kyle and I got up at 5 am and headed to the woods. Was a beautiful day out and I enjoyed being in my tree stand even though I did not get a deer today. I will be heading back out tomorrow. Kyle did not get one either. We still have a lot of standing corn around where we hunt and I think the deer like to hide in it! :) It is now 10pm and everyone is sleeping (Kyle is snoring on the couch!). I am heading to bed in a few. I am exhausted, apparently sitting for 7 hours in a tree stand makes you tired! lol Actually I think it is the getting up at 5am that makes me tired. I am not much of a morning person!

I entered a photo contest!

So about a month ago my mom called me and told me about a local amateur photo contest being sponsored by our County Conservation District! She knows how much I enjoy taking pictures and she really likes looking at my pictures! Although since she is my mom I doubt she would tell me that she did not like my photos! :) Anyways she has been encouraging me to enter and I finally got around and printed out 4 photos and dropped them off today!

The contest is an Annual thing and this year they have 4 categories that you can enter a photo in. I chose 4 that I really liked that fit in each category. The categories are Trees and Plants, Wildlife, Landscapes and People enjoying Nature! They will be picking 3 winners from each category. You will only be able to win in one category as well.


So here are the 4 photos I choose!I printed them out as an 8x10 and they looked better on photo paper than on my computer!

Which one is your favorite?

This I entered in People enjoying Nature! This is a picture of my youngest Emily running down the trail in the woods behind our house! During fall we are surrounded by a sea of yellow trees and leaves!


I entered this one in Trees and Plants. I took this in our woods behind our house. I love the contrast of the yellow and red!


I entered this one in the Wildlife category. I took this photo of a robin's nest this past Spring in a bush in our front yard. I played with the settings on my camera and love how the picture turned out.


I entered this in the Landscape category. This was taken in our side yard. We are surrounded by tons of trees!

Happy 2nd Birthday to Emily!

So Emily turns 2 today! I know I have been saying that time flies by but it really does! She has grown and changed so much these past 2 years. She is now running, jumping, climbing, talking in full sentences and helping her mama with chores around the house! She has so many people that love her. I can't wait to see what this next year has to bring. Happy Birthday Emily Ann! We love you more than words can describe!

Here are a few pics over the past 2 years that make me smile!

Flashback Friday-In honor of Emily's 2nd birthday!

Our youngest Emily Ann will be 2 on Sunday! Time has flown by so fast and she is such a joy and great addition to our family! For this flashback Friday I am going to share a little bit about the events leading up to Emily's arrival 2 years ago!

Emily was born 2 weeks early due to me having been diagnosed with gestational diabetes. I was having weekly stress test 2 times a week and ultrasounds a couple times a month to monitor her growth. Babies with mothers that have GD tend to be bigger and if they go full term and the baby is big chances for a C-section increase greatly! I was pretty adamant with my doctor from the start that I wanted to do everything I could to avoid a C-section. I had my other 2 children without a C-Section and that was the plan for Emily as well. He was a great doctor and helped me fulfil that wish. I ended up going in for an ultrasound on the Sunday before Emily was born and they were estimating her weight at 8 1/2 pounds! When I went to my regularly scheduled appointment that following Tuesday my Doc said it was time and he wanted to induce that week! She was a bigger but everything else was looking good, she was healthy. I was excited but not overly happy about having to be induced, but wanted to do what was right for the baby and for my health. Induction was scheduled for 2 days later on Thursday the 8th! I was to spend the night before in the hospital and proceed from there the next morning. Emily was born on Thursday afternoon at 4:14pm. She was screaming and so beautiful! Kyle and I fell in love instantly! I was very happy that I avoided a c-section and the birth was fairly easy. I ended up not even having to have pitocin, Doctor just broke my water and she was born about 3 hours later! Loving the fact that I have had easy and very quick deliveries! Emily ended up weighing in at 8 lbs. 7 oz. and 20 inches long!