Fall Soccer 2013

It's that time of year again!  We are all enjoying this soccer season.  This year the field is larger and they have goalies.  Hudson has had a chance to play goalie a couple times and he has really liked it.  I think he enjoys having a little break from all the running.  This is kid is so very competitive and plays with all his heart!  His team only has 9 players (most have at least 11) and 7 are on the field at a time, so he is definitely getting tons of playing time.  By the way, as I was looking at these pictures I was reminded of how much he has grown up these last couple months.  Where O where has the time gone!?!?!?!?

Fall at the Dallas Arboretum

Today we went to see all the pumpkins at the Arboretum.  I try to make sure we do this at least once each fall.  My expectations for great kid pictures has drastically changed over the last 2 years.  The kids did a great job today, so I got at least a few good ones.  We love this time of year at the arboretum, it is just beautiful!

Six Flags

We spent ALL Saturday at Six Flags.  Christian's company provided everyone with tickets, food, drinks and tons of other things....this was one opportunity our family couldn't pass up.  We are so glad we braved the heat, dropped all expectations and just went for it.

As Parker said, "I liked it better than the whole wide world.  It was way better."

Elijah had a bit of a fever and ended up throwing up late evening....but it didn't stop the rest of the crew, he slept in the stroller. Don't worry, we made sure he was ok.  The kids were able to ride all sorts of rides and played several games. Hudson even won a scooby doo pillow pet for Elijah; he loves it. 

Here are a few pictures

Little Miss Shiloh

As I mentioned in an earlier post, my beyond talented friend photographed Shiloh's birth and did some newborn pictures for us. Here they are:
Introducing Shiloh Joy from Allison Duckworth on Vimeo.
If you live in the DFW area, or know someone that does, you should check out Eleventhirysix images She is phenomenal and has such a passion for what she does - we LOVE her!

Just because

I can't believe she is already 6 wks old

He loves her so very much. He loves to rub her hair and call her a sweet girl

A Few of My Favorites

These were taken while we were at the hospital.  My friend, Allison, at eleventhirtysiximages took pictures during the birth and I will probably post some of those later.

Parker is in love!

1st time holding her little sister

the smile says it all!

Introducing #4

Shiloh has arrived!  And we are so very thankful for her and have absolutely loved having her around.   The older 3 are beyond thrilled that their sister is home. It has brought so much joy to our hearts to watch the kids with Shiloh and see just how much they love her. 

Her entrance into the world was a little dramatic (beyond blessed that everything has calmed down since then). 

Birth Story

I went to my Dr. on Monday (July 8), she and I agreed that if Shiloh wasn't here by Thurs morning than we would go ahead and break my water. With Hudson being a c-section we have had to be a little more cautious about the timing of the other kids. Shiloh was following our trend of each baby getting bigger and there was a little concern about her getting too big.  

By Tuesday, I was feeling a little discouraged and quite desperate to get things progressing more than they already were.  I did all sorts of natural remedies and finally Tuesday evening I felt like I was going into labor.   Christian went to sleep for a little bit, I woke him up around 11p and told him we should probably head to the hospital. Thankfully, my mom was here to stay with the 3 older kids.  

Once we arrived at the hospital, they checked us in and we ended up in our labor and delivery room just after midnight.  My Dr. arrived shortly after.  I have to give a shout out to my Dr.  She is absolutely amazing and I could not imagine having to deliver Shiloh without her. 

Things were progressing but Shiloh was still pretty high, so we decided to go ahead and break my water.  A little bit later we (really, my dr) was able to tell that Shiloh was head down but facing the wrong way.   They put me on my side to see if she would turn. By the way, if you are going "natural" that is the WORST way to labor. After about 7 minutes Shiloh came flying down and it was time to go, as soon as my Dr. could make it back into the room. 

I started pushing and soon Shiloh got stuck. My Dr had to push the "emergency" button and about 15 people came rushing in to help. Here comes a lot of possibly not pleasant details, so feel free to skip down:). My legs were pulled in all sorts of directions and I had people pushing all over my stomach and my dr could not have reached any further.  Shiloh's shoulders were stuck and to make it more difficult her arm was by her side which made it hard to pull her out.  After our chiropractor adjusted Shiloh for the first time a few days after she was born, she said she was not surprised at what happened because Shiloh's shoulders are similar to a 4 month old.  It was an extremely tense few minutes but finally she came out.  Shiloh was in great shape and I was fine as well. The Lord was and has been so very gracious to us, not only in the protection during delivery but also in my recovery and with Shiloh. 

We are beyond blessed to have her join our family and we are so thankful for her. I will post some pictures soon