Watermark Conspiracy

With Holly out of town I figured I would post this video about a little campaign at our church...Enjoy this video and feel free to check out the website...

www.watermarkconspiracy.com

Watermark Conspiracy 2009 from Watermark Community Church on Vimeo.

Fall Happenings...

I wish I had pictures to show for October, but I never have Mike's computer which has all of our pictures on it! It was a really fun month full of lots of fun and long days...
In no particular order....
* Mary got put on prevacid for her spit up issues! I am so thankful and on some days I think it is working on other days my shirt is soaked and there is spit up all over our house.
* Mary's 5 month stats are 11lb. 5oz and 23 1/2 inches long. She's a petite one just like her big sisters.
* Ellie loves to sound out letters and ask me what all kind of words start with and then she will sound out the word!
* Anna is so into dress-up and playing princess Anna. She pretty much thinks she is the queen of the Shelton home. However, sometimes I have to remind her who is on the throne. There has been LOTS of discipline going on these days.
* Anna is loving preschool and loves that she only goes one day per week. She loves to stay home with mommy on Thursday and we go to playgroup with our friends. It is a special day just for her!
* Mike is telling the girls Shadrach, Meshack, and Abednigo (sp?) and they love it! He is a great story teller and a great daddy.
* We got to go on a fun date with our good friends from our community group.
* Watermark hosted a community group leaders conference. We got to stay at the Embassy Suites for a night and learn more about community. We love our church and how they value community groups.
* The High School ministry hosted its annual Country Western Party called The Draw. It was super fun and a great outreach to high school students. Every student had on boots. We've never lived in a state where any students had a pair of boots! Mike had quite the outfit on that I will have to try and find a picture of his cowboy gear.
* We've played outside a lot this month since the rain stopped. The girls still love the $75 swing set we got off of Craigs List. They come up with all kinds of games to play on it.
* Daylight Savings Time was pretty rough and I think we have a new schedule of getting up at 6:30 and going to bed at 7:00. I don't know if I like it, but it is starting to feel like normal.
*We are mentoring a little girl in West Dallas which is the 11th poorest neighborhood in the U.S.. Our church is supporting an elementary school there and many families are mentoring a child. Our little girl, Nekeiya is in 4th grade and is such a sweet girl. We've been to her school for lunch, ice cream, and are looking forward to many more opportunities to show her God's love!
*Ellie is in Gymnastics once a weekand Anna takes ballet once a week through our city's rec center. They both love it so much and it is neat to see them like different activities.

Hope you all are enjoying the fall! Christmas will be here before we know it!

Quotes from Anna

Anna is talking so much these days almost as much as her big sis. Ellie pretty much does not stop talking unless she is asleep. Anyways, Anna has a lot going on in her mind. Here are a few:
" One day mommy I will get a white car and I will drive it very fast"
" I want my own stage and I will sing and do ballet on it"
" Ellie you cannot come to my pink castle. I am the princess!"
" I want Angelina (ballerina) to come to my party and go to my dance class"
" I will not say sorry" (hear that one a little to often)
"Trick or Treat, Smell my feet"

She is for sure becoming more independent and although the days are long she melts my heart so often!

Fall Fun!

We had a great time trick or treating with some neighborhood friends! We have a great street right by our house where the houses are amazing and the people just sit outside and pass out candy. Ellie and Anna both walked the whole time while Mary rode in the stroller. Anna was totally into getting the candy although she does not have a sweet tooth at all. I don't think she has eaten any of her candy. When we got home we had a few people knock on our door and Anna would hand them her candy. We went with a blue m&m with a cape that you cannot see. Ellie was "Super Ellie" and she loved it so much. Anna chose pink and wore a pink tutu. I planned on Mary being a cat like Ellie and Anna were so I could have all three in the same costume. I couldn't find the ears or tail so she was a cute pink bunny. It has been a really pretty fall here and we've loved the "cooler" temperatures. It was 65 deg. on Saturday and we saw people with winter coats, gloves, etc... waiting at the bus stop!

Sad Story...

We lived in Charlottesville, VA for about 1 year and worked at a church. It is an awesome town where the University of Virginia is located and is in the mountains. A little different than Dallas:)!
Anyways, I saw this story on the news the other day and have thought about this poor girl who was most likely abducted right outside the basketball arena. I'm sure it is really a big story in VA as not much happens in this small town. Anyways, go here to read more.

Mary is 5 months old!

It is quiet at our house tonight as Mike is getting to be an usher at the David Crowder concert at Watermark (tough job)! I wish I had his computer cause it has all of our pictures on it, but I thought it would be a good idea to do an update on Mary! She will be 5 months old in a few days.
Here's what Mary likes and dislikes:
Playmat and Exersaucer
She loves people and someone to talk to her. She never cries when given to a new person. She loves her sisters to talk to her.
She loves to suck her two middle fingers to go to sleep or in the car. I've now had a paci girl, thumb girl, and a fingers girl!
Daddy
She loves her crib and really does not sleep anywhere else besides the car. She sleeps on her stomach and moves really close to the crib rails. She's still sharing a room with Ellie. Ellie cannot sleep unless Mary is in the room with her. She sleeps through Ellie talking herself to sleep and with the lamp on cause of Ellie!
She loves her grandparents and got to spend some special time with them this month when I had surgery.
She loves to go on walks and we do this about once a day to get everyone out of the house!
She has a very strange schedule, but it is working well for us. She goes to bed between 7-7:30 and wakes up around 7 to eat. I then put her back to bed and normally wake her up around 9:30 to feed her and most days put her in the car for wherever we have to be that day. We then come home by 12:30-1 most days and she goes down for a LONG nap 3-4 hours most days. I think she's combining her morning and afternoon nap all in one! We will see how long this lasts, but I really like it right now cause it gives me time to get E and A ready in the morning while she is asleep.
She's still bottle free and it is one tough road that is for sure. She will not take one for anything, but at least she will go 3-4 hours between feedings so I can time how long I can be gone. I think maybe when we start baby food in a couple of months it might help. I'm so thankful for my milk, but there are times when it can be difficult to make it all work especially when I have to be gone.
She's starting to like the car seat more which is so nice. I think it might be cause she is spitting up a little less these days. I still get thrown up on a lot each day, but it is getting better.
She wear 3 month clothing and is pretty small like her sisters.

Mary we love you so much and your sweet smile makes my day. You are for sure the laid back baby that I needed during this stage of life and I am so excited to see what your personality will be like one day. We thank God for you every day!

A cute kitty and ballerina....

I was flipping through pictures tonight and found these two cute girls from two years ago. Wow they have sure changed! There is no way Ellie would dress up as a ballerina at 4 years old and Anna would still probably enjoy being a cat. However, this years costume choice has been quite dramatic! I'd borrowed a "Dorothy" costume that was super cute and had this great idea of Ellie being Dorothy, Anna the scarecrow, and Mary as Toto! Well, Ellie has been really wanting to be a super hero with her favorite color blue and Anna is super into pink and princesses. I really didn't want a super hero and a princess? What would Mary be? So I started to think what I could do that would involve blue and pink? I'm hoping the costumes turn out okay and the girls agree with them. Ellie is going to be a Blue M&M with a red cape. Anna is going to be a pink M&M (most likely with a tutu) and Mary will be some color of M&M probably whatever solid color onesie I can find! Anyways, this years costume choice is for sure not my choice. However, I want the girls to be able to be who they are even if the current stage is super heroes and princesses! Have you had any Halloween Drama?!

Picky Eater Tips?

Ellie and Anna are total opposites when it comes to food. Anna's not eating much these days and really doesn't seem hungry. I would say it is a phase, but it's been a long phase that is for sure! Any tips out there for the girl who does not like very much at all?!

In Sickness and In Health...

Mike and I have learned a lot lately about caring for one another or our kids with the swine flu and then I was supposed to have a normal outpatient surgery last Thursday. I will try to not give you to much information and since I know I only have girl readers I really don't care to much!
I've had a fibroid (similar to a cyst) attached to my uterus for almost 2 years. However, I didn't know it until I was pregnant with Mary. It has caused much pain and drama over the past 2 years. It seemed to really act up when we traveled so I've ended up in the emergency room in Kansas and Colorado. Both times they thought I had a kidney stone or a kidney infection cause my lower back would be in horrible pain as in I vomited many times from the pain. In Colorado they thought I was vomiting from altitude ha!
The first trimester with Mary the pain came back on strong like the worst it ever was and I could now feel something on the outside of my stomach like a small ball. I ended up in the ER in Dallas. It always happens on the weekends when I can't get to my OB. They do a sono to make sure Mary is okay and she is fine. They move the wand to the spot where it hurt and there was a fibroid the size of a baseball. I was so relieved to know I was not crazy and that something was wrong with me. There is nothing they can do cause I am pregnant and it attached to the uterus. However, my dr. thought I was mostly in pain cause it was growing and it should stop once my hormones calm down near the end of the first trimester. The pain went away and I was fine the whole pregnancy.
I see my Dr. in September and he does a sono to see if the fibroid has shrunk which they tend to do after you deliver a baby. It is still large and he wants to removei as do I. We've also met our deductible this year so I really wanted him to remove it! He said it would most likely be "scope" outpatient surgery and I would be fine.
However, last Thursday he told me that things can change and that to be prepared for whatever. I was and totally trust my Dr. and am so thankful for his care. He is wonderful!
I wake up from surgery and am still a little groggy, but he tells me that everything is fine. However, the fibroid was actually a tumor and that it had moved to overtake my ovary. He ended up having to remove the tumor, ovar, and fallopian tube. I still have all the right side, but it was quite and ordeal. I stayed in the hospital for two nights and during this time my bladder would not cooperate do to the trauma of surgery. Let's just say that me and a catheter were very good friends for 5 days!
I've learned so much from this situation, but here are a few!
* I have the best husband ever as he remained calm for me during it all and has been a rock for our family.
* I forgot to mention the tumor was benign! I am so thankful and blessed to not have a malignant tumor.
* I always get regular checkups, but will continue to do so no matter what. I encourage you if you have any doubts about something go ahead and get it checked.
* You must trust, respect, and like your doctor. I moved here not knowing who to choose so I asked a few people from church and come to find out there are tons of Watermark women who go to the practice that I do. He is such a Godly man who uses his gifts to bless others not only in Dallas, but Guatemala as well.
* Family is so important and I am so grateful that Mike's parents were here to watch E and A. My mom flew in this week to help for a week or so.
* Friends are the best. I love my c.g. and playgroup friends so much for their care, prayer, and help! Remember, my sweet Mary has refused the bottle for four months. I thought it would be outpatient and I could feed her shortly after. Well, since it was not I had to wait 24 hours to feed her. My sweet friend watched her for the day cause she had compassion on me as her daughter did not take a bottler. I have another friend who is a lactation consultant at a hospital and she has a baby as well. She offered to "feed" Mary for me and I still can't believe Mary did it twice. She slept all night after as well.
* We haven't told to many people as in posted it on fbook mainly cause we did not want to explain all this to teenagers at church!

The Lord has truly been our strength as a family when things have been chaotic and scary at times. I am so grateful to be healthy and feeling so much better!

Pumpkins!

More Favorite Florida Pictures....

Student Ministry Swine Flu PSA

Stick with it to the end, my husband is a carrier monkey!

First Day of School....

Ellie and Anna both started preschool at the beginning of September. They are going to the school that I taught at last year. There is no way I could have taught this year especially since Miss Mary is anti-bottle. Anna is going one day a week and Ellie goes two days a week. They both love it and I love my little break. It has been such a blessing. We love our school, the teachers, and all the sweet families that go there. It is at a local church, but a lot of the students attend Watermark. Anna is in the older 2's class and Ellie is in the older 3's class rather than the 4/5 yr. old class. It has worked out well for Ellie cause she is only 1 month older than the majority of the kids in her class rather than being a full year younger than the other kids. I love my girls and am so glad they have a great preschool to attend.

Mike's Staff Picture...

Every year the student ministry team does a staff picture for the website or promotional items. I really like this years picture although Mike thinks he looks like he can't stop laughing during it. We are so thankful he is a part of such a great team. It really does make a difference that he does not have to do it all like he's had to in the past. They have a new part-time student ministry worship leader from Kentucky. He and his wife have been married for 3 months and moved here without really knowing anyone. It makes me think back to our early seminary days. I know they will end up loving it here and Jarrod is doing an awesome job!

Anna the ballerina....

Anna started "Baby Ballet" this fall at our local parks and rec. center. She was so excited and truly loves it. Her teacher is probably close to 70 years old and has taught there forever! Anna loves to pick out which ballet outfit she will wear every week. She is obsessed with the shoes and often time sleeps in them at nap time. She makes me laugh cause she is such a rule-follower (for other people) and follows every instruction the teacher makes while the other 2 yr. olds are running around! Ellie does not like ballet so much so we are switching her to gymnastics. We love our rec center cause it is close and cheap!

Anna and the potty!

I guess for Anna to go potty she has to pick her nose and hold her blankie! I started potty training Anna about a month ago. I went with the laid back approach. When we were home I let her wear undies and when we went out I put a diaper on her. It's worked really well and this week she's worn undies quite a bit when we go out. I think next week I will try sending her to school and church in undies. She's hilarious about the potty and here are a few of her funny quotes or things she does:

* She always says " I go on the potty train" when she needs to go.

* She insists on wearing underwear over her diaper.

* Her treat of choice was always a skittle.

It will be awhile before I train her at night or naps cause she drinks a ton during the day. However, it felt pretty good to buy our last box of 176 diapers at Sam's the other day in hopes that it would last us for a couple of months!

Ellie at music camp

Ellie attended a music camp at a local church in August. The theme was "Hermie the Caterpillar" and she has seen some of the movies so she was really excited. She loved every minute of it and they had a performance on Friday evening. Anna wants to go next year when she is three. We will sign up for it again next year!

The Shelton Swine....

Well, it has been an eventful two weeks to say the least and I am so glad I think I am seeing a light at the end of this very long tunnel. It all started two weeks ago when I had chills, aches, and a high fever one day. I took care of the kids all day during it and just toughed it out. I went to bed really early with some tylenol p.m. and woke up with no fever and feeling much better. However, poor Mary had no milk from her mommy. Whenever, I am sick it tends to wipe out my milk supply. So I tried to feed her and it just wasn't enough. I tried so many different types of bottles, formula, etc.. I even had a friend try and give her a bottle with no success. She basically didn't eat for 7 hours. She knows what she wants that is for sure. I take her to the doctor to make sure nothing is wrong with her. The nurses try to give her a bottle with no luck. Mike just so happened to have a very busy day and leaders meeting so he could not help. We get home from the dr. and I send Ellie and Anna next door for an hour so I could try and feed her in peace. It works and I start a vitamin to help with the supply and it is all much better! It was such a scary day for me that I totally forgot about being sick. I am convinced I had a mild case of the swine flu that day and just couldn't really be sick so I just dealt with it. I go on a girls weekend that weekend and still feel kind of out of it, but had a great time. It is also intresting that none of those girls got the swine from me that weekend :)
I get home on Sunday and by Tuesday evening Mike comes home from community group and has chills, aches, fever etc... He is way worse off than I was and I tell him to go to the doctor to get a swine test. It was positive and they put him on tamiflu. He can now not go to work for 7 days and just feels awful. He was sick till Saturday and pretty much just stayed in his room.
On Friday, I see that Mary has watery eyes, red cheeks, and feels warm. Her temperature was 101.5 so off to the doctor we go. They do a test on her and it is positive. The dr. was very concerned because she is 3 months old. He tells me all the warning signs of when I would need to take her to the hospital. The main thing is that she needs to stay hydrated and avoid major congestion. It also was a little scary when I asked the doctor how old is youngest confirmed case was this year and he replied he'd seen one 11 month old, but Mary was the youngest so far.
She cannot be given tamiflu unless her fever continues for more than 3 days.
Saturday, she does not have a fever, but is incredibly fussy. She didn't want to eat or sleep which was a little scary. She was starting to resist nursing so I take her the ER on Saturday night along with tons of other flu patients. We get there and she is smiling wouldn't you know? We see a nurse in triage and I decide she is fine rather than waiting for countless hours.
Sunday, she is great and starting to see more like herself. Mike is also feeling better by this point. We decide to get out of the house and went to "Big Shucks" our favorite local catfish place. We sit on the patio for all the germaphobes out there! We are the only people on the patio at the time. Ellie and Anna are still abounding with energy and no symptoms. I am so glad that I've already had it cause if we we would have both been sick it would have been really rough.
Monday morning comes and Anna is sitting on the couch. She comes to me with vomit all over her. She is not warm, but I can tell she is a little congested. I had to take Mary back to the doctor for a follow-up visit. Also, her fever has returned along with the watery eyes etc... I'm beginning to get a little discouraged cause she was doing so much better. I figure I might as well get Anna tested as well. We get to the Dr. and we now have a "special" waiting area since they know we have the flu. Anna vomits in the waiting area and poor Mary is not feeling well. Dr. Morchower sees me and says "Oh Gosh". It was like he knew instantly what was about to occur.
He gives me a prescription for Mary of tamiflu and Anna tests positive. We head to the pharmacy with 3 prescriptions cause he goes ahead and puts Ellie on tamiflu as well as a preventative. You have to go to a compounding pharmacy to get liquid tamiflu cause they don't make it except for in pill form. We have a compounding pharmacy really close to our house so it worked out well during all of this ordeal. I give all three girls their meds and at this point Anna feels awful. Her fever is 102.7. She sleeps for 4 hours that afternoon.
I lay down with Ellie and she is a wreck. She is so upset that everyone is sick and that she can't do anything like Preschool, church, playgroup etc... I ask Ellie if she wants to do somehting fun with mommy that night and she says in this super sad voice "you take me to the pumpkin patch"? I took her to dinner that night and to do some errands. We saved the pumpkin patch for when Anna could go as well. They all take a long nap which was glorious!
Mike watches Anna and Mary that night. After, two doses of tamiflu Anna and Mary are doing great! It worked almost instantly. Anna no longer had a fever and was running around. Her swine flu ordeal lasted all of 5 hours. Mary is also doing great.
Ellie has still not gotten it and I think she is in the clear. She's been such a trooper during all of the boredom in spite of not knowing what was really going on. Here's a few things I've learned during this whole ordeal in no particular order.
* I am so glad that our pediatrician is 5 minutes away from our house and how important it is to really like and trust your doctor. He was amazing and told me to call with any questions over the weekend. He also really monitored Mary by seeing her 3 different times just to check her out.
* I've learned that for the most part the body is very resiliant and it is pretty difficult to catch the flu in most cases. Of course, it was easy when we all live together every day. However, no one at my girls weekend caught it and no one in our community group got it even though Mike and I both were contgious when we were around them.
* I am so glad that I am breastfeeding Mary. The Doctor kept reiterating how important it was for her immune system and it was the best thing I could do for her. So even though she's yet to take a bottle and it has been 4 long months of nursing her exclusively I know God had a plan for it.
* I've learned to not live in fear. There was only one point where Mike and I were pretty scared for Mary, but he told me we have to give her up and know that God has ordained her days.
* I learned that having sickness in a family for even 2 weeks is stressful. There was no one who could help us cause they would get it and it was pretty hard to not have any family in town.
* I will not stop my life. My kids will be back in the church nursery and at preschool. Of course, they are immune now except for Ellie, but she must have quite the immune system. I realized how much I missed community and friends. I cannot determine when or where they will get sickness from, but just have to trust that we can handle whatever comes our way.
* I learned that the swine flu was not that bad at all in our situation. I can see how it could get bad really fast especially if you had a cold prior to getting it to where it really went to your lungs.
*One thing that was really a bummer was that it was staggered in our situation. I kept Ellie and Anna home from preschool and church for almost 2 full preschool weeks even though they were not sick just to make sure they didn't carry any of the flu back to school. The Dr. kept telling me if they don't have a fever and are not positive for the test then send them. I just couldn't risk it for other people. Anna will get to go back next Tuesday and Ellie went back today. She was so excited and did great!
* I learned more about compassion. I had one friend who called every day during the whole time we were confined to the house. I knew no one could come see us, but just to have someone to talk to was so encouraging each day. We also had a sweet friend bring us dinner that was so yummy. I was capable of cooking, but just to have a little break and for someone to think of you was really sweet! I want to be more like that with others.

All in all I'm glad it is over and that normal life can resume on Sunday, but we did learn alot through it all. God was so faithful to us and answered many people's prayers to keep sweet Mary healthy. Thanks for all your prayers! Hoping for a healthy rest of the year!

I spoke to soon...

I should not have done my previous post on the swine. Mike got diagnosed with it today. Good times at our house let me tell you! Please, pray that sweet Mary does not get it. He feels really yucky. I feel so bad for him and there is not much I can do in fear of catching it. He got on Tamiflu and hopefully will feel better soon. I guess his busy season just got slowed down in a major way! Thank goodness for Blockbuster as I checked out 3 new movies for the girls!

The Swine....

I was with some mom friends recently and we were talking about actually being a little nervous about the swine flu this year. I'm normally not a germaphobe and my kids are rarely sick. I wash their hands, but do not own hand sanitizer and Mary started in the nursery at 4 weeks. I've always taken them to childcare at the gym, preschool, play group, church, etc...with little to no worry. Well, this week I got a pretty high fever, chills, sore throat, etc.. and I googled swine flu symptoms cause I feared the worst. I do not have it and felt better by the next day. However, the spread in our area is pretty scary. I know when it gets to be "flu" season a lot of schools will have to close and a few small children have died in TX. My family never mentions it being talked about much in GA and I don't hear my out of state friends really mentioning it. Most of the children who haved died have been hispanic and TX is about 50% hispanic so I don't know if that has anything to do with it? Anyways, I'm wondering if all my dear friends from NC, CO, FL, etc...are worried about the swine or do you hear it talked about much in your state?

A mess filled morning....

I don't want to forget all my kids messy habits and one day I know I will wish I could clean up their mess when they are away at college and I miss them so much....
They say being a mom is a full-time job, but I think cleaning up all that occurs in our house on a daily basis is a full-time job not to mention all the other things we do during the day:)
Our morning started off okay and then it tends to get a little crazy when we all start getting ready for the day. Their are lots of clothes to put away, jammies, diapers, sippy cups, etc....
Anna can now reach the water dispenser on our fridge. She LOVES to find a plastic cup and fill it up with water. I catch her and she spills the water all over the couch. Ellie then shows me her plastic cup full of ice water and she takes a drink and it spills all over her shirt.
Mary wakes up and I feed her. We both get dressed into clean clothes and she spits up (more like vomits) all over her and all over my clean shirt. It happens all the time so now I just rub it into the carpet, clothing etc....!
I am in the bathroom to come out and both girls have gotten into the fridge to get a drink which is not allowed. They are sitting in a chair with two cans of diet coke opened and now spilling down their shirts and onto the chair. I take them away and put them in separate rooms in time out. I start a timer and they actually stay in their rooms for 10 minutes until the timer went off which was very impressive! We are almost out the door and Anna has an accident on the couch of pee so I clean that one up before we leave...
I call my friend Katrina cause we needed to get out of the house asap and our new meeting spot for lunch is Burger King. I know it is so yummy and exciting, but when you have 5 kids under 4 Chcik fil A is no longer fun. BK never has anyone in the play area and it is easy!
We get to BK and are everyone is doing good until Katrina's daughter Carsen spills almost a whole bottle of chocolate milk all over the floor. We wipe that one off and then discuss for awhile how hard being a SAHM really is right now. I am so thankful for sweet friends who are going through this stage with me. All the kids are asleep now for a nap and I think I need one as well!

Prayers from Anna....

Well, preschool started today and I am not working which is a very good thing since Mary wants nothing to do with the bottle. It is a different feeling on this side of the MDO program. I can now see why the mom's so looked forward to Tuesday's and Thursday's. Ellie is going 2 days a week and Anna is going 1 day a week. Last year, we got into the habit of praying in the car before school mostly cause I needed to calm down from the madness of getting everyone ready and myself to school by 9 A.M. and a calm heart to teach 2 yr. olds all day! The girls quickly remembered on the way to school that we needed to pray. We prayed for Mrs. Elaine and Mrs. Gigi along with every other staff member at our preschool. We then proceeded to pray for all our playgroup friends who are starting school today and their classmates. Anna then said "Mommy, We pray for Tinkerbelle and Cinderella"! We went ahead and prayed for them. She was very sincere and it brought joy to my heart! I had a wonderful morning of doing lots of errands with Mary and then came home to relax/clean a little bit. I think I will really like Tuesday's this year!

She's growing up....

My sweet little Mary is 3 months old today. I love this picture cause don't we all wish we could just hold them like this forever. Life is pretty simple with a little baby. I cannot imagine life without her in our family. In some ways I've kind of forgotten what it was like to just have two girls. She's such a blessing to us and such a reminder to me of how I want to treasure these early days. Here's what Mary is like at 3 months old.

* Most people immediately say she looks just like a Shelton girl. I'm thinking we will be hearing this a lot in the upcoming years.

* Weight 10 lb. 110z. (25%) Height 23 1/2 inches (50%) She may tower over her big sisters someday!

* Mary has a great smile that is really big and she smiles instantly when someone looks at her.

* She does not like the bottle and loves her mommy's milk.

* Mary does well in the church nursery and has been going since she was about 4 weeks old. They all love her and always comment on how petite she is... another comment we hear often!

* Ellie still adores Mary. It is really sweet when she is upset the girls will sing to her or try to comfort her. Ellie and Mary sleep in the same room and it is working really well. It actually helps Ellie to go to sleep knowing that Mary is right next to her.

* Mary loves her crib. She's a tummy sleeper and is pretty much done with the paci. I don't know if she will like her fingers or thumb more. I don't have to do anything to get her to go to sleep.

* Mary DOES NOT like the car seat which can make for some interesting car rides when all three girls are upset. She really does not even want to sit in when we are out somewhere. I have to use the baby bjorn or just hold her when we are out. However, how often am I out with all three girls unless we are with Mike or friends.

* Mary loves a routine and is pretty much a typical "Baby Wise" baby and has followed the routine part really well.

* Mary spits up a lot and Mike loves it when it is on a nice clean shirt:) I've gotten used to it and have gotten pretty good at just rubbing it in to whatever surface it lands on.

* Mary is sleeping 12-14 hours. Everyone should have a third baby to experience this joy! Ha!

* Mary loves to lay on the floor to look around or in her bouncy chair. She does not like the swing very much.

* Mary is quite the little baby doll for Ellie and Anna. They love to put dress up stuff on her like sunglasses, crowns, shoes, and necklaces. She also has been through a lot in her first 3 months and I've learned that she is pretty tough. Anna accidentally stepped on her head. She's always getting her arms pulled or her feet. They love to blow bubbles on her tummy. She does love it and I'm just enjoying the days where I don't have three girls fighting over the same toy!

We love our sweet little girl so much and are so blessed with three uniquely different little girls. I really cannot picture our house when they are older, but that it will be full of all kind of different personalities! What a gift our children are from God.

Conversations....

We have quite the interesting conversations some day. Today, we were riding in the van which my friend Caren has nicknamed her van the FUV (Family Utility Vehicle). I think I could agree that it has many great things for our family! Here's the conversation:
Ellie: "Oh my gosh, that is the most ammmmaaaazzzing car" as a convertible drives by.
Ellie: That's what my daddy would say!

It is so true and reminded me that they really do pick up on everything we say which can be very scary sometimes.

I cut Anna's hair today cause she's yet to enjoy a trip to a kids salon. She pretty much would not allow it! I have to put her in the high chair with a lollipop and Barney on T.V. for it to really work. She sat pretty still and even let me dry it. It looks so much better and even though it is not totally even it will work.
She was very proud of her hair cut and the first thing she asked me was "I go show my hair to Mrs. Horn" . She is Anna's ballet teacher and her first class was yesterday. She's totally obsessed with ballet and has been since last spring when she would have to sit and watch during Ellie's class. She wears the outfit constantly and sleeps with her ballet shoes. I was a little nervous about signing her up cause almost everywhere I drop her off at lately she cries and gets scared. She told me " I be brave and happy at ballet class"
She was soooo happy yesterday. Mike took her cause I had something and he said she obeyed perfectly and came out with the biggest grin. She has continued to talk about it all day and apparently next week we will show Mrs. Horn her hair!
Anna also is very into a routine lately when it comes to bedtime. We now tell Jonah and David every nap/night time. She can repeat the story completely and it is so cute.
I love my girls so much and for the record sweet Mary slept almost 14 hours last night!

Ellie's 4 yr. stats....

I took Ellie to the dreaded 4 yr. appointment last week and she endured her 4 shots. They were not to bad and she was really brave. She really enjoyed the sticker and band-aids she received.
Her weight was 28 lbs. (0-5%)
Height was 10-25%

She sure is a big girl.....I'm thinking she might hit 35 by Kindergarten (maybe)! It is a really good thing she will start when she is 6.

Life with two...

Ellie has been quite the traveler this summer. She went to my parents house for 2 weeks and this week she got to go to Mike's parents house for a week. She loves every minute of it and there is no homesickness from her. She loves the attention and all the fun things she has gotten to do. There is quite a bit more you can do with one 4 yr. old than a 4 yr. old, 2 1/2 yr. old, and 2 month old!
Anna has gotten to have a pretty fun week as well. I've loved this one on one time with her. I forget how sweet my girls can be when they are alone. They are sweet together sometimes, but we have lots of fights and arguments over sharing etc... during our day. I don't think I've had to really discipline Anna all week and it has been so nice. She sure does miss her sister so I know it will be nice for them to play together when Ellie returns tomorrow! Mimi has done so many fun things with Ellie like swimming at the indoor pool, museums, story time, cupcakes, ice cream man, book store, books, singing songs in the car, seeing relatives, and open gym at a gymnastics place. I am so thankful for our sweet grandparents and for the mini-break I've gotten this week! Yes, when you have 3 children when you only have 2 it is a significant change!

Anna and I have been working on P.T. . I've kind of approached it with a laid-back approach and she is doing great. When we are at home she is not in a diaper and when we go out I make her wear one. She's done it a couple of times unprompted and had just a few accidents. I'm so proud of her!
Today, we went with our playgroup to a children's museum. She had a really good time and enjoyed the "farm" area the most. It was kind of our end of the summer activity for the kids. Next week lots of activities start back. Anna's dream occurred this week when I registered her for ballet class at our city rec center. She pretty much requests to be in ballet attire all day long. I told her she had to be brave and not cry when she went to the class by herself. She told me "mommy, I be happy and not cry". We will see on Tuesday when her class starts.
Anyways, I'm excited to see my sweet Ellie tomorrow, but am so glad she's gotten to have so much fun!

Miss Mary.....

When we were in FL with my family we did the traditional family pictures on the beach. 296 pictures to be exact!! I am so glad we were able to capture Mary in her newborn phase. There are so many other good ones of the girls that we are not quite sure what we are going to do with all of them yet. We had to be at the beach by 6:30 A.M. that was sure fun, but the morning time ended up being great cause it wasn't to hot and there were no bugs!

Mary is now 10 weeks old and is precious. I was wondering how I would even have time to enjoy her, but I must say on the third baby I think you realize the baby time is so short. I have loved having a "baby" in the house and it just so happens that she is pretty easy!

It seems like each week she would add another hour to how long she sleeps at night. This past week we've had quite a few 10-11 hour stretches. She loves her crib and does not love her car seat so we seem to try and take most naps at home. Ellie is still very much in love with her. I thought maybe it was a phase, but she is still very into her. They are actually sharing a room at night since Anna crawled out of the crib and we only have one twin bed in Ellie's old room.

Mary weighed 9 lb. 11 0z. at her two month appointment so she is a little bigger than the other girls at that point. We will see if she starts to slow down like they did. Ellie goes to her 4 yr. apptmt. tomorrow. It will be interesting how that goes. I haven't told her anything about it cause I don't want her to get upset before we have to get there!!

Mike has been at "Lake Day" with the staff from Watermark. He said it was so fun. They go away for a day once a year to just play at the lake and go to someone's lake house. We stop each other often and remember how blessed we are to serve at Watermark. It is one incredible place to be for so many reasons!

Ellie's FOUR!

Sweet Sisters

Ellie and her Backyardigans Cake

Mike got to hold Mary all night; a HUGE help!

Ava, Mary, and Milia; all 3 weeks apart!

Big Sisters and Little Sisters

What was I thinking.....?

Well, I think after having Mary and currently with three kids under three I might have lost a few brain cells. So on Friday night.... I planned a date for Mike and I which we were both so excited about... I got some friends to watch the girls and we had a nice gift card to a fancy restaurant! Our entire date was going to be free which is rare. I planned our day so that it would be Mary's sleepy time and it was a 20 minute drive to get there so I figured she would fall asleep in the car seat. We didn't know to much about the place, but just that it was really nice as in our gift card was for $100. We get there and she is asleep until we get her out of the car. She is wide awake.... Normally, when she wakes up it is time to eat so I figure I will nurse her in the bathroom. We open the door to the restaurant. It is really small, dark, fancy, and for sure we did not see any car seats! Mike assures me she will go back to sleep and it will be okay. However, I get really nervous. I go to the bathroom which happens to be a one stall bathroom. I lock the door and nurse her with people knocking on the door. I hurry and start to get really nervous cause after she eats the last place she wants to go is her car seat. Mike orders for us while I'm in the bathroom. I put Mary in the car seat with the paci and she is okay for about 3 minutes. We then take turns holding her while many people are looking at us thinking "can't you get a sitter"? They just didn't know that my sweet Mary will only take about 1 ounce from a bottle and doesn't like it to much. We each take turns holding her and she starts to get fussy which at a loud restaurant would have been fine, but not while people are trying to enjoy their anniversary dinners etc.... So I get my food to go and go outside with her. I really have no idea why I didn't think more about taking her there!!! We ended up going to Barnes and Noble to relax after that stressful event. It was a moment I never want to experience again and hope I think a little more clearly someday soon!!!

Our Trip to Naples, Florida...

We just finished up a trip to Naples, Florida with my parents. We had so much fun! Here's a slideshow Mike put together. Enjoy!

Naples, Florida (so far) from Mike Shelton on Vimeo.

Mary's first couple weeks.....

We are learning to be gentle
Happy 4th of July!
She likes her paci!
5 Weeks Old!

We've enjoyed baby Mary so much these first 5 weeks. She's fitting right in to our family of 5! She's for sure had the laid back "third child" personality. I really don't know what I would do if she was really hard. Here are some things she likes and dislikes:

Likes:

When things are chaotic she loves to be in her crib where it is quiet

Riding in the car!

She's been so good at nursing and I am so glad.

She is really good at spitting up all over mommy. I pretty much smell all day and I've learned to just wipe it off or else I would be changing my shirt all the time.

Mommy and Daddy time after Ellie and Anna go to sleep

She is waking up around 3:30 a.m. every night and then back to sleep right away.

She is really sleepy in the morning which is good cause it helps me to start our day.

She loves to be outside in the shade while we are at the pool. She sleeps really well there.

She sleeps the best on her tummy. I've never had a tummy sleeper this early, but it is working well.

Dislikes:

She always hates being put right back in her car seat after she eats.

Her sisters shoving the paci in her mouth which makes her gag.

She does not like the swing very much (bummer).

The sun in her eyes which is kind of hard when you live in Dallas.

Wet/Poo diapers

Bath time

Swimming with Rosey....

Ellie took private lessons for two weeks and it was so great! She has been terrified of anything, but the baby pool so I knew I could not teach her. It worked out well cause it was in her teachers back yard and there were two teachers and four kids all her age. I did not stay which was also really helpful cause she couldn't cling to me. It was amazing to see her progression and confidence grow after each lesson.

* I couldn't get these videos to line up right!

Camp Barnabas...

Mike just got back from taking his students to Camp Barnabas. Grab some tissues, and to watch this best, turn the HD on, and watch in full screen :)

Miss Independent.....

My sweet, determined 2 yr. old Anna has been growing up before my eyes this past week. In one week she has decided she wants to be potty trained and she has learned how to climb out of the crib. I was not ready for either of these cause you know our world just changed with Mary arriving 23 days ago. I know that P.T. and using a big girl bed require lots of energy and discipline. However, she's the type of kid that if she sleeps in a big girl bed once it will be the end of the crib so that is what is happening tonight. She's in Ellie's bed because Ellie is currently in trouble for getting out of her bed way to many times tonight so it worked out well. Ellie is sleeping in the guest bed in Mary's room. I'm guessing it will have to be this way for awhile until we have the time to look for Anna a bed. She is such a climber and I'm pretty sure with her stubborn determination she will be in some sport to get all of her energy out!

When she climbed out she told me "it's tall and I brave"! I am really hoping the P.T. will be easy cause with Ellie it was quite the long process. I'm not going to really stress to much about it and give it a week or so to make sure she is really ready to try it.

We went to visit my brother's family over the weekend in OKC and it was lots of fun! The girls got to play with their cousins which was a blast for them. It was really fun for my mom to see all 5 granddaughters together. Mary did great in the car, but the 3.5 hour trip was for sure an extra 1.5-2 hours longer with the stops for the 3 girls! It was a good change and I am so glad we got to all go! I hope you are all having a great weekend!

Life with Three.....

Well, as you can tell my blogging has been kind of absent lately. I'm so sad as well cause Mike is at camp with our computer so I can't update with pictures. However, we are doing really well. It seems like Mary has been here forever and the adjustment time is now pretty much over for the girls. I am still adjusting with little things like getting everyone in the car etc...! Mary is so sweet and is just like she was in the womb which was very calm. She's going with the flow so far just as many mom's of three expressed that their third was really laid back. She seems similar in many ways to Ellie and Anna especially with her tiny little features on her face and tiny little feet. I have been so blessed with lots of help so I'm sure when everyone has left it will be more difficult. Mike's family was here right after she was born for a week. Ellie went to VBS at Prestonwood Baptist along with 4,000 other kids! It was craziness, but such a blessing as Mike would take her every morning and Mike's parents would watch Anna while I slept! We had lots of fun with Mimi and Granddaddy. We had a week alone which went well as both girls went to VBS last week at the church where they go to preschool. I've loved VBS that is for sure! My mom came late last week and will be here till the first of July while Mike is on a trip to Camp Barnabas in MO with the students. Ellie will be flying home with my mom for 2 weeks so it will be a nice little break as Anna still naps for 2-3 hours every afternoon. I am excited for Ellie to get lots of attention and do all kinds of "big girl" things with Nana and Papa! It has been a great way to transition into being a family of 5!

Mary has been pretty easy so far. I cannot imagine if she was really difficult as my main focus is still E and A. I am thrilled that nursing is going better this time and she seems "full" most the time! She loves her crib and the bouncy chair. She's not a fan of the swing. She likes it quiet can you imagine why? I try to put her in the crib in her room when we are home so she can get a nap in peace. There have been lots of funny things have happened so far and she's survived them all! Here's a few:

Ellie for some reason thinks she should put her hand over her mouth when she is crying so she will be quiet.

Ellie has stuck her finger in her mouth lots of time instead of the paci. (yuck)!

Ellie was very confused by the "pump". After, I was done she said "mommy can you hook me up to that and proceeded to lift up her shirt".

The girls found a sticker book today and Mary was very decorated with stickers and she slept through the whole thing.

Both girls are very into her "spitting up" and insist on helping her immediately.

Some hard things:

Getting everyone into their car seat is beyond exhausting and I think we need a new plan. It might be that the girls argue over who can have the blue car seat in the back of the van. I've taken all three quite a few places, but not the grocery store. I really don't ever want to do it for a very long time!

Nursing time is interesting cause Ellie is very into sitting right next to me the whole time and patting the baby. I don't want to discourage her loving spirit, but I am a little touched out by the end of it.

There is not much alone time these days so I really have to pray throughout the day to have patience and joy in the midst of it!

I am so thankful for all the help we have received and Mike has been amazing. He was somewhat nervous about doing it all, but he has stepped right up and done awesome! I am so proud of him and we had a great Father's day together!