The tree is done

Pictures from Thanksgiving

"Little" Update

It is so amazing how life just gets away from us so fast. Time just flies by and before you know it a week or a month have gone by. That is how I feel. I am trying to slow down and breath and enjoy the little moments.
I really need to start paying more attention to my blog. Even if it is just a little update here and there.
So I guess for this "little" update I thought I would let you know that Jim and I are expecting again next summer. I am so amazed at how God can take a womb that is closed and just open the flood gates. We had wanted another one but to be honest with you " me of little Faith" had started to doubt when Gracie turned one. I was also content with the family I had. I was a little saddened but I do know that God is in control. I will share with you soon about how my husband reacted when I have more time. I need to get cooking for a Pastor's Christmas Banquet tonight.

Fall Wedding

Thought I would share some pictures. The weekend that we moved we had a wedding for a couple in our church. Kiarrah was their flower girl. It was a beautiful wedding and we were honored to share in the couples joy.

Peace that Surpasses

I am surrounded by boxes and piles of stuff to put away. Overwhelmed you might ask? Yes but happy as all get out. We love our new place we call home. The kids are enjoying the space to spread out and just play. The overall feel of the residence is calm and welcoming. I am so relieved. It feels like a blessing for being obedient and doing what is required of us. "From everyone who has been given much, much will be demanded; and from the one who has been entrusted with much, much more will be asked."Luke 12:48
When we moved to Jersey City it was a sacrifice. It was hard. Yes it was what God wanted from us. Did He speak it to me in an audible voice and say "Jenn, you must move to Jersey City and live in this SMALL house." No but He opened doors and directed us through the prayers and other people. I had a peace despite the fact that I knew what I was getting into. A peace that surpasses all understanding. I am still not sure exactly what I was to do or learn from being where I lived. All I know is that I feel blessed. I see God's hand directing my life. I see his blessings being poured out. I know that we must work even harder to use what God has given us to reach the lost. To shine for Him. We must use our lives to be a testimony. Just in the past few days I see how he is preparing me to do this. I see it in the people I am encountering in the community. I see my confidence rising as I meet people. I hear my voice speaking to people I don't know. A happiness that is contagious. An attitude of wanting to see change in my children's new school. There is an acceptance there.
I felt it last night when my husband welcomed his young boys life group in the house. There was an easiness in all of them. They felt comfortable. I haven't felt that in years.
God has big plans for our lives and I can't wait to see what he is going to do next.

Life in New Jersey

I have neglected my blog for so long. I guess you can say that parenting 4 little ones has caught up with me and I don't have a lot of computer time. I didn't want to neglect my blog though because I love keeping everyone up to date and I love the new friendships I have formed. I haven't even read everyone's blogs. I will have to play catch up for awhile. I hope everyone is well and enjoying life.
A lot is happening in our neck of the woods. First News is that we are moving. I absolutely hate packing but I am so excited to move. Our current living arrangements have been less than desireable for quite awhile but we had been waiting listening for God to direct us. Whether it was to move to Indiana, Bayonne or what have you. After vacation we had seriously looked into Indiana feeling that maybe the time was right. Jim was onboard with this thought and we looked into. There are NO jobs. Yes it is much cheaper to live there but you must have a job to pay the bills.
We had then looked into moving to Bayonne with some friends that were buying a house. Would have been a little tight space wise but was in a great school district and would have a yard and laundry facilities. We said yes but God said no. I would be isolating myself away from my friends. I am the type of person that needs my friends around me. Especially in my Christian walk and just being a mommy to my three. I would have to be locked in a padded room. It was not the answer. As much as I hated to share with my husband that I was feeling a no go from God I had to tell me. Thankfully everyone understood and we stayed where we are.
About a month later we had a friend in church come up to us and ask me if I knew the house I was living in was on the market. No Maam, I didnt. We had decided that we were going to start looking because it is not easy to find a home in our price range for 6 people. Later that day we got a phone call from that friend asking us if we would be interested in renting from her if she got the house that she would be placing a bid on. It was perfect for us. Lots of room, a basement, a yard, Parking, laundry and a Christian Landlord. Ideal!!! Sp we will be moving next weekend. I have been busy packing and we have been painting. My hubby ripped up all the carpet over there because there are beautiful hardwood floors. We can't wait.

What else is happening you might ask? Let's see. Dominic turned 9 in October. He went to a Nets vs Boston game with his brother and Dad. This weekend he will be going to spend some time with his Godfather for his belated birthday celebration. He doesnt even know about that yet. He is doing good in school academically but is struggling socially. He is just not picking up on people skills. This is such an awkward stage right now for him. He was the target of some bullying but that seems to have gotten better. The kids will be switching school when we move due to district and I am hoping the school is better for all three of them.
Reynaldo is struggling mood wise and in school. He is such a class clown. Loves to have all of the attention on himself. His teacher told him that she was jealous because everyone was paying attention to him and not her. He thought that was funny. He is enjoying his tap and hip hop classes immensely.
Kiarrah is doing well in school except for her behaviors. The teachers are quite overwhelmed and we have held off doing anything until we move. This is what we had expected though from her as much as it shocks me. She is really excited because she was asked to be a flower girl in a wedding next week. I can't wait to see her all dressed up walking down the aisle.
Miss Gracie is growing like a weed. She now finally weighs 21 pounds. She loves walk around and play with her toys. She really gets into playing. She also loves to test her limits. She is starting to jabber away and she has such a happy personality. She is such a joy.
That about sums up things here. Here are a few pictures for your enjoyment.

Rey Turns 8

Reynaldo just had his birthday this month. He is now 8 like Dominic for the next month. He thinks it is cool that they are the same age but Dominic doesn't like it. LOL. Can you blame him? He took munchkins to school for his friends to share and I made him a yummy cake for home. We got him the Batmobile that has the motorcycle that pops out of it and clothes. This kid actually enjoys getting clothes.
A week later Rey had three of his little friends over for pizza and cake and then they went to see the movie Igor. They had a great time. His godfather came too. It was a lot of work for Jim and Danny to take 5 hyper boys to the movies. I am happy to report that they did survive though.
Rey was also thrilled that he could now give up his car booster seat. 8 years old or 80 pounds is the law here.

School Woes

I have been totally slacking at keeping my blog up to date. Boy have I failed this month. I have so much to catch up up on. The kids are getting into the swing of school. We were blessed with some awesome teachers this year. Dominic has one that clearly loves her job. She is full of enthusiasm which is exactly what he needs. Reynaldo has a teacher that is very nurturing ( not to say the others aren't) and patient with him. Kiarrahs teacher is a toughie. Kiarrah has met her match. I wish I could say that she is doing good. We thought that she would after the first day but reality kicks in and it was a short lived honeymoon period. The second week of school she had a breakdown at drop off and didn't want to go to school. I had blogged about that. The following day was fine but the next day she got into a lot of trouble for hitting another little girl. She literally slapped her in the face. We think it was a jealousy issue. The little girl had just started that day and was getting a lot of attention. Kiarrah demands attention. A few days later we had an issue of pushing in the classroom and on the stairs. Part of it is due to her extreme hyperactivity but also she feels she needs to control and be first in line. I can see the teachers slowly wearing down. I have made it clear from the beginning that I want my child evaluated by the child study team. I expressed my concerned and told the teacher that if she goes to them because of needing help with Kiarrah in the classroom that she would have my full support.
Dominic has actually having some issues too. It all boils down to his Aspergers and not reading the social cues and just being the target of bullying. I have spoken to the teacher and hopefully we can safeguard him. He had his lunch taken away from him by a boy, he got paid a dollar to do another boys classwork and then yesterday a boy threw a pencil inches from his eyeball. He wants to please his friends and doesn't like to tell on them for fear they wont like him. He doesn't need friends like that.
Reynaldo is getting comfortable in his classroom situation and starting to act up also. The teacher uses a reward system in the classroom and he is just not the type of child to care if points are taken away. He wants to be a class clown. He is a very strong personality and loves to pal around with his buddies. He also LOVES the girls.
We are in trouble :)

Gracie Walking Video

Gracie Walking

Seasoned Mommy

This morning was not a good morning for Miss Butterfly. She was very hyper this morning when she woke up and she was in a major hurry to get to school. She was sure that she was late which was not the case( Note: We are never late for school. I think we were like 5 minutes late one day last school year). She was fine until her teacher came out the door. Then all of a sudden she started clinging to me and crying. She didn't want to go. Her reason? It is too loud in there. This came from a child who is the queen of noise. I had to hand KIKi off to the teacher while she did her blood curdling scream. What was so funny was the fact that I was getting such shocked looks from the new non seasoned mom's. How could I just walk away and leave my child like that? How dare I? I knew she was fine, I knew the teacher had it under control and I knew they would call me if they continued to have a problem. This is child number 3 for me. I was proud of myself for being able to handle it. I wasn't so strong when the boy's started school. I done good. Yes, I am a seasoned mom.

The Toothless Grin

Mr. Reynaldo was so worried that his teeth would never fall out. I would have to scold him for trying to wiggle them free. He of course wanted money from the tooth fairy and wasn't happy that Dominic was losing teeth and getting a little big of money. Finally his wish has come true and he has lost 3 teeth in over a months time. Isn't he just adorable? He was surprised that the tooth fairy even came to Indiana to leave him money. Poor mommy had to send her a text message to remind her because she didn't come the first night. I think she had gotten lost among the cornfields.

More Pictures of 1st Day of School

Gracie ready to walk the brothers and sister to school so that she can have mommy to herself
My cutie Reynaldo who is now in 2nd Grade. He woke up before everyone and was ready to go to school.

Ok city life is rubbing off on them. Peace Out

1st Day of School Pictures

Little Miss Kiarrah started Kindergarten

Dominic hates getting his picture taken. He is now a big bad third grader.

Gracie's New Discoveries

Gracie has been shocking us with her language skills. She is finally saying a few words. The other day she was taking a bath and Jim came home from work. She gets very excited when she hears him lately. When he came into the bathroom to see her she started waving her hand and said hi da and she kept waving. She was trying to get out of the bath and into his arms. He was tickled pink about it. Yesterday she was playing in our room and knocked a box off of Jim's nightstand. Right away she made a shocked face and said clear as day utoh. I busted up laughing and she kept looking at me with an O face like, what did I do? She also says mama, dada and bye bye. She has said bye bye in quite awhile though. She is also too cute when she makes people laugh. She knows she is being funny and laughs and looks at your for a response. Her father and I both can be humorous and think she has that trait. I love all her new discoveries every day. She has learned to climb on to her ride on toys and while in Indiana she learned to climb my parents steps on the first try. She had also climbed up my dad to get onto his Lap. He of course had something she wanted, LIME SHERBET. More on that later. That was hilarious.

Beginnings of a New School Year

The three older kiddos are off at school today. I am sad a little but happy for the break and the peace and quiet. It is rough with all of them home all day and it makes it hard for Gracie to get a decent nap too. I love them but it was time for them to go back. Yesterday was a very testing day to say the least. I am not sure if it was due to the fact that they knew there would be a change in there routine and they were nervous but their behavior was off the charts. Luckily this morning was smooth. Yesterday I spent the day cleaning their rooms with them and going through some of their clothes to see what would still fit for the fall. I still have most of the fall stuff in storage to go through yet. Boy have they all had some major growth spurts. Especially Miss Ki Bear.This morning I got up to walk and came home and got showered and then I was ready to face the day. Reynaldo who is usually my challenge in the mornings got himself up on his own and got dressed. He was excited about school. Usually I have to fight with him for an hour to get up and dressed. Kiarrah was extremely excited but also nervous. She wore her new school uniform jumper and shirt. She was very picky about how we did her hair. I will post pictures later. They all had new shoes to wear. The boys had picked out Vans this year which were an early birthday gift from Busia and Dziadek ( For those of you wondering that is Polish for my grandparents. I actually just looked up how to spell grandpa. It is pronounced Jah Jah and grandma is prounouced Bush a)Jim went into work late so that we could take them together. I am going to have to figure out some kind of routine for pick up because each child comes out of a different door.I can't wait to hear about their many adventures when they get home.For now, Gracie is sleeping peacefully and I am off to clean up the house.

Recycling

My darling son Dominic is actually a little bit of a germaphobic. After having learned about recycling at school, he has decided now months later that he doesn't want to drink out of water bottles because other people used them. I tried to explain to him that it is melted down with other bottles in high temperatures that kill germs and made into new plastic bottles. He doesn't want to hear about it. He is right and I am wrong. What shall I do with him. LOL.

FFF Black and White

Dominic loves his baby sister

Gracie Noelle 12 1/2 months Old

I thought I would jump on the bandwagon with Mr. Linky and the Favorite Photo For Friday. Of course I am doing this a day late. You can get all the details at Kiss the Frog 4 Me .

Help!!!!!!

How in the world do you stop kids from tattling? If I hear one more time, He's looking at me, I am going to lose it. They did it constantly on vacation too. I know they are cute and all but this has got to stop before this momma goes bonkers!!!!! I welcome your advice.

Seeing old Friends

One of the evenings that we were home we were able to connect with my best friend from high school. Deb has an adorable little boys named Ethan. Kiarrah had a great time playing with him as did the boys. We went to this awesome Kids Kingdom Wooden Playground in town. What a mess they all were when we left. What I love about my friendship with Deb is that when we see each other it is like we never had space in between our visits. Please keep her and her son in prayers. They are going through a divorce.

Bathtime Bliss

I thought I would take a break from the mundane housecleaning and share more of the happenings in our household with you. Wednesday I usually do a heavier cleaning which is a little funny because in the evenings on Wednesday I have a houseful of teenage boys in my house for a Bible Study that my husband teaches. They couldn't care a less what my house looks like. Lucky for me they always clean up after themselves and are very respectful. Believe me, if they weren't I would be handing them the vacuum. LOL.

Anyways, if you remember a few months back I wrote about Gracie hating baths. She would scream horribly during them sounding like a cat in heat. While we were on vacation we had a change of point of view. Me Ma gave her a nice bath in the tub with a cool whip bowl and a bath puff. She was unsure at first but handled it after she settled down. A few days before that we had gone to Lake Michigan. We had given her a cool whip bowl with water in it to play with in the sand. My mom repeated that activity in the tub and she had fun. Now baths are pleasant. In fact I gave her one this morning with Rey's help. He played with her while I was cleaning up. She used a bowl and her little squirt fish.

2nd 1St Birthday Party

While we were in Indiana, we threw Gracie another 1st Birthday party with all of our family. My sister has a huge park size backyard with a pool so we invited everyone over for a cookout and party. My brother in law made some yummy BBQ Pork and we had hot dogs and burgers for the kids who refuse to eat that. My cousin Robyn made delicious Mac and Cheese, Grandma made a Pistachio salad and brought homemade dill pickles (they are too die for. I have the recipe just need to try and make them sometime). We also had a hash brown casserole that I made and a fresh fruit salad mom made. Aunt Karen brought garlic toast , a cheese spread( I need to get that recipe) and a pasta salad. Jaimee brought a veggie pizza appetizer that is made on crescent rolls. There were other things but this is just food that people don't seem to make in Jersey. They are comfort foods to me. I love good home cooking. I just wish I had kids that loved to eat.

We got Gracie a chocolate cake that had rubber duckies on the top of it and she got her own little cake to dive into. You should have seen the expression on her face when we put it and her on a towel. I don't think she knew what to do first. She thoroughly enjoyed it and her diapers for the next few days proved it. I never saw so many shades of green and blue. We had a tough time keeping Mindi's Dog Halley away. Of course Gracie wanted to share with her too.

She got some really nice clothes for the fall. She will be quite the little fashion plate.

The kids enjoyed swimming and playing with their cousins. I loved catching up with everyone.

Gloomy Monday

Well, we are back from a wonderful refreshing vacation. We spent a lot of time with family and friends and had a lot of outdoor fun. I wish I could say I feel de-stressed but as soon as we pulled back into Jersey I got a knot in the pit of my stomach. It looked so dirty, ugly and crowded. You have to remember that I was looking at green all week and open space. It was so weird to look out of my parents window and see our car parked out front with maybe a handful more of cars. You didn't have to circle around a hundred times trying to find a parking space. Traffic to them is 10 cars at a light. I miss the BLUE skies, green lawns, hearing the crickets at nights, and just everyone being friendly. Everywhere you go people say hello to you and smile. I have already gotten so harden by the East. I seem to rarely smile when I am out and about. I realized it a lot while on this trip. I think I was more aware of it because people would smile at me and I would realize that I wasn't. I must have looked like such a mean grumpy person. I really am not that way.
I am sorry that this post is such a downer. I had decided a long time ago that I wanted to be completely really in this blog and not hold back. I seem to wear my emotions on my sleeve anyway.
The kids have said several times that they miss their MeMa and Pop Pop. In fact Rey cried several times on the trek home because he was sad and missed them. Kiarrah too. She said it again this morning. I miss them too. I miss all of my family. I need to get out of this funk.
I will post more later hopefully with lots of fun stories and pictures from our adventure.

From the Bend

Hey, Hope everyone is doing good. I have a few minutes on my moms computer while Gracie is napping and the kids are terrorizing the neighborhood and thought I would say hello. We are having an awesome time at my mom and dads. The kids are outside from sun up to sun down getting a lot of fresh air. It has been really good for them but has taken alittle adjusting. Rey has been raging alittle and I think it has to do with change. He is having a good time but we are out of routine.
Today we took the kids to the zoo and tonight my sister is going to watch them while Jim and I go out to dinner with my grandparents and parents. Yea!!! Free Date night. My kind of date.
I will be sure to post tons of pictures when I get home.
BTW LB I got your email and was so extremely excited. For some reason I can't respond from this computer but will when I get home. Would love to catch up with you. I had tried to locate you once before.
TTFN

A Dominic Funny

Kiarrah really enjoys playing store with Dominic. She is quite funny and it doesn't last for long because Dom hates to be bossed around around. The other day Kiarrah asked Dominic if he would play beauty store with her and he just wasn't in the mood. He didn't want to upset her so instead of saying no he told her " Let's just pretend your store is closed today" HAHA

Ode to Life

Finally everyone that was sick is on the mend. Dominic has been complaining of a sore throat this evening so we shall see what tomorrow brings. With all of his sensory issues just getting a little hoarse big time bothers him. Speaking of Dominic, I can't believe how big my little man is getting. He is so tall. Where did my baby boo go? He is so siked about our trip to Indiana. He always has such a great time playing outside and seeing his cousin Sean. He also goes nuts over the dogs. The poor kiddo loves dogs but with his allergies and Asthma, no doggies for us.

Tomorrow is my guys 40th Birthday. I must say he still looks hot for being 40. I am so blessed with an awesome man of God that loves us so much. We might not be rich money wise but we are in love. I love him even more than that day we met back in 1991 when he was cheating off of my Scattergories Game card. We had gazed into each other's eyes and it was love. What is funny is the fact that still to this day we love playing board games. Anyways enough mush for now and I want to keep this G Rated Happy Birthday Babe. I love you my Pooh Bear!!!! Just promise me that you won't go through a midlife crisis and get a motorcycle and change me in for 2 twenty year olds.

FFF a Day Late

Birthday fun at Taylor Park. It is nice to go to a park where the swings do not have spray painted graffiti on them.

Mr. Handsome.

Quiet Saturday

Well, Baby girl is still not doing well. She has a double ear infection now. Does it ever end? I just feel so bad for her. Today is going to be a quiet day. The baptisms were called off and will be next weekend instead. Jim just took the three older kids to see a movie. Now the house is quiet so Gracie can get some sleep. When the kids are home, they just don't let her sleep because they are so noisy and always fighting.
I am going to work on some INO kids crafts and clean this house up some more.
Hope everyone has an awesome weekend.

HiHo HiHO off to the Dr we go....... AGAIN

I will be off to take the baby back to the Dr. today. She is just not herself and was up A LOT last night. I am totally lacking in the sleep department even though I headed to bed early last night. She is now so congested and I think her head hurts because she keeps pulling on her hair.
I am really discouraged because tomorrow is a huge deal. It is the church Baptisms up at the lake. It is supposed to be an awesomely fabulous day of fun along side the joy of the baptisms. I want to be a part of it but if she is still under the weather I can have her out in the heat all day and around people when her resistance is low. Please pray that she gets rid of all this gooey gunk.

PICTURES

The Birthday Girl
Gracie loved opening presents. See she even looked at the tag first LOL
We love piggie tails