Elf Yourself

Name That Tune

What's up with this girl? She's freaking us out a little bit right now.

..........

She started this business about 6 months ago when we started playing Guitar Hero. We had no idea she was taking it all in. Then one day she heard the famous Barracuda guitar riff playing on TV in a commercial..."CUUUUDA!!"

..........

We're especially careful now with what's playing in the house!

..........

Here are a few songs off Lainey and Nat's playlist...see if YOU can name that tune before Lainey does:) Turn the volume UP!

This Is How We Roll

Really. How else can you contain the Texas Tornado when out in public??

We're learning...

(man, it sure is nice to be OUT IN PUBLIC with her again! Really!! Thank you God!)

Smarty Pants

Natalie was so excited to get "The Letter Factory" DVD for her birthday a few weeks ago...and
LAINEY loves it! Thanks to Charlie and Tad, we might just have the smartest 'almost 2 yr old' on the block!

Save Me

My Honey and I took a little road trip this wknd...to College Station. Yeah, it didn't turn out well for us Ags but man, Kev and I had a GREAT time just the two of us. Thanks to Nana for watching all three kiddos...ALLLLL DAYYYY!!!

The entire 7 hours on the road we ROCKED out to Hillsong United's "All of the Above". We've been crying out to our God to save us throughout the last very difficult year...it seems so appropriate one of our favorites on this cd is "Hosanna", featuring Brooke Fraser (see our Lainey video from last year ). Hosanna means "save me, I pray". Check it out. And listen to the bridge of this song...

Are you KIDDING me??

******Because I was sending so many friends and family to my JP lady, she just made me a "distributor" today. I just replaced her link to JP with my new one at the bottom of this post! **********

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

(I started writing this post this past summer but am just now finishing it. You'll see where I've added **recent events** as to include Rhett's progress, etc.)

So, as part of Lainey's wellness plan, our entire family has had to adopt a new way of living. Every day norms, like sharing drinks, utensils, or sweet sloppy kisses, are no more...or at least we try HARD!

We go through antibacterial soap like toilet paper around here and we've had to be in isolation for most of the year. Lainey has been on too many medications to count and in the hospital this year more than I want to remember.

The first step we had to take was essential to building up her immune deficient body...good nutrition. But how in the world do you get toddlers and/or pre-schoolers to eat healthy whole foods rich with vitamins, enzymes and other needed nutrients?? This really bugged me as a nurse and mom. I knew it was so important but frozen chicken nuggets and flour tortillas were sometimes the ONLY food they would ingest...and they'd eat it for days...who am I kidding...weeks. Other moms of picky little ones know what I'm talking about.

Kev and I have been on whole food multivits and other supplements for years and I started the girls on a good liquid vitamin too this year as part of Lainey's wellness plan. It didn't address the nutrition issue but at least I knew we were all getting the vitamins our body needed that most food today lacks. Then I heard about Juice Plus. HOLY COW! Where do I begin?

Kev and I started taking JP in place of our usual multivitamin about 3 mos ago. The girls started a month later and I have never seen anything like it. After three weeks of taking JP, Natalie is TURNING DOWN popsicles and cupcakes and asking for FRUIT instead! ARE YOU KIDDING ME??? She's eating asparagus like nobody's business and also asking for water all day long! This is exactly what happens when your body is getting fed the things it needs; it craves it more!

As for Kev and me, after three weeks on this whole food supplement, I actually started dreaming about fresh veggies and I wake up craving them...that's just weird! I've always ALWAYS had portion control issues and can out-eat almost any man I know. Seriously. Now that I'm feeding my body the nutrients it needs every day, I'm actually not as hungry, esp. when it comes to "non-living" food, but I CRAVE fresh veggies which is so not like me. I guess since my body is nutritionally satisfied, I'm not hungry for "fillers"anymore. I don't know, but I'm AMAZED!

**Something else I can attribute to good nutrition is how fast and big Rhett is growing! JP is the only thing I am doing different from when the girls were nursing and Rhett is growing much faster than either one of them. His nails are even hard as rocks?? None of that flimsy stuff I could easily tear off of the girls' fingers.

My last OMG about JP is Lainey has been well, fever free, and medicine free for 4 mos. now which is HUGE for her. She has been exposed to several sick kiddos with fever, vomiting, etc. and she hasn't caught a thing. For anyone who knows our story and the isolation we've had to keep her in because of her weak immune system, you know this is a major breakthrough and a gift from God. Truly.

Do I think it's all because of Juice Plus? No way. We have worked our "hineys" off to make this wellness plan (which includes many things other than a good food supplement) and stick to it. But good nutrition has been absolutely essential to fighting off disease and building up Lainey's immune system. How else can you get 17 whole, organic fruits and veggies down your kids' throats on a DAILY basis?? And for people like me who want to see research to back this stuff up, check out http://www.thismommylovesjuiceplus.com/. Research hospitals like Johns Hopkins and M.D. Anderson are backing these supplements now.

If nothing else, just put your kids on it for a trial period! I don't feel so bad now when we're having another "chicken nuggets and nothing else" kind of week!!! Just be prepared...you will have to make sure your kitchen is stocked with fruits and veggies. My kids can't get enough these days. WEIRD!

*****just as a reminder I have a FOUR year old, an almost 2 yr old, and a 4 mos old who looks like a 6 mos old who was also born 5 weeks early;) These results are INSANE for this age group...but "normal" according to my JP friends.

Find a consultant to order this from. It ships right to your door. If you don't know someone who sells it, let me know and I'll hook you up.

Get ready to wanna slap yo mama!!! It's that good.

Of course, some pics of my cuties...

(Nat and I having a date at Build A Bear!)

Our Chunky Monkey in his favorite chair...

(one of Nat's gifts from our OK fam)

Lil' Miss Thang insists on wearing her shades at night!

What a Stud!

THANK GOD our baby boy is so healthy!

He is 16 weeks old now and weighs 17 lbs.

He sleeps 12 hours at night, for about 3 weeks now, and naps great too.

He jabbers and coos non-stop if you engage him in any way.

He talks much more at this age than either of his sisters did...

what does this mean???

(enter another "Lord help us!" here)

Here are a few pics of our laid back chap...

Honey, I think it was too soon for the "birds and bees" talk...

And yes, we finally have a brown-eyed baby!

Is he not the cutest thing you've ever seen????

And the easiest baby a stay-at-home mom of three could ever hope to have:)

Have I mentioned what a great little surprise he was?!

We are all in love!

I Love My...

...FEARSOME FOUR YEAR OLD!

Natalie had a birthday last week and she told me (again) tonight how excited she is to be four, finally! She said it's way better than being three;) My baby, four going on fourteen...

Going to school on her birthday

Her preschool class about to enjoy donuts that Nat brought

At her birthday dinner, Grant loved helping her open gifts!

They are attached at the hip

Let the gift opening begin...



This face...she LOVED her wedding dress!
(it's just what she asked for!)

And a Hannah Montana wig that we all had fun with!

Wait, Hannah Montana or Wayne's World??

Another little pizza-faced cutie

Teaching fundamentals...it's important to start early.

Dancing Queens

Daddy wishes he could ride too!

With our birthday girl!

Nat got to celebrate early with our OK family

Show me "Sassy Gangsta" Natalie...

(also showing off her new roller skates!)

"YOU GET THE BEST OF BOTH WORLDS..."

sing it girlfriend!

Nat, you're one special little girl...who seems not so little anymore. We're praying that God captivates your heart at a very early age. We love you and are honored God chose us for you.

Here's to many more wonderful years together!