Ready for Fall....

Wow! Summer has flown by and it is almost fall. Our summer was fun. We spent two weeks in Salmon Arm with the family again and the girls had fun. The weather did not cooperate so well but I don't think the kids noticed too much. They had so much fun playing with their cousins and I had a great time visiting with Michelle, Crystal, Gran and Nana. I think that the most precious part of this two weeks was having Nana along. At ninety years old she sat in the chair and watched as the children played. She isn't always in the best of spirits but I know by the way she watches those kids that she adores them. It was so amazing to see Charlee climb up into Nans lap for a little kiss and then run off for some more action.

Other then that trip we have stayed close to home but been fairly busy with play dates, swimming, pony riding and quad riding. We did a couple weekends of camping in our "new" 1976 Motor home. It is so nice to just get away as a family and spend time watching the girls play. They seem to make new best friends wherever they go and it is always so exciting for them.

We are gearing up for fall. Mckinna starts kindergarten and Kamryn starts preschool. It is amazing that they are big enough to go to school now. Like most moms I feel like it was only a short time ago that they were tiny babies and I was holding them in my arms. I treasure the present and the things that they can do now but I also look back fondly on what has brought us here.

This fall the "big" girls are going to play soccer. I have also enrolled all three of the older girls in music lessons. Then my little Charlee will be doing gymnastics. I think that it will be busy but fun. It is hard to believe that even though I had four beautiful little babies in five years I will spend Monday and Wednesday mornings with only two of them.

We are gearing up for our Disney Cruise. It is only 20 some odd days away. I am both excited and nervous. I want things to go smoothly and I want it to be relaxing so of course I am trying to get everything organized and sorted out before we embark upon this first real adventure as a family of six. I cannot wait to see the look on their faces when we board that magical boat and head for Disneyland. I am so blessed to have such amazing parents that make things like this happen.

Time Flies

Like most bloggers and people in general I wish that I had more time and commitment to writing. It seems like life is always moving forward at a ferocious pace. The girls are getting bigger and life as a family of six seems to be in full swing. It is hard to believe that Jordynn is already two months old and Charlee will be turning two next week. Our baby is smiling and laughing and seems to be turning a corner and getting happier by the day. You cannot begin to fathom the amount of love I have in my heart as I watch my family interact.
I know I am always talking about how lucky I am but today I want to highlight how amazing our family is. I am blessed to be so close to both my parents and Anthony's. Last week I sat back and watched as my parents played with the girls in my grandparents swimming pool. Then I walked into the house and stared at my grandmother cuddling and comforting her newest great granddaughter. How amazing is that? It makes me stop just for a moment and remember how lucky I am. Later that same week Anthony's father babysat the three big girls while I went to the doctor. How many grandfathers are not only willing but excited to watch three children ages 5, 3 and one? I am so blessed. Computer battery is going to die but hopefully I can write more later....if I get to it.

Newest Addition

Well, the day has finally come and we were so blessed to welcome a fourth girl to our crew. At about 11:00pm on Thursday May 12th after giving up all hope that I was going to possibly give birth on my birthday I felt my first contraction. After about 15 minutes and a trip to the washroom I started thinking that perhaps we should head to the hospital. I found Anthony still working in the office and almost laughed when he jumped and partially panicked at the sight of me coming in the door. We phoned my mom who arrived at 11:50 and then proceeded to the hospital. We arrived at the hospital at 12:00 to a little bit of a gong show in the ER but that is a separate story. We made our way upstairs and found ourselves in a nice little room where despite contractions about 3 minutes apart the lovely nurse had to ask me like a billion questions. We were whisked into a delivery suite and despite my request for an epidural and the nurses poking me three times I once again delivered too fast to get the good pain drugs. Jordynn Piper Kish was born at 1:09am on our now shared birth date of May 13th. It was a Friday and my 30th birthday so I cannot tell you how amazingly blessed I felt to share that day with this beautiful gift.
Jordynn is so beautiful. I know I am biased because I am their mother but Anthony and I do make absolutely gorgeous babies. She is a little more fussy then the previous littles but I am sure that is because she wants to make sure that she is not forgotten in this chaos. It is remarkable to see the other girls interact with their new baby sister. All day I field a ton of requests for hold time and I spend the majority of my time as a mother of four making sure that no one is kissing, touching, holding Jordynn without an adult.
I know that I have said this before but I am one AMAZINGLY blessed woman. Thank-you God for all the things you have given to me :)

New Developments

We never seem to do anything in logical, small steps but rather seem to go leaping and bounding wherever the path may lead. The last four months (again too long between entries) a ton has happened. There was of course Christmas, always a wonderful and yet painful time since Ricks passing. The girls had an amazing time and as most children of our time were totally spoiled. Christmas is always relatively easy since we get to stay here with no real need to travel. It is crazy and wonderful and magical visiting with everyone and reconnecting after months (sometimes a year) of not seeing each other. The gifts of course are a whole nother subject and seem to multiply each year despite my best efforts to "keep it simple." Then came Kamryn's third birthday. Hard to believe that that beautiful little princess of ours has been around for three years. It seems like time has passed so quickly, just a short while ago I was anxiously waiting for her to arrive. Then waiting for her to crawl, talk, walk...She is such an amazing little lady and she makes me smile every single day. She is the most interesting mix of Tom Boy and Princess all in one adorable little package. She LOVES to wear dresses and insists on changing outfits about a billion times a day. Her random assortment of clothing often involves at least one dress and almost always a bathing suit. Her favorite line these days is "I have a surprise for you after..." then she plants a big hug or kiss on you. Mckinna has really come into writing these last few weeks. She has discovered that she actually has the ability to create and spell words which is really neat. She regularly asks us to spell a word for her and she writes it down in her little doodle books. Hard to believe that my oldest baby girl will be going to Kindergarten in the fall. Where she will go is still undecided but time will tell. Charlee has been working on her potty training but is taking a little longer then I would like. I think that it is mostly my fault for sending her mixed messages and changing between panties and pull-ups but unfortunately with life as busy as it is it is most certainly not as easy to train her as it was with the other girls. She is working on her speech in a big way. She can have full conversations in "gibberish" and loves to try to say whatever you ask her too. Her big sisters both love her so much and the three of them have such an amazing dynamic. I pray that they continue to love on each other for the rest of their lives :) Mckinna and Kamryn love to play with Charlee and teach Charlee and help Charlee. Today when I picked them all up from MOPS childcare, Mckinna carried Charlee and kissed her head until we got to our coats...totally priceless. It is hard to imagine that one day these three precious girls will not be so little and will not need me near as much as they do today. I feel so blessed to be their mother and I try my best (although not always successfully) to savour these precious moments with these God given miracles. I love my family so much that sometimes it physically hurts my heart. I feel SO blessed to have been given so much by my Heavenly Father...amazing :) To get back on track. Anthony started and finished his last year of Electrical training. He is an AMAZING man and has worked so hard to provide so many great things for our family. School is not easy for him but he is a trooper and so incredibly dedicated. He also had to deal with knee surgery during his time in school and really struggled with recovery. Again, he rose above all of the pain and trials and really applied himself like crazy. In the end despite the stress of everything, he PASSED!!! Not that I ever doubted he would because despite the fact that he sells himself short he is one smart, handsome man :) During Anthony's time in school he also decided that it was time to part ways with his current employer and start up his own company. As of April 1, 2011 Anthony and I are the proud owners of Lethbridges newest electrical company, Ampera Electric. We are actually only half owners but it is a new adventure that I have no doubt my husband will make very successful. Lastly, we are still waiting for this little button to arrive :) Although I am not positive this will be our last child I am fairly confident that this will be our last "natural" child. I have had another GREAT pregnancy and don't for a minute take that for granted but I think that I am ready to not be pregnant....for a while. Baby moves a lot and seems to be enjoying hanging out in my rib cage. I had intended to keep weekly pictures of this pregnancy but of course as usual failed miserably at that (sorry little one.) Rest assured I am now getting "big." I will try my best to take a photo soon..perhaps even after I write this. We have not decided on what this little miracles name will be but I am sure that when the time comes we will have something we love. I am really hoping that baby will come on my birthday but I still am trying to convince myself that it likely will not happen. The girls are VERY excited for this baby and I am excited for them to meet their new sibling. I must admit that one of my favorite parts about having a baby in my belly is the hugs and kisses that are showered on my belly throughout the day. I better get off to bed. My hands and feet are swelling so I will take that as my body telling me it needs the bed. On a final note I made the girls each a dress and plan on trying skirts next...I am becoming slightly domestic which is scary for anyone who even remotely knows me.