December

I love Christmas lights!!Alex's new pout- it is very sad and very cute- it is hard not to laugh when he does it- I have no idea where he learned that from!Sweet Elizabeth and the "mancrackers"Makenzie lost a top tooth and that night it snowed!! Oh apple- thank you for entertaining my children!My girlsChristmas cowboy and cowgirlMerry Christmas from the Wilson children!!!

Tractors, Tumblebus & Cheerleading

Alexander turned 3!!! We had a fun party at the house- Papa brought his tractor and took Alex for a ride before and after his party (probably his favorite part of the whole day!!) and the tumblebus came for the kids to play on. Several boys from his class came and some friends from church. I can not believe how big my little man is getting!! I love how he talks (it's dark in heren, that's mine cup, actually...) and how particular he is and how he always wants his drink warmed up- my sweet sweet boy :)
My 3 babies
Alex LOVES the trash truck and we watch for it every Monday and Thursday- now he has his own to play with and he can dump the trashPlaying on the Tumblebus
Other fun times in November include:
Christmas Carousel Breakfast with my big kids Elizabeth turned 4 months old!!!!Big Sis, Big Bro, Little Sis shirtsThanksgiving at the Country Club


Makenzie's first Cubs cheer performance!! Several of you have asked if she chose gymnastics or cheer and I was waiting to post a picture of her in her uniform- but they just got them!!! She is loving cheerleading and was nervous all day before they performed (she was worried that they would drop their stunts) but they all did such a GREAT job and it brought tears to my eyes watching her out there on that blue floor!! :)

I hope everyone is enjoying this holiday season!

October

We have had a fun October- Makenzie turned 7 and had her party at the Gymnastics Sports Center
Every year I say this, but I just can not believe that my baby is 7 years old! Where has the time gone? She is such a joy and has the sweetest heart and such a caring spirit. She is the best big sister to her siblings and I could not be more proud of the young lady she is becoming. She is enjoying cheerleading and has gotten hardest worker twice! They got their uniforms last week and have their first performance coming up soon and I know she will love that! She got a trampoline for her birthday and we have already had lots of fun practicing jumps- even Alex has learned the jump timing counts and know what a straddle jump is :)
Alex will be 3 in a week- so hard to believe- he is my man! He is so so funny and he loves to play the drums to the beat of any song. He loves tractors and is having a tractor and tumblebus party!
Elizabeth might just be the best baby ever. God was so very kind to me when he gave me Elizabeth- she sleeps good and eats good and hardly ever cries- she loves to watch her siblings and I know she can not wait to run and play with them- it won't be long!
This was the P halloween- a Princess, a Pirate and a Pumpkin. We had Fall Festival at school and Fall Family Fun Night at church, but I think Makenzie and Alex's favorite thing was going to Mimi's house to pass out candy to the trick or treaters-some still do come through their neighborhood and the kids LOVED answering the door and seeing all the kids dressed up- I have so many memories of my brother and I going around the neighborhood- sad how things change.
It has been quite a while since I have even thought about blogging- life with 3 kids is crazy!! I just don't have enough hands- but I am so thankful for my precious babies and that they are sweet (most of the time) and that they all love each other! We will find our new normal soon... I hope! :)

1st Photo Shoot

We had a good friend of ours come to the house and take newborn pictures of Elizabeth- these are my favorite- she slept through the whole thing of course- its amazing what babies can sleep through!! But she is still precious!! What a gift from God!!! Thanks Robyn for the great pics!!!

Hospitalized

7-7-11 Elizabeth was born
7-9-11 We went home from the hospital
7-11-11 I started having hot and cold spells and was freezing watching the bachelorette and covered up in 5 blankets and had heating pads on me- fell asleep and woke up burning hot and the thermometer said 105- I knew that couldn't be right...
7-13-11 After 2 days of these hot and cold extremes I was walking around outside in the 107 degree heat shivering because I was so cold- something was really wrong- I took a nap and woke up with 106 fever and Bryan took me to the ER

You should know a few things about me and why I was VERY hesitant to go back to the hospital:

-I am kind of a naturalist- I get it from my mom- I don't like taking medicine unless ABSOLUTELY necessary and I hate needles and especially IVs and the only time I have ever been in the hospital is to have my 3 children.

-A few days before I had Elizabeth I was having alot of lower back pain but I just thought it was because I was huge prego but after I had her the back pain continued and I was also having headaches so they sent me home with pain medicine which of course had Tylenol in it which I was taking every 6 hours because I was in pain- unless I fell asleep and that is when my fever would sky rocket- but I didn't understand why I would only have fever for a few hours a day.

-I had just delivered a baby!! I wanted to breastfeed her and I didn't want to be away from her and I didn't want to dump all of my kids on my parents- but they were wonderful and jumped right into taking care of a newborn plus Kenz and Alex and our new kitten!!

Despite all of these reasons and my stubbornness I knew that something was wrong and that I needed medical help- I was scared to death. We got into the ER pretty fast and the testing began- at first they said it was a kidney infection but when my blood culture came back the infection was also in my blood- so they admitted me- the words I was dreading so much- and began IV antibiotics every 6 hours- the hot and cold things got worse for a day or 2. I would be so cold that my body was convulsing uncontrollably with shivering it was so so terrible and I could feel it coming on and there was nothing I could do but wait it out- this is when my fever was rising and the nurses couldn't give me any Tylenol until it got to 101 and then my fever would break and I would sweat and sweat- it was a terribly miserable cycle and happened over and over again.
Slowly things began to improve- I got to be unplugged from my IV stand which was huge and I got to take a shower and I got the OK to pump and save my milk for baby. I got to see my kids :) I missed them so much and in the moment I felt like I was never going to get to go home- I had to be fever free for 48 hours and every time I felt a cold spell coming on I would cry knowing that the countdown would have to start all over. Bryan staying by my side the whole time- bless his heart- he hates hospitals but he would sit with me all day and then go home and see the kids for a minute and get anything I needed from the house and maybe take a shower and then come back to our little room and sleep on his cot. I was so so grateful to have him there and he took really good care or me.

This was my view for 6 days.

7-18-11 We got to come home- it has never felt so good to get in our car and drive to our house. Mom still helped me with the older kids for a week or so- I am SO very thankful we live in the same city and that she can help me when things get crazy!! Elizabeth has been such a trooper and has gone from breastfeeding to bottles with formula to bottles with breast milk and back to breastfeeding like a champ! I am so thankful to God for my laid back baby girl!! Today, 3 weeks later I am still not quite 100%- having a baby and then a kidney/blood infection really took my strength but I feel more like myself everyday and am so grateful to be home with my children again and I hope that I never have to be hospitalized again!!!

Elizabeth Kate Wilson

I had been measuring large the last few weeks and was already dialated to a 4 so we decided to induce 1 week before my due date- July 7th- There are many pros to having a scheduled delivery- we got the kids packed up and over to Mimi's house, I calmly packed my hospital bag and Baby E's diaper bag, I picked up the house and Bryan and I had some time to relax. It was really hard to go to sleep but I think we got a couple of hours and then it was off to the hospital at 5am!Last Preggo Picture
Wonderful friend and doctorOur 1st picture with Elizabeth- after 2 hours of pushing she was here- this was by far the hardest and longest labor out of all 3- I am def not one of those cute moms after labor!!!
Makenzie and Alexander meet ElizabethBig Sister and Big BrotherPretty little baby girlElizabeth in her room for the 1st timeHanging out at home! Little did we know what was going to happen next...

Last few days of a family of 4

I still have a list of things to do before baby comes- but it is getting shorter. One of the things was to take a last family picture as a family of 4! Our sweet sweet friend Courtney Cochran did such an amazing job and here are just 2 of my favorites! She also took our Christmas card pictures if anyone is needing a photographer in Abilene she is amazing!!!I am still wanting to make a few things for baby E and I need to pack a bag for the hospital. I was SO prepared for my first 2 but this one is sneaking up on me! I had an ultrasound about a week ago and she is already 6 pounds 10 ounces!! Makenzie was 6lbs 7ozs and Alex was 8lbs!! I just hope I can make it to July 1st because I have already bought a birthstone ring and a Miss July outfit- I was trying to be on the ball but I felt at the time that I might be jinxing myself!! My due date is July 14th, both of my other babies were 1 week early, so we will see if Miss Elizabeth follows the trend.This week + this heat have about put me into labor! Makenzie has had VBS sun-thurs, Swimming lessons mon-fri, cheer on monday, and they both had mothers day out on Tues & Thurs! Hopefully next week will be more relaxing!!

7 years

I can not believe it has been 7 years since Bryan and I got married- I actually had to pull out picture boxes from 2005 and 2006 (thank goodness I labeled them!!) and scan the pictures in- how did we survive before digital??
Bryan and I both feel very strongly that God brought us together- but in these 7 years satan has tried very hard to tear us apart- and almost succeeded a few times- but luckily we have made it through!! No marriage is perfect- no person is perfect and you take 2 imperfect people who are opposite in a lot of ways and raised in two completely different households put them under the same roof and have some kids and there are bound to be one or two issues. We tease each other sometimes that we should write a book- and maybe we should- because we have been through some trials- and only by the grace of God have we made it this far and we both believe that there is definitely a reason for that. We are so thankful to our friends and family that have supported us through our darkest hours and today we are grateful for the difficult times because they have helped us to grow and to appreciate each other more than I think we could before. I know that every marriage has problems but so many people act like everything is perfect all the time and so sometimes you feel like you are the only ones struggling. I believe that every marriage is faced with different kinds of problems whether it is financial, illness, death, infidelity, addiction- satan has a lot of cards he can play to try to ruin God's holy plan for marriage but there is help out there! Things will never be perfect (until we get to heaven), but you can learn to communicate better and to solve conflict more efficiently and to have a happy marriage. Today Bryan and I are very grateful to have each other and hope that we can help or inspire some other marriages to work through their issues instead of just giving up. We have been blessed more than we deserve and feel very very thankful for our children, family and friends.
God is good!!!!!!!
2011
2010
2009
2008
2007
2006
2005- with our wedding cake top
May 22, 2004 Our Wedding Day and the beginning of
The Wilson's Wonderland!!