Monday, June 6, 2011

Brushing off the cobwebs...clearing out the crickets....



I can't believe I haven't been here since December! Time to shake it up a bit and get back on track. I love blogging...it is my way of scrapbooking while I am not scrapbooking. So let's catch up. Do you have an hour or two? Grab your coffee of choice (I prefer water)....
Ok, biggest news first. Luke Charles Holthe was born at home on March 31, 2011. He weighed in at 10 lbs 6 oz. of pure love.  He is now 9 weeks old and weighs right around 15 pounds. We certainly aren't known for our teeny, tiny babies around here :). He is smiling and cooing and has even started laughing. I could look at him all day long....so much more fun than looking at the dishes or laundry.
Meeting Luke

Our 1st 'Family of 6' picture

Luke 9 weeks old

Kate is LOVING being a big sister. She is very caring and loves to just sit and quietly (I know...I said Kate did something quietly...quit laughing) talk to him. She is still our funny little girl growing up way to fast. This summer we are working on pedaling a bike, potty training (she pee'd in the potty 1 time so far!), and taking less than the normal 2 hours to fall asleep at night when we put her to bed. Those are some pretty lofty goals but I am confident we can accomplish it...if Kate agree's and is willing and the sun and moon are aligned perfectly...pray for us!



Grace is just finishing up 2nd grade and does not want school to end on Friday. She loves school and her teachers and her friends. We are chopped liver around here! She is excited for summer because she gets to take some horse camps at the stables we celebrated her 7th birthday last fall. She loves, loves, loves horses...actually any animal.  Hopefully we can get some friends over for some play dates so she isn't too bored hanging out with us. I think one of her highlights since Christmas was being able to be there when Luke was born. Jack didn't want to be and Kate was sleeping but Grace was my helper and did great. We did a lot of preparing her before the event occured and she did great.  She loves Luke so much and is going to be a great mom someday...a long, long time from now :).


Grace holding Luke when he was only 15 minutes old!

Grace doing some gardening...in WHITE shorts.


Goose and Luke
 Jack is just finishing up 5th grade and CAN'T WAIT FOR FRIDAY...yep, he is pretty much done with elementary school. He is almost a big middle schooler...YIKES...pray for us! We have gone through middle school orientation and he is very excited with the classes they get to take and even more excited they get LOCKS on their lockers.  Little does he know the anxiety that comes with those stupid wonderful locks...or maybe it was just me that would have dreams the week before school started that I couldn't remember the combination and then forgot my class schedule? He had a great time going out with Jared turkey hunting this spring and is really ready for deer hunting this fall. He has taken hunters safety (and passed). This summer he really has no plans other than to tease and torment play with his sisters. Football doesn't start until the end of summer. Oooo...he does have summer plans...SUMMER BAND LESSONS...how could I forget! Tonight we have his middle school band orientation and we get to pick up his instrument...The Bells. It is the first step to playing percussion.


Jack and his brand new brother!


Happy 11th Birthday Jack!


Jack will only allow us to take pictures of him when he has Luke.
 Jared is working hard at both offices still. We both feel so blessed to have been able to move the office back into the house. The kids are happy having us home all the time and I love being able to have the little kids take naps in their own beds. He decided to try turkey hunting this spring for the first time. He found it to be a bit different than deer hunting...those turkeys are...turkeys. With the brain the size of a pea, they were still smart enough to stay just out of shoot distance...until the last day. Jared was so excited when he called to tell us he got a turkey on the last morning of the season.  So far he has made some wonderful Turkey Noodle Soup for us and it was YUUUUMMMYYY! If you want to see the hunt and kill you can look it up on his facebook page.

Jared & his turkey

Jared and his other turkey :).
As for me, I am happy that school is done (or at least the homework part) and am looking forward to days playing in the sprinkler and sand box.

Me and my crew!


Me and my Lukey!
 Life just got a little crazier but that's how we roll the best!

So, now that we have had a chance to catch up I hope you will check back again because I really want to start posting here more often...seriously, I need this so I can remember all we do each year.