Sweethearts!

I post about our little "sweethearts" on here all of the time. But recently I went through a box of pictures and enjoyed looking at pictures of my big "sweetheart." Steve and I started dating when I had just turned 16. We essentially have grown up together. And I pray that God also allows us to grow old together :o)

These pictures that I'd like to share are just the pictures that happened to be in one particular box that I looked through. They don't include professional photos, more recent photos, or wedding pictures. These are just some snapshots that we found from the past, and there are SO many more here to see. If you want to see more pictures, you'll just have to come and visit and I can dig them all out for you :O) It was fun to look at them and be amazed at how time has flown and life has changed!!! Enjoy:

This was before Steve's Junior Prom (I was a sophomore.) We had just started dating shortly before prom that year. Funny to think that these pictures are in the living room of the house that we live in now with our four children!!!

At the prom. This prom was at the Holiday Inn in Shelbyville.

Yep, I was sitting on his lap. I was SO in love with him even then!!!


Steve's Graduation. I love it that we experienced the big milestones in life together!


This was my Senior Prom. Steve came home from Grace to go with me. And, once again, we are in front of what is now "our" house!

At my senior prom. It was at Jonathon Byrd's in Greenwood. Sadly we did not go to Steve's senior prom together. We were broken up at that time but still BEST friends. We got back together right after that!

Post Prom my senior year at GreatTimes! We had a BLAST together!

We went on a fancy date to Illusions in Carmel (back when it existed.) Steve bought me the dress and some beautiful shoes, which I still wear :o)

This is a little out of order, but this was the summer before Steve left for college. We went to California with his family. We were in the back of a little Rodeo, listening to Bill Engvall, I'm sure. We memorized his tape on that drive!

Skipping rocks in California. We skipped them EVERYWHERE we went. Oh, I miss those young, carefree days!!!

The proposal. Steve proposed on Christmas morning in the living room of the house we now live in (I think that is pretty cool!) I thought I was getting boots for Christmas, so imagine my surprise when he popped the question!! I don't regret my answer that day AT ALL!!!

Christmas at my mom and dad's house together.

And my birthday at my mom and dad's house too.

I love this picture of us together. This was at Suzanne and Scott's wedding!

My short hair "phase," shortly after we got married. This was at my cousin, Katie's wedding rehearsal in Illinois.

Christmas about 3 1/2 years ago... Our first picture with our digital camera!

Weekend Fun

We had a wonderful weekend as a family! Friday night Steve and I went to the Indianapolis Colts' football game courtesy of tickets from Randy and Deb. We had a great time and enjoyed being able to have an excuse to go out alone together. It was a fun break!

Saturday I took the babies to some garage sales with my mom and then we had a "family" nap time, where we all rested. Then we got in the car and went for a drive in the evening. I set the GPS to go to a location and Steve had to follow where it told him to go! He did not know where our final desitination was, he just got directions one step at a time from the TomTom. It was fun to surprise him! We went down to "The Reservation" in Milan for supper and then down to Aurora where we played at the city park and walked down to see the river. It was very humid and by the time we left there, we were ready for some ice cream! We went to Dairy Queen, and let me tell you... the Tagalong Blizzard is delicious! After that we took country roads home. It was a great evening!!!

Yesterday Steve made us blueberry pancakes for breakfast. They were restaurant quality if not better! We all cleaned our plates!!! Then we headed down to Grandma and Grandpa Frye's so that Steve could work on building fence. It was a lot of fun, and I took some pictures while we were there (I wish I'd have taken some on Saturday too, but I didn't!) Anyway, here are some pictures AND a video of the boys driving the tractor. To hear the sound on the video, you may have to pause or stop the music player at the bottom of the posts.

A still shot of Avery driving the tractor.

I put Chaille on a blanket in the yard. Avery was trying to give her bunny ears from upside down!

She's started this thing where she pulls her clothing up and puts it in her mouth!

Smiling at Grandma Frye, who was talking to her.

Look how big she is! This is her new favorite pose!

Nolan with his buddy, Grandpa Frye!

Silas, who had just finished driving the tractor back from the woods! I missed getting him while he was driving! :o(

Daddy helping Nolan take a turn driving!

Life is GOOD! Daddy plays with his boys in the shade after a hard day's work!!!

Chaille practicing her favorite pose again today! She's so adorable!

3 Months old

Our baby girl, Chaille, is three months old as of yesterday. Boy how the time has flown. She is growing so quickly and is starting into her 3-6 month clothing right on schedule (which is a first in this family!!!) She's starting to push up on her elbows and look around the room when she's on her belly. You'll see that in the 3 month picture I've put below. She's sleeping well, getting up around 4:30 and then sleeping until around 7:00. She's taking at least 2 naps a day, sometimes for 3 or 4 hours and sometimes for just 45 minutes or so.

Enjoy the pictures capturing her 1st 3 months of life! What a sweetie!!!

Just born!

1 week old

1 Month Old

2 Months Old

3 Months old

First Day of School

I can't believe it is that time of year again! School is starting. This morning was a little rough for us, as Silas had a bad dream right around 5:30 and that woke Avery up. Avery was too excited to go back to sleep, so both of the boys have been up ever since. Avery did great this morning, but Silas was a mess! Now that we are back home, Si is much better, just a little lost without his best friend. They truly are best friends!

Here are some pictures that I took of Avery on his first day. The second picture is a bit blurry, but I didn't want to "hover" over him to take it! So, we watched from a distance as he entered the school. He was super excited, and I can't wait to hear all about his first day!

Back on track

I feel like life is finally back on track for us. Steve's fishing trip has ended and school is getting ready to start. We're about to settle into a routine and that excites me! I'm not necessarily looking forward to trying to be out the door by 8 am every weekday, but I do love routine!

We had a fabulous weekend! Saturday we spent some family time, and worked through some important family issues. Sunday was PERFECT! We had a nice blend of down time and busy-ness, family time and friends, and a wonderful day of weather! It was hot for sure, but we enjoyed having Matt and Jennifer Jones, their 3 boys, and Kristen and Brooklyn Hudnell over for dinner. Steve grilled hotdogs and hamburgers AND some of his salmon! It was wonderful!!!

Well, it is naptime and I've got a mound of laundry waiting to be folded. I wanted to share some random pictures from this past week, although I forgot to take pictures from our cookout! Actually, I was too busy most of the time to even think of taking pictures :o)

Here is Steve with his 17 pound salmon!!!

Nolan, Chaille and I visited Melissa and Jacob while Steve was gone. Here is Nolan painting with sidewalk "chalk" paint.

This was the cabin that Steve stayed in while in Michigan fishing.

Chaille smiling at me. Growing so fast!!!

Rub a dub dub, three boys in the tub!

18 Months

"Baby Nolan" was officially 18 months old on Wednesday. Boy, how those months have flown! I can't believe how he has grown so quickly!!!

Nolan 1 day old

1 Month Old

2 Months old

3 Months old

4 Months old

5 Months Old

6 Months old

7 Months old

8 Months Old

9 Months Old

10 Months old

11 Months old

1 YEAR old!!!

13 Months old

14 Months old

15 Months old

16 Months old

17 Months old

18 Months old! We are so proud of how you are growing Nolan! Thank you, God, for the blessing we have in this sweet boy!!!

Blessings...

Life is full of blessings! If we look for them, we will find them all around. I'd like to share the blessings around here (it will provide contrast to the last blog about me being overwhelmed!)

* Steve is getting a chance to be rejuvinated this week with a fly-fishing trip in Michigan. He works very hard ALL the time, and this is a great chance for him to relax and enjoy something that he loves to do!

* Sarah Gayle is taking the boys to VBS this week. This was an unexpected blessing, and I'm thankful that they will have something to keep them busy while dad is away. Evenings are our hardest time, and this allows me some relief as well. Thanks Lil Sis for being so AWESOME!

* My dad's plant is staying open until December 31st now!!! If you'll remember from some of my prayer requests, it had originally slated to close on July 31st. God is good, and faithful! Praise him for 5 more months of work, and pray that there are more to come!!!

* Our family has had a very fun and healthy summer. We have been blessed with a smooth beginning to life as a family of 6!

* It is the beginning of August and we have GREEN grass! We have had a lot of unseasonable rain, and instead of burnt brown dry grass we still have green grass. The rain has been crazy, but I feel blessed that we can enjoy playing in the lawn!

* We have wonderful family and friends with whom we can share these blessings. Thank you for being a part of our lives!!!

Overwhelmed...

Steve took Avery and Silas camping tonight. They were very excited to get in one more camping trip before school starts. I cannot believe how this summer has flown past! Baby girl is almost 3 months old and in just 3 days, Nolan will officially be 18 months old! Wow!

We have had a great weekend, and were actually home from Thursday night until tonight when the boys left to go camping and I headed out to the grocery. It was nice to spend time at home, and not HAVE to do anything in particular. That doesn't happen often for us!

I need to admit tonight though, that I have had some rough emotions the last few days. I think it has to do with Steve's fishing trip coming up, although these emotions are in no way his fault! I have just felt "overwhelmed" with the task as the mother of four. There is always so much to be done. And I have had a couple of times recently when I went to leave the house and realized as I started out the door that I had everyone ready to leave but myself!!! I was still in my pajamas and hadn't even brushed my teeth!

I'm sure some other mothers can relate. We become so accustomed to putting our childrens' needs first that we can even forget our own! I know that this is just a phase, and I can see with Avery and Silas that they will all some day be able to do more for themselves and even to help me out!

Don't get me wrong, I don't want to "rush" them growing up AT ALL! I just need to remember how fleeting these days are! I also need to take some time for myself when I start to feel this way. I'm horrible at communicating that need, just ask Steve...

I would never want to change the fact that I have four children in any way. And I wouldn't be anywhere but here with them! There are just times where I get in a rut of doing the same thing day in and day out. And there are four little people who "need" me every day. And that is both a wonderful thing and an overwhelming one at the same time. But you know, God has trusted us with and BLESSED us with HIS CHILDREN!!! I guess when I put it that way, it really makes it all seem easier!

I really believe that, most of the time, our attitude affects EVERYTHING! When I remind myself of the fact that Steve and I don't have these children because of anything other than the fact that God Himself gave them to us, I suddenly rest easier. So, thank you, dear blog, for changing my mind tonight. And thank you, dear friends, for not thinking less of me for "thinking out loud" here!

I guess the only thing I can really be "OVERWHELMED" about is God's love for me! He will see me through, even when the battle is mostly deep within myself!