all tied up in pink

never has the last month of a pregnancy been so hard on me like this one has. maybe it was the extreme heat that didn't let up or maybe it was the others that needed chasing. but whatever it was-i was grateful to get that final month over with. there were some last minute things that needed done though. such as the last month belly shot

and the customary brotherly artwork

aren't they the serious group?

only an extremely tired pregnant lady would let such a flattering picture be taken

and of course baby had to get her kicks in with ethan

then it was finally time to go. because i had gestational diabetes the dr. wanted to induce early. unexplained stillborn rates dramatically increase with GD so he wanted to go ahead and induce as soon as he knew baby was okay. i am not a fan of induction. pitocin is the devil as far as i am concerned and i am pretty bull-headed about it. so - i opted for the cervix softening gels and a 'let's see' attitude. because i also had GBS we determined this would be the best method. and--here we go!!!

i just have to say here that i absolutely LOVED my arizona hospital experience. i can't even explain how much better experience it was than texas. they actually listened to me, valued my opinion, and discussed options with me instead of dictating. could somewhat be doctor,or hospital but all 3 doctors i had in ep were that way, and this whole experience just seemed so much more enjoyable! i'll spare you the details but if you ever have the option (you know because everyone has that kind of option)- choose alphabetically!!!
after what seemed like forever, we welcomed this sweet little girl. she was the 17th great grandchild so grandma thought it would be cool to have her on the 17th, but she made her own statement and was born 6 minutes later!

can you believe we named her after me? ha ha-not really---but she did get my name as her middle. figured we would take care of having a namesake now. that way we don't have to bug our kids to do it. yep-i'm a control freak like that!
janele cariss mullins was born on sept. 18th at 12:06 am she weighed in:

and is such a doll. those first few hours with a newborn are so untouchable i don't even try to explain or capture them- i just enjoy them. but jeremy was quick on the camera this time, and i am so thankful for some of these sweet memories preserved.

and i did have him hand over the camera a few times!

we love, love, love her. she is such a great addition to our family and it seems we waited so long for a little girl-what a blessing she is to our family

having this baby without my parents around or arriving anytime soon after was probably one of the hardest things i have ever done. emotionally i was totally unstable in the first place. then dealing with that too-almost pushed me over the edge. luckily technology affords them being able to meet our little one just hours after she arrived. skype is the best!

but i still would have preferred real time-and traded just about anything for it. alas-some things just aren't meant to be. live and learn.
i love this girl!

we totally could not have done any of this without jeremy's parents. they were so amazing to come all the way over and stay with, feed, clothe, and run our kids around. we are so blessed! and the perks-they get to meet the little one first! we loved being able to share this with them.


the boys absolutely love this little one. they couldn't stop kissing on her


we are so glad our family has grown by one! babies are so special




she truly is a little sister. how will she ever survive THREE older brothers?



we decked her all out for her trip home.
she looked so pretty in all those pink ruffles--wow we have a lot to learn about!


i know you can't see it in this picture, but we are wearing shorts and trying to hurry to get inside. yep!! on sept. 19th the high was 112 low 71!!!

no joke- i think a medal should be awarded to those who stay here through the summer. and that medal should be presented lined in diamonds to those who stay while pregnant!!! have i mentioned it was one hot summer?
and for the record, our last recorded temp over 100 was on october 14th! disgusting!!!!
of course our 1st week home was an eventful one. there were sponge baths to be taken

boys had to be kicked out of the house to go to church so we girls could relax!

we had sun baths that needed taken. because of jaundice but also because we love the sunshine!!

grandma great did forgive us for those 6 minutes!

and of course papa had to spoil the boys by taking them to a ball game.


what are papas for?

we are so happy to have this little one finally here. what a sweet little one she is and how lucky we are that she is here happy and healthy. our family is so blessed- i can't even imagine why we deserve this. now-if anyone has any tips on how to get her to not grow so fast-please share!

janele-you are such a sweet little girl and we are so happy you chose us. we are so lucky!!! we hope you will continue to be strong and sweet-although we are just getting to know you, we already love you so. good luck on those brothers-we don't have much experience in that category, but hope you'll survive them. maybe even be friends with them??! someday.

a bunch of firsts

summer is finally over, and if the temps felt like it i would be a much happier momma! however, the boys are heading to school, still swimming as much as they can, but ready to jump into school schedules and activities. caleb tackled his first day of 3rd grade like a pro. i guess we are kinda boring and he was ready to see what school had to offer this year. he is so handsome and big. we love this kid!!!

so.....moment of truth:
some days (a lot) caleb makes me want to pull my hair out. he doesn't listen, makes rotten choices, and mostly leads his brothers into naughtiness. i'm constantly picking up after him, telling him to stop doing something, pulling his fingers out of his nose, reminding him to use his napkin, it goes on and on. but...caleb has a good heart. he is busy and naughty and spazzy and rotten but his heart is full of gold and i can't help but think (on the rare occasion i can think in rational terms)
that all the rottenness is just him being a kid. really-he is the first to show compassion when i have lost it. he always holds doors open for us, is a great help getting his brothers ready to go, and is a good helper when he wants to be. i ask a lot of him. he is the oldest-my expectations are high and unfortunately he probably knows he doesn't exceed those very often. but he also knows how deep my love is for him. he is so strong and determined and has a great mind. he can figure things out that i can't and is always making tools or inventions or something to make life easier. i tried to take the trash out the other day when he forgot---i couldn't it was too heavy. he is one tough little brut!! wow-how i love that kid.

he's also a good sport, when we trick him into wearing a necklace.

caleb tends to be shy around others and it makes me laugh. here he is at his first pack meeting as a wolf scout. he thinks scouts are about the coolest thing ever. he got to shoot this air tunnel thing at a pyramid of balls. 1st shot and all were knocked down. his mind is always working and he has amazing inventive thoughts.

i kinda liked school starting earlier this year. mostly because right after it started we had labor day and a chance to have a brief glimpse of our summer back. we loved it!! we spent it in the pool. what else is there to do around here? and yes-only a mother could love kids that look this silly in their goggles.

ethan really knows how to chill...


ethan had his first day of school this year. it was hard for me. he is my sweet little agreeable man who has grown entirely too fast. however, i knew that my capacity to teach him was dwindling and i had to let him out into the world so others could help me shape this little man into who he will be. i found an amazing school for him and am so excited to see how far he will go there. his class is called 'scripture stars' and all his lessons are scripture based. plus, his teacher is tops and you can almost see her testimony shining through as he tells you about the lessons she teaches him. it is awesome to see. here he is ready to get into the car to head over.

he goes to school 3 days a week for 2.5 hours and loves loves loves it!! it is so cute to see him walk into her class and down the stairs on his own. wow-when did this kid grow up?

the first few minutes downstairs were shy minutes but as soon as he realized most of his primary was in there also-he was good to go and hasn't looked back since. and on a side note--how handsome does he look here? all tanned up and blonde-we're in trouble when this one starts dating!

and here is that amazing lady--miss peggy. i will sing her praises until the day i die-she is truly all i could have ever hoped for for ethan's teacher. and she's tops in his book too.

and here's my little scripture star-with is calendar of events. so much to look forward to!!

its hard to take that little guy to school every week. he has never been a hard kid and i miss him while he's gone. truth be told-his first week i spent his school time at wal-mart or home depot just so i didn't have to go home to the quiet. i miss him still sometimes. but-it has afforded me a great and treasured time with this little man alone.

he is so sweet and fun to be around. we rarely call him garet-its usually bear, and although he tells us regularly, 'no-i not bear cub-i sweetie' we still call him bear. he has really lived up to both names. he is a sweetie, but in true little brother fashion he tries to keep up and usually does.

he is also my busiest by far. i stick by the belief that it was a cruel joke to make him a 3rd child. he should have been a 1st or an only. we can rarely keep up with this kid, but he is so funny and crazy it makes us laugh. opinion-yes we have one!!!

he can really hold his own too! he knows the word 'knucklehead' and uses it well.
the last of the firsts is our fall sport of choice. the older 2 decided to do soccer, and have loved it. ethan is a bit apprehensive and scared at first

just goes with the flow for awhile,

but give him a few weeks and he is ruling the field!

this was caleb's 3rd year of soccer. he's not sure if this is the sport for him, but he liked it--even if he was the only boy on the team!

we made that into a bigger deal than he did. he was great and is finally starting to grow into his awkward body and enjoying sports more and more.

that's it for firsts for now,
not mentioning the 1st that is arriving shortly...