in a nutshell...

ok - let's pretend I know how to put anything "in a nutshell" ... stay with me here! Life is crazy right now, between Gary and my mom my three oldest children are taken care of at least 90% of the time - yet, I still feel like I'm going all day, most days! There's the diaper changes, the feedings, the medicines, the gagging, the spit ups (she does that more now, with the gags), the changes of clothes, the occasional sponge bath (can't yet give her a full bath), the pumping (don't forget to pump - seriously, don't - I did one day for twelve hours and let's just say desperate times called for desperate measures in the restroom at the dentist ... "liquid gold" down the sink anyone?!), the photo sessions (after all, I want to be able to look back and remember my tiny baby when these precious days are behind me), the phone calls to make, the appointments to get to, oh crap I forgot you were supposed to have that done for school - TODAY!, the errands, the occasional shower - or even rarer, hot bath (you know you're a mom when a hot bath or shower feels like a vacation, thanks to my hubby I've been enjoying hot baths fairly often), the laundry (I only do Zoey's currently, thanks mom), the dishes (again, I'm only doing Zoey's), the clutter (I've been tackling some trouble spots here recently), the chaos (yes, at times it feels a little chaotic), the cuddles, the smiles (she's been smiling here lately, not to mention the smiles of my other my beautiful children), the bickering (that would be the aforementioned "other beautiful children"), the company (I've enjoyed EVERYONE who has visited, I only feel bad to them that I'm not much fun to be around), the late night chats (that would be me and Zoey, oh how sweet it is to hear her discovering her voice) ... and at the end of each day I hope to remember to thank God for all of it! He has richly blessed us here and I wouldn't want life any other way!

We're preparing a bit for surgery, it will be some time next month - so let's be in prayer together for all of that to go well! Also, please join me in praying that we will not start getting astronomical medical bills ... when I see our insurance statements and see how much they were billed vs how much they paid out, it's scary! I don't know how the hospitals/doctors could "loose" so much $$$!!!

Blessings to all - I hope to have more time to blog and such soon! I have some fabulous photos to come!