We love Carter

Well we are home and things are going quite well.  We seem to have been blessed with quite a content little guy.  Of course having a new baby around is an adjustment no matter how good they are.  The kiddos are adjusting in each of their own ways as well.  I did not anticipate what that might look like this time around and I'm finding myself surprised at the different needs of kids at older ages.  Carter needs me physically but the others (especially the girls) need me emotionally.  There have definitely been moments where I've felt completely drained.

The kids came to the hospital the evening that Carter was born and they were so excited to meet him! 

Jayme was the first to hold him and nothing says "I love you big Sis" like having his first poop ever on her lap!

Brady was super pumped to have a brother. He said many times during the pregnancy that he hoped for a boy, but was prepared for ANOTHER sister!

Nicole started trying to rock Carter right away and asked if she could carry him around!

   

She came up to me in my bed and hugged me and said "Congratulations on the birth of your new baby"  What a funny girl she is!

We're so thankful for our little guy, we feel so blessed and overwhelmed at God's goodness to us.

38 Things

Well it's my Sweetie's 38th Birthday today and I thought I'd do a little tribute to Mark...
Of course there are more than 38 things to love about Mark, but I will limit it :)

He is the best husband and father I could have ever hoped for or imagined he'd be (1 and 2).  He is calm, caring and considerate (3, 4 and 5).  He's always thinking of us and putting our needs ahead of his (6).
He is FUNNY (7)  I know I know, sometimes I try and say that I'm the funny one,  but we all know the truth :)  He makes me laugh everyday.
He is a Godly man, full of integrity (8).  He is wise (9) and committed (10).
He gets up before 5:00 every morning to go to Jade (11) and he is loyal and dedicated to his work (12 and 13).  He is an amazing leader there too (14).  And he does it all with a smile on his face (15) even with the sometimes lack of sleep.
He keeps my van clean and full of gas (16 and 17).  He will even go out specially in the evening to fuel it up so I won't have to the next day.  And when I say clean... I think we all know what clean means to Mark!!  He also keeps it running well (18).  I'm so thankful that we rarely have to pay for mechanical work to be done. 
He is healthy and active (19 and 20),  I like that my guy works out at the gym 2-3 times a week...he's strong (21)  and he is active with our kids too (22), he will play basketball in the driveway or football in the field at the school by our house or take them skating in the winter or any other number of sports and activities.
He DOES NOT complain (23).  Seriously, not about what I make for suppers, what he has to take for lunches, what he wears, or where we go (I am the planner!)  He is super content and easygoing (24 and 25). 
He goes for walks with me (26).
He is always happy (27) and makes others happy too (28).  He can talk to anyone and make them feel comfortable (29 and 30)
He will do stuff around the house (31).  Like dishes, vacuuming and fixit jobs!
He is not all consumed with money (or the lack thereof!). (32)  He never questions me when I spend on groceries or things for the kids or myself. (33)
He takes care of all the outside jobs, mowing the grass, taking out the garbage and shoveling the snow (34).
He is handsome (35),  he looks good in jeans and great in a suit (36 and 37)
He is fun to be with (38), after 15 years of marriage, he is still the number one person I want to spend my time with and I don't get sick of him!!

Happy Birthday Mark ~ You are loved!

Getting Ready

 Well we are getting all ready for Baby Letkeman to make his or her appearance.  We're feeling pretty prepared now.  We've put together a baby room, we bought the crib from Ikea and the shelf from Home Depot, but the chair and change table are from elsewhere in the house.  I repainted the change table and spray painted the baskets and lined them with fabric.  (Have I ever mentioned how much I love spray paint!!)  I plan to add a pop of colour once we see who is here... we will add red accessories if we have a boy and we will add purple accessories if we have a girl.
 We even have the cute little baskets filled with cute little diapers and cute little sleepers!!  Our due date is drawing nearer, and we are getting
anxious to meet this little one and see who has
 been hiding in this belly for the last nine months!

 We have put Brady and Nicole together in the same room.  I'm still not convinced that this was such a wise idea, but what choice did we have?!!  There are definite moments of love and dislike between these two and bedtime often contains a bit of drama.  I guess it's to be expected when you combine the Drama Queen and the Tease together!!  We bought a loft bed for Coco and managed to put Brady's big bed underneath it.  We tried to keep a side of the room decorated for each of them with pink and princesses on one wall and hockey and lego on the other!  His dresser tucked neatly into the closet and they've actually been working pretty well to try and keep the room tidy, with a shared space like this there is not a lot of room for clutter!

Thanksgiving

 Happy Thanksgiving!  We've had a wonderful weekend... Saturday we drove out to the lake and enjoyed the day with friends and family.  It was so great to have the whole family there for dinner.  Uncle Mark was the King of Quadding once again!  One last time before we closed up and winterized everything.

 On Sunday we went to a wedding to celebrate an amazing couple, and spent the evening with our Letkeman family.  Again so great to have all the Manitoba family there... we missed you Ontario family, but had fun "chatting" with you all!

Today has been such a great relaxing family day... big breakfast, pumpkin pie for lunch, turkey sandwiches at 2:00 and more relaxing!

So so so so much to be thankful for :)