Today I am thankful for. . .

. . .an incredible husband who got all six kids ready for church (showers and all) by himself and took them to church, again all by himself, so that I could stay home and sleep off a migraine.  I get migraines often, but occasionally I get one so bad that is puts me down and today was one of those days.  So thankful to Brett and the kids for being quiet and taking care of everything without their mommy!

Last Day of School

Today we finally had our last day of school.  The last month has seemed so long, but we finally made it.  I had the kids take last day pictures.  I can't believe how much they have grown this year.  Love these kiddos!

 School Kids: Bailey (K), Natalie (1st) and Spencer (3rd)

 Hunter, Tanner, Bailey, Natalie, Spencer

 And the crazies!!

Spencer, last day of 3rd grade

 Natalie, last day of 1st grade

 Bailey, last day of Kindergarten

Tanner, 4 1/2 years old 

Hunter, 2 1/2 years old

Happy Birthday Dad and Grandma Bruschke

Brett and his Mom share a birthday, so it was so fun to have them together to celebrate!  Bruce and Karen came into town for Emily's blessing, and the timing was great to celebrate their birthdays.

We went to Target and each of the kids picked out a present for both Grandma and Dad.  I love that my kids are so generous and willing to buy others presents.

Meeting Grandma Bruschke

Random Pictures of Emily

The first 6-8 weeks (I can't remember exactly) of Emily's life were hard. Really hard.  Emily would cry for hours on end, which in turn would make me cry for hours on end.  After talking to some friends about the challenges we were having, one of them suggested changing my diet, starting with dairy.  I took milk completely out of my diet.  Did you know everything has milk in it?  Ok, not everything, but I was amazed at how many things have milk in it that I never thought would.  Emily seemed to get a little better after taking out dairy, and at her 2 month appointment I talked to her pediatrician about her crying.  She recommended  that we try treating her for reflux using Zantac.  Within days she was doing 100% better.  Night and day different.  And I actually started smiling and was excited to have Emily in our family.  Don't get me wrong, I have loved her from day one, but the stress of her crying was extremely challenging.  I thought that maybe it was reflux all along, so I went back on dairy to find out that she is sensitive to that.  I can eat some dairy, just not a bowl of cereal or ice cream, or anything like that.  So most of the pictures I have from Emily's first several weeks of her life are of her sleeping, because if she wasn't sleeping, she was crying.

Look at those long fingers!

One of the few "smile" pictures we have of Emily before Zantac.

End of Baseball Season

Baseball has come to a close.  Spencer's team places 2nd in their league.  It was fun to see them do so well and crazy to see how emotional these 8 year old boys were when they lost their last game.  

We loved having Grandpa come to many of Spencer's games.

Coach Sean and Coach Brett

Caden, Kevin, Gary, Dereck, Zeke, Dominic, Jeb, Spencer, Trevor, Joseph 

Fathers and Sons Campout

Crazy Sleepers

Checking on the kids before we go to bed can often be a very entertaining experience.  These kids fall to sleep in some crazy positions.

This next picture doesn't look that crazy, but notice that is Hunter's left leg on top of the pillow.

And just to make sure everyone is included:

Emily's Blessing Day

Grandma and Grandpa Bruschke with Emily

Grandma and Grandpa Higham with Emily

 Michael, Liz, Brett, Emily, Rachel, Grandma Higham, Grandpa Higham