THE picture I've been waiting for.

In case you may have heard we are finishing up our medical journey in a couple of weeks. I have a million thoughts and emotions about the whole thing so i'm gonna write more about that later. But when we started we only had a 4 month old baby and now that same 4 month old is 7 and we have two more little "once  4 month olds" but now they are 4 1/2 and 2. Missouri and Illinois are our home and it's hard not to get a little sentimental.
On to THE picture.
So, when we moved to Bloomington, Illinois I found this cool old area where I took some photos of Chloe. The pictures capture her perfectly.

Then we started residency and moved up the road about 45 minutes. I decided to go back to the same spot and take a picture of this little man. These just totally capture his personality, too. NOT AT ALL INTERESTED IN PICTURES-EVER! Interested in the car down the road, the sound down the road, why was he up high on that ledge, when could he get back in the car, etc.

Then we found out we were having miracle baby number 3 and what do you know...we still live in Illinois we went and took the same picture. This little lady is so full of personality. She knows what she wants. She has a blanket that has a brown floral side and a plain pink side. In the middle of the night she knows if the brown floral side isn't facing up and she cries till you turn it so it is laying on her the right way! She knows what she wants! Hence the purse and the bapbap!

  

So there they are. All 3 kids in the same spot at the exact same age. I really can't stand it. To say that i'm a little at loss for words over these three is an understatement. I just love love love being their mom. They teach me so much. The realization of things i have been taught for so many years and things I know comes true in their faces and when i am teaching them something. It is just awesome to be able to see them grow and change and learn and everything.

This one below looks like I took a photo just before they decided to pack their bags and move on. 

 Are you still reading along. Good! Because these sequences are gems.

"THOUGH SHE BE BUT LITTLE, SHE IS FIERCE!"

And just as I was about to post this the other night the power went out. I am a total baby in the dark. Brad was at work and I was downstairs and I ran upstairs as fast as I could only to find the light from EZ's lantern that he insists having by his bed. Thanks goodness for that little lantern that night. It was just the light that I needed.

It has been all about the 1 -2 days of sun we've had so far!

it has been a bit chilly here in the midwest. But on the few days we have had sun we've gotten out and loved loved loved it. The people who own the house we live are selling so it has been super fun to get out and be out for the showings! So I am hoping there is lots of good weather on the horizon so we can park it all day.

 EZ had his pre school program. I can't say enough good things about his wonderful teacher. He loved preschool. My only expectation from preschool was that he be shown love and taught good values and principles and this preschool exceeded those expectations. he also learned to write his names and his numbers and he draws pretty well all of a sudden.

 This is his best friend Madeleine. We will miss her.

 We had a frigid soccer season, but it was fun. You bond with people over crummy weather so it was fun sitting and chatting with the parents in the rain. B-rad coached and he did a right fine job.

 Chloe's first grade teacher came for the last game. How sweet was that. She had two of her students on the team.

 Chloe and her buds. Chloe was pretty good this year. It was really fun to watch her run after the ball and score some goals. She didn't have an issue with "stealing" this season.

 And EZ showed up and ran around each game! I just wanted him to have the exposure. This shot was nothing about how he played. He rarely had interaction with the ball except for one game where he totally kicked it and then when he got tired of kicking it (like a 6 kick run) he just picked it up and ran. It was really funny. He beats to his own drum...that's for sure. I think he liked it, maybe he liked it!

 I wanted to get some spring photos of the kids.

 Aunt Melinda came to visit and we took her on a hike by EZ's school and out to eat. We built a puzzle, played games, and watched the jeopardy decades championship. It was cool so don't laugh:)

Happy Spring. I love spring. I love, love, love it!

Freeze time!

I still don't have a fancy phone to take my photos, but I have been taking my little hand held one around with me for the past couple of months. Here are some photos to represent our life as we endured a polar vortex and are coming out to spring. Birthdays in there, holidays, and more. Our little family means the world to me and is my world. They make each and every day so special. I have loved our time together and cherish so many memories. With that being said...

 Brad was able to attend Dad's and Donuts with Miss Blue. She thinks her dad is pretty special so this was a fun treat for her.

 Did I mention, or perhaps you heard of it on the news...but the midwest and east coast were covered in a polar vortex from December until like last week. It was SOOOOOOOOOOO cold. I like the cold, I really do. I'm one of "those" people, but this was ridiculous. It never got about 10 degrees for the whole month of January and is was below freezing from Christmas till March and there were several days cushioned in there with negative temps. School was canceled 3 times. It was nuts. One day I took the kids out sledding in 13 degree temps. My friend's kids faired better than ours. Good thing our house is right next to the sledding hill so we just marched on home after 10 minutes. One day Brad was out shoveling the walks and I was listening to the news and it said you shouldn't be outside for more than 15 minutes in sub0 temps. So he came in. That same night my friend's husband who is an ER resident said an idiot came in because he had frostbite on his ear because we talked to his girlfriend outside for too long on the phone. Umm...it was really, really cold.
This shows home much snow we had. That is our lamp post down there and the girls are basically playing on top of the bush in front.

 You can see our house back there for some perspective with the height of this snow.

 During the vortex I had a birthday and was spoiled as usual.

Some of my cute friends I have met out here. We all share the common residency bond. Me and Jill on the right are moving this summer :( And the other two still have a few more years. I have loved and with forever hold dear the friends I have met along this journey. We all were brought together with the medicine bond and it is truly a strong one!

 
Here we are, 3 girls, at IHOP. I took Chloe out of school for free pancake day. I knew she would appreciate the pancake more than anyone else...and that she did.

 We had 5 families take one last horrah to Nauvoo and stay overnight in the Villas. Love Nauvoo.

 Ez has THE BEST preschool. They set up a little city where he road his bike to each station and had an experience there. I was lucky to be able to go.

 I went for a haircut and she asked to come along and chop her hair off. I trusted she would like the change and she did.

 She had enough to donate her cut off hair.

And while I'm talking about Miss Blue...somehow she went from being this spunky and smiley toddler (that picture was right when we moved to Illinois, but a little south of Peoria) to...

 
A smart, sensitive, spiritual and spunky 7 YEAR OLD!!!

 The traditional shirt I make. She LOVES baseball and she loved this shirt.

 Chloe asked us if she could have a poster on her future bedroom wall. I said sure and then asked her what the poster would have on it. She told me she would like a poster of David Ortiz (the huge red sox hitter) to be over her bed. Um...let me see. Maybe we'll go with a nice painting of a bluebird and a cardinal instead. But she loves her red sox.

 One afternoon Brad told me that he wanted to get back to doing creative things that he used to do for me and us. She he spent the better part of the evening making them an amazing treasure hunt, complete with clues for face painting and selecting their swords. At the end, the even had to dig up the treasure. EZ loved the map, Chloe the treasure of course and Miss Belle just running along. This was the only picture I got of Chloe with her bike helmet off. She ran the whole thing wearing her helmet. Too excited to take it off:)

 Playgroup had an Easter Egg hunt. Look at those adorable kids.

 I looked in the rearview mirror as we were driving afterwards and saw this. She puts stickers on her face and across each of her fingers and finger nails. It is kind of funny/bizarre.

 And about 3 months ago we were in Disneyworld. Miss it.

I trained for my half marathon during the polar vortex. I didn't have one single saturday that was decent. This was my first half since running the St. Louis one 12 weeks pregnant with EZ. I set a goal (well, Brad set me a goal!) and I worked SO hard for that goal and achieved it. 1 hour and 50 minutes. Booom! But back to training. I listed all my runs on the calendar and did every single one with gusto. Because of the lame weather (I'm no sissy, but negative temps can freeze a girl) I had to even run 9 miles a couple of times on the treadmill. But, I perserved and with the help of my nike gps watch, some great tunes, my new asics, and my pink beanie I loved training.
START...

 FINISH...Ironically, I am number 68 and finished 68th over all.

 Brad and I went to Logan and looked for a house to buy and Grandma Nancy came to be with the kids for a week. She spoiled them and they loved it. When we got back Jeff and Holli joined us for Easter and soccer games.

 So while in Logan we decided to buy a lot and are building a house. There is something about this house in Peoria I love. I think it is probably the dark color and white trim. I also can imagine it is so light inside and I have come to realize I need and crave natural light and the sunshine. I blame the polar vortex.

 And finally, this little guy. There are a million things that remind me of my mom and Utah, but one big memory is the bluebird that lives in my parents back yard. My mom says it is her mom flying around and watching out for her. This little guy flies around our yard and I know (Chloe and I) that it is a sweet reminder of those memories.

Our sweet Miss Belle

This sweet girl totally completes this family!! She is a free spirit in every sense.

I love that she loves to snuggle and really is expressive with her love and affection. She is a daddy's girl which is fun for daddy and her but not so much for this momma sometime!!

She always puts some crazy outfit or accessory on. She loves her sweatshirt. She pulls her clips out, but loves to have ponies in the back. She is petit as can be and full of spunk.

Miss Lola Belle we love you!