Back to blogging!!

Ok everyone, I am back to blogging after a nearly 4 month stretch of nothingness. That is what 3 kids 4 and under, a full time job, busy husband, and a house to take care of will do to a person!! Work is going great, I love my job. I hate the idea of working, I would much rather be at home with the girls, but God has a plan for me to be right where I am for now.

Jim started his own landscaping and lawn mowing business called Lawn Masters and it is really taking off. Jim prayed for God to lead him during this drought in the housing market and this is the direction He lead him. And, God has totally blessed his business, he gets more accounts everyday!! We are praising God for his provision during the difficult time in our lives, for those of you who don't know we have 5 houses on the market that have not sold in over a year due to the sudden collapse of the housing market. Good timing huh!?!?

The girls are wonderful and growing like weeds. Em and Serenity start preschool at the end of August and are very excited about it!! Maddie is talking a ton and is developing into this little girl, man time flies!! I will upload some pics of the girls tomorrow morning.

My brother Jim and his wife Sam just had their first baby, a little girl named Amy Lynn!! Isn't she beautiful!!!

I am so excited for them, what a fun journey parenthood is!!

Speaking of that fun journey, my girls are out of bed for the 10th time tonight so I better find out what the emergency is this time :) I will try to keep up my blog from now on, but no promises :) Happy blogging!

Easter Weekend

I hope you all had a blessed Easter weekend, remembering the great sacrifice our Lord made for us!! Praise God for the empty tomb!! Here are some cute pics of the girls with some baby bunnies and all dolled up for church yesterday. Enjoy!

Saying Goodbye!

I know, it has only been a week, but we had to say good-bye to our new puppy Lola. She was a sweet dog, but had some aggressive tendencies that were a little too much for our little ones. So, in the best interest of everyone, Lola has a new home with 2 other black labs and 5 acres of fenced land to run on! She will be much happier there, we just had no place for her to let out all of that puppy energy.

Our latest family picture

My New Job!!

Well, it's official!! I start my new job on Monday. I will be a labor and delivery nurse at a local hospital and I am very excited about it. I am not thrilled about leaving the girls 3 days a week, but it is with Jim, so that is a blessing. I will be working 12 hour shifts and will begin working nights in a couple of months. God has blessed me with this job and has confirmed over and over that this is His will!!! So, I may start blogging less :) HAHAHHAHHAHHA!!! I am not sure anyone could blog less!!! I will try to at least update pictures of the girls every now and then. Goodnight for now!!

Our new addition!!

Meet Lola!! She joined our family on Feb.11th. We are thrilled to have her as a part of our family. She is a 1 year old black lab with a sweet personality, although I must say, having a young dog is much like raising another kid, BUSY!!! But, they are all worth it!!

Finger Painting!!

I was going to make up for lost time and catch you all up, but instead I decided to start today (or I may never get started!!!) Here in Maddie finger painting, good thing those paints are non-toxic!!!

I know...It has been FOREVER!!

After 6 weeks in South Dakota we have made it home and we are getting settled into our usual crazy busy way of life. After arriving home the girls got the flu which lasted an entire week!! Of course it was also the week that Jim was out of town!! Anyways, now we are recovering and jumping back into life with both feet. Speaking of both feet, Maddie is walking all over the place now. I wouldn't call her a "walker" completely, but really really close!!

Emily is so excited about turning 4 in a couple of weeks and is hoping to start preschool soon. She is so smart and has a huge yearning to learn new things!!

Serenity is 2 1/2 and talking more clear all the time. She is a great big sister to Maddie and looks up to Emily, mimicing everything she does!!

Maddie turns one tomorrow!! Can you believe it, our baby is one already!! Boy does time fly!!

Jim is working hard finishing up projects in the three houses we have for sale. The market has slowed, but God's faithfulness has not. Although money has been scarce the last 6 months, God has never allowed us to go hungry. In fact, every month we have had the money to pay all of our bills. It is amazing!! God is so good to us!!

I am working hard raising three little girls and working my Tastefully Simple business, which is booming!!

Well, I better run for now, I will add some new pictures so you can see Em's new haircut, Serenity as the flower girl at Uncle Jim's wedding, and Maddie. Enjoy!

Hi Again!

It has been a long time since I last made a post. Our lives continue to be completely crazy, there is never a dull moment around here!!


INDIANA

Since my last post so much has happened. We took a suprise trip to visit some friends and family. Our first stop was to visit our great friends Kris and Chanda and meet their new spouses. We stayed with Kris and Chrissy in Indianapolis and enjoyed getting to know them as a couple. We had not seen Kris since our wedding eight years ago. We had a great time.


While we were there we were also able attend Chanda's wedding. She was married on May 27th to Allen. It was a beautiful wedding. Kris, being a pastor, was able to marry them, we were very excited to be there!!



The reunion continued as we were also able to show our kids off to Sue and Al, Kris and Chanda's parents. We hadn't seen them since I was pregnant with Emily. We had so many great memories to laugh about together!!

MICHIGAN


The second leg of our journey
to Montague, Michigan
where we suprised everyone!!
We spent the week helping grandma and grandpa finish projects that they had been wanting to complete. We had a great time laughing and sharing together.

Uncle Joe and Aunt Kim Aunt Ann Cousin Joe, Amy, Alyssa

We also enjoyed Aunt Michelle and Uncle Jay, but must not have had the camera out when they were there!

OHIO

The 3rd leg of our journey took us to Ohio to visit Jim's family. We arrived with sick kids and a day before they returned from their trip to Vegas. We had a day of relaxation then suprised his family as they arrived home!! We had a great time visiting everyone and reconnecting with old friends.

Here are the three girls enjoying family in Ohio, I guess I didn't take many of the family with the girls now that I look at my collection of pictures.

After a three week journey we were ready to be home. The girls did amazing in the car and never complained, even when we drove straight through, 15 hours, home due to the impending tropical storm. God has blessed us with wonderful friends and family, we felt very blessed that we were able to have such a wonderful trip!!

Our Busy Lives!!

Man, I am so behind on our blog page. Sorry guys. That is what happens when you have 3 kids under 3. Our lives have been crazy busy lately, mostly by choice. Jim and I love to be involved...in everything!

The first week of May Jim had to go to Melbourne, Florida for his first week of reservist duty. The girls and I decided to go along and boy are we glad we did. Our hotel was right on the ocen and our balcony was only a stone throw away from the water. It was beautiful!! While Jim worked during the day the girls and I spent time collecting shells, playing in the sand and swimming in the hotel pool. Quite a work out for me I might add!! Although we had a great week it was good to get back home, there is no bed quite like your own.

The next two weeks were jam packed. We had something going everynight, it was tiring, but a lot of fun!! What made life more challenging was the fact that Maddie decided that sleeping through the night was for the birds. We first thought it was a reaction to the solid foods she was eating, then though she must not be getting enough when she was nursing, then we were sure it was her teeth. We then realized, that although those may all play a part in it, she really just loved her mommy so much that she didn't want to be away from her!! Sweet huh!?! Not so sweet at 3 in the morning!! :) She had a better night last night, which brings me to our life currently...

We didn't think our life was chaotic enough so we decided to take a road trip to Lakeland, Florida to see family that we had not seen in years. We had a great time and it was fun showing our girls off to all the family who had not yet met them. After arriving home this evening we took a quick dip in the pool and called it an early night. Speaking of which...goodnight.

I will add some new pictures tomorrow, I also have some cute things to write about the girls, they are so silly!!

Swim time!!

After patiently waiting for the water to reach a decent temperature, we are finally able to swim in our pool without freezing to death!! The water temp reached 80 degrees this week and feels wonderful. The girls are in it everyday with Jim or I and never want to get out. Even Maddie loves it!

Em's last day of ballet!

Here is Emily and her ballet class on their final day of ballet.
She had a great time and really learned alot. She looks forward to the fall when she can start again.

Florida or Bust!

Just thought I would share a picture of what Jim did today instead of shoveling snow...HeeHee! Hey, we did our time in the cold!! South Dakota, Alaska, Boston!! We are now blessed to enjoy springtime in Florida.

New picture of our girls!

These pictures were taken yesterday. Enjoy!

Jim and Kristie

Things with Jim and I are great except for fighting off the ongoing sickness in our home. Our family has been fighting a variety of illnesses over the past 4 weeks. We are ready to learn whatever lesson it is that God wants us to learn, so we can move on!!

Jim and I have been married for 8 years on June 19th. Over the 8 years we have had a wealth of experiences, some great, some not so great, but through it all God has always been by our side to get us through. One thing that we have had through it all is a deep love for each other that comes straight from the hand of God. I remember praying while I was dating Jim that God would bind our hearts together everyday if it was meant to be, and if it wasn't, that God would end it immediately. Well, God's answer was clear and remains true today. Although no marriage is perfect, I can certainly say, I have an amazing husband who loves the Lord, his girls, and me with all of his heart!! He is a wonderful dad and I could not have asked for a better best friend!! As corny as it sounds, the saying is true, He truly "completes me!!"

Newer picture of Maddie

Here is a new picture of Maddie , she changes everyday!! (I know the picture says 1/8/06, but I guess I forgot to fix the date, it was actually taken this week). At her Dr. appointment this week, she weighed 16lb 4oz and was 25 1/2 inches long. I guess that she is pretty much average according to the charts.

The ABC's about ME

A is for age27
B is for book you're currently reading: The Purpose Driven Life
C is for career: mom, wife, and I am a registered nurse but have put that on hold for more important things right now
D is for your Dad's name: Jim
E is for essential items to bring to a party: homemade peanut butter cups
F is for favorite song at the moment: Come to Jesus by Chris Rice- WOW!!
G is for favorite game: Settlers
H is for hometown: KI Sawyer AFB, MI but it no longer exists
I is for instruments you play: Saxaphone, Flute, and Piano-but none very well :)
J is for jam or jelly you like: Mixed jelly in those little packets at resturants :)
K is for kids: Emily (3), Serenity (2), and Maddie (6mths)
L is for living arrangements: We have a 4 bedroom ranch style home it is kind of small but has a pool!!
M is for Mom's name: Robynne
N is for name of your crush: Jim
O is for overnight hospital stays: Once for a tonsillectomy when I was 10, and for giving birth 3 times
P is for phobias: I am clausterphobic (I am not sure that is how you spells it)
Q is for quotes you like: Faith goes up the stairs that love has made and looks out the window hope has opened
R is for relationship that lasted the longest: My marriage of almost 8 years
S is for how you found out Santa wasn't real: I realized one Christmas morning that all the handwriting on the tags were the same as the presents from my mom and dad
T is for tasty desserts: Anything chocolate, fruity, heck.. I love all desserts!!!
U is for underwear: bikini or anything I find comfortable
V is for vegetables you love: Cucumbers, Greenbeans
W is for weekend plans: Finish organizing the garage (sound like fun?)
X is for x-rays you've had: teeth, ankle (4 times), wrist, finger, toe
Y is for year you graduated from high school: 1997
Z is for zodiac sign: Libra(but I don't belive in that)

One more - for this one you have to complete the sentences:

Never in my life: will I stop telling people what God has done for me (and them)
When I was five: I lived in the Upper Penninsula of Michigan
High School is: was great while I was there, but looking back I realize how superficial it all was, it is too bad kids have to feel the way they do because of their peer.
There's this girl: that has gone through a lot of hard times in her life and really need to come to know the Lord. (Pray for her)
When I turn my head right, I see: A big messy stack of papers in my husbands office :)
A better name for me would be: Princess (just kidding), Kristie is fine
You know I like you if: I smile at you
My ideal breakfast is: french toast on Texas toast with powdered sugar, butter, and syrup
If you spend the night at my house: you will hear one of my kids get up at least once in the night
I always make it a point to: to make people feel cared about
I'd rather lick the belly of a cockroach than: go one day without God's presence
And by the way: I love my life!!!!

Madelyn Faith (Maddie)

Maddie is our sweet loving 6 month old that always has a smile on her face. She is the most calm and loving baby I have ever been around and did I mention, adorable!!! Her bald head is finally starting to show signs of new life, and her cheek get chunkier everyday!! Her sisters love to hold her, sing to her, and make her laugh. God has truly revealed his quiet spirit to us through Maddie. She is amazing!!

Serenity Jewel

Well, this picture basically sums up Serenity. She is our crazy, fun loving, one of a kind little girl. She has a mind of her own and doesn't have a problem telling you about it, in her own language of course. When she is not being crazy and silly, she is a very loving and tender hearted child. She loves her daddy more than anything and is always up to wrestle!! God giggled when we named her Serenity, only he knew who she would be. :) We love her a ton, of course, and praise God for our sweet little girl.