Happy New Year

     Well...I'm sitting here snowed in on a Sunday and found some time on my hands update this blog a bit.  We had a very busy, very blessed holiday season.  We spent a couple of days with my parents and quite a bit of time with all of Anthony's family.  It is so wonderful to be blessed with lots of family!
     We have moved into a different house since I last posted and currently have it up for sale.  And no...I don't love moving, but if it is what God wants He will help us with all the details. 
     We are homeschooling Alexa who just turned 7.  She is in 1st grade and is a very conscientious and (mostly) a very willing student.  She is very responsible and helpful.  Ashlyn just turned 4 and does some preschool type things.  She is pretty quiet and loves to play baby and is such a sweetie!
Alec is 2 and keeps life hopping for all of us.  He is FULL of energy and has a contagious smile.  We all love him.  Anthony still works at Byler's and is doing well there...we are so grateful for his job and God's provision.  
How are all my fellow blogger friends?  I know so many people FB and this is a little outdated for some, but if you still use this, it would be great to hear from you . 

New News

Hello!!! It has been a long time and I am terribly excited to get to update my blog with some pictures. We have had a very busy year and God has blessed us so much. We built a house this year and that is a lot of work! Anthony spent a good deal of time working on it and if we wanted to see him we pretty much had to go over there to do it! There are still some things that we are wanting to do on it, and we are hoping to get a lot accomplished this spring and summer. We love it though and are just glad to be moved in. And I still have a ton of decorating and organizing to do, but that is not real high on my priority list at the moment because I have 3 little muchkins to care for now and some things have to just drop in whenever I find the time.

Disclaimer: I am not a great photographer in the first place and trying to get 3 kids situated correctly in front of the camera, then racing behind it to snap a photo is NOT easy!!! If you dont believe me - just try it sometime. I did manage a few pics that I thought I would share though. I think we are going to go professional next time, for our sanity ;-).

Alexa is 4 now and growing up so fast! Ashlyn is 15 months and changing all the time. She is trying to talk more and more. So cute when they are learning to talk ;). We are loving watching our girls grow up and learn how to be good sisters to each other. Alexa usually is watching out for Ashlyn and trying to take care of her. Ashlyn, in return loves her big sis and frequently will go up to Alexa for a hug. So sweet!Our baby boy was born February 16. He weighed 8 lbs. 6 oz. He has been a sweet little blessing to our family and the girls both adore him...so does mommy and daddy.

Our new home.

We are excited about working on our yard and planting some flowers to make it look pretty and homey. We also are going to try to get our front door painted and maybe install some shutters.

Our living room. Anthony installed the wood floor and stained it. He also built our fireplace. He did a great job I thought. Another view of our living room. I love the light from the dormer windows. Dining room.

The kitchen.

The girls room. I love these colors...

Thanks for looking!! Y'all take care till the next time ;).

Update

I finally have a good opportunity for an update, but sadly there will be no pictures to go along with it :(.
We have had some changes since my last post, so I will try to catch up a little here.
We sold our house in April, and ended up moving to the parsonage beside our church for a temporary home. It is smaller than what we are used to, but we are grateful for a place to stay for a short time. So now we are building a house on our land! This is very exciting and a lot of hard work. Although Anthony is the one who ends up doing all the hard work :-)! We are currently in the insulation stage and are expecting the sheet rock to be hung on Friday.

We are really really trying to get done at least by January because....
In February we are expecting our third!!!!
WOO-HOO isn't life great. We have been very blessed with healthy children and are so grateful for that. We hope and pray that (boy or girl) ---this baby will be healthy as well.

Now for a little update on the girls.
Alexa is 3 1/2 and VIVACIOUS as EVER! She is pretty much in constant motion and talks all/most of the time. I could use ALOT more energy right now to keep up just with her! She loves to play pretend, reading books, playing with her baby sister and her cousins. Lately she has also started liking to color *a little bit*. I think this is so good for her and try to encourage this as much as possible - hee hee! I am also trying to spend a some time teaching her some preschool type things and she catches on quickly and seems to enjoy that for a little while on occasion. She is a lot of fun.
Ashlyn is 7 1/2 months and a little sweetie. She has become quite a momma's girl- which is okay and sweet really- but I am hoping that she outgrows this a little in the future. It will help me out if she isn't quite so attached when the new wee one arrives. She is developing quite a little personality herself. She will sit and play very well alone- I think this is just WONDERFUL and so helpful to me. She has a ready smile most of the time and is a joy!

Anthony and I are doing well! We are so thankful for God's provision in these uncertain days. I know there are many that in one way or another are feeling the effects of a rocky economy right now and so we do not take this for granted. Hope each of you are having a great summer! God Bless.

Our News

Since our last post...

Ashlyn Shari Arender arrived on December 17, 2009. We had her at home. She weighed 7.5 and was 19 in. long. I was in labor about 3 or 3 1/2 hours... so it seemed rather short. Absolutely wonderful experience!! She sleeps all night - which is a huge blessing!! She has brought so much joy to our family.

Alexa adores her baby sister. She is learning how to be my big helper which is really nice.
Anthony and I are doing well...we are very happy and blessed.

Here are just a few pictures to share. I am at my Grandma's house, so I don't have all of them here. Enjoy!

Below: Ashlyn at 2 weeks old.

The rest of these are at about 2 1/2 months.

It's a..........

Baby Girl!!!!! We are excited to be adding another little girl to our family. She will hopefully be arriving sometime in early December. We are doing a home birth this time and are very excited about it! Hopefully all goes well and she is healthy. I am really excited about decorating the girls room...just a small benefit of having another girl!!! ;-)

Alexa and I are spending a few days in KS this week, which is awesome, but we miss Anthony and are ready to see him again too.

Alexa is growing up so fast and changing all the time. She is looking forward to being a big sister.

We're Still Here.....

I am so overdue on updating that I hardly know where to begin. And this will be, sadly, pictureless.

We are doing well!! Life is always busy and we are very blessed. God is so good. We are going to be adding to our little family in a few months. For those who haven't heard it through the grapevine or seen me in person...we are expecting our 2nd little blessing in December.

Anthony and I just celebrated 4 years together yesterday. I thank God for joining us together!!He is a wonderful husband and friend to me. He treated me to some delicious Chocolate Strawberries. Yummy! They were so pretty....wish I had a picture.

Alexa is growing up so fast. It is hard to believe she will be three in December. She is still in high gear most of the time and is looking for to having a baby around. I think..... :-) We hope!! She loves pretending and playing like she is someone else. We hope she has good role models!

Hope everyone is doing good. It is nice to be able to see everyone in pictures every now and then. God bless.

Pictures of This and That

These pictures are not in the best order, but I thought I would post a few since it has been awhile. I am so excited about getting a sling. I really wanted it to wear when I babysit, but it is a definite bonus that I can still use it for Alexa as well.

My dear hubby helping me get my ceiling fan cleaned. Thanks Anthony!
My sweet little Alexa having a great day at the park. Although she was getting a little tired here.

Here we are just chilling at the park. It was a beautiful, sunny, WINDY day.

Little Miss Pigtails ;-)

I put all of Alexa's hair into one ponytail, but it only stayed looking this good for about 5 minutes. I wanted to try out this bow I made for her.

I still need a lot of practice...but it is a start ;-)

Ya'll have a great weekend!

Randomness

Well, I just thought I would check in here on the blog. We have been staying busy doing this and that. We have had a few warm, windy days here. It has been wonderful to be outside a little. Alexa wants to go outside all the time now. Unfortunately, the temperatures are back down into the 20's...so it is a little harder to tempt Mommy into the out of doors. I love having the windows open and soaking up the sunshine! Hopefully, I can post some pictures soon...
I have been working on some Spring cleaning...in spurts and starts, I might add. Cleaning closets, ceiling fans and throwing out old clothes - what fun! I will be glad when I feel like it is complete. Spring is coming...and I can't wait ;-)

A Little Bit of Sunshine

Fun Times