Sad News

Well, we went to my OB this afternoon and he is pretty sure that I am finishing a miscarriage. It is definitely sad news but we are glad to know what is going on. They took bloodwork that should confirm everything. I get the results tomorrow and then everything is through. My doctor said that most people in my shoes would have never known they were pregnant. Well, we did and I am glad we did, even if that seems weird.

On a happier note, my nephew was born very early Saturday morning. Welcome baby Finn! We love you already!

We could use your prayers...

Well, I spent most of the night/morning in the ER last night. I started having bleeding/clotting shortly after David's work Christmas party yesterday. They ran a ton of tests and there are a few possibilities: I am extremely early pregnant with some bleeding and everything could be okay, I am in the process of a miscarriage, or I may have an ectopic pregnancy. We are hoping for the first but we know that God is in control and that He created this life and has the ability to sustain it - that is what we ask for. I have an appointment on Monday afternoon with my doctor to see where we are at. So that is the scoop from here. Hope everyone is doing well.

Well...

just wanted to let everyone know that we are expecting baby #4! We just found out yesterday. We were a little surprised and very excited. So that's the scoop from here. I will post more when I know it but I don't go to see my doctor until January.

Pink Pony Party Pics!

As promised, here are a few pictures from B's 3rd pink, pony birthday party!

Here is B on the first pony, Silver!

Here is Bradley leading the Bean on Harley.

Uncle Trent helping A on Silver.

Cousins enjoying the pink pony that Grandma and Grandpa bought B.

And of course, the cake - again a fabulous job by my husband - way to go Dave!

Tag I'm It

(I was challenged by my SIL to do this, so here goes!)

1. Open the 4th folder in your computer.
2. Choose the 4th picture in the folder and post in in your blog.
3. Describe the picture.
4. Tag 4 people.



Okay, so the fourth folder for me was titled Christmas 2007 - how appropriate :) This is a picture of David and the girls right after we hung our socks on Christmas Eve. The Cummins tradition is to pick a sock (has to be one that you have worn during the year) and hang it the night before Christmas - like a stocking but a real sock. We have had a lot of fun doing this with the kids the last few years.


For those who are curious, this is what they looked like Christmas morning. Enjoy! Oh, I am suppose to tag people - don't get mad but I tag Meredith, Amy, Robert, and Jane!

Pink Pony Party

Well, B is now officially 3! I cannot believe that it was only three years ago that we were rushing to the hospital in the middle of an ice storm. We celebrated on Sunday with a pink pony party!! Yes, there was a lot of pink and there were also three ponies!!! I will post more commentary and pictures as soon as I can figure out how to get to them :)

Please Pray

Please pray. A very good friend of mine found out a few days ago that her baby has spinal bifida. She is ~ 24 weeks pregnant. I know that they would really appreciate your prayers. It is amazing that a few days ago I had never really heard of spinal bifida and now just a few days later I could probably right a novel with the research I have acquired. My love for this baby girl (whom I don't even know yet) has grown even more.

Sweetberry Farms

We had a great time on Friday at Sweetberry Farms. We went with other moms and kiddos on a field trip. The kids got to ride a hayride, walk through the corn maze, have a great pumpkin race, paint their pumpkin, work an old pump, shuck corn, and so much more. Here are some pictures on our adventures.

The kids at the farm.

The great pumpkin race - A and her friend Emma

C's favorite part was the goats!


B coming out of the cornfield

B pumping

The pumpkin falling...

A having her turn.

B was a little upset that we couldn't pick strawberries again. We got to look at them but they are still in the ground. We will have to go back when they are ripe and have more fun.

On the Up Side...

Well this week has been hard health wise in our household. We all seemed to have some nasty virus bug which is no fun at all. It slowly worked itself through all of us and now it seems that I can breath again. There are no pictures from this last week (be glad!) so I am going to post a few from our Halloween night. We are gearing up for B's pink pony party - I think it is going to be fun!

A loving the jumpy house slide

B having her turn with A

Costumes, Shamus, & Fun Oh My

Well, we went and had the kids pictures taken in their costumes - it was the appointment that should have been. Everyone was so happy - for the first hour. Unfortunately they had us wait forever and with three small kids 4 and under that just does not work well. Here are a few photos I snapped before we had meltdowns.

My Squirt

Snow white eating her apple

The princesses together

And yesterday we went to Sea World!!! We had so much fun. And we got to dine with Shamu. It was so cool to see the whales so close. Here are a few photos from Sea World.

The Cummins girls and the flamingos

This sea lion found A and kept put - he wanted her fish

See how close - very cool!!

David helping the girls feed the birds nectar

And I will leave you with C's enthusiasm for Shamu!

The Camera and Big Boy

Big Boy is really starting to have fun when I pull out my camera :) Can you say photo shoot?? Check out the photos below.

I asked C to sit down and look sideways, seriously, and this is what he did. Natural talent I am telling you!!

And he loves to show off his tongue so this is one for fun.

It just so happens that we are taking the kids tonight to get their pictures taken in their Halloween costumes. I hope that everyone is as cooperative as C this morning. A is going to be Snow White and she is soooo excited because Snow White is a brunette like her. B is going to be Sleeping Beauty and she is equally excited because her dress is pink and that is B's favorite color right now (Hence the reason why we will be having a pink pony party for her birthday in December). And C has opted not to be a princess and he is going to be Squirt the turtle from Nemo.

Pumpkins, Pumpkins & Cake

We went to the church around the corner from us yesterday to get some pictures in their pumpkin patch. If we wait too much longer, the pumpkins will all be gone. Here are some photos from out adventure.

A picking out a pumpkin she liked

Beverly with her mini one

Big Boy getting in on the pumpkin action

And of course I needed a good photo of the butterfly cake we started enjoying last night. The girls wanted to help me blow out the candles so here is one of that as well.

Mommy and the girls (getting some practice!)

Thirty One

Well, I am officially 31 - as of yesterday! First, thanks to my amazing friends and family for all the gifts and well wishes - I feel very loved. My fabulous husband made me two cakes. I believe we will get to enjoy the second one (a butterfly) today - yummy!!

Here is my first cake - the one we ate yesterday (starting at breakfast)

And in case you are wondering, here is what it looks like with 31 lit candles!

We are going back to Sea World on Sunday to celebrate my birthday and David and the kids made a reservation for our family to dine with Shamu - I am so excited :) - look for the pictures afterwards!

Big Boy and What's New

I cannot believe how big C is getting. I have been taking pictures of him the last few days wondering how he got so big. I have some of the cutest pics of him and have to share - hope there aren't too many!! Above he is practicing his cup stacking. He has to be the fastest 15 month old, and look how happy he is :)





Here he is playing outside in the car. Can you say Dukes of Hazard? Why use a door when you have a perfectly good window. I love the way he can think "outside the box."

Just look at that expression!

Things are going well in other news. A is eagerly learning phonics - she is eating it up actually so we will see. B is constantly talking about her birthday coming up so that is fun. We will probably decide on a theme soon even though it is not until December - gotta plan! We have begun to paint our kitchen - it will probably be a long process but I am really enjoying it so far. All the cabinets will be white and we haven't decided on the knobs yet. Here is a progress picture below - it is not finished but you can get an idea. We are going with a nature theme - after all, my dishes are naturewood!


Oh, and David must have cut C's hair last night when I went to the grocery store because it is shorter and it looks great! No more confusion for a girl I hope!!

7 Years!

Well, David and I celebrated our 7th wedding anniversary yesterday the 25th of August. We actually went on a date on Sunday the 24th in celebration. It was fun to have a sitter come (who is absolutely amazing) to watch the kiddos while we went to see a movie (Wall E.), have dinner, walk at a park - just be together. It is funny because some people have told us that the number 7 is the number of completion. Well, I don't really feel that David and I have completed being married :) I look forward to and hope we have many more years together. Sure we have had ups, downs, and all arounds but I can honestly say that I love you David more today than I did 7 years ago. I didn't think that was possible then but I know it is now. Happy Anniversary David!!

Potty Party!!

Yes, folks - yesterday our family reached another momentous milestone - we had Beverly's Potty Party! Everyone was so excited and only having one in diapers is awesome :)

Here is B herself, so proud of the cake she made with Daddy

The "clan" about to celebrate

Decorating Help

Yes, it is me again asking for more advice :)

I would love to change up my kitchen a bit. For those who have seen my house, my kitchen is extremely small. My husband has recently bought me a much newer white stove, and microwave and dishwasher (love craigslist!) which will all match my white refrigerator. Anyhoo, my current kitchen is green (which I love) but I am wondering if there is something that might be better. There is also an ivy design which I love but I am willing to ditch it for a change. Attached are a few pictures (please ignore the mess - yes, life happens at my house!). Any ideas??

One view of my kitchen and the current green used (the micro will be white)

Another angel, the dishwasher will be white

close up of the ivy

Happy Birthday Jane

Hey, I got a video of the kids today - I hope this works on the blog!



Wishing Jane a Super Happy Birthday!!

To Chi or Not to Chi

Hello All! I have a survey type question for those that can help or have an opinion. I recently had a lot of hair chopped off and I love my new hairstyle but a friend suggested that I invest in a Chi, a straightening iron. She said that it would work great with my hair and it would give me a lot of options of different things to do. So the thing is, they are ~ $100 or more. So, what do you think? Worth the investment or should I just say NO.

By the way, a very HAPPY BIRTHDAY to aunt Jane - we love you!!!

15 inches gone!

I know, I know sounds like the beginnings of a great diet idea right? But no, I am referring to my hair length. Last night I went for my 4th time to donate my hair to locks for love. A little under 7 years ago I took the plunge and donated 13 inches (I cut it in England while I was on my honeymoon). And that started my trend of loving my short hair, growing it long again, cutting to donate, etc. I have donated 13 inches, 14 inches, 16 inches, and 15 inches last night - that is a lot of hair!!!

Me taking a picture of myself before the big cut.

My last picture of me and the girls with long hair.

And now for the new ME!
So, what do you think??

A Million Updates in One

Where did July go? That is what it seems like to me right now. Well, we are back from the Roc or Morocco that is and our family had a good trip. David and I were surprised and amazed at how well all three kids traveled. The girls were in awe of traveling via a big airplane. It was super fun to connect with our friends there and our kids had a blast with their kids.

David set up a place to put most of our pics from the trip. You can view them at https://webspace.utexas.edu/jatheul/www/morocco/

I had the opportunity to go and visit my brother and his family last week for several days while they were in the midst of moving at it was so much fun! My nieces are a hoot and it was great to see A, B, and C having such a blast with them. And their new house is great!!

David and I were able to attend the banquet for the Five Outstanding Young Houstonians of 2008 while Brian and Dusti watched all three kids!!! Dusti even did my hair! Why were we attending this banquet you might ask. Because one of the recipients of the award was Jane!!!
You can read more about it here at http://www.houstonjaycess.org/FOYH.aspx

Way to go Jane. We are so proud of you. Thanks for letting us share in this special occassion with you.

And the kids, well they are doing great! I cannot believe how grown up A is becoming. I know I know, she is only 4 but if you could hear some of the things she says you would think she is 14 sometimes. And B, she is a ham. She is full blown potty training and I am so proud of her. We went to Target this morning (to see if they had anything left from the 75% markdown) and she did fabulous in underwear. You know you are near the done stage when you make outtings in panties! And what can I say about my big boy - always into something and loving it!

A showing off her sunglasses

B in Mommy's shoes

C at the beach

Did you know...

- that white milk comes from white cows and chocolate milk comes from chocolate cows.

- airplanes can't eat or drink anything. They also cannot smell or hear anything because it would be silly if they could. The jumbo airplane can't talk (I wonder if the smaller ones can :).

- God can't eat anything because He is way up.

- Schnitzel can't see because he hurt his eyes.

A few random thoughts from A at the lunch table today. Hope your day is good!

Happy Father's Day!! And more

Well, we took David to see a Round Rock Express Game for Father's Day. Our whole family had a great time - it was free glove day so A, B, & C all have brand new gloves. They also gave us tickets to go back and see another game free for Father' s Day - whoohoo! They had a Father's Day pre-game catch for Dad and their kids and here are a few pics.

David with A and B in the middle of the field.

David walking the girls around - they are in the center of the field.

It seems like forever since my last post, partly because we have had some hard times come up. Our uncle Paul passed away from brain cancer a few weeks ago. We were able to attend his funeral service but we weren't really able to visit with family as much as we would have liked, we had to get back home. We will miss him and I am really glad to know that he was a man of faith and is in heaven.

Our great dog, Schnitzel, has officially gone blind. I suspected it a week or so ago and took him into the clinic and had it confirmed. He is doing quite well despite the fact that he cannot see anything! Cause is unknown, could just be age, could be a brain tumor. We just hope that he can continue to enjoy life and until something changes we will love on him as much as possible.

So, for some better news. We have our tickets and will be traveling overseas in just a few weeks. I am really looking forward to it and the kids are excited to ride on the "big plane." Please pray for safety and much grace for us. I have gotten some great advice on traveling with children. If you have any more, I am all ears....

And we were able to go to Houston and celebrate Bradley's big graduation. Congratulations again Bradley!! I guess that is all for now from the home front.