Under The Big Top

Joanna Isabelle Littlejohn

2009-08-31T23:40:00.003-05:00

Joanna Isabelle Littlejohn

August 17, 2009 @ 12:29 a.m.

7 lbs. 12 oz

20 1/2 in long

Baxter Regional Medical Center, Mountain Home Arkansas

We are doing great and Joanna is an amazingly easy going baby--so far:) Her big brothers and big sister adore her and love her to pieces! There are more pics of her at vividimpressions.net click on children and then events and then children and families and finally my name. Jon's brother's wife Jennifer took these yesterday and they are amazing!

CHEEEEEEESE!!!!

2009-06-23T12:51:00.002-05:00

I'm not sure anyone is still even checking our blog since I don't get it updated very often. I have checked out Facebook some and wonder if it would be quicker and easier to just post things there every once in a while. So it has been since March when I posted last. We are good. We ended the school year in May and I was oh so ready. Since then I've been gradually working down a list of "projects" to get done before August. We've had a huge yard sale and gotten the house generally in order and cleaned out of "junk." That alone is worth the mess of a yard sale for me. It gives me a deadline and a goal. The back storage room in the basement had gotten totally out of control over the winter. We've also ended up with our boys on two different ball teams because of the way their ages fall this year. So for a few weeks we were practicing or playing ball Tuesday through Friday nights. Gideon is still playing T-Ball and they play every Friday night in June, but Anthony is playing in the 6-8 year old league and it just happens his team has games every Tuesday and Thursday through mid July I think. They love it and we don't do a lot of extra curricular sports stuff during the school year so we agree to the evening ball stuff in the summer when we aren't as busy. Other than that...we are spending any opportuniy we can on the lake. The kids love it, we love it. It's so fun to just be together. We are all super excited about the 4th of July weekend this year. We are camping from Friday through Monday for the boys birthday. (Camping 8 months pregnant won't be AS fun as usual, but hey, if I can spend a majority of the time IN the water...I should be alright!) The pontoon boat has been such a neat thing for us and we feel so blessed to be able to have it. That about sums up summer so far...like I said I am getting things done to be ready for another school year and a new baby!!!!!!!!!!!!???????????? (I'm still not sure how that is going to work out, but I trust God will guide us and give me the grace and sanity to work through it.)

It's another Girl!

2009-03-31T11:46:00.002-05:00

Just a quick post to let anyone know who hasn't heard yet that we are expecting another girl. Evie was thrilled! (Actually we weren't sure what we were going to do if God gave us a baby brother because Evie had informed us we were going to take him to the back yard???) We are really excited about another bundle of pink cuteness! Right now the boys are playing with their train and Evie has a picnic all set up beside me. She is really content playing by herself with her dishes or baby dolls, but a friend to play with would be so cool for her. I would post a picture from the ultra sound, but I haven't had or taken time to figure out how to scan using our new printer/copier/scanner...sure it's not hard, but right now I have to get back to spelling!!!!!!!!!

Update

2009-03-09T21:19:00.002-05:00

Just a quick update from the Littlejohn house. I am so glad to say that I finally, finally feel back to myself. (Well as back to yourself as you can feel and be pregnant!) I had a doctor's appointment Friday and heard a good strong heartbeat. We will have an ultrasound in three weeks (this is the routine one everyone has) and maybe we will be able to see if we have a baby sister or a baby brother on the way. (Evie is really pulling for a baby sister!)

Speaking of Evie--I always have Evie stories to share. Over the weekend the boys were spending the night with each set of grandparents. Gideon was invited along with Anthony to Grandma Wanda and Papa Jack's, but he announced "I want to go to Nanny and Papa's " and grandparents in general just can't say no. So Jon took his "girls" on a date Saturday night. On the way home I commented how late it was and that we had to get a shower and get our jammies on real quick when we got home. From the back seat we hear this little voice, "And then I go to sleep in Gideon's bed with NO Gideon!" (She and Gideon had tried sleeping together in the bottom bunk and she ended up with a whopper of a bump and bruise on her forehead because they were being silly and goofing around. So they were banned from sleeping together and she has had to sleep in her own bed all week.) She hadn't asked me anything about sleeping arrangements, she just came to the conclusion on her own that if Gideon wasn't there then the bed must be open for grabs. And what could we say to such logic? She got to sleep in Gideon's bed with NO Gideon! :)

That's not a lot, but a little of an update. We are definately enjoying the warmer weather we have had the past few days and have been out in the sunshine as much as possible! I'll post more again soon. (Maybe even upload some pictures. Jon gets a little upset if I start uploading image files because it slows down the internet game he is playing right now, so pictures coming another time.)

School Update, A Kitty and a Blessing from God

2009-02-05T23:52:00.005-06:00

I thought I would take a minute before dashing off to bed to ramble on about our life a little. This blogging is one of those things that overwhelms me a little, so the way I deal with it is I just don't do it for a while. I don't even turn the computer on, I don't check e-mail etc. Then I sit here for a crazy long amount of time catching up on everything when I finally do decide to turn the silly machine on. Scrapbooks are the same way. I really enjoy doing the pages and they don't look half bad...but I wonder WHY IN THE WORLD DID I DO THE FIRST ONE FOR ANTHONY? Now I have guilt if I don't continue for everyone. My college girlfiends gave me an amazing gift when Gideon was born. They bought a scrapbook, dispursed the pages among themselves (literally all of the Country) then they each scrapbooked pages and left places on the pages for me to put in pictures and writing. Then someone assembled the whole thing and mailed it to me. (They thought of everything too. There was a labor and delivery page, first visits, bring baby home, first Christmas etc.) It was unbelievable. Even with all of that help I didn't get Gideon's all the way completed until just before Evie was born! This time around I've been totally on my own and Evie's is still at the pages of people coming to visit her in the hospital WHEN SHE WAS BORN! (I have only done the first year for each of them, but now I have pressure!) I don't want to have two unfinished scrapbooks hanging over my head! So like all things that overwhelm me, I'm just avoiding it...until summer. We won't be doing homeschool then and for now I am satisfying myself with the thought that come June I will scrapbook like crazy to have Evie's done before August!!! You all wanted to know all about my scrapbook plans didn't you?

Okay, on to the things you might actually be interested in like updates on the kiddos--let's see...
Anthony is breezing right through first grade. I am still amazed at what kids can learn and retain. He has quite the problem solving mind just like his Dad and he's always saying "Hey mom, I just figured out..." I never know what it will be. Anthony has just started playing Upwards Basketball the last part of January and he really, really looks forward to his practices and his games. It has been a good experience for him. He tends to be a little shy and timid in new situations without us, but he has sailed through this experience great. (Which is why Jon didn't coach on purpose, we wanted to push him out there a little.)

Gideon is doing great in preschool. He is almost all the way through the alphabet and can write his own name. He already knew colors and numbers and stuff but he has learned some things too. Like rhyming words. He totally gets rhyming words now and has a lot of fun with them. What else about Gideon? Recently we got a kitten named Belle. She was supposed to be an outside cat, but through a series of events involving losing and finding the cat and the weather which has been absolutely freezing night and day, she has come to live indoors. She still has to sleep downstairs in her box in the furnace room at night...she doesn't have total free roam of the house but she is upstairs with us most of the rest of the day and evening. Anyway, Gideon is the one that enjoys the cat the most. He loves to curl up in a chair or couch with her on his lap and just pet her. Oh and he takes her for rides on the big wheel type bike Evie got for her birthday. (It is still in the house right now.)

Evie--whew there's a fun little ball of energy. Evie just makes us laugh night and day. She is so much more vocal than the boys and very tuned in to everything going on with the family. Recently Anthony prayed before dinner and in his prayer he thanked God that he and Gideon had a good day. When he said "Amen," Evie (with her lip pouted out) looked at him and said "you didn't pray to ME!" Jon and I exchanged confused looks and I asked Evie what she meant. She turned her pouty face to me and said "Anthony didn't pray to ME!" Suddenly I realized she meant he didn't pray ABOUT her! Anthony is pretty much always a loving big brother and was quick to bow his head again and thank God for his sister Evie when we asked him to. After that she was fine again--all smiles and no pouts!!!! (Jon swears females are born with a inclination toward manipulation!) She loves to sing and actually has quite the range of pitch. It is adorable to hear her sing Jesus Love Me. She gets the first verse but the second verse is a little hazy although the tune is there. She loves the cat too, but the cat does not return her affection. Probably because she carries it around in a strangle hold anytime she can catch the poor thing.

Okay, it hasn't been a few minutes, it's been several and is there a limit to the length of a post? See, this is my problem. Oh well, before I go I have to quickly tell you our most recent "Praise"... On Monday January 26th, I woke up and really thought I had wet the bed (not cool, I haven't done that since I was very young) upon dashing to the bathroom I discovered my pjs soaked halfway to my knees in blood (even more not cool when you are ten weeks pregnant!!!!!!!!) I think I almost threw up from shock more than anything. To make a long story shorter, after a doctor visit that included a wonderful ultrasound in which we got to see the baby and that beautiful little heartbeat on the screen we found out that I had late implantation bleeding and that is was also a larger area bleeding than normally does. However it has since quit and seems to have corrected itself just as the doctor assured us it should. He did give some strict instructions for a couple of weeks of rest and I have taken it seriously. (Just ask Jon:) Anyway it was quite a crazy day complete with Papa Herb watching all three kiddos alone (go DAD!) and a surprise visit from my sister and brother-in-law who made us dinner and then slid back home to Springfield barely ahead of the horrible ice storm we got. During family worship that night it was so cool--the chapter in Psalms read something like "You turned my sorrow into joy and my mourning into dancing" (that's Angela paraphrase--but you get the point) That's truly what happened that day because I really didn't see how things could be okay first thing of the morning. Anyway, I am feeling much better and have a check up tomorrow. I also must send out one more hoorah for our amazing small group and friends. We weren't going to call anyone but our parents to start with because we didn't want to get everyone upset until we knew what was going on. However, my mom (in her wisdom) suggested we call our small group to be praying for us in the mean time because that is what they are there for and I'm so glad we did. They prayed and our families prayed and we could feel the strength! Our small group and a few other friends also brought us some amazing yummy meals this past week!!!!!!!!!!! It is truly a blessing to be surrounded by so many people who care so genuinely about us! God is so good!!!!!!!!!!!!

Can you figure out my shirt?

2008-12-29T23:39:00.002-06:00

So, it's been a while since I've posted and many things have happened. We celebrated Evie's 2nd Birthday with a party on Sunday Dec. 22nd. It was the perfect opportunity to share our "news" with our families, since everyone except Lance and Naomi were able to be there. We made Evie this shirt and took her sweater off when it was time to eat cake. We just waited to see how long it took someone to notice and figure out what "I'm the BIG Sister Birthday Girl!" meant...yes, we are expecting blessing #4 in August. I am praying for a little sister for Evie. She plays great, but sometimes I'm a little sad that the boys have each other and go off and play and she doesn't have a buddy. (Other than me--we do girl stuff:) The boys are excited and we actually told them before all of the family and they kept it quiet all weekend prior to the party. We were super proud of them. That's one of Evie's cousins, Payton, in the picture with her. She a sweetie pie too! Well--it is sooooo incredibly late...there are always more stories and pictures I just don't seem to have time to share them all. I'll try to post again soon. (Can you believe Evie's hair??? I don't know what we're going to do with it. Aunt Susie there in the background has curly, curly hair naturally so she will definately have to give us some tips!)

Family Picture

2008-11-12T14:52:00.002-06:00

It's been a while since we've had a family picture taken together. My sister and her husband snapped this one for us at a wedding we were at recently...well Jon was in the wedding--he doesn't just wear a tuxedo every day you know :) Evie is such a ham and the boys are still at that stage where they paste on a smile and just want the picture done. Maybe this will be our annual "Christmas Card" picture. Maybe not--the kids grow and change so much even in just two months. There isn't a whole lot happening around our house. Jon and I have gotten to go on several date nights lately. (We have worked out a rotation with another couple and we have the luxury of grandparents right here in town too. We are spoiled that way.) Back to the date nights...we went to see the movie Fireproof last week. It was a great, great movie! Really "real life" in some parts, and good to remind us what marriage is all about. I would tell anyone who is married or thinks they might ever be married or has a married family member to go see it...basically it's great for everyone! That's just my opinion. I hope they make a sound track the music was great too.

Summer Fun

2008-09-25T08:56:00.007-05:00

Evie thinks this is "her" spot. She just wants to stand or sit on the top of the ladder most of the time. She totally blocks anyone trying to use the ladder which is a huge frustration to her brothers who love to jump off, swim around and climb up, jump off, swim around and climb up, jump off...you get the idea. (There are almost no dry places on the boat!)
Our three good lookin' guys enjoying the water!

Why we love the lake at the end of the day!

Every time Josh, Jen and Faith joined us Jennifer was constantly trying to "tie"Faith's towel on for her...the last trip Jennifer had the great idea of just bringing her robe for the day!
Finally, the "brave" Littlejohns on the cliffs. This one isn't focused real well, but it is the one that has every brave soul in it!

The pictures span several trips over the summer and we camped a couple of times...lots of fun!!!

I've run out of time or I would have posted more pics--maybe more will follow later.

2008-08-14T20:25:00.004-05:00

So these are the things that go on around here...I have no idea why the rug I threw by the door (that matches nothing in the house) is on the couch!?????
Evie has taken to purses lately. Now we have to have one with us everywhere we go. She actually broke the strap off of this one shortly after the picture was taken, so now she is lugging around one of my old purses. It is usually full of cars and little things like her empty bubble container. Summer is winding down and we are gearing up to start school in a couple of weeks. We are hoping to camp and spend Saturday at the lake...the weather doesn't look like it is going to cooperate...I know I keep promising pictures of the kids enjoying the lake...I really, really will get some on here. The computer I am using doesn't have any of the lake on it. I'm sure we will have some more after the weekend.

Cake, cake and more cake

2008-07-15T22:34:00.006-05:00

This is a picture of the wedding cake another "cake lady" and myself created for a wedding last Saturday. When I was approached to make it, I quickly declined when they told me there were going to be 200-250 guests. I mentioned it to someone and they suggested I ask Susie to help me. Her daughter is getting married later this year and wants a fondant wedding cake. I had the fondant experience and Susie had the years and years of wedding cake experience. It worked out very nicely and we actually had a lot of fun. (Well, I did get tired of cooking wedding cake...you are looking at 14 cake mixes, 12 pounds of powdered sugar and a can and a half of crisco...and that's just a few of the ingredients on the list.) Susie put the edge around the bottom of each layer on and I really, really think that just "made" the cake!!!!!!!!!!!!! Overall it was a really great experience. Below is the groom's cake they requested(so there would for sure be enough cake-Jon made the cake board for us and it measured 22 inches by 30 inces to give you an idea of how monstrous it was) and below that I'm going to put a picture of some birthday cakes I made for some twins a few weeks ago. On a different note...the kids are having a great summer and the pontoon boat is AWESOME!!!!!!!!!! We've had it to the lake both weekends since we got it. I think we are going to take a rest this weekend. I'll post some pictures of the kiddos in a few days--we have some recent ones that are really fun.

Summer Fun Comin' Up

2008-07-01T08:04:00.004-05:00

So here is our latest adventure. I was on my way down to our doctor in Mt. Home Arkansas last week and saw this pontoon boat. We have talked for several years about the fact that maybe a pontoon boat would work well for us (with the kids) and for having more space to able to take our families and friends along to the lake. Anyway--I called the number, we went and looked Saturday and it was such an amazing deal. We prayed about it--we even talked with the kids and prayed as a family that God would guide us in this decision. We explained that maybe there was something else God would want us to spend our money on instead of this boat. (Anthony "got it" and prayed that God would help us know...Gideon's prayer went like this..."God, please help us get the boat!") He's three--almost four--at least he got it that it was something to be prayed about. We are really trying to get to that point as a family...EVERYTHING is something to consult with God about...if He is really, really going to be in the driver's seat of our life and our family. Anyway, we can't wait to get it down to the lake and try it out. We already have the boys' birthday party planned for Saturday evening, so it may be Sunday afternoon or next weekend before the maiden voyage!

God's Goodness

2008-06-23T00:07:00.002-05:00

Jon and I attended a marriage retreat in Branson this weekend. It was led by Travis Plumlee--who is truly a man of God, totally yielded to and led by the Holy Spirit. It was so refreshing and fun and we are so thankful for the things God is continuing to teach us and use to grow us to be more like His Son. We literally got back just few hours ago and went out to my parents house to pick up the kids. Anthony, Gideon and Evie have had a total blast there this weekend. It is so nice that we have a place where they can play and run and really get to experience the country the way Jon and I both did growing up. Anyway--we ate dinner out on my parents' deck and Anthony got done and asked to be excused to go get in a few more minutes of play before we had to leave. My dad joked with me on the phone that the boys were so low maintenance...he has a dirt pile in the yard from some ground work he has been doing, and he told me he gave them two shovels and they have been happy as clams, digging and playing all weekend. Of course Anthony headed right back to the dirt pile where he and Gideon had been just 20-30 minutes before. All of a sudden he let out a yell/scream I have never heard out of him at the same moment that he hurled the shovel he had been hitting on the ground and came running and crying to the deck faster than I have ever seen the child move. The only thing was he was crying but not making any noise--totally freaked out. I thought he had been stung by something and he finally got out that there was a brown snake. Jon and my Dad headed for the dirt pile where Anthony had been and my Dad almost stepped on a copperhead right there on top of that pile of dirt. At this point my dad calls back to me that I should check Anthony to make sure he doesn't have a bite on him and I flipped out. I kept asking him louder and louder if it bit him or just scared him...to the point Jon yelled at me to calm down and quit asking...that he would know if he was bit or not. At this point I start to cry and just have to back away because I don't want Anthony to see me crying and upset. My dad at this point has already chopped the snakes head off (rather forcefully--I told Jon he just was releasing his emotions a different way than me). Anyway--everyone got calmed down and Jon told me he didn't mean to yell etc. I still felt like I was going to throw up...I kept thinking how many times I let the boys out there to play when it is just me out there working, how many times they go crawling up the pile on their hands and knees, sit on it, etc. At this point Jon reminded me that just today as the marriage retreat was ending we spent a considerable amount of time as a group praying, each couple praying for our different individual families and needs and Jon said "we spent time today praying specifically and powerfully for God to protect all three of our children and He just answered our prayer with Anthony!" Ahhhh God, thank you for this man. He is so calm and so quiet sometimes, but so solidly grounded in You and Your truths. Our children are God's. He will always be watching out for them and working His perfect will. Although it would be tempting for me to want to never let my kids out in the country again...that's not going to happen. It's not my parents fault there was a snake...that is just part of the outdoors. There are many dangers out there, we just have to do the best we can to protect our kids and and keep them safe while at the same time trusting God completely. (I'm still learning in that area! I don't know if I'll ever have a snake encounter that doesn't leave me feeling like I want to throw up!!!!!!!!!!!!)

Summer Fun!

2008-06-14T23:33:00.005-05:00

Here's a clip of Gideon batting Tuesday night. Anthony is there on the left getting ready to bat.

I wasn't sure Anthony was going to get situated before the camera quit recording!

This is Evie's first official fishing trip with her Papa. It was so funny she wouldn't let him help her with her Tigger pole and he knew she had this little fish on it. She kept yelling "I fish!" and waving it around wildly any time anyone tried to help her. Finally we got the fish in and Dad started to hold it up for her for a picture and she said, "I pet!" (She also was petting the worms...it was hilarious--especially since her brothers don't really like to touch the worms!)

Finally, more news on the tadpoles...If you look very close at this picture the one right in the middle has four tiny legs and a tail. Over night his tail was gone and there he is...a frog in the bottom picture. I should have put something in the picture for size comparison...he isn't even as big as my little finger nail! It was amazing that he changed from the first picture to the second in a 24-48 hour period of time! Our friend Arta (who is from Albania and said she had no idea tadpoles are where frogs came from...) ask me if I was supporting Darwin's Theory of Evolution...I told her "Nope--just God's amazing design!!!!!!!!!!!!!" We've had lots of fun with this, but like I said in my last post...Jon is ready to have the amphibians off of the kitchen table!

Princess Evie and "Princess Daddy"

2008-06-01T15:50:00.003-05:00

Doesn't this look fun? Evie and Daddy were playing and she thought he needed a "hat" too. "Hat" is her word for anything that goes on her head. It has been a while since I've had time to post. We have hosted a huge one day yard sale here at our house, made a trip to Oklahoma to visit some of Jon's family, officially finished school and I don't know what else all in the last month. Whewww! We are trying to slow down and settle into a summer routine of sorts. The boys start playing T-Ball this week (Jon is coaching their team) so I will try to get pictures of them on here soon. Let's see there's always lots of exciting things going on around here. Our most recent "project" is raising tadpoles into frogs. (Jon says we could actually put our food on the kitchen table, but we have to fill our plates at the stove because of our "centerpiece") It's just an aquarium full of tadpoles:) I got about 40-50 because I didn't think they would all live, but so far we have not even lost one. We are really enjoying watching them. We have had them for four weeks now, and supposedly it takes 6-8 for the magic to happen...so anytime would be great. All they have done so far is eat, get bigger and make their water dirty. (An interesting side note--we got online to find out what to feed them and they love boiled lettuce. Apparently it has the same proteins or whatever they need that algae has in it.) Like I said, always exciting here. We raised butterflies one time--my sister bought Anthony the butterfly garden with a coupon to send off for the caterpillars. Those caterpillars came, (nearly died because the mailman left them on the mailbox in 90 degree heat) made cocoons, hatched, mated and laid eggs before we got them released When I started to clean out the butterfly garden I realized there were tiny eggs. I kept a bunch, they hatched and we had three 2nd generation butterflies!!!!!!!!!! (I won't tell you how much we spent buying plants for the second group to eat, because they didn't hatch with food!) My sister also bought the boys an ant farm...hey, I'm seeing a pattern--Naomi buys all of these "involved" projects. Just kidding--she and I are just alike--we love this kind of stuff. The tadpoles were all my doing and speaking of tadpoles again...they do need their water changed and that is next on my list. More from the Littlejohn Casa later:)

Still Bleeding

2008-04-13T14:23:00.002-05:00

I'm sure this is gross to some people, but it's a big moment when you loose your very first tooth! He was so brave and so proud when it was done. (His cousin Faith, who is 9 months younger than him, was mad just after this picture was taken because Anthony wouldn't pull or show her how to pull one of her teeth out! Luckily one of the adults around overhead this and intervened.)

"Lost" Tooth

2008-04-09T16:58:00.003-05:00

So this past weekend we were all over at Jon's parents just relaxing outside and enjoying the weather, when Anthony comes around the house and informs me he can't eat anymore of his apple because his tooth was coming out. Sure enough right there on the bottom left--his little tooth was barely haning on. We assured him it was ready to come out and all it needed was a little tug. After much coaxing and encouraging from all of us he got it out...he did it all by himself and didn't want anyone touching or helping...even Aunt Susie who works in a dental office!:)

So losing your first baby tooth is a big deal right? The kid made out like a bandit before we ever got home! With all the aunts, uncles and grandma and papa. So that was all great now here is where the story gets interesting and eventually down right funny. We quickly put it in an envelope to keep it safe and it was safe all afternoon. However Sunday evening my parents came by and I do not know what possessed me to let Anthony take the tooth out of the envelope and hold it in his hand, but not twenty seconds after I said, "don't drop that or we will never find it out here in the YARD! (what was I thinking?) he dropped it!!!!!!!!!!!!! We immediately began to search and I continued to search way past my parents and Jon had to give up. I searched with a drop light until 9:30 and then I was back out there Monday morning. Needless to say we have a very bare spot with no grass right in front of our porch. I finally gave up and we decided to put a "substitute" tooth in an envelope. Anthony had us write "Dear Toothfairy, Sorry about my tooth...it's somewhere in the front yard." Anthony already asked us straightout about the toothfairy and we couldn't lie, but he still thought it would be cool to pretend. The "Toothfairy" wrote back..."Dear Anthony, I'll let it slide this time. Be more careful next time. Congratulations!" Anthony had a dollar under his pillow...I of couse saved both envelopes for the baby book and we were on to other things. Then, today WEDNESDAY--I got out of the van and just thought I would walk over and take a look now that it has rained, and Jon has mowed and used the weedeater in front of the porch. Would you believe I bent over and picked up that tooth right off the top of the ground! No kidding!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I do not know why God's timing involved me waiting three days to find that thing, but He knew right where it was all the time!

Here's a picture of Anthony right after "the extraction" (Sorry about that...that picture is on Jack and Wanda's camera...I'll have to get it and post it later) and also a picture of a wedding cake I did this past weekend. Not too shabby for an amateur. I was pleased when it was all done.

2008-03-25T17:07:00.006-05:00

Here's a picture of us from Easter Sunday. The more of us there are the harder it seems to get a picture. I'm not sure why Gideon wouldn't smile--he has a gut laugh that would make anyone smile--and I don't know what Evie is doing either. It looks like she is hiking part of her dress up. Life is always lively and full around here. We truly don't feel worthy of the many blessings we experience everyday. Let me quickly share one recent blessing. We have not really put any emphasis on Easter Egg hunts ever. We have just tried to really stress the real meaning of Easter. We aren't anti-Easter Egg hunt though--so this year I thought I would take the kids to one on Saturday. With the weather the way it has been this winter we have had to really watch our spending because we have missed quite a few days of work. Anyway--I decided I would go ahead and buy three of those cheap ice cream bucket type Easter baskets Wal-Mart has. (They are a whole whoppin' $1.00, but they REALLY weren't a necessity. ) My Aunt came to visit last week and she came by on Friday with something for our kiddos...guess what? That's right Easter Baskets... and nice Hallmark Easter buckets that are tin and decorated and will last for many years. So, do you think it was coincidence or is God concerned even with the little things of life that I often treat as too small for Him to be bothered with? I'm afraid I often overlook these "little" everyday blessings from him!

Here is some of what else has been going on lately. We decided to throw a surprise 60th birthday party for Jon's mom, in Februay. I enjoy making cakes, but wanted to do something special for the occasion. After a little research, I decided to try my hand at fondant. This was the first cake we (I say we because somehow Jon got right into it with me) made. This was a practice run. The next week we made another one for practice for a baby shower for twins.

As I already said, Jon really got into this stuff. It's kind of like playdough for adults. Anyway, he decided we needed to do something with a bow, so he is really the one who made the bow happen. (He had out his tape measure and everything.) We were pretty pleased with ourselves when it was all done. Here are the finished cakes.

2008-02-20T14:28:00.002-06:00

Here we are having some snow fun. This wasn't last week's ice,
but the snow from a few weeks ago. When Evie falls down in
that snowsuit, even inside, she can't get back up. It makes her very irritated.

Here is Evie doing her favorite past time. She will stand on the step stool and brush her teeth forever!!!! She is learning not to throw a fit when it is finally time to put the toothbrush away.

2007-12-26T15:55:00.000-06:00

So, here is my once a month post...First a few pictures from the Princess Party! Evie jumped into her little cake, well bit into her cake and really went after it. She didn't mind messy hands at all!

Okay--one from before the party in her Christmas dress.

She was showing the crowd what she got:)

We had to work to get this...she HATED the Princess tiara! That hand is on its way up to yank the tiara off again!!!

Enjoying her cake..

Finally here is one of all three kiddos. The boys usually are saying "cheeeeeese" and recently Evie has started going ahhhhhhhhh during pictures because she knows they make a sound she just isn't sure how to make their sound so she makes her own.

I just realized my "blog" is more of a picture site than anything. I just don't seem to have the time right now to get my thoughts typed or written very often. We had a wonderful Christmas day here at home. We had Christmas with Jon's family the same weekend as Evie's party. So, after the kids opened their presents, Jon's parents came by to have birthday cake for Jesus with us and then my parents and grandma came for lunch and spent the rest of the day here so the boys especially could play with their stuff (they got a huge amount of add ons for their Geo Track train set). Once Jon realized it wasn't going to physically fit on the living room floor they moved to the basement and that's where the boys spent the biggest part of the day! (Even the "Big" boys. Papa Herb came to get a yardstick to make his job of track switcher a little easier on his back:)

As I think to the New Year...I've been thinking how blessed we are and so thankful to God for His greatest Gift to us--Jesus. He's what makes this and every day of the year truly special!

What a whirl

2007-11-28T15:42:00.000-06:00

The past few weeks have went by in a flash. I can't believe Thanksgiving has come and gone.

I don't have but a few minutes so I'll be quick.

Evie's broncoscopy went as well as could be expected. She is a little "scrub/labcoat" shy at this point, but that is to be expected. The worst part of the whole thing was getting the i.v. going. I had to basically lay on top of her while two nurses worked to get it in. The poor little thing was wringing with sweat by the time it was in and she has said mamamama and no, no, no, no about a hundred times. Anyway--from the procedure they were able to rule out surgery. Her airway is just fine and not obstructed at all. (Praise the Lord!!!!!) They took some samples and grew some cultures from those and have discovered that she has a staff infection (the doctor assured me it wasn't the dangerous kind you are hearing about in the news) and also that her "gamma globulins"--they the numbers they check to see how your immune system is fuctioning--anyway the one number for the lower part of her lungs is low. So basically her immune system is not fighting off things in that area. We are in the process of waiting on some more blood tests to get back to see where to go from here. I believe they are checking to see how her immune system has responded to the regular immunizations she has received and then we will go to an immunizologist (that may not be the right word--anyway an immunization specialist) to see what can be done to boost her immune system in the lower lung area. Whew--for now we are just having to do two breathing treatments a day with a mask. The boys say she look likes a fire breathing dragon because we have these cute little dinosaur masks and the vapor comes out two little holes. I'll have to post a picture. She is tolerating it better, but still looks so pitiful when we sit there holding her hands so she doesn't yank the whole thing off.

On a more happy note--Evie started walking around the 17th of November. Now she is really into everything with the boys!

Here are a few recent pictures and I have to go.

Here is Evie sporting the same hunting outfit her brothers have worn (plus the orange socks...a girl's got to accesorize:)

Look at what we get to enjoy all of the time...here are our "cowboys" taking a rest before hitting the trail. (We think they are so cute!)

Finally, a quick update on the Surprise party...this is the death look I got from my hubby when he realized we weren't going to a movie and that all of what he saw was for him...notice how pleased Jon's brother Josh (behind him) and sister-in-law Jennifer (to the left) are with the situation? I have to say a HUGE thanks to both of them because without their help and everyone else in the Littlejohn family, we wouldn't have pulled off the surprise. He was TOTALLY surprised...can you tell? He did get a litte more happy after a few minutes:)

Update on Evie

2007-11-12T16:53:00.000-06:00

Many of you already know that Evie has been having some sort of breathing problem since mid-May. We thought maybe seasonal allergies (but the medical community seems to think babies can't have allergies) Anyway our doctor kept an eye on it all summer and really believed it was RAD (Reactive Airway Disease)--in an adult this would be Asthma, but so many babies grow out of it that they don't want to label them as having "asthma"--long story short (and vaguely I feel like maybe I've posted about this already) anyway--we have tried inhalers, a nebulizer, I've tried not eating dairy products, keeping her from eating any wheat etc., etc.

Since she is still having problems our doctor thought we should see a pediatric pulmonologist. We did last Wednesday and after quite a while of examining her, listening to her, and asking us questions he told us he really doesn't think it is asthma. Instead he thinks she may have an artery that should be laying beside her wind pipe actually laying across it and causing it to flatten instead of stay round and open. He said it has probably been this way since she was born, but she caught her first cold/virus in May and it basically got trapped down below where she can't cough it up. Most of us have a little mucus/secretion in our airway that a good cough clears out. Evie's just sort of stays trapped and moves up and down. (This is how we get the sound Jon likes to call "Darth Vadar") They went ahead and send us somewhere else and did a test Wednesday to check her swallowing and didn't see any obstruction as things went down to her stomach--which is good--if they did that would have meant the artery was actually wrapped around both airway and esophagus--but it's not, so now we have a "procedure" scheduled at Cox South in Sprinfield on the day before Thanksgiving. They will actually put a camera up through her nose and down her throat to check if her airway is open or looks flattened. She will have an I.V. and be sedated so she is more comfortable. It will be done in the NICU because the beds are nice and open all the way around and they have all the monitoring equipment--for keeping a close eye on her during it. We can stay with her right up until they put the camera in and then they will record everything so the doctor can go over the video with us when he is done. If it doesn't' look flattened he will still take some cultures to try and figure out what is going on. If it is flattened like he thinks it is he told us it will just require a "simple sugery" to move the artery over off of her airway. (No surgery near the heart/lung area sounds simple to me...he did say we would need to be at a Children's Hospital to have that done if that is what they find.) So please keep us in your prayers next Wednesday. They said after a breathing treatment or two for inflamation she should be ready to go--sometime between noon and 2:00 p.m.

Jon and I are still not sure if I am going to go this one alone...he will already be missing work on Thursday because of Thanksgiving...so he may have to be here on Wednesday. (Being self-employed has its perks and its "not so perky" parts. :)

Anyway--that updates everyone on what is going on with the breathing stuff. Other wise we are just racing along to the holidays it seems.

(Had to edit here because Jon just happened to check our e-mail and I forgot when anyone leaves a comment it notifies us in our e-mail. I am turning that little feature off--and hopefully he will forget how wierd I acted when he tried to click on the comments e-mails. Oh well--if you're reading this and it makes no sense whatsoever, give me a call and I'll explain.)

Doll Baby

2007-10-26T15:46:00.000-05:00

Evie is just about to walk. She can stand for quite a while without holding onto anything, she just doesn't realize she could take off. She prefers to drop to her knees and crawl...it must feel more safe right now. Here are some of the newest pics of her.

This is what she does if you ask her what she is doing...she shows you whatever she has!

She thinks she is big stuff and constantly trying to keep up with her brothers. That is a free standing stair case in the background that goes with our bunk beds (beds that Jon's dad built for him and his brothers when they were little. They are really neat and take a regular full size matress top and bottom.) Anyway this was the evening we put the staircase in the bedroom--Anthony is now big enough to sleep up on top...at least his dad thinks so--I do too, but we have him totally surrounded with those gate things to keep him from falling off. He doesn't fall out of bed, but who wants to take a chance? Anyway the boys were going up and down the staircase and Evie wanted so bad to get a toe hold up on that first step that is level with her chest/waist...

Pumpkin Patch

2007-10-26T15:15:00.001-05:00

Here are the kids before we left for the Pumpkin Patch...it's nice to finally be able to get a decent picture of the three of them by myself. (I think this is because Gideon is getting a little more cooperative--although sometimes cheesy as you can see..and Evie can sit up and "hold her own" sort of.) And yes, I did plan their clothes to look like fall because I hoped to get a good picture of them sometime that day:) There they are...can you believe how much they all look alike and yet so unique?

And here we are at the Pumpkin Patch. We went with our homeschool co-op and had a lot of fun. (Listen to this co-op "make-up"...4-five year olds (hence the reason we formed our co-op), 3-three year olds, and 4 babies (all under two years old)! We plan academic stuff for the five year olds...the three year olds pretty much have a playdate...and it's "crowd control" for the babies. Here's the whole group...(plus one "extra Emma" who was along for the fun)

And a final fun one...can you believe how little boys are drawn to tractors, trucks and machines?

Still Don't Know What I'm Doing

2007-10-02T22:56:00.001-05:00

Okay, here are the pictures that I tried to put into my last post, but it kept throwing them all the way at the top of the post instead of inserting them where I wanted them!!!!??????????
Can you tell they get tired of pictures sometimes? They will love me someday. In fact, we just moved a bunch of our movies downstairs and we found all of our home videos we have taped to this point (we decided maybe a machine to convert them from VHS to DVD would be an appropriate family Christmas gift this year)--Anyway, Jon put one in the VCR and Gideon is totally taken with watching himself when he was a baby. It's like he really finally gets it that he used to be just like Evie. He has asked to watch "his" video several times since then! It's so fun to watch. No matter how hard I try to remember every thing and every little detail it's hard without something to remind me. (When I was pregnant with Anthony and asking my mom and my mother-in-law questions about kids and being pregnant etc. I remember wondering how in the world they couldn't remember things...five years later I TOTALLY understand! Sorry Mom and Wanda! I really didn't know, now I do:)

Our Everyday Life...

2007-10-02T22:40:00.000-05:00

Nothing super exciting to report this week. I did not plan this picture or color coordinate it, it just happened. The boys were getting in bed and we were doing our nightly devotions/prayers. We usually spend a little time just having fun too. How can these beautiful blessings from God be so big already? It happens one day at a time right under my nose, and I don't even realize it's going by so incredibly fast! I just got the pictures off of our camera and onto the computer and this is one of the most recent. Aside from Anthony's "cheesy" smile, I thought it was great.

Below are a couple of pictures of the boys during school time. Gideon comes and goes, but this particular day he was enjoying the activity with us. (I'll have to post a picture of Evie in her pack and play:) Sometime I'll have to post a picture that I'm actually in--you know, those that don't happen very often because I'm usually the one taking the picture.

Well-Jon stepped into a hole in the backyard earlier this evening (he isn't sure whether it was little-boy-made or golden-lab-made since they all seem to love digging in the dirt) and he is now nursing a very spranged ankle, so I guess I need to get things finished up and try to see what I can do to help him out. I'm afraid he may "get" to spend the day home with us tomorrow!

Battle of the Bands

2007-09-26T15:03:00.000-05:00

Sorry about so many pictures...do you think we have a chance at the contest? The boys had this great idea and were doing their own thing when I added Evie to the picture with her piano...fun times:)

William Tell Overture for Moms

2007-09-25T12:06:00.000-05:00

My friend Nicole e-mailed this link to me. I sat here and laughed and laughed...this basically sums up my life:) If you have a minute (actuallly about three) it will probably make you laugh too. There is probably a way to put a video on this blog, but I have no idea how..or time to figure it out.

This is great!!! I had to share it ! Ohhhhhhhhh, sooo much truth, in about 3 minutes!!! ;) Enjoy!!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w_oc1j5NakY

Can we get a saddle???

2007-09-18T11:16:00.000-05:00

New Addition

2007-09-18T11:00:00.000-05:00

No, not another baby:) Here is the newest member of our family. His name is Jack and we aren't sure how old he is, but we're pretty sure still somewhat puppy because he likes to chew things! (Our apologies to Jon's dad...he came with the name Jack on his collar.) Our neighbor does some kind of work with rental properties and this dog was abandoned. He is sooo well behaved. He sits when told, comes when you call him, and doesn't jump on the kids. I knew I was eventually going to have to give in to a dog and he seemed like a good choice. This was after several weeks of the neighbor trying to get him reunited with his owners. They just didn't want him and I can't understand that because someone has obviously spent a lot of time with him. We are working on the chewing thing and trying to get him to understand the concept of walking on a leash without tugging on our arms. The boys adore him and he seems to really enjoy them too. He and Evie like to check each other out through the patio doors. We have had him about a month and it seems to be working (once the boys finally figured out that they can't leave toys in the yard.)

Here we go...

2007-09-11T16:30:00.001-05:00

Okay Jennifer and Tara--I've created it, now if I can just keep it up to date!

To anyone else reading this...my sister-in-laws finally talked me into blogging. Everyone knows there are days go by that I don't even get my computer turned on, and I'm probably the only one in the family who doesn't check their e-mail at least once a day. Why, you ask? Do I hate computers? The answer is no, I love computers...it's just that as our address says, it's a bit of a circus around here. A "three-ring" circus to be exact...their names are Anthony, Gideon and Evie. I figure a lot of this blog will end up being about them, so I might as well name it appropriately. Jon and I jokingly call it a circus, because life is almost always crazy and someone is usually having a crisis at any given moment, but we love it and wouldn't have it any other way. Anthony is five and has just started Kindergarten (here at home). This is our newest adventure and so far we are loving it too. Gideon is three and thinks he is five. He is right there with Anthony, learning some of the kindergarten stuff. However, he is still three and sometimes prefers Caillou or the backyard to the classroom scene. Evie is almost 9 months old and such a doll. She is really a very good natured baby and makes the homeschooling thing pretty easy. She has her pack and play right under the dry erase board...so who knows she may be the baby genius of the bunch. (Not that the boys weren't super smart:)