Mabrie's Newborn Pictures

I am so excited to share these with all of you! One of our good friends from church, Drew Hill, does some photography on the side. His full-time job is the Youth Pastor at our church, First Baptist Lavaca. Over the past year or so, I've been looking at some of the pictures he's taken just of all different things - the construction of he and Emily's new home, his sister's family, vacations, etc. and just love his "eye" and his picture taking style. When I found out we were pregnant, I knew that I wanted to ask him to take newborn pictures for us. I was sure he'd capture exactly what I wanted and do it in a really cool, modern way. Well, let's just say he did just that and so much more!

Mabrie was his very first newborn shoot and I must say, she was a sweet little client! :) She slept the majority of the time and when she would wake up, she would just look around and see what was going on. (She soaked a few of their blankets in some of the "naked baby" pictures, but other than that, she was great! HAHA!)

Drew and Emily were both so patient with her and just took so much time getting those perfect shots! I can't thank them enough for doing this for us and giving us these priceless pictures that we will treasure for the rest of our lives!

Here's the link to his blog! To see all the pictures, click "Open Post" to the left of her picture. Enjoy!

www.drewhillphotography.com/blog

Fall

Am I the only one that can't wait for fall to get here?! Here are some of my favorite things about this time of year:

Cooler Weather
Leaves Changing
Fall-Scented Candles
Soup and Chili
Open Windows
Pumpkins
Mums
Fall Parties - complete with S'mores!
Caramel Apples
Taking walks and needing a light jacket

Those are just a few things that I'm looking forward to in the next few weeks. What are some of your favorite things about fall? I'd love to hear!

10 Days

It's already been 10 days since Mabrie joined our family! What a little blessing she is! She is such a good and easy baby. That was something I prayed for throughout the pregnancy. I had myself ready for anything, but was hoping for the best. I'm so thankful that my prayers were answered though. :)

Right off the bat, we started her on the Baby Wise schedule. I'm one of those people that just functions better on a schedule and it's proven to be successful with Macie and Maddie, so it was a must again with Mabrie. She eats every 3 hours during the day and then most days has a time of being awake and then moves into nap time for the last hour or so until it's time to eat again. She has worked herself into her own great schedule at night, and I am loving it. She gets up once a night, eats, and hits the sack again until about 6:30 a.m. She does great in her bed, although she had no choice in the matter, so I guess she has learned to like it or lump it. HAHA!

Macie and Maddie have transitioned really well to having a new baby in the house. They just adore her and love to hold her. It's funny though how quickly the newness wears off and how the two of them have become good buddies - even more so than they were before. They seem to understand that I am busy with her a lot and they will go off and play together more often now.

The first week and a half home have been really great. We are thankful for all our friends that have provided meals so that I can just rest and recoop. It's been a real blessing and very appreciated. I'm also thankful that last week my mom was able to come here and help me out. She cleaned, did laundry, took the girls to and from school, cooked some and helped with Mabrie so that I could nap as needed. Plus, we got to enjoy some time together, which is always great! She even kept all 3 girls on Friday night so that Mike and I could go out to dinner, just the 2 of us. We weren't gone long, but it's still nice to have a date and some grown up conversation.

Today was my first day to do it all by myself and it went surprisingly well. I got everyone up, dressed, fed, lunches made, etc., etc. and to school on time! YAY! All in all, it's been a great day. Now, I'm ready for Mike to get home from work and enjoy our evening together. Have a great week everyone!

Our Family is Complete!

We are so happy to announce that Mabrie Claire is HERE! She was born yesterday - Friday, September 3rd at 9:04 a.m. She weighed 6 lbs. 15 oz. and was 19" long. She is doing just great and so am I!

Praise the Lord for another healthy baby! What a blessing! She's been such a good baby this first day and a half. She doesn't make much noise at all and is getting used to being passed from person to person to person! Her big sisters are pretty thrilled with her! They both want to hold her and love on her all the time. It's so sweet to see their little "motherly" instincts already coming out! :) They are gentle with her and just think she's the best thing ever!

It's so awesome to know that our family is complete. We thought it was before, but we were wrong. As soon as she arrived - I just knew. I knew she was always meant to be part of our family. I knew God had created and planned her little life to be our daughter. I just knew. It was an incredible moment. And seeing our older girls walk in the room and meet their sister - man, that is a moment I will never forget.

We get to go home tomorrow and I am looking forward to that. I am ready to get out of the hospital and have us all under the same roof. Then - let the fun begin!

Here she is - our sweet Mabrie Claire!

It's Almost Time!

I'm sitting here in my living room thinking that this time tomorrow night, I'll be gearing up to head to the hospital! I have to be there at midnight on Thursday and they will start the induction process at that time. I spent today cleaning my whole house, finishing up laundry, putting the infant base and carrier in the car, and packing the girls suitcases for their slumber party with their friends tomorrow night!

I think we can finally say that we are ready. Her room is in order, her clothes are washed, the girls are excited and Mike and I are just ready to meet our baby and introduce her to her sisters.

I appreciate all the sweet comments, emails, phone calls and texts I've received from friends and family the past day or two. So many wonderful people that are praying us through the next couple of days and it means so much to us.

I'm so thankful for my friends that are taking care of Macie and Maddie for us on Thursday night and Friday. I know I have nothing at all to worry about because they are in good hands, hands of people that love them like family. What a blessing!

Sometimes I can't believe that it's really time. As I'm typing, she's kicking and moving all over the place. In 2 short days, we'll be holding her in our arms. It's really time and I'm ready.

Jeremiah 1:5 - Before I formed you in the womb I knew you. Before you were born I set you apart.