Life is Bliss

Yep, life is pretty much bliss. ;)

I realized the other day that one blessing of this stage of life is that we get to spend a lot of time together as a family. Most of our evenings are spent together, all of us under one roof, with nothing to do but enjoy each other's company. Because, honestly...where do we feel like going with our little tribe? Nowhere that we don't have to go. And...what are we going to accomplish if we try to get anything done? Nothing. So, we sit at home, eat our meals, keep the house running...and spend our evenings together. And you know what? It keeps the pace slow, and it's kind of nice. Someday we will probably be much busier and eventually the times with everyone together under one roof will become fewer. So that is something I am appreciating right now. :) 

I recently met a good friend from high school who graduated last year after completing a five-year college degree and now has a job at an architect firm as she prepares to take her certification exams in the next year or two. She has been following this dream ever since we were very young and is almost there...yay! Then she asked what I've been up to. And I didn't know what to say. Umm...raising children? I really haven't been up to much else. But it is the most fulfilling job I could have!

Honestly...everything is going SO well. As in, much better than anticipated. Sometimes I feel like the more children I have to corral, the more natural it feels. I grew up the oldest of six, so that's basically what I spent the first nineteen years of my life doing. Well, minus the first few years of my life when I probably wasn't much help.

Since we are spending our time at home these days, it seemed like the perfect time to start potty training Micah! Ok, so I just woke up one day and decided to teach him how to use the potty. He was getting jealous because Levi was getting treats for using the potty, so I figured I might as well kill two birds with one stone and get them both trained at the same time! THE WORLD'S MOST BRILLIANT IDEA (besides a lot of other more brilliant ideas like the light bulb and wheels and stuff). Because they motivate each other. When number one sees number two go potty and get a treat, it makes him want to go! Peer pressure is the way to go, folks. Now I am almost ready to call Levi officially potty trained and Micah is doing great at home (though I spent the first two weeks scrubbing poo out of every corner of the house until one glorious day it suddenly clicked and he started putting it where it belonged). 

So. I guess potty training is as exciting as it gets around here. :) We don't get out much. Yet somehow I just rambled for a really long time.

It's picture time. The last couple weeks before Joanna arrived...

We enjoyed a visit from Suzanna, Shelby, and Camille! The boys LOVED having them over! 

We finally captured Micah in his classic "fix-it" position.

Coloring! :)

Matt needed me to make cookies for work so I gave Micah the beater when I was done. He sat there with this expression frozen on his face...for about two minutes straight.

The Sunday before Joanna was born...we were getting VERY impatient!

And then the big day arrived! Hopefully you've already seen enough pictures from that wonderful event! :)

Matt took the week off work after we brought Joanna home...and got lots done during naptime! These are all the weeds he pulled out of the landscaping! Yikes!

Corbin came over that Friday to help Matt out on a few projects...their projects didn't all go as planned, but they did enjoy some time on the water afterwards! 

The next weekend we spent with the Schulz family at Mom and Dad's. Joanna got to meet some of her cousins! Kyra needed some practice because her Mom is going to have a baby soon! 

Rocket balloons with Grandpa!

The second week Matt went back to work and we have had lots of help around here ever since! Up through last week, Camille and/or Shelby came on Mondays, my Mom helped on Tuesdays, and Hannah came on Wednesdays. Matt has been off every Friday but worked two of the Saturdays. So...that means I only had about five days to tackle on my own, and none were consecutive. Wow, I have an amazing support system. We are so blessed and thankful!

Enjoying day one with Camille and Shelby...uh oh, this girl business must be contagious! 

Levi and Daddy worked together in the shed one day and came in with this bench that Levi helped make! It was already cut into four pieces and he helped push the button on the drill to screw it together. :) 

Another day Micah put a bench together so now the boys have been playing "church" on their benches.

Levi's old glasses were rediscovered recently, so we popped out the lenses to give Micah a chance to model them! He looks so funny. :)

We spent two other evenings at the Massner house for summer birthdays. Johnny gave Micah some tree climbing lessons. I think he was pretty impressed! 

Then...back to the Schulz's to get together with the whole family when Steve and Julie came to visit! The night was filled with fun for the kids! This picture followed shaving cream twister! 

While the big kids swam in the pond, the little ones found the water balloons and had a blast popping them all! 

Krista was so thrilled to hold Joanna...I was quite impressed that she sat there holding her very gently for such a long time! My boys last about thirty seconds before eyes start getting poked (though they are improving!). 

Another family night...this time with the big Schulz family since Uncle Victor and Aunt Peggy were home! (Sorry for the blurry picture...) 

And of course...we can't forget our sweet baby! 

Levi loves her so much... <3

Oh, and Levi loves Joanna. You can tell he loves her because he is sharing his blankie with her. ;) 

And...yes! Can you believe it? Joanna was one month old last week! She is doing great - sleeping well at night, happy during the day, and...the smiles are coming and we love them!! :) 

I have been wanting to make a healthy pie and a good picking of blackberries gave me the opportunity! It turned out really good! And it even came out of the oven at pi time (3:14) so it was obviously meant to be. 

I had a little leftover dough so I baked a small pie crust and made it into a fresh strawberry pie for the three of us to share...yummy! 

Report on the rest of our fruit - we have gotten just enough of everything to eat fresh and I haven't had to put anything away yet...perfect! We got a half bushel of peaches and have picked a nice amount of blackberries and raspberries. I gave away the grapes because we still have a lot of juice left over from last year. The only thing I am still hoping to do this year is applesauce.

This week I had to make two trips to town for doctor appointments. On Tuesday everyone was along (with my mom) so we enjoyed a picnic at the park! Levi was getting really brave climbing around on everything! :) 

And so it goes...hope you all have had a good summer! We are looking forward to the arrival of fall - our favorite season! :)

Joanna Lyn

Welcome...

Joanna Lyn

Born Friday, July 20th at 6:14pm

8lb 2oz, 20 inches long

We are so thankful for another safe and healthy arrival of a very sweet little girl! 

Our family of five! 

The boys were SO thrilled to meet their new baby sister after waiting so long! 

So...the end-of-pregnancy story: She was nine days overdue. I was perfectly content with the wait up through the due date, but after that each day started getting longer and longer. I didn't want to get started and was trying to put that option off as long as possible. But, doctors will only let you wait so long. I was scheduled to get started Thursday morning, but the labor and delivery unit ended up being swamped up until Friday afternoon (they were still swamped, but didn't want me going any farther overdue). We arrived at 10am and got put on the monitor for a bit until a room opened up so we could get started. Dr. Heckart broke my water at 12:15, at which point I was dilated to a 5 (at my appointment on Tuesday I was almost a 4). When I got off the monitors, we power-walked the halls and stairs of the hospital for a couple hours until contractions started getting regular and stronger. Around 3pm, I was at a 6 and spent the next couple hours on the birthing ball. At 5:15, I was at 7.5 and then got in the bathtub for a half hour (something I hadn't tried in previous labors but it felt SO good). A few contractions after getting back in bed, I was ready to push. And the doctor barely got her gloves on before our little girl arrived! We didn't need any pitocin or help with pain relief, and even the pain was tolerable up until the last couple minutes. Everything went SO well, and we were very thankful for all of the answered prayers for a smooth labor and delivery and a healthy baby. God has been so good to us!

The name Joanna means "God is gracious" and this has been a wonderful reminder to me as we've made our way through the past few weeks. He answered our prayers for a good pregnancy, a smooth labor, a good baby (so far), and a smooth transition to a family of five. He answers my nightly pleas for a good night's rest. He gives us grace to overcome every new day.

Joanna is named after Matt's Grandma Joan Lanz, and the middle name is mine and my mom's.

Grandpa and Grandma Massner - the first newborn girl they've held in 24 years! To save you the guesswork-that baby was me. They are so excited to add another girl to the family! 

Twelve hours old!

Great Grandma Lanz

Uncle Zach (the Schulz uncles got to see Joanna before G&G who were on vacation!)

Ready to bring my little girl home! This pink stuff is going to take some getting used to! ;) 

Daddy is so in love with his beautiful daughter! 

Ready to go!

The grand arrival...the boys were very anxious to hold the baby again! 

Micah was OVERJOYED! 

The Schulz family finally returned home a few days later and came over right away to meet Joanna!

We enjoyed a visit from Great-Grandpa and Great-Grandma Schulz.

Joanna has been a good baby so far and is sleeping pretty good stretches at night, though sometimes it takes awhile for her to go back to sleep after nursing. Throughout the day she has been pretty content, but will get a little fussy in the evening before bed. Of course, I am afraid to say too much since this is only week three!

By 11 days old she weighed 8lb 11oz!

Ready for our first Sunday in church!

The boys LOVE their little baby sister. Levi likes to be involved- holding, burping, rocking, squeezing, poking, and repeating her name: "Jo-a-nna...Joanna...Joanna..." Micah's admiration goes as far as pointing at her with a big grin on his face and saying, "BAY-BEE!!" Awww...they are all so precious. :)

"I will hold Joanna on my lap right here and you can give her kisses..."

Life unedited... :)

The adjustment to three children (ages 2 1/2 and under)? Not too bad. The first two weeks went really well and I was beginning to think it didn't seem much different than having just the two boys to chase around when nine months pregnant. I had plenty of energy and my emotions were staying in check. Then Joanna started getting more awake during the day and now I am starting to feel very busy. Getting started in the morning can be very crazy, and evenings when Matt works late...ok, so I've only let myself do one of those by myself and it was a mess. I'm still doing well overall, but just had a rough start to the week!

We're on double diaper duty again! Well, sort of triple because the oldest one is still having some accidents. But we'll pretend I don't have more than two in diapers...

BUT I have had SOOO much help and am so grateful for the family and friends who have given their time and energy (and meals) to help out! Matt took the whole first week off work to help out. When he returned to work I had plenty of help lined up in the mornings and the first week I only had to spend two whole days by myself at home with the three littles. I've had good help again this week and I feel very blessed to be surrounded by such a good support system!

So precious!!

"Casting all your care upon him, for he careth for you." This verse has been a good reminder to me that God is here and wants me to come to Him with all of my cares. I am learning to rely on His power and grace for every moment. I can't do it alone -  and most certainly not without help from above!

We're all in love...:)

Non-cellphone photography courtesy of Hannah S.