Lake Monticello Karate Academy!

My husband and kids (and I guess myself, too, being the mom of all these kiddos) have been quite involved with Lake Monticello Karate Academy for a few years now. To say we have been impressed with the owners, athletes and kids/adults who work there is truly an understatement! My husband began working with Team Intense (their competition team) awhile back on endurance training, strength and conditioning several nights a week. He's a Physical Therapist and has been for years so this is right up his alley. He loves it and I think he's really been making a difference in these kids lives. I was asked to come along with him tonight (along with our 2 oldest boys who begged to come along with me) to capture some pictures of Team Intense in action and doing their thing. WOW is all I can say! Dedication, perseverance, strength, respect - each of these kids were awesome, in every way! Robbie and Daniel watched in amazement and I think they got a kick out of watching their Daddy coach, too. I captured some great memories that I thought would be neat to share. Karate is NOT about fighting like so many folks think ... it has so many amazing benefits that I'm already beginning to see in my 4 year old. We feel so blessed to be a part of LMKA and I'm quite cetain my own kids will be on Team Intense some day, when they're a bit older! Maybe even our little girl ... still sounds strange saying that! Thanks to everyone who has been so generous in their donations of girl clothes .... seeing pink everywhere is getting me that much more excited to meet her and welcome a precious baby girl into our family of boys! :)

YUMMY and FUN!

Lately, it seems like our days have been so jam-packed with stuff to do, be it sports practice, speech therapy, school work, errands, re-organizing our entire upstairs, doctor's appointments, etc ... I guess that comes with the territory of being parents of young children and pregnant with baby #4! We've certainly been blessed with some gorgeous weather, too, which has meant lots of fun playtime outside with family and friends. Today is no exception, especially since Daddy is taking a 1/2 day from work. YAY! We came home from speech this morning, got busy with school work, and then we decided to do something fun, nutritious, even educational - homemade carrot cupcakes with a lemony icing. Yum! :) We worked on counting, did some simple measurements and made it into some fun learning time, too! The boys had a blast helping Mommy though my kitchen looked like a disaster zone by the time we were finished, though they helped me clean up and load the dishwasher without a complaint! Probably because they knew what the end result would be ... yummy cupcakes. :) In all seriousness, they really are some wonderful helpers as they know that helping/chores are simply a part of being in this family. Since my boys are carrot lovers and I'm always on the lookout for healthy recipes, I came upon this particular one in my quest for nutritious recipes. I've also started meal planning and preparing month long meal calendars which has been helping me tremendously. I've fallen in love with Ellie Krieger's recipes ... they're nutritious, delicious, and I've never had a flop. If anyone is interested in the snack I made today, let me know ... I'd be happy to share. They are super yummy and something I'm hopeful my husband will even eat since he's on a super health kick with all the crazy athletic training he's doing in preparation for an upcoming triathalon. And I don't mean that in a negative light .... I wish I had half of his determination and motivation. He truly amazes me! Maybe I'll be right there with him someday .... or maybe not? In the meantime, I'll continue to work on feeding my family in healthy, fun, and nutritious ways! :)

Spring has sprung! :)

When I look at pictures of my clan of boys, it's almost hard for me to fathom life with a little girl, but I'm reminded of her daily as I feel her kick and move and make my belly change shape in pretty funky ways. I am growing by the day, it seems, as are my discomforts and exhaustion. But how very much she is already proving to be such a blessing! I CANNOT wait to hold her and meet her for the first time. My mom watches Sammy boy every Monday while I take the boys to our homeschooling co-op in town. In my vast attempts to completely re-organize our upstairs bedrooms as we await the boys new bedroom suite, I came upon a little baby doll I bought awhile back for Daniel when I was pregnant with Sammy. Well, Sammy came upon this little girl baby doll today while my mom was here and she said that he fell in love with her. I recognized it tonight as we were gearing down for the night. Sammy was loving on her, kissing and hugging her and playing so sweetly with her. I know Robbie and Daniel will be amazing big brothers and it comforted me in seeing that Sammy is just as sweet and will likely be a pretty wonderful big bro himself. I'm sure it will be an adjustment for us all as we acclimate to being a family of 6, but how wonderfully loved and protected she will be with 3 big brothers, an adoring Daddy and a Mommy who will finally have another girl in the house. And to think we were uncertain that we even wanted a 4th, especially after losing another baby. The good Lord is blessing us yet again and we couldn't be more thankful!

Here are a few fun pictures of my boys that I've taken recently. We've been blessed with some absolutely amazing weather that we've taken full advantage of ... the boys are loving it, as are Rob and I! Time for freshly cut grass, bikes, swings, running down the street, potty-training outside (sorry neighbors!), and being completely silly ... being ourselves! Life is good. God is great! :)

  

Yay for parties and fun times with family and friends!

Our middle guy, Daniel, endured a bunch of icky blood work today and x-rays due to some issues he has been having that have caused us some concern. He was SUCH a trooper through it all ... only a few tears during the blood work and he laid completely still during the x-rays. He even said "cheese," giving all of us a good laugh! Robbie was quite upset when they asked us to leave the room ... he did not want to leave his "little brother," as he kept calling him. He loves him so very much and it warmed my heart to no end. He gave him a big hug when he was done and told him, "great job!" As crazy busy as life often is, I LOVE having 3 boys so close in age and couldn't imagine it any other way. Our baby girl will be here before we know it and we're all super excited and anxious to meet her and love her! GREAT news ... all of Daniel's blood work and x-rays came back normal as per a call I just received from our wonderful pediatrician. Yay! So happy and relieved!

Here are a few pictures from a great family weekend we had with the amazingly beautiful weather we were blessed with ... and, of course, a Saturday wouldn't be normal for the Maloney's without time spent at the pool with my water babes ...

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