Turning Your Blog Into A Book

We found an awesome website that is helping us turn this blog into a book. If you are interested in this process, you can check it out at blurb.com

I think we confused a few of you, thinking we were printing this book for profit. That is not the case. We are printing this book for Caislyn, Jakobi and Maylee, so that they can treasure this journey we've been on thus far! If you live close, we'd be willing to share our book with you, BUT you must return it in a few days. :) :) :) It has been fun playing around with this book. We're trying to keep it as authentic as we can, but we've had some fun and changed a few things, a few minor things. I can't wait to see it in book form.

Hope all is well with everyone. Everyone here is doing fine. A few of us have really bad colds, but other than that, life is goood!

3 1/2 years of Blogging Has Come to an END!

Well, this is it, folks! I am almost speechless. Thank you again for riding along with us as we went up and down the road of life. I'm sure that there is more adventure in store for this little family, but we know God is with us and He will take care of us. We pray that you "saw" and "heard" our message through this blog. A message of God's love. May you embrace that love and run with it. God has so many awesome things in store for all of us here on EARTH.

Blessings to you all,
Burke, JoEllen, Caislyn, Jakobi & Maylee

*We will keep this blog up for a couple of months. We are currently in the process of turning this blog into a book. Once this project is complete, this blog will be deleted. We'd still love to hear your stories. You can send those stories to us at hummelnest@gmail.com

Our new donkey

I couldn't resist posting these pics for you all! Tonight we adopted a donkey! I am sad now that Burke and I were not here to experience this with our kiddos. Burke was in a business meeting and I was out with the gals! (which I needed so badly and had an awesome time!) Thankfully Papa and MeeMaw were here to experience this new adventure.

By the way it sounds, Caislyn was really anxious to ride our new donkey, but it sounds like this is going to take some time. She needs to establish a friendship first! :) She spent a lot of time brushing his hair. Good start, Cai! Maylee liked the donkey and was not afraid of him. She even sat on him. We better watch her, because if you stand behind the donkey he may kick ya! Jakobi Dean was not interested in the donkey but loved to feed him food. I love the picture of him standing by the can of food, while holding the lid in his hand.

The donkey's name is up for debate, this is why I keep referring to him as "donkey". His previous owners named him Sylvestor. Caislyn wants to call him Tweety. Burke wants to call him Waffle. (his fave line from Shrek is the line where Donkey says, "and in the morning, I'm making waffles"). Maylee calls him "Donk". Jakobi calls him, "Don-Key", he emphasizes the "k". I honestly do not care, but would love to have a name figured out soon. Maybe we should be original and just call him Donkey.

1 more week

We messed up in last week's post (I changed it, so no need to go back and look!) and said that today was the last week for our blog, we meant to say NEXT WEEK, the last day of March.

We really appreciate the comments and emails from last week. Some of you really touched our hearts. (thank you for your kind words and stories) Some of you are confused. (I know it may sound confusing, but honestly we are just done with this chapter in our life) Some of you are sad. (No need to be sad. We still have email. To those we know really well, we intend to stay on FACEBOOK) Some of you are protesting! (You guys are crazy! Sorry, its not going to work! I mean that in love!)

We KNOW that this is the time. The time for this part of our ministry to come to an END. This doesn't mean that we still do not have a ministry, because we do have one and intend to use it. Hopefully forever! We look forward to using our story to touch lives. We never dreamed the impact that HUMMEL LAND, USA would have on people, especially when it was created for the sole purpose to keep family and close friends all updated with the happenings in our life.

It still blows our minds how many people have been here and stayed with us thru the thick and thin. THANKS.

A rare treat

On this day, the kidders had an early bath and a late supper. I think it was a long afternoon that day, so we thought a bath would kill some time. :) After their bath they came out to find Daddy eating something yummy...Doritos!! This is a rare treat in this house. We hardly ever have chips in this house, not that we are against them or anything, but this Mama just isn't a chip lover, therefore she never buys them. But, this day was a little different, we decided to grab Subway for supper and their Daddy couldn't resist getting a crunchy snack to go along with the subs. So, we let all three kiddos indulge on this salty ranch treat!

This is the time

There is a time. This is the time.

We have been blessed to be able to share our family’s life with you for the past 3 1/2 years. We started this blog the summer of 2005. It was created mainly for family and friends. In the Spring of 2006, the triplets entered the picture! Before we knew it, this was a HIGH TRAFFIC blog. You have laughed with us and cried with us. We have made a lot of friends through this blog. It has been amazing.

But this chapter of our life is ending in 2 weeks. March 31, 2009 will be our final post for Hummel Land, USA.

This blog has run its course and served its purpose. It has served as therapy and a sounding board. It was our chance to share the hope Christ gave us. That opportunity has been priceless. For that, we want to say “Thanks.” Thanks for listening to us as we went though so many ups and downs.

As the days of March slips by we would love to hear from you. We have heard from some of you, but there are some of you whose voice we have never heard. We would love to hear your story. We have created a special email account for this purpose only. So, feel free to email us there. Email us at HummelNest@gmail.com

Ready, Set, Go!

The other night, these 3 kids were all about delaying bedtime. They all knew what time it was but decided that a race would be more fun than heading upstairs and jumping into bed. It was funny to watch them all 3 line up and yell, "Ready, Set, Go!" and then they would take off running. Caislyn almost always won the race. Maylee won one race and came close to winning a couple other races. Jakobi did his own thing. He even did a little bit of crawling (have no idea why! You'd think he'd know that he was taking the slow route.) After 10 races, we made them get upstairs. Although I have no idea how they fell asleep so fast... their little hearts were pounding out of their chests!!

GO CAISLYN!

The Elmo slippers didn't help Jakobi win any races!
I thought this was funny. Caislyn wanted her picture taken with Jakobi. Maylee didn't like that idea and tried to pull Caislyn away!

Thankful Tuesday

Today I am thankful for a sensitive and loving Caislyn! This girl genuinely cares for people. Once she knows you, she LOVES you with all of her heart. She is known to give hugs, create handmade cards and offer help to those who are hurting. We are proud of the little lady she has become.

Today I am thankful for a healthy & thriving Maylee Bug! She has been through so much in the past 2 years, yet she remains so strong and vibrant. She makes our day complete when she asks to be cuddled. She gets so excited about it that she literally jumps into our arms!
Today I am thankful for a bouncy, super active, always moving Mr Jakobi Dean! I love that he can stop for a second to give a kiss, a hug and sometimes even a pat on the back.

What to do or say when someone has lost a baby (or babies)

*For some time now, I've been wanting to do a special post on this subject. I finally got the guts to do it. I did this, simply to help others out. I am not pointing blame on anyone here. Burke and I have been blessed with a loving family, a supportive Church Family and a great group of friends who truly care. These ideas worked for us and has helped us along in this journey of loss. These are suggestions, incase you ever need 'em!
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1. At first, say little and give plenty of hugs! If you've never gone through this kind of pain, sometimes your words can hurt (without you ever even knowing it) and a hug is really all a person needs at that moment in time. It tells the hurting parent that you truly care.

2. Write a nice note or card. Send it in the mail. This was a biggie for us, the outpouring of cards/notes helped us not feel alone in our pain. We still treasure those cards and notes. They were all placed in a basket. That basket now sits in our kitchen as a reminder of "not walking alone". I now try my hardest to send cards to parents who have lost a baby or child, even if I do not know them personally.

3. If you are related to the hurting family, PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE extend your arms during this painful journey. If you are invited to the burial/memorial service, please go! If you live close, take a meal over and deliver it with a note and a hug. Thankfully, Burke and I are blessed with a wonderful supportive family. We would not be here, where we are at today, if it wasn't for our family! It always breaks my heart to hear others say that their families have never ONCE acknowledged the loss of their baby. OUCH! This leaves scars on hearts. I know its hard to know what to say or do, but you need to do something (any of these ideas in this post can help!).

4. Avoid comments like, "You can always have more children" or "I can only imagine how much you are hurting". These comments hurt like crazy! Maybe just stick with idea #1 of this post. If you truly do not have the words to say, just do not say anything at all. Instead, just give the hug of love!

5. If you've been in a similar situation, write the parents a note. I've met some pretty amazing moms through this journey. Moms who pursued me and wanted to help me along. You KNOW who you are, so thank you once again! Like I said in #2, I try to do this, even if I do not know the parents personally. I express my condolensces and give a brief summary of our journey. I try to keep it short, nothing too long or overdone.

-If you've been in a similar situation and know the parents, give them a call. You could even offer them the chance to talk in person. It is nice to have someone you can relate to when you are in a hurting situation like this. Every person is different though. Some may not be ready to talk, so give this some time. Maybe a note about this offer (meeting and talking in person) would be appropriate at first. This allows the person to know whom they can confide in whenever they are ready. For me, I didn't really want to talk about Breckin. I could type my thoughts via blog or email, but other than that, I didn't want to talk about him and the whole situation. It was painful and all I wanted to do was cry. It didn't help that Maylee was in a very critical state and I was wrestling with thoughts of possibly losing her too. I realize now that NOT TALKING was not a healthy choice at the time. (although, Lora, you were there to talk to. Perfect timing for that!) I should have picked that phone up and called! Even if I didn't call you back, I was STILL comforted by your willingness to reach out. So, do not get your feelings hurt, if you never hear back from the hurting mom/dad. Who knows, they may contact you later on down the road. In the meantime, pray for the family.

6. Go together as a group to show your support and love. For us, a group of our college friends from Indiana Wesleyan University, went together and sent me a beautiful bracelet that had all of my childrens names engraved in it. I will treasure this forever!! Shelly Buck was the inspiration behind this special gift, which meant a lot, since she too is a mom who had to say goodbye to her sweet precious baby. Even though we all had gone our separate ways after college, the thoughtfulness of this gift allowed us to still feel connected to this special group of friends.

7. Remember the baby's birthday/anniversary. This is BIG! You could send a short note or email. Just to say you are thinking of them on that particular day. If you do not know the exact date, that is fine. You can send it in that same month and say, "You are on my heart right now and I am praying for you". For us, since we have this blog, we always appreciate the comments we recieve around the triplets birthday. Very comforting.

8. After a few months, offer a memorial to the hurting family. This can be so healing for not only parents, but also for siblings (and grand parents, aunts, uncles...). Burke's Aunt and Uncle (along with G'pa and G'ma B) came to us and asked if they could purchase a tree in memory of Breckin. They gave us choices of good memorial trees and then let us pick which tree we wanted. They let us decide on the location. We decided the tree would be fitting in G'ma and G'pa's back yard, by the playhouse. A place where Breckin's siblings and cousins would be playing. We even had a tree dedication. We invited our family and planted the tree that day. The kids had fun decorating Breckin's tree with bird seed ornaments. During the summer we enjoy watching all the kiddos in the backyard, right beside Breckin's tree. We also enjoy watching Breckin's tree change throughout the 4 seasons. Its pretty special to us. I know I will BAWL my eyes out if my in laws ever decide to move. (no pressure!)

-Another suggestion of a memorial, is making a donation. We had a couple make a donation to the Ronald McDonald House in loving memory of Breckin. We received a nice note card from the Ronald McDonald House stating who the donation was from. Burke and I made sure to send a note of thanks to this couple.

-In memory of Breckin, several families made donations to our county's Hospice program.

-This past year, a very special couple donated in Breckin's memory to the Tree of Lights. Every year, Hospice of our county decorate a Christmas tree and put on display down town. Each light represents a life that was taken. We recieved a nice note card in the mail from Hospice, stating who had given in memory of our sweet Breckin!

-All of these donations were complete surprises and the thoughtfullness behind it all still makes our hearts melt.

9. Send a book to the parents. Send a book to the sibling(s).

10. When the person decides to talk about the situation, let them vent. Do not try to have all the answers. Just sit there and listen. Tell them that you will pray for them, but only if you truly will pray for them. I know for us, there were times that we simply didn't know what or how to pray, so intercede in prayer for them! Its a gift like no other!!

*** ONE LAST THING***
Don't exclude the siblings! Depending on ages, this will vary on what to do. I am sure this can be a tricky one. I honestly can not say what or what not to do, especially since our Caislyn was only 3 years old at the time of Breckin's death. She simply didn't comprehend the whole situation, it wasn't until a year later when her questions began to come out. But, the cards that were sent to her specifically, shortly after Breckin's death, I KNOW will mean so much to her down the road. Children who are old enough to understand will NEED you!! Let them know you love them and that you care. There's numerous things that you can do. Take ACTION!

Loving this moment...

I was savoring this moment! It was a very short moment, indeed! Normally these two fight over who gets to sit in my lap. I miss the days when I would hold these two in my arms for hours at a time. Those days are far gone!

It was funny, before this picture was taken... I yelled, "Grab a camera...hurry up...someone is going to yell...hurry up....someone is going to jump off my lap" :) :) :) You can see it in Jakobi's eyes...he was getting ready to make a run for it!

Imagination Movers

All three of our kiddos love the show called Imagination Movers. It is on the Disney Channel. We have it recorded on DVR, so every morning when they wake up, we let them watch this show right away. Its a good "jump start" to the day. This show is about 4 guys who love to have fun. They are very creative and they have fun "catchy" songs. I love to watch the kids jump and dance to the songs. I'm surprised I didn't take a picture of them dancing. They really get into, especially Caislyn and Jakobi. I think they are going to be the dancers of this little family. :)

On this morning, they were watching Imagination Movers on the TV and also on the computer. We found the website for Imagination Movers and Caislyn was enjoying herself to a game. Jakobi and Maylee were very interested too, as you can tell from the 1st picture. :) If you are interested in the website, CLICK HERE.

Jakobi & Caislyn are zoned on the computer

and Maylee is zoned on the TV!

Maylee is a pro at smiling for the camera!

Let's SING!

I love these pictures of Jakobi and Caislyn singing and interacting with each other. This is a rare thing for these two. Normally, Caislyn will play with Maylee, probably because Jakobi is happy to play all by himself. That is what he prefers. So, when moments like this take place, I try my hardest to capture it through photos. On this evening, they were both in their jammies, all ready for bed, they were supposed to be in the basement cleaning up the toys, but instead they had the wild idea to SING. I ran down to see what was going on and this is what I saw...

SINGING THEIR HEARTS OUT!!!

Elmo LIVE

On Friday, Burke took a vacation day, so we all piled into the SUV and headed up to Cleveland. We surprised the kids and took them to see "Elmo Grows Up". Jakobi and Maylee LOVE ELMO and watch ELMO all the time here at home, so we jumped at the opportunity to take them to see the LIVE version. Even though Caislyn isn't into ELMO anymore, she still enjoyed the show. She really enjoyed watching Abby Cadabby, the pink girly fairy! During the entire show, Maylee kept pointing to the stage and yelling, "Elmo!" Burke and I laughed and laughed at her! It was hilarious! Jakobi was so excited about it all that he tried to escape our row of seats and tried his best to make it up to the stage!! After several warnings from his Mama, he finally found a permanent seat on his Mommy's lap. He wasn't too happy about that, but eventually calmed down and enjoyed the show. :)

Eating a pretzel before the show

Going in for a KISS!
SMACK!
Here we are before the show started
The kiddos were so well behaved, they loved looking around,
even before the show started!

Caislyn with her Daddy and Teddy


Jakobi during the show Caislyn during the show

Maylee during the show

This was taken in the lobby, Jakobi and Maylee were so excited to see a picture of Elmo
Maylee was so excited that she insisted on touching him!

This was taken at intermission, the stage is behind them

What a stud!

If I Were Starting My Family Again

When I was in Florida, I took the time to read this book, "If I Were Starting My Family Again". This book is written by, John M. Drescher. John is happily married and the father of five grown children. This book was a good easy read. I thought the author had a lot of good things to say about what he would do differently when he was rasing his kids. A real encouragement to me. I did a lot of underlining! I highly recommend this book to parents! I'm sure you can buy it on Amazon.com or even borrow it from the libray. It doesn't take long to read. I'm not a big reader and I had this done within 45 minutes.

I will share some of my favorite parts of the book:

--"If I had it to do over, I would spend more time with my children. Times together, not the things done alone, are what we remember."

--The greatest thing a father can do for his children, is to love their mother. The greatest thing a mother can do for her children, is to love their father.

--When a child knows its parents love each other, that child experiences security, stability, and a sacredness about life that it can gain in no other way.

---A child who knows its parents love each other needs little explanation about the character of God's love or the beauty of sex.

--Never fear spoiling children by making them happy. Happiness is the atmosphere in which all good affections grow--the wholesome warmth necessary to make the heart blood circulate healthily and freely.

--When we learn to laugh together we also learn to love and work together.

--Children get hope from their parents confessions that they fought similar battles and temptations. They love and respect parents who are honest with them. Children gain new confidence and strength.

--Probably no other thing encourages children to love life, to seek accomplishment, and to gain confidence more than sincere praise--not flattery--but honest compliments when they have done well.

--"I know now that encouragement is a better way to discipline than to blame or reprimand."

--"We forget that life is largely made up of little things and that our faithfulness in small things determines to a great degree the happiness of our families."

--Little acts of kindness, and love have a power that we must never underestimate. Just the touch of a hand, a loving smile, a careful compliment, a close caress, can work wonders.

--"I would be more ready to go a little out of the way to care for another, for I know now that it is usually in small unscheduled happenings when we help others that we find great meaning."
--"I would seek to develop feelings of belonging."

--If children do not feel that they belong in the family and that loyalty and love flow to and from them there, they will soon find their primary group elsewhere.

--When children feel they belong in the family and are of real worth there, they enter the world strong, feeling loved and accepted, and with the ability to love and accept others.

--"To develop a sense of belonging, I would aim to make bedtime one of the most delightful hours of the day."

--"I would seek to share God more intimately. I would strive to to share my faith all day long. I would use informal settings and unplanned happenings even more than that are formal and planned."

--"Today I realize how quickly children can sense the wonder of God' s world--both the natural and spiritual. I would find more time to take sleeping bags in the summer and lie with my family beside me under God's heaven. We would speak of the stars and listen to the noises of nature, the wind whispering in the trees and the small sounds of unseen creatures. "

--"I would speak more with my children about the God who sends forth the sun as a strong runner for a race and as a glowing warmth to evaporate the mist of the morning."

--" I would talk about how God lets the curtains of evening fall while painting the afterglow in the western windows."

--"So, if I was beginning my family again, I would make every effort to be a better listener. I would listen when my children share their hurts and complaints, their joys, and what they are excited about."

Sunny Escape

ANSWER: FLORIDA!!! Spent the nights in Kissimmee and drove to Cocoa Beach on Friday & Saturday. On Sunday and Monday we visited the beautiful Gaylord Palms Resort and spent most of the day by the pool.

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Here I am with my lap top & Mt Dew!

It still seems like a big dream....5 beautiful days in Florida....with an amazing friend....without our kids...80 degree weather...with no rain!!! That is just a summary of what last Thursday to this past Monday looked like. :)

My friend, Marie, invited me to fly down with her and to keep her company while her hubby auctioneered at a huge machinery sale. With encouragement from my hubby and finding child care for the kids, the next thing I was doing was buying plane tickets and packing my suit case!

We spent numerous hours in the sun! (we were wise with the SPF!) We basically relaxed and rested up from all of our Mommy duties. We found a nice spot on Cocoa Beach where we camped out for most of Thursday and Friday. We also enjoyed some shopping, a movie and ate some amazing food. We found a nice resort on Sunday and spent that day by the pool. We loved it so much that we went back Monday morning and afternoon. We enjoyed walking through the Resort too. My favorite part was the Everglades and the gators that were swimming in the water.

One of the hi-lites of the trip... a surprise package landed on the porch of our rental house. Of course, to my surprise, it was from my hubby! Inside the package was chocolate covered strawberries for Valentine's Day! That guy sure is the sweetest!

The three kids spent most days with Grandma H, which was a nice comforting feeling for me, just knowing they were in good hands. They spent the evenings and the weekend with their Daddy. Sounds like everyone got along great, although Daddy woke up sick on Sunday morning, so his time here at home was a little challenging. He's the BEST hubby for encouraging me to get out of here for a little while. I feel so relaxed on the inside and feel like a NEW Mom and Wife. Thanks Marie for inviting me!!!

Gaylord Palms Resort

Reading a good book...Hopefully I will find time next week to post about this book.

Posing at the Machinery Auction. I thought Jakobi would appreciate this picture, since he is beginning to really enjoy playing with trucks.

My chocolate covered strawberries!

With a jet, someone was writing words in the sky!!

"JESUS"

"GOD"

Where Did She Go?

This Mama had the opportunity to Get Away for 5 days! Can you play the guessing game? Where did I end up? What did I do? Go ahead, GUESS! I am going against our Blogging Rules...I am going to post tomorrow with the location...I will also tell you all the fun details of 5 beautiful days spent without kids.

Special Day of "Love"

Before I left on my trip (can't say where yet! You need to guess first!), we gave the kiddos a few Valentine surprises. They were so cute as they sat patiently for me to take a picture. We told them it was a special day of "Love". A reminder of our love for one another.

We love you FOREVER and EVER!

Caislyn's new My Little Pony, Rainbow Dash

Jakobi's first Thomas the Train

Maylee's new doodle pad

We Did It!

WE DID IT! For the very 1st time, Burke and I were able to publicly share our emotional roller coaster ride of 2006! I will be honest and tell you, it was harder than I had imagined it to be, but it was so relieving to let out all of those thoughts. It was so good to finally be able to vocally share our story. I feel comfortable blogging about our story, but when it comes to vocalizing it, it has been a struggle. I feel more confident now. I believe Burke feels the same way too. I feel like we could do this again. Maybe not anytime soon, since this was so new for us, but down the road I can see us doing this similar kind of a thing again.  I truly do believe that some healing took place for us last night, which feels so good right now. Oh and I just have to say,  I was blown away by my hubby. He shared from his heart and pretty much ran the show, which was fine with me, since  I was dealing with nerves. He was so thorough in details and was so genuine with his words. He was not there to just tell our story, but was there to help those who were struggling. It was important to him to tell the world the reasons to WHAT GOT US THROUGH a really scary and heartbreaking chapter of our life. Those reasons being, Our Faith in God, Our Family's Support and Encouragement, and Good friends to lean on and to offer up countless prayers on our behalf. He also used the line, that he used several times during Our Big Storm, "If you can't control it, then you must not worry about it". Which was a good reminder for me. I think I needed to hear that again. After last night, I  have gained even more respect for my hubby. He rocks! It was awesome to listen to him talk and to share form his heart. I learned a few thing too. :)  For me, since I was battling nerves, I had to continue to pray on the inside, that I would be able to get the words out, the words I had so desperately wanted to share, especially to the parents who have lost a child. I am proud to say that GOD took over and gave me those words!!!! Afterwards, we were able to talk with several parents. We basically listened as they shared their story. I was moved by one mom in particular, I will not say much, since I didn't ask for permission to share details on this blog. Her and her hubby have been going through similar emotions (like the emotions we went went through and continue to go through) of having triplets and losing a baby. In their case, they lost a baby girl at 5 days old. My heart just broke as she shared details with me. I am so glad she came last night. I think this was her 1st evening out, since her babies have been home. I KNOW God has brought this Mom into my life for a reason and I told God that I would do everything I can to help her through this difficult journey. (If you are reading this, sweet girl, please know that I really do have a heart for you. I hope we continue to stay in touch.) If you could, say a prayer for my new friend. I really appreciate that. Thanks again for your support in last-night's speaking engagement! Thanks to our family. You have no idea how much you mean to us. In the past 2 1/2 years, each of you have shown us your support at some point in time and we wouldn't have made it this far in our journey, if it wasn't for you. We thank God for revealing himself to us once again, for giving us this opportunity to speak out about some real emotional, heartbreaking moments, but to also speak about the awesome and miraculous acts He did for our family during those 86 days of uncertainty.

Things I love about you, Maylee

You, my dear, crack me up every single day. You KNOW when it is time for me to change your diaper, so you take off running. The very same thing happens when it is time to get dressed for the day. I love how you love to SING! This week you are enjoying Jesus Loves Me. I love hearing your voice in the morning, as you wait patiently in your crib for Mom-Mom (your name for me) to come get you. You almost always greet me with a "Hi Mom Mom". :) I love how you like to get right in front of my camera and then ask, "See it?" after I've snapped the picture. :) I love how you sleep with "Bunny". You get upset if you can not find her when you are ready for naps or bed time. You didn't realize that Mom-Mom has always had a secret stash of back-up bunnies, just in case we lose one before bed. Well, you found that secret stash. :) And on that particular night, you insisted on sleeping with all three bunnies!!

OSU Cowgirl!

Going to bed with 3 bunnies!

How can you sleep with all of those bunnies in your bed? :)

Things I love about you, Jakobi

I love you, Little Man! I really love that hi-pitch voice of yours! You'd think I'd get annoyed by it, but how could I when you use it to say, "Hi Ma!" You probably say "Hi Ma" and "Hi Daddy" a hundred times in one day. No, not really, but it sure sounds like you say it that many times. I love that your appetite has increased. You are still picky with what you eat, but the things you do enjoy, you normally ask for seconds. I love praying with you before you go to sleep at night, I especially love how you quietly say "Amen". I can barely hear it. I love how you demand independence. It reminds me that you are not a baby, but a little boy who simple want to be a Little Man. :)

Here you are at Church last week. A friend of mine found me later and told me how impressed she was by you. How well you handled yourself and how good of an eater you were.

You love that bed!

You look so cute under those big 'ole covers.

Cavs Fan

Things I love about you, Caislyn

Oh, sweet girl of mine! I just love so many things about you. Your tender heart, your beautiful singing voice, the way you love on your little sister, the gentle wake up calls, your creative soul, your imagination!! I will never forget the Saturday when you begged and begged to have an Orange Juice Stand outside in the snow! :) Since it was close to 15 degrees outside, we finally settled to set up on the kitchen counter. You loved your two customers, Daddy and Mommy. We even gave you real money for our yummy cups of Orange Juice! It was the best juice ever.

Saturday Morning OJ Stand

Lovin' on Maylee Bug

Fashion!!!! FASHION!!! Where do you come up with all of these ideas?

Sick Again

This is not our winter for good health. Not to complain, but its been crazy around here. All three kiddos have been sick! They all three suffered with different symptoms! It started with Jakobi on Friday. He was having breathing issues. He's had this before, which required breathing treatments, so we headed to the Doctor on Saturday morning and left with a prescription for Albuterol, a breathing treatment to give the boy every 6 hours. 24 hours later, he was a different boy! Saturday evening, Maylee began coughing, which led to hacking, which kept most of us up that night! She was miserable. She was still coughing on Sunday, so she missed Church, which means she didn't get to hear me sing my solo, which was so sad, because I just know she would have been singing right along with me. She was still coughing yesterday, but seems to be back to herself today. Oh, and Saturday night, Caislyn woke up sick and all day on Sunday complained that her throat was sore and her ear was hurting. Motrin did the trick, until about 10pm Sunday evening. We were up with a very miserable girl! So, yesterday I took her to the Doctor and left with two prescriptions. She is doing a lot better today, although she didn't go to school, since she's not back to 100 %.

I know that being sick is a part of life. Every time my kids are sick, I thank God that the sickness is only temporary. It could all be so much worse. I pray for all the families out there who have sick children every single day of the year. I truly do think of you often!

I think this Mama needs a break! And it looks like I am going to get it! I will keep you hanging on to what I am about to do. I will inform you in next week's post. *Keep us in your prayers tomorrow evening at 7 pm. Burke and I will be sharing at Aultman. THANKS.

Tomorrow Night @ 7pm...

We will be....

talking about this little girl....

and talking about this little boy...

and talking about this sweet little angel...

and we'll also be talking about this BIG GIRL!

If you think about it tomorrow, we'd appreciate your prayers. Burke and I will be speaking for the very 1st time about our triplets and the loss of our son, Breckin. This will take place in Aultman Hospital's NICU. We will be sharing about Big Sis Caislyn and her experience during my pregnancy, her reaction to the babies after they were born and her journey with the loss of a baby brother. We feel like we are prepared for tomorrow night. Actually, we feel more prepared than we thought we'd ever be at this point in time. We know that God put us into this situation, so HE has found a way for us to be ready for this. May God use us to help others in a time of uncertainty and to be able to minister to those who are going through a time of loss. Pray not only for us, but also for the parents who will be there tomorrow evening.

*We will post a special post on THURSDAY to share about this special evening*

This is for YOU, Daddy!

--Daddy--

I found your sweatshirt and thought it would be fun to put it on!

I made Mommy take a picture of me, just for you!

I love you, Caislyn

Awesome Moments

I tell ya, here lately my life has been filled with so many special moments. Moments where my kiddos simply amaze me! I am so proud to be their Mama. I love my job! I wouldn't trade it for the world. The list is so long, so I will give you ONE awesome moment for each child.

--Maylee discovered her singing voice!! For several weeks now, I've been practicing up on a song (In Better Hands by Natalie Grant). On a daily basis, I would play the song and sing it in front of the kiddos. A few days ago, I turned the sound track on and started singing and about fell over when Miss Maylee began singing the words with me. I just couldn't believe it, because this girl NEVER sings. It was almost to the point where I was a little worried about her. I didn't understand why she wouldn't try to sing. Today she pointed to the cd player and yelled, "We sing"!! So, I scooped her up in my arms and we began singing the song (In Better Hands) together. It was a moment I NEVER want to forget. It was precious. It was sweet. It warmed my heart. I love listening to my kids when they sing. I get all excited on the inside, maybe because singing is a passion of mine. I especially love it when they say "Jesus" in a song!!!! I wonder what Maylee is going to do when I sing my solo this upcoming Sunday morning. Will she sing out loud? :) I will let you know what she ends up doing.


--Caislyn has been saying her F's!! This is major! Caislyn has always struggled with the sound of the letter "f". If you've been following this blog, than you already know that Caislyn has been involved in speech therapy for the past 2 years. The other day, I was in tears when I heard her say "fish"! She said it so clear and she didn't even say it slow. It just came out of her mouth. It was like no big deal to her. It was for me! She used to put a "b" in place of the "f", so you can see now why I was so happy to hear her say "fish" the correct way. This was a big milestone for her. She's still working on a few other sounds, but I can tell she's really trying to work at it now. She's even catching herself whenever she says a word incorrectly. I always praise her when she corrects herself. She'll stand there and smile. Whoo-hoo, Cai-Cai!

--Jakobi moved out of his crib and into a BIG boy bed!! He loves being in a big bed...that first night was so exciting for us all! At nap time and bed time, he loves to climb up on his bed all by himself. He even gets under his blankets. He looks so little in that bed. :) We haven't had any big issues with him now that he is in his bed. He has fallen asleep by his bedroom door though! :) I think he was so used to crawling out of his crib, that it became a habit for him. He did do something funny tonight...about an hour after I put him to bed...I went to check on him and couldn't find him. After looking around the room for a little bit...I went back over to his bed to find him sleeping at the opposite end of his bed. That silly boy. Yes, I was a little weepy when the crib left his bedroom...but after seeing him laying in his big boy bed that first night...the excitement in my heart grew, because he looked so happy and so content. He is growing up into a HAPPY little man!

Bedrooms

We are very happy with the way the kiddos bedrooms turned out. We had a good friend paint them for us. We chose a blue and sand color for Jakobi's room. It's all Boy! And we chose two shades of pink for the girls bedroom. All girly!

We also moved Jakobi's crib and dresser/changing table out of his room and sent it down to Kentucky for Brianne and Matt. We moved Caislyn's bed and dresser out of her room and set it up over in Jakobi's bedroom for him to enjoy now! We set up an air mattress in Caislyn's room for the time being, as we patiently wait for the new bunk bed and dresser to get here. Maylee is still sleeping in her crib, in the guest bedroom, but once she decides she is done with the crib, she will move in with Caislyn!! That will be an exciting day.

This week, we hope to find the time to hang pictures in their bedrooms. Once we are finished decorating, I will post a few pics for you to see. I'm not a big fan of posting a ton of pics of our house, especially since this is a high-traffic blog, so pics will be limited. But, I know a lot of you are curious to what the rooms look like. I know this because you've been sending me emails asking for pictures. :)

Jakobi and his Big Boy Bed!
These two will have fun sharing a bedroom!

Caislyn loves her new quilt.

Ski School

Sounds like these two had a pretty successful night out on the slopes!! We are very proud of you Caislyn & Bryson!

Jakobi Dean & Maylee Bri

Mr Jakobi Dean has been out for Miss Maylee Bri!I don't know what it is, but he just loves to pick on his little sis. The funny thing in it all...Maylee doesn't seem to mind...she gets a little shook up at first, but then it almost always ends with giggles.Well, not ALWAYS, but most of the time...she is a tough booger and can take the blow.On most occasions, Jakobi shows up when Maylee leasts expects it...and without any warning, he'll sneak in from behind, wrap his arms around her waist or chest and fall backwards...Maylee falling with him! I would love to snap a picture of him doing that.

I'm not sure what is going on in this next picture.

All I know is Maylee lifted her shirt and Jakobi followed along.

This next pic cracks me up...Jakobi was just being silly...

Maylee was looking at him like, "what in the world are you doing?"

And then, of course, he thinks he needs to tackle her once more! She didn't like it at first...but like I said...it almost always ends with giggles and it did end on a happy note. It looks like I didn't get a picture of her smiling though!

Snowboarding

Caislyn is at it once again! Last year this was all new to her and didn't make it to the bunny hill until her last lesson. This year, she started off on the bunny hill! She is really enjoying this sport. She is working on her self confidence, as she breaks away from her instructor. As I type this, she is on her way to the slopes, for yet another lesson. As I look out the window it is beginning to snow, so this should be a fun evening for her.

Here she is...she's doing it all by herself...Go Cai-Cai!

I love the look on her face here!
Her Daddy spoiled her with a giant cookie.

*You should go over to Bryson's Blog to see what he has been up to! Believe it or not, he's been on the slopes too. He's learning how to ski, which is just awesome. YAY BRYSON!

Daddy & Daughter Road Trip (and NO MORE BABIES!)

Caislyn and her Daddy went on a road trip! Burke took a vacation day on Friday and by 9am they were out the door and didn't return home until Sunday evening. Burke has been wanting to do something with Caislyn for quite awhile now, so they finally found some time to get away. They headed down to Kentucky to visit Brianne and Matt. From the way it sounds, they had a blast together. It sounds like Caislyn had a lot of One-on-One time, which is what I think Caislyn has been been craving. Daddy also spoiled her rotten, but in my opinion she deserved it. On the way down, they stopped at an outdoor mall, which was fun but maybe a little too cold! Once they reached their destination, Aunt B took over and helped Caislyn with art projects and baking.

I love that my hubby loves being a Daddy. He is very involved in all of our kids lives. I remember before we had kids, listening to him dream of the day he'd be a Dad. He'd talk about all the things he'd like to do with his kids. Teaching them how to kick a soccer ball, coaching baseball teams, going on road trips...and so on....it was a pretty big list. I knew he'd be good at being a Dad, but boy has he blown my socks off as I sit back and watch him interact with our children. Its a pretty neat sight to see.

During the weekend, I spent all of my time with the 2 little ones. I really enjoyed those 3 days with Jakobi and Maylee. I wasn't quite sure how it would go, considering Jakobi has been having his share of "time outs' and temper tamtrums lately. I was a little nervous that it would be a long weekend. It ended up being a fun weekend for the 3 of us. I was able t

o take a little closer look at their world. I didn't realize that I have a daily battle....the battle of the age gap...trying to connect with a 5 year old and then turn around and trying to connect with two 2 year olds. I'm sure every mother goes through this phase. It sure can be draining at times. So, this weekend gave me the opportunity to be in Jakobi and Maylee's world ONLY. It was fun. We did a lot of dancing and jumping on my bed. Made meals with the play kitchen. We made a tent. They also helped me clean out a few closets. We also met up with some special friends. I also learned a few things...Jakobi can be very particular about things. We have two booster seats for meal times...a light blue seat and a royal blue seat...apparently, Jakobi thinks that he must have the light blue booster seat, not the royal blue seat. He also MUST have the frog bib, not the Monkey bib. This made me understand why we sometimes how wild melt downs at meal times. He simply wants those two things. So, it has helped me understand him a little more. :) I also learned that Maylee is Queen of pronunciation! She can put most of the beginnings and endings to words, unlike Jakobi and even Caislyn at this age. I really do not think we will have speech issues with her.

In other news: Jakobi is moving out of his crib and into a BIG BOY BED!!! He's been constantly climbing out and it has been a big fight to keep him in there. I'm not sure if he'll stay in his big boy bed either, but then maybe he will feel BIG and will want to stay there. We will find out soon. I'm so excited for his bedding that we found. We are also going through paint swatches for his bedroom. I tell ya, it is fun decorating a boys room. We've never been able to do this before. We always decorated "girly" rooms for Caislyn. When we moved here we decided to hold off on painting the kids rooms, because we knew the "baby stage' would soon be gone. It is a little sad for me to think they are not babies anymore. Although, Maylee can be our baby for as long as she wants. She still loves her crib, her thumb and love her cuddles with Mommy and Daddy. She can stay that way for as long as she wants. But once those days are over, I may have a BIG cry! Don't get me wrong, I am also very excited for them. They have come so far and have been babies for so long, it is exciting to begin a whole new chapter. I think maybe its the fact that we will no longer have babies in this household again. We have peace about it, but its still all so bittersweet.

How did this post go from an exciting Road Trip to a sad story of No More Babies!?!