It's a GIRL!

That's right...another girl...where will we put her you ask? Good question, haha! No, just kidding we have it figured out. It will be tight, but you do what you have to do right? I'm really excited for this little girl. I'm excited for Melissa to have a sister that never has to leave our home. She is super excited for a little sister and I am so happy about that. Tony Jr. is still the lone brother in the midst of 6 girls, he almost cried, but quickly recovered. He is right smack in the middle with 3 girls on each side of him.

I get a little teary eyed just thinking of what the next year brings for me. To have Melissa turn 8 and get baptized and have a little one to bless close to the same time, what a blessing! The changes I've gone through this year have been overwhelming and hard, but oh so worth it and I couldn't be happier. Now that I'm halfway through this pregnancy and really am counting down. I want to hold this baby girl in my arms and just enjoy her. I've waited so long not knowing if I would ever get to experience a brand new baby of my own again. I'm so blessed!

School time!!!

This is Melissa at the meet and greet the day before school :-) She is SO happy to be in 2nd grade!!

First DAY of school...All ready to go!

Elena starting 5th grade...she isn't quite sure of her teacher yet. She has heard some horror stories, so we'll see how the year goes for her.

Tony started the 4th grade. Not much excitement out of him, but he is super smart, so everything should go well for him.

Anna is in Kindergarten this year. She goes to all day Kindergarten, so she goes Mon, Tues, and every other Wednesday. SO I get a lot of days all by myself at home. I'm so glad!

 I didn't get pictures of Audrey and Erin...Boo...but Erin is in 7th grade and Audrey started HIGH SCHOOL!! EEK! I am a step mom to a high schooler! She is in 9th grade at Vallivue High School, and so far she says her favorite class is Seminary. I hope that it always is her favorite class :-)
I'm super excited that all the kids are in school...for still trying to get used to having 6 kids around it was a VERY long summer.  This gives me time to just chill and get ready to have another one home with me. I am halfway there to having the new one join this crazy family. We should be finding out this week what we are having, so I am super excited for that! That just gives me about 20 weeks to prepare this house and myself and 6 kids to have a new one join us. Let the NESTING begin!!!

Uh...It's been a while. I have an excuse I promise!!

It's been a long time...so sorry about the lag in posts! It's been eventful and I haven't felt well, because of being preggo! It's due January 19th. I finally made it to 2nd trimester, so things are looking up!

 Here is our announcement made in June

We also went to the Kerbs Reunion at Camp Manapu right outside Ketchum...so fun, it would have been if we could have taken all the kids, but timing didn't work, and they were with their mother that weekend. It was a great weekend camping...it always is when you are surrounded by family. We took the Stanley way back and it was pretty exciting with the herd of deer and 9 more in the road all the way home. It has been a great summer and we've done some pretty fun things as a family. I will try to do better in keeping updated as we progress this year!

10K for the 2 of us!

Look at us, walking a 10K together...we absolutely had the best time and we did it in 1 hour and 50 minutes and 20 seconds. Tony took 2nd in his age bracket too! I'm sure there were maybe 2 or maybe 3 of them. HA HA! I love doing these kinds of things with Tony and I love the time I get to just being able to spend time and talk with him. It is 1 more goal that I accomplished this year and I am so excited to get started on some more! I sure do love this guy!

Getting through April...

Phew!!! We made it through April...barely. Three of the six kids have birthdays within 10 days...Tony Jr. is the 13th, Audrey is the 21st, and Melissa is the 23rd. Lets add Easter on top of that. Needless to say, I'm tired of cake...really tired of it. We had great parties and thoughtful family to help us out and come to the parties to make them special for all of them. Good times were had by all!!

Tony's car cake...he is 9!

Audrey's barbie cake...14! Well into being a teenager...oy!

Melissa's turtle cake...7 years old...going on 14!

 Coloring eggs with Tony on her birthday, lots of fun! We also had her birthday outing that day at Chucky Cheese with just the 3 of us. Good times!

The Easter bunny found her and gave her some yummy candy! She is still working on eating it along with all the other candy she bought herself with her birthday money. So glad it's May now! Let the flowers start blooming and the weather warm up so I can get my garden in. I can't wait!!

The Derby...

It was so much fun to be able to help Tony Jr. make his first pinewood derby car. We shouldn't have waited until the day before to start it though. We didn't have the right glue to secure the weights. We had one moment of tears when we had the washer and a couple pennies go flying off during one of the races. Lesson learned, take your time and get the stuff you need. He did great though. He showed good sportsmanship and won 5 of his races. All in all it was a great time and fun for everyone!! So different to be able to enjoy the pinewood derby without being in charge of it. It really makes you appreciate those who put it together when it used to be me doing it. Great job scout leaders, it was a great race!

A new beginning

We did it! After a whirlwind of planning in a short amount of time, we are married and my little family of 2 has now grown to 8...and I'm thrilled! Its been a crazy adjustment, but I love it. I had a moment of reflection the other day as I sat in my new to me living room alone while all the kids were at school and Tony was at work. I was baffled at the direction my life went in a few short months. 6 months ago there would have been no way that I would have seen this coming at all. When it's right it's right! I must have learned what I needed to learn in that phase of my life and the Lord was ready to give me a new challenge. I must need to grow in new ways and stretch myself even further! So far it has been absolutely wonderful. I'm learning more and more each day about each of the kids and what makes them tick. They are learning about me and Melissa and it has been an adjustment...luckily a good one for all of us. We are finding lots of fun new activities to do with each other, learning how to push the right buttons, and my favorite analogy-learning how to not crunch each others chips (hurt each others feelings) They are quick to remind each other not to crunch chips...so fun. I've gone from doing 3 loads of laundry a week to around 3-5 loads a day...craziness! I never dreamed that I would ever get to live THIS kind of life. I've ALWAYS dreamed of having a large family and taking care of them. I thought I'd lost that kind of opportunity. The Lord blessed me with it when He knew I was ready for it. I'm so thankful!