A Pup Named Loki

One of the things we were all excited about having our own place for was being able to get a dog again.. So we had been keeping an eye on the ads looking for a German Shepherd pup that wasn't too much money. About 5 weeks ago we found some that the father was straight from Germany and close to our price range so we decided to check them out. Well we all fell in love with this little male furball and brought him home for the price we wanted! Even before we got him the kids all had a name for him: Loki! So the training and raising of a dog begins!! For me all the mess and stress of a puppy is worth it as the puppy grows up with your kids and family getting to know them and used to the "attention" of little ones...



The doghouse, Kirsten drew the plans up for and helped build.. Laban, Shiloh, and Kirsten painted it...



Loki 12 weeks old..

Adorable pup!!


As for why a German Shepherd? Well that is what we have always had and we really like the looks of them. Tim was the one a little hesitant this time as they do require more work, but the kids all promised to help train this little guy and take care of him. :) As for me? I didn't want to get a mutt as you really don't know what they will end up looking like or acting like. I know that there are people out there that do not like GSs because they are "mean". Well the reason that you hear about that is because a lot of people don't realize how smart of a dog they are and just treat them like a regular old mutt.. They are too smart to be tied up or kept in a kennel. You have to give them plenty of room to run and play/work with them. I am happy to say we have plenty of land for him to roam and he definitely gets attention!! We love our little pup and he already feels like part of the family.

24 Weeks!

On Easter Sunday I was 24 weeks along.. A milestone for me knowing that if for some reason baby had to be born there is a big chance of survival with todays technology. I don't know why, but this pregnancy has been more nervewracking like Brandt's was. Could be the miscarriage I am positive I had last July, just getting older and knowing more that can go wrong, or the losses in the family last year. Maybe a combination, but whatever the case, August still seems so far away!!! I do have to get another ultrasound at 28 weeks because baby was being stubborn and the tech couldn't get a good picture of the spine.. AND I have a spot on my placenta that they want to keep an eye on. The doc said it could be a placenta cyst or what is called a placenta pool, which is a pool of blood that isn't contained or something of the sort. As long as baby is growing everything should be fine, and baby sure feels bigger... Anyway I get another look at baby in a month!! :)
A couple pictures taken on Easter:

24 Weeks

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My Littles in their Easter clothes.. The big kiddos arent too into pictures anymore!!

Our House....

I had promised Elisa a blog post with pictures of our house... I know, I know we have lived here almost 5 months, but beings we moved in December and everything looked dead I wanted to wait. Our trees aren't cpmpletely green yet, but they are looking better.I wanted to get the pictures taken and do it after cleaning day so my house would be clean.. Or as clean as a small house can be with two adults, two toddlers, a tween, and three teens can be. BTW what is with all these names? They are all messy and have their challenges, which maybe is a topic for another day.. So without further ado, some pictures!:

Our house!!

These are our walnut trees, the trees you see farther back is the cherry orchard that surrounds us on three sides!!

Laundry room, I couldn't get a good angle tho. The door is coming from the side of the house.. The opening on the right, by the coats is the stairs to the basement, the window opening overlooks the stairs..



Toddler's side of my room!!



My side of the bedroom...

Living/dining area

Kitchen, looking from the laundry room.. counter on the left is the one between the kitchen and dining area.. door straight ahead is my bedroom.

Kirsten's room

One angle of the boys room..

Boy's room from their door..

The older kids rooms are downstairs where there is only 6ft. 2in. celings.. Makes us short people feel tall!! Their floors are bare concrete as the previous owners had to rip it out due to renters leaving a sprinkler going too close to the house (for a week, while on vacation!!) We figured since we will be adding on and remodeling there was no hurry in replacing it now..

P.S. Don't mind the mess in the boys room, please!!

Brandt's 4th Birthday

After finding out my in laws would be here last weekend, I planned a birthday party for Brandt since I wanted his grandparents to be able to be here for it. Luckily I had already ordered the stuff for the party favors so it worked out well. A picture post of celebrating 4 years of Little Man!!

Cupcakes

An Army take on Dirt Cup

Birthday Boy, I think he was tired of the camera!

Love this!! A little embarrassed at the singing

Singing..

Presents!!

Party Favors (this is what I used on the dirt cup too) Gummy green army men!!