Home Again

Sunday night we all decided to go to the pool. They absolutely love the pool--I think they could stay in it all day!

After giving baths and putting kids to bed, Chad got very sick. He must have gotten some kind of stomach virus. It was awful! He was up all throughout the night. The next morning I had to call the grandmother and tell her to come get the kids. I definately didn't want them getting sick too. So...our time with the Neimans has been cut short. They will be staying with their grandparents the rest of the week. We had fun but we are definately enjoying our time being back at home!

Hangin' in There

Sorry I haven't updated in a few days. I finally had a chance to sit down and take a breath. We've stayed very busy this past week and this weekend. My favorite time of day is when Chad comes home from work. He's great to help take the little ones off my hands. Thankfully he was able to take the day off on Friday so we loaded up and went to the YMCA pool. It was great! It's like a mini water park! The kids loved it and were pretty worn out by that afternoon.

Some families in our church have been so gracious to invite us over or to help us out by keeping the older children. We all went over to some friend's house on Friday night. Chad and I were grateful to be around adults and the older kids were able to play with their friends. Caleb, the oldest hurt his leg and ended up having to get a tetanus shot and antibiotics the next day. It was quite an adventure!

But.. everyone is well now. We've had some explosive diapers and Chad has not yet been brave enough to change one of those. He's getting some experience with the wet ones, though.

We have 2 more days here. I will be very ready to sleep in my own bed and be back on my schedule. The Lord has definately been faithful to give us strength to get through each day.

Gettin' Some Experience!!

So...the week is finally here!! Chad and I are keeping the 5 Neiman children while their parents are away on a mission trip to Peru. Caleb (9), Luke (7), Lydia (5), Daniel (2), Peter (1).It has actually gone really well so far. The 3 oldest are alot of help but I learned really quickly that I have to keep them busy. If not, they like to wrestle and roll around on the floor which makes me very nervous!! We're going to go swimming alot and start a Father's Day project for their dad. They are really into making things and being creative--which is great!!



The 2 year old (almost 3!) is my biggest challenge. He's potty training--which has been interesting to say the least!! We've had 2 stinky big boy pants in 2 days!!! I'm not giving up, though! And he's recovering from hives. He has quite a temper and shows it alot!



The 1 year old is the most perfect baby!! He's always happy and laughing and content wherever he is!! He goes down for 2 naps with out any fuss--which makes my life much easier!!


So we have different "trips" planned for each day this week (swimming, library, etc.). Our trip for today was the YMCA pool. So..we all got ready (which took about an hour!!), and headed out to the van to discover a flat tire!! Hopefully Chad will be able to fix it tonight! We ended up walking to their neighborhood pool which wasn't so bad--there's just no life guard there and I really have to watch all 5 (a little challenging!).


Last night we all prayed together before bed and it was so sweet to hear all the children praying for their mommy and daddy. They miss their parents so much! What an amazing testimony to their children ---that their parents are willing to leave them for 2 weeks to obey God and serve others in another country. These children are really learning alot about trusting in the Lord!! And so are me and Chad!!!



Oh yeah--Dakota is here too, of course. They are really loving having her around!!



We'll keep you updated!!

Update #2

So I guess I spoke too soon. Last night after their mom called from Peru and talked to them, Lydia got so sad. She was crying uncontrollably which resulted in her throwing up 4 times! We did get the tire fixed so that was huge!!

Today we went to a friend's house to swim, which was great!! I got to have adult conversation and I had help watching the little ones.

We are surviving...

Well, I need to go because Daniel and Peter are up from their nap.

Girl's Weekend

We had a great weekend in Greenville this past weekend. I got to hang out with college friends and Chad spent the weekend with my little brother.





We had so much fun catching up and getting to meet little Haley and Reagan.


We ran into Erin at church so we got to hang out with her for the night.
Fun times!!

Summer is finally here!

I'm finally done with another year of school! Here's all of the little rugrats!

It was good year, yet challenging at times! I'm definately ready for my break.



We have been so busy the past few weekends. We traveled to Clinton for my little brother's engagement party. He and Bonnie are so excited about getting married. We can't wait, either, but it does make me feel so old to think that my little brother is getting married!!



For Memorial Day weekend, we traveled to Little River to see little Noah--our new nephew. He is sooooo precious. Here he is- 2 1/2 weeks!

This coming weekend we will be in Greenville. We're having a girl's weekend and I can't wait to see Meredith, Emily, Christy, Ashley, little Reagan, and little Haley!!! I'm sure there will be more to come.....

We have a nephew!!

Great news! Chad's brother and his wife had their first little baby!! It's a boy and his name is Noah Dalager Hayes. He's very cute!

Chad and I can't wait to meet him.

We plan on traveling to the beach and visiting Memorial Day weekend, so we'll have more pics then!!

We're very excited about being an aunt and uncle now! Wow--I feel so old!

Spring Break!?!

Spring break has come and gone! I'm not too sure I would call it a "break". However, I did get to sleep to 7:30 each morning--which is really good for me! I painted the kitchen and the sunroom. We also kept a dog all week --which was nice for Dakota to have a playmate. I could really get used to not going to work every day!! 4 more weeks of school before the summer is here!

Last weekend, a 7 month old spent the night with us. (This is Grace--she belongs to the girl I team teach with).

We had the best time playing with her!

Chad didn't get too much work done on the house--he was too busy loving on her! It was really sweet!

Dakota was so curious and interested in all the new toys!

House Update:

My parents came afew weeks ago and Chad and my dad were able to build the sunroom floor. Now it is completely level with the rest of the house and ready to be tiled! We will tile both the sunroom and the kitchen. This will probably happen in early May.I am very anxious to get this room finished. Thanks so much to my dad who knows how to do everything!!!

After tiling, we will still have lots of work to do. We are remodeling the laundry room and building a window seat. This will give me much more storage which is always necessary in an older home!

We are almost done with the master bathroom. This was quite a project!! All we have left to do is crown molding, new window, shower fixtures, and a shower door. We will get there eventually but at least it's functional right now and 100% better than what we had!! Here's pics for now, but I'll post more when it's completely done.