The Race is on!

My two running friends and I are putting on a half marathon,

 10k, 5k and kids fun run, September 29th, 2012.

 We have a website, a Facebook page, and even a registered runner already!  Here are some of the outstanding photos that Tyler Cazier took for our website.

 The run down the mountain... we didn't coordinate colors before this picture.  It just turned out great!

 This is great view of part of the race.

The caption for is photo is "Are you tough enough?"

Easters

My darling Caroline, or "CHUBBY" as Savannah calls her.  She loves bath time.

 Our wonderful small town of Horseshoe Bend has an annual Easter Egg hunt for kids of all ages.  Savannah was in her own section with the other three year-olds.  She was quick and successful.

 Emery also did well with the other Kindergarten kids.  He even won a soccer ball.

 Aunt Cassidy got to be the Easter Bunny and everyone loved her, including Natalie.

 Easter Morning
 Caroline wasn't sure what was going on, but she liked it.

 Savannah was so happy hunt for eggs full of lots of candy.

 Natalie LOVES new shoes, a true girl.

 We found Emery a great bow tie, to complete his super cuteness.

 Wesley

 Preston

 Ammon

We had a fast indoor egg hunt (thanks to all of the rain and mud outside), and then a wonderful time at church, followed by a nice ham dinner with Grandpa Flake and Cassidy.  It was nice.  As crazy as our life is with moving, training for a marathon, feeding seven kids and taking care of an infant...I'm blessed to have this wonderful family to share my life with.

Best Landlords Ever

 We were very blessed to be able to sell our home to a wonderful couple.  Not only are they really kind, good people, who let us rent our home back while we build a new home, but they constantly bring gifts to us (homemade jams, special honey, winter gloves, etc.).  This last visit she brought a quilt that she made for our new baby Caroline.  It is the most beautiful quilt Caroline owns!

 She had embroidered the name and did all of the decorative stitching with her machine free hand.  The flowers are even stitched on with beautiful recycled buttons.

I think Antoinette wins the contest for the best landlord ever!

December activities

 The construction on our new house is going really well (and fast).  We will probably be moving in by March!

 We had a really fun Christmas party at our house with some Horseshoe Bend friends.  The best part was the white elephant gift exchange.  Someone brought a deer mount and the Caziers ended up with it. I'm sure they will be putting it up in their living room soon!

Joel got an awesome Chuck Norris weather forecast T-shirt that says, "Cloudy with a 90% chance of pain".  He loves it!  Then we played a good game of big booty.  Some were more skilled at it than others.

Ammon had his 13th Birthday party on Saturday.  I can't believe that we have a teenager!  He is a wonderful son who helps out a ton.  He is an excellent baby tender, great on the piano and drums, and an avid reader.  We sure love him and feel blessed that he is part of our family!

Caroline's Blessing

 Last Sunday we finally blessed our darling little Caroline Rae.  She was a perfect angel and slept through her blessing.  She also got to wear the most darling dress ever made for a baby. 

 My good friend from high school makes dresses, so I asked her to make Caroline's (she also made one for Savannah).  She came up with this idea and spent about 12 hours sewing all of the layers (they are made of five different kinds of fabric).  Joel called it her tiny wedding dress.

I love being a mother again. It is one of the best blessings the Lord has given me in my life, seven times!

Sweet New Caroline Rae Flake

Exactly two weeks early (just like we wanted) our darling little baby #7 joined our family. It was an excellent labor. It all started when my water broke after 11 pm at home when all of the kids were asleep (grandma came over to spend the night). Joel and I headed to the hospital and got all checked in a little after midnight. We waited and talked through the night (with several walks all over the hospital, including a 2 am run to the cafeteria by Joel to get something to eat to keep him going).

By 4 am it was hurting pretty bad, but the break between contractions made it bearable. After 5 am they got pretty intense and I was ready to push by 6 am. Unfortunately, the doctor wasn't there yet (he was the on-call doctor, so I have no idea why it took him to long to walk to my room). The nurse got a little worried that she was going to have to deliver the baby, so she just kept saying, "don't push yet!". I waited 2 contractions, the doctor showed up, and I was ready to go. Ironically, the resident doctor (who had gotten there on time) was the one to catch the baby while the other doctor just stood back and told me what a good job I was doing. Our little girl was born after just three (very painful) pushes, at 6:09 am. She was our heaviest baby (by just 2 oz), at 6# 7.4 oz and 19 inches long. She was a bit tuckered out from all the laboring and proceeded to cry once she was born, until I nursed her. I don't think I ever had a baby hungry from the moment of birth before. She was perfectly pink with a round beautiful head. I felt really good (and very sore from the back labor) and we headed up to the recovery floor.

Once we all got settled we three took a great nap (well as good as can be in a hospital room). We woke up feeling much better and ready to go. Grandma and Grandpa Flake brought all of the kids in to see her around lunch time. Everyone loved her and each took a turn holding her. After everyone left, I told the nursing staff that I was planning on leaving that afternoon (much to their surprise). After trying to talk me out of leaving, they finally consented, and we went home at 6 pm the same day of Caroline's birth.

It took us all nine months to come up with her name, and we finally settled on Caroline Rae, after both her wonderful grandmothers (Carole, my mother, and RaeAnn, Joel's mother). We absolutely adore her and can't imagine our life with out her. She is constantly fought over for the rights to hold her and has already started smiling occasionally. She is a precious gift from Heaven.

Kansas City Royals v. Baltimore Orioles

You probably can't tell from this picture...but it was about 107 degrees at the game.