laughter is the best medicine....

it's been quite a morning with the littlest person here in the miculka home!  i laugh at him when i probably really shouldn't but sometimes?  its the better option.  i could get frustrated and upset or i can laugh.  so i choose laughter because you know how the saying goes and i find it to be so true ~ laughter really is the best medicine!

first dylan found a can of olives.  still haven't figured out where because the pantry was closed when i checked. (my assumption was that he had gotten into the pantry but nope!) so random.  in our home we call him baby hulk ~ he's crazy strong. he threw the can of olives (trying to be playful) and hit colby in the face. i laughed.  not my proudest mommy moment but seriously??  there was something so hilarious about seeing this little dude chunk a can of olives that far!  i quickly apologized to colby for laughing but then he started laughing too.  (remember?  its the best medicine)

a few minutes later i was on the phone with veronica laughing about dylan and his not so 11 month old tendencies when he walks into the living room with 1/2 a roll of paper towels. ummmm....he can't reach the open roll of paper towels so time to investigate. i walk around the corner and find this....



awesome. cue the laughter!  hang up with veronica and walk around into the kitchen and realize it isn't just one roll that he has had fun with......

its two. i really don't even think the pictures do it justice.  there was ALOT of paper towels everywhere. {sigh} dylan quickly realizes he's done something he wasn't supposed to so he begins cleaning up.....

this dude cracks me up!  of course the attention span of an 11 month old is approximately 11 seconds so he quickly forgot all about cleaning up and left me to it! i was almost finished when i looked up and saw this.....

look at that little smirk!  he KNOWS he isn't supposed to be in the pantry but i guess the door didn't get closed all the way and mommy was busy so why not!  how could you not laugh with that sweet little face looking back at you??!  at this point i figured it best to just head into the play room with him and get him busy playing instead of getting into trouble.  accept that no more than one minute later he brought me a nerf dart looking like this....

the top of it gone.  looking suspiciously like it was bitten off.  fantastic.  dig in his mouth but if he bit it off then he had already swallowed it. {sigh}  ask the big boys to watch him for a few minutes while i call the nurses hotline and make sure its not something i need to take him in for! (i know this is my 3rd child but i seriously feel like a 1st time mom with him sometimes!)  get the all clear...just watch him closely for the rest of the day and watch his stools for the next couple of days. right as i'm hanging up the phone the big boys call for me from dylan's room and i walk in to find this......



this was all before 8am. oh dylan.  never a dull moment!  he was so proud of himself and he's just so darn cute about being mischievous!!  i  must say that as a mommy that its so true ~ laughter really is the best medicine and i'm so thankful that God blesses me with the ability to laugh my way thru these tiring mornings with my sweet little handful!  i'm also very grateful for nap time! ;)

He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak.

~Isaiah 40:29~

Sometimes.....

....we just have to do what we have to do.  i'm learning this in totally new ways with dylan.  he's active ~ like crazy active, climbing, practically running and he isn't even one yet!  he doesn't even stop moving in his sleep!  we sometimes have to go in there and lay him back down because he sits up/stands up in his sleep and then starts crying like he is confused.  at his 9 month well baby appt, our doctor just looked at me about half way thru and said (and i quote because i will never forget her face!) "i'm impressed that he's even gaining weight as active as he is. i don't know how you do this all day everyday!"  well....it takes alot of groceries to keep him gaining weight ~ the boy can EAT!  And?  here is photographic evidence of one way that i am able to atleast get something accomplished sometimes......

why yes....that would be dylan in his stroller in the playroom today.  I really really wanted to dust and vacuum and he wasn't having any of it.  and?  when he was over the blocks i gave him food to occupy him.  (the highchair is another good one....that's where he is when i am loading/unloading the dishwasher!) don't judge me please! ;)  sometimes a mommy's just gotta do what a mommy's gotta do!  and to answer the pediatrician's question ~ how do i do it all day everyday?  how could i not?!  i wouldn't trade it for the world!  i see times like this......

and my heart smiles.  it is such a sweet blessing to be mommy to these 3!  there is an insane amount of energy/activity and noise in our home and i wouldn't trade it for anything!  thru the exhaustion, the bickering, the pre teen hormones (whew!), thru it all i remind myself that i will miss this.  my mother in law always tells john and i...."these are the best days of your lives"....and most days i believe her! ;)

Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.

~Galatians 6:9~

Surprise!

This evening we got together with some friends to surprise our good friend Veronica for her 30th birthday!!  She sure didn't make it very easy on her hubby and he ended up having to tell her about 20 minutes before hand but we'll forgive her since its her birthday week!! ;)  As always, it was crazy & loud with 10 kiddos running around but we always have a great time!

 {The girls ~ ashley, me, veronica(the bday girl!) & jill ~ girlfriends are such a blessing!}

 {the boys ~ john, grant, darren & josh ~ they just love to have their picture taken! ;)}

 {we were all laughing b/c the boys were causing trouble!}

 {brayden & a few of the little boys playing}

 {our little dylan has a ball in his hands more often than not! football, soccer, basketball....he doesn't care!}

{me & Gavin ~ i was at the hospital an hour after he was born and he's been my little buddy ever since!  he's trying to give me bunny ears! =) }

I meant to get more pictures of all the kiddos but it just didn't happen this time!  We're so grateful to have such wonderful friends to do life with! 

But encourage one another daily, as long as it is called today, so that none of you may be hardened by sin's deceitfulness.

~Hebrews 3:13~

Happy Birthday America!

4th of July has always been a special holiday to me!  Growing up with both parents in the military meant that there was always a special respect for this amazing country and all that goes into protecting her freedom.  The food, fireworks, & fun have just always been a deep rooted celebration of all that being an American really means. 

{i pray they grow to understand how blessed we are to celebrate July 4th & what it really means!}

And then i grew up and married a man in uniform. (which i always swore i would never do....haha!)  And now?  This holiday means even more.  Close to 2 years of our almost 8 years of marriage has been spent apart while he was away protecting every freedom we all enjoy.  Its an honor and privelege in my book that God has called me to the role of a military wife.  That i get to support my husband as he works so very hard every single day, home or deployed, he works so hard!  As do the majority of those he's blessed to serve alongside! 

{colby snapped a quick pic of us! gotta love the end of the day tired, no more make up look....;)}

Part of the military life is that most of the time you don't have family nearby to spend holidays with which can be a bummer at times.  But God has been faithful to bless us with great friends at each duty station and we got to celebrate with some of those friends yesterday!  We bbq'ed, ate, laughed, & let the kiddos run wild!!  Everyone headed home before dark because the babies were getting tired, so we got Dylan to bed and then headed outside to do some small fireworks w/ the big boys!

  {the babies ~ Dylan (11months), Kara (12months) & Bryce (16months)}

 {silly boys watching the fireworks}

{sparkler wars!}

It was a fun filled day of reflection on why we celebrate and what it is that we're celebrating!  God bless this great country and each & every soldier, sailor and airman that sacrifice so very much to defend and protect our freedom!!

You, my brothers and sisters, were called to be free.  But do not use your freedom to indulge the flesh; rather, serve one another humbly in love.

~Galatians 5:13~

 

Summer Fun

We've been having lots of fun in the sun and out of the sun too ~ it's HOT here.  and so so so humid.  i grew up in texas and i thought i knew what humidity was.  nope!  pensacola has taught me a thing or two about humidity like a) its miserable.  b) its acutally possible for your skin to almost never be dry!  c) layering a tank under ANYTHING you wear is a must because you aren't going to walk from the house to the car without sweating. gross.  d) did i mention its miserable?  always learning i tell ya! ;)

I haven't been great about taking pictures....boo!  One more thing about getting back to blogging is i'm hoping to get back to taking more everyday pictures.  as much as i love pictures of major events/milestones, i so love to look back at pictures of our everyday life!  We've been at the beach, swimming, bowling, playing in the sprinkler & with water guns in the front yard.......just having fun!

 {water fun & popsicles w/ friends!}

 {getting ready to go swim at a friends house!}

 {getting a picture of all 3 where you can actually see their faces? not so easy! ;)}

 {fun @ the beach!}

{i can't get enough of this little guy! he's so much fun!}

One of the many downsides of living on the gulf coast in summer is hurricane season.  we have been so blessed the last 3 summers to not really have seen any tropical "action" come this way!  this year has started off a little crazy already!!  tropical storm debbie threatened to mess with us but thankfully ended up not hitting us at all.  but she did stir up some fun waves!  the water here is really tame ~ little to no waves. (as you can see in the pic above!)  we headed out to the beach to check out the "storm water" when debbie was brewing and here's what we found......

 {a little rough out there.....}

 {i could have stood there and watched forever......there was something calming about the roar of the water!}

{and a pic of littlest just because!}

I'm not a big fan of the heat, humidity, bugs....what's that?  you couldn't have guessed??....i know, i know!  but i am so grateful for 3 bouncing boys that help me to see summer on the gulf coast in a more positive light and they inspire me to find ways to enjoy it.  this is after all exactly where God has us for now!

Be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus.      ~1 Thessalonians 5:16-18~



Low key for me!

We've had the best low key weekend!!  Sometimes it seems life moves at such a quick pace that i crave weekends that aren't scheduled to the hour.  weekends to just be with my family and relax and enjoy each other and this weekend has been just that!

Saturday morning john took the big boys to see Avengers! (finally!)  They all wore their super hero shirts and the boys were SO excited!  While they were gone i got some blogging done while dylan napped and then dylan and i played until they got home.  Last night the big boys helped daddy grill some burgers and we ate burgers & baked sweet potato fries for dinner, and then just lounged and watched tv together.  Once the big boys were in bed, hubby worked on finishing up his school work for this term and i did some family vacay planning!

 {dylan wanting to be outside grilling w/ the big boys!}

 {excited about Avengers!}

{dylan wanted in on the super hero play action!} 

relaxed.  productive.  perfect!  hopefully we'll have a few more of these before sports start back up in the fall! ;)

dylan's birthday ~ part 3

read part 1 here.

& part 2 is here.

so this is where things got really crazy!  the doc looks up at the nurse and says "she's at a 0".  the nurse stares at the doc completely not understanding what he's trying to say so then he says "we're going to have a baby.  we need to get her in a room NOW!"  and it was like semi organized chaos broke out!  they rushed me into a room and there were atleast 3 or 4 people all around me taking my shirt off and putting a gown on me.  (totally don't care about the shirt...can i just push please?!)  asking me to sign waivers and paperwork. (i'm shaking so bad at this point from the pain and still have NO idea what i signed)  setting up the bed, telling me not to push....blah blah blah. 

and then?  anesthesia comes in.  what?  (remember that whole hospital policy about anesthesia in place for a vbac? so dumb.  just let me push!)  so because the baby is so far down the birth canal, i can't sit up. so they roll me on my side and proceed to attempt to administer a spinal block.  i went back and forth between screaming at the dude doing it  and crying and begging them to just let me have my baby!  finally they roll me back over and tell me i can push.  2 or 3 contractions later there he was!!

 {my fave right after birth pic!}

{overwhelmed with love for him!}

and somehow all that pain and craziness just disappears!  it was just me, john and this amazing baby boy!  i wondered with my 2nd pregnancy how i could ever love another baby like i loved colby.  and then brayden was born and it was instant.  then thru my 3rd pregnancy i just couldn't wrap my mind around how i could possibly have enough love to give 3 boys and then they layed Dylan on chest and i was head over heels.  It blows my mind that God can pour so much love into us that we are then able to love each of our babies so much!  And it never runs out ~ endless love!

 {colby & brayden meeting him for the 1st time!}

{be still my heart.  my boys!}

I still couldn't tell you who was in the room when i delivered but i do know that regardless of how crazy it was i am so thankful it ended with a healthy beautiful 8lb 9oz baby boy!!  fun fact ~ on my l&d record paperwork it shows that it was only 7 minutes between when they actually admitted me in the computer and when i delivered! =)

 {1st pic as a family of 5!}

 {LOVE him!}

 {sweet boy in the bili lights ~ he had pretty bad jaundice}

{going home!}

I remember daydreaming and wondering that last few weeks of my pregnancy what my labor and birth story would be like.  And i honestly assumed it would be like brayden's.....long, drawn out....i never dreamed it would be what it was!  I love birth stories.  I love how God is so creative and we each have our own unique stories surrounding such a wonderful experience in our lives!!

dylans birthday ~ part 2

picking up where i left off on part 1.....

by about 8:30 the big boys were up and everyone else was all excited. me? still in total denial but agreed that maybe i should call my girlfriend that was going to watch the boys when the time came and be sure she was available! while on the phone with her i had another contraction and it had only been 5 minutes. i had to drop the phone and breathe through it ~ each one seemed to be getting more painful! i remember her saying "aubrey, i really think you should just bring the boys to me and go on up to the hospital" oh no no silly....i'm not going to be the girl they send home! i'm going to wait it out a little longer. 3 contractions later i told john "we've gotta go now. i can't do this anymore!" (hahaha!)

the boys helped load the car and off we went. the drive is a painful blur. we dropped the boys and headed for the hospital. when we parked i told john "just leave all of our stuff. once they get me in a room and get the epidural in place you can come back down and grab it." (thankfully he was smart enough to atleast grab the camera!) *side note ~ i had this weird fear of contracting on the elevator full of strangers. i remember asking john when we got on "how long till my next one?" and i remember seeing looks of horror on the faces of every man on that elevator!!! LOL!* we get upstairs, i get to the desk and the woman says "we need a nurse to rule out labor". bad words went thru my mind....honey you aren't ruling out anything. you better be calling anesthesia! anyway...

after 20 minutes on the monitor they come in and check me. 2cm. WHA??!! without being gross and giving you tmi, the nurse explained that a specific something in my medical history was probably keeping me from dialating. she said "you're definitely in labor but we don't admit until you're 4cm". so the plan was to let me labor in the triage room and re-check me in an hour or so. within 10 minutes of her walking out my contractions were every 3 minutes, every 2 minutes....you get the idea. i was DYING. you see...with a vbac, hospital policy is that you have an epidural in place. so going at it all natural wasn't even an option for me. i was very unprepared to handle the pain. i begged anybody that came in the room to please check me, help me, PLEASE!!!!

{trying to smile between contractions. i had no idea how exhausting that kind of pain could be!}

after what seemed like an eternity but was really only 20 minutes they came in and started an iv and gave some iv pain meds. now...to all my medical friends....is it normal for them to start an iv and administer meds before being admitted?!! the meds felt good for about 10 minutes and then the tears started. i told john i couldn't do this. the meds weren't helping anymore. apparently i said some not so nice things to nurses, lab techs....basically anyone who walked in the room. i knew they needed to check me. i knew i needed help and they wouldn't listen.

FINALLY the doc comes in and i'm screaming at him that "i just peed on myself" and "this is disgusting" and "you need to do something"....oh boy. i had reached my limit and couldn't take anymore! So he decides to go ahead and check me and repeatedly tells me i'm "doing so well" and to "keep breathing thru those contractions". UGH. quit taking your sweet time and HELP me! so he goes to check me and what do you know??! he hits dylan's head. and then a look of shock comes over him. and i remember saying "was that my babies head you just hit?"...........

dylan's birthday

recording the story of dylan's birth is really mostly for me....so that i don't forget any of the details!  but you are welcome to read along!  it was a bit crazy and now its fun to look back on!  i'm breaking it up into 2 or 3 posts....

a little history to set the scene ~ with colby i had a c-section.  with brayden a successful vbac but had to be induced due to severe pre eclampsia.  my pregnancy with dylan was high risk for a couple of reasons and when i started contracting quite a bit early on my doc's goal was lets make it to 35 weeks.  My goal was 38 weeks.  God is so good and by His grace i was able to avoid bed rest and made it all the way until 2 days before my due date.  this was the longest i had ever carried a baby and it was july in pensacola, fl.  i was BEYOND ready to have that baby!  but i was in denial too!

sunday, july 17th i skipped church.  i told john "my grace tank is empty" and i just couldn't answer any more dumb questions  like "what are you still doing here?" and "when are you gonna have that baby already?".  i know people mean well but i was miserable and doing my best to not dwell on the misery and i just couldn't do it.  spent time in prayer begging God to get this party started! =)

{the day before i delievered!}

monday, july 18th around 4am i wake up to this strange pain.  i was so out of it that i remember thinking that was weird and laying back down.  about the time i was really starting to doze off it happened again.  (remember i had never done the whole go into labor on your own thing....)  this was certainly different than anything else i had felt and after a few more "pains" i decided i must be contracting.  woke john and told him.  we decided to time a few of them ~ every 11 minutes on the dot.  OMGOODNESS....this is where i got really excited!!  this was it!!  so i got up and ate a little bit of something since i just knew we'd be headed to the hospital at some point and they wouldn't let me eat. 

and then?  the contractions got a little sporadic....still painful but not so regular.  UGH.  i was so frustrated and told john to let me take a shower and then just head on into work.  (why i asked him to wait for me to take a shower i really don't know...)  as i was getting in the shower i had a really strong, doubled me over contraction and yelled out to john.  it has only been 9 minutes since the last one.  while in the shower another one ~ only 6 minutes since the last.  so totally in denial i was still frustrated but thankfully john decided he wasn't going into work!  ;)  from that point on i contracted every 6 minutes for a while...... 

I'm back!!!

Oh how i've missed blogging.  And while i have wanted for so long to come back to it, the final push was reading back thru old posts and realizing what a blessing it is to have those memories journaled here!  I want that so badly.  To have this journal of the ups and downs, trials and triumphs our family faces and to be able to read about God's faithfulness through it all. 


SO much has gone on the last year in our world!  We moved and shortly after that became a family of 5! i still marvel at how adding one more little person can change SO much in our everyday lives.  I'm completely overwhelmed more days than not but i've learned to rely on Jesus more and more and let go of unrealistic expectations of perfection.  God has gently shown me that my number 1 ministry right now is my family and thats okay!  I'm learning (slowly!) to cherish right where God has me....in the thick of the crazy, loud, not as organized as i'd like, not as clean as i'd like, beautiful chaos that is our home & family right now! 



{the most recent picture of the whole family!}

I'm excited to be back and to share with friends and family all the madness here in the Miculka's world!  Up next.....a little reflection back to the day Dylan was born.  It was a little crazy and i certainly never want to forget the little details!