BIG news!!!!

Yep, we're having a baby, due March 10th!! We are over-the-moon excited!

This is from our "Big Brother/basketball" photo shoot a couple of weeks ago. Posted this on Facebook and referenced March Madness, since we are going to be outnumbered and taking up zone defense. Get it? :-)
Found out we were expecting on July 4th! Memorable day, especially since this was a SURPRISE! We have always hoped for three, and we know God is in control. We can try to plan, but He is the ultimate planner. We are so blessed and humbled!

Since we believe our family will be complete with three, and like Brett said, to keep the surprise going, we are going to hold off on finding out the baby's gender until his or her birthday. Whoa, I REALLY have become more laid-back because of this mom thing! Never would've dreamed I would be up for that!! If it is a girl, and I have a feeling it is (may be wishful thinking :-) we have six nieces whose mommies will take care of us with clothes. And she will have a blue room (since Blake's nursery is a light blue and I don't want to repaint!)

We found out right before we went to Guatemala, so this was the first belly shot at 6 weeks. Already showing some? Maybe...

This was from last week, at 13 weeks, and I am definitely starting to show...pardon the cars and train station. 

So, I have been a lot more nauseous this go-around! Chasing after 1 and 3-year-old boys made me tired before, but I have been EXTREMELY sleepy some afternoons. I have been sure to "nap when they nap" on my days off from work :-) As of this week the nausea is less frequent and I seem to have more energy. Hooray for the second trimester!

Exciting times ahead for the Winters' crew!

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Carpenter reunion

The second weekend in June we headed to the big town of Big Springs, TX, for the Carpenter Family Reunion. Brett's grandmother is a Carpenter, and she is one of the greatest people ever met. She is pictured in the picture below, right in the center, surrounded by three of her four kids, their spouses, kids and grandkids. Love this picture!

Papa with his six (before there were seven) grandkids!

Breakfast at Mickey D's before our day of play on Saturday

Playground fun (pardon Jameston's huge shirt. It was the smallest size for the family reunion shirt :-)

Cheesing it up with cousin Laine at the reception that night

Ruby and Jameston, two peas in a pod

They held a dinner and reception that night at Hotel Settles, and it was a grand ole time with lots of singing, dancing and guitar playing! I need to post the video of the kids singing. I captioned the following photo of Uncle Jay singing and all the great grandkids dancing on Instragram "Small Town Saturday night" :-)

Jameston singing, "Jesus Loves Me" (at the top of his lungs :-) Be still, my heart

Ruby and Jameston, two peas in a pod!

On Sunday morning we got the kiddos dressed and ready (we had our nieces with us for the weekend) and we headed out for brunch.

The little ones had a field day with the bubbles. Blake sure was a fan of cousin Riley!

Sweet Ruby Kay!

One of my fave pictures of the little ones to date!

We all had a wonderful time seeing extended family. Can't wait for the next reunion!

The Fourth (of July)!

Better late than never, right? I'm just now getting caught up on this summer's events, thanks to the app BlogPress. It's been crazy busy for several reasons, read on to find out :-) 

We had a day FULL of excitement on the 4th! All of my boys buzzed their hair. YIKES, I was nervous. Blake's first cut, but he did great! Goodbye curls, hope we see you again :-(

We headed to the neighborhood pool for some relief from the heat! Here is a great shot of Blake and Daddy in the kiddy pool:
We had friends over that night for burgers and smores and stayed up too late (for Jameston's sake) to watch the 'works from our front porch.

Love this little fella, can't believe he's about to be 4!

It was a great, great day spent at home with my guys!

Oh, and we found out we are PREGNANT that day! Whoa. VERY MEMORABLE day for us indeed!!

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Cousins!

We are so very blessed by our family! The boys have seven sweet cousins (6 of them girls), and they all get along and adore each other! This was taken from the Carpenter Reunion (separate post). LOVE!

Riley and Ruby welcomed a baby sister, Claire Augusta, in late June!

And she has quite the adoring fans in her cousins!

Layne and Riley in the ever-popular Barbie car at Granny and Papa's house!

Even the boys want their turn!

One of my favorites from the summer!

My sister and her two girls came for a visit in July. Little Miss Josie, isn't she just the cutest?!

She and Blake are buddies (as long as he's not trying to play too rough)!

The Stewart grandkids!

On Memorial Day we headed out to Weatherford to see some of the Winters' crew again. The trampoline was a hit!

The older cousins get along great and even took turns sharing one bowl of ice cream (something I would find hard to do :-)

WE LOVE OUR COUSINS!!

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My guys

With two very busy boys, we have been up to a lot of shenanigans this summer. They keep us on our toes, and we wouldn't want it any other way!

Oh, you know, just climbing into the baker's rack on the patio...

Lego-building is serious business in our house!

Be still, my heart...

Sandbox and sprinkler fun one Sunday night

Our house is loud, thanks to toys like this kazoo (thanks, Aunt Maggie)!

Again, loud!

To say that these two adore each other is to put it lightly. Love them to pieces!

Soaking up some Daddy time one Sunday before he went out of town

Playground trips have been fewer and further between this summer due to the heat (note their rosy cheeks). Bring on the cooler temps, pretty please!

Again, "loud" is one of the best adjectives for our house. There's that kazoo again and the xylophone (one of Blake's favorites)!

A rare moment with Blake being still. And a rare selfie (no thanks)

A good way to contain them while I'm cooking dinner (so I don't have to worry about any injuries or refereeing) is play-doh. It keeps them busy for at least 5 minutes :-)

Ha, those goggles! Boys and their baths!

Snack-time in a different spot. Love that they like hanging out even when they don't have to!

Sweet, sweet boy trying Jell-O (when big bro was sick) for the first time. This is one instance where he only wanted to play with his food :-)

Jameston came with me to work one Friday (my half day) when he was under the weather with stomach bug. Poor boy :-( But he got to watch Bob the Builder at Mommy's desk, and mommy got to test his hearing!

Window markers=GENIUS! Double bonus: they got to watch Daddy mow, and I got to keep my eye on them in the kitchen while I prepared dinner

Quick trip to Home Depot one Saturday after naps

We have taken a few treks to the pool and night-time rides around the neighborhood in the chariot.

Daddy drives them!

Jameston reading from his Bible to Blake and explaining that there is a New and Old Testament

Afternoon serenade on the piano sans shirts, ha!

Oh my word, we need to wear scuba gear when giving these two a bath!

Again with the play-doh :-)

Night-time drive and sandbox fun!

 Redneck bath-time in the sprinkler following aforesaid sandbox!

Sunday shopping trip after church. These boys had a BLAST in the dressing room, oh my! Yes, those are Crocs Blake wore to church. I don't care, I don't want to buy him a pair of sandals in his new size with just a few weeks left of summer. Poor second child and the hand-me-down!

They both wanted Daddy to hold them :-)

Just an normal afternoon in our house ;-)

This was a long blog post, but thumbing through the pictures, I realize how blessed we are. I need to read this blog on those days I feel bogged down...thank you, Lord, for this blessed life!

Adios for now, muchachos!

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