My Brothers

A couple weeks ago, my brothers came to visit for a couple days. It was so fun to have them around. The visit was definitely too short. They both stayed a night at my house and we had lots of fun visiting and playing games.

We all got together at my house for dinner and took a few pictures. All of my siblings were there except Brianne. She was definitely missed. From L to R is Mechelle holding her new baby Raeleigh, Marc, Me, Alisha and Brant. As you can see, my brothers are mutants. Brant is 6'4" and Marc is 6'8". None of us girls are over 5'6". Crazy.

This is Marc with my girls. Hes a nuclear engineer. Most kids love Marc. Hes very funny and hes lots of fun to climb on and he can put kids up to the ceiling. Even so, he couldn't even get close to Taryn until about 10 min before he left, and she was still a little wary. Marc came without his wonderful wife Candace, sob. She had to work and didn't have the time off. Shes a special ed teacher specializing in autism.

My brother Brant is great. Hes one of the nicest guys you'll ever meet, and hes got male model looks and style to go along with it. Hes going to school to become a counselor for kids. He married one of the best girls out there. Nadine is fabulous and shes a great hairstylist. They have two of the cutest kids ever!

This is Eli. Hes very shy, but you can tell hes really smart! I think it runs in the family :)

This is LillyAnne. She is one of the prettiest babies Ive ever seen. She is so cuddly and she'll let anyone hold her.

Brianne to the rescue

After my sister Mechelle was able to bring her baby home from the hospital and after her husband John had to go back to work, Mechelle still needed a lot of help. She has two crazy little boys and with her C-section and a preemie, she couldn't do much on her own. So, it was our sister Brianne to the rescue. She knew Mechelle would need someone, so she took off work and booked her flight from Idaho. She was amazing! She took over mommy duties as well as household chores. She helped Mechelle out more than she knows and I'm so proud of her!

From l-r, Mechelle, Brianne, Alisha and me (I know, I should have dressed up and fixed my hair too, but I was tired from cooking and cleaning for this little get together and I ran out of time. Ill do better next time). It was so great to have all my sisters together. We dont get to see Brianne very often and when we do its such a treat!

This is baby Raeleigh, just a little bit bigger, but still a tiny little thing.

Diaper Cake

I made this diaper cake for my sister Mechelle's baby shower. I had seen some others at baby showers I went to, but none of them were really great looking to me. I went online and got some great ideas and just went from there. It was sooooo much fun and I was so excited to see her get it. I stuffed it full of baby odds and ends. I'm sure Ill do this again and again, I'm already stocking up on supplies!

Raeleigh Dawn Bierman

Raeleigh Dawn Bierman
Born Thursday, April 17, 2008 at 10:40 am
4lbs 15oz
18 in long

Raeleigh was born about 5 weeks early by emergency C-section. She turned, so Mechelle couldn't deliver her herself. Mechelle has what is called Rh E, which is a rare form of Rh syndrome where the antibodies in the mother can attack the red blood cells of the baby and could cause harm or even death to the unborn baby. You can read a little about it here. This form of the syndrome is untreatable, so they had to deliver Raeleigh as soon as her lungs were developed enough. Mechelle has had some of the worst pregnancies of any one I know. She is usually nauseous throughout along with having gestational diabetes. Her first baby, Zach, was also born 5 weeks early because Mechelle had Toxemia and they were afraid she was going to have kidney failure. Shes such a trouper. I hope her kids, Zach, Kaleb and now Raeleigh, will all know and appreciate how much she has done for them and how much she really loves them. I love her so much and I'm continually amazed by her strength.

Practice what you preach or Monkey see monkey do

I hate to be late. So much so, that it causes me a lot of stress. Getting ready for 9am church is stressful. When I get stressed sometimes I get a little grouchy.

Sunday I had the kids all ready for church and was trying to get out the door. I had Taryn in the stroller (we walk to church because its only a block away) and as I was going out the door, the front wheel got caught in an electrical cord plugged into the wall. The first couple of tries getting it untangled were ok, but when those failed I got increasingly agitated until I loudly growled in frustration. All this time I was also hollering at Auralee to put her shoes on. Right after I had my little tantrum, Auralee had a similar one because she couldn't get her shoe on. "Auralee," I yelled, "settle down!" At this Luc gives me a look and says, "Carla." To which I replied guiltily, "I know, I know." Then I rushed out the door so I didn't have to deal with it.

I know I have a problem. Its just fixing it that I have trouble with.

A Weighty Topic

I was net surfing today, and I found this video. I really like what the girl says. She brings up a lot of good points and I think her views should be considered. So, here it is...

Keep Out Of The Reach Of Children

Taryn was not very happy when I took this picture. We started swim lessons today and when I got home I left the diaper bag on the floor. Of course, the sunscreen was in it and of course, Taryn found it. I'm sure she had a blast until she was caught. Mommy was not very happy.

She got quite a bit on her legs. She remembered how I had put it on her, so she decided she would do it like mommy but without the moderation that mommy uses.

I was also not happy about the greasy mess I was left to clean up on the floor. These are teaching moments. They teach mommy that she needs to be more aware of things and ALWAYS put things out of the reach of the children.