Leia

Here are a few pictures of Leia on her second day in this world. My friend, Tomi, came to meet her and took these photos and did a little photoshop work...I love them!
Thanks, Tomi!

Meet Leia

Leia Jean Murray arrived on June 24th at 5:12 am. She was 8 lbs 7 oz, and 21". We are both doing great, and we enjoyed our home birth experience. Leia is eating, sleeping, and squawking (she has a funny little cry). Her brothers are quite taken with her and she gets lots of love. We are so thankful that Grandma Gloria and Grandpa Bob are here to help and meet their favorite granddaughter (their first!). Enjoy the photos!

still waiting...

Leia is two days late. I feel fine- just super-puffy and very pregnant, but I have no idea when she will show up. Sometimes I think we are really close, and then other times I think we could go another week or two! It's wild to be in this waiting stage...Landon was ten days early, and Lincoln's contractions started on his due date and he was born the day after....so my trend is to carry each child longer, apparently! Go figure. My parents are here and they are waiting patiently...as is Aaron, and the boys. Funny, she probably likes it in the womb as she gets belly kisses from her brothers all day long, and she might hear the chaos of the boys outside the womb and decide she doesn't want any of that! Or, she is just a typical a girl, and is running late or trying to make a fashionable entrance. Praying for peace and contentment as I wait to meet my baby girl....

Grandma Gloria's First Pedicure

We had a mother-daughter date yesterday with Barie and her mom, and we all got pedicures and had lunch. It was my mom's first pedicure, and she really liked it- her favorite part was the massage chair!
(And you can see how pregnant and puffy I am here...quite the flattering shot! Leia is 2 days late in these pictures!)

Fun, fishing, family....FOUR

Happy Birthday, Landon! He turned four yesterday, and had a wonderful day celebrating with Grandpa Bob and Grandma Gloria. We had Round Rock Donuts for breakfast, went to see the Zoo Man at GT library with Colton and Leif, went fishing at our little pond down the street and caught some sticks and someone else's bobber and line, and partied hard at Dave and Buster's with dinner and lots of arcade fun. Phew! He knows how to have a good time, just like his mom and dad. :-) Bob Bob and Glo Glo arrived on Monday evening, and we are having such a good time with them. Both boys are just so excited that they are here.

birthday video

Here is Landon's 4 yr old and Lincoln's 2 yr old birthday bash video footage.

fun at the pool

Summer is here...and has been for the last few weeks...it just took us a little while to get up to our pool (we weren't in a rush as we have the privilege of swimming at the YMCA pool all winter long!). Here are a few photos of the boys enjoying the pool with various friends. Landon is definitely more of my fish...Lincoln prefers to watch the tractors and golf carts off in the distance.

video from the final Astros game

no pets

Aaron and I have a "no pet" policy currently, so we are happy that our neighbor has a nice dog that the boys can play with through our fence! Here are a few shots of them tossing "Simon" a bone ( I bought some dog bones at Costco, but I think Simon would like doggie treats better). It is hilarious to watch the boys and the dog chase each other up and down the fence. We have lost several toys to Simon's chompers though, and both boys have a few scratches to show for when they got in his face too much or tried to get a toy back!

final Astros game

Today was Landon's last tball game of the season...and we are glad, as it was 97 degrees (thankfully a breeze made it feel better!). We enjoyed watching him play baseball, and it was fun to see him out there with all of his little buddies.

Fun with Kale

Here are a few of my favorite pictures of Landon and Kale. We are so blessed to be sharing life with the Fergusons and today Barie took Landon and Kale on a "date" to see Shrek. He was so excited. Kale and Landon are also on the same tball team for the second season in a row, and they always have a great time together.

37 weeks

Here are a few final pregnancy shots. For all of my pregnancies I have done a similar pose in this same swimsuit at about 37 weeks. It should be fun to compare...I don't think I have them all on one computer or easily accessible, but I plan to dig them out and do a scrapbook page with them all next to each other.

I thought I was in labor on Monday (well, it didn't feel like the way labor was with the boys, but something was up and I was in pain and not feeling well), so Sasha, our midwife came out and checked me and said that I was 2 cm dilated and mostly effaced, but that she didn't think the contractions were really doing anything at that point...long story short, it stopped, and left me wondering if the symptoms were just a virus or something else. Anyway, the whole thing has me thinking about how this stage is the most mysterious part of pregnancy to me. I just have no idea when my babies will decide it is time to come out. Now, I know I can be induced or try certain methods to start the process, but really this is one area for me that I can't control and in fact have chosen not to in the past....it's a faith-building adventure for me...the whole process of conception, labor, delivery, and parenting is really a faith-building adventure (for me, mostly the realization that there is so much that I can't control and need to trust God for- to realize that He is in control and has a plan, and will give me the grace and strength I need for each day). But for some reason, this waiting and not knowing really impacts me. Kind of random thoughts, and I hope I am making some sense! So we are waiting for the arrival of Princess Leia, and taking it one day at a time.