Lots to report...

I'll start with the most recent. Thursday, Iris turned 3. She was so excited. I'd told her a few weeks ago that her birthday was coming, and her response was, "It is!?! I'm gonna be free {three}, and I'm gonna have a burger with cheese and pickles!" I said, "You want me to make you cheese burgers?" She said, "Yeah! With pickles!" She doesn't like pickles. In fact, when we get a happy meal, she always tells me, "Mom, I said NO PICKLES!" But having another birthday...getting so big and going to be three...she decided she was ready to eat pickles on her burgers like her older sisters.

Her and I made the trip to the store. She got to pick out her presents. She probably pushed every button and knob within her view (thankfully she's not taller, or we would have been there a lot longer that we were). She'd decided on a few items, when of course nature called. We made our way across the store to the bathroom. On the way back to the toys, we walked through the shoe department. She said, "Oh, I want shoes too." So, we looked and she spotted the cutest red boots. We found her size, and she couldn't wait to get home to wear them. We also picked out a few outfits to match her new red boots.

Here's Iris in one of her new outfits with her red boots.

Here's Iris enjoying her cheese burger...minus the pickles. She asked for a slice of pickle while I was putting her burger together, and was quickly reminded that she doesn't like pickles. So much for that...

Iris got to pick out her candles. They were shaped like cupcakes. And she also got to help decorate her cake.

Here she is blowing out her candles...

...and here she is taking off the candles and licking the frosting off them.

We couldn't feed the cake fast enough to Levi. I don't think he even chewed it between bites. Look at how wide he's opening his mouth!

Here's Iris showing some of the items she got for her birthday.

She's so cute. I guess I should have cleaned the frosting off her mouth before taking pictures, but it's still a sweet pic of my baby girl.

On a different note, Jamie's been home a lot lately. Work has really slowed down. I'm faithful that God will provide a job soon. He's been so good to us, and His provision is more than we can ever imagine. I've been going though so much, but am reminded daily of how big God is and how He's always faithful to work things out. I'm thankful and embrace these times because I come out of them with more faith, understanding, and a knowledge of God.

My sister, Jessica, was able to come visit us last month. Her time here was way too short. I wish she lived closer. She's one of my best friends, and time spent with her is always wonderful. The kids had so much fun having her here too. It was nice that they had their energy focused toward her (I got a bit of a break). Here's a few pictures of her visit with us. There's so many more that I wanted to post, but I've limited to some of the best.

Me, Jessica, James and Ashley

Ashley and Jessica with Levi

James and Jessica

Jessica managed to get a cute pic with almost all of my kiddos

Jasmine, Iris (so funny), and Rosalie

Jessica and Lily

Jessica with our dad

Jessica and I

Jessica, Me, our dad, and James

Okay, the next two pictures are of a "rug" that my step mom, Janee', painted on their back patio. Another beautiful creation by her. This one, of course, is so special to me. It has all my my kids foot prints. Iris and Levi alternate in the black, and then Lily, Jasmine, and Rosalie's prints alternate in the red.

And to finish this post, here's a picture of my guys. Levi and Jamie playing the piano. Levi just loves the piano. He really focuses on hitting the keys...not just banging his hands on them to make noise.