Splashin' Around at the Splash Pad...

After Parker's Milk Scan at the hospital last Friday 8/22, I took the kids to the Splash Pad out in Farragut. This was our last weekday together for awhile since Lily would be going to Kindergarten full time starting on the 25th. We met one of my very best friends, Amy, and her 3 kids out there. The girls had so much fun, and thankfully Parker was so worn out from his testing that he slept the entire time so I was able to enjoy watching the girls and also snap some pictures!

Here is Maddy in her favorite orange bikini, and very proud of her little pig tails (She is becoming quite the "girlie-girl"!:

I am so proud of Maddy...she is finally okay with getting wet. (Too bad summer is coming to an end!)

A sweet picture of 2 sisters that are the very best of friends:

Lily and her other best friend, Madeline, had fun squirting everyone that walked by:

They took some time to pose for a picture:

Katy had fun filling up buckets of water (and then dumping them on her Mommy!):

She took a time out for some sunshine on the bench:

It was such a fun time and it is amazing how refreshing a day of water fun can be! One of my very favorite things is hearing the girls' laughter. It makes me feel so good!
A happy heart makes the face cheerful Proverbs 15:13a

Update on Parker...

Well, our "little buddy" (as Maddy would say) has Reflux! No big surprise to us--I'm glad to know that my "Mommy Instinct" is still good! Dr. Feld put Parker on Prevacid solutabs to help his poor belly. Hopefully we'll see a change in the next couple of days. I took some pictures of my sweet boy at 6 weeks and didn't have time to post, but here they are anyways even though he is almost 8 weeks!

Here is a close up of his chubby face:

And here is the girls' favorite picture:They're not used to anyone in the Buhl Castle wearing a hat!

Here is one more picture of him propped up in his crib:

Parker is growing so fast! He is wearing 3 months clothes and they are getting to be too small in the length! The girls are still doing really well with Parker. He is definitely spoiled!
Behold, children are a heritage from the Lord, the fruit of the womb is a reward. Psalm 127:3

Last week was a LOOOOONG week...

I can't believe that 10 days have gone by without a new post! Last week was a very long week. On Thursday Aug. 14th, I went in to see my OB because my incision wasn't healing on the right side (there was a stitch coming out and it looked infected.) Dr. Vick removed about a 3 inch stitch that hadn't dissolved and then the nurse took a culture of the infected area. When I went in for my 6 week postpartum visit on Monday 8/18 I was told that my culture came back positive for Staph Infection. I was shocked and scared! They put me on a strong antibiotic (as strong as I can take with breastfeeding) and told me to get lots of rest. I tried my best last week to rest, but it is so very hard with taking care of 4 small children, and my personality is to keep going and going and going... But, there were SO many people praying for me last week--I could feel the prayers, because slowly every day I was able to find a little bit more time to rest and still spend time with the kids and get some things done around the house in between running Lily and Maddy to their different activities. Then on Friday 8/22 I had to take Parker to Children's Hospital for a Milk Scan. A Milk Scan is a test for Reflux. He wasn't allowed to eat after 3 am, and we had to be there at 6:30 am to check in. Parker cried from 6:15 until 7:00 when he was finally able to drink his bottle. They put a radioactive tracer in his bottle mixed with breastmilk. Then he had to lay on a table for an hour while they took pictures of his tummy. He did not like that one bit! He cried for almost the entire hour. It was breaking my heart because I couldn't pick him up and comfort him! Then after the hour I had to walk him around the hospital for an hour and then bring him back for 2 more pictures to see how fast his tummy emptied out the milk. Needless to say we were both exhausted after that! Hopefully we will hear of the results from Dr. Feld today and our questions will be answered. I will post as soon as I hear something. I am thankful last week is behind us...
Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything. James 1:2-4

Lily Ballerina...

Lily had her first dance class on Tuesday, Aug. 12th. She is taking Ballet/Tap I/II at Tennessee Conservatory of Fine Arts in Fountain City. Her class meets on Tuesday evenings from 6:00 - 7:00 and will consist of 30 minutes of ballet, and 30 minutes of tap. She took dance last year for the first time at WHBC and really enjoyed it, so I decided to find her a dance school for this year. TCFA is a classically based school and Lily is to wear a light blue leotard, light pink tights, and light pink ballet shoes. She also has to have her hair up in a bun for every class. Lily has told everyone for years that she wants to be a ballerina when she grows up so you can imagine how excited she is! Her teacher is Ms. Tammy and she has been teaching for over 20 years. She is very sweet and began teaching them a lot already. It was a small class--only 6 girls, so Lily will get a lot of attention. I didn't get to watch Lily at all, but when she came out of the room halfway through her class to put her tap shoes on, she had the biggest smile on her face. I am so excited for her and can't wait to watch her grow through this experience. Here is a picture of Lily outside of TCFA:

Lily looks so grown up with her hair pulled back in a bun. Here is Lily up close waiting patiently for her class to begin:
I am hoping to get some pictures of her in class next time (if they will allow it!) She will have a dance recital in May and I can't wait to see our little ballerina dancing on stage!
To everything there is a season, a time for every purpose under heaven...a time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance; Ecclesiastes 3:1 & 3:4

Maddy's 1st Day in Preschool...

Tuesday was Maddy's first day in Preschool. When I went in her room to wake her up and told her it was time to get ready for school, she jumped out of bed and ran to pick out her clothes. All morning she kept hugging me and saying, "I'm excited about my school!" It was so cute! Here is Maddy outside of WHBC Preschool:Maddy is wearing the new backpack that we got her. She chose red since there wasn't any yellow or orange to choose from, and we had her name put on it. She is so proud of her backpack and insisted that I take a picture of it:Maddy knew exactly where to go when we walked in her school since Lily had been in the same classroom. She was ecstatic to see her name outside the door on a yellow shirt: (Thank you, Amy!) Maddy went right in her classroom and straight to the back to hang up her backpack. She couldn't wait to play in the housekeeping area:Then she sat down with some other boys and girls to play with the play-doh:


Maddy had a great 1st day and she cannot wait to go back. She keeps saying, "Mommy, I love my new school!" and she is already asking, "How many more days until I go back?" I am so thankful that she and Lily both had a great experience on their first day. It looks like it is going to be a wonderful school year for both of them!
Train a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not turn from it. Proverbs 22:6

Lily's 1st Day in Kindergarten...

Tuesday was Lily's 1st day in Kindergarten. She was so excited to go and picked out a cute dress that would match her bracelet that Aunt Jonnelle made for her. She was also happy that she gets to bring her lunch this year in her new lunch box (which Daddy packed for her!) Maddy and I walked her in on her first day. Brickey's theme this year is Ocean of Readers and they had a cute banner hanging over the entrance to the school:The whole entire school is decorated in an ocean theme and the Kindergarten teachers all built a cute lifeguard chair that sits outside their classroom with their class name beside it. Lily's class is called: "Bounds' Barracudas." Here is a picture of Lily in front of the lifeguard chair outside her classroom: Mrs. Bounds has a "Welcome" mat outside of her door in which the kids can choose how they want to greet her in the morning when they first arrive. They can choose a hug, handshake, high five, or a smile. Here is Mrs. Bounds explaining the "Welcome" mat to Lily: Lily chose to greet Mrs. Bounds with a smile. Then she took Lily over to the carpet and taught her the silly song that they would be doing during morning group time: Mrs. Bounds wanted to read everyone a special story before the parents left, so she had the 5 children sit on the carpet and the parents sit on the chairs behind them. Lily did great! It was Mommy who had a hard time! I was holding it together until Mrs. Bounds read The Night Before Kindergarten. (For those of you who haven't read the book it is a cute poem about kids preparing for Kindergarten--packing school supplies, posing for pictures, and the hardest part-saying good-bye to mom and dad. But when the kids realize how fun Kindergarten really is, it is the parents who have trouble adjusting! At the end it shows a picture of all of the kids smiling and happy, and a picture of all the moms and dads crying at the end.) When Mrs. Bounds finished reading, she told all of the kids to turn around and give their moms a big, huge hug--so big that it will last all day. Lily turned around and squeezed me so very hard and whispered, "I love you, Mommy." It just melted my heart and it took all I had in me to stop the tears from flowing! She is such a sweet girl!

Lily had a great day and couldn't stop talking about all they did. She said that they sang silly songs, read stories, played on the playground, made a scuba diver and painted seaweed, wrote their ABC's and went on a bear hunt for the Brickey Bear. She is definitely looking forward to going back next Tuesday and learning new things!

Let us learn together what is good. Job 34:4

Lily's Five Year Well Visit...

Lily had her Five Year Well Visit today with Dr. Feld. She weighed 37 lb. and was 41.75 in. tall. (Her measurements are very similar to mine when I went for my Kindergarten physical!) I couldn't believe all the things that she had to do. They checked her eye sight, hearing, blood pressure, urine, blood, and she got 4 shots! She just cried for a second, and I am very proud of her for being SO brave! Dr. Feld said she looked great and is perfectly healthy! We had to celebrate of course and so Lily picked out a new movie at Target, Barbie Swan Lake, and we met Daddy at Chick-Fil-A for lunch. Jonathan took today off so he could spend some time with his girls before school starts, and he's also off tomorrow so he could be there to see them off on their first day of school. What a great Daddy! He loves his girls!
Follow the way of love. 1 Corinthians 14:1

Last Day of Summer...

Can you believe that today is our last day of summer vacation? We had a busy and fun summer and now tomorrow two of my princesses start school. Lily will be going to Kindergarten at Brickey McCloud Elementary School. We first visited her new school during Kindergarten Roundup and she fell in love immediately! The school is only 5 years old, so it is the same age as Lily, and it is absolutely beautiful inside (a school teacher's dream!) Lily LOVES school (like her Mommy!) and is so very excited to start tomorrow. Since Kindergarten Roundup she has been asking daily, "How much longer until I go to Kindergarten?" This was back on April 1st, so needless to say she has been asking for a LONG time! We had "Meet the Teacher" on Sunday and she got to meet her teacher, Mrs. Bounds. I was so thrilled when we got her Kindergarten letter in the mail and saw Mrs. Bounds was going to be her teacher. I taught first grade with her at Powell Elementary and she transferred to Brickey right when it opened. She is a wonderful teacher and a very strong Christian, so we couldn't be happier! Lily enjoyed exploring her new classroom. Knox County staggers their Kindergarten students so Lily will be going on Tuesdays for 2 weeks, and then she will go full time (Mon.-Fri. 7:45 am - 1:00 pm) starting on August 25th. Mrs. Bounds does "home visits" where she visits each child at their home before school begins to get to know them better and make them feel more comfortable. She will be visiting Lily tonight at 6:00. Lily's eyes got real big when I told her about the home visit, and she can't believe that her teacher is actually coming to her house!
Maddy will be going to West Hills Baptist Church Preschool tomorrow for her first day of preschool. She will be in the 3's on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 8:30 am - 2:30 pm. She has 2 teachers: Mrs. Elder and Mrs. Houk. Lily had Mrs. Elder when she was in the 3's and we were very happy with her. Mrs. Houk (Amy) is one of my very best friends. We also taught 1st grade together at Powell Elementary and our oldest daughters are just 6 weeks apart. This will be Amy's 1st job since she had her 3 children. Maddy is so lucky to have her as one of her teachers. She is an excellent teacher and very loving. Maddy is very excited about starting tomorrow, since she has been asking to go to school since she turned three.
I will be all ready with my camera tomorrow. It will be exciting watching 2 of my girls go off to school, and I will make sure to get lots of pictures. Say some prayers for my girls and that they will have a great first day of school and that God will calm any nerves they might have.
The Lord is my helper; I will not be afraid. Hebrews 13:6

Birthday Fun at Club Libby Lu...

I wanted to do something special for Lily's 5th Birthday and decided to take her to Club Libby Lu so she could be treated like a princess! I told her to choose 3 of her very best friends to bring along, and of course she chose: her sister Maddy, Emma, and Madeline. We sent out cute Princess invitations and invited her friends to join us for some makeover magic! Lily couldn't wait to go and she was especially excited because she got to wear the beautiful pink tutu that Grandma and Grandpa gave her for her Birthday:

When all of the girls had arrived, Megan told them all of the fun things that they would be doing at Club Libby Lu. The girls were so excited! First they got to dress up. Lily and Maddy dressed up like princesses, Emma dressed up like a rock star, and Madeline dressed up as a rainbow fairy. Then they got to choose their Libby Du. Lily LOVES that her hair is getting long, so she chose the "Dazzling" look. Here she is getting her hair done for the first time:
Maddy chose the "Sporty" look, and here she is getting her hair done for the first time:
After all the girls got their hair done, they had special pink glitter sprayed all over their hair and then they got their nails painted and put makeup on. Here is Princess Lily: Next they got to pick out 5 goodies to put in their "Club Libby Lu" backpack. There were so many cute hair accessories and jewelry to choose from! After they chose their goodies, the girls got to create their very own sparkle spa. All four girls love to get their fingernails and toe nails painted, so I chose the nail option. Each girl got a pink manicure/pedicure kit to take home, and they got to create their own foot scrub and lotion to add inside. Once they had finished with their sparkle spa, Megan took them out into Belk to do the Hokie Pokie. The girls were so precious. When they were done dancing, they put their hands in together and shouted, "Happy Birthday, Lily!" We went back inside Club Libby Lu for some pictures. Here are the four beautiful princesses:It was the perfect group of girls. Can you tell they had fun together?

After Libby Lu we walked through the mall to Marble Slab for some ice cream fun. Each girl got to pick out their own ice cream creation and then Lily opened up her presents. Madeline gave Lily a beautiful dress that her mom had made. (I will post a picture when Lily wears it---it is so cute!) And Emma gave Lily High School Musical and High School Musical 2 on DVD. They are Emma's favorite movies and she couldn't wait to give them to Lily so Lily could watch them for the first time ! Look how excited they both are:Aren't they just precious??? We can't wait to watch them so we'll be ready for High School Musical 3 that comes to the theatres in October. Everyone had so much fun and I think this will be a Birthday that Lily will always remember. We thank God every day for such wonderful friends!
I will sing to the Lord because He has been good to me. Psalm 13:6

Lily's 5th Birthday...

Thursday, August 7th, was Lily Marie's 5th Birthday! Wow...how time has flown. I can't believe she is already 5! It seems like yesterday that we were bringing her home from the hospital. Lily is really starting to understand what Birthdays are all about, and couldn't wait for her special day. She was so excited on the day of her Birthday that she woke up at 6:30 am! Lily got to go shopping with Grandmother and cousin Anna, and enjoyed a Birthday lunch at Ruby Tuesday with Gramps, Grandmother, Maddy, Uncle Tony, Aunt Kandy, Anna, and Adam. I fixed her favorite food for supper: Cheez-It Chicken and potato casserole, and I made her a special rainbow cake:

We had a small birthday celebration at our house (just the 6 of us!) and enjoyed singing Happy Birthday to Lily, watching her make a wish and blowing out her five, pink candles:

Lily has been enjoying all of the cards coming for her through the mail. She gets the biggest smile on her face and asks, "Another one...for me?" It is the cutest thing. And we had to laugh when she thought that the Toys R Us gift card from Uncle Danny was a "credit card." Lily had so much fun opening up her presents from Uncle Andy, Aunt Jonnelle, and Alex. There were TONS of fun crafts for her to do (which is Lily's favorite thing!) and Aunt Jonnelle made her a beautiful bracelet and necklace. She had to put them on right away:Lily is really growing up! She was so thankful for all of her cards and presents, and made sure to tell me that she needed to get working on her special princess thank you cards. What a sweetie! I love you so much, Lily Marie! Happy Birthday!
You will live in joy and peace. The mountains and hills will burst into song, and the trees of the field will clap their hands. Isaiah 55:12

Parker is One Month Old...

Our sweet baby boy turned one month old this week! I can't believe that Parker Levi has been a part of our family for a month already. He is growing so very fast. On Friday, August 1st, Parker had his well check with Dr. Feld, and he weighed 10 lb. and 7 oz.! He had gained almost 3 pounds! His height was 22.25 inches, which was an increase of almost 2 inches. This put him in the 90th percentile for his height. (Hopefully he will be tall like his Daddy!) I did discuss some possible reflux issues with Dr. Feld, but he said that he looked great and is perfectly healthy which is a huge praise! Our family is so blessed to have 4 healthy children.

Here is a picture of our handsome (and chubby!) baby boy on his one month birthday:Things are extremely busy in the Buhl Castle, but we are adjusting well with our new addition. The girls just love Parker to pieces and shower him daily with lots of hugs and kisses. Lily fell in love with Parker instantly during her visit to the hospital:

Maddy asks to hold "Little Buddy" ALL day long. She has been so good with him:
And Katy has adjusted VERY well to being a Big Sister. She is so proud of her baby: We are so happy with our new addition and are so thankful that Parker is here!
For this child I prayed, and the Lord has granted me my petition which I asked of Him. 1Samuel 1:27

Welcome...

Welcome to the Buhl Castle! I am a very proud Stay at Home Mommy of 3 princesses: Lily, Maddy, and Katy, and just recently 1 prince: Parker. My awesome sister in law, Jonnelle, has inspired me to create a blog for our family. She was so sweet to help me with naming and designing my blog. Through our family blog I plan to share with you all of our special moments, and I hope that each and every moment will touch your heart just like it does mine. God has truly blessed our family, and Jonathan and I couldn't be happier with our 4 precious gifts from God.

I will give thanks to Thee, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Psalm 139:14