What happens when the kids get a hold of the camera?

After Gabe's birthday party, the kids went out to play...with MY CAMERA!!!

It is darn cute though!

the 1st of many...

Why the title? Because it has been a month already since my last post. Oh my goodness! Time flies by so fast and I have been so terribly busy! I don't even know where to start! Ok, the last post was about our renovation of the house in preparation for the 4th of July weekend where my entire family would be up for Elijah's blessing on the 5th. I was sooo excited that all my brothers, their spouses, my nieces and nephews, my mom and my dad came! Here's a rundown of what happened over the weekend:

Friday July 3rd
Gabriel's birthday party at our neighborhood pool

Saturday July 4th
Cortnie's babyshower
Fireworks in D.C.

Sunday July 5th
The blessing of Elijah Aaron Griesmyer

It only took me 2 days to make this video so I hope you like it but I must add: please excuse the bad transitions and sideways pictures. I'm learning. (Gary laughed at me!)

Home repair projects

I am not totally done with this project but want to show the remarkable difference already. I am happy and so tired! I'm tired of painting! Can I hire a professional? Which one of my amazing brothers wants to come finish this for me? J/K It's got to be done before you all get here next weekend. Check it out!
Before:
This is what it looked like before we bought the house.


Gary built bookcases on both sides of the fireplace and I painted over the awful red that didn't match the bricks!


We then called in some professionals to build us an entertainment center to go over the fireplace.

Here is the finished product when they were done-still miles from being done! But it looks like something now!


Still not finished. You'll have to check back for the finale but this is with the primer coat on everything!


Yippee! It looks so good already. To be continued....

Oh yeah, and this is what happens when I don't hammer on the lid of the paint can, Gabe plays with the cable coming out of the wall and accidentally knocks over the paint can. UGGGGHHH! OK, this is kinda good though. Gary told me I had to wait to get the floor done b/c of money. Well, I think Gabriel just expedited the new flooring. Thanks Gabe! :)

Catching up...

This post will consist of several posts that I should have posted a long time ago but alas-did not.

This 1st one is from like 2 months ago. The boys called me away from unpacking to witness this. Needless to say, I was very entertained:

Evil Canevil (sp?)




2nd post:
Big boy haircuts-FINALLY!

Zechariah and Ammon were SO shaggy and I was SO tired of Gary and my terrible attempts at cute haircuts. So I threatened lives and bribed the kids with icecream if they would behave at the barbers and here is the successful trip in all its glory. I was really proud of Zechariah but even more so of Ammon. What a trouper! The barbers were not great but hey! they were better than what I could've done. Afterwards, Grandma got them ice cream from McDonald's! It was a good day!


This 3rd post is entitled:
A Day in D.C. w/ Grandma

My mom came out to MD last week to help me with the boys and house and to see the new baby. She had to leave on Sunday to get back and take care of some real estate deals she had in the works. Before she left, I decided to take her to D.C. She had never been and I had not been since my 5th grade trip. I packed lunches, diapers, and my new stroller and away we went. We didn't know where we were going but the boys soon convinced us to go to the Natural History Museum, courtesy of the movie, Night at the Museum. It took us forever to find a parking spot but we did and off we went. I am so glad I did not attempt this without Gary. He was great running around with and entertaining the older boys so that I could push the stroller with Ammon and Elijah. The 1st thing Zech said when we got into the museum was, "Where's Rexy?" We soon found him and the day was a success! The 'mall' is an awesome place to visit. It will take us many trips to see it all. But I look forward to the opportunity. How cool to live this close to our nation's capital! Now, if I could just influence the politicians to quit being idiots and change their policies. But this is not a political blog and I should not even get started on that subject!

Here's some pics we took:

REXY!!! Can you see the boys w/ Grandma?

I love that my boys ask me to read to them all about the exhibits! Such smart kids!
My new (to me) Phil and Ted's stroller w/ double's kit. Gabe was not supposed to be in it but he just got so tuckered out and Ammon got tired of being strapped in so they traded for a while! Elijah is asleep on the bottom. It sounds weird but it's soooo cool!

The carousel at the National Mall. Thanks Grandma!



Gabriel loved it, Zech liked it- until he got dizzy, and Ammon freaked out!!! Poor baby!

Team Griesmyer
Thank you to our dear friends Lia Hopper and Danae Syphus for our awesome shirts! The boys wear them all the time and I've already had to wash them about 4-5 times! You guys rock!

Family fun and saying goodbye

My brother Joe lives in D.C. (until this Saturday-sniff,sniff) and has come to our house and helped Gary and me with home improvement projects. We love having him around and visiting with him. The boys absolutely LOVE him!


Grandma likes to give and get "sugar". The boys think this term is so fun! They love giving and getting "sugar" from her too. This pic is of my mom and her 6th grandchild.
Ammon wanted in on the action!


It has been a busy couple of months and will only get more so as the 4th of July approaches. We will have Gabriel's 4th bday party at our neighborhood pool, Independance Day celebrations the next day, and Elijah's blessing on the 5th. We will have 20+ people here to share that time with us. I thank God each and everyday for my huge and wonderful family that loves us so much!

Welcome Elijah Aaron Griesmyer!

Welcome

Elijah Aaron Griesmyer
born May 28th, 2009 @ 3:30pm
8lbs 6oz 21inches long

Sorry it has taken so long to post. This is my 2nd attempt to post this so hopefully all goes well. Here he is, my sweet baby boy. My 4th son. He is amazing, gorgeous, and sooo sweet.

Here's the story of bringing him into this world:
Everyone knows I was due on the 22nd and he did not come. Memorial Day came and went with loads of family at my new home in MD. It was great fun. On Wed, I had a OB apt where I asked to be induced. I was only a 2 and not having any contractions at that point. I knew from past experience that waiting longer would not put me into labor. I had tried Castrol Oil twice and had been taking homeopathic pills that were supposed to induce labor for 5 days with no results.
The next morning Gary and I headed to Andrew's Air Force Base to be induced. Upon arrival, I was informed that I was strep positive and would need to be put on antibiotics for 4 hours before they could induce. Luckily, my doc was impatient and put me on pit after 2 hours of antibiotics. I was hooked up to sooo many machines!!! I had an IV, fetal monitors, a blood pressure cuff, and the finger thing that checks your oxygen levels. Forget about trying to move around! YIKES! Anyways, they started me on a low dose of pitocin and the doc stripped my membranes. I tried to move around and help things along as much as possible. The nurse checked me after a while, I was still only 2 cm dialated. They kicked up the pit, waited, checked me, still a 2! They kicked up the pit again and the doc broke my water in hopes or moving things along. There was meconium in the water. At this point I was thinking, "Oh crap! This is my labor w/ Zechariah all over again!" At this point the contractions were coming on strong and fast and I was STILL not progressing!!! Gary and I had been down this road with the birth of Zechariah and we knew what we were up against. History repeated itself almost exactly. My body HATES pit and locks up and I cannot progress. So, Gary and I decided at this point to get an epidural. (when I had Zechariah I was given 2 choices: get an epidural or C-section the baby b/c the baby was distressing and I was not progressing and relaxing) I first got a spinal block to block out the pain but still be able to feel the body, but it did not help me either, so I finally got the epidural put in. I went from 2-8 in 30 mins. Elijah, however, had started to distress. His heart rate would go down after the contractions. The nurses immediately put me on an oxygen mask in hopes of getting as much oxygen to the baby as possible. They moved me from side to side in hopes of getting his heart rate up. Nothing was working so they prepped the room and sent for the doc. When he came I was at 9 but he decided to go ahead and make me push. Elijah was not even engaged in the pelvis. With a contraction the nurse pushed him down and then I pushed 3 times and he came into the world! At the time, I did not realize how fast everyone was working and that they were so concerned about the baby. Gary usually cuts the cord and catches the baby and I always have the doc put my babies on my chest while they cut the cord and clean him up. The doc was working so fast to get him out that he didn't even offer any of that. Gary even asked him while he was fixing the cord if Elijah was breathing. The doc said he wasn't worried about that right now and then handed him over to the nurse who started patting him and suctioning vigoriously. Within seconds Elijah was grunting and making noises and went from purple to the most beautiful shade of pink you ever saw. What a gorgeous little boy! I am so glad that Gary and I were prepared and acted quickly (thanks to prayer) and that Elijah was born without any real problems. He is adorable and I am so glad he has come to our family. The boys absolutely adore him and love to kiss him. His biggest fan is Gabriel. Gabe will sit next to me while I nurse him and just talk to him, rub his hair, and kiss his head. Ammon calls him "Liyah" and Zechariah is my helper and fetcher of whatever I need. I am so blessed and thank Heavenly Father everyday for my boys and their love.

He's def a BOY!!!

I finally got to hold him, isn't he pretty?

Gabe, Ammon, and Zechariah waiting patiently to hold their new baby brother-it was sooo hard for them to wait :)

Zech was like, "FINALLY!" They had to wait for the nurse to give him a bath and check his vitals.

Gabriel was so concerned about him, how he came, why he came, etc. He kept saying, "He's so cute and little!"

OK, I'm sorry but isn't this the sweetest, cutest thing you've ever seen. Ammon is SUCH an angel and a delight to be around and these 2 faces are precious and priceless!
Brothers!

Don't make me laugh!

Please notice to the right of this post is a cute little baby counter that says "your baby is 2 days old".

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHA!!!!

What a joke! I love due dates. They are truly so arbitrary. I mean, come on! Who can truly predict this stuff? Little Elijah Aaron Griesmyer is not 2 days old. He is 2 days late in gracing us with his presence and coming into the world. 'Sigh' Plus I'm beginning to think homeopathy is a total myth. With my last 2 pregnancies I have taken this delightful herb from Nature's Sunshine called 5W. It works great to "prime the pump" if you will. But you have to start taking it 5 weeks before your due date for it to work. Since I was kinda moving across the country and unpakcing and wrestling with my other 3 boys, I decided not to start taking this herb on time. Instead I had heard that homeopathy works much faster so to the herb shop I went. UGGGHHHHH! I have been taking the recommended remedy to induce labor for the last 5 days! I'm about to do what I did with Ammon and take some castrol oil (SO GROSS!!!) But I have big babies and am starting to get desperate. I gotta say though, being pregnant is a LOT easier than going through labor. So maybe I'm not so desperate afterall.

Take your time little one, take your time! :)

Mother's Day

Gary and I were asked to talk in church yesterday. They asked us to pick a woman of scripture and talk about the gospel principles she particularly exhibited. I chose my name sake, Rebekah. I love my name-it has always made me feel good to know that I was named after Rebekah in the Bible. The story of Rebekah is pretty cool and remarkable too. If you don't know it, go read it in Genesis 24. Rebekah is the woman at the well. She was blessed to be the "mother of thousands of millions", she had a hard time conceiving so Isaac prayed to the Lord and she got pregnant with twins. They "struggled in the womb", she inquired of the Lord why and was told she was carrying "two nations". I could go on and on but I love her story and the faith, charity, service, strength, and testimony she showed. I spoke of these attributes in my talk.
Primarily faith.
Faith has been on my mind a lot lately. I spoke about faith and diligence in church before I left Copperas Cove. I have had to act on faith alot over the last few months. But now I am exploring relationship with Jesus Christ. I have become aware of many spiritually sick friends and family members. They are having hard times and challenges, struggles, and trials. These are all for our benefit as they are the refiner's fire and it means God thinks we are worth purifying and making better. However, many of us lack faith to trust this and believe this. In RS yesterday we were asked to write down our most challenging trial in our lives. I can honestly say, I feel extremely blessed as I have not had to endure much of the hardache and pain many others have experienced. I have had my difficulties and they would have been extrememly hard for some, I'm sure. But when I contemplated what has been the worst, it was a short list and nothing that I couldn't/didn't handle. You know what I came up with? Follies of my youth. I made a lot of stupid decisions which brought tremendous sadness and pain into my life when I was younger. Why was this time so hard? Because I was not living the gospel of Jesus Christ. I had sinned and needed the Atonement to work in my life-badly. I needed a realtionship of trust with my Savior, Jesus Christ. Going through that time was horrible. I NEVER want to be there or relive that again. Yet, I learned incredible, valuable lessons. I learned about repentance. I learned of Jesus's love for me. I learned of just what the Atonement really meant. I am still learning as I still take it very much for granted. However, I trust it. My dear friends and family members who are in such pain will not/ can not/ or don't know how to allow themselves to trust when Jesus.
When he says he can, HE CAN!!!
When he says he will, HE WILL!!!
It's a beautiful glorious promise and he NEVER lies. How much better off would we all be if we just gave up our own ideas, pride, and doubt and let ourselves develop a realtionship of trust with Jesus Christ. I am working on mine. I am sooo not perfect. But I can honestly say, I trust him. And that gives me great strength to go on and endure and to face my trials and challenges with gusto and a positive outlook. So this post is for those that are down. I actually was not meaning to write about this at all. Maybe it is the spirit. Maybe someone needs it-I don't know. It makes me feel good to bear my testimony though.
I love my life! I am happy! Sure I get sad and frustrated at times just like everyone else. But God is good. Jesus is on my side and he wants me to win! That makes me able to stay the course and fight the good fight.

So the title of this is Mother's Day and that was really all I was planning on blogging about. Specifically the best mother's day present I received yesterday. It was from my dear friend Denae and it made me smile and laugh and cry. Perfect emotions from a big fat with child Mommy of 3 almost 4 boys! So here it goes, I hope you like it as much as I did!
http://news.cnnbcvideo.com/?nid=DJxhiJ.fB_y2mrODkCAHmjEzODIzNTYy&referred_by=16555050-XcIwPFx&p=hchw

Thanks Denae! I appreciate you. You are such a great example of strength, courage, and selflessness! Happy Mother's Day to all of you ladies out there. Whether you have children or not, we are all mother's in some form or fashion. And we all had mother's that provided us this opportunity to be born on this earth and live our lives. Let's make the most of it!