Happy Easter

I thought it would be fun to get some pictures for Easter while the kids were dressed up for church. While they're definitely not the 'picture perfect' masterpieces I was going for, I think they did a good job of capturing personalities. And once again, I was reminded as a mother, just how impossible the task of taking pictures really is, especially when you add a newborn to a group of 3 busy boys.

These are the acceptable pictures, I won't post the 30-something other outtakes, as funny as they are. I think I've let my expectations slide, maybe that's not a good thing, but it sure makes the process more enjoyable and entertaining. :) Maybe someday we'll get a good picture where everyone is happy, looking at the camera, sitting up, not doing something funny, and not giving a smirk or pained expression, maybe someday they'll even give a real SMILE! Or maybe not... but regardless, they're our cute, funny kids and we sure love them!

I was happy to get this one

Daddy enjoying his snuggle time before he has to leave again.

I know exactly how she feels...taking pictures is exhausting.

Bruderer's Visit

(6 of our now 8 children!)

On Saturday, April 11th, we had the treat of meeting up with some good friends, the Bruderers, who we haven't seen in about 4 years. What started out as a thoughtful offer to bring moving boxes turned into a fun night of enjoying an evening together. Michelle and the kids were picking Steve up from the airport, so we decided to meet up and do dinner together with the families.

(Emily & Calvin, born the SAME day)

The Bruderers moved to Philadelphia for dental school when Jeff was just starting his 2nd year of medical school. Jeff and Steve worked in young men's together, and Michelle and I were in Primary together. During those 3 years that we were both in Philly, we also had 2 children each. We moved away for a year and then returned, and the Bruderers also moved away for a year and returned to New Jersey to complete their residency. Over the past couple years, we've each added 2 additional children, our youngests- Emily and Calvin were even born on the SAME day! How's that for timing? Even though we haven't lived far apart in distance, it's just far enough, and life is just busy enough that we haven't gotten together- so it was so so fun to finally have the chance to reconnect.

(Angela & Michelle and our March 19th babies)

(Jeff & Steve)

Funny story-I think it's because our last name is Stevens, but people used to call Jeff Steve all the time. Maybe because they worked together, or had similar personalities, or maybe just because of the name similarities, but we always laughed about how Jeff was constantly called Steve

It was great to have the chance to sit and talk again. We reminisced about the past, talked about friends and memories and future plans. It was so fun to watch the kids together. The oldest four spent time together when they were younger, but obviously wouldn't have remembered it. They were all a little shy when we first met up, but by the end of the evening they were running around playing games like best friends. Sally is 5 months older than Jacob (isn't the height difference a crack-up?), Adri is 7 months older than Caleb, Matthew is 4 months older than Weston, and Emily & Calvin were born on the SAME day, March 19th.

(Weston & Matthew had a ball riding bikes around together, they're both definitely 2-year old boys!)

The night was so enjoyable, it was sad to see it come to an end. Jacob and Caleb kept asking me when their new friends could come and play again. Thanks Bruderers for making the trip! Hopefully we'll be able to get together again sometime in the future, maybe even before another 4 years passes!

(Emily decided to snooze through the whole night-and all the pictures- but she did manage to wake up right after everyone left)

3 Weeks

I have a lot of catching up to do, but in the meantime, here are a few pictures of Emily from the past week. She's 3 weeks today, and just yesterday gave her first real heart-melting smile. I promise I haven't forgotten about the boys...I have some fun pictures of them to put up soon. :) More to come soon.

Who can resist taking a picture of a cute crying baby. :)

2 Weeks Old

Emily is 2 weeks old today!

(I know I've done lots of pictures, but newborns are just so much fun and they change so fast! Plus grandmas keep asking for updated pictures:)

Our Little Princess

We're all completely smitten with our sweet little princess. I can't believe she will be 2 weeks old in just a couple of days. It's amazing how fast the time goes and how much Emily has already grown. She has been such a sweet baby and such a joy to have in our home. These are some of my favorite pictures from the past week or so.

A better shot of just how much hair Emily has. Definitely the most of any of our kids!

Grandma & Lacey's Visit

We just said goodbye to Grandma and aunt Lacey yesterday afternoon. It was so fun to have them both here. Lacey was able to stay for two weeks, and Mom was here for one week. The time went by way too fast! We filled the days with fun and activities. We played at the park, got books at the library, had picnic lunches, pizza & movie nights, late-night talks & laughs, and were even able to squeeze in a quick shopping trip with only Matthew & Emily.

One of the boys' favorite things was playing games, especially Uno. They would play for hours with grandma and loved every minute. Every night before bed, the boys were able to play a few games of Uno once they had their pajamas on. They're pretty much hooked.

It was so helpful to have Mom and Lacey here. In the mornings I was able to get up and just take each child to school, and collect moving boxes, without having to load up all four kids at the same time. Mom was constantly doing things to help around the house- helping me pack, making lunches, feeding the kids, cleaning and doing laundry. Most importantly to me, Mom and Lacey were able to give lots of extra attention to the boys when my focus was on Emily. They both spent lots of time with Emily too, changing her, getting her dressed and just holding and loving her- I think she loved all the cuddle time too. Lacey was pretty much ready to take Emily home with her.

On the weekend when Jeff came home, Mom & Lacey watched the boys one night while Jeff and I went out on a date with Emily. It was nice to have some time together & Emily slept the whole time. On Sunday we were able to go to church together. It sure is nice to have 4 adults for 4 kids!

It was so wonderful to have them here. I think we're all having withdrawals. I just have to remember that we'll get to see them again in about 4 months, and then it's not so bad. It was so much fun this past week and we loved every minute! Thanks Mom & Lacey, we sure love you!

(One regret I have is that I didn't get more pictures of Mom with the kids, and I didn't get copies of the pictures Mom took while she was here. Hopefully I can get the pictures soon!)

The boys going for a ride on aunt Lacey's legs.

Playing games and reading books outside on a blanket.

Playing at the park

Grandma and Emily

Emily and Daddy

Sisters

Date night for Mom & Dad (and Emily) Matthew decided to hop in the picture too.