The Rumley Family

I had my 20-week checkup at the OB yesterday, and the doctor was SO kind and accommodating to do a quick ultrasound for me! (I love Dr. Bennett!) And, it’s true…It’s a BOY!

We met Melissa, Karl, and kids at the GR Children’s Museum in the morning, and my appointment was at 11:40am. So, Melissa, Ava, and I went to the appointment and left Luke, Karl, and FOUR kids at the museum for a little longer. (Aren’t the dads great? I was proud of them!) So, Melissa and Ava got to see our baby BOY, but his daddy wasn’t there! I knew Luke would be okay with it, because he’s a pretty laid-back guy (and he was at the first ultrasound).

We stopped at Meijer on the way home to get a few groceries and had the bakery ladies ice the above donut to tell Luke the news.

Caleb received a mini drum kit from Grandma and Grandpa Rumley for Christmas last year, and he LOVED it. But he beat on it so much that it didn’t last the year. To his delight, Grandma and Papa Liabenow got him the same drum kit for Christmas this year! In this video, he plays along to “Jesus Loves Me.” I love his little grin at the end!

We celebrated Christmas at our house on the morning of December 24, and for the first time (and surely not the last), our kids woke us up early. I guess they’ve caught on to the excitement. We read the Christmas account from Luke 2 and talked with them about the shoeboxes we sent to Operation Christmas Child. Then we opened stockings and gifts, and then ate french toast casserole, smoky links, and OJ for breakfast. It was a good morning celebrating Jesus’ birthday!

We were also blessed to spend a couple of days up north at my parents’ house to celebrate Christmas with my whole family. The kids had a great time playing with their cousins, and we enjoyed visiting with my parents and siblings.

It gets pretty crazy at times with all five kids running around, so one outlet for energy this year was sledding. It was fun, and it helped tire out the kids a little bit. Here are some pictures from that…

And I made Jesus a birthday cake:

We also spent a couple of hours at my aunt and uncle’s house on Christmas evening. In the picture below, from left to right: my cousin Jordan, my cousin Ryan (9 months older than me), my uncle Paul, my aunt Bonnie, my cousin-in-law Jenny (Brandon’s wife), and my cousin Brandon. It was especially nice to see Brandon and Jenny, since they’re stationed in Texas with the Air Force, and I rarely see them. In fact, they’ve been married for 1-1/2 years, and this was the first time I’ve met Jenny. She’s a very sweet girl.

Random other pictures from our visit:

Notice it takes multiple shots with these kids, and I didn’t even get a good one!

We’re looking forward to spending New Year’s with my sister and her family at our house, and then celebrating Christmas again with the Rumley side this coming weekend.

Happy Monday, everyone!

Today we are 20 weeks along in our fourth pregnancy. We have 20 weeks to go until our due date. That means we are smack dab in the middle of pregnancy. (Okay, okay, besides that extra week at the end - after the due date - that my kiddos like to stay in the womb. We’re ignoring that for now.)

This is what my belly looks like at 20 weeks…

More posts to come about our blessed Christmas celebrations.

Anybody want to guess why Ava got the red plate at dinner last night?

I’ll tell you why…

She successfully took THREE steps! YAY, AVA!

She has been refusing to walk, and now when she finally does it, she takes three small steps and doesn’t even fall over! Good girl! She’s much more stable on her feet now than she has ever been. It won’t be long before she’s off and running!

And this morning we were treated to donuts that Luke brought home last night. I was trying my best to feed Ava her donut without getting her TOO messy. But I do have two other children to tend to. So, I set the donut down (obviously too near her) and turned around. And when I turned back around, this is what I saw! She’s a girl after her mommy’s own heart!