Easter/Emergency room

Our Easter this year was a little different...not fun at all. We started out with Chad having to take me to the emergency room around midnight. I was 10 weeks pregnant and I was having a miscarriage. We got back home early Sunday morning. So needless to say the Easter bunny did not come in the morning in our house. He came later that night. Thank you to my dear friend Dana that came in a second when Chad asked to watch the kids while my sweet lil sis was already on her way from Provo. Thank you to all family and friends for all that you did for us, dinners, cards and flowers. Thank you very much, your love have lifted us up!

I am doing much better now. Today was my first day home alone, Chad has been home taking care of me since last Friday. What a wonderful loving husband I have who didn't leave my side for a minute and was Mr. Mom for almost a week without complaining once.

What an opportunity it was for me to do a reality check, to slow down a bit and evaluate things. What a wonderful peaceful feeling we have in our home. The sadness is there, the kids were sad too. But we have a perfect understanding that this was meant to be and nothing could be done differently and we have felt in peace. I am so very grateful for what I have in my life, not the material things, could care less about that...about things that I have or don't have...they are just that, THINGS! I have watched not too long ago after my Grandmother passed away, family members fighting over money. What a sad thing. She couldn't take any of it with her...does it really matter?! Is it really any important than the happiness of those left behind? No it's not. The "thing" that we will be able to take with us after this life is our relationships. Too often destroyed by material things.

You see, the thing is...I am happy with where I am at and who I am. I am happy to have the Gospel of Jesus Christ in my life. I am happy to have my awesome hubby and my four beautiful kids. I am happy to have my family here with me, not so happy that my sister will be going back to Brazil, but grateful and happy for the time we did have together. Happy that Chad's family is so wonderful to me and from day one have always been so loving and accepting of me. Happy with my dear friends that I know are always there for me.

Life may be a little hard sometimes...but it is still good!

Love and reflecting...

Tine

Joy - ography

This last Christmas Chad gave me the gift of learning to take AWESOME pictures! I had mentioned to him a few times that I wanted to take the class offered by Marisa called Joy-ography, Robyn was the one who got me interested.

He had given me a little while ago a digital SLR camera because I wanted to take better pictures of our kiddos. To my great disappointment...an expensive camera will NOT automatically give you good pictures. Once in a while if I was lucky I would get a good shot, but that was it...luck! So I wanted to know what on earth I was doing wrong.

So I got to take my class in January and I can't say enough of it. The instructor, Marisa, was awesome, the class size was small making it perfect! I finally learned how to actually USE my camera instead of just leaving on manual and letting it do it's, messed up, thing! I am not quite where I want to be yet but I have learned everything that I need to get there! Practice...practice and practice!!

As if learning how to use our cameras wasn't enough already, we also learned how to use Photo shop. I love how I can also e-mail Marisa with any question that I might have on taking pictures or photo shop.

I just wish I had more time to practice what I learned...so looking forward to spring so I can take the kids out and have some fun with my camera...you know me I wont get out in the cold. If you are frustrated with your pictures and camera too check out this class, her next worshop will be on the 26th of March.

http://moondoggiephotography.blogspot.com/


Here's a couple of shots that I took yesterday while I was bathing the boys, so much better than what I used to take! :)






Hugs and Saving memories the way that they were meant to be saved!

Love in the form of bite size goodies

Yes I know...I am dropping the ball...I am trying, so here I am writing again.

Today is Valentine's day, stinks to have Chad be far away this whole week.

I had an experience today that I want to write it down, after all that's what this blog if for, right?! (Remember I don't do well with journals).

Today as I finished doing family home evening with the kids somebody rang the door bell, when I went to check there was just this very yummy bite size brownies and red velvet cake left on our door steps. I don't know who brought them but I do know who sent them. I brought them in and let the kids have some before going to bed. Tears dropped from my face as I thought about how somebody was thinking of us and wanted to show us that by bringing us these treats.

Amazes me how time after time whenever I am feeling overwhelmed, sad, lonely or whatever, how it seems that Heavenly Father will always send me an angel...He always lets me know that he's aware of me.
I don't ever complain to Him about feeling the way I do at times, I wouldn't dare, we have been blessed beyond measure, I couldn't. Who am I to complaint? Life is good, people deal with huge things daily! But really, I don't need to, He knows me, He knows how I am feeling and most importantly, He cares! He cares about little me with my small and insignificant things...here in this great big beautiful earth.

I pray daily asking Heavenly Father to help me to be aware of those that are around me so that I might be of any assistance, I love to do things for others whatever they might be, so very humbling to me to be on the receiving end most of the time.

Wish I knew who Heavenly Father sent my way today, so I could tell them thank you! Thank you for listening...thank you for caring!

Hugs and feeling loved!

You are my stinky Sunshine!

Time goes by so fast!

I can't believe that's been over a year since I wrote here last...I have been thinking about this blog alot. I feel very guilty for not taking the time to post here anymore...specially since there has been so many great events that I want to share here, I'm so bad about keeping a journal at least this way I wrote something down somewhere. Better than nothing...right?! So be patient with me as I go back in memory lane. Plus I want to go back to keeping in touch with my dear friend's blogs too.

Tonight Hayden said something cute that I don't want to forget. I always sing to the kids every night. Usually 3 or 4 primary songs and then the last song is always the same one to all 4 of them as I sing to each one of them individually, the song is "You are my Sunshine" I have been singing that song to my kids ever since I found out I was pregnant with Julianne, she always tells me that hearing that makes her feel good. Tonight when I sang the last song to Hayden I told him that he was my Sunshine and that I loved him very much. He turned to me barely awake and said: "You are my stinky Sunshine too Mommy and I love your stinky face". Than he gave me that cute smile of his with those gorgeous dimples.

Seriously thou, is there anything better in life? I love all of this...I was never happier to have been told that I have a stinky face! :)

Hugs and Taking my blog back!

Tine

Sad news...

Hello friends,

I know, long time no see...but hey I had a baby...so don't give up on me just yet. I usually desapear for a little while after having a baby, I like my space to get used to the changes and to enjoy the new little bundle of joy! ;) Miles is doing fine by the way...just growing like crazy! :/ We took him to the doc when he was 4 weeks old and he was 12 pounds already...so he's gaining about a pound a week...he is 7 weeks now so you do the math.
But anyways, about the title, the sad news that I have is that Protea Cottage is no longer doing the Mommy and Me tea parties! :( If you have been there with your little girl(s) then you know why I am so disapointed. They moved, to another location inside Gardner village and decided to no longer host the parties. Not sure why. Chad mentioned that would be a good business, to do something like that and also host birthday tea parties for little girls. I would love to do something like that...so who knows?! But on the good side...if you, like me, have been trying to find a nice little porcelain tea set for your little girls, Protea is doing a Labor day sidewalk sale this Friday and Saturday from 10 am - 8 pm and until 6 pm on Monday. They will be selling gently used parlor furniture, dishes, teacups and more, (on their own words). I'll have to go check it out tomorrow and I just thought that I would pass that along if anyone else is interested.

Hugs and not having tea parties...

Tine

Miles Chad Butler

Life is good...and busy!
Our Little guy Miles Chad Butler was born on the 15 of July, I was schedule to be induced that day if baby wasn't born by then. I guess that Miles was suppose to be born that day anyways because my water broke by itself after I got in the hospital that morning. Labor was about 5 hours long. Delivery itself only 2 minutes...the doctor walked in at 1:59 and Miles was born at 2:01. Epidural worked like a charm this time around!!! Maybe that's why it was so much faster and easier.
Recovery was also a lot easier this time around. Maybe because Miles wasn't eight in a half pounds like Hayden was! With Hayden I felt like I got hit in the bottom by a train!!! Miles was 7 pounds and 11 ounces and 20 inches long. He's such an easy going baby...eats a lot during the day and only wakes up once a night. Pretty soon I plan on putting him on a schedule so he can sleep all night like I did with my other kids.
His name...I have a lot of people asking me about it. I have always loved the name Miles. I think it's a very smooth name for a guy and also a name that CAN'T BE USED ON A GIRL!!! Well I guess it could I just haven't heard of any yet. Unlike Hayden's name. I wanted Miles to be named after his Dad too just like Hayden. So the meaning of his name came out pretty cool:

The meaning of the name Miles is Soldier
The origin of the name Miles is Latin
The meaning of the name Chad is From The Warrior's Town
The origin of the name Chad is English

So soldier from the warrior's town. I was able to leave the hospital with in less than 24 hours after he was born. I can't stand staying in the hospital longer than I have to.
Plus my little sister got here from Brazil in the same day that Miles was born so I just wanted to be home to be with her and her family, they are staying in our house for probably another week and then they will be moving to Provo where my brother in law will be going to BYU to get his MBA. So I'll have her here with me in the US for at least 2 years for sure! Can't tell you how excited and happy I am about that!!! We have been apart for about 15 years, our kids are about the same age so my girls are loving to have their cousins stay with us.
I'll wait until this blog goes private to post anymore pictures. By August I'll make the switch when things calms down a little.

Hugs and happiness,

Tine

2 going on 20...and shaving?!

Wow, I can't belive that I haven't posted yet about Hayden's b-day! With sick kids and everything else that has been going on, my time on the computer has been limited.
But on the 20th of June my little guy Hayden turned 2. He's such a little character...he acts so grow up and tries so hard to be just like his Dad and to do things just like his Dad. I'm glad because his Daddy is just the best and I would love if Hayden turned out just like him!
We started out his b-day by letting him open his presents. His favorite was the Geotrax sets that I got from Ebay, (the cooler sets that's no longer being sold in stores!), he played with his Geotrax trains and airplane for quite some time.
Then it was time for Dad to go shower and Chad was shaving and Hayden saw him, of course he then had to shave too! So I aloud him to use a shaver from a kit that I have that has no blades of course, so my son's first time shaving was on his second b-day! :)



He was so cute doing exactly what Dad was doing.



I'm happy to report that his face was as smooth as his bottom after he was done! ;)


After that we had some cake that we ended up lighting the candle about 5 times because he wanted to blow the candle over and over again. We took him out for dinner too and after that we just took it easy. Chad told me that I should do a little something for him and a few buddies for his b-day because I always do so much for the girls, I know I should I just haven't been able to do so yet, when his best buddy returns from a trip I'll do something like pizza and a movie for a few little guys.
Now to my little guy, Hayden you are the best! Mommy is so glad to have you around! You are soooo much fun and you keep us all entertained...never a dull moment with you. Everybody in this family loves you so very much! Thank you for being in our lifes.

Hugs and lots of kisses to my little guy,

Tine

P.S. We are going private too...Chad has been asking me to do so ever since I started this blog. So if you would like to read what's going on with the Butler's let me know and I'll add your e-mails.

Good feeling is gone!!!

Yes...I am quoting from another Disney movie. What can I say? I have 3 kids in my house and we are Disney Club Members so we have tons of the Disney movies.
This time I'm quoting from the animated movie Finding Nemo. You know that part when Dori looses the goggles and they start to swim down towards a very dark spot while Dori sings along: "Just keep swimming...". Then they see a light that makes them feel good and they are all happy, that is until they find out that the light it's a horrible looking fish that wants to eat them, then Marlin delivers the line that I like to use..."Good feeling is gone!" Well that's how I feel at this time of my pregnancy. Funny because I have never felt so good in any of my pregnancies before and now that I'm in the end I have never felt so tired...no energy at all! Or in other words...good feeling is gone! But I still try to tough it out and do things with my family without complaining specially because I love being outside. Can't stand this weather anymore...all I can say is: Where's the sun?
Anyways...this brings me to my second life lesson learned that I mentioned in my previous post. So here it goes:
When you are pregnant...and the "nesting" fase quicks in. Whatever you do, do not, I repeat, DO NOT sit down and write a list of things that you want to have done before baby is born. That is things that needs to be done in the house of course. Fight that urge with all that you got...sit in a corner and wait until that feeling is gone! Why you may wonder? Simple...because you will not be able to finish that list no matter how hard you work, or in my case...not work because most of the days I just don't feel like lifting a finger. So in addition to clean the house daily, cook and take care of the kids and now also taking care of sick kids, Bellamie came down with a case of the Swine flu but I'm happy to report that she's already doing much better, and not to mentioned how hard your body is working making that baby inside of you, it's really almost impossible to add to your list of things to do. And that stinking list that you made...well...that list will only make you feel guilty and bad about the things that you are NOT doing...even now that I have put the list away so I don't have to look at it anymore, I know what I wrote and what I want it done. So ladies...next time that you find yourselves pregnant and nesting remember...do not pick up a piece of paper and a pencil! Fight that urge with all that you got! Snap that pencil in half and throw it in the garbage if you have to. So there you have it.

Hugs and throwing away all pens and pencils in the house,

Tine

Today was a good day...then I got up!

Ok...so I grabbed the line out of the Movie "Freakey Friday". I like quoting movies every once in a while. So for those of you who doesn't know the movie...this phrase is used by this guy who thinks that everybody is out to get him and everything always goes wrong for him. That's kind of how I felt today...might have something to do with the fact that I have had very little sleep the past few days due to sick kids, first Hayden then Juls and now Bellamie. But I'm happy to report that she's doing much better this morning, knock on wood, after 3 days of about 103 of fever! :(
Anyways...this blog is to give you some insights on a couple of things that I have learned.
First, never put the removable inside liner of your slow cooker in the stove!!! Even if it is stoneware and it's "suppose" to be stove and oven safe!! I was feeling very tired after a failed attempt to take a nap and I wanted to do something that was going to be fast and pretty much take care of itself for dinner. So I decided to just throw a beef stew on the slow cooker. I used to hate slow cookers...but I learned to really like mine and to actually use it. So I decided to speed things up a little by putting the liner in the stove just for a minute to start things out. So as soon as the stew was boiling I went to remove the liner to put it back on the slow cooker and the bottom broke off from the liner!!! Can you believe it? You should have seen my face and the mess on my stove!!! Potatoes, carrots, onions and beef everywhere! Chad got home and saw that mess, I couldn't clean right away because it was too hot and I was too mad! He then asked me if the kids learned a few new words today! :) The answer is no...I did not enriched their vocab! So remember...slow cooker stoneware liners and stove together are not a good thing!
The second thing that I learned I'll have to leave it for later. Bellamie is back to not feeling so well right now. So I better get going. Have a great weekend all!

Hugs and making messes,

Tine

P.S. Tomorrow the 12th of June is Valentine's day in Brasil!! So if you need a reason to celebrate something or to go out on a date...there you go! ;) Happy Valentine's day! And happy birthday today to my brother Daniel!

Belle's Graduation day

Yesterday was Bellamie's graduation day from preschool. She did so well and we are so very proud of her! She has learn a lot and is now reading too!! Alicia is such a wonderful teacher and I hope to always be close enough for all of my kids to go to her for preschool. Bellamie really enjoyed going to preschool and she's now looking forward to start Kindergarten. She will be going to Entheos and we received an e-mail from them yesterday telling us that Julianne was accepted there too!! I'm so excited specially for Julianne, I think that she will do very well in that school. Entheos is a charter school and I really like their curriculum from what I have read on their website and from what I have heard from parents. I'm looking forward to meeting Belle's new teacher this coming week. It's very hard to get in this school so I'm very glad that I was able to get both of my kids in there!
But anyways... here's a few graduation pictures:


Bellamie and her teacher


With Daddy


With Mommy


With her friend Annie


Juju and her friend Katie

Hugs and Graduating,

Tine