Tonight sitting in a quiet house I decided to go ahead and update my blog for the first time in quite a while. Things in our home have been busy the past month and a half which is part of the reason for my lack of posts lately. Our sweet little Ziah James had been dealing with ear infections since February and will finally be getting tubes placed in on May 4th. I have felt so helpless as his mom watching him suffer painful cranky days and long sleepless nights knowing that all of the snuggles in the world cannot take away his pain, yet I press on doing on all that I can to help keep him comfortable until we get his little ears taken care of. On top of his ears he had surgery a couple weeks ago to have his tear ducts opened up which thankfully worked and has made a huge difference. Despite the illness my little boy is growing and developing everyday. He has a sweet and curious personality and enjoys getting into everything. He has learned to say ma ma, dad da, cat, quack quack, clap clap, and our favorite na na na na na Bat Man (it always makes me laugh). He is also learnign to walk and has taken several steps on his own. It is so wonderful to watch his little personality shine through more everyday. Little John John is still our sweet silly boy. He has a smile that can brighten any day and is always our willing helper. He always has something on his mind and it is so fun to look into his sweet eyes and see the wheels turning in that head of his. He is always up to something and will keep you guessing what he is going to get into next. He definately keeps this mama on her toes. Mosre recently he has really been developing his speech and now speaks in full senteces expressing all sorts of thoughts and ideas. It is so fun to see him be able to verbally express what is going on in his head. Then their is our sweet Bekah Jean. Her birthday is next week and she is going to be 4 years old. We had her family party last week and she had so much fun spending time with her Aunts, Uncles, Grandparents, and Cousins and they all spoiled her rotten. She is having her first birthday party with friends this week and she is so excited. Celebrating her birthday and looking back to how much she has grown in the past four years just makes me feel so proud and blessed to be her mom. She is turning into such a tiuny helper these days and her heart shines brighter every day. I cant halpe but smile eveyrtime she offers to help or protect her brothers. Though things have definately been chaotic lately I can't help but stop and remember this Good Friday how blessed I truely am. Most importantly blessed to have a Lord and Savior who was willing to hang on a cross and die so that I a lowely sinner could live with him forever someday. Then blessed by the privledege to be the wife to the most wonderful man and mother to three angels and even beyond that blessed with a home and the abiltity to provide for the needs and even wants of my family. The list goes on and on and on, and I will strive to always keep those blessings in mind when things in life feel a little crazy. Thank you Jesus for everything!

Ziah James

Today Josiah had his 9 month well check appointment. I can't believe he just had his last well check appointment before he turns 1. My big guy weighed in at 23lbs 2oz and was 29 1/2in. He is healthy and active and the doctor was very happy with the progress he is making. It feels like only yesterday I was taking him home from the hospital and today he is babbling and taking the first steps towards figuring out how to walk. I watch in amazement everyday as my little baby grows into a sweet little boy with a personality all his own. Though it is hard to see my baby grow up I am treasuring this time so much. I love snuggling up to feed him and and rock him to sleep each night, my heart melts seeing my independent active little boy turn into a heavy sleeping baby snuggled safely into my arms. I know the day will come when he will not want me to rock him to sleep anymore but for now I am going to appreciate these sweet moments I get with my little guy. Feeling so blessed to be his mommy.

Well it's been a few days since I've had a chance to post so I thought I'd take a minute to fill you in on whats been going on in the Calligan house. This week the weather has been absolutely beautiful and we have enjoyed much time outside. Ron was able to spend the day at the park with the kids while I worked on Wednesday and we enjoyed an afternoon of farm animals and ice cream at Young's Dairy on Friday. The kids loved being outside and had a lot of fun feeding the goats. Even Josiah took a turn and laughed when the goats licked his little hands. Then on Saturday we took the kids to the Cincinnati Zoo with Ma Maw and Pa Paw. On the way to the zoo Bekah sang "City On Our knees" by Toby Mac which tickled everybody. I just love hearing that girl sing worship to Jesus. The weather turned out to be perfect and it was fun to see all the animals, but most of all we enjoyed seeing the kids joy as they experienced seeing many new things including a penguin march down the zoo sidewalk. Its funny how I never realized how cooped up I feel all winter with the kids until I am actually able to get them outside and remember how nice it is to not be inside all day. I am so thankful we have been blessed with these nice days and am looking forward to when we have them more consistently.

On the broader scope of things the "organized chaos" as I like to call it in our house is actually becoming a little more organized and we are beginning to slowly fall into a comfortable routine for the first time in a long time. Ron and I joined the YMCA and are working out 4 morning a week. The kids really like the child care and we are enjoying being able to do something for ourselves. I have also rearranged my work schedule slightly so that I can be home a little more. Beside creating our daily routine I have also broken down the housework so that I am doing a couple things each day. This makes the monumental task of keeping my house clean and laundry done a little easier and allows me to not stress over every mess I see but to be able to tell myself I will get to it on its day. Between our new more consistent schedule and the new chore schedule the chaos that I felt was taking over has slowly begun to subside. We are enjoying more time as a family and are even finding time for the different things each of us enjoys.

As for the kiddos they are continuing to do new things all the time. This week Bekah begin writing her own name and even her brothers name with no help. John John has really begun using his words to express thoughts rather than just his basic needs and our little Ziah James has begun pulling himself up onto his push toy and walking around our house. It is so fun to watch our kids grow and develop and I look forward to what they will figure out in the days ahead.

Jesus - 1, Satan - 0

Ever have those days when you feel like nothing goes right. Well lately it feels like every time Ron and I have something planned it turns into one of those days. With Ron's work schedule, my work, and the kids activities we have very little time together just the two of us. Lately it seems like anytime we plan something together things just don't go as planned. I know this is Satan's way of trying to get in the way of us growing and strengthening our relationship so I have made it my goal to not allow him to win. This afternoon it felt like everything that could go wrong did go wrong (we forgot the diaper bag, got lost, and ran late getting Ron home for work) but despite all of that Ron and I did enjoy a nice peaceful lunch together and were able to get some much needed errands done. Though there were some bumps in the road it was overall a great afternoon with my wonderful husband. So for today the score stands Jesus - 1 Satan - 0. Satan tried to get in the way, but with a little perspective and some patience we allowed Christ to remain victorious. Hoping that our next attempt at getting out goes a little smoother.

A little laugh

Last night Josiah was practicing walking with his new toy walker. After a semi succefull trip across our living room I though I would try and record him so Ron could see the progress he is making. Here is the result of his walking attempt and my catching it on tape. Please know that he was fine and tried agian this morning and did great. I'm thinking I should send this to Americas Funniest Home Videos : )

Welcome to my world

After reading the beautiful and honest words of my sister in law and dear friend on her blog today I thought it might be time I had a place to write down the many things that go on in my heart and life. If you are looking for sweet stories about the calm life we lead you have come to the wrong place. Our life though wonderful is often messy and hectic, but filled with more joy than I could ever ask for. Here I will share the many joys but also struggles I experience as I journey down this road. Being a mom is all I have ever dreamed about. When kids in high school were dreaming about there career I was dreaming about the husband and children I hoped would be my life someday. As I headed off to college I prayed daily that God would send me the man of my dreams but it wasn't until I transferred to Wright State the summer after my sophomore year that I met that man. Attending a Campus Crusade meeting in Oct of 2004 a boy with long blond hair came up an introduced himself and his friend to me. Two weeks later we were on our first date and 6 months later we were engaged. People say when you know you know and I definitely knew he was the one. We were married in the summer and I was so anxious to start the family I had always wanted. Ron asked that we wait a year, he wanted me to finish school and knew that a baby would serve as a huge distraction, and I knowing he was right agreed. We enjoyed our first year together traveling and getting to know each other more. Then in August shortly after our 1st anniversary I found out i was pregnant and in April of 07 we welcomed our beautiful daughter Bekah. She was followed 19mos later by her brother John and he was followed 17 months later by Josiah. Which brings us to now our wonderfully hectic family of 5 with 3 kids 3 and under. Though all I ever wanted was to be a mom no one can prepare you for what being a mom really entails. There is no guidebook that explains the joy you will feel when you see your child achieve a milestone for the first time or the heartache you will feel when you have to discipline them for the first time. No one tells you how tiring those first few months really are or how much more you heart will grow when you add another child to your family. There are no directions on how to heal your child's tears, no way to explain the joy you will feel when you here you child singing worship to God or asking to hear another bible story. When you first find out your expecting all you can picture is this sweet bundle of joy that will come peacefully into your life and fit perfectly into the mold you have made for them. Then the day comes and from the moment your delivery does not go as planned you realize nothing about children in planned. It is hard work that will bend and mold you in ways you never knew possible and in the same day will bring you more joy than you feel you heart can contain. This is the journey I have chosen and though there are days that I feel we live in the valley, I remember the mountain tops and am filled with all the joy that my family brings to my life messiness and all. I pray to the Lord daily that I will walk by him as he molds me into the wife and mother he wants me to be. Welcome to my world...may my joys bring you smiles and my struggles help you remember we all have those days.