MOVING OUT...MOVING IN

Last Wednesday and Thursday, we moved out of our house and in with Nonnie and Pappy!  We were so relieved to sell our house before Kinsley was born.  The timing of the sell worked out perfectly.  We were able to bring Kinsley home to our house which I was wanting to do.  Leaving our house and neighborhood friends was very emotional for me. I was a RIVER.   I cried many tears saying good-bye to our neighbors.  We loved where we lived, the people we were surrounded by, and the memories made in our home. I am very thankful for the neighbors we had and loved knowing so many people in our neighborhood.  It was fun to celebrate the birth of new babies, watch our kids grow and play together, spend time outside visiting with everyone, having block parties, Trick or Treating and the list goes on. I am praying that we have great neighbors in Chesterfield. 

 

Being their last night in the bath, Zack put bubbles in the tub and turned the jets on!  It was a bubble paradise.  The kids loved it.

Swimsuits two days before the ICE storm hit...

Hayden, Macie,and Weston loved the beautiful 80 degree weather last Tuesday.  They played to their hearts content. I love the sweet friendship Macie and Hayden have shared.  I love that they refer to each other as sister.  When Kaiden and Madden saw that they were in their suits, the boys put theirs on too.  Macie loved spending time with her precious friend so much in fact that she was asleep by 6:30.  In all her almost 5 years I never remember this happening.

 

THERE LAST NIGHT IN THEIR BEDS...

(more tears for me)



 

Macie was very concerned that Candy Cane wouldn't know that she was moving in with Nonnie and Pappy; however, he left her a note telling her to take him with her.  She was glad to do it.  Weston almost touched Candy Cane one day because he doesn't totally get it. After the "almost making Candy Cane lose his magic" scare, Weston now ask to see Candy Cane.  It is so cute.

When we got to Nonnie and Pappy's house, Macie saw their Christmas tree in the living room.  She thought it was the "awesomest tree ever."  She then redecorated the tree. She said it was "Spirit of Christmas."  When Weston walked in and saw the tree he said, "Whoa, big one."  I had been sad that we wouldn't be putting up our tree and decorating it.  It is one of my favorite things.  I am so glad that Nonnie and Pappy put up their kid tree so my kids could decorate it.  They had a blast putting ornaments on their tree.

The Moving Truck (more tears for me)

Can this really be real?  I still have to wrap my brain around the fact that we are really moving.  It will be an exciting adventure for our family.  We are trusting in God's plan for our lives.  It is a hard move because we are so sad to leave our family and friends here in Texas. 

What Mom doesn't have coats on her kids when it is freezing...me apparently.  They were loaded in Zack's vehicle the day before.  He stayed at our house and we went on to Nonnie's.  So when we went to our house on Thursday to finish up on the house and so the kids could see the things being loaded, we were freezing.  The house was freezing because the doors were open.  Macie and Weston were glad to be back in our warm car.  We were glad our things were loaded and the truck got out of town before the ice hit.

THE ICE STORM

 

Oh my goodness, what fun we had!  We woke up Friday to ice.  Throughout the night we could here it raining ice.  The kids were very excited when they woke up.  Candy Cane brought them warm Christmas pajamas so we lit the fire and had a pajama day.  Then the kids decided to go play.  I figured they would only stay out a few minutes so they stayed in their pajamas.  However, they played and played.  Each time Weston touched the snow he would want to come in because he didn't have gloves.  So Daddy went to Dollar General which is close to my parents' house to get him gloves.  They only had GIRL gloves.  He didn't seem to mind.  Each time we asked him about his gloves he would say, "Target" because we said several times we needed to buy him gloves at Target.

 

The kids played and played.  Then they would warm up with a bath.  After playing in the back yard, we decided it was time to sled.  We uses a laundry basked and trash can lid and had a blast.  We laughed and laughed!  It was awesome!  The kids didn't even complain about being cold and for Macie that is unusual because she is just like me and doesn't like the cold.



My favorite Macie smiles are the ones when she is just happy and having fun.  I love how her eyes shine.

This was the first coat Weston had on and it is just a size or two to small.

It was supposed to be a snowball fight but it was more of an ice fight which wasn't too great because it hurt if hit by the ice.

Rain, shine, sleet, or snow...the golf game must go on.

Tummy time

Macie asked and asked to walk with Kinsley before she was born.  I told her it would require practice and I had to always be by here.  She has danced and walked with her.  Luckily, she is careful and Kinsley gets heavy quickly.  We just don't want Weston to get an ideas...

All the girls cuddling

We were able to do lots of relaxing while Nonnie was out of school.  The snow/ice came at the perfect time since we are here at my parents' house before we move..  I am so glad we were able to spend so much time with my mom.  I loved every minute of it! 

This picture is from the day we brought Kinsley home from the hospital.  Macie immediately started playing dress-up with her sisters.  I am excited that these two sisters are going to get to do all the fun girl stuff together. I hope that they have a special bond throughout life.

Here are a few of our videos.

Kinsley Grace McClung

 

Kinsley Grace McClung, our sweet daughter, arrived on November 22nd at 7:40 AM weighing 8 pounds and was 21 1/2 inches long.  There are no words for the overwhelming love we have for our baby girl. 

 

We knew without a doubt that Kinsley's arrival would be quick and it was.  On Friday morning right around 6:20, we were laying in bed talking.  Zack asked if I felt any differently, we were picking out a show for Macie to watch, and the next thing we knew my water partially broke.  I flew out of bed and said to call my mom.  I rushed to the bathroom mainly because Macie was right beside me and her belief is that babies come out of the belly button.  I called Mom and told her what had happened, texted my brothers and sister-in-laws and the MAD rush began.  Zack ran to tell Janet because she was at our house.  I told Macie the good news and she was beside herself with excitement. It felt like Zack and I were running around with our heads cut off. I was going to put on make-up and fix my hair but the contractions were already coming so quickly and were painful that I knew there wasn't time.  I threw on clothes and wanted Janet to take our picture and she was right..I was crazy and there wasn't a lot of time.  It was a great thing that the hospital was minutes from our house.  If we were at Baylor like we were with Weston, we would have barely made it and my parents would not have. I called Mom on the way and she hadn't left yet and I told Zack that she wasn't going to make it.  We arrived at the hospital and Zack said, "Come on, honey, lets go."  I was having to make it through a contraction before we got inside.  Once there, the admission's lady wanted to register us.  I was trying to remain calm and Zack said, "I can't believe this.  She is in labor."  I explained that we have babies quickly and needed to get to a room.  She wasn't convinced based on her call to the nurse.  Little did she know, WE KNEW EXACTLY WHAT WE WERE TALKING ABOUT!  We got to the room, started answering all the questions, and my dad arrived(he was already at work which was 10 minutes away).  He then came back in to tell me MOM missed her exit.  I knew she must have been in a panic which she later said she was on the phone to her principal telling her she wasn't coming in.  The nurse said I was a 4-5 when I arrived.  I  told her I tried to call Dr. Snead but got cut off. I told her she better call him quickly again explaining my babies come quickly.  She kept asking question and I felt like I was going to be sick.  I told her to check me again because I knew KINSLEY was close.  She checked me and just started walking out of the room.  I was a 9 1/2.  Mom came in after that in tears of JOY AND RELIEF that she was there I am sure.  I was glad she was there too! I knew that would help Zack feel better as we got ready to deliver Kinsley.  Another doctor came in and asked if I wanted her to deliever.  I told her I didn't care who delivered Kinsley.  The crazy thing was the nurses and the doctor just stood there and said I could push if I wanted but gave no instructions. They were trying to let Dr. Snead arrive. So I am starting to push, Zack is telling me when I am having contractions, finally Dr. Snead walks in, and Kinsley was born at 7:40 AM.  Holding her in my arms was amazing and a relief(I forgot how hard labor was)!  Mom got to cut the umbilical cord which she felt very honored to do!  She was with us on each of our babies' birth and I am glad she was able to share the miracle of birth with us! 

 

Not too long after Kinsley was born Macie, Weston, and Grammy arrived.  LOVE, JOY, HAPPINESS and every word to describe having all my family together was like a dream coming true.  Weston and Macie couldn't get to the bed fast enough.  They were immediately in love with Kinsley, too!  There was no washing of hands or any caution like we did when Macie met Weston.  Weston had his hands all over her, poking her, and just getting to know this sweet little sister of his that we have talked about for so long.  I  had promised Macie she could be one of the first people to hold her little sister and she loved it!

 

 

Macie got to change Kinsley's first diaper.

We were so glad to be going home!

Papaw got  home from Israel and was able to meet Kinsley.

First BATH

Macie helped me give Kinsley her first bad and she didn't like one single second of it!  I don't blame her!

I have loved holding Kinsley!  I look at her and can't believe only 2 1/2 weeks ago, she was in my belly.  What a miracle!  What an amazing GIFT from God she is!  I look at her sweet little fingers, the creases in her skin, her tiny toes, her hair, her nose, and every sweet thing about her.  I want to memorize it all.   It will be wonderful to watch her grow but then I want time to stand still so we can all just enjoy Kinsley!  I have said it before but it is exactly how I fell....these are the moments that are mine(ours)...The moments that even when I am tired, frustrated with the difficulties of parenting or have had a rough day that I want to look back at THESE MOMENTS I  KNOW that I gave all the love I could give to her, Macie, and Weston.  I want to know that I just breathed it all in, thanked God for my blessings, and let time stand still.  I look at Macie (almost 5) and Weston (2) and can't believe how fast time has flown and how much they have grown. I am honored to be the MOMMA of these three and the wife of Zack. 

Here are a few picture...

Meet the BIG SIS or the OTHER MOMMA!  Macie wants to hold her constantly.  She begged before Kinsley was born to walk with Kinsley.  We have let her walk a little ways while walking by her.  It makes Macie feel very big.

 

Which is the real baby????

The doll on the right was one of my twin babies when I was a little girl.

We went to Nonnie's house a few days after Kinsley was born because we were getting a new roof!  The banging was driving us crazy.

Happy Thanksgiving!

One of my favorite things is Weston saying Kinsley.  It sounds adorable.  He keeps telling me that we got her at the hospital. Weston ask to hold her but it usually last for about 2.5 seconds and when he is finished he is up and on the more. I have to be ready to grab her.