Welcome, Baby Levi!

Levi Joshua Critz arrived at 2:45 am on July 19th. He weighed 8lbs. 9oz. and was 20 1/4 inches long. I'll give more details soon, but wanted to get a few pictures out here for those waiting to see him. We are all doing well and loving our new baby! We are extremely grateful for his safe arrival! Thanks to all of you who have been praying faithfully for me and for him!

28 vs. 18

This week I celebrated my 28th birthday. It feels so strange sometimes to be an adult. To be a mother of three and have married siblings with nieces and nephews. To take care of a house and family and teach my child to read. All the things I watched "the moms" do, I am now doing myself. When did that happen?! Someone mentioned my approaching 30th the other day and I realized that I have absolutely no qualms about reaching that milestone. I love where God has me. I love the difference in how I feel at 28 vs. 18. Here are some of my favorites as I compare this year to when I turned 18 ten years ago.

• Instead of a beginning and still unsure relationship with John, I have the fruit of ten years of relationship and almost seven years of the most amazing marriage I could have dreamed up at that point.
• Instead of a job taking care of other people's children, I am taking care of my own favorite babies.
• Instead of constantly wondering what others are thinking of how I look or act, I feel much more free to focus on what God thinks of me.
• I am a person who feels deeply about people and their problems and joys. Instead of worrying if they feel the same way about me, I feel free to dig in and just think about what I can give to them.
• Instead of a faith founded on the belief that God was there and would provide and take care of me, I now have the far deeper trust of someone who has been carried through each struggle and pain by a God who is more real than the things I can see with my eyes.
• At 18 God was my Counselor, Friend, Comforter, Teacher. At 28 He has become far more crucial to my very being. He is Breath, Life, Wisdom, Love, Salvation, Existence.

I would never go back. I would not trade the responsibilities, lack of sleep, or non-existence of alone trips to the bathroom for any carefree fun I had at l8. Life is a lot of work right now. My body has been taken over by a tiny being who will continue to claim much of it for the next several months. My mind is full of things to be done, tasks to be performed, countless jobs that rest with me. My spirit can no longer focus only on my own growth and relationship but has a constant heart's cry for the salvation and relationship with God of my children. And my heart is full. Full to the breaking point with love and gratitude for where God has put me. Full to the point that I can't imagine there being room for more until suddenly God sends someone new and I find that my heart only gets bigger. So if this is life headed toward 30, BRING IT ON!

"Bless the LORD, O my soul; and all that is within me, bless His holy name!" Psalm 103:1

Baby Brooklyn Birth Day Pictures

Well, I got the pictures off my camera from yesterday as promised. Unfortunately, I don't have a picture that actually shows the baby! In my defense, I was using Brittany's camera to take TONS of pictures for her when Kyndall met Brooklyn for the first time so I did take lots of pictures of her, I just don't have them. I'll try to get one up here for you to see her soon.

Going to meet Brooklyn

Singing "Every Move I Make" all the way to Denton

A small portion of the crew waiting for sister!

A proud auntie with her new niece - love that girl so much already!!!

Welcome to the World, Baby Brooklyn!

My fourth precious niece was born this afternoon and she is another keeper!!! I'll try to get my camera up here and get some pictures posted tonight or tomorrow. After a fairly long and tiring labor, Brittany was successful in her desire to have a vbac after two c-sections. Go, Dr. Cummings and Brittany! Brooklyn was 8lbs. even and 18 1/2 inches long. She looks a lot like Kyndall and is precious and perfect in every way. We were able to keep Kyndall today and she had a fun cousin day. All three kids played like perfect angels before going to meet sister and cousin tonight. Thank you, Lord, for her safe arrival!!! For my family, that is one baby down and one to go. We're next!

Wrapping It Up

Our excellent boat driver

That's Kailey under there napping. Can you see her foot sticking out?

They were so cute in their life vests!

Some Bubba/Sissy snuggle time when she woke up

EVERYONE driving the boat

Our other excellent driver - we asked him to smile for the camera and he said seriously, "I'm driving!"

Mom and all three kids! : )

One view from our room

Here are the final pictures from Destin. We rented a boat on a spur-of-the-moment whim while walking through the marina and took it out for our last full afternoon. It turned out to be one of our very favorite things and one we will definitely do again. We drove it across the bay to a sandbar where the water was only a few feet deep. It was fun having the ocean surrounding us but still room to move around. Our family, a cooler of snacks and drinks, a ball to throw, and we were in great shape! So many memories. . . can't wait to do it again!

Return to Destin

I am going to wrap up these beach pictures before I start posting shots of Levi. Here are some of my kids hanging out. There are great walking trails at the Sandestin resort and these were taken on those and at the marina. The kids loved the parrot. They really thrived on just being together as a family for a solid week!

Up in the treehouse

Playing a giant game of checkers

Yummy breakfast!

Walking with Mom

Couldn't you eat them up?!

Quick State of the Household Address

For those of you interested in more of an update than pictures from our vacation two months ago, here is the latest.

I am 37 weeks pregnant. If I go by my track record, this puts us looking at 1-2 weeks until our little man arrives. I live with very frequent contractions for the last month or two so they have become a constant addition to my life. Right now I am blogging at 4:30 in the morning because I just can't sleep through them. . . again. I try to ignore them but hopefully will not ignore them at the proper time. I feel like I hit that wall where I just want to have the baby. You know, the one where you feel like a hippo, you remember at some point being a nice person, your husband talks in a high-pitched, syrupy voice whenever he absolutely has to speak to you, and your kids scatter when you walk in the room. : ) Maybe that's a slight exaggeration. It was precious the other morning because I got dressed, feeling huge and bulky and when John V walked in the room he said, "Mom, I love that shirt! And your pants! You look wonderful!" It melted my heart that he would know just what to say when he is oblivious to how it feels to be me right now. God is good to encourage us through our children. Especially when those same children also like to do this:


Yep, that's what I found in my closet after a few minutes of silence from my sweet angels. It was every piece of clothing from the drawers they could reach and several of my lower hanging items. Oh well, time to reorganize the drawers, right? I love them dearly, but will be thrilled when bending over to pick up after them makes me feel a little less grumpy. : )

We are all anxiously awaiting Levi's arrival and trying our best to get all those last pre-baby details taken care of. Thank you for your continued prayers that he arrives safely and in the perfect time!

Three "Wittle" Cousins

Kyle and Brittany ended up, unknown to either of us, planning their vacation in the Destin area for the same week as ours. That's what happens when two pregnant ladies are trying to get their traveling done before their time is up! : ) So, we took advantage of our close proximity and took a few pictures together after a yummy dinner. Our kids had a blast running around together in the village all holding hands. It is hard for me to describe my feelings for my precious niece. She is such an answer to prayer, a ball of energy and life that gives and gives to our family. She was the joy in the morning after the night of suffering. She perfectly embodies how you feel when you have longed, prayed, and waited for something. It has incredible value to you and is always held a little closer and dearer for the struggle that preceded it. Kyndall, I love you! I can't wait for you to have a sibling who is here with us until you can meet your older brother! Baby Brooklyn is almost here!

John and "the girls"

My little cutie patootie who wouldn't wear her cute, white sandals that actually WENT with the outfit.

Holding hands

John will always be a protector for both of these girls! He loves them!

More Beach Pics

And now for our annual "Turquoise on the Beach" shots. And before you think I'm terrible for sitting here blogging on Father's Day, my sweet husband is playing in a golf tournament. : ) We'll be ready for something fun when he gets home!

Destin Continued

A few days into our trip John V went with his dad to play his first full 18 holes of golf. They played as a foursome with another couple and the whole bit. One neat thing they have done on one of the Sandestin courses is to add kids' tees. John's not quite up to playing a real game but he loved hitting from the closer tees. The couple they played with was quite impressed and told me that he made putts nobody else was making! The look on his face when I dropped the two off at the clubhouse was something I will never forget. That boy was about to explode with sheer excitement and happiness. Hours of golf with Dad, just like a big guy. It made me realize just how important those days and activities are to a boy. Kailey and I spent the morning and early afternoon driving around, doing a little shopping, and at the pool. We also walked over to the hole right outside our condo and watched the guys tee off. We had a great time and enjoyed our relaxation.

Ahh, a golf cart. The ultimate toy.

A happy, happy golfer

Who wouldn't enjoy a morning spent with this kind of view?

Following through on the swing

Golfing buddies

Our condo

Destin 2008

We started off in a bit of a rough place for our beach trip this year. Kailey had come down with some stomach bug that completely wiped her out for almost a week. She was on the tail end of it, but still weak when John V caught it right before we left. We flew into Ft. Walton Beach with two very wimpy kids. Makes for an easy plane trip, though! : ) The next day John also took the bug and I spent a day gathering up groceries, etc. with Kailey who was almost 100% while the boys were lying in bed or hanging over the toilet. : ) Thank the Lord, John only had it for one day and was completely back to normal the next day while the kids continued to get perkier and happier. I never got sick for which I'm extremely grateful. We were so glad that we waded through feeling bad because we still ended up having such a wonderful trip. We just took it very easy and did a little at the time. By the end we were having the time of our lives. It makes us so happy to have our daddy all to ourselves. No sharing with work or anything else. I don't know if the kids like it more or if I do! : ) Being together 24/7 makes us four very happy people having a ton of fun. We are so grateful for these memories!

Kailey telling us where to go

Taking a short walk while we were still getting our full strength back. Kailey loved hearing the birds singing!

I'm ready to go to the beach, Mom!

"Cheese!"

Both kids loved our elevator ride up and down from the condo

Headed to dinner - An easy breakfast and lunch were usually in the condo but Mom doesn't cook on vacation! Hooray!

"Look at the flowers!"

Counting the seashells in the sidewalk

Little Happenings

Yesterday while doing a puzzle together, John V told me a long, pretend story about him playing baseball. It had the Rangers, lots of other teams, batters, etc. At one point he totally threw me, though, because he said that "his girl, Font" was watching and saying, "Go Babe!" while he played. Whoa! I so do not want any girl, even a very pretend one, calling him "Babe!" And while we're on the subject, what kind of a name is "Font?" : )

I have to get my kids stuck on a new song. "Every Move I Make" is a wonderful praise song but I have now heard it 5,976,485 times. . . I am sure. They like to sing it at the top of their lungs. It's adorable but sometimes I wonder what the neighbors think when John is in the backyard and seems to always yell the line, "Oh my God this love, how can it be" much louder than anything else. Hopefully they realize he is singing and don't just hear him screaming the first three words. My favorite is when he sings, "Your love has captured mes." Yes, me is plural. It's adorable. The first few million times. ; )

John is currently very fond of telling me that I'm his favorite big boy. Kailey also keeps calling Big John "mama" all of the sudden. Maybe there's a little gender confusion going on over here.

Kailey will probably not be the difficulty to potty train that her brother was. She hates to be wet or dirty and will lie down on the floor and start singing, "Diaper, diaper, diaper doo, gimme change, I O OOOO!" (I love you). It's our little diaper song that my mom sang to us and now she uses it as her signal to tell me things are not right in the little pants.

I cannot figure out why every door knob in our house seems covered with some foreign, unidentified substance, but I should probably go clean them. I am going to get some pictures from our trip posted here soon, though!

Pictures

Kristin came to take Kailey's 18 month pictures along with some belly shots of Levi and a few of John at 4. You can also see the pink room for the last time - it's about to be a little more masculine! You can see the pics online at www.kristinmorales.com. Click flash and then client at the bottom of the page. The password is Kailey (case sensitive). I love pictures! They just make me happy! If a non-relative makes it through all 400+, I will be very impressed. It's a lot of pictures!

Ranger Game

Tuesday night we took John V to the Ranger game. One of his birthday presents was getting these tickets to go with "just Mom and Dad" to the game. He was so excited, but it was precious to see how he kept making sure that Kailey was also going to be taken care of. When my mom picked her up he said, "Take care of Kailey! Watch out in the street! Don't let her hit her head!" It was so sweet. When we picked Kailey up after the game, they held hands all the way home. They aren't used to spending even a few hours away from each other and their relationship grows more and more fun to watch. It was great to have some time to focus on John and realize how grown up he is getting!

Taking a quick rest on the way to the game

Just approaching the stadium is so cool for a little guy!

They started off with back to back home runs early in the game. Fun for John to hear the music and see the fireworks!

Sharing a "Big Kahuna"

Pitching

Hitting balls on the little field

A pic with the mascot

"Levi came too!"

He wanted to pose for a picture "with their gloves"