4 Weeks Old

Xander is only 4 weeks old today, but I can't imagine life without him. He is such a chill little guy (most of the time!). I love how well he and Gabriella get along and how snuggley he is!

Snuggles with mommy!

Gabriella's exact words were: "You help mommy Baby Nanoo sleep!"

She loves helping me take care of Xander. 

Thank You, Jesus, for entrusting me with these precious angels!

All Four Grandkids

We finally got all four of the grandkids from my parents' side together! And we finally got Ariella to hold Xander!

Between all four of them, we managed to get a decent picture. 

James kept trying to hold Gabriella on his lap because Ariella was holding Xander. Gabriella was not interested in that! 

Tech-y cousin!

Bath Time and More Fun!

We finally got to give Xander his first bath. He LOVED it!! Both our kids are little water babies!

Matt had me put a washcloth over "his little parts"

He just laid on my lap and wiggled his legs around for a long time. So cute!

Such a snuggley little man!

I'm not sure what you call these little toys, but it was Gabriella's and we got it out yesterday for Xander to try out. Gabriella crawled in it with him and started showing him all the toys and how to play with them. He finally got the hang of it and started batting at the lowest one. 

First bath together! She was very excited to have Xander in the tub with her! 

Xander's First Two Weeks

My little man is two weeks old today! Its been a couple of crazy weeks, but we couldn't be happier!

Gabriella loves Xander and was constantly wanting to hold him.

Matt had a couple vacation days left and made good use of them...

First doctor's visit! 4 days old

Sweet sleepy chuckles!

Having some snuggle time with Daddy. This was on Daddy's last vacation day

Our first day at home with just the three of us. 

Little silly pants! This is how she posed for a picture to send to Gramma

She loves holding brother and asks multiple times a day!

Day 13, this was how the first 6 hours after getting circumcised went. Poor little man :(

But he woke up happy in the morning! Two weeks old today

How Gabriella would look with a beard! Ha ha! She had just finished a gluten-free Oreo. 

I love my kiddos! Its amazing, I was getting terrified about having two of them when Gabriella was so young still, but so far so good. Gabriella and I have had lots of laughs during the day when we are trying to figure out getting her to the toilet fast enough while I am nursing, cleaning up after Xander's spit-ups and watching Veggie Tales together. She is a good sport and has managed to successfully take herself potty twice (she has been unsuccessful many more times than that!). Both times she was very proud of herself and wanted to call daddy to tell him about it. 

My house is a mess, the laundry pile is growing by the minute, and I am so tired I could fall over and sleep for two weeks! But I couldn't be happier!!

I Kicked Infertility's Ass (twice!)

"But to those of you who fear My name, the Son of Righteousness shall arise with healing in His wings..."

~Malachi 4:2

Four years ago; after a miscarriage, removal of my right Fallopian tube, and a diagnosis of PCOS, we were told my two different doctors that we would never be able to get pregnant on our own. An ultrasound showed that I had absolutely no healthy tissue on either ovary. 


I was devastated to say the least. We spent the next couple years trying everything we could to conceive with no luck. 


Sanctus Real has a song with lyrics that say, "Whatever You're doing inside of me, it feels like chaos, but now I can see. This is something bigger than  me, larger than life, something Heavenly." I clung to these words as I felt tossed around in a raging storm in the dark. 


God gave me a vision while Matt and I were driving back from Yellowstone. It was of a little girl. I saw myself very vividly giving birth to her, what she looked like, how much she weighed, what her name was, etc. She was beautiful! Two months later He let me hold her during a prayer meeting. Handing her back to Him was terribly difficult for me to do. 


One year exactly from holding her at the prayer meeting, we found out that we were pregnant with Gabriella the day we moved into our new house, on Canaan Street, our little piece of The Promised Land. 

After Gabriella was born, I started having a lot of health and PCOS problems again. When she turned one we made a drastic dietary change and two months later, on Easter Sunday, found out that we were expecting another little miracle. We didn't tell anyone for three weeks as we were in shocked awe!

Xander was born on December 29, 2011 and we were overwhelmed by God's goodness!

Matt and I feel blessed beyond all reason. It is humbling to know that God gave us these children to raise and lead towards Him and to encourage them as they pursue their destinies in Him. And He did that due to nothing that we did. Each of their births and lives is nothing short of a miracle. He came with healing in His wings, and came to give us abundant life. 

Abundant means: present in great quantity; more than adequate; over sufficient, well supplied; abounding; richly supplied.

Today I am feeling abundantly blessed and looking towards the future with great anticipation for what is next for our family. We are hoping in two years for Matt to be done getting his degree, to move to a new city and then to pursue adopting siblings that need a home. As of now I will enjoy every late night feeding, sleepless night, accidental bed-wetting, thrown fit, kiss, hug, smile, coo, poopy diaper explosion, sleepy smile, and load of laundry. I savor every minute of the experience of motherhood that the world told me I would never get to have! 

Praise God for His wonderful abundance!

Xander Douglas McEntire joins our family!

Our son, Xander Douglas, was born on Thursday, December 29th at 12:48 pm. He weighed a whopping 9 lbs 6 ounces, was 21 inches long and has a head that is 15 inches in circumference.

We got to the hospital at 5:45 am and called to let our family know around 6:30.

His birth was the most difficult mental and physical thing that I have ever done. I have never been so blessed as to be so supported as I was by my sweet hubby. He is the best delivery-room dad and support person I could ask for! 

Daddy and Xander having some face time while the nurses were checking him out. 

Xander and Auntie Janis

Chillin in his first bath!

With Dr. Medley

Me and my little man a couple hours after delivery!

Ready to meet big sister! 

Gabriella had stayed the night with my parents and they were on their way to come see Xander and let Gabriella meet him!

She kept asking to hold him  the whole time she was at the hospital and kept giving him hugs and kisses. They are going to be great buddies!

Full tummied and clean bottomed at 20 hours old. He is so sweet and snuggley. He is nursing like a champ and will lie in your arms and just look around, licking at his hands or mouth. Matt likes to call him "Tongue Boy" because his tongue is always moving. 

Leaving the hospital when Xander was 25 hours old! We were all ready to leave!!!

Daddy snuggles at home!

Gabriella came home a few hours after we got there. She was so excited to see Mommy and Daddy and Baby Nanoo and Josie. Here is Daddy with his two kiddos. So precious!!

We are so excited and blessed that our family has expanded. Xander is healthy and perfect! Gabriella is wonderful (as always). We are so thankful for our families and friends that helped and supported and encouraged us during this pregnancy and birth. It is so amazing to watch how God uses and turns all things to His glory! Matt and I are looking forward to the future that God has planned for the four of us!!

Christmas 2011

All in all we had a great Christmas this year!

We started the morning at our house and woke Gabriella up to come see what was under the Christmas tree. She wasn't too sure about the giant Dora doll until daddy started hugging it.

Dora helped Gabriella open all her gifts. She was especially excited about getting Dora nail polish :)

Matt with his flip-flops I got him (I always find something hilariously outrageous to put in his stocking!)

He cheered up after he opened all his presents

Us girls got ready and then Matt's entire family came over to our house for breakfast and gift exchange. After that we were off to my parents house for the rest of the day (and some naps!)

Ariella got some full-bodied footie pajamas and immediately put them on over her clothes. 

Gabriella toting around the doggies that she got from Aunt Linda & Uncle Steve. When she opened the package she kissed each dog on the head. 

Opening her giant present from Gramma Sandy and Grampa Doug. It was bigger than her!

Baking a snack for Dora in her kitchen (her present from Gramma and Grampa)

Ariella was super excited for her Jonas Bros pin and bracelet set from Jonny & April. 

(She is planning on marrying Kevin Jonas)

Grampa and Gabriella playing in her pop-up tent! 

April and Ariella joining in for tent play time!

Jonathan's terrible blister from burning his foot on Friday. We kept joking about if my water would break before his blister did (sadly, neither one has yet). 

April ate a little too much sugar. She turned on Jonny with a 2lb peppermint stick

Our tree on Christmas morning. 

This Christmas was a lot different that any previous ones. We were a little apprehensive about it, but as usual, God had other plans. I was blessed to be able to spend Christmas with my sweet girlie (we were worried about baby brother arriving today), we got to see our whole families and we all had a wonderful time celebrating family and the birth of Jesus. I am SO thankful that He came to earth to love on us and to bless up with His gift of life!