So, this morning I put together our meal plan for the week and got together some coupons for a quick shopping trip. I never expected to be able to walk out of the store with everything here for only $50. Mind you the best deal of the day was that I was able to buy 19 packages of assorted Kraft Cheeses (shredded, slices, blocks) for only $.75 each after coupons and store promotions!!! YAY for extrmemely cheap cheese! I just wish I had a freezer that wasn't stocked to the gills! Oh the dream of someday having an extra freezer. The shopping trip was so good that I had to take a picture to share it with you! Once again, God proves that He is SO good to His children!

We had an enjoyable weekend. Friday night the girls played dressup and were princesses all evening. It was so much fun watching them twirl and dance in their dresses. My sweet husband danced with the girls and we all had a great time.Saturday we didn't do very much other than Erik and I both had to work at some point in the day.

Sunday Erik stayed home from church with Lena because she still has a lingering bad cough, and we couldn't take her to nursery to get the other kids sick. But, since it was my sunday to have nursery Grace and I went together. Before church we stopped and saw Uncle Joe for some fabulous hot chocolate. He is so sweet to Grace! He made Grace her own special hot chocolate with lots of whip cream in a special "gracie size" cup. She thought it was SO neat to have her own special cup!

After church we picked up Erik and Lena and we headed to the Cincinnati Children's Museum and had a great time. There is so much for the girls to do there. I was quite pleased with how well Lena did there. She played with everything and truly enjoyed herself. The last time we went there she was just a baby, so it was fun to see her interact and play. Grace especially had fun in an area called the tree house. It has ladder and tunnels and slides- she is definitely a great climber! She definitely tired me out as I too crawled through every tunnel and climbed right along with her- it had to be quite a sight :) The girls shopping at the grocery storeGrace waiting patiently in line at the grocery store.Lena had a lot of fun playing with the blocks. She actually climbed into the seat and started playing all on her own.The girls playing in the water. I think this was Lena's favorite part! Erik and the girls playing in the water! Notice Erik is spraying everyone! :)

The girls helping sick animals at the Vet Clinic

My girls having fun together!
I think we were all worn out by the time we got home, but we had a wonderful day together as a family.

I thought I would try and post a few pictures that were taken in the last week.

A tradition I started with Grace was to make a half birthday cake for the girls on their half birthdays. It is just a fun day to mark their half birthdays and have another reason to celebrate as a family. Grace was pretty excited about getting a special cake!

We actually had my family over for a nice dinner and we enjoyed spending time together. Recently Erik has pulled his guitar out of the back of the closet and the girls have had fun listening to daddy play, and trying their hand at "rocking out."So, I you know me for very long, you will soon find out that I like my home orderly and clean. Well, I knew I was rubbing off on Grace, but I didn't know that Lena was already picking up on cleaning. The other day I had been wiping the counter with a dishrag and walked away. I came into the living room to find lena cleaning the walls. It absolutely cracked me upLena does not like anything in her hair, so I had to get a picture of her with her first set of pig tails! They were so cute- but they only lasted for about half an hour :)

We have had a rough week here with colds. Both girls have been battling colds all week, and are just getting over them today. Yesterday they woke up from their naps and just wanted to sit with each other and drink their chocolate milk.

That's about all that has been going on around here. Erik and I both have to work for a little on Saturday morning but are looking forward to the rest of the day together- and possibly even a date!!! :) Well, dinner preparations are calling, and there are only minutes left in the sweet peace of naptime. Hope you enjoyed the pictures of my girls!

Right now the air in my home is filled with the smell of pot roast and apple crisp! I love making dinner from scratch! I had planned on making this glorious meal last night, but I made the fateful mistake of sitting on the couch "for just a minute" while the girls were napping, and well lets just say I found myself drooling on the couch over an hour later! :) Oh the joys of being pregnant with our third baby!
I had a busy weekend at work. We did however make it to Bounce U (an indoor facility that was inflatable activities) on Saturday morning where we met Amy and carson so the kids could get some much needed energy out. Erik was such a good sport as he chased after the kids. They had a great time, and I haven't laughed so hard in a long time!!
After taking over a month off of couponing I jumped back in full force on Sunday. It has been such a blessing as we have been able to make use of the stockpile of groceries and toiletries that had accumulated, so we still were only having to buy the basics at the store!! I am amazed how God meets our needs right where we are at, no matter how small or "insignificant" they are. Our pantry was severely depleated of all breakfast items, and I was coming to the realization that I may have to pay "full price" (gasp!) for cereal, but to my delight I opened the paper on Sunday to find great deals on all kinds of breakfast goods. So, after a trip to Kroger and Meijer we know have enough oatmeal, cereal, and poptarts for months. It is amazing that God cares that we have food in our pantry!!
Yesterday I met a couple of moms and their kids at the mall for the monthly Momtopia concert. It is always fun to watch the kids have fun together. I even won a gift certificate to a local restaurant that serves breakfast. So, the next saturday erik and I have the morning off- we are going out for a big breakfast- that I don't have to clean up after!! Sounds great to me.
Storytime started up again today. It feels good to be getting back into the regular routine. Now it needs to get warmer so we can go to the park! OH, how I miss taking the girls for walks and going to the park!
Grace has been nursing a could for a few days, and unfortunately Lena has developed Grace's cold. (We've been wanting Grace to share, but I guess we didn't clearly explain) It is such an awful feeling watching your kids cry because they don't feel good. So, both girls have taken some tylenol and are taking naps. Hopefully they will feel better when they wake up! I know I have been extremely spoiled as this is the first time that lena has had so much as a cold, and Grace has only been sick maybe twice in her life. God has blessed us with two healthy girls!
Well, this post is turning long, and I must tend to my amazing dinner preparations :) Hey, maybe I'll even get all the dishes done and the kitchen cleaned before dinner :)

Baby Buskard #3!!!

Yes, you read it right! We are happy to announce we are expecting our third child in July. We are so excited to welcome another amazing blessing into our lives.

We are 12 1/2 weeks pregnant and our due date is July 27. This pregnancy comes as a bit of a surprise, but we are at peace with knowing that God's timing is not our time, and that it is always perfect!

I was so excited to be able to get an early ultrasound today (I only had one for each of the girls, so this was an extra treat to be able to see our baby growing a little bit earlier than I have before)

Here is our sweet baby's first pictures!

A picture of the baby's profile. I can do nothing but sit in awe at how God designs us! It is amazing to think that HE knows absolutely everything about this precious life before I even knew I was pregnant. It is hard to believe that people can look at these pictures and not be struck by the awesomeness of the God we serve!!

In order to share the news with our family in Michigan I decided to make t-shirts for the whole clan to wear!

The front of our shirts! I think they turned out pretty cute, if I do say so myself!

The back of our shirts! Erik's says, "boy...boy...please be a boy!" We are kind of hoping we are having a boy, seeing we are being overrun by girls :) but in the end we are just excited to be having another baby!

It should make for an exciting summer for us! Grace is just starting to understand that we are going to have another baby. Today she informed me that she wants a "Boy, Carson baby." (carson is one of her friends.) Lena is not ready to give up her spot as the baby, and we have already informed her that she will not be the neglected "middle child" :)

We look forward to sharing our new life with you as we become a family of 5!!!

We had a great trip to the snow covered land of Western Michigan! It snowed pretty much the whole time we were there. We definitely do not miss the slow, treacherous traveling, but each time we visit we are reminded again of how much we miss our family and friends there!

It was nice to be able to get a head start on our trip by leaving on Thurday night. We were exhausted by the time we arrived but happy we had left earlier when we were able to enjoy the whole day on Friday.

Friday we spent with the Genther's and had a great time hanging out with them. Uncle Matt even stopped in for a visit on his way from Detroit. We always have such a great time with them and miss them terribly! Lena loved climbing up the stairs!

Saturday we were able to spend some time with our friends the Rumley's! The kids had fun playing together and we had a great time catching up with them. It is so much fun to see our families grow!

The Rumley's

Here's a picture of all five kids together! Can you believe they all sat still that long!!

Saturday night we enjoyed spending some time with Grandma and Grandpa Meyer, Aunt Judy, Uncle Matt, and Jeff and Louise. We were finally able to celebrate Christmas with Uncle Matt. He gave Lena the cutest sun dress and sweater for the spring, I can't wait for it to get warm so she can wear it! He also gave Grace a Princess Belle dress and tiara- he definitely knows his niece well!

Aunt judy gave Grace a princess Memory Game which we have already enjoyed playing.

Sunday we went to Church with Erik's parents and Grandma and grandpa mcmullin and then spent time with them eating lunch and then opening presents from Christmas.

Sunday night we went back to the genther's to spend a little more time with them before we had to go. The kids had a great time playing with their cousins and Erik had fun playing "wrestle mania!"

Monday we enjoyed a nice dinner catching up with Brett, Kristin, Cole, Erik's dad Bryan and his wife Kristen. It was fun seeing everyone together. Grace was absolutely fascinated with her cousin Cole!

Tuesday we headed home but made a stop in Detroit to see Matt at his restaurant. We treated us to a wonderful lunch and we had fun spending a little more time with him on our way home. It was a great stop! We made it home safe last night and have enjoyed a quiet day home today! It has been so nice to have Erik around everyday! We are definitely going to miss him when he heads back to work tomorrow. We are thankful for a safe trip, for good fellowship with friends and family, and for a wonderful time we were able to spend together as a family!

My dad went for his visits with the doctor's in Inianapolis yeasterday. Everything looked good. He is supposed to go back in 6 months and in a couple of weeks he will have another PETScan. So, he is doing good, but is once again in the wait and see what happens stage, hoping that this is last time he has to deal with cancer.
Well, we were going to leave for Michigan tomorrow afternoon, but Erik called and was able to get the whole day off tomorrow, so we are leaving tonight! A little crazy getting everything packed and the girls ready on such short notice, but it will be nice once we are there and can enjoy being there earlier. We are looking forward to spending some time with family and friends!
Well, I had better get the car packed while the girls are sleeping. Hope the weekend is a great one!

This morning is one of the mornings that I love being a mom. Right now my girls are laughing and playing with tea sets in Grace's room. When they play so sweetly together it makes me smile and love having the time with them during the day.
We had a good new year's day together. We mostly just played with the girls and then went out for a nice dinner. I so enjoy the days we get to spend as a family!
Sweet Baby Jane was born on New Year's Eve! Mom and baby are doing great, and Miss Jane is absolutley adorable, I can't wait to hold her! We definitely are going to have to make a trip out east this spring!
I worked a little this weekend and am glad I don't have to work again until thursday! We are looking forward to heading to Michigan on Friday to visit with family and friends. It will be nice since we weren't able to make it north for Christmas.
My dad heads back to Indianapolis on Wednesday for follow up appointments with the doctor and surgeon. Hopefully he will get a good report! He will have a PETScan in a week or two, which will be a real test of whether he has any more cancer in his body. Please continue to pray for my dad's health and also for my mom. She is working many long hours, as my dad has not been able to work for almost two months.
Well, it should be a busy week but we are definitely already looking forward to the weekend!