What a great day!

I'm so excited that we've been regularly attending church again. I know it's the same old story, I post that we're going somewhere and I like it and we go for awhile, and then we stop. Well, not this time. I really do feel more comfortable at this church than we have at any others we've visited. And, we've been regularly going...not just sporadically trying it every so often. We had tried church service for several weeks and then tried just Sunday School for a few weeks. I needed to feel comfortable leaving the kids in their classes for the entire time period, or else I wouldn't be able to concentrate and learn anything. Last week, the kids did so well that Rachel didn't want to leave after Sunday School. And, Bradley's teachers said he did really well with the boys in his 3-year old class and didn't even get upset when the teachers transitioned. (He's in the 3 year old class because there are only two 2-year olds at the church right now and their teacher has been ill. So, he's been going to the 3 year old class and doing great!!) So, today we stayed for both SS and church and it was awesome! I'm really enjoying our SS class...it's so laidback and fun and the teachers are great. All the couples in the class have been very friendly and welcoming and we don't even feel like visitors. Also, ironically, there are 3 other girls in the class who are having babies in April...can you believe it?? So, we definitely feel like we fit in! :) Our SS class is doing a great study called: "Fireproofing Your Marriage" and I love it. I always love to hear some ways to protect our marriage from the evils of the world. And, the series gets some great discussions going and also allows me and Nick to spend some time talking and praying about our marriage. We're really excited to be a part of a fellowship of believers. I've really missed it and we both want to raise our children in church. I always loved going to church and have fond memories of being in a church family. The kids did really well today too...both did well for the entire time period and I peeked in on Bradley in between SS and church and he was doing great. He was just sitting at the table with some other boys eating a snack. He looked like such a big boy. (Of course, he had his Bay, and I'm glad that Bay helps him get through potentially tough situations.) I just love my precious kids so much and HAVE to feel comfortable that they're okay in order to get anything out of being at church! Thank goodness, I think we're finally at that point!

"Toot" Milligan

"Toot" is what Rachel wants to call her new baby brother when he is born. One day we were telling her what his name would be and she said she didn't want to call him by his name. She said she wanted to call him, "Toot". So, we'll see if she sticks to that or not.

The name we have chosen is: Trent Nicholas Milligan. We'll call him Trent! Nick and I both love the name, Trent, and we think it goes well with Rachel and Bradley.

We're getting very excited about Trent's arrival at the beginning of April! I know we'll have quite a transition period where Rachel and Bradley have to adjust to a new brother, but we're excited about the completion of our family. Rachel is such a wonderful big sister to Bradley and I know she'll be very helpful with Trent. And, Bradley is going to be a wonderful big brother to Trent!! We feel very blessed that God is blessing our family with 3 children! We're about 10 weeks away from his arrival! :)

Pictures from Papa's Party

The most beautiful party planner...she accessorized herself.

Rachel is putting on Papa's candles

Rachel and Bradley are about to help Papa blow out the candles


What a beautiful cake!! Definitely has a real "spiderman/superman" look!

Rachel is leading Papa into the party.

For some reason, I couldn't get my pictures to upload yesterday, but it worked today! :)

Papa's Birthday

On Friday, we celebrated Papa's 56th birthday. Gege made delicious gourmet grilled cheese sandwiches and fixed homemade veggie soup...both VERY yummy!! I don't think anyone was more excited about this "party" than Rachel. She had planned the whole thing and was really into every aspect. On Thursday, she and Bradley helped me bake a cake. The theme (which Rachel picked) was supposed to be Spider Man. However, when we got to Party City, they were out of Spider Man balloons, so we changed to Super Man. The cake that we made was supposed to have red and blue icing, but we didn't put enough food coloring in the vanilla icing, so it turned out sorta pink and blue. But, we knew Papa wouldn't mind and Rachel had a blast decorating it anyway. We also didn't have a clue what to buy/get Papa for his birthday, so the kids each painted him a picture and Rachel painted a small bumblebee figurine for him to keep. When we got to Gege and Papa's house, Gege made Papa go up to the barn so Rachel could decorate with streamers. Rachel had lots of good ideas about where to put streamers...mostly down low and hanging off tables and windows. She also dressed up in her special party dress (last year's sleeveless Easter dress) and wore bracelets and real lipstick, which she applied all by herself. Rachel is quite the party planner and her enthusiasm is quite contagious. We all had a really good time just watching how excited she was getting things ready for Papa's special day!
Happy Birthday Papa!!

Back to School

Yesterday was Rachel's first day back to school since Christmas break. She had really looked forward to it, but got a little sad when she was getting dressed yesterday morning. She said she wanted to stay with me and that she would miss me. We started talking about all her friends and her sweet teachers and that they could all tell each other what they had gotten for Christmas. I said, "you'll have so much fun that you probably won't even think of me." Then, I got her a special drink to have in the car (sprite) and we left for school in good spirits. When we were in the drop-off line, however, she got sad again. She started crying and said she wanted to stay with me. I hugged her and we started looking for her friend's cars to see if we could see any of them in line ahead of us. Then, she said, "it makes me sad when you say I won't even think about you today." (Oops! I thought that was a reassuring statement.) I said, "I'm sorry sweetie, I'll miss you too and Bradley and I will pick you up soon, and you can tell us all about your great day." She seemed okay; we saw Ms. Susanne (the director) helping kids out of the cars, and she was ready for school. Of course, I started crying once I got out of the parking lot because I hate to see her sad, but also because I genuinely miss her when she's away from me. I knew she was fine and would forget her sadness once she was around her friends and sweet teachers. I have to say, Rachel is such an absolute joy to be around, so easy and sweet that I wasn't looking forward to her returning to school. I really love having her home with me! So, although I knew she would have a great time and needed to see her little friends again, there was definitely a part of me that wished I could have her stay home. But, those days are over. She's a big 4 year old and will have to start Kindergarten next year. I have no idea how we'll handle that...thankfully we have till August to figure it out. Anyway, when I picked her up from school, she said she had gotten sad, but Miss. Jan hugged her and made her feel better. I'm so thankful for the sweet, caring teachers who watch out for my little girl!

Deep (4-year old) Thoughts with Rachel Jane

Rachel is quite perceptive and sharp and certainly says some adorable things. Here are a few recent ones:

Rachel is well aware of her name: 'Rachel Jane Milligan' and Bradley's name: 'Braddy Frankin Milligan'; but she gets a little confused when it comes to mine and Nick's. The other day, we were talking about what she would tell the worker at a store if she got separated from me. She said she would tell them her mommy's name is: "Angie Jane Milligan". I said, "what's daddy's name?" She said, "Nick Jane Milligan". I tried to explain that "Jane" is her middle name and not mine and Nick's, but she just wouldn't drop the "Jane". I thought that was cute.

Also, our kids are quite obsessed with the Land Before Time dinosaur movies. We have a couple and have recorded some on tv when they came on. Bradley would watch "dino" movies all day long if we let him. Rachel likes them almost as much, but likes some variety. Anyway, the most recent one we watched features the dinosaur, Cera, who's mom is going to have a baby girl. Of course, the dinosaurs are good parents and keep their egg covered with grass and leaves and anxiously wait for it to hatch. So, the other day, Rachel asked me one evening, "why hasn't your egg hatched?" I said, "well, my egg isn't ready to hatch yet. It's still growing and getting stronger." I said, "mommy's tummy is like alot of grass and leaves and it's keeping the egg warm so it can get stronger and bigger and then it will hatch." Rachel seemed satisfied by this response, and that was that. What I thought was cute was how her little mind works and that it makes sense that I would have an egg that was going to hatch like the dinosaurs in her movie. Plus, I thought her version was so much cleaner and easier for a 4 year old to understand than the reality of private parts and large babies being squeezed through them!

A fun visit with the Lanes

what cute little boys!!

Alex & Bradley giving each other a kiss

two lovely little princesses!

(they never get tired of dressing up!!)

Aunt Wendy with the boys

Happy Baby Alex

So happy together

(and in our matching My Little Pony shirts courtesy of Nana)

Making a delicious homemade pizza

(Ironically, no one ate it for supper...guess they were too excited!)

My baby boy...too cute!

Alex Lane...TOO CUTE!! Can you see his massive biceps?

I think there are at least 2 on each arm!

The boys took their bath together and loved it!

The girls always look forward to taking a bath together.

They had so much fun playing with the foam clothes/girl that are

hanging on the tub wall.

Hanging out after bath

Lounging on the big animals

Juj is reading to Rachel...so sweet!!

We were thankful that the Lanes came up for a visit after Christmas! The girls were so excited and eager to see each other. And, I think this was the first time where they only had a couple of disagreements as opposed to countless ones. We started our visit at Thomas' birthday where all our kids had a really good time. Then, Matt, Wen, Juj and Alex spent most of Sunday with us just playing with all the new Christmas toys. The girls were very clear that they wanted to be "alone to play," so we let them! This was the first time that the boys were able to really enjoy each other. Bradley really liked touching Alex' soft, fuzzy head and saying, "bay-bay" (his word for baby). He liked Alex so much, that when he was eating some popcorn later, he gave a piece to Alex. Thankfully, Wendy got the popcorn off Alex' lip (where it was hanging) before he had a chance to choke on any. The boys spent a good deal of time looking at each other and Bradley liked "showing" Alex how to play with the new toy we got Alex for Christmas. Bradley gave Alex lots of kisses and Alex didn't seem to mind too much...he was such a good sport! Bradley got concerned one time when Alex started to cry and said, "why bay cry?" It was really neat to see how he interacted with a baby, and I thought he did great! Juj and Rach dressed up like princesses, played with barbies, played with the doll house, made Pixos' crafts, played upstairs and then made a homemade pizza. They seemed to enjoy every part and were just so sweet and precious together. The wonderful thing about their relationship is that they seem to be able to play and enjoy being together even when they haven't seen each other in several months. They have such a special bond that's more like sisters than cousins. We finished up our visit with a brief trip to Nana and Pop's to play on the playground and upstairs in the playroom on Monday. And, unfortunately, the Lanes had to go back to Bainbridge on Tuesday. But, we sure did love getting to see them and spend some great quality time together! We love them and miss them so much!!