We're Expecting . . .

In case our announcement on 4.20.14 didn't catch your attention (see link here), we are excited to announce that our family will be growing by one this November.  We are so blessed to welcome a little one this fall and my favorite part is sharing the anticipation with our boys.  Although nine (ten) months is an eternity before they will get to meet their new little brother or sister, the thrill that a new sibling is busy growing in mommy's tummy is exhilarating.  They are my sweet gentlemen.   They are kind and sweet to the baby - they talk to the baby and are always full of hugs.  It is a joy that the boys are old enough to realize what is going on and appreciate the gift of life.  Thank you God for this wonderful privilege of parenthood.

We told the boys the good news on Easter Weekend.  We wrote a letter to Drew, Owen and Evan from Jesus letting them know that they would get the chance to be big brothers this November.  Drew read the letter out loud to his brothers in his sweet 1st grade reader voice.  This session was videotaped and is one of my most precious possessions (refer to this link for the video).

I am 19 weeks pregnant now and looking forward to relief from the nausea and fatigue which have not yet subsided with the passage of the first trimester.  I'm keeping my fingers crossed that it will be soon.  Fortunately, I married well and dear husband picks up my slack (well, he does most of the time).  And although the baby is likely no more than one pound at this point, it appears that my body already knows what to do (since it is the 4th time) and has gone immediately to full-blown 40 weeks mode because (I feel like) it looks as though I'm ready to deliver tomorrow!  It is hard to believe how quickly I am showing.  No question that I am pregnant at this point.  Evan puts it best when he says to complete strangers, "Do you know why my mommy has such a fat belly????  It is because she has a baby in there!"  Thanks, Buddy.
      
Consistent with our previous pregnancies, we will not find out the gender in advance of our delivery.  I look forward to the moment when I hear Dan's voice telling me that we just delivered our 4th sweet little boy or I see a smile grow on his face that I've never seen before telling me that he will be a father of a little girl for the very first time.  Either way, we are grateful for this blessing and pray for a healthy little Niebruegge baby.

The Rippelmeyer Family - Family Photo Session

Family photo session for my sister Karen, her husband "TJ" and their two beautiful little girls.  We caught the spring tulips in beautiful bloom.  Enjoy!  

A big thanks for to my little helper, Evan for entertaining Harper and keeping smiles on the girls' faces!

Favorite Blog Post

It has been awhile since I posted on my blog.  Hopefully, these family photos make up for it.  Enjoy!

Click on the link to enjoy the photos:  Niebruegge Family Photos

Just a hint:  It is best to allow the video to fully load before viewing it in order to avoid interruptions.  

Joy to the World!

Merry Christmas 2013!  Preparing for Christmas is my favorite time of year.  Especially with kids.  The Christmas programs themselves serve as my favorite Christmas gifts.  

Each year, the school commences the Christmas season with an all-school mass and nativity.  The Christmas nativity at Sts. Peter and Paul Catholic School is just beautiful.  No other words are necessary.  

The first grade class performs the Nativity each year.  I was able to help them get ready in the morning for their big debut.  

  

So proud of my cross-eyed sheep.  

The Kindergarten class sang beautiful songs with the preschool classes.  

This video is beautiful.  It is one of the longer videos that I have ever posted on my blog and it may take some time to load, but this song is just gorgeous and when you're watching your little babies participate in a Christmas program this lovely, the tears just can't help but to fall.  I will treasure this video forever.  

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One of my favorite jobs is to serve as a room mother for classroom parties.  This role has become more challenging now that we have two children in school.  I can't be in two places at the same time and thus, I have to make a choice between the classrooms for each party.  I selected Drew's classroom for the Christmas party so that we may also celebrate his birthday party at the same time.  

The Christmas party theme this year:  The Polar Express.  I adore this book and movie.    

In order to bring the book alive, we made a hot chocolate bar with yummy goodies to add on top (marshmallows, chocolate chips, chocolate covered pretzels, candy canes and whip cream) all wrapped up with a fancy straw.  

Since the kids on the Polar Express are all wearing their pajamas, we had to replicate that element too.  Hello Old Navy slippers!  Everyone got a pair of cozy slippers to put on while we drank hot chocolate and read our story.     

Then to wrap up the day, we wrote our letters to Santa.

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We enjoyed a Christmas concert at SPPCS early in December.  Enjoy the video!    

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We had a joyful Christmas.  Full of hugs for Grandpa.

Our family was also a bit 'under the weather' for Christmas.  First time that our entire family was sick at the same time.  Urg.  I had bronchitis and the boys tested positive for influenza (despite the flu shot).  We suspect that Dan had the flu too.  Everyone has long-since recovered, but not so much fun at our house for a few days.

Evan got his very own Nintendo 3DS.  He was thrilled.

And I'll leave you with one of my favorite pictures each year . . . the aftermath of it all.  Months of contemplation and thoughtful Christmas shopping all distributed wildly across the house.  Wrapping paper everywhere, batteries strewn all over the place, electronic toys half opened (because inevitably something else will distract the boys as they move from gift to gift).  Drives Dan crazy to let the chaos resonate one more minute than necessary, but I like to drink my coffee and slowly count these amazing blessings one by one.  What is the hurry?