Books I've been reading, My First Tower, a Montage with Dad

I love to read, and now that I'm a mom, I find myself less and less entertained unless the novel is exceptional. So, I've been reading some good books, and some I've skimmed and promptly put down because I could tell they were a bunch of mumbo jumbo :). But I have read two books recently that were great.

The first one was called Twinspirations. It's by a twin mom, and she's hilarious. It has all the things that they forget to put in other books - like how do you get the stupid double stroller through non-automatic doors, and can you really grocery shop with twins, etc. So, it was a fun read.

The other one is by Burton L. White and it's called the The New First Three Years of Life. And no, he's not a Christian, but in general, it's a GREAT book. It goes through the developmental stages of the first three years in great detail, and then matches up what toys and household items are the most helpful, etc. It has been a lifesaver with Josh - who has just started throwing massive temper tantrums, and what White did was observe groups of children at various ages and make observations about what types of things stimulated them, upset them, what they could understand, etc. So, it was really good and interesting. And though we still spank Josh for dangerous things, it's given us some more creative ways to teach him too, so it's been great. I highly recommend it! He's also a huge proponent of staying home with your children. It's so neat when you read something that's not even from a Christian perspective, but they prove Christian principles without even realizing that they are doing so. His major push is to raise children developmentally so that they are independent and well-adjusted, but he believes that the parents should be the primary teachers, just like it says in Scripture. So, anyway - there's my tidbit for the day!

Building my First Tower






A Montage of Loving my Dad

38 days and counting...

Okay...for those of you out there who have have husbands in school...we're in the final countdown! Matt's goal for having his dissertation turned in is March 18 (also my sister's birthday :). So, please, please, please pray that he can make it. He has been working around the clock (literally) to get this done before the girls get here. I am just so thankful for my husband and all his hard work and dedication. I can't believe everything that it has taken for him to get this far, and now...we're almost there! I won't know what it's like to have a husband who doesn't have to write in the evenings, or to have a Saturday that we can spend together as a family! I'm getting misty-eyed at the thought :). But, I'm so thankful that we've done it this way. Yes, it's been a really hard few months, but Matt's prospectus was approved in November, and now, a little over 4 months later - he's about to have a completed dissertation! That's INCREDIBLE! We decided that instead of stretching this out for years, I'd take on the bulk of raising Josh for a few months and just get it done. And Matt's been such a trooper. I can't say enough how thankful I am to have such a diligent, hard-working husband. He's juggled two jobs and almost completed writing a dissertation in 4 months! I'm in awe. And God is so good - there's no way he should have physically had the stamina to do this. So, here's a few prayer requests for the home stretch...

1. Physical stamina for Matt
2. That I will be gracious, encouraging, and not demanding at all during this crazy time
3. That all the people involved in reading his dissertation will have the time to get it back with the revisions and grades really quickly so that he can meet his goal

So, here's the goal schedule - pray that we can meet each one...

Feb. 9 – Chapter 2 - revision (this one should be ready for submittal tomorrow night - there were a few more resources left to get from the library)

Feb. 16 – Ch. 3 - revision

Feb. 23 – Ch. 4 - revision (and then, turn these four chapters into his mentor who please pray will have the time to read it that week and return it in the midst of his own busy semester)

Mar. 8 – Ch. 5 - this one is the conclusion chapter and has yet to be written – so pray he will be able to get this one done quickly

Mar. 15 – Ch. 5 returned from Dr. Liederbach for Matt to do corrections - again, pray for Dr. Liederbach's time that this will fit with his schedule

Mar. 18 – all final revisions made and dissertation submitted to be approved and sent out

Love you all!! Keep us in your prayers!

Fun in February

Who would have thought it would be warm enough in February for outside play time without jackets??? Here's a few pics of what we've been up to :)!


I love to read in my OWN rocking chair!



Outside playtime with Georgia and Leah!







My two men!



Playtime with the tractor :)




Helping Daddy put together my sisters' crib...


Whew! I'm so tired after a long day!

We're having...! Christmas, Walking, and other asundry details

Hey guys!

I know, I know...it's been FOREVER since I've posted...but, I hope you'll forgive me when I tell you the news of what we're having. Here's a hint...Leah and I went to the consignment sale at the fairgrounds today, and I bought something that looked like this...


And a set of these, so that my twins can coordinate...



Yep...Josh is having twin sisters! I'd like to introduce you guys to our two beautiful baby girls: Kathleen Rene and Karissa Joy. We're THRILLED!

On another note, my little boy is walking, talking, and into EVERYTHING! Christmas was fun. Josh's favorite toys were the things that had wheels (there's a shocker :), and his books (just like his Mommy and Daddy).

Here's a few cute pics!


Out of my way people! I'm coming through! (That's my niece Katy beside him).



Why are you so impressed with twins people? I've already got one. She's my cousin Kaylin - we're only 3 weeks apart in age!



This is my cousin Katy. She's SO much fun! She has as much energy as I do! When she's around I laugh and laugh and play and play. We LOVE Katy! :)

Josh with his new push toy

Well...Josh has certainly gotten more independent - which I am thrilled about. The only bad thing is, he is now crawling over the entire house instead of sticking right with me. I don't miss the climbing all over my legs and being unable to move as I'm cooking, but having to drop the spoon and run to investigate what he's gotten himself into is not so fun. I was trying to get all the prep done during his nap - but I've been way too exhausted with the twins - so that's Mommy's nap time too :).

His other new thing is cruising everywhere - along the couch, the cabinets, the entertainment center...using the chairs as push toys. I can't tell you how many times I've been in the kitchen and I peek my head around the corner to check on him and my kitchen chairs are now in the middle of the living room :). The Lassetters were kind enough to let us borrow a push toy for my cruising boy. I think he's enjoying it...what do you think?

Josh May Not Have to Choose

Yesterday we went in for our first ultrasound. It was so exciting to get a chance to see Josh's sibling...or so we thought. We ended up with the surprise of our lives. We'd like to announce an extremely terrifying but exciting thing...In early May, or before, we will get to introduce you all to not one but TWO new Lytles. I must confess - when the doctor first said - are you ready? It's twins...I didn't even watch the ultrasound anymore - I was SO shocked. We have no twins in the family. So, we're the first! But, children are a blessing from the Lord - so we are doubly blessed.

For all those who were teasing about twins, we have every intention of calling in those offers of help. With three under 18 months, it will be a challenge, but a wonderful one. We are so excited, and feel so blessed that God would give us three children in such a short period of time.

Crawling, Moving, and House Readying

Whew! I can't believe it's been so long since I've done a post! These last few weeks have been insane! They started with a trip up to my mother-in-law's to help her pack. Leah and Georgia made the trip with us which was a HUGE blessing! The kids were able to entertain each other and we were able to get a lot done. And...Josh got tired of trying to keep up with Georgia doing his army crawl, and so he officially started to crawl! HOWEVER...that happened while we were away - so when I got home - YIKES! My house was not ready for a child that was that mobile!

Then followed several days of extreme nausea where I laid on the couch and tried not to move while Josh played. One day we even went over to Auntie Leah's so Josh could play with Georgia and Mommy could get a break. Then, we went up to help with the actual move. Josh got to stay with his Aunt Nay Nay, Uncle Eric, Katy, and Kaylin. He had a ball! They just played and played.

After the move, I've been working on getting the house cleaned out so that Josh can play in most rooms and getting the furniture out of the new baby's room that we don't use anymore. I have ENORMOUS bags of goodwill things that will be headed over there soon. So...I've been super, super busy...hopefully, things will slow down and I'll be able to post regularly again. Below are a couple of cute pictures.

The first one is proof of the crawler! And the second is Josh as the cowboy playing on his new horse from Aunt Nay Nay and Uncle Eric. Thanks guys!