Really bad blogger

I just realized I haven't wrote a new post since November.... Ugh... I really want to get better at posting but I just  forget. Christmas happened (I took great pictures for a post ), Aubrey got a real horse & we just got back from a Disney cruise. Brandon & I have been sick since we got back but I will post the amazing pictures we took on that vacation. We had so much fun.... I will try hard to update my blog more often because I know these are memories we don't want to forget... :)

~ Nichole

Another new adventure

     November has been a very eventful month in the Koval house with celebrating my birthday & Aubrey's Birthday as well as Thanksgiving but there has been a HUGE change in this family's daily routine.

      I have started homeschooling all 3 of my kids. Yep.. I pulled Shelby & Brandon out of public school & I'm teaching them at home. I bought a computer based curriculum called Switched on School for Shelby since she's in high school that covers 5 core classes which are algebra, English, chemistry, geography & bible. She also does an elective class which is typing. I know both Mike & I went to public school but it was allot different when were in school. There is so many negative influences in the schools these days that we want to be able influence our children the way we believe they should be raised. I want my children to know God & be able to show they are Christians by wearing cross necklaces if they wanted to & also by having the freedom to pray which they can't do in the schools they went to in Crosby.

     I also want my kids to know that certain things that the school teaches is NOT what we believe in as Christians. I understand tolerance but I don't want my kids to think because they are taught tolerance in school that it's the way God wants them to live. I also think that in public school the kids are growing up way to fast because they are exposed to so many different things like broken homes, drugs & sex way to early for them to truly understand about those issues. I want to be the one to answer my kids questions about sex & drugs not some kid that's their age who heard it from someone who told them the incorrect answer.

     Mike & I agree that our kids are only young one time & we want to be the influence they are going to look up to as the are growing up into adults. We want to raise God believing, compassionate, loving , caring, smart Christians adults so yes it's allot of work teaching 3 kids everyday and yes tthey all drive me crazy at at least one pint in the day but God gave us these kids to raise & being a parent is the hardest job we will ever do but it's also so rewarding when you see your hard work paying off in the great kids you raised.


-Nichole
    

Nichole's birthday

the whole group

 This year for my birthday I wanted to do a couples painting party with some of my friends. It was so much fun hanging out with my hubby & my friends . I think everyone did a really great job on their masterpieces but the best part of the night was just enjoying the company of the people you love the most in this world & I felt so blessed they spend the evening with me to celebrate my birthday.

me & my amazing husband
 

"the husbands"

"The wives "

Our masterpiece !!!

"the kiss"

Aubrey turns 5 !!!

Aubrey's actual 5th birthday

 I know I'm behind alittle but it's been a busy month ...... Aubrey turned 5 on November 7th & we had a horse themed birthday party for her. Aubrey LOVES horses. She loves pictures of horses, statues of horses, fake horses but most of all she loves REAL horses. When we drive around our town she knows where all the houses that have horses are & always ask us to slow down so she can see them better. She was so excited when I told her a real live horse was coming to her party. She enjoyed riding on the horse but she also really enjoyed walking the horse around the yard with her friends riding it. The horse's name is Renegade & Aubrey is in LOVE !!!

Aubrey & Shelby

Aubrey LOVED leading the horse around the yard

 

Look at all those gifts for the birthday girl !!!

Aunt Tracy made her cake

Aubrey has so many people that love her and it was awesome having everyone over to our house to celebrate her birthday with us. She recieved alot of gifts & they all were centered around her love of horses. It's been an amazing 5 years with this little girl & I'm excited to watch her grow up into a wonderful woman one day !!!

Family picture with all the kids

playing with all her horses she got for her birthday

Happy 36th birthday Michael ......

Mike with the treats we made him

I am alittle behind on keeping up with our family blog but.......  a few days ago my amazing husband turned 36 years old. We celebrated by making him cupcakes & a strawberry cheesecake :)



our family picture taken with my horrible camera phone ... ugh

Michael....
We are so blessed to have you as the leader of our family. Your an amazing father & a wonderful husband. Thank you for working so hard to take care of your family. We love you more than we every tell you.
 
~  Nichole

Happy 6th heavenly birthday !!!

The tattoo Mike got 8 days after
 the babies passed away honoring them

     It's now been 6 years since I gave birth to my sweet triplets. There isn't a day that goes by that I don't think about them. Sometimes it's because I see kids that would be their age or sometimes it because I hear someone call their child with the same name as one of my kids. It's all so bittersweet. I'm so honored to be their mother. I feel like it was such a huge privilege to be pregnant with 3 babies at the same time. That is so amazing even to just think how awesome that is & i actually lived it !!!


     I think about how different our lives would be with the triplets here.I knew when I was 16 weeks pregnant that Makenna probably wasn't going to survive so I think my brain prepared my heart to only be ready to raise Conner & Mady ....



My tattoo I got in honor
of my babies & Aubrey

    Would I still have my precious Aubrey ? I couldn't imagine my life with that amazing little girl. Aubrey was such a blessing to have 14 months after losing my trio. The entire time I was pregnant with Aubrey i remember dreaming & truly feeling like I was going to be raising a boy & a girl . I had multiple ultrasounds when I was pregnant and every time they always said there was only 1 baby. I was so confused why I had such a strong feeling . What I know now is that feeling was God telling me I would be raising a son & a daughter that are the same age. God had a plan for my life and for the lives of my children before he even allowed me to get pregnant with them. He knew I was going to have this amazing opportunity to carry 3 babies in my belly & he also knew that when he took them back to heaven to be with him that it would make me a completely person and now I can help other women who have went through this difficult experience of losing a baby/ babies. I have met (both in person & online) many amazing women who have lost babies. We have some great friendships because unless it has happened to you it's hard to explain how you feel losing a child ..... 

    The other thing God showed me when losing my babies is that I truly would be raising a son & a daughter who are almost (4months apart) the same age. I have Aubrey & Brandon now that I'm raising.  I didn't understand why God gave Misty another child when she didn't even appericate the amazing little girl she already had. I didn't feel like she realized how awesome Shelby was or how much of her life she missed out on by going in & out of jail. Misty got pregnant within weeks of getting out of jail and right after my babies died. I was very angry she was getting another chance to be a mom & I felt like my chance was taken from me and it just wasn't fair. Little did I know at that time we would get pregnant with Aubrey the 1st time we tried fertility treatments again. I was so thankful for that gift because I got another chance to have a baby. While Misty and I were both pregnant she came to Michael and asked if anything ever happened to her would we consider raising Brandon as our own even though he wasn't our biological child. I knew in that moment when she said those words that we would one day raise Brandon as our own . It did take 4 years for us to get him legally but he's been part of our family his whole life.

  So today on my triplets birthday of course I miss them very much but I know God's plan for my family now and I'm exteremly blessed to be the mother of 4 amazing children .......

    

Shelby, Britanee, me holding Aubrey, & Mike holding Brandon

     


~Nichole

A girl & her horse .....

Aubrey riding Lollie for the 1st time ......

My sweet princess loves horses. Actually to say she loves them is an understatement. She is completely obsessed with them. The first thing she asks every morning is to look at pictures of horses on the computer. She will sit at the computer for hours if I let her just scrolling up & down at images of horses. She tells us probably about 100 times a day she wants a horse here at our house. She tells us what she would name it if we would buy her one. Aubrey even tells us that she would feed it & ride it every day. I have never seen her more in love... I know she's only 4 but what if this passion is something she will have even as she grows up ? Michael told her when she gets bigger he would build her a barn & get her a horse. For now she will just continue to remind us how much she loves them until we finally get her a horse of her own.
~ Nichole


Aubrey on her horse Rocky that lives at Yaya's house