Keegan Joy

Keegan Joy arrived last Wednesday for anyone who may not know already. Life has been a bit hectic and I haven't been able to update the blog as much as I would like lately.

She was 7 pounds 1 ounce and was 20 inches long. Far from the 9 pounder they told me I would have :)

Right now she has been admitted to a local childrens hospital for jaundice. Her levels have come down some but they are also looking into a few other things. We are waiting this morning on her Doctor to round and also a gastroenterologist to come by and check her out. They did some bloodwork last night and will do more this morning around 8:30. Her thyroid levels came back elevated - we haven't been able to talk to the dr to find out what this means yet. We will this morning when he rounds.

Thank you to those of you who have been praying. Please keep praying for her and for us when you think about it.

Delay Consequences?

The other day Ryan got into some trouble because of his mouth. The best thing in his world right now that really bothers him if taken away is his football. He just got it for his birthday and it is TORTURE when he cannot play with it. So, we decided that this particular time the consequence of his mouth/disrespectfulness would be the loss of his football for a day. Then the mouth just kept going and so he lost it for two days - Friday and Saturday. Ryan was so disappointed because he had a play date with his daddy all set in his mind for Saturday to play football outside. He asked that we take the football away on Friday and Sunday instead of Friday and Saturday. He wanted to delay his consequences so that they fit his agenda. We of course did not give in and he actually wound up losing the football for all 3 days once it was all said and done - sometimes he doesn't know when to just be quiet.

I started thinking about his response and just how much we all do this. We hate the consequences for our sin, especially when they interrupt our plans. I think Ryan learned a lesson this day and hopefully, our steadfastness and not giving in to his request taught him that consequences are real and that obedience is better / respectfulness is better. Sometimes, parenting is hard. Every ounce of my being wanted to give in and say you know what, you are a good kid, just don't do it again and go play with your football. It's hard to discipline your kids, especially when you see the pain it causes them to loos privileges. At least it is for me. I hate seeing them sad, but I also do not want to see them continue down a path that will lead to further trouble in the future if not nipped in the bud now.

Hopefully, Ryan learned a lesson - sometimes finding consequences to match the offense is hard. Especially when one method doesn't work and you have to punt to find something that does work. I'm constantly reminded of the verse in Hebrews ... 12:7 Endure hardship as discipline; God is treating you as his children. For what children are not disciplined by their father?

Discipline is not easy, but necessary for training up our sons/daughters to be adults. I remember a sermon from our old pastor on parenting and one of his lines that he said stuck with me and it was ..." you are not raising infants or toddlers. You are raising your children to be adults ... to leave your nest and function in the world around them." I sure hope that we are doing an OK job at raising our guys/gal(s) to one day be an adult and function in a world - to show them Jesus and his love.

S E V E N !

Seven years ago today, I became a mom! It still seems so surreal to me. I don't feel like I'm old enough to have children of my own. :)

Today, my Ryan is 7! This morning he was in the bathroom doing his thing and I gladly interrupted him so that I could sing to him and the look on his face was priceless. I would have recorded it had he not been in the bathroom. :) He looked shocked and said "wait, I'm 7? really 7? today 7?". It was cute to watch.

Ryan, you are such a joy to parent. You have an amazing heart that blows me away and challenges me. You love to serve others and you love to help those around you who are in need. You also love to pray and you pray frequently for others. I love how you take your requests to him - Don't ever stop! I am amazed at what God is doing in your little life and I know that he is going to do something great if you allow him to continue to use you. You have taught me so much through the 7 years of being your mom. You are such a blessing in our lives and I am so thankful that of all the mommies in the world, I was chosen as yours! I couldn't imagine my life without you in it.

I pray that you will continue to run the race before you. That you will run and not grow weary. I pray that you will continue to hide God's word in your heart and that you will always turn to him and listen for his voice in your life guiding you left or right. I pray that you will continue to have the faith of a child, that you will trust in Him even when you cannot see Him or understand Him! Remember, that your dad and I are always here for you, we love you more than you will ever know - to the moon and back, and back and back and back!

Happy 7th Birthday son! You are loved to infinity and beyond!

Awaiting Keegan Update

Yesterday, I was sent by my OB to a high risk OB doctor. I have been feeling very dizzy / light headed for a few weeks and then I fainted on Wednesday and fell. I'm still feeling very dizzy / light headed. So they wanted to determine why. She did an ultrasound and looks like Keegan is already the size of a 37 week baby even though she is only 34 ... what can I say ... we grow them big in our house :)

My regular OB had put me on bed rest because of the contractions I have been having. The high risk doctor told me I didn't have to be on bed rest but to limit my activity alone due to my sciatica and falling. The bed rest is aggravating the sciatica and making the pain / falling worse. She said that she would not stop labor at this point if my body decided to do it on it's on - she felt Keegan would be just fine if I went into labor at anytime. If she does not come on her own before Dec 20th we will have an amnio that morning and if she is ready induction later that day / evening! It is still surreal to me that I could be holding my new bundle of joy in just 18 or 19 days ... or less if she decides to come on her own.

It just seems so much more real to me now that it is winding down .... ready or not family of 6 here we come! :)

Thoughts on being a receiver and needing help

I am realizing over the past few days that I am not a good receiver! It is so hard for me to have people do FOR me, to not be able to do for myself. I love to give, LOVE to give and I love to help wherever I can. But the past few days the tables have been turned on me and I am realizing that I am a poor receiver, it is so hard for me to ask for help or NEED help. I love the feeling I get when I help others but it's just not the same feeling when I am the one needing help.

I have amazing friends who are all jumping at the chance to help me and my family during this time of bed rest, yet, I find it so hard to receive their help or even ask for it.

I am so thankful for my friends and for how they are rallying around me and my family right now. If you are one of the ones who has or is helping us during this time ... THANK YOU from the bottom of my heart! I may not be good at asking you or even receiving your help but I am VERY thankful for it!

Why is it so hard for us to be on the receiving end? Why is it so hard to ask for help when we need it?

Bed Rest ...

This weekend my doctor put me on Bed Rest :( It's not as fun as it sounds :) But, the contractions have slowed down and baby girl is still safely inside doing cartwheels and practicing her kick boxing.

I on the other hand am going stir crazy. Thankful to my hubby and my kids who kept me company. We watched football together and cheered on the Dawgs as they beat GA Tech! It was a beautiful day .... even if it was spent in bed.

Special thanks goes out to my hubby who put up our Christmas trees and to the kids who helped him decorate them both. Sad that I didn't get to be a part of it this year. That is always a fun time watching the kids pick spots for their ornaments and seeing all the ornaments they have made through the years. There are two that melt my heart each year. Both kids were in the same 2 year old class for pre-school. Different years but the same teacher. She made these ornaments with them each year and the end result was a snow flake with a picture of my little 2 year old snow flake inside. There are several other picture ornaments on our tree and it just reminds me how quickly my kids are growing up. It's too fast for this momma's heart! One day I'll be in my momma's shoes and my kids will be bringing their kids to visit me and I'll be going to visit them. I want that day as far away as possible :)

So since I'm bored on bed rest ... tell me what are some good books you have read lately or a good movie I should watch?

Heroes and Villans Of The Bible

A few weeks back I was given the opportunity to review this book. When I looked through the list of books, this book popped out to me because of my boys and their love of super heros. Every day they are coming up with a new super hero and running to the rescue of someone in distress somewhere in our home :)

Our devotional that we use at night is quite worn and I thought this would be perfect for them. It finally came in the mail on Monday night and immediately I knew this book was PERFECT for my kids (2 boys, 1 girl). So far we have used it for the past 3 bedtimes and they always want more than one story read. They always have questions and they are hanging on every word we read to them.

A few things I love about this book is that it uses the actual text from the Bible. It's not watered down, it's not paraphrased, it's God's word plain and simple.

Each story starts with a little blurb then jumps straight into the text of the Bible. It ends with a way for kids to apply the lesson to their lives and another blurb about what a Hero is. I love how it takes a concept that my children are so into - being a Hero - and lets them see that being a Hero is completely up to them. That each day they make choices and those choices decide whether they will be a Hero or not in any given situation. It teaches them to apply God's word and his principles to their every day situations.

Looking through this book it goes through many people in the Bible, females are not left out so my daughter will enjoy that as well. My kids are only 6, 5, and 3 and they are enjoying this book and our conversations together so much.

If you have boys or girls who are into Heroes or not ... I highly recommend this to add to your devotional time. I am loving the conversations that we are having and I love seeing my kids "wheels" turning as we talk as to how they have decisions to make and their choices decide whether they will be a Hero or not .... They realize that Heroes are not perfect but that they can be Heroes for God!

Thankful

There are so many things I am thankful for. I am one blessed girl just because my Jesus gave up his life for me. If that was all I had to cling to, I'd still be blessed but my cup over flows.

I went to the DR last week and had been having (still having) pretty regular contractions. I am 31 weeks today and it is just too early for this little girl to be making her debut into our crazy world. She did a test and thankfully, I am not at risk of going into labor for 2 weeks. Prayerfully, longer than that. We also talked about the gestational diabetes (GD). She questions the test and whether or not I really have it. You see, my numbers have stayed at the low end of "in range" and I had lost 5 pounds in 2 weeks. She seemed more concerned about my weight loss than she did the contractions even before the test results were in. So, she took me off my meal plan and told me to eat normally for the next week. That week ends tomorrow when I go back to check in. My numbers have stayed "in range" with a few that were higher but still not out of range. I suspect that she will tell me to continue this course. She did say that she didn't want to put me through another 3 hour test - thankful for that. So we will never really know whether the test was wrong but it seems like it was.

My 3 kiddos have prayed nightly for mommy to be ok for 2 weeks now. There is just something precious about the prayers of children. Their faith is so huge at that age and they just trust completely without reservation. I could stand to learn a few things from my 3 in that department. Sometimes their prayers bring tears to my eyes and other times they make me laugh out loud, but all the time they are precious and dear to the heart of God. So, I choose to believe that my God answered my childrens prayer and he took away the GD.

I have much to be thankful for .... this month I'm reminded of all those things as we look toward thanksgiving in a few weeks. My cup really does overflow! I can choose to see the negative because let's face it, life isn't always roses and answered prayers (in the way we would like but they are always answered - but that is another post itself)! Or I can choose to see all the things around me that are good and be thankful for my abundant blessings. I choose the latter ....

I choose to be thankful .... how about you?

Number 3!

Right after dinner last night Ryan lost one of his top front teeth. This makes tooth #3 and I might add that he was more excited about this tooth than the other 2. Maybe because he has been waiting over a month and a half for it to come out. It has been loose but just not loose enough to pull without causing a lot of pain. So, I never did pull it, we tried but I didn't want to hurt him so we always stopped.

Well, last night I had just tried to pull it with no success. It was too connected in the front but loose in the back. The kids went upstairs to clean up and a few minutes later Ryan comes running downstairs laughing that he lost his tooth. Kennedy comes down the stairs balling her eyes out. Ryan was running circles around the kitchen yelling and so excited all the while his sister is balling. I asked Kennedy what was wrong and she just balled harder. Ryan then tells us how it came out ... Some how as they were cleaning Kennedy brushed her hand against his mouth and his tooth came out. She was terrified. Poor girl! We had to tell her it was OK several times before she finally started laughing and understood that she didn't do anything wrong. I guess all the blood and the gaping hole in her brothers mouth scared her enough that she didn't know what to do.

Thankful to a neighbor who saved the day .... I know of a tooth fairy who needs to learn to keep cash on hand when there is a loose tooth in a mouth!

What's been going on?

So, the blog has been VERY quiet lately. Life has been quite hectic around here. I have been keeping my neighbors newborn last week and this week as well, and that has reminded me of so much to look forward to in a few months :) Kennedy is not quite sure to do when he cries. She wants to take him home. I talked to her that we can't just give a baby back because he cries, but she doesn't care. I asked her what she was going to do when Keegan cries and she said we could take her back too .... though I'm not sure where she would take her :) It has definitely been interesting seeing how she does with a newborn. She has been great with him and loves being a helper. I wonder how things will change when it's Keegan and she stays here all the time instead of 8 hours a day :)

On another note, I was diagnosed with Gestational Diabetes and I've been learning how to manage that. So far, so good. The diet isn't really a diet, yet it does cut out a lot of things I like. I was doing pretty good until last night when I really wanted some baked ziti that a bunch of people around me were having .... anyone that knows me, knows how much I LOVE pasta! It's a staple in my diet along with anything casserole and so last night was just the first of many hard "no" moments I'm sue. BUT, each time I feel a kick or a jab, I am reminded of why those "no" moments are necessary. Provides me with a little perspective and also reminds me that I really don't have to do this long. Prayerfully, it will go away after she is born and I can resume some of my pasta loving life :) I think I will keep some of the ways of this "diet" after she is here and limit some of my non healthy choices.

The kids are all doing well. Both boys are doing excellent in school. They both adore their teachers and that makes this momma so happy. I love sending them off to school knowing they are learning and being loved on at the same time. Pace calls his teacher is "girlfriend". He absolutely loves her. We have been so blessed by the teachers in our kids lives so far. God started them off great with their first teacher at the age of 2 and he has not stopped showing us his favor in the teacher department since then. We are very thankful and pray daily for those that will teach our children ... both present and future. And, we also remember those who have been past teachers and are thankful for them and the impact they have made on our children.

Kennedy is growing like a weed. Her vocabulary never ceases to amaze me. She is such a joy to spend time with. She loves to "read". She has books that we have read to her so much that she knows the jist of the story. She spends her morning room time in her room reading those books to her dolls. Many times I will look in on her and she has them all lined up and she is reading to them. Other times she is transforming herself into whatever princess she chooses to be. She loves to do her hair ... one day she had over 6 clips in at one time. I never thought I would have such a girly girl with two very boy, boys :) But I do and I love watching her shine!

That's about all that is new in our world ... Hope you all are doing well! Let me know what's up with you in the comments if you want!

Have a great day!

KNOWING God's Word

I read this quote the other day and it really made me stop and ask myself a question. First, here is the quote ....

"In order to REMEMBER God's teaching, our sons must KNOW God's teaching."- Vicki Courtney

The question I asked myself is what am I doing to help my sons (and daughter) KNOW God's teaching? There are so many days where I feel like a broken record repeating myself ... "don't hit, be nice, don't spit, have a better tone, don't yell, show some respect ....." Oh, the list could go on and on. There are days that I see them being so very nice to each other that I just want to freeze frame it so that it lasts. However, it's the days where I am repeating 1 Corinthians 13 to them and where they are quoting it back to me that I scratch my head and wonder where the disconnect is. They can tell you what it means to love each other and they can tell you what love is not, yet they turn around and treat each other (sometimes) with such disrespect that I wonder how much they understand from these verses. I think my children do well in a lot of areas but they are falling short in how they treat each other sometimes.

So, how do you help your children KNOW God's Word so that they REMEMBER God's word when it matters .... so they are living, breathing examples of God's word to those around them? I'd love to know some of the ways you are pouring God's word into your children.

Train a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not turn from it. Proverbs 22:6

Seeing Keegan

Yesterday, we got to see Keegan, yes we chose a name and Keegan Joy it will be. When we were in for our 20 week ultrasound they couldn't really see her heart or her hands so they wanted to do another ultrasound to make sure all was ok. She was perfect in every way.

She is lying transverse right now, which is why I wondered if there was more than one in there. I feel her all over the place. Knowing how little she is at the moment it made me wonder if there was 2 in there instead of 1. I was assured though, that there is only 1! :)

It is such a joy to get a peek inside and see our little girl growing. We have had 5 ultrasounds so far .... because of the miscarriages and so we have seen her more than we got to see the other 3. Looking at the screen always tears me up as I see a heart beating, or a hand waving, a foot kicking, or a mouth opening. So amazing to me the way life begins and how incredibly wonderful this process is.

Yesterday, she was sucking on her thumb and her feet at various times. She didn't really want to uncurl her fingers for us but we finally got a wave from her and that was too cool.

Just so neat being able to see her this early and I cannot wait to love on her in just a few months! It's going to be here before I know it. Until then, I'm savoring all these kicks and movements .... all too soon they will be gone and she will be outside growing way too fast :)

A friend of mine noted on the picture above that it looks like a hand is cradling her head. I had not noticed it until she pointed it out and tears came to my eyes as I think of the verse that says "For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother's womb." Psalm 139:13 - He is taking care of my baby even now as she is forming in my womb. I will be framing this picture for her room!

And my heart broke ...

This morning on the way to school, I had to fight off the tears. Our neighbor across the street asked if his daughter could ride with us this morning because he had an early morning appointment.

Two years ago his wife slipped and fell and has been in bed ever since with her injuries. She sleeps most of the day because of the pain meds she is on. She has very little interaction with her husband or her kids.

This morning as we were driving to school I overheard the kids in the backseat talking. As they were talking the friend kept telling the boys how much she loved their mommy. Then what brought me to tears is she asked them if she could live with us because she wanted a mommy that wouldn't sleep all day.

I just felt so sorry for her ... my heart just ached for her and the missing role of mom in her life right now. I pray that God will heal her mom and that she will be able to be back to being a daily part of her daughters life soon.

I also drove away after dropping them off and thanked God that I have not had to work outside the home. I was just crying out to God and thanking him for allowing me to be available to my kids 24/7 .... what a blessing I have taken for granted!!!

If you think about it please pray for my neighbor and their family ... please pray for this mom and that she will be able to be more a part of her families life. That God will take away her pain and that she can be more present in her daughters life because she definitely needs her.

More Names

I didn't even have to tell you my reasons and you guys have picked up on the presidential concern I have :) Reagan is Jeremy's top name. He is in love with this name :) He has loved it for months now. Now, I like Reagan ... I really do like the name. However, I have a Kennedy and I just don't want both of my girls to have presidential first names. I figure they will get made fun of ... am I over thinking this? Kennedy is named after my uncle Kenny who passed away in 2006 from cancer. So, I can explain her presidential sounding name. I can't do that with a Reagan. It's not a family name.

I will tell you now that most of you have chimed in already. (THANKS SO MUCH!) The top name on my list is Keegan. I'm not sure why but I have fallen in love with it already. However, Jeremy is not 100% sold. He likes it but he's not sold .... So we are still on the hunt for another name or for Jeremy to move over to my side :)

I also really like Lane but I can't think of a middle name to go with it. Joy is what we were thinking of putting with Keegan. My dad's mom is Joyce and so we were thinking of Joy after her. Don't you just love Keegan Joy?

Again, everything at this point is up in the air and it may all change 100 times before we go to the hospital. Maybe another 100 once we are in the hospital. It's driving me insane to not know already. I have letters to paint other stuff to do .. I need a name :) I'm just a little bit of a planner and well, I need a name :)

Here are a few others we have thought of ...

Shae
Shiloh
Ainsley
Tory (Tori)
Sage

Do you have any other names for me?

Baby Names?!?!?!?!?

OK so I need your help. We have been thinking of names for a while now. The only ones that we really could agree on and the ones that came to us easily were BOY names. Since the cake was pink .... I think we might need a girl name :)

So I'll throw out some of the ones we are thinking of ... You can chime in if you want to! :) PLEASE do! :)

Esmeralda
Esperanza
Eudocia
Cinderella
Calliope
Cantara
Lieselotte

OK I kid, I kid! :) Here are some real choices we are thinking about ... I will not tell you our favorites because I don't want to sway you ... Not that you will ultimately name our baby but it's fun to hear your reasons and see if they match any of ours ...

Reagan
Keegan
Lily
Eden
Harper
Kharis
Nora
Teegan
Lane
Karsyn
Stori
Keaton

Tell me your thoughts in the comments below ... and if you have any names you like tell me those too ... we are trying to come up with something not so common. I know some of the names on the list are common but they are names we like so they are on the list.

A great 1st day!

Yesterday, after school we kept up our tradition of going and having a cupcake to talk about their day. Last year, since Pace was in pre-k I got to go with him at 1 and Ryan at 3. This year, I did both at the same time and just asked 1 at a time questions.

They were so excited they could hardly contain themselves. They both had great first days though Ryan said his was "hard". The things he was telling me didn't sound hard. I think it is just the difference from Kindergarten to first grade and there was not much play involved in 1st as in K. I imagine today will be "hard" as well :)

Pace loved his first day so much that he woke up this morning at 5 AM. He loved his teacher and he loved having a friend from his pre-school class last year in this years class. He just wished she was at his table :). The first thing he told me when he got in the car was that he stayed on green ALL day long. The child has never been on another color so I'm not sure why he was so surprised but he was. It was fun to listen to them and hear their excitement.

I hope that today is just as fun for them. I dropped them off at the curb today as Pace didn't want to be walked in. I asked Ryan to make sure that he helped Pace get to the right line. My heart sank a little as I watched both of them walk away together talking and laughing. I love the bond they have and I look forward to watching it grow.

Today, I'm getting Kennedy on a routine and getting her used to playing by herself a little and then we will do "school" together a little. She misses "her boys" and she is not used to playing by herself. So this should be a challenge for both of us ....

Hope you all have a great day!!!

1st Day of School 2011

Today, I have a Kindergartner, a first grader and a 3 year old! Two of my 3 began school today. I thought today was going to be a hard day. Pace came in to tell me good night last night and with tears in his big brown eyes he said he wanted to stay home and do school with me. He then left to brush his teeth and came back for another hug and told me the same thing again. We prayed over him before he went to bed. He had been VERY excited about kindergarten ... until the moment to go to bed. His nerves hit him. He woke up excited and any nerves from the night before were gone ... Thank you Jesus!. We made a big deal out of new shoes, new clothes and even new socks! They picked out their first day of school breakfast and off we went.

As we were pulling into school two of the boys good friends pulled in behind us and parked beside us. So, our 2 got to walk in with their 2 and all was right with the world.

The only tears all morning came from KK. She DID NOT want "her boys" to go to school. When I went into her room this morning to get her up she was balling saying "I don't want MY boys to go to school." She's not quite sure what to do without them. In a few months she will have a sister to help me take care of. However, today, she misses those boys like crazy. We tried to make today special for her. I took her to get her hair cut and Jeremy and I took her out to lunch.

I'm looking forward today to hearing the stories of both first days. I plan on taking them to the same place we went to last year to get cupcakes and learn all about day 1! It will be a bit different this year as both boys will be together as they tell me about their day instead of one on one like last year, but it will be so much fun!

Today, Pace looked really small to me and Ryan looked a lot older than 1st grade. My boys are growing up too fast, and KK as well! I'm going to blink and we are going to be at the last day of High School ..... I'm not going to blink :)

Oh what a night!

So I couldn't sleep last night! From like 2 AM on I was tossing and turning. I think I finally went back to sleep around 5:45 AM ... Just in time to get up at 6ish. Perfect! :)

You would think that I was going into labor tomorrow or next month not 4ish months from now, give or take. I was going through names in my head, trying to figure out what color to paint the nursery, pining over peoples reaction and thinking about Jeremy's new project in our garage. :) Oy vey, those of you that know me really well will just smile and laugh at me because you know this is me. Others will want to have me locked up in a padded room or something - don't worry this is just me. I'm a planner and that switch is so hard to turn off! So hard!

Naming this baby has been something we have talked about for a while. We had names already picked out with the boys if they were boys before the ultrasound so it was so easy. Kennedy was harder even though Kennedy was our girl name had Ryan been a girl. For some reason we didn't just LOVE it when we heard the tech tell us we were having a girl. Now, we had a boy name picked out going into our ultrasound but we are miles away from a girl name. There is a name we both love BUT I'm afraid of what may come for my girls if we name this one that name. So we are both still tossing it around. Maybe one day we will throw it on the blog for a poll and get your thoughts - all 5 of your thoughts :)

Oh well, I must get my munchkins up and ready for church. Tomorrow school starts so we have a ton of things to do today to get ready for tomorrow. I can't believe I'll have a first grader and a kindergartner in my house. Teary just typing that .....

It's a .....

GIRL!! It was so exciting to find out today what we are having! Yesterday was our ultrasound and we asked our tech to call a friend of ours instead of telling us the gender. So for the past 24 hours we have all been wondering what was inside my belly :)

My parents were in town, and Jeremy's parents were here also. We all went to lunch together and after lunch they brought out the cake that my friend had made for us.

The knife went in clean and came out with a touch of pink on it. We all squealed with delight and the kids went nuts. Pace ran around the table, Kennedy screamed and Ryan just smiled really big. Afterward, all they could say is "I can't believe it's a girl, God answered our prayers!"

It was quite surreal ... I'm so glad we didn't find out yesterday and we waited until today. I got choked up and almost cried. It was just such a fun way to find out and have our parents there with us made this last one even more special. I could have never made it to the end not knowing but it would have been a fun surprise if I was the type of person who could wait 4 more months. But, I'm such a planner that I cannot do that. So today was just perfect for our family.

Now the fun of planning a nursery begins ..... what am I going to do with 2 girls???? We are all so excited. We also have to pick a name which is going to be incredibly difficult to do .... Maybe by the birth we will have one picked out :)

Cultivating Giving Hearts

This year at Birthdays we have done something different. We wanted to do something out of the box, to teach our three to give always. In November last year Jeremy and I talked about how Ryan just didn't need a thing for his birthday in the way of presents. We started talking to Ryan about ways he could give and between the 3 of us we decided to take up toiletries for his birthday that we would take to a homeless shelter in our area. So he did ... He turned 6 and instead of gifts for him, his friends brought toiletry items to be given away.

It was incredible as a parent to see my son get excited about this. He is still very much a kid and he still very much desires to get presents for himself. However, he attached on to this idea and he ran with it ... at lightening speed, I might add. After his party, on his actual birthday, we delivered the items - TWO boxes full - to a local shelter. It was an amazing experience for us all. I blogged about it here if you would like to go back and read about it.

That day Pace declared that he wanted to do it for his birthday as well. So once again we took up toiletry items for his birthday and he donated one box to a guy at our church who runs a weekly night to feed the homeless downtown and one box was given to his school who sent items to tornado victims in Alabama. Pace was so excited to give away as well.

This past weekend was Kennedy's birthday and she decided that she wanted to follow the boys and do the same. So she took up school supplies which were combined with some others from people in our church and were delivered to area schools. This week they were able to help so many families get back to school supplies for their students.

Jeremy and I talked about how we really want to cultivate giving hearts in our children. And I think this year they all got a glimpse of how much they have in relation to others who may just be in a hard season of life. I think we will continue to do this on birthdays in the years to come. We will also do it at other times but the best thing is that my kids want to do it. We didn't have to twist arms or beg, plead or bribe them to do it. We put the idea out there and they got excited about it. I truly hope that this is only the beginning of their journey to think of others ahead of themselves. I pray that Jeremy and I will set an example of givers to them and that they will see this as a way of life for them and not just something they do to get a tax write off at the end of a year :)

"For whatever you have done for the least of these ...."

Weekend Re-cap

This past weekend we celebrated KK's third birthday. It was so much fun. This year she was SOOOOO very excited about her birthday. It has been all she talked about since May - seriously! As it got closer and we had it planned she was inviting people we didn't know to her party - our cashiers, anyone who walked by us at the store, you get the picture? It was fun to see her joy and excitement as she approached her 3rd birthday. It looked like it might rain Friday afternoon but thank the Lord it did not. Very thankful that God kept the rain away and allowed my girl her night to celebrate!

Saturday we took her out to eat and the restaurant staff sang to her when they brought out her dessert. The smiles just could not be contained. I loved watching her take it all in!

We started a new tradition this year on her birthday. I've read about friends and others that do this and so I wanted to incorporate it into our family. So Sunday morning as we were eating breakfast we all went around the table and told KK how thankful we were for her and one quality she had that stood out to us. It was so much fun hearing the boys lift up their sister - and to watch her face as they did it! AND the best part is they are looking forward to the next birthday when we can do this again!

One other moment to cherish from this weekend happened at her party Friday night. One of our friends little girl fell and got hurt at the beginning of the party. I was with my friend as she tended to her daughter and tried to figure out what steps to take next. Another friend came up to me and said that one of my boys went to Jeremy and asked him if they could pray for her. My heart melted. I love that all 3 of my children believe in prayer and aren't afraid to ask for prayer or to pray for something or someone. I pray that they will carry this with them throughout their lives.

And by the way .... God answered his prayer and their little friend is doing just fine!

T.H.R.E.E.

This is my spunky little monkey! She is an absolute delight to parent. She has her moments of DRAMA like I'm sure most girls do but man do I love her. It's so funny to me now how scared I was to have a daughter. TERRIFIED is a better word for it. I remember the 4 months after we found out it was a girl and processing it. Walking through stores and thinking ..."God are you sure you want ME to be a mom of a girl?" I sure am happy that he allowed me this privilege!!! She makes my heart mush (just as the boys do) and I cannot imagine my life without her!

Today she is 3!!! She if full of spunk and full of life. It doesn't seem like 3 years ago today I was making my way to the hospital and was nervous about meeting my girl for the first time. Time goes by so quickly.

I am so thankful that daily I get the wonderful opportunity of spending my days with my 3 kids. It's something that many mothers want to do and don't get to do, yet God has made a way for it to be possible for me. I love it!

Happy Birthday my sweet girl! Your daddy and I love you so much and we are so thrilled to have you in our lives. You are such a girly girl with so much spunk and love of life in you. Your brothers love you and we are so happy that today we get to celebrate you and hope that you have a wonderful day! We love you to the moon and back!

I pray that you will continue to grow into a godly little girl and one day a godly woman. I pray that your little heart will continue to remain open and that you will fall in love with God and receive his love for you. I pray that you will be a light to those around you and that God will use you in mighty ways to further his kingdom!

Happy birthday baby girl! I love you so much!

Back to school

Today Pace was tested for Kindergarten ... yes, I said Kindergarten. It doesn't seem like it should be here already. He is more than ready ... momma is not. For the past 5 years he has been with me, minus a few hours a few days a week that he went to pre-school. Now he will be gone all day every day and will learn from other teachers and kids. He will grow and learn. Today he is excited for school - in a few years I may drag him kicking and screaming to school :)

Ryan is going to 1st Grade - WOW. He is in the real grades. He is growing way to fast. In a few months he will be 7 - S.E.V.E.N. How is it even possible that I should have a child that is almost 7. I feel like I am still in my 20's .... and he still loves school too. He is excited. He is ready and he will do great!

I'm praying for both of my boys and for their respective teachers. I pray that they are placed with the teacher that is their best match. That they will continue to have a love of learning and that the teacher they both get will continue to foster that love of learning in both of them. I pray that they will each have their perfect match for teachers and that Pace's first year and Ryan's second year will be incredible. I also pray that my boys will shine the light of God's love to their teachers and to their friends. I pray that they will be a bright light inside their school. I pray that they will be a joy to their teachers and that God will use them to show His love to their teachers as well!

Shine on Boys, Shine on!

Fear

For God has not given us a spirit of fear and timidity, but of power, love, and self-discipline. 2 Timothy 1:7 (NLT)

I read that verse and my head knows one thing yet my heart feels something completely different. This pregnancy has been very different for me for many reasons. It came as a complete surprise to us on the due date of the baby that we lost in September. I have had a lot of sickness and pain with this pregnancy early on that I didn't have with any of the others. It has been hard for me to get excited because I am extremely fearful that we will lose this baby too. I pray and I pray that God will remove my fear, that he will help me to cast my fears on him, that he will give me peace. Yet, somehow I still seem to hold on to my fear. I know that it is on my side because fear is not from God. However, I am unable to unclench my fearful hands and rest in Him. Just being completely honest and vulnerable here.

So, if you think about me, please pray that I would be able to let go of this fear and enjoy the next 20 or so weeks of this pregnancy. Thanks!

8 Years

8 Years ago we said "I do" to each other. It's crazy to think that it's been 8 years. In some ways it seems like a blink of an eye and in other ways it seems so much more than 8 years.

In 8 years we have .... lived in 5 different houses in 3 different states. We had 3 children, experienced 2 miscarriages, and now have one on the way. We have experienced some high highs and low lows. We have traveled together and learned to make our marriage a priority. We have fought through some hard times in our marriage and we have come out on the other side and look forward to how God will use this story for His good. We have learned a lot and have a lot to be thankful for. 8 Years! I look forward to all that lies ahead of us.

Jeremy, I love you and I'm thankful for you in our lives. I'm proud of you and all that you have accomplished and the man you are today. I look forward to how God will continue to work in our lives and use our life together to further His kingdom. Thank you for being you and for loving us the way you do! Thank you for being the husband you are, the father you are and the friend to all of us that you are!

I love you!

Lacking ...

My blog has been lacking in content lately. I'm so sorry to all you loyal blog readers ... all 5 of you :) Seriously, Life has been a bit hectic around here lately. We have had dr visits galore around here and we have also been spending a lot of good time just playing and being together. I can't get this time back so we are enjoying it as best we can. So the computer has been off more. I won't apologize for that :)

I hope you all are enjoying your summer and your family time. I'll be back later with updates and blog posts ... We have a lot coming up in our world ... hubby and I's anniversary, Kennedy's THIRD birthday (HOW in the world?!?), we get to find out boy or girl very soon (so very fun) and the first day of Kindergarten for Pace and 1st Grade for Ryan ... I get teary just thinking about it!

... until then ... have a fun rest of your summer! :)

Love

The past couple weeks I have been working with my 3 on learning 1 Corinthians 13. I have seen some behaviors coming out in them that I didn't think was necessary and I wanted to take them back to God's word and talk about what Love is and what Love is not. I wanted them to see and understand how important it is how we treat one another and how we show them love. Especially, how they treat each other as siblings. So we have been going through this chapter verse by verse and learning it and applying it in our lives. We are taking our time because I don't just want them to "memorize it" but I want it to take root in their hearts. I want them to understand these words and understand how to apply it so that it comes out in their day to day actions and reactions.

I pray that these words would be embedded deep in my childrens heart. I pray that my children would be known by their love for each other and their love for others. I pray that as we go through all the fruits of the Spirit that they would be known by their fruit and that fruit would draw others to a relationship with Jesus because of the lives they see lived out before them. I pray that as my children are learning God's word that it would not just merely be words but that it would cause them to change, cause them to have a hunger for more of God's word and that these words would be a guide for how they walk their paths for all the days of their lives.

Psalm 119:105 "Your word is a lamp to my feet And a light to my path."

A New Pediatric GI Doctor

Yesterday, I took Pace for a second opinion. Pace is still in Pain and nothing we were trying was helping. In fact one of the things was actually making it worse. The next thing our GI Doctor wanted to try just didn't seem to make a whole lot of sense to me. Now, I freely admit that I'm not a trained Doctor and I haven't been to med school. However, I am a mom and something inside just told me that we should get a second opinion. I just can't stand seeing my boy in pain and not being able to do anything for him.

So, we made the call to another GI and we got in yesterday. Our other doctor was nice, this doctor was personable. He played games with Pace and made him feel at ease. He actually talked to Pace as well as me and that made him feel included in the process. He took his time with us and he laughed with Pace. Most of all he used words that I can understand and validated my feelings that the route we were about to take with the other Doctor wasn't necessarily the best route to take. I left very thankful for my gut feelings and mothers intuition.

Our next step is that Pace will have a upper GI done next Thursday morning. He will drink some contrast drink and they will take xrays of his intestines. This doctor thinks that his small intestine may be holding on to bacteria and that there may be an overgrowth of bacteria in his intestines. This can cause bloating, abdominal pain, excess gas (Pace's belly is FULL of gas that we could see on the ultrasound), and distension. ALL of the symptoms that Pace has. In the "meantime" he is treating Pace with an antibiotic that is meant to get rid of the overgrowth in his intestine.

So we are hopeful for answers and I finally feel a peace about the direction we are heading with him. I'm praying that this antibiotic will help him find some relief. Thank you for all your prayers for us and our little man! We are very thankful for your care and concern for all of us!

Extreme Couponing or Hoarding?

OK so I talked about this on Facebook yesterday but this is really irritating me!!! Wednesday night I watched my first episode of "Extreme Couponing" on TLC. I found myself getting ANGRY as I watched this show. Let me explain .... The ladies that are doing this - I get the desire to save your family money and for SAHM's to stretch the funds each month. I LOVE it - However, the point that these women who were on Wednesday are at, are doing more than just providing for their families ... I believe they are hoarding.

One woman on the show had $33,000 worth of stockpiled groceries taking over her basement. There's NO WAY her family will eat all that food and she continues to ADD to her stash each week. She could give away 3/4 of her stockpile to families in need around her, a local food pantry, a church, a homeless mission, a shelter for women and children, a pregnancy center, oh the list could go on and on. She actually said that if she were to lose her stockpile that it would be as bad as losing a member of her family - seriously! To lose food would be as bad as losing a living breathing family member?!? I'm not sure how she could even make this statement.

Here's what I'd love to see (TLC if you happen upon this blog for some weird reason) - Let's do a show on extreme couponers who are making a difference in their communities. Let's see them take their skill in couponing and do something with their excess for those who have less than them, those that are suffering in this economy, those who are struggling to put food on the table for their families each month. I'm all for having a stockpile and I applaud these that can do it and only spend $0.45 or something crazy small like that, but lets help others with what we don't need or won't use.

I guess it just struck a chord with me. I have friends who are struggling right now to feed their family, pay their rent, pay their bills and see a show like this and I think "Wow, look how much good they could do." And maybe they do, but with a basement full of $33,000 in groceries ... I see SO MUCH GOOD that could be done instead of dusting that food pile each week.

May 7, 2011

May 7th this year is a date that has changed our family forever, it was our original due date with the baby we lost in September and it was also my Dad's Birthday. Anyway, the day started like any other. Jeremy's parents were in town to celebrate Pace's 5th Birthday with us. They left right after breakfast. We had some errands to run so we got to it. Pace delivered some of the toiletry loot he got at his party to the school/church that he attended. They were taking up a donation for the tornado victims in Alabama.

On our way home, I asked Jeremy if he thought we should stop at the store and buy a test. I knew I was late but I was just thinking it was stress from all that we had going on with Pace and his medical stuff. The LAST thing I thought was we were pregnant. We were doing our best to prevent this from happening. So Jeremy ran in and bought a box of tests and we went home. Again, I did NOT expect it to be positive ... He didn't either.

He and the kids began washing the car. I ran in and thought I'd just get it over with. I was SHOCKED when I saw what it said ... I ran to Jeremy and gave it to him and said this HAS TO BE WRONG .... I told him I'd do it again the next morning and it would be negative :) It wasn't.

We were scared out of our minds. In the past 6 months we have had two miscarriages and the idea of facing a third was overwhelming to say the least. I think I cried for a couple hours - because I was scared, fearful, overwhelmed and wondered if this pregnancy would some how "make it".

We decided to keep it quiet for a while. We didn't want to tell people only to have to go back and tell again that we were not. We told a few close friends and asked them to pray for us, especially for me and my fears.

Well, fast forward 3 weeks and we were able to see a tiny little heartbeat on Friday. We still know that anything can happen, but we decided to share our news and trust that God was doing something and we needed to trust him. Jeremy is still freaking out - his reasons totally manly and different than mine. His fears lie with my health since Pace and Kennedy's pregnancy were so difficult on me and with our finances after the baby is here. My fears are totally just making it to the birth and having a crying/healthy baby on the other side. We are both leaning on God and trusting that he has everything under control and that He will continue to take care of us and our family.

We are beginning to get excited for this new life and starting to dream about what being a family of 6 will be like. Starting to look out for bargain deals on baby stuff as we gave away everything we had :) Dreaming is scary but I have to trust my God and no mater what the outcome, I know he holds me in the palm of his hand. So, we have decided to try our best to not live in fear and to enjoy this process just as we did before the miscarriages.

So if you think about it, you can pray that for us and pray for a healthy baby and pregnancy.