Today was Baby #3's due date.
We still grieve the loss of that precious little one.
But we are so thankful for the healthy, precious new life that is growing within me now!
I look forward to the day that I can meet my third child!
We do not want you to be uninformed, brothers, concerning those who are asleep, so that you will not grieve like the rest, who have no hope. I Thessalonians 4:13
7/31/2009
7/29/2009
Groundhog Day
Ever feel like you've been "here" before?
I've been feeling out of sync lately. I had a great excuse there for a little while, because I was sick. But I don't have that excuse anymore. I feel fine now, for which I'm incredibly grateful. A couple of nights ago, I told Hubs that I was getting frustrated because he and I were on such different schedules, that the boys were going to bed too late, etc. I asked him to help all of us get on a better schedule, a do-able routine.
Then I started thinking that this felt all too familiar. I looked back in my archives for a specific post, and upon finding it, laughed out loud at myself. Exactly a year ago, I faced the same struggle. Seriously?! I can't believe that I am stuck in the same rut.
However, instead of beating myself up over how pathetic all of this seems, I will fall on the mercy of the One who calls to me. And I will wake up tomorrow morning and not hit the snooze button!
I've been feeling out of sync lately. I had a great excuse there for a little while, because I was sick. But I don't have that excuse anymore. I feel fine now, for which I'm incredibly grateful. A couple of nights ago, I told Hubs that I was getting frustrated because he and I were on such different schedules, that the boys were going to bed too late, etc. I asked him to help all of us get on a better schedule, a do-able routine.
Then I started thinking that this felt all too familiar. I looked back in my archives for a specific post, and upon finding it, laughed out loud at myself. Exactly a year ago, I faced the same struggle. Seriously?! I can't believe that I am stuck in the same rut.
However, instead of beating myself up over how pathetic all of this seems, I will fall on the mercy of the One who calls to me. And I will wake up tomorrow morning and not hit the snooze button!
7/27/2009
Tuesdays Unwrapped
First, a big happy birthday to my sister! Hope you have a wonderful day!
We have just returned home from vacation. So, yesterday morning, I was up early-ish getting chores done (laundry!). I was already downstairs when my boys woke up. I heard them stirring and starting to play in their room. Next thing I know, they come traipsing down the stairs dressed like this:
Gator - Lightning McQueen pajamas, a shield, a flyswatter for a sword, and a dart gun.
Bull - t-shirt and diaper, a breastplate, a flyswatter for a sword, and a dart gun.
This made my morning much sweeter and reminded me that having boys isn't so bad. And soon, there will be another little guy dressed for battle over his pajamas, wielding a flyswatter and a dart gun!
I'm unwrapping this gift today! Join in the fun over at Emily's Tuesdays Unwrapped.
7/26/2009
Home
It's good to be home again. We arrived yesterday. Our vacation was wonderful. We got to see some really great things! I'll post pictures, and details after the laundry is done and groceries have been bought.
While we were gone, Hubs' sister had a healthy baby boy. We get to meet our new nephew in about a week! Welcome D!
While we were gone, Hubs' sister had a healthy baby boy. We get to meet our new nephew in about a week! Welcome D!
7/17/2009
Go West Young Men!
Tomorrow we head out on our trek across the wild west. We are visiting the Grand Tetons, Cheyenne, Yellowstone, Little Big Horn, Mount Rushmore and the Black Hills, and Omaha. Gator started asking some questions on the way to school one day, and Hubs (history major that he is) was able to answer most of his questions. Finally, Hubs just decided that we would go see these places that Gator was asking about.
We are looking forward to it - a whole week of vacation with limited cell phone reception! Personally, I can't wait to see Yellowstone. It's one of those places I've always wanted to go! Things will be pretty quiet around the blog for the next week though!
7/15/2009
And the winner is...
Carrie!
There is no ally yet...we are having another boy! I actually figured it out before the sonographer got a chance to tell us. Hubs didn't know what we were looking at exactly. So, I got to tell him!
My new due date is December 23rd. I am actually only 17 weeks now. I thought I would be 19 weeks. Monkey was measuring exactly 16w 5d on Monday. If I stay true to form (seeing how I have delivered early both times), perhaps Monkey's birthday won't fall during the week of Christmas!
Again, we are thrilled that the baby is healthy at this point, and have no reason to believe that it will change.
My sister better watch out though...lots of pink things may be coming her way!
Once we're a little closer to the due date, I will do another contest for those of you who couldn't participate in this one!
There is no ally yet...we are having another boy! I actually figured it out before the sonographer got a chance to tell us. Hubs didn't know what we were looking at exactly. So, I got to tell him!
My new due date is December 23rd. I am actually only 17 weeks now. I thought I would be 19 weeks. Monkey was measuring exactly 16w 5d on Monday. If I stay true to form (seeing how I have delivered early both times), perhaps Monkey's birthday won't fall during the week of Christmas!
Again, we are thrilled that the baby is healthy at this point, and have no reason to believe that it will change.
My sister better watch out though...lots of pink things may be coming her way!
Once we're a little closer to the due date, I will do another contest for those of you who couldn't participate in this one!
7/14/2009
Great news and a contest!
In honor of Tuesdays Unwrapped over at Chatting at the Sky, here's my update from the ultrasound yesterday (click here for the background information).
The short story is that lil' bit is healthy - everything looks good! My due date was wrong and had to be shifted a full two weeks. The measurements are right on track for the new gestational age. Because of the shift, the quad screen had to be retaken so the results could be recalculated. One thing is for sure though, lil' bit was moving and shaking in there- so much so that the sonographer was beginning to get frustrated!
Hubs and I are so thankful that we have another healthy baby on the way. Thanks to those of you who prayed for us. Our attitudes were great the entire time and fear was nowhere around!
So, here's the contest.
In the comments, answer these questions:
What is my new due date (month and day) - will we have a little turkey or a Christmas baby?
Are we expanding our man-herd or will I finally have an ally in this house?
Be sure that I have a way to get in touch with you! I'm putting together a little prize package for the person who gets both answers correct.
If you're one of the handful of people who already know the answers, please be fair and don't guess. Feel free to leave a comment though!
7/12/2009
Fear or Faith?
Fear can be paralyzing: a constant companion, a debilitating force in a person’s life. I have never been a fearful person. Of course, I have been scared before – a nightmare, a movie, a dark street, forgetting to lock the front door while Hubs was deployed. But fear has been fleeting and never a nagging presence. I have always been able to shake it off.
That is until this pregnancy.
When I found out I was pregnant, I had just miscarried a few months before. So I spent the first couple of weeks worried about miscarrying again. Then, I got very sick - a blessing in disguise, because I didn’t have the energy to think about anything besides getting better. A few weeks later, I got to hear the baby’s heartbeat, relieving some of the anxious energy I had been having.
On Wednesday, my midwife called and told me that my quad screen came back with an increased risk for Down Syndrome. I have been scheduled for a Level 2 ultrasound at a hospital an hour away on Monday morning. Quite frankly, the thought of having a child with special needs doesn’t scare me or make me nervous. The thing that I have been thinking about the most is the health risks associated with DS.
I’m just curious why this temptation to give into fear keeps coming up for me. Please understand that I am not being captivated or debilitated by this fear. It just keeps rearing its ugly head more than I like. I decided at the beginning that the only way to deal with it was to take those thoughts captive and replace them with Scripture. This was the only way I survived post-partum depression after Bull was born. Thus far it has worked and has kept the fear at bay on some days and completely defeated on other days.
Hubs and I are choosing faith over fear. The beauty is that we can choose how we will respond to the circumstance laid before us. We are praying that the baby is healthy. If the baby is diagnosed with Down Syndrome, that he/she would have no health problems. Would you pray with us?
Are you facing a similar circumstance in your life? I pray that the scriptures that I have relied on over the last few months will encourage you to choose faith over fear!
You will keep in perfect peace him whose mind is steadfast, because he trusts in You. Isaiah 26:3
“For I know the plans that I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans for welfare and not for calamity to give you a future and a hope.” Jeremiah 29:11
Humble yourselves, therefore, under God’s mighty hand, that he may lift you up in due time. Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you. 1 Peter 5:6-7
Finally, brethren, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is of good repute, if there is any excellence and if anything worthy of praise, dwell on these things. Philippians 4:8
Why are you downcast, O my soul? Why so disturbed within me? Put your hope in God, for I will yet praise him, my Savior and my God. Psalm 42:11
For you did not receive a spirit that makes you a slave again to fear, but you received the Spirit of sonship. And by him we cry, "Abba, Father." Romans 8:15
Peace I leave with you; My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Do not let your heart be troubled, nor let it be fearful. John 14:27
Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever. Hebrews 13:8
Now to Him who is able to do far more abundantly beyond all that we ask or think, according to the power that works within us, to Him be the glory in the church and in Christ Jesus to all generations forever and ever. Amen. Ephesians 3:20-21
That is until this pregnancy.
When I found out I was pregnant, I had just miscarried a few months before. So I spent the first couple of weeks worried about miscarrying again. Then, I got very sick - a blessing in disguise, because I didn’t have the energy to think about anything besides getting better. A few weeks later, I got to hear the baby’s heartbeat, relieving some of the anxious energy I had been having.
On Wednesday, my midwife called and told me that my quad screen came back with an increased risk for Down Syndrome. I have been scheduled for a Level 2 ultrasound at a hospital an hour away on Monday morning. Quite frankly, the thought of having a child with special needs doesn’t scare me or make me nervous. The thing that I have been thinking about the most is the health risks associated with DS.
I’m just curious why this temptation to give into fear keeps coming up for me. Please understand that I am not being captivated or debilitated by this fear. It just keeps rearing its ugly head more than I like. I decided at the beginning that the only way to deal with it was to take those thoughts captive and replace them with Scripture. This was the only way I survived post-partum depression after Bull was born. Thus far it has worked and has kept the fear at bay on some days and completely defeated on other days.
Hubs and I are choosing faith over fear. The beauty is that we can choose how we will respond to the circumstance laid before us. We are praying that the baby is healthy. If the baby is diagnosed with Down Syndrome, that he/she would have no health problems. Would you pray with us?
Are you facing a similar circumstance in your life? I pray that the scriptures that I have relied on over the last few months will encourage you to choose faith over fear!
You will keep in perfect peace him whose mind is steadfast, because he trusts in You. Isaiah 26:3
“For I know the plans that I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans for welfare and not for calamity to give you a future and a hope.” Jeremiah 29:11
Humble yourselves, therefore, under God’s mighty hand, that he may lift you up in due time. Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you. 1 Peter 5:6-7
Finally, brethren, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is of good repute, if there is any excellence and if anything worthy of praise, dwell on these things. Philippians 4:8
Why are you downcast, O my soul? Why so disturbed within me? Put your hope in God, for I will yet praise him, my Savior and my God. Psalm 42:11
For you did not receive a spirit that makes you a slave again to fear, but you received the Spirit of sonship. And by him we cry, "Abba, Father." Romans 8:15
Peace I leave with you; My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Do not let your heart be troubled, nor let it be fearful. John 14:27
Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever. Hebrews 13:8
Now to Him who is able to do far more abundantly beyond all that we ask or think, according to the power that works within us, to Him be the glory in the church and in Christ Jesus to all generations forever and ever. Amen. Ephesians 3:20-21
7/08/2009
7/07/2009
Tuesdays Unwrapped
Emily is hosting Tuesdays Unwrapped today and I'm joining in the fun!
We have had lots of visitors this week! And we have more coming! I'm really excited!
Here are some pictures of our fun so far (except that blogger won't let me upload them for some reason):
I'm enjoying the gift of feeling well enough to entertain. It is more tiring than it was just four months ago, but totally worth it!
We have had lots of visitors this week! And we have more coming! I'm really excited!
Here are some pictures of our fun so far (except that blogger won't let me upload them for some reason):
I'm enjoying the gift of feeling well enough to entertain. It is more tiring than it was just four months ago, but totally worth it!
7/01/2009
(Definitely not) Wordless Wednesday
Some of the birds that have been visiting every day (these were taken through the screen, so forgive the blurriness):
Lots of things, listed in an orderly format, for your convenience:
1. I have been thinking that I've been feeling lil' bit swimming for about a week now, but I wasn't sure. I definitely felt him/her move while I was sitting in Church on Sunday (at 16.5 weeks)! I am now 17 weeks, and the baby is the size of my hand spread open wide. My next appointment and my sonogram are at the end of July.
2. My house is FINALLY clean. While I was sick, we were doing just the bare minimum to keep things hygienic around here. This past weekend, we all worked very hard to get the house up to my standard of cleanliness (which isn't too terribly high).
3. My sewing machine has been very busy as well. I've made curtains (out of old bedskirts!), and tablecloths (out of sheets!). I'm also working on a couple of other projects that can't be shared just yet.
4. I have seen an incredible increase in my boys' creativity of late. Truly, this is one of the most wonderful joys of parenthood! Their imagination is amazing! Also, we are seeing marked improvement in Bull's potty training. Yippee!
5. Kristy asked me recently if Kansas is feeling like home yet. At the time, the answer would have been "kind of." I am beyond thrilled to report that now we do feel at home. Life is normal again, full of routine with a healthy dose of flexibility. I am able to do what I love the most - take care of my family. And that makes it feel like home.
6. We have a very busy two weeks ahead of us. We are hosting the first round of visitors to our new it-really-feels-like-it-now home. First, my parents are coming today and leave on Sunday. Then, some friends from our Navy days are arriving Sunday night and staying through Tuesday morning. Finally, the Hubs' parents arrive on Thursday and go home on Tuesday. Whew! I know we will have lots of fun, in spite of the busy-ness.
7. I will be taking pictures of our home very soon to show you where we live (now that it looks and feels like home).
8. Hubs had the incredible privilege of leading a soldier to Christ last week. The next day, he was able to pray at the soldier's deployment ceremony before he left for Iraq for a year. We are so excited and so humbled that God allowed Hubs to be witness to his salvation. Please pray for the soldier to be discipled by someone while he is deployed!
1. I have been thinking that I've been feeling lil' bit swimming for about a week now, but I wasn't sure. I definitely felt him/her move while I was sitting in Church on Sunday (at 16.5 weeks)! I am now 17 weeks, and the baby is the size of my hand spread open wide. My next appointment and my sonogram are at the end of July.
2. My house is FINALLY clean. While I was sick, we were doing just the bare minimum to keep things hygienic around here. This past weekend, we all worked very hard to get the house up to my standard of cleanliness (which isn't too terribly high).
3. My sewing machine has been very busy as well. I've made curtains (out of old bedskirts!), and tablecloths (out of sheets!). I'm also working on a couple of other projects that can't be shared just yet.
4. I have seen an incredible increase in my boys' creativity of late. Truly, this is one of the most wonderful joys of parenthood! Their imagination is amazing! Also, we are seeing marked improvement in Bull's potty training. Yippee!
5. Kristy asked me recently if Kansas is feeling like home yet. At the time, the answer would have been "kind of." I am beyond thrilled to report that now we do feel at home. Life is normal again, full of routine with a healthy dose of flexibility. I am able to do what I love the most - take care of my family. And that makes it feel like home.
6. We have a very busy two weeks ahead of us. We are hosting the first round of visitors to our new it-really-feels-like-it-now home. First, my parents are coming today and leave on Sunday. Then, some friends from our Navy days are arriving Sunday night and staying through Tuesday morning. Finally, the Hubs' parents arrive on Thursday and go home on Tuesday. Whew! I know we will have lots of fun, in spite of the busy-ness.
7. I will be taking pictures of our home very soon to show you where we live (now that it looks and feels like home).
8. Hubs had the incredible privilege of leading a soldier to Christ last week. The next day, he was able to pray at the soldier's deployment ceremony before he left for Iraq for a year. We are so excited and so humbled that God allowed Hubs to be witness to his salvation. Please pray for the soldier to be discipled by someone while he is deployed!
That's all for now! Chores and errands await.
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