Thankful hearts

Last night at dinner, I asked the kiddos what they were thankful for.   Ava responded right away with "kisses".  JG chimed in with "Carol (my aunt) and all his friends".  Ava added "Mrs.Nicky."  Adrian said "Christi" (my sister)  My list went on and on.

Bed Rest Countdown: 13

13 weeks down/3 more to go (to 38 weeks)!  YEA, we've made it to 35 weeks.  There is now a light at the end of the tunnel.  I stopped taking some meds this week and most of the yucky things I had going on are gone!  What a blessing.  I'm so excited that we will be welcoming another little boy into our family before too long.  Besides a messy house, I feel like we are close to being ready.

Special blessings this week:
Mom and Dad moving furniture and fixing the crib for me
Bible study and my precious friends
Nicky and Lauren coming to play yesterday
all my precious kids

Too big

Too Big

Bed Rest Countdown: 12

12 weeks down/4 weeks to go!  34 weeks pregnant!  I went to the doctor yesterday and had a 3-D ultrasound.  Everything looks good and they estimate that our precious boy weighs a whopping 5 1/2lbs.  

This last week, I didn't feel so well and didn't do much.  The only thing I accomplished was ordering a cute hat from Esty that matches baby boy's coming home outfit.  Other than that, the week was filled with reading, emails, sudoku, and playing with the kids.  While I lay here doing little, my list of things to do before the baby comes keeps growing: find/wash infant car seat, wash bassinet bedding, reassemble the swing, and locate the snap and go stroller base for the infant car seat are just a few to add.  I guess I'm nesting from the couch.

Things I'm especially thankful for this week:
my aunt Carol and her embroidery lessons
mom helping me start organizing baby clothes/drawers and getting all the cloth parts of baby gear washed
fresh fruit (can't stand the canned stuff)
friends bringing yummy meals
new nanny Rachel and her talkative personality
school (as JG seems to like it so far)
car pool

Cravings update:  I've not had any to-die-for type cravings lately, but fried chicken tenders have crossed my mind a few times.  Why can't I crave carrots and broccoli instead?!

Back to School for JG

Watch out first grade, here comes JG!  He woke up by his own alarm clock at 6:45am, got dressed, and was in the kitchen making breakfast for himself before we were even out of bed.  He was very excited and looking forward to a fun day and a chance to use all his new school supplies. 

Oh, and thank you Jesse for taking all the great pictures.  It helps me feel like I was there too!

Bed Rest Countdown: 11

11 weeks down/5 weeks to go (as of last Wednesday!  Not too much to report here except that I haven't been feeling well lately.  I'm tired most of the time and every time I move my legs, stand up, or sit, it hurts.  Even with my list of ailments, I'm so happy that the baby and I made it another week.

Like most kids, JG starts school this Monday.  He seems pretty excited and I know that the change will be good for all of us. 

Here are a few pics: meet the teacher, bed rest portrait with Adrian, and my little space cowboy

Brothers

Brothers reading together.  Sweet summer memory for me!

(Sorry for bad cell phone pics.  They are better than no pics, right?)

The Interrupted Life

After Saturdays pity party post, I knew I needed to follow up with something better.  Something encouraging, uplifting, and challenging is definitely in order... more for me than for you  ;)

A week or 2 ago, a sweet friend, Amanda, came by for a visit and brought me a huge bag of treats.  This bag included at least 6 new books and 3 new movies from one of the local Christian bookstores.  What a fun blessing!  Anyway, one of the books that she included was the shortened version of a Priscilla Shirer study called The Interrupted Life: Lessons from Jonah.  The study is about how God uses the interruptions in life to invite us to be part of something more with Him.  Today's chapter, titled Shortcuts, made me pause to think for a few minutes.  The focus of this chapter was how so many of us (and Biblical examples including Naaman) want to take shortcuts in obeying God.  He gives us directions and we try to find the quickest way to get there, instead of following the plan He has laid out.  I couldn't relate more!!  I'm constantly looking for shortcuts for my every day life including things like 10 minute meals, school supply packs, frozen veggies, wrinkle-free clothing, etc. and naturally, that mentality has bled over to my spiritual life.  I'm not putting in the effort required to have the results I desire!  That deserves a big fat AMEN on so many levels!  While I've been praying for His help to motivate me and help me connect with Him, I need to do what I already know I'm suppose to do (reading, prayer, scripture memory, confession, etc) to help get me there.  He has already laid out the plan for connecting with Him and let me tell you, there are no shortcuts!!   Satan LOVES that we LOVE shortcuts.   When we take them, we always miss out.  So, I don't know if anyone out there relates to this, (or even if many people read it), but if you do, I encourage you to take a minute and ask God where you might be taking shortcuts in obedience to Him.  Then try it His way and be blessed :)

Bed Rest Blues

While things have been going pretty well at our house, I'm on the verge of a pity party.  I've done well not to throw any others over the past 10 weeks but today I feel so out of sorts.  I'd like to attribute this to hormones amongst a variety of other things, but that won't do me any good.  Overall, I guess you could say that I'm just tired of doing the same things every day.... reading, computer, sudoku, and only playing with the kids from the confines of the couch.  I mean, I've been laying here for approximately 73 days people!!  It's getting harder to watch the kids and Jesse leave the house without feeling a little jealous or wanting to cry...  Agh!  I wish I wasn't feeling selfish today.  You can pray that God will give me a change of heart so that for the remaining 5 weeks and 4 days, I might look at things from His perspective (again) and take my baby growing job as seriously as I should.  Thanks blogger for letting me vent  :)

Bed Rest Countdown: 10

10 weeks down/6 weeks to go!  Baby weighed in at 4lbs 3oz. and was moving like crazy.  My cervical length isn't as good as it was 3 weeks ago, but I think that is pretty much to be expected as the baby continues gaining 1/2lb. per week.  6 weeks to go and so much that needs to be done: crib set up, moving furniture and closets around as Adrian moves to JG's room, washing all the baby gear, finding a coming home outfit, and picking a name (and that doesn't include all the back to school stuff for my other 3 kiddos).

This last weekend was special as 2 of my friends (Emily & Angie) came and took me to their weekend scrapbook retreat.  I took a short ride to Emily's husband's corporate apartment and lounged on a queen size bed they'd sat up in the living room.  A bunch of ladies worked on their scrapbooking and I managed to start Adrian's first year album.  I spent most of my time just selecting and uploading the first 6 months of photos but I've had fun the last few days making the actual scrapbook pages on Shutterfly.  It will feel great to accomplish this project before the baby comes.  Oh--and it was GREAT to be out of the house and spending time with a bunch of ladies that catered to my every whim :)

Heard a song today on the radio that brought tears to my eyes... don't know what song, but the part that stuck is "my hope is in the Lord all day long" or something along those lines.  Loved thinking about the truth of that today.

Relaxing with mommy

Veggie tales, snack, blankie, and mommy.  Nice end to a long day (and summer) of togetherness.

Bed Rest Countdown: 9

9 weeks down/7 weeks to go and 31 weeks pregnant!  Went to the doctor today and the baby gained 9oz. since last week!  Atta boy.  I'm feeling pretty good still minus the almost constant reflux.  I did figure out that if I eat a bowl of Quaker Oat Squares with milk before bed, I  don't have reflux at all.  Weird!  I'd much rather eat a bowl of cereal than a handful of Tums that are filled with artificial colors and flavors.  I wonder if those extra calories right before bed helped the baby put on the weight this week...

Things I'm thankful for today:
elastic
hair bands
comfy yoga pants
flip flops
leftovers
VBS
friends that I can call for help: Katherine to pick up JG from VBS and Nancy to grab us some groceries
plentiful games and books to share with the kids
bottled water (our tastes like dirt right now)
nanny Sarah (loving us, baking muffins for the kids breakfast this week, and going to the store)
game night with Dondi and Keri (including Russo's pizza and many laughs from the Men are from Mars,      
     Women are from Venus game)

Cravings this week:  Nothing special except my usual sweet tooth.  Lately I've been trying to satisfy it with  either homemade trail mix of almonds and chocolate chips or all natural fruit popsicles.  Now that I think more about it, yesterday I did have ice cream and chocolate pound cake cupcakes on the brain.  Good thing I can't bake right now or run to the store :)

Thanks Lord for another healthy week filled with loving friends and the joy they bring.