Thankful for Elastic

I currently am 8 months pregnant. I have 29 days until the due date on November 21st. I have been stretching those elastic waistbands a little farther these days. :) Things I have noticed lately:

>it is harder to get a good night's sleep , or even roll over in bed
>I am moving even slower than I have been (which I thought was all ready pretty slow)

>I have to space my errands throughout the week (no more fitting it all in on Fridays)

>Eating is not fun - there's no where to put it

>My feet hurt, so I am thankful for plush socks

>Pregnancy brain is in full force - what was I saying?
>I have to be thankful for the little things that make life easier - like elastic!

On a better note, my husband seems to be full of energy. He's spent the last several weekends (when he's been healthy) doing errands around the house. Fix this, paint that, build something new, organize this, toss old junk, hang a picture....!



We've had a fun time preparing the nursery. The last minute details are coming together. We still need to finalize a few things, and the calendar is pretty full the next two weeks. So if she can wait to meet us until at least Nov 8th!, then we will feel "ready". That sounds likely, but we'll see what the doc says later today.
The last few days have been hard due to both boys having the flu, and we are praying I do not get it. That seems to be a familiar story lately. I haven't felt ready for winter....ever....but we are looking forward to staying in and relaxing once the new baby girl arrives.

3rd Trimester, the End of Summer and Beginning of School

I am currently in my third trimester of this pregnancy. I feel excited getting closer to the due date and yet anxious at the same time. I have 10 weeks left to get a lot of things done. This baby girl still needs a name, I would like to do more work on getting her room ready for her, and then there's the list of STUFF we have to buy....

The summer ended well for us. We spent a couple weeks in Kentucky visiting my sister and her family after the birth of their 2nd boy. The cousins had as much fun catching up and playing as we sisters did! We also took a weekend camping trip that has been three years in the waiting. It was a fun time together out in the "wild" nature.

Our boys started back to school this week. The transition has been easier then expected. I guess my almost 10 year old and 8 year old boys are growing up. Eric is practically in men's size clothing and he's built like a pillar. Joel grew 2 inches over the summer and looks like such a handsome man more and more. He even shares his brother's socks now! They are both getting so big and grown up. Eric loves/prefers being goofy and silly most of the time. Joel is as serious as Eric is goofy. They both make me laugh everyday. Looking at them, it is hard to believe my life sometimes. Especially when I get a glimpse of my growing belly and remember I get to start again-but with a girl. WOW! Parenting is such a great privilege and responsibility. I am thankful every day. I'll leave you with a fun story overheard during the drive to school this morning.

Eric: Hey, Mom! Did you hear about the new breed of dog discovered?

Mom: thinking this is a lead-in to another Eric joke...No, I haven't heard about it. Tell me!

Eric: It is a mixed breed with Docksin and Yorkie. Guess what they call it! A DORKIE!

Mom: Are you serious or did you just make that up?

Eric: No-really. It is real. My teacher told us yesterday!

After a little research on my part, we found out it is a mix of Dachshund and Yorkie! See http://dogbreedinfo.com/dorkie.htm for pictures.

What do ya know!

My Kid's are great!

One Month Left

No, not of my pregnancy, but one month of SUMMER left! It is bitter sweet. We are sad so much of our summer has passed, but are also glad to have still another month to enjoy the extra free time as a family. Our Summer Wish List has a few more items left undone. August should take care of that! We leave sometime in the next 7 days for a trip to Kentucky to visit and help my sister with the arrival of their newest little baby. We also want to take our boys camping at a nearby campground. Eric and Joel both requested to go fishing as well, so I hope we can accomplish camping and fishing in the same trip. A few requirements of camping this time: 1) It must be in a tent, 2) It cannot be in the back yard!, and 3) SMORES over a real campfire are required. I think we can accomplish that. Just don't ask me to clean or cook any fish we may catch! As long as we can bring an air mattress, I think it will be a good time. No TV, no video games, no house work or regular chores, just good "clean" outdoor fun! If anyone has good campfire meals, pass 'em on! This will be the first time we will have taken the boys camping "for real".
With summer coming to an end, I hope you can find the time to fit in those activities you reserved for your summer. There's no time like the present!

The Wait is Over

After 20 long weeks, we have been given some great news. We are going to have a girl! A sonogram today showed a healthy, beautiful, baby girl! We feel like we have been given a gift. We asked God for a girl, we tried for a girl, and God answered, "YES!" We are grateful to get to take care of a daughter. I see pink and purple in our future, and bows and ribbons, and dresses and ruffles, and tea parties and princesses. Or maybe she'll be more like her mother and climb trees and pitch softball, play kickball with the boys and build cities out of blocks with her brothers! We can't wait to meet her. Thanks be to God for his indescribable goodness!

Summer Season Salutations

Summer is a great time at our house! I love the extra time together with the boys, and I enjoy the extra hands around to help with house work! We have taken it mostly easy during this first month of the summer break. The boys have played in the sprinkler an average of 3 days a week. I am feeling well most of the time and am grateful for the renewed energy. I am currently in my 18th week of the pregnancy and getting antsy for our sonogram in less than two weeks. My next post will most likely reveal the baby's gender. For now, "Baby Morgan" has a nice ring to it!

July will be a fast and busy month. We always look forward to celebrating the 4th. We have planned a vacation in July, and Scott's big trade show for work is in July this year. August will be a month to visit with family in KY, relax as much as possible, and plan for the school year.

I can't believe I will have a 5th and 3rd grader this year. Each year they grow, I recognize the changes they have experienced and the changes it makes in the family as our kids grow up. We've been spending time watching old home videos and I am so thankful we have them. Time does go so fast. Kids do change so much. It reminds me to appreciate the everyday things, because we only get one today!

Hope you enjoy your season in life, whatever it may be today!

Counting down

One trimester down; two to go. I am officially through my first trimester and have a sense of relief. I have woken up the last few days feeling better than I have in the last month, but I am more tired now. I think that all my energy has funneled to controlling the nausea and keeping myself from throwing up! It has been a difficult and tiring task. It has all seemed to catch up with me lately. God knew I would need to be feeling better though....
Two weeks in a cast....My 7 year old spent the day in doctors offices yesterday. He hurt his foot at a birthday party Tuesday night and is now in a light blue foot cast. It was hard to send him off to school today. I stood watching him hobble on his large foot from the car to the school building. Part of me just wanted to keep him home again today; but he is tough, and he wanted to get back to doing things on his own. The hardest part is that he will have to sit out the rest of the soccer season and a couple weeks from Tae Kwon Do. While it is hard to see him struggle, I am so proud of his bravery!
Eric, my 10 year old, has seen this as a challenge for him to step up and help out even more. I am so proud of him. He's not complained or gotten frustrated. I can hear his sweet voice saying, "sure, Mom! I'll be right there" or " okay, Joel. I'll get it for you!"
Two weeks of school left and we can all relax a little bit. Everyone here is looking forward to summer break, summer weather, and summer fun.
We've spent lots of time counting down lately to the things we'd rather be doing. Sometimes looking forward gets us through the tough times of the present.

Getting Thru Nauseaville

Pregnancy after 30 has been very symptomatic for me. I feel OLD, and tired, and nauseous, and sleepy, and sick, and weak, and gaggy. . . need I say more? While the symptoms of this pregnancy seem more noticeable, they are shadowed by the excitement. Having two eager children, together with Scott and I, increases the anticipation and wonderment of pregnancy. Almost daily the boys ask me, "how 'tall' is the baby now?" Can I tell my friends? My teacher? Our neighbors? They are thrilled, to say the least. We are tracking the baby's development using an online resource and they are amazed at the pictures of unborn, growing, alive babies. From the size of a lentil at 6 weeks along -- to its present size of 1 and 1/4 inch at 10 weeks (about the size of a kumquat seen above), picturing our tiny baby is nothing short of awesome. Realizing the amount of growth and development that will take place over the next 6 months overwhelms us with the truth that God performs miracles for us and within us each day!