A girl?!?

When I found out that we were being blessed with another daughter, I wanted to tell the kids in a fun and creative way. So, being a girl myself, I did what we girls do best; I shopped! I found a really cute set of onesies and cute little pink and brown horse and decided to wrap them up and let the kids "unwrap" the baby's gender. When I got home, Rob had already told the kids that we knew what we were having. They were so excited, but the boys were just literally jumping like they had ants in their pants in anticipation. "I know we're having a boy!" (that would be Phillip) "Aww Mom, why do we have to wait? Can't you just tell us now?" (That would be Bobby) "Mommy, Mommy, I think I know, I think I know, but I don't want to tell the boys!" (that would be Ria, who must have overheard our conversation on the phone, because she guessed correctly that the baby was a girl, but was kind enough not to tell the boys!) Eventually, I put the items in a gift bag and we passed it around to the little ones. Every one got to take a guess as to what they thought we were having. Ria and Daniel were on the girl side, while the boys were adamant that there was no way that this baby was not a boy. The shock on their faces as Ria pulled out our pink treasures was hilarious. They were screaming and yelling and Ria and Daniel were doing a little happy dance. I think it's safe to say that everyone is happy that we're having a girl, not that we'd be upset if we were having a boy, but I guess we're just ready for yet another princess!

Things that give me the warm fuzzies....

A cold rainy day, hot coffee, a warm blanket and a good book
Cuddling in bed with my kiddo's
Chocolate followed by a cold Dr.Pepper
Popcorn accompanied by a good movie
A movie that makes me cry really hard...
Laughing
Hearing a sermon and knowing that God is speaking to my heart
Seeing my husband's beautiful (yes beautiful!) smile
The realization that God hears the prayers of little insignificant me...
Hearing my husband whisper "It's going to be okay" in my ear
Hearing Ria giggle that sweet little girl giggle...
Watching my two oldest boys become young men
Hearing my mom say that I'm creating beautiful memories for my children
Looking back over the years with Rob and realizing that I'd marry him all over again
Great conversations with friends
Understanding just how much God really loves me
Kisses from my 11 year old
Hearing my three year old Say "I love you mama" for no reason
Rob grabbing my hand as we walk
A good book that I can't put down
Laying my head on my soft pillow after a rough day and closing my eyes
My children bringing me breakfast in bed when I'm sick
My breakfast in bed actually tasting good!

Sara or Jonathan?

I had no idea that at only 17 weeks, I would be able to discover the gender of our new little one. I was excited when my friend Deanna related to me how early she found out that she would be havinga a daughter. I guess that would be the one perk of being considered "high risk" in terms of my pregnancy. I see a perinatologist monthly to monitor the baby's growth and development. Diabetes can be very dangerous for the babies involved if glucose levels are not tightly controlled. Though I don't enjoy being poked and prodded on a monthly basis I am comforted to know how things are going. We recieved a glowing report the day before Thanksgiving that the baby was strong and healthy, with no malformations. The baby is growing at the rate that is to be expected for the gestational age. We also discovered that the baby was actually a baby girl! When the doctor revealed this to me, I giggled out loud and said "Seriously?" I laughed so hard I could see my oversized tummy jiggle. I don't know what I found so funny, except for the fact that I knew that we were going to have a little Jonathan. It still seems unreal to me, although I am happy about it. I suppose I imagined that Ria and I would remain the sole Queen and princess of the household. Of course, Ria is thrilled to have a sister at last, and she can't seem to stop talking to Sara and kissing my baby bump. Daniel seems a bit confused and calls the baby Sara and Jonathan. I do admit my own excitement at the prospect of future pink purchases. I wanted to post pictures of the adorable onesies that I bought when I found out, but for some reason I can't access my blog from home, and I'm typing this at the library right now. Hopefully Rob can figure out what is going on with my computer so that I can catch up on my blogging. Either way, wer're so happy to know that we're having a little Sara in May. I'll post later about how I told the kids that they would be having a sister!

Lord I will love you...

Perhaps you've seen the movie, Facing the Giants and you recognize that line from the movie. It has been a quote that has enabled me to hold onto the Lord throughout the many trials I have faced in the past few years. For those of you who don't know or don't remember, the wife of the coach in the movie had her heart set on becoming a mother. She seemed to be having trouble conceiving and soon discovered that it was her husband who had a problem which led to their childlessness. At one point as her husband held her, he asked her, "Will you still love the Lord if he doesn't give us a baby?" Initially she held him and wept. Later in the movie, she left her ob's office sad and dejected as she received yet again the news that she was not pregnant. As she stood in the parking lot of her doctor's office, she looked up to the heavens with tears in her eyes and said, "Lord, I will still love you, I will still love you..." Of course, if you've seen the movie you know that a nurse runs out to tell her that her test was mixed up with someone else's test and she is, in fact, pregnant. I cry every time at that point in the movie! Well, in my own life, I've experienced some bitter times as well as many blessings. Lately, I've had to deal with a great deal of struggles and hardships and it's been really difficult to deal with. I've wanted to give up, walk away, quit my life, and all that it entails. Forget homeschooling, forget attempting to live a Godly life, forget trying to be a good mom and wife... Forget it all. It is at these times when the Lord has gently whispered into my ear, "will you still love me?" Will you still love me when you're struggling? Will you still love me when it's hard, will you still love me when the doctors are telling you you're probably having a miscarriage? My answer, of course is "Yes Lord, I will still love you." It was the clearest to me on the way to the emergency room last week when I started bleeding. I was so scared, I wanted this baby so bad. I thought, "Lord, aren't we going through enough? I can't handle anything else, I can't handle losing this child!" Again I heard that gentle voice speaking to my heart. I turned to Rob, who is usually calm, but looked quite flustered as he raced to the emergency room. "Honey, regardless of what happens today, I want you to know that I will still love God." He gave me a nervous smile and replied, " I know honey, we both will." "He's our Father and we can trust him, in all things, and even in this." As I lay in the bed while the nurse searched for a heartbeat, I don't even remember breathing. I was so scared, but I was going to trust God's will in this. It seemed like time was standing still as the nurse fumbled to find the baby's heartbeat... "Where do they usually find it?" she asked. I suppose I replied, though I don't remember what I said. After what seemed like hours, I heard that familiar and oh so welcome sound of my child's beating heart. Immediately I started breathing again and the tears began to slowly cascade down my weary face. Then the floodgates opened... I couldn't stop the tears, so much so, that the nurse sounded as if she were talking to a five year old as she tried to coax me into not crying... I had decided that I was going to trust God's will if he chose to take this baby home to him, but I was relieved that he allowed us to continue to anticipate the birth of our new little one. I'm still not out of the woods according to my many doctors (four now), but either way, whatever happens in my life or with this precious one growing in my womb, I have decided that I will love God no matter what.

Food, Java, and Man's land...The Perfect Date

I just had the best date with my husband. We both woke up a little blah this morning, perhaps it was the "24" marathon that we engaged in last night as we caught up on the one show we actually watch. There is something about watching the good guys catch the bad guys, but I digress. We went to church and were of course inspired by the great teaching of our pastor and by the worship service led by our new worship leader. It was just what the doctor ordered, even if we were foolish enough to stay up until 2:30 last night! The kids were with my mom, so someone mentioned that we should go on a date, go figure... Why didn't we think of that? We had a very low key lunch at Luby's where I was able to get a semi-healthy meal with plenty of veggies which I was happy about because I'm really trying to keep my glucose levels under control... It was just great sitting together, talking and laughing. We talked about our dreams, the Lord and what we felt he is teaching us and all of this with no interruptions from children or me playing referee between the four of them! We decided to go to get some coffee and for once, dh wanted to sit INSIDE the coffeehouse and yep you guessed it TALK! Wow! I was amazed. He is the king of, let's pick it up and go home, so I was thrilled to sit and chat over coffee. When we finished with our coffee, I had a great idea. Here is how the conversation went. ME:"Hey honey, why don't we do something fun before we go home?" DH:Looking like a deer caught in headlights; "Umm, well, what did you have in mind?" ME:Well, since it's our anniversary next month, why don't we go and spend some imaginary money on an anniversary gift for us?" DH: Staring blankly out of the window... "Well...umm...err.."ME:Come on sweetie, we can goto Best Buy." DH:Looking as if he had just won the lottery."Well, hey, sure, that sounds fun!" Okay, so he doesn't like to shop except at "man stores"... So we strolled through Best Buy perusing the flat screen televisions envisioning something nice and big for our game room.(Which is also imaginary for the moment) We laughed and joked and sat down and compared the different sizes and brands and as silly as it seems, we had alot of fun. It was the best date we've had in a long time. I don't know if that's good or sad! Either way, in case you're wondering, we purchased a 50 inch panasonic, of course, that is, we would have, but sadly enough, the store refused to take our imaginary money!

Superwoman throws a party!

Tonight we had a birthday celebration for Robert's birthday. His actual birthday was on Halloween, but we were at church that night and decided to wait until today to actually celebrate. The kids were excited and we spent the day cleaning, since Rob doesn't really like "gifts", but does enjoy a super clean house. It was such a blessing to see the boys so excited about cleaning up for their Dad. Bobby tackled the bathroom while Phillip and I doubled up in the kitchen. With my pregnancy, housework has not been a high priority, so we had quite a bit to do. Of course Daniel was "tired" as he always is when it comes to cleaning, but Ria was a trooper in picking up and putting things away. While Ria and I prepared and baked Rob's birthday cake (pineapple upside down cake) the boys attacked the mountain of laundry in the living room while watching Peter Pan. I cooked Rob chicken spaghetti with a salad and green beans, not realizing that Rob had actually requested grilled chicken with rice... Somewhere in our conversation on Sunday, I turned the volume off and ignored the last part of our conversation when he asked me to grill the chicken. It wasn't a big deal, but I wanted the meal to be special to him and in my frustration I almost started crying because I felt that the evening was ruined without the chicken. Obviously I was having a very pregnant hormonal moment. He was not upset at all, but I was, so I put on my superwoman cape, which I have been trying to wean myself from, and grabbed some chicken breast, marinade and a plastic bag. I warmed up the grill, marinated the chicken for about 25 minutes and presto, my desire to cry subsided. Of course, Rob assured me that there was no need for me to cook the chicken, but I am of course, superwoman! Mom and Dad came over for dinner and we all sat down and had a great dinner. Every one loved the food and the cake was a big hit. Most of all, Rob was happy. The kids all made cards for Dad and the older kids wrote him letters. He loved the "gifts" and I felt bad, because in the busyness of my day, I, superwoman, forgot to write my own happy birthday letter. Oh well, I guess I'll hang up that cape again, or atleast send it to the cleaners.

I can't think of a cute or funny title

Okay, so originally, this blog was supposed to be all about our school, but I find myself wanting to write about other things, and I just don't have it in me to write more than one blog at a time. I do enjoy writing, though I often get so busy that I'm too tired and worn out to blog. This has been nice though. I am in my 13th week and I'm feeling much better albeit, tired. Obviously, I have nothing important to say, I just feel like typing, either that or eat some chocolate. Hmm...now there's a thought. Umm,I've got to go,I think I hear dark chocolate calling me,I mean one of my kids calling me...

Am I in the right place?

Here is a scenario, I am itchy and want to find out what I can take as a pregnant person. Okay, so I log onto my ob's website and what do I see? A totally naked woman holding her arms across her bare chest which barely covered her umm... well, you can guess. Hmm....Okay...That is my doctor's name up there huh? Okey Dokey... I decide to, in the midst of my befuddlement, explore the website. Much to my amazement, I discover that my doctor is now in the plastic surgery business. But not any ordinary plastic surgery, rejuvenation of the lowlands. Very strange indeed. There were signs that something was afoot. The new location, the super extravagantly and richly decorated office. And then there was the new chic all black scrubs through out the practice. The office looked more like a museum than a doctor's office when I first visited over a month ago. I felt underdressed, and plain, as if the beautiful dark cherry furniture were somehow mocking me. As I walked into the bathroom to leave a "sample" I was scared that I might leave an unruly drop on the beautifully tiled floor. It seemed a shame to leave a cup of pee on such a nice toilet. I found myself wanting this to be my bathroom at home. I don't know what's more odd my doctor's new practice, or my desire to take the furniture with me as I leave. Either way, maybe I can have her throw in a tummy tuck after the baby for free, or atleast an office chair.

I was blown away

I'll admit that I'm not very good at making up titles for my entries. It takes too much time, and I'm much too impatient, so bear with me. I was looking at my friend Sandy's blog and saw that she had a link to another friends blog, so I went to check it out. I haven't talked to the other friend in quite some time, so it was neat reading what was going on in her life. As I was reading, I noticed a small snippet asking for continued prayer for a family of my former church as they continued to grieve. This was a family that my husband and I were fond of, though we weren't really close friends. After finding yet another link, I discovered that the family had given birth to a baby girl named Darcy who had Trisomy 18 which is a genetic defect that gives the babies an extra chromosome. These babies usually don't live very long. My heart just began to break for them. Darcy's mom kept a blog diary of her pregnancy and the birth and eventual death of Darcy. She was an absolutely beautiful baby. She fit right in with all of her beautiful siblings as well. It hurt my heart to no end to read of her mother's struggles, and the just absolute gut wrenching pain of losing a baby. I'm four months pregnant, I'm high risk, I have diabetes. The doctor's scare me with their doom and gloom all of the time. I cried, and I really want to cry now; not for myself or any possible problems that I could have with Sara or Jonathan, but for that dear sweet family. I think that when you're a parent, you feel so much more, at least I think I do. I can't imagine their pain, and I want to take it away and give them their baby back. I know that she's in heaven and as christians we have that reassurance, but oh my, my heart just aches for them. They are a precious family, please pray for them, I will be...

Take the tissue box with you!

Rob and I went to go see the film Fireproof. It was truly amazing and I was blown away. I was so used to seeing Kirk Cameron in "Growing Pains" that it was really strange to see him as this angry obnoxious husband who seemed to hate his wife. That is all I will give away, but whether you're in a good marriage, a bad one, or whatever your story may be, go see this film. It was really good. I'm not sure, but I'm almost positive I heard a sniff or two from where Rob was sitting, and anyone who knows my husband, knows that he simply does not cry. This film was made by the same church that made "Facing the Giants" and it was just as good if not better. Just remember, get your candy, your popcorn and soda, but be sure to take your tissues!

After the storm: What we're studying

We made it through Ike and survived! It was a bit scary for a while, but thankfully our home was damaged minimally. We have eased back into school slowly, trying to take it at a minimal pace. This week we're studying the divided Kingdom of Solomon and the Assyrians. We learned about Ashurbanipal, king of the Assyrians. He was a lover of books and apparently a very cruel King. The kids built Assyrian siege towers out of legos and blocks. The Assyrians used these portable towers on wheels to attack their enemies. We had a fun time putting them together although they are not exact replicas because we ran out of the appropriate lego pieces. Our good friends the Baumann's came to visit us this week as well, which was a special treat. The kids always enjoy their company and I definitely enjoy spending time with their mom!

What we're studying this week

We're focusing on the life of Solomon. In History and Geography, we're reading about the life of Solomon and we're studying maps and charting the regions that he ruled. We have also learned some interesting facts about Queen Makeda better known as the Queen of Sheba. It's really interesting to read the Bible and then look at the maps of the land of that time. The boys and I have enjoyed it so far. They are writing a play about Solomon together as well and we'll record it and play it for our guests during our end of unit celebration in January. We're looking forward to it and will begin making preparations for the celebration soon! This is where we will highlight all of the work that the kids have done during the semester and allow the children to shine.

Astronomy Project

Today we had some friends come over, so they were able to participate in our experiment. The boys are studying Astronomy and are currently focusing on Mars. They had a great time making a salt dough "volcano" modeled after after the Olympus Mon on Mars. It was so fun! I didn't pour enough vinegar in initially, so our volcano was a bit slow acting, but in the end it turned out great and we had a lot of fun. (The kids want to make another one and do it again, and I have to admit that I want to as well!) If you've never used Apologia Science for elementary, I highly recommend it! I uploaded the video of the experiment as well, check it out if you want to see kids having a great time learning!

Bags of Smiles

If you're like me, when you were a kid you loved the first day of school. New clothes, a shiny new lunch box, and best of all, school supplies! I know that my kids are no different, so in addition to the new backpacks and other new things they received for school, I decided to surprise them with gift bags full of school supplies. I presented them to the kids after our lavish and fun celebration breakfast on the first day of school. I knew the little ones would love them, but i was unsure of how the two older ones would react. I was pleasantly surprised to find that they were all very happy to get the bags full of pencils, pens, erasers, note cards, dividers, paper, markers, highlighters, and of course, some fun candy. I think this will be a new tradition. It really warmed my heart to see their smiles and to start our first day out with them excited about using their new "stuff"!

A new beginning

We started school this year after Labor day. I wanted ds#1 to have a chance to being acclimated to being back home. Otherwise, we would have started in early August. It's been a slow start, trying to ease the kids back into things, but it's been fun. We had a bit of a shock when we discovered that I was pregnant about a week into school. That would explain my moodiness! We're happy, and the kids are ecstatic. So far we have three votes for a girl and the little one has requested a little brother. Mom and Dad just pray for a healthy baby. It has been fun going online each week and letting the kids see how their sibling is growing and maturing. So far they keep saying the baby looks like an alien, my reply? "Well, you used to look like that, and look at how cute you turned out!" I think this year will prove to be a very exciting and interesting school year!