Wordless Wednesday...

So, I can just hop back into this like I never stopped, right? Riiiiiggghhhhttt!!


Peek-a-boo!

Laying low...

Hi, friends.

Just doing a quick check-in to let you know that I'm still here, everything is still fine, I am still plodding away. Here's a brief catch-up of what's happened lately...

*Sorry to leave you hanging on the house thing. It actually ended up snowing the day that the people who were really interested were supposed to come back for a 3rd showing. Their parents would have had to drive over an hour each way in good weather, so they just didn't come. My worst fear came true and in the week that followed, the couple who was once so interested in our home took a little drive and found a newer neighborhood about 10 miles up the road that appealed more to them. So...back to square one. As I told Chris, I wouldn't have been so bummed out about the whole thing had I not known how close it was. If I just knew that they'd had a 2nd showing and then nothing - at least I'd know, well -- must not have been for them. But we knew more -- that if their parents liked what they saw, they'd be writing us an offer. Just knowing that a snowstorm is what kept the pieces from falling into the right places? Hard to swallow. However, I'm aware that the same God we've been trusting in throughout this whole process is the author of that storm, so there has to be a good reason. Maybe it would have fallen through at closing. Maybe the next house we're meant to buy isn't on the market yet. Ohhhh... this brain of mine. It has me running in circles sometimes. So, *sigh* there's that.

*I'm 21 weeks along now and everything is fine and dandy with our little baby. It was a relief to get that great information from the amnio results and just know that everything is okay. I did send a long letter to the doctor who was so ummmm -- what was he? Let's just say the doctor that we were extremely disappointed in. At my last appointment with MY doctor, she was very sympathetic, apologetic, and glad to hear that I was writing a letter. She asked to be CC'd on it - that way he would know that she would also get a copy. I feel better not just whining about the treatment we received.

*The kids are good. Mitchell had his first soccer practice yesterday. He had so much fun and was so excited. I think he'll have a great time. Georgia started a Mommy & Me gymnastics class today. The first half was great. The second half was miserable. She loved the first half - especially the long, skinny trampoline that is literally half the length of the gym. Not so much in love with stopping the trampoline time. The rest of the session (probably about 15 -20 minutes, I'd guess) she spent in a crying, screaming, meltdown tantrum. Good times.

*Chris and I are good. We are keeping each other's chins up during this little uncertain time. Where will we live? What transitions do we need to prepare for? I've had some changes with some of my clients. He's still adjusting to his new position at work. We were both very let down with the house thing. Good thing we have each other. That's all I can say. Being married to my best friend is a very, very, very good thing.

I'll leave you with something that he told me I absolutely had to blog about. We got our dates mixed up and so I lined up my parents to watch the kids on Saturday, when really our little night on the town with friends is in two weeks. My parents (and the kids) were already excited to have a sleepover, so we got to have a night to ourselves. Well, being the wild and crazy kids that we are - we decided to go to Bennigan's for dinner, since we had a coupon. (And seriously, that's all we did. We came home, I put on pj's and fell asleep at 8:00 pm while Chris fell asleep at the same time in the bathtub. I'm telling you -- we are just pathetic sometimes.)

Anyway - so we're at Bennigan's. Not sure if you all know that it's an Irish American neighborhood restaurant/bar place. They get ALL kinds of excited about St. Patrick's Day over there. We arrived to two bagpipers (so not kidding) playing us in the door. I personally thought it was a little over the top, but hey -- I'm not so much a fan of REALLY loud bagpipes at Bennigan's. Could just be me.

So, we go in and sit down and I pretty much right off of the bat decide I need to use the restroom. (Par for the course these days.) So, I tell him what I'd like to drink and excuse myself. As I'm finishing up and getting ready to come out and wash my hands, I hear some women enter the restroom. They don't have to actually go -- they seem to be camped out in front of the mirrors chatting.

Now, girls - I'm about to give you a little lesson. If you ever want to see exactly how extraordinarily large you can feel, get yourself about halfway through your 3rd pregnancy and try this one. Oh, and it helps to be wearing a t-shirt and track suit.

I exit my bathroom stall and walk out to find three completely gorgeous, young, thin and non-cellulited women who were representing Killian's beer in the bar. They were all dressed in tiny, green tank tops, even tinier black mini (and I mean mini) skirts, and knee-length, black leather high-heeled boots. They were standing there fluffing up their hair, applying (more) lipstick and lipgloss and chatting about their shirts. One girl was telling one of the other girls that she didn't like the way her shirt fit because it was too big.

*Here's where I say "Excuse me" so I can wash my hands.*

The other girl says "Well, what size did you order?" She replies "A small. I should have ordered an extra-small like you did, Michelle. Look how much better yours fits."

At this point I realize that I now have to wedge back through the girls to reach the paper towels.
I swear to you, I wasn't trying to, but I was leading with my belly. I dried my hands off and waddled out the door as quickly as I could.

I sat back down in our booth and laughed as I told Chris the story. (Well, tried to tell him, actually. Those dang bagpipers were circulating around the restaurant and decided to camp out near us right about then, and I seriously had to semi-yell half of my story.) He said "Oh, I think that's gotta go on your blog. That is TOO funny." He's convinced it's not the same without actually seeing me re-enact my belly-leading waddle to the paper towel machine.

So. Anyway. You are now officially caught up with me.

I don't know -- I might try blogging more often here again. I just am kind of in a little funk (again, I know - I'm aware) and get sick of rehashing it over and over. But I'll try. Sometimes blogging actually pulls me out of it. I'll also try to make the bloggy rounds more often. I've been spending more of my down time reading these days -- sort of a little escape of sorts. But I'll try.

Love and hugs, bloggy friends. Love and hugs.

Could it be?!

After 7 lonnnnnggggggg months of having our house on the market, we have a potential end in sight. I won't say I'm not getting my hopes up because I already have, so if it doesn't happen, then I'm prepared to be disappointed. I'll get over it.

But let's hope I don't have to, right?

We had some people come look at the house on Friday afternoon. I told Chris when I got home that I think they must have liked it because one of the packets for people who are considering a contract were gone and one of the chairs at the dining room table was pulled out -- meaning it looked like they sat and chatted about things there.

Fast forward to Saturday morning - the realtor's office calls to set up a showing that afternoon. I asked if it was the same people, but it wasn't. Bummer. Oh well, another showing is a good thing, too so we set it up. While we were out during the showing time, the office called back saying someone else wanted to do a showing this afternoon -but this time it was the Friday people coming for a 2nd showing! Ohhhh - happy dance! We were also excited because it meant that they'd see another card on the table and know that they have some potential competition. (Probably not, but you get the idea.)

So, on the way home yesterday our actual realtor calls. (This means it's serious!) She tells me that she just talked to the Friday people's agent and they want to come back for a 3rd showing this morning (Sunday) with their parents. (I guess it's a young couple -- we did the exact same thing here, I take that as a good sign.) Here's the best part of what she told me...

If the parents give them the thumbs up, then they plan to write an offer!!!!!!!!!

I *do* realize that it could be a pretty lame offer, one that will disappoint us and we'll have to counter and all of that, but still...for having NOTHING for 7 months, this has my engine running, I'll tell ya. Good thing we have two birthday parties this afternoon - -it will keep me from obsessing too much.

I will keep you posted, but just know that for now, I am super excited at the possibility of getting this whole thing resolved BEFORE the baby arrives. Or not right when baby is expected. Or right after. Basically, this is what I've been hoping for. I've been praying for God's will for our family with regards to the house situation, but my own hope and request was to get this all settled soon.

Have a great Sunday! Hopefully I'll have another great update for you soon.

Just an update...

I should really be cleaning up the living room right now - it looks like a strong wind blew everything around, but I was too tired to deal with it before bedtime. Basically, I broke my own clean up before we go upstairs rule tonight. I also sat in my bed with Mitchell and had a fudgesicle date. Usually a squirrely, 5 year old boy + chocolate + my bed is not going to happen, but tonight, it worked.



Anyway - I know I sort of said "Hey, I'm having an ultrasound today" and then disappeared, which wasn't very nice of me. We did have our u/s last Tuesday, but it turned out to be somewhat emotional and confusing so I just decided to avoid the update thing until we knew what was what.



Because of my *cough* age, we were having a Level II u/s done. When I scheduled the appointment, the receptionist asked if we would be doing an amnio. I said that our strong inclination was to not do one, but that I didn't feel comfortable 100% turning it down. She said she'd put us in an "amnio" spot for our appointment, which meant we could meet with a genetic counselor, get any questions answered, etc. and then if we decided to do one after the u/s we could, and if we decided not to, that was fine.



Okay - I did say I would nutshell this, right? No? Well, I'm going to try. I'm sort of too tired to relive the whole entire thing at the moment, and I *have* to clean up the living room - it's bugging me.



Short version...right...short version.



We had the u/s. 99% of everything was absolutely perfect. Amazing. Still so absolutely amazing to see that tiny little person swimming around in there! The spine is what always looks so completely awesome to me -- I'm not sure why, but I am always thinking "Wow!!! Look at that!!!" Sweet feet, precious hands, everything was just so fun to see.



Now, about the 1% that was not so perfect. Basically, they saw something called a "bright" or "ecogenic" bowel, which means that part of the bowel looked as bright white as the bone around it. This can be attributed to the baby having swallowed some "uterine debris" (ick, huh?) or possibly having some sort of infection. On the much more serious side, it's considered to be a soft marker (more coincidental than diagnostic, particularly when in isolation) for some chromosomal abnormalities, like Down Syndrome for example.



Like anyone, this difference made us a bit uncomfortable as we listened to the possible explanations and their wide range of severity. Thankfully, this was one of the first things that the u/s tech commented on and it was followed by nothing but positive, right on track measurements and development.



So. We were left with the option of having an amnio done. Or not.



They told us that if it was the uterine debris thing, most likely if we came back for a follow-up u/s in 4-5 weeks, it would be gone as the material would be reabsorbed. Would that inspire more confidence that nothing else was abnormal? No, was the answer. (This is the extremely abbreviated version.)



All I can say about the actual doctor (a reproductive genetic specialist, or something like that) is that he was loud, pompous and EXCEPTIONALLY inappopriate about voicing his opinion. Again, to shorten the story -- he pretty much downright offended us in communicating his opinion about what he would do and why. We made our decision in spite of his advice, because we felt like it was the best choice for our family. In the end, if something was seriously different with regards to our baby's health and/or development, we decided we'd like to know sooner rather than later to prepare not only ourselves, but our children and our families for some things.



We went ahead and had the amnio done -- and whoa, nelly -- that was pretty painful. I think that half of it was because the doctor had me so worked up and emotional (and keep in mind I'd been awake since 2 am that day) that I couldn't relax at all. At. All.



Today I spoke with the genetic counselor and she gave us the wonderful news that everything is fine. There are no chromosomal abnormalities, and since I tested negative for the cystic fibrosis screening -- that is not a good likelihood. It was just so nice to get that reassuring news.

Had to edit since Rebekah reminded me that I didn't share boy/girl info. *sigh* Here's the thing, I want to find out and hubby doesn't. So we decided not to. But I'll tell ya, when she asked if I wanted to know yesterday and I knew this wasn't based on a guess on the u/s but was like FACT information, I had a hard time saying no. I also had a hard time not calling back. I told Chris last night I *almost* called back. He said it was up to me and he wouldn't be mad if I just couldn't take it. I think I just need to get over it. If he wants to be surprised and it's our last hurrah, then I should give him that chance. So, it's a surprise baby. We are both guessing boy.

And noooooo way could I keep that secret. No. Possible. Way.



And now I'll be writing a letter to the doctor about his behavior and lack of professionalism. He disgusted me and I'm appalled every time I reflect on his words and attitude. Just awful and simply unacceptable. Ack. Almost went into detail. Can't! Must go clean!!!!



ANYWAY - there you go. (And trust me, this truly was the biggest nutshell ever.) I came down with a pretty nasty virus/cold thing the same night as my u/s -- I think between being awake for 20 straight hours (I took Chris to a basketball game that night) and my emotional state being completely out of whack, my immune system was pretty weak. Now that I'm almost over it, I'm feeling pretty good again.



So, I'm off to clean the living room - here's a bonus -- especially for you, Jennifer P -- a picture of me right after Georgia's 2nd birthday party (that will be another post this week). We un-invited both our brothers/their kids and my grandparents since I was a sickie. Both of our parents decided to throw caution to the wind and still came -- my dad took this picture as they were leaving. I was absolutely exhausted and literally just climbed into bed (clothes and all) for a nap about 2 minutes after he took this. Enjoy the belly -- 18 weeks exactly in this photo.

It's that time again...

...as in, the middle of the night. *sigh*

Most of my 2005 posts were probably made between the hours of 10 pm and 8 am. I was pregnant.

Hi. It's 3:25 a.m. at the moment. I'm pregnant. *yawn*

I'm just sayin'...this seems to be my thing. I believe that I brought tonight upon myself as I ate too late (and something a little sweet) and had horrid heartburn and well -- here I am. Law & Order is always on almost all night and usually will put me back to sleep. Not tonight.

As long as I'm up, here are two (as Chris calls them) "bloggable" moments from this week in our house.
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Here's an almost hourly conversation with Georgia this week. NO idea what it means or where it came from but she's pretty satisfied every time I play along.
Georgia: Guess what, Mommy!
Mommy: What?
Georgia: Charlie Brown! (cha-ee bon)
Mommy: Charlie Brown?
Georgia: Yeah.
(Uhhhh, nope. You're not missing anything. That's it. That's where she happily runs off.)

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Mitchell made me get all teary-eyed at dinner on Valentine's Day. I made breakfast for dinner and the highlight for the kids was the pink, heart-shaped pancakes that I made. (In hindsight, very strange. I try pretty hard to not give them red food dye if I can help it and then I gave it to them on purpose. Go figure. I had planned the heart-shape thing earlier, but the pink idea came to me at the last minute. Next year, it's raspberry and/or strawberry puree in the batter, baby.)

Anyway, he was getting himself another pancake from the kitchen and Georgia said "More cakes?" as he was getting up. He brought the whole plate back to the table with him and said "Maybe we can share one, Georgia!"

We then watched with pride as he completely unprompted proceeded to tear a pancake in half. He put one half on his plate, then put the other half down on his placemat. He asked Georgia for her fork and began trying to cut the other half of the pancake into smaller pieces for her. He was pretty unsuccesful at that, so he put the fork down and began tearing off bite-sized pieces for her. Every time he'd hand her one she'd say, "Ank u, Mitcho" and he'd smile so big and tell her "You're welcome, sweetheart."

*sniffle* It was seriously just the sweetest thing. Chris and I just sat there and watched. Well, he sat and watched with a smile. I watched, smiled, and cried...'cause, well - that's what I do.
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I'll leave you on a good note: I have my big ultrasound this morning. In 4 hours. Guess I better try again for some sleep, huh? Oh, and no - not finding out what we're having but praying for a healthy whoever is in there. I'll update you on that front soon.

Night, night. (See -- look at me, being all optomistic and stuff. Pretty cheery for 3:39 a.m., huh?)

A Little Meme Action

Nichole (who I didn't even know had a blog until the other day) tagged me for a Meme. Okay, I say...I have nothing else to write about at the moment, so here goes.

First, the rules:
(1) Link to the person that tagged you.
(2) Post the rules on your blog.
(3) Share six non-important things/habits/quirks about yourself.
(4) Tag six random people at the end of your post by linking to their blogs.
(5) Let each random person know they have been tagged by leaving a comment on their website. (I won't be doing that. If you are like me and need a random topic, I tag you!)
(6) I feel as though there should be six rules, but there are only five. Go figure.

Okay---seeing as how I've done this before, I'll try to think of some new stuff.


1. I cannot STAND the sound of nails being filed (like on an emory board) -- it makes my skin crawl. Seriously. Top 10 things I cannot stand - it makes the list.

2. Last week I ate an entire bag of those round, cherry ball things that only come out around Valentine's Day. Oh, and they were super good.

3. I am now resisting the urge to either (a) buy another bag or (b) buy a bag of the cherry things that are like gumdrops in the shape of hearts. Clearly, I have some issues over here.

4. I have been craving pepperocini peppers this pregnancy. As in, I ate an entire JAR by myself in a week. I didn't tell my mom about this, but a few weeks ago she said she had a dream that I had a baby boy who was born with shoulder length, jet black hair. The best part? We named him Pepperoni and would call him "Pepper" for short.

Seriously??????? *twilight zone music plays here*

5. I just spent my $40 iTunes gift cards in the middle of the night last night. (Georgia's been having some sleep issues, which means I've been having some sleep issues.) The code you have to type in about drove me nuts at 4 am. The 8 looked like a B. I was talking (sternly) to the computer each time it would tell me "invalid code" and I think a little too loudly. Chris got up and turned on a lamp, glared at me and said "Maybe that will help." Ohhhhh - that Cabana Boy. He needs his beauty sleep.

6. If this baby is a boy, he may very well go nameless for a few weeks. We cannot agree on boy names. Let me rephrase...my husband has not yet realized the amazingness of my favorite boy names. (To give you some insight regarding the seriousness of our level of disagreement -- we have both suggested each other's favorite name to each other as a future dog name. Oy.)

....annnnndddd, there you have it. A mini-blog in a Meme. Who knew it would turn out so well? I'm off to play a rousing game of Hi-Ho-Cherry-O. Wish me luck - I usually get walloped.

Like I said, if you are in the mood for a Meme - have at it!! Thanks, Nichole - it was fun!

6 Years.

It has been 6 years since we said our vows. 6 years since I saw him nervously turned with his back against the wall so that he wouldn't see me before the wedding as I came to wait at the back of the church for the ceremony to start.



6 years. Today. Wow.

We had plans to take the kids to my in-laws' house so that we could go catch a matinee movie and have a long, leisurely, late lunch and do whatever we wanted to do before meeting up with them at church tonight. Instead, my husband is sick in bed. I don't know if it's just a bad cold, the flu, strep, bronchitis, or what...but he is not feeling well.

We're kind of striking out on enjoying special days and holidays lately.

So. Instead of waking him up, I thought I'd take a few quiet (shouldn't have written that word) moments this morning to talk about him, our marriage and what they all mean to me. We were asked at my MOPS group last week what we valued the most about our marriages. My answer was so easy -- I am married to my very best friend in the entire world. It is without a doubt, a complete luxury to be able to say that and know with all of my heart that it's true. We have our vows (we wrote our own) framed and hung above our bed. Like most of the romantic, wonderful ideas in our relationship, this was his thought. His framed vows were a gift on our first anniversary and he mounted them on the wall that night. He got my framed vows on our second anniversary.

The words that he spoke to me six years ago hang above my head while I sleep, and the words that I spoke to him six years ago hang above his head as he sleeps. I love that. I truly love that, and it's so very us. We loved writing our own vows and every single year on our anniversary, we read them out loud to each other again. I love that even more.

I recently bought a book that I have been using as my own personal devotional for my quiet time in the mornings. It's called The Power of a Positive Wife, by Karol Ladd. I just wanted something that could really help me get through what will definitely be a year of transition for me as a wife and mother. Adding this third child to our family is exciting, but it also has stirred some feelings of anxiousness and uncertainty in me, so I thought I'd be proactive and just arm myself with thoughts, scriptures and knowledge that I can meditate on in those moments where you wonder what in the world you are doing. I am the kind of person that has a tendency to project my own feelings onto those around me, and I'm trying very hard to change the way that it happens when negative, yucky stuff comes up. We have a good marriage today. Like everyone else, we have our struggles and difficulties, but overall, I know that we both have a lot of confidence in ourselves as a couple and feel that we have a solid marriage. My hope is that we can have an even better marriage tomorrow, and I'd love to be the catalyst for that kind of change.

So, I think that I have found a little guidepost for myself in my quest to better myself as a wife. Here is an excerpt from the first chapter...the bold part essentially puts to words the desires of my heart.

Here it is: The most important ingredient in the recipe for a great wife is God-centeredness (not husband-centeredness). First and foremost, a great wife is a godly woman. Not necessarily a church lady or a Bible-study attendee or even a prayer-circle leader. All of these are good things to be, but a godly woman has the distinct characteristic of having a deep and vibrant love relationship with God. She is a woman who loves the Lord, her God, with all her heart, mind, soul and strength.

Why does a godly woman make a great wife? Let's examine the blessings that overflow from her life.

A godly wife forgives, loves, serves, and encourages her husband as a natural outpouring of her love and devotion to her heavenly Father. She isn't demanding, controlling, or overbearing, because she walks in God's grace and offers that grace freely to her husband and others. She reflects the positive qualities of the fruit of the Spirit: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.

Her walk with God allows her to keep the other areas of her life in balance. She doesn't sweat the small stuff, but focuses on things of eternal value. Nor does she live on a performance track, trying to please her husband in order to gain his approval. She looks to God, not her husband, for affirmation and acceptance. A God-centered wife enjoys her relationship with her husband, understanding that both husband and wife are God-given complements to one another. She finds her joy, peace, and inner strength from the only true source: God himself.

You may be thinking, Come on. No one is that perfect! You're right. No one is - but that's the great thing about God's redemptive power. God is in the business of taking weak, ordinary, sinful creatures; redeeming them; and changing them into beautiful new creations. His power and work in our lives make us better than we could ever hope to be on our own.

So, there you go. My blueprint for where I'd like to go and who I'd like to be.

I love my husband so very, very much and all I want to do is make this year better than the last year. It would be fantastic if I could turn this year into an opportunity to make it a foundation for improving our marriage in ways I never thought possible. I'm excited just thinking about it.

Happy Anniversary, honey. I love you so much more than I ever thought I could, and today more than yesterday. I know what you're going to say, too.

And no, I love YOU more.

Ummm - definitely need some work.

Not really time for a big post, but as I previously mentioned -- I'm in the process of digging out in many areas of life. I've been trying to find time to put back into my time in the Word and in prayer. Well, yesterday I tried (not so bright of an idea in retrospect) to do my Bible study lesson while the kids were playing quietly.

Quietly lasted about 2.2 minutes.

I have to laugh this morning because looking back, the lesson I was in the middle of was about balancing priorities, making wise choices, and spending time with family. I was really enjoying what I was reading and learning and thinking about.

When quietly ended - so did my patience. I ended up getting pretty testy with the kids. Yes, right smack dab in the middle of my Bible study lesson.

What a nerd!!

So, yeah -- I've got my shovel out and I'm digging the best I can, but there is much work still to be done around here. (Oh, and by the way, I know that pobody's nerfect and all of that - it's just so humbling to think of the fabulous timing I have.)

Hope you're all well...I'll be checking in again soon. I promise! I will even try to get a picture of my ever-growing belly. It is starting to freak me out size-wise -- it's something to behold for me as I'm much bigger than I was with the other two at this point. (I know that's typical for a 3rd baby - but whoooeeee...a little intimidating to think that I still have 25 more weeks for it to grow!)

Toodles, my friends.

Tips From Tara...

Tip #1:
When lending out maternity and/or children's clothes to friends and family, I now know that it is imperative to relay in very specific terms that you are LENDING said clothes. Not GIVING said clothes. There was a slight misunderstanding in that department last time I lent out my maternity things and as a result, I'm now down to one pair of pants and one pair of sweat pants. The jeans? Black velvet pants? Favorite black maternity pants ever? All gone. Consigned or given away to someone else she didn't feel she could get them back from. (I still have many of my things, just not several items that I really liked.)

*Sigh*

So, I'll be going shopping for maternity clothes this weekend. I need to psych myself up.

Tip #2:
Never, ever discuss a birthday party theme with a one Miss Georgia Reagan a good month and a half prior to her birthday. Not only will she change her mind as the wind blows, but she will also bring up the 143 different themes every time she sees and/or hears anything that reminds her of them.
All.
Day.
Long.
(In case you're curious -- the current favorite is Mickey Mouse with Dora, Blue's Clues and Hello Kitty making a nice showing.)

Tip #3:
If you have no idea what to have for lunch, I highly suggest the following sandwich. I made it on a whim today and have been thinking about going to the store for more avocado ever since then so I can have another tomorrow!!
*Toast 2 slices of your favorite bread (I did a good multi-grain wheat.)
*Slice up some avocado, tomato, cucumber, red pepper, and grab a nice leaf of romaine
*When the bread's done toasting, spread on 1 wedge of light laughing cow garlic & herb cheese
*Pile on the veggies and give it a good smush
Heavenly!! (And hellooooo - veggie city, baby!!)

Tip #4:
If you own jumper cables, try putting them in your trunk. Hanging them on a peg in the garage, not so helpful unless your car conveniently dies in your garage. **Key element for Tip#4: If your husband happens to take them out for some reason, please have him alert you to this fact or replace them when he's done with his little project.**

Tip #5:
If you are ever in a situation with a girlfriend whose van needs a jump, remain calm. Simply call your husband and ask him to walk you through it. It is actually sort of fun when you succeed and don't end up blowing up both vans and all 5 precious children inside of them. Oh -- and word to the wise -- the little clampy things are supposed to shock a little bit, but try ever so hard not to let them touch.

You're welcome.

Blah Blah Blah...

In other words -- danger -- random thoughts ahead!

Okay, it's 3:09 a.m. This probably will lack direction and focus, so beware.

Thank you, bloggy friends -- your love, support and encouragment is so very appreciated. Jennifer, I especially appreciate your comments and have thought about them several times since I read what you wrote. I think you are a wise woman, and I wish you lived close enough to just sit with a hot cup o' something and listen to you tell me I'm actually *okay* and that this is all just normal and to cut myself a break now and then. You seem to be quite good at that!!
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Blah blah blah reminds me of a funny Mitchellism from this week. He was peeved at Chris for something and decided that whining to me about it was a great idea. Not so much. I was fighting the urge to just sleep on the couch so I said "Mitchell, if you are unhappy with your Dad, then it's your job to tell him how you feel. Tell Daddy 'I don't like it when you blah, blah, blah because blah, blah, blah.' Then he'll know exactly why you're upset and he can explain why he did/said what he did. Whining to me isn't going to help much." I hear him stomp about 20 steps into the kitchen (there's a half-wall thing I can't see over) and say "Daddy, I don't like it when you blah, blah, blah because blah, blah, blah. Got it?!" Oh. My. Word. I am very surprised one of us (Chris and I) didn't pee our pants. Even Mitchell got the giggles over it. And guess what? No more peevy Mitchell. Too busy laughing at the blah, blah, blahs.
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Georgia has been super interested in going on the potty this week. Mitchell was about as difficult a child to train as I imagine there is and I about drove myself insane in the process of the process, so I promised myself that she would drive this bus. And...she is. For a few weeks a couple of months ago, she wanted to sit on the little potty all the time. So we let her. And she'd sit. And get off. And sit. And get off. And it drove me crazy sort of - but it was really no big deal. No piddle. No nothing. Just lots of giggles from her thinking she was THE coolest big girl in all the land.

Fast forward to this week. For some reason, she is all about the potty seat that fits on the actual toilet. She'll sit on her little potty now and then but she is most interested in sitting on "Emo Wod." (Georgia speak = Elmo's World, a.k.a. - the Sesame Street potty seat.) So, tonight at the dinner table, my little rose petal was tooting very loudly and announced "I poop!" I just thought I'd throw out the offer to sit on the potty. It was met with a very enthusiastic, "Yeah!!!!" Upstairs we went. Lots of tooting, which in turn meant lots of Georgia giggles. One thing that helped get Mitchell started with the whole idea of pee-pee in the potty was what we call "Pee-pee water." It's basically an ounce or two of warm water poured on the bits to get that feeling started. I asked if she wanted some pee-pee water and she said yes. As I turned off the water I heard some tinkles. She went pee-pee in the potty!!! She's not even two!!! For a mom who didn't get to wrap up the whole potty training thing until her son was pushing four, this was HUGE news!! I started giggling and laughing and telling her how proud I was of her...it was so fun. The boys both came running and it was this big, fun "Yay, Georgia" thing.

And then I about cried. Can she REALLY be this big? Can she REALLY be old enough to do stuff like this? *sigh* I guess so. She'll be two next month, and I think she is doing her best to snap me out of my denial about the whole thing.

On the up side -- the possibility of only having ONE in diapers has me motivated to help her follow her potty interest!
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I went to coffee (well, I had a cider) with a friend today. She is one of my oldest and dearest friends. She is 5 weeks ahead of me in her pregnancy, and though this will be her 3rd child, this is her 1st pregnancy. (She and her husband have adopted two girls. They didn't think they were able to get pregnant, so like me, this is a surprise package.) We met at the bus stop when we were 15 and have been close friends (sister-like) ever since. In fact, the picture at the top of my blog was taken at a girls' weekend with her and another good friend and she has her arm around me in the little picture of me in the brown shirt up there.

Anyway -- did I mention I would probably ramble?? -- we met for coffee today. I left the house at 1:45 pm. I thought it would be an hour or so. Uhhh - YEAH. At 4:30 I said that I should probably go in about 15 minutes. At 4:54 my cell phone rang. Chris was wondering if I had decided to run off with her and wanted to know just how big my cup of coffee was. After I hung up with him, exactly 2 minutes later, her cell phone rang. Her hubby was making sure she was okay since he hadn't heard from her. We decided that the little ones had probably been up for longer than 30 minutes and were interfering with football viewing and had a good chuckle about that.

I think we were both reluctant to leave. It was like we stepped into a little bubble for a few hours. Our friendship has gone through several ups and downs and we actually almost lost it all one time, but in the end, we are always closer than we've ever been. Neither of us could remember the last time we did this -- with anyone. Just went and sat and talked. And talked. And laughed -- oh, man did we laugh. And compared weak bladders and growing tummies.

I get all teary when I think of the gift it is to share this journey with her. We were both so sad that when Georgia was born, she couldn't come to the hospital. I wanted her to be able to witness her birth because she hadn't been able to be in the room when either of her daughters were born, and well -- she is just one of those people that I know the experience would have meant the world to. Of ALL of the days -- she ended up having a severe migraine and couldn't get out of bed. It was so sad for both of us because we wanted it so much, but now - -here she is about to have her OWN birth experience. Amazing.

Oh, and her dad said the coolest thing when they announced their pregnancy. He said that he was so glad they were unsuccessful in getting pregnant for so many years because otherwise they wouldn't have Madeline and Mara. I get teary every time I think about that. God truly does work in ways that we can't possibly understand until it's in our rearview mirror sometimes.
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Okay - I think that's it for now. I'm about to crawl back into bed and attempt to sleep again. Wish me luck. I promise, I'll be back in the bloggy saddle here soon. I miss reading everyone else's blogs and seeing what you're all up to.

I think I'm almost all the way out of my little hole. Thanks for lending me your shovels.

Buried.

Okay, for starters... I have sort of gotten myself into a rut. Okay, not sort of. I just have.

I'm sick.
The kids are sick.
I'm tired.
I'm pregnant.
I just don't have time.
Repeat.

The above has been my mantra for the last oh -- three weeks or so. For everything under the sun.

Cleaning? Mantra.
Time in The Word? Mantra.
Exercise? Mantra.
Fun stuff with the kids? Mantra.

Okay - now I *will* cut myself a little bit of slack. I have been sick. The kids have been sick. I am most certainly pregnant. I don't know if I've EVER been this tired in all my life. True. All true.

But.

I can make a good mantra. I can get myself out of this "buried" condition. A month or two ago I was happier than I'd been in quite some time. I was eating fantastically. I was spending time in The Word each and every day and loving it. I was participating in two Bible studies regularly. I was working out several times a week.

Now -- not so much. For any of it. *sigh*

I do, honestly - feel buried. Under the blahs. Under life.

But I can get out. I know I can. And I will. So, no worries.

Okay - so speaking of buried. Here's that post I mentioned like a month ago that has been knocking around inside of my brain. Ironically, it's about things being buried, too.

Alot of our stuff is in storage right now. Obviously, not things that we use every day or on a somewhat regular basis. Most of the stuff are things that we want to use again in the new house (wherever that may be) -- train table, formal serving dishes, our overstuffed rocker recliner, etc.

Well, when we went to get our stuff out for the holidays (ALLLLL of our Christmas decorations were in there), I was struck by how buried it all was. How boxes and boxes of other "stuff" made getting to what we were actually looking for so very difficult. We had to wade through very tiny walkways, stand on desks, etc. to make sure that the box at the very bottom of the back pile was indeed Christmas stuff.

Then, once we got all of the things out that we needed, we had to put the rest of the boxes and items back in...only they didn't fit the same way. There were gaps and holes where the things we'd taken out had once been. Now some boxes stacked akwardly. Some furniture had to be rearranged again. Things like that.

It just struck me as we drove away how similar that is to my own heart and the "junk" I have stored in there. Sometimes in order to dig deep and get to the things that I really need to have and deal with right now, I have to unpack some other things that I didn't even know were jumbled up in there. I guess the thing that jumped out to me is that so many times, I have things buried in my heart and half the time, the things I have to deal with in order to find what I'm looking for I thought I'd dealt with long ago.

Here is where I'd usually elaborate, but it's taken me two attempts to get THIS much written down so I'll stop here. I'm 12 weeks along now and am off to the OB's office in a few hours for my 2nd appointment. I'll keep you posted.

A sincere thank you for all of the love and "where are you" check ups. I'm here. I'm tired. I'm fine.

I'm buried, but digging out.

Off to a rockin' start...

So.

Last time I posted I told you how we were going on a 4 day mini-vaca as a family and were excited to be leaving the sickies behind as we rang in 2008 as a healthy, relaxed little group.

Welllll...it didn't quite work out that way.

On Saturday we spent the day packing up our stuff (more of a "me" than a "we"), putting Christmas stuff away, shoveling walks (that was more of a "he" than a "we"), and finally loading all of our stuff and ourselves into the van. Seriously - you would have thought we were going for 4 weeks, not 4 days -- that thing was packed to the gills! We had already decided to just avoid the headache of taking the kids out to eat and instead brought enough food and drinks to last us the whole time. Also, the hot item of the week had been the new kitchen, fake food and tea sets that arrived at Christmas, so we decided to bring those along. (The kitchen barely comes up to my waist -- it's tiny. The fake food and tea sets are all in one 3-drawer rolling plastic bin, so it was easy traveling with those.) We also loaded up a bag full of trains and books. We were all set!

We planned on leaving around 1 but didn't get on the road until about 3. Not a big deal until we decided we needed to make two stops once we got into our little mountain town. By the time we got to the condo, checked in and got everything unloaded it was about 6. I think it was around this time that I told Chris I felt like I was getting sick. My throat was starting to hurt, I had a headache and I just felt a little "off". (Remember that Mitchell and I were both already on antibiotics for strep at this point.) I sort of shrugged it off though because I assumed it was just from having a busy day and not staying totally on top of drinking enough water, so I just started drinking a lot of it right then.

We had a fun night and made some pizzas for dinner. There was a great gas fireplace in the living room which really warmed the whole room -- and it was so cozy and relaxing. (The kids did a wonderful job of staying away from it, too!) The kids were so excited to be in the mountains and it was snowing off and on, which was beautiful to watch. Mitchell was already asking to go play outside in the snow, and we promised him that we would the next day.

We are a sports-loving family, so we were all having fun watching football together - especially since Mitchell insisted on bringing his new Broncos outfit and helmet with him. He loves to pretend he's in the game and "helping the team" - it makes us laugh to see him running around in his own little football game. Such a goof! The only problem that we found was that the large, rectangular window above the couch was REALLY drafty...super drafty. That weekend was filled with high wind and very cold temperatures so we had to improvise with some extra pillows and sheets to block the draft. We never got it completely sealed off but it was much better after our little alteration. The kids also had fun "making dinner" and just playing together in the living room.

We got everyone settled into bed that first night -- Georgia didn't really even fight sleeping in her pack n' play, which was fantastic! There was a little cut-out closet with no doors right inside of our bedroom that made the perfect, cozy little spot for her. Mitchell ended up just sleeping with us. We have a queen sized bed at home, so this HUGE king bed had more than enough room for all of us. Chris and I were both exhausted, so we all went to bed at the same time.

The next morning (Sunday) when I woke up - I knew I was about to get hammered. (I should mention here that we had some "people" over for dinner on Friday night and it turns out that one of them had been sick in bed with a bad cough/cold and the chills *read: fever* all day, yet didn't tell us this and still came to dinner at our house so I was hoping against hope that this wouldn't happen. I'm trying VERY hard not to be bitter or angry about this, as I'm sure you can understand.) I felt absolutely HORRIBLE and feverish. I also was starting to cough and every time that I did it felt like my entire throat and chest were literally on fire. (You know how it feels when you run in really cold weather? That burning?) Mitchell was also starting to cough a bit, which worried me as I was sure he'd soon be feeling like I was. We got everyone fed and sort of got our stuff a bit more settled in the kitchen and living room. It really is so very beautiful up there -- and the kids, like us, were amazed by the view out of our window. We all sat taking it in for awhile, watching for birds and squirrels and other wildlife. There were some gorgeous bluejays that kept flying in and out of the trees right off of our deck.

Mitchell was begging all morning to go outside, so we decided that since the wind hadn't kicked up too much yet, that it would be as good a time as any. (Good thing - the 20 minutes we were outside was it for the WHOLE weekend!!) I really can't believe that I'm putting this picture in here -- you can see how great I felt. Oh, and for the record, I didn't even BRING my makeup bag with me on the trip so just know that. (And BethAnne, my friend, I don't even want to HEAR about another horrible hair/no makeup day from you -- I've clearly trumped you but good in the looking glorious department.) Anyway - it was pretty cold out there (but then again, I had a fever) so we didn't stay long but the kids had so much fun just tromping around in the snow outside of our complex. They cleared the whole picnic table off -- I think that's what took the most time -- and Mitchell made a few great snow angels. Oh, and sweet Miss G did her usual face plant in the snow thing, of course. Then we headed back inside for more football and some hot chocolate and snacks.

I'll give you the nutshell version of the rest of the weekend:

*By about 2pm that day, Mitchell and I both were feeling awful. He and I both kept our fevers until Tuesday morning. His got up to 104 but was usually around 102 and mine was around 101 most of the time. Tylenol and motrin (just for him) helped, but only temporarily. *Georgia joined in on the fun for most of Monday by throwing up once and having a low grade fever, but other than that seemed to be feeling like herself most of the time. *Chris ended up escaping the sick bug -- but I wonder if that's because he was already on Tamiflu from his little episode the week before. *We watched a lot of football and cartoons and I was thankful that there was a Law & Order Marathon on tv all night long since I didn't do much sleeping. *Chris ran to the grocery store 3 times for more medicine, drinks, etc. which was the only money we spent, so at least that was a good thing *He got in the private hot tub on our deck exactly one time but was in sheer heaven while he was soaking *I was actually awake at midnight on New Year's -- of course that's because Mitchell's fever wouldn't go down and I was worried sick while he slept on me. *There were super high winds and it was freezing!! all weekend long, so even if we'd wanted to go outside, we couldn't have.

So.

Here we are, back at home a week later. (And it's the middle of the night as I'm still not sleeping very good, thanks to this monster cough.) I'm still sick, though much better. Mitchell is the same way. Georgia drank out of his cup a few days ago and today came down with a 101.6 degree fever and a cough. *ding,ding* Round 2 anyone??

Still.

It's manageable. It stinks like crazy and I truly have not been this sick in years, but it's manageable. And temporary. And as Chris and I kept repeating to each other all last weekend while we were away...at least we're together.

I'll be back more often once we kick this thing for good. Hope everyone else's year is off to a better start!

Echo...echo...echo....

Hellooooo.....
Helllooooo.....
Hellllooooo...

Is that an echo? I need to clear the bloggy cobwebs, huh? Ohhhhh, my friends...what a week it has been around here!

Both of my kids had a short-lived tummy bug at the end of last week. Mitchell's came back in the middle of the night the next day though (meaning more pukey sheets to wash!) and a fever came with it, which was different from Georgia who simply threw up twice and was fine two hours later. I took him to urgent care on Sunday after learning that our neighbor (who is also his classmate at school) had just tested positive for strep the day before and sure enough -- he had it, too. The doctor was nice enough to write me a pregnancy-friendly prescription, too -- that way I could save myself the $50 copay if I started having symptoms.

Anyway - for me the sad part (you know, in addition to having sick kids and having to repeatedly clean up throw up with a delicate pregnant nose and wash sheets 6 - yes I counted- times) was having to miss our annual "cookie day" at my mom's house. We get together and make all kinds of cookies for Christmas: iced sugar cookies that we really get into decorating, russian tea cookies, chocolate chip (a different than usual recipe), peanut butter, raspberry jam filled sugar cookies, Danish dapples, and peanut brittle. It's a big-time tradition for us and a day that I always really enjoy. Even though *I* wasn't sick, if there was a chance that I would be, I didn't want to be preparing food that 35 people would eat on Christmas Eve, as the cookies are our family's dessert every year. I also stayed home from making our yummy meatballs on Sunday which also bummed me out, but again - better safe than sorry. Sooooo, anyway - Sunday was a pretty good day - Mitchell seemed much better and the rest of us felt fine.

Then, on Monday - yes, that would be Christmas Eve - I ended up having the other kind of tummy issue allllllllllllllllll day long. Chris had to work and when he left for work it wasn't too terrible yet, but it quickly got to the point where I was pretty much non-functional. (I have hit that pretty much constantly nauseated point of my pregnancy, so that on top of the other stuff = not good.) I knew Chris had a really big, important meeting at 3pm though, so I just decided to suck it up and handle it myself. Both of our parents offered to come help me take care of the kids, but there was no way that I wanted to pass this stuff around so I just managed. The tv was on literally all day long and they ate things that required me to get up no longer than about 2 minutes: cereal, cheese quesadillas that I nuked in the microwave for 30 seconds, fruit, etc. The rest of the time I was either parked on the sofa or in the bathroom. I think Georgia must have sensed just how yucky I felt because all she wanted to do was sit on me all day. Literally. That girl never left my side -- I think it was the most still I've seen her. Ever. Such a sweetie -- and Mitchell was such a big helper to me. So, we made it through the day. By the time my husband fought traffic, stopped at the store for me and finally arrived home, it was later than he had hoped. He got the kids fed and into bed and then came downstairs with me.

He started acting really weird right about then. Now, I don't know if any of you have the type of husbands who will just readily tell you when they don't feel good, but if you do - count your blessings. I have one stubborn man who pretty much tries to hide and/or downplay his illnesses. It is always sooooooooo annoying when he's denying that anything is wrong, but on this day it was particularly feather-ruffling for me. After he tidied up the kitchen, he came and sat on the loveseat directly across from the couch that I was laying on. He had his hands between his knees, his head bent over and he was rocking back and forth slightly. I asked him what was wrong and he said he was just really cold.

Really cold? MY husband? I have never in our almost 6 years of marriage heard him say that he was ever slightly cold unless we are literally outside in frigid weather. Usually I will have on three layers of clothes, two blankets (so not kidding) and still be cold and he'll be talking about how it's hot in the house since I turned the heat up.

Anyway - I knew something was up, so I had him come over and let me take his temperature. It was 101.5 and I just sighed. Here we go again.

I'll spare you the long, drawn out version - -ha! Too late, huh? I ended up being up all night long with him (he slept most of the night though) worrying myself silly because his fever climbed all the way to 104.9 and wouldn't come back down past just under 102. He was in pretty bad shape and it was worrisome for me to see him have such a high fever, as that is COMPLETELY unusual. I did the whole alternating tylenol and ibuprofen thing every 3 hours and let me tell you how fun it was to convince him each time to sit up and take it. Uhhh, yeah.

Luckily, I started actually feeling much better during the night and by the time Tuesday (Christmas morning) rolled around, I actually felt like I was halfway human again. The yuckies had stopped and my stomach was no longer constantly rolling. I was actually hungry and enjoyed drinking some water and gatorade. Funny how little things like that will make you so happy sometimes.

We had cancelled our annual Christmas breakfast with all of the grandparents, but my parents still came over to see the kids open their big surprises. (I ran around - again - with the lysol spray and clorox wipes prior to their arrival.) Poor Chris managed to make it to the landing, where he sat to watch a safe distance away from everyone. After about 2 gifts for each kiddo, we packed them up and shipped them off to grandma and grandpa's for the day and a sleepover. I'm sure I don't have to tell you how sad it was for me to not spend Christmas with my children, but it was important for us to make sure that they still had an enjoyable holiday, and we knew that it was the best thing.

Chris went back to bed for a few hours and then it was back to urgent care again. I should mention that it was snowing hard all day on Tuesday, so we got to do all of this running around in the middle of a very cold, blustery day. The doctor told him that he had influenza, gave him a shot of something and a prescription for tamiflu. Off to the pharmacy! Of course the one that is about a mile from our home was closed, so it was off to the Walgreens about 20 minutes away. It turns out that half of the world was in the same place and we ended up waiting almost two hours for our prescriptions. (I decided to just go the cautious route at this point and take the antibiotics.) As we were sitting there waiting and people watching, we knew that the kids were definitely where they needed to be and we were thankful to just be together. When our name was finally called, we grabbed a frozen pizza and some drinks on the way out, which gave us a good laugh. We never envisioned grabbing our Christmas dinner from Walgreens. I also told him that no one had selected "pizza" on my what will you have for Christmas dinner poll, yet here I was.

As we drove home, a little piece of irony came to my mind. My friend and I write the group's discussion questions for half of the MOPS meetings, and one that I myself had come up with for our most recent meeting was about a holiday where things didn't go as planned. Nice foreshadowing, don't you think? On our slow, snowy drive home, we were talking about people we know that have critically ill children who are in the hospital, friends who have endured major family losses so close to the holidays, and all of our country's soliders who would LOVE to be driving home with a frozen pizza from Walgreens, as long as they were with their sick-as-a-dog spouse on Christmas. We still had a whole load of presents to open with each other and the kids, even if it was a day or two later.

We decided right then and there that we really didn't have too much to complain about after all.

So, the good news is that we *hopefully* got all of the sickies out of the way before we head out of town. We are off to the mountains today to spend three nights at a lovely little condo. Just the four (and a half) of us. We're really looking forward to it and have already decided that instead of killing ourselves to get the house all crazy perfect before we leave, we're going to call the realtor's office and tell them no showings this weekend. That really wasn't a difficult decision at all. At this point, it's all about our family and what we need: some time to get away together, relax and unwind.

Happy New Year, friends. May you all enjoy a year filled with love, peace, happiness, health, and an abundance of God's blessings. Thank you for filling my year with friendship, hope, encouragment and laughter. See you in 2008!

Still here...

Thanks for checking on me, friends. I'm still here. Not feeling all that horrible, but not feeling all that great either. I had my first appointment at the OB's office on Monday and all is well. I even got to see the little bean on an ultrasound, so that was reassuring. My due date is now officially July 27. I've just been really, REALLY tired so blogging has been put on the back burner until I can keep my eyes open past 8 pm. Plus, I've been enjoying the fact that my husband has been getting home earlier and we've been spending time together at night. This week I have got to wrap presents as so far, I have wrapped ONE. Probably not a good pace I'm setting.

Seeing as how it's Wednesday and I'm in a rush to get Mitchell to school so that Georgia and I can go finish my shopping, I will just take the Not-So-Wordless-Wednesday path today. I *do* have a more thinking cap type blog in my head -- it's been there for about 2 weeks now -- maybe this week I can find a few minutes to get it down.

Love and hugs to all my bloggy friends. Hope you are wrapped in the love of Christ as the day of his birth draws near.

Our first family gingerbread house. We were sort of over it by the time we got to the windows and the wreaths. The kids loved playing in the backyard after the snow. Unfortunately my camera batteries died after these two shots. That last one is of Georgia after she face planted. Doesn't she look thrilled? It was pretty funny - she is SUCH a drama queen.

Thankful and then some...

Okay, thanks to Alana for giving me the idea to keep my November thankful list on my blog. I'm moving on to December. It's a blessing to be thankful for so many gifts in my life...big and small.

*Cameras. I LOOOOOVE pictures. They are definitely on the things to grab list if there's ever a reason to flee the house.
*The telephone. Seriously. What would I do without it??
*Fresh Flowers. I love to look at them and feel so special when I receive them. They're so beautiful. One of God's amazing creations.
*Blogs! Hellloooooooooo...self explanatory, right? *hugs, bloggy friends*
*My husband and I crack each other up. Yesterday I hit him between the eyes with a spongy football the size of a tangerine and I bet we laughed for 15 minutes. I was crying I was laughing so hard. It's so "us" and I'm so thankful that it's true. We laugh all the time.
*A hubby who doesn't mind rubbing my back. Does it get any better than that??
*Ice cream. Uhhh, YEAH. 'Nuff said.
*Grandparents. They have made a huge impact in my own life and are tremendously influential in my children's lives. I'm so thankful to be able to say that.
*My pink bathrobe thing. So comfy!!
*Always having enough to eat. My children have never TRULY experienced hunger, and for that, I am so grateful.
*My iPod - Rebekah, you're right. Thank the Lord for iPods!!
* Tissue. We have been very appreciative of it this week around here.
*Shoes. I love them. I just do.
*Public libraries. I mean, free books? Come on...that is the coolest!!!
*The Bible. It is where I go to renew, refresh and remind myself of what REALLY matters and where my Hope can be found.
*K-Love -- that station keeps me in the right frame of mind all day long. It's especially good on days like today where I'm dangerously close to losing my mind!!
*Gingerbread Spice hot tea. It's my new thing this week. Just the little treat I need to warm me up - -and no guilt! Hooray!!
*We have two safe, comfortable vehicles. Being able to go where we want, when we want, and not have to worry about the safety of the car taking us is such a gift. It gives our family freedom.
*A warm bed to snuggle into each night. I can't imagine not having that and know that I am fortunate for having a bed at all, let alone a very, very comfy one. (And a snuggly hubby in there, too. Bonus!!)
*Mexican food. Specifically chile rellenos, cheese enchiladas and GOOD green chile. Not that I have weight issues or anything.
*MOPS...it has blessed my life in so many ways. I have made some amazing friendships and have learned so much about myself there.
*Hugs. Very few things in this world can make me happier or feel better than a good hug from someone I love.
*Okay, okay - I'll say it. I am thankful for Starbucks!!!
*We're selling our house because we WANT to, not because we HAVE to. We're not in foreclosure, we don't have two mortgages, we're not upside down in our mortgage. We will actually be upgrading. So our house hasn't sold yet. We are tremendously blessed to HAVE a home of our own.
*My good health. I'm SO appreciative of that.
*My girlfriends...each and every one of them.
*I'm a child of God, and have the freedom to worship Him. Amazing Grace for sure.
*I'm an American! I'm so blessed to be able to say that.
*Being married to my (totally hot) best friend. I treasure our love.
*My two beautiful, healthy children. Miracles -- both of them.

Mini-Me Friday #10 - A Biggie!!

So...I expected to get some questions as to why I hadn't been updating my Mini-Me stuff, but I guess you were all just assuming that I'd already fallen off the wagon or something. Naughty people! You're supposed to be holding me accountable over here!! *wink*

Well, I can tell you this. I am going to be changing the focus of Mini-Me Fridays from a weight loss journey to a weight gain journey. You see, sometime near the end of July, there will literally BE a Mini-Me. Or a Mini-Chris.

Look what I found last Monday:


Yep! Baby Number 3!!

Yep! Total surprise!! (Yes, we know how it happens, by the way.)

Yep! We're excited!!

Nope! Don't have a preference for what we're having!!

Yep! Feeling pretty good -- nausea off and on, but otherwise just fine.


So, there ya go. The biggest Mini-Me update yet. Oh, but in case you're wondering -- I still plan to exercise throughout this pregnancy. I think it's funny that *I* of all people am actually excited to get the 3 new pregnancy dvd's that I just ordered this week. I am sure that I have already gained back all 8 of the pounds that I lost...I have been an eating MACHINE this week. I think that the brakes have been applied though -- last night was my first big food aversion and it was a biggie. I'm feeling more queasy today than I have pretty much all week, so I'm guessing that I'm entering "that phase".

Well, anyway -- there's the big news! *big, deep breath* We are looking forward to seeing all that God has in store for us with this newest little blessing.

Another Meme - Christmas Edition!!

The lovely and talented, Renee tagged me for this one and I'm all over it as I was fresh outta bloggy material. Sweet timing!



1. Wrapping paper or gift bags?

Both. I have a large collection of both. In storage. And an ever growing assortment of gifts accumulating in the basement. Waiting for both a tree and gift wrap. Back to the subject though - I have both bags and wrapping paper, but when it comes to wrapping paper, look out. I have sort of an addiction to it. No matter how much I already have, I *always* buy at LEAST a roll or two every season because I just can't help myself. Oh, and one thing I also have started doing that my mom did growing up was to do covered boxes. Basically you wrap gift boxes in special paper and instead of tape, use glue to secure it and permanently wrap it. Then, every year that person gets a gift in the same box. They are my most favorite boxes in the entire world and some of them are literally falling apart but we still use them. I love getting gifts in my scottie dog paper (I had a scottie dog phase in 7th grade), or my paper doll paper (that started in about 3rd grade), etc. It's definitely a tradition I want to continue in my family. Mitchell already has a Peanuts box and Georgia will have a Princesses box this year.



2. Real tree or artificial?

Artificial. My mom is allergic to pine -- she stops breathing. SO - we have always had a fake tree. I actually am very turned off by the strong scent, so it works for me. I think my husband missed a real tree at first but he's all good with the not ever spending money on it again thing, being the thrifty man that he is. Plus, it's pre-lit. Hello.



3. When do you put up the tree?

Not as soon as I'd like. It varies every year. The year Mitchell was born I had it up the day after Thanksgiving with some help from my dad because I was ready to pop. We were going to put it up last week but did the outside lights instead. We're doing it on Saturday.



4.When do you take the tree down?

Usually the week after New Year's.



5. Do you like eggnog?

No. I LOVE IT!!! And Renee -- there is a GREAT, lowfat, safe for pregnant women eggnog that I discovered when I was preggo with Miss G. It's yummy and better for you - I love it and haven't bought the real stuff since! I put some in my coffee this morning, actually. You're welcome. :)




6. Favorite gift received as a child?
Ohhh, toughie. Hmmmm - I'm going with my walkman and Bonnie Tyler tape in 6th grade. Total Eclipse of the Heart, dudes. Like, totally.


7. Do you have a nativity scene?
Yes, three of them. Two are for the kids, the white, ceramic one is for the top of the entertainment center! We have this one from Current and Mitchell just got this Little People one for his birthday. Both are huge hits.


8. Easiest person to buy for?
My husband. I get a list every year.


9. Hardest person to buy for?
My grandma. I hate drawing her name because, seriously. The woman needs (and pretty much wants) nothing. I usually end up doing gift cards to restaurants for her.


10. Worst Christmas gift you ever received?
Oh, SO easy. The ex (a.k.a., "The Jerk") on our first Christmas together gave me -- and I promise, I am not making this up -- a joke book and a tin of popcorn. We were 24 years old and that's what he gave me. Uhhhh, YEAH. That was him in a nutshell.


11. Mail or e-mail Christmas cards?
Mail. Though at this point, I'm aiming for Valentine's Day cards. *sigh*


12. Favorite Christmas movie?
I think it's Rudolph, which I just watched tonight with the kids. Still love it. It was always my favorite.


13. When do you start shopping for Christmas?
Usually the first week of December, but I started a little earlier this year.


14. Have you ever recycled a Christmas present?
I think I did with a bottle of red wine once. I just have never been a cabernet fan and gave it to someone who was as a hostess gift.


15. Favorite thing to eat at Christmas?
Oh, another easy one! Our traditional Christmas Eve meal. It's a Danish thing (my great grandparents on my mom's side came from Denmark) and we always thought it was this very special meal. My mom and her cousin went to visit a few years ago, and it turns out it's a very routine thing to eat there. Who knew?


It is carb city, people and sounds strange but it is so yummy I can't even begin to describe it to you. Anyone who has ever joined us for Christmas Eve dinner has fallen in love with it, too!


Here's how you put it in the soup bowl (the flat kind work best, by the way):
*rice
*mashed potatoes on top of the rice
*homemade chicken and noodles (like a stew with peas and carrots) over the top of both
*homemade chicken/veal meatballs (that have literally like 10 sticks of butter in them) on top of everything


I have no words for the yumminess that IS this Christmas meal.


16. Clear lights or colored on the tree?
Ours are colored. I think the kids like it that way. Works for now. I don't have a strong preference. My mom has two trees -- her fancy tree is all clear lights with gold, crystal and white ornaments and is just gorgeous.


17. Favorite Christmas song?
Away In A Manger.


18. Travel at Christmas or stay home?
Well, we go to my parents' house for Christmas Eve, have all the grandparents over for breakfast on Christmas morning and go to my in-laws for Christmas dinner.


19. Can you name all of Santa's reindeer?
Not at the moment. I'm too tired. Love that Rudolph, though!


20. Angel on the tree top, or a star?
We have both. The angel is in SORRY condition though, so probably a star.


21. Open the presents Christmas Eve or Christmas morning?
My kids get to open one gift on Christmas Eve each year and it's always new, washed and ready to go pajamas to sleep in. Another tradition I carried over from my own childhood. I love it. Georgia's just arrived today -- here they are!


22. Most annoying thing about this time of year?
I think for me it's that stress sometimes wins out. Too many parties, too many gifts to buy, too many cards to mail, too much food to cook, etc. It's like good intentions pile up and sometimes result in the focus of the season getting lost. It's sad that it sometimes feels so hard to make the season Christ-centered.


23. What I love most about Christmas?
I love seeing the whole thing through the eyes of my children. The wonder of the story of Jesus' birth. The beautiful songs that they love to sing. The joy and excitement of the gift giving and receiving. The fun it is to see them adore the trees, the lights, and all of the decorations. I just think that there's nothing like the magic of the season to a child. I just love it.



As for tagging someone, I'm going with Sadie, Emily, and Teresa. Get on it, sisters. By the way, T -- I always want to comment but it won't let me. And, Em - I am trying to get you to move past the pumpkin patch, honey. LOL *smooches to you, friends*

A Hand To Hold...

On Thursdays I work and am lucky enough to have in-laws that not just agree to, but love to watch our kids for me while I see my clients. The kids look forward to going, and their grandparents look forward to having them. It's free daycare for us, so it's a great situation all the way around.

Yesterday morning as we arrived, Georgia did something that really caught my attention. It was one of those things that I'm sure on most days I'd never notice, but ever since it happened, I have found myself thinking about it pretty frequently.

It was really cold yesterday morning so Miss G was all bundled up in her coat and hat and was tightly clutching her beloved Duck Duck in her right arm. I was walking beside her on her left side. As we got to the porch step that is much too tall for her to just step right up on, she stopped. Then she simply lifted her chubby little hand in the air.

She didn't look up.
She didn't look around.
She didn't say "Momma."
No, she simply held up her hand and knew with unfailing certainty that I would be there to help her. She was right...I was.

As you may or may not recall, I have chosen the word "Trust" to be my guiding theme for the coming year. There was my not-yet-two-year-old baby girl demonstrating for me what it truly means to trust. Without batting an eye, she raised her hand into the air, confident that I would be there to hold it and help her get where she needed to go.

I so badly want that to be me.

Next time I'm standing in front of a step that I know is much too large for me to take, holding tightly to that which I hold so dear, I want to without a second thought hold up my hand. I want to do that and know that He is beside me, waiting to take my hand and give me the help we both know I need.

Unfortunately, this is not a strength of mine. Yet.

I tend to get into situations that require a great deal of faith and trust and do a lot of talking about both of those things, yet it takes me a while to actually do the trusting and have the faith. It's not that I don't think the Lord walks beside me. It's not that I don't think He cares. It's not that I don't think He wants to help me.

It's that I don't make myself available for being helped. He can't hold my hand unless I give it to Him. Many times I make it as though I need to seek Him out with bullhorns and neon lights.

"Yo, God -- this way. I'm over here. I see a step. I'm afraid. I can't do it myself. I need help."

Sure, that will get His attention. Sure, He will find me. Sure, He will help me.

But He'll do it anyway, even if I don't say a word.

Psalm 9: 9-10 (NLT)

9 The LORD is a refuge for the oppressed,
a stronghold in times of trouble.

10 Those who know your name will trust in you,
for you, LORD, have never forsaken those who seek you.

Trust.

I keep coming back to trust in a big way, friends. I just never thought my little Love Bug would give me such a clear example of what it's supposed to look like.

Wordless Wednesday...

Blue Tootsie Pop + Runny Nose = Not Good For Anybody

Spreading Free Holiday Cheer...

Okay, I know -- two posts in one day! But I had to share! You see, last year one of my friends emailed this to me and Mitchell just about peed his pants watching it. Then we did it with Mitchell's picture and the child was literally doubled over, cracking up through the whole thing.

Well, folks -- it's that time of year again and this time, they've bumped it up a notch. Instead of one picture, you can use up to four.

So. Of course we did the whole family!!

I just emailed it out and have gotten responses that have ranged from "sort of disturbing" to "hilarious" to "wow". (Incidentally, the friend who said it was slightly disturbing OF COURSE tried it herself!) So -- make your own decision. If you (and your kids) love it, you can make your own when we're done grooving. Oh, and you can record your own voice on there, too -- but we were much too impatient to wait for that to finish loading. Enjoy!

Watch our family rock the house by clicking here.