Prayer Request

I have so much to be thankful for on this Thursday night.  We had a great Christmas, David and I had a wonderful date last night and today while his parents kept Audrey, and tomorrow I get to celebrate my birthday with my two favorite people on earth.  However, my mother's heart is struggling this evening.  For the past several weeks, we've had serious sleep issues with Audrey.  She has been a model sleeper since nearly day one and has slept through the night with clocked regularity since five months of age.  Her bedtime and sleep routine were set in stone and her sleep schedule was unbelievably predictable.  However, the past few weeks have been horrible.  With very little exception, she's taking an hour or two to fall asleep, with fits of crying and calling us back.  Then, she wakes up anywhere from one to seven times during the night crying for us.  On top of that, she's waking up earlier in the morning and napping shorter in the afternoon.  We've done a myriad of things to try and fix this and today, while she was away, David and I spent almost an hour mapping out a plan to handle this that we are going to consistently stick to come hell or high-water.  Well, let me just tell you as I was lying on the bathroom floor with the doors closed to drown out the noise, bawling and praying while David stood outside her door consistently and sternly dealing with her as she was screaming her heart out for me, it was hell.  


I know there could be a multitude of reasons for this behavior, but my top two guesses are excitement about Christmas and anxiety about the new baby coming.  Of course, we've played our part by going back to her again and again and thereby reinforcing her behavior.  Regardless, it has to end before this entire household goes insane.  And before we add a newborn and all the sleep depravity that comes with one to the mix.   


So please, please pray for her and us, dear friends and family.  Pray for wisdom and the discipline to stick to our plan.  Pray for peace for her and patience for us.  Pray for SLEEP.  For having you to ask that of,  I am thankful.  

Home Stretch, Baby!

Tomorrow marks the start of my third and final trimester.  Final, final, final, trimester, because as I've mentioned before, unless God surprises us, we're done.  And as soon as the little booger is a bit older, we plan on ensuring against such a surprise.  In fact, I'm trying to talk David into getting it done while I'm in the hospital so we can recover simultaneously, but he's not going for it.  (Kidding...sorta.)

Overall, this has been a great pregnancy, as my first was with Audrey.  I was sick the first trimester, but not as badly as many women. And except for some sleep issues, I have felt relatively good during the second trimester.  Still, even with such a great experience, I am not one of those women who just love being pregnant.  I struggle quite a bit with my weight during pregnancy, which in turn means I struggle mentally about my looks, lack of physical fitness, food, etc.  I love feeling life inside of me, but I don't particularly enjoy putting my body and my mind through all that pregnancy, childbirth, and breastfeeding require.  Obviously it's worth it, though.  That's a given.

So now that we're in the home stretch, I'm finding myself more relieved than freaked out.  I feel like we'll be as prepared as we can be as far as having the house, room, and baby stuff ready.  What's left is the anxiety over things you can't do anything about.  Those nagging questions like,  "When is he going to get here?" and "Holy cow, how on earth are we ever going to manage two?" and "Will we ever be able to give them both enough attention?" or "Will we ever be able to give each other and ourselves any attention again?  EVER?"

Of course, there is a little sadness mixed in there as well.  I don't want to wish or rush these last couple of months away.  Every kick and punch reminds me of how incredible it all is.  Every time someone asks me what we're having or when I'm due, I remember it's such a special time. 

So, bring it, third trimester.  I promise to try and enjoy the blessing of it.  Just be good to me...and don't overstay your welcome.    

Thankful Thursday

We've really been trying to slow down and soak up the final days of the season this week.  We got to spend some good time with family and friends this past week and have even more great celebrations coming in the next few days.  However, for some reason, likely because we have this gigantic life-changing event just on the horizon, it's been a little more difficult for me to get into the Christmas spirit this year.  Christmas is usually the last show-stealing event until Spring, but knowing we have Baby Boy's arrival to continue preparing for and anticipating steals a little thunder...in a good way.  (AND, I'm still bitter about the warm weather, too.)  Still, we've done some awesome things as a family and made some sweet memories this month.  More on that later.  For now, enjoy this week's list and make sure you didn't miss the post below!


1.  A good doctor's report.  We went in on Tuesday for my 28 week check-up.  Baby Boy is doing great and measuring a little ahead, as Audrey did.  The doctor predicted he'll come around 38 weeks, which would be two months from this Sunday.  Egad.  This from the same guy who was "so sure" Audrey wouldn't come until he got back in town.  False.  Only God knows, and we'll be as ready as we can be.  Still, I wouldn't mind shaving those last two weeks off.  At all.  Just no Leap Day, pretty please!!!

2.  Christmas movies...and the down time to enjoy them.  We've let Audrey watch a few this year - The Grinch (cartoon), Charlie Brown's Christmas, Rudolph, and Frosty - and we've even enjoyed two or three ourselves.  Nothing says 'Merry Christmas' like watching Randy Quaid empty the family camper's sewage pump in his too-short bathrobe.  (Funny side story to prove the power of pregnancy hormones:  I sobbed like a baby at the scene in "A Christmas Story" where Ralphie is beating up the bully and his Mom comes and pulls him off.  Weird-o.) 

3.  Teeny tiny newborn diapers loaded in a handsome new diaper bag.  


4.  The color red, in many forms this time of year:  Red reindeer pajama bottoms, red bows in a pretty girl's hair, red festive toenail polish, red wrapping paper, red (and green and blue and yellow) Christmas lights, and red tongues from candy canes, to name a few.


5.  Listening to Audrey sing Christmas carols has been neat this year.  She has several of them down pretty well, and it's awesome to belt them out with her while driving down the road.  This last Christmas song post is my personal favorite.  It's of her singing a medley of her favorites...with a little personal remixing and verse combining thrown in:

Merry Christmas, y'all!  I hope you have a wonderful time celebrating with your loved ones.  Check back next week for a rundown of all of our festivities!

The News at 30 Months (2.5 years!)

Shame, shame, shame on me.  I haven't posted one of these updates about Audrey in five months.  It is NOT looking good for Baby Boy ever having hope of me recording his life and milestones.


Ah, well.  What you can when you can, right?  So here:


At two and a half, she is simultaneously becoming more independent and dependent by the day.  She can do so much by herself, but she also longs for a lot of interaction and socialization, specifically with adults.  She is incredibly verbal and talks constantly, so she prefers having someone who will listen and respond to all those thoughts in her little head!  


Her vocabulary, verb conjugation, and overall verbal ability never cease to amaze me.  She uses past, present, and future tense correctly about 75% of the time.  Most of the new words she's using lately astound me mainly because they illustrate that she's also grasping a difficult concept.  For example, she'll explain that she "accidentally opened the wrong day on the advent calendar" (which she did when I left her unattended with it) or that one out of the three dolls she was playing with sits up the "easiliest"  (okay, so she didn't quite have the exact phrasing correct, but it still impressed me!)  She also uses pronouns and possessive nouns (she vs. her, his cup instead of him's cup, etc.) correctly most of the time.
Her slang and casual vocabulary are pretty funny to hear as well, especially when she refers to David as "Dad", as if she's just too grown to say "Daddy."    


Another crazy thing for us to witness developing is her memory.  You cannot say anything you don't mean because she'll hold you to it.  She's always been one to harp on things continuously, but the difference is that now she could go weeks or months in between bringing it up and is still able to recall it with accurate clarity.  Yesterday, for example, we went to meet some friends at Chick-fil-A.  She told me how the last time we saw them was at their house and the time before that (about two weeks ago), they came to our house.  That time, Mrs. Karen went to go get Chick-fil-A and bring it to us and her friend cried while her mommy was gone and then we played play-dough.  She also remembers our beach trip in September (and wants to talk about it all the time), our visit to the pumpkin patch in October, our trip to Savannah in November, meeting Baby James in the hospital (totally to our advantage so we can remind her of that when our time comes!), etc.  And Lord help you if you skip a page or say the wrong words from a book.  She knows most of them by heart and will correct you immediately.


Potty training has markedly improved, though I still wouldn't say we're there yet.  Her record is five days without an accident, but then she'll have two wet incidents in one day out of nowhere.  She still sleeps in diapers and we're still taking her at regular times - before we leave the house, after meals, & once every hour when we're out - so I don't think that really counts.  I think the truth of the matter is that we're finally trained.  I will consider her fully there when she can take herself to the bathroom, go, wipe, flush, wash, and dry without my assistance.  I expect that'll happen by the time she's ten.  At this point, I'd just settle for not having to remember on her behalf and her taking ownership of it.  One day.  


She still loves to sing and dance, read books, play with her dolls, and be outside.  The past few months, she has also really gotten into helping me cook.  She'll drag a chair over to the counter, climb on, and help add ingredients and stir.  Her imagination is thriving and I would LOVE to know where she comes up with some of the stuff she does (see quips and quotes below.)  She makes up words, songs, and dances all the time.  She enjoys doing mazes, is getting great at counting objects (though she still skips 15 almost every time), and even has a vague concept of things like time and addition.


Her overall personality is still a mix of both David and me.  She can be shy, especially in a large crowd (David), she's very observant (David), and inquisitive (David).  She likes her order and routine, sometimes to a fault (me), has a temper and gets frustrated with objects (me), and is impatient (me)...hey, wait...why is all the negative stuff from me?!?!  Truthfully, I think it's easier for me to spot areas in her that I know she'll struggle with because they're my battles too.  Though she doesn't have a sibling yet, I can see many first born traits emerging:  she's a leader, she's a perfectionist about many things, she has a strong sense of right vs. wrong and a desire to please us.  She likes rules and boundaries, and she really likes making sure others follow them as well.  In fact, her stuffed animals seem to get put into time out a lot.  Her caring and nurturing heart is so precious, but as a two and a half year old, she's obviously still very self-centered.  So, as long as she doesn't have a boo-boo too, she'll be more than happy to doctor yours up and fuss over you.


Speaking of self-centeredness, we've tried hard to instill a sense of gratitude and the desire to help and serve others since before she could walk.  Lately, she's been able to earn a coin, usually a nickel, to give to our church's Feed 5000 project every time she helps us empty the dishwasher.  (We are firm believers in doing chores and helping out because you're part of a family, not for an allowance or reward, but we thought it would be good to have one activity she could do to raise money for a project our church was doing.  We'll tackle saving, spending, and tithing down the road.)  So, for a few weeks, she collected all the coins in a box and we kept stressing why she was doing it.  When people would come over, we'd let her show them her box and explain that she was going to give it to the church to help them buy food for people who needed it.  Let me just tell you that few things have warmed my heart as a mom as much as watching her tiny hands carry her little plastic bag full of coins and dump it into the bucket at church two weeks ago.  Of course, she has since asked for it back, so we've started another round of collecting for the church.  


To balance all my bragging and boasting, I will add that her whining is still an issue.  It's not necessarily when she requests something, so it's more than just asking her to rephrase it in a big girl voice.  Instead, she'll whine if  she doesn't want to eat something, we don't respond right away, or we are taking too long to pay attention to her.  It is nails on a chalkboard to me and I haven't found a good solution for it yet other than consistent reminders and time-outs when needed.  Just leaving her and going for a drive, though tempting, seems a little irresponsible.


Her eating and sleeping habits haven't changed much in the last six months to a year.  She eats most everything, though we're keeping her off of peanut butter and peanuts because it appears to cause a little rash around her mouth.  Some day I'll take her in for an allergy test. Her favorite foods are macaroni and cheese, pizza, and cookies, though I assure you those are enjoyed sparingly.  She still naps from 2pm - 4pm, goes to bed around 8:30pm, and gets up at 8am.  She has been taking a long time to fall asleep at night, so I imagine after Christmas we'll be adjusting her to a shorter nap.  This makes me sad, but I know Baby Boy isn't going to sleep for longer than an hour and a half or so once he gets past the first month, so I guess it'll get me readjusted to those shorter naps.  




Here are some funny quotes and quips from her over the past few weeks and months:


 - "There are no clouds in the sky today.  They must be on the ground somewhere.  I'll use a stool to put them back up and then fly, fly, fly back down into your van, Mommy."


 - She's learned to "do a secret" as she calls it.  She puts her little hands around her mouth and whispers just quietly enough so the neighbors can't hear.  


 - Me:  "We did a great job cooking dinner, didn't we?  AJ:  "Yup.  You're welcome."


 - She calls the scar on my forehead a music note.  Because it's actually two scars right beside each other - a chicken pox scar and a vertical line - that's what it looks like to her.


 - A few months ago she told a random sales lady that "My parents don't play with me because they're older.  And they don't pay any attention to my brother and sister."  WHAT in the WORLD?  Nice, kid.  


-  AJ:  "Can you toss me a grape, Dad?"  (David obliges.)  "Thanks."


 - I was explaining to her that I wasn't sure her Daddy was going to let her do something. She answered, "Yes he will! I'll say 'pweeeeeeese' [batting eyelashes] and he'll smile, and laugh, and say, 'Okay!'" Oh boy.


 -  When answering her about what was for dinner I said chicken. She said "No way, Jose" with feigned shock. Guess getting the sarcasm gene was inevitable.


 - Words she says incorrectly that are too darn cute to correct: Burriteo (burrito), pennio (piano), and "bless yous" are sneezes.

 - When we asked her what we should name her baby brother, she replied "Zeke."  It's the name of one of her dolls (a girl, no less) and I believe she got it from the show Sid the Science Kid.  


 - She's very complimentary of other people and, sometimes, their attire or accessories.  She told one sitter she "just loved" her purse and told her Grandmom that she "loved her socks.  They're so cool!"  


 - In addition to throwing out the compliments, she's very gracious at receiving them.  Whether you compliment something she's wearing or something she had no part in (our Christmas tree, for example) she'll say "Thanks!"


 - She is obsessed with different things - stuffed animals, her fingers, her food...whatever - having Momma and baby pairs.


 - I knocked over some picture frames at a store the other day (thankfully none broke!) and I said "Oh no!" as I bent down to pick them up.  She came rushing over, patted me on the back and kept repeating, "It's okay, sweetheart!  It's okay!"  


 - When we use the "big potties" at stores, I squat down beside her and let her lean on me a bit to stabilize herself.  Sometimes I'll scratch her back to try and get her to relax.  When it's my turn to go, she'll ask, "Can you lean on my shoulder now?" or she'll come around and scratch my back.  A very sweet moment, albeit in a disgusting public restroom.  


 - She's loved learning all of the Christmas songs.  Her favorite is "Jingle Bells" to which she sings "In a one horse soap and sleigh."  She knows those aren't the right words, but she'll just say, "I sing it wrong don't I?  I'm so silly!"


 - She's very concerned about her Grandmom "having a friend" when her Granddad travels.


 - Her bedtime prayers are so precious to hear.  They range from being about Baby Brother (and I think something to the effect of "do everything for him".  Maybe so we don't have to?!) to being about her Granddad's travels to specific people and their boo-boos.  


 - She loves saying the wrong word on purpose or making up silly words.  It cracks her up when David uses different fruits for the book "Ten Apples Up on Top".


 - After bath, she runs into our room and does the hotdog dance from Mickey Mouse Clubhouse while she's naked.  It's hilarious.


 - She's becoming more aware of different emotions and will tell us when she's mad, upset, tired, etc.  The other night she even told us she had started to fret about something.  

 - One night during prayer, David peeked down at her and saw her using her two pointer fingers to cover up her doll's eyes.


 - Manners have really started to stick without constant reminders.  She's pretty good at "please", "thank you", and "excuse me".  Of course, she still has trouble with tone sometimes as she demands that you "please do x right now!"


 - She constantly wants to be a part of the conversation if you are rude enough not to automatically include her or speak to her directly.  We must hear "What are you talking about?" a hundred times a day.  


 -  She and I have a thing we've started doing where she'll tell me I'm the best and then I tell her she is.  We argue back and forth until I usually relent first.  Still, I know she is...by far. :)


We are so proud (obviously) of what a sweet big girl she is becoming and, though we are a bit nervous about handling two little ones, we know she's going to mature quickly when Baby Boy arrives and be an amazing big sister!  

Thankful Thursday

It's been a little bit less hectic of a week, at least as far as what's been on my plate.  Poor David, however, has been working like a dog, including quite a bit last weekend.  I've never been a super sympathetic and merciful wife when it comes to him working on the weekend, but cross me in December when I'm also pregnant and it gets u-g-l-y.  Sacred family time, folks.   Still, in between him running up to the office to do tests for blessed customers, we managed to squeeze in a little holiday fun last Saturday.  We made a gingerbread house (which consisted of as much monitoring Audrey's candy consumption as it did actually decorating) and watched The Grinch cartoon.  Then the week began and has flown by with play dates, errands, food bag assembly, final playroom touches (maybe I'll post pics of the redo some day), dinner with friends, a little nursery decorating (again, pics to come at some point), appointments, some "final, final" shopping (I've been on "the last gift" for about two weeks now), etc.  


The first of our many family celebrations kick-off this weekend, so however hard to believe and ready or not, it's here!  Now if only the temps would drop and it would actually feel like Christmas.  Though I have enjoyed not having to bundle Audrey up and getting to let her play outside and at the park, I would much prefer that the month of December be cold!  But enough of my complaining.  This is a thankful post, after all. Here ya go:


1.  My Dad, whose birthday is tomorrow.  He's one of my biggest fans, my fellow business mind, my instiller of humor and music and good driving.  I am so thankful God made him my earthly father to exemplify His heavenly love.  Happy Birthday, Dad!  We love you! 


2.  The gift of laughter...especially when it comes at just the right moment.  Last night I awoke to AJ screaming and crying. I rushed to her room, expecting to find her violently ill or injured. The crying stopped immediately and her tiny voice pleaded, "Can I have a Boogie Wipe, please?" Repeat scene 5 minutes later with, "Can I have a trash can to throw it away, please?" Then, 20 minutes later with, "Can you help me hum, Mommy? I can't hum with a stuffy nose." Needless to say, it became a battle of manipulation and wills after that. At least she's humorous and polite in her dramatics.


3.  Lil' Critters gummy vitamins  Despite my previously listed item, Audrey has gotten over her cold amazingly quickly and I attribute it to prayer and those little jewels.


4.  The self-serve kiosk at the post office.  You can buy stamps and mail packages and rarely have to wait at all.  In fact, today was a record wait time for me of approximately 90 seconds.  


5.  This week's Christmas song selection is "Stille Nacht" (Silent Night) by Mannheim Steamroller.  I'm obviously trying to branch out from the usual top ten, and this is definitely a unique favorite.  Sometimes the instrumental ones like this offer a nice break to pause and reflect on Christmas without having to drown out Mariah Carey to do so. 







Please pray we sleep and stay well and that we get some family down time this  weekend to soak up the season.  Hope you do too!

Thankful Thursday

Well, I thought this week would be less crazy, but it didn't shaped up that way.  I posted the following status update on Facebook on Monday:  "The house is clean and decorated inside 
and out, cards are mailed, all shopping is finished (for all 40 people), and except for the last 
two gifts that should be delivered soon, it is all wrapped. They really should bottle up pregnancy hormones and sell them. Now it's time for the real fun to begin: Parties and   
celebrations, baking, watching Christmas movies, etc...YAY! Work hard, play hard!"


Then, Tuesday hit.  It was a whirlwind of grocery shopping, baking for David's work luncheon (complete with two desserts because I ruined the first) and my ladies' Bible study brunch, shopping for birthdays, making returns, printing pictures, etc.  In the middle of all of it, one Bible verse kept popping into my head, "Pride comes before destruction and a haughty spirit before a fall."  That'll teach me to be boastful about how together I have it!  Thankfully this weekend looks to hold some real family chill time, though I'm certainly not going to be bragging about it if it turns out that way.


Here is this week's list:


1.  A wonderful ladies' small group.  We had our end-of-semester celebration yesterday and I am so thankful for the opportunity I had to help lead these women for the last twelve weeks.  Getting into God's Word always proves fruitful, but doing it with such a great group of encouraging and godly women is a true blessing.  My Wednesdays won't be the same until we meet again in February!


2.  Getting to organize the nursery a little bit. I'd been looking forward to it for a long time (uh, since the pregnancy test turned positive!), and finally got to break out my label maker and get to work this week.  Serious. FUN.      


3.  Crock pot meals.  There is such a moment of joy when I walk downstairs after getting Audrey up from nap and, instead of feeling panic about what on earth to make for dinner or dread doing it, I realize it's already done.  The only thing better is leftover night.  


4.  A great trip to see Santa.  David met Audrey and me at the mall today for Audrey's visit and then we went to lunch afterward.  She was apprehensive and shy about seeing him, but didn't cry.  She just kept nodding at his questions, including when he asked "Don't you look gorgeous?"  Biased as I am, I must admit she did.  She told him she wanted "some treats" and then sorta smiled for a few pictures before she got a sucker.  It was totally worthwhile.  (And, lest I forget to post my thoughts about it later:  Yes, we are "doing" Santa Claus in our house.  We keep it pretty low-key and instead make sure our main focus is on teaching her about the real Meaning of the holiday.  No, I don't think it'll ruin her later, give her trust issues, or make her doubt the existence of Jesus Christ.  When kept in perspective, it's magical, fun, develops the imagination, and lets kids be kids for the short time they get to these days.  And to those whose main argument against it is that it requires you lie to your kids, check and see if that task doesn't happen before noon on most days about some issue.  K...rant over.)


5.  This week's Christmas song was difficult to choose.  I think everyone has that one treasured Christmas album that they grew up listening to.  In our house it was "Alabama Christmas" by Alabama.  I cherish every single on it, including "Thistlehair the Christmas Bear." (Nope, not kidding.)  When my brother sent me a picture of his reindeer out in the yard, it was settled about which song from the album would make it on the blog this week.  Forgive the video message from a random YouTube poster, enjoy the cheesy song, and have a taste of my childhood:







Be sure to check out the two new posts below and the gallery for Thanksgiving pictures!

Food Bag Donations

As I previously mentioned, I have just started volunteering with a ministry that helps pack weekend bags for low-income kids in dire need of sustenance over the weekend.  For winter break, they will be sending home larger bags for students who normally receive weekend bags from the ministry.  If you would like to help, you could either donate food from the list below or, if you’d like, you could build a bag of your own.  If you build a bag on your own, please use the canvas reusable totes as opposed to plastic grocery bags.    


You can drop items off at my house or I will be more than happy to pick items up from you!  I know it's last minute, but items for winter break bags are needed by Tuesday, 12/13.  Donations are welcomed and appreciated after that too of course!  


Winter Break Bags:


• 2 cans ravioli or canned pasta (pull top)
• 1 cup applesauce and 1 cup fruit (like peaches/pears/etc.)
• 1 can large size soup (pull top)
• 1 ramen noodle type soup
• 2+ granola bars
• 1 pkg. pop tarts
• 1 box raisins
• 2 packages instant oatmeal
• 2 individual servings of microwavable mac n cheese
• 1 individual sweet item (pudding, little debbie, crackers, cookies, etc)
• Jar of peanut butter
• Jelly in plastic jar
• Full size box of cereal instead of individual ones
• Regular size box of macaroni and cheese • Box of spaghetti noodles
• CAN (not glass jar) spaghetti sauce
If you choose to only donate items rather than fill your own bag, fruit cups, pop tarts, and 
raisins are the greatest needs right now to stock the food pantry.


Thanks so much!

Thanksgiving 2011

This year we spent Thanksgiving Day in Alabama with David's mom's side of the family.  We drove down  that morning, ate a gigantic and delicious feast for lunch, and celebrated a few family members' birthdays (complete with more food in the form of desserts).  After the table had been cleared, David's cousin called Audrey into the living room and went through a sweet presentation asking AJ to be her flower girl for her wedding next June.  She had bought a coloring book with pictures of brides, written a poem that she'd crafted onto paper, and let Audrey decorate a page with stickers of a bride, groom, and flower girl as she explained how it all worked.  She even bought silk flower petals for her to practice throwing.  If I recall correctly, Audrey's response to her asking was, "Yeah!  Sure!" as she slung petals around the room.  It was so precious and I'm thankful that Audrey will get to play a role in that special day.  It could go hilariously off-plan and she could run away in terror when the moment comes for her to walk, but regardless, it'll make for a great story.

After we laid Audrey down for a nap, the womenfolk gathered around the kitchen table and looked through Black Friday sales ads.  While we were chatting, I shopped online and got a ton of cute clothes for Baby Boy at ridiculously low prices from my favorites, Gymboree and Crazy 8.  The menfolk watched TV, slept, ate some more, and then a few went out to shoot guns.  It was a fun all-American Thanksgiving afternoon for sure.  

When AJ woke up, we played around a little longer and then packed up and drove home.  David and I had already assembled the tree and he'd put lights on it, so it was ready and waiting for us to decorate on Thanksgiving night, as is our tradition.  We ate leftovers and then got to work.  Audrey was really into it this year, and especially enjoyed her first mug of hot chocolate while she worked.  We lit the angel on cue with the Macy's Tree on TV and then scooted her off to bed while we pulled out the leftover desserts.  Pumpkin pie, ice cream, and hot apple cider...YUM.  

On Friday, we woke up and drove to David's aunt and uncle's house to celebrate with his Dad's side.  More delicious food, more birthday celebrations for that side.  The best parts for Audrey were seeing their two dogs (one of which is a gigantic Pyrenees) and the huge Mickey and Minnie Mouse dolls his aunt had (she's a Disney fanatic.)  We visited and caught up while watching clips of the Sing-Off.  Having been out the whole day before, we didn't stay as long and hit the road in time for AJ to catch a short nap on the ride home. 

Saturday and Sunday were filled with decorating outside, watching football, shopping (we knocked out over half my remaining list, about 20 names, in two days!), wrapping, and church.  It was busy, but it was fun and such nice family time.

Another wonderful Thanksgiving full of family, food, and fun.  We have so much to be grateful for, especially knowing that next year we'll have another Little Turkey to celebrate with!  Check back for pictures soon. 

Thankful Thursday

What a week.  I wish I had the energy to write about it, but my pregnancy insomnia robbed me of another good night's sleep last night, so I'm going to quickly post my list and hope I'll be able to update more later.  I know I'm overdue for a Thanksgiving post, too.  Maybe this weekend will present some time to catch up!  I've been dying to sit down and write about all the things going on with us lately!

This week's list:

1.  The most wonderful time of year.  It's finally here.  YES.

2.  Hot showers.  Our hot water heater went out last Saturday and, two frigid showers and $800 later, was replaced on Monday.  There are a lot of luxuries we could do without...hot water ain't one of 'em.  Be sure to come over and see where your Christmas gift money went, y'all.  It's a real beaut.

3.  Friends.  Friends who keep you and your kid company while the hot water heater replacement takes much longer than expected, even going out to get you lunch because you've run out of Thanksgiving leftovers.  (Thanks KE!)  Friends who drop by with beautiful Christmas ribbon because two years ago you admired theirs and they haven't stopped hunting for just the perfect kind for you since then.  (Thanks AP!)  Friends who laugh and lament with you.  (Thanks EG!)  Friends who pray for you, with true caring hearts and without judgment. (Thanks LS!)  I am truly blessed.

4.  A new service opportunity.  I've started volunteering with a ministry called Nothing but the Truth.  They do a lot of different things in the community, one of which is to assemble weekend food bags for kids in several local elementary schools.  These kids are in dire latch-key situations, many with little or no supervision for various reasons.  They receive at least one hot free meal while school is in session, but many go hungry on the weekends and during breaks due to finances or neglect or both.  This ministry collects food, puts together the bags, and delivers them to the schools for the counselors to hand out to the kids on Fridays.  Since they began in January, they have committed to serve 45 kids in three different schools, but are hoping (and needing!) to expand quickly.  I am excited about helping out and will be posting more info soon about how you can get involved and/or make donations if you're interested.

5.  I'll be posting a few of my favorite Christmas songs here this month, beginning with Amy Grant's "Breath of Heaven".  Beautiful lyrics.


  
Last but certainly not least, please be in prayer for my brother, who was in a car accident today.  He is sore, the car is totaled.  Ask God to provide complete healing for him and a replacement vehicle quickly. This is the one that just had our nephew James, so they have quite a lot on their plates already.  Thank you!

Thankful Thursday

As I sit in my warm home, with my husband napping on the couch next to me, my daughter sleeping in her bed, and my baby kicking in my very full belly, I cannot even begin to list all of the things in my life that I'm thankful for.  This month alone has brought so many blessings:  My new nephew joining the family. Birthdays of my mom, sister-in-law, two of David's aunts, his sweet cousin, and a dear friend.  A trip to Savannah to see family.  A healthy 24 week OB check-up.  A canceled business trip to Singapore.  Two date nights and an evening with old friends.  Play dates.  Being a part of two small groups that love us...and grow us.  Productivity and accomplishment.  Obedience and submission to the Lord.  Two working vehicles.  A wonderful Thanksgiving celebration today with my in-laws, who love and accept me like their own daughter.  And those are just a few things of the past three weeks.  


We have a lot going on these days, no doubt.  I have so much to catch you up about and I know the coming weeks and months (and years?!) are going to get even busier.  That's the good news, though, isn't it?!  That my life is so wonderfully occupied, I run out of time to write about it.  As I recently read, "My plate is full, but my cup runneth over."  Hopefully I'll spill some more words in your laps soon enough.


Until then, Happy Thanksgiving.  


"Give praise to the Lord, proclaim His name; make known among the nations what He has done. Sing to Him, sing praise to Him; tell of all His wonderful acts. Glory in His holy name; let the hearts of those who seek the Lord rejoice. Look to the Lord and His strength; seek His face always...Give thanks to the Lord, for He is good; His love endures forever."  1 Chronicles 16:8-11; 34

Trip to Savannah

Last weekend, David, Audrey, and I headed down to Savannah to visit my brother, sister-in-law, and niece.  Between the traffic and the lengthy lunch stop, it took us 5 1/2 hours to get there, so we were more than ready to get out of the van and see them!  Audrey and Annelise started playing together right away.  Audrey was in heaven having her cousin, all of her cousin's fun toys, and two cats to entertain her!  We unloaded the van and set up, then played for a couple of hours before heading to the fair.  We ate questionable food (a must at the fair) and walked around and saw all the sights and sounds before choosing just the right fishing game to spend the girls' college education money on (also a must).  They each won a prize - a stuffed animal - and then we watched the pig races before I walked them around the petting zoo.  We saw a turkey, a camel, sheep, and goats, and a tiger and monkeys behind cages.  They loved it!  We all shared a funnel cake before driving home to throw them in the bath together.  It was as cute as I imagined it would be, though I'll respect their privacy and not post pictures of it. :)  


After a good night's rest for all of us, we got up on Saturday and ate a delicious blueberry pancake and bacon breakfast my sister-in-law made us.  We got ready and went over to a local animal conservation center.  The weather was cool, which this pregnant momma much appreciated.  We walked through the beautiful paths in the woods and saw cougars, a fox, owls, bald eagles, and pretty marshland.  We stopped by the little barnyard area they have on the way out and saw chickens, a cow, rabbits, sheep, a pig, and a donkey.  It's hard to say what the girls enjoyed the most, but I personally thought the bald eagles were pretty cool.  While David and Brian went to get the van, the girls did some races and dancing together.  We went to a great mexican restaurant for lunch and stuffed ourselves before going back to the house and all crashing for naps.  When the girls woke up, we played outside and then went out for seafood at a tasty local spot.  We stopped by the grocery store on the way home and they got to ride in the cool car cart and each have a sugar cookie loaded with sprinkles.  We told Audrey that only grocery stores in Savannah offer those treats.  So far, she's bought it.  :)  After putting them to bed, we stayed up and watched a movie together like real adults who can keep their eyes open past 10pm.  I think it was the first movie I'd seen since July?!


On Sunday morning, we ate a yummy breakfast of biscuits, eggs, and bacon that my brother made (and realized we have got to do more breakfast cooking around our house!) and went to their church.  The girls went to Annelise's Sunday School class together and we got to hear a great message about idolatry. Or, as great of a message as it can be when you're getting convicted of all the idols in your life.  Guess that's one sign of a good message is that it opens your eyes or makes you think about something in a different light. 


After church, we went back to their house.  We took a few pictures of the girls in their beautiful dresses, ate a quick lunch, and loaded up the van.  We left around 1pm and it only took 4 1/2 hours to get home...a much faster, and therefore better, ride back!  (I won't point out that I didn't drive at all on the way down, but drove half way on the way back!  Truthfully, I think it was the lack of traffic and the shorter stop, but still...)


A week later, Audrey is still talking about the trip multiple times a day.  She misses her Aunt, Uncle, and cousin so much!  The girls really were adorable together and got along so well.  They are both extremely verbal that I think it was really fun for them to have someone else their size who talked their ear off.  It sure was precious to listen to!  Annelise's little phrases and sayings crack me up as much as Audrey's.  I loved watching them hold hands and pull each other around.  I'm not sure who wins the prize for being the bossiest, but they are both definitely exhibiting "emerging leadership skills" as I like to call it.  Annelise puts her hand on her hip a lot and I can't even tell you how cute it looks!


We had a wonderful time and so enjoyed our visit.  I do wish we lived closer, but I have a feeling those two are going to start chatting it up on the phone before too long.  Thanks to our sweet hosts, especially the littlest one, for having us and we can't wait to see y'all again!


Be sure to check out the Picasa gallery for photos from our trip if you haven't already done so!

Our New Nephew, James

This Thankful Thursday post is incredibly easy to write:  Our nephew James Monroe McGraw was born yesterday, 11-9-11 at 9:29pm weighing 8lb 3oz and 19 inches long.  David, Audrey, and I got to go meet him at the hospital today and he's adorable.  It's a good thing we're having one or I would've had to sneak out with him.  He and his momma are doing great.  His big brother Carson hasn't met him yet, but will soon.  He'll be a great help, no doubt, just as soon as he realizes James is there to stay.

Pics are in the gallery.  I should've taken more, but didn't want to put him down long enough to pick up the camera.  Poor kid already has "second child syndrome" with less pictures of him! :)  Hopefully we'll get to see him again next week and I'll add more then.

We love you, Kevin, Jenny, Carson, and James!  We are praying for you as you get adjusted to your new family of four and are asking God to continue to bless you with health and happiness (and some sleep)!

Halloween 2011

Well, I thought I'd go ahead and post about Halloween before Thanksgiving got here.  Plus, it's 4:37am and I have nothing better to do.  Ah, pregnancy.  (And if any of you comments "Well, it's good practice for when the baby comes!" I'm going to block you from this blog.  That's one of the dumbest things I've ever been told while pregnant.  WHO needs practice not sleeping?  I'll gladly take the rest now, thank you!)


So anyway, back to Halloween.  On Saturday night, we went up to a fall festival at a nearby church.  I wasn't expecting much, but thought I'd seize another opportunity for AJ to wear her costume.  Plus, it gave us something free and fun to do.  There were a few games she could actually play, but it was a bit overwhelming between the crowds and the sweet older people making such a fuss and hugging all over her.  She thew some bean bags, did some leaf rubbing, and got a heart drawn on her hand.  We went outside to the parking lot where they had several inflatables set up, but she had no interest in them.  We all enjoyed a quick hay ride around the campus before climbing in our cars to thaw out and go home for dinner.


On Sunday night, I drew a little jack-o-lantern face on the pumpkin we'd picked out at the patch.  Audrey helped David clean it out and carve it.  She was way more into it this year than last.  She dove right in, pulling out the stringy goop and seeds, loving that part as much as I used to (still do, but I let her have it.  One more of the 18 million things you give up for your kids that no one tells you about.)


On Halloween morning, we went over to a friend's house for a little pumpkin painting, "spider" snack eating, and playing.  After we ate lunch with them, we came home for Audrey's nap.  I had been reminding her all day that when Daddy got home, we'd get to go trick-or-treating.  She'd been hearing us mention it here and there for weeks and was excited.  When she woke up, she asked if it was time.  I explained we had to wait a little longer and we busied ourselves with snack, dinner prep, and playing until it was finally time to get ready.  She put on her pink crayon costume and we went outside to take some pictures and wait for David.  As soon as she saw him coming, she waved and yelled, "Hey Daddy!  HEY!"  Before he could get out of the car, she ran to him and said, "It's time to go trick-or-treating!"  After they indulged me with a few (or 10) pictures, we set out our candy bowl and started up the huge hill outside of our cul-de-sac.


She began walking boldly up to the first house with their lights on and then slowed down as she got closer to the door.  We assured her, she found her courage for the sake of candy, and rang the doorbell.  When the lady answered, AJ whispered, "trick-or-treat" like a pro, chose one of the full size candy bars (though Hershey's over Kit-Kat...we gotta work on that) and even remembered to say thank you as we'd been coaching her to do.


After that first house, she was game.  We hit about five or six others as we made our way back down the hill towards home.  It was still light out, but we decided to go eat dinner and let her be on the giving end of handing out candy.  She chose a Tootsie Roll Pop (again, gotta work on the kid) for her treat and set it by her dinner plate, lest she lose sight of it while eating.  She kept rearranging it and sticking it in her mouth with the wrapper on.  Yes, it was cruel to make her wait, but hilarious and worth it.  We considered it character building.  The second she finished her last bite, she tore into it.  She worked on that thing forever before finally calling it quits prior to reaching the center.  Still, I think she got her money's worth out of it.


The rest of the evening was spent racing to and from the front door, handing out candy to trick-or-treaters who came by.  She loved seeing all the costumes and saying hello to everyone.  We turned out our light around 8:15 so we could start settling her down for bed.  Even after she was in bed, she still took a little longer than usual to fall asleep for all the excitement.


It was a great Halloween and, as is so often the case these days, we loved seeing and experiencing it through her eyes.  I've decided that's the consolation prize for having to watch your children grow up so fast - at least the older they get, the more they get into things and the more you enjoy sharing those new experiences with them and creating memories and traditions.  That probably works up until the bratty teenager years and then it's no fun for anyone.  But, until then, we'll savor these sweet times!


Hope you and your family had as much fun as we did!  Check out our pictures in the Picasa gallery.  Since the blog is now private, I've put the link back on the side bar under "Links" so you can access it directly from here.

Thankful Thursday

1.  A healthy 20 week check-up!  Baby boy is doing great and it was so good to see him via ultrasound.  It was the last one we'll have, so the next time we see him will be in person!


2.  Corny family fun.  Last Saturday, David and I took Audrey up to Jaemor Farms north of Gainesville.  They had a pumpkin patch, a hayride, rubber duck races, an apple gun, and a corn maze.  We had a blast and loved every minute!  It was one of those cheesy family days I've dreamed of my whole life.  


3.  Cooking again.  Okay, truthfully I don't care for it much.  The planning, the shopping, the prep, the clean-up...it's a whole lotta work.  BUT, after first trimester nausea and then all of David's travels, it does feel good to finally be back in the habit of doing that main part of my "job description."  I know it's a lot healthier for us and our budget.


4.  Pumpkins, candy, and adorable toddlers in costumes.  I'm not a Halloween fanatic and definitely do not care for the scary stuff, but I am excited about carving a pumpkin and taking AJ out on Monday night.  She's been practicing her "Trick-or-Treat!" line for weeks now!


5.  This week's song is "All Your Life" by The Band Perry.  Great talent and if you haven't heard their hit "If I Die Young", check it out too.  It's haunting, but has depth lyrically and musically that many artists today lack.  

CIA/Thankful Thursday

Last Saturday, I had the opportunity to serve with a project as part of a day that my church calls CIA (Compassion in Action).  2,200 volunteers met at the central campus and then, after an amazing time of worship and "pumping up", we were sent out to serve in one of 90 different projects in our community.  As I waited in line to pull out of the parking lot, I looked around at the hundreds of cars surrounding me.  It felt like the troops were being deployed.  It was the troops being deployed.  I got goosebumps thinking about the lives that would be affected that day and, hopefully, the message of Christ that would get out.

As I mentioned in last week's TT post, my ladies' bible study small group was helping a local ministry put on a fall festival and clothing giveaway for families in transitional housing.  "Transitional housing" in this case means a step away from homelessness.  There are no homeless shelters in our county, so it's actually an extended-stay hotel where families at financial rock bottom pay day-to-day, week-to-week, or month-to-month to live in a tiny hotel room.  The conditions are dismal at best.  

We met up with a few other volunteers off-sight and prayed over our day before driving to our location.  When we arrived, we set up the games, clothing tables, bouncy house, and food tables in an open field on the property.  As we made trips to and from our cars to unload, I kept seeing curtains move as residents peeked out to see what was going on.  The ministry we were working with has been serving there for almost a year and hosts weekly dinners and Bible studies, so they had put the word out about the festival.  Still, I imagine many people were skeptical about what we were up to.

Around 11am, people slowly started coming out.  Between the smell of the grill and the sight of the giant colorful bouncy house, we were drawing them in.  Most started out at the clothing tables, where "personal shoppers" helped them dig through mounds of clothes to find things that fit.  The kids that came jumped right into the games, running from the face painting table to the lollipop tree to pin-the-nose-on-the-pumpkin.  We also had a little photo backdrop set up with bales of hay, a scarecrow, pumpkins, and mums for a family picture.  There was a photo printer set-up so they got to have their picture to take with them.  Lunch was waiting when they wanted it, along with colorful homemade cupcakes for dessert.  We spent nearly three hours hanging out, talking with, and loving on the residents that showed up before it was time to pack it in.  I was exhausted, but I walked away feeling incredibly full, blessed, and grateful.  Grateful not only for the opportunity to get outside of myself and be the hands and feet of Christ for a day, but also for the home and material things my family and I own that I constantly take for granted. 

Instead of a typical TT post, I wanted to share five moments from that day that will stay with me:

1.  Helping a young mom rifle through infant clothes to find winter things that would fit her 9 month old baby boy.  My mind flashed to the closet in our baby boy's nursery that already has outfits on hangers inside.

2.  As we were packing up, my friend that had been taking the pictures was asking me what we needed to do with the crumbling bales of hay.  A sweet woman who lived there overheard us and asked, "If y'all are going to throw the mums away, may I have one?"  I told her I would love for her to have one of the flowers.  She argued and I insisted.  As she gratefully accepted the flower, she said something so simple in passing:  "I love...well, when I had my home I loved...putting out mums in the fall."  It struck a chord with me big time.

3.  There was a little five year old girl that patiently waited for her family to take a group shot together.  She kept telling a nearby volunteer that she was going to keep waiting until they came over because she'd never had a family picture taken.  

4.  Getting to serve alongside the ladies in my group.  It bonds you in a way nothing else can.  I was so proud as I watched them dive in, work hard, and show the love of Christ to strangers.

5.  Surprising the leader of the ministry with boxes and boxes of food for her food pantry before we left.  Her team assembles "weekend bags" of food for children in a local elementary school who have been deemed to be in the worst case latch-key situations.  Most get a hot meal for lunch five days a week but are on their own, often unsupervised, during the weekends and need easy-to-open/easy prep foods.  Knowing our touch was going to extend beyond that day and that particular crowd was awesome.

Please join me in praying for these families, especially the children.  Please also pray that David and I make time to get involved like this more often, be it there or elsewhere.  It's easy to give one day here and there, but to make service a regular part of your schedule takes intentional planning and commitment.  Despite the effort, it's the only consistent antidote I've found to selfish-centeredness and greed and is certainly a calling of Christ that we need to heed.  As I quoted last week, "Sometimes the only way people know they matter to God is if they matter to you."  I know I personally need to work on making people feel mattered around this county.  Meeting their physical needs is a doorway to meeting their spiritual ones for sure and of course that's the real reason we should be doing it.

Thankful Thursday

I woke up in a panic remembering that I hadn't written a TT post, so here I am.  Okay, that's not exactly true.  I woke up to go to the bathroom (as I have every night since I was pregnant with Audrey) and then decided I was hungry (as I am about once a week in the middle of the night) and then couldn't get back to sleep after eating my cereal (as is often a pregnancy hazard.)  SO, I decided I'd bless you with a TT post since I'm up anyway.

1.  A good night's sleep.  Not tonight's, obviously, but Sunday's.  It seems like the past three weeks have been rough in this department between having a cold, anxiety/excitement, lingering coughs from one of us, and David's traveling.  But Sunday night I got eight hours straight (minus that middle of the night pitstop) with no tossing and turning and woke up without an alarm.  It was the first good stretch I can remember in forever and it was so lovely.  Consequently, I was a very patient and productive Mommy on Monday.  Unfortunately things aren't looking good for later today.

2.  Being a part of a God-size project.  Our church, 12Stone, is having CIA (Compassion in Action) this Saturday.  There will be 2,400 volunteers working on 90 different projects ranging from prison ministry to sewing blankets for shelters to construction/painting in single moms' homes.  My women's small group is doing a fall festival and clothing giveaway for families in transitional housing that I'm really excited about.  Hopefully I'll have the time to post more about it later, but please pray for the people we're serving.  Also, please pray that volunteers (myself included) are moved to continue their service beyond just tomorrow.  "Sometimes the only way people know they matter to God is if they matter to you."  - Pastor Kevin Myers

3.  My father-in-law, Ed, whose birthday was yesterday.  He's one of the nicest, hardest-working, and smartest men I know and I'm very grateful to be a part of his family.  One of the coolest things has been for David and I to see him shine in a grandfather role.  He's so wrapped, it's pathetic. ;)  Can't wait to see how he handles two.  We love you, Ed!

4.  Rainy days.  I'm sure I've mentioned this several times before, but I love rainy days.  I would prefer it rain at least 40% - 50% of the time.  Maybe slightly less now that I have a toddler who needs to get out and let some energy loose, but I do love them.  We have had our fair share this week and boy have we needed it!  Cozy, cozy, cozy.

5.  I was browsing through my iTunes trying to find a song to post for this week and was noticing the "number of plays" column.  One line stood out to me because it had 17.  Then I realized it was "Red Means Stop", which is one of Audrey's favorite songs that we like to turn on and dance to.  I couldn't pass up the opportunity to share it with you:



Going to try to head back to bed and catch a few more z's before the next 48 hours of busy craziness begin.  Have a great Friday and weekend, everyone!

Friendly Reminder of What NOT to Say to Pregnant Women

When I was pregnant with Audrey I wrote a post about the top 12 things not to say to a pregnant woman.  Unfortunately, I've been experiencing deja vu and hearing a number of them again lately.  If you haven't already (or even if you have), do all expecting women everywhere a favor and read it here:

http://thesinyards.blogspot.com/2009/04/what-not-to-say-to-pregnant-woman.html

Of course, were I writing it now, the gender would change, I'd have my own horrifying labor and delivery story that didn't include an epidural after all, and I'd add asking if we're done (we are - and, YES, we still would've been if it was a girl) and then following up with the "But why?!" (Many reasons.  But unless you are gonna carry, birth, raise, and pay for a 3rd for us, you don't need to ask.)  But you get the gist.

Enjoy it.  And offer a sweet compliment to the next preggo momma you see.

Thankful Thursday with a BONUS update!

I've been meaning to get on here and write about the fantastic time we had last weekend, but never got around to it.  Humor me while I give you a quick update before this week's TT list:


I headed into the weekend feeling a little overwhelmed with our to-do list.  I want to get as much baby preparation done as possible before the holidays because I know how chaotic that time of year can be and I figure I won't feel much like it come January.  So that basically leaves the next seven weeks to check off some big items, and of course David is traveling like crazy right now.  But, the good news is that with with our powers combined, he and I are quite the accomplishing force.  We began the weekend with zero clue on what we wanted nursery-wise and ended it having ordered furniture and purchased bedding. (More details to come.)  We also narrowed down our name list to two choices though there's no way I'm telling until we're certain.  Just be thankful we're going to announce it before he's born this time.  Quite a productive weekend, huh?  AND, on top of all of that, he and I had an awesome date night on Friday night.  We took a long walk, visited a local restaurant we'd never been to before, and then came home and had a fire in our fire pit.  We snuggled close and roasted marshmallows for s'mores.  It was nauseatingly romantic.  :)


SO, I'm most definitely thankful for last weekend.  And you would think such an awesome time would have carried me through his next business trip this week.  I gotta confess, though, that it didn't.  I'm not sure why, but it's been a really tough few days!  Being pregnant, having a toddler, and dealing with back-to-back single mommy weeks took its toll.  Especially when I was going to bed on west coast time (he was in CA) but getting up on east coast time.  I finally broke down on the phone with him last night.  It was really late and I can't remember all of what was said, but the gist of it was mommy guilt and exhaustion.  I remember sobbing something about not having given her a green vegetable in five days and losing my temper over potty training to which he calmly replied, "You're doing the best you can.  You just gotta keep her alive."  This is pretty much our motto when he's traveling, and it was good of him to remind me.


SO, God brought us through, David just got home, and he'll be here all next week.  Of course, he does have customers in so there may be some late nights.  Just pray I don't snap and show up at one of his customer dinners to drop AJ off.  


Here is the list of things I'm thankful for this week:


1.  A two year old's version of hide-and-go-seek.  Audrey hides in plain view, can hardly wait until I'm finished counting to ten, and then jumps out in front of me while cracking up.  I love it.


2.  Rocky road ice cream.  And 3 more weeks before my next weight check at the doctor's office.


3.  Temperatures that make it comfortable to be in long sleeves and a t-shirt.  My favorite!  


4.  Humidifiers.  All of us have had a constant nighttime cough for almost two weeks. I finally broke out the humidifier for Audrey's room and I don't think I've heard anything from her since.  I wish I'd done that sooner.


5.  If you're a new blog reader, you may not know that the #5 item on my Thankful Thursday list is always a song.  This is because A) I'm grateful for music and B) It allows me to share my tastes with you and chronicle them for my kids, who I hope will some day read these random ramblings.  My pick this week is "Shake Heaven" by Montell Jordan.  You may remember him from his huge hit in the 90s, "This is How We Do It." He recently left his R&B career and is now the worship pastor at Victory World Church.  He released this song a few months ago.  It kept my spirit and motivation up several times this week!

Thankful Thursday

This week's list is short and sweet: I am thankful David is home safely from a trip to Norway, I am thankful he's taking tomorrow off, and I am thankful we get to have a hot date this weekend (during which we will be shopping for baby furniture.  Not really romantic, but SUPER exciting for me!)


Remember, the blog will be going private soon...likely tomorrow if I remember to make the switch.  If you haven't sent me an email asking to be added to the approved readers list, please do so or you will no longer have access.


Note to my immediate family:  I'm going to ignore the fact that you haven't responded and add you anyway.  You're required to read my ramblings.  


Now, in honor of my better half whom I've missed terribly this week, a sappy love song to close this week's post:  Lucky by Jason Mraz and Colbie Caillat.  Of course, I don't consider what we have a result of "luck" at all, but still, it conveys the message.  

Blog Going Private

In the next week or so, we will be making our family blog private.  If you are interested in being able to view it after this change please email me at heather@sinyard.org.  I will add your email address to the list of approved readers.  After that, you will receive an email with very simple instructions on how to sign in and view.  You will need to sign up for a free Google account if you don't already have one, but it's easy and painless.

I know this is an added step for you and a bit inconvenient, but we feel it's a necessary precaution.  We want to continue sharing and posting about our adventures, but want to make sure we do it safely.  If you've been secretly reading for awhile now and flying under the radar, don't be shy about asking to be added.  As long as we know you, we'd love to have you continue reading!

Thanks for your understanding!

Boy Oh Boy

It's 4am and I am too excited to sleep.  I went to bed to bed around 11, so 5 hours is plenty anyway, right?! Except that this makes the third night in a row of terrible sleep due to excitement.  I figured I'd better get my thoughts out on here in hopes that I might calm down for my REM cycle and attitude's sakes.

We have been anxiously awaiting finding out whether Baby #2 was a boy or girl for weeks.  Years, actually, if you consider that I've wanted kids for as long as I can remember.  But of course, since the pregnancy test turned positive, we've been especially curious.  The last few days leading up to yesterday's appointment were getting unbearable.  Everywhere I went I was dying to buy something pink or blue and everyone I met was dying to tell me exactly what I was having.  I desperately wanted to choose a name and start a nursery.  I was just ready to KNOW!  (In case you've just met me, I'm a terribly impatient person.)

SO you can imagine how my heart sank yesterday when we walked into the doctor's office and found out that the ultrasound tech had called in sick.  No problem.  We could easily reschedule for the following week, right?!  Except that she only has Wednesday appointments and for the next two weeks, David had scheduling conflicts on Wednesday that he couldn't miss.  Which meant we might as well wait until our next appointment in a month.  Which was not cool.

As we were waiting on my doctor, I whispered (read: begged, pleaded) to David:  "Look up 3D ultrasound places on your phone!"  Without even attempting to talk sense into me, he obliged.  He wanted to be able to live with me, after all.  The doc came in, listened to the heartbeat, and then when we asked, said he'd be glad to try to take a look.  He used the small ultrasound machine located beside the bed which was not as good of quality as the mega machine the tech uses.  Immediately an image of a very energetic baby popped up and I felt relief and joy seeing our healthy child.  However, despite trying for almost five minutes to get a view, that healthy squirmy baby paired with the low image quality was not giving us a definitive answer.  "I'm about 90% sure it's a boy," he said.  "Oh wow!" we exclaimed.  "That's great news!"  All the while thinking, "I am NOT a 90% kinda girl."  There was no way I was going to announce to David's parents that his branch of family line would continue without a 100% certainty.  No way.

As soon as we scheduled the next appointment and walked out into the hallway, I looked at David and before I could open my mouth, he was already looking up the phone numbers to 3D Ultrasound places again.  "I knew it," he said.  "When the doctor was hesitant to claim it I was thinking, 'We're going to get another ultrasound today.'"  He knows me too well.

(Sidenote:  For those of you concerned about ultrasound exposure, don't be.  They use high-frequency sound waves and, short of having the extreme exposure of dozens lasting long periods of time each, they're safe. We checked.)

We called a company nearby who mercifully had an opening for that afternoon.  We drove through Chick-fil-A, scarfed down lunch, and walked through their door 45 minutes later.  "Okay Lord," I silently prayed, "If you're trying to teach me patience, I think 9 months of waiting to hold my child is a really great lesson in and of itself.  Please, please don't torture us!  You know how I am - You made me this way!"

I got comfortable on the table and the second that the tech put that wand on my belly and the screen lit up, there our baby was spread eagle and showing off to the world all of his boy-ness.  David and I grabbed hands and listened to the tech state the obvious, "Yup.  It's definitely a boy."  He took a few more black and white views and then switched over to the 3D imaging.  There, in (sorta) color, was our baby.  Our beautiful baby boy.  He didn't even look like a little alien as I expected him to on the image since I'm still so early in the pregnancy.  He looked like a baby.  Eyelids were still closed and detailed features were hard to make out, but there he was.  As the tech slid the wand down to the leg area, we got yet another confirmation that we were indeed having a boy.  There it was in all it's 3D glory.

We paid (half of what we would have if we'd done it through our doctor's office, in fact) and headed to the car.  We took a moment to pray together and thanked God for the health and energy we'd just seen.  As I praised Him for the gift of this little boy's life, tears streamed down my face and I was overjoyed.  TWO kids.  One of each.  Now Audrey would have a girl cousin three months older from one of my brothers and our baby boy would have a boy cousin four months older from my other brother.   How cool is that?!  WOW.

David had taken the rest of the afternoon off, so we drove home and relieved his mom who'd been keeping Audrey.  After we put AJ down for a nap, we asked Pam if she wanted to know.  She did.  We told her. She was ecstatic and literally did the happy dance.  We waited until we got a hold of his Dad, who was on a business trip and told him on speaker phone.  He played it super cool, but we could hear the tears in his voice.  They were so excited!  After Pam left, David did some work and I got out the book of baby names.  I made it through a bunch of lists and the letters A, B, and Z before my eyes began to cross and I had to stop.

When Audrey woke up, we put our plan into action.  We set up the video camera, put her snack in front of her, and finally told her the news that she was going to be a big sister.  Her reaction was adorable ("You hold baby and you hold me!" she exclaimed.  See the video for yourself in the post below.)  I immediately emailed it out and uploaded it to Facebook.  After snack, we piled into the car and drove to Old Navy to buy something blue.  They're having a baby sale right now, so I couldn't pass it up!  On the way I talked to my mom and dad and told them the news since they wouldn't be able to view the video until late that evening.  My phone was blowing up with texts and Facebook notifications as people began to watch it.  We couldn't stop grinning.  We finally knew and could share with the world!  

After Old Navy, we went out to dinner and then checked out Carter's.  I watched Audrey while David chose a navy blue outfit that said "Daddy is my hero."  He will be, no doubt.

We drove home and witnessed the most gorgeous sunset I can recall seeing in a very long time.  As I noticed how brilliantly pink and blue it was, I laughed at God's goodness.  I know it's unbelievably self-centered, but I pretended He put on that show just for me in celebration of our little pink and blue.

We got home and made/received more phone calls from family and friends.  We gave Audrey a bath and read her a story about having a new baby in the house.  After we read our Bible story and said bedtime prayers, we asked if there was anyone she wanted to pray for.  Without prompting or hesitation, she said: "The baby growing in your tummy!"

My cup runneth over.

It's now 5 o'clock and I'm tuckered out.  Let's go back to sleep, little boy.