18 weeks

Here I am, 18 weeks along with baby boy. I've thought about looking at pictures of me at this stage while pregnant with the girls but I'm sure it'll just depress me as I know I was smaller. O'well, he's healthy and I'm healthy and that's all that matters. I've gained 8 pounds so far and am trying to not let that get out of control. We had a great doctor's appointment last week and I praise God for getting us to this point and for our health. Michael wants to decorate the baby's room in airplanes, WWII planes, so we found some bedding we both like and bought some small model planes from Hobby Lobby to decorate with. He's very excited about the planes we bought, it's so fun to see his excitment. I'm feeling good besides the discomfort of stretching and am feeling the little guy move around more and more each day. I can't wait for the girls to feel him move!

Home in PA

We spent this past week in PA looking for a place to call home. God blessed us with a great house that will soon be our's and it clearly stood out among the others as the place for us. Finding a place with some breathing room is difficult there but thankfully He lead us to the right place. I was hoping to find something that didn't have a drive under garage but at least 70% of the houses there have this due to the rolling hills so that wasn't an option. The house is 4 years old and in very good condition. There've been no kids or pets living in it so it's about as close to brand new as you can get without it actually being brand new. The owners had beautiful furniture and decorations so it'll be intersting to see what it looks like after we get our things moved in. It definitely won't look so formal or fancy but that's ok. We're more relaxed and simple and I want my home to feel like a home where you can sit back and be comfortable without worrying that you'll break something or breathe the wrong way. =) Enjoy the pictures, we are praising God for His direction and provision!

This free picture slideshow made with Smilebox

I'm so behind!

I'm so far behind with blogging. I don't know that I'll ever catch up. There are many pictures I'd love to share but never enough time. Since my last post, we spent a week in Indiana visiting family, Michael and I went away to Lexington for our 10 year anniversary, we got our move notice on Tuesday and are to be in PA by July 19, got our house on the market, and found out this past Thursday that we're having a boy (We are so excited!). We also had a garage sale and a house showing today that both combined just about put me over the edge. I'm thankful there's interest in our house and thankful to get rid of lots of stuff we don't we want to move but it's just been crazy lately and there haven't been enough hours in the day. This next week we'll be house hunting in PA so maybe the following week I can catch up with the blog. We'll see. So, for now, here are a few pictures, definitely not all that I want to share but these'll have to do. The girls with Great Grandpa and Grandma Burch Anna's Preschool Graduation Michael and I celebrating 10 years of marriage. Thank you Lord for a wonderful husband who's my very best friend, a great daddy, and most important, a man who's given his heart to the Lord and strives each day to live for Him.

Baby update

I'm a week late in updating but so goes life. I had a doctor appt. last Thursday and praise the Lord, the placenta has moved according to the ultrasound. It's now in a safer spot which is such an answer to prayer. I do have a cervical polyp that is causing the spotting that is sometimes heavy at times but it's not affecting the baby. The baby looked very healthy and was still measuring ahead. We were able to see the bladder and stomach and the heart rate was 153 bpm. My due date is now November 8th although if they don't feel like they can safely remove the polyp before delivery, I'll more than likely have a c-section once I'm full term before I would go into labor on my own. We go back for another check-up and ultrasound on June 3rd and will find out what we're having then. Soooo excited!!! =)

Audrey's Big Owie

Yesterday the girls were having a good 'ol time wrestling and this is what ended up happening to Miss Audrey. We're not exactly sure how it happened but it was pretty scary as her eye was bleeding and she was screaming. We got her checked out and it's healing fine on it's own but it sure doesn't look pretty. It will probably leave a small scar where the eyelid has a small cut on it, but other than that she should be looking ok in a few days. No more wrestling!!!

Happy Mother's Day!

I'm so thankful to be a Mommy. I remember years ago when we were struggling to get pregnant with Anna and even before that how much I longed to be a mother. I so looked forward to the day when a child would call me "mommy". Sometimes I forget about those times in the chaos and trials of each day but the Lord is faithful to remind me of all that I have to be grateful for. Anna planted these flowers for me at school, she was soooo excited to show me what she'd been working on at preschool, and both girls made me lots of sweet crafts. They even baked a cake for me with Daddy's help. I am spoiled!! I'm so thankful for these sweet girls and the little one in my belly that the Lord has entrusted in my care. I am blessed to be their Mommy! I pray that I will model for them each day what my mother modeled for me; complete devotion to my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. There is no better gift to give your child!

Barbies with Daddy

This is one of the many reasons I love my husband. Does he enjoy playing Barbies? No, but he'll do it because his girls ask him to. What a great daddy!! =)

Cuddly Cows

My Aunt Carol got a cow for each of the girls when they were newborns and both girls have slept with their cows from day 1. As you can see, the attachment to their cows is strong. I couldn't pass up these picture opportunities the other night when I checked on them and they both had their cows right there with them. Too sweet!

Gliding

This glider swing has provided hours of entertainment over the past 2 years. Anna used to swing on it for a half an hour and never stop. Now that Audrey's big enough to swing on it too, the girls will spend lots of time on it together. What a great investment!

Fun neighbors

We had fun "neighbors" living behind our house up until a few days ago when the family moved. The girls used to call for the puppies as soon as we'd step foot out the door and the puppies would coming running, sticking their noses through the fence wanting to be played with. The girls would run back and forth along the fence and the puppies would run with them. They had so much fun wearing one another out. We were so sad to see them move away to a new home.

Pancakes & Pajamas

Last week Anna's preschool class was learning about the letter P. They had a pancake breakfast with their Mommies and Daddies on Friday morning and got to wear their PJ's to school. Anna was quite excited!

Jamocha Shakes... Mmmm Good!

So, many many years ago my mother introduced me and my siblings to Jamocha shakes from Arby's and the addiction was quickly established. I have now passed on the addiction to my children and they are oh, so happy whenever we get them. As you can see, they hardly come up for air until they're gone. =)

April Showers

Rain boots and umbrellas are priceless when you need some fresh air and it's wet outside!

Baby #3

That's right, we're expecting baby #3! And, I can't believe how fast my tummy is growing with this one. I'm wearing a BeBand in the picture because it's very uncomfortable to fasten my pants and this band holds them up even when they're not fastened. How cool is that! I've only gained 1 pound but I feel and look like I've gained lots more. We found out yesterday that I have placenta previa meaning the placenta is covering my cervix which explains the spotting I've had with this pregnancy. I've been nervous to make this pregnancy public because I wasn't sure how things would turn out. Thankfully the baby is very healthy as we've seen in 3 ultrasounds now. He or she is measuring a little over a week ahead so my doctor is going to move my due date up. As of right now, I'm just saying that our due date is early November. Anna especially is very excited about this new little one. She says she wants a brother but when talking about the baby she calls it "her" and tells us it's name is Emma. Audrey doesn't really have a clue yet but I'm sure once my tummy gets bigger, she'll understand that something is in there. I go back in 2 weeks for another check on the placenta. Until then I am to rest as much as possible with no lifting, pelvic rest, and no exercise. We are so thankful for everyone's prayers and praise the Lord for seeing us through this not-so easy time.

Audrey's big girl bed

Miss Audrey moved into her new big girl bed on Sunday night and is doing really well with it. She was up a few times that night but since then has done great. It's like she's grown up overnight not wanting me to rock her anymore or sing to her, but just tuck her in and turn out the light. That's kinda hard for Mommy to swallow but I'm thankful she's doing well. We'll see how long her excitement over her new bed lasts. :) By the way, I hope you enjoy hearing her fake laugh in the video. I hear it lots each day and it still makes me smile. She's such a goof!

Anna is reading!

Anna loves to read and I've been wanting to get it on video for awhile now. She really likes Dr. Suess books. When she slows down, she does great!

Audrey Beethoven

The girls love to play the piano, Audrey especially. She often climbs up on the bench and "serenades" us with her latest masterpiece. She had her 2 year check-up yesterday and she's growing well. She weighed 25 pounds putting her in the 25th percentile and was in the 75th percentile for height. Dr. Walker was impressed with how flexible she is. I'm wondering if she's not double jointed because she can get herself in some incredible positions. She knows all of the alphabet, all colors except red consistently, and counts to 12 so she's doing well learning like a little sponge. She's quite the tough girl, didn't even cry when getting her shot at the doctor, not even a whimper. Michael and I were shocked as her big sister has to be restrained by 4 adults when she gets shots. We're working on potty training. She does well somedays and other days she argues when it's time for her to try to go. Hopefully, by the end of summer she'll be completely trained. Enjoy the videos... I love to hear her sing!

Oh Poopie!

Oh poopie, literally! I had changed Audrey's diaper upstairs, tied it in a bag, and then asked Anna to go gently toss it over the railing so that I could take it out to the garage when we got downstairs. So Anna took the diaper and tossed it over the railing. She then came back to Audrey's room and said, "Mommy, the diaper is on the light." I thought she meant the piano light which is somewhat below the railing and didn't think much of it. I finished getting Audrey dressed and then we headed toward the stairs. I was SHOCKED when I saw which light Anna meant! I laughed my head off first and then thought, "Oh no! How are we going to get that down?!" I didn't even want to attempt getting it down for fear that I'd break something so we just left the smelly diaper hanging on the chandelier over the entry way until Daddy got home. Anna was so proud to show him what she did. :) He was able to reach across the railing with a rake and get it down thankfully. It's a good thing he got it down too as we had Bible study at our house that night. I'm sure our friends wouldn't have appreciated the latest air freshner we had. :)

Chores with Grandma

We visited my family in IN a few weeks ago and Anna got to enjoy a special treat while there. Grandma Kathy let Anna feed the animals and Anna thought she was big stuff! Michael and I hate that our girls won't know much about farm life. We both grew up as farm kids and learned a lot from it. Hopefully our girls will get to experience a little bit of it whenever we visit our parents. I miss farm life sometimes. Doing chores in the morning and at night kept me in great shape and there's something fulfilling about caring for animals and just being out in the country. It's in my blood I guess. Anna loved playing with the cats especially. She told Mom that her clothes were too big and we got a good laugh out of that, that's just part of it!

Easter

Personalize your own free slideshow