Ultrasound

Jon and I enjoyed a nice quiet hour during the ultrasound. We had a good report from the tech so far that things are functioning well. Baby was moving a bit while we watched. I find it so amazing that we can watch the blood flow through the heart and see the little bladder fill up on this tiny little person. What a wonderful gift God has given us!

We had a little bit of snow yesterday which pretty much turned into slush. The boys went out for about 20 minutes and then they were done. But they got to be in the snow as it came down, which was exciting for them. Otherwise it's been pretty brown and generally in the 40s-definitely an odd December. I'm just waiting to get dumped on since there's plenty of winter left.

We pray for a safe and happy new year to all!

Here's To Better Health

The kids and I have been fighting bad colds for a couple of weeks now. Thankfully Jon hasn't really gotten it. I think we're on the home stretch. Each day I use fewer tissues collectively. We had our Christmas program last Saturday, and thanks to a wonky CD player, I ended up playing piano instead of singing. I'm thinking it may have been for the best. I hope to be ringing in the new year with better health, which means I'll be getting a full night of sleep.

Jon and I are hoping to actually go on a date this week. Our 9th anniversary is next week and we'll be going in different directions. We thought about it last week, but I definitely wasn't in the mood to go out with a box of tissues. I'm looking forward to a few hours away.

We enjoyed a quick Christmas celebration with my family a couple weekends ago and hope to with Jon's family in a couple weeks. We opened presents at home on Sunday afternoon. The kids are still enjoying their new toys. Sometimes the novelty wears off quickly with them. Now I have to go through the older stuff and see what I can pack up for a while.

We have an ultrasound tomorrow. We won't find out the sex of the baby, but it's so fun to see it and affirm that everything is growing and functioning well. It's amazing to watch the little heart beat and watch the movements. I've been feeling the baby move in the last week and it's such a wonderful feeling. It also assures me that things seem to be going okay in there.

There's my random update. Have a good week!

I was trying to figure out what to write about to our adoring fans. We are again in the midst of Christmas stuff, for lack of a better word. We have upcoming family gatherings and Christmas program at church in a couple of weeks. The boys will both be in that this year. I'm curious to see how Finn does. He won't say his lines for me, but I have a feeling he'll be up there giving 100%. Finn turned 3 a couple weeks ago. At some point I will put pictures up, but I'm still working on Ben's birthday.

My parents were able to come celebrate Thanksgiving with us. We had a fun time with them, as always. The kids always enjoy seeing their grandparents.

We bought my parents' van and are absolutely loving it. It's so nice to have a little more room and to be able to get all the kids in the vehicle and then strap them in. My favorite part, though, is the remote starter, which I've used many times already as it just keeps getting colder. The kids seem to like it, too. The boys are way in back together and they have a bit more room for their stuff. I like it because they can't irritate each other or Leah like they used to. We could definitely see God in the midst of this as the van was offered only a few weeks before we found out we were pregnant. We would have spent our winter van shopping or we wouldn't be going anywhere as a family come May. So we were very thankful for that.

I had a checkup this week and baby is doing well. I think I'm starting to feel a bit of movement, which is always exciting. We're just over 17 weeks. The boys are still trying to grasp the timeline of when baby will come. I've told them when winter is over, so hopefully that will suffice for now. They keep going back and forth whether they want a boy or girl. Leah loves babies, and I think she will be a little mommy, maybe overly helpful and loving. I look forward to see how they all react. Ben has been acting out a lot lately, so I hope he's over that by May and doesn't get worse when the baby comes.

Those are my thoughts for today.

I've tried a few times now with no success to upload photos of Ben's birthday from August. Out of frustration, I haven't taken the time to actually write anything. Our big news is that we're expecting baby #4! I'm about 12 weeks now, and I'm busy enough that it's already going fast. I'll try to get a baby ticker in the margin, but I can't promise anything.

We took the kids trick or treating on Saturday night. We basically go to a few people we know, we don't make a big night out of it. This also limits how much candy they get. The boys really enjoyed it since they remembered it from last year. Leah is enjoying the results of it. Any amount of candy is great to them.

Our time outside is getting less and less. Jon spent a lot of time with the kids last week raking. I took them outside today for half an hour and I was ready to go in cause I was cold. Time to break out the hot chocolate, I think.

Not much else exciting here. We look forward to Finn's birthday in November. It's hard to believe he's going to be 3. Sometimes I just want them to be babies again.

Summer or Fall?

It's officially fall, but I'm not really sure what season it is. It's been a few weeks of fall weather. We had a very windy day this past week and lots of leaves came off the trees along with some big branches. This coming week brings the forecast of 70s and lows of 50s, which makes me think we might be outside a bit more this week. I am enjoying the turning of the leaves, going to the orchard and getting fresh apples, no more weeding in the garden.

Life seems to be pretty mundane, which is why I haven't posted much lately. Ben started going to a Wednesday night church organization. He loves it and I think it's a good social outlet for him. We have to look into preschool for him come spring.

Leah is almost 15 months. That's so hard to believe. She keeps up very well with her brothers and definitely stands her ground. I had to buy some hair stuff to keep her bangs out of her eyes. Her hair just keeps growing.

Jon tried a different rib rub this weekend than he's always used. They were the best ribs we've ever had! The kids loved them, too, and I had to actually save the last couple for Jon today or Ben would have had them gone.

Thus ends my rambling for today.

I've been meaning to get pictures of Ben's birthday on and talk a bit about that, but seeing as how I haven't done it yet, I figured I should write something. I took the kids to the doctor today for Ben's 4-year checkup. He's fine and dandy, though apparently he's quite a wax maker in one ear. The doctor couldn't even get to his eardrum, so I have to put drops in and take him back in a couple of days to get it checked. Quite interesting. I was thinking as we drove out of the clinic parking lot, this is the first doctor visit in a long time that we haven't had to stop and get some kind of medicine for somebody. As I was thinking this, Ben says to me, "Mom, do we need to stop at the pharmacy?" I guess that's become routine for him, too.

Finn has been doing very well with the potty. Of course we have random accidents, but those are few and far between. I'm enjoying not changing or buying so many diapers, and it cuts down on the garbage quite a bit. It's a wonderful thing.

Leah loves to jabber. She is saying "Dada" now. She also started staying "up" tonight. Just when you think your house can't possibly be louder, along comes another talker. I can't complain, really. I love to hear the noises my kids make as they play (minus the screaming). At least I know I have nothing to be concerned about.

On that happy note, I'm off to bed.

Anything Goes

I've been thinking of a couple of things to write but have been hindered the last few nights to do so. My title has to do with the following story:

Tuesday I took Leah to get her blood drawn for a lead level-just routine for her 1-year checkup. Per usual, she got a cotton ball with a bandage over the puncture site. So after this, we headed over to Walmart to pick up a few things. When we got there, she was picking at the cotton. I could see a wisp of it sticking out from the bandage and thought nothing of it. Then she opened her mouth and out came a big ball of cotton. I just laughed. She must have decided it wasn't very tasty, but she had to try, right?

I just love this stage of her life right now. Despite her eating everything in sight, she says hi to everybody and is just a pleasant baby generally in the store. She smiles and will sometimes wave to people. When we're at home, I'll say goodbye to her and she'll wave as she walks away from me without looking back. It's one of the cutest things she does. I had another story about her, but I can't think of it right now.

We went to Famous Dave's tonight to celebrate my birthday tomorrow and Ben's birthday on Monday. I think that's our favorite place right now-that's our go-to for birthdays. But everyone loves it and you get a variety of food, so why not? My little Ben is turning 4 and I don't think I can afford him anymore. Some meals he eats more than I do. I just can't believe how big he's getting and the things he knows now. I'm going to attempt a Winnie the Pooh cake for him-if it comes out badly, you won't be seeing pictures of it. He asked for a Sesame Street puzzle on his cake, but I'm not that talented by a long shot and I wouldn't ruin a real puzzle for that, so he'll have to settle for Pooh, which I'm sure he'll be happy with. Wish me luck!

A Joyful Week

This week we had the privilege of attending a day of Jon's family reunion. We headed up to Minnesota on Tuesday morning and arrived late afternoon. We got settled in, let the kids play in the sand, enjoyed some supper, and headed out for a game of kickball. This is a pretty big family and there were a ton of little kids the boys' ages, and it was so fun to watch them play kickball and learn how to run bases. My boys did a lot of running across the field randomly. I think we all lost our supper calories laughing. After putting the kids to bed, we played cards.

Wednesday morning we headed out to the beach. The kids spent a lot of time playing in the sand and swam for quite a while. Leah and a little girl her age fought over a big beach ball. Leah let out her signature glass-breaking scream and they both ended up in tears. It actually was pretty funny. That was really our whole morning and the kids had a blast. We had some lunch and packed up the kids for home. Although none of them napped well, we let them stay up a bit later on Wednesday night since they sat in the car all afternoon. Leah was up at 8:00 and the boys got up at 8:20 on Thursday morning. I think they were tired. I also believe that's the latest Finn has ever slept. Overall, we had a great time, and it was good to reconnect with some and get to know a few more.

Another joy this week is that when Finn got up from his nap today, he decided that he was going to learn potty. We've had a couple of accidents, but so far he has told me 3 times that he had to pee, and he went! I am very excited. I wondered if I started Ben too early because we worked a long time, but Finn also has a good example in Ben, so who knows. Finn also has been adamantly refusing and Ben was very willing. So that was my excitement for the day. A few months ago he pooped in the potty and I thought we were on our way to potty training, but that was a solitary incident. Here's hoping for quick success and fewer diapers...

Feel the Breeze

We've had a few wonderful days of window-opening weather. There's a nice breeze flowing through the house with a great smell to it. We've been able to eat BLTs with tomatoes from the garden, and we were given a few bags of sweet corn. All I can say is, Yum. I'm freezing some of it, which I've never done myself, but I have had the privilege of eating the fruits of other people's labors. It's a bit of work but definitely worth it. I'm finding that doing it in stages is working the best for me. There's no way I can do it all at one time. Thankfully after doing one batch and eating other things, I've found room in my fridge for the many ears remaining so I can take my time.

Leah had her 1-year checkup on Monday. She was 20 lbs 12 oz and 31 inches. It's amazing how fast babies grow in the first year. Poor girl had an ear infection and got 4 shots. Plus she was tired. She slept for 3-1/2 hours when we got home. I'm sure the ibuprofen helped that along a bit, but she needed it. She was definitely a happier baby when she got up. At least she won't remember this stuff.

I guess the corn won't husk itself, so off I go.

Life's Little Joys

I have a couple of stories about Finn, who is without a doubt the most energetic one of this family. He definitely keeps me on my toes, and you never know what he'll say or do next.

I took the boys with me grocery shopping yesterday. I had lots of stuff to get, so I didn't put them in the cart. Of course they promised to behave, but after all, they are 3 and 2. So off they went running up and down the aisles. And the thing is, if Finn didn't do it, Ben wouldn't. That's just the kind of kids they are. So I specifically stopped Finn and told him he would be in the cart if he didn't stop running, which is his worst nightmare at the store. A lady in the aisle turned to me and said, "He must be your energetic one." I thought it was kind of funny that even though they were both running, she picked him out.

Last night Finn woke up around 11:00 with a very stuffy nose. Jon and I were both up a couple of times to help him. He refused to keep a tissue in bed with him and asked me to take him downstairs. I figured I might as well because I wasn't getting any sleep. So we went downstairs and I put the TV on, thinking he would kind of daze out as I rocked him. I dozed off for a while at some point, and a few times I asked if he was ready for bed. He said no. At 12:30 I told him it was bedtime and he went readily. Guess what time he was up? 7:20 this morning. This kid needs to live somewhere else where people don't sleep, cause the rest of us sure need more of it.

We got some kid-sized ice cream cones, so tonight I asked the boys if they wanted an ice cream cone after supper. They both said yes. So I got them ready and handed them over, and Finn said he didn't want ice cream, just the cone. He's never done this before, and I'm not sure where it came from. He ate the cone plain and was happy with that. Leah enjoyed his cone with ice cream in it-she ate the whole thing.

We find ourselves laughing at Finn often. He's goofy and he knows it. He's got great comedic timing and knows just how to make us laugh. What a joy he is!

Here, There, and Everywhere

We have returned from a week of vacation. Jon performed his first wedding and it went very well. We ate lots of pork in various forms. The kids got to spend time with my parents while we enjoyed a day plus an evening of wedding-related things.

We went with Jon's family to a nearby science center. The kids had a great time playing with 3 floors of science things, from air to water to color. They got to stick their heads in an astronaut suit and clean off dinosaur bones. Most of it was definitely beyond their understanding, but they had fun with the musical stuff and exercise equipment. There were piano keys on the floor that they could jump on. It was a great place and we would go back again. We spent a couple days seeing grandparents and letting the kids run. It wasn't one of those vacations that just flew by, thankfully. I even got quite a bit of my new book read.

Now we're back to find our tomatoes have blight and one of our apple trees is not doing well. There's the usual unpacking and sorting through mail. But it wouldn't be vacation if there wasn't work to do at home.

In The Pew

I finally finished my book last night-the one it's taken me far too long to read. It's called In Every Pew Sits A Broken Heart by Ruth Graham and Stacy Mattingly. Ruth gives us her life story over the course of the book. She gives advice in various situations for those hurting and those helping friends who are hurting. She shows us how to work our way back to God, no matter how far we may have strayed. Her biggest points were 1. No matter how deep we're sinking, God will always welcome us back if we just turn to Him; and 2. The lower we get, the more we need God. I thought it a very good book and would recommend it.

In other news, Jon will be performing his first wedding this weekend. We will get to spend time with family. I'm very excited that our tomatoes are coming very well. I've picked one "regular" tomato and a few cherry tomatoes. But there are tons out in the garden, and we should be happily picking in the next couple weeks. BLTs, here we come!

New Title

Well, if you look above, I have made a name change, possibly temporary, possibly permanent. I'll see how it sits with me after looking at it a few times. Thoughts? I tried adding a picture of a bunch of bananas, but for some reason it wouldn't stay. People would have just wondered what I was doing with a picture of bananas, anyway.

We went to see our new niece Saturday. You forget how tiny babies are. It was fun to hold a teeny one again. Leah is a little territorial and wanted that baby off my lap. But she's not excited to see the boys on my lap, either. Just something she'll have to work through. We had a good time with Jon's family. The boys love their cousin Ella. She gets a bit overwhelmed with the 2 boys vying for her play time, but I think she enjoys seeing them, too. We went to a splash park and the boys just loved it. The three of them had a good time. Leah wasn't excited about it-the water was pretty cold. She gradually got braver but still didn't get very wet.

Jon will be performing his first wedding next weekend. We have to travel a bit, so we're taking vacation and hanging out with our families. The boys are looking forward to seeing their grandpas and grandmas, but they're always ready to go anywhere. Such social butterflies, these two.

We also went on a real date Friday night and saw the last of the Harry Potter films. We figured out we haven't been to a movie theater for 3 years, that being one night of our summer internship in Sunnyside when we only had Ben and some good people volunteered a night of babysitting. I think most of the time I'd rather be in the comforts of home to watch a movie, but it was good to get out without a child.

So that was our exciting weekend. I'm off to read a book I've renewed 2, maybe 3, times and want to get through before we leave this weekend. I just don't have the concentration right now that I used to have for reading a book, but I've found I'm not the only one with this problem after having babies. Some day I will sit and enjoy a book in daylight hours and not fall asleep in it.

Birthday Pictures

Feeling Hot, Hot, Hot

Since the heat is foremost on everyone's mind around here, I might as well talk about it. You're not a true midwesterner if you can't hold a conversation about the weather. As I said before, it's in the 90s with high humidity. I took the kids out at 8:00 this morning for an hour of swimming in the backyard. Jon filled the pool yesterday, but neither of us had ambition to actually be out there, even in the evening. So I figured if the kids didn't care and we'd be cooped up all day otherwise, we could spend some time outside this morning. We were in full shade and the water was plenty warm. I herded everyone in as the sun crept closer to our pool-just in time for Sesame Street. Plus Finn nearly drowned Leah and she wanted nothing more to do with the pool.

I kept the boys busy with paint by water this morning. Leah slept and I made a casserole to freeze. Ben helped me make pizzas this afternoon while Finn slept and Leah busied herself with toys in the living room. Leah keeps busy with anything right now. She's more than happy to go up the stairs to the boys' room and play with the doors on their kitchen. There's also a 5-piece puzzle she really likes right now. She's also in the stage where she'll just sit and page through books. This is one of my favorite things to watch my kids do. I love to see them sitting in a pile of books, just quietly and intently looking at the pictures.

Jon braved the heat to grill tonight, which was great because I really don't want to run my oven. There are a few things I can do solely on the stove, but I think I need more crockpot recipes for days like this.

New Name?

I've been thinking lately that I should have some kind of catchy name to this blog. It was originally created when we took our trip to Indonesia 4 years ago, so Jon created it and made it simple. Since I've taken over it and pretty much made it mine, it seems a little boring to just put our names down. Since I have little creativity and right now I'm too tired to think, let me know if you have something catchy that might inspire me to play with words a bit.

In other news, we had our annual youth Sunday service this morning. The youth lead worship; we play some games after the church service, like a clothespin drop and beanbag toss, among others; and we have a potluck at church. The boys did pretty well with the games. Leah took a little snooze between the service and lunch. Someone is always willing to take her, so I was able to take the boys and help them with the games. Jon grilled pork loin for the potluck.

Our forecast for the week is for the 90s with overnight lows in the 70s. Humidity will bring the heat index even higher. I think we'll be staying inside this week, which doesn't always produce good results. My kids have too much energy. I may have to invest in some crafty things for times like these, and I suppose for the winter. Maybe I'll buy a bunch of sequins and stuff and keep the boys busy gluing them to paper. Maybe I have to start teaching them letters and numbers in Spanish. I'm sure we'll make it through.

And now it's time for ice cream. Blue Bunny makes some great flavors we've been testing this summer.

Off to the Fair

Yesterday we went to a local county fair. It's one of the bigger county fairs around here, and since we enjoyed it last year, we decided to go again. The boys were excited because they love to look at the animals. We didn't take our camera, but I think we got one of the most bored looks I've yet seen on Leah's face. This trip was a bit more enjoyable for a variety of reasons: 1. Last year we went on a Friday evening, which was extremely busy. 2. It was in the 70s with low humidity and a nice breeze-a beautiful day for a fair. 3. We went a week after I had Leah last year-it was a lot of walking and I took on more than I should have. Then there were tornado warnings, so we had to do a rush mass exodus. Not fun when you're tired.

We walked around the barns and then came to an area with an old tyme town, and they were just beginning a wild west shootout. We thought it would be fun to watch, but as they started shooting their guns, Finn got scared and cried. So I took him and Leah out of there. Ben wanted to watch but he was worried about Finn, so nobody stayed for that. The opening of the show was a horse dancing, which the boys seemed to enjoy. Leah just spent the whole time trying to get out of her stroller.

We had some great food. The kids ate a bunch of pizza and I had an excellent brisket sandwich. We all shared a bloomin' onion. We let the kids run a while. There was a little train car for the boys to explore and the buildings were open in the old tyme town, and Leah ran around in her own baby way trying to eat rocks and nearly tripping people. We ended the evening with some homemade ice cream and actually got home at bedtime. The kids must have been tired because they actually slept past 7:00 this morning.

The Joy of Gardening

We are in our second year of a real garden. Last year was literally a wash since we had tons of rain and just couldn't keep up with the weeding. We had to get our stuff out way early before it all rotted. I had Leah right when our peas and beans were starting, so the work was pretty much up to Jon, if he had actually been able to get in the garden. This year is much better. We've had a good balance of rain and sun and we've both been able to spend a good amount of time outside. It's a bit difficult for me since I can't really take my eye off of Leah outside. She enjoys eating dirt in the garden, but then she gets bored and wants to do something else. So I try to work around her naps and my housework.

Today I was very excited to pick 3 buckets of beans. The boys helped for about 5 minutes, then Finn was adamant that he pick peas. Ben just walked around the beans, picking here and there, and then watching me work. I did some weeding this afternoon. The boys don't seem to quite understand, because Finn wanted to help and picked an onion. At least he got a good-sized onion. Ben's not big into weeding. They're figuring out this is a bit of work, though we try to make it sound fun. Finn is anxious to pick tomatoes. When it comes time to pull stuff up, they will be ready and willing.

We hope to instill in our kids an enjoyment of gardening. They know we get to eat the stuff out of our garden, and some day we hope they appreciate the wonder of God's creation and the feeling of accomplishment (as well as the taste of home-grown food) that comes with the work of gardening.

July Already?

I realized it had been a while since I last posted, but I didn't realize it was March. I figured May at the latest. I probably could write something every day, if I even remembered, yet I feel I would bore people. But I guess they don't have to read this then, right? I will try to be better about it, but I don't promise more pictures.

We had a great weekend with our good friend Kris. It has been a great while since we have seen her, and yeah there's email and whatnot, but there's nothing like a personal visit. The time flew by quickly and all of us were sad to see her go (I must say, Finn attached to her pretty quickly).

We also celebrated Leah's first birthday! It's so hard to believe she's 1 already. That year flew by, as people say happens when you get older. I just think my kids have done something to my brain. The boys thought they would turn something when Leah turned 1, so I had to explain to them that they only get older on their birthday. Some day they won't be so quick to age.

Kris graciously helped me with my bright idea for Leah's cake-better in my brain than for real, but we tweaked our plan and it came out okay. We all ate it, so it couldn't have been that bad. Pictures in the next couple of days. We also enjoyed a little Famous Dave's for Leah's birthday meal. Since she couldn't tell us what she wanted, we figured it was a good choice. She is a meat eater for sure and everyone ate well.

Ben has already told me he wants a chocolate cake, and he's coming up with ideas for a present. I'm not sure I like this being able to pick business. It's much nicer when I can go buy what I want the day before their birthday while they're sitting in the cart and completely oblivious. Ben will turn 4 next month, so I guess I better start thinking. My challenge is always how to decorate the cake. Though Ben informed me he wants a Sesame Street puzzle on his cake. I told him that was beyond my ability, but I'm not sure he accepted that.

So here's my update, and like I said, I'll try to be better about posting.

I decided maybe it was time for me to post something, though I'm not sure what I should post about. We got a new camera in January, but all of the pictures are still on it. I realize that's a common theme with me.

Jon went to Guatemala in February for a week. I took the kids to Minnesota to spend time with all of the grandparents. Jon left on Friday morning and I headed up to MN that afternoon. That evening, Leah crawled for real (which we were just waiting for because she'd been dragging herself around for a month) and pulled herself up on the couch. The following Saturday she sat up by herself, a few hours before Jon came home, of course. So she has advanced herself quite nicely. She turned 8 months yesterday and is into everything.

Ben is starting to recognize letters and numbers on things. He's very excited about it and we think he may be an early reader. He has been potty trained for a while and it's a very nice feeling for me.

Finn is talking more and more. I am trying to start potty training with him and he's pretty receptive. He just wants to go potty at Walmart and restaurants and wear underwear like Ben does.

I have 2 sick boys. It's going around but hopefully it doesn't last long or require a trip to the doctor. On that note, it's time to go take care of them.

Happy (Belated) Birthday

Finn's cheesy smile

Not sure why this turned, but here it is.

We celebrated Finn's 2nd birthday in November, and I'm finally getting around to putting up a couple of pictures. It was a tractorous event and the boys had a great night.