and week 38...

We've begun week 38 of this pregnancy. I've never had this much baby belly! :0)

My hips are all out-of-whack, uninterrupted sleep is a distant memory, and I have no lap when I sit down but PRAISE THE LORD there's an end -- sweet baby will surely decide to come out and meet us any day now.

Thursday night my mom came by and gave me a much needed haircut! YAY! I hadn't felt that pretty in a couple of months! It was sad to say goodbye to three inches of hair, but since it was only growing that fast in two places, it was much nicer to welcome a style with some shape.


Here are a few little arrow updates:

The kids ask daily when babynew will be out of mommy's tummy and we just keep saying, "soon."

N' is all about spelling right now. He really wants to be able to read. He's constantly asking us what some set of letters spells when he spots something on a box, book, flier, etc. He loves spelling words on the fridge with the magnetic alphabet and proudly announcing that he's spelled a word. I'm so excited for him. I LOVE to read -- we're talking serious addiction here -- so it's fabulous to watch N' grow more and more interested in making sense out of letters and words on a page.

J' is in a pouty phase the last couple of weeks that will prayerfully end super fast. Everything is worth wailing over: she brushed her elbow against the wall, B' looked at her and she didn't like it, there's a bird in the yard that she doesn't like (usually a crow), someone took the red block she wanted (even though there are 9 more red blocks exactly like it in the set of blocks)... You get the idea. We're working on talking her through it and helping her understand that the drama and false-cry are not effective. More important, they are not pleasing to God as they exhibit a lack of self-control. I can say she's at least trying: if you call her out when she starts faking a cry, she'll just stop and move on (provided that she isn't too far into her dramatic presentation to step out of it quickly) ;0) On the positive side, she's a great conversationalist. She'll come and sit down and just chat about whatever she can think of. We can't wait to see God's purposes in gifting her with such eloquence at such a young age. She loves to watch my belly for signs of action and then point out, "that baby is wiggling in your tummy mommy!" So sweet!

B' surprises us with new words and phrases everyday! We've also discovered that he's great at playing memory. We've been playing board games instead of doing more physical activities since mommy is sort of unable right now. I really didn't think he'd be able to play successfully at all, but he gets a huge kick out of matching up the pictures on the cards and telling you what they are. He's my best helper. If I declare it's time to clean up and say I need helpers, he comes right behind me saying, "I help." Now if only his attention span lasted as long as the average clean up at the end of the day requires :0)

36 weeks and counting

Here's a fresh pic. This is biggest pregnant belly I've ever had!

I know, yet another sad ponytail day... but the kids are all clean and dressed and the house is clean... there's only so much available energy these days ;0) This week marks 36 weeks so ANY DAY NOW! Please continue to join with us in prayer for a healthy baby and a smooth, natural delivery. We can't wait to post pics of babynew 4!

It's such a privilege and a blessing to be a mommy and have the opportunity to help teach our children about the wonderful love of our Savior Jesus Christ! I'm so excited about meeting this newest addition to our family, face-to-face. We're praising the Lord in advance!

she's 3

(THREE!)

J' turned three a couple of weeks ago. Sorry I'm just now posting pics of her special day. Her bday fell on a Sunday, so we celebrated right after church when we arrived home for lunch. We made a decision when N' was born that we didn't want to get into the expense and effort of party throwing until the kids were old enough to understand what was happening and that it was for them. We've attended so many parties where the honored guest was asleep and the grownups were entertaining one another. We decided that at age 5 they would clearly understand the concept of birthdays and celebrating AND be able to enjoy sharing it with some friends. Soooo, it was just a family party: our fam, my sister's 3 girls, and Nana (my mom).

(The cousins gave J a "flower hat" and sunglasses, among other fun things, in her bday bag!)

(B tried on J's new flower hat.)

(J opening gifts: she loves puzzles! This one was from Nana.)

We've been to a few kiddo bday parties lately and J asked if she could have a cake with a picture on it for her birthday -- it was the only thing she asked for. So, we skipped our normal muffin-cake, cornbread, or other healthy substitute and went for the standard sugar-rich cake.

I haven't decorated a cake since before we were married (that means over 8 years ago!). I dusted off my decorating supplies, covered the blender in a cloud of confectioner's sugar while making a mountain of buttercream frosting, and baked a box mix lemon supreme cake. J wanted a dinosaur cake and I wanted a girlie cake, so I tried to combine the two. It didnt' turn out quite like I pictured it, but at three, J is easily pleased so she was happy with it. The dinosaur is a pteranodon -- J's current favorite dinosaur.

(What? You can't hear everyone singing "Happy Birthday dear...")

We don't typically allow the kids to have sugar, so this was a special treat! When we cut the cake after singing happy birthday, she asked if she could eat the frosting too. She had tasted the frosting the night before while I was decorating, but that was just a tiny lick off the tip of one finger. About a fourth of the way through her piece of cake she said, "Mommy this frosting is yummy and then it's yucky. Can you take it off my cake part?" I was a proud, pleased, happy mommy. She had sugar available and didn't even want it all! YAY! No such luck with N, he ate every bite. I still took B's frosting off -- I felt scandalous enough giving him the cake! :0) Go ahead and call me crazy... I can take it!

I can't believe she's actually 3! Wow! Time flies when you're having fun and Miss J definitely brings us great JOY! Thank you Lord for another year of life for our precious little lady.

just like daddy's

N needed a haircut, so we asked him which he wanted this time: curly hair or short hair? He said he wanted it short like daddy's. Soooo, PT pulled out the clippers and in moments, our little boy looked like a bigger boy :0) So sweet! It's amazing how fast they grow up. N says it's not exactly like daddy's hair though. Something about the smooth space at the edge of PT's hairline :0) Now N says B wants his hair cut short too... but I want to hang on to B's baby-ness for a while longer even if it is more work to comb those curls out every morning.

bat guitar

(click the play button to watch the video clip)

Here's N enjoying some time outside back in early December. It's too cute not to share! Originally he set up the T-ball set and hit a couple of balls with B', but then he decided to put on a concert instead. :0)

it's about time...

Somewhere between family time, caring for the kids, being a wife, ministry work, and the energy drain of pregnancy; I've managed to neglect updating the blog since the end of November. Sad, sad, sad. So, today I set aside some time between other things to fill in the last two months of life in our family! Here are some pics just for fun and by way of updating you on our cuties' latest looks, ideas, and antics.

J' said she was helping PT work the other day. She was definitely making it harder for him to type, but her happy giggles were bound to make it worth the awkward reach :0)


J' has recently developed an interest in all things "beautiful." She likes dresses, bows and flowers in her hair, and comments on anything she thinks is "just beautiful." Yesterday as I was sipping some herbal tea she said, "Mommy, your tea cup is just beautiful." It is a pretty tea cup with pink roses set on a yellow background. Don't go overboard with girly ideas about her though, her other current favorites are puzzles and dinosaurs! My little lady loves to roar with her claws up and her nose crinkled!
Isn't this sweater dress the CUTEST! A sweet friend at church passed this one down when her little lady outgrew it recently. Adorable!

Here ya go... a recent pregnant pic. We're 8 months along as of this week, but I took this a couple of weeks ago. I've never been this big, this soon, EVER! I understand that I carry pretty small, but I still don't know where that belly is going to expand to in the next few weeks???!!! Praise the Lord for His sweetness in that the vomiting is over finally and I'm only nauseous on the occasional day now. (No, I didn't suddenly whack all my hair off. It's all natural and curly in this pic and piled on top of my head in an afro-puff. I didn't feel like pressing it straight that day... lots of days lately.)

N' and J' said they were building a fort. It looked more like the contents of the playroom being dumped out onto the family room floor, but they were happy and working so industriously that I just joined in the fun!
The next day they built a truck out of the kitchen table chairs. N' was the driver (he used the chair in front of him for a steering wheel). All three made engine noises while they made their way down the road.

Here are N' and J' after a wedding we attended two weeks ago. They were looking too cute not to snap a pic! B' refused to stand still for the picture and kept coming out as a little boy blur, so I gave up and just captured the bigs. It was a casual wedding with a cowboy theme, hence the choice of N's western wear shirt for that day.

There's nothing thrilling to report. Church continues to be a blessing and we love serving in ministry! Family life is so sweet (though it would be neat if all three kids would sleep all night, in their own beds, every night). Now, just a few tasks and projects I need to complete before babynew #4 arrives. One such task: now I've caught up on the missing time according to the blog. Sorry so very slow with postings... it really was about time :0)

Christmas

One of our favorite times of year -- the celebration of the birth of Jesus Christ! It's such a great blessing and privilege to share our faith with our children. We spent this Christmas at home to save money we would have spent in travel and to start to establish our own family traditions for celebrating on Christmas day.



My mom came over on Christmas Eve along with my grandmother who was in town for the holiday. The kids had a grand time eating a special late night (well, it was late for them) snack of popcorn with Nana and getting cuddles and play time with Shirley-the-Great! (Somehow I didn't manage to get a good pic of my mom all evening.)

My mom brought them a pop-up storybook nativity scene with little figurines the first of December, and they re-enacted the Christmas story for her - again! They were pretty good at the story by Christmas Eve. N' loves the angel Gabriel figurine! He mostly enjoyed flying Gabriel all around the family room and skipping the rest of the story. What can I say, he's only 4 :0)


It snowed late on Christmas Eve and continued intermittently into the morning of Christmas Day. We knew from the weather report that it wasn't likely to last long, so before we even ate breakfast, we bundled everyone up and headed for the yard to play in the snow. J' thought it was GREAT! She would have played as long as we allowed.


B', who loves all things athletic, especially throwing and kicking softballs, footballs, and soccer balls; was in love with snowballs! He liked throwing them in the air until he noticed that they broke into a powdery pile when they land so you can't throw them again. Then he took to crushing them between his palms and watching it snow on his shoes. Only hitch, mommy had to make the snowballs for everyone. They didn't catch on and daddy was snapping pics and blocking them from the icy driveway.



N' was the most eager to get out the door to see the snow, but after about fifteen minutes he announced, "This snow is cold and wet. I want to go back inside." With that, he went straight for the door, stepped inside, and waited patiently for the rest of us to follow a few minutes later. They were ready for breakfast after a half hour or so anyway :0).

When the sun's rays reached the backyard around 10am and the snow melted, N said he was glad his grass was back. Hee hee! O well, they can't all be snow lovers like their mommy. PT has some company in N' for preferring to spend wet, chilly winter days indoors.


We had a lovely, quiet, sweet Christmas day. We snacked on fresh pineapple! (That pineapple also helped to glaze the ham.) I made a sour cream pound cake with a brown sugar struesel top for Jesus' birthday cake and we sang Happy Birthday to our precious Lord and Savior!