A New Wind

This week as we were sitting down to dinner my husband said, "Girls, do you hear that? That is the winds of the second trimester blowing through our house." He kindly observed that the house is clean, and you cooked dinner! And indeed it is true I am FINALLY starting to feel better. I love how any pregnant woman who has ever felt like junk during the first trimester uses the word finally in reference to the lovely second trimester. I mean it really is only about Week 6- Week 14 that I feel so horrible. But each time it still seems like forever. Just when you think your house will never be clean again or you will never remember how to make dinner, something wonderful happens you have a burst of energy, you cook a single meal, and before you know it some form of "normalcy" returns to your home.

And I am overjoyed to actually be cooking again. Its not that I don't ever cook the first 3 months its just sad pathetic cooking. Like I get a main dish done and I'm totally out of energy. So we don't end up with drinks, or sides, or vegetables, or fruit... And if you want meat cooked you might as well go drive thru!

I am still extremely tired, but that I can deal with. One of my favorite things I read about pregnancy (back during my first pregnancy when I actually had time to read a book) was that your body does more work sitting still when you are pregnant then when you are climbing a mountain and not pregnant. Now I'm not much of a mountain climber, but this quote justified my fatigue so well it stuck with me. People wonder what it is like having children to take care of and being pregnant. Well, imagine me climbing a mountain with Grace & Faith in tow and that pretty much sums up life right now. No wonder I'm so tired!

The other thing I love about the second trimester is it reminds me that I will survive, and God still has great timing. Having to endure this first trimester during the summer when Jeremy is gone a lot has been a challenge. And to be honest I feel like this first trimester lasted 6 months instead of 3 (because I essentially did it twice in a relatively close time span). But, one thing my miscarriage has taught me is that God can make you thankful for almost anything. My doctor has reassured me it is a very good sign that this pregnancy has followed my first two more closely, even if it does mean feeling yucky.

I have NEVER been challenged in my walk with God like I've been challenged the last six months. I have tearfully said the words, " I can't take any more, not one more thing." many, many times. And then our basement flooded, and then, and then, and then... And I can't wrap up the lessons I'm learning with a neat bow. I am finding that life doesn't always go how you thought it would. For example, I have had a really hard time with saying, "We are expecting our third child." Because my third child I won't meet until Heaven. But, I have also had a hard time saying" We are expecting our fourth child." Because then I have to explain we had a miscarriage and people are confused, or don't know what to say. But, I'm also learning its okay I'm not exactly sure where our family's story is headed. Because I think it means I'm starting to realize I am not in control, and I want to find a way to be okay with that. I'm not there yet... but I am definitely on the journey, and God isn't giving up on me. And its not the wind of the second trimester that does that, its only the wind of the Holy Spirit.

Vacation Post...Finally!

So I know we are getting close to the end of August and we actually went on vacation the last week of July, but that is the reality of the first trimester! Below is a slideshow of pictures my mom took. I wanted to write about vacation too though because it was overall a great week.

Probably the biggest bummer is that Jeremy wasn't able to go with us. He was at camp again this year. But, the girls and I enjoyed having time with family. I was sick! I was pregnant, nauseous can't eat sick and I also had a terrible cold. I was coughing like crazy! So I was thankful for the extra help from my parents and sister.

The beginning of the week my brothers and their girlfriends were there. They took the girls out on the boat and then went to "The Strip" to let them play ski ball. The girls LOVE their uncles. Its really fun getting to do all the activities I did on vacation with my girls. We swam, went golf ball hunting, went shopping, went to Minor Mike's, went put put golfing, and had lots of fun. Uncle Kit even helped Grace feed the birds/squirrels like we used to. After that if you were caught eating the mixed nuts you got a stern lecture on how that was for the squirrels from Grace!

The rest of the week it was just us, my mom & dad, and my sister. The girls enjoyed spending more time with Aunt Jo Jo. They enjoyed having her as "part of our family" this summer. I was only able to go to one store at the outlet mall but got a lot of cute clearance items for the girls at the Children's Place outlet. My mom bought this super cute white baby hat. She says it is Jeremy's "insurance." That if she bought it we would surely have a boy and not need it. We will see...

This year the girls did some of the exact same games at Minor Mike's Here is a picture from last year and this year. What a difference a year can make. I wonder if Faith will have more hair by next year? Its a good reminder how fast they are growing and changing!

Look how grown up they are, compared to last year!

Vacation Pictures

A Baby, A Baby, A Baby!

Well, we have some exciting news to finally announce. As Grace would tell you, "There's a baby in the tummy!" We are very excited that in February we will be adding a new member to our family. And I am glad that my 13 week doctor's appointment finally arrived this past week, because it was becoming more and more obvious that I was hiding a baby on board. With three doctor's appointments, and two positive ultra sounds, and the first trimester behind we decided to finally share our happy news with the girls. Grace was becoming rather suspicious. She had held up my shirt and asked, "Mom, is there a baby in there? Your belly is getting bigger." She had also started praying that God would put a baby in my tummy and make it grow & grow. So, with all the excitement we decided to tell the girls in a fun way.
Grace loves the Disney show, "My Friends Tigger & Pooh." She loves to "slap her cap" and try and solve any mystery. So, we hid clues around the house for her and Faith to discover. The first clue was a winter scene. The second clue was a birthday cake & present. The third clue was a baby bottle and pacifier. With a little help from Jeremy pointing at my belly Grace put it all together that during winter, around the time of her birthday, we would be having a baby. She jumped up and down yelling, "A baby! A baby! A baby!" This phrase is from the Dora Big Sister video. Thanks to Dora she is now hoping for a boy baby AND a girl baby. (Nope, not happening this time)

Her face below, expresses her excitement! In the less than one week she has known she has asked me approximately 500 questions about where the car seat for the baby is, what toys the baby will like, and on and on and on. She has also tried to convince me the baby can sleep in her bed (she will hold on so it doesn't fall out) and she will also be the one feeding the baby. Faith so far hasn't paid too much attention, but we will see.

Join us in praising God for blessing us with a baby, we are so thankful!

Exhausted!

So this week has been crazy. I am sick again (I think maybe alergies) and we found out we had a surprise challenge to work around. Grace has head lice! HAVE MERCY!! I was hoping she could at least wait till she went to school to go through this childhood right of passage, but no such luck. So, I have been cleaning the house like a mad woman. As you can see in the picture above, we have bagged a lot of stuff, anything with fabric we can't wash. We opted to go with a pesticide free method of treatment so I have treated her hair three times now. Which is followed by two hours of combing it to try and remove the nits (eggs). And each day I have still been able to find more. But, no more bugs. So I ended up talking to my cousin Michelle, who also once had two little girls with head lice. She had a crazy six week battle so she is an expert. She gave me some all natural products she swears by so we are going to try those today. I am hoping they will work as well for us as they did for her. Fortunately none of the rest of us have them. So, if you face these unwanted pests in the future-give me a call I will totally sympathize with you and let you know what worked for us. On the bright side Grace has enjoyed lots of additional tv/movie viewing time while I treat her hair and she is too little to be embarrassed. Friends, pray for me I am needing it.

New Hair Cut

So I finally took the plunge and let someone else cut my hair! Up until this point my friend Lorree has always cut it when I went home to visit. But, she is going back to school & not as available. My hair is not the easiest to cut-but I am loving having short hair again! Its SO much easier.

My Growing Girls

For Father's Day this year the girls worked together to make Jeremy a piece of art. We are hoping to make this an every year, or every couple of years tradition. That way by the time they are grown he will have an evolving collection. Below, is their first masterpiece. Hopefully they will become less abstract as they grow, and I'm looking forward to how they will add their own talent and ideas over the years.

Grace:

Grace is turning into such a "big girl." Here are some fun facts about what she is up to:

-Lately she has been quite the mama's girl. Even refusing to go to her Sunday School class at times. I'm not really sure what has brought this on.

-She has the most insane memory!! I am constantly amazed at what she observes and remembers. Today we were driving through Quincy and she looked over and said, "Mom there is where we bought my jacket." She spotted the small resale shop we had bought her Spring jacket from several months ago. She often surprises me when driving through Hannibal spotting places and remembering them, even if we only went there once. And she always remember what we did there.

- She has started to enjoy new words. She tries to use them even if she doesn't know what they mean. I enjoy asking her what she thinks they mean. The other day she told me she was a genius. When I asked her what that meant she said it meant she was a very brave girl (nope, not exactly)

-She has become quite set on the fact that when you pray you must say, "watch over us and keep us safe." Jeremy and I aren't sure where it came from since neither of us commonly pray this phrase. But if you pray and don't include this phrase she pipes up and fervently adds it. Listening to her prayers are quite sweet and you never know who or what she will throw in, but I often admire how thoughtful she is to include others.

-She has loved swimming although she hasn't gotten to do it much this summer. Before vacation she started sneaking down to her room and putting on her swimsuit. She would then "swim" around our house until I made her change back into her clothes. I was glad she got to swim on vacation.

-Speaking of vacation, I have to record this funny Grace moment. I looked up at the pool to see she had stripped naked in 2 seconds flat. I rushed over to wrap her in a towel and explain we don't take our clothes off in public. She was very adamant that she was cold and done swimming and wanted her wet swimsuit off. So we ended up carrying her to the condo in her towel.

-Grace continues to be a STRONG persistent negotiator. I have already started hoping she will have teachers with strong clear boundaries!

-Grace has given up napping on most days. However, I continue to require her to have quite time in her room. Some days this goes smoothly and other days she works quite diligently to convince me to let her come out of her room. But overall, it is still working and she falls asleep maybe 2 days a week.

-Grace loves puzzles and it is something she really excels at. She can sit and help do a 100 piece puzzle when she is motivated or it is a picture of something she likes. She is also becoming more interested in board games.

-We are still struggling with counting. While we practice Grace shows no interest in learning to count correctly. We still haven't conquered consistantly counting to 10. But we are making progress...I have a feeling math may be a struggle when school eventually begins.

Faith:

Faith herself has done a lot of growing up lately, and I think we are starting to see glimpses of the "terrible two's" struggle for independence.

-Faith is still sleeping in her crib, but fell out once during nap time reaching for a toy. I am hoping to transition her to her big girl bed as soon as the basement is fixed and the girls' toys return to their playroom. Their room is way to full for another bed right now.

-Faith LOVES all things girly. She is constantly adorning herself with bracelets & necklaces. She also sits very still to have her nails painted.

-Faith's hair is still very short for her age, but we continue to "work the short do." Her newest thing is wearing headbands from the dollar store. She usually keeps these on for quite awhile. ( I never thought I would have a child whose hair actually grew slower than Grace's did!!)

-At her last checkup Faith was more average in size. She is in the 65% for height and 50% for weight.

-After VBS we brought home a cold/flu bug. Grace and I both had coughs, fevers, etc. Faith had a fever and once again went into mild respiratory distress. We ended up taking her to the doctor for a steroid treatment since her breathing machine wasn't helping. Since this is her third incident of having trouble breathing they will continue to watch her for signs of childhood asthma.

-If you have seen Faith walk most people comment on how she waltzes about on her tip toes. Our pediatrician has decided to watch this. If she doesn't flatten her feet by 2 we will consider having it checked out by a physical therapist. So we are working on what Jeremy calls "stomping" when she walks. I personally think it matches her princess personality!

-Faith also continue to learn new words. I love hearing her talk. She doesn't really sign much at all anymore except when we sing Jesus Loves Me before bed. She also loves to yell, "Daddy, Daddy!" whenever she hears Jeremy's ring tone on my phone.

Both the girls are our biggest joy and at times our biggest challenge!

Vacation pictures coming soon...