My Birthday

So my birthday this year was a very real day in a lot of ways. (And I'm not talking the kind of "real" where you go on a date to a tropical paradise on a reality show) I'm talking the kind of real where you: clean your house, cook for your family, have an all out battle with your 3 year old (clearly she forgot it was my special day!), and all that kind of normal mommy stuff. But, there were some GREAT parts to my birthday and that is what I want to remember.

-On Thursday Jeremy surprised me and took me out for dinner. It was SO lovely. We figured out we had not been on a date all summer, so we both loved the time together. I had this delicious "green" salad with lots of green things on it like spinach, green apples, green grapes, and avocado. It was awesome! He took me to a shoe store and let me pick out a new pair of shoes. Then we got ice cream and it stopped raining so we were able to enjoy a walk down by the river.

-On Sunday night my kids surprised me by making cupcakes with their grandparents while I was at youth group. When I came in the door they came running to greet me. Grace gave me a huge hug and said, "I love you, Happy Birthday Mommy!" Faith kept saying cupcake over and over. We all blew out our own candle and they even helped sing happy birthday. My mom also brought me a framed pic of the girls, which will look amazing in our refinished basement (hopefully sometime soon!)

-On my actual Birthday several of my friends called to tell me happy birthday. My mom-0 (grandma) called and it was one of the highlights of my day. After dinner we took a walk and took the kids to the park. The weather was amazing and it was great to have family time.

-Today Jeremy continued a family tradition a day late. When I was growing up my mom would make breakfast on our birthday and we would eat it on our family's china. Jeremy has always done this for me, even when it was just us. This year he had an early meeting on my birthday but still did it today. This was the first year we let the girls eat on china too- they loved it! (Try and ignore my bed head in this picture!!)

-Oh, and Grace made me a birthday hat!

I am very blessed!

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!