15 months

Today Micah is 15 months old.  Wow how time flies, for sure!!!  We had a busy day of WAM meeting at church, playing with friends, nap and eating dinner.  He is such a sweet little man.  We always call him Micah Man, and Aynslee (my neighbor's daughter that I watch every day), who also has a brother named Micah, says, "There are 2 Micahs.  Micah and Micah Man." :)

He got his first haircut on 12/30 and started walking on 12/31.  We said on facebook that he decided crawling was SOOOO 2009 :).  He took a week or so to really take off, but now it is his method of choice, for sure.  He isn't signing as much as Cara was at this age (could it be 2nd baby and the few times the TV is on to watch Signing Times, Sister tries to take over and watch something else); however he is speaking a lot more than she ever was at this age.  He says mama, dada, ball, puppy, baby, hot, no, yeah, gup (cup), dog, among others.  He eats any and everything you put in front of him.  Here are a few pictures from this past month.  I haven't taken many for a couple weeks, and so some of these are from a few weeks ago! :)  We go Wednesday for his well visit, will update stats later. 

Here he is after I caught him getting all the kleenex out of a box. 

Here's Micah at our friend, the White's, party.

Here we are on New Years Eve outside popping a few kid-friendly fireworks with friends.

Here he is watching in awe the fireworks! :)

I feel like a loser

***Will start this post by saying I just re-read it and it's all over the place.  sorry....***

I don't update as often as I should lately.  I can blame it on the pregnancy and exhaustion, but well, maybe I just will.  I feel like a loser lately.  Two Saturdays ago, I started feeling miserable.  I'm pretty sure I had a sinus infection, and that's the reason I felt so nauseus, all the drainage.  Things started looking up last weekend and I've 'felt' pretty good since.  I still have waves of nausea, mostly in the evenings when I should be preparing dinner, but during the day, I'm pretty OK.  I've been keeping things down, and with the help of an amazing husband who steps up and fixes dinner, while I dry heave over the toilet, or lay pitifully on the couch, we've been getting by.

I do feel awful though.  I feel bad I'm not putting 100% into my husband and kids every day.  I feel like I'm feeding them whatever doesn't make me sick.  I know it's just a season, but I don't want them to think this is going to be every day when I feel better.  I feel bad because on days when I do feel decent, I still just want to stay inside all day and not 'hassle' with getting the 3 kids out the door.  We do dance on Tuesdays and bible study at church on Thursdays (just started today), and sometimes I make it to playgroup on Wednesdays, but usually I choose to sit at home, and I'm ok with that. 

Why am I feeling sorry for myself when I am SOOO comfortable?  Why do I focus on the things I don't have in my life, when there are children without parents, or enough food, or Haitians that are trapped and praying for life!  God is doing a great work in our church, and, through the tools our church is using, through my life.  I am reading specific scripture each day that our Pastor is using to prepare our hearts for his weekly sermons.  I am praying that it becomes a habit.  I want to WANT to read God's word every day.  I have it so easy here.  I'm not persecuted for my faith.  I am able to freely worship whenever and wherever I choose.  What a privilege it is to live in this country.  And sometimes, I take it all for granted. 

My accountability partners and I have started reading "Crazy Love" by Francis Chan.  If you have the opportunity to read it, DO it!  It's a great read.  Very quick and easy, yet convicting and Scripture filled.  I ask if you are reading this, to say a quick, prayer.  I was going to say for me, but how selfish is that?   Say a prayer for the Haitians going through such tragedy.  For the single mom you know who is barely getting by.  A prayer of Thanks to an almighty God who chooses to love us so much He sent His Son to die for us.  I am so thankful for this world we live in.  I know it is filled with tragedy and sin and awful things, but God also chose to reveal Himself to us a little bit through Jesus, and I call it such an honor to be a follower of Christ.  I want to make His name famous through my life, not the other way around.  I want to love people better, and let my love of Christ show through in all aspects of my life.  So, though I did not post a 'things I want to accomplish this year' post (partially because I failed miserably last year), I do want to make it known: I want to know Jesus better this year.  I want to think missionally and act locally.  I want to love not just my family and friends better, but also people I meet in my day to day life.  I want to be a source of light in this dark world.  And I want to make it through this first trimester with joy! :)

First Doctor's Appointment

Well, it was rather un-momentous.  I guess that's what happens when it's your third rodeo.  Don't get me wrong, I'm so extremely excited to welcome this precious baby that God has blessed our family with.  And I love getting to see him/her bouncing around on the ultrasound machine, but besides that, the waiting forever and urine samples and other samples (ahem~!) and due date guesstimates, and last menstrual period questions get old.  I knew exactly when I conceived and what my due date would be before I ever stepped foot in that office. They told me based on my LMP, I was 8 weeks and due 8/19.  I said, yeah, I thought that's what you would say, but could you do an ultrasound, because my cycles are longer than that, and I can tell you right now that I'm 7 weeks and due 8/26.  Sure enough, who was right? :) 

So, I'm due Thursday, 8/26/10, my mom's 52nd birthday!  (oops, was I supposed to say that?) :).  I have 2 little sonogram pictures (what is the difference between a sonogram and an ultrasound, are they interchangeable the way I think they are??)  :)  I guess you can learn something new each pregnancy!  I will post them soon, but that requires getting off my exhausted bottom and hooking the printer up and scanning them.  Right now, I'm taking my last 5 minutes with 2 rowdy girls awake to post this post update and then will be putting 3 exhausted girls down for nap.  Yep, and I'm one of them! :)

Baby #3!

Well, I've shared it on facebook, with our families, and our close friends and ABF at church.  I keep meaning to blog it, but keep being, oh EXHAUSTED ALL THE TIME , so I choose sleep first.  That, and between Cara being sick for 2 weeks, then coming down with a UTI (poor baby), Micah teething again (read = runny nose and too many poops), Eric started back at school and me feeling crummy (I think it's more sinus related than pregnancy at this point, because I feel much better today!), I just haven't done it.  So yeah, we are pregnant, and we are VERY excited!!  Funny how God works things.  This has happened to almost every friend I know that tried to 'plan' a pregnancy and 'not have a _____ baby.'  For us, it was, we would really not like a first week of school/end of August baby.   So guess what God has given us!!   I go to the doctor on Thursday, and will be requesting a rather thorough make sure there are no twins in there ultrasound!  (My sister just found out at 18 weeks she's having twin boys--please keep her in your prayers!). 

I will update with a for sure due date after my appointment.  Believe me, I know it's hit or miss, but I like having a date in mind.  I would say it's between 8/18 and 8/30, and I'm leaning more towards 8/26 (which, coincidentally is my mom's birthday), so I will be happy if the baby is measuring bigger, since both of my pregnancies prior have had the opposite happen (I think I'm due on one day, and the doctor moves it back 1 - 2 weeks!).  I need to sew (got some more orders on etsy recently), and I'm almost done with them (and Kendra--I finished Levi's apron, just need to finish the hat now), but I think I'm choosing nap today.  Eric felt bad for how cold I've been, so he went out and got me an electric (twin) blanket for my side of the bed, and it's just calling my name.  Anyways, there you go!  Can't wait to meet God's next little blessing for us!

Micah's First Haircut! (And Cara's 2nd) :)

We took the kids to Cool Cuts for Kids on 12/30 to have Micah's first hair cut and Cara's 2nd.  I will be cutting their hair most likely from now on, but I wanted to get the 'first hair cut' souvenir for Micah.  And Cara loves that place.  She went for her first cut in July, and has been asking to go back. I had a $3/off each hair cut, so, though it was still expensive, it was cheaper than it could have been!  Anyways, here are some pictures of my cutie pies:

He fell asleep on the 2 minute ride to the place, silly boy!

Cara was so excited to be going again!

Micah's before (I combed the front down so you could see how long it was)

Those were the only two 'long' parts, the back was curly, and the middle of the front was long :). 

Ready for her trim

Waiting while sister gets her movie started:

I just love all these pictures :)

The after:

The One Year Devotions for Toddlers, 2

Title: The One Year Devotions for Preschoolers 2
by Carla Barnhill; illustrated by Elena Kucharik
Age range: 3-6 years old
Publisher: Tyndale
Price: $14.99 (hardcover)







I got this book a few weeks before Christmas and I was very excited!  I had been wanting to implement a quick morning devotion with the kids over breakfast at our table, and this book fit perfectly into our plans.  If you start in January, it takes you from Genesis through Revelation, on a very basic level.  Each day has a verse or two we read, then a short devotion.  It is the perfect length for my 3/4 year olds!!  It even has a 2 line poem at the bottom of each page to help the kids remember the lesson of that day.  I started December 14th with the girls, and though we didn't do it every day, the days I did it, were better!  I could remind them throughout the day about what we talked about, and they remembered.  Cara enjoys it so much, if we are busy or forget in the mornings, she will ask for it at night instead of her bible stories, though we usually do both!  And I noticed as well that on days I didn't get a good bible study in, at least I had a verse to meditate on throughout the day.  Here's an example from 12/18:

A New Family
Beloved, now we are children of God. 1 John 3:2

Something amazing happens when you love God and trust Him.  You become one of God's children.  you also become part of a great big family of people all over the world.  And members of God's family love each other no matter what.  They stand up for each other, encourage each other, and help each other.  How can you help another one of God's children today?

The world is filled with my sisters and brothers.  Since we're all God's children, we should help each other.

That's it!  But isn't it easy?  It's just one of many tools that can help make us intentional in teaching our children God's word.  I would definitely recommend this book.  Even Micah listens while he sits in his high chair.  Now, that may be because he's shoving as much food as possible into his mouth, but God's word does not return void! 

"This is a Mama Buzz review. The product was provided by: Tyndale for kids publishers for this review.