Merry Christmas

I love this time of year!  We recently put up our Christmas tree.  I love it when the tree is finally decorated.  I especially love it when it's very early in the morning or late in the evening, you plug in the tree - there are no other lights on, and you just sit in the glow of the Christmas lights.  We, or I rather, enjoy the annual tree tradition.  Marc and I go out and pick out our tree and then he cuts it down.  The girls then tell me where they think the decorations should go.  Every year we take the girls out and they pick out their own ornaments.  We hang these ornaments on our tree, but when the girls get older, they take their ornaments with them.  We started this tradition last year, so each girl now has two ornaments a piece.  Not a lot now, but by the time they turn 20, they'll have enough to start (maybe they'll need to buy a few more - but then that's up to them).  Hmmm....a contest....I've posted pictures of each of the girls ornaments.  Do you think you could guess which ornament belongs to each girl?  There is no prize to this contest.  Just a "Way to Go!  Good job!".  Knowing the girls the way I do, I could have picked out most of these ornaments for them.  But...can you?  Let's see.  Here are a few pictures of my girls.  Look at the pictures and then pick the two ornaments that you think belongs to each girl.  Leave your answer in the comment area.  We'll let this contest go for a few days before I reaveal who got all the answers right.  And now, let's begin.

All three of my girls - Maggie, Lily and Emma.

Emma

Lily

Maggie

And now, the ornaments.  Good luck!

Princess Crown

Toucan

Angel

Big Blue Fish

Ballerina

Fish Acquarium

I hope you had fun with this little contest.  It's always fun to see what kids will pick out.  What they will like at a certain age in their lives.  Because, you know when they're older, they'll probably hate most of these ornaments.  But I'm loving every minute of it!!!  Hey, that's what mother's do.  I'm looking forward to next year when we can go out with the newest addition to our family and start this tradition with her/him, too.  Merry Christmas everyone!

From our family to yours - Merry Christmas!

News

Yes, I have news.  It seems like such awhile ago that I had something "worthy" to write about.  But I promise you, this is good.  A few months ago I wrote how Marc and I made the joint decision to stop trying for baby #4.  I was having too hard a time and it just wasn't working.  We tried for 15 months and then came to the conclusion that if God wanted us to have anymore children, He would provide for us without my obsessing over it.  Well, the first month that we stopped trying is when it happened.  Yes, we are expecting baby #4!  We are so excited and still a little in shock.  I don't know why we are...it's something that we prayed for for so long.  But after awhile it just seemed like a hopeless wish and that it was never going to happen.  But God is always full of surprises and this was a surprise for us.  Marc is very excited and so are the girls.  Maggie is my "little mommy in training".  The day she found out I had a baby in my belly, she had one, too.  We talked to her about how she had to be married before she had any babies.  Well, she decided that she was going to be married to daddy.  Now, how can anyone argue with that?!  God has been so good to us.  My little family is growing.  I've gotten this question a ton of times - "So do you want a boy since all you have are girls?"  My answer to that is - A boy would be great.  I wouldn't mind that one bit.  But I would love to have another girl, too.  Whatever God decides to give us is fine with us.  I'm not going to complain about or during this pregnancy one little bit.  I've wanted this for too long and I don't think it's fair to God for me to complain after I've prayed for this for so long.  

Beautiful

Just before the corn was harvested, we had this visitor in our backyard.  He was so beautiful I just had to share it!  God couldn't have made this animal any more beautiful!

It's Harvest Time

It was time to harvest the corn that was planted near our house last week.  I miss it now that it's gone.  The corn gets so high that it provides a nice barrier and you kind of have your own built-in fence.  The girls were able to go and watch the harvest this year.  They even were able to go for rides with grandpa in the combine.  They really enjoyed it.  Here are a few of the pictures that were taken.

We picked up some corn that the combine missed.  The girls had fun shucking it.

We used grandpa's Cub Cadet to go up and down the field it.  The girls loved riding in it.

Happy Halloween

The girls had so much fun this Halloween!  We were able to go out two nights.  The first night was in Bremen.  We hit just a few houses - mostly people that we knew.  Then the next night we went out with some friends and walked all over their sub-division.  The kids all made out like bandits!  This year we had a hard time picking out costumes.  The girls have almost always been princesses.  We were all ready for a change.  Both Emma and Lily wanted to be witches.  I struggled with that until I found these two costumes.  Emma was a "Dazzling Witch"  and Lily was a "Hip Witch".  They were both tastefully done and looked just like play dresses.  We told them that they were good witches - like Glinda from the Wizard of Oz.  Maggie, on the other hand, wanted to be an elephant in the worst way.  And I can't believe we found a costume.  She was the hit of the group.  She looked so cute.  They asked if they could wear make-up and I let them.  They looked so cute and so grown up.  They won't be wearing make-up again for awhile.  It fast-forwarded too fast for me.  So, enjoy my two little witches and adorable elephant!

Another Soul

Today there was another soul added to the Book of Life. My dear daughter, Emma, asked Jesus into her heart this afternoon. We have chatted off and on for the last 2 years regarding salvation, but she was too afraid to make the decision. Marc and I never pushed her and never wanted to scare her into that decision. We wanted her to make her choice out of faith, not fear. We had talked about Jesus coming into her heart, but she took that phrase very literally. She thought someone was going to come through her chest into her heart. In short, she was afraid of the pain. But today, while we were chatting, I worded things a little differently (with the help of my mom), and she said, "I think I could do that.". And she did! I was so excited for her! She has such an adventure in front of her. The phrase, "What if they don't accept Christ", was my concern before. And I thought, "If they just did it, then that would be it". But as I was watching and listening to her piano lesson this afternoon (yes, I hire that out), I knew my job now was much larger. Now it's time to mold and encourage her to find the treasure. To search for the nuggets of truth. To make Jesus her very best friend. I have prayed since the day she was born that she would trust in Him. Now that has happened. Am I a happy mom? I wish you could see the huge grin on my face and the little tears of joy!

Beautiful Weekend

It was beautiful here the past weekend. Some friends of ours and us took the kids to a farmer's market in South Bend. The kids had a great time. We went on a hayride, went through a corn maze, stop and took some pictures in the pumpkin patch and then ended the time at the petting zoo. We always have so much fun getting together with these friends. And the kids get along great. Actually, we sat and figured it out -- their ages are 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7. Can't get any better than that. Anwyay, I just had to show a few of the pictures that we took. It ended up getting up to 80 degrees that day. We weren't complaining. It was nice to be outside without having to be all bundled up.

Waiting

Well, after 15 months of trying, Marc and I decided to put the baby-making on hold for a little while. We've tried and tried, but still nothing. So, for my sanity, we're going to wait. Believe me, it wasn't an easy decision to come to. But I was starting to get upset when the tests kept coming back negative. I am trying to be patient and wait for God's timing. And a few months ago, I was there. But the hurt is back. You know, the doctors keep telling me, "You need to relax. It'll happen when you're relaxed." So, I try to relax. But then they tell me, "We need you to chart everything -- changes in body signs -- ovulation -- etc." Can someone please tell me how I'm supposed to relax and chart everything at the same time without becoming obsessed and stressed out about maybe getting pregnant that month? I'm sorry if this sounds like I'm complaining that God just hasn't answered my prayer yet - I'm not. I still want what God wants for me. And I still feel that it's going to happen. The break was just needed. I feel I can relax more without all the other pressures. And if it happens, great! And if not, well, we'll start trying again in a few months.

Also, can someone please help me to answer this question --

A few days ago, someone asked me if Marc and I wanted anymore children. Of course, I told them yes. I explained the situation - the vasectomy reversal, the medical issues, etc. But felt that we weren't done having children yet. Then she proceeds to say, "You have 3 beautiful children (yes, I know I do). Why can't you be content with what you have? There are a lot of people out there still trying for their first. They would give anything to have 3 healthy kids." How do I explain without knocking her out that I don't feel done - that I feel that God has more children planned for us - that there really is an emptiness, a hole, a deep longing for another child. I would gladly take any suggestions.

This is still a growing process for me. I totally realize that. Am I enjoying it? You better believe it! Even though my desire to have more children isn't gone - God has blessed me with so many wonderful things. He is drawing me closer to Himself. Causing me to rely completely and totally on Him. He is drawing me closer to my husband. Marc and I have always loved each other - that will never change. But our love for each other has become so much deeper. Thank you, God, for this process. I know that in the end, we will have exactly what You want us to have.

Walkin' In Memphis

This past weekend, Marc and I went to Memphis for one of Marc's business meetings. We had a really great time together. We did go tourist for awhile, but we found that we weren't staying in the safest neighborhood, so left the camera in our room. But here are a few pictures that we did get.

We saw this just before we entered Tennessee. We thought it was pretty cool!

One of the bridges we crossed over. The profile view was really beautiful. But this is all we could get.

The mighty Mississippi River.

Hello, Memphis! We were so glad to be there after over 10 hours on the road.

The hotel we stayed at on Main St.

We thought this was a really cool sculpture. You can't see it, but there was water running down the sides of it.

The Gibson guitar plant. We were going to take a tour, but just didn't have the time.

This was one of the two pianos inside the Gibson guitar plant. The other one was bright blue. I thought they were very unique. Wouldn't really want one this color in my house, though.

This row of balls was just outside the Gibson plant. We thought they were pretty cool!

Of course, I had to get a picture of the hottest guy in Memphis.

Yes, we did go to Graceland. Actually, it was so expensive, that we didn't go inside the house. But we got pictures where we could.

Yes, there is actually a Heartbreak Hotel.

The bigger of Elvis' two planes.

The entrance into Graceland.

O.K. Just had to do it. We had to get our pictures taken with Elvis.

Even though we had a great time just the two of us, we miss these little ones so much! We're very excited to see them!

Happy Birthday, Emma!

This past weekend we celebrated Emma's 6th Birthday. I know I'm a little late in posting pictures, but we had company last weekend and more company this week. Anyway, Emma had a great birthday. A few months ago, she drew us a picture to let us know what she wanted. That picture consisted of flowers, balloons, cake and presents. Well, we copied her picture and everything turned out so nicely. It was definitely a girly-girl party. The cake was done in pinks and purples and we bought brightly colored plates, napkins and cups. The plates were lime green, the napkins were yellow and the cups were orange (I had to throw my favorite color in there somewhere). She had a great time and got a ton of gifts. We invited a few of her friends over and she also had a sleep-over with one of them. I was amazed at how much these little girls could eat. And I know this is only the beginning.

The centerpiece of the table.

The birthday cake.

All the balloons - there were 24 of them.

The decorated table.

The table.

Emma wanted flowers at each place setting, so we did red roses in little bud vases.

Emma blowing out the candles.

All the girls for the party. Emma's not really that short. The other girls had princess shoes on with 3 inch heels.

Happy Birthday, Emma. We love you very much!!!