It's Been So Long...

It's been quite awhile since I've blogged.  And it's not that I don't want to, it just seems like there isn't enough hours in a day for me to sit down and really get anything done right now.  Between school, homeschooling, practice, taking care of my children, growing a baby, cleaning, taking care of my husband, etc....I just can't seem to get a lot of things done.  So, I figured I'd sit down for a few minutes and relax.  

Yes, our lives have been very busy.  School is very hectic right now with a concert coming up and solo and ensemble this next month.  I have 32 students that I'm accompanying.  I think I was crazy for taking on that many, but I really didn't have a choice.  I'm looking forward to school being done this year.  I'm not usually saying that until the end of April, but this year has just seemed so different compared to the last few.  The only highlight is that Marc and I are going on the music trip with some of the students at the end of March.  Now, this isn't just any trip - it's a Bahamas cruise.  How could I pass that up?  Neither Marc nor I have ever been on a cruise.  And I would prefer that it just be the two of us, but we will have time to ourselves without the kids.  

Emma's doing really well in school this year.  She has so many more subjects than last year, and even more than the kids in 1st grade that are in public school.  But we're making our way through.  We're a little ahead of schedule.  I'm o.k. with that for now, but we may have to start dragging our feet towards the end.  We'll see.  Her reading is fantastic.  I've been blown away with how fast she's learning.  Oh, to still have the learning capacity that a child has!  Lily has been asking to start school.  She knows how to write her name, her letters and numbers.  But I'm not really ready just yet to start.  My plans now are to start her in June.  Emma will probably continue on to 2nd grade then.  But we'll see.  The baby is coming at the end of June.  We'll just have to see how everything is going at that time.  Maggie is trying so hard to catch up to her sisters.  She wants to do everything they do.  She's my little snuggler and loves mommy-time!  And I have to admit...I love it, too.  But there are days I'm just ready for the kiddoes to go to bed.  I try never to wish my day away, but I am relieved to have a little quiet come 8:30.

My pregnancy is going really well.  I can't complain.  The normal aches and pains, the sleepless nights because you can't get comfortable, etc.  But all-in-all, except for a few scares, it's been a great pregnancy.  I'm feeling the baby move on a pretty regular basis.  Nothing that Marc can feel just yet, just little nudges to let me know there's someone there.  We're getting excited because next Wednesday is the day that we should find out the sex of the baby.  Hopefully the baby will cooperate.  But who knows.  Emma didn't let us see anything until I was 34 weeks along.  I hope that's not the case with this little one.  I'd like to know what to call him/her.  I'm a little nervous, though.  What if it's a boy?  I've never had a boy.  I don't know how to raise a boy.  I don't even know how to change a little boy's diaper!  Oh, I'm in big trouble!

Me at 18 weeks (5 months).  I can't believe this belly is going to be getting bigger!

God has blessed us with some really good friends.  We've gotten to know them better and have really enjoyed them.  My not being from Indiana makes it really hard sometimes.  I didn't grow up with anyone around here.  And it's difficult for me to talk to people I don't know well.  Marc is so much better in that area than I am.  But I'm trying to do better.  And I'm starting to feel more at home.  

Well, it looks like my time is up.  I need to start getting the girls ready for bed.  You know the routine, get into p.j.'s, brush teeth, read a book, pray and then it's light's out.  And then the quiet.  Ooohhh...

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!