Constantly Growing

I had to post a few pictures of the belly.  This baby inside is growing like crazy.  It's hard to believe that I'm almost 3/4 of the way through this pregnancy.  It's gone by so fast.  He's moving non-stop - especially at night.  It's getting more and more uncomfortable to sleep because of where he is inside and all the movement.  But I love it!  I've loved every part of this pregnancy.  Well, almost every part.  There are a few things that I could do without, but other than that, it's been great!  I can't wait to meet this little guy and see what and who he looks like.  I hope all this moving inside isn't a sign of things to come, but if it is, that's o.k.  

This was taken at 18 weeks.  I thought my belly was huge then!  Little did I know (well, I knew, but still...).

This is now at 27 weeks.  You can definitely see that he's getting bigger!  And I still have a little ways to go!  Oh boy!

Happy Birthday, Lily

This past Wednesday we celebrated Lily's 5th birthday.  We had grandpa and grandma over for dinner.  She picked out the meal for that night - spaghetti and meatballs!  My girls love that dinner.  And we topped it off with chocolate ice cream (yuck - but she loves it) and a Cat in the Hat birthday cake.

It's so hard for us to believe that she's 5 already.  It seems like just yesterday I was laboring for her (she was my easiest labor - not the shortest, she was 4 hours, but definitely the easiest with no back labor, tearing, etc.).  She's grown up into such a sweet and beautiful little girl.  I couldn't imagine our family without her and her personality.  So, Happy Birthday, Lily!  We love you so much!

Lily loves the Cat in the Hat.  So we decided to do that for her birthday this year.

Us singing Happy Birthday to her.  She's been really shy lately and she was so embarassed.

Blowing out the candles.  Go, Lily, Go!

Emma reading Lily her card with grandpa.

Opening gifts.  I think this one was from her sisters.

I love her huge open-mouth smile.  She was so excited!

More books.  She loves books even though she can't read yet.

She got rain boots and a rain coat from Marc and I.  We bought the umbrella a few weeks ago.  She's been wearing the boots and coat around the house every day for the last few days!  I'm so glad that she loves them!

Help!

O.K.  So now that Marc and I know that we are adding a boy to this family, it's time to start getting a list of boys names down.  The hard part is that neither one of us can really come up with anything.  We've had two boys names picked out since I was pregnant with Emma.  He likes Noah and I like Owen.  We probably should have a few more to choose from.  So, here's where I need help.  If any of you have any ideas on boys names, please, feel free to leave a comment with your ideas.  Here's the catch.  We want our son to have my father's middle name.  So the first name has to go well with Stephen.  We would appreciate any help we can get!  

Change

Our lives are about to drastically change.  I had a doctor's appointment this morning prefaced with an ultrasound.  It was just a standard check-up, but I told the ultrasound tech that if she knew the sex of the baby, to just let us know.  The ultrasound took about 30 minutes.  She was getting measurements of everything.  I was very anxious as I was so ready to know what this baby was.  After waiting what seemed to be forever, I asked the tech again if she knew what the sex was.  She smiled and nodded and then zoomed into an area of the baby.  I didn't even need to ask.  I could totally see for myself.  I still can't believe I'm saying this, but we're going to be welcoming a boy into our family of girls!  Both Marc and I are in shock.  Lily has really no opinion on this.  Maggie is excited about a baby brother.  Even though she keeps asking if he's going to wear her clothes.  And Emma is a little disappointed.  She really wanted another baby sister.  But I told her that little brothers could be so much fun and she would love him so much.  I've been going around the house most of the afternoon saying, "I'm going to have a son".  That feels so weird for me to say.  So, now, I'm going to have to start looking for boy things.  This is a whole new adventure for us.  And one that I'm a little nervous about but very excited about.

My son! 

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.