Updates

Just wanted to take a minute and update everyone on a few things...

~ Jeff's Mom is seeing a doctor today to talk about the feeding tube they will be putting in. Please pray for her in this area. She's very uncomfortable with the idea but I think it's the best thing they can do for her right now.

~ I saw my OB today and we talked about all the contractions I've been having. She checked me and thank goodness I have not started dilating yet! She just wants me to keep an eye on it and take it easy.

~ The endocrinologist's office called and said there was a cancellation and they could get me in tomorrow morning at 10:15. That's an answer to prayer because they originally said it would be June 6th before I could get in!

~ My little sister is back in the hospital with her thyroid condition and graves disease! Her heart rate was up as high as the 140's! They have finally gotten it down around 110 today. They ordered a new kind of treatment that includes potassium and iodine and will last for about 24 hours. She will have to stay in the hospital until she's doing better overall. Please pray for her!!

Cool Mommy Contest and Giveaway!

Addie sent me over to this site where they are giving away all kinds of cool prizes for Moms!! Go check it out and see if there's anything you're interested in participating in! Top prize includes an ipod nano and some chocolate. Sounds pretty cool if you ask me!!

Stepping out in Faith and Watching God Provide

I'm not sure if I have mentioned it or not but we're in the middle of a building/giving campaign at Church. It's been an awesome experience to see God working in people's lives! Last week we had a Church leadership event. Each of the leaders were asked to prayerfully consider giving big and stepping out in Faith, trusting God will continue to provide. Jeff and I felt called to a certain amount and we went with it. It is going to be a stretch but we know when God calls you to give you better do it! We can never out give Him!!

Earlier this week the air conditioner in my van went out. Let me just tell you that no AC at the beginning of summer in AZ is NOT a good thing! A friend suggested we call the dealership and see what kind of warranty we still have. I hadn't even thought of that because we bought the van used from a private party not the dealership. So Jeff called and they said "Yes, you're still covered up to 60,000 miles!" We took it in on Tuesday and they not only fixed the AC but several other things as well. The total we had to pay at pick up... $00.00. Isn't God good??

Also, this week our freezer stopped producing ice and was making a horrible noise. Again, ice is very important here in AZ. Especially being pregnant... I have to have lots of ice in my drink! We talked about it and decided that we probably didn't still have a warranty on it since we bought it in 2005 but Jeff called to check anyway. We found out that we have a warranty until 2010! They are coming out at the start of next week to fix it for us. The cost will be... $00.00!

I'm so amazed that God is providing. I know I shouldn't be because He's never let us down before. I'm convinced it's because we stepped out in faith and trusted Him!!

Okay People, Let's Name This Baby...

That's right, we still don't know what to name this new little baby boy!

I remember when I was pregnant with our first son, Joshua. We just knew that was his name and we called him that for months before he was born. It was so exciting!

When I was pregnant with Seth we just couldn't decide. His name was going to be Benjamin or Bradley. Then after he was born I couldn't make up my mind. I remember someone from the hospital calling our room and saying "You do realize if you want to take this baby home today we have to know his name." I just laughed at them. Somehow the name Seth came up and it stuck.

This time I just can't figure it out. We've started a pattern that now we can't break though. All of our names either start with 'J' or 'S'. If that's not bad enough we all have a middle name that starts with 'A'. It wasn't until the other day it hit me that all of our middle names end with 'N'. What were we thinking??

So here are the names we're considering and I'd like to take a vote.
First Name...
~ Jacob
~ Joseph (Joey)
~ Jordan
~ Jesse

Middle Name...
~ Aiden
~ Arthur (after my Dad)
~ Andrew
~ Austin

So leave your vote in the comment section. If you have any other ideas feel free to leave them as well. I can't wait to see what everyone thinks!!

Baby Update...

I thought I would give everyone another baby update. Yep, it's been another month already! I saw my PA yesterday. As you can see by the ticker above, I'm 31 weeks and 1 day. I feel pretty good and have only gained 11 pounds total. My doctor said the baby seemed to be head-down. The heart beat was in the 150's.

I did however find out that my thyroid counts are all messed up again, indicating hyperthyroidism. She want me to see a specialist soon. Also, she said it would be nice if I could have another ultrasound to make sure everything looks great with baby. I see my regular OB next Thursday and we'll see what she thinks about the whole thing.

Pray for baby and I as we go through these next few weeks of pregnancy!! I'll keep you updated.

Birthday Meme...

I found this fun and interesting meme on Kelley's Blog...

Go to Wikepedia.com and enter your birthday (month and day only)

List 3 Important Events that occurred this date...
~ 1976 - British Pound falls below $2 U.S. for the first time
~ 1991 - Iraq releases all Gulf War prisoners
~ 2006 - Three 6 Mafia become the first African-American hip-hop group to win and Academy Award and play at the ceremony.

List 3 Births that took place on this date...
~ Marsha Warfield - American Actress (I only remember her from reruns of Night Court)
~ Teena Marie - American Singer (Don't know if I actually know any of her songs)
~ Jake Lloyd - American Actor (Played in Star Wars Episode 1 as Anakin Skywalker)

List 3 Deaths that took place on this date...
~ John Belushi - American Actor
~ Richard Kuklinski - American Hit Man "The Iceman"
~ Patsy Cline - American Singer

List 1 Observance or Holiday that takes place on this date...
~ Learn from Lie Feng Day in China

Tag a few friends to play along...
~ Jodi
~ Jen
~ Brooke

So long, Goodbye, See ya later, Until next time...

How do you say goodbye? Today was one of the hardest days of my life. Yep, it was the day I had to say goodbye to my sister-n-law. It was tough saying goodbye to my BIL, Jon and the four kids but it was especially hard to say goodbye to Tina! We have been sisters now for 7 years and we've become best friends! I don't know how many times we've been told we're like Lucy and Ethel.

I know God has called them to reach the people in South East Asia and I know He has a plan for their lives! I'm trusting Him to watch over them and protect them as they start this new journey! I'm reminded of a couple verses...

Mark 16:15 ~ Go into all the world and teach the good news to all creation.

What a wonderful example of following God's orders as Christians. I know He doesn't call each of us to go into all the world because some of us are just called to go into our own neighborhoods. He has a plan for each of our lives.

Genesis 31:49 ~ May the Lord watch between you and me when we are absent from one another.

I actually found a really cool necklace that says this verse. It's like those friendship necklaces that split in the middle. I kept half and she took the other half as a reminder of our friendship and the love the Lord has for each of us.

Please be in prayer for them as they follow God's calling! We trust that He is going to use them in a mighty way to reach people that don't know Him!!

Win a purse contest...

I know all of you ladies love purses out there! While I was at Shalee's today I found this little bit of info about a contest to win a purse. Go here, check it out and enter to win. We'll see who the lucky girl will be!

Updates...

Well, I've got some updates on things that were going on around here...

Josh saw the orthopedic specialist and they said everything is completely normal. He's just got the brains and wants to be an inside kid. It doesn't really matter how he's running and eventually he'll decide whether or not it's important to be involved in sports. The only thing they saw was that he's flat-footed and double jointed. Praise God nothing is seriously wrong!

My MIL saw her oncologist on Thursday and got some good news and bad news. The good news is the top half of the tumor has not grown since the last MRI. The bad news is the bottom half has. That is why she is talking so weird right now, having such a hard time swallowing and her face is drooping. The want to do a gamma knife radiation treatment to see what will happen. They are tentatively planning that for Thursday of this week. Pray that all will go well with that.

The Goodbye party was a big hit. The weather was so beautiful... must be because I prayed about it all week! We had a great turn out of 50 adults and 33 kids. We had a chest set-up for cards and donations and people were very loving and generous in their giving! I don't know if I have permission to say how much was raised but it was a nice amount! We can't wait to see what God is going to do through them in South East Asia in the coming years!!

Well, that's about it for now. Hopefully I'll have time to post more this week. I have a few things planned but just have to find that camera/computer connector thing!

Not what I wanted to blog about but oh well...

I really wanted to do a post about Josh loosing his first tooth but I can't find the camera cord thingie that you use to download them from your camera to your computer.

So we'll just go with this silly story that popped in my head this morning. When we were first married we lived in an upstairs apartment. It wasn't super nice but it was home and at that point we didn't really care.

One night while cooking dinner I saw a tail sticking out from under one of the cabinets. I freaked out and screamed. Jeff came running in and here's the conversation we had...

Me ~ "There was a huge tail sticking out right there."

Him ~ "Oh, you found our pet lizard, huh?"

Me ~ "Pet lizard... are you insane? You knew that thing was living in here and you didn't say anything or try and get him out?"

Him ~ "Well, I just figured he wasn't really hurting anything so he could stay."

Me ~ "It needs to go like now! You have to catch it and get it out of here!!"

Him ~ Tries for a while and then says "I can't get to him right now but he'll be out as soon as I can find him."

Me ~ "Fine!!"

The next morning I get done with my shower and grab my towel. I start drying off and then all of a sudden that stupid lizard jumped off into the shower. He was hanging out on my towel!! I screamed and all but there were no conversations to be had because Jeff had already left for work. You better believe I called him though and told him all about it.

Well, I trapped him under a box and taped it to the floor. Jeff took care of him when he got home and we never saw that thing again!

Let me just make it clear... we will never have a "pet lizard" in our home!!

I can't keep up any longer...

I just feel like my life is going crazy!! Here's a few of the things rolling around in my head today...

First of all, I want everyone reading to know I do like men. That last post was not something I personally wrote but was an email I got and thought was funny! Sorry to any men (Wes) out there that I may have offended :-)

The next thing is the departure of my BIL and SIL to South East Asia. They leave in two weeks... two weeks people!! Can you imagine all the stuff we're trying to cram into the next two weeks?? We've got a goodbye party on Saturday. I still need to do all the shopping for that! We're also trying to figure out how to celebrate four of our kid's birthdays before they take off. What would you do if you had only two weeks left with someone special in your life??

Also, I know I mentioned Josh's feelings about school lately. I took him to the doctor last Wednesday and they took blood and did x-rays. He was pretty brave about it. The funny part was, he thought the vile that held the blood was the needle that would draw the blood... can you imagine? The test results came back and he has a high level of red blood cells and his soft tissue is swollen. They are sending us to a Orthopedic specialist as the next step. We also have to find a pediatric psychologist so we can talk about his anxiety issues. Pray that we can get to the bottom of all of this soon!

My MIL is still not doing well. Although she was up and at our house on Saturday to celebrate Easter with us. I can't believe she's still getting around with as much pain as she's having. She will have an MRI done on Wednesday and the results will be back Thursday. We are all waiting to see what it shows. I think we all kind of know what to expect but we're not trying to get ahead of God. He knows what the future holds for her and all of us!!

Oh yeah, and my thyroid levels are off again this month. My doctor is concerned and wants me to retest so we know what's going on. So far I've had two bad tests and one normal one. I can't figure out what's going on : )

Also, today is my Grandpa's birthday so I wanted to say "Happy Birthday Grandpa!!"

This was probably all really boring but I just had to get it out... this is my place to say what I need to say, right??

Training for Men...

Fall Classes for men...
Registration must be completed by Monday August 6 , 2007
Note: due to the complexity and difficulty level of their contents, class sizes will be limited to 8 participants maximum.

Classes begin Monday, August 20 , 2007

Class 1 ~ How To Fill Up The Ice Cube Trays
Step by Step, with Slide Presentation.
Meets 4 weeks, Monday and Wednesday for 2 hours beginning at 7:00 PM.

Class 2 ~ The Toilet Paper Roll -- Does It Change Itself?
Round Table Discussion.
Meets 2 weeks, Saturday 12:00 for 2 hours.

Class 3 ~ Is It Possible To Urinate Using The Technique Of Lifting The Seat and
Avoiding The Floor, Walls and Nearby Bathtub?
Group Practice.
Meets 4 weeks, Saturday 10 :00 PM for 2 hours.

Class 4
Fundamental Differences Between The Laundry Hamper and The Floor.
Pictures and Explanatory Graphics.
Meets Saturday at 2:00 PM for 3 weeks.

Class 5 ~ After Dinner Dishes - Can They Levitate and Fly Into The Kitchen Sink?
Examples on Video.
Meets 4 weeks, Tuesday and Thursday for 2 hours beginning at 7 :00 PM.

Class 6 ~ Loss Of Identity -- Losing The Remote To Your Significant Other.
Help Line Support and Support Groups.
Meets 4 Weeks, Friday and Sunday 7:00 PM.

Class 7 ~ Learning How To Find Things -- Starting With Looking In The Right Places And Not Turning The House Upside Down While Screaming.
Open Forum .
Monday at 8:00 PM, 2 hours.

Class 8 ~ Health Watch -- Bringing Her Flowers Is Not Harmful To Your Health.
Graphics and Audio Tapes.
Three nights; Monday, Wednesday, Friday at 7:00 PM for 2 hours.

Class 9 ~ Real Men Ask For Directions When Lost -- Real Life Testimonials.
Tuesday at 6:00 PM Location to be determined.

Class 10 ~ Is It Genetically Impossible To Sit Quietly While She Parallel Parks?
Driving Simulations.
4 weeks, Saturday noon, 2 hours.

Class 11 ~ Learning to Live --- Basic Differences Between Mother and Wife.
Online Classes and role-playing .
Tuesday at 7:00 PM, location to be determined.

Class 12 ~How to be the Ideal Shopping Companion
Relaxation Exercises, Meditation and Breathing Techniques.
Meets 4 weeks, Tuesday and Thursday for 2 hours ! Beginning at 7:00 PM.


Class 13 ~ How to Fight Cerebral Atrophy -- Remembering Birthdays, Anniversaries and Other Important Dates and Calling If You're Going To Be Late.
Cerebral Shock Therapy Sessions and Full Lobotomies Offered .
Three nights; Monday, Wednesday, Friday at 7:00 PM for 2 hours.

Class 14 ~ The Stove/Oven -- What It Is and How It Is Used.
Live Demonstration.
Tuesday at 6:00 PM, location to be determined.

Upon completion of any of the above courses, diplomas will be issued
to the survivors.

Off to the Zoo

Not much to say except that we're headed to the Wildlife Zoo on a field trip today. The teacher, the assistant, 29 kindergarten kids and seriously 20 parent volunteers! This class has some great parents that want to be involved. I was shocked when I first saw the list. In fact, there are so many parents that want to help that we can't ride the bus with our kids because there's not enough room. Isn't that wonderful? I think it's great that parents are showing so much of an interest in their kid's lives!

Anyway, when we're done, I'll have to come back and post some pictures! I'm sure it's going to be a beautiful day outside. Our weather has been so nice lately!!

Hope you all have a wonderful adventure planned today, too!!

Happy Anniversary Honey!

Sunday was our 7th Anniversary! We didn't really do much to celebrate because we have two little ones now and you know how that goes. However, in a couple weeks we will be heading to the Melting Pot to celebrate with my BIL and SIL. They will celebrate 8 wonderful years together!

I had something special in my mind about what I would say to Jeff and how I would tell him I love him more now than ever before. I was going to use some kind of silly metaphor like "life is a puzzle and he's the piece that completed me." Now all of that sounds a little silly and all.

So anyway Honey, I love you very much! I'm so glad God gave me such a wonderful husband and I can't imagine life without you!!

Lots going on...

We've got lots going on right now...

First of all, I know I mentioned my MIL last week and the fact that she has been fighting cancer for a while. Yesterday she started having more complications and is not doing well. Her blood pressure has been extremely high, she's vomiting, is numb on the left side of her face and has severe head pain. It really doesn't sound very good. So if you could please say a prayer for her and the family today... I would really appreciate it!! I thought I would attach a picture so you would know who you were praying for...



Second, I did see my doctor again yesterday and she said all looks great. We heard the baby's heart beat loud and clear. She said as far as she's concerned I'm probably going to go a few weeks early and have another small baby... Fine with me : )

Third, I have a son who does not want to go to Kindergarten and thinks I'm a horrible Mom for making him! I know he's got lots going on in his little life right now with a new baby and Grandma and all but I don't know what to do with him! Pray that he will figure it out in his little heart and mind and be prepared for the weeks and months to come!!

Shaving 101

So a couple weeks ago we had the girl's night out for my birthday. Somehow we got on the topic of shaving our legs and armpits! I know it might seem weird but whatever! Here's what we talked about...

How often we shave your legs...

How often we shave your armpits...

I know I've got to put my answer out there for everyone who will read this. So, I shave my legs once every 4 or 5 days. I know that might seem gross but really my hair doesn't grow that fast! I shave my armpits every other day. Seriously, it just doesn't grow that fast!!

My sister-n-law shaves her legs and armpits every single day!

My sister shaves her legs every couple days and her armpits every day!

My Mom can go about as long as I can or longer with both.

So now the question we all need to know... how often do you shave??

Did you see that?

Did you see I only have 98 days left of this pregnancy?? Since it's getting closer we did the family tradition where we each take guesses on date, height, weight and time of day. We did it with both of the other boys so we had to keep it going.

With Josh my husband guessed 4 weeks early and we all laughed. He won!

With Seth I guessed 3 1/2 weeks early and we all laughed. I won!

So this time we'll see who comes in closest. It was fun to have the boys take guesses though...

Seth's favorite # right now is 2, it must be because he's 2 1/2. So when we asked him the date he said "June 2." Height "2 inch." Weight "2 pound." Time "2 o'cwock." (His words, not mine)

Then Josh took his guesses and at the end said "Oh, oh let's guess what his name will be!"

I had to explain that they don't come out with their name stamped on their bottom or with a tag around their neck. We have to give him his name. Although at this point it might just be easier if God could work that out for me!!

Saying Goodbye...

In just a few short weeks we will say goodbye to my brother-n-law, sister-n-law and their four young kids. They will be leaving for the mission field in South East Asia! As much as we are excited for the new journey God will be putting them on, we're very sad that we won't see them for 4 years!

It's been a tough couple of weeks as we start the goodbye process. Josh keeps asking if maybe they made a mistake and it's only 4 months instead of 4 years. I think he's really starting to understand the fact though because he's said "So I'll be almost 10 when we see them again?" Another hard thought is that they won't get to meet our new son until he's 4 years old!

I know God has given them this special gift in their heart to serve Him in ways I can never imagine. I don't think I could leave me home and family to move clear across the world and work in a country that I don't know anything about. I am so proud of them for taking this leap of faith and trusting God to take care of them! I think they are amazing people!!

We will be having a goodbye party for them in April. I'm sure there will be lots of laughing, crying and hugging going on! Please pray that God will soften all of our hearts as we prepare to say goodbye. Please pray for our kids because this is going to shake up their world!

Probably the hardest part has been the fact that my mother-n-law has cancer and isn't doing well. We can't tell what part of the process she's in exactly but she is in hospice care now. Things just don't seem good as far as we can tell. So it's been hard to have to deal with all the emotions that come with that along with the thought of them possibly not being here when she passes away!

My New Excuse...

A couple weeks ago Josh's teacher called and asked if I planned on letting Josh go on the upcoming field trip with the class. I guess I forgot to turn in the paperwork and money (big surprise). I told the teacher I was very sorry and brought the money that day when picking him up. I also explained that she just got my son at a very weird time since I'm pregnant and can't remember anything!

When I explained this to my sister-n-law she however didn't fall for it. She said "Well, what will your excuse be next year?"

I really do think pregnancy makes you loose part of your mind. So I've decided from now on in this pregnancy when I do something dumb or out of the ordinary I'm just going to look people right in the eye and say "I'm sorry, I seem to be suffering from a mild case of pregnancy." I really think it just might work!

Another thought that has me worried is my friend Amy at church thinks mothers with three boys go crazy at some point in life! I talked with her again on Saturday in church and she assured me that I would never be one of these moms. I'm know she was just trying to make me feel better though. Will I really go crazy??

It's All About Me

Well, shouldn't it be on your birthday?? Yesterday was my 26th birthday but I didn't get around to posting anything so now I'll just post 26 interesting facts about me...

1. I've never tasted alcohol in my life

2. I've always wanted to go white water rafting

3. I don't like hot dogs

4. I once had two boys fight (like physically fight) over me... what an ego booster, huh?

5. I cheated on tests several times in the 4th grade and felt really guilty about it!

6. I've never gotten an F in my life

7. I got a D once in the 7th grade because my attitude was horrible

8. My first kiss was at 14

9. My last kiss was this morning when my hubby left for work : )-

10. I've never cut my hair shorter than a bob

11. I've never once put any coloring in my hair

12. I love cooking and baking and dream someday of doing catering

13. I grew up wanting to be a teacher

14. I love my DVR because I hate commercials

15. My favorite drink is Iced Tea or water with lemon

16. When I go to the movies I think it would be really cool if one of the managers came up and asked to see my ticket... then I would whip it out and make them feel really dumb (don't ask)

17. I don't eat eggs

18. I fall asleep much easier when the TV is on

19. I love driving my mini van... makes me feel like a real Mommy : )

20. People usually think I'm either 20 years old because I look young or they think I'm 30 because I'm so settled in life already.

21. The only veggies I will eat... carrots, celery, corn, green beans and sometimes bell peppers

22. I love hanging out with my family

23. I can say the Pledge of Allegiance in English and Spanish

24. I've always loved children and pictured having lots of them

25. My Mom has always called me a frustrated perfectionist and I totally agree!

26. I am now the age that my husband was when we got married : )

Not real interesting but at least it's 26 things, right??