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Sunday, February 28, 2010

Very Busy Week

This is going to be a very busy week! And it's already begun. I've spent most of the weekend preparing for Kid's Kloset, a local kid's consignment sale. It's a ton of work, but totally worth it!! So I've been trying on clothes, moving clothes around (with three girls it's a constant shuffle of clothes from one closet to the next and eventually to storage boxes), measuring clothes, and making my list. I'm just about ready. Wesley and I work the sale so that we can shop first. This is the only way to get the best deals. So, I will be working a short 3 hour shift in the morning. Then Tuesday I get to shop! Whoo Hoo! And finally on Wednesday, Wesley will work and evening shift. That would be a busy week in and of itself. But there's so much more going on this week!

In addition to regular home, school, and work responsibilities, we have Wednesday night activities at church, a field trip, a doctor's appointment, an Outdoor Expo at church Friday night, and family coming in town on Friday! Whew!!!

Good thing I'm functioning at my best for all this, right? Ha!

I also want to mention that Papa Mathis will be leaving this week for two weeks to go on mission in Haiti. He's leaving sometime this Wednesday. Please pray for him and for Nana Mathis while he is away.

Now I better get busy so that I can fit some sleep into this week!

Saturday, February 27, 2010

Saturdays

Well, it's Saturday. Poor Saturday. I put a lot of expectation and pressure on that one day of week. I look so forward to it each week and make such big plans for it. I expect it to be a day to rest, and also a day to accomplish everything on my many and massive things to do list. Whether we accomplish a lot or a little, I'm almost never satisfied with Saturday. I either regret that we did too much or regret that we did too little. There's almost no way the day can live up to all my expectations for it. So, I guess I owe Saturday an apology. Here goes:

Dear Saturday,

I just want you to know that I love you. I'm sorry for expecting so much from you. I promise to try to just relax and enjoy you while you are here. I promise to appreciate you. I will try to let you go at your owe pace and not rush you or try to hold you back either. Thanks for coming back to me every week even though I subject your to such difficult conditions.

OK with that behind me, I feel much better. Just in case you are interested and because one day I might be interested in remembering, this is what we've done with our recent Saturdays.

This Saturday Wesley is working. This time of year he has to work a lot of weekends. Right now I'm choosing to appreciate the fact that he has a secure job in a time when so many others do not. Even if that means some Saturdays. I am also choosing to be thankful for the fact that typically he has a very flexible work schedule.

Last Saturday, Wesley went to the men's conference at our church. I decided to give him some man time after that was over and me and the kiddos took off on a day trip to visit family. We planned to drive to my Mom's, spend the day, and come back that evening. We've do this on a semi-regular basis. The trip is almost 3 hours one way, but if we leave early it's not too bad. This time however, when we got there, we didn't want to come home. So even though we had not packed an overnight bag, we ended up spending the night. The kids were begging to spend the night at Grandmother's, and I was feeling pretty tired. So it was not a tough decision. It was so much fun!! Mom fussed over us as usual, and we enjoyed it, as usual! Mom grilled out. I was able to eat way better than I have been lately, probably because I had no hand in preparing the meal! You may recall that the weather was INCREDIBLE!! We played outside the entire day. All "the aunts" came. It was a great Saturday. No regrets!! The only thing missing was Wesley. But, he enjoyed some well deserved time at home alone!!

The weekend before last, Wesley also worked. And the one before that, I visited my Daddy in the hospital. Next weekend Wesley will be working again. Did I mention that he works a lot of Saturday's this time of year? And that I'm grateful? :)

So that kind of sums up our Saturday's right now. It'll be a while yet, but I'm really looking forward to a Saturday when we are all at home and can tackle some of those projects on our list. No, wait. I'm really, really looking forward to a Saturday when our "minor" family of six + little baby bun + Buddy, the dog, just stay home all day, being lazy, playing in the yard, soaking up beautiful sun and warm temperatures, maybe firing up our own grill, AHHHHHHHHHH!!! Doesn't that sound lovely!?! Oh, no! I'm doing it again! I'm forgetting my promises to Saturday. I guess I better go now and appreciate the remainder of this Saturday!!!

Friday, February 26, 2010

Hooray!! Something might actually be wrong with me!!!

Yes, I was delighted to discover today that something might actually be wrong with me. Sound crazy? Well maybe, but I was starting to feel so discouraged that finding out it could be something very minor and very treatable is actually encouraging.

I'm 11 weeks pregnant now. For me, I'm usually starting to feel a lot better by this point in my pregnancy but not this time. I've continued to feel very tired, run down, sluggish. I have no energy. No motivation. My muscles even feel fatigue. I'm just tired all the time. I've also been extremely cold. Miserably cold. Today I started thinking, OK I think something is just wrong with me. Something more than just being pregnant. So I got online and googled my symptoms, and I think that I am anemic (low iron). I have all the symptoms. It makes perfect since too, since my appetite/diet has been so bad. I'm thrilled to learn this, because it means that I can probably just get an iron supplement and feel so much better!!! I cannot wait to talk to my doctor about it which I fully intended to do, first thing Monday morning!!!

On another note, I spent way too much time tonight to finally add pictures to my last post. BUT, we've been having major computer issues and just as I was finishing up, I lost my whole nights work! VERY FRUSTRATING!! I may try again another time, but I'm not making any promises.

Maybe by the next time I post, I will be feeling more like myself again.

Thursday, February 18, 2010

10 Random Things in Random Order

***Note I've got lots of pictures to add to this post, but it's getting late and I will have to add them tomorrow! So check back later, because the pictures are the best part!!!****

I was inspired by a friend's blog to do a random list of things. I thought this would be a good way to catch up on some of the things that I have been wanting to write about. I've said before that I blog in part so that I keep some type of a journal for our family, so that is why some of these things are important for me to record. Again, this is going to be very random!! I'm doing a list of 10 things in honor of the fact that I am 10 weeks pregnant today!! So, here goes:

1. I had a great night out tonight with some of my favorite girlfriends!! Tonight our Ladies Accountability Group started back up. We took a big break through the holidays and the beginning of the year, because two of the ladies have recently had babies. We are a pretty small group so since two were going to be out for a few weeks, we just extended our break. It worked out good for me since I probably would have missed a few weeks with my yucky nausea! Anyway, it was sooooo good to visit and catch back up! It's good to have girlfriends!! LOVE you girls!! Tonight was great!!! Also, thank you so much to my good friend and neighbor Kristina for bringing us dinner tonight!! It was very YUMMMMMMMY, and it really helped me out a lot today!!

2. We've had so, so much snow this year!!! I really did lose count, and it was never more than about than about 2 inches at one time. But, it really has been a lot of snow for our area. And, it really has been so much fun!! My mom recently gave us a very cute gift. It's a "Snowman Family Kit". It has all the parts and accessories to built a snowman family inside one very cute wooden box. The only thing missing is the snow. It has 4 different hats, 4 different scarfs, 4 wooden carrots, etc. The day after she gave it to us, it snowed again and we got to try it out! We were only able to get one snowman in before it began to rain, but he turned out really cute. We decided he would be a boy snowman in hopes that just maybe our baby is a boy, and we named him, "Sam" which is also my mother's nickname.

3. Grace lost her first tooth on January 23rd! She was sooooo excited!! It had been a little bit lose, but I didn't think it was really that close to falling out. I must have been wrong, though. She was having lunch and bit down into an apple and starting screaming. I thought at first that she must have bitten her tongue or something, but then she said it was her tooth. I took a look and sure enough it was bleeding and barely hanging in there. She didn't even know when I actually finished pulling it out. It was over in a second. Then she was all smiles as she sported her new smile!! I don't know about other kids, but our kids LOVE losing teeth. She's working on a second one now!

4. As of today, we only have 50 more days of school scheduled!! AND we don't need all of those, so unless we use some sick or vacation days we have even less that that!! Whoo Hoo!! 50 may sound like a lot to you, but I've been counting down for a while now so it sounds mighty good to me!!! We are planning to be done on the last day of April! We had a really good school day today. The kids are all doing well. Luke and Grace are reading well. Mary Ruth is learning her letters and sounds and cannot wait to be able to read. I've got some fun projects planned for next month. Oh, I'm looking so forward to March!

5. Speaking of school, Wesley took Luke and Grace to a National Weather Service Storm Spotter Class this past Tuesday night. It's a free class that is really intended for adults, but anyone can attend. They learned to recognize thunderstorm and severe weather events. The class ended up being about 3 hours long. It was lecture style but included a lot of videos on different weather events. At the end, they all received official "Storm Spotter" certificates!! An official Storm Spotter can report weather events happening in their area directly to the National Weather Service!! How cool is that!!! I knew that this would qualify Wesley to be a storm spotter, but I loved that Luke and Grace received a certificate too!! Of course, Wesley will continue to develop their skills over time. Wesley said the room was packed, but that he did not notice any children other than ours and a good friend Caleb who also attended with his Daddy. Nana and Papa Mathis were there also. Even though the class was almost 3 hours long, Wesley said that Luke and Grace did pretty well sitting still and paying attention. They seemed to really enjoy it! Mommy loves that she can document that as a science lesson!!!

6. A couple of weeks ago, I escaped to Tuscaloosa overnight by myself to spend the night in the hospital with my Dad. He got a really bad case of staph infection in his toe. It was very serious for a few days, and he ended up spending almost a week in the hospital and requiring surgery. He's back and home now and recovering nicely. I hated to visit under those circumstances, but I still very much enjoyed my visit. It was great to have some quality time with my Daddy. I also met up with my Mom while there. I caught a good nap at her place, and then she and I enjoyed lunch at the Olive Garden! YUMMMMMMMMY!!!! We try to visit about every 6 weeks, but it's been a while for us this time. I LOVE my family, and always enjoy time with them! I can't wait for us all to get back down there!!!

7. Dr. Conrad wants to see me every other week for an ultrasound. I haven't really been too anxious so far, but as the 14 week mark draws closer and closer I find my anxiety creeping up. With the babies we've lost, it seems that our problems seem to develop somewhere between 14 - 16 weeks. Everything has been so great so far, and we are all so excited! I know that our baby is in His hands and nothing will happen that isn't part of His sovereign plan, but I dream of holding this baby. Oh, I can't wait to get to the 20 week mark! I know that getting to 20 weeks doesn't guarantee that nothing else will go wrong, but it's just an important milestone for us. I also can't wait to find out whether we are having a boy or girl! I'm trying not to rush the days, but I'm just excited and anxious!

8. Wesley is participating in "Scale Back Alabama". It state program to encourage healthy living. The goal is to lose 10 pounds in 10 weeks through a better diet and exercise. I didn't really think he needed to lose any weight, especially not 10 pounds. But, he is motivated to live healthier and did think he could spare a few pounds. Anyway, he's doing very good despite the fact that I am eating terrible indulging my cravings far too much!!! In my defense I will say that sometimes my cravings are all I feel like I can actually swallow. Oh, this too shall pass!

9. Valentine's recently came and went. We didn't really do anything especially special. Wesley and I agreed to let each other sleep late one Saturday. Wesley also brought me a Steak-Out salad! Also YUMMMMMMMY!!! Very romantic, I know! The kids had a big Valentine's Party on Friday, Feb 12 with our homeschool group. It was a lot of fun. On Valentine's Day, we went to Papa and Nana Mathis' house for a special lunch. They went all out!! We had an amazing meal, the tables were set with flowers, they led us in reading a couple Bible verses about love, and gave gifts to top it all off! It was a great time!! Of course, the best part was the company and fellowship! The lemon pie was a very close second!!! (Nana Mathis, my mouth still waters when I think of that pie!!) (If you've noticed how much I've talked about food lately, remember that I am pregnant right now! Ha, ha!!) Later that night, Wesley and I put the kids to bed early and watched Fireproof again.

10. We started a new tradition this year with the help of my good friend, Katy. She shared that her family had a "special plate". In her family, if you are celebrating a special day such as a birthday, anniversary, etc. or if you've done something special, had a special accomplishment, you get the idea, then you get to eat from the special plate. The first time I ate at Katy's house, I got the special plate since I was a guest. I really LOVED this idea. Well for Christmas, Katy gave our family our very own special plate. I was so excited!! Luke got to use if first for his birthday in January. I used it next the night we shared with the kids that we were expecting another baby. Finally Grace used it the night she lost her first tooth! It's just a small but fun family tradition that we were happy to add this year! Thanks, Katy!!

OK, there you have it!! I'm almost caught up now, and so are you!!!

Wednesday, February 17, 2010

Todays Doctor's Appt, 10 Weeks

Today I had another appointment and ultrasound. I went back to my regular OBGYN today, Dr. Conrad. Let me just say, I LOVE that man! He's a great doctor!!! I know that I have been in good hands with Dr. Harper, but it feels really good to be back under Dr. Conrad's care. Anyway, today's report was good again! Our little bun is still awful little but is measuring exactly as he/she should be! Actually the specific measurement is 2.65 cm which if I'm correct is just over an inch. We could see good fetal movement and good development of the baby's arms and legs. Baby's heart rate was 172 bpm.

Today I had a little bit of a wait which is common with Dr. Conrad, but I don't mind. He's worth the wait. The wait wasn't bad especially considering I think that my appointment was a work-in. I also don't mind the wait, because it gives me some time to myself and time to read.

While in the waiting room, I noticed a young lady and something about her stood out to me. I didn't really give it much thought. I just noticed her and went back to my book. I sometimes fail to remember or realize that I should take notice to those little kind of moments. In retrospect, I think that I noticed her because of a prompting of the Holy Spirit.

After I had completed my appointment and was on my way out of the office, Dr. Conrad came out and caught me. He asked me if I had a minute to speak to a young lady who had just lost a second baby through miscarriage. Of course, I said yes, but I was thinking what should I say to this person. He led me back to the room where the young lady I had noticed in the waiting room was sitting alone crying. Oh, do I ever know her pain. We shared a few minutes together. I hadn't known what I would say, but as I began to speak to her the Holy Spirit gave me the words. I pray now that He used me to provide some measure of comfort to her today. She and I exchanged information before I left. I'm hoping to keep in touch with her and be of some support while she continues to grieve a second difficult loss.

I'm sharing this, because I'm would like to ask for your prayers for her. We will call her "Mrs. R". I know that it was not coincidence that placed Mrs. R and me at the same doctor at the same time. My heart is breaking for her. My second miscarriage sent me spiralling hard! But, I know that God has used that for my good. Today is a prime example of that. I was only able to sit and cry with Mrs. R, because I genuinely share her grief.

Also would you do me a favor? Mrs. R shared she doesn't really feel like she has a lot of people to talk with right now as she is walking this dark road. She and I exchanged information, and I also shared this blog with her so that she might go back and read through some of our experiences. So she might just be reading here. I know that several of my family members and good friends drop by here from time to time. I know that I would not have made it through my dark times without the love and support of family and friends. You all have been His hands and feet in my life. Would you please leave a comment to this post offering your prayers and encouragement to Mrs. R. Will you be His hands and feet to her? If you would like to do something more private, you can send me an email and I can forward it to her. Mrs. R. if you are reading here know that I am praying for you and now several others are also.

Thursday, February 11, 2010

Random

I'm so behind on everything including blogging, that I don't know where to begin. I've got so many cute stories and pictures to share, but again I'm too tired to get into anything big tonight. I've started feeling better so maybe I can catch up soon. The nausea is so much better, but the fatigue still lingers. Also while I'm not very nauseous anymore, I still have many, many food adversions and in general not a great appetite.

Our doctor said yesterday that from his perspective things couldn't be better. Of course, we are thrilled!! I'm 9 weeks now! Apparently my body really knows what to do, because my stomach is already beginning to pooch out. I've reminded my stomach that the baby isn't very big yet and there's really no reason for it to respond this way, but it isn't very easy to reason with your stomach!! I really don't mind except in this extreme cold weather, I just really want to be comfortable in my clothes. It's always hard when you reach the point of being too big for your regular clothes, but too small for your maternity clothes. But I'm happy to endure and happy that everything is going so well that my stomach is deciding to start making room!!

On another note, who else is ready for spring!! If I'm remembering correctly, I think we have had 4 occurences of snow with accumulation this year!! I'm going to have to go back and check out my pictures, but I'm pretty sure it's been 4 now! Granted it's not been more than a couple inches each time, but still that's a big deal for us!! It's the most snow we've seen since we've lived in this area, and we've lived here for more than 7 years now. I've really enjoyed the snow. It's been very pretty. I'm so glad that my children have had enough snow to finally play in, and I'm glad we've gotten to build a few snowmen. But, I've had my fill now! I'm all done for this year. Unless we are going to get a really big one, then no more snow, please. I hear that we might get some more snow tomorrow or this weekend. I sure wish that someone would have a conversation with that groundhog. Six more weeks of winter weather may not be so bad if we all got to sleep right through it like he does!! Personally since I don't get to sleep through it, I WANT SPRING!!! Sunshine!! Warm temperatures!! I'm a very cold natured person already, and I feel like I can't get warm enough these days! Anyone else with me? On the bright side, at least it's given me a good excuse to stay indoors since I've really not felt a lot like getting out anyway.

Well as I look back, I feel like maybe I'm sounding a bit complainy (is that a real word?). I'm not trying too! Actually things are going really well today, and I've got so much to be grateful for!! Healthy baby/pregnancy thus far, incredible husband + 4 amazing children + a warm home all of which I get to take care of, feeling better, great family/friends, a reason to not fit perfectly into my closet full of clothes, and so, so much more!! My point of this post was to share a brief, quick update (I think I missed the mark on that one) and to make sure that anyone who reads my blog has also seen Michelle's blog for today. I hijacked Michelle's blog earlier today and shared a cool project idea for the Karrs. If you haven't seen it, please go check it out! http://michellekarr.blogspot.com

BTW, forget what I said about the snow! Almost anytime it snows, Wesley gets to stay home from work!! Hum, our whole family staying home in PJ's all day playing games and sipping on hot chocolate, yeah I change my mind!! More snow please!!

Wednesday, February 10, 2010

Another Good Report, 9 Weeks


Here's a quick picture of our "little bun". We had another great appointment and ultrasound today. I've been way to bogged down to blog, but I hope to find time to write tomorrow. Tonight, I must get some sleep!!

Wednesday, February 3, 2010

Funny Stories

At the moment I'm feeling pretty good! Whoo, Hoo!! But, I still think I will stay home from church tonight to rest and catch up some school stuff. I'm behind on so many things.

I have two really cute stories to share both from lunch today. First, the kiddos asked for chocolate milk with their lunch. It's probably been years since they had chocolate milk at home. That's usually a grandmother treat. But, I said if they agreed to eat a healthy lunch that included having lettuce on their sandwich (not all the kiddos like lettuce on their sandwich) that I would agree to a small cup of chocolate milk. Suddenly everyone was excited to have a big leafy piece of lettuce. Yes, I know this sounds a lot like bribing. I chose to consider it a reward, not a bribe. Well, I handed out the food and then set out the chocolate milk. I'm not sure what Mary Ruth was expecting, but as she looked at the cup of chocolate milk she seemed to be very pleased with the size of the cup (about 8 ozs) and the rich color of the milk. Her eyes got big, and her smile even bigger. Then she took a drink and exclaimed, "OH, DEAR!! BLESS MY HEART, THIS IS SOOOOOOO GOOOOOOD!!" How cute is that!! Bless my heart, Mary Ruth is so cute sometimes I just want to squeeze her!!! Now whose in the mood for a big, cold glass of chocolate milk? Just remember, first you must eat your turkey sandwich on whole wheat bread with a big piece of green leafy lettuce with a side of banana and some carrot sticks! Ugh! I think I've just made myself feel bad! I did not have my glass of chocolate milk, because I couldn't eat this then and don't want any of it now either!!! Let's just move on to the next cute story, shall we?

Also at lunch while Luke was eating, he was looking out the window dreaming of the great outdoors. Seriously, this is Luke. Outside is his life. He loves it, longs for it, can't get enough of it! So he says, "I'm thinking I would really like to climb that big oak tree in the back yard." Me: "Oh, yeah." Luke: "Yeah, but I think I need someone to help me on that one." Me: "Hum, really." Luke: "OK, raise your hand if you would be willing to help me climb that big oak tree in our back yard." Bella Peace very excitedly as if she really understands what she is agreeing to, raises her hand and says, "ME!!!" No one else responds. The one year old wants to help her brother climb a tree. Truth be told, she probably did completely understand. That's why she responded the way she did. She's really hoping to climb it with him, because she also loves the outdoors, longs for it, and can't get enough!! Oh, I just love these kiddos!! I'm all smiles right now! I think I'm going to take my happy self a nap while my precious kiddos are also having their rest/nap time!!!

Tuesday, February 2, 2010

7 weeks 5 days


We got another good report from the doctor today! Everything looks great!! You can see things starting to take shape in the ultrasound picture above. Very exciting!!

Unfortunately my report of how I'm feeling is not as good for today. I went to bed right after I finished posting last nights update. Initially I had trouble going to sleep, but I wasn't really feeling bad just restless. That is until the clock struck midnight when I woke up miserable, moaning and groaning and completely nauseous. Ugh!! Needless to say, I'm very tired today and hoping to get to bed early tonight. I'm so grateful that Wesley and the kiddos are being so patience and loving to me right now!! My nurse reminded me once again that this is just another indication of a healthy pregnancy, so I'll continue to endure as cheerfully as possible!

Monday, February 1, 2010

Our Angel

Today was much better. I still dealt with some nausea, but it was not as bad as it had been the past couple of days. I was able to eat much more, which made a huge difference. Lately it's been a doubled edged sword. I'm not able to eat much, because I feel so bad. And I feel so bad, because I'm not able to eat much. I think today I realized that the biggest problem is the smell of food being prepared. When I smell it cooking whether I'm doing the cooking or not, I'm done! So today when our little angel arrived loaded down with already prepared food (food with mild smells), I was able to eat!! And then, I felt much better. Our angel, you ask? Well, we call her, Nana Mathis!!! And we love her so dearly!! Wesley (have I mentioned how much I love this man and how good he is to me!!) and I got school out of the way early, and then he was able to get to work while Nana Mathis (folks this woman is truly an answer to prayer!!) stayed most of the day to help us out! I was even able to get a good nap in!! We are set with food for at least another day, maybe two. I'm praying that I will continue to do well! Tomorrow morning is another big day, ultrasound scheduled for 8:00AM. Oh, boy, that's so early for me!! Remember, I'm not a morning person!! I'll update as soon as I can tomorrow. Good Night!