fun in the snow!

Jadon's first church going

and some good bonding times from this evening. I hardly have a free moment to be on the internet. Instead, I sleep. I'm enjoying my sweet family SO much. We have much to be thankful for!

Grandpa, it's your birthday!!

Happy Birthday to one of the greatest grandpas on earth! Jerry, we love you and are so thankful for you. The party would have been MUCH more enjoyable with you here :o)

Jadon Michael- our 4 day old

It's a boy, and I'm in love. birth story, hopefully, coming soon.

My Brother

This is my brother, Mike, NCOIC of the Ellsworth AFB Honor Guard in Rapid City, SD.

Almost 40 weeks

We are so ready to meet our new baby, which will be, Lord willing, very soon! If I've not gone into labor on my own, I'll be induced Tuesday at 5:30am. I'd really like to go on my own. I'm getting humungous, and rightly so. I AM pregnant ;o) I have gained much more weight (15 pounds more) with this one that my previous pregnancies, but that's okay, too. I'm just ready to see our baby and find out if we are adding to our family a boy or a girl!

My parents invited us over for dinner tonight and on the way, I got my picture made by the "free delivery" sign. We think it's hilarious and hope that our dr will honor what the sign says ;o) yeah right. Anyway, before dinner I was able to see my Granny (I miss her so much!), and then we had a super delicious meal at my parents' and thoroughly enjoyed visiting with them. HOW WE LOVE THEM! The next time I post, hopefully, you'll be seeing our newest baby- yay!

37.5 weeks pregnant!

We're getting close to meeting our new baby!! I'm feeling quite large and getting very ready to not be pregnant anymore (for now). :o) Mikayla took most of these pics. I think she did a great job. So, this is what we all look like today:

My 470th post

So much has happened in our lives since I started blogging. This evening I'm having a little bit of quiet time. I enjoyed a nice bath and got all lotioned up. I even did some breathing... with no children fighting/wanting my attention. It's been nice :o) I've been thinking about how different my pregnancies have been and what characterizes them:

1st pregnancy (Mikayla)- lots of SWELLING, esp. feet
2nd pregnancy (Jada)- miscarriage
3rd pregnancy (Joseph)- heartburn!
4th pregnancy (Kaitlyn or Jaden)- nausea further into the pregnancy and sciatic nerve pain

I can't believe I've been pregnant FOUR times. unreal. We sat down as a family tonight and made a list of the things we are thankful for. Boy, it sure filled up FAST! We are so very blessed.

To induce or not to induce; that is the ?. I'm pretty sure we've made a decision. At my 36 week appt.(this past Monday) my dr told us that I could be induced on the 1st of December (my due date is the 8th). That would put me at 39 weeks. Ever so tempting, but I do want to go into labor on my own, and I'm pretty sure that's what we've decided. If we DID go that route, we'd have a baby in less than THREE WEEKS. That is quite sobering. Mikayla was born 3 days after her due date and Joseph was born 4 days before his. SO, I'm thinking this one might be a bit early anyways... Only God knows, and I like it like that!

I feel like we are mostly ready. Jody got the tiny crib set up the other day. I look foward to it being filled with a real baby, not Mikayla's plastic one ;o) Last night we watched Mikayla's and Joseph's birth videos. Talk about sobering!! I need to make sure the batteries for the camcorder are all charged up and ready to go. I'm definitely getting excited and (believe it or not) less nervous about going into labor, the pain, if I make it to the hospital in time to get an epidural, etc. I'm sure it's the Lord working in my heart, and I'm so thankful for it!

Enough pregnancy talk for now. Maybe if I can get cold enough, I'll make myself some hot chocolate with marshmallows in it. Mmmm... I think I'll have to step outside for a while for that one. Hope you have a blessed day! I sure am.

Our church baby shower

At both my showers, I was overwhelmed with the amount of love that was shown to us. To be honest I felt a little bit "guilty" because it WAS my third baby shower, and people have gotten us SO MUCH already. However, a sweet comment from a sweet friend really helped. She said, "every baby is to be celebrated." I really liked that; thanks, Jessica :o)

Coleman baby shower

These ladies were so KIND to me!! (well, our family...)..

This morning before church...

A picture from Emmie

Wow, my babies are BIG. I look forward to watching them in the big brother/sister roles. :o)

34 weeks!!

Hello, friends! Today marks a very special day for me. I'm 34 weeks pregnant- yahoo :o) The baby weighs approximately FIVE pounds now, and I've gained approximately a LOT more than that. Ahem. Like Grace and I were talking about, there's something about the third pregnancy...

If I go into labor now at any time, the dr will not try to stop it. Talk about sobering. I think the only thing we need to buy for the baby is a car seat. Other than that, we're pretty much set, except for small things. Oh, this is getting exciting!!!

Last night I slept SO WELL. Usually I have to get up about every hour to use the restroom. not fun. Thankfully though I usually am able to fall right back asleep. I'm experiencing plenty of hand/feet swelling. I've stopped wearing my wedding rings b/c of my swollen fingers. My mom so kindly found me a pair of brown shoes that are nice and BIG for my fat feet to be comfortable in. Go, Mom!! She even volunteered to watch our kiddos for an overnight so we can have an evening alone before the baby comes. Yippee! I think she loves us...

Next week we are planning on putting together about a week's worth of meals in the freezer. That way, there won't be so much to do when the baby does come.

Don't forget about the TIME CHANGE THIS SUNDAY! We gain an hour of sleep; who wouldn't be happy about that?! Don't be too early for church :o)

Enough from me. Good night, friends of mine. Hope you are all doing well and enjoying this cooler weather! Our new memory verse: Trust ye in the LORD for ever: for in the LORD JEHOVAH is everlasting strength." Isaiah 26:4

Times like these...

are grand. just grand.

Trust in him at all times

Lord willing, in less than 7 weeks, we'll be able to meet the newest addition to our family. To be truthful I'm a bit scared. nervous. anxious. about the birth of this baby. When I think back to giving birth to Joseph (now 21 months old) it almost seems overwhelming to go through that again. In a span of about 5 hours, I experienced the most excruciating/deep pain and the most joyous/satisfying feeling in my whole life. The pain, obviously, being labor and delivering him(without the trusty epidural- I don't know how/why women do that ON PURPOSE) and the joy being after he "popped out." I really and truly wanted to die or for someone to just kill me and put me out of my misery. I thought I had a fair tolerance for pain, but I found I do not!

I don't want to be anxious. I want to trust in the Lord, really just cling to Him for strength. HOPEFULLY I'll make to the hospital in time to get an epidural. All this makes me consider being induced. I've heard lots of negative/positive things about it. With my daughter and son, I went into labor on my own, and I kinda like it that way. However, being induced would "promise" me an epidural. I've got so many thoughts running through my head right now. This I do know: My God does NOT want me to fret and be anxious.

Philippians 4:6 (KJV) Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God.

Psalms 62:8 (KJV) Trust in him at all times; ye people, pour out your heart before him: God is a refuge for us. Selah.

Christy, it's your BIRTHDAY!!

Gleee!

2 months away!

29 weeks pregnant- 29 years old
30 weeks pregnant- 30 years old
31 weeks pregnant- still 30 years old- phew!

I'm glad THAT trend didn't continue ;o) All's well here. The kiddos are growing and so is their mommy's tummy. wow. It's like a perfect basketball. Maybe I'll post some pics soon. GRACE and her children are coming for a few day- yayyyyyyy! I'm really looking forward to spending time with her. I miss seeing her :o(.

I felt kinda bad about something I did this evening. I gave up (children) bathing duties. Thankfully I have a very kind and understanding husband. It's not the easiest thing to lean over that tub and scrub my kiddos. Thanks, Jody!! Only a few more weeks, actually more than that, and I'll resume responsibility.

We're supposedly getting a COLD FRONT this evening. I'm so ready for it! I absolutely LOVE the cooler weather. Most of my pregnancy shirts are geared that way. Yay!

I'm due to have this little one 2 months from today. At my last appt. the dr. said if I were to go into labor at 34+ weeks, they wouldn't do anything to stop it. 34 weeks for me is less than 3 weeks away. yikes! The odds of that happening are highly unlikely, but still...

Yawn. Maybe my next post will be a bit more exciting. Like with pictures or something :o) Good night, dear friends!

Taking inventory

Why is it important to take inventory? I guess in general it's to find out what you have, how much of it, what you have too much of, and what you don't have enough of. That could only be beneficial to a company, right? Or, as I was meditating on, to our own lives. There can be sins/actions/attitudes, etc. that we could tend to be blinded to if we don't continually "take inventory" of our lives.

Psalms 139:23-24 Search me, O God, and know my heart: try me, and know my thoughts: And see if there be any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.


What powerful verses. As hard and as ugly as it can be, I want God to search me and know my heart and thoughts. And point out to me the wicked ways in me.


What do I have too much of? I believe first and foremost, it's selfishness. I HATE when I see it in my life. It saddens my heart when I see even a tiny glimpse of it. What an ugly trait to have. I suppose it's something I'll continually battle, but it's a battle I want to be victorious in.


What don't I have enough of (or what do I need to "order" more of)? Wow, could I ever come up with a list here! Patience! Kindness. Selflessness (there it is again). An understanding/hopeful/prayerful/non-condemning attitude toward others. And so much more.

Have you ever witnessed inventory being done? It's a LOT of work. It requires time, diligence, accuracy, and perseverance, to name a few. I want to be that fervent and diligent to be searched by the God who so graciously forgave me, loves me, and keeps me. I want to be "led in the way everlasting."

it finally happened

Joseph (20 months) finally caught up to his sister Mikayla (3 1/2)in the weight department. They are officially tied. Is that CrAZy?? Today I put them both on the scale and they weighed in at a whopping 31.8 pounds. wow. I'm sure Joseph will pass her up in no time. He eats plenty more in a typical day than she does. I love my babies!!