Growing Boys

Its been two weeks since Nate got his cast off. He didn’t like the saw they used to cut the cast but other than that he was really good for the whole thing. While he had the cast he had gone from using his left hand for most things to using his right hand but he’s slowing transitioning back to being left hand dominant. He hasn’t sucked his thumb since he got the cast and we were afraid that he might go back after the cast came off but so far we haven’t noticed any “relapses”. We’re relieved that we didn’t have to wean him of the habit on our own. Nate has been talking soo much! He's putting together sentences and communicating so well.... most of the time. He calls Lauren "baby cakes" and is repeating everything (not always a good thing!). Everything thats little is "baby" and everything that is big is "daddy". So if he eats a tiny grape he says its a "baby grape" or he is playing with his cars and the big one is the "daddy car". Its so funny.... I'm glad all the "big" things aren't "mommy" if you know what I mean! ;) Nate's been very challenging lately. Sometimes I think its an attention thing, sometimes I think its an age thing, sometimes I think its all a test and I'm not sure if I'm doing well or just barely passing.
Josiah is so strong (and sometimes a little lazy). He isn't doing quite as much as Nate was at this age but I'm trying really hard not to compare. He is getting close to sitting. He can roll over from back to belly and sometimes belly to back but still struggles with that one a little. He loves to try to stand though. He can be really quiet sometimes and others he babbles up a storm. What a joy he is!

Sisters

So... I'm the oldest of five kids (4 girls and 1 boy). Our relationships obviously have grown and changed alot over the years - especially now that most of us are grown and the last two aren't far behind. I love my siblings. Its been really neat seeing us grow from just being sisters to becoming friends. Its kind of funny because I have friends that I consider my sisters both because of how close we are and because of our shared faith in Christ, but I also have sisters that I consider my friends. I'm 27, Shannon is 24, Lauren 21 and Hannah 16. Pretty far spread by today's standards, but its what we knew so to us it was normal. We're all very different in personality and temperament. Our relationships have fluctuated - hills and valleys - sometimes we're closer than others, sometimes we like eachother more than others. But right now we're all in a pretty good place. I'm really enjoying spending time with each of them in different ways. While there have been many challenges in my life through them there have also been many blessings and I love my sisters.

I'm a Dumb Online Quiz Addict

So, you know those online quiz things that are kind of stupid and don't really mean anything.... I really get a kick out of them. Some of them are dumber than others but sometimes they're kind of interesting. Sometimes during naptime (when I should be trying to be productive) I'll do a half a dozen in a row just for the heck of it. Here are a couple that I've done recently.

Your Famous Movie Kiss is from Spiderman

"I have always been standing in your doorway. Isn't it about time somebody saved your life?"

What Famous Movie Kiss Are You?

You Are Likely a First Born

At your darkest moments, you feel guilty. At work and school, you do best when you're researching. When you love someone, you tend to agree with them often. In friendship, you are considerate and compromising. Your ideal careers are: business, research, counseling, promotion, and speaking. You will leave your mark on the world with discoveries, new information, and teaching people to dream.

The Birth Order Predictor

The Keys to Your Heart

You are attracted to those who are unbridled, untrammeled, and free. In love, you feel the most alive when your lover is creative and never lets you feel bored. You'd like to your lover to think you are stylish and alluring. You would be forced to break up with someone who was ruthless, cold-blooded, and sarcastic. Your ideal relationship is lasting. You want a relationship that looks to the future... one you can grow with. Your risk of cheating is zero. You care about society and morality. You would never break a commitment. You think of marriage as something precious. You'll treasure marriage and treat it as sacred. In this moment, you think of love as commitment. Love only works when both people are totally devoted.

What Are The Keys To Your Heart?

Boys Update

This picture kind of illustrates how my life is going right now... Josiah is pretty peaceful and happy-go-lucky most of the time, but needs to have his needs met regularly. But look at that expression on Nate's face. I don't exactly know what it is - part "cheese" because he does that the instant he sees the camera, part frustration as he tries to pull the toy away from his brother, part "lets see if this will get me attention", part "I'm taking a huge dump for my mommy to clean up because I have very little interest in learning to go in the potty", part "see, I can be cute when I want to".... I could go on and on.

So Nate has had his cast on for about a month now. Having the cast has not slowed him down at all. He is still into everything and still jumping on the couch. I have to force myself to choose my battles or else he and I would be at it all day long. Oh wait, we still are. Nate is at a stage where is can be cuter than cute or he can be a total terrible two – and it only takes a split second to switch from one to the other. He still hasn’t gotten the hang of “gentle” and has come close to hurting Joe a few times. He’s very whiney and every time we tell him “no” about anything it’s a huge ordeal. We’ve been trying all sorts of things and nothing seems to affect him much. I will admit that I have been pushed to my limit a lot lately.
Josiah is getting into a pretty regular sleeping pattern – going to bed between 9-10pm getting up around 8ish (usually woken up by Nate who comes hollering into our room) and taking a few hours of nap in the middle of the day. Obviously there are days when that doesn’t happen but its nice to not be getting up a couple of times a night anymore.
I've got a couple photography gigs this weekend. I'm looking forward to it. I haven't done much photography lately and have missed it. I need to print up some new business cards and do some marketing but somehow haven't found the time or energy to do it.

Brown County

Here is the whole Penrod family on the "annual" fall trip to Brown County State Park. We had a nice day of going to the flea market, grilling at the park and fighting traffic in downtown Nashville. As we tried for half an hour to find parking I was reminded of why I don't usually go to Nashville during the busy season. I'll stick to our trip with the church leadership in January. Even though there aren't quite as many shops open, at least we don't have to fight for parking spots. Oh, well it was a beautiful day and a nice time.

New web address!

So, now you can catch up on everything Wani at www.wanibug.blogspot.com - I'm also on myspace if you want to be my friend I'm at www.myspace.com/wanibug

Also FYI my business is online at www.unforgettable-photography.com - www.unforgettablephotography.blogspot.com - www.myspace.com/unforgettablephoto

Quiz

***Your Sensitivity Score: 70%***


You are a highly sensitive person. Pretty much everything effects you.
You are tuned into the vibe around you, and someone's bad mood can bring you down.
But you also easily share in someone's joy - whether you know them or not.


Are You Extremely Sensitive?
http://www.blogthings.com/areyouextremelysensitivequiz/

Summer Study

I really miss the small group of girls - women that I was in a bible study with over the summer. We met almost every Monday from Memorial Day thru Labor Day. We were going through a book together(Created to be His Helpmeet by Debi Pearl) and had prayer and sharing time together. Some of the girls I knew already but a couple I didn't. Group sharing has always been hard for me so I volunteered my home for the study so I couldn't back out once I started to feel like I was getting outside of my comfort zone. It was so great to spend that time with other women who know what I'm going through on a daily basis - with marriage and raising toddlers, etc. We all had something in common. We shared similar struggles and joys. I didn't realize how much I had begun to rely on that time of sharing and encouragement until we discontinued meeting. I keep telling myself that someone should arrange a playdate or something to get us together again. I even tell myself that that someone could/should be me. But procrastination and busy-ness continue to win the mental battle going on inside my head. If any of my summer study girls are reading this.... I miss you guys! We should get together! And one of these days maybe I will be the one to arrange something!

Middle Name MeMe

My friend, Judy, just tagged me with a fun middle name meme.

Anyway, here are the rules: (If I tag you, you have to post the rules too!)
-You must list one fact that is somehow relevant to your life for each letter of your middle name. (I added the idea that you can come up with more than one word for each letter.)
-If you don't have a middle name, use the middle name you would have liked to have had.
-At the end of your post, you need to choose one person for each letter of your middle name to
tag...... Got it? Good!

Well, I'm always bad at things that require me to talk about myself - at least I think I am. But I'll give it a shot.

M - Married - Mom - Modest - I'm Married. Happily. We're approaching our five year anniversary (its in January). I love my husband very much and am blessed and challenged by our relationship in so many ways. I'm Mom to two beautiful boys. Being a mom brings me the most joy and the most frustration. There are some times when I just can't get over how cute my boys are and I just want to cuddle and kiss them all over. And then there are times.... well lets just say I wouldn't mind having a vacation or at least a day off or something once in awhile. I'm not sure if I'm truly Modest or if I just don't have enough confidence in myself. I don't usually give myself enough credit even though I have plenty of people in my life who encourage and build me up.

A - Anal - Artistic - I have been told (I'll admit it a little) that I'm Anal. I don't think I'm officially OCD but there are things that I like to have a certain way. Thats normal, right? I like even numbers, symmetry and having things go according to planned. The Artistic thing is kind of stretching things a little. I'm more crafty than artistic - unless you count my photography.

R - Rosey-cheeked - Real - I've always been fairly easy to get to blush. It used to be worse, every little thing would embarrass me when I was growing up. I do think that I'm Real. That was one of the first things that made my husband and I know that we had something special - we were both comfortable being our real selves with each other from the beginning.

I - Interested - Intelligent - Intellectual - Irresistible - I'm Interested in a numbers of things/hobbies. I like my photography, reading both fiction and marriage/parenting books, card making and scrapbooking, I'm a big tv/movie buff. I remember dumb tv/movie trivia. Anytime we watch a movie and I see an actor/actress that I recognize I proceed to bore my companions with a list of every movie that I can think of that the actor/actress has been in. My husband says that I'm Intelligent, Intellectual and Irresistible but I'm not so sure sometimes - see the Modest section.

E - Emotional - Encourager - I'm terribly Emotional. I cry at sad (or happy) movies. I get very emotionally involved in situations that may or may not actually involve me. I have to work at remaining unbiased when friends ask for advice, etc. I try to be an Encourager to my friends. I may not always succeed, but I do try. I love sending cards to my friends (especially out of town friends that I don't get to see much).

Alright.... thats as good as it gets from me. I don't have alot of blogging friends, so I'll tag Cindy and Kevin and I'll probably send this out on myspace because its fun. Thanks to Judy for tagging me.

Accidents Happen

Sunday Isaac went to Louisville to a Phil Keaggy concert and I was having a girls’ night. Nate was supposed to spend the night at the grandparents' but she called around 9pm and he had fallen on (not off) the couch and hurt his arm. We went to Clarian West ER and were taken care of very well. Nate had x-rays and it was clear that he had fractured both bones in his left arm a little above the wrist. They wrapped him up with a fiberglass splint and sling and we were told to follow up with an orthopedic doctor the next day to get a cast that'll be on for a few weeks. By the time we got home from the hospital around 1am he was not acting like the same boy who came in all sad and injured earlier that night. He was back to bouncing off the walls as usual. The next day he hardly complained about pain at all - just about the sling being "stuck" – it was cramping his style. We saw the orthopedic doctor on Tuesday. Isaac went back with Nate to get more xrays and they came back with an xray of Nate’s toy cars which he thought was pretty cool. Then the Dr. Kendall reset the bone (Nate did not like that part!) and put a plaster splint on it - he'll probably get a hard cast later. Nate's been such a trooper. Our appointment was right during naptime so as soon as we got on the road to come home Nate fell fast asleep. All things considered none of this has really slowed him down much; he's still been bouncing all over the place. It is wearing mommy out though! We're very thankful that he didn't need surgery or anything. We'd appreciate prayer that he doesn't re-injure his arm during this critical healing time.

As mothers we want so badly for nothing bad to happen to our kids, right? I think the only thing worse than something happening to our child is having it happen when we're not with them. There was a whole lot of guilt going on Sunday night. Isaac felt guilty because he was in Louisville and couldn't be there until we were being discharged from the hospital. I felt guilty because the reason he wasn't at home with me was because I had been having girls' night (and I was bummed to be missing that girls night). My mom felt bad for leaving Nate with Hannah. Hannah felt bad for leaving Kyle and Nate alone for a few minutes. And Kyle felt bad because he was the one with Nate when it happened. We were all innocent of any actual guilt. Nate is a rambunctious two year old and while having a seemingly normal jump on the couch, he fell just right and hurt his arm. It could have happened while he was under anyone's care. Just last week he fell off a play ground ladder and bounced back within a couple of minutes later without hardly a scratch on him. Who would have thought that he would end up with a broken bone from jumping on the couch (and not falling off of it!)? I saw a book once and the title was "Motherhood, the guilt that keeps on giving" (or something to that effect). Its so true. I know I blame myself for far more things than I'm actually responsible for. But while motherhood is full of responsibility, frustration, anxiety, work, worry... its also full of joy, fulfillment, rewards, love, cuddles, bonding... I say (or maybe I heard it somewhere) marriage and motherhood both are the hardest jobs and the most rewarding. Sometimes its hard to see all the great stuff through all the hard stuff, but it doesn't mean its not there.

Tickles and Giggles

Of course daddies are the best at tickling and getting good laughs out of kids. Josiah is a happy and pretty content baby. Occasionally he'll be in the carseat or swing staring off into nothing and chuckle to himself for no apparent reason - which is pretty funny. But usually he doesn't hand out smiles and giggles for free much. Isaac can usually find the right spot and make Joe grin and laugh it up. Here is a clip from one of those times.

My Little Sunshine

Having a two year old can be at times challenging, frustrating, tiring, I could go on but I'll stop there. But then God is faithful and He gives us times when its pure joy. I think He knows we need those times of respite to be renewed and have reason to not lose heart when we moms feel like just about anyone could do our job(s) as good or better than we are doing them.

Over the past few months Nate has started taking more of an interest in praying with us both at dinner and bedtime. He’ll give suggestions on things to thank God for…. Usually its Cars or Toy Story, etc, but sometimes its Pop, Grandma, etc. Lately after some guidance from Isaac, he has been saying little prayers on his own. He’ll say “Jesus (or sometimes, God or Lord)…. thank you…. For…. Cars. Amen” Its so precious!

Isaac's mom taught Nate the cutest thing! Here is a video of him singing (in a whisper - so you'll have to turn up the volume) "You Are My Sunshine" along with Isaac. I thought it best that Isaac sing it with him and not me. Trust me, you should be thanking me!

Labor Day Weekend

We went to the lake for Labor Day weekend. It got off to a lousy start. We got up there late on Thursday evening and when we put Nate straight to bed he was a little warm but we didn’t really think anything of it. I awoke at 5am to hear Josiah stirring and I was preparing myself to get up to nurse him. I could hear Nate in the other room, he was having a raspy, kind of gurgled breathing and I hurried in to check on him, and found that he was having another febrile seizure. Isaac got up and we held Nate’s hands through the seizure which probably lasted less than a minute. He was burning up. We couldn’t find a thermometer but we gave him some Tylenol. He was very lethargic while recovering from the seizure, but slowly normalized and said he wanted a “nap”. His little body was so tired. We eventually went back to bed but I don’t think I actually went back to sleep. The next day we continued to give him Tylenol at regular intervals but he continued to feel feverish. Throughout the morning he would “start” occasionally, and every time I thought it was another seizure. Around 1:30pm he was sitting on my lap and he did have another one. I laid him on the floor and again we talked him through it. It wasn’t until this time that we had Dane go to the store and got a thermometer. When we took his temp after he recovered it was 104degrees. We called Dr. Bain and he recommended that we take Nate to the ER. Not because of the seizures necessarily, but because of how high his fever was. Dane came with us to the ER in Goshen and he watched Josiah(which was so helpful) so both Isaac and I could be with Nate. He napped off and on throughout the couple of hours that we spent in the hospital. They did a blood test and sent some blood off for a blood culture, but we were all confidant that it was again a fever related issue. The doctor said that Nate must have a low fever threshold. He said probably on top of teething (we can see a couple of teeth about to come in) he might have something viral (he’s had a bit of a cough). He had us continue a Tylenol/Ibprophen regimen for the next 24 hours or so to keep the fever under control. They say that the most significant effect of these seizures is "Parental Anxiety" - and boy are they right! Obviously it was stressful and scary, but we’re thankful for the prayers of our church body and that he is alright and by that same evening he was acting like his normal self again. Thankfully the rest of the weekend was fairly uneventful. We enjoyed the time we got to spend with our family and friends.

Building a Cathedral

I don't usually pass on forwards but every once in awhile I'll get one at just the right moment that I need an encouraging word or pick-me-up. And, wow - this one made me cry. I was going through my list of people that I thought might enjoy this email forward and realized I have so many awesome friends that are walking beside me in this life. And some of you may be in a place where you are not only feel invisible but also feel like you have not done anything right... That's just bogus. And I know I need stuff like this to remind me of what I'm really doing. Don't you? We moms are all building something as amazing as a cathedral one brick at a time.

For just one minute try to imagine a place where we will actually be able to see each and every moment we made happen in their little bitty parts all adding up to one incredible lifetime. That is what heaven will be. Why else would God have written about jewels in our crown if we won't even be able to see the crown. Surely we will not only see the jewel but also the reason we have it. Think about that!

But please keep in mind that though we "do" lots of things none of it will matter if we don't recognize who Jesus is and what He did for us.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I'm invisible.

It all began to make sense, the blank stares, the lack of response, the way one of the kids will walk into the room while I'm on the phone and ask to be taken to the store. Inside I'm thinking, "Can't you see I'm on the phone?" Obviously not. No one can see if I'm on the phone, or cooking, or sweeping the floor, or even standing on my head in the corner, because no one can see me at all.

I'm invisible.

Some days I am only a pair of hands, nothing more: Can you fix this? Can you tie this? Can you open this? Some days I'm not a pair of hands; I'm not even a human being. I'm a clock to ask, "What time is it?" I'm a satellite guide to answer, "What number is the Disney Channel?" I'm a car to order, "Right around 5:30 , please."


I was certain that these were the hands that once held books and the eyes that studied history and the mind that graduated summa cum laude - but now they had disappeared into the peanut butter, never to be seen again. She's going ... she's going... she's gone!


One night, a group of us were having dinner, celebrating the return of a friend from England . Janice had just gotten back from a fabulous trip, and she was going on and on about the hotel she stayed in. I was sitting there, looking around at the others all put together so well. It was hard not to compare and feel sorry for myself as I looked down at my out-of-style dress; it was the only thing I could find that was clean. My unwashed hair was pulled up in a banana clip and I was afraid I could actually smell peanut butter in it.


I was feeling pretty pathetic, when Janice turned to me with a beautifully wrapped package, and said, "I brought you this." It was a book on the great cathedrals of Europe . I wasn't exactly sure why she'd given it to me until I read her inscription: "To Charlotte , with admiration for the greatness of what you are! building g when no one sees."


In the days ahead I would read - no, devour - the book. And I would discover what would become for me, four life-changing truths, after which I could pattern my work:

No one can say who built the great cathedrals - we have no record of their names.

These builders gave their whole lives for a work they would never see finished.

They made great sacrifices and expected no credit.

The passion of their building was fueled by their faith that the eyes of God saw everything.

A legendary story in the book told of a rich man who came to visit the cathedral while it was being built, and he saw a workman carving a tiny bird on the inside of a beam. He was puzzled and asked the man, "Why are you spending so much time carving that bird into a beam that will be covered by the roof? No one will ever see it."
And the workman replied, "Because God sees."

I closed the book, feeling the missing piece fall into place. It was almost as if I heard God whispering to me, "I see you, Charlotte. I see the sacrifices you make every day, even when no one around you does. No act of kindness you've done, no sequin you've sewn on, no cupcake you've baked, is too small for me to notice and smile over. You are building a great cathedral, but you can't see right now what it will become."

At times, my invisibility feels like an affliction. But it is not a disease that is erasing my life. It is the cure for the disease of my own self-centeredness. It is the antidote to my strong, stubborn pride. I keep the right perspective when I see myself as a great builder. As one of the people who show up at a job that they will never see finished, to work on something that their name will never be on.

The writer of the book went so far as to say that no cathedrals could ever be built in our lifetime because there are so few people willing to sacrifice to that degree.

As mothers, we are building great cathedrals. We cannot be seen if we're doing it right. And one day, it is very possible that the world will marvel, not only at what we have built, but at the beauty that has been added to the world by the sacrifices of invisible women.

Rolling Over!

Josiah has rolled over a few times in bed this week. I only got to watch him do it once though. He did it around the same age that Nate did – 4 ½ mos. He sleeps on his tummy so he rolled from front to back. We’re still working on back to front. He’s very chatty when he’s happy. Isaac and I take turns sitting in the foyer at church with him because he gets so loud sometimes.

Nate has gone in the potty off and on this week. One day he went three times! We’re offering incentive of stickers if he pees and a cookie if he poops in the potty – so far all we’ve actually gotten to do it the stickers… no cookies rewarded yet. He’s funny. When he is going somewhere, even just to bed or something he says good-bye to everything. He says “bye bye books”, “bye bye Signing Time” (when the video ends), etc. It is pretty cute.

inside the mind of a woman

I have to tell you.... I loved reading a recent post on a friend's blog. She is a stay at home mom of three and as we all know, grown up dates don't come along everyday. So, she kind of rambled on about being excited and worrying about what to wear to go out. I'm glad I'm not the only one who frets over ultimately trivial things that are somewhat vain (but harmlessly so). I also rarely have the occasion to "dress up" so when I do I go out of my way to look stylish, cute, as thin as I can, etc. Isaac has to laugh at me sometimes because I will on occasion be all school-girlish and say that I think I look good that day. Which may sound vain, but anyone who knows me knows that that doesn't really happen all that often so I think its alright.

Chuck E Cheese

Here are the Penrod boys when we went to the new Chuck E Cheese's in Avon. Its kind of cool - at this age Nate's happy to wander around and "play" the games without us putting tokens in or anything. He eventually wanted to ride the rides and stuff but for awhile he just sat in the video game section pretending to play the games. Janice and I enjoyed having the daddies there to help with the boys - at least until they got hooked on MarioCart or something like that.

Vacation

Here are a few pictures from our vacation. We went to Chicago to visit my friend Cindy. And then we went to the lakehouse. We went to the Shipshewana Flea Market and the usual lake stuff, boat, campfires, etc. It was nice.

Wedding Pictures

I did pictures for an old friend's wedding a couple of weeks ago. It was an outdoor event, beautiful day, gorgeous couple, it was great. I've really had fun editing the pictures. Its neat for me to look at how much my photography has improved over the last couple of years - upgrading my equipment helps! If you know of anyone who needs a photographer please pass my info along!
www.unforgettable-photography.com

My Boys

Here is a pix of Isaac and the boys over the weekend. Aren't they cute!?! Joe is getting so strong and talkative. Nate is getting smart and so independent. They're so much fun!
I've got a wedding gig next weekend that'll be my first one this year - pray for good weather, its supposed to be outside!

Our Sweet Boys

Here are a few "matching" pictures of Nate and Joe. Aren't they cute!?!

Going Wild

The past few weeks have flown by! Its hard to believe that a month and a half ago I was still pregnant! Now we have two boys! Nate can't seem to give Josiah enough kisses. Before Josiah was born we were bracing ourselves for Nate to have a rough transition but he's done really well. Not to say he doesn't have his "two year old moments" - oh he does! But over all he gets along pretty well with his new brother "Joe Joe Joe" as he calls him.
Josiah as you can see has filled out nicely. We haven't been to the doctor in awhile so I don't know what he weighs but judging from the looks of him, he's not missed a meal yet! He has started to give little smiles here and there and he's cooing for us now too! I forgot how neat this baby stage was! Nate is so cute in his toddler way, exploring and trying new things... but Josiah is just precious!
Here is a pix of us at the zoo last week. It was so hot that day! We were very thankful for the shade! Nate loves the zoo - he gets into making animal sounds and all that. If you look closely at Nate's shirt you can see that it has a dinosaur on it. He is so funny when he tries to say dinosaur it comes out "diodaur"! Its one of those things that he'll soon grow out of but I hope I never forget because its such a special part of this stage that he's in right now.

Adjusting

We're all still getting accustomed to being a family of four. Isaac has had the last two weeks off which has been great, but I'll have a reality check when he goes back to work tomorrow and I'm on my own with the boys!

Our Baby Joe is Finally Here!

Wednesday late morning I started contractions that were fairly mild and not too close together. But throughout the day they got more intense and closer together. By evening we had called our support team to come over. When we finally had the midwife come we had her check and see how far dilated I was and I was already 8cm and 95% effaced! That was very encouraging since Nate had been stuck at 7cm for several hours before his c-cection. We labored for awhile longer and then ended up pushing for about 2hours. Obviously this was the first time I'd gotten to the pushing part of labor.... it was a whole different ballgame! But after 19hours of labor at 3:50am when our beautiful baby boy finally came out of me and was slipped up into my open arms it was all worth it. He was 8lbs 8oz and 21in long.(Nate was 7lb7oz) He's so precious! Nate has lots of hugs and kisses for him, but probably doesn't really get how much his life is going to change now because of this new little guy. Well, we are all still resting from the long day yesterday but we wanted to let you all know about the new life that has joined our family!

* Obviously this was the abbreviated version of the story. For those who are really interested in birth stories let me know and I'll send you a word doc with the long version.

Closer Still

Well, the time is drawing near. We are within about a month or so of the arrival of this baby! Isn't that crazy!? Everything is still looking good, we're both healthy and growing! Hopefully the next time I post it will be to announce the birth of our second child!

P.S. I tried to post a recent pix of us but Blogger is being weird. Hopefully it'll be working right when the time comes to post pix of the baby!

P.P.S. Good thing you have a friend that knows a little bit about HTML!!!
-kev

Sleddin'

Here are Nate and JJ getting a taste of sledding. We had alot of snow that day!
We're at 34 weeks and counting! Just over a month before this baby will be making its arrival. We'll keep you posted when the big event happens! Keep us in your prayers as the time draws near!

Happy New Year!

Well, we had a wonderful Christmas season filled with family and friends! We were blessed in many ways. Now that the excitement of the holidays have passed we're turning our focus to the baby to come. Part of me feels like March is so far away... and part of me thinks its so soon! Isn't it weird how that works? Anyway, the pregnancy is going well. Its been different than with Nate's - I think this baby is already trying to prove its individuality. We're at about 29wks and still planning on a mid-March arrival. Nate came a little early so there is a little bit of me that hopes this one will too, since I'm feeling weighed down by my growing belly. But only God knows the day and time that this one will greet us for the first time. Please continue to keep us in your prayers as we prepare for this arrival.

Excited

We went to the lakehouse for Thanksgiving weekend. Deb and Dane just finished adding on a master suite and there's a small ramp going up to the bedroom. Nate thought the ramp was so cool - he kept running up and down it all weekend. As you can see in the pix, he was very excited! He would scream and screech as he ran back and forth. It was pretty fun to see him get so worked up.

Harvest Blessings!

Here is the Family Picture Collage that we're sending out with our "Harvest Blessings" letter. We're trying to beat the rush of Christmas cards by doing ours now(hopefully... they aren't exactly in the mail yet, but will be soon). Enjoy!

Ultrasound Pix

Here is a few of the ultrasound pictures of the baby at 20weeks. It was so different this time than it was with Nate's. He was only 16wks when we got to see him for the first time via ultrasound so obviously he was smaller. This time it was easier to recognize parts of the body and such since we'd experienced Nate's before. We clearly saw all four chambers of the heart all pumping strong. We had a pretty good look at the baby's face and saw its' lips moving (that was really neat!). We chose not to find out the sex of the baby. Its kind of neat not knowing until the baby actually arrives.
By the way - I'm on www.myspace.com now if anyone wants to look me up.

Fall Fun

Our church had its annual Fall Fun Fest this past weekend. We had a beautiful fall day for it. Except the time had changed so it was dark at like 6oclock! Stupid daylight savings time... I still don't get it, sorry. Oh, well, it was a nice party. Aren't Nate and Ella cute together? Ella and her Grandma Cheryl were dressed as lady bugs... it was adorable. We were party poopers and didn't bother dressing up this year. Maybe next time.

Pumpkin Picking

We went to Stony Creek Farm today. I have the greatest memories of when we did pony rides there during their Harvest Festival for several years. It was alot of work but alot of fun. It was weird to see all the changes they'd made since the last time I'd been there. But its still a great place for families. Nate enjoyed helping pick out a pumpkin, as you can see. The reason he's got a funny face is he was telling us that the pumpkins were dirty (its his latest word). He's so fun.

Field Trip to Museum

We went to the Children's Museum with some friends. Nate loved the PlayScape. He romped and explored and would have been content to stay there all day. We didn't stay in the sand area too long... he kept trying to eat the sand. And if any of you saw the episode of House that dealt with an autistic boy who ate sand and got worms you'd have been a little leery of sand too. Anyway, it was a fun time.

Girls Nite

My friend Julie just celebrated her 25th birthday this past weekend. We got together with her and a few of her friends from home and had a girls' nite. Sometimes its odd being the only one in a group who's married w/ kids... but at the same time its nice to get out and not act like a mom for a few hours. We went to Cheeseburger in Paradise. There was live music and fruity drinks with fruit sculptures in them, and the food was pretty good too. What a fun group of girls that night!

TP Run

One of us accidently left the bathroom door open... and Nate had a hayday with the toilet paper! He was so proud of himself as he ran around the whole downstairs dragging that tp behind him. What a cutie!
We got to hear the baby's heartbeat at the last doctor's appointment. This one is already showing off that his/her personality is different than Nate's. Throughout the whole pregnancy with Nate we had a hard time hearing the heartbeat, we'd search and finally we'd get it then he'd always move away real quick so we only heard it for a second or two. This one we found right away and heard it good and strong for what seemed like a couple of minutes. It was so special. There have been a couple of times that I thought I felt a little flutter of movement... but its still kinda early, so it could have been gas. ha ha

Corn Corn and More Corn

We enjoyed a nice weekend at the lake again. Here is Nate enjoying whats left of mom's ear of corn. The Wrights joined us for a day and even though it was quite brisk, the girls still made it in the lake. I think Jeremy bribed them.
We are about 15wks into the pregnancy now. I'm not feeling as sick as I was, but certainly feeling pregnant. We're meeting with a midwife this weekend so please pray for that meeting, as it might be a major part of our decision making process.
Things have been a little slow with pictures this summer. Which is fine, I had a few weddings in the spring which all went well. I have a wedding scheduled in Dec. and one in June, and possibly a prom in May. I'm trying not to book anything too close to when the baby will be coming.

First Trip to the Zoo!

A great group of other mothers from our neighborhood and I had a book study over the summer. We read Creative Correction together. It was really good! We all took our kids to the zoo yesterday. It was so much fun! Nate loved watching all the animals. He kept pointing and oohing at everything. It so neat to see him get excited and interested in new things.

Nice Weekend

As you can see from the pix, Nate got a haircut. It was a little shorter than expected, but its growing on us. He's still as cute as can be. We enjoyed a nice time of visiting with friends and family this weekend at the lake.

Pool

This is from a couple weeks ago. Nate really enjoyed playing in the pool on our partially finished deck. He was so funny splashing around. He's been identifying his and others' nose & ears, etc lately. Only when we try to get him to show someone who hasn't seen him do it he clams up and won't "perform". Its so much fun to see him learn things.
We met with a doctor in our area today. We really like her, she seems really open to doing things as naturally as possible and understands personally my desire for a VBAC. We're still deciding on our birth location but we have a good feeling about this doctor. Keep us in your prayers as we coninue in the decision making. Thanks!

Big Brother

Here is the look on Nate's face when we told him he was gonna be a big brother! Ok, so maybe he isn't really excited just yet... but we are! We're about 10weeks along (click to see how the baby is growing and changing) http://www.babycenter.com/mybabycenter/110.html, which makes us due around March 17th of next year (maybe we'll have a St. Patrick's Day baby!). We'd appreciate your prayers as we are choosing a new doctor (change in insurance and all that) for this pregnancy and birth. We want to have a VBAC (vaginal birth after cesarean) and it can be challenging to find a docor who will support that choice. So keep us in your thoughts and prayers as we have alot of decision making ahead of us. Thanks, we'll keep you updated as things progress!

Walking!

Well, its official, Nate is walking on his own! He's taken a few steps here and there for awhile now, but he's roaming all over the place now. He's still at the point where he goes back and forth between walking and crawling. But then today I put a pair of shoes on him... thats slowed him down a little. He's very talkative lately too, testing out his vocal range... he can get pretty high and pretty loud! We love seeing him grow and change.

Cake

We had a few people over to my parents to play on the moonwalks and have some cake. Nate had a blast in the Toddler Town moonwalk. He jumped and crawled around like he owned the place. When it came time for the cake he wasn't sure what to do at first but then he dug right in and flung it everywhere! It was really cute. Thanks to everyone who came, we all had a good time!

One Year Old!

Well, last year at this time Nate was just getting to know us for the first time. What a huge difference he has made in our lives in the past year. He's brought many changes, challenges and so many joys and blessings! We think we'll keep him! ha ha - Here is a collage I made of pix from over the past 6mos or so for his birthday. Enjoy!

Splash!

Nate had his first experience w/ a pool this past Sunday. He loved it! Just a big bathtub to him. We had a good time seeing him enjoy himself so much!

Scare

We are all doing well here. Though we did have a scare a couple weekends ago. Nate was feverish but I wasn't concerned because he was teething and he had run a temp for a couple of days the last time he teethed. But the fever led to Nate having a febrile seisure. At the time it was freakin scary. But we've done some research and read up about it and its fairly common and benign and there wasn't really anything we could have done to prevent it. Rough weekend to say the least. But Nate is more than back to normal now. Ultimately I think we were traumatized more than Nate was. Anyway, this is a recent pix of Nate showing off his new top teeth.

Cute Cousins

Nate and Jeremiah enjoy taking walks around the neighborhood. They're so cute together. Nate is cruising around with his walker-toy but still won't venture out on his own yet. He really enjoys reading books alot. And this has to be a record or something, he whistles! It is so cute! He's cutting a couple of top teeth. Less than a month until he's a year old! Its hard to believe its been that long already. We love seeing him grow and change. Its been such a special experience.
I did pictures at a friend's wedding a few weeks ago, and have had a few other gigs lately too. Things aren't too busy but doing pretty good.
We're looking forward to a nice weekend at the lake. My girlfriends from college are hooking up with us there. Yeah! I miss my girls!