Special Bonds

This picture just makes me happy. It's priceless!!!

Reality

So here is the reality of having a new born, a 4 year old, and a 2 year old. Let me start by saying 4 years old is definitely an age I'm not enjoying all that much and newborns....well, anyone who has had a baby, knows just exactly how time consuming, joyful, exhausting, trying, beautiful and hard they can be.

We got Christian on acid reflux medicine when he was a week old. He seemed to be doing better.

WEEK 1: Brought Christian home from the hospital. Libby had the flu. Put Christian on acid reflux medicine.

WEEK 2: Jade got the flu.

WEEK 3: My brother John's wedding. Almost took Christian to ER for trouble breathing b/c of cold he had gotten from the girls....we didn't end up having to.

WEEK 4: Had to put him on medicine to get over his chest cold. Still noticed he was in a great deal of pain. Tested his poop and discovered blood so I was put on a milk-free (no dairy) diet. That means no milk, cheese, sour cream, butter, etc... This has seemed to work so hopefully I won't have to take out soy as well. Oh yeah, let's not forget no chocolate.

So that's how it has gone so far. Enough said!!!

Grandma Annie

There have been a couple things the girls have done recently that referred to Grandma Annie.

Right after Christian was born Brett was upstairs putting the girls to bed and Libby told Brett that she wished Grandma Annie could be here. Then a couple days later she looked and me and said "Grandma Annie can see Christian". To be honest I didn't even know what to say. I was speechless. We hadn't even been talking about Grandma Annie...it was so out of the blue.

Then just this past week, we were at Parent Teaches Conferences, which, by the way, made me feel somewhat weird and old, the girls were at their Aunt Betsy's house and she said that Jade came up to her and said "You know I have a friend"...Betsy asked her who her friend was and she told her Grandma Annie and that she bakes her cookies.

It blows my mind even more that Jade brought this up considering, once again, we had not even been talking about my mom and she never even met her. The next couple of days all Jade seemed to talk about was Grandma Annie....makes my HEART SMILE and BREAKS MY HEART all at the same time.

I just wish my kids, and my brothers' kids could have been blessed with more time or even one day with their Grandma Annie. As we all know...being a Grandma was something she definitely lived for, just sucks it was so short lived.

ZONE DEFENSE / WELCOME CHRISTIAN WILLIAM

HEADED TO THE HOSPITAL!!!!

After hitting a week past my due date, I was finally ready to be done and couldn't help but think about my brother's upcoming wedding...so we decided to be induced. It was a quick and smooth delivery and all was well. Born just before 8:30 PM. 8 pounds 7 oz and 21 1/4 inches long. We officially went from MAN-TO-MAN TO ZONE DEFENSE!!!!

The Big Sisters came to visit. Not sure what was wrong with Libby here. I think she wanted to be the one to hold Christian.

Already 5 weeks old.

Libby's decorated christmas tree. We have really had to work hard on paying special attention to her. This was something special for her to do while Jade was enjoying a day with Grandma Linda.

Still Pregnant....4 days over!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Ok...so I am officially 4 days past my due date and still feel as though there is no end in site. What's even more crazy is I actually feel pretty good other than having a stuffed up nose for about 3 weeks now. One of those colds that my body just can't seem to get over until after the baby comes I'm sure. My worries during this pregnancy started with the worry of having a small baby. I just didn't feel as big as my 2 previous pregnancies, but that could be because I was finally blessed with no swelling, which is actually pretty amazing considering this Summer was one of the hottest and we have no AC. This worry disappeared when I hit 36 weeks and was measuring 38. I'm pretty sure I'm up to 43 now so I guess maybe I should be worried about a big baby now. I'm guessing in the 7 pound range even though the doctor estimated 8 pounds this past Monday....I'm not feeling it though. Other worries....having to have a c-section and being induced. My brother's wedding is in 3 weeks and he already moved his wedding once for me. I was recently informed that he wasn't going to move it again so I'd better have this baby. No worries though....it will be here soon!!!! On an even more serious note though, is my worry of not having the one person I've forever ran to for comfort, support, inspiration and just the right words at the right time. Obviously I am referring to my Mom. Don't get me wrong, Brett is the best ever; however, NO ONE can replace your own Mother and this is just one of those important milestones that only a Mother can understand. It's been an internal struggle to not have the ability to call her with constant updates of the pregnancy, or more recently, those encouraging words she always seemed to say that would always put me at rest. My Mom was the first person I called after my girls were born....that won't happen. It just really breaks my heart all over again going through such a great miracle and not having her physically here to share it with. It's that feeling of...IT JUST ISN'T FAIR!!!!!!!

More Updates

Below are two pictures of the house when we first moved in. Brett has successfully completed some of my very important honey-do's before baby #3 arrives. Good thing my kids don't like coming early.

And here is the finished product. He did such a great job. I should give some credit to myself as well since I did all the painting of the trim. Might I add that painting the baseboards was NOT fun at all. Good thing this carpet is nothing special b/c I wasn't all that careful...IT WAS A PAIN!!!!

I had some major shopping I wanted to do and Brett thought we should all do a family vacation before the baby came, so we headed to Rapid City, SD and stayed in a hotel with a water park and then took the girls to Story Book Island. They had such a great time and I was successful with my shopping.

Libby started preschool this year, which was a very big deal. Brett couldn't get past the idea that he had a kid starting school and Libby was so excited. She goes in the afternoons from 11:50-3:15 and is usually very exhausted when she arrives home. If she happens to fall asleep on the couch for a nap, the evenings are much more enjoyable than one without a nap.

And....here I am just under 40 weeks. I am still feeling really well and just anxiously awaiting the arrival of this little girl or boy. Brett is predicting Monday September 17th as the arrival date so I guess we'll see.

SUMMER CATCH UP

I can't believe it is already the end of August. Where did summer go? It seems like we have been non-stop the whole summer...between family activities, things on Brett's list to get done and just trying to spend some fun outdoor time with the girls. We headed back East to spend time with family and friends. We were abeto to stop and see my brother's new house in York and then headed to Lincoln to see Brett's sister's 1st house that her and her husband purchased. In Lincoln we took the girls to a really neat kid-friendly place where the girls could run free and play. Here is a picture of the family in the Outer Space portion where you jumped into a bunch of foam cubes. I definitely had to have help getting out of there.

Unfortunately, while we were back someone broke into my dad's house. They didn't end up taking too much stuff; however they did get a jewelry box with my mom's wedding ring. Guess it could have been a lot worse. Can't figure out why they took the bag with all of the girls clothes, swim suits and bathroom stuff. Hopefully someone is getting some use out of it and it didn't just get thrown away. So, the next morning I headed to Walmart to purchase swim suits, underwear, etc. Then we headed to Hoffman's lake to spend some family/friend time. Here's some lake pictures.

We have also been able to spend some good quality time with Wes & Betsy's family. There is nothing better than watching cousins play together...and fight with each other :)

We can't forget the projects that have been going on. We purchased 4 new windows, which were greatly needed. We still had the original weighted rope windows in the house. Maybe next year we will get to do the upstairs. Here are some before pictures and during pictures. Brett is still working on getting the trim up as I have informed him it must be done before the baby comes....and that's only 3 weeks away. (He is actually working on it at this very moment)

Brett and Libby were both in the Box Butte County Fair Parade. My dad and Aunt Janis came down for the weekend so we were able to enjoy some fried fair food as well as the derby.

Let's not forget the garden...what a project. This garden is actually 3 different families, all with our own section. I tried to just take pictures of our section, but it's a pretty amazing garden done by all. I am definitely all squash, zucchini, pea and beaned out though.

Of course, as in every pregnancy, I decided I needed to chop my hair off so here are some photos of my hair cut/36 weeks pregnant photos for all to see. Definitely don't have as many pregnancy photos with this one.

And most recently, we had Brett's sister's baby shower, which was August 18th. This is her first baby and she has also decided to be surprised with the sex. I'm thinking a girl; however, everyone else is thinking boy.

Well, hope that catches everyone up. Soon we will be welcoming our 3rd baby (probably final). Brett claims he has come to terms with "the big man" that he is going to have 3 girls and just be totally outnumbered. Libby, on the other hand, is so sure that she will be getting a baby brother, that I'm constantly reminding her that we don't know if it's a boy or girl. Only time will tell.

PREGNANT

Obviously, by the looks of my pictures, We are expecting our 3rd baby. This photo was taken on Saturday July 7, 2012....I am 30 weeks pregnant. Once again, we do not know if we are having a boy or girl and as always, I have no feeling as to what it is. My due date is September 16th and so far the heat hasn't been too bad. Don't get me wrong it has been 100 degrees consistantly and to top it off, we have no air conditioning. We'll see how the rest of July and August go.

Plans to Post Again

I just wanted to post that I am planning on starting up on this again very soon :)

My Heart Hurt

I made a trip back home to support a dear friend of mine. Sadly, her dad passed away Wednesday September 21, 2011. This was the first funeral I was going to attend since my own Mom's....I was....nervous. I didn't know if I would be able to compose myself and be there for her in such a time of need, but I soon realized that although I inevitably thought of my Mom and how much I missed her, my friend was my main concern. My heart literally ached for my friend. It made me so incredibly sad and heartbroken to have to see her go through such a hurt and loss that I knew all to well. I wanted to be able to take her pain away so she would not have to feel the emptiness and loss of losing a parent. You know the saying "my heart hurt", my Mom's death was the first time that I truly "KNEW" what that meant. It literally meant MY HEART HURT. I wished more than anything that my friend did not have to feel that hurt.

LIFE IS GOOD. LOVE IS GREAT. FAITH and HOPE IS INDESCRIBABLE!

Western Nebraska Here We Come

Awww...finally a sigh of relief. Brett has started a new job as an agronomist with Westco in Alliance, NE. We are hoping to close on a house around the beginning of October and maybe...just maybe we will be able to settle down again.

We sure are blessed to have such a wonderful family. My dad took us in for about 6 weeks when we took the plunge and moved back to Nebraska from Missouri and now my mother/father-in-law are letting us invade their home for about 6 weeks. Now it's just the hastle of all the things that go along with moving.

And so...a new chapter is now opened!!

Patience

Once again it has been way too long since I sat down and rambled on, whether to vent or to talk to myself in a somewhat discrete way.
Unfortunately, Brett is still at his same job and is still hoping for the right opportunity to come along so we can finally try to "settle" down again. He does have some hopeful opportunities out there, we are just waiting. Both of us have been dealing with the "limbo" stage and our patience. I struggle with it much more than him, but I must give myself credit...I do much better now than I ever have.

So...now we just continue to pray and.....WAIT....YUCK.

Your Hands by JJ Heller sung and played by me

Shortly after my mom passed, a dear friend thought I might like this song...and she was right. From the first time I heard this song, I connected with it on so many levels. I have planned on doing something like this and finally yesterday afternoon when both girls were sleeping, I decided to grab my camera and guitar and headed to my stair-well...pressed record and here's what you get. Nothing professional, but definitely has feeling and emotion. Nothing more needs to be said really :)