Baby Shower

My baby shower was amazing! I loved all my gifts and was truly touched by the thoughtfulness of all my friends! Thank you all for coming and making me feel special and so loved. And thank you for making sure Ava will be the cutest, best dressed baby ever! :)

My mom is coming to town!

I'm so excited to pick my mom up from the airport tomorrow. She's coming up for my baby shower this weekend. We will have the best time laughing. She cracks me up! She just told that me in honor of Ava, she bought pink hair extension clips for us to wear at the shower. I laughed but she was serious. She spent $50 on them at a hair salon! See...she's hilarious. And NO, I'm not wearing one!
Anyway, can't wait for you all to meet her!!

the weekend, the flu, the week ahead

You know how they measure your uterus when you go to the doctor at each visit? Well, on Friday, mine measured 35 weeks. But I'm only 32 (actually less-they have my due date as April 19th! WHAT?!?! I have it as April 15th!) So, my doctor looks at my last ultrasound to confirm that my baby is just big and it shows that little Ava measured...little. 28th%. Hmmm. My doctor was confused by the discrepancy so she scheduled another ultrasound for my next appointment. I'm not too worried but I really don't like all the concern over her growth-again!

Then on Saturday, I had a fabulous girlie date with my girl Ursula. We saw "Confessions of a Shopaholic" which was cute and PG. Then we shopped and bought fun stuff for our babies or babies of friends. Threads, the Pottery Barn Kid's clothes store, is going out of business and I was able to buy Ava some red Mary Jane crib shoes and a darling pink floral sun hat for 50% of regular price and then 75% off of that which came to $8.75 for both of them together! I LOVE good deals!

But as I was driving home, I got a text from Jesse telling me that Knox had thrown up but seemed OK, just tired. When I got home, I made dinner for everyone else (a dinner I will NEVER eat again! Sad, because I liked it a lot...) tucked all the boys in, was thankful that Knox seemed fine and went to bed. I woke up at 1am and stayed in the bathroom violently sick until about 5:30am when I woke up Jesse to get Caleb who had just thrown up. I didn't leave my bedroom until about 2pm on Saturday. Jesse took care of the boys who THANKFULLY got a one shot bug and were done! He bought me lots of vitamin water, Gatorade and Powerade and let me sleep. I got the worst of the flu in the family which is odd since I am the one who never gets it. In the 12 years we've been together, I've only gotten the flu three times and I usually recover fast. Which might be why when Jesse snuck out for some dinner on Saturday night after all the boys were in bed, he brought me back veggie egg rolls. Too soon though, babe!

By Sunday, we were all feeling better but didn't go to church to keep our germs to ourselves. I made biscuits for breakfast and we cuddled up to watch TV. Annie was on-the original one! YAY! The boys liked it but mostly because I was so excited about it, I think. I sneezed during the movie and almost fell over from the pain. I thought I had cracked a rib but after some googling found out that I most likely strained the muscles around my rib cage from the pressure of vomiting all night. It still hurts to laugh or cough or sneeze so I'm trying not do any of those things. I'm sad about the laughing part but I just smile really, really big. Anyway, I felt well enough to strip all the beds and wash all the linens, vacuum the house and spray Lysol everywhere. After lunch I was ready for a nap and tried to put Lucas down so I could rest. But Lucas is teething and decided not to sleep so by 5pm I was starting to melt down. I realized I hadn't taken my thyroid medicine for two days which makes me insane. Dinner and bedtime were a blur and Lucas cried in his crib for about 30 minutes so I got him up and we watched the Oscars until Jesse got home at 8pm. He took care of Lucas, got him to bed and by 11:30pm, I was asleep too. Unfortunately, I woke up at 5:30am with a pounding headache (most likely lack of thyroid).

With that crazy weekend behind me (oh, my dishwasher was broken the whole time, too!), I'm looking forward to this new week: Dinner out with friends on Tuesday, my mom coming up, Jesse's aunt coming to visit, a big family dinner on Friday, and Ava's baby shower on Saturday which means lots of PINK PRESENTS! Pink presents are fabulous and I can't wait to see all the precious things my loving friends and family have gotten for her!
So...here's to living through the flu and loving the week ahead. And please, people WASH your hands. You do NOT want this flu!

love notes from my sons

So, after a fun mommy-son pizza and movie night (E.T.), we tucked Lucas into bed and Knox, Caleb and I went into the office. They wanted to email Jesse to say good night since he was in a late meeting and after we emailed, I had a few things to do on the computer so Knox and Caleb decided to write me a note....

My note from Knox: "I love you. I hope you had a good day. Can we have a mommy son date some time soon? Just you and me?"
(We now have a hot date planned for blizzards at DQ and shopping for a fake mustache)

My note from Caleb: "You smell like flowers. And I love you too."

I truly love being their mom! They are just precious to me!

Oops, I almost forgot to include Caleb's final note of the night, written to his big brother...
"I love you. I hope you get a bad fart"

Please, Lord, don't let me forget these moments!

Mothering a Daughter

So, last year when I started this blog I was the only one in my family who liked pink. In about 60 days, another will join us who will like pink, too. Or wear it everyday, at least! As I look at her precious clothes, blankets, shoes...I can't help but feel a little overwhelmed by the joyous reality of finally having a daughter. I feel prepared to love her, and care for her and dress her, of course, but shepherding a little girl's heart is foreign to me.

As I think about raising my own little woman, I'm struck by the struggles and sins Ava will face. It seems every toy and show and game for a little girl is about being a princess, or a hero, or finding beauty, or becoming a star... basically, making much of themselves. How am I going to teach her that is more important to make much of Christ? As she is dressed in darling outfits with sparkles and shiny shoes, how can I teach her that it is far more important to care about what her inner being looks like? As she is asked over and over what career she wants when she grows up, how will I teach her to value being a wife and a mother the way God does? When her tears and charm manipulate people and produce the desired results, how will I convince her that it is deceptive and a sin of defiance? When she is loud and wants to be the center of every one's attention, how will I train her to see the folly of that?

My heart is somber since I know the battle for her heart will be relentless, just like it is for me still. And as I walk with her, training her in the ways of the Lord and what it means to be a woman who fears the Lord, I pray for wisdom and strength and courage to answer these questions-and the many more that are sure to come. As much as I will delight in her, I pray I will show her that my true delight is only for the Lord and that she will follow me in delighting in Him above all.

Baby Update Ticker

1st Post of 2009

Well, this will be totally random. Why not?!?! I need to laugh at my life today. I came home from a wonderful sunny vacation to a cold, grey mess. The boys started school so that meant uniforms, homework, lunches, etc. to get ready. Lucas is teething or sick or both so I've held him non-stop for two days. To top it off, my thyroid prescription ran out while I was in California and there was a mix up with the pharmacy and my doctor so I haven't had any thyroid meds for 5 days which makes me have insomnia, headaches, mild depression and a constant feeling of nausea! Add mountains of laundry, unpacking, bags of unopened mail and the everyday chaos of life and I am feeling...random. And by random, I mean insane! heeheehee. But there are plenty of joys in my life so far this year. Here are a few.....

1. I found yet another reason to love Costco! The Kirkland Signature Borghese mineral make-up!!! I was spending $35 for one compact at Whole Foods or Bare Minerals and $35 for a compact of Chanel blush. Well, Costco has a two-pack of mineral foundation for $19.99 (same size) and an awesome blush for $12.99 (similar color and texture). Serious savings but the best part-I like the Costco stuff BETTER! woohoo

2. Knox has to do a biography book report on an African-American. He chose George W. Bush (but I didn't know that). Frustrated and confused by his teachers denial of his choice, he asked me who I thought he should pick since his teacher wouldn't let him choose when everyone else could! Now confused myself, I asked him why his choice was rebuffed and he said he wasn't sure since George W. Bush was American. I had to explain that African-American doesn't mean either/or...it means a black person. Embarrassed, he realized that EVERY other person's choice WAS a black person. LOL! Knox has never really seen color though...I LOVE that about him!

3. Caleb came up to me, rubbed my tummy and said, "I love you, Ava!" And then said, "I hope Ava is pretty and fun like you, mom."

4. Lucas and I watched Charlie and Lola today, cuddled up on the couch. We held hands and shared a pillow and a blanket. For about a half hour. He started to fall asleep so I said, "Time for night-night?" He said, "yes", kissed my cheek and waved bye-bye to the TV. So precious!

5. I bought 30 pink hangers at Target and used them ALL hanging up darling outfits I have gotten for Ava. My mom's friends gave me some wonderful things at a luncheon in California including a fur coat, a beret with rhinestones and silk flowers, Trumpett socks-every color (the socks that look like socks and Mary-Jane shoes), pink checkered Vans, and about a dozen cute outfits. Added to that are the things from friends and family I had already received and the few items I've picked up and it's starting to dawn on me that I really do get to dress a baby girl. Fun!

6. My husband preached a great sermon on Sunday. I am always amazed at what a blessing having a hot, godly husband is! I am always proud of him and still get excited when he walks in the door. Because he's so cute and fun and MINE!

7. Saving the best for last...my sweet Savior Jesus! My time in the word and in prayer has been sweet. But I have also felt a greater urgency to cling to Him. There has been pain and sadness and despair around me that God has spared my family from. I know I do not deserve God's grace but he has richly poured it out on me anyway. The devastation sin brings has been before me frequently and I have seen more clearly than ever that walking on the narrow road with Christ is NOT a sacrifice, it is a privilege. A blessing. A true joy. And I begin this year in awe that he chose me, that he loves me, that he keeps me.

So…in light of those random blessings, I can continue to hold a sick baby in my sleep-deprived, nauseous arms…and smile.