Surgery

We are finally home at 10pm! What a long day today :) We are so thankful that hubby's surgery went well. I'm glad it is an outpatient procedure too!!! We used to have to stay overnight. I think we will both be relaxing tomorrow.....it would be nice if the kids decided to sleep in...ha!

We have also had some encouraging things happen over the past day or two. Hubby has been getting some calls for some side work. He will be meeting with a couple people next week about some extra work (from home!) and will also be starting this temporary position. We praise God for working these details out. I've heard hubby say on many occassions that 'God WILL provide, it's the faith to believe He will that is hard!' When you are in the midst of a situation, and it seems like you're sinking fast, you want to try everything in your own power to make sure you stay afloat! To have the calmness and peace to just let go and allow God to work has been something hubby and I have both been working on. In fact, we get giddy at times thinking of all the ways, in just this past month, that we have seen the Lord provide - and in areas that we hadn't even prayed about yet! Just this past Sunday we were given 2 bags of beautiful clothes for our daughter, and some cake pans for me!!! We have seen the Lord use others to provide financial help in times that we could not afford things. We have seen God take care of us in ways that don't even seem possible - making it to the wedding 5 hours away without a radiator cap!!! Our God is sooooo good!!!!! Our God WILL provide!!!! We CAN have the faith and calmness and peace to just let go and let God work!
With that.....I am off to bed. Thank you Lord for answering prayer :)

Baby update

I had my appointment today but no ultrasound :( They said to wait until next month for my 20 week ultrasound. That was a little disappointing since I want to get off this baby aspirin as soon as possible. Baby's heartbeat was between 150 - 160.....I'm thinking boy!!! But we shall have to wait and see..........
I have a prayer request. I had high blood pressure today. With my last pregnancy I had high blood pressure for several weeks towards the end, and they had to induce a week early because it got so high. This is starting VERY early!! I do not want to be put on blood pressure medication and certainly don't want to have baby too early! Please pray that I will be able to get this under control quickly, and that baby and I stay healthy through this pregnancy.
It seems like there is always something to be concerned about......but our God knows! It is in His control.

Psalm 23

For school about 2 weeks ago, I gave our 6 year old an assignment to do on her own. I told her to go and memorize Psalm 23. She learned how to find it in the Bible, and she came to me on about 2 occassions asking for help sounding out words ('preparest' and 'anointest'). I was certainly surprised when she actually came to me with it memorized!! I haven't required alot of memorization yet, so this was her first real test. I am so proud of her!!!

Last weekend

While we were away for the wedding last weekend, the kids learned a new song from the Great Aunt Janie. I've never heard it before, and I'm going by how the kids sing it, so I hope all the words are right. It's a cute song :)

Here's a little bowl, see the fish

See how his fins go swish, swish, swish,
Tell me little fish who made you so,

Yes it was the God of heaven, this I know, this I know.

Here are a few pictures from the hotel one night.

Quick updates

Hubby had a good check up today. He has closed up quite a bit since his appointment last month. He is scheduled for surgery next Tuesday. I think this will be # 10!

The Lord provided for a need coming up the end of this month. We praise God for meeting that!!

I have a prenatal visit on Monday. Hoping for an ultrasound to check on the blood clot so I can get off these baby aspirin every day! Maybe even get a glimpse at the gender???? :) I will be 16 weeks. I have been feeling some small flutters every now and then which is exciting. It never gets old!!

We will be tidying up the our utility room (which used to be our schoolroom) into an office area for hubby. It will be nice having him work from home for awhile :)......saves on gas money too!

Hard to believe our boy will be turning 4 in two weeks.....aahhhh. I think he has grown another inch or so over the past month. Doesn't seem to slow down does it!

Temporary work!!

Hubby met with a man today who runs some schooling websites and was in need of a programmer with some specific requirements. Hubby met all the requirements and will begin work in July - from home! It is only temporary work, but we are thankful for this opportunity!! Please pray with us that the Lord will provide until the first paycheck (around mid-July). We are leaning on Him strongly during these next several weeks. Also, please continue to pray for something permanent to come along. Security is a nice thing :)
On another note, hubby is going for another check up tomorrow and will be scheduling a surgery within the next week or two. I know he would appreciate your prayers about this.....it is always nerve wracking for him!

Humble pie

Today was one of those 'humble yourself and apologize' days. This is my second year officially homeschooling the kids and I'm still learning as I go!! Our daughter's hardest subject is Math. She seems to struggle with it alot and it is her least favorite subject. Today I figured out why!
I was contemplating switching math curriculum to something else....currently we are using Singapore Math. Our daughter is a very bright 6 1/2 year old. She should have finished up her Kindergarten year in public school but she is already in Grade 2. She is doing wonderful in all areas, even Math, but seems to have a tough time grasping some concepts and making them stick! I found some placements tests online and I soon realized that I am teaching her Math at the Grade 3 level......aaahhhh. I feel like I've been pushing this poor girl to excel at a level that is far above what she needs to be doing. I am realizing.....SLOWLY....that if a child does not catch on right away, don't panic! don't fuss!....It will eventually sink in at some point. Just skip over that part and come back at a later time.....it's o.k. if they don't catch on to EVERYTHING quickly!! I think I still have a tiny bit of me that feels like our children's education is a reflection of me.....of how well I can teach them. I want homeschooling to be relaxing and fun, an environment where they feel safe to excel in areas they love and to learn at their own pace in areas that need more work. It's a tough job!!! I also want to progress to a stage where I can have all the kids at the table at the same time teaching instead of having to spend so much individualize time. I think the smaller kids will learn a great deal from this method, and the bigger kids will learn about helping younger ones grow and learn.
So today I had a chat with our daughter....to let her know that we are going to slow down, make sure she understands that she can talk to me about how she feels when she gets overwhelmed, to let her know how very proud I am of all her accomplishments, and to tell her I think it's time for a mother/daughter outing again!!!! She liked that :)

Happy Father's Day

Happy Father's Day to my hubby, my Dad, and my Father-in-law! Hope you enjoyed your day!

Today we got back from our trip out of state for a family wedding. It was a 5 hour drive and when we got there, we realized how the Lord took care of us on our journey!!
We had our van serviced the beginning of last week and got it back on the Thursday, the day before we left for our trip. I was a little anxious with all the repairs they did and then having to drive so far (hoping and praying all repairs were done properly!). When we arrived at our destination, we took a trip to Wal-Mart and noticed our temperature gauge was starting to climb rather quickly. We pulled into the parking lot and hubby lifted the hood and behold......no radiator cap!!!! We had noticed along the way when we pulled into rest areas along the interstate that we were losing a little more fluid than just the normal 'air-conditioning-water puddles' left under the vehicle. I believe the mechanics forgot to put the radiator cap back on!!!!!!! The Lord had been watching out for us all the way, because we could have been in the middle of the interstate when it happened- in over 100 degree weather. We were able to get a new cap for the vehicle and hubby's uncle was able to get the van back to working condition, we made it to the wedding on time, and arrived home safely!! I seriously do not think I can take anymore stress :)
The wedding was enjoyable though....although I did not get a single picture. The kids loved staying in a hotel but at times it got a little crazy :)......it was way too hot to play outside, so we stayed indoors for the most part. The Lord was so gracious in providing the funds we needed to get there and back (thank you!!!)
Our God takes care of us....we see it continually everyday!

Good picture day!

We sat the kids down before church on Sunday and got some good shots! Our youngest usually does not like the camera :) Here are our 3 sweetie pies!

No power....no cake

I'm bummed today :( I talked with the gal I was to make a cake for early this morning a little after 8am and finalized all the details for her cake order I was to deliver tomorrow morning. I ate breakfast and got ready........then the power went out! We waited for awhile and as it neared 11am I was getting a little worried. No utilities workers, no power, no way to make a cake!!! I had to call and cancel, which I just hated to do! It finally came back on in the afternoon, but with piano lessons and errands as we get ready to head to a wedding tomorrow, I just couldn't manage to get the cake done on time now. I felt dreadful. She was very gracious knowing it was out of my control. It was going to be such a fun cake too!

On a funnier note.....our youngest has gotten into this very 'relaxed' way of sleeping. He even does this in his carseat!! As he is nearing the sleepy stage, he puts his hands behind his head and falls asleep. It's so funny :) This are pictures of 3 different afternoon naps.....what a character!

Swim fun

We've had some really hot days but lately we seem to be getting rain. We enjoy sitting out on the porch during a rainfall. It's also been giving us a nice cool breeze through the house which we welcome!! These are pictures from the other day when the kids had some fun in our little kiddie pool....its just big enough to get wet! The youngest still does not like water so there are no pictures of him :)

Hurray for warranties!

Our air conditioning in the van was not quite doing its job. There was some noise coming from the van and it wasn't cooling enough, so hubby took the van into Carmax for a look-over. Sure enough they found a problem. Then they called back with another problem. Then they found ANOTHER problem!! They said this was a $1500 job.....all under warranty!!!!!! YAY!! The rental car is also covered....but they gave us a PT cruiser. We have 3 car seats jammed in the back, so needless to say we won't be doing too much travelling over the next day or so :)

Thoughts....

We had a good day at church this morning. Our daughter invited her neighbor friend to church again and they have such a great time together. Hubby and I used to teach the little kids, ages 2-8 but we have now broken up the classes and we teach the 6-8 year olds. I enjoy this stage so much (our daughter is in this class and it is pretty much just an extension of our homeschooling). I enjoy getting on their level, trying to explain biblical principles so they will understand, and love seeing their eyes light up when the 'get' it!! We learned our bible verse today in sign language and they really seemed to enjoy that!
On to other things....we aren't sure what this week will hold. We are hoping to hear from a recruiter on Monday about a possible full time position. It is unfortunately located about 2 hours from here, which would require a move, but we are open to the Lord's leading. We have heard nothing from this area.....and hubby has sent his resume everywhere!!!
Hubby is also gearing up for another surgery. We are hoping to have it scheduled some time in July. The past couple of weeks he has really been struggling for breath.
And to end it off....the Lord has continued to provide for us over the last couple weeks. We had some groceries given to us, supper made for us, a financial gift, and some clothes given to us for our son and daughter! What a blessing!!!!
**Happy Anniversary to hubby's Mom and Dad! 35 years today :)**

Cake order

I have a cake order early this morning. It is for Father's Day/ Birthday as you can see :) I am still working on improving my writing. I think that is the trickiest part of cake decorating for me!!! I hope they will be pleased.
So while I was up making the cake last night a wierd thing happened. It was about 10 or 11pm and all of the sudden our almost-4-year old wakes up screaming and crying!!!! Scared me to death! We ran into the room and he was wiggling on his bed just screaming. I took him in the bathroom hoping we weren't dealing with a sickness or something. He wouldn't open his eyes and just sat on the floor freaking out!!! Hubby and I were looking at each other like 'what's going on!' After several minutes, he finally settled down and I got him to open his eyes. I was asking him questions about family making sure he was alert etc. We checked him over, put him back to bed and all was fine...... This morning we hear about the awful dream about the monster!! A DREAM????!!!!!!!
I was panicing over a dream???!!!!!!! Oh the things a mother has to go through.........

Sale...

If you are looking for gifts for people, you can visit http://genevabiblepages.com/. They are having a 40% off sale on all their items. Browse through their inventory for some neat items!

Heat!

We've been trying to save money on the power bill by not turning on the air conditioning and just keeping the windows open. Hubby told me today, he didn't know how I was managing :) A pregnant woman and heat just don't make for a happy woman...haha. But actually I'm not doing too bad. It gets up to 90 degrees during the afternoon!! I love the little sweat moustaches on the kids though *smile*.
We called our mortgage company as well and didn't receive good news there either. Oh.....sometimes you just want to yell out 'why!!!!!!!!!!' but hubby and I are not going to go that route. We have been listening to some great messages.....all seeming to relate to our situation :) We've had some encouraging notes from friends and family, and people have shared with us their testimony as they went through trials.
One thing that keeps running through my mind is "Let go....Let God!" I feel as though when we start to get anxious and worried about our situation, we are placing the responsibility on OUR shoulders to get a job, get things moving......instead of giving it all over to God for Him to work out. When we worry, we are saying we don't believe God is in control. I don't want to fail this 'testing'....this 'growth'. I want to show the Lord and others that I have full confidence in my Heavenly Father to see us through. I know I am failing at times.....but I do want to strive to place my total faith in His leading. I have my ups and downs, but I'm hoping with each day I will have more ups!!! What a great teaching opportunity to show the kids how our God provides (keeping remembering that Alissa!!!!)
Continue to pray with us....God has something great in store for us!
Now off to get ready for church......

Hopeful...

Hubby is meeting with a recruiter this morning. Hopefully he will have some good opportunities for hubby to look into. He is based here in the city but he has job listings throughout the U.S. We hope to stay in this area, but we have run into dead ends everywhere. This area is really suffering for employment, and on top of that there are so many other issues that would make a move to a different state very hard. But....we are open to the Lord's leading, and pray that He directs us exactly where we need to be!

***Update*** Well, it was just filling in papers and writing some tests. No opportunities yet. Will get a call Monday.....uuuuggg!!!!

Beautiful faces

Not a whole lot new going on here. I feel like I'm starting to get some energy back but still in the 'very tired' stage of pregnancy :)

No news on the job front. Still praying....and sending out resumes!

I have a cake order this week and I believe one next week....I thank the Lord for these opportunities!

I thought since there isn't much to blog about that I would post 3 beautiful faces :)

My beautiful babies!!

Another blessing!

We love to go for walks around the block. Today while we were outside, a woman and her son were walking around the block. She stopped to chat for a moment and we got to know each other. Before she left she asked what size clothes our son was in. She has a 5 year old and ours is going to be turning 4 soon. She wondered if we accepted hand-me down clothes and I eagerly said 'yes'!! Awhile later we get a knock at the door and was given a bag full of beautiful clothes!!!! Lots of summer shirts and shorts, pants (some with the tags still on them!) and long sleeve shirts! Thank you Lord! We see how you are providing!
*I especially LOVE the dress pants and Sunday shirt!! Yay!!!

Blessing

Hubby has never had a riding lawnmower. He has always WANTED a riding lawnmower. He really should HAVE a riding lawnmower because of his throat condition......(The more stenuous activity he does, the more inflammed his throat gets and closes up). We've just never been able to afford one so he has always used our push mower. A few weeks back, a guy hubby used to work with was getting rid of an old snapper. It needed work done to it, new parts etc, but said it should still be in good working condition. So hubby got a riding lawnmower for FREE!!! Hubby took it to a gentleman at our church who fixes lawnmowers. He asked how much parts would be, if it was worth fixing up, and sure enough....it could be brought back to life. Well, hubby then was laid off and there was no way we could affort parts and labour now.....bummer. Our God is good though!!! This gentleman wanted to buy the parts and fix it up for us FREE!!!! He was able to go and pick up today :) Thank you Lord for your goodness....

On a side note, I want to take a moment to praise hubby a bit publicly. It really is hard work for him to use the push mower to cut the grass. He always comes in the house wheezing and gasping for air because his throat closes up so much. Even through this, hubby wants to show God's love to others......we've had a neighbor who has been unable to cut grass because of a broken arm, and another neighbor who could really use the help. Without a second thought, he gets out there and cuts their lawns as well. I am so very proud of him and his love for others. I am so thankful for the man God has given me. I love you babe!

Gymnastics...seriously!!

Our son is a little stuntman. This child will throw himself up in the air, flip, twirl, bounce.....in other words....scare me to death sometimes!!! I have always said he needs to be in gymnastics. The other day the kids were playing in the bedroom, giggling, having fun.... They wanted to show us something really badly. A new 'trick' they called it. Hubby went into the bedroom and started laughing his head off. "You have to come see this!!!!!!!!!" Oh dear I think to myself. What now. This little 3 year old was beaming from ear to ear, ready to show me his trick.

He climbs up on the bed, jumps up in the air and DOES A COMPLETE SOMERSAULT IN THE AIR before landing back on the bed.

aaaahhhhh....this child is going to give me a heart attack!!!

After firmly explaining I do NOT want to see this done ever again, I look at hubby and say gymnastics...seriously!!! We could have a 2022 Olympic champion growing up right here in our home :)

Baby news

We rejoice that baby looks well! I saw 2 arms, 2 legs, a heartbeat of 160. It was wiggling around and even waved to me :) I saw all 5 fingers!
I do have a prayer request. There was a blood clot in the uterus which hopefully will not cause any problems. I need to stay on the baby aspirin (maybe for the entire pregnancy). It will be monitored. I would appreciate your prayers that it will dissolve and not cause any issues.
We thank the Lord for this blessing!!!

(12 week ultrasound photos - click to enlarge)
head. . . . . . . tummy. . . . legs