Waffle Bride

Too funny!!! Be sure to watch the second video! What a testimony.

Snow!

It's actually more ice than anything but this is our first real snowfall of the season. The kids were so anxious to get out in it! We used plastic tub lids as sleds and 2 out of the 3 of them were having fun. Our 2 year old was not impressed :) We then took a walk around the block, got bright red cheeks, and came home and filled our belly's with warm hot chocolate. The kids can't wait to get back out in it! Here are several pics.

Bad mommy days

The last several days have been rough. I don't know if it is still post pregnancy hormones or what!! I've been having some bad 'mommy' days which have involved several apologizes and hugs to the kids for being grumpy and snappy. At the end of the day I just want to kick myself in the pants for the example I have been. Several prayer sessions have involved tears before the Lord for failures of the day. Some days can feel just a little overwhelming :)
When you think of me I'd appreciate a quick prayer for a great day and a tender attitude....and if you know where I can find a 'super-mom' cape....tha'd be great!

Sunday pics

Here's some pictures from Sunday. That's your little outfit Mom!

not so 'pretty'

We took a drive through the mountains today and ended up at the 'Pretty Place' chapel. We picked a bad day for it though because all we saw was fog and it was freezing!! It was a nice drive though and the kids always enjoy the twists and turns through the mountains. Here are a few pictures from this afternoon.

Counting

I think the video is finally working....

(he must have learned how to count from his older siblings cause I haven't gone over numbers with him yet!)

The necklace

Our daughter got a very special gift on Wednesday for her birthday. Several years ago a sweet gentleman started coming to our church. Our daughter at the time was about 3 years old. He would sit in the same pew as us each week. He and our daughter became very good friends. I think she may have reminded him much of his own little girl who passed away suddenly many years ago when she was 4 years old. The 2 of them sit side by side each week, they pray together during Wednesday night prayer meetings, they send each other cards..... Well, on Wednesday she lit up as she showed me her birthday gift. A very special necklace from a very special friend :)

How God works

**I'm still working on posting the video...for some reason blogger is not letting me post it**

Bear with me while I explain this story. It is just another way the Lord reveals Himself in interesting ways.
I have had a thyroid condition since I was about 14 years old or so. I take a daily pill for my thyroid function. For many years I was on the synthetic version of this pill. I also suffered with hives that would come and stay for 17 months at a time so I went to see a natural doctor for help, and she switched me to a more natural thyroid medication. I have really liked being on it all these years. Recently I have had a lot of trouble getting this medication. Today in fact, my family doctor (not the natural doctor) informed me they don't make it any more and I need to switch back to the synthetic stuff. This really disheartened me. Hubby got on the internet and started researching my medication and discovered there is a huge backorder on the stuff and it is hard to come by. So many restrictions have been put on this medication it is now hard to get (FDA trying to promote the synthetic stuff huh!!! making it difficult to buy natural). The website did say that the only place to find this medication would be at a compounding pharmacy. A compounding pharmacy???? As of a week ago I would have been defeated and switched back to the synthetic medication ........... BUT.........
A couple weeks back we took baby girl in for her one month check up. She was suffering with a cold and the pediatrician prescribed an antibiotic nasal drop. We went to 3 different pharmacy's and no one was able to fill this prescription. Finally we were told you need to go to a .......COMPOUNDING PHARMACY. We were sent to this tiny little shop that I had never seen before. Do you see how the Lord works???? Had our little one not gotten a cold, we would have been pursuaded to switch back to the synthetic medication with no idea of the alternative.
It may seem like a small thing to you, but to me it is just another way that my God reveals Himself to me and takes care of me. It gives me such joy to know I am important to Him!!!
How has God revealed himself to you lately??

Pics

Here are some pictures taken today. This outfit was a baby gift from Great Aunt L. Thank you!!! She looks so cute in it :)

Schoolroom

Today we started back to school! Had a bit of a late start today....but today is more of a "go with the flow" kind of day. I need to see how our schedule is going to work out, when baby needs to have feedings etc....just trying to get a feel for how our days are going to work. We finally have our schoolroom ready to go. Our daughter has her own desk, and the boys have a table to do their work on. My desk area is tucked into the corner. Our first set of bookcases is the subjects being taught this year. The second bookcase is all my material for all grades (right now - kindergarten through third), and the third bookcase is all our reading books and games. So far our morning has worked out quite well so I'm pleased.

Update from Haiti

Update: Pastor Dieupie has been found fine in Haiti. We praise the Lord for this wonderful news!

We also had a good friend visit with us today and she made a beautiful quilt for our baby girl.

I was also able to get out for my first walk around the block! I sure need to strengthen my leg muscles since I was sitting for the last couple months of pregnancy. It felt good though!

Scissor time

I did 4 haircuts tonight. All the guys needed one desperately and our girl decided she wanted one too. I had been asking her for the last week about a haircut but she finally decided it was a good idea because her friend at church just got a haircut :) I would love for her to have long hair but it is soooo thin, it looks scraggly when it gets long. I really need a haircut and am waiting another month or so for my post-pregnancy mommy make-over!!
In other news....I'm sure many have heard about the earthquake in Haiti. We have a good friend and native missionary in Jacmel. We have not heard news yet about him and his family. If you would please remember them in prayer....
Well, short and sweet....baby calls (or should I say cries!)

Busy, busy...

Staying busy as you can imagine. Our girl still has a bad cold and is so congested. She really sounds awful today. I'm hoping it won't be too much longer for her.
We almost have the schoolroom done. I will post pictures soon!! I'm hoping to start school on Monday if I can get everything done and ready. There are a few more charts I need to make up and some subjects that need to be put into their binders. They are both looking forward to beginning again. IF I get any extra time, I want to start working with our 2 year old. He can already count to 13 (sometimes forgetting number 3), recognizes all his letters and can say all their sounds. I want to begin working on writing his letters because he can already hold a pencil the proper way between his fingers.
On a side note...my brother and sister-in-law found out they are expecting girl #3. Congratulations :)

Castle

I'm very pleased with the how the cake turned out. I tried this new fondant...buttercream fondant from Fondarific. I'm excited to see how it tastes! I had most of it finished last night and added some final touches today. I think the birthday girl is happy :)

We also took baby girl to her appointment today. She was almost 2 pounds heavier since her last appoinment 2 weeks ago. I was getting a little worried about her spitting up so much and not eating for long periods of time, but I guess she isn't suffering!!! She now has the cold we all had last week. She is so congested and sounds awful. I'm hoping she doesn't get a fever with it and the doctor gave us some antibiotic nose drops to prevent sinus infection. Hopefully she will get through this rather quickly and not be too bothered with it.

Here are some pics of the cake!!

Birthday girl

Our girl turned 7 today!!! I think the years are going by faster and faster. I wish it would slow down a little :) We are not having her party until Friday, but tonight we had our own little celebration with Tinkerbell cupcakes and a gift. I'm looking forward to starting her cake tomorrow...a princess castle! Here are a few pictures from tonight.





Here's baby girl on Sunday in her Sunday best :)

I'm posting :)

Blogging these days are few are far between huh!! Four kiddos are keeping me busy :) Everyone is doing well and we are soon going to get back into the 'school' groove. I had planned on taking a few months break but the kids seem very bored and are anxious to start again. I need to get a few subjects all set up so within a week or two we should start our new year. We have a new school room. I hope to post pictures soon. We've moved all the kids into one bedroom and the other bedroom is our playroom/schoolroom. I love how it is coming together and how everything is close by (not scattered here and there throughout the house in different drawers!) We still need to get a little kids table & chairs and get my desk area set up. My goals this year are to really start concentrating on bible studies and character studies. I feel up to this point I have been very academic motivated and it is seen in the kids work....our soon to be 7 year old is already half way through grade 3 math and our 4 year old is on his way to starting grade 1. Even though we integrate the Bible into our different studies, I really feel like I lacked in teaching them biblical truths and working on their heart attitudes. I want to be very Christ-centered this year and not so academically motivated. I also need to remember to be flexible!!! With a new baby, I highly doubt we are going to be able to stick to our schedule 100%. But, I think we are all looking forward to this year and I pray it is a great year for us!!!
We are also going to be celebrating a birthday tomorrow. Her party isn't until Friday but boy is it hard to believe she will be turning 7!!! Where has the time gone. Our theme this year.....princess castle :)

Capturing a smile

Here we are trying to capture a smile. She has been smiling since her first week....it's so cute!! She'll smile when I talk to her or rub her chin. Such a precious girl. She is now 3 weeks old. I hope you all have a wonderful new year!

11 days old

Here are some pictures from last week.....

Mom and Dad and family are heading home tomorrow. It's been a great visit but way too short!
We are still adjusting to our new family dynamics :) The last 2 Sundays we have been quite late for church!! Just trying to get into a new routine as we fit in last-minute feedings before going out the door etc..... Baby is doing very well with feedings and is alot more alert now. She has a period of time throughout the day where she will stay awake for several hours. Unfortunately sometimes it is from 2 - 4:30 am!!!!
Over the weekend she was able to meet 2 sets of great-grandparents. We are hoping in a few months we will be able to travel to Canada and see her other set of great-grandparents and extended family.
I hope to post more pictures soon. Hard to do with baby in my arms (and typing one handed).....

Family

I'm still here :) We have my family visiting from Canada for the next week and a half so I probably won't be posting too much except for some Christmas pictures. Baby is doing wonderful! We go for another checkup tomorrow. She was sleeping ALOT (hard to wake up for feedings) but she is now doing much better and is more alert. Our church family was delighted to finally meet her on Sunday. The kids are having so much fun with her and all her little features. Even our youngest has taken to her very well.....no jealousy issues so far!! All the cousins have been enjoying their time together so far. Eight children in one room can get awfully noisy!!!! It's good to be all together again. We hope the week won't go by too quickly :)

Christmas pictures

Today I attempted some Christmas photos of the kids. I need to get our Christmas cards made up to send out and what a time I had trying to get them all to look at the camera with at least a descent facial expression!! I did get some cute individuals of the kids with their baby sister.

Nursing Theme Song

I apologize to any male readers. I will try not to talk about this subject too much :) I have had a great day today! I pumped all through the night and fed her a bottle. She was actually having difficulty with it. Many times the milk would be coming out both sides of her mouth and she would gag on occassion despite the fact that I was using a small tip. This morning I decided I was not done trying to attempt nursing. It was a rough start but I decided I would have a word of prayer before each session and I tried staying very calm. It worked! I sat there thanking God and started singing 'God is so good' while she nursed. Next session came along and I repeated with a word of prayer....and she did great! We sang again :) I have spent the day nursing my daughter and singing "God is so good'!! I'm hoping this trend will continue, but I am so thankful that the Lord allowed me such a special day with my girl.

Back to the pump

So today has been a rather down day for me. I have so much to be thankful for and yet this one area is really dragging me down. Our girl is just not nursing and I have had to bring out the dreaded pump. I was really, really hoping that I would be able to nurse her after pumping with our son. The first 2 kids had no problem with nursing, but our 3rd just wouldn't cooperate and I ended up pumping for 12 months. I knew that our baby girl was having some difficulties but I was really hoping we'd be able to work out the kinks. Today however she has cried at the top of her lungs every time I try to feed her. So the pump has resurfaced and she has had several bottle feedings today. It has been such a disappointment and I've had to remind myself through the many tears today that we have a beautiful, healthy girl with us.
We do have something to look forward to this week. Grandma and Grandpa from Canada are coming to visit along with an Aunt, Uncle and 2 cousins. The kids are very excited!! They haven't seen them in almost a year so I know there will be big changes seen in the kids. Now to get hubby's to-do-list all made up for the week :)

Pictures

And the picture taking has begun!! I love taking pics of the kids....and now there is a sweet new face to capture :) I know I am bias but she is such a cutie!! I love her cheeks and chin. I'm hoping she will keep her dark hair!! Unfortunately our kids seem to lose all their hair and it comes in thin (except for our middle guy....his is a little thicker).

We are finally getting nursing down pretty good which is a relief. I am so thankful for the lactation consultant that worked with me the last day at the hospital!

We are thankful for the ladies at church who have already called with meals to bring over. I love our church family!!

I'm thankful for hubby's parents who took care of our sick kids for several days and brought us supper last night! Our youngest has a low grade fever right now so all kids are off limits to baby. They are so anxious to be with her and I want to take PICTURES but it will have to wait :)

So....here are just a few pictures from this morning.

Home at last

We finally made it home and are settling in. The kids were able to take a peek at their new sister from a distance....unfortunately they all have colds and bad coughs, so hugs, kisses and embraces will have to wait just a bit. Our youngest keeps telling me 'baby crying' and runs to the bedroom door to listen to her. He is also hugging my leg at lot :) I think he missed me!! He sure grew a few inches after comparing him to his little sister.....wow!! He's not my 'baby' anymore.....such a big boy. The other two just giggled at her and commented on all her features. It's going to be an adjustment over the next little while as we get into a new routine. Hubby still has house chore duty for the next 3 weeks. I'm not to do heavy lifting, bending or housework. Poor guy huh. I'm sure he'll be thankful when I'm back on my feet again :)
There's so much I'd like to talk about and pictures to post, but for now I'm going to put my feet up. I want to thank ALL of you for your constant prayers for us during these past several months and during delivery. You are such an encouragement to me and what a wonderful feeling it is to know that so many care about us and go before the Lord for us. Thank you so much!!!! Our God is so good!

Pics of our girl

Hospital Updates Take #2

Welcome Ksena Abigayle Lawrence! Praise be to God! Born at 2:51 pm Wednesday December 9, 2009. She weighed 7 pounds 11 ounces and was 19 and 1/2 inches. We just got settled in our room.

Here is the story. Alissa got the epidural. There was a doctor change and the new doctor came in and said she wasn't comfortable delivering the baby in the position it was (her whole hand to the wrist was out). So she went and checked the babies position and while she did that she pushed the hand back. In her past times of doing this it hasn't helped. Well this time it did. She was so amazed that Ksena actually moved her hand back. So we just proceeded with the delivery. Everything went well after that. To God be all the glory!

posted 5:08 pm

The doctor told us to get an epidural for several reasons. Baby's hand was all the way out. They felt Alissa needed to be in a controlled environment for the pushing. The goal is to push her out without injury to the baby's shoulder. Also if an emergency C section is needed then we are already prepared. Alissa was at 7 cm 1/2 hour ago. What a rough morning! Please continue to pray!

posted 1:20 pm

What a little stinker (as Alissa would say). The babies hand is coming out on top of her head. Alissa is now 4cm dilated. The doctor says this does happen and that sometimes the baby will pull the hand back. Please pray toward this end. We have to wait till the pushing stage to see if this happens. If not then we are headed to OR for a C-section. Alissa is rather upset right now by the news. We covet your prayers.

posted 10:20 am

They broke her water. She's now about 3 cm. She's really starting to feel contractions.

posted 7:40 am

Pitocin started. 1/2 cm dilated

posted 6:00 am

Alissa is in the hospital. The Cervidil is in and we wait till morning.

posted 6:40 pm

Next stop please :)

When I was younger I loved rollercoasters :) The ups and downs, the excitement and adrenaline. As I've gotten older, rollercoasters don't entice me like they used to and I would really like to stop the ride I'm on right now *grin*.
So baby is head down! She is facing the wrong way however, but she is definitely head down and low, so this is very good! It will just mean that labour could be a little harder. She is curled in such a tight ball, her chin is touching her behind :) I will go back to the hospital tomorrow night as long as there are beds available, and induction will begin Wednesday morning. I think this is finally it. I'm going to try and stay on my feet alot and let gravity work so she can't get OUT of position again!! I am still on 1/2 cm dilated....bummer. At the hospital last night I was having constant contractions but I guess I'm the type that if they aren't excruciating....they aren't working!!! How lovely :)
Well, please continue to pray. I would really like to have this baby this week. I am having such a hard time moving around and my sciatic nerve is starting to bother me to the point I'm having trouble walking at times. I think she needs to come out!!!!
Thank you for all your prayers and hopefully by this weekend, we will be a happy family of 6 here at home!

Updates from the hospital

Ultrasound showed transverse position (side to side). They are sending us home. We go to the doctors office tomorrow to see what our options are.

posted Sunday 7:30 pm

Ultrasound scheduled for 7 pm. Heartbeat is up high on the belly.
posted Sunday 6:45 pm

Here we go!

So we're off to the hospital. Wouldn't you know it but our boy has a fever and is getting the sniffles and sneezes. Just another thing to add to my anxiety! Induction will begin early tomorrow morning (as long as she is head down of course) and hopefully by late afternoon/evening we'll have our baby girl. Hubby is bringing his computer so we hope to give updates during the day tomorrow if we can. If not, I'll be back to blog by the end of the week.
Please keep us in your prayers....I know many of you are! Please pray not only for the delivery but that the other kids will not get too sick while we are gone. Nana and Grandpa are going to have their hands full for a few days!!
Our God is good!

Front tooth

Our daughters tooth has been wiggly since around September. It started to bother her the last few days when she ate, so last night I got a hold of it for about 10 mins and out it popped!! It would have stayed in there probably another week or so, but I didn't want her to lose it while I was in the hospital :) Here is a picture of our toothless girl. She was not happy last night before bed cause it felt so different but this morning she is much happier and grinning about it (could be the tooth fairy money too that helped!)

Last appointment!

Today we had our last ultrasound (well, at the doctor's office anyway) She was head down!! But none of us are sure she is going to stay that way until Monday. I will go in Sunday night and the induction will begin Monday morning (as long as she is still head down). If they find she has turned AGAIN, it will be a C-section on Monday. They don't want to wait any longer with my blood pressure issues. Please continue to pray with us that this little gal with remain head down and I can have a natural delivery! Hopefully by this time next week I'll be at home blogging about our beautiful new girl!
Oh, and with all the contractions I've been having for the last several weeks, I am a whole.....drum roll please..... 1/2 cm dilated. Only a half centimeter????? Good grief :)

Quilt entry

Blogging about a quilt giveaway so my name will be entered in their draw :) Go and enter for your chance to win as well!! Click on the link to take you there.
Their store link is http://www.mariemadelinestudio.com/

Appointment

Went on the monitor today. Baby was not very active so they gave me juice to drink. Her activity picked up a little. She's been wiggling since the drive home so I think the juice has finally kicked in all the way :) Waiting for Wednesday to find out her position!!! If all goes well, we should have a baby next week (Yay!) The nurse came in and looked at the monitor and said "Wow, did you feel that contraction?" ..... no!!! This pregnancy has been very different with all the false labour and contractions I'm not feeling! I'm wondering if labour will be different too then....faster maybe? Would be nice! They are suppose to do a cervical check on Wednesday as well so I hope these contractions are producing some encouraging results! Just a waiting game right now......oh I can't wait!!

Encouraging week

We had a great Thanksgiving, and a full day today. Off for another appointment tomorrow for monitoring. On Wednesday I have my ultrasound which should tell us if I'm headed for a C-section or just the induction. Still praying and trying to get this little one to turn around. I have no clue what position she is in right now. Sometimes her hiccups are really really low....other times they are at the top. I can't believe she still has enough room to move around so much!!

We were able to share tonight at church how God worked out our insurance issues. It was such an encouragement not only to us, but I believe to so many at church, to see how God worked! Many ladies came to me with tears in their eyes at our news. So many have been praying about this situation, and many people's faith was increased through God's working on our behalf. It is such a wonderful feeling to have so many people invested in our life, who get on their knees for us, who are concerned for us. We have so much love and support and I thank you all for your Christ-like love for our family!

This past week I also had my Christian birthday :) The Lord has continually made Himself more and more real to me throughout the years. He has shown me such a great love and has blessed me all throughout my life. I am so thankful that He died for me on the cross. How hard life would be to face all these struggles and situations without the knowledge that God is in control and cares for me!

Contractions go away :)

Woke up to lots of contractions this morning. I was having aches through the night but this morning I had several strong contractions. I don't think baby turned into position overnight so hopefully the contractions will back off with walking around. It feels like false labour right now....nothing to get excited about yet (in fact they have gone away since getting out of bed). We've had so many people praying for an early delivery because of our insurance issues.....you never know!! We may have a November baby after all.

Hope all our American family and friends have a wonderful Thanksgiving. We are looking forward to getting together with family today. We have MUCH to be thankful for!!!

Prayer request

After the wonderful praise entry below I have a prayer request :) Baby girl has decided to flip and is now positioned head up instead of head down. It is pretty late in the game for her to do this so we could be headed for a C-section. I have had 3 natural births and would really like to continue that trend!! I have to say I am very nervous about the thoughts of an epidural and C-section. It is something I don't want to have to go through. I am scheduled to be induced a week early so I have less than 2 weeks to 'pray' her into position!!! Everything else looked really great on the ultrasound and I was even having contractions during my visit.
Above all I want the Lord's will for her delivery. No matter what the birthing style I have to go through, I would ask that you pray for health and safety for baby and me, and peace of mind as I head into labour. We're getting closer to her arrival!

All praise to our God!

I want to start by saying My God is amazing! Why He loves a wretched sinner like me I will never know. Why He continues to bless someone so undeserving....it is only because of His unconditional love for me. I sit here in awe....it's a wonderful, crazy, exciting feeling.

I want to recap a little....Hubby was laid off back in May. State continuance allows our medical insurance to continue for an extra 6 months. The end of the 6 month extension goes until the end of November. The problem is that baby is due 14 days after insurance ends!! We went down every road we could think of to try and get insurance to cover the delivery and hospital stay. Nothing worked out no matter what we did. We talked to 3 different insurance brokers and there was no option available to cover this delivery. It looked as though, unless the Lord decided to bring this precious one into the world at least 2 weeks early, we were going to have a very big financial burden ahead.
I could tell this burden was really starting to weigh heavily on hubby. We have seen the Lord continually meet our needs, especially since the layoff in May....but how was He going to meet this HUGE need ahead? We didn't know how, but we knew God was in control.
One evening we headed out to get a new infant car seat. The one we had went through 3 babies and was falling apart. We had found the car seat we wanted and was waiting until we had a little extra room in the paycheck to buy it. Hubby headed into the store to purchase it and on his way in he quickly muttered a prayer that "it would really be nice if there was a sale on that car seat Lord" Well, out of all the car seats in the store, our particular one was out of stock. The employee checked the back room and 2 trucks that had just pulled in. None. The employee tried to encourage him to purchase the next more expensive seat but hubby said no...this is the one in our budget. The employee said they would order one for him BUT couldn't get the computer program to work. Finally they offered the car seat on display for 20% off the price. Hubby walks back to the car with our new seat and looks at me (who was waiting in the car) and said "I think the Lord is trying to show me that He IS in control and knows our situation....He will provide"
So now we get to the good part!! Hubby talked to his former employer who laid him off. He has been doing some side work for them for the past couple months. Was there any possibility that they could re-hire him for the month of December??? We waited........
Today the email has come back. Hubby has been rehired, our insurance picks up from where it left off and we will have insurance for the month of December!! Not only that BUT
...because insurance picks up from where it left off - we have already reached our deductible and out-of-pocket expenses - so delivery and hospital stay are completely covered!!!!!!!!!!!!
I am still in awe.
Hubby and I have grown so much since May. We have been learning about complete dependency on our Lord for all our needs. We knew God was going to supply no matter if we got insurance, or if we received a very big bill!! For this to take place, it can only be of the Lord. Our God is so good!!!! ....our God knows, our God loves us, our God will provide and take care of us no matter the situation.

Monitoring

On the monitor again today. Baby wasn't too active....I think she's getting pretty cramped in there! They recorded 3 contractions and seemed a little concerned about it today (I had a different nurse) She told me if I have 5 or more contractions in an hour, I need to head to the hospital. I had to laugh to myself!! If they are recording 3 contractions in 20 minutes, I would think I'm having about 5 an hour!!! The thing is I don't feel them. I feel the strong ones, but not these weak ones they continually pick up on the monitor every Monday. I think I will just have to rely on strong labour pains or my water breaking as to when to head to the hospital. I have an ultrasound on Wednesday and they will measure her for weight. I always get nervous when baby's activity decreases. It has happened with all of them, but it is still nerve wracking! We are headed into our last week with medical insurance. This should be interesting! I don't know what the Lord has in store but I know He is in control :)

Kids Choir and socks

The kids sang again tonight in the children's choir and recited a verse. Unfortunately I recorded it in Standard version (which is much clearer) instead of Compact version, so I can't post the video on here because it is too big.

I did want to post these really cute socks the kids got from the baby shower I had. A couple ladies had gifts for the other kids as well which was very thoughtful. They absolutely love these socks!!! Our youngest gets upset if his come off :) This is the 3rd day straight he has worn them. This lady also knows him very well because he, of course, got the zebra socks!