Sad iPod = Sad Me

Boo hoo. My iPod is sad, and apparently that is a $274.00 repair. Ummm, I can buy one brand new for less than that. So I guess we can say that my iPod has officially bit the dust. Bummer!!

Vacation and Moving

I so enjoyed our time at the beach, and one of the things I enjoyed the most was having a neat, clean "home" to return to each evening. The day we left, we cleaned the whole place so it would be good as new for the next group of relatives coming to stay. It was actually fun cleaning it! It really made me start to think of ways I can make our actual home feel sort of like a vacation home. Obviously, our real home holds so much more stuff than a vacation home does, but there are ways to make that stuff organized and cute. Like, the books next to my bed could be cute in a basket instead of in an always-scattering stack. The papers on my desk should be sorted and filed, not just stacked up. Toys have their places and should be put there. You get the idea. Moving is such a great time for me to be thinking of all of this, because as we move things over I can make sure each thing actually has a place and doesn't get just shoved in somewhere.

Beach Trip II

Caris did not play in the water but had a great time playing in the sand!












Malachi and Graham, however, had a grand time playing in the water. All the way in the water. LOL












Each of the kids got a chance to fly the kite















All of that running and playing really wears a girl out!












Georgia and Dad were such good sports, coming along on all the child-oriented activities and eating at our favorite fish n chips place. We loved having them all to ourselves for a couple of days!











"Look Mommy! Daddy made me this horsie!"

Thanksgiving Beach Trip

One of our favorite restaurants is in Morro Bay. They have great fish n chips, and the kids love this big whale out front. Caris got a little nervous once she was up on it and clung close to Daddy.










As we walked down Morro Bay's main street, Caris found this little shark friend and said he wanted some of her candy stick. She was very generous sharing it with him, and she said he liked it very much.










Alif got the kite up in the air in no time flat, and later told me he's never flown a kite in his life!












Graham (and all of the kids) ran with joyful abandon along the beach. They'd have played the entire three days right on the sand if we had let them!










Mommy forcing a pose under the pier.

It's a Free Saturday!

On Halloween Malachi took this cute picture of me kissing my sweet "Cleo".











And here's the growing baby bump at 28 weeks! Don't mind my "mommy scars". LOL














Today is the first day we haven't had soccer in 10 weeks! It's been so nice and quiet today. I've gotten quite a bit of sewing and cleaning done. Hooray!

Oatmeal Madness

I made some oatmeal for lunch and it looked SO GOOD! It was fully decked out with butter, plump raisins, milk, and brown sugar, and as I walked away from the counter I dropped it!! Let me tell you, that was ONE BIG MESS!! It made me so mad I actually threw my spoon! (Hormonal maybe?) Geez, I am normally so not volatile at all. ROFL Thank God the kids weren't in the room!!

Spring Forward, Fall Back

Just in the last four or five days, I think this baby has had a big growth spurt! I am only 6 months pregnant, and I suddenly feel more like 8 months pregnant. My belly is in the way when I bend over, when I tie my shoes, even when I squat! Wow. I told Alif the other day that I don't know how women do it 7, 8 times. This is only baby #4 and I feel huge at 6 months! On the plus side though, it's absolutely wonderful rolling over in bed and seeing my large belly with its protruding belly button, or catching a glimpse of my growing self in a reflection, or feeling him move so big and strong now. The excitement is definitely building! Only three more months until we meet the newest member of our family!

The time change was this past Sunday. I was so looking forward to that extra hour of sleep, but of course I should have realized that with little children in the house, that wasn't bound to happen. Caris woke up bright & early for a few days, and now I think we're all back to a normal sleeping schedule. (Well, as normal as it gets for me at this stage of pregnancy). One thing though - being up earlier and it getting dark so early makes for days that feel VERY, VERY long.

ROFL

Caris just came up to me and said, "Did you sleep on your bed with your husband?" ROFL ROFL

Photo Update

We went to a local family farm with our homeschool group and the kids had such fun picking pumpkins and apples, playing in a kiddie pool full of dried corn, going on a hayride and through a big maze made of hay bales. Here's Caris, Emma, Ellie, Graham and Malachi














Pretty Caris, all snuggly in her sweatshirt at a soccer game











Me, looking WAY bigger than I felt at 24 weeks (I'm 26 weeks now)














Graham hanging out between soccer games














I heard a slam today, then Caris' loud cries and I knew right away she'd busted her lip. Sure enough, poor thing! She's smiling through the pain though:

Crock Pot Roast

Crock Pots are so great. I put a roast in this morning with carrots, potatoes, onion and seasonings, and now at not even noon, it smells divine. The only problem is that I want to EAT it now and it won't be ready until dinnertime. Aaa!

So we have gone back to plan A and we're having this baby at home! It's even more exciting this time around because we really prayed about the decision and now not only can I look forward to a wonderful birth but I also have total peace about it. All of the stress I've been feeling about the bad hospital situations has disappeared and it feels good!

Alif told me the other day that he'd like to be moved in to our new house by Thanksgiving. That seems awfully rushed to me but as long as we're settled in before Baby makes his appearance I'll be happy.

Speaking of Baby, he still does not have a name. I do not want to end up in another Graham-like experience of having no name for days after his birth!! I guess that's another thing to take to God in prayer!

About a week ago Caris came out of her room and said it stunk in there because someone was smoking outside. I thought that sounded really strange, so I went in to see what was going on. She had put her lamp on the floor with a book on top of it! The lampshade was melting and the book was blackened through. Thank God it didn't catch on fire, but what a scare. I had to think a minute so as to not scare her out of her mind about fire, but to let her know how serious that was. Well, apparently I went too far because for days she wouldn't go NEAR her room alone, and cried herself to sleep at night even with us checking on her every few minutes AND leaving her door open and the hall light on. Yesterday Alif bought her a Glo Worm and it seems to have helped her a lot last night. She did wake up at 4:24 needing to go potty though. That child wakes me up more at night, I tell you what. Malachi & Graham never have done this. I mean, since they were babies & slept through the night, I just plain & simple don't hear from them till morning. I hope this night-waking thing with Caris doesn't last long! When I got up this morning to take her potty, all I could think was how bad it would be if there was a baby nursing or sleeping in my bed and there SHE goes crying. Oh please, not two kids up in the night. Please!

Be Magnified

This song is my heart's cry in so many areas! Oh Lord, be magnified in my life!

Be Magnified

I have made you too small in my eyes
Oh Lord, forgive me!
And I have believed in the lie
That you were unable to help me
But now, Oh Lord, I've seen my wrong
Heal my heart and show yourself strong
And with my heart and with my song
Oh Lord, be magnified
Oh Lord, be magnified

Be magnified Oh Lord
You are highly exalted
And there is nothing you can't do
Oh Lord, my eyes are on you
Be magnified
Oh Lord, be magnified

I have leaned on the wisdom of men
Oh Lord, forgive me
And I have responded to them
Instead of your love and your mercy
But now, Oh Lord, I've seen my wrong
Heal my heart and show yourself strong
And with my heart and with my song
Oh Lord, be magnified
Oh Lord, be magnified

Lord, let your glory fall

Last night we were having wonderful worship at church. It was an especially small group at the evening service, but worship was clearly heart-felt and spirit-filled. There was a song about seeing God's glory, and our pastor mentioned something about seeing God in His full glory, and imagine how that will be. Suddenly 1 Corinthians 13:12 came to mind: Now we see but a poor reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known. As I thought of this verse, God revealed a sweet thing to me. I thought of how much I love this baby I'm carrying and how connected I feel to him. Many, many times during the day I feel him move and feel overwhelmed with the feeling of "I love you, son!" I thought of how much I love him already, and I have certainly only seen a poor reflection of him so far - 2-D images of his sweet legs, feet, profile in ultrasounds, my tummy going bumpety-bump when he moves, and just the sheer imagination of what he will look like. Then I thought of my experience with each of my other babies: seeing their downy hair for the first time, their eyelashes, their plump, pink skin, smelling their sweet breath, hearing their coos and cries, what it's like when my lips brush their cheek, their neck, their toes. There's just no comparison. It would take a volume of books to even begin to describe what it is like to be a mother and to hold a baby in one's arms. Then back to that verse, that says that we see Christ now only as a poor reflection in a mirror . . . wow. I think of my most intense moments of worship, of adoration, of the knowledge that my God is truly awesome . . . and that is only a poor reflection? I'm pregnant with anticipation.

Tired

I had a cold over the weekend and I feel a lot better today, but totally exhausted. I hate the feeling of lots of things I'd like to be doing but no energy to do them.

The kids kept fighting over every little thing, so I made some playdough and now they're happy as clams, working on their cherry-scented creations at the table. Hooray for simple pleasures.

Movin' Right Along

This baby has obviously grown! I can feel him moving all day long, and all over my belly! Wouldn't it be fun to be hooked up to an ultrasound machine all day long and watch him at his antics in there?

And in other moving news, Alif is over at our new house today, fixing things, tearing out carpet, etc. How exciting!

More great news!

So I went to a perinatologist yesterday to do a re-check of Baby's kidneys and heart. Everything checked out wonderfully! Baby is healthy as can be. Praise the Lord! He is growing beautifully. I especially loved how chubby his little legs are getting! And yes, he flashed his manhood several times - definitely all boy in there. I cannot wait to see his sweet little face!

Heart of my Heart

Malachi started complaining of chest pain about six months ago, just every once in a while. For a few weeks though, it was daily at least and we decided it was time to mention it to our pediatrician. She scheduled us for an EKG and chest x-ray the same day and referred us to a pediatric cardiologist out of town. Alif took him to that appointment today, where the doctor performed an echocardiogram and gave Malachi a clean bill of health! He gave Alif and Malachi various reasons the chest pain could be happening, none of them serious and none of them requiring any action unless the chest pains worsen or start to disrupt his daily life. Great news!

Intensity

I knew Malachi was intense from before he was born. After all, I progressed from 2 cm to 10 cm in less than 10 minutes of transitional labor. When he was not quite able to crawl, and he'd yowl every time I dared take a single step away from him, I felt his intensity. When he was two years old and defying me with every fiber of his being, he was intense. Years have gone by and with those energy-draining baby and toddler years in the past, Malachi's really channeled his intensity into activities that are much more enjoyable, which means, in my humanity, that I don't notice it as much. He's a mostly quiet boy, especially around people he doesn't know very well.

The first year Malachi played soccer we were pleased if he got one touch on the ball in a game. He liked to play, but he just wasn't aggressive at all. I wished he'd be himself out there, but the truth was, his shyness took over and he was just too nice. The second year was better for him, and he usually kicked the ball a few times per game. Last year he was like a different player. He'd get in the action and really play hard. With Daddy as his coach, he blossomed and had a great year. It's now his fourth year and that kid can really play. I mean, he's one of the best players on his team, and also one of the youngest. He is serious about soccer, and he's easily the best defender in every game we've watched this season. He's not at all afraid to step in front of a boy twice his size and steal the ball.

Today though, there was a really amazing moment in the game. Both teams were playing aggressively, and there was a bit of foul play going on that the ref wasn't noticing. Just as Malachi ran close to us on the side of the field, flanked by two elbowing players from the opposite team, my son glared at them and said, "Hey! No pushing!" and kept about his play. I have tears in my eyes just writing about it. It was the first time I looked at my son with true admiration. I could never confront someone that way, stand up for myself so clearly. In that moment, his short life flashed before my eyes - his angry cries when I dared leave him in the nursery at church, his defiant eyes when I disagreed with his plans as a toddler . . . and the words of dear friends of ours, Jim and Ginny Smith, when I was about to give up: "You will be so thankful someday that God has blessed your son with a strong spirit." If it took 8 years and an AYSO soccer game to prove them right, it's ok. What a miracle to have a glimpse into the intense, strong, true and fair spirit of my unbelievable boy. I'm so proud of you, son.

MomTime

A while back I came across the concept of MomTime by Lisa Whelchel. The basic idea is to get a group of Moms together and just have fun! Well actually, friends, food, faith and fun. I prayed about it and kept getting more excited about the idea, so I called Lynette and she agreed that it sounded really nice. We invited a couple of moms and had our first MomTime today! I was nervous about making all the details come together, but we had such a great time! The first hour is the food/faith hour, where we just eat the lunch and talk, and the second hour is the friends/fun hour, where we bust out a game and play. I am not a big game person but oh goodness, we had a blast! I can't WAIT till the next one!

19-week checkup

I went in for my 19-week checkup today (well, I'll be 20 weeks tomorrow). Caris came with me, which was nice. I'm always happy to have a little time alone with one of my kids! It occurred to me on the way there that this is the first appointment of this pregnancy that was totally routine. Nothing to be nervous about, not a new doctor or anything, just a routine appointment. What a relief that is! Everything looks good! I gained SIX POUNDS in the last month, which puts my total at -8 pounds. Baby's heartbeat sounds good, and I got the lab slip to go for the glucose tolerance test in a week. Oh joy. LOL Later this week I have an appointment with a doctor who specializes in high-risk ultrasounds. We just want to take a good look at the heart and kidneys to make sure everything is ok there. I hope everything is all cleared up.

Oh happy day!

Yesterday was my Birthday! It started off a little poo-ey because I'm apart from my sister. We share a Birthday and I haaaaaaaaaate when we're not together for it! I got up and there was a sweet note that Alif had left before he went to work, so that was nice. I did some cleaning and got ready, and then my Mom showed up! She is like, the Birthday Dreams Fairy, seriously. She showered me with love and affection and gifts the ENTIRE DAY. I can't even describe how special she made the day! I came home and rested a bit and then Mom & Rod came over to further the Birthday spoiling with a huge bag of candy, pizza (we found out that Megan had Domino's in Scotland for her Birthday so we HAD to do it too!!) and cake & ice cream. It was scrumptious and delightful. Graham gave me two little notes he had written me during nap, and the effort he went to to write them made me want to cry. What sweet kids I have!!

So anyway, I got up this morning and felt like I really just did not want to do today AT ALL. We had to go to the store and then there was park day and I was so pooped from all the Birthday fun, I just couldn't face it. Nonetheless, we went off to the store and guess what? I had made my menu for every meal and snack and expected to go over my max, but I was $20 under it! Praise God! We got home and I rushed to get the pasta salad ready for park day, and figured I may as well put the stew in the crock pot too. Park day was actually a ton of fun! I'm soooo glad we went. We stayed quite a bit longer than I planned to, and when we got home, the smell of that stew cooking made me feel comforted immediately. Dinner is ready, and it's only 3:00! It'll only get tastier as the next few hours pass by, too. Man, for a day that started out with such a bad attitude, it's turned out to be a huge blessing.