Sneak Peek

We got a CD of our family pics today! Don't know if I'll ever put all of them on here. It would take too long. Maybe after we go through them some more we'll pick some of the best ones and do a slide show or something. They turned out so good considering it was really windy, I still have some "baby weight" hanging around, and we rushed to get ready with a toddler and a baby!

Church Staff Christmas Party

Since I haven't posted in a while I decided to do two posts today.

We had our church staff Christmas party last night.

It was a lot of fun. Merrae stayed at a friend's house with one of the church day care workers and two other girls. She was so excited to be there and play with new toys and two girl friends.

Matt, Matthis, and I went to the party. There are 4 other staff members who have newborn little boys. 3 out of the 5 had little red, white, and black plaid shirts on (including Matthis). It was cute seeing them all dressed the same. It was also comforting seeing and hearing their babies. It made me feel like I'm not alone in this challenging newborn stage of life.

The food was catered by "Babe's Chicken". It was so good. Chicken fried steak, fried chicken, mashed potatoes, cream styled corn, salad, and bisquits. Several of the staff had made desserts. My favorite was a buttermilk pie and homemade whip cream made by our worship leader. YUMMY!

We had a white elephant and normal gift exchange where you bring one of each, pull a number, and as your number is called you get to pick out a present not knowing if you'd be getting a normal one or white elephant one. Or, you can "steal" a gift from someone else that you want and that person has to pick a new one. A gift can be stolen 3 times before it is frozen.

We had some fun gifts go through our hands before they were SO RUDELY : ) stolen. I had stolen a reindeer that pooped jelly beans (for my brother John....so appropriate if you know him) and a santa that grew hair (for my brother Mark who has no hair). But, they were stolen from me. Darn. We also had some movie tickets that were stolen, and an I-tunes card that was stolen. We ended up with a coffee press (not bad) and a white elephant motorized ice cream cone. You put the ice cream in and it rotates it for you while you lick. Pretty funny.

The white elephant gift we brought was a CD we made called "Russiasian Christmas" and it was Matt singing Christmas carols in a different language he called "Russiasian". I did back ground vocals. Sooo funny. Thankfully someone who could appreciate it got it.

We love the church staff Matt gets to work with. They are so much fun and love God/ Jesus Christ with all their hearts. We are so blessed and consider the people in our church "our other family". It'd be that way anywhere we were members of too. All those who follow Christ are brothers and sisters. Family. That's nice to have when you aren't able to be with your regular family all the time.

Family Pictures and a Random Phone Call

We got family pics taken yesterday by a friend of ours at church. Hope they turn out good! We should get a CD of them tomorrow.

When we got home from doing that we received a phone call from an apartment complex nearby. They had our info somehow and asked if we were still looking for an apartment. I don't remember ever checking into this place many months back when we were trying to find a 3 bedroom apartment. But, anyhow, I guess they were desperate for new tenants and he made it sound worthwhile to go check them out. Our lease here isn't up until the end of March and we are hoping to have enough money saved up for a down payment on a house. We are squeezed into a 2 bedroom apartment right now. It's working just fine but we are starting to feel on top of each other lately.

Anyhow, we have been praying about where God would have us live and that He would open something up, give us the money, etc. He has been providing TONS of work for Matt and we are trying to tuck as much away as possible. It's been comforting watching God open things up for us financially.

We don't want to start looking for a house until enough money is in the bank. When we got this phone call and went out today we started thinking maybe this is God's plan for us....kind of a stepping stone. All of the other 3 bedrooms we've checked into in the past were what you'd be paying for a house payment. These apartments were much cheaper, very new, and only a little more than what we are paying for our apartment now. We are getting a really good deal too.

There is a playground and a theater open until 10 every night that looked great for Matt to have his "Filmosaic" meetings in (his independent film group). It's also real close to where we are living now and there is a Market Street grocery store opening up right down the road from it (kind of like Central Market). There is also a mall (where we can do our power walking), a Wal-Mart, and a donut shop! Whoo Hoo! We were surprised to find out the complex takes Great Dane's. Most apartments in this area do not (which is silly if you ask me. They are so docile).

We'll see what happens. It's just nice knowing there are options and that God has this back up plan for us should we feel like we need more space before we can afford the house. Merrae seemed like she really liked it too.

Shots

Took Matthis for his 2 month check up today even though he's 2 months and 3 weeks. : ) I had been reading a book about immunizations by Dr. Sears called "The Vaccine Book" that a friend told me about. There's so much controversy about shots these days due to different things. It's an interesting book. The author is not against immunizations, he just recommends spreading them out so your child doesn't get as much aluminum at one time.

I just got the book and I felt like I was cramming for an exam. I didn't get to study it the way I wanted to so I prayed and asked God to give us wisdom and protection. I even had held off on a few of Merrae's shots her last two visits I was so concerned.

Thankfully God has given us a pediatrician who is older, experienced, and who takes the time to deal with our concerns. She even looked at the book, read the schedule Dr. Sears suggested and agreed to follow it with us to put our minds at ease.

I'd rather air on the cautious side. So, today Matthis had 2 shots out of the 4 that she normally does. He had the DTap and Rotateq. Merrae had 2 shots....chicken pox and flu. She said she didn't mind waiting on MMR until she is a bit older.

We'll go back in a month to do Prevnar and HIB and in another month after that we'll do some others. We're spacing them out.

Merrae hadn't had shots in a while so she didn't know what to expect. I told her it was going to pinch and even pinched her arm so she'd know what I was talking about. Still didn't prepare her very well. She screamed and cried so hard. Poor baby. She didn't want those bandaids on at all afterwards. She pulled them off in a hurry. I think it was a pretty good experience for her though even though it hurt. She now knows what to expect and that it's over fast. She also got a sticker and saw that Matthis had to get shots too. Matthis was asleep when they gave him his and he cried for a few seconds but it wasn't a big deal at all, thank goodness.

Glad all that is over with and we came to a resolution with our doctor. Thank you God for working things out and giving us wisdom, putting our minds at ease.

I was also happy to find out that the med. we have Matthis on for reflux doesn't have aluminum in it.

Here's Matthis' stats for those that care...
13 lbs. 7 oz 70th %
24 1/2 in. 80%
Head 41.2 cm 55%

She said he looks good! (Mom, Merrae's ears looked good too)

Sad

We just found out Matt's brother and family are moving away from our area. My sister-in-law, Jamie, is accepting a position in Memphis at St. Jude's Children's Cancer Ist. They live about 35 min. away right now and we don't see them too much but it's just nice knowing they are nearby. You don't realize how much you take things for granted sometimes. They plan on moving as soon as their house sells or at the end of the school year.

So sad......

We love it here but sure miss family. Maybe they will soon see the light and move where we are!!!!!! : ) HINT HINT HINT

8 Hours

Well, believe it or not, I got 8 hours of sleep last night! Pretty close to the 12 I was hoping for! :) Of course the sleep was split into segments but it happened! Matt took Matthis out of the room this morning for me so I could sleep another couple of hours. What a wonderful husband. I'm so blessed. I never want to take him for granted. God answered my prayers that I started praying back in high school for a husband. God is so good.

Today has been fun so far. I put Merrae down for a nap at 12 and she played in there for 2 hours then finally went to sleep an hour ago. So, I've had just Matthis (who has been sleeping) and I've been partying it up!!!!!!!!!!

We put up our Christmas decorations last night. We put up our Christmas lights outside the night before. Merrae keeps taking baby Jesus from our glass nativity and carrying Him around. I found him in her little train car this morning. So cute and neat that she wants to play with Him. I'm really trying to instill in her that Christmas is Jesus' birthday this year since she is so moldable right now. I'm becoming more and more aware of just how much she is influenced by the things I do. Makes me want to live focused on God constantly so I set a good example.

Today we are going to a local resort with another friend and her little girl to see decorations and tonight there will be a parade with Christmas floats for Merrae to see...downtown on Main Street.

SLEEP

I wish I could sleep 12 hours tonight......... But it's not going to happen. : )

My Babies

Here they are.....This ought to keep you busy for a while. I put a ton on here to make up for lost time. : )

Mamasita

That's what I call her. It just comes out.

Here she is. Isn't this a funny picture? She cracks me up. I took this photo of her last time she was up here (a few weeks ago). We were hanging out and this was my view.

Lately our time together has consisted of holding babies, her doing our laundry (Her passion. Seriously, it's her passion. We call it one of her spiritual gifts), watching old, wholesome, corny movies, walking, and her putting up with my raging hormones after just having a baby.

She's crazy. I love her so very much and am thankful for such a fun, easy-going, Godly mother.

I love you Mom!

Thanksgiving Pies

This Thanksgiving we are going to Matt's brother's house here in town. It's always a lot of fun and tons of good food. We do it potluck style. There's always a lot of us there (Matt's family and my sister-in-law's family). We use old recipes from grandparents and aunts. I'm looking forward to the asparagus casserole, Beth's (Matt's mom) stuffing, and sweet potato casserole. YUM.

This year we are bringing chocolate pie, pumpkin pie, and rolls. We kind of have it easy I guess because we just had a baby.

Matt has always loved his Aunt Linda's chocolate pies and she gave me the recipe several years back. I thought I'd share it with you as well as my mom's pumpkin pie that I love.

Chocolate Pie
-Bake a pie crust after poking holes with a fork all over it.
-Get 1 box of Chocolate Jello pudding (the kind you cook)....cook it according to the directions on the back of the box but add 3 egg yolks and a handful of brown sugar.
-Stir constantly until it has big bubbles.
-Poor it into the pie crust and chill after it cools down.
-I use whip cream for the top once it has chilled.
-You can use the egg whites along with a pinch of cream of tartar to whip up some mirang for the top (whip until it has big peaks) That's the way Aunt Linda does it.

Pumpkin Pie
-Ingredients:
2 eggs slightly beaten
1 can (16 oz.) solid pack pumpkin
3/4 c sugar (or less)
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp ginger
1/4 tsp cloves
1 1/2 cups PET evaporated milk
1 pie crust shell

-Preheat oven to 375
-Put pie crust in pie plate and crimp edges
-In a bowl combine ingredients above in the order given above
-Poor mixture into pie shell
-Bake 65-70 minutes or until knife inserted into center comes out clean.
-If crust edges start to brown too much, cover them with foil
-Cool
-Garnish with whipped cream and walnuts, if desired.

Enjoy!

Fender Bender

Well, it wasn't really a fender bender but I did hit someone.

Last night I went to a friend's wedding and Matt was home with the kids. I left a bottle out for Matthis.

When I left the apartment everyone was happy.

I was excited to be out and was thinking, "I should do this more often. Matt would love for me to take more time for myself". I enjoyed the wedding, got in line for dinner, brought my mouth watering salmon, potatoes, squash, and salad to my fancy table, and then heard my phone ringing.....

I didn't answer it in time but when I looked at my phone it said I had 8 missed phone calls from Matt.

Uh oh.

I thought someone had been hurt. When I listened to my messages, the first one was of Matthis screaming at the top of his lungs. The second was of Merrae saying, "Come home Momma. Matthis crying. Come home. Jabber, jabber, jabber."

When I was able to reach Matt he said he had tried to give Matthis his bottle but he didn't like it and he was screaming. He said, "You need to come home right now".

I left my plate sadly : ) and literally ran out to the car to drive home. My poor baby. Only problem was, when I parked on the street earlier no one was parked behind me. When I looked behind me before pulling out I didn't see the small black car in the dark.

BAM!!!!! Yep, I backed into someone. I got out, checked the car, and there was a scratch on top of the hood where Matt's jeep bumper hit it. I didn't see any other damage. Hopefully there's none.

I decided I better leave a note on the car and it read, "I hit your car backing out. I didn't see it. Call me if anything needs to be fixed" and left my name and phone number. I didn't know what else to do and was hoping that person wouldn't take advantage of me. All I knew was that I needed to hurry home!

I prayed on the way home for Matthis and Matt and when I got there all was calm. Thank you God. Merrae was waiting at the door for me, Matt was rocking Matthis, and Matthis' eyes were still a bit red from crying.

I fed Matthis and he wasn't even really that hungry. We decided that he was screaming because of reflux. Poor little guy. Poor Matt and Merrae. Did I say poor me? : ) Ha.

When I told Matt about hitting the car he thought I should go back up to the wedding and take pictures just in case someone took advantage of us.

The car wasn't there when I went back up there. I went back in and tried to get more salmon. No luck. I did get a yummy chocolate cake though and got to talk to the bride and throw bird seed. While I was talking to the bride I got a phone call and message from an area code I didn't recognize. When I listened to the message it was a guy from our church telling me that it was his car I hit. Thank goodness it was someone I knew wouldn't take advantage of me!

He left a light hearted message saying he only saw a scratch but that he'd double check in the morning when it was light outside. Hopefully there won't be any more damage. I feel terrible. I'm amazed at the grace he showed me. That can only come from God.

But, this all won't stop me from getting out of the house again! Any of my girlfriends wanna go see a movie? : )

Pictures!!!!

I'm on Matt's mac and I can load pics on here easier....Enjoy....

This was taken the first of November.

This was taken a few weeks ago. I caught them watching t.v. together. It was so sweet to see Merrae holding his hand. She has a little friend now. : )


I thought I'd be able to load more but I can't figure out which file all our new pics are in. Atleast it's a fun start. More later.

Matt's Birthday Movie Marathon

Matt's birthday was Saturday and he was at the men's retreat. We celebrated with him beforehand by going to the Olive Garden, getting him several long sleeve shirts that he needed, a funny "The Office" card, and a chocolate pie.

Several months back he mentioned that on his birthday what he wanted was to spend the entire day going from movie to movie topped off with cookies from the "Cookie Company" and lunch or dinner from Panda Express.

So, today was the big day for him. His first movie started at about 11:45 and I got a text from him that read, "Ahhhhhh". He was in heaven on earth according to his standards. He ended up seeing 4 movies total, getting double doosie cookies, and a pretzel. He got an Arby's sandwich instead of Panda. : ) He got home at about 9:30 tonight.

Here's the list of movies he saw:

Quantum of Solice (James Bond)
Appaloosa (Western)
Pride and Glory (Good cop bad cop)
The Dark Knight (Batman)

The kids and I survived. We had fun but also some crazy moments where both were crying at the top of their lungs. I had a scare in Wal-Mart when I thought I had lost Merrae...or that someone had taken off with her...but I turned around only to find her way up ahead of me waiting for me. Whew. Thank you Jesus. Scary. Matthis had an episode of acid reflux that wasn't pleasant. But, all in all, God helped me and Merrae to stay pretty calm and patient with things. Matt is SO worth it. He deserves a fun day. He deserves a fun day more than once a year. He is amazing.

Are we the only ones with a moldy tub?

Are we the only ones who have trouble keeping the caulk in tact on their bath tub?

Seems like everytime we caulk it, it just cracks and molds in no time. Even if we let it dry thouroughly! Frustrating.

Any pointers? And yes, we do clean it. : )

We Think She "Gets It"

I mentioned in a recent post that I put Merrae in time out not knowing if she was at the age to really understand. She just turned two a month ago. Well, we now think she really did "get it" that day.

Tonight as we were about to sit down to eat dinner, Merrae was feeding her baby in her toy high chair. She then told me, "Baby in time out mama". I said, "Really? Why? What did she do?" She said, "Played on Mama's computer". (That's what Merrae got sent to her first time out for after I had told her not to).

Can you believe it? Matt and I just started laughing and looked at each other saying, "Yeah, I think she gets it".

God Moments with Merrae and Matthis

Well aren't I just the bloggin queen lately? Proud Stephanie? : )

Today I had an opportunity to talk to Merrae about God. Mom had gone out to her car to get something and Merrae asked where she was. I told her and then said, "Grandmother is special". Merrae repeated, "Special". Then I said, "God made Grandmother". "God made Merrae, Matthis, Mommy, Daddy, Lehya (our dog)..." Then Merrae said, "God made toys and baby high chair?" I said, "yes....well, God made people and those people made the toys and baby's high chair".

It was neat that she took it a step further and asked me about toys. I love that she seems to be getting it.

The past week has been filled with a smile here or there from Matthis. LOVE those new smiles! It's amazing to watch a baby grow and change. He is so cute and sweet. He's also been cooing. Melts my heart. I love that boy!

Men's Retreat and a Wonderful Mom to Help Out!

Matt's away at the church Men's Retreat and thankfully, my mom came in town to help out with Merrae and Matthis. It's been a fun day.

Matt didn't leave until around 11 or so and he let me sleep in a bit. I've had very vivid dreams during the short amounts of time that I sleep. This morning was one of them and it was horrible. Matthis got hurt. But, when I woke up Matt assured me that Matthis was just fine. : ) Dreams are weird.

Mom got here about an hour after Matt left and I was so happy to see her. I was already worn out from holding Matthis who was wanting to be held constantly.

She held Matthis and he became very content.....ahhhhh......She started a load of laundry....ahhhhh....and had brought food....ahhhhh......Mom's are wonderful aren't they?

We went to my friend Michelle's house who has a little girl Merrae's age and we let them play while mom held Matthis, I cooked dinner, and Michelle packed (she's getting ready to move closer to the church). Michelle's husband is at the men's retreat too. The enchilladas I cooked turned out quite scrumptuous if I do say so myself and we had salad that mom brought. A few days ago I got festive and made a pumpkin pie and we had that for dessert. Yum. It's always nice to get together with friends to take out the monotony in a day.

Now we are back home, Merrae's in bed, Matthis is on my lap sleeping after eating, and mom has continued doing laundry. It is chilly and windy outside. (not my favorite kind of weather...it's always a shock to my system)!

I think I'll have a piece of pumpkin pie!

PS> I tried to post some pics but couldn't get the little card to work right in my computer. : ( I'll get Matt to help when he returns.

Still Kickin'

Yep, still kickin'.....but not as high of a kick. Hee Hee

We are pretty beat lately as you can imagine with a newborn and toddler. It's been fun being a family of four but we are still trying to figure things out. The main thing being sleep! But, it shouldn't be long before we get more sleep I'm hoping. Matthis has already started sleeping longer most nights. He has had a little reflux and tummy aches but that's usually one or two times a day that he has a rough time.

It's been hard to find time to do "life" things like paying bills, cooking, cleaning, returning calls, being a friend, laundry, etc., etc., etc. But, we are just trying to do the most important things (even though it's hard to figure out what is most important...they all seem important) and focusing on taking care of ourselves and the babies for now.

Matt has been working away from the home the past couple of days and it has been quite challenging. I mean, when he works from home we try not to bug him and I try and not interupt him but it's nice to be able to interupt him if need be...especially while I'm feeding the baby and our sweet now 2 year old has needs that like to be met right away. : )

It's hard having 2 babies that need you at the same time. I guess it's a lesson for her (and me) on how God is the only one who can always be there for you.....but it's heart breaking at times and unpleasant when Merrae doesn't know how to deal with her emotions. Poor thing. Her world has been shaken up quite a bit. She's tried several different ways of coping and they are not fun....crying alligator tears that break your heart, screaming, being agressive, biting objects around the house, throwing things, and trying to get my attention in any way possible. It's hard to know what to do sometimes although I feel like God has been giving me wisdom. It's different every time it seems. Thankfully, she does pretty well most of the time and these behaviors are pretty spaced out. I pray that it would continue that way.

We like watching that show "Supernanny". One thing she suggests is to not start "time out" until your child is 2 1/2. Well, Merrae is a pretty smart new 2 year old but we've just tried to use different tactics just in case she's not mature enough to understand the relation between her behavior and a time out. But, several days ago, the teacher in me came out (and the lack of sleep) and my natural reaction was to automatically put her in time out. I had a friend who put her 2 year old in a pac n play so that he couldn't get out of time out so I remembered that and put Merrae in her bed.....all the while not sure if I made the right decision. But, I think she understood why she was there. I only kept her in there for a minute or two because of her attention span and she was a different person when I went back in her room. So, I'm pretty sure it worked. A day or two later when she was put in time out I had her say she was sorry for what she did and she said she was sorry. So, again, it seems to be working. Yesterday when I felt led to put Merrae in time out I was kind of at a loss for how to deal with her next. I felt like the Holy Spirit was telling me to think about how God reacts to my own sin (or lessons learned from Him dealing with people in the Bible's sin). The thing that came to my mind is that He is firm with us but loving and calm at the same time. So, that's what I tried to model. It took a while for Merrae to acknowledge that she was wrong but it came in time. Thank you God! I think my biggest struggle is making sure the punishment fits the crime. It takes a lot of thought and creativity sometimes...and PATIENCE.

Matthis has been a very low key little fella. Thank you GOD! But, sometimes he has all he can take and I feel bad when he has to cry as I am helping Merrae with something. It's hard balancing things between the two of them. My mom got us several books about parenting from a Godly perspective and they have been helpful in dealing with sharing our time with 2 kids. I'm glad I have those to refer to but like a friend of mine said, "The Bible is the only thing we truly need...." That proved to be true yesterday when the Holy Spirit reminded me of what God teaches in the Bible in dealing with sin. But, it's nice to read about how God has taught other parents to handle things and learn from them.

Anyway, bla bla bla. I'm amazed at how much I can write on this blog once I get going.

Well, I'm off to bed so that I can have that patience I was speaking about!!!!!! I have enjoyed reading your blogs when I am up in the middle of the night or sitting for 20-30 minutes or more at a time feeding Matthis! I can't always type but I can read! : )

Pics later....wish I could post some now. I've got some fun ones...but I am still having trouble making files smaller in an efficient way.

HE'S HERE!!!

Meet Baby MATTHIS JERRY COLEMAN! A.K.A. "Mr. Wonderful".

He got here Friday, September 19 at 6:55 pm.

He weighed 8 lbs 1 oz and measured 20 1/2 inches long.

Labor went well but was challenging. I was induced because he was getting so big and we were trying to prevent too much damage to my body. That was successful. Thank you God. A nurse and nurse in training were dealing with me throughout the day and so everything took longer than it probably normally would have. Every check, poke, etc. took twice as long because the nurse in training had to do the same to me to practice. It was OK though and Matt and I were both surprised that I was so willing to let the girl in training poke me three times trying to get the I.V. in my arm, among other things she did!!!! I guess when you are having your second child, anything seems minor compared to the end of labor and delivery. But, things went slow due to them not increasing my pitocin frequently enough. That was fine with me though, I like things to go as naturally as possible.

I am about to include some details for my girlfriends who like details....not to be unlady like! I will try and use tact! Towards the end of labor I got an epidural because I was too uncomfortable. It wasn't as bad as the back labor last time. I think that's because I went to that chiropractor and she helped get my hips in alignment. But, I did have lower back pain and pain in my lower abdomen. When I got the epidural it didn't hurt, it went well, and the anesthesiologist said it went in perfectly. However, it only worked from my rib cage to above my pelvic bone. I could feel everything else. I told the nurses and they said to give it a few minutes. Well, I could still feel everything....including when they put the catheter in!!!! So, we called the anesthesiologist back in and he turned it up a bit. Well, then I couldn't feel my boobs and I also couldn't feel my entire left arm. It was so weird feeling. He said we could reinsert it or just leave it and let it help a little. I decided to just leave it but was very uncomfortable. I figured at least it was helping a little.

After I got the epidural I heard my sweet baby's heart rate slow down dramatically and I called the nurses in. They came in and turned off the pitocin and soon after, his heart rate returned to normal. They said it wasn't irregular long enough to cause any damage or concern. I had peace when it happened knowing that God was in control but I also had uncertainty about what God's plan would be. I'm thankful the baby was OK. We later found out that the reason it went down was because the cord was wrapped around his neck one time.

They turned up the pitocin again after the baby was doing well and labor continued. I was almost fully dilated but my cervix was not completely thinned. I had the shakes from the epidural and was very uncomfortable with my arm and boobs numbing. I was also having trouble breathing because the epidural caused me to lose feeling in my chest. That was frustrating and hard. I was thinking, "How am I going to be able to push if it's hard to breath while I'm pushing?"

About that time my doctor came in and said we were going to try to do two practice pushes. I was not ready for this because I was so uncomfortable. Not to mention, as my doctor was checking me as I practice pushed, it was VERY uncomfortable. He then came over to me and said, "I know you trust me pretty much" and smiled, "so what I am thinking is that you can get this baby out in 10 minutes if you push hard and if I help you a little using the hand held vacuum". I said, "I trust you". He has been delivering babies for about 30 years. He had to help Merrae out with the vacuum and it went fine so I knew it would go fine with this one. My pelvis is tilted slightly which makes it harder for me to get my babies out according to my doctor.

I did not have it in me to push or go through the pain/ uncomfortableness. I told God he was going to have to do this through me because I couldn't. I had Bible verses out on the table next to me to refer to for strength and encouragement but it was funny how scripture that I had memorized a long time ago came to my mind. One of them being something like, "When I am weak, then you are strong Lord." That was an encouraging one to come to mind because that is exactly how I felt. I knew I would have to have total dependence on Him to get me through this.

Everything happened so fast, thank God!!! When I delivered Merrae, a nurse and Matt were on either side of me helping hold my legs as I pushed. This go around, a nurse told me, "Grab your legs and PUSH!" I didn't know I'd have to do that on my own. I tried to hurry and grab my legs but then was quickly reminded that my left arm was numb! I said, "I can't feel my arm to grab my leg!" So she helped and another nurse was on the other side of me helping and coaching (God send). She was very descriptive about what I needed to do saying, "Push like you have to go poo poo". HA! Since my epidural was not working fully I actually felt that urge to push like they say you get in natural child birth. When I told them I needed to push they said to push. I pushed two times with my doctors help holding open my cervix (uncomfortable I might add) and the baby's head came out, then during the last push or two, the nurse was pushing on my belly to help the baby out (which was fine with me). : ) It only took 10 minutes or less and he was here!!! Thank you God. I don't think I could have gone longer than that. He didn't cry at first because the cord was wrapped around his neck but they quickly got it off and he was just fine. He got an apgar score of 9 which is really good. I ended up with a 2 degree episiotomy instead of a 3 and my tailbone is not sprained/bruised this go around thank God!

When I looked over at him all I could think was how pretty he was even though he is a boy. He's so handsome and beautiful.

We are still getting used to him and are amazed he is with us. He is such a low key little fellow and hardly ever cries. We gave him his first sponge bath at home yesterday and he didn't even cry! He is a good little eater and sleeper which is an answer to prayer. Merrae giggles when she sees him every morning and is doing so well being gentle with him and loving him. She wants to be held a little more these days which is to be expected.

As some of you know, his name was going to be either Matthew or Maverick for the longest time! When he was born we just didn't feel like either of those was his name and started from scratch. We also reconsidered names we had ruled out before. We prayed and talked about it the 2 days we were in the hospital. I tried thinking of names that had Matt in them so that we could have part of Matt's name in his name. I suggested Matthis or Matthias (which are two names we had thrown around before) and Matthis ended up sticking. We chose to spell it with 2 t's because that's how you spell Matthew. Jerry is Matt's dad's name and brother's name. Matt wanted to have that as the middle name because he looks up to both of them in many ways.

Mom went home today. She was a big help and we will miss her a lot. We'll get to see her and other family in a few weeks when they come up for Merrae's birthday party. That will be nice.

Well, I'm off to try and get a nap in!!!!

Facebook and a Baby Coming!

Well, we joined Facebook so that has been taking blog time. It's been fun getting back in touch with friends from my old youth group and others.

We went to the doctor Monday and had a sonogram. All went well. Our baby was head down which was an answer to prayer. He was breech in the middle of our pregnancy. Everything looked good. They guessed he was about 8 lbs 13 oz already! Yikes! But, my doctor said he thinks he's a little smaller than that and that I can still deliver him regularly. So, that's the plan although we are planning on inducing next Friday, Sept. 19th!!! We'll go to the doctor again Monday and make sure my body has continued to progress and that an induction is a good idea that soon. But, I had made some progress last Monday so it is very possible.

I went to the chiropractor today because My hips have been out of alignment and caused me a ton of back pain in labor and after. I saw a lady who specializes in dealing with pregnant women and children. I liked her a lot. She said one side of my pelvis is tilted causing one leg to be shorter than the other and pain in my lower back. She said it is also causing the baby to be more cramped. So, she adjusted me, gave me some exercises, and I'll see her again Monday and Wednesday in hopes that labor and delivery will go smoother this time.

I'm starting to slow down a lot and requiring a lot more rest. I'm finding I have to stay off my feet a lot more or else it's too hard on my body. Matt has been so helpful and has let me sleep in since it's hard to get to sleep at night these days. I'm also trying to take a nap everyday which is challenging since it's when Merrae takes a nap and it's my only time to myself until after she goes to bed again at night! But, I'm finding it's a necessity right now.

Anyway, hope I'm not boring you with all this pregnancy stuff. I really do focus on other things in life besides being pregnant but at the moment that's a big part of my life needless to say! We can't believe it's only a week away until we look at our little miracle!

Pictures....Finally!!!!!

Here's Merrae (22 months now) in Matt's old childhood t-shirt. She wears it as a night shirt on Friday nights and get's sooo excited.


This was taken today. She always pushes this little baby stroller around with her baby doll in it. She's really been into sunglasses and chapstick lately. Too cute.


Here's pregnant Meredith. We did a little photo shoot for the baby book today. There are more pics of that below. I'm due Sept. 25. I'll find out if it'll be sooner when I go to the doctor Tuesday. Can't believe he's almost here!







This is our baby boy's side of our room. : ) He'll be rooming with us for several months since we just signed another lease here at our apartment. I couldn't resist hanging stuff on the wall. : )

Here is his make-shift changing table.

He's sharing our closet too! It was funny, Matt came home one evening and reached into his side of the closet to get a t-shirt and found the baby's clothes. He said, "Whoa, those aren't my size!"

This is my lifegroup (Bible Study group) that I meet with on Tuesday mornings. I love it! The studies and discussions we do really challenge me and hold me accountable. These girls love God/ Jesus Christ with all their heart and others too. I am honored and so thankful to get to share life with them.


When it rained a few weeks ago Merrae begged me to go outside and play. Last time it rained I got all wet with her but I didn't feel like getting wet this time. I said no for a while but then gave in and compromised using an umbrella. She had a blast getting her and her baby doll all wet. It was fun watching her.






Here's Matt and his film group "Filmosaic" shooting their latest film called "Salvador". They shot it out in West Texas on a ranch and along side the road among other places. Below are some other pics of that too.

Nesting

That's what I've been doing lately....nesting. : ) I'm now 33 weeks along and at my last appointment 1 or 2 weeks ago, the doctor said we will watch how big this baby gets to see if I need to be induced (if my body is ready for that). Merrae was so big that I had a difficult delivery and we are trying to avoid unnecessary damage to my body. It could be that this baby gets here before September 25! So, I am in full nesting mode.....

In my mind, this place is needing to become more and more spotless as the days approach having this sweet baby boy. It feels great to get some things/ places cleaned out that normally are ignored. I tell ya, everything has to be "just so" for me right now. I'm goin' with it though because it's always good to have an excuse to clean and get rid of stuff.

We have pretty much everything we need since this is our second time around. It's nice. With Merrae I tried to pick out most things that could also be used for a boy in case we ever had one, and that has helped a lot. It's just a matter of pulling it out of a crowded closet and putting some things back together. The only thing we lack that we really need is a carseat. The last one I had was given to me by my sweet friend, Connie, and it was 5 years old when Merrae was done with it (so, for liability purposes, they say it wouldn't be safe to use). So, we are on the carseat hunt and saving our money. I'd like a double stroller (one of those light weight Peg Perego ones) but that is not a necessity and they are so expensive. So, we'll save our money and get that later when I'm having to take both kids with me to powerwalk. But, those are the only two things that we see as something we'd need to get. It's nice to not have to get much. I remember the first time around it was hard to know what I needed and didn't need.

A friend of mine from church is letting us use a cute little wooden cradle and we've got it set up in the corner of our bedroom. That was an answer to prayer because we are trying to use our money wisely and tried to avoid going out and buying one. I'm always amazed at God's attention to the details in our lives. I specifically wanted a rectangular wooden one (silly, I know) but most of the people I know have the oval bassinets. God provided a silly want for me through a giving friend. It's fun getting things ready. It makes it more exciting thinking about meeting the baby and seeing what they will be like.

I've been reading about childbirth and how to care for an infant to refresh my memory. Seems like with Merrae I was reading all the time but now that I'm busy with Merrae, I haven't really read much to prepare for this baby.

We go back to the doctor in another week, then 2 weeks after that, then every week until it's time for the baby to come! We can't believe how close it is getting. I'm so excited but also trying to make the most of this time with Matt, Merrae, and myself!!!

Please pray that the baby would get in the right position. Last time we had a sonogram he was breech. With Merrae, her head was turned slightly the wrong way and it was extremely painful (don't want that to happen again!). Also, pray for my hip alignment. I think that I had a lot of pain in my pelvis during labor and after due to #1 Merrae being so big and turned slightly off and #2 because my hips are not aligned right. It was very painful for a while after she was born. We are checking into seeing a chiropractor to help get things aligned right but I don't know who I'd go to and am concerned about doing that this late in the pregnancy even though my doctor says it's ok up until delivery! Crazy it seems.

Hope and pray all of you are doing well, in Jesus' name.

Run in at the Post Office

Yesterday we had a nice family day. It started with a power walk at the mall across the street, breakfast at home, and Merrae taking an early nap while Matt and I researched which kind of car seat we needed. We also looked to see if there were any good rental homes on the market before signing another lease here at our apartment. Merrae never really napped but it was good for her to have some down time (us too!) and when we let her get out of bed, we decided to head over to look at a few houses we found. I don't think those are going to work out though.

Anyway, the post office is right by the houses we were looking at so we swung by to get some stamps. First of all I'd like to say that I consider myself to have a lot of common sense about things and am very aware of my surroundings and considerate of other people. But, this day I had a run in with some people who were very low in life and I couldn't have done anything right in their eyes.

I was driving and pulled up to let Matt out thinking he'd be right in and right out. So, I waited in the parking lot right where I dropped him off instead of parking in hopes that he'd be in and out. I was in front of some handicapped parking spots and the front door along the fire lane. Well, it wasn't long before cars were driving through the parking lot to park or leave or whatever. No big deal I thought. Some weren't paying attention and it took them a few seconds to realize that they needed to go around me. To me it was common sense...you see a car at a stop in front of you, you go around. This happened a couple of times and then the next thing I hear is a big bang on the back of my car. My first thought was that some one's car bumped into me but I didn't see anyone and there was tons of room around my car for people to get around me. I then looked a little harder and noticed this older man that had just passed my car. I decided he may have hit my car with his fist a few times. I got out and asked another man who was sitting in his parked car if that older man had hit my car. He said, "Yeah, just some grumpy old man".

Well, I didn't have enough self-control that morning and decided this was not going to fly with me. I felt very violated and bullied and decided I was going to call him out on it. You can probably see where this is going. It wasn't pretty. I pulled into the handicapped parking spot (Merrae was with me) and got out when I saw him walking out of the post office. I said, "Are you the one who hit my car a minute ago?" He said, "Yeah, you're in the way". I said, "I don't appreciate you hitting my car. That was rude. You don't just go around hitting people's cars". He said something like, "Well then you need to get out of the way". "I think I said something like, "I'm not in the way". I can't remember what else was said because of the drama that happened next. But, whatever else was said, it ended and I got back into my car angrily because obviously there was no reasoning with him. You can't reason with someone who has the gall to bang on your car. For all I know he could have kicked it, I didn't see.

Next thing I know, Merrae and I were scared to death when someone came up to my window and banged on the glass with their keys real loud and angrily. It was a different grumpy old guy (a guy who didn't take care of himself, looked extremely rough and almost homeless) who must have over heard the conversation. He took it upon himself to stick up for that guy saying something like, "He's not the only one who feels that way, "You need to get out of the way". I said, "There was plenty of room to get around me and my husband is coming right back out." He said, "You don't just park your car along the fire lane". I said, "My car wasn't parked on the fire lane, I am in it with my baby and my husband is running in and out. Do I need to call the police so you will leave me alone?" He said, "Call the police! Maybe I need to call the police on you. Are you handicapped? Why are you parked in a handicapped spot?" I said, "I'm not parked, I'm waiting, and if someone needed in here I will let them. You go ahead and call the police. They won't care. There's another handicapped spot right next to me." He said some other rude things and I said, "I'm sorry you are having a bad day or something. This is not a big deal." He said, "I'm fine". I said, "You obviously aren't fine. You need Jesus". He was speechless and then said, "You just need to get out of the way!" Then he stormed into the post office. I decided I would pull out of the handicapped spot back where I was because Matt would be out any minute and we could get the heck out of that terrible place. Sure enough, as soon as I did, another car pulled up behind me and honked at me because they wanted to get in the handicapped spot next to me. They may have just been letting me know nicely that they were there but it was irritating considering all that had happened and because there was another spot they could have pulled into as well. I hate horns. They just don't come off as polite unless they are lightly tapped. So, I threw my hands up in the air and pointed in the direction of the other handicapped spot childishly. I had had it!!!!!

Finally Matt came back out. Funny thing is, he got stuck in line behind an old man who didn't know how to work the stamp machine. Matt tried to help him but he wouldn't let him, although he was a nice old man. That's what took Matt so long to get out of there. He came out to the car with a smile on his face not knowing what had happened to me and I burst into tears as soon as he got in the car telling him, "You have no idea the h-e-l-l I have just been through. Of course he got an earful of it and wanted to go find the second guy but I told him it wouldn't do any good. Plus I feel like it was totally immature for me to have said angrily, "You need Jesus". That was true but at that point I honestly didn't care if he needed Jesus. I just wanted to prove a point and get him off my back. I pray that the comment would not turn him away from Christ. Merrae was in the back seat concerned about me and the situation. Poor baby. I didn't set a very good example for her. She was saying, "Knock knock knock on the car". I guess she was rehashing when we got scared of the men who banged on our car. We explained to her that they were not nice and that mommy is OK. She was worried about me as I was crying. I'm sure it didn't help her to have seen me raising my voice at these people either.

Looking back on it, yeah, those guys were jerks, harassed us, and violated my property, but I want to have a heart so in tune with Christ that I let things roll off my back. Yes, hold them accountable somewhat. But, I want to not be rattled by stuff like that or shocked by it to the point that I can't approach them calmly and firmly and maturely and say, "I can see that you are irritated but I want you to know that you will get better results from people if you just kindly and softly knock on their window and tell them you feel they are in the way instead of banging on their car." Sure, those guys may have still went off on me but I could just calmly get back in my car without losing it. I had to ask for forgiveness and pray for Merrae's little heart and mind to be protected. I'm also working on having compassion on those two guys instead of just anger.

Sorry if you didn't want to hear about this mess. I just needed to vent! : )

The rest of the day went well but it took me a while to get over it it bothered me so much! We went to Party City and got stuff for Merrae's second birthday (Can you believe it's already approaching?) Her birthday isn't for another couple of months but with the baby coming I want to plan ahead. We had fun playing with all the party stuff in the store and we bought her this cute little bird pen that chirped and lit up every time you touched the button. Then we did a little Christmas shopping (still planning ahead). Christmas always seems to take us by surprise so we are trying to get better about doing a little bit here or there and financially that works out better for us too! Merrae and Matt napped when we got home and I looked for the Supernanny books online. I need all the pointers I can get in dealing with a sweet little toddler. : ) Merrae woke up grumpy and Matt took her with him to run some errands and give me a break since I deal with her daily, all day. It was wonderful! I decided to go out and run errands and didn't come home until about 9:30 that night!!! I felt a little bad I was out that long but God has blessed me with an amazing husband who understands, wants to give me that time, and truth be told, he really enjoys time to himself too. So, we all win! : ) Today he is out shooting another part of his short film in West Texas and I am enjoying Merrae being down for a nap!!!!!!!!!!! : )

Hope I didn't bore you guys....but hey! At least I posted again finally! One of these days I really will post some pictures!

Guess I'll blog......

Well, I guess I'll blog tonight. : ) Life is so full that there doesn't seem to be much time for blogging. I always seem to read my friend's blogs but never seem to write these days.

What to blog about? Well, I am getting bigger! I'm 28 1/2 weeks pregnant now (beginning my 3rd trimester) with this sweet baby boy and I'm getting more and more excited about him. : ) It's hard to believe he's about to quadruple in size these last 3 months. I already feel like my belly is huge! I can feel my skin burning from him growing and stretching it as I write this blog. Whew! Not so great feeling.

The pregnancy is going great. I went to the doctor this past Wednesday and drank that orange drink so they could do some blood work. I also had to have a shot because I have B negative blood. I had to have that with Merrae too...before and after she was born... No big deal but it does burn and they have to stick it in your behind. The doctor said everything looks on target and he thinks the baby has turned and moved his head downward...earlier in the pregnancy he was in a breech position and my doctor said he wanted to watch it and maybe do a sonogram at about 36 weeks or so to make sure we know what to expect. I've gained 18 pounds which he said is about what I had gained at this point when I was pregnant with Merrae. That's about average he said...although I seem to gain about the same amount in my last trimester alone! I've been eating a ton of sweets with this pregnancy so I am going to try and be more disciplined these last few months so that the calories I eat are healthy ones.

I'll go to another appointment in 4 weeks, then 3, then 2, then 1. Hard to believe it will only be a few more months until we get to meet this sweet blessing and have the extra responsibility!!!!!!!

Merrae is so much fun, delightful, and challenging all at the same time these days. She is learning how to handle her emotions and what is acceptable and not acceptable. Mom and Dad are learning what to do with her and praying for wisdom! : ) We are praying that God will prepare her and us for this new baby boy coming soon.

It's getting harder to lift Merrae along with this big belly....it's getting harder to do a lot of things. Seems like this pregnancy has been flying by. Not so much at the beginning, but it is now going fast. I'm trying to get a lot done before he gets here. Merrae's 2nd birthday will be 2-3 weeks after he's born, then Trunk-R-Treat at our church, Thanksgiving, and Christmas! Busy time of year.

We've decided to stay in our apartment for another 6-8 months. We have almost got our dog Lehya's surgery paid off and Matt's back therapy paid off. Then we can build our savings more hopefully. By the time the baby is born we will only have 3-4 months left on our lease and that's about how long babies stay in your room in a bassinet/ cradle anyway. So, it will work out just fine. Even if we have to go longer than that it will be fine. We're thankful to have not moved at this point because a few of the camps Matt was going to work this summer to build our savings more fell through. The camp leaders had a rough year taking care of their premature baby and therefore, the ministry suffered. They are still having the camps but cannot afford a videographer. Another reason we are thankful is knowing that we are about to have a lot of change going from one to two babies and a move on top of that would be challenging. It will be nice to just kind of ease into things. It will probably be more settling for Merrae as well.

Matt and his Filmosaic group are about to shoot another short film out in west Texas in a few weeks. Matt wrote it based on a true story our neighbor told us about. They are hoping to finish it in time for some film festivals and also before this baby comes and things get a little busier.

I'm still trying to get www.freedomexperience.com to come to the city I taught in for 8 years. It has been a slow process and will be interesting to see how it all unfolds. So far I have not been able to get a high school to agree to let us use their gym for three nights but I am also checking into doing a 1 or 2 night outreach. Please pray for the doors to open easily where and when God wants to reach out.

My brother Cameron is in town from Seattle for two weeks. He and Matt are out at a movie right now. We always see tons of movies when he's in town because it's his favorite thing to do. We just hate that! : )

More later...

Another Silly Vote

Ok....so we have an outlet mall across the street from where we live and I try to walk there several times a week since it's so hot outside. Sometimes when I'm there I swing in the Children's Place store because they have incredible deals....99 cent racks, $2.99 racks....and then when you put a coupon with it you end up with better deals than garage sales.

So, needless to say, I like to go there quite frequently and get some deals. : ) This store gets all the sale items from all over Texas and other surrounding states and that's why they can sell them for so cheap and they have a ton of stuff coming in daily.

I have a debate with myself after going there sometimes because I feel like I get carried away sometimes, buying a couple of sizes ahead since it's so cheap and I may not have access to this place when we move. Matt and I feel pretty good about it most of the time but ocassionally we question if some things we get are necessary or good buys.

All this to say, Matt and I had a conversation tonight about some rain boots I got for Merrae to wear during the winter. They were $4.25 and being so cheap, I thought they'd be something she would really enjoy wearing and be great for the rainy colder weather, as well as easy to slip on. Of course she'd have another winter pair of shoes...these would be another option for her.

Matt told me to post and ask you guys if this was a good purchase or not. Those of you that have little kids, do you think this is something she would wear a lot? Do you think it'd be ok for her feet to wear here or there? Or, this a silly purchase? If you haven't caught on.....Matt thinks this is a silly purchase and that the only kids who need rain boots are people like those in Honduras who live in the dirt which turns to mud when it rains! He's got a good point there but we decided to take it to you folks. :)

Matt's Short Film from Sunday

Here is a link to the short film Matt made for Sunday's service.

www.unblindproductions.com/videos/CondemnationShort.mov

You'll have to copy and paste the link because I can't get it to where you can just click on it. If you know how to do that, let me know!

It's a big file so it may take a while to load.

Hola

Hola. That's all I could come up with for a title : ) ....not sure what I'm going to blog about today but it's been awhile so I figured it was time to blog something.

Great day at church today....our pastor talked about the woman at the well and how we cannot judge others because we all sin. Matt made a short film that was a modern day woman at the well. It made many cry. We worshipped God, watched the short film, our pastor spoke about sin and then he had us all get on our knees and repent of any sin going on in our lives. It was so good and needed for us all. Then we celebrated by worshipping again, knowing we were free from that sin (because that's why Jesus died for us, He wanted to set us free once and for all from the awefulness of sin and being separated from Him for an eternity, but He also wants to set us free on a daily basis and make a new way of living for us...a good way of living).

Our pastor talked about how we need to call sin what it is....for example, the woman at the well's sin was adultery, NOT an affair. Sometimes we sugar coat what each sin is instead of remembering that God calls certain things a sin. We cannot make excuses or leave room for thinking that our sin is no big deal. God is our protector and he wants us to call sin what it is, turn away from it, follow His lead, and be set free from it. Just like the Bible says, sin entangles us. Sometimes we think it's no big deal and we're focused on receiving grace when we are sinning, but in reality it is entangling us. It affects other people too, not just ourselves.

I don't want to be entangled by any sin in my life. I'm glad I had a chance to take a look at my life and repent of sin, and follow God, my creator, my loving master, who knows what's best for my life. I encourage you to do the same. Is there anything you need to repent of?

Boy "M" Names

We went down to Matt's parent's place this weekend for our niece's graduation. It was fun to get away. They live out on some land and it's so relaxing out there. Big porches to sit on and look out over a big pond and pretty trees all around. As you enter the property you drive up a long dirt path and see cows all around. You also see a chicken pen. It was funny, as my sister in law pulled up with her two boys, she thought the new scare crow in the chicken pen was Matt's dad and honked to say hello. We had a graduation party out there with tons of family yesterday. We cooked out and had burgers and hot dogs along with a couple of different bean dishes Matt's mom made. Yummy. My mom got to come out and enjoy the day with us as well. It was relaxing and Merrae always has a blast when we go down there.

Anyway, while we were driving down there and back we went through our boy "M" names and narrowed them down while we were sitting for 4 hours both ways. Here's what we've narrowed it down to....but it could change....Any new names are welcome....

Matthew (after Matt of course)
Maxwell (he'd go by Max)
Maverick
Malachi

It will be fun to see what we finally decide on.

One of these days I'll post some pictures but I didn't want to wait until I had my pictures down sized to post because then I'd never post!

It's a BOY!!!!!!

Yep, it's a BOY! The sonogram went well. They said everything looked good. Thank you Jesus. We had the sonographer put the sex of the baby on 3 sheets of paper. One was put in my Mother's Day card, the other two were put in my mom and Matt's mom's Mother's Day cards.

We opened the card yesterday around lunchtime and videoed of course. We had a hunch from the very beginning that it was a boy but you can never assume. Only God knows those things. It was so fun opening that envelope. Matt was so funny and made it even more exciting. He was being silly, holding it in his hand (it was all folded up) and he kept saying, "Are you ready?! Are you ready?! Here we go!" We had to look real close at the writing once we opened it because the sonographer wrote it really small and in cursive.

We are very excited to have the opportunity to raise a boy. It will be a new adventure for us. I felt like God was preparing me all along for the possibility of having a boy because everywhere I went I would see baby boys, little boys, teenage boys....or I would see a toddler girl with a baby boy brother.

Merrae has been around a lot of boys. Our neighbor we had for a while was a boy, she has 3 boy cousins she plays with, and she enjoys playing with the boys in her daycare class at church. I think she's really going to enjoy a little brother.

Girls and boys each have their own unique traits that they bring to a family and life. We are thankful to have both and look forward to seeing what God has planned for each of them!

20 weeks along (1/2 way there)....due September 25, 2008. Still deciding on another "M" name. : ) Pictures coming soon hopefully....

Correction

I said we would find out this Thursday if we are having a boy or girl. I forgot that Matt wanted to have the doctor write the results in my Mother's Day card for us to open on Mother's Day. That's what we did with Merrae....except we had them write it in his Father's Day card. So, I guess it's still sooner than finding out next week. We'll find out Sunday!

I'll try and let you know how everything else looks in the sonogram tomorrow. Last time we did this we found out Merrae had 2 cysts on her brain. That was a little crazy. Thankfully, they went away after asking God to remove them. We are praying that everything looks perfect on the sonogram tomorrow (with the baby's body and mine). If you are reading this before tomorrow at 11:00 or 12:00 please ask God for the same with us.

It will be fun to see that little sweetheart tomorrow. We saw him/her when he/she looked like a grape but this time we'll be able to see a profile and body parts. That will be so fun!

Exciting News

Well, Matt decided not to go to Honduras due to his ear pressure and illness right now. That's NOT the exciting news, although it's nice to have him home. Since he will be in town this week afterall, we called the doctor's office to see if we could get the sonogram THIS week instead of next and they found a way to work us in! So, this Thursday we should find out the sex of the baby! Fun stuff!

We will be excited either way....girl or boy. We are just thankful for the blessing of another baby so soon. Either would be so much fun.

Today I was holding Merrae and I guess her legs were pushing in on my belly too much and I felt the baby flip really dramatically. I've felt the baby move here or there but this was really big. It was almost uncomfortable feeling. I don't think we hurt him/her but I guess he/she felt the pressure a little more than usual.

Matt and I are still in shock that we are actually pregnant again...a good shock. It's just so hard to believe and anytime you are pregnant it is such a miracle that someone is growing inside of you.

Today I watched a baby girl for a friend from church. She is 9 months old. I had forgotten how different that age is than 18 months. It was fun hearing the noises. It was kind of nice because at that age they pretty much just sit there or lay there...pretty low maintenance. That was encouraging to remember since I'll have two at the end of September. Atleast one should be pretty low key for a while. We're trying to train Merrae to do more so that she'll be more independent and helpful once the little booger gets here. She seems so mature already. I think God is blessing us in that way and that she will be very helpful. She was today with that baby. She brought her toys, was real sweet to her, fed her and gave her a bottle. So fun to watch.

Thank you God for our sweet baby girl and new baby on the way.