And then there were 5

Alright people: here's the birth story!!

***if you do not want the details just skip below the green text :)***

On Sunday afternoon, April 7th, my contractions were sporadically coming 6-10 minutes apart. I was frustrated. I'd been in early labor for days and it seemed like this baby just wouldn't come! Out of pure desperation, we decided to try Castor oil. I only did half the usual suggested dose, thinking it might just speed things up a little. Well... it did. Gabriel James was born 3 1/2 hours later. :) I wanted to make sure my contractions were really going somewhere before I called the midwife, and before I knew it things were speeding up so quickly I almost didn't make it to the birth center! 

Things went rather well during the car ride over to Nativiti, but as soon as I stepped foot out of the car, something changed. I could tell I had entered transition. Sure enough, when they finally got me in the building to check me, I was dilated 8 centimeters. The midwife told me though he was not face up- his head was turned slightly. "Aw man..." I thought, remembering how difficult my labor with Ben was when I had a similar problem. But, the midwife assured me he was coming so fast it probably wasn't going to matter. 

She was right. We were only at the center an hour and a half before Gabe made his appearance. Pushing was pretty difficult with Gabe, but at least it didn't last long: 10 minutes. And no tear!!! (Yay for that!) Nick is actually to thank for that. He was an amazing assistant to my midwife and even helped get the umbilical cord untangled from around the baby's neck. Gabriel was 9 lbs 3 oz, 22 inches long. (My largest, longest baby thus far :) Looking back, I think my labor was slow to get going because Gabe's head needed to turn. I rushed things along with the Castor oil and I sort of regret doing so, because I probably could have put the baby in distress with the whole cord issue. But, I'm just thanking God for being so merciful and allowing Gabe and I to have a safe delivery.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Baby Gabe has been here for over 5 weeks now, and things are just about back to "normal". Oh, who am I kidding? Not really. But there is a new normal for us with his arrival and we've settled into that. We've even been to the mall twice (just me and the 3 kiddos)... so I'm pretty proud of myself ;-) I've really enjoyed getting out of the house lately.

To be honest, it's not as hard of a transition for me as the other 2 were. Things do take a little more planning though.

When the kids wanted to ride the carousel at the mall I put the baby in the sling, grabbed my diaper bag and marched the kids through line with their tokens. When we got on, Ben wanted to ride the cat which was too high for me to lift him onto with baby in tow (I tried and failed), so the man in front of us offered to help. "Sure! Thanks so much!" I told him. But, as soon as the gentleman tried to lift him, Benjamin fell to the ground, did an army crawl through the man's legs and leaped a "safe" distance away from the stranger. Chuckling, the man tried to convince Ben he was harmless and even though I explained what we were trying to do, Benjamin continued to shake his head with a frightened look in his eyes & dart away from the guy when he approached. I was laughing so hard I gave up, told the man thank you and ushered Ben to a different animal. "At least you know if anyone tries to kidnap him, he's gonna put up quite a fight!" the man shouted in my direction. I just rolled my eyes and laughed at how helpless I must have looked up there all by myself with the 3 kids. That's okay though. It's a bit of a challenge- but very rewarding :)

Here's one of the changes we've made to make life easier with our new addition:

When we moved Ben's car seat to the back row of our Suburban to make room for the baby, we found we were having a difficult time leaning over Addy to buckle Ben in. It was crowded, so we decided to remove one of our middle seats.

It's 100% better! Now, the kids and I (with baby carrier in hand) can all enter one side together. (Much safer when Nick's not with us.) And I have room to do diaper changes... etc. right on the floor. It has delayed my "ich" to go trade in for a van.... for now :) I know that vehicle will be inevitable for us one day! 

Here are a few pictures of what else we've done since Gabriel's birth:

Chip and Dale birthday party for Ben and Addy at my parent's house...

we had a hay ride...

The kids got bikes as their presents from us...

And everybody surprised me by bringing diapers and gifts for the new baby at the birthday party :-)

THEN... later in the month we had a BEACH DAY in Galveston

(and had lunch at Mosquito cafe- a must try if you are looking for a non-seafood place to eat down there!! I found it on some top 10 lists and decided to try it. DON'T leave without trying their famous "Lemonade Cake"!!!)

As you can see, we've just been enjoying life lately. I of course have no projects to show you... I'm not THAT back to normal yet- ha!

Here's the fam on Mother's Day

(first picture of all of us together)

Well, that's about it for now! Hope you enjoyed!

Slow Cooker Freezer Meals

A friend of mine shared with me recently the concept of slow cooker freezer meals- something I'd never heard of but instantly wanted to try! It's 2 of my favorite dinner ideas combined- so definitely a winner!

Here are the 5 meals I put together the other day:

They are: 

1. Mom's Chili

2. Chicken Broccoli Alfredo

3. Beef and Mushrooms

4. Chicken Cacciatore

5. Cilantro Lime Chicken

I got all these recipes (plus tons more) from HERE

(A very cool blog called "Six Sisters Stuff")

(Although I did prepare a chili recipe); one thing I love about the variety of slow cooker recipes offered on this blog, is that it's not all soups, stews and chili. I think we're all tired of making those things in our crock pot. Especially since the days are getting warmer. 

These recipes are the core of your dinner- what you serve with them can be as simple or as complicated as you like. -I am, of course, going for simple after the new baby gets here. 

For example: For my Beef and Mushrooms dish, I've already put back boil-in-the-bag rice and some microwave veggie steamers. The Chicken Cacciatore will be complete with boiled pasta and my (already in the freezer) garlic bread. For the Cilantro Lime Chicken I've frozen the tortillas and toppings to make it into tacos.

Even if you don't have a baby coming, stocking your freezer with some of these meal every couple of weeks could save lots of time and $$$. :)

ENJOY!

3 Easy Outdoor Toddler activities

I just LOVE this warmer weather we've been having!! I'm definitely not a winter girl. My kids being able to play outside almost everyday has been AMAZING!!

Here are a few of our favorite outdoor activities for Spring/Summer...

#1 No doubt, is the 

Sand Box

My kids spend countless hours in this thing. It was completely worth the work I put into it last summer! (I used 1x6 boards to frame this up under the playhouse Nick built them, then layered the bottom with landscape fabric before dumping in the sand.) The Playhouse creates a great shady spot for it during the hottest months.

Yes, the bathtub has LOTS of sand in it at the end of the day, but TOTALLY worth the hours of enjoyment it provides!

BTW- if you don't have a sandbox- just give your kids some old spoons and direct them to a spot of dirt in your yard. Kids just love digging in dirt!

#2 is my favorite activity for them whenever we are in the front yard. It's the 

Garden Sensory Box 

I made this last year when we had a garden themed week in school. (I used some leftover potting soil I had laying around- very cheap by the way... but really any dirt will do :) It is absolutely perfect for when I am working in my front (non-fenced) yard or garage because it keeps them in one spot for a good length of time.

I set them up in an ant-free grassy area where I can see them, and I get my flower beds weeded with little interruption!  :) Obviously, this can also be a very educational tool as well.

And, #3 is probably the easiest suggestion anyone ever gave me for a toddler activity:

Painting with Water

This is maybe my favorite thing ever since it's ZERO mess! Cement sidewalk, brick siding, wood decking... water shows up on all of it. Just provide some brushes, sponges (cut out shapes in them if you like), and some bowls of water and WALLAH! Your kids have a painting session that will also keep them cool when it's warm out. My kids also love doing their feet and hand prints with it.

My only warning: you might be refilling their water quite a bit- unless you have something too heavy for them to dump out- which they will inevitably end up doing :) But hey, all part of the fun!

Ben is now old enough for me to trust him to refill his own bowl at the water hose out back, so that saves me some time now :)

Hope you've been having some beautiful weather like us, and hope you are out enjoying it!

Happy February!!

Just thought I'd write a little update on the fam and let you all know what we are up to here. I am almost 32 wks. pregnant now with our little Gabriel James. 

I can't wait for him to get here!!!! Well, I sorta can. :) I still have a few things to get done before he arrives. We are setting up the nursery area in our room this wk. And next wk, I'm planning to do the 3-day potty training with Addy.

She's already been introduced to the potty. But firmly tells me, "Uh-uh...no!" when I ask if she wants to use it. :) I'm afraid I have my work cut out for me AGAIN!!!

So... moving on from bodily functions....

We had a fantastic holiday season as I hope you all did as well. Here's the kids making Christmas cookies:

And... I do believe that's flour in Benjamin's ear there...  ha

We decided against doing the "Santa thing" with our kids. Don't worry- if you give my children a piece of chocolate shaped like Santa Claus, I will NOT freak out :O) We just talk about Santa like we do Mickey Mouse- reminding Ben that's He's pretend. We are trying to establish some healthy rules to keep us grounded when it comes to Christmas. It's so important to make Jesus' birth the center of attention, so we sang the "Happy Birthday" song to Jesus quite a lot in December. We also made ourselves a rule a few years ago that we would not exceed 3 gifts per child on any given year. That was hard this year- but no less enjoyable for the kids on Christmas morning!

We went on a field trip to the zoo last week with their cousin Kara:

Some of the things Benjamin is currently learning in school:

letter sounds

complex shapes & number of sides they have

counting to 50

to identify states on the US map

 Here's the craft from our "Eagle" themed day:

HERE is the template to this craft

On a different note, Nick FINALLY got on day shift!!!! Hold on just a sec while I shout GLORY HALLELUJAH!!! We've been waiting almost 5 years for this change and I'm loving it!! Finally... normal bedtimes for us and the kids, and I get to see my hubby during weekday daylight hours!! Yippee!!!

So... here's what's been happening with me personally over the last 6 months or so:

God has been so good and so faithful to us. I had a long period of severe morning sickness this time around, (even worse than the last 2 times) and then we had a huge scare around the 3 month mark. I started bleeding heavily and cramping. Having experienced 3 miscarriages in the past, I was CERTAIN that was what was going on. 

When it all stopped and nothing happened, I went in for an ultrasound and we found out that my placenta was just very close to my cervix. It wasn't previa, and the tech didn't see any tears.... so I went on bed rest for awhile just to be safe. We've had 2 ultrasounds since and everything has looked great, except for the fact that the placenta hasn't really moved away. BUT, most of the uterus growing happens towards the end, so we're hoping it has grown upwards by now. We'll have another look in a few wks.

During the 3 or 4 days when I thought I was losing the baby, the peace God gave me was so astounding. I knew I had made a break through spiritually after the 3rd miscarriage I experienced, and this was a little bit of a test for my faith. But, I know that I passed. Even though my heart was breaking, I was able to speak praises to God and say, "Lord, even if you let me lose this child, YOU ARE STILL GOOD." 

Sometimes those words are very difficult to say when you feel like something dear is being ripped away from you. But as soon as I surrendered and spoke those words, that incredible peace that passes all understanding flooded over me. I didn't feel depressed or oppressed. I was grieving, yes. But I had shut the door in the enemy's face. He couldn't lie to me while I was speaking those words. I feel like God has shown me something so huge through these experiences of loss and near loss. I don't want to ever forget the lesson. Praising God is powerful!!!

I'm so grateful that everything turned out fine and we'll have another baby boy in a short time! I've been catching up on scrap booking lately (finally got Benjamin's album done) and this page of my labor with Ben gets me so excited for Gabriel's birth!!

We'll be going to the same birth center again this time. Although, I'm thinking of turning to home births from now on since my birth center most likely will not be accepting my insurance any longer.

Bringing a new little life into the world is one of those miracles that nothing else really compares to. I'm getting excited just blogging about it!! :o)

Can't wait to meet baby Gabe!

16 Things to Pray for Your Children

We all pray for our kids. But if you're anything like me, most days it's sort of a monotonous little chant of, "Lord, please keep them safe and healthy" Well, I know there are important things I should be praying daily over my children, but sometimes a detailed list doesn't spring to my mind as I'm sleepily tucking them into bed at night. 

So, when I listened to a sermon on this topic and printed out this fantastic LIST (I LOVE lists... :) I thought I should pass it along! This list is taken from a sermon by Mr. Tom Harmon- one of our favorites on embassyinstitute.org. 

If you are not a member of embassy.... well- you REALLY should check it out!! But, you can also listen to sermons from Mr. Harmon for free on his website tdharmon.com/sermon 

16 Things to Pray for Your Children

1. Their salvation

2. Their future mate

3. That they would fall in love with God's Word

4. That God would keep them from the evil one

5. That they would have a conscience void of offense before God and man

6. That their character would be more valuable to them than their credentials

7. That they would stand up for what's right even if it means standing alone

8. That they would be kept from the love of money

9. That they would be kept morally pure

10. That they would have the heart of a servant

11. That eternity would burn in their hearts

12. That sin would always be distasteful to them and that they would be easily broken over sin

13. That they would love each other

14. That they would trust God with their parents and not allow rebellion to set in

15. Regardless of hardship that they wouldn't become bitter against God

16. That our boys would be glad to be boys and our girls would be glad to be girls

I thought this was an incredible list, and I also added this one to my list: 

That they would be filled with and sensitive to God's spirit.

What's up & a BIG ANNOUNCEMENT!

This blog began dailyish, quickly became weeklyish... and eventually turned into monthlyish. Well, this time it's almost been a whole quarter!!! It's not that I don't have things to blog about... trust me, there's ALWAYS  a ton of things buzzing through this brain that I'd love to share. It's just the sitting down, uploading the photos... you know, the tedious work of it all. ;)

Well here's what's new with me 

since 3 months ago:

We've been doing school work almost every day now. (Generally no more than an hour, tops.) Sometimes we just do pre-schooler work sheets and random learning stuff, and other times I pick a theme and go all out with it, doing a craft and maybe even a field trip. (We recently went to HMNS.) Ben is pretty good at counting to 40, and knows how to spell his name. (the short version :) So I'm pretty encouraged at this point!

I started volunteering with B2B- an awesome ministry showing God's love to forgotten teens living on the streets, in shelter, RTC's, foster homes & mental facilities. Check out their website HERE.

We ate a leisurely family breakfast at Cracker Barrel. Then rocked awhile...

I made this Brazilian Fish Stew TWICE! (I know, I know. Stew in the summer you say? We've gotten so much rain the past couple of months (praise the LORD!!!) that I've been in a comfort food mood. 

This is healthy, yummy, easy... 

oh, and did I mention it's NOT chicken or beef??? yay for that!

(no offense to you, chicken & beef. I couldn't live without you... my life is just screaming for variety right now ;)

Click HERE for this recipe

(It's great served over rice!!!)

We went to 2 Faith and Family concerts at the Astros games

We decided to get rid of commercial television AND the gigantic tv in the center of our family room. Now my living room looks like this:  :D

(yes, the lampshade was terribly boring and I had some white fabric lying around, so I kinda went a little crazy on it. Shabby Chic, no?)

Addy started wearing pig tails :)... and we went to this library a bunch...

(oh those store bought pig tail bows are SOOO tiny. But, don't worry. I've been making her some bigger ones ;)

We did Adventures on Promise Island VBS at church:

We took advantage of AMF's free summer bowling for kids with some pals...

And now for the

BIG ANNOUNCEMENT!!!

It's about my Adalynn. As you can see from this picture, she is growing up quite rapidly. This summer, she got weaned, got her bangs cut, wore pig tails... and it's only a matter of time before she is married off. :)

And well....

she is going to be a BIG SISTER!

Yes, you heard me right! We are pregnant with #3!!!

Ah well... that is what's new and wonderful with us right now. I'm feeling very blessed!

Thanks for reading!

Hypocrisy

About a month ago, Nick and I watched a seminar video on www.embassyinstitute.org titled "Openness and Brokenness" by Paul and Jenny Speed.

Mr. Speed tells the story of how years of hidden sexual immorality had crippled his ministry and oppressed his family. God convicted him to be open with his wife about his problem- despite his fears that it would hurt her too much. He came to a point of brokenness about his sin, and realized that by covering up these "small" failings; he had unknowingly given Satan an entrance into his family; to bind them and limit their effectiveness for Christ. Was his wife hurt? Of course. Was it embarrassing for him to confess to his children? Terribly. Was it worth it? His powerful testimony leaves no doubt in my mind that it was. As the spiritual leader of his home, he knew his "umbrella of protection" over his family had some holes in it. Perhaps they were small compared to some other fathers he knew... but they were still holes.

He gave an illustration that greatly impacted me: Imagine a thief arrives at your neighbor's home to find the front door wide open. He plumages and wrecks the entire place; stealing everything of value. When finished, he proceeds over to your home. When he tries the front door, it's dead bolted. Having no luck there, he walks around the back; spotting a small crack in your bedroom window allowing him to enter.


Does the thief do any less damage to your house than he did your neighbors?? Of course not. He got in. That's all he needed.

Sometimes we brush off what we think are "small sins" in our life; (those "little cracks") believing they are insignificant in the scope of things... that we can "deal" with them secretly.

SECRETLY. That's the key word. Proverbs 28:13 tells us, "He that covereth his sins shall not prosper: but whoso confesseth and forsaketh them shall have mercy."

Satan is a liar and a deceiver. He loves it when he can convince us to deceive as well. Keeping secrets is an open door for him to oppress us. And we usually don't even realize we have just let him in. As children and teenagers, he tries to get us to keep secrets from our parents. As married adults, he wants us to keep secrets from our spouse.

I can't begin to tell you how big of an impact this message had on our marriage and our home. But the reason I'm writing today, is the subject of hypocrisy. Mr. Speed traced back his moral failings to the week before he got married. He viewed pornography, and kept it a secret from his then fiance. Something changed between them. He was no longer able to lead in their relationship. At the time, he wouldn't have dreamed of telling her the truth. He was raised by Christian parents who were in ministry. He knew he was supposed to look a certain way at church. He knew there were some things you didn't do in front of "church people". They thought they were raising him to be godly- but really, they had raised him to be a hypocrite- To pretend he was righteous, when really, there was sin in his heart that needed to be confessed. His father had never been open with him about his own problems of lust or immoral thoughts.... so he felt ashamed to admit to such things as a teenager.

Being open with our children, is one of the most important tools we have against the enemy. It cripples him. He has no entrance. 

Paul Speed related to his crowd that he believed the biggest problem he had faced was not lust; it was the desire to cover it up. It was hypocrisy. I began to pray that God would guard me and Nick against demonstrating and passing on a spirit of hypocrisy to our children.

Fast Forward 2 wks.

I'm sitting in Chick-Fil-A with my kids eating when I hear the man sitting behind me begin to raise his voice at his son. I couldn't help but glance back, (he was sort of making a scene). His eyes were boiling with anger as he started hissing out a stern warning through his teeth. "My Lord!" I thought. "I can't believe he's talking to his kid like that in a public place!"

Then, the light bulb went off.

If it's not okay to speak to your child like that front of people, it's not okay in private either. Do I yell at my kids in public? Never. Do I yell at them at home? .........   Let's just say I would be terribly embarrassed if all my training sessions were broadcast to the masses. I do lose my temper sometimes. I do discipline in anger sometimes.

It hit me like a brick. By disciplining them differently in public than I do in private; I am teaching my kids hypocrisy! Now, I'm not talking about spanking. It is important to be wise when spanking in public- although if the situation merits that action, I most certainly will do the job- (my child's soul is far more important to me that fearing what those around me will think or say.) But, God showed me a HUGE area in my life that needs altering. I do not want my children to learn a double standard from me- in ANYTHING! If I have to pretend my life is a reality tv show where people are always watching- so be it. By God's grace, I want my attitude towards my kids to be the same at home as it is in front of my pastor's wife. Always loving, always patient- while giving the correction they need and shepherding their hearts.