These boys make me laugh

The boys are always saying things that crack me up.  I tell myself to remember them but I think it is a better idea to write them down...

I told Q (23month), "It's prayer time." 
He bowed his little head, folded his hands and said, "Jesus, Amen."

EJ was asked to share at church on Sunday morning.  As he was addressing the congregation, Q kept yelling loudly, "DADDY!"  Finally, EJ looked at him and said, "Hi Q".  That seemed to satisfy him long enough to keep him quiet while EJ finished up.

Wubba (age 4): "Mom, do you know what a mushroom is?"
Me: "What is it?"
Wubba: "It's a snack you eat in your room."
(Well I suppose that makes sense...it is a mushROOM)

I was leaning over to get my Uggs on one morning.  Wubba was standing behind me but I didn't think much about it.  He said, "Wow Mom!  You have a big bottom!" 
I laughed and said, "What?  You have a big bottom!"
"No I don't!"  He said as he stuck his buns out and shook them at me.

The other day Bubba (age 6) was in a terrible mood.  We were at Lowes picking out paint for baby sister's room.  He just kept complaining and acting naughty.  I pulled him aside and said, "This behavior is unacceptable.  If you keep it up I will have to discipline you right here in the middle of Lowes."
Bubba replied, "Well that would be inappropriate!"

EJ was giving me a hug when Bubba loudly said, "Dad, don't just stand there...Kiss her!"  Ha!

"I work AWESOME!"

This morning the fellas were working on their home school assignments.

I noticed that Wubba kept getting distracted.  I said, "Wubba, stay focused on your school and work hard."

Wubba replied, "MOM, I don't work hard...I work AWESOME!"

My bad.  I stand corrected.

Pregnancy Progress

Happy 6th Birthday Bubba!

Bubba aka Power X (our very own secret agent) celebrated his 6th birthday today.

He is such a blessing to us!

We had a Spy themed party.

The invitations included a fedora hat and a mustache.

Bubba made his serious spy face in most of the pictures.

You know Grammy, Grandma and I love a man we are willing to wear a mustaches for. 

As a general rule women like to keep facial hair off their faces!

It was a great night!

Happy Birthday to our first born!

We Love You!!!

Hello Daddy!

EJ got to feel little Miss Baby Girl kick today!

It's a...

Sweet Baby GIRL!!!

We are tickled pink!!!

Today's High and Low

High:

My Mom-in-law took me to get my nails and toes done. 

Super Awesome!

Low:

My toddler, Mr. Q, came up and gave me a leg hug from behind and then proceeded to bite my fanny.  Ouch!

Not Super Awesome.

I love it when The Growing Table looks like this...

Teaching my fellas...

Is such a joy!

We are having so much fun learning about God's world.

This week was all about Turtles.

Our truth was, "I don't quit, I persevere."

Here are the boys with their art project for the week.

They were so proud of their turtles!

P.S. Little Q is just proud to be here.  We keep lots of toys out for him in the school room and he stays busy playing while we learn.  Sometimes he will answer a question for the boys and I realize that he is listening too!

Happy Baby Day

We had our 17 week appointment this week.


What a joy to hear that little heart beating.  The heart rate was 152.  What a sweet sound!


Just 2 more weeks until we have our big sonogram where we should learn the gender.  That is, if baby cooperates. 


I'm in love, I'm in love and I don't care who knows it!

The Greater Good

The Greater Good is an informative movie about our current vaccine system. 

Please watch it.

4 months and counting!

Grow Baby Grow!

Spies like us

Bubba is really into spies lately.  He wants to know all about them.  His Daddy even bought him a spy kit complete with a secret marker and decoder marker.  He has had so much fun leaving secret messages.

He has been asking for black clothes.  After all, a good spy has to be sneaky.  You should have seen the joy on that little face when we found black clothes for him last night.  Of course, he wanted his brothers to have spy clothes too. 

Little Q isn't sure this spy thing is a good idea but he was willing to play along.  Wubba was totally into it.

Don't ask them about their spy work.

They could tell you but they'd have to kill you.  Hee Hee.

Boy or Girl?

Who are we going to meet in April?

I am so excited to find out!  Some people have the patience to wait until their baby comes but not us.  We found out with each of the older boys and Q's birth mom found out too.

My pregnancy has been completely different this time around.  I have had symptoms that I never had before.  This leads me to wonder if it could be a girl in there. 

Then I remember that Grammy had four girls and she said one of her pregnancies was totally different than the others.  So...

Who knows!  It could be another bouncing baby boy. 

We are just thrilled to have another little blessing.

It will take me exactly 2 seconds to adjust to whoever it is and be completely overjoyed.

Just a few more weeks until we find out.  I can't wait!

My Fellas

Bubba

Wubba

Q

Baby Thumps!

I have been feeling little flutters for the last couple weeks.  For the last few days I haven't noticed anything.  I tried not to worry about the baby. 


But today...


I felt a THUMP.


Then later tonight I felt 2 more thumps.


Wahoo!


Kick away little baby.


Momma loves you!

Pickles

Oh my stars.  I LOVE pickles.  I did not experience this craving in previous pregnancies.  I am currently working my way through the large jar of pickles on the left. 

Normally pickles are just okay in my book.

But these days that sour taste "hurts so good".

I gotta go.  I hear a pickle calling my name.

Taco Bell Verde Sauce...

 Where have you been all my life????

This stuff is amazingly yummy.  Have they always had it and I just didn't notice? 

Has anyone else tried this? 

Delicious.

Sweet Relief

I am 13 weeks and a few days now.  The pregnancy seems to be progressing nicely.  I am feeling better.  Not as much nausea.  Praise the Lord!  I am still tired but not as tired as I was in the first trimester.

This morning we had a much anticipated baby appointment.  I was anxious to hear that little heart beat and know that all is well.  I have been fighting my fears for the last couple of weeks.  The "What Ifs?" have been screaming loudly in my head.

I did not mentioned my concerns in front of the children.  I did tell them that we had an appointment coming up.  Bubba said, "Mom, what if this baby's heart stops beating?" 

I thought to myself...Can you read my mind little man?

I told him that we just needed to pray and ask God to keep growing the baby big and strong.  I reminded him that we can trust God with our baby.  God will take care of us no matter what.

I told him all the things I have been telling myself.

EJ and I headed off to our Dr.'s appointment this morning.  We got right in.  The nurse was a new one (at least new to me).  She checked my blood pressure and then prepared to listen for the heart beat on the doppler.  No heart beat.  She moved that thing all around my tummy.  Still no heart beat.  She said that the Doctor would be in shortly and he could usually find it right away.  I saw her type this note into my chart, "No Fetal Heart Tones detected on doppler."

The minutes seemed to go on forever.  I could hardly keep myself calm.  The tears started to well up.  EJ prayed over me and the baby.

When Dr. K came in he said, "How is it going?"

I said, "I'm trying not to freak out!"

He looked on the counter and saw that the doppler was still out.  "Oh, I see.  Let me listen.  If we don't get the heartbeat right away we will do a sonogram."

He placed the doppler on my tummy and immediately found our little baby's heart beat.

And I lost my good mind.

I am serious.

I started to cry.  Not the kind of crying where a tear rolls down your cheek as you silently thank God.  I mean the kind of crying where your whole body gets involved.  I was sobbing so hard my tummy was moving and he could hardly finish listening to that little heartbeat.

Sweet relief my friends.

SWEET RELIEF!

Don't call me sugar!

Wubba and I were in his weekly session with Mrs. Daisy.


We were busy following Mrs. Daisy's directions when I realized that Wubba wasn't paying attention.


I said, "It's your turn, Sugar."


To which, Wubba looked me straight in the eyes and said, "Don't call me Sugar."


I exchanged glances with Mrs. Daisy.


On the way I home, I said, "Wubba, I'm sorry I called you "Sugar" during your class time.  Did I embarrass you?"


Wubba: "Yes"


Me: "I won't do that again.  Can I still call you "Sugar" at home?"


Wubba: "Sure!"

Happy Birthday Papa!

My Grandparents (Grammy's folks) are Nana and Papa to my boys.  I have so many special memories of going to their house as a kid.  They live in the same place they always have.  When I am there I have flashbacks of all the sweet times I have spent within the walls of that house.


Bringing my boys there for a weekend visit is always fun.  Watching them get to know their Nana and Papa blesses my heart beyond belief. 


We took a few pictures before we left.  Wubba was already sad to leave.  He kept saying that he wanted to come back tomorrow!  (on the way home the big boys decided that they were coming back soon and this time they were staying for 14 days...I would say they had a good time!)

The cowboys with Nana and Papa

Me (and the tiny baby) with Nana and Papa

I told EJ I was sorry I didn't get a picture of him.  He was our photographer.  Thanks Honey! 

Today is Papa's birthday.  In his birthday card I told him that he has cultivated a legacy of love in his family.  I am so blessed to have this man as my Grandpa.  I love you!

P.S. Grandma, thank you for feeding us such tasty food!  My men and I enjoyed those delicious home cooked meals.

My Sweet Boy

Last night as I was putting my tennis shoes on...

Wubbba (4) said, "Where are you going Mommy?"

Me: "I am going to the gym to exercise."

Wubba: "Oh No Mom!  Don't hurt the little baby!"

Me: "Don't worry Sweetie.  I promise I will just walk slow.  I am always careful with the baby."

Precious. 

Just precious.

Feel the LOVE

I haven't cooked for a long time.  I just can't stomach the idea of preparing food.  My poor family is eating easy to prepare, pre-packaged foods.  We are also eating out all the time.  There are only so many places in our little town to eat out.  After a while, everything just sounds gross.


For some reason my nausea is worse in the late afternoon and evening.  That makes the "What are we going to eat for dinner?" question even more unbearable to me.


This afternoon, I was trying to figure out what to feed my family. 


The truth is I just kind of wanted to lay on the couch and cry about it.


I am sick and tired.  I am sick and tired of being sick and tired.  You know what I mean?


Then I heard my phone.


It was a text from a precious friend.


"Do you have dinner plans?" (the answer of course was no)


"Can I bring dinner to you tonight?" (the answer of course was YES!)


The most delicious meal arrived at our house just in time for dinner.


My family celebrated!  Real food!


I am so grateful. 

Not only did my friend make me feel so loved by this act of kindness but it also made me feel loved by our Heavenly Father. 

He sees me.

Genesis 16:13
She gave this name to the LORD who spoke to her: “You are the God who sees me,” for she said, “I have now seen the One who sees me.”

J. thank you so much for blessing us tonight!

The Battle

It was at a routine appointment on March 18th, 2011 that EJ and I found out our sweet baby twins were gone.  Their little hearts were no longer beating.


I had no signs of miscarriage.  No cramping.  No bleeding.  Nothing.


Looking back the only sign I did have was a loss of pregnancy symptoms.  It was slight but I noticed that all the sudden I had more energy.  At that time I made the assumption that I was exiting the 1st trimester and headed into the more comfortable 2nd trimester.


When I found out I was pregnant with this new little blessing a flood of emotions came over me.


I told EJ, "I don't want to lose another baby!"


I spent a lot of time bargaining with God.


I went into overprotective mode.


In my mind, I was going to somehow control the outcome of this pregnancy.  Surely if I was just good enough God would give me this baby in the end.


At just 6 weeks along, we got in the big wreck.  I just remember thinking, "Are you kidding me?!?!?!" 


When we saw our OB he looked for signs of bleeding in the uterus.  Nope.  All seemed well with the baby.  As a bonus we got to see that little heart beating away.


Next, our family got a nasty stomach virus.  Again, lots of feelings came flooding back.  When I was pregnant with the twins I got terribly sick with some kind of a viral infection.  So again, more reason to worry.


At the next OB appointment, we not only saw that strong heart beating but we also saw our baby moving around.  It is amazing how developed they are so early!


So here I am, at the exact same stage in pregnancy where I lost the twins.


I have been so sick with this baby. 


Nauseous most of the time. 


Lots of food aversions. 


Completely exhausted.


When I have a good day I start to feel consumed with worry.


Are my pregnancy symptoms disappearing? 


Is the baby okay? 


What if? 


What if? 


What if?


Then I have to tell myself the truth.

Psalm 139:16

" ¹³ For you created my inmost being;
   you knit me together in my mother’s womb.
¹⁴ I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made;
   your works are wonderful,
   I know that full well.
¹⁵ My frame was not hidden from you
   when I was made in the secret place,
   when I was woven together in the depths of the earth.
¹⁶ Your eyes saw my unformed body;
   all the days ordained for me were written in your book
   before one of them came to be."

God created this tiny blessing.


God has already ordained the number of days in this baby's life.


God loves our baby even more than I do.


God loves me.


I can rest in Him.  He is here.  He has us in His strong grip. 


I will fight the battle for my mind everyday of this pregnancy and I will win when I proclaim His word.


I praise you Father for giving me tools to fight with!  I praise you for giving me this child!

Random Pregnancy Thoughts

So...


I was pregnant when the wreck happened.  Scary!


I was pregnant when the stomach bug hit.  Nasty!


Oh my stars.


As though pregnancy isn't hard enough.


When I find out I'm pregnant I switch to decaf coffee for a day or two.  Then I just cut it out completely.  It doesn't sound good anymore.  The idea of it sounds wonderful but the taste doesn't.  That must be God's way of helping me kick my favorite habit.


Most of you know that our road to parenthood hasn't been easy.


Most recently, in March, we lost the twins I was carrying.


Being pregnant again has been a very emotional experience.  I'm sure I will write more about that later.


We breathed a huge sigh of relief yesterday when we watched our little baby move around and got to hear that strong heartbeat. 


Grow baby Grow!

A little tiny announcement

Invite us to your lake house...

if you are lucky we will bring a nasty stomach virus.


Some friends of ours invited us to join them and another family for a fun filled weekend.


It was a fun filled until Saturday night when the nasty began.


They wanted us to leave a note in their guest book before we left.  This is what we said...

"We came, we saw, we played, we puked, we pooped."

That lake house may never be the same.


EJ and I got the virus upon our return home and are still recovering today.


NASTY.


P.S.  Big thanks to the Grammy and Grandma for taking turns caring for us today.  What a blessing!


(Also, I want to cry when I think about the kindness the women at the lake house showed us.  They stepped right in cleaning up messes no one wants to clean up.  I am SO thankful.)

"Look Mom! We made your bed!"

While I was in the shower this morning, the older two cowboys got an idea.  (The little one was still asleep)They found flashlights and took up residence in our bed.  They were having such a good time shinning the light under the blankets.  Our bed was a mess but I didn't mind.  They were having fun and I was getting that much needed shower.

When I came out of the bathroom they proudly presented their hard work.

They had made the bed.

Never mind that the sheets were all scrunched up somewhere at the bottom.

Never mind that the bedspread is on sideways.

I kissed them and thanked them for making my bed.

There will be plenty of time for learning about proper bed making techniques.

This isn't that time.

Today we celebrated...

Mommy's first time to drive since the wreck.

We ran one errand.

Then I was hungry and tired.

So we went to lunch.

'cause that's how we roll.

Do you want to be a bandit?

At lunch the other day, Wubba (4) took some food off Bubba (5)'s plate. 

Bubba did not appreciate this one bit.

Bubba: "Wubba!  Do NOT take food.  If you steal food you will be a bandit!  Do you want to be a bandit when you grow up?"

Wubba: "No!"

Apparently, snitching some food off your brother's plate is a serious offense!

"Hey Mom, Where is Target?"

goddess weekend

There are five of us.

Five women who have been friends for a long time.

Four of us went to high school together and we adopted the fifth member in college.

The "goddesses" got their name from an inside joke many years ago.

So far we have four husbands in the mix (and one serious boyfriend).

They are all generous enough to give us up for one weekend a year.

We do something different every year.

We always try to include a massage and at least one fun activity.

This year we went to an awesome local business (owned by a gal who went to our high school).

She let us pick out a special painting and then she taught us how to paint it.

It was fun to see how each one of our paintings came out.

Unique just like each of us.

We spend our time together talking, laughing, crying, praying and laughing some more.

These are beautiful women and I love every one of them.

Post-Crash Report

Q has been drowning his sorrows in yogurt.

Wubba has been showing off his crash wound.

Bubba has been showing off his bruised eye.

He has also been telling all who will listen,

"I got to talk to a real fireman!"

I have a scratch on my forehead and some bruises on my right side and my neck hurts. 

Oh man, does my neck hurt.

I have been replaying the accident over and over in my mind.  I finally told EJ that something really bothers me.  Once we were hit and began to spin I was no longer holding the wheel.  I keep questioning where I was when it was all happening.  I told EJ that I don't think I was ever unconscious.  I really feel like I was there but have no recollection of where.  When EJ went to collect a few last things from the car today he came back with some answers for me.

He said, "Honey, the back of your chair was broken.  The impact of the crash sent you back so hard the chair was laying down.  You were on your back probably looking up at the roof of the car.  Do you remember having to crawl back up to put your hands on the wheel and your foot on the brake?"

Me: "YES!  I felt so far away from my driving position."

All I have to say is NO STINKIN' WONDER my body hurts so bad.

Praise God from whom all blessings flow

The Cowboys and I had a fun morning.  Bubba and Wubba (and their cousins Superman and Spiderman) had their last tumbling class for the month.  After that we went to Aunt Rock Star's house to hang out a little before lunch.

EJ called and asked us if we wanted to meet for lunch.  We decided he would pick up some lunch and meet us at home.  So, the Cowboys and I happily headed home.  We went north on one road and then needed to turn east (or right) onto another road.

I put my blinker on, slowed down at our turn and...

That is when it happened. 

The person traveling behind us apparently never saw our turn signal or our brake lights.  What they were looking at I have no idea.  A witness said they kept going full speed ahead when they hit us.

It happened so fast.

The back of our car was bashed in. 

Then we started spinning through the intersection.

We hit something (I think it was the stop sign).

Then we finally rested in the ditch on the north east side of the road.

The boys were screaming.

I just remember thinking (in slow motion of course), "We must have been hit by a car."

I pulled myself together long enough to mash on the brake and put the car in park.

My flip flops had flown off my feet.

My phone was nowhere to be seen.

I couldn't get my door open.

I found my shoes and climbed into the back of the car.

I tried to calm the boys down.

A darling young gal came running up to us with a phone to her ear.  Already on the line with 911.

She helped shove one of the doors open and we got the boys out.

I couldn't find my cell phone anywhere.

I needed to call EJ and tell him what happened.

A sweet older couple showed up to check on us and they found my phone behind my car.

It had flown out of the smashed back window of our car.

I called EJ and he headed our way.

Pretty soon, there were sirens and lots of emergency vehicles.

We all got a quick look over by the EMS workers.

I think the first deep breath I took was when I saw EJ arrive on the scene.

The boys and I sat in the Fire Captain's vehicle while we answered questions and filled out paperwork.

EJ made some calls and word spread through the Four Sisters Farm Family.

I'm not going to lie.  I made a hysterical call to Pop from that vehicle.  (I guess a girl doesn't stop needing her Daddy in a crisis). 

EJ took us to the closest Emergency Room and we got more thorough examinations.

Grammy and Pretty Princess met us there with food for the boys.

I hit my head on something.  I hit my elbow pretty hard too.  My whole right side and my neck hurt like crazy.

Bubba has a cut on his eye and a cut on his head.

Wubba has terrible marks from the seat belt.

Q couldn't tell us what hurt but he was pretty shaken by the whole thing.

All in all we are incredibly blessed.

I went to the van one last time before we left for the hospital.  I looked inside and thought about what could have happened.

I sang praises to God from deep in my soul,

"Praise God from whom all blessings flow. 

Praise him all creatures here below. 

Praise him above ye heavenly hosts. 

Praise Father, Son and Holy Ghost. 

Amen."

P.S. I don't know much about the other vehicle but I understand they are all okay. 

Praise God for that!

The Growing Table

Why The Growing Table?

There are so many stories to tell you.  I have written for a long time at Four Sisters Farm so if you want to know all the answers now, feel free to read the archives.  I am Farm Chick (at heart).

The short answer:

We are a growing family.

We have three little boys who have blessed our world beyond belief:

Bubba (5), Wubba (4) & Q (19 months)

We are praying for more children.

I have always dreamed of a big table to gather my family for meals.

When EJ, that's my husband, and I would dream about our someday home it always included a huge table.

When we chose our home EJ and I decided it was time for that dream table.

So...we met with a local carpenter and shared our vision.

He got to work making it a reality.

Here are some photos when EJ visited the table being made... 

 This is the space in our home that was waiting for the table...

These are our precious boys celebrating the base of the table being delivered...

And here she is in all her glory...meet The Growing Table...

As the table was delivered and set up I couldn't help but feel overcome with emotions.

I could see the future.