Bubble breezes...

While we've been having another "sickly" week - Caleb and I are both in quarantine with pink eye and sinus issues - we did get to enjoy some bubble blowing this past Saturday. Ryan and Caleb tried very hard to teach Logan how to blow bubbles, and he did his best... blowing raspberries. He'll get there!

Hope you are all having a good week, and staying healthy!

Overdue Thankful Thursday, 2-20...

Right now, I'm thankful that I've tried to make it a weekly habit of taking stock of what I'm thankful for because it's been a tough week. Logan was diagnosed last week with a double ear infection and pink eye, and I took him in to the doctor again today because he's broken out in a rash from head to toe. Fortunately (here's a "Thankful Thursday" item) he's not having an allergic reaction to anything, but has a virus called "Hand, Foot, Mouth". He's not itchy or irritated (another "Thankful Thursday" item) but it sure is one red, angry rash! This picture was taken last Friday, before the rash cropped up. I like how it shows his little mischevious side...and the tongue that is always sticking out!

I feel like I need to admit this, in the effort to be real and keep an accurate 'journal' of life...but since finding out we're expecting Baby #3, I have not been able to be excited about this new little life coming our way. Guilt is a major emotion I am dealing with, since as much fun as it is to see others be excited for us - and to see Ryan get excited - I feel unable at this point to share in their joy. I know this baby is a blessing from the Lord - He obviously felt we needed another child to love, as this was most certainly in His plan and not ours - but I'm struggling to embrace the knowledge that this is a blessing.

A year from now, I will probably look back to this post and these feelings I'm having and maybe I will smile, because by then I will have long since embraced the actual blessing for whom he/she truly is. I look forward to being excited about this little one.

Shock is an odd thing to deal with. Both of the boys were in some way planned. It took two years, fertility treatments, and TONS of prayer before we knew Caleb was on the way. With Logan, we had decided after Caleb turned a year old to start trying again since it took us so long to get to Caleb, and "what if" that happened again (it didn't - a little over a month later, we were pregnant). I think we've covered the spectrum of how parents find out they're expecting! The lesson we've learned with all three, though, is a resounding God Is In Control. Nothing happens outside of His knowledge. Nothing happens without His hand in the matter.

I love this quote of Mother Theresa's - in fact, it came to my mind immediately after finding out I was expecting this time:

"God says He will never give us more than we can handle. I just wish He didn't trust me so much."

I'm definitely not on the same plane as Mother Theresa, but I can certainly relate to her statement!

Another story to add that made this week even more crazy...
Yesterday, I subbed for a Chemistry teacher at the high school I used to teach at before Caleb came along. The day was going along fine, until just after 4th period was dismissed. The fire alarm went off about two minutes into the passing period - kids were either headed to lunch or their 5th period class. Immediately I thought someone had pulled the alarm as a prank, but all of us evacuated the building.
Shortly after getting to our evacuation location, several of the teachers and I noticed one of the principals running around the school, giving instructions. This was the real deal - there really was a fire, in the boys' bathroom next to my room.
The entire school ended up being corralled in the football stadium, where we sat/stood for over two hours, missing our lunches. A local news station flew their helicopter overhead, and we were on the news. After about three different times of being shuffled around, I was instructed to meet my students back in the 4th period class, the one that had just ended before the alarm sounded.
As I turned the corner to go to my room, a detective and a police man grabbed my elbows (!!) and escorted me to the side of the hallway, asking me several questions about if I had let any students leave during class, who they were, if I could tell them any names, etc. Being a substitute teacher, I do not know the students - and it's hard for me to remember what class 'so-and-so' is in. As a 'regular' teacher, I could have told you the first, middle, and last name of every student, what they were wearing that day, and what time/class period they left my room...but that's not the case for me as a sub. I had only let one student leave class all day to go to the restroom, but he was not from that class period.
Long story short, they thought one of my students was responsible for setting the fire. As it turned out, he wasn't the one (THANK YOU JESUS) - he didn't even leave my class during that period. He just happened to fit the description of who they were looking for, based on camera footage, and happened to be in the right place at the wrong time.
I joked with the ladies in the front office on my way out, because crazy things have happened nearly every time I've subbed there this year - I've caught kids cheating on tests red-handed and had to escort them to the principal with the evidence in hand, a student has fainted and seized in my class and we had to go into 'emergency medical procedures', and now this! Maybe I shouldn't sub there anymore?

Wow - you're still here and reading what is probably the longest post in history!! Congratulations - now go take a break and rest your eyes!! Take care, and have a fabulous weekend!

Good stuff...

A very special CONGRATULATIONS to my dear friend Kelli and her husband Shawn on the birth of their new daughter, Kate Alexis!! She was born this afternoon. I can't wait to see more pictures of this little sweetheart, and to hear of what life is like with three kiddos! Kate joins big brother Tristan and big sister Kenna as a part of a very special family. It's so great to finally know that little baby is a "She" - now I can get started picking out fabric for a little quilt from "Aunt" Sara! :)

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In other news:
Last night, we were all sitting in the living room watching a family-friendly movie on TV. During one of the commercial breaks, an ad for these little pet kitten and dog toys (I think they're called something like "Littlest Pet Shop" ??) came on, and Caleb was paying very close attention. We quickly found out why...

"If I was a girl, I would really like those."

I'm not even kidding. That is what my son said upon seeing that commercial. Where does he get this stuff??

Caleb's 3rd Birthday...

The past two days have been all about Mr. Caleb! Yesterday was his official birthday, and to start the day we had biscuits with candles on top. He woke up quite a bit earlier than his little brother, so the three of us - Ryan, Caleb, and myself - had a special time to ourselves to ring in his special day.
Here he is holding his special birthday biscuits:
While Ryan and I were singing "Happy Birthday" to him, Caleb kept putting his finger to his mouth, shushing us, saying "Quiet! Lo-Lo is still sleeping!" But that didn't keep him from giggling and then blowing out his candles!

After Logan woke up and had breakfast, we took the boys to a local bounce house place - and we had a BLAST!! Caleb smiled ear-to-ear and giggled the whole hour and a half that we were there. Logan wasn't so sure of the slides and bounce houses, but I'm sure he'll get into them in about a year or so!

Finally, a sweet picture of the birthday boy! I can't get over the fact that he's three years old. Time goes so quickly as a parent!

Today, we had Caleb's birthday party. He had asked for a Wall-E and Eve cake, and has been talking about it for nearly two months. So, that is what he got! It was a tag-team effort this year between Na and I, but it turned out pretty cute. Caleb liked it!

One of his favorite gifts is this semi-truck that can store all of his Matchbox cars. (Hooray! No more using my muffin pan to keep his cars in one place!!)

Singing "Happy Birthday" to the boy:

Caleb and his best buddy, Kaylea. These two crack us up!! They are one year and one week apart in age, but they get along so well. Can you just tell how happy she makes him??

After two very exciting (and very exhausting) days, both boys were in bed fast asleep just before 8pm tonight. I think Caleb will be having some very sweet dreams...and he might still be grinning!

Thankful Thursday, 2-12...

There is so much to be thankful for, it's not even funny. We've been blessed in our family beyond measure, and even in tougher times we've always got so many things to look at and say "Yes, we are loved."

• We received an unexpected gift last weekend enabling us to enroll Caleb in preschool this coming fall. We didn't think we were going to be able to afford it because we had just found out about a new little person arriving about that time. This gift was given to us for the sole purpose of Caleb's preschool education... Thank you.


• Health Savings Accounts: We're on Ryan's insurance, and this year we elected to go on the 'high deductible plan' because 1) we're relatively healthy people, who don't see the doctor but maybe once a year - and that's for 'well' visits, and 2) we certainly didn't think we were expanding our family this year. So, for us to have accrued a nice cushion in the HSA has been a blessing when trying to meet this high deductible (which should happen pretty soon...).


• Logan feeling much better, just one day after seeing the doctor. Our healthy family? Not so much in the past few weeks. I had an upper-respiratory infection the last two weeks, and yesterday Logan woke up both in the morning and after naptime with "crusty eyes"...Uh Oh!! I was able to get him in to his pediatrician's last appointment of the day, and the poor guy has the beginnings of pink eye and a double ear infection! 24 hours and 4 antibiotic treatments later, he's doing much better. (So am I, after being on my antibiotics for about 6 days now.)


• I'm thankful that even when I get stressed about "how are we going to afford ____???", I can just look at those three things above and know that God is still Jehovah Jireh - MY God who Provides! Trust me, I get stressed about finances so easily - so to see how He has provided so abundantly just in the last week has been so soothing. Now if I can just hold on to that thought, and not let doubt creep back in!


• My oldest boy turns three years old in about eleven hours (as I type). THREE!! Can it really be?? Three years ago tonight, here's what I looked like:

Excited, scared, nervous, anxious, happy...so many emotions all balled into that face.

Funny. I think my face probably looks about the same now! :)

Hope you are all having a wonderful week! What are you thankful for?

This might cause a double-take...

Surprise!!

Now if you know what you're looking at, I give you some big-time kudos. That eight letter word above? That's our current state. As well as shocked. And in awe. My jaw hasn't come up off the floor for almost three weeks now.

More on this to come, I'm sure. Shock and awe, baby, shock and awe.

**Update** To answer the #1 question I've had: we're due in late September.

At least the boys have had fun...

Caleb had a special treat this past Friday. He had a "Guys Day" with his Papa (my dad), who took him to see Sesame Street Live! It's hard to say who had more fun - Caleb or Pop. :) They shared a sno-cone, watched the show, and apparently Pop bought half the gift shop for Caleb: an Elmo light-up whirligig, the show's program, and a CD of all the songs in the show.

After the show, the Guys went back to Papa and Gram's house to eat lunch and take a nap. Well, the nap part of the day didn't quite work out, but they had fun playing anyhow! When Pop brought Caleb back home, we weren't sure if Caleb actually wanted to come home - he clung to his Papa pretty hard!

While Caleb was with Papa, Logan went with Na (Ryan's mom) for the day. He had a great time playing in their backyard, swinging and having both soccer balls all to himself without big brother coming and taking them away! He ate well - even snagging a cookie away from Na - and took a great nap. I'm fairly positive he enjoyed having some rare one-on-one attention!

While both boys were out having fun, I was at the doctor's office. I've been battling this yucky cold stuff for a little too long and finally caved in and went to get checked out. Supposedly I have an upper respiratory infection, and I'm now on some antibiotics to help clear this bug out. As of this morning, I'm finally able to breathe out of both nostrils (most of the time) and I don't feel like 'death warmed over' quite as much. I'm looking forward to having some energy once again, sleeping through the night without having a coughing fit, getting my voice back, and being able to smell and taste!

Hopefully that happens very soon, because we're about to have a big birthday boy in the house - Caleb turns THREE this coming Friday! I need to start baking a cake....