Some other things...

I thought I would update what we've been doing at home in a separate post.

As for home, we are beginning to work on getting things ready for the baby's arrival. This past weekend we bought a new dresser at IKEA for Ethan so that we could move his (which has the changing table on top) into the girl's room. We rearranged the furniture some to fit it into the room. The plan right now is for Matt to build Ethan a loft bed so that Hailey can have his toddler bed (right now she is sleeping in the crib with the side rail off).

Work on the kitchen is continuing. I feel bad because I can't help much with the work but Matt is working on it in the few spare moments we have.

As for the baby, I had an appointment with my Midwife on July 22nd. All is looking well, my BP was good, weight gain was good and the baby's heart rate was in the 140's. She continues to be very active. The kids are loving it because she is pretty responsive to when they rub or press on my belly so they've gotten quite a few kicks in response. It's hard to believe that I'm 28 wks already. Time is still flying by. Now that we have the dresser for her I need to get some Tide Free & Clear and wash all of her clothes to see what she still needs.

I also had my glucose test on the 22nd and since I haven't heard anything from my midwife I'm assuming that no news is good news and I passed. I also got all the paperwork for the cord blood donation filled out and signed so that went in the mail today.

So that's a quick update on what is going on in our lives here at home. I hope you are all having a great summer.

Our Vacations...so far :)

One of the reasons I've been so bad at getting blogs written is because of the busyness of our summer. As I mentioned in a previous post we took a "mini-vacation" the last weekend in June. We went to Whitefield, NH with Matt's company (each year they give trips to the employees). It was nice to have a long weekend to relax and spend as a family. I thought I'd share a couple pictures that I took that weekend.

One of the things we tried to do was to take the kids on the Hobo Railroad in Lincoln. Unfortunately, as we were pulling out of the station the train broke down. The kids still had a great time playing on the "trains" in the playground there and after they played we took them on the Tram up Canon Mountain.

At the playground:

On top of Canon Mtn. with daddy.

Also, as previously mentioned we took a trip to VA to spend some time at my sister-in-law's house. We drove at night so the kids could sleep; this worked really well for the kids but I have to admit it was rough for me, not sure if it's because I'm pregnant or just getting old :) because we have done overnight driving many times before.

We had a wonderful visit with both my sister-in-law and mother-in-law. The kids had a great time playing in the pool that Auntie Manda bought for them. We also took them to the Life Sciences Museum in Durham, NC (again, thanks to the family membership we were given, this was free). The museum was nice because it had both indoor and outdoor exhibits. Here are a few pictures from our time in VA.

Being VERY silly in front of the sand sculpture:

Playing in the pool:

Another silly one..yes that's the bag for a camping chair that she's standing in:

At the museum, in a space "pod":

The ant farm was really cool:

In the butterfly house:

So as you can see we've been making many great memories. We still have one more trip before our summer vacations end. We are headed to AZ with my parents. We leave this Saturday for a week. We will be seeing the Grand Canyon and other sights there so I will try to upload pictures soon after we get back.

A quick update.

I had mentioned in a previous post that I did not want to buy a contoured changing pad because they were so expensive ($22). A few weeks back I went yard-saling with my neighbor and found a contoured changing pad in perfect condition for $1 !! I was so excited, at the same yard sale I found 3 adorable dresses for Hailey for 0.50 each.

Another "deal" I was able to get was on the infant car seat. The car seat we used for the other two kids is going to expire and the plastic is showing some wear so to be safe we wanted to replace it. The one I wanted (it has the highest safety ratings) was $130. I received a notice from Babies-R-Us that if I set up a registry I could get a $10 gift card. I decided to register, even though this is our 3rd, so that I could get the gift card. In a separate mailing from Babies-R-Us I received a coupon for $20 off any car seat. So using those two combined I was able to get the car seat for only $100. I know this may still sound expensive but it's actually quite reasonable for an infant seat, plus we are not willing to compromise on the safety of the seats we buy for our kids.

It's been a blessing to find so many useful things for so little money. I 've really been trying to use coupons more and look around for deals and it has been exciting to see how God has provided.

A busy summertime.

Summer always seems to be such a busy time for us and this year is no different. We have been enjoying trips to the park, visiting friends, and a mini-vacation so far.

Today I am taking the kids to the Boston Children's Museum (thanks to a museum membership we received as a family Christmas gift it will be free). This saturday is our 2nd annual block/street party with our neighbors. It's always fun to get to know the people who live on our street a bit better and the kids have fun playing with all the other kids on the street.

Next week we head to VA to spend some time at my sister-in-laws. My mother-in-law is flying to Thailand as a missionary on July 22nd so we will be able to spend some special time with her before she leaves (she is staying at my sister-in-laws).

I also have been in a very "crafty" mood lately (I think all of my nesting energy is going into doing crafts :) ) so I have crocheted a blanket and coming home outfit for the baby. As for the baby, she is doing well, she is still very active and growing bigger all the time. She seems to respond alot to when the kids talk to her (at my belly :) ). I have my next appointment on July 22nd.

Here are pictures of the items I've crocheted:

Craft Pictures.

Here are the pictures of the crafts I've done.  The first two are of the burp cloths & wash cloths that I have made.  The frog ones are more square and smaller (my first attempt).  The floral ones are larger and more rectangle.  I love how the sling came out.  I just put Hailey in it to see how it works but she loves it :). 

Crafts

I just wanted to share a couple of crafting things that I have done recently.  I'll have to take pictures to post but most of what I've made is in Hailey's closet and I don't want to wake her up.

Lately I've been doing baby stuff, of course :)  So far I've made some flannel burp cloths, wash cloths, and a ring sling.  I've also made a tablecloth for my neighbor (she doesn't sew and asked if I would be willing to sew it if she brought me the material) and I'm going to be starting cushion covers for her (either tomorrow or the day after).   I had never done a tablecloth before (I know simple but still something new for me) and I've never done cushion covers so I'm enjoying the learning aspect of these projects.  Thankfully, she's not too particular and has said she doesn't need "perfection" and to do whatever is easiest for me.

I'd really like to make a changing pad for the top of the changing table (the contoured ones are $22 at Babies R Us) but so far I haven't found any patterns online.  I'm not sure if I could buy the foam and other materials for less money.  I also thought of just making a flat, thick changing pad, maybe use waterproof material and then make some cute covers (think pillowcase style) for it.  Any ideas?

Yes, I'm still around :)

It seems like forever since I've sat down and written.  Life has been so busy and with the warmer weather there just seems to be so much more to do.

I'll give a summary as to what we've been up to the past month or so.

This pregnancy is going well.  The baby is healthy and is getting more & more active.  I was 20 weeks on Saturday so we're half-way there.  We found out at my 17 week ultrasound that we are expecting another baby girl.  She is healthy, which is the most important thing.  Hailey is excited to be getting "our" baby and is looking forward to giving the baby her bed (Hailey sleeps in the crib with one side rail off so it's more like a toddler bed).  Ethan was a bit disappointed at first because he really wanted a baby brother but he has adjusted and said he needs to get the baby a princess outfit.  

It is amazing to me how that God uses every occasion in our lives to teach and mold us.  I recently became aware of how much my attitude was being affected by the world and things that I was reading and allowing to come into my mind.  I "thought" it was just pregnancy hormones but after prayer (and a good "talking-to" from my husband) I realized just how pervasive I had allowed these things to become.  I thank God for my husband who will "tell it like it is" to me (in love of course ;) ).   So other than a recent attitude adjustment I'm doing well with this pregnancy :)

In other "news" my grandmother passed away last Tuesday (May 27th).  She had fallen a couple weeks before and broken 6 ribs.  Apparently that fall caused a blood clot which caused a pulmonary embolism.  She passed very quickly and we rejoice that she is home with the Lord and not suffering anymore.  Per her request my younger brother performed the funeral service and did a wonderful job.  He presented a very clear gospel message while also honoring my grandmother with a very personal touch.  

I have to say one of the blessings of my grandmother's passing was to see the tender hearts that my children have for people.  On Tuesday, after receiving the call from my mom that my grandmother had passed, I explained to the kids that we would be going north to spend the day with Mimi.  I explained that Mimi might be sad and they may see her cry.  We talked about my gram and that while we are happy that she's with Jesus we miss her and so are sad.  My son's first response after hearing that Mimi might be sad was "mommy, if I give Mimi a hug will that help her not be so sad?", my daughter immediately piped in with "I'll give her kisses so she's not so sad".  I said that was a wonderful idea.  A little while later my son came up to me and quietly said "mommy, I'm going to draw Mimi a picture of a smiley face so that she can be happy" he proceeded to go downstairs pull out paper & crayon and draw a smiley face inside of a heart.  He guarded that picture all the way to my mom's house and explained why he had drawn the picture.  These may sound like small things but it was encouraging to me to see them both thinking of how to help others and coming up with ideas of their own.

While we are certainly saddened to not have my gram here with us it has been such a wonderful reminder of the blessings God gives to us here on earth and also the eternal blessings that as believers we will have when we pass from this life.

So that is a basic summary of the big events in our lives.