A busy, fun summer.

When the school year ended I sat down with the kids and asked them what were some things they would like to do this summer. We wrote them down and have slowly been checking them off. So far we've had a busy but fun summer.

On June 19th we went to Battleship Cove with my parents. The kids had a wonderful time running around the ships and learning about life in the Navy. It was also great to have my dad there since he served on two of the types of ships they had (a destroyer and also a submarine). We also toured a Russian built ship and a battleship. As a side note: I found out about this thru the website Family days Out USA. They have listings of fun things to do in each state; you can filter the results by indoor/outdoor activities and by age ranges.

The following week the kids went to VBS (Vacation Bible School) at the church associated with the school they are attending. It was a fun, busy week. They are looking forward to VBS at our church next month. It is always a lot of fun but both churches do their VBS in the evenings so it makes for some late nights.

The weekend of July 4th was also busy. Although we didn't make it to any fireworks we did have a fun weekend. On Saturday the 3rd we went to the Roger Williams Park Zoo. We all had a great time. We had never been to this zoo before but had heard great things about it, we certainly were not disappointed. They had a great variety of animals and I really enjoyed the fact that the paths are mostly shaded so despite the weather being in the 90's we were comfortable (even with me having Titus in the carrier).

The 4th was spent at church. We had a great dinner after the morning service and then an afternoon service of singing and sharing testimonies. It was a fun and uplifting day.

This past week has been pretty quiet since we've been staying inside a lot due to the heat. We're hoping to get out this next week for some more fun adventures. Here are a couple pictures from our zoo trip and a recent picture of Titus (since you can't really see him in the zoo picture :) ).

Keira taking a rest by the bald eagles

Ethan & Hailey very excited to see the elephants.

Titus napping thru the excitement :)

Titus - two months old

A new book, new lessons, challenges and encouragement

Since finishing "The Power of a Woman's Words" I have been reading thru a book titled "Sandpaper People: Dealing with the ones who rub you the wrong way" by Mary Southerland. This is proving to be another challenging yet encouraging study.

I chose "Sandpaper People" to learn how to better deal with the difficult people in my life; however, God has also used this book to show me the "beam" in my own eyes and how some of my tendencies can be like sandpaper to others. It's been a very humbling experience but also encouraging to see that God does not give up on us...He continues to show us areas we need to change.

While there is a lot I could share about this book (and many lines I have underlined) I want to give you a glimpse by sharing some of the things in one chapter. The chapter is titled "Be Strong: Develop Endurance" while this book is dealing specifically with difficult relationships there is so much wisdom for any difficulty we face. This chapter focuses on the life of Esther and how she endured in dealing with Haman and despite her fears stepped forth in faith allowing God to use her mightily.

"In dealing with people who rub us the wrong way, we need to
embrace the truth that while our strength is inadequate, God's
strength is more than enough"

She lists four choices we can make that "invite Him to permeate every part of a relationship with His persistent love and regenerating power." These choices are based on Peter's words regarding suffering in I Peter 5:6-10

Choice 1: Choose Humility over Pride:

- "Humility is painful at times but is powerful at all times. Humility chooses total abandonment, a complete submission to God."
- "When we choose humility over pride, we acknowledge the power of God and give Him permission to transform every difficult relationship into a showcase for His transforming love."

Choice 2: Choose Peace over Worry:

- "We need to daily, minute by minute, take those difficult people to God and leave them there, in the palm of His hand."
- "When we live in peace, we are paving the way for difficult people to encounter Peace Himself. Choose peace over worry."

Choice 3: Choose Knowledge over Ignorance:

- "We often assign sandpaper people the role of "enemy", when they are not our adversary but rather, our mission field."
- "Faith is our shield of protection in every part of our spiritual walk; it is the covering for every healthy relationship."
- "misplaced faith is powerless. When it comes to dealing with sandpaper people, we must be careful not to place faith in our own human ability to handle that relationship."

Choice 4: Choose Character over Comfort:

- "all through life, the greatest strength is forged in the broken places."
- "Suffering comes in many ways, but always with the purpose of making us strong enough to endure pain and weak enough to rely upon God."
- "We can insist on comfort and forfeit character, or we can embrace the brokenness, knowing that God will use it to make us strong."

I pray that you have enjoyed this glimpse into what God is teaching me in my life right now thru this book and also that it is an encouragement to you to endure...moment by moment...whatever difficulties you are facing knowing that God is very near and that His Word is "true and righteous all together"

"Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us. For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord."
Romans 8:37-39

---

The Power of a Woman's Words conclusion.

Well, I finished the study "The Power of a Woman's Words" several weeks back but have not had a chance to blog on my final thoughts. This book was such a blessing and a challenge. I find myself thinking over so many things that were mentioned. It has also been a help to me to really think about the words that I'm saying; and help me to recognize when words are better left unsaid. I want to share a portion from the last chapter (it's actually the last page), it's a bit longer but really sums up the book well and brings home just how important the everyday decisions we make of how to use our words, will have lasting affects. I pray that it is a blessing to you also.

"You are going to meet an old lady someday. Down the road 10, 20, 30 years --
she's waiting for you. You will catch up to her. What kind of old lady are you going
to meet? She may be a seasoned, soft and gracious lady. A lady who has grown old
gracefully, surrounded by a host of friends -- friends who call her blessed
because of what her life has meant to them. Or she may be a bitter, disillusioned
dried-up, cynical old buzzard without a good word for anyone or anything --
soured, friendless, and alone. The kind of old lady you will meet will depend
entirely upon you. She will be exactly what you make of her, nothing more, nothing
less. It's up to you. You will have no one else to credit or blame. Every day,
in every way, you are becoming more and more like that old lady. You are getting to look
more like her, think more like her, and talk more like her. You are becoming her. If
you live only in terms of what you are getting out of life, the old lady gets
smaller, drier, harder, crabbier, more self-centered. Open your life to others.
Think in terms of what you can give and your contribution to life, and the old
lady grows larger, softer, kinder, greater. These little things, seemingly so
unimportant now -- attitudes, goals, ambitions, desires -- are adding up
inside where you cannot see them, crystallizing in your heart and mind. The
point is, these things don't always show up immediately. But they will --
sooner than you think. Someday they will harden into that old lady; nothing will be
able to soften or change them then. The time to take care of that old lady is
right now. Today. Examine your motives, attitudes, goals. Check up on her. Work
her over now while she is still pliable, still in a formative condition. Then you
will be much more likely to meet a lovely, gracious old lady at the proper time."
~ Author Unknown

My greatest Mother's Day gifts!

Happy Mother's Day to all the moms reading this!!

These are my greatest gifts this mother's day:

Our newest addition: Titus Kael

I know I have really slacked on the whole blogging task lately. However, this time I have a good excuse :) Last Friday, April 30th, we welcomed our baby boy into the world. Titus Kael was born at 7:05PM. He weighed 7lbs 14oz and was 21 1/4 inches long. He has a full head of hair (at least all the heartburn I had was for a reason). I know several people love to hear the birth stories so I thought I would share.

On April 29th I went in for my appointment with the midwives. Since Keira had been so late (10 days) I decided to schedule an induction date "just in case". We scheduled an induction for May 7th, it felt good to at least have an end date in sight.

On Friday morning about 7:30AM I started having contractions about 10 minutes apart. After about an hour of regular contractions I sent Matt an instant message letting him know that I thought I might be in early labor. Shortly after I sent him the message the contractions started coming every 3-5 minutes. They weren't too intense but the fact that they were coming regularly and that frequently made me decide to ask Matt to come home so that he would be here rather than 40 minutes away.

I called the midwive's office and let them know what was going on and that I would be laboring at home for awhile. I also called my mom so she could come watch the kids. At this point (about 10:30AM) I was having contractions 4 minutes apart, and while they still weren't too intense they were definitely stronger. I labored at home until just about 2PM. I put Keira down for her nap and then Matt and I headed to the midwives office so I could be checked and see where we were at. When my midwife checked me I was 3-4cm dilated and 100% effaced. I was glad to hear that all the contractions had been productive. We headed over to the hospital to get checked into Labor & Delivery.

Honestly, the next couple of hours were a bit boring, just laboring at the hospital watching some old Law & Order re-runs. A little after 6PM my water broke and then the contractions became much stronger. (Earlier, I had discussed with my midwife how I would like to try standing again to deliver since I had done this with Keira and had felt that it was more productive than being in the bed.) I headed over to the bed and leaned on the bed. Shortly after my water broke I began having pushing contractions, my midwife checked me again and I was fully dilated. I pushed thru the next several contractions and at 7:05PM Titus made his appearance.

Titus' apgars were 9 and 10. We both stayed in the hospital for the full 48 hours and came home on Sunday. Titus did have some jaundice so we were sent home with a biliblanket and had to take him in for heel sticks. Yesterday was the last heel stick and he is doing great now. He has started napping in his crib and has been doing pretty well at night also. He does 2-3 hour stretches at night. He is taking a pacifier for us which has allowed me to get a bit more sleep since he's not using me as a pacifier. He has his one week check-up on Monday

The kids adore him and love to hold and kiss him. Keira has had a few jealous moments but she seems to be figuring out that he's here to stay. This morning she asked for him right away and she loves to hold him and say "mine" baby.

As for me, I'm recovering well. Matt is home this week and next which has been a huge help. This delivery was my most uneventful in that I didn't have to have any medical interventions. With all of the others I had to have an IV (for various reasons) and they had to break my water. This time I had none of that.

We feel very blessed with the four children that God has given us. We would definitely appreciate prayers as we continue to adjust to having a newborn in the house again.

I admit it...

...I fell off the blogging wagon. I have thought about sitting down and blogging but honestly my mind just doesn't want to work right lately. The overpowering tiredness has returned and I find myself sitting down to watch a movie or just hang out with the kids and wake up a half hour (or more) later. Ethan thinks it's quite funny and a few times I've woken up to him giggling and saying "you fell asleep again!!".

I am still going thru the book "The Power of a Woman's Words" (although not as consistently as I would like...another thing I need to get back into) and when I do sit down to read or work in the study guide I am very blessed.

This weekend is a very busy weekend for us. Our church is having a missions conference so I was at the church last night helping prepare the food for lunch today. Today we were at the church most of the day; then we came home and I made a casserole for the carry-in dinner tomorrow at church. Tomorrow will be another full church day. It is a blessing and also a good challenge hearing from the missionaries that are speaking.

Monday I have my next appointment with my midwives. So far all is going very well, baby and I are both healthy and we have officially started the waiting game. I'm officially due April 28th but since I was late with both of the girls I'm expecting to go late this time also. The kids can't wait to meet their baby brother and we finally have everything ready for him. :)

So that is a quick update on us. Ethan is on school vacation this week so I'm really hoping to sit down and share at least a few quotes/thoughts from "The Power of a Woman's Words".

Another "from the pantry" recipe

I thought I'd share another recipe I came up with using "on-hand" ingredients. I used my baked mac & cheese recipe for the basic instructions but changed the ingredients to remove the lactose and make a full meal. It's nothing fancy but was a big hit here.

Baked Chicken & Broccoli Pasta

1 stick (1/2 cup) butter, divided use
1/4 cup flour
2 cups chicken broth
1 lb pasta (I used penne)
16 oz frozen broccoli, thawed and drained of any water
2 cups cooked chicken cubed
4 cloves garlic, minced
4 cups shredded cheese (I shredded some partial blocks of yogurt cheese I had on hand to eliminate the lactose since I can't have it)
1 cup bread crumbs (I used Panko)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Cook pasta according to package instructions. While pasta is cooking melt 4 TB butter in saucepan. Add flour and stir together for a minute. Slowly stir in chicken broth; bring to boil, stirring constantly. Boil and stir for 2 minutes to thicken. Add all cheese and stir until melted. Add broccoli and chicken to cheese sauce. Drain pasta. Add 2 TB butter and all garlic to pasta. stir until butter is melted. Mix sauce with pasta. Pour into lightly greased 9 x 13 pan. Melt remaining 2 TB butter and mix with bread crumbs until all are coated a bit. Sprinkle bread crumbs on top of pasta. Bake 30-40 min or until the top is just browned.