Oooops!

I made a slight mistake in my last post. I just checked my blog last night and after reading a few comments, I realized I had put Luke's birth weight as 9 lbs. 11 oz. Not quite true. He was 9 lbs. 1 oz. I must have hit the 1 button twice. Still a big baby, but not that big. Sorry about that! I am still waiting on a computer hook up to post some pics. In the meantime I am trying to figure out this money-saving stuff by clipping coupons and taking advantages of sales. I know lots of friends who have jumped on this bandwagon and are saving quite a bit on their groceries. I am about to check out hotcouponworld.com because and read the "newbie" section to see how to really get started. I think it can get pretty complicated and if you really know what you are doing you can spend hundreds less a month on groceries. I am not there yet, but am really itching to learn how. Again...sorry to mislead on Luke's birthweight.

Back from the Land of Moving...

Glory, Hallelujah! We are pretty much moved into our new house(minus a hooked up computer-right now I am at mom's) I had about a week's pause with the moving process to visit a dear friend in Ohio. (More on that later-it needs its own post) I am beyond thankful to be in our new house and although there are still several little things that need to be done and quite a bit of organzing to do-we are functioning well in our new house and love it!! One of our favorite things is our new/old bed. See, when we were in Alb., Steven's parents so graciously gave us their king size bed along with an amazing matress to go with it. It didn't fit in our rental house, so it has been in storage for a year. The reunion has been wonderful!! Oh, how we have missed it. Now, along with the TV in our bedroom, the kids and Steven and I can pile in on a Sat. morning(or maybe a few other mornings as well) and have some family time. I know that I am extremely overdue for pictures and I have several to share, but as I said earlier, my computer isn't hooked up, so for now I will have to use only words.

So, I wanted to say a really big Happy Birthday to my little "Lukie" who turns two today. This is really the main reason for the post. I know I have done this a lot over the summer, but I am going to refer you again to my mom's blog if you would like some pictures from the "pre-party" we had for him today. His official party will be on Fri. at our house (our first official have people over deal) since we moved in, which I have been itching to do. It also gives me extra motivation to get the house put together. Mom couldn't stand not to do anything for him on his actual birthday. So, after I picked Ellie up from school, we headed to her house where she had set up a little birthday scene, which both kiddos were thrilled about! She made homeade chocolate cupcakes that were out of this world. I was most excited about those, but Ellie and Luke loved the balloons the most. They each opened a few presents. I know you are thinking it is Luke's birthday, not Ellie's. But mom, of course, got her a few (little) things as well. There were a few little squabbles over the balloons, and since it was past 2:00, we hurried the party along so they could take naps.

I can and can't believe it has been two years since I delivered Luke. There is absolutely nothing in the world that compares to the day your baby arrives into the world. I wish the memory of it would stay vivid year after year, but of course, over time,it starts to get a little fuzzy. Especially when you keep adding more babies. But for now I remember most everything about Luke's delivery. It actually started on Sep. 9 at 6ish in the morning. When you are induced, it takes several hours to get everything going. Since it was my second labor, we thought it would go rather quickly. It was a Sat. morning and we had talked about how we would watch the Georgia game later in the day (or maybe it was the Auburn game, not really sure) and eat dinner. Well, the game came and went and I was still in labor (with a wonderful epidural). All through the night my body progressed very slowly. And finally after only 20 min. of pushing at 11ish on Sun. morning, Luke came out a whopping 9 lbs. 11 oz. He didn't cry much, and latched on right away. He had the sweetest disposition right from the start. He was a dream baby (aside from the normal things at first and I had trouble with my milk production around 3 mo.) I thank the Lord for my sweet baby boy. He is tender, and a little sensitive at times, but he remains easy-going and most of the time is just along for the ride. He gets frustrated with Ellie these days and is entering into the "I do it" phase, which I think is all part of turning two. I am so, so blessed and thankful to have been given this role as his mother. I love how God made him and my prayer is that God will shape him into a young man full of wisdom and that he will have a heart that seeks to know the Lord.

A Few Things...

Warning...I am going to jump around on this post from subject to subject. Does that happen to anyone else? There are several different things you would like to say, all on different subjects? So that leaves me with no good title for my post. Anyway, we are about to move into the new house. Finally!! Friday is the big day. Although I have been working on getting my kitchen moved all week a little at a time. I'm not sure how it's all going to work with sleeping arrangements and everything. Like, if we will actually sleep there Friday night or move the beds on Sat. We'll see. Hopefully I will remember in the chaos to take some moving in pictures.

Ellie has had a good first 2 weeks back at preschool. She is pretty tired, but seems to be handling it better than last year. Luke seems a little lost without her. One day last week he was just lying on the floor. I said "Luke, are you tired? Do you want to get up and play something or do you just wanna lie there for awhile?" He answered that he just wanted to lie for awhile. He is usually pretty excited when it is time to go get her in the afternoon and then shortly after they say hello to each other and hug(sometimes), the fighting begins. It's like he doesn't know what to do without having her around to give him a hard time.

Ellie seems to be learning more this year, or at least she is telling me more about it. Several new songs, and today she was pretending to read and I heard her say "I pledge allegiance to the kitties". Now, this is opening up an entirely new subject that I have yet to blog about, but I will just say that I have felt a conviction in the past six months or so (still praying about all the details) for my children to have a Christian education. And since there are no Christian schools here in this small town, it seems to be more of a conviction to homeschool. I will post more on this later, but I will say that I have never been someone that thought I would homeschool my children. I still selfishly do battles in my heart and head over it, but since I have heard Ellie singing to me all these new songs and repeating all the new things she is learning, it has been confirmed once more. She (children) are a sponge! And their minds are being shaped everyday. I just don't feel comfortable letting a government school system take over that responsibility. Not that there are not Godly teachers in the public school system and Praise God for them. I have been reading Voddie Baucham's book "Family Driven Faith" and he says this much better than I can.

"I applaud men and women whom God has called to teach in government schools. These people are front-line warriors, and they need to be right where they are. However, there is a big difference between sending fully trained disciples into enemy territory and sending recruits to our enemy's training camp. If we do the latter, we shouldn't be surprised when they come home wearing the enemy's uniform and charging the hill of our home while waving an enemy flag."

So, basically all I'm saying is Ellie is picking up what they are teaching her and it confirms in my heart that (for now) she is not a fully trained disciple. And she will learn whatever she is taught. Please don't think that I trying to push my convictions. I just want to share where God has us right now and how He continues to confirm this in my heart.

Okay, on to a little something about Oprah. I watch her every now and then, like if it's a good informational show. But most of the time it makes me so frustrated and saddened at the same time. The things she says are so off. She does some wonderful things, for sure, and physically helps so many people. But at the same time, she is leading so many people down a road that will in the end lead to death. What scares me too, while she is talking about things like "You have to find your calling, and I firmly believe people are put on this Earth to do good and figure out what that is" is the way the people in the audience are looking at her. They are hanging on every word she says. Today she had a man on the show who had left his million dollar job to start schools for children all over the world. (Again, this is not a bad thing in and of itself) They were both discussing how education is the key to ending poverty. And she is clear how strongly she feels about that. She made this statement: "Education is the food that will fill them forever". Jesus says in John 4 "Everyone who drinks of this water shall thirst again but whoever drinks of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall become in him a well of water springing up to eternal life." It's scary what a following she has. I do not pretend to know what Satan is up to. But I do know that Scripture says this: "Be of sober spirit, be on the alert. Your adversary, the devil, prowls about like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour." 1 Pet. 5:8, "...for even Satan disguises himself as an angel of light." 2 Cor. 11:14. It also talks about in 1 John 2, how there is one Antichrist that is coming, but many antichrists have arisen. I pray believers will have discernment about her and the things she claims!

House Pictures

Just thought I would inform anyone who is interested that my mom took LOTS of pictures of our new house today and posted them on her blog. A few things though, before you take a look. I protested because I had not had a shower but she took them and posted them anyway. Also, there are several things that are not yet finished. (stairs are not completely painted, fireplace and built-ins are not done) So, I will post some finished pictures later. But, nevertheless, this is the house that has absolutely consumed us for the past, well, year really. We broke ground in January but we started planning back in the fall and here it is almost fall again. I think I have said this before, that we have self-contracted it, which means we didn't hire a builder, we just hired out all the sub-contractors ourself. Steven has done most of the work. I want to say that I don't want to sound like I am complaining, because this is an incredible blessing and I am so thankful that the Lord has allowed us to build such a nice house. But it has been an intense year and it has been an incredible challenge to keep priorities priorities (like marriage and family come first-after God, of course). It is something we have prayed about for a long time (what to do about where to live here once we knew we were moving). We were in a situation in Albuquerque where we bought into the market and in the five years we lived there, our house went up in value a great deal. So, with that money, we wanted to invest wisely. We have prayed about this process the entire way. It has truly been a test of our faith and maybe the most stressful thing we have ever done. I'm sorry to say we have failed many times, often resorting to panic instead of prayer. But God has been so faithful to us and has proven Himself time and again. And He is so patient. My prayer is that I would hold everything God has given to me (children and husband included, which is so hard for me to say) with open hands and always be willing for Him to do with my life (and family and earthly posessions) what He desires.

Time Out

No, the title of my post does not have to do with my insanely long blog break. It actually has to do with a funny story about Ellie and Luke that has forced me to make a blog post. I will tell you this story and then give a quick update on our crazy life. So today I was at my mom's house (which is where we spend much of our time these days). I was sitting in the kitchen finishing up my lunch and I heard her bedroom door slam and then I could hear Luke crying. I went in to find him sitting on the time out stool, crying. I asked him "Are you in time out?" He nodded, pathetically. "Did Ellie put you in time out?" Again, he nodded. I, of course, got him up, and went to find Ellie. When I asked her why she put him in time out, she said "He was crying and I hit him." I'm really not sure if she got that backwards, but I told her if she hit him, she was the one who needed to be in time out. Oh, they keep me laughing...always!

So things are pretty crazy for us right now, as we are scheduled to close on our house a week from today. We are praying that they (the powers that be that will decide if our house is done enough) will show us mercy and let us close without a few things (a garage door, mirrors in the bathroom, closet shelving). We are so, so close, yet it feels like so far away. I feel as though I have checked out here in the rental house. Like, I am trying to get away with Lysol wipe cleaning rather than any deep cleaning. Also, we are about to move into our new church building. Well, really it is an older building that we (not me so much) but lots of the men in our church have remodeled. I am kind of trying to put together the nursery. I didn't realize how much "stuff" nurseries require. I just thought it needed some toys. But it's a lot more. Table, chairs, storage, crib, rocker. So, everything is kind of coming together at once, which makes for an exciting, but crazy time.

As for baby news, things are moving right along. I had my first doctor's appt. last week and saw the little "peach" (he or she is about that size) just kicking around. Praise the Lord that everything looks good so far! Ellie is well and excited to start gymnastics class tomorrow. Sometime I will have to write an entire post on Ellie's "phases". She is an extreme phase child and goes through these funny obsessions. Right now (which it has been for awhile) is her "Cinderella panties" phase. She wants to wear them every single day. And on certain days, especially if she is tired, will sob if I insist we need to wash them. She is actually pretty obsessed with panties in general and Cinderella for that matter. I think the marketing world has caught onto that, because until I had a three year old little girl, I did not realize how many products they make with Cinderella on it. You name it, they make it-Cinderella gummies, graham crackers, band-aids, bubble bath, etc. Luke is doing anything and everything Ellie does. I let him wear head band and carry purses (only around the house). But have to put my foot down when he wants to have his nails painted like Ellie.

So, as hectic as life is right now, I often have these moments that I feel so truly blessed by how good God has been to me. I was in the car on the way home from my parents house tonight with Ellie and Luke and we were looking for the moon and finally spotted it. Ellie immediately started singing a song that my mom has taught her ("wee baby moon") and Luke joined in. There is no way to describe how cute it is when they sing at the top of their lungs. But it makes my heart melt and I was just thinking how thankful I am that it is now and they are in the car with me and they are excited to see the moon. Because I know that I will blink and they will not be interested in the moon, much less interested in singing a song about it. Or there will be a day when they are not in the car with me at all. Thank you, Lord for all the times I have to referee fights from the driver's seat or pass food back or try to reach a dropped toy.

I hope I still have a few who check my blog. Please don't give up hope on me, I think this is just a phase. Hopefully this won't be the last blog this week, but based on my record these past few months, I wouldn't hold your breath.

Lots of Pictures

So we got back last night from visiting LB. The trip there was full of heavy, heavy rain as was the trip back. Not the best driving experience, but very thankful that we made it there and back safely. The in between part however, was very enjoyable. And I was actually very thankful for the thunderstorm one day as it came right at naptime (naptime for me and the kids) which made it one of the most cozy naps in a long time. So here are the many pictures. I think I was trying to make up for the lack of pictures over the last few weeks.

These first two are of Ellie, Luke, and Ada playing in the morning. Laura Beth has come up with a little "playroom" for Ada to play in because Ada is quite the climber and can get into anything in a second. Notice in the first one how Ellie and Ada are fighting over toys. You would think because Ellie is over 2 years older, she would be a little more understanding of Ada, but not so much.

On the second day we decided to head into Atlanta. We wanted to visit the Georgia Aquarium, but since it was very expensive, we opted for the Imagine it! Children's Museum instead. It was such a hit!! If I lived close to that I would so buy a summer pass. As you can see, there were so many things for the kids to do and there was even a toddler area (very clean) for crawlers to crawl around on. They also had a show (like a three ring circus) at one point which is why Ellie is sitting still watching in one picture.

I am posting this picture mainly because I think it is cute, but also because it is one of the last pictures we took with her long hair. Ever since I knew I was having a little girl, I decided I wanted her to have long hair. But I kind of imagined it a little bit thicker than Ellie's is. And this summer for whatever reason, she doesn't like for me to pull it back much, and it is always in her face. So I decided we would cut it. I was going to take her somewhere and she flipped out. So I made a deal with her that I would cut it myself but she was going to have to sit extremely still for a little while, really more than a little while because I am no hair stylist. But I thought I could cut a straight line IF I could get her to be very still. It worked!! She did great and I have to say I didn't do so badly myself. Don't look too closely, though. So the following pictures you will see her new cut along with her prized possesions from our visit with Laura and her family in Griffin. Laura's mom was so sweet to Ellie and let her pick some eggs that the chickens had laid and also pick a carrot from the garden. She sent them back to LB's house with us and Ellie spent the next two days going back and forth from the refrigerator showing off her carrot, then her egg, then her carrot, then her egg. It was great to see Laura and little Grayson is so, so cute!

These last two pictures are just two more from the weekend, one of Luke thoroughly enjoying his ice cream and the other of Ellie and Ada. We got one more wear out of their matching Easter dresses. But as you can see they are not so excited about taking a picture. I think Ada was about to eat and Ellie just wasn't cooperating. So, that's about it. I started working on this post yesterday afternoon and kept getting interrupted, so I will go ahead and post it now.

Update

More time is passing now in between each of my blog posts. I find myself thinking that I need to post on my blog, or really just wishing that I wanted to. It's almost always been something I really enjoyed doing and looked forward to. But now it almost seems like something else I need to do. But...I really think it is a phase. Anyway, I thought I would give a brief update of what's been going on. A LOT has been going on actually. We had a great fourth spent at mom's house. My aunt Mary Ann came, Sarah came home from Auburn, and Laura Beth, Scott, and Ada were here for the weekend as well. God is so good and I really felt well almost all day. Then came dinner time and the nausea started creeping back. I have never been a huge fan of potato salad, but pregnancy made me a fan that night. It seems any type of potato has been a good thing for my stomach for all my pregnancies. It is so funny how taste buds change during pregnancy.

Things are really starting to come down to the wire for our house. Steven has been working like crazy trying to get all these last things lined up. Hopefully just a few more weeks. I will post some pictures when it's all done. I have made so many trips to Home Depot that all the employees know us. Ellie even knows one of them by name and always says "Hi, Natalie" when we see her. There are so many details I could post about the house stuff except they would probably just be boring details to most anyone unless you are building a house yourself. Except I will tell you that we found lots of mouse droppings and set out traps and caught three mice so far. (Our flooring is not in yet and the house isn't sealed). But as soon as those two things happen we HAVE to take care of that issue.

I really am excited because I think the worst of the nausea is behind me. I still throw up occasionally, but am not feeling sick every moment I'm awake. This morning I was actually feeling pretty well and starting to get hungry so I ate a little of a granola bar and something about it did not set well. I ran to the trash can in the bathroom and was on the floor over the trash and Luke came up from behind and grabbed and hugged me. Ellie immediately came and was saying over and over "Mom, are you okay? What do you need? A towel? A piece of toast? Are you okay, sweetie?" She has heard Steven say all of this and has it down. Anyway, after that I seemed to feel better.

So my mom and dad have taken off to Orange Beach for a much needed vacation (I say must-needed, they did not say that). On a side-note, mom has been working extremely hard to stain our stair treads for the house. She has saved us a lot of money by giving so much of her time (a lot of time-now we know why it was going to cost so much) And since Steven is spending so much time these last few weeks working on the house I thought it might be a good time to go visit LB. So tomorrow we are packing up the van with all three kiddos and heading there. We are going to go tomorrow afternoon after their naps. Mainly because my first doctor's appt. is tomorrow and I am going to try to fit that in before we leave. So, we will be gone until the beginning of next week. I am really excited because one of my best friend's from college, Laura, is from Griffin and she will be there with her 5 mo. old baby boy, Grayson. I have never met him and haven't seen Laura since I was pregnant with Luke two summers ago. I am going to do my best to take lots of pictures while I am gone and will hopefully have lots to post when I get back. Until then, if you are just dying for some pics...please refer to either Laura Beth's blog or my mom's. They have done a better job at that lately than I have.