THE Question

So, the other day I was sitting on the couch and Ellie says "Mom, how did the baby get in your tummy?" Hmmm...good question, Ellie. I told her that God is the author and creator of life and He is the one who decides when it is time for a baby to grow in a mommy's tummy. At first I was going to say something about a mom and daddy being married, but at some point, we will run into a mom who is not married. Besides, the answer I gave her is the absolute truth, the rest is just details, right?

Lacking Front Door...

This is my attempt on a budget, well pretty much nothing, to make my door look fallish. Mom gave me the pumpkins, the grapevine wreaths were $5 each and the ribbon was $5. I had no idea how much wreaths cost when you buy them all put together, and my door will always be double because of the two doors. I like natural better anyway, and I am determined to make it look good without spending a fortune. I was planning on sticking things in the wreaths to add color, but all the fake stuff was just too much (if I were to get enough to even make it look good). So I'm thinking as the leaves really begin to turn colors, I will stick them in there. Any suggestions??

A Sleepy Anniversary

Well, today Steven and I celebrated our 6th wedding anniversary. Six years ago if you had told me that six years from now I would be 21 weeks pregnant with our third child, I would have had a hard time believing it. Especially since we said we were going to wait 3-5 years for our first child, haha! Which, we laughed about today and both agreed, we are very thankful to be where we're at. Even with the everyday stresses, we are so blessed beyond what we deserve.

When I was pregnant with Ellie we said we would have a date night once a week and I think we did it for a little while. Three and half years later (I am very sorry to say) they are very few and far between. We do, however, try to make it a point to celebrate our anniversary. It's so funny because several months ago we would mention how we would like to do this or that for our anniversary and as the date approached and the budget got tighter, it got reduced from an overnight thing, to a full day out with lunch, a matinee, and then dinner, then finally to just matinee and dinner. And since we couldn't find anything we were just dying to see and didn't want to waste $12 on a movie, we decided to do just dinner. We were both so sleepy that we (or at least I) almost felt drugged, in spite of a few extra caffeine doses. A nap would've been good, but I knew if I went home to sleep then I would see all that needed to be done around the house and feel like I needed to be doing something (not that I would actually do it-I just didn't even want to think about it). So we headed to Chattanooga and ended up driving to Signal Mountain and went to Signal Point. It was beautiful and very relaxing up there. We went a few other places in Chattanooga, ate dinner, got some coffee and came home. Conversations are so different and easy to have when you aren't refereeing fights or cutting up food. It was a very refreshing day off, out of the ordinary, and very beneficial, I feel like, for our marriage. Tomorrow everything will go back to normal (or really, it already has, because as I type this, I am yelling into Ellie's room she needs to be quiet and go to sleep) But for today it was a wonderful little breather from all the reality of a marriage after you throw in a 2 yr. old, a 3 yr. old, a pregnancy, and a very real mortgage!

Healthy Baby Boy!

We found out this morning we are having our second boy!! I am so very excited about that. I had really been thinking lately how that is what I felt like would be best. It really seems like to me that Luke could use a brother. However, God's ways are not always our ways (thank goodness!!) and I just didn't know if that was what He had decided was best for our family. The four of us went for the ultrasound and it went really well and was super fast. We saw his "boy" part almost immediately. I actually saw it at exactly the same time as the ultrasound tech did and knew. It was pretty obvious. She was great and even did some 4D pictures for us. He looks very healthy and his face looks a lot like Luke to me (just from what I can tell). No pics to post because I don't have a scanner. Ellie had said it would be a girl very often and refers to the baby as a "her". But she hasn't seemed in the least bit sad. Luke had no clue what was going on and was much more interested in the toy that was in the room. He kept saying "wook! wook!" I thought he was talking about the ultrasound pictures, but he was talking about the toy. He will get it soon enough. So we can cross all our girl names off the list and just focus on the boy names. (which we have almost decided) I'll let you know when a decision has been finalized. So there is my news...just as promised!

Lots of Pictures

Do you like the creative title for this post? I have a hooked up computer, and several downloaded pictures just waiting to be posted. They are very random and go all the way back to July. These first two are some I thought were cute from a youth cookout we had during the summer. We have some of the dearest people in our church and I am so thankful for them. They are so sweet to Luke and Ellie and got out this train which they loved. These days Luke can't get enough of trains, big trucks, or motorcycles.

This day Steven was gone somewhere so I decided to take them to something our town has once a month called "First Monday/Sunday". I basically went because we had nothing else to do and I had seen a slushie machine that morning and thought they would enjoy that. I got some boiled peanuts for myself, which they ended up liking more than the slushies. Isn't that always the way it is? And I just thought this picture of Luke was cute.

This is our very first morning in the new house. I think Ellie and Luke are eating peanuts, marshmallows and drinking who knows what out of regular cups. Notice there are no booster seats and they are sharing the table with plants. We still have a lot to do, but have come a long way from the first morning.

This is what our master bedroom looked like the first week or so. Stressful! Notice Luke lounging on the floor and eating an apple. He wasn't worried about it.

Ellie slept on this air mattress for several weeks. We now have her an actual mattress. But still no bed, because it is an antique and we are having trouble getting it together. Our temporary paper accordian shades are $5 at Home Depot and have served us well, although we don't want them forever. Ellie's are in the process of being made. I hope to have you an after picture of Ellie's room soon.

This is the upstairs hallway. Notice the shop-vac. We borrowed it from some friends and it stayed with us for several weeks. There was so much dust to be vacuumed up from construction. Just when I thought I had gotten it all, I would open a cabinet and there was some more.One of the highlights of our new house is the walk-in shower in our room. Ellie and Luke absolutely love it. It makes bathtime/showertime so much easier on everyone. It's big enough I can still wear a t-shirt and not get too wet. And they can move around and play. It is working well as my belly is getting bigger and it's harder to bend over to bathe them.

And finally...Luke's birthday. I know I posted about it, but no pictures. So I won't say much, just give you the pics.

This was during the day on his birthday. Bless his heart, he was pretty bored, not so exciting at home with me. I let him watch quite a few of his favorite shows.Things picked up a bit later when we went to mom's house for a little cake and a few presents.Then, on Friday (2 days later), the official cake. Which, by the way, do you remember my homemade Cinderella cake from Ellie's third birthday? This one was about $15 from Wal-Mart. So good, so easy. I'm pretty sure we will go this route everytime. The present from Steven and me. I thought it would keep him busy for days. He has enjoyed it, but not like I thought. So, there are lots of other things that have been going on, but those are some highlights.

It's such a process to move and get things the way you want them, not to mention an expense. And now that we have our new mortgage, we're having to be much stricter with our budget. So, I'll do what I can and the other stuff can wait. I struggle with getting impatient or feeling unproductive when a few days go by and nothing gets organized, or we still need something to be finished. And this is the biggest house I've ever had to clean, which means more vacuuming, more dusting, etc. God often convicts me that these things are not bad, but they are not eternal. I pray for His perspective on my daily ins and outs. When Steven taught through James a few months ago, I was really hit with verse 13-15 from Chapter 4 "Come now, you who say, "Today or tomorrow, we shall go to such and such a city, and spend a year there and engage in business and make a profit." Yet you do not know what your life will be like tomorrow. You are just a vapor that appears for a little while and then vanishes away. Instead, you ought to say, "If the Lord wills, we shall live and also do this or that." I often have so many plans for things to be accomplished in a days time and feel at the end of the day that it was not "successful" if I didn't check off enough on my list. I know the truth, but often have a hard time getting it into my head and heart. Praise the Lord that He continues to sanctify us and He is patient with us in the process!

One last thing...Thursday is the big ultrasound!! I am getting very anxious to find out if this new little person is a boy or a girl. We'll take the entire crew. I promise, promise, I will let you know on Thurs. evening if at all possible. I can't promise any cute or creative ways it will be done, but nevertheless, I will post the news.

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.