40 Weeks + 1 Day

Why is it that after your "due date" time seems to slow down to a steady crawl?

Last night I had steady contractions for an hour or so and then they let up. Well, okay baby boy, you can stay in a little bit longer but not much. We are ready to see you!

This time around there is no crib, no changing table, no baby monitor, no baby burrito wrap thing... this time is different. I'm different. I know how I mother and what suites me and my family. I feel confident and encouraged.

The pie chart below is 50% true. My mother is staying with us right now while my father is in Oregon on business, so she will definitely know when labor begins... and ends  :o)

via

 



Thoughts of my water breaking while at the mall yesterday and the park today crossed my mind. Although it has never broken before the end of labor before. Crazy prego fears.

So many thoughts are going through my head, yet I'm determined to stay positive, focused, as relaxed as possible and full of faith. Fear has NO place here and must GO!!!!

I look forward to posting on the birth of my son very soon!

Blessings,






Here are a few pics of some family fun we have had over the past few days. These memories are some of my favorites - right before our family expands :o)



A Cracker Barrel Breakfast with Grammy. What a treat!

Here Mo and Daddy play a game... that neither of them know the name of or rules for.

Checkers with my boy. All he wanted to do was to stack them.

 

Our family of four... for only a little while longer!

 

My girl on the go at the park! She is learning to master the art of riding her bike!



Making It! {Thoughtful Momma Monday}

Thoughtful Momma Monday

We are making it through a hot, Texas summer. It hasn't been as horribly hot as I remember past July and Augusts to be, and I'm sooo thankful! Because I'm carying more around this summer... in my belly!

38 weeks with a sweet baby boy!

Picture taken 8/12/2013.

 

I have been nesting like crazy - making messes of piles and then re-organizing and cleaning as I go. I am finally ready to rest, put my feet up (or rather go for a walk around the block) and wait with expectation for my newest little love to arrive.

 

We also started a daily home school routine and it has been lots of fun! Thank goodness for the internet (and for generous, book-buying grandmothers)! There are so many great ideas out there for home school mommas of preschoolers. We have been enjoying taking our time through the alphabet - learning to write each letter and learning the sounds that each makes. My girl is a great student! She loves to learn and is always hungry to know more!

 

 

Focusing hard - circling her favorite/best letters.



 

Also, my sweet momma has moved in with us while my dad ties up some work back in Oregon. Having her here has been a blessing through and through. She loves to cook and bake and we are reaping the benefits of her delicious talent! We enjoyed fresh blueberry pie, fresh peach crisp and a made-from-scratch chicken pot pie all in the same week! Whew!

 

I find myself very often emotionally overwhelmed and tired but I'm looking forward to sitting back and holding my new baby soon. Sometimes I wish we knew the exact day and time to expect our baby, but the Lord has kept it a surprise, probably so that we will wait on Him and gain our strength from Him... daily! Even though I'm a tad "prego crazy lady", I feel loved and cared for. Each day I pray that God give me peace and joy... oh, and patience (I feel a bit short on that fruit of the Spirit lately).

 

Our lives are OVERFLOWING with God's blessings and joys. He is truly making something beautiful out of our messes. Here are a few pictures of what we have been making...

 

 

Homemade kites and lemonade at school!

 

Noodle necklaces  :o) 

 

Queen and King crowns for the royal couple.

 

Pie, pie and more pie with Grammy!

 

Progress! She finished learning her alphabet with flying colors!

A tasty stop for a celebration lunch!

 

New discoveries at the Children's Aquarium.

 



Fun memories at Moriah's surprise "Alphabet Party"!

We played fun alphabet games and ate some tasty treats to celebrate her

finishing what she started. She kept calling it her birthday party  :o)

 

 

We are making it.... we won't give up! We will continue to learn, grow, accept challenges and run to Jesus. Above ALL this momma needs to run to Jesus throughout each day. He is so able and willing to help me with any struggle I face. I am realizing my need for Him more and more.

 

 

I leave you with a verse that encouraged my heart today:

 

 

"The Lord is good to those who wait for Him,

to the soul who seeks Him."

~ Lamentations 3:25

 

 

Here's to waiting for and seeking the Lord! He is so faithful!

 

 

 

May God bless you abundantly,

 

 

A "Stache" Baby Shower

After experiencing my first miscarriage a little over a year ago, I'm excited to be so very pregnant and to feel my sweet baby move and wiggle - day and night! God is so good to restore what has been lost in our lives.

I didn't expect such a lovely shower for baby #3. We have what we need for another baby - boy or girl. But I have the very sweetest, most thoughtful friends and they wouldn't let the opportunity pass to celebrate this little gift from God.

Here's what they did to honor me and our soon-coming baby boy...

We celebrated with such tasty snacks, homemade decorations, and fun props. It was a blast!

My friend Valerie made the decorations by hand for her son's second birthday and got to use them to make my shower so very lovely! If you want to see more of her handiwork, stop by her Etsy shop - Creative Avenue 7. She makes the sweetest onsies for boys and girls, as well as beautiful hair things and necklaces for girls.

The beautiful hostesses - Val & Deanna

We played a few funs games...

Enjoyed a sweet photo booth...

And to top it all off, my daughter was dressed up with every sticky mustache available by our neighbor's daughters. We laughed till we cried!

This is how it all started.

 

Then she "drank my coffee" and grew hair on her chest  :o)

 

The end product... a hairy, silly girl!

 

We are blessed in so many ways... most of all our dear friends and family who care for us. God is so good! It was such a joy to have my mom and my mother-in-law at the shower. This was a first at any baby shower of mine!

Only 4 1/2 weeks left until this baby arrives... the nesting has begun!

Have a blessed week,

Summertime Strawberry Pie

Here in Texas we take our holidays seriously. We plan and prepare, gather friends and family around us and enjoy the freedoms that God has given us in this great country - the good ol' U.S. of A.

This year my family got to celebrate the 4th of July with both sets of grandparents and some very dear friends.



It started out cooler and breezy, and once my kids got into the pool it started to pour! I don't remember the last time that it rained on July 4th here in Texas. After the rain (aka thunderstorm) passed, the sun came out and so did the humidity. We all ate our feast of steaks, deviled eggs, corn of the cob, roasted potato wedges, and baked beans indoors.

As the sun began to set we headed back outside to wave sparklers in the air and let the kids run free in the front yard. What a lovely sunset we enjoyed too! It was a great ending to our time together.



Of course no 4th of July celebration would be complete without watching HUGE display of fireworks. So, at 9pm we headed into town to watch the best display of fireworks around. They were great! There was even a slight breeze that kept us cool and kept the mosquitoes away.

We turned in that night full of good food and fellowship. We are blessed indeed!

And now... here's a recipe that I enjoy making for a family get together or two each summer.
It's my favorite summertime pie!

Summertime Strawberry Pie

Shortbread crust:

1 cup flour
1/4 cup powdered sugar
1/2 cup butter
2Tbl. water


Blend flour and sugar together, cut in butter and slowly add water to form dry dough. Press into bottom of greased 9" pie plate. Bake at 400 degrees for 10-15 min. or until slightly golden.

Nice and crumbly

Ready to shape into a crust.

 Pricked with a fork and ready to bake!

 Nice and brown at the edges.

Instead of this crust you can use a regular pie crust recipe that you have, or even purchase prepared pie crust.


Filling:
4 oz cream cheese (room temp)
2 Tbl. sugar
1 1/2 quarts whole berries


Beat cream cheese and sugar, spread carefully over bottom of baked pie shell. Arrange strawberries (cut in half or slices) in shell.

Glaze is bubbling... nice and thick.

 Ready to assemble.

 Spreading the cream cheese mixture evenly.

 Next is berries and glaze.

Ready to refrigerate! Yum!!!

Pour the following glaze over berries:


2/3 cup sugar (or less if you don't want the pie so sweet)
2 Tbl. Karo syrup (light corn syrup)
1 cup water
3 Tbl. strawberry Jell-O mix
pinch of salt
3 Tbl. cornstarch


Cook all ingredients except Jell-O over medium heat until thick. Take off heat and add Jell-O mix. Cool slightly before pouring over berries.

Chill thoroughly in the fridge before serving (about 3-4 hours).

Serve with a bit of whip cream and enjoy!

I hope that you had a Happy 4th of July with family and friends.

Stay hungry,

Summer Camp or BUST!!!

It's Texas and it's the middle of June. Needless to say, it's HOT!!! Along with the heat comes anticipation for GREAT things!

 What an awesome camp we had last year!

This momma has been busy gearing up for our annual summer camp trip with our kids club group. I have been making and freezing cookie dough, hole-punching foam sheets and paper to make craft journals, preparing a sermon, practicing worship songs to lead, praying for my kids and those we are taking with us, calling parents, making spreadsheets for EVERYTHING, and writing and re-writing lists. Whew!

Last year we took 18 youth with us to Beaver's Bend, Oklahoma and this year we are at 29 kids! We will be quite a caravan as we drive North.

Our group cap site will have over 50 kids and over 20 adults. What a blessing! I'm SO looking forward to seeing what God does in the lives of those we are taking with us, and in my  own life.

Just one year ago at summer camp, my husband and I announced our 3rd pregnancy to his parents and the rest of the camp. We are ecstatic with excitement and so happy to be blessed with new life.

One week after camp I experienced my first miscarriage. It broke my heart... but God is faithful to repair broken hearts.

 

"He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds."      

Psalm 147:3

God has healed our hearts and has blessed us, yet again, with new life!

I am 30 weeks pregnant this week with a son! What a joy to my heart! He is a mover and a shaker in the womb and I know that God has a great future in store for him.

So... we are headed back to camp in only 2 days with a testimony of God's goodness and faithfulness.

If you think of me and my family, please pray for strength and wisdom as we help lead these precious kids at camp.

Some of my favorite childhood memories are the fun times at summer camp - making crafts, singing songs, roasting marshmallows with new friends and all the while knowing my Daddy was near by.

My Daddy and my little girl

My father was always a counselor and/or activities director at summer camp each year and this year he will be assisting my husband in his cabin. He will also help with activities. It's a dream come true! We get to lead camp together!!!

I look forward to sharing a camp update with you after we return.
 

Blessings,