The Countdown Is On...

Well, it's finally December. I can hardly believe it! Our Christmas decorations are up, our tree is lit, most of our gifts are bought and wrapped, and I am about 3 weeks away from my due date!

Monday I had an ultrasound because my midwife thought that the baby was breech. Within one minute of the ultrasound, the technician said she's definitely head down! It looks like she's about 7 pounds right now.

I am still having to pinch myself that this is real. I have had such an incredibly smooth pregnancy, but I am anxious to meet our new daughter!!

Here are some pictures from the last few weeks:

Halloween...Mario and Princess Peach




Thanksgiving Day at the Beach




Seeing Santa Claus

November is Adoption Awareness Month!

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Weekend Away

Last weekend we traveled to Baltimore for my cousin Allison's wedding. Riley was the ringbearer and Mary Kenzie was the flower girl. We had a wonderful time visiting with family (and even meeting some family members we've heard of all of our lives but never had met).

The wedding was on a beautiful farm outside of Baltimore. The wedding was on Friday and on Saturday most of my siblings, Michael, the kids and I spent the day sightseeing in Washington, D.C. We had a wonderful time being together!



The trip to Baltimore...thank goodness for a dvd player and headphones!



Riley and Mary Kenzie with the beautiful bride...my cousin Allison (Rehearsal Dinner)

Family picture at the beautiful wedding site





Walking down the aisle

Riley and Mary Kenzie with my Uncle Joe and Aunt Kathi who had flown in from California


At the World War II Memorial in DC

Family picture at the World War II Memorial

October Days

We have been having a lot of fun this October! We've been staying busy and enjoying the few cooler days we have had...wishing for more cooler weather after all of this crazy heat!

Michael and I got away for a night a few weekends ago. It was such a fun 24 hours...uninterrupted conversation at dinner at a nice restaurant, a movie, shopping and a football game. We know it will be a while again before we have a chance to get away, so we enjoyed every minute of it!

Kaitlin had fall break, so she and I went and visited one of the colleges on her list of possibilities. We had a great tour and visit and she is really hoping it will work out for her to attend in the fall!

This past Saturday we took the kids and Michael's dad to a State football game! We had a blast! The kids did really well and enjoyed all of their "snacks"!







As you can see by the pictures below...we have had full days! Riley fell asleep a few Sunday nights ago on the couch. He had disappeared for a few minutes and then I found him completely sacked out. Mary Kenzie was in the middle of dinner on another Sunday night recently. She had asked for some more french toast and while I was cutting it up for her she completely passed out. It was only 5:15pm but she slept all through the night and woke up only about 10 minutes earlier than normal.






I am now in my final trimester! I am so excited (and scared to death whenever I think about going through labor!). I am still feeling great. Everything is still very surreal. I still feel a very overwhelming thankfulness and awe to the point of being teary whenever I feel "baby girl" kick or move around. I still cannot believe this is really happening.

Fullness

Two of our pastors are preaching on adoption during the month of October! I am so excited that they are doing this and that we belong to a church family that values orphans and adoption! I am really looking forward to hearing what they share with us.

We are also hosting a one day seminar in November for people who are interested in learning more about adoption. Let me know if you are local and would like more information! We'd love to have you!

This fall is looking very, very full! We have a lot of fun things planned! In a couple of weeks my sweet cousin Allison is getting married and Riley is the ringbearer and Mary Kenzie is the flower girl! We can't wait to be there for Allison's big day.

We also have some fun concerts coming up, and we're surprising the kids by taking them to a Veggie Tales Live show! They are huge Veggie Tales fans.

So many "big" things to look forward to but I also want to enjoy the little moments in each day.

Like when the kids hear Michael come through the door after work and go running full speed into his arms to greet him like they haven't seen him in weeks.

When Riley says, "Hey, Mommy...I love you!"

Mary Kenzie who randomly breaks into "Holy, Holy, Holy" throughout the day.

Kaitlin who jokes about how she's becoming a football expert now that she lives with the football guru. And, for me, just knowing that I get to spend my days with these precious ones that God has blessed my life with and an incredible husband who I've been able to lean on more than I ever thought I would need to.

Life has definitely not been without its hardships and tragedies but God is here. In the midst of chaos and despair, He is here and has provided so much joy and peace despite it all.

Settling In

We have now been in our house about a month. We are settling in...learning all of the sounds and how things operate...all of the things that go on with a "new to us" house. The kids have settled in very well. Mary Kenzie got to move to a big girl bed the night we moved in. She has done great in her lower bunk.




And, Riley has loved sleeping in his top bunk.


My sister, Kaitlin, lives with us and has gotten back into the swing of things for her senior year of high school.



Now it's on to preparations for when baby girl arrives sometime in December/January. I will be 26 weeks along on Friday. It is very fun and surreal to feel her kicking and moving around inside of me. So far I have felt great! Now if we could just agree on a name....

Picking Apples

Last weekend we took the kids to an apple orchard about an hour outside of town. We had the best time! There were tons of yummy apples available for picking. There were plenty of branches low enough for the kids to be able to pick, too. We will definitely go next season. Now my garage refrigerator is full of delicious apples for the winter!

Riley's 4th Gotcha Day!

How can it be that my sweet Riley has been home already for four years?!? Amazing! I still remember the moment he was placed in my arms and I became a mommy. I can still remember the overwhelming feeling of joy that God had given me more than I could have asked or imagined.

We had a very fun day...making airplane cookies and reminiscing. Riley chose spaghetti for our dinner and he ate 2 huge bowls!

Riley, you are such a blessing to our family and we cannot imagine our lives without you in them. You have become such a little man of God in the last few months. We are so proud of you and how we see God using your life already in big ways at only four years old. I love to hear you pray and to hear you talking to God in such a natural way.

You will always be my sweet baby boy no matter how old you are, and September 13th will forever be one of the happiest, happiest days of my life!

The Night Riley arrived


4 years later!

It's A...

sweet

Baby

GIRL!!!

We are so excited!! Everything looked great on the ultrasound!

Now I get to go buy more bows! :)

Pics from the Beach

We had a wonderful week away at the beach with Michael's family! It was so nice to get away from the boxes!! Both of the kids loved the ocean and kept begging Michael to take them out into the waves.

Now, we are back and trying to get more stuff moved in to the new house. Today we had the carpets cleaned and while we were away my brother Ben did most of the painting. It's starting to look more like our house.

Tomorrow is a big day...it's my ultrasound appointment and we'll find out if this sweet baby is a boy or a girl! I cannot wait!

Here are some pictures from our week away:

"Free"

A few weeks ago I took the kids to our local movie theater for their "free" summer movies. One of our local Chick-fil-A's had a marketing person handing out free coupons for sandwiches. After being given 3 coupons, I went and stood in line at the concessions area to buy popcorn for the kids. The line was pretty long and after a few minutes a little boy probably about 7 or 8 came and stood behind me. He was already holding a container of popcorn so I wasn't sure why he was in line. The next thing I know he catches my eye and pulls out his free Chick-fil-A coupon and says that he'll sell it to my for 75 cents. I politely told him "no, thank you" and silently laughed at this young entrepreneur.

Closing

We closed on our new house on Wednesday! Everything went very smoothly and although it was stressful there were no surprises. We have begun slowly moving our stuff in and hope to be completely moved in after our vacation.

We leave tomorrow for the beach! This is our yearly beach trip with Michael's family. It will be so good to get away and relax. I think this is the lightest I have ever packed for a vacation because I just couldn't bear the thought of much more packing and unpacking!

Babies and Moving

Since some of you have asked, here is an update on baby #3. We are doing great! I am still in shock that this might really happen, but each week that has passed has given me a little more peace. I will be seventeen weeks along on Friday, so I am into my 2nd trimester. I have heard the baby's heartbeat at my last two appointments. That was very thrilling!

A week ago Monday, we (me, Riley, Mary Kenzie, my sister Kaitlin and my sister Meredith) took a road trip. My sister Karoline (Boston) was in town for a long weekend. My sister Susannah does ultrasounds at her local pregnancy care center on Mondays, so she fit me into her schedule and I was able to see our baby again! He/she has grown so much since my first ultrasound almost 10 weeks ago. It was fun to be able to share this with some of my sisters and also my kids. My next appointment at my doctor's office is August 10th and that's when we'll have our big ultrasound and get to find out if this baby is a boy or a girl.

We close on our new house next Wednesday! We are super excited! Our current house still hasn't sold (anyone want to buy a beautiful 3 bedroom home??) so we will be moving in gradually over the next couple of weeks. We leave a few days after the closing for the beach with Michael's family, so while we're gone some of the rooms in the new house will be painted. Then, when we get back we'll start moving stuff in!

Happy Birthday, Mary Kenzie!

Today my baby girl turns 2! Where has the time gone? Happy birthday to our baby girl who is so full of personality and sweetness. We feel so blessed to be your mommy and daddy. You have brought so much joy to our family!