Waiting...Wondering...

We may or may not have lost the baby this week.  We are basically just waiting it out.  Prayers are appreciated. 

Counting My Blessings

 

I haven't been blogging much the past couple weeks.  There are several reasons (I'm tried, I'm busy with the girls, etc), but I will try to be better about posting from now on.  I don't have much in the way of new pictures because my camera battery died and I'm waiting for a rechargeable one to come in the mail.  Here are some smiles from the last couple of weeks:

1.  The new babe growing in my belly.  I just love being pregnant.  I have had a couple of problems this week that scared me a bit, but the ladies at the doctor's office don't seem to thing it's a big deal.  As for me, I am being a bit of a worrywart.  I just want some solid evidence the baby is there and doing well...but I'll just have to trust and wait.  Proverbs 3:5-6 is a passage I have been relying on this week.

2.  To go along with #1, I am thankful for my hubby who stayed home from work on Wednesday to take care of the girls so I could rest.  He's so good to the girls and I!

3.  I am also thankful for supportive and encouraging friends and family...with the little bit if trouble, and with the fact I am going to have 3 kids under 3!

4.  Liberty and the ABC's.  The other day Libbs was playing with her toys and just being cute.  I caught her trying to sing the ABC song.  Too precious!

5.  Leila's smile.  The girl almost always has a smile on her face.  She's so happy and chatty (although I must say there is a time when I'm not quite so excited about it....at 4 in the morning!!).

6.  Getting the girls' picture taken at Wal-mart.  This is their first professional photo and I am really excited about it.  Strangely enough, we could not get Leila to smile for the photo, but Libbs was smiling away throughout the photo shoot!

7.  A craft day with friends last Saturday.  It's always fun to get together with friends...and doing crafts together is an added bonus!  We had a yummy lunch together as well.  I started working a teddy bear for Liberty with some fun & funky fur I got from Angela.  I can't wait until it's all put together.  Other things I'm working on:  baby shoes, a knit hat for my dad, and a knit shawl.

8.  Easter.  Just reflecting on what Jesus did for each of us.  It is absolutely amazing!

9.  Easter dinner with family.  My great Aunt Ethel had dinner at her house.  It was yummy and a good time with family.

10.  My Backyardigans girl.  Liberty has become almost obsessed with this show!  Sometimes when I turn it on for her she jumps up and down in excitement and yells out "tank too, tank too!"

11.  Finishing the sock monkeys for the girls.  They both seem to like them!

12.  A new recipe.  I cannot think of the name of it right now, so I'll just call it the crock pot chicken meal.  It was so easy and so yummy!  I'll post the recipe some time soon.  I love crock pot meals!!

13.  Funny/cute story:  Liberty was playing with her Mickey & Minnie Mouse toys today and she found a bottle of baby lotion.  She kept asking me to open it and I told her no.  She then ran out to the kitchen and came back with the can opener and proceeded to try to open the lotion with the can opener.  It gave me a good laugh today!

14.  Ahhh...nap time!  Today I am hoping to get a little sewing in and maybe a little shut eye for myself! 

Ok, since my camera battery is dead, I do not have many new pictures to post...I don't think I have any pics to go with the blog today.  Here are a few random photos...

And here are some pics of Leila's first time eat the squash I made for her:

Shocked...

Yep...that's the word I'm looking for.  Today we discovered that we are pregnant again!  I'm still trying to wrap my mind around the idea...I'm still so shocked and surprised.  And yes, I do know that I am going to have my hands full.  By my calculations, this baby should be due one short month after Leila turns 1!!!  Advice is welcome!

I just want...

Things to be a little more normal again.  I want to live in our own place again (please, please let this happen soon).  I want to sort through some life issues and know that I am ok.  I want this cold to go away.  I want Jonathan to be in a job he can at least somewhat.  I want my girls to have a separate bedroom from us.  I try to focus on the blessings of life, but some days are harder than others.  I'm sure everyone feels that way! :)

Counting My Blessings

What a crazy week!  The four of us have been sick, Jonathan has worked long hours, and Liberty seems to have turned into a little monster at times(I believe the terrible 2's have arrived!).  And yet, there are definitely some blessings mixed in with the craziness...

1.  DATE NIGHT!!  This definitely has to be my favorite blessing to look back on this week.  Jonathan and I have not had a date night in about 6 months, so we were definitely in need of an evening to ourselves!  My birthday was on Wednesday, so my hubby took me to dinner and we walked around Target afterward...just to pass the time together.  Thanks to my dad for watching the girls (& the surprise birthday cake)! 

2.  Spring.  The warm weather has finally started to poke through the cold!  Oh how I am ready to spend some good time outdoors!

3.  Liberty's love of letters and numbers.  She loves to point them out and is just soaking in the knowledge like a little sponge.  Through the day you'll hear her spouting off random letters and numbers.  She loves when I sing the ABC song to her.

4.  A new CD and movie...birthday gifts.  Taylor Swift CD, and the movie "Broken Bridges."  Both are items I have been wanting for a while.

5.  My new favorite toy..my CAMERA!  A special birthday surprise from my wonderful hubby!  I'm having a great time learning to use it...I love taking pictures!  Some day I'd love to take up a photography class...or maybe I'll just get a good book on photograpy...

6.  A finished sock monkey.  This one is for Liberty...an Easter gift.  I'm working on one for Leila as well.  Next project...baby shoes (thanks to Amanda for sharing the website with the pattern!).  I can't wait to try them!

7.  Dum Dum Suckers.  That may sound strange, but I remember loving them as a child, and now Jonathan & I can share that with Liberty (she definitely loves her "sutters").

8.  My little camera girls:  Liberty, who loves to be BEHIND the camera these days (which is why you don't see nearly as many pics of her right now).  And Leila, who loves to have her picture taken!

9.  Preparing to make Leila some baby foods.  I'm really excited to try making Leila's first foods...and beyond! 

Here are a few more pics from the week...

Jonathan's job is...

...doing us no good at all!  I don't have much more to say than that...we're very frustrated.  We desperately need something else...but with Jonathan working at that job 60hrs a week he has no time to go job hunting.  Should he just quit this job?  I don't know...on the one hand, it's sort of an income, on the other hand...it really isn't doing us much good.  Arghhhhhhhhh!!

Playing with my new "toy"

My wonderful husband surprised me yesterday with a new digital camera.  Thank you, Jonathan!!  I've been wanting a new one for a while now....I just love taking pictures!  Here are a few shots I took this afternoon while learning to use my new favorite thing!

I absolutely LOVE my new "toy!"  It takes fabulous pictures...I can't wait to play some more with it!  (By the way, my fave  is the upclose face shot of Leila...LOVE IT!!)

Crazy Nights & Good Reads

First of all, we have had some crazy nights here!  Liberty picked up a bad cold (nasty cough, fever, runny nose, etc), and Jonathan picked up a stomach bug.  Both of them were up a lot during the night the past few days.  Yesterday Leila decided to join the cold ranks, though hers is not nearly as bad as Liberty's.  My dad watched the girls last night so my hubby and I could go out for my birthday.  When we got back Leila was just screaming and didn't stop for a couple HOURS!  I finally did get her to sleep, but she woke up a few hours later hungry (it had been 6 hours since her last feeding), and then proceeded to cry for what seemed like hours (in all actuality, it was about 45 minutes).  Liberty was up several times again, and to top it all of, I caught Jonathan's stomach bug last night!  Needless to say, it has been a bit crazy around here. 

Next on the list....GOOD READS (according to me!).  This first list are books we picked up at the library for Libbs & Leila.

1.  Horse in the Pigpen by Linda Williams - this is Liberty's favorite right now!  It's very cute.

2.  Yes We Can by Sam McBratney - this is my favorite pick :)

3.  The Alphabet from A to Z with Bonus Letter Z by Steve Martin & Roz Chast - Libbs also loves this one...it's very silly.

4.  Tatty Ratty by Helen Cooper

And on to my list...

1.  Susannah's Garden by Debbie Macomber

2.  Happily Ever After & Tying the Knot by Susan May Warren

3.  The Friday Night Knitting Club by Kate Jacobs - I'm about a third of the way through this book and it's pretty good so far!

4.  Just Beyond the Clouds by Karen Kingsbury

5.  The Parting by Beverly Lewis

6.  In the Company of Secrets by Judith Miller

7.  A Woman After God's Own Heart by Elizabeth George - I just started reading this book and I'm already really enjoying it.

Well, I'm off to take care of those cranky sick babies (myself included!).  Have a blessed day!

Paying it Forward

I've been meaning to post this "pay it forward" blog for a while now, and finally I am getting around to it.  I'm sure you're wondering what this "pay it forward" is.  Well, it's your chance to enter to "pay it forward" and to win a hand-made gift from me!  I don't know what the gift will be, or when you will receive it (I'll use the same promise as Amanda and say you will get it before the year is over...hopefully before then!!).  The catch is you will have to "pay it forward" to another three blessed winners.  To enter, leave a comment on this post to let me know you want to "pay it forward."  I will draw names at random on Saturday, the 22nd of March.  If you are not a blogger member and want to enter, simply choose "anonymous" in the comment form and be certain to leave your name in the comment so I know who you are.

Counting My Blessings

This has been a long week for me since Jonathan started work and I have no vehicle.  It's also been my first experience taking care of the girls on my own all day, every day.  It really hasn't been too bad...I guess because I was able to get used to caring for two children with Jonathan at home helping out all this time.  That was definitely a blessing...despite the fact we didn't really have an income. :)  Now onto some more blessings!

1.  A nice walk to my sister's house on Thursday...which means the weather was warmer!  I had a good visit with my sister and the kids had fun playing.  We got some great pictures of the kids together, too!

2.  My Dad letting me borrow his car to go to MOPS on Tuesday.  I just love my time with the ladies at MOPS!

3.  My girls.  They are so sweet and cute together.  I'm so glad they have each other.

4.  The sweet sweater my Gram made for Leila...still fits!!  Leila says, "thanks Great Gram Leila!"

5.  Some cuddle time with my Libbs.  This was indeed a rare treat!  After nap time on Thursday, Liberty spent a good half hour being a little cuddle bug...I love it!

6.  A relatively easy time at the grocery store today...I went by myself with the girls!

7.  Leila finally rolled over from back to tummy today.  It was so exciting!!  I can't believe how much she is growing!

8.  Jonathan sold his first car!!

9.  The rest are in the pictures...

 

Leila's First Ponytail

Sidney @ 6 days old has bigger feet than Leila @ 5mos...and is almost as big as Leila!!

Cabin Fever

I've got a case of cabin fever this week.  Jonathan started his job at the car dealership and is working a lot of hours with only one day off.  Since we only have one car, that means I am stuck at home all day with the girls.  I just want to go somewhere!  I was able to borrow my dad's car on Tuesday to go to MOPS, so that was nice.  We really need to do some grocery shopping and dry laundry, but with Jonathan's hours it's hard to figure out a good time to do it! 

My sister lives within walking distance, but it's been too cold and snowy to walk the girls over there.  Today it looks like it might be warmer, so I may attempt a visit to my sister's house today. 

*For those of you wondering how Jonathan's job is going so far...it's not the greatest, that's for sure!  What Jonathan really doesn't like about selling cars there is the dishonesty.  He just wants to find what the customer is looking for and within their price-range if possible, but the company doesn't operate like that.  Jonathan asked why they aren't just honest with people and was told that doesn't sell cars.  He's trying to keep positive, but we're not sure how this will work out...keep praying!

A Couple of Finished Projects

This first one is the hat I made for my new nephew Sidney.

This is the taggy I made for Liberty (I made one for Leila for this past Christmas and Liberty likes to play with it).

Counting My Blessings

1.  A full time job for Jonathan!!  Jonathan was offered a job at a car dealership this week as a salesman.  He starts on Monday (March 3).  He'll be paid hourly or salary (not sure which yet) during his training, and then on to commission.  This dealership has been around for a long time...they actually have a few different car lots...and they get good business.  We are pretty excited that he has finally found some full time work.  Keep us in your prayers that this is something that will work out for us.  Thanks everyone for your prayers and support.

2.  A great deal on books for the girls.  My sister and I went "Goodwilling" (what we call going to the local Goodwills on sale Sundays), and we found some great deals.  I got 8 books for Liberty for a whopping $3.00!!!

3.  Liberty's newfound "friend," her carebear.  She picked out this bear at the store the other day.  

4.  This precious sight...can you get any sweeter?!  I just love when Liberty "reads" to Leila.

5.  The sweet sound of laughter...especially when it is Liberty making Leila giggle, and the two girls laughing together. 

6.  FINALLY getting those late Christmas gifts mailed off to our nieces and nephews and Jonathan's parents!  (Pictures to come!)

7.  NEW LIFE!!  My sister gave birth to a beautiful baby boy yesterday (yep, right on leap year day!).  His name is Sidney Edward and he weighed 8lbs 11oz and was 22 inches long.  He's so precious!  I had the honor of watching him enter into this world...thanks Ashlee!!!  What a miraculous thing giving birth is!!

 

 

And here are some more pictures from our week....