T-minus Three Weeks To Go

Three more weeks to go till we meet you little one! Very excited we are, however, very nervous we are too. As ready as I am for you to get out of my ribcage and to be able to sleep on my belly, I am mourning your exit already! Only three weeks to feel your little feet slide across my belly letting me know your safe in there for the time being. Three weeks to feel life inside me doesn't seem so long when I sit back and feel your little hiccups every night. Every pain and misery is worth it for you my little love. I can't wait to snuggle you and for you to be loved by everyone around, but for now you're just mine and I think I like that :)

God has truly blessed me beyond measure. I have a beautiful daughter, and a little boy on the way. As my ever growing belly expands, my patience seems to shrink. Which is why I feel like I need to do this and make a list of the things that drive me nuts because I know that they truly are just part of God's blessing of my daughter, and someday I'm going to miss this stage. So ladies and gentlemen, here it is, the list of things I might think are aggravating but are true blessings in disguise that I am thankful for:
1. crawling into a bed of cracker crumbs at night, which my daughter lovingly put there for me
2. fitful sleep because I know in an hour I am going to be woken up and called to
3. little fingers prying my eyelids open when all I want to do is close them and rest
4. snuggles at 5am in hopes that I will get up and get a snack for her
5. cracker crumbs all over the floor I just washed 5 min ago
6. milk spots all over my new couch from a leaky sippy cup
7. 473 kisses for "boo boos" in a 24hr period
8. the bargaining for me to read her one more book (after already reading 10)
9. MUM, MUM, MUMUM, MUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUM
10. preparing meals for a little one who wont even eat it after whining all afternoon because she was soooooo hungry


.... and the list goes on, but you get my point. There are times these things make me want to scream and pull my hair out, but in the midst of all the whining and crying there is a quiet peace when a little hand reaches out for mine and wants nothing more than for me to hold her and love her. As much as these things get to me, I know they are blessings from a great God who wants me to savor all of this because it goes by so fast. So as the song goes, 'your gonna miss this, your gonna want this back' I know that I better love it all now because there will be a day when I don't have any of it.

I've always loved you

This morning a song came on that says "don't you know I've always loved you, even before there was time..." and it made me have to stop and think to myself, wow. We were put here purposely and planned before this earth was created. I was planned, I have a purpose and I am loved. From the moment of conception we love our children, we love every little move in the womb that they make, even though we don't know them. Imagine that amplified times say, a billion! God loved us before we were even put into our mothers bodies, He loved the very thought of us. It just amazes me.

Thank God for Husbands and Daddys

This ones for the daddys and husbands that make it possible to get through a day without pulling hair out or screaming obscenities at our children: we love you!!! You rock!!! Without you, we mommas would be lost (although that is the only time I will ever admit that).
This week has seemed like the never-ending whine fest at my house, and makenzie wasn't the only one doing the whining! Between the heat and early morning wake up calls from my sweet daughters room I was pretty, well......frazzled to say the least. I sat on the couch and cried a lot, haha, yup pretty pathetic it was. My darling daughter chose this week to be the one to set her internal clock for 5:30 am every single morning. My saving grace: my hubby. He selflessly would get up, get her milk and tv going and then come back to bed until she flagged him down for snuggle time. And when I could take no more and needed some time for myself, he without complaining, watched her and even sported her around town like a toy pooddle in a purse (well, not quite like that, but it sounded good). Three days in a row, this man dealt with our daughters incessent whining after work just so i could have a couple hours to myself. Those daddys that are willing to take care of us frazzled mommas are a godsend!!!! We love you and appreciate you guys!

Choosing to be happy

A 5 am wake up call from Makenzie screaming in her room to be let out is not my kind of morning. In fact, it downright puts this momma in a cranky mood. I am working on being positive and not letting a lack of sleep get to me through this pregnancy, because with a toddler I just don't have the energy to spend on being cranky haha! So despite my baby waking up early and refusing to take a nap anywhere but on my chest (believe me I tried putting her in her bed multiple times which resulted in screaming) I am choosing to be happy. Looking at this face all day who couldn't be happy?

So as I realized my cankiness was seeping through every crack and crevice of my being i decided it was time for makenzie and momma to pack up and take a trip to get some much needed diapers. On the way we stopped at the park and played until I refused to anymore because I didn't want pit stains down to my pants while i shopped at wal mart! Despite the cashier seriously messing up my order three times and Makenzie trying to climb out of the cart repeatedly, it was a good trip. We played, we napped on the way home (well, I didn't nap, as much as i wanted to) and the best of all I got to spend one on one time with my little girl. Life is too short to waste on being cranky.

To My Son

July 3, 2011 20 weeks
I haven't seen you yet, but I love you. I know the way you kick, and tumble around inside. I spend every second of my time with you, and yet I crave to know you more, to be able to hold your little body and snuggle your little cheeks. Oh how much I love you without even ever seeing you. If I could keep you little forever, I would. If I could hold you under my wing for as long as I lived, I would, but I cannot do those things but I will promise to do this: I will love you forever, as long as I live. No matter where you go, what you do, or how you do it, I will always love you. You will always be my baby boy. My prayer for you is that you learn to serve God the way He created you to; with all your strength, mind and body. He will be your one stronghold in life that you can lean on. Become a man of God who loves and follows the Lord, and everything else will fall into place.
Little boy, I haven't even held you yet, but I cannot wait to see you take your first breath and hear you cry your first cry. To hold you in my arms and rock you to sleep just because I can. I want to cherish every second with you because life is too short not to. Before I know it you will have grown up and made a life for yourself, but right now I'm going to live in this moment, and cherish the little kicks and wiggles you do. My son, please never forget how much I love you.

It's finally here!

SUN! Oh glorious beautiful sun! How I did miss you, never leave me again! Ok so yesterday was awesome because the sun finally emerged, giving my vegetable garden room to stretch finally. I let my duckies outside for the first time also. After they got past the initial shock that there was more to this world than the plastic tote I have been keeping them in, they LOVED it! Bugs and grass was eaten (not only by the ducks but my beautiful daughter). We found out the duckies just happen to love nail polish and toe toes as they were pecking at Makenzie's toes every chance they got. They would chase her, she would chase them, it was all so fun and funny! I also learned that my baby duckies think I am their momma, which thrilled me beyond belief actually :) They followed me everywhere and stopped every time I stopped and when I went inside the house they hid under the porch until I emerged only to have them at my heels. It was rather cute I must say. Other than that there was lots of playing outside and getting eaten by not only black flies but also the dreaded mosquitoes, which I am not sure which I like least since I seem to swell up like a balloon anywhere I get bitten by a nasty little mosquito. Oh and there were tumbles down the porch stairs as I watched in agony as Makenzie hit every one of them with her head. Don't worry she's ok, just a cut lip and some bumps and bruises, thank goodness! The lawn got mowed finally (it was horribly past due), my poor flower gardens got weeded (again I say, horribly past due) and for the most part I felt pretty darn good. Oh and on the upside the past few days I have begun to feel the little sprout in my belly wiggle around a bit, which is pretty darn cool in my opinion. I must say, days like yesterday really make me love Maine a lot. I think God knows how terrible our winters are so He makes up for it in the summer :)

Blessed Beyond Measure

Ever since I had my daughter it's like everything has been put into perspective for me (although believe me I still have a long ways to go). Before her I was enjoying life and loving my husband and just living, but that was the problem: I was just living. Of course I loved and believed in God with all my heart; however something was missing for me. It's like I couldn't make sense of the "love" aspect of Christ. How is it possible for God to love me or anyone the way Christians say He does? Then when I held my baby in my arms it clicked: if I love this little being as much as I do, well God loves me even more, and if this little being can break my heart so easily, well then how must God feel when I break his? It's an overwhelming feeling to love and know that you are loved that much. Through a parent child relationship I can glimpse what God feels for me, for you, for everyone. As heart-wrenching as it is to see your child fall after taking her first few steps alone, or watching your baby in pain from teeth that just wont break through, how much more is it painful for God to watch us live life and fall, or go through pain? Before I felt like God was punishing or just sitting by glaring at me through trials, but now I understand that as hard as those trials were for me, it must have broken our saviors heart to watch us endure that pain. On the other hand, I have learned of joy unspeakable through my daughter. To see her depend on me and need me for snuggles or boo boos brings me so much happiness, and to see her grow and learn new things is so joyful to watch. If I find that much joy in this world from her, how much more joy does God feel when He watches us fall into his arms and need him for snuggles or boo boos? It's such a simple illustration, yet I find it so profound the things He has created in this life to demonstrate his love for us, by simply letting us experiencing a portion of it ourselves. I feel blessed now to know that even in times of trials, God is there and wants to hold me, and even in times of celebration, God is there and wants to be a part of that. Blessings come in so many forms and to be able to say on a bad day that I still feel blessed is a huge step forward for me. The simple fact that no matter what God allows to be taken from me or given to me, He is still there is the greatest blessing of all.

Joshua 1:9 (New International Version)

9 Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the LORD your God will be with you wherever you go.”

The Most Cutest Little Girl

Two things I heart :

Amazon.com and sani-soap. I absolutly love amazon now that i discovered buying bulk diapers is way cheaper than any store and I can get free two day delivery because I am an "amazon mom". Oh the joys of saving money! A little here and a little there equals a bill paid, and I will most certainly not complain about that. My other love is hand sanitizer, some says its ruining our ability to create antibodies to fight off viruses and such, I however say that those people obviously dont have little ones playing at the mcdonalds playplace and then sticking their hands in their mouths! I never understood until this winter why so many moms keep their chillun's inside during germ season. My daughter is now on her second round of sickness within three weeks. Fever, but no other symptoms, so maybe its teething, but I blame all the other sickun's that bite the shopping carts at wally world and leave their germies for my daughter to lick up when its her turn to gnaw at them. I guess my kids part of that vicious cycle :( Well, next year I think I will go to amazon.com and stock up on some sani-soap!

oh dear....

Yup that is exactly what's going on in my head right now. Two toddlers one momma= chaos. Ha ha as fun as it is, it's just as crazy! I'll paint a picture of my house right now: toys everywhere, pacifiers hidden around, books scattered around, and Makenzie's room is a disaster! Luckily one is napping and I bribed the other one to be quite with a cookie and Disney channel (we shall see how long it lasts). Oh and the cookie is now smeared into my couch bahh! I wouldn't trade the toddler years for anything though, I absolutely love it! I love finding pacifiers in my bathtub, snack crumbs all over my house and toys strewn about everywhere after a hard day of playing, I love nap hair, reading her the same book over and over again and sneaking her chocolate when its just me and her home. The snuggles are great and although the kisses are rare they just about melt my heart. Basically I love being a mom! Now I'll take a minute and say good luck sarah and lets hope they get that baby out soon!

Rainy day daydreamer....

Rain Rain don't go away, wash wash this snow away! Sometimes rainy days just drag on and on for me, however today I find myself daydreaming. What will Makenzie be when she grows up? Today, while I browsed recipes, Makenzie jammed to the tv. Oh how my little girl loves to dance! And oh how I love to watch her, especially when she doesn't know anyone's watching! She gets groovin' and movin', hands get going while the head bobs and the bum wiggles; she makes me giggle a lot. I don't think I have ever experienced so much spirit in a one year old before! If only I could dig into that little brain of hers and find out what is on her mind, oh the things I would find! So what does one little girl with such a vibrant spirit grow up to be? How much does environment impact an individuals choice of lifestyle and am I impacting her life in the right way? So many questions I have only to be answered when the time comes. A cook? A baker? A candlestick maker? Ok now, maybe not those occupations (or maybe so?), but if I could choose one thing for my daughter to be it would be this: a godly woman. If my daughter were to become such a woman all other things would fall in place for her (if only we women could just realize and get that through our heads!). She would be happy, content, and would be joyful at whatever occupation she was in because it would be where God wanted her. That is my dream for her, not to conquer the world or be the greatest president who ever lived, but to simple respect and honor God with her life. As for now, I'll be content watching her groove and move and take in the beauty of what God has created. After all I can only take her so far, then its between her and God.
Isaiah 64:8
Yet you, LORD, are our Father. We are the clay, you are the potter; we are all the work of your hand.

I Have An Itch

Oh beauteous spring where art thou? I have never longed for your mud more than I do now! Oh groundhog, how false your conjecture was!
Ok, now really where is spring!? All I am seeing is snow snow and more snow! You know that verse in the Bible that says in everything give thanks, well I'm having a hard time with that right now. All this snow is dragging me down! It's the devil I say! I want to hear birds and see flowers budding and smell spring (even if its laced with a muddy poo smell)! Although like my husband all ways says: you can wish in one hand and poo in the other and see which one fills up first.
Sometimes in summer I look around and see that what God has made truly is good. The trees, the flowers, the earth beneath my feet I love it all and in it I find myself rather content. I guess I'll just have to keep on trucking and have hope that one day I will see grass again, but for now I don't think there is any cream that will cure this itch.

Poopy Croupy

Today I had my first experience with a very sick baby :( and boy oh boy is it not fun! Little M woke up with a bark of a cough and I woke up with a maternal panic (which by the way BJ, is perfectly ok to have). So at quarter of seven in the morning I was off to the doctors only to find my suspicion correct: croup. One prescription later, I found myself at Wal Mart only to find that the pharmacy wasn't open until nine thus causing me to go home empty handed (well, not quite :) I got myself a little herb garden)with a very unhappy and under the weather baby. Thus: Poopy Croupy!