Final Vacation as a Family of FOUR

A love letter to daddy

On a drizzly Tuesday in February the kids and I had the idea (stolen from someone more creative at some point by me) to make cards, pictures and a video as a surprise for Matt when he got home from work. The best part was his reaction (which I wish I had a video of) when he watched this video. Tears filling his eyes, he was beaming from the inside out. I will treasure this video forever. My favorite part is Ben saying matt is the best at "bolleyball" and Brooklyn's improve song. Pretty darn good if you ask me, for making it up on the spot.

Ride on!

Brooklyn has mastered the bike!! This is such a monumental moment and we are bursting with pride.

We took the training wheels off last Summer and she lost interest very quickly. The weather changed and we didn't push her on it. These past few weeks as it has started to intermittently warm up she has asked to go practice. It really only took three days of working hard at it and she took off like a champ. Starting and turning are the only sticky points now. It's going to be a fun summer filled with bike rides! Come on summer, we are ready!

Beach day

I woke up this last Thursday and realized we have three weeks left before Levi arrives and the game is changed drastically. The forecast was sunny and dry, so I decided we would play hooky from at home responsibilities and head to the beach for the day, just B, B, and my 36 week pregnant belly. 

We made the right choice. It was a beautiful day. 

The beach was filled with jellyfish and I buried a few to avoid the kids accidentally stepping on them, that soon turned into an intense game of the kids screaming at the top of their lungs while out walking the shore line "mom!! Jellyfish!! Bury it!" 

We returned home with full hearts, sun-kissed cheeks and a bucket of sea shell remnants. Then I crashed at 8pm....because 36 weeks pregnant at the beach with 2 busy kids makes for a long day :)

Baby watch: 34 weeks

34 weeks and counting! 

There are so many updates I'm not sure where to start since I fell off the grid with updates.

We sold our house, we bought a house. We will have keys on the 1st of April and Levi is due on the 13th, but my dr said he won't let me go past 39 weeks...so on 4/2 (the day after we receive keys) I will head in to get scheduled for an induction. 

Holy moly! A newborn and a new house within days of each other. My head is spinning at the sweetness of Gods blessings. As stressful as it has been (& will likely continue to be) it's amazing and I'm awestruck. 

More to come soon. Promise.

Here I am again

I haven't formally announced my pregnancy...but there's only a hand full of you that read my blog anyway...so I feel comfortable writing my thoughts here.

We are pregnant. This sweet little pea pod is almost 12 weeks. We had an ultrasound last Thursday (a week ago tomorrow) and everything looked great. However, given my history, the security in a statement like that fades much sooner than the average woman. Which by the way (side note) I have concluded there are very few of out there. Pregnancy and all that comes with it (including trying to achieve it) comes with so many gut wrenching, heart aching, head dizzying, thought consuming elements it's down right terrifying. It's a roller coaster of constant hormones and emotions and at the end you just have to pray the results will be what you long for...a healthy child in your arms.

As I sit here waiting for the results of my lab work for the high risk screening, my thoughts wander back to Luke for the 900,000 time. I trust the peace God has placed on my heart that all is well in my womb and inside of this baby, but those thoughts of "what if" still creep in. Why? Because I've BEEN pregnant with a child who had abnormalities and lost his fight. I know the silence that comes from the professionals during an "abnormal" scan, I have been the one to draw the 1/50,000 odds of having a fetal abnormality. My heart remembers that pain so intensely that despite my head saying "stay focused, trust that all is right, don't let your thoughts go "there"", often I lose the battle and have to dig myself out of the trenches of my own thoughts.

Matt and I already love this little one so much. The kids already love and long for this littlest (and final) addition so much. We are on board with the craziness that will ensue. I need to cling to the promise that God keeps instilling in my heart- "all is well, I have a plan, and it is good. Trust me despite what you have seen and lived through". 

A quick story to finish this. The kids and I were driving last Wednesday (prior to my appt). I was spacing out thinking about my appt the following day and fearing that there may be no heart beat. Brooklyn from the back seat said to me "mom, will this baby not go to heaven like my brother Luke?" To which I said "my prayer is no, that we get to have this baby here on earth with is". She paused and replied "that's my prayer too. You are going to be so busy in heaven with all your babies mom!" Love these kids. So much.

Brooklyn Turned Five

Sweet Brooklyn turned FIVE on Aug 28th. This is a huge milestone. She is officially a kid...long gone are the baby and toddler days.

 

My dear friends Christie and Jinger have daughters that are good friends of B's who have birthdays on Aug 26th and Aug 27th, so we decided to go big and do a three way joint birthday party. A pony party was the theme...and yup, we had real ponies. It was amazing. I contributed very little, as Christie is a professional wedding planner and truly has a passion for throwing kids parties (planning them specifically) and Jinger has the same passion.

 

Brooklyn talked for days and still does about how thankful she was for her party. All three girls had the time of their lives and the tiny guests did as well. It was a fun filled, wild and crazy day. All the decorations were hand made and thought up by Christie and Jinger. I helped assemble :) 

 

Natalie (4), Brooklyn (5), Elsa (4)

Dionne, me, Kristin

Potato sack races = hilarious

Look at those cupcakes and cake (Christie made all of them). Amazing

This was while we all sang "happy birthday" to the three girls.

B & Kali

The mom squad: Me, Christie, Jinger

I'm not sure what lead Ben to lose his shirt, but I would be more surprised if he HAD kept it on all day :)