Change

Change is good, right? Sometimes it's scary, exhilerating, life-changing change. At times I am racing towards change - longing to get there faster. Other times, I drag my feet.

Today I do both.

Ryan starts his new job in Lexington tomorrow as a Counselor. This wife could not be prouder. I've watched my husband pour over hours and hours of books, along with hours and hours of papers to get through Grad School. All this while entertaining his daughter, loving his wife unconditionally, and seeking the will of God in all that he did. While in grad school, we found out about two pregnancies - if you know me, you know that means trouble for the first 4 months. :) We had a son and Ryan stepped up to entertain two children all while juggling school. Did I mention Ryan always worked while taking full-time course loads? Lots of hours, lots of work. I'm still getting used to the feeling of going to bed at the same time! No more late nights of studying. While in grad school, we buried Ryan's father. Not a change we were expecting, or wanting. We also shared countless lunches at our table together. Between chapel and class, we'd rush home to sit and eat sandwhiches together. Those were blissful days. Ryan even accompanied his Preschooling daughter on a field trip this year. Wonderful days. I'm proud of my Ryan and how he's handled the past three years.

So, understandably, I look at tomorrow with a certain amount of fear. What are we facing? Where will this lead us? This husband of mine will be gone long days every day. No more weekday lunches at our table. No more "meet you at chapel" or staying up late to write a paper.

I am ready to leave some of this behind, but am still dragging my feet on a few others.

A day in Cincinnati

Today we took the kids to Cincinnati to go to a Reds Baseball Game! It was SO fun! On the way there, Ryan indulged me and let me stop at the Gap Clearance Store. It is my favorite store, I'm pretty sure. I bought 10 articles of maternity clothing - totaling $45. Sweet! Ryan even got a few things for his new job.
After shopping this morning, we raced to get to the Ballpark for a 12:10pm game. The weather was gorgeous! We even had shade for a good portion of the game. The Reds won...at least they were far enough ahead to win whenever we left in the 8th inning. The kids were done by this point and we decided not to push it. We had fun though - spent way too much on hot dogs, shared a snow cone, cheered, and laughed.
After the baseball game - it was on to IKEA! I wasn't sure if we'd be able to squeeze this in, but decided I could spend one hour running through IKEA. Yes, I said one hour and IKEA in the same sentence. Yea Right!! THREE hours later we left the store. We had so much fun though! They have the coolest things there - we dreamed a little and spent just a tad. Enough to feel successful with our trip. I've got a few ideas for the kid's rooms.
So, tonight I asked Mackenzie what her favorite part of the day was. It was a big day, lots of things happened, lots of things to choose from. Her's was a quick response...IKEA! She is my daughter. ;)

It's a...

GIRL!! We are all thrilled. I was sure it was a girl and Ryan thought it was a boy. So, he's still shaking his head in awe a little bit. Mackenzie is super excited and ready for the baby girl to get here NOW. Nate has no idea what is going on, but was a bit concerned as to what everyone was doing to his momma. She looked perfect in the sonogram. She weighs 14 oz, we saw blood pumping through all 4 chambers of the heart and 3 chambers of the umbilical cord. We saw kidneys, bladder, brain, stomach, spine with every vertebrae. The tech said that she looked beautiful. We think so too! What a joy it was to get a glimpse of her moving around! We can't wait to hold her in our arms.

Big Day tomorrow!

Tomorrow we have our ultrasound where we'll get to see our baby! We are thrilled! Of course, we're also curious to see whether we'll be having another boy or another girl! Mackenzie is dying for a sister but always finishes with saying she'll be fine with another brother. Nate is too young to know what is going on in his little world. He will be overwhelmed when Nov gets here and he has to compete for attention. :)
We are so curious to know this little one that will be joining us soon. We love this baby so much already. It's exciting to think of growing our family with another and seeing what great things this new child will bring to us!
Stay tuned.....

18 Months!

Yesterday was Nate's 1/2 Birthday. Silly, I know...but I'm always looking for a way to celebrate! My mom once said that all kids under 6 should celebrate 1/2 birthdays, especially when their birthday falls right after christmas! (Sorry Nate!)
So, yesterday Nate turned 18 months! This is one of my favorite ages! He is so fun and so funny! He is trying so hard to talk and most of the time really thinks that he IS talking and holding a conversation with you through his babbles. But, he's still a little baby. Yesterday, as he ran through the yard pushing his bubble blower lawn mower he stopped to run over and kiss me. Ahhh...sweet moments.
Here's some things I know and love about Nate:
-has 12 teeth - - 4 on top, 4 on bottom, 4 molars
-LOVES food and takes it seriously
-Still LOVES hair - a weird fettish. Now loves to pull his big sister's hair.
-very independent
-very funny. feeds off of our laughter
-enjoys wrestling on all 4's and making the "grrrr" face.
-likes to make animal noises...especially the dinosaur.
-so cuddly
-needs noise and distraction to sleep
-is quite particular and won't rest until his point is made
-has the cutest little red hair curls growing in the back.

I'm sure I could keep going. It is so fun to have a son. I love him so much and love watching him grow!!!!
Happy 1/2 Birthday Nate!!

What are they teaching her at VBS?!?!!!

Mackenzie has been going to VBS this week. Since we just returned from a 2 week trip where she basically got to stay up as late as she wanted...she's also having trouble going to sleep at night. I'm talking A LOT of trouble. I guess during these hours that she's spending awake in her bed, she's left thinking. So, tonight, Ryan goes in there for the bajillionth time and tells her to close her eyes and think or pray or something. Her response was "Or praise God, right Dad?" "Sure, Kenz", dad replies. Sweet Kenzie says, "Praising God is just like praying, except it's in Spanish."

How to explain...

This morning my 4 1/2 yr old daughter and I were having oatmeal together. It was a beautiful morning and the boys were still sleeping which made it a quiet house. Mackenzie and I were talking about God and how much He loves her. This led to talking about Jesus also and I began telling her how Jesus was a carpenter while he was here on earth. One thing led to another and before I knew it I was trying to explain to her that God, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit are three separate beings. (thinking about the Trinity here) She gave me a sly, out of one eye kind of look and said, "So, God and Jesus are two separate people?" I replied, "Yes." She said, "Okay, because the other day Dad told me that they are the same."
Ugh. Try explaining the Trinity to a 4 year old. Not easy.