Karl's new blog...

Just wanted to alert everyone...Karl has begun his own blog...detailing his new project. Here is the link. Check it out!

Not too much to report...

There's not a whole lot to report, at least as far as baby news goes. We're still just waiting for her to decide when she's ready to arrive. I have had some sporadic 'real' contractions over the last few days, but nothing regular.

My parents arrived late Sunday afternoon, after driving all day and night Saturday and Sunday. They never stopped except to eat or at a rest area. I guess they are almost as anxious as I am! They brought some clothes for the baby with them that my sister-in-law sent for me...thanks so much Melissa!! I went through everything on Sunday evening, separating them all by size. Karl took them up to the baby's room for me...I intended to get them put away some time this week. However, I woke up at 3 a.m. Monday morning and could not get back to sleep, so at 4 a.m. got up and put all the clothes away. Then, I read a while. By 5:20 a.m. I thought I should at least try to go back to sleep. Fortunately for all of us I was successful and slept until about 7:30 a.m.

We've spent the last couple of days just hanging out, talking about what's going on with the family, etc. It's nice to have Mom and Dad here, for all of us. Corbin and Paw Paw have played checkers each day...their new routine now, I'm guessing. And the kids have all enjoyed having new ears around to listen to their stories and comments. ;) They have also had a great time getting reacquainted with Jessie, my parents' dog.

We decided not to go to bowling yesterday...so no new scores to report. We have 5 weeks left in the session, so I'm sure we'll make it to at least a few more.

That's about it. I'll be back on when there is something of more interest to speak about.

Just had to share...

As many of you know, when you have kids there are lots of interesting conversations that take place. We often talk about a large variety of things when we're having dinner in the evenings...anywhere from the newest creation Logan has made with his Bionicles to the latest interesting animal fact Hailey may have learned on Animal Planet to (lately) listening to Corbin add numbers. A couple of days ago we were having just such a conversation, with everyone trying to talk all at once. Someone was telling what they wished they had, so of course each of the other children had to chime in. When it came to Corbin, he said he wished we had a tree house. Then Karl said, " I wish I had a ka-bazillion dollars." (we often say something silly in response to them, it just seems to be something we do in our family...usually gets a laugh) So Corbin said right back, "Yeah, that would be enough for a tree house! It was so cute...he had no idea of what else we could possibly need money for except to make his wish come true. ;) I hope you all get as much of a kick out of that as we did!

Not long now...I hope

I visited the OB again today, my weekly visit. She let me ask any questions I had, which is always nice. One thing I was wondering about was whether or not they would be doing an ultrasound at 37 weeks as they indicated about 3 weeks ago. She said she thought that would be a good idea, just to see how the baby is progressing. After examining me she said I am now dilated 2cm...last week I was not at all, so that's actually good news. I realize I could walk around in that state for a couple of weeks, with no further progress, but I'm hoping not. Now that we've made it to our goal date, I'm ready to meet baby girl.

I have a feeling the doctor doesn't really expect to see me back in the office before I deliver, though she did not actually say that. I think that is the case because she made my next appointment for 10 days out. I'm supposed to be in the office 1x per week at this point, so....
Plus, when I scheduled my appointment with the receptionist, as she handed me my appointment card she said, "So maybe we won't see you." I took that to mean she thought the same as me, that the Dr. did not expect me to be back in the office before delivery. I could be completely wrong, but that's where I'm at right now. We're just waiting for something to happen at this point. So, we will call and email those of you we can, as soon as we can, once we have been admitted to the hospital. As per my history, many of those notifications may occur after the actual delivery!

I called my mom this morning to update her on what the doctor said. She informed me that they are leaving tomorrow morning to come up here and stay until, and after, the delivery. They had already decided to leave tomorrow anyway, but I'm glad they are heading up now. They should be able to make it here to stay with the kids when I go into labor. But who knows what God has in store? It will be nice to have them here to help out and just to spend some family time, and for them to get to know baby girl.

Birthday Festivities...

Here are some photos we took on the kids' birthdays. They requested to make their own cakes this year, so I was just on hand to supervise and explain anything they did not understand. I have to admit, I was hardly needed!

Logan's cake had a 'crater because we did not think to level it with a knife before icing. He iced the cake, while I applied the letters...hence the SUPER Logan...I was in a silly mood. ;)

Hailey did her cake all on her own, coming up with the special designs and everything. I thought it was very creative. Hers turned out to be perfectly level, so we did not have to do anything special to it before icing it.

Thanks to everyone who called and sent gifts on their birthdays. It was extra special to hear from family in those ways.

Hailey has gotten somewhat into dolls within the last year. She had asked for an American Girl doll for Christmas...we ended up getting her a 'just like you' doll for her birthday. I think she was very excited.

My most recent 'look'

Here is the latest photo of me...taken at 35 weeks.

Recent goings on...

We celebrated Valentine's Day as a family with heart-shaped pancakes on Saturday morning, and just ran errands that day...groceries, etc. Actually, Karl did that for me...such a sweetie!

Sunday we went to church and then out to a new restaurant (well, new to the kids and me) DiBella's. It is an excellent Italian sub shop. The kids and I all agree that it's probably the best sub sandwhich we've ever had...Corbin says, "It's the best thing I ever ate incept (he means except) a corndog!"

Afterwards we had some other groceries and gas to get from BJ's, made a run into Target and Old Navy to look for maternity things (all my stuff is getting too small!), and then took the family out to Cold Stone Creamery. We had some coupons I was given from the owner...I worked with her teaching a class at our home school co-op in the fall and she gave me these coupons for free ice cream as a thank you gift. We finally got around to using them...I have to say it was very busy in the shop for a cold, winter day! And my coffee ice cream with a peanut butter cup mix-in hit the spot...yum!

Sunday evening I finally got the cradle ready for the baby, putting on the sheet, sheet saver, and bumper. I also placed our wedge in there and a quilt my mom made for Hailey. Now all we need is the baby!

On Monday the neighbors were able to come over and play. They are out of school for the week for winter break...so they had all already been outside playing for a while. Our kids have asked for them to come inside before but they haven't been able to due to various school assignments, activities, etc. So they were all thrilled that it was finally happening. They had fun showing the kids their rooms, tinkering on the piano, and playing downstaris with the dart guns Roy and Jane got our kids for Christmas.

We've stuck around home this week for the most part, trying to get some school work done. We did get out yesterday to go to the home school bowling session. The kids are still enjoying it. Logan came home with the highest score amongst our 3 this tme...72 points.

That's really all there is for this week. I go to the doctor again on Friday, so I'll do another update then to let you all know what's going on. We have a current picture of me (yikes!) that we're going to post soon, so you can all get a look at how I look right now. We better do it soon, before baby arrives!

Another day at the OB

Today was my last 2-week interval appointment; from now on I will see the doctor each week to check progress. I am 35 weeks this weekend, so I feel like the birth is just around the corner. The doctor went ahead and did the Strep B test to be sure they are ready in case I go into labor sometime soon. She says I am not dilated at all, which is good news. Pretty shortly though I'm sure I'll be hoping she'll tell me I am...I think I'm running out of room in there! At this point she is not planning on needing to schedule a c-section....if I don't deliver before 38 weeks we'll talk about the possibility again.

We had another ultrasound today, and the technician was unable to tell us if the baby is "still a girl" to quote Karl. ;) She was lying bottom up which would have been great had she not had her heel placed between her legs. Modest already...that's a good thing. So, we're still going on their first viewing, which indicated a baby of the female persuasion. It did show us that 'baby girl' is 6lb. 4 oz....which can actually be off by a whole pound either way...so somewhere between 5lb. 4oz. and 7 lb. 4.oz. Karl had guessed that she would be 6lb. 1 oz. so he got it pretty close!

By the way, we're calling the baby 'baby girl' because we have yet to decide on a name. Here are a few more possibilities for your perusal:

• Delaney
• Morgan
• Gabrielle(a)

Bits-n-Pieces

This morning I'm sitting in our living room with a cup of coffee (decaf), listening to the wind howl outside the windows. After an unseasonable two days of temperatures in the 50's, the weather is now getting back to 'normal' for this time of year. We have a cold front moving in, which will bring the temps back down into the 30's, along with rain and possibly some snow. It's a good day for just hunkering down, not venturing out, in my opinion.

I had another visit with the Diabetes nurse yesterday. She just wanted to meet, review my numbers, etc. She is very happy with my levels, and actually said I can add a carb choice to my day...WOOHOO! I have been fine with the amount of food I've been eating because it's broken down into 6 smaller meals a day, but I'm all for adding 1 more carb...it will probably be a breakfast addition. The nurse said I don't have to go back to see her, just to email her my nmbers once a week and call if things change (as in, the numbers start getting high for no apparent reason). So that's a relief. The office is actually inside Highland Hospital which is right in the middle of Rochester, and it is pretty much a nightmare getting over there....lots of traffic, red lights...not my favorite kind of driving anyway, much less when I'm pregnant. Too stressful!

Today we will be getting our school work done, then possibly watching a documentary on Abraham Lincoln. Today is his birthday, and since we have that recorded I thought it might be a good addition to our school day. I may even see what I have on him already...read a book or two about him. I'm pretty sure I have a couple of his biographies on my shelf, and I think I have some quotes of his I can print out, though I'm not sure.

One more thing....I want to ask for continued prayer for our friends who have been in California for surgery. I posted about this on my blog in mid-January. They are still there in the hospital due to a few complications. They have shown amazing stamina, and have remained fairly cheerful throughout this entire ordeal, but I know they must both be getting weary of being there and of the constant poking and prodding, etc. that goes along with a hospital stay. If you'd like to read the latest, please visit their blog. They've done a great job of keeping us all up-to-date that way. Thanks for lifting them up.

The day's events...

I don't have a lot of time today, because I need to go throw dinner together, but I did want to pop in and just tell a bit about the last few days. Our kids have remarked, and they're right, that we've had lots of 'company' lately. It just worked out that way. :)

On Friday, one of Logan's friends came over in the afternoon to play and his mom stayed to talk with me. I'm glad, because it's always nice to get to know someone new, especially when your children have become such good friends. And the boys share an interest in Bionicles...or should I say obsession...that's what we call Logan's interest, anyway. Hailey and Corbin were able to join in and all had a good time.

Then Sunday, some other friends of ours came over for dinner. They've had our kids over to play and their younger boys have been here to play, but the whole family has never been here together except when we had our Lego League party here in December. So, Karl and I made a huge pot of chili, a salad, some cornbread, and I opened a can of peaches to round out the meal. It was easy and relaxed....a good thing for me these days. This family's oldest son made and brought dessert...some sort of chocolate fudge cake, made from scratch, with yummy confectioner's sugar icing (I think, I didn't ask him) on top. It was delicious! The kids seemed to have a great time playing in the basement, and after dinner ended up watching a movie together. We adults sat around and talked, getting to know each other a bit better. It was nice to make the time to do that.

Today, we also had some friends over in the morning. Hailey made a few friends when she was attending Camp Arrowhead during the fall of 2007 and winter of 2008. We've kept in touch with some of them through email, even though we haven't been attending classes this year...maybe we'll do that when the weather is nicer. So, we ended up, finally, inviting one of her friends (and family) to come over today to play. Again, I got to sit with the mom and talk about various things while the kids played in the basement. They played with our Nerf dart guns, did some art projects which included making paper airplanes, and played with Bionicles as well as with various other toys. I believe they enjoyed the opportunity to interact with other children, and everyone got along. We tried to keep the youngest of the siblings occupied while we talked, and she put up with our efforts very well, I thought. She's 3, so at that age children do not have a long attention span. She was so cute because she kept calling her two older sisters "my girls" saying, "I want my girls." She is used to having them to play with her, and since they were occupied with my children they were not doing that at the time. She did not like it, but handled it extremely well. She did not whine, just made that statement a few times. I'm sure she was very glad to go home and have "her girls" back to herself! I feel bad that we didn't have much in the way of '3-year old girl toys' but I guess we will soon enough if the doctors are right about our baby being a girl...

Once this family left to go home, we had to eat a quick lunch and head out to bowling. I can't believe we've been able to make it to every session so far....3/3 is a pretty good ratio for me. Corbin did not have the highest score today, and to my surprise he was not overly concerned. Another little boy won with 93 points....way to go NF! The main thing is that they all had fun. Logan and Hailey have improved their scores, though I don't know exactly what they were today. But, their time there is a bit more challenging since the 'big kids' don't have bumpers up on their lanes.

We went to the bank afterwards, then home to have a snack. Now I have to get in the kitchen and assemble our pasta salad for dinner. I am leaving at about 6:45 to attend a home school function with another home school mom. Yeah...some time away with other 'grown-up' ladies! When I get home Karl and I will have our shows to watch.

A busy day, but a good one....

Request for Prayer

I just wanted to pop on quick and ask for every one's prayers again. Many of you know my history with early deliveries...34, 36, then 38 weeks gestational age. So, this has also been something the doctors have mentioned more than once....the need to make it to at least 36 weeks with this pregnancy. I am now just about at 34 weeks....and I woke up this morning having 'different' contractions than usual. I've been having painless contractions up 'til now. This morning, I woke up around 5 or 6 with some contractions coinciding with a back ache, which for me is the type of 'labor' I've always had. I had these off and on all day....nothing terribly painful, but concerning all the same. So, if you all could just keep me in your prayers and add this to it that would be great. I know God has a perfect plan...I just don't know what it is! My mind can run away with me and of course I'm always imagining the worst-case scenario....We don't want to have a baby this early for obvious reasons, but we also know that God has taken care of every one of our children, even though they were 'early'. So the struggle is just having peace, knowing that we can trust Him (which we do know) while also being cautious and knowing when to call the doctor, etc. You would think I would know it all by now after having 3 kids, but I do not. There is always something that I don't remember, that I'm unsure about, whatever. So just knowing that I have all of you out there praying for me and my family, and a safe delivery whenever it happens helps so much. And of course going to the source of comfort, Christ Himself, gives me that peace. Thanks to everyone who is praying for us...we love you all, and look forward to letting you all know when this dear child arrives.

Abortion Issues

Please read the information at these links and sign the petition as you feel lead.

http://www.prochoiceamerica.org/issues/abortion/access-to-abortion/freedom-of-choice-act.html

http://www.fightfoca.com/

This is an important issue close to my heart, and I hope it is to all of you as well.

Winter Daze

It's cold again today...never reaching 20...but I hear we're in for some 'warmer' weather towards the end of the week. The weather guys says it will be 30 on Friday and near 40 on Saturday...then we'll have a warming trend for several days. We'll see what happens, but I so hope he is right! I love to watch the snow fall, it's so beautiful, but this winter has been harder than last year. It's been colder, it started earlier...here's hoping it won't also last longer. I'm praying that the snows will be gone by mid-March as they were last year. I'm ready for spring and all it entails. :)

Today we had some fun with our school work. I bought a writing manual, called Igniting Your Writing, at the beginning of the school year for Logan to use. It just helps the student get started with creative writing. He's done a couple of lessons, but I felt we needed to go ahead and get some more started, so we did another lesson today. I also had Hailey start lesson 1 in the book...and I think she had fun with it. I really need to have both of them write on their blogs more often, incorporate it into their schooling on a regular basis. They enjoy doing that...I believe they just don't think of it that often. So maybe you guys will all begin to see more posts by the kids. We'll see if I can remember to have them do it!

We're getting close to the birth of the baby...just a few more weeks. It seems like it's gone so fast in some ways, while in others it has drug on. I have always enjoyed feeling the baby (all my babies) move...watching it move it's body parts (arms, legs?) across my belly. It reminds me of those Tom and Jerry cartoons...you know the ones where Jerry is under the rug, and he's just a lump moving across the floor underneath it? That's what watching her move makes me think of! ;) Karl laughs at me when I explain that, but it's the truth. So funny! Towards the end of my pregnancies, as with any pregnant lady, things can get uncomfortable. I'm not in pain, it's just hard to move around....leaning, stretching, bending, walking...it's all more difficult. But, I know it's all worth it in the end and I can get my body back to normal afterwards. I keep teasing Karl that he needs to buy me new clothes...at this stage?...because my jeans and shirts are getting fewer. I keep having to put more away. They are either too tight or too short, or they don't stay up because my belly has gotten too large for them to fit properly. So if any of you see me wearing the same clothes over and over...now you know why! ;} It's not something I would normally do...

The kids are outside playing with the neighbors again...they do this about 3 times a week, and they'll stay 'til it's pitch black outside if we let them. Sometimes the neighbor kids ring our doorbell, sometimes our kids go ring theirs. They really look forward to the weekends because they can play longer due to more daylight. Our kids are not happy with us on the days we have to go somewhere and they can't be here to play...but they get over it. Such is life.

Well, I have to start thinking about dinner...I think it might be leftover night, but I do need to see what we have. Also need to get downstairs and put in another load of laundry. We have to do a couple of loads a day to keep up most of the time. I think it's because we're wearing layers right now, plus we've taken Corbin out of pull ups but are still having to wash sheets every day at this point. That definitely adds to the work load, but we thought it was time. I'll be back soon, until next time.

Homeschool Bowling program

We had bowling again today. The weather was good so we ventured out. Corbin did great again with 99 points for his game. I think all the kids are enjoying their time there playing and meeting new people. Our friends were not there today (ones we already knew) so we were the only people we knew.:) However, I did meet a nice lady and her son (who is on Corbin's team) who were not there last week. She was friendly, so I think we'll be able to have some conversation during the time that we're there. I had fun watching the kids play, all of them really. The little ones are so cute because they're all over the place and moms are having to pull them back and re-direct...mine didn't need that thankfully! And I like to watch the older ones because they are more serious about their game...

Not much else of interest today...we did our school work before leaving...finished all but our story time reading, but we can catch up on that easily enough. The kids spent a couple of hours out in the backyard sledding and just running in the snow. I made dinner, and spent too much time on the Internet. I did get my chores done though, so that's a plus. Karl go home around 5:30 after heading into work at 6;30 a.m. this morning...a long day. He has been very busy and woke up early, so decided to just get up and go in. I think he's glad he did, he got some things accomplished.

Well that's it for today. Enjoy your evening!

Superbowl Sunday

I have to admit right up front that I'm really not much of a football fan. I do like to attend a football game...we had fun doing that when we lived in Auburn. Same thing with most any other sport, I would rather be there than listen to the commentators and sit through commercials, etc. Although, some of the Superbowl commercials can be funny. I am disappointed though at the content of many of them. I don't relish the thought of sitting through a Doritos commercial with my husband and 11 year old son while a man bites into a chip and a woman's clothes fly off to reveal her bra and panties...a bit uncomfortable and not at all appropriate for my 11 year old. The rest of it was fine, but I really wish things could be a little cleaner for the general viewing audience...don't they realize this is a family affair in most, if not all, households? I may have to have Karl record them in the future, fast forward through the commercials, then go back to watch them himself later when the kids are all in bed. I have watched a few of the plays and it's been a decent game, but again I'm not the best person to 'review' a football game!

We did have some yummy snacks, and I am qualified to review those...here is our menu:

• Hot wings...homemade...delicious
• Veggie plate, including celery, carrots, green onions, broccoli, and cucumbers....nutritious and tasty
• Italian bread with Spinach dip...wonderful
• Cheddar Popcorn...Logan's pick, but addicting to us all
• Root Beer for the kids and Karl and Coca-Cola for me (I had only one and included it in my carbs for the day...haven't had any in a month...as a result my blood sugar did not rise any higher than it has been, so that was a great thing!)
• Cheesecake....scrumptious....we all had some except Logan, who opted to have an entire root beer for himself and forgo dessert.

Wish we could have shared the evening and snacks with friends and family...but we had a great time with just the five of us.

Looking forward to getting back into our school groove tomorrow. We have to finish the unit we are in, work on some writing projects, and finish reading about cigarettes and respiratory health. My 2nd round of quarterly reports is due on Friday for Logan and Hailey so I have to mail those this week. I have them ready, just have to print and mail.

Today was a warmer day...up to about 41 degrees today. Even though I know we have several more weeks of cold weather and snow, I am getting excited about the arrival of spring. It will still be chilly and we will still be in jeans and long sleeves, but just to be able to go out and enjoy a day on the canal trail will be wonderful! I haven't been able to do much that is physical due to the pregnancy...no sledding, and not much walking for fear of slipping on the ice. I do get plenty of exercise doing housework, but it's just not the same. When we got home from church, and lunch, today we could hear the runoff from the melting snow in all the gutters. It was a welcome sound...it won't last I know....but it was still a reminder that warm weather and green grass is not too far away. Karl and I were both excited to hear it.

I'm sitting here, typing this now, thinking of doing more research on home school curricula. I think I may have it narrowed down to what/how we'll do it next year, but I do need to read some more. I enjoy researching anyway, so I guess that's where I'm headed next...the World Wide Web. I hope all is well with everyone. I'll be back on again soon.