Our miracle in progress...

OK, so I said I'd be better about posting more often. Ummmm - apparently, not so much... *red face* It's amazing how busy the summer can get, even when you're not really doing anything...

But last Friday was a red letter day of sorts in our house. We got to see our Wee One for the first time! Yes, we had the big u/s. And NO, we didn't find out what we're having. Besides the fact that it's only one baby. :~) Everything looks perfect. Measuring right on for dates, resting heartbeat in the high 160s, for anyone who's interested. Such a relief, b/c I'd been truly nervous about that for a while. Because of lots of things that have happened (both to us and to those we love), I now know that healthy babies don't just happen. Each one is a true miracle. And I am truly thankful that at least for now, we have our own miracle - for the 6th time. What a blessing. And one that I no longer take for granted.


Here's a sneak preview of Wee One - profile shot... (excuse the crookedness - scanned pic...)



I just cannot wait to meet our newest little blessing. Is it November yet??????

The Top 10 Things I Learned While on Vacation

Having just returned from 10 days of visiting my husband's family in various parts of WV, I thought I'd share some of the tidbits of knowledge that I gleaned while away from my computer.

10 ~ It is not, in fact, harmful to your children to severely limit their consumption of liquids prior to a 9+ hour car ride.

9 ~ It *IS* possible to refold a slip-n-slide so that it will still fit in the original box. It just may take several tries.

8 ~ It is true that clergy don't actually get vacations. People still die when you go out of town, and your husband will wind up spending the same amount of time on his cell phone as he would have in the office.

7 ~ There are very understanding priests who will go out of their way to make sure your husband doesn't have to leave you alone on vacation to return to do a funeral.

6 ~ Kids LOVE water guns. Most adults, however, do not, unless suitably attired, and equipped with much larger weapons.

5 ~ A 2 year old can spend HOURS in the sand, happily playing by himself and staying out of ttrouble. *Note to self - must get a sandbox for the deck.....

4 ~ A child will do ANYTHING for a ride on the 4-wheeler with grandpa.

3 ~ I love the midwest, but I sure do miss the Appalachian Mountains... *sigh*

2 ~ According to some people, 2 platefuls of salad will give a 2 year old an upset tummy, but 2 platefuls of chips are just fine....

And the most important thing I learned while on vacation was....

1 ~ Crocs, while not the most attractive footwear, make the most excellent shoes for a trip to an amusement park. Even if the most exciting thing you can do is ride the carousel....




I hope to post a bit more frequently, now that we are home. I almost died without internet access for 10 days! We spent 5 days in Huntington, and 5 days in Berkeley Springs, WV visiting Brian's mother, and his father and his wife. And learned all these important lessons along the way.... who knew that a simple roadtrip could be so educational??????? :D

I am DONE!!!!!!!

Wow. What a long month! I have finally completed the Great Cloth Diaper Hunt. For one month, twice a year (May and November), those of us who love all things CD (and who have nothing better to do) scour the web looking for diaper icons (which, I think, bear a slight resemblance to owls). Then, if you find them all, you get entered in a drawing for all kinds of cool stuff. The hunt is great, b/c it introduces you to a wonderful world of WAHM products - way more than just diaper stuff. Although there is plenty of that, too. This is the 4th hunt I have done, and the 3rd I have finished succesfully. I didn't complete last May's, b/c Brian was graduating, we had guests, job interviews, and lots of packing to do. (sigh) Oh well....

For a taste of some of the cool stuff out there, check out the SPONSOR LIST. And just click randomly. :-) Many sites also offer discounts during the month of the hunt. So in case some of you were wondering where I've been.... Now you know.

And I'll be gone again in November...

My Garden Secret

I am not a gardener. If you have any doubt about that, simply ask my mother. She used to punish me by making me weed. Ick. However, for some strange reason, I LOVE gardens. So I guess it's a good thing that the man I married loves to putter in the yard. It's also a wonderful thing that the house that we bought last summer is a gardener's paradise. We have 3 established fruit trees (apple, white peach, and pear), a fenced veggie garden which includes a strawberry patch, rhubarb, raspberry bushes, and many flower beds. The tulips and daffodils of early spring were lovely, and right now, the irises and the peonies are breathtaking. I simply adore peonies ~ their warm, spicy scent, and the way the bouquet arranged on my kitchen table greets me as I wander through the house attending to my daily chores.

The kids have helped Daddy plant the veggies. My role has been merely to choose the varieties that we will be harvesting. Fortunately, they seem to have inherited their father's love of dirt and order outside. I have also already conned them into doing all the weeding, pleading my growing belly. They actually enjoy it, though, and fight to be the one tapped to water the seedlings each evening.

So, now, all I have to do is supervise, and wait (impatiently) for those first fruits to ripen, and enjoy all the fresh bounty of my garden.

At least I know he was listening!

I apologize to all my message board ladies, because I have already posted this. But it's just too cute (or something ! ) not to post here...

Last week, David was being fussy, which is unusual for him. So I took him over to the side-light by the front door and showed him the robin's nest that had appeared on the brick column of our front porch.

"See," I said, " There's a mommy bird. She's in her nest, sitting on the eggs to keep them warm. Soon, the eggs will hatch, and there will be baby birdies in the nest!" He studied it for a while, and went back to playing.

Later that afternoon, I had gone upstairs to transfer a load of much-neglected laundry from the washer to the dryer. Fortunately for me, just at that very moment, the 4 older kids came in the door from school, and yelled for me. Apparently, in the mere 2 minutes I had been gone, David had taken the eggs out of the fridge, removed 5 of them from the carton successfully, brought them into the family room, placed them on the chair, and was sitting on them. He pointed to the eggs and said, "Chicks!"

If you can believe it, the only 2 eggs that broke were still in the carton. We have VERY squishy family room furniture...

I guess he was just trying to be a good mama bird! Sometimes I just love two-year-old logic. Precious!

I've been tagged, Again!

Now, my friend Lori, wants me to reveal 7 weird things about myself. Here goes.... Once again, in no particualr order...

1) I have webbed toes. Two on each foot. I guess that makes me part duck or something...

2) I have pointy ears, like an elf, or a petite blonde version of Mr. Spock.

3) I hate spiders. One of the main reasons I got married was so I would have a resident spider-killer always on hand. And I am only partially kidding...

4) I do not like being pregnant. Shocking, yes? I love having babies, but the 9 month journey to get there I could do without. Now, if I could do this without being sick for 9 months, and without becoming a weeble, and without tearing my rib muscles, now THAT would be a different story. But alas, God has blessed me with a body that is as fertile as nobody's business, but is very uncomfortable during the whole process. But it's all SO worth it, in the end... *sigh* *smile*

5) I hate peanut butter. Ick. I can tolerate it accompanied by chocolate, but only in small amounts.

6) I sort my candy by colors before I eat it. And I eat my least favorite flavors first, saving the good ones for last.

7) I actually enjoy the newborn baby stage. You know, when they don't do anything but eat, sleep, and poop, and you're so tired you could just scream. There are people who swear that the wee ones have no personality, but I beg to differ. There are few sweeter things than the cuddling time with your new baby.

OK, as I re-read through this list, I am sure that I must have forgotten LOTS of stuff, or that I am just brain-dead at the moment. Because this list doesn't even begin to cover my quirks, of which there are many. I probably should let my DH read this and comment...

Or not..... *vbg*

I've been Tagged!

I want to apologize to all my friends for my recent lack of activity. It seems that maybe the 1st trimester may not be the best time to begin an adventure in blogging. (vbg) But I hope to become more productive as the weeks progress.

My friend Ingrid "tagged" me, and I must write about the 5 things that I find most funny. Hmmmm - Let's see.... In no particular order.....

1) Monty Python's Holy Grail. Yes, I have a sick, twisted sense of humor.
2) Me, in a thong. Not only highly amusing, but kinda revolting at the same time. Unless you're my husband... (rolls eyes)
3) Dennis Miller. Amusing and thought-provoking entertainment all in one package.
4) My kids, when they are being silly. Which they do often, and quite well. Until it invariably goes too far, and then I'm stuck with the impossibility of disciplining them while simultaneously trying to avoid snorting liquid out my nose and supressing a giggle.
5) The thought of all our friends from seminary... "The future of the church..." Gosh, we have WAY too much fun to be in ministry. Or maybe that's the point...

So there you have it. Enjoy! And I'll be back later...