Thankful

"Better a little with the fear of the Lord than great wealth with turmoil"
~Proverbs 15:16

I'm often struck with how I seem to be forever struggling with contentment. As I was thinking recently about the things that I want (a bigger house, more land, more children, etc. etc.) I was hit with how much I do have.

So today I am feeling very thankful.
~This morning Trent and I heard baby's heart beat at about 145 bpm,
~Tomorrow I will be 20 weeks, officially halfway to meeting baby.
~I have 2 very healthy, beautiful girls.
~Anne's Guardian angels were watching over her a couple weeks ago when she was nearly hit by a car.
~We have a warm house (in the winter) and a cool house (in the summer).
~I have a faithful husband who loves me, our children, and supports our family.
~We may not have enough yard for a garden, but we were able to rent space at Lancaster County Central Park for a minimal fee. We've already spent much quality time there as a family.
~I have a beautiful kitchen that is so much more efficient than the one we had before.
~I have an amazing mother who is willing to watch my children while I'm at doctor appointments/when Trent and I go away.
~The same can be said of my mother and father-in-law. They are very supportive of our family and love the girls dearly.
~I have a really great group of stay-at-home-moms that get together with our children.
~I have easy pregnancies and great deliveries (Baby #3 better not prove me wrong, haha!)

This list could go on forever. So while I would love to have a bigger house and yard someday, for now I will be thankful for what I do have.


***Just look at those faces. What more could a Mama want in life?***

From the Mouths of Babes

Trent's (paternal) grandmother has not been while for awhile. In January she finally went to the doctor and they found a large hard tumor in her throat. She could not swallow any food or liquid by the next weekend. They decided to put in a feeding tube at the end of January. Two weekends ago she was feeling pretty well so Trent and I took the girls to see Granny and Pappy. Granny has trouble talking because it hurts her throat, but she did say a couple of things and was very pleased to hear Anne say Psalm 23. We had a nice visit with them and I was so thankful that we were able to go, tell Granny and Pappy in person that we are expecting again, and just visit for a little while. Granny even laughed a couple of times, and looked as though she was really enjoying watching the little girls play together.
This past weekend things went downhill very rapidly. Granny was having quite a bit a of nausea, and then was vomiting quite a bit. Friday the decision was made to call hospice to come to the house to check on her. This was done, and when the nurse checked the feeding tube she saw that it had become dislodged and recommended that she see a physician as soon as possible. She was taken to Hospice by ambulance, and Pappy rode with her. Trent's dad and aunt followed behind in the car. She was told she could get the feeding tube put back in or she could choose not to. Granny chose to have it put back in but when she was taken to the hospital the physician said there was nothing wrong with it. There was some confusion and frustration, however, many of us feel that this is really near the end for Grandma. She is 85 years old.
In order to prepare Annie for the death of her great-grandmother (Granny), I was reading her the story of Jesus' death and Resurrection from her little Bible. She was really into it, and we were talking about how it was really sad that Jesus had to die, but he did it because he loves us and wants to see us in heaven. And I was explaining that if we tell Jesus we are sorry for our sins and ask him to come into our hearts that he will never leave us and we will get to go to heaven when we die. And while we are still alive we can be Jesus' friend.
I had said to her something like, "Isn't that so great that Jesus did that for us?"
And my little 2-year-old said, "Yeah, and when I go to heaven Jesus will hold me in his arms and I'll hug him!"
I had tears in my eyes as I saw the love that this little one is starting to have for Jesus. She is starting to "get it" and beginning to understand the awesomeness of our Jesus.
Later we had a friend and her children over for lunch. Halfway through lunch Annie said, "Heather, guess what? I love Jesus!" Again, I had tears in my eyes as this dear child is sharing her love of Jesus with everyone she knows. What a great challenge that was for me! My 2 year-old is beginning to share the gospel! Who am I sharing the love of Jesus with??
I hope you all enjoy that story as much as I do and were encouraged by it!

For those of you who haven't heard.......

WE ARE HAVING A BABY!!!!!

The above picture is baby and me at 12 weeks. I'm thankful that my jeans still fit nicely, and hope they continue to do so for a little while at least. My "skinny jeans" are all in the back of the closet, put away for another day. My size 3s still fit nicely, and it is kind of nice that I wasn't always really thin because I also have a pair or two of 5s lying around that I can use before maternity jeans!

I am thankful to be feeling well. I have been a bit tired, but that is not unusual for me! Whenever I am pregnant I find that coffee no longer appeals to me. So as terrible as it sounds, I've sometimes been drinking iced tea or soda in the morning to give me a little caffeine boost.

We got to hear the baby's heartbeat on Tuesday, March 2nd, and it was so neat. It is always such a relief early on in pregnancy to hear that sweet sound, especially when you don't feel the baby moving yet or see any outward signs of having a baby in the belly!

Annie is understanding a little bit that there is a baby in Mama's belly. However, she is more excited about friends of ours from church, Stu and Laura, that are also going to have a baby. When I asked her if she wanted a brother or a sister she looked at me like I am the dumbest person in the world and said, "I already have a sister!" Duh, Mama, it can't be a sister because I already have one. I hope she's not disappointed if it is a girl! I'm sure she'll love her just as much as she does Abbey. Abbey doesn't understand but does love to poke my belly button when we show where the baby is!

We are so thankful that God has chosen to bless us with another baby.

Pacifiers: Part 2

Yesterday morning was the official start of no pacifiers for Abbey. She screamed for about 45 minutes for her morning nap (don't worry, I went in to calm and reassure her about every 10 minutes). She finally fell asleep and slept about 1 1/2 hours. Afternoon nap wasn't quite as bad. She was more like whimpering for about 30 minutes. At one point she pooped, so I changed her and she went to sleep soon after. She slept a solid 2 1/2 hours. Bedtime was what I was most worried about. I debated whether to give her the pacifier or not, but finally decided cold turkey was the way to go. She screamed for about 12 minutes. I went in and picked her up, sang to her like I always do and laid her down. She went right to sleep, at about 7:30 p.m. Through the night was what had me worried. Thankfully she slept all night and woke up just a tad earlier than normal, at 5:45 a.m. The phone rang and I think that could have been what woke her.

This morning for her nap I did our normal routine: nursed her, sang to her, and laid her down. She went right to sleep with out a fuss. She is attempting her afternoon nap right now, and is fussing a little. Often she poops right before her afternoon nap, so I will go in soon and check on her, change her diaper if necessary, and then I assume she'll go right to sleep.

Anne is doing better at night, but she did wake up 2 times in the night last night. The first was about 1 a.m. She had turned off the heat in her room and it was only 57 degrees. Trent turned it back on and got her tucked back in. She woke up 1 other time and after I went in and asked her to get back in bed she did, and didn't get up again until morning.

Pacifiers

Last night I vowed any children I have after Abigail will not use a pacifier. I am so tired of waking up 2-3 times in the night because it fell out of her crib.

We're working on both of the girls sleeping habits. Anne never took a pacifier and I was very grateful for that. She has long been a good sleeper, but recently has been getting out of bed several times before bed and in the middle of the night. We are getting tough and cracking down on Anne getting up out of bed. Anne never has trouble going right to sleep at nap time. Starting tonight we're telling Anne that we will not be coming back in the room unless it is a real emergency (like blood everywhere). Unfortunately, she has gotten sneaky and will tell us that she needs to go poop just so she can get out of bed.

Abbey goes back and forth between sleeping all night or getting up several times. Last night she woke up at 11 p.m. (needed the pacifier), 2 a.m. (needed the pacifier), 2:30 a.m. (I don't know what was the matter) and I let her "cry it out". I would go back in her room and reassure her about every 10 minutes, but this lasted until after 3 a.m. As soon as we get Abbey sleeping a little better, the pacifier is going to go. I believe I'll start weaning her from the pacifier during naps first, starting tomorrow.

Oh the things you have no clue about until you have children of your own. And they are each so different. . . I'll keep you updated on our screaming/sleep levels.

TV vs. Books/Crafts/etc.

*Grandma reading to Anne.* *Uncle Todd reading to Abbey.*

Anne is 2 years, 3 months old, and until recently has never watched "TV". Around Christmas she started watching the old-fashioned Rudolph on YouTube. We have one television in our home. It is set up in the basement with VCR and DVD capabilities. Trent and I watch about 1 movie a year. I have long scorned children watching TV, as I feel that books are a better form of "entertainment" and they get more involved with books than staring at a TV or computer screen.
However, I was having some difficulties putting Baby Abbey down for her naps because Anne would want me to read her books while I was rocking and nursing Abbey. Normally that is not a problem, but when I am trying to settle Abigail for a nap, it doesn't really work well. I started putting on segments of Disney movies from YouTube. (Bambi, Fox & Hound, and Robin Hood are Anne's favorites). They are typically 8-10 minute segments which give me enough time to get Abbey rocked and settled for her nap. This also works
well for brushing and braiding Annie's hair.
I can see how easy it would be for me (or any stay-at-home-mom) to just turn on the TV or put a movie in for their child. It keeps them quiet, and you have time to do something on your own. However, I'm not willing to allow my child to be raised by Disney. Today, when Abbey went down for her morning nap, I used the time with Anne to make Valentine cards for her little friends. She painted, glued, colored and used scissors. Would it have been easier for me to just let her watch movies? Sure, but how much more is she learning by being involved in a hands-on craft than staring at our computer screen. She has years of being on the computer ahead of her.
So when it comes up in conversation with other SAHMs and I say we don't have a TV I see the look of surprise on their faces. It may not be for everyone, but I find it works well for us. There are days when I wish we had it for watching the Olympics, the Super Bowl, etc. but in general I'm thankful that we don't watch TV. It's so nice to cuddle up with the little ones with a big pile of books (though I do get sick of hearing my own voice from time to time). :)
How do other moms do it?

****Of course, I posted this yesterday, and last night Anne got sick (vomiting, diarrhea, you know, the works). So what does she want to do today?? Lay on my bed and watch Robin Hood. Of course I caved for the poor little dear didn't feel well! She did want some books read to her, but mostly just to be snuggled.****

New

Blogging is new to me, but it seems as though many mothers are doing it as a way to stay connected and share ideas. It seems to be a good way to be in contact and get information. I am hopeful that I will be able to get help from other moms who have already gone through situations that I am currently dealing with.