thankful...

so far, during this pregnancy, i am thankful for:

• nesquik chocolate powder & milk
• pop ice popsicles (the cheap ones that we all remember from childhood)
• udder balm & ivory soap (remember the 'chicken pox' i thought i had in march/april? turns out it was probably a pregnancy thing. thank goodness for udder balm & ivory soap that cleared my itchies away).
• ginger: tea, fragances, anything---takes away my pukies
• friends & family who let me be slightly neurotic & a little obsessive and who smile through it all!
• a husband who makes me chocolate milk every night so i can take my vitamins without retching & who understands when i don't make supper b/c i can't stand the smells of the kitchen (how long can i get away with that by the way?)
• my computer so i can research the best & cutest baby gear!
• a doctor that i am completely comfortable with & whose office seems to truly care
• a God who knew when it would be best for Mike & I to have our first child & that He has provided us with new jobs & new prospects for the future & the ability to splurge a little on this baby
• a healthy baby heartbeat!!!

welcome to marketplace 29 a.d.

Thought you might enjoy a few pictures from our VBS week...the kids had a blast dressing up like they were from the old times. This is just part of my group--some of the kids were basketweaving & ran out of time to dress up.
And no, you're not seeing double...I do have 2 sets of twins in my age bracket (3-5 yrs) but both are going to kindergarten this fall so I won't have them in Sonlight anymore.

whew...

...what else can i say? it's the end of a long but fulfilling week...summer school started & we did a 4 day VBS. the VBS was great but exhausting...i had a lot of new little people in my group which i love but there is no way i would have made it without my help, especially my mom. sometimes there's just that person who sees things your way, reads your mind, anticipates your next move...you know? i'd forgot how great my mom is with masses of little children until i put her back into commission with my 24 toddlers & she rode the bicycle like she'd never forgotten how...bless her for her help, especially with one of our new friends who shall remain unnamed, but who we'll call God's special child & Cindy's special friend.

my baby & i are getting lot of R&R this weekend and catching up on college schoolwork. only 1 month left!!!!!!!! i also should do some laundry & clean house, but we'll see how it goes. for now, we're starting with a shower & bed...that's as far as i can think to tonight.

God bless you all who are praying for our Schuyler teachers & school board...keep it up. He hears us & I am certain He will see us through this mess & hold our teachers in His arms.

night for now & love to all.

we have HEARTBEAT!!

i had my 12+ week check-up today & the doctor did our first doppler & found the heartbeat right away!! yeah!! i told him i'd been having dreams about twins thinking he might search for a second hearbeat & he pretty much told me that we would have to wait until ultrasound day...another 5 weeks. the heartbeat was strong & steady--very cool to hear and made this experience a little more real for us. i'm glad mike could be there with me to hear it...he was definitely excited & even went baby clothes shopping with me afterwards & picked out most of what we bought. we didn't go hog wild...just went to herberger's to look at their sales & they had their sets of 5 Carter's onesies on sale for less than $10!!! mike was the one looking through them & he found a set of boy ones that had firetrucks on every one...he just had to get them. i made him pick out a little girl set, too & then we picked a set of neutrals. fun, fun, fun...

where have i been this last week?...everyone's mentioned that i haven't been blogging. to be honest..i'm tired!!! i started teaching summer school for Schuyler this week--full days in special ed & then leave there & immediately go to VBS. tuesday night i had 23 toddlers--thankfully i had my mom's help & other moms & grandmas who offered to stay. last night we only had 16 because of ball games & stuff. we go 2 more nights...i'm definitely more ready today because i slept in & then came home and napped after my doctor's appointment. yay for naps!!!

all week my body has been going about my regular routine but my heart is with the teachers from schuyler who are fighting for the resignation or termination of their current superintendent. several of them have put in so many hours of research, prayer, meeting, phone calling, and preparation. they met with the board last night to present their thoughts & their fears. please, please pray for them & the board as the decisions are discussed and determined. the staff who have been a part of this have put in late nights and they are physically and emotionally exhausted. they don't just fight this battle for the sake of their jobs & staff moral..they are fighting for their children & future generations of schuyler county. tonight, before you fall asleep, please think of their fight and fall on your knees in prayer for them.

a new experience

Well, I had a first time experience today. It all started when Mom called me yesterday and told me about a big 'first time baby yard sale' advertised in the Shopper in Bloomfield. I got out my paper and read it and, of course, got very excited. It had all kinds of baby gear listed, plus 0-18 mo. baby boy clothes. We still aren't finding out what we're having but we're planning for both--plus, even though it's advertised baby boy, there are usually things that work for boys & girls. The sale was supposed to start at 4 today. So around 3:10, when Mike was coming home from work I called and said, "hey, drive over to the duffield subdivision and see if that garage sale opened early," thinking if it had, we'd run over. He called back laughing and said that it looked like the day after Thanksgiving over there. It wasn't open, but cars were lining up along the drive. I started getting in one of my moods--you know, oh great, I hate pushy, shovey yard sales--but Mike convinced me to get my shoes on and he came over & picked me up.

We joined the madness & waited in the drive for about 20 minutes in the car & they finally lifted the doors. People were power walking like crazy--it was funny to just hang back and watch, but we eventually joined in the fun. First we looked at the big stuff--what people hadn't snatched up yet & settled on a great vibrating bouncy rocker to take to my mom's house & a lay under gym that also folds into a tummy time activity center that will probably end up at one of our parents' houses. While Mike was holding those things, I started looking through all the clothes. The lady said she'd had 3 boys, so some of the clothes were kind of worn, but she had several sleepers--some
yellow--that for $1 each I couldn't pass up. I also got probably 10 onesies (something I'm convinced you can never have too many of) lots of them white & yellow--a couple cute blue ones with patterns (one with a firetruck for daddy) & 4-5 towels. After I loaded my arms with all that, then I walked back through and looked for the really cute baby boy clothes. I picked up several outfits--some just play outfits, but still very cute. I looked through her maternity clothes but nothing struck my fancy--however, I'm pretty excited about what we did get. It's fun to think that, even though Mike & I figure we'll get mostly new gear for our house through showers & stuff,
that we still get to find fun things for Grandma's & Papa's houses (and even more fun to thinking about sharing a new baby with willing and loving Grandmas and Papas)! I'm glad Mike convinced me to go but even more glad he was there. I'm sure that even if I would have set those big things down at my feet to look through the clothes they would have been gone (or someone would have tried!). It was a new experience--never waited in a driveway for a garage sale to open, but it was a fun 45 minutes & we got some great buys!!!

weekend pictures

Mike & I in front of the beautiful Storm Lake

Kathy & I graduate with Summa Cum Laude honors...she earned a perfect 4.0--way to go, Kathy!

sisters dear...

these kids are so ornery, but were pretty good all weekend!

the whole family!

Andrea & Vance, Colby & Emma

Friday night girls night out at El Vacquero (well, girls + Mike, the photographer). we had such a good time!
LtoR: Kea, Me (Jenn), Tania, Erika, Saturn, Brooke

my first day off...

yay! no school today! i'm at home cleaning & doing laundry (okay, i'm seriously thinking about those things!). i was yucky, awful sick last night so i skipped out on class and stayed home. thought i was getting the flu like andrea, but i'm feeling better today so i guess all the vomiting was just baby stuff? check out my countdown...tomorrow i pass the 200 numbers on days left--on to the one hundreds! yay!

tonight laurie's coming up to hammer out final schedules & stuff for vbs...its happening so quickly i just can't believe it. we already have 60 kids pre-registered...what a blessing!
colby has his first game tonight--i'll be cheering him from here since i can't make it. can't wait till the next one that i can go to--i'll wait a couple so that when i go he'll be an old pro! (and b/c the next one is on a class night in edina).

here's hoping the rest of you are having a nice, restful day!

my cute baby buys

since i don't have cutie picture of kids to share like everyone else, i'll show you my super cute outfits that i found at younkers this weekend. some are boy, some are girl, some are neutral...one of the funnest things about not knowing what you're having is planning for both!

the pic on the left is a duckie nightgown with elastic at the bottom..it has a matching hat, socks, and hand mittens

the picture on the right are sleeper outfits for Mikey...Daddy's Boy & Daddy's Girl

Emma picked out this set, a neutral giraffe sleeper, onesie & bib (the bib is a little boyish but the outfit is neutral)

i love these sweatsuits...the neutral one had a matching onesie that we bought, too!

in love with TAGGIES

Well, we had a whirlwind weekend. Friday night Mike & I went out with some of our friends to El Vacquero in Kirksville & had a great time catching up & eating. Then we left Saturday morning with Andrea, Vance & the kids and went shopping in Des Moines. I found great baby clothes sales at Younkers & my hubby was very willing to let me splurge a little (YAY!). While we were shopping I ran into this clothing line called TAGGIES. The idea is that they sew satin tags onto their products because they are soothing for kids...apparently very true b/c Andrea says Emma still rubs the tag of her care bear when she is falling asleep..I've heard the same of other kids. Anyways...the clothes didn't excite me as much as the toys and blankies. I didn't find anything I was in love with at the store we were at, but Andrea was telling me about the TAGGIES blanket that has ribbon along its edges...so today I got online (www.taggies.com) and they have the coolest products. I e-mailed Mikey to tell him my favorites (so sure he'll be excited). I love the baby buddies duck & the blankies...how soothing for kids! Very excited about this product & can't wait to decide what to order!!!!!




Anyhow the rest of the weekend was very busy. We left Des Moines about 5:00, took a detour (otherwise known as the wrong direction) & finally ended up where we wanted in Fort Dodge. Met up with my folks & Lauren and had a nice supper for Andrea's birthday. Then we went back to the motel so the kids could swim. Sunday morning we got up, had a leisurely brunch at a great restaurant & headed the last hour into Storm Lake for my college graduation. The ceremony took almost 2 hours & then we loaded back up & headed home (Andrea got sick on the way home but she wasn't in my car...sorry sis, but thank goodness!).

All in all it was a great weekend. Got to spend good quality time with my whole family, I graduated from college (finally), found baby bargains, & fell in love with new products!!! AND, the place we went to for brunch on Sunday had a breakfast & lunch buffet set up so I got to have pancakes & mashed potatoes and gravy (my 2 favorite pregnancy foods!!!). What a great weekend!

funny...

God is so funny...well I don't know if it's funny exactly, but He definitely makes me smile so funny is the word I'm choosing. It's like all of the sudden He said--look at you two trusting and obeying me--I'm just going to keep pouring down blessings on you! One of our concerns in both of us being in Scotland County was finding childcare--someone we knew (at least a little) and trusted. Yesterday I just happen to be talking to the custodian and he mentioned a name to me that sounded familiar--someone who is opening a daycare this fall. I called my mom and it turns out they worked together at Glenwood Headstart for a few years--what a small world. So, I asked mom about her and she thought she'd be great. My next task was tracking down this woman--so today I asked Erin Tallman about her (the lady used to be a Frederick & so did Erin) and Erin told me she works right here in the school as their Parents as Teachers parent coordinator! All it took was me wandering down to her office (& catching her while she was in there). I explained our situation, told her I was due in December & that I'd heard she was opening a daycare. She said she'll be licensed in a couple of months and that it was true that she was leaving her PAT job to do a daycare. We are just about guaranteed a spot with her--an amazing blessing that we found someone close and someone we can trust! Thank you, Lord! Now all we have left is the house journey! (okay, probably not all we have left, because when one journey ends another begins, but you all have to admit it is falling into place for us).

open to suggestions...

okay, mike and i are pretty settled on our middle names for baby. i hate plain middle names so they were the first thing i picked so i wouldn't force myself to settle for 'whatever matched'. we're having a hard time with first names...not that we don't have plenty of time, but thought someone out there might want to throw out a suggestion.
our middle name for a girl is Cynthia..a hard name to find a first name for but i love it, plus its my mom's name. our baby boy middle name is Micheal, for obvious reasons. mike has a boy name that he loves but we're still open to opinions.
okay folks, let's hear it!

10 weeks

we've made it to 10 weeks and although i'm more tired than i've ever been i'm excited about my baby's growth.

at ten weeks the baby's head makes up half its length. the eye color is being determined and the placenta is forming. the most critical parts of development are done and now we're headed into the rapid growth stage! yay for 10 weeks...sometimes it seems like it's speeding by and other days i feel like i'll never make it (but i will!).

PRAISE GOD!

my heart is overflowing with good feelings and celebration. a new job for me, a new baby on the way, and today we found out that micheal got the technical coordinator position at scotland county! that means we'll be at the same school and have our summers off together, meaning we'll be able to devote the time we want to ourselves, our growing family, and other activities like I-MO camp & NYR. mike has wanted for years to be able to help out at I-MO and to go to NYR work week and God obviously approves of his ambitions. you go, babe...i couldn't be prouder of you for stepping out in faith and making the best life for our family.

a new job for both of us also means that we are moving HOME! what a blessing to us with a baby on the way to be able to be within arm's reach of Grandma's & Papa's, Great-Aunts like Penny & Julie & many more (and uncles, too!), Lorn-Lorn, Nannie ('spose my kids will call you Nannie?) & the bestest cousins, Colby & Emma! the journey of finding a house is upon us but we anticipate it with much excitement!

my body is tired today--night class is wiping me out, but the joy of the mind and spirit outweigh the physical fatique. i think andrea said it best when she heard the news of Micheal's job and she simply said, "Praise, God!" praise Him indeed! Amen.

a dancer at nine weeks!

we made it to 9 weeks! my baby now has joints & is bending, dancing & wiggling (only wish I could feel that). his or her fingerprints are almost completely formed...is that awesome or what? the baby also has the ability to grasp objects put in the palm of his/her hand---thus begins the exploring of his toes, other fingers, nose & ears!..too sweet. okay, i know the baby still looks a little alien like, but she's getting more lifelike by the day!
GOOD NEWS...my morning/all day sickness is also getting better by the day! praise God!