Baby's development!

Exciting news.... 16 weeks tomorrow!!!! I feel like my pregnancy has been flying by (you know.... except for those "wonderful" moments when I hang out in the bathroom on and off all morning! HA!) I found a Week by Week calendar at the BabyCenter website that I love.... here's the news of the week:

"How your baby's growing:

Get ready for a growth spurt. In the next few weeks, your baby will double his weight and add inches to his length. Right now, he's about the size of an avocado: 4 1/2 inches long (head to rump) and 3 1/2 ounces. His legs are much more developed.... his ears are close to their final position, too. The patterning of his scalp has begun, though his locks aren't recognizable yet. He's even started growing toenails. And there's a lot happening inside as well. For example, his heart is now pumping about 25 quarts of blood each day, and this amount will continue to increase as your baby continues to develop."

Oh, how I love my little avocado..... :)

Thankful Thursday...

Today, I am thankful....

1) For my children's good health. I am very aware of the fact that a person's health can take a turn for the worse in an instant; however, for today, for this moment, I am grateful for the health of my children. It feels as if I hear about hurting families every day, and my heart is so, so burdened to pray.... but even in the midst of the journey, I must still pray in gratitude for this day (have you been following Mckmama and Stellan's journey.... whew.... pray, pray, pray!)
2) For naptime. I am blessed that while Aaron is still at school, Isaac naps. During these sleepy days of early pregnancy, I NEED that resttime!
3) For the generosity of my parents as they have helped us SO much in purchasing packages and packages of diapers over the past 6 1/2 years. Can you believe it?!! We've been changing diapers for SIX+ years (Aaron potty trained a month before Isaac was born!)
4) For an awesome Bible study with awesome women. I'm actually getting ready to wrap up Beth Moore's study of Esther next week..... it's been a terrific study with some terrific new friends!
5) For God's provision for our family. During these trying times when it is difficult to even watch the 6:30 national news, I am very aware of the fact that I must have a grateful heart for all that God has provided for our family.

Have a blessed day! Much love!

My handsome fellas....

This picture totally makes me smile for multiple reasons. First, ALL of my boys had major bedhead.... love it. Second, in case you've never met Isaac in person.... I should tell you that he is the happiest, most smiley kid I've ever met. For the life of me, I couldn't snag a smile from him on that morning. He frowned like this in every picture. It made me laugh that morning and is still making me laugh! Third, anybody else notice that these three have a few similarities? If not, you may want to get your vision checked.....

Yep, I'm crazy about these guys....

A new stage....

We've entered a new stage with Isaac.... I'll just sum it up by calling it "The Stripping Stage." Thankfully, it doesn't happen every day, but this is what I found the other day when I rounded the corner as Isaac played Playdoh....

Doesn't he know that he has VERY little body fat AND that it is still COLD in Buffalo?!! :)

A sweet commercial....

Why DO little ones grow up so quickly?!! :)

A fabulous recipe for a cold day....

Chicken and Wild Rice Soup (from the kitchen of my friend, Angie!)

1 onion, diced
1 carrot, diced
1 rib of celery, finely chopped
1/4 c. butter/margarine
1/2 c. flour
8 c. chicken broth
3 c. wild rice mix (I usually use Zataran’s brand.... but Uncle Ben’s mix works fine- 1 box)
1 c. cubed chicken
1/4 t. pepper
1 c. evaporated milk

Boil veggies with chicken (I almost always put all of it in the crock pot for the day). In a separate, large soup pan, melt butter and add flour. Gradually add broth to mix and use a whisk until smooth. Stir in rice, chicken, veggies, and pepper. Boil over medium heat until thickened and until rice is tender. Stir in milk. Cook for another 3-5 minutes, do not boil. *To help with WW points and to lower calories, I always use light margarine and fat free evaporated milk, and it turns out fine.

Sleep, sweet baby...

I know that I've heard many moms talk about the same feeling....

With two very busy boys, I don't get much cuddle time anymore outside of moments tucking in and rocking at bedtime.... we're too busy wrestling and tickling for snuggling. That is why.... while I HATE when my kids are not feeling well, I love that they are more snuggly. This morning, an earache set in for my littlest bundle.... and look what happened....

I do hope that Isaac feels much better after a good nap.... but if not, DARN.... we'll just have to have some more snugglin'! :)

My sweet alarm clock....

This morning, Aaron ran into the room and said, "Mommy, Happy Spring 1st!" It was quite cute.... even at 6:00 AM! :)

Baby details....

So, you've been asking about details, I'll start tellin'!

* I'm 14 weeks! According to the pregnancy week by week calendar, that means that our baby is the size of a lemon! Hoorah for lemons!!! :)
* My due date is September 14th. However, because I had c-sections with both of the boys, we will schedule a c-section this time around.... sometime prior to that day!
* I have had three perfect ultrasounds so far!
* My shots and meds are all going fine. My tummy is a bruised up mess from the shots, but hey, it's TOTALLY worth it! I'm thrilled that I've found a good medical practice here in Buffalo.
* God has given me SO MANY victories over fear in the last 14 weeks. After struggling with multiple miscarriages in the past, during my pregnancy with Isaac, I just gave into the fear; it seemed to rationally make sense with my history, so I just handed myself over to fear for nine months. God has totally done a work on my heart, and I've realized that I DO NOT have to submit to fear any longer! That doesn't mean that it hasn't been a struggle, but I have totally gone to battle with the fear.... God and I have WON! :) While I am not guaranteed a healthy baby in this pregnancy, God pressed this question on my heart during week #5.... "Deanna, either you trust me or you don't....." NOT trusting Him for the outcome that I want.... RATHER, just trusting HIM!!! I do.... He has MORE than earned my trust in my 33 years of livin'!!! I share this, only hoping that it might be an encouragement to even just one person who is battling fear today.... battle it with His help!!! You CAN do ALL things through Christ who gives you strength!!!
* We are not planning to find out the gender of our peanut (I mean.... our LEMON!) until we see him or her face to face! We tried to find out when we were expecting Aaron, but he didn't cooperate.... in the end, we absolutely loved the surprise and decided that we would never do it any other way!
* We are ALL thrilled! I know that there was some concern after watching the baby announcement video that the boys are not excited. Rest assured.... they are. In fact, five days after we told them, we were at Disney at the Animal Kingdom, and Aaron shared our news with a stranger (no, we hadn't gone public yet.... but did that day with hundreds of people that we didn't know after the Lion King show....) Check out the outcome of telling just one person.... this is one of Aaron's favorite memories from this Florida trip! :) (sorry.... I had to divide it into two parts.... technical difficulties!)






* Both our boys are hoping for a girl. However, Scott and I really and truly will be thrilled with either. Sure, it would be fun to have a little girl running around this place, but in some ways, I can't even begin to picture a girl here! :) The other night, Aaron prayed, "God, please help our baby to grow healthy and strong, and God, please help it to be a girl." I didn't have the heart to tell him that God's already made a decision on that one! :)

So sweet....

This morning at MOPS, Isaac's class made toy/paper cell phones and discussed talking to Jesus. When we got home a little bit ago, Isaac pulled it out of his pocket, held it up to his ear, and said, "Jesus, are you there?!!"

So, so sweet..... prayer through a cell phone. I like it.....

Thankful Thursday...

Today, I am thankful....

1) FOR YOU, my dear blog reader! It's been fun to share the journey of life with you a bit through this blog.... for 2 1/2 years now! WOW! Can't believe I've been blogging for that long! I just looked back at my first couple of posts from 2006... oh my goodness, my babies have changed since then!!!
2) For saltines! I've NEEDED them to get through the past couple of weeks.... and I am grateful that they do help with morning sickness!
3) That my hubby will be home this afternoon! YEA! He has been in Ponte Vedra Beach, FL, speaking at a church (actually.... THE church that we THOUGHT we were moving to 1 1/2 years ago.... until God redirected our path to Buffalo!) Can't wait to see my man!
4) That we were able to get away last Friday night. It was SO GOOD to have that time away! Thanks, Mom and Dad!
5) For sunshine!!! Thank you, Lord!!! :)

Have a blessed day! Love you!

True confessions....

.... the videos in THIS POST from the Living Proof Ministry blog messed me up. I sat down this morning to casually flip through a blogs; instead, I watched the videos that Beth Moore and her team posted. Last weekend, Beth hosted a conference just for pastors' wives.... yep, I want to go to the next one. Prior to the weekend, she did an informal survey, and some of the responses hit me HARD. Some I completely resonate with.... some I don't and just flat out break my heart. Either way, I think that it is good to glimpse into the hearts of some anointed AND some hurting women.

Can I ask you to do me a huge favor? Will you PLEASE lavish some love on your pastor's wife this week? Maybe she, like me, has had some days when she has, literally, begged her husband to go and work for McDonalds instead of the church....

And lest you be overly concerned, today is a good day.... we're in a good season.... and I haven't begged Scott to go and apply at McDonalds recently (for at least a week anyway....) I know that I will LIVE and I will DIE in my role as a pastor's wife. It's one of the greatest privileges of my life to minister alongside of Scott.... but yes, there ARE hard days....

Weekend update #2

Last weekend, my parents came to hang out with us in NY! AND.... my niece and nephew decided to surprise their cousins! Oh my goodness, the joy in my boys was PRICELESS when they saw Abby and Zach. Because they all got in after the boys' bedtime on Thursday night, we pulled the mattresses into Aaron's room, and he woke up with his cousins on the floor beside him! Precious!

My parents were SO kind to keep all the kiddos for a night, so Scott and I could get away for a MUCH NEEDED night away.... more on that in a minute.... but I think they had a great time while we were gone. Their time included much fun on the Wii, a trip to Niagara Falls, and much fun in the Golf Dome. So many fun pictures!



And just in case you were concerned that Scott and I missed out on all the fun, I assure you that we enjoyed every minute away.... relaxing.... doing whatever we wanted.... enjoying LOTS of uninterrupted conversations over some great meals out! Fabulous! We splurged and stayed at the Hilton, overlooking Niagara Falls. Quite wonderful!

The fantastic view from our room on the 25th floor! These are the Horseshoe Falls....

And these are the American Falls (and yes, there is STILL ice....)

Weekend update #1

So, I'm just getting around to posting about the past couple of weekends. They were great! First, two weekends ago, Scott's parents came for a visit. Scott and his Dad enjoyed a great day of skiing in the mountains south of the city. We had a great time relaxing and even enjoying some time on the Wii (gotta love MarioKart!) I enjoyed every minute.... right up until the point that I got bit by a stomach bug ON TOP OF morning sickness. Not a fun combination.... BUT I was thankful to enjoy some time with Tom and Kathy before it hit!
Here's a fun little video that Scott captured during our time together.... Grandma and Isaac enjoying some music and some dancing! So, so sweet! :)

Cool girl.... great story....

Check this out if you have a minute. Taylor is a teen from The Chapel who has volunteered regularly in King's World (our children's ministry). She comes from an amazing family (her big sis is our favorite babysitter). And this opportunity, literally, just fell in her lap. It's pretty amazing.... what a huge opportunity for a great kid to give God glory! Love it!

We have a BIG announcement!

I'll let the boys tell you....



More details to come.... we are all SUPER excited! YIPPE!!!! :)

(and yes, I included both "takes" of the video because the boys were just too cute!)

Another one bites the dust!

It seems like Aaron loses a tooth per week these days! Another one popped out this morning! Isn't this just about the cutest toothless kiddo you've ever laid eyes on?!! :) We keep telling him that he picked good timing because the permanent ones will be in just in time for corn-on-the-cob season this summer!!!

The little dude is already trying to pick out which one will be wiggly next!

Mommy's Little Helper

We've entered a new stage with Isaac.... nearly every time I'm in the kitchen and he notices, he proceeds to pull up a chair and ask, "Help Mommy?" Gotta be honest.... I don't always say yes.... sometimes, I just try to distract him with other activities.... but sometimes, I let the little man pitch in. Last weekend, he helped with scrambled eggs and loved every minute of it.

The power of love and kindness....

Check this out. What a powerful reminder that little acts can make a big difference in our world!

"All I want for Easter....

.... is my two front teeth!" Aaron lost one of his top teeth on Saturday.... and the other one is pretty wiggly, too! He was so excited when the first one came out! :)

In other news, the tooth fairy no longer comes to our house. As we were driving home from Florida last weekend, Aaron said, "Mommy, is there really a tooth fairy or is it just you and dad?"

I said, "Well buddy, what do you think?"

Aaron: "I think it's just you guys."

Me: "Yep, you're right." (then, my hubby whispered, "Change the subject quick or you're going to be discussing Santa!")

We always said that if he ever asked us directly about such things, we would tell him the truth and not try to keep the fantasy rolling, but I must admit, I was sad that I only got to play "tooth fairy" for two teeth with him. I was also "sad" on Saturday night when he said to me, "Hey mom, are you ready to pay up?!!" :) Isn't that funny????

My toothless wonder....

You can tell in this one that the permanent tooth is already popping in! Yea!

Out of the mouth of my babe....

Tonight, as I was tucking Aaron in, I said, "Buddy, I love you to the moon and back!"

And my little sweetie proceeded to respond, "I love you as much as God and Jesus stacked on top of each other. That's HUGE!"

Isn't that sweet?!!! My little sugar was just trying to think of the biggest thing he could! :) In other news, Aaron just read 56 pages of a Dick and Jane book to me at bedtime. It was so, so cool.... and he was so, so proud! His reading abilities have totally exploded in the last month or so; it's really fun!