1 day. 32 weeks. 6 years.

1 day
I'm embarking on a new journey tomorrow - formalized preschool for the kids, but not in the sense you may think. We're not "going" anywhere for preschool, except to the kitchen table, or maybe the basement, or maybe outside. We're having preschool here. I've spent hours over the last month researching, planning, and preparing lesson plans for me to follow for teaching the kids specific things on "themes" we'll be covering each month. I've learned a lot in my research and am very excited about seeing my kids minds open up to new concepts in our lessons. I'm starting off easy with our September theme being Family and Home. We'll be learning new songs and scriptures, doing crafts, and some phonics/mathematics they won't even realize they're learning. I'm also going to start doing some reading during breakfast to hone in on their listening skills - stories that will hopefully spawn curiosity in their minds and teach them to listen. I will share more as we progress. But as of now, all my Sept documentation is printing and I'll be adding the sheets to my notebook.

32 weeks
I'm 8 months pregnant today. Wow. I have a Dr appointment on Wednesday to check this little guy's heartbeat and measure my ever-growing belly. I have a long list of pregnancy woes, but all in all, I'm having a healthy pregnancy. I'm hungry all the time and I keep reminding myself that it's OK to watch the scale go up...

6 years
Today is the anniversary of my marriage to Patrick. I can't tell you how significant this anniversary is to us. We've learned so much in the last few months about our marriage, our faults, our failures, and our out-right sinful hearts that put the brakes on the happiness of "ever after" earlier this year. A marriage is so fragile without the commitment to love. And we've learned a lot about love this year. Love is learned. It doesn't come naturally and needs to be matured over time. We have learned how to love one another as God has called, not how we think we should love. And we're learning. And it is becoming beautiful.

Our marriage was a pile of fragments earlier this year and we didn't know how it was ever going to be put back together. If I have the courage, I'll write more about how fragmented we were and how close we came to turning away from the mess. But God has grace. And He has led us up to this Happy 6th Anniversary.

May God be praised for these.

Seriously!?!?!

Am I seriously almost 32 weeks along with this -my third - pregnancy? I'm astounded. I just can't believe that I'm:
1. Pregnant again
2. Almost done being pregnant this time
3. About to experience the hardest, most excrutiating physical act known to man (giving birth, people)
4. Going to sacrifice every part of my body to meet the very-different-needs of 3 very different children

And it's all a blessing. It really is. It's just taken me a while to see it all as a blessing.

No, I still have not taken any "belly" pictures. I have a hard time with that. Why would I want to take a picture of myself looking like a whale? I will though...eventually. And no, we still haven't chosen his name.

Here is a picture of me pregnant with Ethan at 31.5 weeks (which is where I'm at now...). You get the idea of what I look like...just with slightly shorter hair.

Summer Fun - Part 4

My kids have grown to LOVE water parks. Love them. We've gone to Wetlands three times this summer, once with Daddy, once with Aunt Amanda, and once with Kara and her crew. Mallory and Ethan are both doing really well in the water. They both run around without floaties and are doing a good job of keeping their head above water. They're figuring out to 1. Keep their mouths shut under water and 2. Blow bubbles when their heads go under water. They both still need lots of monitoring, but I love watching them love water.

Being a native Floridian, I was around water A LOT growing up. I hope the kids will get the chance to spend lots of time at pools and lakes. Maybe one day we'll get closer to the ocean, but for now, waterparks and such will suffice.

Summer Fun - Part 3

Back in July, we were having unseasonably cool temps, most days barely getting out of the 70's and sometimes hitting low 80s. We've only had a couple of days that have reached 90, but other than that, it's been a very mild summer (great for a greatly pregnant woman, I must add).

In the middle of July, we went to a Battel backyard bash in honor of Fisher's birthday. Kara usually goes all out with her parties and, as expected, was a blast. The only thing was that she had a water bounce house (just like last year), but it was like 72 degrees out and dropping. All the kids were pretty cold, but had fun none-the-less. We had to get them into long-sleeves after their lips turned blue and teeth started chattering, but it was all worth it. Ethan tasted Capri-Sun and Doritoes for the first time and scarfed them up (like he does most other things). Fisher had a great time, got lots of loot, and even shared his new trucks with E. I'm glad E has a good buddy like Fisher.

Anyway, here are a few pics of the b-day bash! (see more here)

My Goodness!

I have had a bear of a time with our computer(s) lately. The "new" computer I got back in April fried up on me last week while at my parents. I'm not positive why, but I have some theories. We were still able to exchange it (rather than fix it since it was brand-new), so we upgraded a little and got another one. Well, it's taken me FOREVER to get this sucker ready with updates, antivirus and downloads. We still have lots to do, but at least I can get on the Internet.

Anyway, if I'm offline more than usual, it's because I'm trying to get my computer straight as well as chase after my 2 kids and am an exhausted pregnant lady. Anyway, I just wanted to check in with my blog-followers...

Summer Fun - Part 2

Our kids like the water. Ever since we took them to a waterpark earlier this year (I haven't posted on that...but I will eventually), they both talk a lot about going to waterparks. Mallory will play in her toy car, telling me she's taking Doggie bye-bye to the waterpark. She loves it.
Since it's 20 minutes or so away and is only open until 6, it's hard to get there by the heat of the day during after-nap timeframe. We've known that we live VERY close to a lake beach, but it's one of those places that's not the best place to take the kids by myself, so we really only go if I have someone with me. Well, a few weeks ago, we were trying to figure out what to do with the kids when we remembered Boone Lake. We ate an early dinner, packed up the kids and drove the 5 minutes to the Lake. The kids LOVED it.

They both like playing in the sand. I had found some sand toys that I had purchased for Mallory's 1st birthday and brought them along. Mallory was content to stay on the beach and venture into the water when she was curious about Ethan's antics while Ethan pretty much ran around, unafraid of where he was going or how deep he was going. The boy just loved the water. He loved the sand, too, but he didn't which one he liked best. All in all, it was a HUGE hit, it was free, and I'm hoping we can do it again before the heat of the summer goes away.

Summer Fun - Part 1

I've decided to break up some of our fun summer activities down in to segments, mainly because I have so many pictures in my "vault" that it will take me time to sift through them and write posts. Our summer has been crazy busy, yet I look back and wonder what we've done these past few months. From looking at my calendar and all of the events we've attended, we have had lots of fun and some good memories.

One thing I've been trying to do this summer season (and an unseasonably cooler summer season) is spend a lot of time outdoors. Being a native Floridian, I'm an indoor girl most of the time. And though I think FL is absolutely beautiful and would love to find myself there again sometime in the future, I am not a fan of 90+ degree weather. I'd rather be inside. But, I digress...

Local businesses have been sponsoring free concerts at one of our favorite local parks down by Boone Lake and we've made it to 2 of them. The first one, we brought our chairs, let the kids run, and listen to the duo who sang songs from the 80s and 90s. The second one, we were a little more ambitious and brought our portable grill, invited some friends and enjoyed a cookout. Both times we went, Mallory asked to "go to music time one more time". The kids have a good time, the adults get a little culture, and it's all around very fun. There are at least 2 more concerts I'd like to go to before the season lets up. I'm hoping they'll be on our agenda.

Ethan's First Prayer

Mallory has been our lead pray-er before our meals and she's had this role for a while now. Ethan usually has his hand out ready to pray before meals, exclaiming "Pay!", since he's almost always ready to eat, and finishes Mallory's prayer sometimes with a hearty "Amee" (followed by a hand clap).

This morning at breakfast, we held hands I asked Ethan if he'd like to say the prayer. He looked at me with his big blue eyes and said:

"Bless Daddy. Amee"

I smiled at his sweet innocence and prompted him to bless the food, though I did praise him for saying such a great prayer. I know full well that he has a big heart for his Daddy. He's awfully clingy to me these days, which gives the sense that he favors me, but I think I'm his comfort. Yes, I know he loves me too, but his love for his Daddy is there...way down deep in his heart that comes out at the sweetest times imaginable.

Gearing up for the Fall

While I was in Charlotte last weekend, I was able to visit with two home-school mom extraordinares (#1 and #2). I was greatly encouraged and gleaned ideas from both of them as to how to go about this "teaching your kids" stuff and that it can be done successfully. I mean, both of these lovely moms have 5 kids each...and if they can do it, I can do it! There's nothing that balms the soul...er, at least MY soul, than visiting with someone who encourages me. I get a new fire - an invigoration of my self-esteem as a mom, a wife, a homemaker, and all the other titles that are running through my mind (house cleaner, cook, dishwasher, launderer, etc).

Last week, I've spent several hours making some plans for what me and the kids will be learning over the Fall months (pre- and post- baby's birth) and I'm very excited about the research I've done and what I've drawn up in my precious plans.

Today, we're heading out for tax-free shopping to pick up needed supplies and crafts for what's in store in the coming months in addition to tackling the fall clothes shopping for my oldest two, whose wardrobe right now consists of 2 pairs of jeans each. Fall will be upon us soon, which brings a new addition to our family and little time for else. I've got to be prepared. So, I've got my list and my two charges and we're off to the races!