2 weeks now

April 11th is only 2 1/2 weeks away! The boys are both getting more excited. Josiah has been hugging on a 6mo. baby girl at the gym. Karston has been talking about how beautiful she will be. They are going to be great big brothers.

The boys have been very sick for about 2 weeks now. They both came down with the flu with a very high fever for 4 or more days in a row. They just happen to get sick right before Heath went out of town so for a whole week I was alone with 2 sick boys and a puppy that is not quite house trained. It was a really rough week.

I did have a baby shower last week that was lots of fun. It was a small party, but that just makes it more intimate and personal. I got lots of really sweet clothes for Alyssa. I also got a jungle gym and as soon as I put it together the boys enjoyed it for about an hour. Karston told me the other day that it will be very exciting to put Alyssa's car seat in the van because then it will seem like she is really here. I think that we are all ready for her to get here and let us love on her.

At my shower I got a small baby brag scrapbook. On the first page I wrote Today I Saw You For The First Time... As people come in to see her at the hospital they can take a page to write down a note to Alyssa. It will be something she can look back at when she gets older and see who all came to see her and how much everyone loved her at first sight. So if you come to the hospital to see us be prepared for that. Karston has already decided that he will write "and you are so beautiful." I love the way that they love her already.

As we get closer the excitement builds we are now at 35 weeks on Sunday and she will be here at 37 weeks. Only 2 weeks away.

My boys

Monday night was really special. We attended a siblings class to get the boys ready for Alyssa. They learned about what it will be like when they come to visit us at the hospital and how to hold the baby and what kinds of things they can do at home to help out. They also got to visit the baby nursery and see a newborn through the window. They both loved it! The only bad thing was that they seperated the kids into two classes according to their ages, and our boys were split up. Josiah gets very shy and withdrawn when his brother is not around. In Karston's class the teacher asked what can happen after the baby burps? Karston without skipping a beat immediatley said "They Yak." Heath says that class was like an episode of kids say the darnedest things.

On Tuesday we went downtown to the SpinaBifida clinic for Karston's 6month checkup. Everything looks great with his back and leg. They did give him a new brace for his leg, considering our puppy used the last one for a chew toy. We did not see the urologist which is the more important one of the docs. We will go back on April 4th to see him. Hopefully we can talk more then about how long he will have to have suppositories to keep from having accidents.

Today Karston woke up with a temp of 104 degrees. So he is home sick today. The fever has gone down alot since I gave him medicine, a cool patch for his head, and some cranberry juice with 7up. I don't know what brought this on but, the last thing I need is to get really sick right now with Heath going out of town on business, Sunday through Thursday. Hopefully it is just a 24hr bug that we can keep under control today.

I will try to post more in a day or two, I got to go attend to my sick child now.

Reesie



I am 33wks

New pics

Alyssa Charis 4/11/06

First of all, Heath passed his test!!! He is now a Financial Advisor. He will need to go to Ohio for a couple of days for training, but we have it worked out that he goes the week before spring break and before we get to due dates. We have all felt the release of the stress from the test. The boys want to have a "congratulations party for dad."

Also, I heard back from my doctor about the ultrasound today. She says that everything looks great and Alyssa is measuring a good size. She told me that Alyssa is now 4lbs. and 5oz. From what I have read on my favorite preg. web sites she is right at average weight. I am 32weeks (33 weeks on Sunday) and the average weight at this time is about 4 1/2 lbs.

With the weather getting nicer, I have to be very careful not to overdo too much. I was outside with the boys all day today and now I am feeling very wiped out and my belly is heavy. (I am hoping to get some good belly pics and nursery pics posted soon.) I am going to take a bath and then try to get some sleep. Thanks to everyone for your prayers.

Reesie

We had another ultrasound today because my belly is measuring really small. It could be the position of my uterus that is making it seem so small, but we are waiting to hear back from the doctor. I will probably call tomorrow sometime. We did confirm that we are still having a girl!!! She is constantly moving, unless someone says "Oh, let me feel." Then she gets really still. She looked really good on screen. Her legs are long, and she kept putting her hand in front of her face as if to say "No more pictures please." I can't wait to see her for real soon.


I am really at 32 weeks, but only going to 37 weeks.

help me count down the days

This ticker says I am 35 weeks but I am only 31weeks. Since we know that we will be getting her early we really do only have 38 days to go. Is anyone else excited yet?

Hi everyone

Hi everyone,

I created this blog so that I can keep all family and friends updated on how busy life seems to be latley. My highschool sweatheart hubby and I have 2 boys, a girl on the way and a 6month old beagle puppy. We moved into a new house in November and are working hard to give it our own personality. For the first 8years of our marriage my husband and I were youth pastors at several different churches. Although we enjoy youth ministry, we felt that we should start to pursue the area of church planting. We are now in the process of working along with his parents to start a new non-denominational church. Since the beginnings of a church plant don't pay we also have our own occupations. My husband is a personal banker, although he is working towards becoming a finincial adviser. I work part time in a gym, in childcare. I love that I get to take my kids to work with me because then it is like being paid to be a stay-at-home mom. Everyone knows that stay-at-home moms don't stay at home. So going to my job is like just another errand to run. We are busy people, but we do our best to spend time with family and to remind our children daily that we love them and could never imagine this life without them.

Our oldest son is 6 going on 13 and has so much imagination and charisma to him. Eversince he started talking and walking, he has kept us entertained and amazed by his dramatic detailed stories. He decided a couple of years ago that he wants to be an astronaut for NASA when he grows up. His goal is to be the first person to play basketball on Pluto. He loves outer space and even wants to paint his bedroom to look like outerspace. I think we can do that soon.

Our younger son is 3 going on 6. All he wants is to be just like his big brother. He does have a passion for cars and especially race cars. While his brother is in school he will sit and play with his matchbox, hotwheels, etc. cars all day. When his brother gets home, he becomes a mini me and follows him everywhere doing whatever he is told. He has had some issue with mommy having another baby. At first he just did not like babies, then he decided that if we had to have a baby he would only want a brother. He is now starting to come around but only on his own terms. Life must still continue to go his way most of the time. Well, we'll see about that.

The rest of us are very excited about this little girl entering our world. I am so tempted to buy every cute little sundress coming out in the stores right now. I have painted her room in flowers and butterflies. I have a baby shower coming up on March 18th and I am getting more and more anxious every day. I will be having her by c-section on April 11th, which seems so close yet still so far away.

Well, I should go now. I hope to keep this blog updated as much as possible but forgive me if the month of April becomes a bit boring, I may be a little busy.