Happy Birthday Nicky!

My baby turned two today. Hard to believe its been two years since we became a family of four...and now we are looking forward to being a family of five! Nicky had a great day that included "ice ream" twice, chicken nuggets for lunch, spaghetti for dinner, and lots of family around to spoil him he was a happy boy! We told Curtis last week that he could decide on what present he wanted to get for Nicky and we would help him use his piggy bank money to buy it for him. Last night Jacob and Curtis headed to Bass Pro Shops to buy a pop gun...those little guns you pop a cork in and out of and it makes a super fun sound. He gave the cashier five dollars in quarters :) and she gave him a gift bag and wrap for free. He could hardly wait to give it to him this morning. It was a really special brother moment. Curtis told him that he had to be really careful with the gun because he spent a lot of money on it! I love you my sweet baby boys! Thank you for lighting up my life and keeping me laughing always! Always kiss me goodnight!!!!

Psalm 127:3

I have a beautiful plate with this special Psalm on it: "Children are a gift from the Lord." What a spectacular gift they are! Tonight we were sitting down to dinner and as I glanced at the table next to us I noticed a young teenage girl glowing in her seventh month of pregnancy. My first thought was thank God that she had made the choice to carry her child. Thank God that she was mature enough to make such an adult decision. Thank God that she has a support system where she feels like she has the option to give life to this child. My heart aches for the millions of women who didn't make the same choice. I thought about all the millions of questions this young woman must have had when she took that pregnancy test. What ran through her mind as she sat there realizing that her life had dramatically changed at that very moment? Did she feel alone? Scared? Shocked? Distraught? How did she tell her family? What was the reaction of the father? I can't even begin to imagine all the ramifications she has experienced at each step along her pregnancy. How many hateful looks and comments has she received from the world? What courage she has! I asked myself, Does she realize what a miracoulous gift her child is? Does she realize that no matter how he came into existance that he has a soul and a purpose and a design and was hand picked by God to be given life through HER. Maybe his will is for an adoptive family to be blessed by her gift. Maybe she will have the resources and the courage to raise him as her own. Maybe he will bless the world in ways she never dreamed of. Thank God that this beautiful young woman choose life! I wanted to tell her how precious her baby was. How thankful I am that she had enough courage to carry him to term. I wanted to hug her family and thank them for sticking by her through times I am sure they never hoped for their baby girl.

I thought of my own pregnancies. I have taken five pregnancy tests in my life. Each one has been positive and each time I have jumped with Joy at the life within me. I have monetary and spiritual support. I have an amazing family and husband who squeals with delight with me as I share the news. How truly blessed I am. This child growing within me is such a delight to my entire family. Fear, shock, distress, anxiety, those are all things have never been a part of my pregnancy tests.

As our family lit our advent wreath tonight we read about Mary and Joseph. Their engagement, their plans for marriage, and the angel Gabriel who rocked their world. What was Mary thinking when she heard she was with child? Did she ponder how this would affect her family? Her engagement? Her friendships? Her life? The bible says she was frightened when she heard the angel. He told her not to worry that God had found favor with her. She courageously said YES to God's will. She stopped in that moment realizing that her life was not her own and focused all energy into HIS will. Becoming a tabernacle to the precious body of Christ. May she give us all the Grace to do the same. May she bless these courageous woman who have chosen life and all those who support and embrace her in her time of need.

God help me to remember that my children are a blessing. Help me to remember those women who could use my support and assistance to give life to their children. Help me to always say YES to God's will immediately, without thought of myself, with perfect obedience, and courage. Bless this Advent to be a reawakening to the gift of life. A time where we can SLOW DOWN and enjoy one another and focus on the gift of HIM.

My joy and my delight these children are. Thank you Thank you God for finding me worthy!!

To take or not to take

We saw our beautiful little baby again today :) he/she looks beautiful all curled up in there! Beautiful quick little heart beat just chugging away. Its been almost two years since I have seen my regular Ob/Gyn...is it weird that I was excited to see him and his nurses today? Everyone there was so very excited for us as we walked out of the ultrasound with a picture of a 8.5 week healthy baby! They remember those two times when I walked out sobbing, and they are so supportive and so thankful right along with us. He asked how I was feeling and without going into too much detail I told him pretty darn awful. He recomended that I take some Zofran to help with the nausia. Now I am just not sure what to do. I would definetly love the break from this awful feeling but should I take it??? The doctor kept telling me "its not going to hurt the baby...take it!" I think he thought I was crazy for not being sure. I just don't like to take anything unless I have to. Remember, I'm one of those crazies that tries to have unmediated births whenever possible. Sigh....but I can't even remember what it felt like to be normal. And maybe I could actually eat a more balanced diet, and maybe I could swim again without making the lifeguards tremble with my gagging...or should I just tough it out? I am almost nine weeks now so it can't be too much longer...

Most important, our baby is HEALTHY! Praise be to God!

Big Brothers

That's right folks baby number three is in the oven! We had an ultrasound today and saw a beautiful strong heartbeat just ticking away. The entire family is of course overjoyed to be welcoming a new baby. The boys have been petting my tummy since the moment we told them and Curtis says he can't wait until I get bigger and bigger and bigger! Nicholas likes to remind me that he can't jump on mommy anymore and always says "no no jump, baby tummy!" then gives my tummy a little pat and moves on to jump onto big brother or daddy. I have been feeling the presence of this little one in the form of morning (...more like ALL DAY) sickness starting at about week five. Each week its getting progressively worse...but its definitely something I am willing to live with if it means a healthy baby. Hopefully I only have a few more weeks of sickness to overcome. Here are some pictures of my boys I took the morning we found out. I showed them to Jacob that night when he came home from a trip with his best friends to Baton Rouge. Praise God for his abundant blessing!!!!

Minnesota

Our family has had a fantastic and super busy two weeks. Last week the Groves family trecked it back to Texas and we had an absolute blast catching up with them. The kids just can't get enough of one another which allowed for some great Mommy chat time too! We are just so thankful for such wonderful friends!!!



The day after saying goodbye to the Groves we headed to Minnesota to visit Grandma Curtis and the rest of the Curtis family. We stayed at our dear friends Mike & Emily's house and got to spend some great quality time with them too. It was a really wonderful and relaxing week hanging out with our family.

No time

No time to post anything real. I'm working on an awesome project right now that's taking a whole lot of my energy. I can't wait to post all about it. But not now. Off to get back to work. Here are some festive pictures since this isn't a real exciting post :)

October 20th Daybook

Curtis is definetly completely over his pain. We are so thankful that he is completely healed and no longer hurting. It was rough to see him go through that healing process. So thankful that he is back to our sweet, happy, energetic, big man again!

I'm Thinking: About the stages of life. How quickly they pass by and how I want to savor every second of each one with both of my boys. My neices and nephews and my boys just grow up way too fast. Sometimes I find myself ready to "move on" to the next phase (read...challenging twos) but really I LOVE watching kids grow and change and I am most definitely going to enjoy the entire journey...not just the "easy" phases.

I'm listening to: The sounds of a curious...sometimes mischevious little man playing with everything in our house that isn't a toy. And the leaves rustling about outside. Love having the window open!

From the Kitchen: A pot roast and sweet potatoes tonight. Jacobs last night in town so we are going to enjoy this cool weather with a nice warm meal. I'm eager to get out my taco soup recipe soon too. Also, been thinking about making my sweet potato bread soon. This cool weather makes me want to bake something for sure.

Outside my window: Its cold! Yesterday was the first day we could finally open up our windows and enjoy fall. I'm sure it wont stick around for too long so we better soak it up while we can!

I'm wearing: my favorite PJ's. I got really excited this morning when I realized it was finally cold enough to pull out my winter PJ's. I love my super soft long sleeve black ones. Definitely going to be wearing those as often as possible.

To live the liturgy: We FINALLY got back to our evening family rosary. We have missed this terribly and tried to bring it back a few times already. We are forging ahead with this instrumental prayer and making it happen. No. Matter. What.

I'm praying for: Safe travels for the Groves. We CAN NOT WAIT to see our dear friends!!! We discuss the plans and the timeline at least three times a day around here. Everyone is eagerly anticipating the reunion.

For NFP at St. Laurence. We are really hoping to get all three classes required for all engaged couples and have a meeting set up with our priest in December. Wont you please join me in prayer for that?!

For Jacob, Travis, and Mike as they head to New Orleans to celebrate their 30th birthdays. I'm praying this trip is as epic as the trips they took for their 18th and 21st birthdays. They are such a wonderful testament to true friendship. They have been through a lot together and we are so thankful for their continued presence in our family!

I'm thankful for: Jacobs job. It has been really busy and stressful and overwhelming this year for Jacob. Yet, I know that we are so blessed by the perks of the travel and the flexibility of being "his own boss". He got an award yesterday and his sweet boss made sure to tell him that his wife and children were recieving the award too. Its nice to realize that as hard as he is working, he is being appreciated and that they realize he is making a lot of sacrifices to provide for his family.

Around the house: Our kitchen table is absolutely filthy. I think Nicholas has shoved yogurt in every crevice of his corner of the table. I have got to get on that today! I finally got out my fall decorations yesterday too. All five of them :)

Some plans for the rest of the week: Soccer practice tonight. Sending Jacob off to New Orleans tonight. Zoo Boo tomorrow with Jessica. More Soccer this weekend. Seeing my first God Daughter next week. Been way too long!

A picture thought worth sharing: Nicholas loves nap time. This particular day he couldn't wait for us to be ready for naps. He found a nice place to rest :)