this is going to be a long one...

it's been awhile since i've posted, so i'm guessing this will be long. our summer has started out great. we had VBS at church all week last week, which was a lot of fun for all of us, although very exhausting! this week has been our official first week of summer, meaning brian started summer school on monday and i have been a stay-at-home mom with my girls all week. i must say i could get used to this! i hope someday i really can get used to it. anyway, it has been wonderful.

we did have two head injuries this week. i don't know what that says about my skills as a SAHM, but i like to think it was all in the name of fun, so it's okay. avery's head injury occured at our neighborhood playground. there is a big metal wheel thing attached to the top of a platform, and you can hold on to it and let it take you for a ride, if you know how to let it bring you all the way back to the platform. well, my brave little avery gave it a try by herself and let go too soon, so she face-planted into the playground wood shavings. it scratched her little forehead & cheek up, but she was fine within 5 minutes. i think it scared her (and me) more than anything. i also think it altered her personality b/c the last couple days since it happened, she has been a monster. seriously, testing everything i say. when i scold her, she says, "don't talk back to me, mama." Lord, give me patience!

tatum's head injury was not so much fun. she & avery crack me up b/c they love to chase each other around the living room. i don't know the rules or who is "it" but somehow they know and they take turns sneaking up on each other and growling at each other. it's pretty cute. anyway, tatum slipped and bumped her eyebrow on the coffee table. at first i didn't know where it hurt her b/c i didn't actually see it happen. but then after i comforted her a few minutes, i saw blood streaming from her little eyebrow. this was the first time my baby has ever bled, so it was kinda a milestone, i guess. not that i was happy, but i know there will be many more bumps, bruises & cuts now that she is mobile, so i guess it's sordof an initiation into toddler-hood. anyway, she was also fine within a few minutes, although the next day she woke up with a purple eye.


great news! i had my first appointment with my new OB this morning, and praise the Lord, it was great! i mean i don't love going to the OB but i was so relieved to find this doctor so kind & caring that i cried after he & the nurse left my room. God does answer prayer. also, i got to hear my baby's heartbeat, it was very strong. it was 172, i've never known what that means, or what is normal range, so if anyone can interpret that for me, that would be great. i am just so glad to know there is actually a baby in there with a healthy beating heart. also, i finally got my due date: january 9, 2009.

we took a trip to katy mills mall last night b/c that is the only place in town with an old navy maternity. i was so excited to find some cute stretchy shorts that should get me through these awkward months of being too big to fit into my regular shorts but not quite big enough to fit into the wide-banded maternity clothes. it is truly amazing what a couple new clothing options can do for your mood and self-esteem.

this picture of tate is just too cute not to share. we have been bumming at the pool alot this summer. with this heat, that's about the only thing i can tolerate for very long outdoors.


another deep thought: my poor children have to listen to me sing pretty often. tatum still likes it, but avery sometimes sings over me to drown out my voice. anyway, i like to sing them hymns b/c they are soothing to me and i think somehow the words of those songs have power to help my children learn about Jesus. also i am the daughter of a church organist so i grew up napping to the sound of my mom playing hymns on the piano/organ downstairs. a few of my favorites are "come thou fount", "and can it be?", and "blessed assurance". the other night i was singing "come thou fount" and i actually listened to myself sing the words. i was thinking of a loved one who is making bad decisions right now and then i heard myself sing these words: "Jesus sought me when a stranger, wandering from the fold of God. He to rescue me from danger, interposed His precious blood." i sang it again and let the Lord remind me that it is He who leaves the 99 to search for the one who is lost. i've been that one before and i praise God He didn't just leave me on my own, but found me and captured my heart. even when we purposely wander away from Him, He never gives up on us. the words in that song have become my prayer for my loved one who desperately needs Jesus to seek him out.

Water to drink

avery thinks she looks pretty stylin' in my sunglasses. she's not real big on dressing up, but she loves accessories... shoes, jewelry (notice her pink plastic bracelet on her arm), sunglasses, hair clips, hats, etc. that's my girlie girl!

I really don't have an update about our new baby, other than I asked my mom to deliver it from home b/c I really don't want to find another OB. she said no. so i went ahead and scheduled another ultrasound appointment for next thursday, the 19th, with the OB that my old OB recommended. i am hopeful that it will be a good experience and i can finally give all of us a date to put on the calendar!

i have two new blogging friends! bethany and i grew up together in school and church ever since we were little bitty. she still lives in SA, and she and her husband are in ministry. oh and she is also a physical therapist! she is one of my oldest, dearest friends, and i just found out she's a blogger too, i'm so excited to keep up with you now, bethany! :)
kelly & i live around the corner from each other and go to church together. we used to be in the same sunday school class, but she & her husband split off to form a new class a couple years ago, so we only see each other in passing, but her kids, hunter & mia, are the same age as my girls, and we definately need to get together more, kelly!

Deep thought of the day:
The other day avery came in from the backyard and asked me for a cup of water. i told her i was so happy she asked me for water because i love to give her water b/c it is so good for her. then it occured to me that is just like my relationship with God. when i ask God for things He already wants to give me, He of course is glad to give them to me (like water). but when i ask for things He knows are not good for me (like juice), He doesn't. Psalm 37:4 "Delight yourself in the Lord and He will give you the desires of your heart." I always loved that verse, but i didn't always realize it actually means He wants to change my heart's desires into what His desires are for me, so that He is able to give them to me.

january something 2009

that's my due date. i'll explain later, but first i must say i am truly amazed at God's goodness to us that He has allowed another little baby to start growing inside me. we announced it to our parents last week. i put avery's shirt on tatum that says "i'm the big sister." my mom really didn't notice at first, then i said "look at tatum's shirt - she's trying to tell you something." then there was a great reaction. brian's mom screamed and jumped up and down. we kindof thought people might think we're crazy for having another one so close (tatum will be 20 months older than this one), but everyone has been so happy for us. we are really happy too.
okay, about the due date... my obgyn that delivered avery & tatum and who i absolutely loved has quit OB, so i've been forced to find a new OB. today i went in for my first appointment with the new one hoping to have the ultrasound and hear the baby's heartbeat, find out my due date, etc. (sidenote: i'd been praying God would give me a clear feeling, good or bad, about whether or not this is the right person to deliver my baby.) let me just say i will never step foot in that place again. i was traumatized. i really can't even go into details because it's still so unnerving, but i didn't get to have an ultrasound or hear the heartbeat and so i still have no idea what my due date is. but thankfully God knows and will reveal that fun little fact soon enough. so needless to say, i am desperately trying to find another doctor. the problem is that teachers have crappy insurance so i have to find someone who takes my crappy insurance and there's is not a wide selection.
anyway, the bright spot of today, at least i think it's bright, is that on the way to the traumatic event mentioned above, i flipped my car. not literally, but i turned it over from 99,999 to 100,000 miles. i took pictures to document it, but they are not that exciting to anyone but me.
i love my honda cr-v. sadly it doesn't hold 3 carseats, so it's future is very uncertain right now.
okay, the other bright spot of my day is that tatum kissed me about 10 times tonight when i was trying to rock her to sleep. how can i resist that cute little face up in my face pushing her little lips out as best she can to show me she wants kisses. and the joyful look on her face when i pucker up and give her one.
lastly, we took the girls to our neighborhood pool today, and there were some older girls jumping off the diving board. brian asked avery if she wanted to jump off the board to him. she said yes, but we felt sure she would chicken out. well i'll be darned if that girl didn't march right up on the board with her care bears floaties and gleefully leap off the board into brian's waiting arms. she proceeded to do it about 90 more times. it was great.