It's that time of year again.....

to start shopping for our Operation Christmas Child shoeboxes!!!

Boy oh boy did I score at Target today!! All their Valentine stuff was 75% off and they had whole packs of silly bands for $0.49. And cute little tins with card games and bouncy balls and all sorts of cute things.

I love shopping the after holiday sales for items for our shoeboxes. I can always get a better deal at after holiday sales than I do at the Dollar Store.

So we have started to once again fill our "poor box." Not a name that I would pick but the name Christian came up with for the box that holds all of our special things that we buy for the kids who will receive our Operation Christmas Child shoeboxes. I guess it's an appropriate name, just seems a little harsh and slightly embarrassing when we're standing in the store and McKenna exclaims "Oh mommy, this is cute. Let's get it for the poor box, for the kids with no toys." Yeah, that sort of makes me cringe. I tried to change the name to the "giving box" but it didn't stick, so the "poor box" it is!

It's so fun to work on it all year long. I know one family that fills a shoebox every month of the year, so that by the time November rolls around they have 12 boxes already ready to go! What a fabulous idea. I think the tough part is the shipping. It costs $7.00 to ship each box and if you wait until November to save that money up, it's really quite a chunk, so I'm trying to think through that a little and maybe make it our goal to have a yard sale and use that money to ship our shoeboxes or something like that. I think the shipping sometimes holds me back from packing as many boxes as I could and this year I've decided not to let that stop us from filling as many boxes as possible.

Okay, so I hope I got you thinking!!! Start shopping now!! It will be so much more meaningful to your kids if they are constantly on the look out for fun little deals for their own "poor box."

36 Weeks

36 Weeks
Measuring 38 weeks (hey, at least it's not 39!!)
1 cm dilated :)
The wait continues!!!


Little man decided not to cooperate for his non-stress test this morning.
It should have only taken 20 minutes.
He decided to sleep for a solid 45 minutes with no movement.
The doctor didn't like that.
So I had a little sugar and a little caffeine and he decided to move around a little bit.
Whew.....so we avoided a trip to the hospital for more monitoring!!!
I've got to pay a little more attention to him and make sure he's kicking like he should.
Not easy when you've got a ton of other "more pressing" things going on around you.

Very thankful for President's Day :)
It means a 3 day weekend for Ryan.
I just about cried when he told me I was so happy!!!

Another gorgeous day.
Another picnic lunch on the porch.
Christian has a buddy over.
McKenna's about to take a nap!
Happy Friday!

Spring??

I made up a new rule, just for today.....

"If you come inside, you have to take a nap!"

So everyone has been staying outside. I needed a little space from them and they just needed to be messy and loud.

Win. Win, for everyone.

They've been messy with mud and sidewalk chalk and cupcakes. My house has been fairly quiet.

I've got the windows open so I can hear them and I've been getting so much done!!

The Lord knew I needed this day of 60 degree weather.

Remembering

I remembered the sweetest thing tonight and I don't think I've ever talked about it or blogged about it and I decided that I'd better do that or one day I won't remember anymore.



It was February 2008. McKenna was just a week away from being born. Christian was my precious only child, although Abby and Nathan were spending their days with us, so it was rare for him to have an "only child" moment. I remember feeling sad that he would never remember what it was like to have my undivided attention. I felt sad for him that he was going to have share me with yet another person (and a very demanding one at that). I felt guilty that I hadn't really prepared him much for the arrival of a sister. We talked about it and read a few books but that was about it.



So I decided to take Christian on a date. Just mommy and Christian! I think that's the only time in his life that he's had a date with just me. We went out to lunch at a real restaurant with a real waitress. We ordered lunch and colored pictures and I remember opening a pack of M&Ms while we waited for our food. We practiced his colors and categorized them according to color and I just enjoyed his company. I let him eat all the M&Ms before his lunch came. It was the best, to just sit there with my little 2 1/2 year old man and look him in the eye without any other distractions. I am certain that he does not remember that day, but I do. It's one of my sweetest memories.



Now I realize that the best thing that ever happened to Christian was his sister. All that guilty and worry was nonesense, although I have a feeling most hormonal moms-to-be have similar thoughts. Christian loves McKenna to pieces and his life would be so lonely (and peaceful) without her. They are best friends and I'm so thankful that the Lord gave Christian a sister.


This time around we are much more prepared emotionally and physically for this baby brother. Christian has asked a ton of ummm....very interesting questions. He pretty much understands what it takes to have a baby. He knows that you can have a baby two different ways and I worry every time I drop him off at preschool that he's going to share his knowledge with his friends. Thankfully at this point he's content with the understanding that it's God who puts a baby inside mommies and that it's one of God's best miracles!



Christian genuinely thinks that he is going to be taking care of this baby. I told him that I'm going to keep one of the bouncy seats in the bathroom so that I can keep an eye on the baby when I take a shower and he thought that was just silly since he will be babysitting whenever I need to take a shower. I do think that Christian's main job is going to be protecting his little brother from his little sister. We are really going to have to make some rules for McKenna because she thinks she's going to be changing diapers and feeding this kid every time he cries.

The Home Stretch

When I was pregnant with Christian I was still teaching 5th grade. I had enough sick days to take off work the last 3 weeks of my pregnancy. I remember those three weeks well. I loved them. I sat on the couch all day and pretty much read a book a day. I took naps and watched mindless tv. I remember the sun shining in the windows and the warm breeze blowing the curtains (it was June). It was so peaceful and restful.

The weeks leading up to McKenna's birth were probably some of the least restful of my life. I felt miserable and at that time we were trying to transition Abby and Nate into partime daycare. It was not going well (poor Nate had the worst time). The day I went into labor with McKenna I went and picked up Abby and Nate from daycare at lunch time, then brought them home, fed them and put Abby, Christian & Nate down for naps. Then I called Ryan at work and told him I wasn't waking anyone up until he got home. Ha! I just couldn't handle it anymore (I probably would have been a little more mentally stable if I had actually recognized the fact that I was in labor :)

My life is a little less stressful these days, but there is still never a dull moment. Today McKenna got water inside the DVD player (I know, what in the world?), she smeared yogurt all over Christian's legos and she climbed the shelves of the bookcase (which is not bolted into the wall and oh! my! word!!! we have got to do that) to get something off the top shelf. She told me daddy was going to put me in time-out because I wouldn't let her have a cupcake. She hid under the dining room table eating snacks after I had just told her she could NOT have a snack. She's a fun one!

And she is so excited to have a baby brother!!
She's been practicing her "baby skills" for weeks and weeks now. She asks me everyday if it's time for her brother to come out and play.

Today I installed the baby car seat in my car and yesterday I got the bassinet (that's held Emma, Abby, Christian, Nathan and McKenna so far) washed and ready to go. Bring on the contractions!!! We are ready to go! Oh wait....we still have a few more weeks.
I'm officially moving into survival mode at this point.

Hope you have a HAPPY Heart today!!

I hope you're having a Happy Valentine's Day!!

It's sort of funny to me that this day is a much bigger deal now that I have kids.

I really used to not care so much about Valentine's Day, but this year we've been making a BIG deal out of it. We actually been focused on it for 14 days now! As a family we've been memorizing parts of 1 Corinthians 13 and at the beginning of the month the kids and I made mailboxes. Those mailboxes have been hanging in their rooms all month and first thing in the morning they've been checking them to see what's in there. Some days it's just been a picture with a note that says "Mommy loves you." One day is was a collage of pictures showing all the people who love them. Some days it's been a scripture verse about God's love for them. And every now and then it's been a Hershey Kiss or a matchbox car. We wanted to be intentional this month in making sure their "love tanks" were full and that they felt very loved and secure going into the next month and the huge transition we're about to make as we become a family of five. The kids have been sad that this is the last day for their "mailboxes" so I told them I would keep them and every now and then they might show up with some "mail" for them!! It's been fun!!

Christian got a lot of loot this morning at preschool and it blessed my heart when he got in the car and started dividing everything up. Anything with a princess or a cute animal on it went to McKenna. Anything chocolate went to mommy (score!!). And he kept all the boy stuff, stickers and pencils. My crazy kid doesn't like soda or candy (for the most part). Isn't that insane?? My sweet girl makes up for it. That's why we have to keep taking her to the dentist.

This afternoon we were off to the doctor for some check-ups (the kids not me). And both kids got shots. I asked Ryan ahead of time to meet me there and I think he was originally wondering why I couldn't handle it on my own. Then he got to see for himself just how Christian acts when he gets shots. He refused to walk afterward, which is exactly what I was expecting and this super pregnant mom was very thankful dad was there to carry Christian out to the car. Plus, daddy, two nurses and mommy all had to hold the boy down for his shots! He's pretty serious when he says he doesn't want a shot. We are so thankful that everyone had a great check-up and they are healthy and right on track with everything!! Now we just have to recover from our shots :)

Hope your Valentine's Day has been happy and full of lots of LOVE!!!

P.S. Just had to include this story:
At one point today I couldn't find McKenna. So I called her name and she popped up from behind the couch and says; "Hi Mom, I wasn't eating any of Christian's candy." Hmmm....sounds suspicious to me. So I asked her what was under the couch. I had to ask her three times and finally she reached under the couch and pulled out a lollipop. Lying is a good thing to be terrible at, if you ask me!!! It is definitely not one of her strengths!!

Great day!!!

We'll start off with a useless piece of trivia for you: Christian no longer owns a pair of jeans without a hole in the knee. Every single pair of jeans (he started the school year with 8 pairs of jeans) now sports a huge hole. Ryan asked me if I was going to sew them. ha! We've been together for 10 years, when has he ever seen me sew anything?? The above picture is what Christian does all the time and that would explain the jean issue!

Baby doctor appointment this morning was great!! Little man is still measuring ahead, but not quite as far ahead!!! Only 2 weeks ahead this time and the doctor actually said "well, he's not that huge! I think you'll be able to delivery him." Whew...nice to hear that he's not huge from a medical professional :) So we pushed back my next ultrasound and moved a few appointments around and if I were guessing I would say we're going to have a baby about a month from now. Christian is dying to know a date. He keeps asking me how many more days until the baby comes and now I can finally give him a more concrete idea. Poor guy...he's such a planner!!!

Some prayers were answered on behalf of our family this morning! Still a long road ahead, but God is faithful!



My mom watched McKenna this morning while I was at the doctor and she did some laundry! Oh my, I love that. She's so good to me!!!


That's all for now. McKenna's been in the bathroom the entire time I've been typing this and I can hear water running, so it's probably time for me to go :) What on earth is she doing in there??

McKenna's party

She's THREE!!!

Stats about McKenna at age 3:

• Goes by "Kenna" or "KenKen"
• Sings A.L.L. T.H.E. T.I.M.E!!!!!!!
• Goes to bed every night and "reads" books for at least 30 minutes all by herself.
• Plays very well independently.
• Loves her Leapster and her "DS" which is actually just a Leapstart computer.
• Talks A LOT!!!
• Loves to go to church & wishes she could go to school.
• Plays with her imaginary friends names "Abby" and "Molly" all the time.
• Loves playing with baby dolls.
• Likes to talk on the phone.
• Still has her binkie at night time (that is all her mommy's fault).
• Has been very, very healthy this past year (no ear infections).
• Can quote Genesis 1:1, John 3:16 and 1 Corinthians 13:4 all by herself with no help :)
• Can count to 20 perfectly and a little bit higher, but then she starts skipping numbers.
• Knows most of her colors (not yellow and go figure...she mixes up white & black).
• Takes a 2 hour nap every day.
• Has lots of tummy problems that have made potty training a traumatic experience :(
• Just figured out how to work the DVD player. She loves picking a DVD and pressing "the triangle" to play the movie.
• Always takes her shoes off as soon as she gets in the car.
• Sleeps in a big girl bed.
• No longer likes having a booster seat or "baby" utensils.
• Thinks playdough is the best thing on earth.
• Only likes to play in the snow for about 2 minutes.
• Is very excited to be a big sister. She has BIG plans for all the things she's going to do with her baby brother.

7:30am on February 9, 2011....

A big hug for Christian to thank him for her new pink kitchen (he wanted to be the one to give it to her),

Christian was so excited to help McKenna have a happy birthday.

Dancing with her birthday balloon. She loves to dance around and sing "If you're happy and you know it."

She got lots of kitchen stuff from her Grandmom & PopPop. Her favorite thing was the coffee pot so she can make coffee for daddy.

I love the look on her face, peeking into that gift bag.

She been wanting a sleeping bag for a long time. She can't wait for her cousins to come for a visit so she can try it out.

We got out the good china for our sweet girl!

Christian loves it when we eat in the dining room. They know it's special to use the fancy glasses and fancy plates.

A princess party for our little princess.

I did not get very good pictures of the cake. Oh well. It was pink with a princess and that's all McKenna cared about.

McKenna still hasn't figured out how to blow out a candle. Daddy finally blew it out. Grandmom was a little horrified that McKenna was spitting on the cake. Ha! We all ate it anyway.

This girl loves icing!

The end! It was a fabulous day, perfectly fitting for our fabulous girl.