One Down...

Luke woke up this morning and showed us that he had a VERY loose tooth. He wiggled it back and forth for about an hour and a half .... then he pulled that little tooth out all by himself! He's such a big, brave boy!
He quickly moved on to talking about compensation...



 

Travels Galore

In late August and early September, Dan and I embarked on two separate journeys that would keep us apart for nearly two weeks. We were both very blessed--with safe travel, loving family, new experiences, God's beautiful creation, and the joy of being reunited.

Dan had the incredible opportunity to travel to Turkey with his dad and Aunts Mary Esther and Ruthie. He travelled to multiple cities, including Midyat, Instanbul and the ruins of Ephesus. He researched and discovered amazing things about his great ancestors, and was able to stand in the very places where some of those ancestors were martyred. He saw beautiful churches, landscapes and architecture. He stood in the Tigris river and ate Turkish delicacies right on the river's banks. He survived crazy travel experiences, major time differences and lingering jet lag....but it was more than worth it.

These pictures don't do the trip justice, but they give a little taste...

Grace family--visiting with the Farley's

Shmayaa Hotel, where Dan's great-grandmother was martyred in the early 20th century

John's favorite part of the trip ;) the food!

The "Site" -- where hundreds were martyred and where Dan, John and his aunts gathered to pray

Bethel Church--Dan's great-great grandfather was involved in starting/building this church

Minaret after minaret line the city skyline, but this steeple at Bethel Church stands at the highest elevation in the city--cool!

Another shot of the Shmayaa Hotel

Hagia Sophia--one of the largest churches in the world, later converted into a mosque

While Dan was exploring his Turkish roots, Luke, Ellie, Adalyn and I joined Mimi and Papa in Hilton Head. We had a wonderful time, and were incredibly blessed by Mimi and Papa. They generously provided a flight for me and Adalyn, a roomy condo to stay in for a week and a half, yummy food, late morning sleep-ins (woohoo!), and lots of fun activites. Papa even taught Luke how to dive!

 

We had a lot of fun--Luke can now swim without floaties! Luke and Ellie successfully shared a bedroom while we were there, and Adalyn continued to use her signs and learn new words. Most days we spent the morning at the swimming pool and the evenings at the beach. Mimi and Papa took the kids on lots of bike rides and Papa even paid Luke and Ellie for helping him find golf balls on the golf course behind their condo.

 

 

 

Home Stretch

Today I am 28 weeks along and have officially entered my third trimester! Woohoo! October still seems so far away. 90 degree temperatures day and in and day out make October seem like a world away. But being able to say that I'm now in my third trimester makes becoming a family of six so real and exciting!

My gestational diabetes has proved challenging, and I'm trying to exercise more regularly to help manage my blood sugars. Your prayers would be greatly appreciated--that I would exercise regularly despite my fatigue and aches and pains, and that I could avoid going on medication.

We're still thinking about baby girl names, so if you have any suggestions feel free to pass them along! We're also trying to decide if this little girl should get a flower middle name like her big sisters, or if we should go a different route. We don't want her to feel left out, but giving all our girls flower middle names wasn't initially our plan, so we're thinking of other names as well.

28 weeks, baby!

Spiderboy

See that cereal box on top of the fridge? Yeah, he makes his own cereal these days ;)

Papa Inspired 'Do

A few weeks ago, Luke was long overdo for a haircut--like, we can only see the bottom half of his ears, overdo-- so Dan and I told him that we were going to just buzz it here at home to keep it simple and short for these crazy hot summer days. Luke decided he preferred a certain kind of hair cut, specifically, a Papa kind of hair cut. I'll let the pictures do the explaining... ;)

He told us he wanted no hair on top, and hair on the sides, just like Papa...so that's what he got!

I think Adalyn wanted to get her hands on that shaver! :)

We love you Papa!

June 2012 Wind Storm

Eight days ago, a storm with 85 mph winds blasted it's way into Ohio. It was actually a short-lived storm, but it was powerful and left it's mark. Praise to God, we were all safe. I have since heard of many people who lost their homes and/or were injured themselves. Thankfully, all we lost was an umbrella stand, a swingset and a small area of fencing. 

The metal stand was bent right in half. Crazy!

Our new-to-us swingset that was just bought a few weeks ago. Bummer!

The swingset fell over on top of the slide. Even if we could salvage the swingset, replacing the slide would cost us nearly half of what we paid for the whole swingset.

Dan isn't too bummed to see this fencing go, but I liked that it gave us a little bit of privacy from our neighbors when we were sitting at our table.
And yes, that's Ellie in the background...in Luke's pajamas.

Our electricity went out for 46 hours after the storm, came back on for one day, and then went out again for another day. Thankfully, everything in our deep freezer stayed frozen and we only lost a few things in our fridge/freezer. The second time our power went out, my mom and dad were gracious enough to have 5 additional roommates for a night. This preggo was very thankful! Every day that our power was out, the temperatures were over 90 degrees outside....so hot! And every one in our family has a hard time sleeping in the heat.

We have a lot to be thankful for. We are thankful to God for protecting us and our home from harm. We are thankful for family who open their doors and share their resources. We are thankful the power outage lasted only 3 days, instead of the possible 7-8 that AEP intially estimated. We are thankful to all the workers who worked outside in the terrible heat trying their best to restore power to people. We are thankful that we had minimal damage, and that the swingset wasn't brand new. We are thankful for electricity! I don't now how women ever cared for their children AND did all their chores by hand. They probably just had a lot less stuff, but all I know is that I'm really thankful for washers, dryers, dishwashers and fridges!

5 Months Today...10~27~12 Here We Come!

Yesterday, I took all three kiddos with me to a follow-up ultrasound. I had an ultrasound around 18 weeks, but the ultrasound tech was unable to get a good picture of the baby's heart due to her position. So, I gathered the troop yesterday and we headed in for another look!

The ultrasound tech was really impressed with the kids (which might have offered some timely encouragement for this mama)....Adalyn only screamed twice (what?!), and as soon as she did, Luke jumped up right away to get her a snack. She told Luke he was going to be a really good big brother, and I assured him afterwards that he already is. :) 

Both Luke and Ellie really enjoyed seeing their baby sister moving all around and her little heart beating fast. We got a really good picture of her profile, and the kids were able to see her head, nose and chin. I tried to post a picture of her, but it keeps posting sideways and I can't figure out how to fix it. Boo. But her heart looks good! I asked the tech if she would be allowed to tell me if anything looked concerning, and she assured me that if she was concerned at all she would have just said, "The doctor will be calling you!" But instead, she was very positive and said everything looked great. Praise God!

Sometimes I still can't believe that we're going to be a family of six in a few short months, but I'm very excited! I am really looking forward to the newborn coos, snuggles and kisses. Even though some days will be very challenging (sleep deprivation anyone?), I picture the family God has blessed us with, and I feel very rich. Rich in the things that really matter. It couldn't be more true that all good things come from our Father. :)