Thursday, September 27

Happy Anniversary! . . . and other news

Yesterday was a very special day. Jeff celebrated his second year with nF. We are so excited and are looking forward to more years to come. Jeff sent me a fwd with a message from the president of the company. This message was very sweet and was reassuring that they are looking forward to more years with Jeff on their team. It also mentioned the fact that we will most likely be in Phx one day, but the timing is just not right these days. He told me last night that they sent him a bunch of balloons yesterday. It was neat. I know he feels good to be with such an incredible company. We are so blessed and thankful to God for opening the door to nF! Now, I have yet to meet these wonderful people and, in fact, his boss is in town today but as usual, he will be leaving after work to head back to Phx.

In other news, we had an OB apt today and scheduled our surgery to be on Nov. 15th. The ball is rolling! Ahh!!! That officially brings the number of days until we get to hold him to 49! That is seven weeks from right now. Wow. Woohoo!

Wednesday, September 26

Finally!!

Alright, so it's been a while since I posted pictures and I've needed to for a while. I post a few here, but I'm going to be making full albums at our new shutterfly account. The link is over on the right side under family albums. I'll try to get them all over today. I've got a little time to do this, it's nap time and I've got a lasagna in the crockpot!

Here are a few pictures from Jo playing soccer so far...


Their coaches are great men. Everyone is there to just have a bunch of fun!






And here is a picture from Adie's birthday. We didn't have a big party, it was just the four of us, but Adie was the princess for the day!

Happy Birthday Adie!

Monday, September 24

Mommy, will you write a story about this?

I love our little Jo! Saturday evening, we were out back pulling weeds and Jo asked me to "write a story" about our time. He calls blogging, writing a story.

Jo decided that we were harvesting corn. It was fun pretend for all of us. He was getting ready to cook all of that corn for us and was so excited about it all! I think Adie was getting ready to make it soup. She kept adding the wood chips and stiring it around. They were both being so cute about it all! I'm glad we got those weeds pulled, it is looking nicer out there. Hopefully this week, I can get some mums and bring some color to the yard.

I had some flowers earlier this summer, but the heat really killed it all. We have a flower pot outside our living room window, but Jeff had to get on a ladder and take it down for us to plant in. It was very heavy too. I wasn't too excited about him pulling it down again, so we've just left it. Lately, the temps have cooled down and we've had a few rain showers and the flowers are blooming again! I think they are impatients. It is nice to look out our window and see the pretty colors again. :)

Friday, the kids and I went out on a drive. We headed out to MO and did a little looking around for a place called the Red Barn Farm. It sounds very similar to the Dewberry Farm we went to last year! Well, our search was unsuccessful, but I'll find it on line and get a map. Hopefully this Saturday we can take a family trip out there! That will be so fun! However, our drive was still enjoyable and we did find something that will be cool this winter, if I can just remember that I saw it! There is a place for skiing and tubing. It looked like a place our youth group went to a few times while I was in high school. I would love for us to take a snow trip this year and show the kids some real snow fun! We'll see!

Jo is doing quite well in school; in classes AND socially! Apparently there are at least a couple of girls that really have taken a liking to him! I don't know if you could say it is a crush, but it sure is aweful cute! And, the best part of all, Jo is oblivious! There is one girl, Elizabeth, that drew him several pictures last week. She drew several hearts and wrote both of their names and put them in circles together. On one page, she wrote his name several times and even put one in a heart! When Jeff saw them, he thought they were cute, then it hit him, they were from one girl! He looked at me and said, "This is more than I got the entire time I was in school!" I then told him not to worry, I wrote our names together many times and put his name in hearts a lot while we were dating. ;) We both chuckled a little. Oh, *sigh*, our baby boy is in school! Ahh!!! I'm just glad that he's more worried about doing good in his classes than impressing the girls.

Adie has made a step since she turned 3 Thursday! We took the binki away completely. She had only been using it when she was in bed (naps and night). Now, she is totally binki free. These days have been so much better than I geared up for. She has accepted it so well! Thursday morning after she woke up, we got all of her binkis and put them in a box. She is such a giving little girl and so caring, we came up with something that might make the initial part easier. After getting them into the box, she was very curious and asked what the binkis were doing. We told here that we were sending them to the "binki factory." Here they would fix the binkis up and make them brand new for other babies. Then she said, "For baby Alex?" She was okay with them going away, as long as they would be getting ready for baby Alex. She periodically asks where they are and makes sure that baby Alex will get his. Such a sweetie! Adie's birthday was a lot of fun. This year was the year of just family celebrations. It was nice to have a quiet year of parties and not a lot of big planning. Adie and I did work together to make her a castle cake. A new experience for me and so much fun for her! We've got pictures, and I'll be posting several soon.

Speaking of baby Alex. We've got about 8 more weeks! I'll be discussing the time with our doc this week. It's wierd that we are this close. I'm so ready to be done, my bones and ligaments have been hurting pretty bad for a while now and I'm just ready to hold him. He is very active though! We've had several ultrasounds the last few weeks and he's been breech a couple of weeks. He likes to jump on the bladder a lot! I've also been having some heart burn, supposedly that is supposed to mean lots of hair! I didn't experience that much heart burn with Jo or Adie, and they both had so much hair! Hmmm...what could that mean for Alex? We've also been wondering what kind of little boy he's going to be. Jo was always extremely active when any kind of music was going on, especially singing at church. And we all know his love for music now! Adie seemed at times to do Jazzercise in utero and she is quite the acrobat now! Alex has been active, but so so so different from the others. He seems to move more when there is nothing else going on and it is quiet. We are excited to meet him and get to know who God has created him to be!

Oh, goodness. There is just so much to write about! Jo is still thoroughly enjoying soccer, Adie even wants to get in on the action now! Jeff and I have been very active with the church and we met with the education team on Saturday. Things are going well, just incredibly active!

Tuesday, September 18

Encouragement from Paul

Romans 8:18-39

"I consider that our present suffereings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us. The creation waits in eager expectation for the sons of God to be revealed. For the creation was subjected to frustration, not by its own choice, but by the will of the one who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself will be liberated from its bondage to decay and brought into the glorious freedom of the children of God.

We know that the whole creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time. Not only so, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for our adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies. For in this hope we were saved. But hope that is seen is no hope at all. Who hopes for what he already has? But if we hope for what we do not yet have, we wait for it patiently.

In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groans that words cannot express. And he who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercededs for the saints in accordance with God's will.

And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose. For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the likeness of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers. And those he predestined, he also called; those he called, he also justfied; those he justified, he also glorified.

What, then, shall we say in response to this? If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all -- how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things? Who will bring any charge against those whome God has chosen? It is God who justifies. Who is he that condemns? Christ Jesus, who died -- more than that, who was raised to life -- is at the right hand of God and is also interceding for us. Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? As it is written:

For your sake we face death all day long; we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered.


No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord."

emphasis added

Monday, September 17

"Sorry, Mom!"

Adie and I just got back from dropping Jo off at school. He seems to be adjusting fairly well. I'm so proud of him! This morning, though, as I was hugging him (while he was getting out of the van), he gasped and said, "Oh, Emily!" He took off running and yelled back to me, "Sorry, Mom! I didn't have time to hug you!" He ran as hard as he could to get inside and I guess find his little friend, Emily. I guess that's the first of many times he'll run after an adorable girl and not have time to hug me good bye. Right now, it's just friendly, and cute. But one day, THE girl will come and that will be it. Wow! I can't believe he's almost 6!

I love you little guy...

Friday, September 14

Already the 14th?!

I can't believe that we are half way through September already. Today is the first time in several days that I don't have to run somewhere or do something (well, until tonight, and I'll be taking something to Jo's class after lunch). Jo is really enjoying soccer, we all are actually! He's had three practices and the first game is tomorrow morning! I do have pictures, just need to get them on. Adie is doing good, she misses playing with Jo, but she's getting used to it. She is also ready to be 3! We are doing a castle cake for her and she has been asking me if we can go ahead and make it, she's ready for her birthday! It's quite adorable. Alex is getting bigger everyday and he moves so much! We'll be holding him so soon, I can't wait.
Well, I've got to get off now. Time to cuddle with Adie and just enjoy the cooler day and get ready for the weekend.
Hopefully I can write more next week.

Thursday, September 6

Fall

It is amazing to me how from one day to the next, it seems that the seasons change. I guess that it hasn't been that drastic, but it has felt like it. As soon as we turned the calendar to September, the season of Fall began to appear. The sun has obviously been changing (the sun comes up later and goes down a little earlier each day), and cooler temperatures are beginning to settle in - finally! I have been eagerly awaiting this to come! This morning, I sat down to read and then a little voice popped into my head, "Sendy, get upstairs and do something with your daughter!" She was very content, coloring in the book that was setting on her floor. But there was something missing. God has given me these few precious months to spend with her and they are speeding by! After talking for a few minutes, we decided to go out on a walk. Sure, I've got several things that "need" to be done, but today, they are just going to have to wait! I'm even too tired to walk, but I could use the exercise. God was really tugging on my heart to go with her. We walked quite a ways, I was surprised that I made it that far. It's been getting harder to move around, this little boy is growing! As we went down the stairs, we talked about which way to go and Adie pointed her adorable little finger in one direction and said that she really wanted to go "straight." It was cute. So we walked. Well, she galluped along while I snailed on behind her. She kept turning around and saying, "Come on, MOM!" She was very sweet now and then to stop and wait for me and she did mind the rules we've set about not crossing the streets. But as we walked, the breeze felt wonderful and we even saw leaves begin to fall on the ground. I saw things in our neighborhood that I didn't know were there and enjoyed the new scenery. And now, as I sit here at my desk (that we recently decided to move up from the basement into the kitchen), looking out the window, I'm seeing more leaves fall to the ground, clouds in sky and the air conditioner is blowing on me. It is making me want to go get a blanket and warm up with some hot chocolate! It's the atmosphere that I love. Cooler days (yes, I realize the air conditioner is blowing on me - it's making me think of it!) are what we really love. We can't wait for the thick of fall to be here! I'm told the trees here are absolutely beautiful with the many colors their leaves change. I can't wait to witness a beautiful transformation of seasons, and to share all the exciting fall activities that happen with my family!

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Today is the day! Today is the day!
We have been waiting so long for this day to come! (Can you tell we get excited about so much - even the simplest things in life?)

Jo starts soccer today! His practices will be Tuesday and Thursday and games will be on Saturdays! I'm really looking forward to all the fun this will bring! Oh, and another exciting thing to add to this, his coach happens to be the husband of his kindergarten teacher!
Hopefully many writings to come about soccer! Maybe, just maybe I'll have a picture to post tomorrow too!

Here's to a happy fall to all of you, I hope you enjoy it as much as we do!
Blessings.
~S

Monday, September 3

God's Amazing World

We were extremely priviledged to witness an amazing transformation in God's creation recently. We did not see everything happen, but we saw each stage and it was incredible! A couple of weeks ago, a caterpillar climbed it's way up the wall that makes our driveway. The next day, Jo saw it in the last stages of making the chrysalis. He was ecstatic! We watched it day by day and about a week later, we saw this chrysalis moving! We didn't think to sit there and watch it, we didn't know how long it would take for the butterfly to emerge. However, within an hour, walking back outside, we saw a beautiful brand-new butterfly sitting next to the empty chrysalis! It was gorgeous! During that time, I saw another caterpillar do the same thing and I actually saw this one flapping it's wings slowly and climbing up the wall. They both had a fuzzy look and the colors were so vibrant. We are so thankful to God that we were able to witness his hands at work.

This one was the second one that I saw later on.







Sunday, September 2

Makin Changes!

Just hooked up a computer in our basement. We are trying to get good signals down there. Laptop may be going down soon, so we need to make some changes! Don't know how often I'll be on email or blogger.
Will blog as often as possible!

Love to you all.