Tornado Warning

I have the hardest time remembering which is worse a watch or a warning so I just think the shorter word is first and the longer is second so it is worse. I know, I am truly weird. However, I like most of you, I experienced both of these today.

Chris called and told me bad weather was coming so I was prepared. He made it off duty in time to be with us for the tornado warning when it hit or little town. I grabbed pillows and blankets and gathered my chicks to the middle house bathroom. One of the downsides to moving here was giving up or basement which I gently informed Chris I would rather not give up the next time we move. Anyway, we got into the tiny bathroom and waited. Chris spent most of the time in and out checking the weather outside, on the news and reports from dispatch over his hand held radio.  At other times he rested from working since 3 am.

I was perched on the potty, no not using it but very convenient if needed, corralling Maddax and Makenna. We all prayed together for God safety and protection, not only for us but all of those in the storm today.  After a few songs and such Makenna announced that we needed to pray again. I asked her for what and she said, "For Emme's safety in monnies belly during the tormato." I thought that was awfully sweet  and so she prayed. I and Chris were moved by such a selfless act of our little 4 almost 5 year old.

Sometimes God speaks so oddly to us. This time it was seeing our little girl think of others in a trying time. She was more concerned for her unborn sisters safety than her own. No wonder God wants us to have the faith of a child and tells us that to such is the kingdom of Heaven.

All Aboard!!

Chris had the weekend off so we pondered what we could do as a family that was affordable. I had a buy one get one free coupon for the Kentucky Railway Museum so we decided to do that.

Makenna and Maddax have been into trains lately. At Aunt Sherries this past week both of them were loving playing with her Brio Train Set. Maddax spent the next few days saying, "Choo, Choo." Plus the fact that we live in a town where a train goes through about every hour. Maddax has to let us all know when he hears it outside.

We left after church on Sunday and trudged our way to New Haven. This town is not foreign to me since it is were my dad grew up but the roads we traveled were. Most of our trips to my grandmother found me sleeping the entire trip, so I had to pay close attention to the directions I had written down from the Internet. We finally made it, barely, with Chris driving. He was using his police tactics on "Dog legged" roads. Not a good mix especially when there is a prego on board.

We toured the museum first. We did not make it any further than 10 feet from the door. The kiddos were being held captive by 3 train tables. They played and played and would have played longer but the train was on its way to pick us up.

So we left the train tables and stood in line at the bathrooms for what felt like an eternity. Emme found this fun as she made a trampoline of my bladder the entire time I waited.

The train arrived with Maddax in tears. He had never been that close to a train horn and it scared him terribly. He was saying, "Pappy, Pappy." Which translates into Pacifier Please. I had stuck one in my purse for just such an occasion and he perked right up once he saw it.

We boarded the train. The kids were so excited they could not sit still. Chris and I were being wallored on the entire ride by at least one of them. They chanted Choo, Choo. Off we went. They stared out the window naming things that they saw. Maddax would try to repeat everything Makenna would say, but with his still baby like speech and a pappy in his mouth it was difficult to understand. He smiled regardless.

We enjoyed our trip on the train and then loaded back into the car for the long trip home. We had misplaced the directions so we decided to guess our way back home. Yeah we had GPS but where is the fun in that? We made it back to the interstate and both kiddos drifted off into dreamland. I am sure ther were probably trains involved in those sweet little dreams they had.

It was a great day. I love my family.

Fall Farmal

Yesterday we spent the afternoon at Hubers Farm partaking in the "Fall Farmal".  It is not a Hubers activity, but one some homeschool moms developed as a Fall activity for the family. We do not participate in Halloween for many reasons, especially since Makenna is finally over her night terrors but is continually blessed with her sensitive spirit. So we thought this would be a happy alternative.

We all met at Hubers dressed in our Farm apparel. This was our first year to go so being pregnant did not allow me to wear much of farm attire. I felt though like Elsie the Cow. LOL. The kids played on the wrought iron animals, which Maddax loved, then moved onto the slide, petting the animals and riding miniature tractors. They had a blast.

Maddax's favorite person in the world right now is his cousin Chase. Which is a great role model for my little man. The two of them are like peas and carrots. He frequently asks for Chase at home or wants to carry a picture around of him. When we go to my sisters, as soon as we turn on her street he starts repeating "Chase" until he sees his face. It is pretty funny.

Daddy did take a few sweet moments to bond with his little man by a small pond throwing rocks and hanging out.

After all the playing we went over to a nearby apple orchard to take some family photos. There was a Weeping Willow tree that someone had tied swings into on the branches that hung down. Makenna and Maddax had a blast swinging on that tree. I have never heard of such a thing but most of the other kids had.

We ended with dinner at Hubers. Good home cooking. I sure did love my fried chicken, but being pregnant has me lovin about everything. The kiddos fell asleep on the way home. It was such a great time with friends and family. Cannot wait to do it again next year with Emme. Better start looking for her farm apparel now.

half way point

Well folks I am officially 20 weeks. I am half way through this pregnancy. I can not believe how fast it has gone. I guess having 2 other kids running around helps make time go by faster. I sure am trying to enjoy every minute of it. I know soon enough it will be over and I will be tending to 3. Whew! I am feeling pretty good 90% of the time. The only problem I seem to be having is cravings. I am craving all things bad for you. Like Coke, candy bars, and cookies. I have little to no self control. I think I could go for a McDonalds Coke IV. It taste so good. Maybe the baby is craving High Fructose Corn Syrup. Bad Baby making mommy eat like that.

Makenna got a new Veggie Tale movie called "Sweet Pea Beauty" and "Snoodlerella". It is a spin off of Cinderella and Sleeping Beauty with a Christian story line. She loves them. I think it is great because both stories tell of how God sees our beauty on the inside not just the outside. I want Makenna to know her Heavenly Father made her just he way she is and that she is beautiful regardless of whether her hair is fixed or her clothes match. In fact she wanted to dress her hair like Snoodlerella. She thought she looked beautiful. When I see he smile like that I see all her inner beauty.

I also have been trying to hide God's word in her heart throughout activities we do. She loves to read books so we do a book at least once a week called "My ABC Bible Verses" by Susan Hunt. It is a great book with a Bible verse for every letter of the alphabet and a story to go with it. We have made it all the way from A-V so far and I am so shocked at how easy it was for her to learn the verses. She cannot remember the location of each but when we have issues that arise we can recite a verse that helps us remember to treat others kindly or respect your parents.

We also listen to CD that I bought off line called "Seeds".  They are scripture verses put to music with the verse location as part of the song. You do not know how my heart melts to she her singing scripture. God is good.

IT'S A ......BABY

I woke before the alarm this morning anxious about the ultrasound. I was excited to see my little butter bean but constantly praying for just a healthy baby. It is like the more you have the more you worry of what could be wrong.  My fears were quickly put to rest as the ultrasound tech showed me each part and that IT was healthy.  I thought that I would not be as excited with this one as with my first or second. But it is like the first every time.  They initially would not let the kids come in so Chris had to stay in the waiting room with them until she did all the anatomy scans of the BABY.

Feet

Fingers

Then it was time to find out.  She went and retrieved my family and brought them back. Makenna was scared that the wand was hurting my belly and Maddax just wanted me to hold him.  She found the bottom and asked if we could tell what it was.  Chris remained quiet.  Not sure if it was shock or fear. I blurted out....GIRL.

Girl

Makenna was so excited. She told the tech how she was going to get a loft bed and the baby would sleep under her bed and at night she could lean over the side and talk to her.  Makenna then asked, "Does this mean we have to return Maddax to the hospital?" I reassured her we were allowed to keep them both. The tech continued to show us profiles of our little girl sucking her thumb and sticking her hands behind her back.  Makenna said, "Look monnie she has a bow in her hair and it is pink." So cute she is.

We decide to let Makenna name her. No we have not lost our mind.  She knew all along it was a girl.  After the initial scare was over we told Makenna that mommy was going to have another baby. Her response was so matter of fact. "Yes monnie I know.  It is a girl. She will sleep in my room. And her name is Emme."(Not sure how we are going to spell that yet. It maybe Emi)  Chris and I both loved the name so we decided to go with it. The official name of our daughter is Emerson Ansley Morris. She will be arriving on or about Jan 23, 2011.  She currently weighs 9 oz.  We are so excited and richly blessed.

Psalm 139: 13 "For you formed my inmost being. You knit me together in my mother's womb."

Thank you Lord. You just keep on knitting.

Yard Sale Hunt

I have been wanting to hit up a few yard sales all summer but I work Fridays and Saturdays and have been unable to do so. However, today I was off work and went a hunting.  I woke at 6 AM with the hunger to find some good bargains. What I started out with was rain, rain, and some more rain. I was not about to be beaten by a little a lot of water.

There was a sign in town that said there was a local yard sale with Maternity clothes. That was my first stop. I think they succumbed to the rain. It was no where to be found.  I perservered and just followed the signs and the newspaper with help from mom as pilot and Tom Tom as navigator.

Ended up with some really good buys.  Maddax got some cool cloth blocks that nest and new boots for winter.

He usually has on pants. Promise!!!

Makenna got shrinky dinks and level one reading books.  She could not wait to start reading them. I picked up a few more things for her but hid them for later.

Sadly, I did not find any maternity clothes. So back to ebay and consignment sales I will go.  Wish me luck.

 A side note. My little man loves to play the piano.

Library and Bananas

August is in full swing as is evident by the smokin hot days. We are trying to stay cool by doing indoor activities like the Aquarium, but needing some less expensive ideas. My sister has taken my kids to the Library in Louisville several times and they both love it. Makenna usually picks out about 50 books and then Aunt Sherrie makes her choose just 20 to check out to bring home. She loves getting the new books and having them read to her. So I finally decided to venture to the library here in town, of course with Chris in tow for the first excursion. Makenna loved it.  She could not wait to pick out all the books she could read to me.

We have been working on her reading skills over the summer and she is reading the pre-level 1 books pretty independently. She gets so excited when she can get through a entire book without having to ask what a word is. I get pretty excited too. It encourages her to be independent.  Maddax on the other hand would have been excited too if daddy did not have him strapped to the stroller for fear he might touch a book. Last time I checked books were to be touched in a library, especially in the childrens section. I eventually rescued him and he enjoyed the wooden puzzles.  He was even more enticed by the tree on the wall with movable parts.

We eventually moved to the front of the kids library section to pick out a few movies, Signing Time and Veggie Tales.  There was a train set on a table the kids played with while I movie hunted.  A few other children walked up and wanted to play to.  I was so excited to see Makenna actively sharing without being probed to do so. She earned 3 stars that day.

Maddax has been displaying a thrust toward independence with eating lately. He wants to do it himself or not at all. So I went with it. And by George he was able to feed himself bananas with a fork. I was so proud of him. He beamed all over with each successful arrival of banana in his mouth.

On a pregnancy note, I will be 16 weeks tomorrow and feeling great. Had a check up earlier this week with a very vigorous baby on the Doppler. The Doc said see ya in 3 weeks for your ultrasound. I about fell over. My OB with the last 2 made me wait till 20 weeks but this one said he does them at 18. I was well on board with that.  I had initially not wanted to find out given that I have one of each but after Chris was determined to find out and then per his words, "torture me" with said information, I decided to find out as well. So Aug 24 is the day. Praying for a healthy butter bean. 

That is what family is for

What a week. My life has been a little like a hurricane this week to say the least. Let me start at the beginning.

Last week my mom called to let me know that my uncle, her brother, had been feeling ill and went the doctor. He nearly passed out upon leaving the MD office and was sent to the hospital for some tests. They found that he was "eat up" with cancer to the point there was nothing that the medical profession could do for him. So they sent him home with hospice and gave him 3 weeks to 3 months to live. He passed away yesterday afternoon in his home with his family.  Mom and I were praying that "if this cup could not pass from him" that it would at least be a painless and peaceful passing.  It was.

My mother who lives in New Mexico desperately wanted to see her brother before he passed, got a plane ticket to come in next week.  When she heard he had taken a turn for the worse she changed her ticket to this past Wed. The first leg of her flight, that landed in Minn, was late and she had 15 min to get to her next flight. After running to a completely different concourse she arrived to see them closing the door to the pedway. She had missed her flight. In trying to re-route her to Louisville by another flight it began. My mom slowly forgot where she was and why she was there. This has happened before and she had all kinds of tests run but all were negative. My sister happened to call her just as it was happening and got my mom to give the phone to a lady so she could tell the women what was happening and to call for help.  She was taken to the nearest hospital and they did a CAT scan to rule out a stroke. It was neg, praise God. However, she still could not remember anything past waving goodbye to my dad in Colorado Springs. My sister and I would move heaven and Earth for this woman. She is my best friend. So we called my brother and left Louisville at 6 PM for Minn. The four of us, including my brothers finance, took turns driving there for the 11 hour duration of the trip. We arrived at 6:30 AM. By this time mom was beginning to remember why she was coming to KY and where she was. The doctor called it Transient Global Amnesia. It is a coping mechanism she has that kicks in when she is extremely stressed. Given the situation with her brother and missing her flight it was fertile ground for this thing to plant in. There is no residual effects except for the loss of memory. The doctor said her mind gets so stressed that it just stops recording so she cannot remember the stressful event.  We were so glad she was on the mend and could not wait to scoop her up and bring her home. We left the hospital at 11:30AM and got home at 12:30PM. It was an adventure and a great bonding experience for all of us. It was a crazy 30 hours but I could not have thought of a better person to expel them on.  She was worth every minute I drove through the storm in IN and traffic Sherrie drove in though Chicago.  I would do it all over again tomorrow if needed. She is that kind of person.  Now on a side note we were all stinking by the time we got home and using napkins as a temporary toothbrush just did not cut it.  But we're family and family loves, hopes, and endures though all kinds of stinks just like we did.

It was sad to know my mom did not get to see her brother before he passed but I just fell in my heart that God had a good reason why. She did speak to him by phone so there was some closure. He was a great uncle, quit the comedian at times. He will be missed by all.  See ya on the other side Uncle Frankie.

A trip TOO fast

Chris and  I have been working extra days saving up for the maternity leave in January. Needless to say we have not been spending as much "quality" time with the kiddos as we or they would like. We decided to take a small over night trip up to Northern Kentucky. We started out at the Newport Aquarium. Note to you and myself, do not take a small child till after 4 when you can take a stroller in. We went early and Chris and I had to take turns juggling Maddax throughout the tour. He really enjoyed the larger fish and the jellies but not much else was entertaining to him. He got really restless about 2/3 through the tour and we caved, much against our better judgement, to let him walk. Thank goodness I had him wear his squeaky shoes so I knew exactly where he was or where he was trying to run off to. It was his lunch time so we grabbed a quick piece of $4.00 pizza, can you say highway robbery, for the kids to share till we could make it to a place to eat.

                                                    Dropping off the stroller. SOB SOB!!!!

Loving little man's hair.

She is getting so big.

We walked around the waterfront area for awhile and this nice lady on stilts made Makenna and Maddax a balloon animal and flower. Makenna was very excited to know that if she ate her veggies she could grow big  like that girl on the stilts, according to the girl on the stilts. Makenna said, " monnie if I grow big like her then I can touch the bottom of the swimming pool." I love her little mind and how it works.

We got to the hotel later that day and decided to go swimming in the indoor pool. The kids loved it and we were hoping to wear the two of them out for an early bedtime. Maddax was getting tired so I left the pool early with him to give him a bath and get him ready for bed. By the time we got back to the room we were both freezing from the pool water so I decided to turn on the heater in the room. It slowing began to get warm then, BUZZZZZZZ!!! The smoke detector when off. Maddax was not alarmed. I think he much enjoyed momma waving daddy's shirt at the round thing on the wall that was making a really loud noise. After what seemed forever, it stopped and I quickly called the front desk to let them know we were not trying to burn down the hotel.

Makenna and Chris soon returned and found my episode funny. With Maddax finally asleep I tucked Makenna into bed. She asked if I would lay with her for a minute. I said sure. Next thing I know I wake up and it is 9:15 PM. Then I notice that Chris was out in the other bed. We were just as pooped as the kids.

We enjoyed breakfast on the hotel this morning and loaded up the car. I really enjoyed getting away with the family but it was much too short. It is nice to be totally focused on your family and not be distracted by laundry and the such.  I think our next venture will be camping. Wish me luck.

Sharing a thought

I have been doing a Beth Moore Bible study called A Woman's Heart and I read a scripture tonight that blew me away and wanted to share it with you.

"For I know the thoughts I think toward you, says the Lord, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope."   Jer 29:11

God thinks about me. I never really thought about it but I guess I figured after all was said and done and things were in motion that He really did not do much thinking, especially of me. But he does. I find some huge peace and release in reading that scripture. Amazing how it has always been there but it never reached out and bit me like it did tonight.

Just stuff

I am now 13 weeks and counting. Seems like each day I am feeling a little better. The nausea is about gone except for a few blah evenings which is probably more related to what I ate then the baby. The fatigue continues but is generally usurped by an afternoon nap with Maddax and Makenna. However, I have been picking up extra days at work, to offset the 8 weeks of maternity leave when the babies born, so I am missing some naps. I am doing 2 1/2 days a week now. It can be pretty exhausting with the 2 hr and 30 min of driving total. Makenna is not big on me working more but I assure her it is only temporary and try to make more dates for just the 2 of us. My sister kept the kids this last week while I worked since Chris had court the next morning. What would I do without her. So any way, I went down to go to bed and this is how I found Makenna. Not really sure what she was pondering but it looked intense.

Took Maddax to the doc the other day for what I thought was a ear infection but turned out to be a virus. He was waking up all hours of the night, refusing naps, and food. I knew something was up. The funny thing is that as soon as we got a diagnosis he was much better. However, this evening he was not much on going to bed. I think it is probably more teeth related. He is more interesting everyday. He loves to sit and look at books and drive his police car across the kitchen floor. His favorite place is in the dryer. Don't wig out on me. I do not let him in the laundry room without me and I never allow him to close the door.

Maddax has also picked up the love of coloring but has a difficult time holding the crayons. I know my fellow therapists would call me giving him bigger crayons enabling him. I should be breaking the crayons and working on his fine motor dexterity but hey he is only a little boy for a while. My friend who blogs, sippycupsandfingerprints.blogspot.com, gave me the idea of melting old crayons in muffin tins to make new crayons that are bigger and just perfect for little man to hold.  While I was watching them melt in the oven I got to thinking. We are kinda like crayons. Frail little things and sometimes we need to be broken and have a little heat added to allow God to transform us into stronger, bigger crayons. Now I am just like the rest of ya. I do not like having the heat added to my life to transform me but i would much rather feel a little heat now than a whole lotta heat later. You?

On another note I have been back to canning. Tomatoes this time and might I add much easier to can. I love tomatoes. So if you or anyone you know wants to off load some, just let me know.

Nana and Papaw's Visit

Well my parents made it safely back home to New Mexico last night.  Another round trip to Kentucky under their belt and hoping for one more before the baby comes in January.  I guess I will just have to wait and see.  Their trip got cut a little short because my dad found out his drivers license expired last November.  The DMV office gave him a 10 day extension for him to get back and renew it. So they had to leave on Sunday. Or mom could have drove home. And my dad like most men do not like to hand over driving to their wives when they are perfectly capable.

Mom brought in a bunch of baby clothes for me, both boy and girls. She volunteers at a thrift store in her town and get some serious bargains. So she was glad to offer up some baby clothes for our butter bean. After Maddax we had planned on not having anymore so I got rid of all of Makennas clothes up to 2T and slowly purged Maddax's clothes as he outgrew them.  Then God opened our hearts and here we are today.  She also brought in a travel swing, booster seat, and this blow up duck for the tub.  She figured that Maddax would have a grand time with it in the back yard since he is slightly scared of Makenna's pool. (You would be too if you saw how manic she is on the slide) Needless to say Makenna tried to dominate the duck before Maddax had a chance. She wants to ride the duck down the slide but we nipped that in the bud just as quick as it came out of her mouth.

Later Maddax got ahold of the broom and decided to clean the back patio. That cute little boy just loves to do work around the house. From vacuuming, cleaning the floor, and now sweeping the patio he does it with a happy heart.

Had a doctors visit today.  I am just over 11 weeks and beginning to feel better.  The baby's heartbeat took awhile to find, which shook me up a bit, but then the rapid beating of its little heart settled my nerves. 180 beats per minute.  Doc says all is good an due back in 4 weeks.  I am beginning to feel better. My worst time of the day is after 4 PM. I just get exhausted and have zero drive for fixing dinner much less trying to eat myself.  Thank the Lord for organic peanut butter and homemade jelly, or my kids might starve.

At the docs office the nurse was telling me how she craved Captian D's fish dipped in spaghetti O's. It made me want to get sick but then Istarted to crave the fish.  So against my better judgement I stopped and got fish and chips at Long John Silvers.  With every bite I prayed it would turn into a carrot as I swallowed. It sure was good. And tonight I am craving Popsicles. I bought the bomb pops at the grocery today.  It saddens me though that the store bought are about a third of the original ice cream truck size. So I ate 3. Yum!!!